Hot Stove Update 11/18
6:10 p.m. Eastern
-Oakland is not likely to dip into free agency, says Mychal Urban. The A’s want to find a younger replacement for Adam Kennedy and that “Beane’s fairly emphatic stance also should effectively kill any rumors linking the A’s to older free agents such as Miguel Tejada, Carlos Delgado, Jermaine Dye and Vladimir Guerrero.”
-Nothing going on between Detroit and John Smoltz, Jason Beck says.
-More from Andrew Marchand, who said that the Mets should get John Lackey but not Jason Bay or Matt Holliday.
-More from Tom Haudricourt who would be surprised if Mark Mudler did not end up at Brewers camp for spring training.
3:45 p.m. Eastern
-Jon Heyman on the Roy Halladay sweepstakes and the other trade candidates.
-Quote from Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski: “I can assure you 100[%] that we do not have any kind of fire sale, or salary dump, or whatever you might call it, taking place.” A lot of reports say otherwise…
-After winning the NL Manager of the Year award, Colorado gave Jim Tracy a three-year extension.
-Seattle, Minnesota and Milwaukee are possible destinations for Jarrod Washburn, says Fox Sports, and there’s probably a mutual interest with the Mariners. A source said that the Phillies are the favorites to land Mark DeRosa with Seattle also a possibility.
-A top agent told Andrew Marchand of ESPN Radio in New York that “Given the reaction to Citi of the players I have, hitters, if given other options, aren’t going to choose it first.” The agent told Marchand that pitchers might.
-The Mets are “a perfect fit” for Jason Marquis, the free agent pitcher told the New York Post. The Staten Island native is still below John Lackey and Joel Piniero on their wish list.
-Milwaukee signed C George Kottaras to a minor league deal. He was a former top prospect with the Padres who spend the last two years with Boston. Tom Haudricourt confirms.
-A very interesting inbox from Joe Frisaro and a must read for all Marlins fans including Dan Uggla, Jorge Cantu and Vlad Guerrero talk.
-Jerry Crasnick breaks down the free agents based on defensive ability.
Inside The NBA- Wednesday
Robert Frost Report
Fire
Phoenix Suns- Who would have thought that Phoenix would be the first to 10 wins. With the Lakers just 8-3 and the Celtics on a two game losing streak, the Suns rose to the top of the league standings with a win at Houston on Tuesday 111-105.
Atlanta Hawks- After a 20 point loss at Charlotte on Nov. 6, Atlanta has reeled off five straight wins including division leaders Boston and Denver. Joe Johnson had 35 points and nine assists in Monday’s win over Portland that propelled the Hawks to the best record in the Eastern Conference.
Cleveland Cavaliers- Cleveland barely held on for a 114-108 Tuesday night win over the short-handed Warriors, who dressed just seven including new acquisition Vladimir Radmonovic, but the Cavs have now won five straight to take a commanding lead in the Central Division. LeBron James’ 31 point performance was outshown by the 9-9, 21 point night for JJ Hickson, who gave Cleveland quite a boost against Golden State.
Indiana Pacers- After starting the season 0-3, Indiana has won five straight, most recently wins over Boston and Tuesday at New Jersey 91-83. Offseason acquisition Dahntay Jones had 17 points and Roy Hibbert had a 19 point 10 rebound night for the Pacers. Hibbert is averaging 12.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
Dallas Mavericks- The Cubans are on top of the Southwest Division at 8-3 (5-2 on the road) and won their third straight on a Dirk Nowitzki OT buzzer beater Monday night in Milwaukee. While Dirk had 32 and 11, Drew Gooden came through in a big way with 22 and 14 and Jason Kidd was a point short of a 17 assist, 10 rebound triple-double.
Ice
New Jersey Nets- The Nets are 0-11 after falling 91-83 to the Pacers. Chris Douglas-Roberts led the team with 27 points with Devin Harris still out. It’s hard not to call for Lawrence Frank’s ouster at this point.
Minnesota Timberwolves- The Wolves have lost 10 straight since their win on opening night and are getting outscored an average of 104-90 each game.
Washington Wizards- The Wiz simply can’t buy a win after falling to Detroit on Saturday night. Antawn Jamison’s return will help, but a Wednesday night date with the Cavaliers will not.
New York Knicks- The Knicks haven’t played since a 14 point Friday night loss to Golden State, their sixth straight loss, and a date with the red hot Pacers won’t help. Mike D’Antoni’s team needs to learn how to play defense as their 110.2 points per game allowed is dead last in the NBA.
Charlotte Bobcats- Stephen Jackson should help the Bobcats with their NBA worst 83.3 points per game scoring average, but he shot just 4-14 and scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a loss on Monday to Orlando. Charlotte has lost five straight.
David Small’s Five Point Play
1) San Antonio is not the team anyone thought they would be. The aging and lack of size has negated any positives they received in their offseason moves. Richard Jefferson is struggling, Tim Duncan looks a step slower, Tony Parker has not maintained the improvement he showed last season and Manu Ginobili has lost some of that “wow” power. Except for when he swatted that bat, that was awesome.
2) Brandon Jennings is good but not as legit as people think. He’s lightning quick but once defenses learn how to slow him down, like they started to do with Paul, Rondo, and Rose, his production will drop. From what I’ve seen the Bucks remind me of the scrappy Bulls teams from a few years back, the old Scott Skiles team
3) Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony are both putting it together offenviely simultaneously, which is really fun to watch. They both have just about every offensive tool in the book, but the real question in the west is how Pau Gasol will play. If he’s at last years level, no one from the west is beating the Lakers. But even if he’s even a little bit slower though, Denver has a shot.
4) As much as i hate to say it, despite their quick start, Miami is a .500 team. There’s just not enough consistent production around D-Wade. Jermaine O’Neal, Michael Beasley and Quentin Richardson could each score 20 a night, but at the same time I wouldn’t be surprised if they got eight.
5) The Suns are the Suns of old. Grant Hill is playing great for 37, but then again he’s the most rested 37 year old in the history of the NBA. He still has the quick first step and the great mid-range shot. Nash is Nash, and when they took the shackles of Shaq off, watch him work, and enjoy. Jason Richardson is a great player, especially on the break, but he can only get there if he doesn’t have to worry about rebounding. He can’t succeed against post-up forwards. But all-in-all they’re fun to watch, and they are a much better team this way than slowing it down and playing defense, so why not let them?
