Roche: Thoughs On Perkins, Mankins, Bruins, & Spring Training
BOSTON (CBS) - I'm back from Spring Training with some random thoughts on the Boston Sports scene...
--Give Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers credit for one thing: Guts. It had to be tough enough to say good-bye Kendrick Perkins, but you wonder how hard it was to break the news to his teammates? I am a big "chemistry" guy and the rest of this season will be a good experiment to see how much it really matters. These guys deeply cared about each other. We'll look back on this and say Danny had his finger right on the pulse of this team....or....he ripped apart a group that should have won another NBA title?
--Our crack WBZ-TV sports producer Joe Giza brought up a good point: would Danny have done this deal if this current Celts team hadn't won a title? Then again, if that was the case maybe only a few of these players would still be here.
--Perk reminded me of Johnny Damon when it came to interviews. Both would 1) always have time for you, and 2) would give you a refreshingly honest answer. If they were bad...both said it. If they were good...both said it. I will miss Perk for that.
--It will be interesting to see what the Celts look like when Danny is done fixing the roster. I have said this over and over...and still believe it: any Celtics team that has KG has a chance to win an NBA championship.
--To Football...and enough of Logan Mankins' agent please! Mankins is a great player, but the NFL owners, players, and fans are in the middle of a possible lockout. The last thing Pats fans need is to see whining over a "franchise tag" that would pay a player $10 million for one season.
--I am an optimist and always feel like there is no way all parties are stupid enough to have work stoppage...and then...no matter what the sport...they do.
--I like the Kaberle and Peverly moves. The B's appear ready for a run. If they don't go deep say good-bye to Claude and some players....
--Best part of Spring Training? Getting out of my car at the Red Sox minor league complex and hearing the crack of the bat inside the hitting cages at 7:45 a.m.
--You know the Red Sox are going to be good when you look at both line-ups the Sox put out to play BC and Northeastern and you know just about every player. Also, shows how banged up the Sox were last season.
--Nice to hear Dustin Pedroia chirping again....
--At first I wanted to start Josh Beckett on Opening Day, but the more I thought about it I would start Jon Lester. Right now, he's the ace of the staff. Josh Beckett is the leader of the staff. I go with the ace......
--What a great story it would be if Milton's Rich Hill earns a job in the Sox pen this season....
--I wonder if Terry Francona will use a righty or two in the opener against lefty CJ Wilson in Texas? Mike Cameron over J.D. Drew in RF? Drew is 1-for-6 lifetime vs Wilson while Cameron is 0-for-3. By the way, David Ortiz is 1-for-10 against him.....
