Buyer beware! Free agents Shohei Ohtani, Cody Bellinger and Blake Snell not without flaws
Observations across the sports landscape.
The top 3 baseball free agents are not without some flaws:
*Shohei Ohtani: Teams will bid (guesstimates are around $500 million) for the two-way star who will only be a one-way star in 2024 as he will not pitch after his second Tommy John surgery this year.
*Cody Bellinger: He bounced back nicely after his last three horrible years with the Dodgers, but he did it in the cozy confines of Wrigley Field.
*Blake Snell: Yes, he’s a two-time Cy Young winner, but he led the majors in walks again this past season, has never thrown a complete game and his career record (besides his two Cy Young seasons) is 37-41.
Buyer Beware!
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The college football coaching carousel is always fascinating, and it will be no different this time around.
Texas A&M is already open – and they pay massive money. Michigan figures to be looking for Jim Harbaugh’s replacement when the embattled coach leaves for the NFL as expected. UCLA may not be safe for Chip Kelly either. He’s only one game above .500 in his six years at Westwood.
And, despite his late season meltdown in Colorado, look for Deion Sanders’ name to keep popping up for any and all openings. The man can recruit!
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The new regime in Anaheim is off to a bad start (no surprise).
First they announced the very popular Torii Hunter would be on the coaching staff for new manager Ron Washington. Hunter turned the job down.
Then, at his introductory press conference, Washington referred to Anthony Rendon as one of the club’s leaders. Rendon represents one of the biggest busts in the history of free agency. He has played only 50 games a season due to injuries and averaged 5 home runs per season. Leader in what?
Trips to the IR?
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There’s no doubt USC quarterback Caleb Williams has remarkable skills, but can that elusiveness he exhibits on Saturdays translate to Sundays?
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It may not be the worst USC football team of recent years, but it certainly is one of the most embarrassing. The Trojans do not appear to be well coached in any phase of the game, the fundamental ability to make a tackle is foreign to them and the overall mood of the team seems lifeless.
And with the reigning Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback!
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As bad as USC’s loss was to UCLA (38-20) last weekend, things were much worse for Auburn.
They paid New Mexico State $1.85 million for an easy win Saturday, but ended up losing to the big underdogs.
To add insult to injury, former Auburn quarterback Bo Nix accelerated his march toward the Heisman Trophy by throwing six touchdown passes in the first half for Oregon in a 49-13 trouncing over Arizona State. Nix now has 35 touchdown passes against only two interceptions for the season.
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The Wall Street Journal was the first to mention it publicly, but what if we had a Super Bowl between two of the most downtrodden franchises in NFL history – the Detroit Lions and the Cleveland Browns?
Both have winning records and are in the playoff picture so the matchup is actually possible, if not probable.
If it were to come to pass, would it be like the most recent World Series between Texas and Arizona? A stunning surprise.
Pete Donovan is a Palm Desert resident and former Los Angeles Times sports reporter. He can be reached at pwdonovan22@yahoo.com
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Free agents Shohei Ohtani, Cody Bellinger, Blake Snell not without flaws
