This week, Danny shared his thoughts on some of the top stories in the sports world:

—I’m not sure how anybody in Boston can complain about the Rick Nash trade. The Boston Bruins acquired the veteran winger in a trade with the New York Rangers last weekend. The Bruins gave up a first-round pick, Ryan Spooner, Matt Beleskey, a prospect defenseman, and a seventh-round pick, in order to land Nash.

 

Sure, Nash isn’t a 40-goal scorer anymore, and this would have been a much better trade for the B’s had it happened five years ago. But there’s no denying that even the current version of Nash is an upgrade for the Bruins. It’ll also be an upgrade for Nash, who is expected to be on David Krejci’s wing for the rest of the season and into the playoffs.

 

I, personally, would have preferred to see the Bruins trade for veteran defenseman Ryan McDonagh, but this is certainly better than no upgrade at all. Plus, the asking price for McDonagh would have been higher than what it was for Nash. And anybody who says the B’s gave up too much for Nash is just looking for something to complain about. They’re looking to start an argument, either for ratings, clicks, or retweets.

 

Spooner is replaceable. Beleskey is horrible. And as for the prospect defenseman and two draft picks, the Bruins have a surplus of young talent. They’ll survive.

 

Nash wasn’t the best acquisition at the trade deadline, but he’s certainly an upgrade for the Bruins. Don’t complain about an upgrade.

 

 

—It’s official. J.D. Martinez is a member of the Boston Red Sox. He was introduced in a press conference on Monday morning. I watched the entire thing. And I walked away feeling the same way I felt before watching it. The entire situation feels weird.

 

Martinez’ five-year, $110 million contract with the Red Sox was reported nearly two weeks ago. But it took an entire week after it was reported for both sides to finalize the deal.

 

The holdup was a foot injury that the Red Sox wanted some extra protection on in the later stages of the contract. Of course, Martinez’ agent, Scott Boras, wasn’t about to change the language of that contract for the Red Sox without getting something in return. And so the Sox agreed to give Martinez a third opt-out.

 

Insane. How many freaking opt-outs does a guy need in a five-year deal? But what’s done is done. And Martinez is officially the Red Sox’ new DH. Still, I have a weird feeling about it.

 

The timing of the original agreement feels strange. Then the week-long delay was odd. And the fact that I feel like the entire organization is ignoring the elephant in the room, which is Hanley Ramirez having to play first base. I’m not saying he can’t get the job done at that position, because he showed us in 2016 that he certainly can. But who says he wants to?

 

Ramirez has said this spring that he wants to play 150 games at first base. Either he’s lying, or, ok, nevermind, he’s lying. That’s the only option here.

 

Best of luck to new manager Alex Cora, who will actually have to make Ramirez play first base for 150 games this season. It’s a good problem to have, if Ramirez handles it the right way. But I’ll believe it when I see it.

 

 

—Tiger Woods is not back. Yeah, he’s returned to the PGA Tour. But he’s not “back.”

 

Woods finished 12th in last weekend’s Honda Classic, finishing Even on the tournament. Justin Thomas won the tournament after defeating Luke List in a one-hole playoff. Both were 8-under on the tournament.

 

All the talk was of Woods though. Everyone is focused on his comeback tour. More so because they want it, more than it’s actually happening.

 

Let me know when Woods is contending on Sunday afternoon. I’m serious. Let me know. Because he had an opportunity to in last weekend’s Honda Classic. But he couldn’t do better than a 1-under 69 on Saturday, and a 70 on Sunday.

 

The analysis might seem simple, but it’s true: Woods was missing makable birdie putts all weekend. Tough shots, certainly. But also makable. They were the type of shots you have to hit if you want to be “back” on top of the golf world.

 

Woods is not back. He missed the cut at the Genesis Open the weekend before the Honda Classic, which was a setback to the progress he made in his two previous tournaments. And he can make all the money in the world with top-20 finishes the rest of his career, but unless he’s in contention on Sundays, and actually wins a tournament or two in 2018, Woods is not back.

 

So let’s stop saying he is, until it actually happens.

 

Listen to “The Danny Picard Show” at dannypicard.com and on the PodcastOne network. Also available on iTunes, Tunein, Google Play, iHeartRadio, and Spotify.