Welcome to the second iteration of Sunday Sandbox. For those who didn’t read version 1, this series is meant to be a rundown of thoughts or questions I had this week and throwing them out to the public for all to think about or provide insight for me. A lot has happened in the sports world this week, so let’s get right into it.
Kurt Suzuki: Prove it.
Although the World Series is currently ongoing between the Blue Jays and the Dodgers, baseball teams are making moves. Coaching and front office personnel are shifting around the MLB. In Anaheim, the Angels signed former MLB catcher Kurt Suzuki to a one-year managerial contract. There are always questionable hires across sports, but these two in particular are odd.
Kurt Suzuki played many years as a backstop in baseball. If you take a look at his Baseball-Reference page, we’re talking about a former All-Star with over 1,400 hits and a total of just under 20 career WAR. His later career was filled with 1-year “prove-it” contracts, so he claims that this 1-year deal is nothing new to him.
Not only is Suzuki attempting to improve his team in just one season of work, but Suzuki is attempting to improve the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, a team that hasn’t had a winning record since going 85-77 and missing the playoffs in 2015:
LAA hasn’t won a playoff game since 2009, when Chone Figgins led the way with a 7.7 WAR and the franchise just spent their first round pick on a high school bat by the name of Mike Trout. Ever heard of him?
General Manager Perry Minasian said during Suzuki’s introductory press conference that he wanted Kurt on the same contract schedule as him. It makes sense, that way if the Angels want to start fresh in a year from now, it will make it easier to do so. But, in my opinion it creates an avoidable sense of pressure and potentially promotes a rashness that would hurt the already-hobbling Angels.
In the limited exposure I’ve had to the Angels franchise, I’ve questioned the way things are run as an organization. First, any team putting Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani in a lineup together should be winning baseball games, which the Angels were not. I understand the letdown Anthony Rendon was and continues to be for the team (he’s the highest-paid 3B in 2025 in terms of AAV), and perhaps that’s slowed things down beyond my understanding.
Second, the Angels have been an organization not shy to promote young players to the bigs. Nolan Schanuel was drafted in April 2023 and debuted in the MLB in August 2023. Zach Neto was drafted in April 2022 and debuted in April 2023. Ben Joyce was drafted in 2022 and debuted in 2023. I’m not sure how effective this strategy is without getting really, really lucky. The results haven’t been disastrous, but it leaves you scratching your head wondering if the Angels are risking development.
Finally, from my point of view, ownership appears to be rather frugal in a league that relies on either a) spending on free agents or b) consistently developing prospects. When both are rather underwhelming, it can’t be a surprise the team stinks.
So, why sign Suzuki to a one-year deal? Perhaps it’s just a layover until next offseason when they can start anew both in the dugout and in the front office. This feels like he’s being set up to fail, as the Angels have been used to.
Is objective sports-watching impossible? Can you watch a sports match without letting internal biases dictate your experience?
A vague thought, this one. But as I’m watching my Chicago Bears play and as I watched the Mets play all season long, I can’t help shake my prejudice of certain players.
When watching Arch Manning quarterback the Texas Longhorns, how can you not include in the evaluation the namesake and the likely pressure that comes with playing with that name on his back?
Is it possible for a newcomer baseball fan to evaluate Francisco Lindor without taking into account or even knowing his past career results?
Is it possible to watch this World Series as two baseball teams playing each other and not incorporate the star power like Shohei Ohtani, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Yoshinobu Yamamoto, George Springer, etc.?
Am I making sense?
A personal example would be myself evaluating a player like Caleb Williams. Am I able to say with certainty the accurate representation of Williams, even though I am a diehard Bears fan with a huge emotional stake in his and the team’s success?
Quantitative data has become the go-to when evaluating “objectively,” but can we be sure that these “objective” evaluators are interpreting the numbers in objective ways? It’s human nature to see what you want to see, hear what you want to hear, and interpret things in ways that will benefit you in the future.
This is one of those sections of my Sunday Sandbox where it may sound outlandish, foolish, confusing, and plain wrong, but I hesitate to omit those topics. Perhaps it’ll strike a chord with one of you, and if you can continue this thinking, please leave a comment.
What does the NBA gambling scandal mean for the future of the NBA?
I would be remiss to not talk about the most recent scandal in sports: the FBI crackdown on the NBA and sports betting.
Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and guard Terry Rozier were two that were named as being arrested as a result of the FBI’s probe. I personally am not focusing on these two. I’m wondering what this does to the gambling industry and how this affects the NBA.
I am not one to hide my distaste for the NBA. I think the league has become the sports equivalent to a reality show in dire need of an audience. Outside of the league’s image in the media, the on-court product is borderline unwatchable and flat-out boring. I would venture to say that everything that can be done on a basketball court has been done. It doesn’t even excite the players anymore. Don’t believe me? Sit down and watch an NBA game and tell me these guys care about what they’re doing. Maybe that’s why Terry Rozier had no issue with fixing his prop bets… he thought no one would notice.
Before this becomes a full NBA hate-take, I want to get to the main question: what is the future of this league?
The NBA has been falling behind in terms of viewership. The commissioner Adam Silver himself said the league is a “highlight league” versus one you can sit down and watch in its entirety. If the NBA continues down this path, how can they be taken seriously? Are they even taken seriously right now?
I just question the survivability of a sport that doesn’t rely on strategy. Let’s be real, the NBA only cares about starpower and most players are worried about their brand more than the team. Of course, there are team players who understand the layers of being a championship team. However, when the stars of the game are more concerned with their image over their team, there will be problems. This scandal only deepens the hole the league finds themselves in.
I don’t know what the NBA can do to regain relevance… I really don’t. I wasn’t even aware the league season had started until the scandalous news dropped. I guess I’m feeling Darwinian today because soon the other sports and leagues will dominate the market so severely, the NBA’s following may be nonexistent.
Why isn’t there more “all-22” television angle coverage?
To close this sandbox out, let’s talk All-22.
For those who aren’t familiar, the All-22 camera angle is a way to watch the entire football field and all its 22 players in play. It’s a fantastic way to see plays develop, details that are impossible to see on traditional football television coverage.
Amazon Prime is ahead of the game, though, once again. With their Prime Vision alternate broadcast, they offer the ability to watch the Thursday Night Football game with the All-22 angle, while also incorporating other advanced AI features like highlighting algorithms and numerical measurements. If you haven’t watched through Prime Vision, I highly suggest you do this upcoming Thursday night.
For casual football fans, I can understand the appeal of the traditional angle that focuses on the quarterback and/or the ball carrier. For people that want to learn the game and understand at a greater level how their team performs, it’s a necessity that they view the All-22. It’s remarkable just how much you miss when you focus on the location of the ball.
I hope that the Prime Vision broadcast is the first in an industry-wide trend. Offering alternate viewpoints and learning opportunities speaks to a lot more sports fans than you would think. I know of many friends of mine who would kill for some consistent All-22. So, keep an eye out to see what these NFL media partners introduce and evolve within their broadcasts. I think Prime is just scratching the surface with how connected they can get their fans with the game, and it’ll be super exciting to see how it unfolds.
Inner Half 