Brad Marchand and breakaways; Tyrese Haliburton; the NHL's most egotistical coach; Chris Sale's HOF chances; Jacob deGrom v. Nathan Eovaldi; an amazing Mike Trout stat; best WR in Patriots history

Sunday 6/8/25

A sarcastic wag might say that Brad Marchand can score playoff breakaway goals for the Florida Panthers, he just can't score them against the Florida Panthers.

The Oilers were right there in that Game 2. One goal, and it becomes very hard for your opponent to win the series. Then again, the Oilers were fortunate to force OT.

The potential most important period--or game stage, maybe we should say--in an NHL playoff series is when the series stands at 2-1 and that game goes to OT. That's the biggest swing possible, from either tied 2-2 to someone being up 3-1.

It seems like the Red Sox never go out and just convincingly win 5-2 or 6-1, like they don't have that in them. They either score a lot early and it holds up or Crochet pitches. He pitched last night in the Bronx and got the win despite giving up five runs in six innings. That kind of game makes up for the one where you give up two in seven and get a no decision.

Was talking to someone about the NBA Finals last week, and I said that I expected the Thunder to win in five, but that the Pacers could steal that first game--and would need to in order to win the series--because the Thunder had been off for so long.

I wasn't really correct about this--it's not like the Pacers came out and jumped on the Thunder. They didn't even have a lead the entire game until there was .3 seconds left. And I don't think they'll win, but it'd be cool if they did.

Tyrese Haliburton is that rare star player who's better in the playoffs. I say that it's rare for a star to be better in the playoffs because typically the guys about whom this is true are role guys, character guys. Anthony Edwards is like Haliburton in this regard. They get amped. They love it. The stakes are higher. Whereas, I think someone like Jayson Tatum wants everything to be easier. Less stress.

There is this mini-trend during these NBA playoffs of heavily favored teams losing the first two games of a series at home. I'd be surprised if the Thunder don't win tonight, but this Pacers team has real pluck. They gave the Celtics their stiffest competition last year, and now they're a year more experienced.

Paul Maurice is the Joe Maddon of NHL coaches. A disingenuous guy and massive egomaniac. That stunt he pulled in the last series where he told the coach of the team that his team had just eliminated that the coaches should stay out of the handshake line was classic Paul Maurice. He did it so he could say "It's not about us" while making it about him. Which takes nothing away from what this Panthers team has done over the last three years, which impresses the hell out of me. They have some of the guile of the early 1980s Islanders about them, that toughness and clutchness.

I saw where someone wrote the other day that Chris Sale is a borderline Hall of Fame candidate right now--that he's right on the cusp at this moment, but if you reaches these thresholds, he would get in.

This is dead wrong. I detest Chris Sale. The phoniest athlete in Boston sports history. Mr. Fake Tough Guy. There aren't many Boston athletes I've liked less or had less respect for. But if he didn't throw another pitch, he's getting into the Hall of Fame. He has a better chance of being a first ballot Hall of Famer than he does not getting in. Do I think he's this amazing pitcher? I do not. But that's not what we're talking about.

Here's something: analytics obsessives who don't know what is actually happening on a baseball field and can't think their way through the game and don't think well about the game love Jacob deGrom. Recently I saw someone write that he is the best pitcher of all-time. deGrom, who is in his age thirty-seven season, has a 92-50 career record and a 2.50 ERA. You think he's going to get to 115 wins? That'd be pretty hard at this point. But people like Buster Olney say he's a surefire Hall of Famer and, what's more, I've seen Olney be very rude and insulting to people who don't feel as he does about this. The idea of a starting pitcher having 110 wins to his name and being in the Hall of Fame is a joke to me.

But let's do a little exercise. Just gave you deGrom's career stats. Nathan Eovaldi is in his age thirty-five season. He has a career record of 95-84 with an ERA 3.96. Both pitchers have had injury issues. Who's career would you rather have? I know, Eovaldi's ERA is a run an a half higher, but I'd much rather have his career. World Series winner and not just that, but a stud on that 2018 Red Sox team in the postseason. A money pitcher. Arguably the best big game pitcher of his era. He's 9-3 in the postseason with a 3.03 ERA. A Yankees killer. The Red Sox don't win it in 2018 if Eovaldi didn't go into the Bronx when the Sox needed a win and flat out dealt. Won a second World Series as the man with the Rangers.

People will remember Eovaldi for what he's done. What are they going to remember about deGrom? His WHIP in his fifteen starts in 2021?

Both pitchers are having very strong years. It's unlikely that either wins the Cy Young, but both could.

One would be remiss to not also mention the game in the 2018 World Series when Alex Cora bungled his bullpen and Eovaldi had to stay on the hill until the game was over. Even though the Sox lost that game, what Eovaldi did helped them win the series. He would have been my World Series MVP for that alone. I'm not saying he's a great pitcher, or a Hall of Fame pitcher, because he's not. He's not a Hall of Very Good pitcher. But he has had big moments and he's delivered and he's good enough that you could win a World Series with him as your main guy.

Want a Mike Trout stat that will blow your mind and tell you all you need to know about what this player now is and what his lack of proper conditioning has led to? I don't think Mike Trout kept himself in shape. He let himself go. And while he was letting himself go, he was also adding muscle, as if he had some weird obsession. He's been a ponderous load for years. Mike Trout had 109 at-bats in 2024. He's had 134 at-bats in 2025. That's a total of 243 at-bats. Less than half a full season. Last year, he had one double. This year he has two. That's like a pace for seven doubles in a season. Do you know how hard that is to do? Have you ever seen anyone have only seven doubles in a season? He's in his early thirties.

Saw a post the other day about who the Patriots' all-time best receiver is. Everyone said Randy Moss. That's wrong. The answer is Stanley Morgan. Moss wasn't in New England long enough, whereas Morgan had a long run with the team. Then there are the eras. What Morgan did, when he did it, with the quarterbacks who were throwing to him, stands out more. Stanley Morgan should be in the Hall of Fame.