Mixed Bag Thursday

 I think I am going to do one of these every week, at least during this period of a bunch of sports overlapping. There's many days where I have some small thoughts so why not just combine them all into one big post. I flipped and flopped through 3 games last night, and even though the Raptors were playing the freaking Charlotte Hornets in game 80, it was one of the 3 and I actually have a takeaway from it. We got some Jays and a little bit of NBA soap opera content as well, lets get into it. 

Pitching and Defense

I am not sure why this year's Jays team feels different to me, it's a similar formula to last season where they rely heavily on pitching and defense to support a below average offense. This year though, I feel like they might have an ever so slightly better offense which might just be enough considering their pitching and defense got even better. Last night Kevin Gausman completed 8 innings of 1 run baseball, which was awesome. Unfortunately the Jays could only muster 1 run as well leaving Gausman's gem with a no decision. Hoffman came in for the 9th inning to face the heart of the Red Sox order and shut them down on 7 pitches. The game went to extras, the Jays weren't able to score in the first inning which with the new runner on second base rule usually spells death for the road team. This time though, Hoffman came back out for the 10th and masterfully got out of the jam unscathed making room for the Jays to do some damage in the 11th. In the 11th the Jays moved the runner from 2nd to 3rd, Bo hit a sacrifice fly to score the go ahead run and the Jays went into the bottom of the 11th up 1. This is where it got dicey for me, Yimi Garcia wasn't available out of the pen, Hoffman had just gone 2 innings already, so it was Nick Sandlin called upon to get the save. Maybe I underrated the bullpen coming into the season because Sandlin did exactly what you would want, he struck out a pair and got out of the inning with no runs allowed, Jays win. 

This was a good example of how pitching and defense can keep you in any game. I also wanted to point out, I did not realize that Aroldis Chapman was still playing and that he was on the Red Sox. I also did not realize that he still throws absolute gas at age 37, never seen anything like that. Chapman came into the game for the Red Sox in the 9th inning on a cold night in Boston and threw multiple pitches that touched 101-103 MPH, insane stuff. I can't imagine trying to hit a 103 MPH fast ball when it's 0 degrees outside, I can't imagine trying to hit one when it's 23 degrees outside either, but still. Good win for the Jays who now have a chance to sweep the Red Sox in a 4 game series today. 

Mogbo Triple Double

Ok even I am not sick enough to lock in fully to the Raptors vs Hornets game 80, but I did watch a bit of it and came away pleased to see Jonathan Mogbo become the first rookie this season to record a triple double. Now you have to caveat things by saying the Hornets were starting Jusuf Nurkic and a bunch of guys most NBA fans have never heard of, but still a triple double is a triple double. Mogbo is such an intriguing prospect for the future of the team, it's clear he has skill in every aspect of basketball outside of scoring. Will he stick around in the league without developing some kind of scoring touch? Probably not, but he'll always have an NBA triple double to brag about and that's not nothing. It was really fun to see the Raptors' bench reaction when he got his 10th rebound, the vibes on this team can never be questioned. Mogbo became the first Raptors rookie with a triple double since Damon Stoudemire, the first ever Raptors rookie. Literally nothing else from this game is worth discussing for even a second, but congrats Mogbo!

Luka Returns to Dallas

I often talk about how much I hate the soap opera elements of NBA coverage and how in your face it's become now, but this is one for the ages. The Mavericks started the game with a tribute video for Luka which got the fans, and Luka, extra emotional for the start of the game. Throughout the game FIRE NICO chants were roaring throughout the entire stadium as Luka diced the Mavericks up for 45 points. The ESPN broadcast continuously zoomed in on Nico Harrison's face in the crowd, really playing up the drama of it all. I don't really have much to say about all of this other than it's pretty peak entertainment. This is literally the type of drama that plays out on a soap opera which is the NBA's dream come true these days. I am nearly certain we won't see another trade like this again in our lifetime, perennial MVP candidate in his prime being blindsided by a trade and fat shamed on the way out, you couldn't script this stuff. 

And that's that, pretty quick one today but I like these mixed bags and I think I'm going to keep them around for at least 1 post per week. Playoff basketball and hockey both start next week (I think), this is arguably the best time in sports. I'll be here for all of it! I will probably cover some Leafs as a SUPER casual fan who will shamelessly jump on the bandwagon if they win and be a hater if they lose. I'll also not be able to help myself from watching all the basketball every night and I guarantee some posts will come from that too. Lots to look forward to! Go Jays!