Random Thoughts Tuesday

 By now in the Summer time I pretty much think of a good idea over the weekend, blow it on Monday and am left grasping for something by Tuesday. Which does lead me to just catching up on some odds and ends that I have kicking around in my head. Covering multiple sports today lets just dive in. 

Someone Please Sign Chris Boucher

By the end of last season, it was clear that Chris Boucher's time with the Raptors was most likely coming to an end. At 31 he was too old to "develop" with the young guys, and too good to put on the floor when the team was actively trying to lose games. Don't get me started on tanking again, this isn't about that. As a result, I feel really bad for Chris! He's a good player who can help teams in the regular season, especially in like an 11th man capacity. The big gripe with Chris in years past was that he wasn't a very smart player. He'd bite on every pump fake and shoot it every chance he got. This past season, Boucher really reeled a lot of that in, and when he got the chance to play he was an effective player. His weaknesses are still the same, he's still more likely to shoot than keep the ball moving and he's slight of frame making it hard to play him at center despite his offensive game playing there. Still though, every time Chris Boucher touches the floor he brings 100% effort. He crashes the glass and is a great offensive rebounder, he's a streaky but willing shooter and he's sneakily really good finishing under the basket. He's the type of player that you dust off when your team is looking lethargic because he instantly provides a jolt of energy. In the Raptors system, bigs are required to pass and make decisions, this isn't where Boucher thrives. I just hate that they stapled him to the bench for the last quarter of the season in a contract year where he couldn't showcase his skills to a team that values him. I've always thought Boucher would fit great on a team like the Nuggets with a great playmaker to set him up for finishes. He'd also look good on the Lakers as an energy option at the 4, a position they're lacking. The Knicks only have 12 guys on their roster and need to fill that out, I could see him working there adding to their bench depth as well. Anyway, no real thoughts here other than this is sad, someone pick up my boy Boucher he's a good player!!

9/9

A cool little piece of history happened in an otherwise miserable Jays game last night. Bo Bichette went 5/5 in the final game against the tigers, another pretty miserable game. In the second inning of this one he golfed a curveball that was almost in the dirt, right off the end of his bat into the outfield for a single. Up again in the 3rd Bo followed a Vladdy bomb with another single off the end of his bat just poked into right field. In the 5th Bo hit the softest looper you'll ever see that just barely snuck over the short stop's glove into centerfield for a single to tie the Jays record for consecutive hits with 8. In the 7th he hit a groundball to the shortstop that took a funky bounce and just barely hit off the glove to get into left field for his 9th straight hit. What I found amazing about this Jays record is that at least in this game, none of his 4 hits were hit very hard at all. He pretty much blooped and looped his way into 9 consecutive hits and I think that's pretty cool. 

*Quick edit, just as I'm watching the game in the office. Bo just got another hit where he hit a popup a mile high to the second baseman that was missed without touching a glove, which is a hit not an error. Amazing, when you're hot you're hot.  

Gambling in Sports

I don't know, this is a big topic and maybe I'm not the one to comment on it, but more and more players across the leagues that I love are getting investigated for betting against their own performances and so buried in the 3rd topic of my random thoughts Tuesday I am going to complain. I do feel for a lot of these athletes getting caught. On one hand, it's stupid, you make millions doing a job a ton of kids grow up dreaming about, why risk it all for a little extra action? On the other though we've normalized betting on sports to the point where a ton of people can't watch a game without putting some money down. I get that I am a weird exception in that I get emotionally invested in my teams even though they have no actual impact on my life or well being, but is love of the game not enough anymore? Commercials during every break in play are focused on how much fun it would be to bet on the game. They've made the apps accessible to all and addictive to look at. I've even met with companies that want to show the game on their app and have pop up prop bets throughout. It's to the point where it feels more like a phone game than it does gambling with your real money. In this kind of environment, of course some players are going to get caught up in it. I'm all for freedom to do what you want, but maybe gambling is something that shouldn't be so promoted. There will always be people who want to do it and I don't think that's wrong, but we're creating a culture where people think it's just what you do. This isn't some grand opinion that's novel or anything I just figured with the Emmanuel Clase news this week that I should finally complain a little. 

That's all! Double header today so hopefully they give me lots to talk about tomorrow, it's dry in the summer jheeze!