Not too long ago I was praising Joe Dumars for recognizing his team wasn’t good enough to beat the elite teams in the East and that he needed to change it up. What I didn’t envision was him using the available cash he freed up under the salary cap to spend on Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva. By most accounts, the Pistons have agreed on a five-year $55 million deal with Ben Gordon, and a five-year $35 or $40 million deal with Villanueva (there are differing reports).

Maybe it’s just because I’m not a Ben Gordon guy that I don’t like what Detroit’s doing, or maybe it’s because they spent $10 million a season on a sixth man who’s a gunner and not a ball-handler and doesn’t play much defense. Maybe it’s because I prefer Rip Hamilton and can’t envision them paying Gordon $10 mil per and telling him he’s coming off the bench meaning Rip’s probably gone. Now Villanueva’s a decent deal because he can score and board and he comes at a reasonable price as a Rasheed Wallace replacement. The thing I’m missing is the size issue. Where’s their inside presence? Don’t they need one? Maybe I should be patient to see what they add next year before I completely judge because this has to be a work in progress.

The Pistons coaching situation also needs to be determined. They took way too long to fire Michael Curry. It seemed pretty obvious that his decision-making skills were lacking when he kept Iverson in the starting lineup and brought Rip off the bench for as long as he did. I know they’re recruiting Avery Johnson and I like him as a coach, but I just can’t imagine the new personnel really buying into Avery’s defensive mindset. I don’t see that as a great fit. They need to get tougher inside and Dumars has to recognize that. At this point, they remain a non-factor in the East.

Craig Robinson led Oregon State to an impressive turnaround season this past year. The team went 18-18 and 7-11 in conference play which was quite an improvement from their hideous 6-25 and 0-18 showing the previous year. With many head coaching openings out there, his name was tossed around, but never seriously considered for the major jobs such as Arizona, Memphis, or Kentucky. Outside of a few years at Brown, he only has the one season of experience at Oregon State. But a few more steps in the right direction and you never know what might happen. Robinson’s brother-in-law, President Obama has the same mentality and has already put Oregon State on notice:

“Craig Robinson is an outstanding coach. I think he’s shown that. I’m just stating facts. Anybody in Oregon and anybody who knows sports knows he turned it around. He loves Corvallis and I’m sure that as a young, successful coach he’s going to start getting offers.”

In these times when schools and fans grow unsatisfied quickly, it wouldn’t be surprising to see someone act fast in hiring Robinson, especially if he has another good season at OSU. With President Obama on his side, imagine the type of pull he’d have in recruiting. Who would turn him down? About the only limitation would be the Ivy League mentality he has and the Princeton Offense, which isn’t exactly designed for elite talent, so maybe he’d have to consider a new system. And you know whoever does get him will be praying for reelection.

I really don’t understand what the appeal is with being an agent. Sure, you get a percentage of a multi-million dollar contract, but you also come out looking like the jerk. Take baseball’s version of the devil, or Scott Boras if you will. The guy wanted to use Jorge Posada’s contract as a baseline for Jason Varitek’s new deal, and that for a catcher who barely hit a C minus GPA. Well Trevor Ariza’s agent’s comments regarding the Lakers’ negotiations with the free agent were quite humorous:

In particular, Ariza and his agent weren’t thrilled by the Lakers’ annual offer of $5.6 million over an unspecified number of years. Ariza, 24, was hoping for $7 million to $8 million a year.
…
“All we’re looking for is little appreciation for what Trevor has done,” Lee said Wednesday. “I don’t think they believe Trevor is serious about leaving, and that’s too bad. I didn’t think we’d be in this situation. I am disappointed and surprised by what I thought would be some feelings for the people who have given you everything they’ve got.”

Don’t even get me started on a team that ends up paying 7 or 8 million a year for a guy who’s nice defensively and at-best a fourth option on offense because he just developed an outside shot. Yes Ariza was a valuable piece in the Lakers winning the championship but 7 or 8 million? That’s a little much, wouldn’t you say? Given the climate of contracts, I’d say the mid-level exception is more than a fair offer showing plenty of appreciation. And last I checked, a good starting point was for the player to average more points per game than money he’s requesting in salary per year … just saying.

The Orioles/Red Sox series was pretty noteworthy for several reasons. On Tuesday night, Boston blew a 10-1 lead and lost 11-10, giving Baltimore its biggest comeback ever. The very next day, the Red Sox responded by coming back from down 5-1 in the 9th with four runs to tie it and send it to extras where they won it in the 11th, 6-5. One significant aspect of the comeback win on Wednesday was that they essentially did it without Jason Bay. The Red Sox left fielder and AL RBI leader went 0-for-5 with five strikeouts in the 11-inning game.

Bay punched out his first two times looking and then he went down hacking his next three times. The bright side for the guy is that he wasn’t exactly a rally killer despite his ofer — he only left one man on base. Bay really struggled in the series against Baltimore going 0-for-15 with nine strikeouts. Let’s just hope he doesn’t get heckled after this one like the most recent Platinum Sombrero victim, Alex Rios. He should also be happy his teammates are there to pick him up when he’s not producing — taking two of three despite that crappy series by the clean up hitter is impressive.

UPDATE: LBS contributor Alan notifies us that Russell Branyan received the coveted but less-difficult Golden Sombrero on Wednesday evening against the Yankees

This story is pretty cool and not one you see every day so I figure it’s definitely worth mentioning. The World of Isaac via The Sporting Blog says that a minor trade by the Mariners recently can be attributed to an online chat the team’s GM had with fans last week. Check out this Q&A from the chat on mlb.com:

booxa: We need more LH bats. Have you looked at Ryan Langerhans, currently in the Nats’ organization?

Jack_Zduriencik: Good suggestion.

Well, a matter of about four days later, the trade was officially announced: the Mariners had acquired Langerhans from the Nats for former steroid cheat, Mike Morse. Also adding to this story was the post done at the Mariners blog, U.S.S. Mariner, that suggested they pursue Langerhans. Now obviously I don’t follow the Mariners to the level that I’m suggesting they get a guy who’s with the Nats’ Triple-A team, but obviously they do. And for some reason someone there has a thing for Langerhans that I just don’t get. Cool side is that when the fans talk, the team listens. And even cooler is when they actually respond. Oh yeah, this is not the first time something posted at U.S.S. Mariner has impacted the team.

Brandon Marshall received a Darwin Nominee here at LBS back on October 22nd, 2007 after he was pulled over on suspicion of DUI. This really wasn’t a big deal except for what it added to Marshall’s reputation as a bad citizen. But now that Marshall has requested (demanded?) a trade, the police report from that stop bears some significance. From Pro Football Talk, here’s what was said by Marshall according to the officer:

“I hate Denver. I hope I get traded. I hate this f******* city.”
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Marshall also berated police for stopping him and not finding the killer of fellow Bronco Darrent Williams.

“Why aren’t you guys out looking for Williams’ killer?” the report says.

To quote Jerry Maguire, there’s no proof of anything except this guy’s a sensational athlete. So the question here actually is whether these were just the words of a drunken nut angered by the stop, or the actual feelings of Marshall. I’m guessing it’s a little of both. And I’m guessing the Broncos may have had a hand in this report being released — sure makes it a lot easier P.R.-wise if they cave in to his trade demands when the fans know the guy hates their city.