Sports Time Radio

Author Archive

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: January 30, 2019 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, hockey, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized

It looks like Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans will eventually part ways. There have been talks more or less since the start of the season that the Pelicans might be interested in trading Davis and apparently the feeling is now mutual. On Monday Rich Paul who is Davis’ agent went public with Davis’ trade request. After the trade request was made public the NBA fined Davis $50,000 for going public with it.

It is quite interesting on how we got to this point though. Davis changed representation this season and he’s now with an agency that is linked to LeBron James. Then when New Orleans made a trip to Los Angeles to face the Lakers James and Davis went out to dinner together. Can you say tampering.

New Orleans has actually asked the NBA to investigate the situation and see if there was any tampering, but I think we all know what they’re going to find. What’s better for the NBA; having Davis play in a big market like Los Angeles with James where they can contend for a title or stay in small market New Orleans and not make the playoffs. I think it’s obvious that nothing will be done about this.

Of course with a payer like Davis there are quite a few teams interested in acquiring his services and while there’s no real rush for the Pelicans to trade him I think we all know in the end barring the NBA stepping I that he’ll be with the Lakers when this is all said and done.

If you’ve ever listened to the Sports Time Radio podcast you know that I’m not a big fan of the NBA and this is part of the reason why. It seems as though star players no longer want to beat each other. It appears as though they’d all rather join up and play together.

It makes me question how teams that are bad right now going to get good. Now of course they can improve through the draft, but there are only so many star players in a draft. How many draft picks do you have to hit on for a team to improve?

There’s no chance that a top free agent is going to sign with a non-playoff team. Now don’t even try to sell me that James went to the Lakers when they where bad. Everyone should know by ow that he signed with the Lakers because he wanted to be closer to Hollywood. I believe he owns a production company and also has a television show on I think it’s Showtime, but I might be incorrect about that.

Now it’s not against the rules for James to talk to Davis unless he was doing it through the Lakers. I’m not sure if the NBA would go into that deep of an investigation to see if James reached out to someone in the Lakers front office about meeting with Davis. I have a feeling that even of the NBA did find out there was tampering in this situation they’d just fine the Lakers. If there was actually tampering I think the NBA shouldn’t let Davis be traded to or sign with the Lakers, but we all know that isn’t going to happen.

What do you think the NBA should or will do about the James/Davis situation?

What will the Columbus Blue Jackets do with Artemi Panarin as the February 25th trade deadline approaches. It seems clear that Panarin won’t be getting a contract extension.

On Monday Panarin’s agent Dave Milstein released a statement saying: “We have informed the team that we are willing to discuss Artemi’s future after the season. Our priority now is to focus on the rest of the season; trying to win a Stanley Cup for the Columbus Blue Jackets and their fans. No additional comments will be made.”

Panarin is making $6 million dollars this season and is in the final year of his contract. Panarin scored 82 points for the Blue Jackets last season and through 46 games this season he has 53 points. With those kind of scoring numbers and at 27 years old Panarin is on for a big raise.

Interestingly the Blue Jackets acquired Panarin from the Chicago Blackhawks in June of 2017 because the cash strapped Blackhawks knew that a Calder Trophy winner like Panarin would end up with a contract that they just couldn’t afford.

The Blue Jackets appear to be in a difficult position as Panarin and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky will both be free agents at the end of this season. It’s possibly that one or both of these players could get dealt before the trading deadline, but Columbus is in 3rd place in the Metropolitan division just 4 points out of 1st place.

What do you see the Blue Jackets doing with these two players? Will they trade one or both of them? Do you think they’ll re-sign one? If so which payer do you think they re-sign? Or do you possibly see them bringing both players back which would be tough to do with the NHL’s hard salary cap.

Are the Tampa Bay Lighting the best team in the NHL right now? The Lighting are in 1st place in the Atlantic division and their 76 points are 5 points better than the Calgary Flames and 10 points better than the Winnipeg Jets for the President’s Trophy. Of course having the most points in the regular season doesn’t guarantee playoff success, but maybe the Lighting can buck that trend.

Brayden Point leads Tampa Bay in goals with 30 while Nikita Kucherov leads the Lighting in assists with 56 and points with 78. Steven Stamkos is second on the team with 26 goals while Point is second on the team in assists with 35 and points with 65. Tampa Bay has seven players who have scored 11 or more goals and they have 13 players with 10 or more assists.

In goal Andrei Vasilevskiy is 20-6-2 with a 2.50 GAA in his starts while Louis Dominque is 16-4 with a 2.99 GAA in his starts. Edward Pasquale made one start in goal for Tampa Bay and did get a win even though his GAA was 4.62.

Vasilevskiy is the Lighting’s #1 goalie, but it’s nice to have a back up like Dominque who can pick up wins I place of the starter.

How do you like Tampa Bay’s chances come playoff time?

You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast live on BlogTalkRadio.com, but don’t forget that the podcast is also available for you to listen to whenever you want at TuneIn.com.

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

How was your week

Posted: January 26, 2019 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, football, hockey, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized

I seem to be at the point where I’m done and over winter. I can’t seem to shake this feeling no matter what I do. Now normally I turn to sports and that will help me shake this feeling, but for some reason that’s not working for me this year.

As you know we’re at the point where football season is more or less over and baseball season hasn’t started yet. That of course leaves me with basketball and hockey to watch and I’m not sure why, but that just hasn’t been enough for me.

I’m also started to wonder if it’s the struggle of the local NBA and NHL teams that is contributing to my issues.

In the NBA the Chicago Bulls are 11-38 and have lost 12 of their last 13 games. Last night the Bulls dropped a 106-101 contest to the Los Angeles Clippers. Maybe the Bulls will have a chance to pick up another win this Sunday as they’re playing the team with the worst record in the NBA the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland is currently an NBA worst 9-41.

Now over in the NHL the Chicago Blackhawks aren’t in a much better situation than the Bulls are in.

The Blackhawks are currently 18-24-9 for a total of 45 points. There are currently only three teams in the NHL with a lower point total than the Blackhawks. The Los Angeles Kings have 44 points while the New Jersey Devils and the Ottawa Senators it at 43 points. While the NHL is currently on their All-Star break at least the Blackhawks won 2 games in a row heading into the break.

Oh well; I guess I just have to look forward the Super Bowl and then pitchers and catchers reporting to shale these winter blues.

On Wednesday we where talking about some of the interesting free agents left on the market and we stopped when we got to the outfielders.

Now of course Bryce Harper hasn’t been signed, but another top outfielder did ink a deal. A.J. Pollock signed a four year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Pollock’s deal is reported to be for $60 million dollars.

Even with Pollock off the board and not including Harper there are still some quality outfielders out there for teams to take a look at.

There are a couple of former Colorado Rockies teammates who could still fit in as corner outfielders for a team. Carlos Gonzalez and Gerardo Parra are still on the free agent market.

Gonzalez has had his share of injuries though his career, but the last four seasons he has played in at least 132 games. If Gonzalez found his way to an American League team the opportunity for him to be used as a DH at times could lower a teams concern of injury his risk.

Parra is a top outfielder defender and has won two Gold Gloves. Even while playing half of a season in Coors Field Parra has never been a big home run hitter. In his three seasons with the Rockies Parra reached double digit home runs just once. In today’s game where home runs are everything this could be held against Parra by teams looking to fill an outfield spot.

Going over the free agent outfielders list I think there’s only one player left that could be an everyday centerfielder for a team and that’s Adam Jones.

Jones has been with the Baltimore Orioles for the last 11 seasons. He’s picked up 4 Gold Gloves as a centerfielder and last season spent time at all three outfield positions. Jones power numbers did drop last season as he hit 15 home runs, but it’s possible that as one of the few threats in the Orioles line up that he was pitched around quite a bit.

Besides Gonzalez, Parra and Jones I’m not sure if there are any other outfielders that would be looked at as a significant contributor on a contender, but maybe some team will take a chance on them.

Melky Cabrera hit .280 with the Cleveland Indians and could be a solid 5th outfielder and bench player for a team. Cameron Maybin has always been looked at as a player with potential, but he’s 32 now and may never get that chance to play everyday. However he can play all three outfield spots and can still run. Could he be a solid bench player? Denard Span has been a solid player though his 11 year career, but he’s turning 35 soon and you have to wonder if a team will take a chance on him. Span could fill in at all three outfield spots and while speed isn’t as prevalent in his game he can still steal a base for you. Hunter Pence battled injuries last season and his numbers suffered for it. Pence has stated that he’d like to play in 2019, but as a soon to be 36 year old is their a team out there that might be willing to take a chance on him. I am curious to see if Jose Bautista will be on someone’s roster in 2019. Bautista sent time with the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies last season. Bautista also played five different positions last season. Overall he hit .203 with 13 home runs.

Do you see any of these outfielders finding jobs for the 2019 season?

I guess while we’re talking about baseball free agents I’d be interested to know when you think Bryce Harper and Manny Machado will sign. I was kind of under the impression that neither guy would sign a new deal until possibly late February and that’s not all that far away. Do you think we’ll see one or both of them sing sooner than that? Or are we still about a month away from either guy finding a new team?

I haven’t heard much new on the Harper front, but there are some reports that the San Diego Padres have shown interest in Machado. I guess will have to watch and see if that goes anywhere.

Don’t forget that the Sports Time Radio podcast can be heard live on BlogTalkRadio.com. If you miss the podcast live you can just head over to TuneIn.com and listen to it whenever you’d like.

Feel free to look me up n Twitter @Burketime

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: January 23, 2019 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, football, NFL picks, post season, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized

We’re less than a month away from pitchers and catchers reporting and besides the top two free agents there are still quite a few players out their looking for work. Let’s see if we can find some of these guys some jobs.

There aren’t a lot of top flight catchers left on the free agent market, but there are a few that should still get some work. Devin Mesoraco has good power and could fit in with any teams platoon at catcher. Martin Maldonado has always been a very good defensive catcher and also handles a pitching staff well. Caleb Joseph is another solid defender behind the plate, but Maldonado may be a little better hitter. Matt Wieters was looked at as one of the top catchers in the game until the injury bug hit him. If he’s healthy you have to wonder if he could get back to that top form.

It may be difficult for a team to sign one of these catchers if they think that they’re in the mix to acquire J.T. Realmuto from the Miami Marlins; so we’ll have to keep an eye out and see if and where these catchers sign at.

1st base is another position where there aren’t any really big names left on the free agent market, but there are some quality veterans who could fill a platoon role at 1st base or possible DH.

Logan Morrison is coming back from injury, but if healthy could add power to a line up. You could add Lucas Dida and Mark Reynolds into that mix to as they both are solid power hitters, but probably aren’t everyday players at this point. Hanley Ramirez is still hanging around since no one picked him up after the Boston Red Sox released him last season.

At 2nd base it looks like Josh Harrison is the biggest name left on the free agent board. There was some talk early in the off season that the New York Mets where interested in Harrison, but that never ended up happening and there really haven’t been any other teams attached to Harrison.

Besides Harrison here are a couple of veterans still out on the free agent market. Neil Walker had a bit of a down year with the New York Yankees last season, but has had a solid career. Logan Forsythe is another veteran still available.

Besides Manny Machado the best shortstop on the free agent market is probably Freddy Galvis. Galvis is just 29; so he still has some quality seasons left in him. Jose Iglesias is also 29 and is a top defender who has hit better as his career went on. Iglesias has battled some injuries the last couple of seasons, but you’d think he’s healthy now. There are some proven guys like Alcides Escobar and Adeiny Hechavarria out there. Neither is a big time threat at the plate, but both play excellent defense at shortstop.

Mike Moustakas is clearly the best 3rd baseman left in free agency, but you have to wonder if he’s hurt his chances by saying he was waiting for Machado to sign before he does. The Texas Rangers had a need at 3rd base with the retirement of Adrian Beltre, but it looks like Asdrubal Cabrera will fill that role. The Rangers signed Cabrera yesterday. Remember Moustakas ended up going back to the Kansas City Royals on a low money deal when he couldn’t get a bigger offer anywhere else last off season. Could he be putting himself in that spot again waiting for Machado to sign.

A couple of other options at 3rd base could be Matt Davidson or Chase Headley. Davidson is just 28 and is a legitimate power hitter. There actually has been some talk of teams looking at Davidson as a possible pitcher as well as a 3rd baseman. Maybe someone will sign him as a duel threat. Headley is 35 and may be at the end of his career, but could give a team that veteran off the bench they could use to spell their everyday 3rd baseman.

There are also a couple of utility guys still on the free agent market with the biggest name being Marwin Gonzalez. You do have to wonder if teams are waiting on these utility guys, but Gonzalez was thought to be a notch above the other utility players available, but he’s still unsigned. Sean Rodriguez is also available to fill that utility role for a team. Derek Dietrich cold also be an option as a utility player, but I’m not sure if he could handle playing shortstop regularly. All three of these guys could easily fit into any corner outfield spot as well; so they’re not just limited to being used in the infield.

Now there are quite a few outfielders that we can go through; so I think I’m going to save them for the Saturday blog and we’ll take a look at them then.

As for our football picks. I managed to be the only one to get both games right as I had the Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots to meet in the Super Bowl and they will after winning their Conference Championship games. Dan the Man, Schaumburg Stu and believe it or not Mr. Fantasy went 1-1 with their picks. That win by Mr. Fantasy stopped his eight game playoff losing streak.

Overall our playoff picks heading into the Super Bowl look like this. Dan the Man is 8-2, Schaumburg Stu and I are 6-4 while Mr. Fantasy is 1-9.

Now for our Super Bowl picks we not only pick who we thin will win the game, but also what the final score will be and who will win the MVP. I encourage everyone to not just pick the quarterback of the winning team as their MVP, but that is an obvious choice.

Feel free to make some picks with us. Just leave what you think is going to happen in the comment section.

Remember that you can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast live on BlogTallkRadio.com. If you miss the podcast live you can head over to TuneIn.com and listen to it any time you want to.

You can follow me on Twitter @Burketime

How was your week

Posted: January 19, 2019 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, football, NFL picks, post season, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized

With the existing roster they had and the additions they’ve ae this off season are the New York Yankees not only the favorite to win the American League East, but also the favorite to win the World Series?

The Yankees everyday line up didn’t need too many adjustments, The two biggest question where who’d be the everyday 1st baseman and how would the fill in for the injured Didi Gregorius. Gregorius is scheduled to return from Tommy John surgery by late July or possibly early August.

Right now it appears that Luke Voit will be given a chance t be the Yankees everyday 1st baseman. Voit has never had the chance to play on a full time basis at the major league level, but he played well for the Yankees after they acquired him from the St. Louis Cardinals on July 29th last season. Voit played in 39 games for the Yankees last season. He hit .333 with 14 home runs and 33 RBI’s. With those numbers it looks like Voit will go into the season as the Yankees 1st baseman.

At first it looked like the Yankees where going to go with oft injured Troy Tulowitzki at shortstop. I didn’t understand why everyone was so excited about Tulowitzki being the everyday shortstop, but I didn’t think that was the route the Yankees where going; so it was no surprise to me when the Yankees added free agent 2nd baseman DJ LeMahieu. Oddly there are people out there that think LeMahieu will become a utility infielder with the Yankees, but I believe that he’ll be the everyday 2nd baseman and Gleyber Torres will move over to shortstop.

LeMahieu is coming off a down year where he hit .276 with 15 home runs and 62 RBI’s in 128 games. While the 15 home runs was a career high for LeMahieu the 128 games is the lowest number of games he’s played since his first season with the Colorado Rockies in 2012. LeMahieu has won three Gold Gloves and was the National League batting champion in 2016 with a .348 average.

Now their will be people out thee who say that LeMahieu’s numbers where inflated by playing 81 games a year in Coors Field, but what about Tulowitzki. Since Tulowitzki was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays he’s hit .250. Don’t forget that Tulowitzki didn’t played a game last season and in 2017 he played in just 66 games. While Tulowitzki has an impressive resume; two Gold Gloves, two Silver Sluggers and four All-Star appearances. His Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers where won in 2010 and 11 and he hasn’t made an All-Star team since 2015. At one point Tulowtzki was one of the top players in baseball, but right now the Yankees would be better of with LeMahieu playing everyday and Tulowitzki being the utility player.

Could their be some at bats for Tulowitzki as a 1st baseman?

As for Torres; he played 21 games at shortstop as a rookie last season, but through his minor league career he played 321 games at shortstop through 5 minor league seasons. Torres will have to prove that he can played quality defense at shortstop I the big leagues. Last season he committed 5 errors in his 21 games at the position. With some regular playing time at the position he should settle in.

While the Yankees didn’t have too may questions in their everyday line up they had some decisions to make in their starting rotation and bullpen.

The Yankees address the starting rotation by making a trade with the Seattle Mariners for James Paxson. Then the Yankees resigned J.A. Happ who they acquired from the Blue Jays last July. Then to round out the rotation the Yankees brought back veteran C.C. Sabathia for one more season.

Paxson has had some health issues through his career, but last season he made a career high 28 starts. Paxson also pitched a career high 160 1/3rd innings last season. Happ made 11 starts for the Yankees after the acquired him. He went 7-0 with an ERA of 2.69. Sabathia also had a solid 2018 season. He was 9-7 with a 3.65 ERA in 29 starts.

Adding Paxson, Happ and Sabathia to Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino should give the Yankees one of the better rotation in baseball.

In the bullpen the Yankees appeared to be in a good position with Aroldis Chapman closing and Dellin Betances as the main set up guy, but they added a couple of quality pitchers to the mix.

The Yankees acquired Zach Britton from the Baltimore Orioles in July of last season and while Britton hasn’t quite found the form he had in 2016 when he was the best closer in baseball he did post a 2.88 ERA with 3 saves in 25 games for the Yankees last season. The Yankees resigned Britton where he’ll be the main left handed set up man for Chapman and if he’s need can close games as well.

Just bringing Britton back gives the Yankees a big three in the bullpen that most teams covet, but they went a step further and added another big arm to that bullpen.

Earlier this week the Yankees added free agent right hander Adam Ottavino to their bullpen. Ottavino was one of the top free agent relievers on the free agent market and now he’s part of the Yankees bullpen. Ottavino appeared in 75 games for the Colorado Rockies last season. He was 6-4 with a 2.43 ERA, but the stat that stands out for Ottavino is his strikeouts per 9 innings ratio which was 13 last season.

It looks like Chad Green who was 8-3 with a 2.50 ERA in 63 games last season and the hard throwing Tommy Kahnle who was 2-0 with a rough 6.56 ERA in 24 games last season will also be part of the Yankees bullpen.

There is one more bullpen spot to fill and barring a trade it look like Sonny Gray will be the final piece in the Yankees bullpen. If Gray is traded and there are three or four teams interested in him the final spot in the Yankees Bullpen could go to Jonathan Holder. Holder pitched in 60 games last season; he went 1-3 with an ERA of 3.14.

Do you think that these moves make the Yankees the team to beat coming into the 2019 season?

The NFL Conference Championships are tomorrow and I didn’t want to forget to give you are picks. As always I don’t have Mr. Fantasy’s picks as he likes to wait until the last minute to make them.

The NFC kicks off first with the Los Angeles Rams at the New Orleans Saints. Dan the Man and I are taking the Rams while Schaumburg Stu is going with the Saints. In the AFC the New England Patriots are at the Kansas City Chiefs. In this one Schaumburg Stu and I are taking the Patriots while Dan the Man is going with the Chiefs. Feel free to leave your picks in the comments.

Now the Sports Time Radio podcast is going to be off the next two Sunday’s as Mr. Fantasy is in Disney World, but we’re still on Monday through Friday live on BlogTalkRadio.com. The podcast can also be heard on TuneIn.com.

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: January 16, 2019 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, football, post season, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized

Lebron James has now missed 11 games with a groin injury. It looks like he’ll be returning to the Los Angeles Lakers line up very soon, but is it too late?

The Lakers are 4-7 without James and they’ve lost some games to some teams that they where expected to beat even with James out injured.

The Lakers beat a bad Chicago Bulls team 107-100 last night, but their schedule is going to get much more difficult. The Lakers have road games against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets before heading home for three games against the Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns. While the Suns are at the Bottom of the Western Conference the Thunder, Rockets and Warriors are three of the top four teams in the Western Conference. The Timberwolves have a winning record since trading Jimmy Butler, but I’m not sold on them just yet.

If James has to sit out these five games; how many will the Lakers win? You’d have to think that they’d beat the 11-34 Suns without James, but would they win any of the other four games?

To wrap up January, the Lakers host the Philadelphia 76ers before being the road team against the Los Angeles Clippers. I’m not sure that counts as a road game, but it’s the Lakers turn to be the visitors in that series.

The Lakers are currently 24-21 and are tied with the Utah Jazz for the 8th and what would be the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. If they struggled through this next stretch of games or if James has to sit out there’s a chance that the Lakers could actually miss the playoffs this season.

The Western Conference is tough. While the Lakers and the Jazz are tied for that 8th spot the Sacramento Kings are just 1/2 game behind them. After the Kings the Timberwolves and the New Orleans Pelicans are 2 1/2games out of the 8th spot. The Dallas Mavericks roll in just 3 games out of the 8th spot and the Memphis Grizzlies are hanging around 4 games out of that final playoff spot. A losing streak of any length could easily drop one of these teams out of the playoff race.

How do you feel about the Lakers? Do you think they’ll end up hanging onto a playoff spot? Do you see them being on the outside looking in on the playoff this season?

Now I can’t be the only one who thought that the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs was hard to watch. Three of the four games where blowouts and it was difficult to stay interested in them. I was kind of surprised that those three games where so easily won.

The Indianapolis Colts where one of the hotter teams coming into the playoffs, but the Kansas City Chiefs made them look like they didn’t even belong in the playoffs. I know there are people out there who thought the Dallas Cowboys played a close game with the Los Angeles Rams and while the score might suggest that the outcome of the game was never in doubt. I understand that their where a lot of people hoping it might be the year for Phillip Rivers and the Los Angeles Chargers, but that ended quickly as the New England Patriots easily eliminated them from the playoffs.

To be fair I did have the Chiefs and the Patriots winning their games, but I thought that the Cowboys would be able to upset the Rams. When the Rams last faced a top defense in Week 14 they where manhandled by the Chicago Bears. Now the Cowboys have one of the best defenses in the NFL, but you wouldn’t have known that by the way they played. Both Todd Gurley (115) and C.J. Anderson (123) where the first set of teammates to rush for over 110 yards in a playoffs game which helped lead the Rams to a victory. It was a complete surprise to me that the Rams where able to just run the football pretty much at will against the Cowboys defense. You can tell me it was just an 8 point game, but honestly did you think the Cowboys had a chance to win that game?

Now it’s time to move on to the Conference finals and we have a set of rematch games.

In Week 9 the New Orleans Saints beat the Rams 45-35. This game just like the Conference final game will be in the Superdome. Now the Saints did lose two home games this season. Week 1 they got beat by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48-40 and then they dropped their Week 17 home game 33-14 against the Carolina Panthers, Now remember in that Wee17 game, the Saints sat most of their starters. Can the Rams go into New Orleans and get a win? Or will we get a repeat of Week 9?

Back in Week 6 of the NFL regular season the Patriots beat the Chiefs 43-40, but that game was played in Gillette Stadium while the Conference final the game will be played in Arrowhead Stadium as the Chiefs are the home team. It appears as though it’s going to be quite cold for this game and you have to wonder if this will affect either team. Do you think that the Patriots will be able to go on the road and repeat their Week 6 victory? Or do think the Chiefs get some revenge with a win at home?

As for our Divisional round picks. Schaumburg Stu went a perfect 4-0. Dan the Man and I both went 3-1 and believe it or not Mr. Fantasy picked every game wrong as he had another 0-4 week. Through the two playoff rounds Dan the Man is in the lead at 7-1. Schaumburg Stu and I are both sitting at 5-3. Now as hard as it might be to believe Mr. Fantasy is actually 0-8 through two weeks of playoff picks.

After making eight straight incorrect picks Mr. Fantasy went on vacation; so we won’t be broadcasting this Sunday. As for our Conference finals picks; I will post the ones I have in the Saturday blog. If you’d like to pick along with us feel free to leave your picks in the comment section.

Don’t forget that you can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast live on BlogTalkRadio.com, but don’t forget that the podcast is also available for you to listen to anytime you want at TuneIn.com.

Look me up on Twitter @Burketime

How was your week

Posted: January 12, 2019 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, football, NFL picks, post season, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized

Believe it or not we did make picks for the Divisional round NFL playoffs game and here’s what we’re going with.

The AFC starts off today’s playoff action as the Kansas City Chiefs are hosting the Indianapolis Colts. As I’m sure you’ve guessed I don’t have Mr. Fantasy’s game picks as he likes to wait until the last minute to make his, but Dan the Man, Schaumburg Stu and I have all taken the Chiefs to win this game.

The NFC gets to play in primetime again this weekend as the Dallas Cowboys are visiting the Los Angeles Rams in today’s late game. We do have a difference of opinion in this game as Dan the Man and Schaumburg Stu are taking the Rams to win wile I like the Cowboys to get the win here.

Now as for the Sunday games if you want to know who we’re picking tune in to Sports Time Radio tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. to find out. Mr. Fantasy and I will be broadcasting for to hours and we’ll not only let you know who we’re picking to win the Sunday games, but will break down the Saturday games as well as putting together a fantasy line up for the Sunday games as well.

You can listen to Sports Time Radio podcast live on BlogTalkRadio.com, but the podcast is also available for you to listen to any time you want at TuneIn.com.

I’m sure that Dan the Man is happy about this. Adrian Gonzalez is getting ready to put on a showcase for major league teams as he’s like to continue his baseball career. Gonzalez is 36 years old, but has been reported to be in “excellent shape” coming into his showcase. It hasn’t been reported how many teams might attend his showcase, but you have to think there’s a team out there looking to add a left handed bat to their bench.

For 13 seasons Gonzalez was one of the most consistent hitter in baseball, but after he was limited for just 71 games in 2017 he hasn’t been the same hitter.

Gonzalez hit .242 in his final season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. That off season the Dodgers traded him to the Atlanta Braves who released him. The New York Mets decided to bring Gonzalez as it appeared worth the risk as the Braves and the Dodgers where picking up his salary and the Mets where able to sign him for the league minimum.

Gonzalez struggled with the Mets though and after hitting .237 in 54 games with 6 home runs and 26 RBI’s he was released in released in June.

Even with two down years Gonzalez is still a career .287 hitter with 317 career home runs. In his career Gonzalez has won 4 Gold Gloves been to 5 All Star games and has won 2 Silver Slugger Awards. He has also finished in the Top 20 of he MVP voting 8 times with his best finish being in 2010 when he finished 4th as a member of the San Diego Padres.

Do you think that there’s a team out their who’ll sign Gonzalez after his showcase? If you do please let me know in the comments where you think he’ll end up signing.

So is Sonny Gray still going to be with the New York Yankees when the 2019 season opens? Or will they finally find a trade partner and deal him?

After Gray had some struggles last season Yankees General manager Brian Cashman came out and said that he wouldn’t be with the Yankees when the 2019 season came around.

Now the Yankees have added James Paxton to the rotation in a trade with the Seattle Mariners. They also resigned left handers C.C. Sabathia and J.A. Happ. Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino should round out the Yankees starting rotation, but yet Gray is still in Yankee pin strips.

Now in today’s game you almost need 6 or in some cases 7 starting pitchers and you wonder if that’s why the Yankees haven’t moved Gray yet.

Paxton is coming off of a career high 28 starts and 160 1/3rd innings last season. He has had his injury issues throughout his career; so it wouldn’t hurt to have an extra starter hanging around. Sabathia was just cleared to return to baseball activities and he is also 37 years old. Another reason to have another starter handy. Tanaka also seems to miss a start or two as the season moves along; so it would be nice to have a starter with a quality resume to fill in then.

Maybe injury concern is the reason that the Yankees still have Gray on their roster or it could be something as simple as they just haven’t found a deal that they like. Reports are that the Cincinnati reds and the Milwaukee Brewers are the top two teams interested in acquiring Gray; so there’s still a chance that he’ll be pitching somewhere else besides New York when the 2019 season starts.

While we’re talking about the Yankees it’s good to see that the people running the team are much, much smarter than the people reporting on the team.

I didn’t understand all of the excitement when the Yankees sign Troy Tulowitzki, but most if not everyone had him penciled in as the Yankees starting shortstop. Remember Tulowitzki didn’t play a game last season and played in just 66 games in 2017. Tulowitzki has also seen his batting average drop in his final two seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays. In 2016 Tulowitzki hit .254, but everyone will over look that since he hit 24 home runs, but in 2017 Tulowitzki hit .239, but with just 7 home runs.

After looking at Tulowitzki’s declining numbers and his injury history I couldn’t figure out why everyone thought that he’d be the full time replacement for the Yankees at shortstop until Didi Gregorius came back from injury. Gregorius probably won’t be back until at least July or possibly August. Gregorius is coming back from Tommy John surgery and you have to wonder if it will take him a little time after coming back to be able to make the throw from shortstop to 1st base.

It seems like the Yankees may have agreed with me as hey signed DJ LeMahieu yesterday to a two year $24 million dollar deal. It appears as though LeMahieu will be the Yankees starting 2nd baseman and Gleybar Torres will move over to shortstop; a position he played coming up though the minor leagues.

So now you’re asking; where does that leave Tulowitzki? How about a move to 1st base. It appears that the Yankees are ready to move on from former top prospect Greg Bird; since he can’t stay healthy and while Luke Voit did a nice job for them last season he a bit of a mystery. At 34 years old and with hi injury history a move to 1st base might be just what Tulowitzki needs. He could also spell the other infielder if and when they need days off.

What do you have the Yankees infield looking like when the 2019 season opens?

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: January 9, 2019 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, football, post season, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized

Dan the Man was the only one who was able to come out over .500 for our wild card weekend picks. He led the way getting three of the four games correct. I managed to go 2-2 over the weekend while Schaumburg Stu went 1-3. Mr. Fantasy did something that no one has ever done since we started doing picks; he got all of his wrong a he was 0-4 for the wild card weekend.

This week is the divisional round and the schedule is set up jut like it was for the wild card weekend. That means we’re going to get two games on Saturday and then two games on Sunday.

The divisional round opens with the Indianapolis Colts visiting the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs where the #1 overall seed in the AFC; so they’ll be at home as long as they’re in the playoffs. The Colts where actually the last team to get into the playoffs on the AFC side, but they beat the Houston Texans last Saturday t advance to the divisional round. This game has a 3:35 p.m. cst schedule start time.

The second game on Saturday has a schedule start time of 7:15 p.m. cst has the Los Angeles Rams hosting the Dallas Cowboys. The Rams are the #2 seed in the AFC; so they get to be at home for this game. The Cowboys beat the Seattle Seahawks in the wild card round to advance to this game. Even though the Cowboys where a division winner they’d need some help to get another home game.

Sunday’s schedule kicks off at 12:05 p.m. cst with the New England Patriots hosting the Los Angeles Chargers. The Patriots where the AFC’s #2 seed; so they get to host this game. The Chargers made the playoffs as a wild card team even though they had a better record than two of the division winners. The Chargers did beat a division winner the Baltimore Ravens to get to this game.

The divisional round wraps up with the New Orleans saints hosting the Philadelphia Eagles. The Saints are the #1 seed in the NFC; so they’ll get to stay at home as long as they’re in the playoffs. The Eagles are the defending Super Bowl champions, but they may have pulled off the biggest upset in the wild card round to get here by beating the Chicago Bears. The Eagles got in as the final wild card team and will have to see if they can pull off another upset.

I’ll reveal the picks we made for the Saturday games in that blog, but if you want to find out ho we’re pick for the Sunday games you’ll have to listen to the Sunday edition of Sports Time Radio. Now you can listen to that and all the Sports Time Radio Podcast on BlogTalkRadio.com. the podcast are also available for you to listen to at TuneIn.com as well.

After the way the Bears lost their playoff game to the Eagles there’s one question that’s going to asked all off season. Will Cody Parkey be the Bears kicker next season?

Parkey made 23 of the 30 field goals he attempted during the regular season. He made 42 of his 45 attempted extra points during the regular season.

Against the Eagles in the wild card round Parkey did make three of the four field goals he tried. Of course the miss he had in that game was the biggest miss of the Bears season. I don’t believe I’ve mentioned that after reviewing the replay of the game winning field goal of Parkey’s that hit the goal post he football was actually tipped by an Eagles lineman.

Now the initial reaction of Bears fans after the missed field goal was to run Parkey out of ton, but that may be easier said the done. When the Bears signed Parkey in march of 2018 they gave him a four year deal worth $9 million dollars; so obviously he has three years left on his contract. That means if the Bears do decided to part ways with Parkey there would be salary cap implications that they’d have to deal with.

Parkey is due to make a little over $4 million dollars next season. If the Bears where to release him the salary cap hit would be $4,062,500 and they’d need $5,187,500 in dead cap space to make the move. That’s a lot of money attached to a kicker for a team to release him; so don’t be surprised if Parkey is the Bears kicker next season.

The Chicago White Sox have made a couple of free agent signings this week and one of them is drawing a lot of attention because of what people are trying to link it to.

Kelvin Herrera was the first signing as the White Sox signed him to a two year $18 million dollar deal with an option for a 3rd year.

Herrera spent 8 years with the Kansas City Royals before he was traded to the Washington Nationals last season. Herrera has spent time as a closer and a set up man and right now it’s unclear what role the White Sox will use him in.

Now the other signing the White Sox made was outfielder Jon Jay to a 1 year $4 million dollar deal pending a physical.

Now this is the signing that has everyone talking and it’s not because of Jay, but because of who he’s friends with. Jay is close friends with Manny Machado who the White Sox made a formal offer to last week, Remember that earlier this off season the White Sox acquired Yander Alonso from the Cleveland Indians who just happens to be Machado’s brother in-law. There’s a lot of talk that the White Sox have no stacked the deck to get Machado to sign with them, but will he?

Now if Machado signs with the White Sox it would be for multiple years; possibly as many as 10 years. Alonso and Jay are just signed with the White Sox for this season. Would the White Sox have to continue to re-sign Alonso and Jay? Or would they be able to let them walk away once they had Machado under contract?

How was your week

Posted: January 5, 2019 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, football, NFL picks, post season, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized

We’ve got two NFL playoff games today to kickoff wild card weekend. Now when we get playoff games on Saturday we get different start times.

The first game is the Indianapolis Colts at the Houston Texans with a scheduled start time of 3:35 p.m. cst. I’m still waiting to see who Dan the Man and Mr. Fantasy are picking to win this game, but I can tell you that Schaumburg Stu and I are on opposite sides of this game. Schaumburg Stu is going with the Texans while I have the Colts.

The second game today is scheduled for primetime as it has a 7:15 p.m. cst start time and it features the Dallas Cowboys hosting the Seattle Seahawks. Just like the first game I have no idea who Dan the Man or Mr. Fantasy will end up picking, but Schaumburg Stu and I went the opposite way on this game as well. Schaumburg Stu has the Cowboys winning this game while I have the Seahawks moving into the next round.

The Sunday games have start times closer to what we’re use to for Sunday NFL games. The first game has the Baltimore Ravens hosting the Los Angeles Chargers. This game has a scheduled start time of 12:05 p.m. cst. The second wild card game on Sunday has the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles visiting the Chicago Bears. this game is scheduled to start at 3:40 p.m. cst.

Now I do have Schaumburg Stu and my picks for these two games, but if you want to know who we’re picking and hopefully find out who Dan the Man and Mr. Fantasy not only picked for Saturday’s games, but who they’re picking in Sunday’s two games you’ll have to tune in to the Sunday morning edition of Sports Time Radio.

The Sports Time Radio podcast airs live from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. cst on Sunday’s through that BlogTalkRadio.com. website. If you miss the podcast live you can head over to TuneIn.com and listen to the podcast any time you’d like.

While the Philadelphia Phillies where one of the teams interested in signing Bryce Harper or Manny Machado they had some other issues to address; one of them being their bullpen. the Phillies address the back end of their bullpen when they signed David Robertson to a two year $23 million dollar deal.

Robertson spent last season as a set up man for the New York Yankees, but does have closing experience. Robertson closed for the Yankees in 2014 and recorded 39 saves. He signed with the Chicago White Sox after that season and posted 34 saves in 2015 and 37 saves in 2016. He had 13 saves with the White Sox in 2017 before they dealt him back to the Yankees.

With Robertson holding down the closer role it allows the Phillies to move future closer SerAnthony Dominquez into a set up role. Dominguez will also have the opportunity to learn from the veteran Robertson. Dominguez will also be the guy the Phillies call on if Robertson is unavailable.

Behind Robertson and Dominguez the Phillies have a veteran core of set up men to get them game to their big relievers. Pat Nesek and Tommy Hunter return from last season. The Phillies added Juan Nicasio in a trade with the Seattle Mariners and left-hander Jose Alvarez in a trade with the Los Angeles Angels. It appears as the bullpen will round out with former closer Hector Neris and former starter Adam Morgan.

I know the Phillies came into this off season with the intention of landing Harper, Machado or possibly both, but if neither player ends up wearing a Philadelphia uniform coming into the 2019 season they’ve still had quality off season.

Besides the additions to the bullpen the Phillies added Andrew McCutchen via free agency. Jean Segura was the main player in that trade with the Mariners that brought Nicasio over.

If the Phillies don’t end up signing Harper or Machado, but say they add a top starting pitcher like Dallas Keuchel would their fans look at it as a good off season or would the disappointment of not landing one of the big two free agent prizes override the signings they made?

I’m not sure if I mentioned this before, but I am incredibly tired of all of the Harper and Machado talk. Even though it was reported that Machado got a formal offer from the Chicago White Sox I doubt that either of these guys will sign a contract until February. You know that both of these guys agents wants to have their guy sign last; so unless a team just blows one of these guys minds with an offer don’t expect either of them to be signing soon. It’s also been reported that Harper’s agent Scott Boras wants to set a record with Harper’s contract. Now I’m not sure if that means he’s looking for a deal bigger than the one Giancarlo Stanton signed with the Miami Marlins or if he wants Harper to have the highest salary per season which Zach Greinke currently s at $34 million a season.

I am interested to see if either guy would be willing to sign with a team that is still rebuilding and isn’t ready to win. The White Sox fit into that mode and it would be interesting to see if he’d take that offer. There are some other teams that are in the same spot as the White Sox who’s names have came up as being interested in signing Harper or Machado.

Could you see Harper or Machado signing with a team like the San Diego Padres or San Francisco Giants? These are two of the teams that have come up with some interest in trying to sign one of these two guys. The address seem like they’ve been rebuilding for a very long period of time and it appears as though the Giants where getting ready t start a rebuild.

I know the New York Mets have been mentioned as interested in Harper, but I’m not sure that I’d call them a rebuilding team with the starting pitching staff they have. Unless the Mets decided that they’re going to deal a starting pitcher or two I don’t think you can call them rebuilding. Just about any of the Mets starters can shut a team out in any given game.

Do you have a landing spot for Harper or Machado? If so let me know where you think they’ll sign in the comment section.

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: January 2, 2019 by Sports Time Radio in football, post season, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized

The NFL regular season wrapped up on Sunday; so everything is all set for the playoffs. There are four games this week in the wild card round with two games on Saturday and two games on Sunday. Let’s see who’s playing when and against who.

The wild card round opens up on Saturday afternoon with the Houston Texans hosting the Indianapolis Colts.

The Texans got into the playoffs by winning the AFC South with a record of 11-5. Indianapolis got into the playoffs by winning their win and our in game against the Tennessee Titans last Sunday night.

Since these teams are in the same division they have already faced off against each other twice this season. In Week 4 the Texans beat the Colts 37-34 I Indianapolis, but the Colts got their win back in Week 14 24-21 in Houston. Can the road team keep winning games or will the home team pick up a playoff win?

The playoff move into the NFC for the second game on Saturday as the Dallas Cowboys host the Seattle Seahawks.

Dallas won the NFC East with a record of 10-6 while the Seahawks also had a 10-6 record and claimed the first wild card spot.

Seattle picked up it’s first win of the season in Week 3 by beating the Cowboys 24-13. That Week 3 match up was played in Seattle; so will have to see if the outcome of this game is different with Dallas as the home team.

On Sunday we move back into the AFC for the first game of the day as the Baltimore Ravens host the Los Angeles Chargers.

Baltimore took care of their own business on Sunday beating the Cleveland Browns to win the AFC North and get into the playoffs and the right to host Los Angeles in the wild card round. Now the Chargers on the other hand clinched a playoff spot a few weeks ago, but even with a 12-4 record Los Angeles had to settle for a wild card spot.

These teams just met a few weeks ago in Week 16. Baltimore won that match up 22-10 in Baltimore. Interestingly Lamar Jackson threw for more yards against the Chargers 204 than he did against any other team in his seven starts.

Can the Ravens defend their home field again or will the Chargers find a way to advance into the second round.

The wild card round wraps up with the NFC North champion Chicago Bears hosting the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

This is the only game in the wild card that features two teams that didn’t face each other during the regular season.

The Bears where a surprise team this season posting a 12-4 record and featuring the #1 defense in the NFL. The Eagles on the other hand had their struggles this season and needed some help to get into the playoffs. Oddly that help came from the Bears who beat the Minnesota Vikings in Week 17 to allow Philadelphia to get into the playoffs by beating the Washington Redskins 24-0 in Week 17.

The Eagles have been playing better football as they’ve won 5 of the final 6 regular season game and are on a 3 game winning streak heading into the playoffs. Now the Bears may be the hottest team in football coming into the playoffs. Chicago has won 9 of it’s final 10 regular season games. That only loss was in overtime to the New York Giants in Week 13. That puts the Bears on a 4 game winning streak heading into the wild card round.

Who do you have winning these four Saturday playoff games? Even though there are two games on Saturday you’ll have to wait until Sunday to find out who myself, Dan the Man, Schaumburg Stu and Mr. Fantasy picked to win those Saturday games. Tune into Sports Time Radio at 10:00 a.m. as Mr. Fantasy and I will breakdown the Saturday games and preview the Sunday games. You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast live on BlogTalkRadio.com, but if you mi it live you can head over to TuneIn.com and listen any time you want.

While we’re on the NFL in have to wonder if there is a team in more turmoil than the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Steelers where 9-6-1 this season and just missed out on making the playoffs, but they had a strange season.

It all started out for the Steelers when Le’Von Bell didn’t report to training camp. From then on there was a week to week saga on if Bell would be showing up or not. As we know Bel never did end up playing a down this season, but James Connor did a solid job of filling in for Bell. Of course the Le’Von Bell drama wasn’t the only thing that the Steelers had to deal with.

Heading into the final week of the season wide receiver Antonio Brown was questionable on the injury report with a knee injury. Apparently this knee injury had never came up before, but it ended up keeping Brown out of the Steelers Week 17 match up with the Cincinnati Bengals.

As it turned out like it always seems to with Brown there was more to the story. Reports came out that he wasn’t hurt, but was being disciplined for his behavior. Then it was reported that he left the stadium at halftime of the Steelers/Bengals game. Adding to things the Steelers had what they call exit meetings on Monday after the game against the Bengals since they missed out on the playoffs. I’m sure you can make just one guess on who was the only player not to show up for those interviews; you nailed it Brown. No there are new reports out that brown has asked for a trade, but those have been denied by Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.

Brown is still one of the top receivers in the game, but you have to wonder if the locker room would be a better place without him. Of course his production would be difficult to replace on a team that already has to make sure that they’ll be able to replace Bell next season.

If your the Steelers; what do you do with Antonio Brown?

How was your week

Posted: December 29, 2018 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, football, post season, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized

It’s the final week of the regular season in the NFL and there are some games that actually mean something. Let’s see if we can find them.

The Baltimore Ravens control their own destiny in the AFC North. All the Ravens have to do is beat the Cleveland Browns and they’ll win the division and go into the playoffs as a 4th seed. If the Ravens lose they can still win the division if the Cincinnati Bengals can beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now if the Steelers win and the Ravens lose it will be the Steelers that win the division and head into the playoffs. There’s no fallback wild card spot for ether of these teams. One of them will win the division and head into the playoffs while the other one heads into their off season.

Over in the NFC all of the divisions are locked up, but there is still one wild card spot up for grabs. The Minnesota Vikings currently hold that last playoff spot and if the beat the Chicago Bears on Sunday they’ll take that last wild card spot. Now if the Vikings lose that opens the door for the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles to find their way into a wild card spot. The Eagles will need that Vikings loss and then they have to beat the Washington Redskins to get into the playoffs.

Now don’t think that the Bears aren’t playing for anything in their game against the Vikings. If Chicago beats Minnesota and the Los Angeles Rams lose their game to the San Francisco 49ers the Bears would be the #2 seed in the NFC and get a 1st round bye.

There is one more win and they’re in scenario and it’s for the final AFC wild card spot. The final game of Week 17 on Sunday night features the Indianapolis Colts at the Tennessee Titans. Both teams are 9-6 heading into this game and it’s a pretty plain and simple set up on who gets into the playoffs. Win the game and you’re in the playoffs; that’s it.

If you’re looking to put a wager on the game Indianapolis is currently a 3 point favorite with the over/under for the game being 43.5 points.

The biggest question heading into the Sunday night game is who will be the Titans quarterback. Marcus Mariota is listed as questionable for the game after suffering what was reported as a “stinger” in Tennessee’s Week 16 win over the Redskins. Mariota missed practice on Wednesday and was limited in practice on both Thursday and Friday as he was still bothered by his neck. Mariota is also dealing with a foot injury. Titans head coach Mike Vrabel mentioned that there’s a chance that Tennessee will have not only Blaine Gabbert active, but possible Austin Davis as well. This was if there is an issue with Mariota the Titans would have a back up for Gabbert. I’m sure that Mariota will be a game time decision; so you’ll have to keep an eye on the Titans quarterback situation.

There are a couple of other injuries that could affect this win and your in game. Titans pass rusher Brian Orakpo has been ruled out due to an elbow injury while Indianapolis’ two top receivers are listed as questionable for this game. T.Y. Hilton is dealing with a ankle injury and Eric Ebron is recovering from a knee injury and a concussion.

Hilton is the Colts leading receiver with 74 receptions and 1209 yards. Ebron is right behind Hilton in both of those categories with 62 receptions and 690 yards. Ebron has caught 12 touchdowns this season while Hilton has grabbed 6. Hilton has been playing through his injury for a few weeks now and you’d have to think in an all or nothing type of game he’ll attempt to play again. Ebron was forced out of the Colts Week 16 game against the New York Giants with his injuries and it hasn’t been reported if he has cleared concussion protocol.

There is one more Tennessee injury that hasn’t gotten a lot of attention. Titans top receiver Corey Davis has been dealing with a hamstring injury. Davis leads the Titans in receptions (60) yards (843) and receiving touchdowns (4). Davis has a total of 17 receptions since Week 10 and it’s unknown what his status for Sunday nights game is.

Who do you think wins the Colts/Titans match up? If you want to know who we’re picking to win this game tune in to the Sports Time Radio podcast tomorrow (Sunday) morning at 10:00 a.m. cst to find out who Mr. Fantasy, Schaumburg Stu, Dan the Man and I and picking to in not only this game, but all of the Week 17 games.

Sports Time Radio is live on BlogTalkRadio.com, but if you don’t catch the podcast live it is also available for you to listen to whenever you want at TuneIn.com. Listen and find out how we do.

Now there have been a lot of signings in Major League Baseball so far this off season, but the two guys Bryce Harper and Manny Machado that everyone is waiting to sign still haven’t and I’m not surprised by that at all.

With Harper being represented by Scott Boras you had to know that his signing would be one of the last one made. This seems to be how Boras handles his clients even if it hurts them in the first year of their contract; see Jake Arrieta. I honestly believe that even if Harper knew where he was going to sign and had a contract in place that Boras wouldn’t let him announce it until a week before spring training was to start.

As for Machado I’m sure that he’d like to see Harper sign first; so his agent could compare salaries, but I don’t think that will happen. There seem to be lot better fits with teams for Machado than there are for Harper; so if Machado gets a contract offer he likes from a team that he wants to play for he should sign. I fully expect Machado to sign before Harper, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

I you’re on Twitter feel free to follow me @Burketime

Sports Time Radio