Considering Credit Limits

I heard about this at work and decided to check into it.  Banks and credit card companies are now using “behavior analysis”.  Some people are having their credit limits lowered for shopping at the ‘wrong’ stores.

For those who prefer to read, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has it here.  The New York Times covers it here.

People shot at Wal-Mart for more reasons than just being broke and unable to pay their bills.  Some people want to save money.  This, hard to believe, how some people become rich.  They are prudent, wise and thrifty.  Now some credit companies want to penalize you for being prudent, wise and thrifty.  Hey, isn’t that how they got in this big mess in the first place?  Yes, they lent money to unwise people, rather than wise people.

His experiences have led Kevin Johnson to become an internet activist, and now to run for office.  Good for him!

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Considering Dice-K’s Manny Moment

The season was fairly quiet.  Yes, there had been injuries but there was no drama for the Red Sox this season.  It all seemed to leave the team when Manny was shipped to the far side of the continent.

There could have been drama with the recent acquisition of Adam LaRoche.  Mike Lowell has been presumed to be healthy, but has sat out a few games so LaRoche could play.  Lowell was one of the few Red Sox players not in a slump (hitting well over .300 since his return from the DL).  He has acted like a pro, and supports the team.  He just wants to win, and knows he’ll be playing though his hip affects his defense (and base running) far more than his hitting.  LaRoche provides the insurance the Red Sox needed so they didn’t have a repeat of last year’s playoffs.  You have a healthy Mike Lowell, and the Red Sox are going to the World Series (sorry, Rays’ fans).

But the tranquility came to an end during a prime time for Manny Moments over the last few years.  Only he’s gone.  So Dice-K decided to fill the role.  I suppose he has too much time on his hands.  Afterall, he is no longer able to throw every day.

Just prior to the trade deadline, Dice-K decided to complain to the Japanese media that the Red Sox don’t understand him and his training methods.  His shoulder problems are not due to missing Spring Training for the WBC.  He claims he has stunk this year because the Red Sox have not permitted him to maintain his training regimine.  This, he explains, is why Japanese pitchers have a substantial drop off in performance after 2 years.  Japanese players are different, and apparently that includes physiologically.

Now we have a “war of words“.  The timing of this is really quite horrendous.  Theo has other matters in mind.  He’s trying to improve the team.  With John Smoltz looking like this year’s version of Dice-K instead of any year’s version of John Smoltz.  Maybe this explains why the Red Sox have been rumored to be looking for starting pitching.  Theo doesn’t like distractions (neither does John Henry).  Dice-K may want to take a few of those words back or he might end up in Cleveland or Toronto.

The Red Sox’ pitching program apparently works for everyone but Dice-K.  That’s how bad it is.  Injuries have a way of messing with a player’s mind.  They aren’t able to focus on the things they usually focus upon.  They start to think too much, they miss the attention and blow a bearing.  This is how I understand this as it begins to play out.  But if Dice-K doesn’t get a hold of himself, this could begin to play like Rocket Roger’s complaint about having to carry his own suitcase.  Dice-K does not realize how diffcult Boston can be if the fans turn on you.  Should he continue to vent and blame instead of working his tail off and making adjustments (like discovering ways to get guys out in less than 10 pitches per at bat), they will turn and it will be ugly.  He is used to adoration.  And the Red Sox may have to ship him someplace less glamorous, less likely to see post-season action.  I don’t think he wants that.

Update:  I guess I will now call him Diva-K.  Tony Massarotti has an interesting article about this.  Apparently the Diva act is wearing thin (hmmm, we could also call him Pedro-K but he’s nowhere near as great a pitcher as Pedro was at his peak).  Now that he’s not winning he’s accepting no blame (like for showing up overweight and out of shape as if he’s David Wells), but all the credit for those 18 wins (since the bullpen worked nearly 50% of the game they deserve some credit).  Apparently the Red Sox staff is livid, and I think they should be.  Tony mentions how adversity reveals one’s true character.  Ain’t looking good for Diva-K right now.

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Considering the Gospel-Centered Life

A few friends planted a church and wanted to instill some good gospel DNA.  But they found the small group material unsuitable for their purposes.  So, they turned World Harvest Missions materials into a 9-week study appropriate for both immature Christians and non-Christians to ground them in the Gospel-Centered Life.

Soon it was bearing great fruit in their ministry, and others were using their materials.  Now they have partnered with World Harvest Missions to make their material widely available.  You can even get a free sample from WHM until 7/31/09.  Maybe God will use it to change some lives, including yours (and mine).

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Considering the Red Sox’ Trades

It has been a busy day for the Red Sox front office as the trade deadline draws near, and the Sox are mired in an offensive slump.  I’m not saying anything needed to be done, but they have not been playing well and have relinquished the AL East lead to the Yankees.

The Red Sox plundered the Pirates again.  I think I might prefer the players the Braves got from them, but Adam LaRoche fills the need they had.  That need is two-fold.  They needed a left-handed hitter with some power.  Mark Kotsay is not to be confused with a guy with power.  Kotsay did a great job filling in at first base when Lowell went down in the playoffs last year.  But the Red Sox needed some power in that line up.  He enables them to platoon a guy with power with Mike Lowell who continues to struggle with a bad hip.

They gave up 2 prospects that were quite unlikely to ever crack the Red Sox’ line up.  They might make the Pirates’ line up though.  Argenis Diaz made some very flashy plays at short, but often blew routine plays and hit a tad better than Alex Gonzalez.  The Red Sox have two other prospects with far better chances of playing SS in the big leagues, one of the their Dominican players and a recently signed Cuban player.  Hunter is perhaps a #4 starter, which we really don’t need.

The big news is that they actually got a warm body for Julio Lugo.  The Cards, in desperate need of warm bodies in the infield since Pujols can only play one position, took him.  They won’t pay any of his salary.

I like the symmetry of this.  The Red Sox’ revolving door at SS started when they did not re-sign Orlando Cabrera after the landmark 2004 season.  Instead they signed the SS for the Cards who made the final out of the 2004 World Series who is now known as Rent-a-Wreck since he played so miserably for the Red Sox that they promptly traded him to Atlanta after the 2005 season.  I think this is the final year of that deal, so they won’t be paying him anymore after this season.  Then we had the great fielding, but light hitting Alex Gonzalez who is also known for getting hurt (though not as much as Pokey Reese).  He was warming the seat until Julio Lugo was a free agent.  Theo promptly paid him $9 million/year, and we have suffered ever since.  He has not hit for anything resembling the power he displayed elsewhere, and had a knack for making errors.

His injuries paved the way for Jed Lowrie who rarely made errors and showed some power until injuring his wrist.  With his wrist surgically repaired, Lugo ran out of time.  Of course, it wasn’t like he was playing.  Throw away Nick Green has been playing solid defense (though mired in an ugly Lugo-like slump).  Lowrie can now platoon with Green until he’s ready to resume his role as starter, hopefully providing some good offense to go along with his solid defense.

So, the Red Sox have dealt with some of their issues as they struggle through the middle portion of the season.  Clay Buchholz makes his second start as Wakefield rests his back.  Plenty of people anticipate Penny being traded (prospects?) should Dice-K get his shoulder strong enough to pitch effectively again.  If he doesn’t, they can still trade Penny and keep Clay in the majors.  He worked out the kinks in his delivery, and his mindset.  Now it is time to take back the East from the Yankees.

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Considering The Big Three

During my teen years, my greatest love was the Boston Celtics.  I was enamored with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish- in a manly sort of way of course.  The Red Sox had cooled off after the debacle of 1978.  The Big Three captured the heart of New England, selling out the venerable Boston Garden for years on end.  I had many fond memories of the Boston Garden.  I recall seeing Parish there when he was still a member of the Warriors.  I hated being up in the nosebleeds, fearful of falling down those steep cement steps.  But my father often had tickets during those years as he courted customers.  I was an occasional tag along.  Including the magnificent 1984 Eastern Conference Game 7 versus the Knicks.

So, the other day i was in the local library looking for some non-fiction and saw Peter May’s book The Big Three.  It was time to relive part of my youth.

But it was much more than that.  I learned alot about how the NBA used to be.  It is astounding how different the NBA is today.  I’m not talking about the style of play.  I’m talking about free agency, the draft and more.  All of these things mattered, setting up both the rise and the fall of one of the greatest frontcourts in all of NBA history.

In the late 70’s and early 80’s, when you signed a free agent you had to pay the other team compensation.  This was negotiated, and a master negotiator got the best end of the deal.  Red was a master negotiator, often getting the best end of the deal.  It was these types of deals that set them up to trade down to get McHale and Parish.

It was the strange trade rules that prevented Boston from trading any of them away, crippling the Celtics just like Bird and McHale suffered crippling injuries that stifled their careers in what should have been their prime.   Trading Bird would have been like trading Ted Williams or Yaz.  McHale, maybe, but those rules meant that there was no way they could get what he was worth.

So, Peter May provided some very interesting background to the game, and the players.  He had chapters on each of them.  Not as in depth as a biography, but certainly the high points and their development as players.  Oddly, both Parish and McHale attended schools that spent the duration of their college careers under probation.

Their time together as starters was too short thanks to Bird’s back (well, his heels first) and McHale’s ankles.  One can only imagine what might have been if those injures had not seriously curtailed their abilities on the court.

The 1980’s were a transitional time in basketball.  The resurgence brought about by Bird and Magic initiated numerous changes in the industry.  Salaries soared.  The draft became serious business (prior to this they never even brought in players for interviews).  During their period of dominance, the game change on and off the court.

I’m not a big fan of Peter May.  But this book is a good one, filling in many of those gaps that existed before the incredible transformation of information accumulation resulting from the internet.  This was a time before bloggers (including Celtics Blog) and access to 24-hour news stations (ESPN was just getting started).  I’m glad he put much of this down for people like me to remember, or learn for the first time.  Any fan of the NBA, and especially the Boston Celtics ought to read a copy.

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Considering The True Care of Souls

In this day and age ministry has become more about systems, programs and administration than it was in centuries gone by.  Sometimes we need to re-assess.  One way to gain a bit of historical perspective is Peter Beale’s translation of Martin Bucer’s book on pastoral ministry called Concerning the True Care of Souls.

Bucer was one of the Swiss Reformers in the 16th century.  He spent most of his ministry in Strasburg.  It was there that John Calvin, booted out of Geneva, spent his time until the city elders came to invite him back.  He learned much about pastoral ministry from Bucer.  Later he would accept the invitation of Thomas Cranmer to go to England, teaching at Cambridge.

He begins this theology of ministry with short chapters on the nature of the church and Christ’s rule in His church.  This lays the foundation for lays ahead.  The next chapter is on how Jesus carries out His pastoral office through ordained ministers.  We are to understand Jesus at work among us through ordained ministers for our salvation and well-being.  Yes, this despite the faults and frailty of ministers.  There is another short chapter on the types of ministers/ministries Jesus uses.

After a few more short chapters we hit the core of Bucer’s book- the tasks of ministry.  He begins with how lost sheep are to be sought (evangelism).  The bulk of the book is taken up with the restoration of stray sheep (church discipline).  He then moves on to how the wounded and sick sheep are to be healed (more church discipline), how weak sheep are to be strengthened & healthy sheep are to be guarded & fed (discipleship).

He spends so much time on church discipline for a few reasons.  He served in the context of a state-church.  As a result, there were many church members who were so in name only.  Some were obviously lost, forsaking the worship of God.  Others were wayward, bearing no fruit of regeneration.  There was much work to be done.  Imagine if pastors here in America had responsibilities for whole neighborhoods or towns.  They would be responsible not just for church members (people who showed up to worship services) but all the people living in the geographical bounds.

The second reason he spends so much time on this was because many thought this a “roman” practice.  He shows the biblical grounding of church discipline, and distinguishes it from some of the abuses that took place in the Roman Church, as well its neglect among some Protestants.  He also draws heavily on the Early Church Fathers.

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Considering Christ and Culture Revisited

D.A. Carson re-enters the discussion of Christianity’s relationship with culture in Christ and Culture Revisited.  I say re-enters because he hits some similar issues in The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism and his more recent Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church.  This time he evaluates the classic, influential work of H. Richard Niebuhr, Christ and Culture.  He arrives at the same essential point that I did while in seminary, just in a far more thoughtful and thorough way.  Due to my circumstances, it may have taken me as long to read it as it did for him to write it.

Here is a quick summery of Carson’s conclusions for you:

“Niebuhr’s typology offers his five types as slightly idealized competing options.  Yet this emphasis on choosing from among the options does not square with the canonical function of Scripture.  … Christians do not have the right to choose one of the options in the fivefold typology as if it were the whole.  The name of that game is reductionism.”

What Carson does is rightly is say that no one paradigm fits every situation. Scripture reveals very different responses to different circumstances as people sought to live life under the gaze of God. We are to utilize wisdom, always checking our hearts with Scripture lest we deceive ourselves, to chart the best course.

In developing this, Carson digs into some good biblical theology. This is so we live in light of the main turning points of redemptive history (creation, fall, redemption, restoration), and in light of the already/not yet realities of our salvation. When we focus on only one or two turning points of redemptive history we fall into reductionism and hover in one (often knee-jerk) response to what is happening around us.

Inevitably Christians find themselves squeezed between the claims and obligations of the broader culture and their allegiance to Christ. The tensions between Christ and culture are both diverse and complex, but from a Christian perspective they find their origins in the stubborn refusal of human beings, made in God’s image, to acknowledge their creaturely dependence on their Maker. … Although there are better and worse examples of how these tensions might play out, there is no ideal stable paradigm that can be transported to other times and places: every culture is perpetually in flux, ensuring that no political structure is a permanent “solution” to the tension.

It may sound to some as relativism, but it really isn’t. We apply unchanging standards to changing circumstances. So at times we will adopt cultural practices, at times abandon them, at times adapt them etc.

It is when Carson begins to examine the various uses of the term ‘culture’ that this book gets a bit heady and philosophical. It is at moments like that when I realize how average a thinker and how poorly read I am. But my calling is different from his. He wisely says you can jump to the next chapter.

He focuses a great deal of attention of the relationship between church and state (and how those terms are variously used). In our quest for one ideal arrangement, we err. He traces the development of various views in the West (notably the U.S. and France). We should learn to tread lightly when wanting to criticize Christians in other cultures. We often don’t have the frame of reference, and circumstances, they do. And we often flounder in our own circumstances. I gather we should take the log out of our eyes.

Overall it was a good read, but not an easy read. But pastors and elders should labor through that they might shepherd their people through this potential quagmire. I’m glad Carson revisited some old ground and gave us a better lay of the land.

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Considering the Deaconess Debate

This year at the PCA General Assembly, Ligon Duncan and Tim Keller participated in a discusson/debate on the issue of women deacons.  Feeding on Christ provides the audio for those who couldn’t get there (I had to attend to some matters at home and left before it began).  Derek Thomas commends both Ligon and Tim on the debate and the spirit in which it was carried out (sadly there is a typo in the title).

As I read the commentary, and comments, I think I have a small bone to pick.  Those who are asking the PCA to study this issue further are largely complementarians, not egalitarians.  The people with whom I am familiar do not advocate women elders.  They want to come together to study and clarify what the Scriptures teach regarding ordination and deacons (for the love of Pete, people, the English texts are HIGHLY interpretive and the Greek would surprise you).  As those who hold to “Reformed and Reforming”, we should not fear the continuous study of God’s Word as individuals and a community to make sure we are understanding, interpreting and applying it properly.  This is an issue the does not strike at the vitals and does not compromise complementarian convictions ( the BCO clearly states Deacon is not an office of authority, nor it is a teaching office therefore Paul’s clear prohibition does not apply).

Additionally, the Council of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, which clearly champions complementarianism, has prominent members like John Piper and Thomas Schreiner who hold that women may be deacons.  So, the CBM&W does not see this as compromising the biblical teaching of complementarianism.

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Considering the Celtics’ Moves

It has been an interesting off season for the Boston Celtics thus far.

The first move was an obvious no-brainer: tending an offer to Glen “Big Baby” Davis making him a restricted free-agent.  This allows the Celtics to match any offer, which they will most likely do unless that offer is outrageous.  Big Baby showed some maturity and ability to perform consistently in the playoffs with both KG and then Leon Powe injured.  He rose to the occasion.

It was not a Celtics’ move, but one that helped the Celtics.  Eddie House picked up his player option, staying with the Celtics.  He’s been a great player for them, and his contract is quite reasonable.

The third was one that disappointed most Celtics’ fans, and players.  Leon Powe was not tendered an offer.  This does not rule out a return by Leon Powe, but means they don’t have the right to match any offers he does receive.  Many think it inhumane since Leon was injured during the playoffs and is currently recovering from surgery.  I’m sure Leon will be on someone’s roster come January, but perhaps not until he proves the knee allows him to play his game.  This was the whole reason he slipped to the Celtics in the draft in the first place.  He has displayed lots of guts and grit.  But having 2 under-sized c/pfs on the team was too much.  Big Baby gets the nod as the player most likely to be a big contributor for years to come.

Fourth, offering Rasheed Wallace a contract for the full MLE (for 2, possibly 3 years).  I’m not sold on this move, and Celtics Blog’s Jeff Clark is trying to talk himself into it.  He hasn’t talked me into it yet.  I’m not sure ‘Sheed will stop being bored and play hard for 20 minutes each night.  I’m not wild about 6’11” guys who love to shoot the 3.  That’s what we pay Ray Allen and Eddie House to do.  I want a big man who will take it to the hole, create contact, draw fouls and create space for the outside shooters.  IF Wallace accepts, I really hope it works.  But I won’t be convinced until it does..

Fifth, the Celtics are trying to woo Grant Hill.  He was productive with the Suns, and could provide some good punch off the bench so Paul Pierce doesn’t have to play 37-42 minutes a night.  P Squared was absolutely exhausted in that Magic series (oh, and we win by Hedo heading north, the Magic are much weaker defensively now).  On the other hand, the Celtics could start looking like the Lakers’ failed attempt to win the title with aging players like Malone and Payton.

Other rumors?  Tryrone Lue.  Please, he hasn’t impressed me at any stop he has made.  Save the money for Big Baby, Pruitt is a cheaper guy who will play about as well.  Danny is also talking about how Walker and Gliddens are competing for 1 roster spot.  This doesn’t bode well for one of them, and maybe us.  I’d rather have them both continue to compete and develop until one of them shows themselves as worthless as Tony Allen has.  Now there is a guy we should dump.  Yeah, who would want him at this point.  But maybe he and Scals’ expiring contract can get a 2nd round pick in 2015, and open up a roster spot for someone who can actually play.  And who knows what will happen to Lester Hudson.  This week’s summer league in Orlando will be telling.

So, thus far a mixed report card for the Celtics.  But keep in mind, an old Shaq does not a champion make of Cleveland.  They will play the slower game that the Celtics like and King James really doesn’t.  I see Phoenix Part 2 taking place in Cleveland, except there is no Amare to be a fearsome inside presence when Shaq is sucking wind.

Update: It would appear that ‘Sheed has committed to sign with the Celtics for 2 years.  I really hope they are a good 2 years.

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Considering Doubt

Doubt is an interesting period piece set in the 1960’s shortly after JFK’s assassination.  It takes place in an inner city parish.  Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the parish priest who finds himself in a battle with a Pharisaical nun (Meryl Streep) how serves as principle of the Catholic school.  It plays, in part, on the fear of the pedophile scandal to set up the Javier-like persecution of the priest by the nun.

Without proof, she is certain he is a child molester.  As a result of her dislike of him, she misinterprets all his actions.  It is a depiction of how dangerous our “certainty” can be when it is not grounded in reality.  Our subjectivism easily runs rampant, destroying the lives of others in the process.  Even (especially?) the life of the moral crusader

Caught in the tussel is the young boy he’s accused of abusing.  And a young nun (Amy Adams) who teaches at the school.  She is the one who initially thinks something is wrong, triggering the principal’s crusade. But she wants a different kind of certainty.

The movie leaves one in doubt, of a kind.  At the end you aren’t sure exactly what the priest has done.  He’s guilty of something, afraid she will dig it up.  But it seems not to be what she accuses him of doing.  Yet you see some of the actions/behaviors that created the priest scandal.

Also at work is the conflict, in the mid-60’s between the pre-Vatican II and Vatican II movements.  The nun represents the old school, and the priest wants to see a new wind blow through the Catholic Church.  This is part of why she despises him and willingly entertains these suspicions.  I think about our current political context where some people are easily smeared (falsely) due to their affiliation.

So you have a compelling story, and a terrific cast of actors combining to create an exceptional film that opens the door to think about how we really view things.

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Considering Freedom

I’ve been working my way through  Christ & Culture Revisited by D.A. Carson.  In his chapter on Secularism, Democracy, Freedom and Power I found this appropriate as we celebrate that “holiday” to freedom.

The democratic tradition in the West has fostered a great deal of freedom from Scripture, God, tradition, and assorted moral constraints; it encouraged freedom toward doing your own thing, hedonism, self-centeredness, and consumerism.  By contrast, the Bible encourages freedom from self-centeredness, idolatry, greed, and all sin and freedom toward living our lives as those who bear God’s image and who have been transformed by his grace, such that our greatest joy become doing his will.  Even if that direction (“freedom toward”) will not be perfected until the new heaven and new earth, already the Christian is beginning to glimpse the glory of the words, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin …. so if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:34-36).

We have made an idol of freedom.  I grew up in NH where the license plates say “Live Free or Die”.  Yet, we have a profound misunderstanding regarding freedom.  This is a function of our depravity, our innate capacity to corrupt all that comes our way.  One of the first things “freedom” meant in former Soviet bloc countries was that suddenly pornography was available.  As we celebrate our freedom, perhaps we ought to also lament our abuses of that freedom.

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Considering Gran Torino

We finally watched the latest movie by Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino.  He plays a crotchedy, bigoted, foul-mouthed widower who ends up learning to care about people- in his own way.

The movie opens with his wife’s funeral and we are introduced to this distant family.  They are distant because he is essentially toxic.  They know little to nothing about him, only that his is abrasive.  We don’t see very much of them except as they try to relieve their guilt over neglecting him, or try to use him to get something they want.

Walt Kowalski is pursued by a young priest who made a promise to his wife.  But he essentially rejects his family’s faith.  It does not seem to address the needs of his heart, which are more than he’s ready to admit.  The young priest makes no headway.

Walt’s neighborhood has changed, considerably.  And he’s uncomfortable with all the strange-speaking immigrants on his street.  Until one night when he stops the local gang from abusing his neighbor.  He soon becomes the unofficial protector of the neighborhood.  He slowly allows his neighbors into his life.

The neighbor feels out of sorts too.  He has no father-figure, and has turned away from his family’s faith as irrelevant to life in America.  He is being pressured by the gang, led by his cousin, to join, and the initiation is to steal Walt’s mint Gran Torino.

Wally sees the young man only as a thief, who works for him as a type of penance.  Soon, his perception changes and he begins to guide and direct the young man in his own akward way.  And this brings him into repeated conflict with the gang.

The middle of the movie moved a bit slowly as the relationship between the main characters developed.  The priest nearly disappears.  He finally confesses the misdeeds that have haunted him all his adult life, to the young neighbor.  Finally able to love, he lays down his life for his friends.

This is a movie about violence that does not glorify violence.  We see how violence has disfigured his soul and mutilated his relationships.  He wants none of this for his neighbor, seeking to save him in the only way that seems to make sense to him: sacrifice.

It is a movie with a message- perhaps Eastwood’s own repentance- but the telling is not easy.  Walt’s rants are not PC and loaded with profanity.  But we also see that people can change, they are not cast in cement.  Eastwood uses a variety of metaphors to communicate what is going on internally.  And a tough of humor.  Sadly, sometimes it is those just like us that pose the greatest danger to us.  Race is insufficient to overcome selfishness and greed.  It takes something alittle more- love.

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Considering Non-Free Agents

Today is the last day for NBA players with options to opt out and become free agents.  Oddly enough, a number of them are not doing so.  But I think these guys made the right move.

Among those who decided to stay put for the final year of their contract are the Celtics’ Eddie House, and the Jazz’ Carlos Boozer.

Why is this the right move?  Right now the economy is tight.  There seem to be a goodly number of free agents out there, and only so much money to go around.  Teams will not want to spend lots of money so these guys might not do better than their current contracts this summer.

Teams have been clearing cap space for 2010 however.  Some high profile players will be available.  Here the deal- they can only sign with one team.  So, the teams that don’t sign the high profile players like LeBron James will have money to spend on guys like House and Boozer.  So it make sense for them to stay put, earn some good green and wait for what promises to be a better contract next summer.

Teams are also realizing other teams don’t want to pay free agents much this summer.  At least that is the gamble teams like the Bucks are taking.  By not tendering some free agents, teams are thinking they might be able to get that player for less, or a suitable replacement for less than what the player expects right now.  The economy and the fact that teams don’t want to tie up money long term means there may be some good bargains out there.  Some of these guys may have to settle for less time and less money than they want.  It may very well pan out like the baseball off season did- a few guys got way too much money (Money Ramirez and the Yankees’ signings) and lots of guys took huge pay cuts.

House, Boozer, and a few others may have read this right and will be better off long term.  We’ll see in the next few days.

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