Howie Karpin's 3 Balls 2 Strikes

This is Not Buhner for Phelps All Over Again

2012-01-14T13:06:00.004-05:00

After the Yankees announced their acquisition of young right hander Micheal Pineda from Seattle, I heard someone moan that this was going to be "Jay Buhner for Ken Phelps all over again".

In July of 1988, the Yankees traded a 23 year old right handed hitting, slugging outfielder named Jay Buhner to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for a 33 year old, left handed designated hitter named Ken Phelps. (Note the age differences)

It turned out to be one of the worst trades in Yankee history.

Buhner went on to have a creditable major league career while Phelps "bombed" in the Bronx.

Buhner was on the upswing at the time he was traded, while the Yankees got Phelps because of a lack of left handed power. The thinking was that Phelps would be able to take advantage of the short porch in right field, but the Yankees made a severe miscalculation. Phelps was not a "dead-pull" hitter, he was a "gap" hitter. At the old Seattle Kingdome, the "gaps" were not as deep as Yankee Stadium, so even though Phelps put up power numbers in Seattle, that didn't translate into the same success in New York.

This trade is in no, way, shape or form, the same kind of deal.

The Yankees are more patient with young players these days and are using them the right way to improve their team from within and for deals such as the one they completed Friday night.

The Yankees pick up a young pitcher who burst onto the scene last season and still has plenty of upside. The key word there is "young"

Jesus Montero projects to be one of the real up and coming offensive stars but he will not cut it as a big league catcher, no matter who's telling you he will.

Montero will be a 1B/DH type who will thrive in the bigs for his bat, not his defense.

Hector Noesi could be the real loss here, but you have to give to get and the Yankees are getting one of the best young arms in the game.

Pineda's numbers dropped off in the second half, but that's to be expected from a rookie. Most first year players who have success in the early going, tend to drop off later on in the season. It's a natural regression, but one that shouldn't put a damper on this deal.

The 22-year old (soon to be 23) did not fare well against some of the AL East teams, but again, that could be a matter of inexperience, not one of ineptitude.

Pineda dominated right handed hitters to the tune of a .184 batting average. Lefties did better (.237 against) but the youngster has the stuff to be consistently stingy against all hitters.

There are some questions that will need to be answered.

How will Pineda fare in his second year?

The hitters will be more aware of what he throws and will make adjustments accordingly. Pineda will need to make some adjustments as well and there could be some "roadblocks" that come attached to this process.

Also, Pineda is now being thrown into the AL East, quite a difference from the AL West, and he will be under alot more pressure pitching in NY for the Yankees, instead of "pressure-free" Seattle. How he handles these new responsibilities will bear watching.

In the grand scheme of things, the Yankees got a young, stud pitcher who they hope will be their number two starter behind C.C. Sabathia and eventually, will develop into their ace.

Dealing Montero is a loss, but the Yankees executed this trade from strength (their minor league depth) to radically improve their chances this season.

The Yankees plan all along was to get younger and this trade is a step in the right direction.

No Defense For Bad Shots

2012-01-12T12:05:00.006-05:00

The bottom line is to get the win, but some red flags surfaced in last night's 95-89 Knicks win over the 76ers.

The Knicks had a 78-61 lead with a little over nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, yet, they had to struggle down the stretch to preserve their advantage.

With a 17 point lead in the fourth quarter, the Knicks had a chance to not only cruise to a win, but give their key players time off, which could prove to be a valuable commodity in this condensed NBA season.
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This wasn't one you could pin on the defense, that part of their game has actually been much better. The Knicks' offense suddenly went south at that point and the Sixers nearly took full advantage. Philly was playing their third game in three nights and the Knicks were letting them off the hook with their shot selection, which was absolutely horrendous (they didn't score a FG) for the final 9 minutes of the game.

After the Sixers' Thaddeus Young scored to make it 78-63, Bill Walker launched a three with 14 seconds remaining on the shot clock.

Young hit another shot to narrow the gap to 13 pts and the Knicks followed that up with Iman Shumpert missing a three with 11 seconds left on the shot clock.

Andre Iguodala canned a 21 foot jumper for six straight points and a 78-67 deficit.

Shumpert hoisted up another three (at least this one came with five seconds left on the shot clock) and missed, but the Knicks got the offensive rebound and instead of running more clock, Carmelo Anthony put up a three almost immediately and missed, giving Philly another chance to cut into the lead.

I was working for Sixers TV last night and after Anthony's attempt, I happened to look over at Walt "Clyde" Frazier who gave a look like, "Why is he taking that shot?".

If the Knicks are to go anywhere this season, they need to learn how to protect leads and finish games.

With a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter, you don't hoist up three point shots.

Yeah, it's great if they go in, but those are not good shots in that situation.

If the Knicks run a solid possession with a big lead, even if they miss the shot, it's productive because you're running time off the clock. The opposing team and the clock become a team's enigma when they're trailing by a large margin in the fourth quarter.

At least with Shumpert's shots, you can attribute that to his inexperience, but no excuse for 'Melo and Walker's attempts.

The lack of a floor leader certainly didn't help but that doesn't excuse the offensive approach in the fourth quarter, that seems to always end up with an Anthony isolation, while the rest of the team stands around.

For all his years in the league, Amare Stoudemire still tries to put the ball on the floor in a crowd and ends up turning it over. He did that a number of times last season and that habit has continued into this year.

To be fair, the Sixers are a very, very good defensive team and that certainly contributed to the offensive malaise.

However, if the Knicks are to go beyond where they went last season (swept in four games in the first round) they need to learn how to "milk" the clock when they're up big.

If You Haven't Been Watching, You May Be Missing Something Special

2012-01-07T13:44:00.007-05:00

If you haven't been taking notice of what the NY Rangers are doing, then you may be missing something special.

The Rangers have vaulted to the top of the NHL with a formula that lends itself to championship hockey clubs.

Great goaltending, outstanding defense, lots of grit and resolve and an ability to find ways to win is a recipe for success in today's NHL.

Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves yet.

The Rangers have yet to face the best team in the league, the defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins, but they will get their shot later this month in what should be a great regular season hockey game.

The Rangers still have lots of room for improvement. The power play is inconsistent, (which is actually an improvement, considering that it's been poor in recent years)and they've had some trouble with opposing teams that have alot of speed, but Henrik Lundqvist is having a tremendous season and that has been a huge help in covering up for the flaws.

Anyone that's watched Lundqvist over the years, always felt that if he had a good team in front of him, then the sky's the limit.

That's exactly what has happened this season. Lundqvist doesn't have to be great every night because as mentioned previously, the Rangers find ways to win. It's also proven out in the record of the back up goaltender. Martin Biron is not only 8-2, but he's taken pressure off of Lundqvist to play every night, which will serve the team very well come playoff time.

Unlike heralded free agents of the past, Brad Richards has been an excellent sign and the Rangers made absolutely the right call when they named Ryan Callahan to be the Captain.

Amazingly enough, the Rangers only got better this past week when Marc Staal returned. That's not a knock on the "D" men who were playing in his place (Steve Eminger, Micheal Sauer, etc) but the Rangers are better with their best defenseman in the lineup.

I'm not the biggest John Tortorella fan, but you can't complain about the job he's done molding this team and getting it to play hard every night.

There is a tendency in sports when a team (that wasn't picked to be this good) reaches certain heights, to look down the road and ponder a "delicious" finish to a wonderful season.

There's still a long way to go, but, so far, the Rangers have passed every test.

They don't let losing streaks linger; they've gone on a number of extended winning streaks already this season; they're tough to beat when they have the lead and they can play from behind as well.

Will this turn out to be a special season? The Rangers have not had many since the 1964-'65 season, (when I started following the team) but it's going to fun to go down this road with them.

If you haven't been paying attention, you may be missing something special

Knicks Are Trying To Fit Round Pegs Into Square Holes

2012-01-05T11:35:00.006-05:00

Watching the Knicks for the first six games of this abbreviated season, I get the feeling that they will have trouble coming together on the court.

Last night, I got a good view of what was happening on the court as I was sitting courtside, working stats for Bobcats TV.

Start with the lack of a legitimate point guard.

Toney Douglas is making poor decisions on the court, both passing and shooting.

I credit him for his grit and toughness but he can't continue to hoist up threes, especially when there is no one underneath for a potential offensive rebound.

I know Tyson Chandler is not an offensive machine, but he started off fast last night by scoring off some solid, fundamental plays and then didn't see the ball for what seemed like the rest of the game.

Did Bobcats Head Coach Paul Silas suddenly make an adjustment to not let Chandler beat them?

Chandler didn't even get into his usual foul trouble, which is actually not a good sign. He got most of his fouls in the fourth quarter.

The Knicks have a good front line but is it a great front line?

That brings me to Carmelo Anthony, who despite his supporters, is a great scorer but is not a great player because he doesn't make other players around him better.

When Anthony plays with Amare Stoudemire, it appears that they "get in each other's way".

The two of them are essentially the same players, they are great scorers who dont defend and are sub par rebounders.

When only one of them is on the court, it seems as if they play better.

Stoudemire has not been the same since Anthony came on board. Before the trade, Stoudemire was a dominant player who was making others around him better. Since the deal was made, "Stats" game has changed and not for the better.

The Knicks have to be Stoudemire's team or Carmelo's team. They can't have it both ways.

If Iman Shumpert is healthy, he should start. He can't be much worse than Douglas at the point. The rookie is fearless and tends to shoot a little much, but I feel he has the tools to develop into a star. Maybe start Douglas and Shumpert and let Landry Fields come off the bench.

The Knicks look dysfunctional and lacking of an identity on offense.

We know this is not a great defensive team but we should expect a little better than what was put out last night. The Knicks made the Bobcats look like the Miami Heat.

I don't advocate cheap shots but the Knicks need to toughen up when teams like Charlotte are taking it to them, even if it means a hard foul here and there. Most players these days do not like contact so when they get it, it throws them off their rhythm.

The Knicks are making a mistake if they're relying on Baron Davis to bail them out. You don't know what or how much you're going to get out an older player who is coming off a back injury.

Finding a better way for Stoudemire and Anthony to co-exist on the court, acquiring a solid point guard who can distribute the basketball and adding a bench player who can rebound are the needs right now.

Finding ways and means to incorporate the current assemblage is another issue that involves the head coach Mike D'Antoni. This "helter skelter" offensive philosophy does not, and will not work with these players.

Either D'Antoni adjusts, or Knicks management will. If I may borrow a line from the late Warden Samuel Norton of Shawshank Prison. "You get my drift? Or am I being obtuse?"

Did Mets Make Right Call on Reyes?

2011-12-05T23:16:00.008-05:00

The New York Mets and their fans took a punch to the stomach when Jose Reyes agreed to a six year deal to join the division rival Marlins.

The "knee-jerk" reaction is, of course, "what are we (the Mets) going to do without Reyes?"

The Mets are a different team without Reyes, but what kind of team were they with him and what kind of team can they be without him?

With Reyes in the lineup, the Mets got dynamic offensive production and, for the most part, stellar defense. There was no questioning his talent. What the team received from that talent was the real inquiry.

When he's on the field, we all saw what he can bring to a ballclub with the season he put together in 2011.

Unfortunately, his injury history is too significant to ignore. The Mets could not and did not ignore that injury history and apparently, a bunch of other teams that needed a shortstop, felt the same way.

They weren't exactly knocking down Reyes' door with offers. Reyes' passion and energy can be contagious, but some people around baseball view that through a different lens, which also hurt his value on the open market.

As mentioned previous, Reyes was one of the best fielding shortstops in baseball. He has the range, he has the arm and he also has those lapses where he would stay back on a ball and rely on his arm, only to throw it in the dirt or throw it away for an error.

Speaking of errors, Reyes demonstrated his immaturity when it came to scoring calls.

Reyes would reportedly go ballistic when he felt he was unfairly charged with an error.

One time I charged him with an error and he had a "fit" after the game. I have it on good authority that Reyes had to be calmed down in the clubhouse, and only did so when he was told that the error kept earned runs off of Orlando Hernandez' record.

I can tell you that during the '06 NLDS against the Dodgers, Reyes had a problem with an error call that I made, not against him, but when he was batting.

Has he grown up? That remains to be seen.

Lest we forget his base running exploits.

No doubts about his speed and his ability to take the extra base, but sometimes, he takes the notion of the extra base too far.

Last season, there was a game where he was on second with two out, and on a 3-2 pitch, he took off for third. The batter walked and Reyes was not thrown out at third, so no one questioned the play because it became insignificant. If he gets thrown out there, he's being questioned for his smarts in that spot.

It's interesting that he goes to the Marlins after the 2007 incident on the day before the season ended, where Reyes got into a scuffle with Florida C Miguel Olivo that sparked a bench clearing brawl. Remember, some Marlins admitted to using that as fodder to crush the Mets playoff hopes on the final day.

It may not seem like it, but the Mets will move forward. Since Reyes only played one year under the current regime headed by Sandy Alderson, there was no loyalty factor involved, which may work in the club's favor.

Ruben Tejada does not have Reyes' talent, but he does have ability and a knack for having a "good at-bat" at the plate. If you surround him with the right parts, he can contribute to a winning atmosphere. There are times that Tejada looks lackadaisical but he's young and needs to learn from veteran players.

If the Mets think Daniel Murphy can be an everyday second-baseman, then they're asking for trouble. I know about Murphy's bat and all that but he is not a good defensive player at any position he's played, much less second-base.

Even if Reyes came back, the Mets still have many holes to fill. It's going to take time to build this team back up to contender status and by that time, would Reyes still be a productive player. There are no guarantees that the Marlins will get their money's worth over the length of the contract, so that puts more pressure on Reyes to deliver in the early years of the deal.

The Marlins have created a little bit of a dilemma for themselves. I would be surprised if Hanley Ramirez plays an innnig at 3B in Miami. There is already a published report that says Ramirez won't play third and that he wants a trade. I can see the Cardinals and Giants making a push for Ramirez, despite his reputation.

I look at this Reyes situation as being similar to when Darryl Strawberry walked away from the Mets to sign with his hometown Dodgers in 1991.

Years later, Darryl always regretted his decision to leave New York.

I wonder if Reyes will come to that same conclusion

Outrage Over Paterno Firing Is Misplaced

2011-11-10T11:20:00.004-05:00

409 victories and two National Championships doesn't cut you any slack when the stuff hits the fan, and it was a big time hit.

What happened last night on the campus of Penn State was not only a disgrace, it was a microcosm of what's going on in this country when it comes to sports, professional and collegiate.

Just because Joe Paterno was revered on the campus of Penn State, it doesn't excuse the heinous crimes that were committed under his watch and literally right under his nose.

To those knucklehead students, who decided this was an appropriate time to release their juvenile inhibitions, your support for the man who coached the college football team for 46 years is totally misplaced.

Those who were creating the situation that occured last night on campus, had no regard for the eight (and counting) who were violated by the alleged predator, Jerry Sandusky.

It wasn't the entire student body that went "ape-sh.." last night. In fact, it was a very small percentage of students who went nuts, but a large enough percentage to further tarnish the sanctity and dignity of the University.

If Paterno had not been the coach for 46 years, won two National titles and 409 games, do you think there would have been such an outrage over his dismissal?

This obsession with sports success has fueled an arrogance and a stupidity that has threatened the security of innocent people.

Consider the case of Bryan Stow, who was beaten to a pulp, because he "dared" to wear a Giants jersey into Dodger Stadium last season.

Because a pair of idiots took exception to the jersey, Stow nearly died.

Last night, the "out of control" students not only flipped over a TV News truck, but with the smell of gas in the air, some moron threatened to "light a match".

There were some students who supported the firing, but were afraid to speak out because they feared for their lives from the moronic throng that felt they were empowered to dish out justice.

People around the world have been protesting and rioting over being abused by cold hearted dictators who mis-use their power of authority for years at a time.

The Penn State Board of Trustees is not made up of dictators who have abused the student body for years and years.

The Penn State Board of Trustees absolutely did the right thing by letting go of Paterno and the University President.

Joe Paterno wasn't wronged here. Joe Paterno will not be charged with a criminal offense because, according to Pennsylvania State Law, he fulfilled his legal obligation, but the long time coach deserved to go because had more than an inkling of the horrendous events taking place at his "palace" and did nothing to stop it.

Individuals become very brave when they're on the same side as an angry mob, no matter their beliefs. If anyone is injured (or worse) because a football coach was justifiably let go, then our society needs to take a good, hard look at itself

Just Like Ol' Times

2011-10-21T16:40:00.003-04:00

That was a great World Series game last night and it reminded me of the good ol' days when I used to cut school to watch a Series game in the afternoon.

You had a little bit of everything. From "smallball" to strategical maneuvers, the game showcased the sport like no other.

All that was missing was the longball and yet, Albert Pujols deep fly out to RCF in the 8th, thriled the Cardinal fans until it landed in Nelson Cruz' glove.

Cardinals Mgr Tony LaRussa "put his hand in the cookie jar" once too often and it came back to bite him in the rear.

In the ninth, with runners on second and third and no one out, LaRussa needed a strikeout, yet, he lifted Jason Motte in favor of Arthur Rhodes, who gives you less of a chance at a "K".

Rhodes did not give up a hit but he did not record a strikeout to keep the runner at third.

Back to back sacrifice flies did the trick for the Rangers who recorded (up to this point in time) the biggest win in franchise history.

There was no guarantee that if the Rangers had lost, they couldn't have come back to win the Series, but winning as they did, gives Texas a "leg up" in this Fall Classic.

Elvus Andrus' diving play and flip to second to end the fifth turned out to be huge as was Pujols' error that allowed Andrus to get to second.

I found it strange that there was no error called on that play at the time. Andrus would not have advanced without an error, but the official scorers (there is a 3-man committee in the World Series) reviewed it and issued an error on Pujols after the game was over.

As I've posted before, the Rangers can play the National League style and that surfaced in last night's ninth inning.

It was a clinic of finding a way to win and suddenly, this World Series has found some "juice" and should be fun to watch the rest of the way.

World Series Preview

2011-10-19T13:41:00.012-04:00

Don't expect the TV ratings to be high (they never are these days) but this figures to be a highly competitive World Series.

The Rangers and Cardinals both shoved aside the theory that you need good starting pitching to win in the post season, as both rode their bullpens to qualify for the Fall Classic.

Don't expect that to happen in this series. The team that eventually wins, will need some semblance of quality starting pitching. Both lineups can score runs and both can hit against opposing bullpens.

We'll try and examine this series without the usual (and to me, a ridiculous way to analyze baseball) position-by-position breakdown, which is only useful on defense. i.e. Ian Kinsler doesn't hit against Ryan Theriot. Get my point.

Thanks to the ludicrous concept of deciding homefield advantage in the World Series via the result of the All Star Game, the Rangers will lose the DH in the first two games and potentially, four of seven.

There are many baseball observers who downplay the significance of homefield advantage, but, for you stat guys, consider these numbers.

The DH was first used in the World Series in 1976. Since that time, when National League teams have had the homefield advantage, they are 10-4.

Since 1986, when the DH was used in the AL parks on an annual basis, when NL teams have had the homefield advantage, they are 7-2.

There is no questioning the fact that the American League team is hurt by the loss of the DH in World Series games, but this Rangers team is different in that they can play the NL style and they can play it well.

Texas has good speed throughout their lineup and they won't hesitate to use it. They are aggressive on the bases and they can play small ball with the best of 'em, so the Cardinals will have to keep the top of the Rangers lineup off base.

As mentioned above, both teams can score. For Texas, one of the keys to their success will be limiting Albert Pujols' chances with men on base.

If there's an opportunity, Texas will not hesitate to pitch around Pujols and take their chances with Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman.

The Cardinals have the edge in starting pitching because Chris Carpenter is the best starter in this series, but they will have to slow down a hot hitter in Nelson Cruz.

What's fascinating about this match up is that there are no real track records against each other. It almost takes you back to the time before interleague play came into being.

These teams last met in 2004 and the rosters have changed dramatically since then.

Along those lines, here is something to take note of.

Cardinals reliever Mark Rzepczynski did not have much success with the Texas hitters while he was in the American League, but Tony LaRussa will only use him for a batter or two. Octavio Dotel has had some success against Texas so he could be a key.

On the flip side, Rangers reliever Mike Adams has been dealing with command issues during this post season, but he's had good numbers against the Cardinal hitters, including Pujols who is 1 for 8 off the right hander.

As anyone who follows baseball knows, there are no guarantees, these trends will hold true to form in this World Series, but some of the bullpen/batter match ups will go a long way towards determining a winner.

The benches will play a large role in this Series, especially for the Rangers in St Louis. Texas is using Micheal Young at first base to get his bat in the lineup at Busch Stadium, so their bench gets stronger because a bat like Mitch Moreland cannot start the game.

When the Cardinals get to Arlington, their bench actually thins out, because you put an extra hitter in the lineup for the pitcher and that's one less cog in reserve. You can say that they would not have as much need for a pinch hitter, but when your team is not built to play like the AL teams, it becomes a different game for the NL club.

Beacuse of the uncertainty of the starters, this Series has a shot at going the distance.

I give Texas' defense a slight nod overall because of their athleticism. The Rangers are better defensively in the outfield and have two great arms in Hamilton and Cruz. The infield defenses are a "wash" because Elvus Andrus has shown that he can make some errors and Young is not a polished defensive first-baseman. I give St Louis the edge defensively at catcher. Yadier Molina is a better glove than Mike Napoli, who's in the lineup for his bat.

Both teams can win on the road, both teams can score, both teams have arms in the bullpen, but one team is on a mission.

I'm not saying the Cardinals will be satisfied to be there. They deserve all the respect in the world for what they've accomplished, but I believe the Rangers have kept their "eyes on the prize" so to speak.

The Rangers are playing at a very high level with Cruz leading the way, but what's scary about this team is that some of their hitters, like Josh Hamilton (0 post season HRS) and Ian Kinsler, (1 post season HR, 32 during the regular season) have not gotten hot yet.

This will be the best team that the Cardinals have faced all season long, but they'll be up to the task to make it real tough.

Rangers in 7
MVP: Kinsler

There's More To This Yankee Loss Than Meets the Eye

2011-10-09T22:02:00.014-04:00

Now that the dust has settled over their loss in the ALDS, the Yankees don't need to know how they lost, they need to know why they lost and what they can do to improve those flaws and move forward.

SEVERE LACK OF CLUTCH HITTING:
Why they lost can be broken down to a few sub-categories, but the main thrust was a lack of hitting in the clutch.

What went into this lack of clutch hitting needs to be examined.

If you were paying attention, you saw the Yankees go into these lapses of timely hitting throughout the season.

A couple of numbers that clearly demonstrate a lack of clutch hitting is a team's record in one run and extra inning games.

In 2011, the Yankees were 21-24 in one run games and 4-12 in extra innings (that included losing their last eight games that went more than nine innings, last x-tra inning win was June 16th)

The outcomes of one run games are also detemined by a team's bullpen and the Yankee bullpen was a strength, which puts more onus on the hitters.

My point is, maybe this Yankee offense, which was considered a deep and dangerous lineup, was overrated.

Some of the individual numbers were great, but numbers can justify an analyses or sometimes they can be very misleading. I'm not married to the stats all the time, but those numbers in the two categories above are overwhelming and may have provided a portent of things to come in the post season.

If you're not successful in 1-run games and extra inning games during the season, how can you expect to be good at it in the post season.

TOO MANY STRIKEOUTS
Another reason for a lack of hitting in the clutch is not making contact. Plain and simple, the Yankees struck out too much, especially in situations where they had a runner on third and less than two out. You don't need numbers to see that flaw.

The great Yankee teams that won four of five World Series made it a lock to cash in on those opportunities, which also provided a "fear factor" to the opposition. If you were playing those Yankee teams and they had a scoring chance, you felt like it was a lost cause to try and get out of it. All you could do was limit the damage.

At times, this team seemed to be inept at this part of the game.

HE AIN'T HEAVY, HE'S MY ACE
C.C. Sabathia did look heavier as the season wore on, but was that the reason he didn't pitch so well in the ALDS.

It may have been a factor but remember, this is a guy who has thrown 1199 innings over the past five seasons, so maybe, just maybe, the innings have started to catch up to him. That's something that the Yankees may have to come to grips with. If Sabathia does return next season, (that's not a lock) they're going to have to start to lower the demands on his arm (more on the C.C. situation in the next post)

MAYBE THOSE FINAL REGULAR SEASON GAMES WERE MORE MEANINGFUL THAN WAS PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT
The Yankees dropped their final four games of the regular season. Games that were considered meaningless because the Yankees had everything locked up so Girardi rested the regulars.

If you take into account the regular season finish (4 straight losses including blowing a 7 run lead in the eighth in the finale against the Rays) and the ALDS against Detroit, the Yankees lost 7 of their final nine games.

I had a bad taste in my mouth after that last loss to Tampa?

Did Girardi set a bad tone for his team down the stretch, just as he had done the previous season when he rested all his players and did not try to win the division?

Baseball players are used to playing, not sitting for two or three days at a time. In all fairness, the weather did not help the situation, because that created a need for doubleheaders, but in the final week, some of the regulars may have been too well rested.

Speaking of rest, Girardi used that factor as an excuse for not going to one of his main relievers in the ninth inning of game two.

Girardi elected to use Luis Ayala (not a second guess) in a game that the Yankees trailed 4-1 going to the ninth. Ayala did not pitch well in the final weeks of the season, and with the front of the bullpen being well rested, it was an "iffy" call from the start.

Ayala proceeded to hit his first batter, who eventually came around to score a huge fifth run.

In the bottom of the inning, the Yankees rallied but came up short. You can say that fifth run changed the complexion of their final at bat. The Yankees were down four runs and got it to three, but when Detroit scores their fifth run, that's an emotional swing that favors the Tigers and kinda demoralizes the home team.

Girardi didn't help matters when he made a comment (and I'm paraphrasing) after the game, about Jose Valverde's season, as if it wouldn't have mattered if he used someone else to pitch the top of the ninth.

To me, that comment says Girardi was intimidated by Valverde and that filters down to the team.

Mariano Rivera faced four batters in the entire series, and oh yeah, he had to finish game one because Ayala was threatening to have an eight run lead blow up on him.

Remember back to 2008, Girardi's first season. Many people, including Yankee personnel, felt the Manager had to tone down his act, that he was too tense and it reflected on the team. I'm not in the dugout or the clubhouse, but maybe Girardi has reverted back to his old ways.

There's plenty of blame to go around but the bottom line, its time for the Yankee hierachy to "do their thing" and improve this club's chances for 2012.

Next post: Planning for 2012

Girardi Managing Scared

2011-10-04T12:03:00.003-04:00

If the Yankees go on and lose to the Tigers in the ALDS for the second time in five years, there will be plenty of blame to go around.

Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira are a combined 1 for 21 with two RBI's (courtesy of a pair of ground outs by A-Rod) in the series, thus the Yankees are on the verge of elimination.

There are other factors that need to be addressed.

C.C. Sabathia came up small last night and maybe, just maybe, all those innings that he's compiled over the years may be catching up to him.

The manager needs to be held accountable here as well.

Joe Girardi is managing scared and Jim Leyland has taken him to school.

In game 2, the Yankees trailed 4-0 in the bottom of the seventh and with two on and two out, Girardi elected to pinch hit for Brett Gardner with Eric Chavez.

Girardi said he was looking for a long ball but Chavez only hit two homeruns all season long.

I'm not the biggest Gardner guy, but he did have a big hit in game one, and yes, this wasn't a second guess. When Chavez was announced, I thought that was a strange move.

The Yankees were down 4-1 entering the ninth, and Girardi elected to use Luis Ayala.

David Robertson, Mariano Rivera and even, Rafael Soriano, were all well rested, yet, Girardi goes to Ayala, who has been absolutely abysmal the past few times he's appeared in a game.

Ayaya proceeds to hit the leadoff batter, Brandon Inge.

A sacrifice and a two out hit by Don Kelly gives Detroit a four run lead and changes the complexion of the game for the bottom of the ninth.

What is appalling about this move is what Girardi said in his post game comments.

On why he brought in Ayala to pitch the ninth, Girardi said "We still have two more games in a row. And we're down three. If we got it down to two, we were going to make a change. Being down three runs and you know what Jose Valverde has done all year long, we decided to go to Ayala".

"You know what Jose Valverde has done all year long" is a statement that says to me that Girardi was intimidated by the Tigers closer. Are you kidding me? You are basing your decision on that?

Ayala is not a very good pitcher and the Yankees were fortunate to get what they did out of him. Remember, he pitched in game one with a big lead in the ninth and the Yankees still had to go to Rivera to finish it off, yet Girardi comes right back with him the very next day.

Girardi seems to have this fixation with saving his pitchers but now is not the time to save the arms, now is the time to use the arms that you saved during the regular season.

Last night, it was apparent that Gerry Davis strike zone was the size of a pinhead, but it was no excuse to how Sabathia pitched. C.C. was getting rocked and maybe should've been out of the game a little earlier than he was. I won't second guess Girardi on that because I didn't first-guess it, but to cite the umpires inconsistency with the strike zone was a road the Manager should not have traveled.

Blaming the umpire for a poor strike zone sounds like sour grapes.

Girardi manages by the numbers and always seems to play the safe move, the one where he has a convenient alibi if it doesn't work.

Leyland uses data (Ramon Santiago was in the lineup hitting second because he had good numbers against C.C.) but he doesn't let the data take away from using his gut.

It's true that the players need to produce and the pitchers need to pitch, but the Manager can set the tone for a team. With some of his post-playoff game comments, Girardi may have set a negative tone.

It doesn't bode well for tonight. They've got A.J. Burnett on the mound and the Yankees have never won a post season game at Comerica.

It may be deja vu all over again.

10 Years Later, Time Hasn't Healed the Wounds

2011-09-10T23:13:00.003-04:00

The phrase, "Time heals all wounds" doesn't apply here.

This wound will never heal. This wound is re-opened every year on September 11th but on the ten year anniversary of this horrific day, the memories are all too vivid.

This wound left a scar that cannot be ignored.

All those innocent people who were merely going to work that morning, merely trying to live their lives.

No matter what race, what creed, what color or whatever culture you live your life under, no one was spared of this wound.

You may not have any direct ties to those who perished, but you are tied to those who perished.

As long as you live in this country and believe in freedom, then you were wounded that day as well.

There are constant reminders of what happened on that stunningly bright and sunny day.

Stories of those real heroes who were still trying to help others, yet knowing all too well that their lives were probably going to come to an end.

My personal remembrance of that day is of those who jumped to their deaths off the towers because the heat was getting too unbearable.

Those people had a choice, a choice of how they wanted to die. A choice that no person should ever have to make.

The scum that drove those planes into the Twin Towers got off easy. The "pure evil" that directed and coordinated this heinous act will never have to confront those families whose lives were ruined that day.

Never forget, never forgive, never cave in to the cowards who promote the use of terrorist acts.

Ten years later, the wound is still fresh and will never heal

Please Stop the Comparisons, Let the Kid Grow

2011-09-06T14:12:00.006-04:00

The first two homeruns of his big league career has put 21-year old Jesus Montero into the "dangerous game" of making comparisons.

Already, you have heard Montero being compared to Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez but let's slow down a bit.

As Yankee Mgr. Joe Girardi said after yesterday's game, "One thing is you don't get too giddy after one game or too down on another game".

Girardi knows all about the expectations that have been placed on this kid's bat, so he's trying to stem the tide that has started to swell.

There's no questioning the talent that Montero brings to the plate. He's got great hands and terrific bat speed, two ingredients that are needed for a young player to become a big time hitter. He's got great power to the opposite field and once he gets experience, it appears he's going to be tough to pitch to, even with off speed stuff.

Montero's second homerun was hit on a pitch that looked low and away. To even get that kind of pitch in the air is a feat in itself, not to mention, putting it into the right center field seats (and yes, that wasn't just a "Yankee Stadium homerun", that ball would've gone out in just about any other ballpark as well)

On his YesNetwork.com blog, Jon Lane brings up three former Yankees who burst onto the scene, garnered alot of fanfare, but never really lived up to those early expectations.

Kevin Maas, Shane Spencer and Shelley Duncan all started their Yankee careers in the fast track but ended up out of the race. As Lane so aptly pointed out, "Last I checked those names were never listed in any of Baseball America’s top-five Yankees and baseball prospects"

That's one of the major differences here when comparing Montero to past "Yankee phenoms".

There's also the matter of his attitude and maturity.

Montero was reportedly "bored" at Triple A earlier this year so that is something that bears watching down the road, especially if he continues to have early success at the big league level.

An attitude problem can sidetrack even the most promising careers.

The Yankees have handled him well during the developmental stage of his pro career and they've done well in breaking him in slowly. If he's developing faster than anticipated, then that can only help the team in the long run.

Let's all take a step back and enjoy watching the development of this highly touted prospect, but please, stop with the inane comparisons.

Martin Evokes Memories of Munson

2011-09-02T16:06:00.003-04:00

He's not as good a player, but Russell Martin is showing that he's got some "Thurman Munson" in him.

Martin's 2 run double in the seventh was the key blow in last night's 4-2 win over the Red Sox.

The Yankee catcher drove a ball into the right centerfield gap at Fenway to provide the impetus for a huge win.

Sound familiar?

With all due respect to Jorge Posada's career, he doesn't come close to what Martin has given the Yankees behind the plate.

I have to laugh because when the Yankees signed Martin back in December of last year, there were reports that the Canadian born backstop was not a good defensive catcher.

The Red Sox were showing heavy interest in Martin, as were the Yankees and Blue Jays.

Here is a quote from last December on "Extra Bases", a Red Sox blog that appears on Boston.com.

"Martin is not an especially good defensive catcher but would likely be considered an upgrade on Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who has minor-league options"

"Not an especially good defensive catcher". That phrase sounds like it was born in LA and was a result of sour grapes coming from the Dodgers.

Martin has been a terrific defensive catcher this season, not to mention that he's shown some toughness behind the plate that has not been seen in Pinstripes since Munson's tenure.

Thurman Munson was one of the greatest leaders in Yankee history. Whether it was blocking the plate, or getting on a pitcher who had his head down, or coming up with a clutch hit whenever it was needed, Munson was the player who led the Yankees out of the doldrums in the late 1960's when the heralded "dynasty" was no more.

Martin gives you glimpses of that leadership this season.

What may be one of the seminal moments of the 2011 season, Martin's block of the plate at Wrigley Field earlier this year was when I first considered the comparison.

It was June 28th, when the Yankees led the Cubs 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth. Following a pair of back to back errors, Chicago had the bases loaded and one out when Geovany Soto hit a fly ball to left field that looked like it could be a game tying sacrifice fly. Brett Gardner caught the ball and threw home as Carlos Pena tried to score from third.

Technically speaking, Martin had the plate blocked perfectly as Pena slammed into in an attempt to dislodge the ball.

The Yankee catcher was slammed to the ground but he held on, got back up and showed the ball to Pena, the Cubs bench and whoever else was watching, in a gesture that said, "don't mess with us".

The bench was alive after that play and the Yankees went on to a 4-3 win over the Cubs.

It was only one game and one moment, but it was significant in its meaning.

Munson had that kind of impact behind the plate and Martin is carrying on a proud tradition.

It's not only his defense that has impressed the Yankee brass, Martin's bat has started to come around, thanks to his hard work with hitting coach Kevin Long.

I can still remember Thurman Munson coming to the plate at a key spot of the game. With the Yankees needing a big hit, the 1976 AL MVP would "deposit" his signature clutch hit into rightfield.

If there was a need for an extra base hit, Munson would provide that as well.

Russell Martin is not Thurman Munson, but he's sure reminding long time Yankee fans of the late Captain

A Simple Solution to Speed Up Baseball Games

2011-08-31T14:40:00.006-04:00

Whenever the Yankees and Red Sox play, there is the constant complaining about the length of the games.

It's true that the games may be a little lengthy between the two rivals, but a big part of the reason for the "marathon" type ballgames is that both teams have the same offensive philosophy.

Both the Yankees and Red Sox work the pitchers and take alot of pitches.

With that in mind, there is a very simple solution to speed up the games. Have the umpires call more strikes.

These days, it seems like the strike zone is the width of a "pin" and the pitchers have to throw the ball down the middle to get a strike.

In last night's game, it appeared that HP Umpire Ed Rapuano was making calls along the lines of a limited strike zone. If Rapuano called strikes on some of the closer pitches early on in the game, then the batters could not be so selective.

According to the "Official Rules", "Home base shall be marked by a five-sided slab of whitened rubber. It shall be a 17-inch square with two of the corners removed so that one edge is 17 inches long, two adjacent sides are 8 1/2 inches and the remaining two sides are 12 inches and set an angle to make a point".

Maybe the solution is to widen home plate by an inch on each side. Home plate should be 19" wide, instead of 17" and presto, you will have quicker games. If you feel that's too much, then widen the plate by a 1/2" on both sides to make home plate 18" wide.

The home plate umpire wields alot of power with regards to the length of a game.

Games are faster when there are more strikes called. It becomes a "snowball effect" because when more strikes are called, batters become more reluctant to let a pitch go by.

The solution is simple. Call more strikes and you will see the length of the games decrease by a significant margin.

Yanks' Faith in A.J. is Unwarranted

2011-08-10T13:55:00.007-04:00

All you need to do is analyze last night's sixth inning of the Yankees 6-4 loss to the Angels to get all you need to know about A.J. Burnett's Yankee tenure.

Burnett had a 1-0 lead but he gave up a game tying homerun to a struggling Bobby Abreu to lead off the inning. He had the former Yankee at an 0-2 count but could not put him away. Remember the last five words of the previous sentence, because that's one of his big problems, putting hitters away.

OK, he's entitled to one mistake but wait, there's more.

Burnett gets Torii Hunter on a fly out but he walks Mark Trumbo on four pitches.

After Vernon Wells flew out to deep centerfield, Trumbo tagged and went to second.

Here's where it really gets dicey.

Mgr. Joe Girardi elects to intentionally walk the seventh place hitter, Maicer Izturis, and pitch to Peter Bourjos. One problem, A.J. got behind Bourjos 2-0 and ended up walking him on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases.

I would not have walked Izturis.(and that's not a second guess) First off, he's the seventh place hitter. Secondly, its bad enough when Burnett has one man on, now you're putting two runners on for a guy who has had numerous innings collapse on him.

Girardi felt Izturis had gotten good swings on A.J. earlier in the game. "He was 5 for 13 or his last 14 off him. I just kind of liked the matchup a little better".

If he was so concerned about Izturis, then why didn't he lift A.J. there instead of trying to get him through the inning.

So the bags are loaded for the .180 hitting Jeff Mathis. You would think a veteran major league pitcher would be able to buckle down and get himself out of the inning without giving up the lead.

Not A.J. Burnett!!!

The first pitch to Mathis demonstrated another one of Burnett's major flaws.

I repeat, Mathis is hitting .180 so what does A.J. throw with his first pitch? A curveball.

Now, he got strike one, but again, the man is batting .180.

Second pitch was a curveball, which Mathis just saw, and you're helping a .180 hitter speed up his bat.

Boom, a bomb to dead centerfield which goes for a two run, ground rule double. 3-1 Angels.

You would think a veteran major league pitcher would be able to buckle down and get himself out of the inning without giving up any more.

Not A.J. Burnett!!!

With Erick Aybar at the plate, A.J. uncorks one of his patented wild pitches and it's 4-1 without the Angels even taking a swing.

Burnett got Aybar to line out to right but did not throw one fastball in that at-bat.

Pitch selection has always been a problem with him and if you want to put some of the blame on Russell Martin, that's fair, but this has been happening with multiple catchers. If A.J. is shaking off Martin, then that's on Burnett.

Not only pitch selection, but the way he uses the curveball. A.J. seems to try and throw the curveball for a called strike instead of out of the strike zone, so it hangs in the hitting zone where it can be crushed.

How many times has Burnett given up a run or two after he gets the first two outs fairly easily.

The act is wearing thin, and it's getting tiresome of hearing that "he threw the ball well" or "just one bad inning or pitch" or "he's got electric stuff".

Consider this anomaly.

Phil Hughes comes off an outing where he tosses six scoreless innings, albeit against the light hitting White Sox. A.J. Burnett comes off an outing, against those same light hitting White Sox, where he implodes with a 12-run lead and has to be lifted before he can complete five innings.

Hughes goes to the bullpen and Burnett remains in the rotation, and there's talk of sending Ivan Nova (who's been their second most consistent starter the past few weeks) back to the minors. (I know it was only one outing for Hughes, but Burnett didn't have one bad outing, this has been going for months)

In last night's game, Burnett held a 1-0 lead through five, but how many times this season has he blown the lead the very next inning after the Yankees get him one.

His ERA in innings after the Yankees get him a lead is way over 5.00.

This number is mind boggling. No August wins as a Yankee and now we're going on three years.

The flaws in A.J.'s game continue to haunt him and he's never been able to shake his bad habits.

The Yankees need to come to grips with the fact that they made a poor free agent signing and that A.J. is not getting the job done. Remember, they signed Burnett first, as almost an insurance policy in case they couldn't get C.C. Sabathia. Do you realize that if the Yankees didn't sign Sabathia, then they would've looked to Burnett to be the ace.

ARGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

If they continue to use the six man rotation, then A.J. should not get any preferential treatment.

Only Sabathia should be working every five days, and you would be doing Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia a favor if you could get then an extra day here and there.

In a six man rotation, A.J. should pitch when he is told to pitch. Stop using that excuse that he pitches better when he's on the proper schedule. Burnett hasn't shown that he deserves that consideration.

"The Decision" Puts LeBron in the Twilight Zone

2011-06-14T12:37:00.008-04:00

Hours after losing game 6 of the NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks, LeBron James is lying in his bed, in his mansion, looking to fall asleep.

Nearly one year earlier, James "annoyed" the basketball world and walked out on the city of Cleveland with his decision to join the Miami Heat.

LeBron went to Miami to win a championship but came up short and is now facing a slew of criticism for his failure to deliver in the big spots.

(A voice, like that of Rod Serling, begins to narrate)
"Here is LeBron James. He's rich and he's a superstar basketball player who is seeking that elusive championship ring. James has gone to sleep knowing that he just lost the NBA Finals to Dallas. At the sign post up ahead, the next stop, the Twilight Zone."

It's a bright sunny morning in Miami, Florida. The rays of the sun permeate the room as James gets up to begin his day.

It's the morning after LeBron's Heat team was defeated by the Dallas Mavericks in game six of the NBA Finals, or is it?

LeBron's radio alarm goes on and we hear "the Heat come up short once again".

"Come up short once again", LeBron mutters, "we only lost once".

LeBron turns the radio off, showers and heads outside where he meets some fans on the street who tell him, "tough loss last night but there's always next year".

"Yeah it was", James says to himself.

James goes out and drives to the convenience store where he notices the headline on the morning paper, "Ho Hum, Cleveland is Celebrating".

"Cleveland is Celebrating?". LeBron ponders the headline and says to himself, "I didn't realize losing to Dallas would have such an effect on Cleveland".

LeBron leaves the store and drives back to his Miami mansion.

LeBron caused quite a stir in Cleveland with his decision to leave and play for the Miami Heat, but he was surprised it got this far.

As LeBron pulls into his driveway, the radio is on and a sports report comes on where the broadcaster says, "Congratulations to the Cleveland Cavaliers".

"Congratulations to the Cleveland Cavaliers? Why is he saying that?". LeBron thinks that the city of Cleveland is ecstatic that he lost the Finals after he bolted the city last year.

As LeBron enters his mansion, a radio is playing and the announcer says, "Last night, the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Miami Heat in game six of the NBA Finals to win their fourth straight Championship. LeBron James is once again stymied in his attempt to win a title".

"This can't be", a shocked LeBron said.

The morning newspapers, that LeBron has delivered to his home, were still lying by the front door.

LeBron picked one up and was stunned to read the headline, "Cavs Win Again. Capture
4th Straight NBA Championship with six game win over Miami".

LeBron couldn't believe it. "We lost to Dallas, not Cleveland".

Hungry for more information, LeBron began to read the papers.

"The Cavs were led by their dynamic duo of Hakeem Raoul Bajar and Mitchell Jordann. Bajar, considered by many to be the greatest player in the history of the NBA, scored 43 pts and grabbed 22 rebounds in leading Cleveland. Jordann scored 35 and handed out 29 assists. As he's done in previous NBA Finals, LeBron dissapeared in the fourth quarter".

"This is unbelievable", uttered LeBron.

"In a twist of irony, James left Cleveland to give himself a better chance at winning a title, but the Cavs took Bajar with the first overall pick of the 2011 draft and selected Jordann with the fourth overall selection. Blajar and Jordann now have four rings while LeBron is still seeking his first".

"This has got to be a joke. Someone put this together to play with my head", said LeBron.

At this point, LeBron checked the date on the newspaper.

"June 13th, 2017"

Rod Serling voice chimes in once again.....

"LeBron James.....superstar basketball player.....seeking that elusive NBA Championship.....he makes 'The Decision'....LeBron's next stop, the Twilight Zone"

Deja Screw

2011-06-04T11:54:00.003-04:00

Once again, the Knicks are screwed.

For the past three years, things seemed to be on the up and up.

Noted basketball executive Donnie Walsh was brought in to clean up the mess that he inherited from Isiah Thomas. Walsh fired the Head Coach Thomas and then proceeded to overhaul the roster with the idea of getting under the salary cap.

Walsh accomplished this goal with intelligent and gutsy moves and has done everything that he said he would when he took over.

James Dolan has not done everything that he said he would do when Walsh took over, and now it's cost him a highly respected basketball executive.

Walsh was promised autonomy to run the franchise but that was dispelled when Dolan stepped in and took over the Carmelo Anthony trade discussions.

During his tenure as Knicks President, Walsh has had to endure the constant chatter of Thomas having Dolan's ear.

Dolan never totally dismissed Isiah as having input into the team and now that Walsh is out, Thomas' ability to input ideas into Dolan's feeble mind becomes an even bigger factor.

Dolan "lowballed" Walsh by offering an insulting 40% paycut. Most of the reports say that wasn't the main reason Walsh left, but it was a factor. Don't let the reports fool you, Dolan made that offer to insult Walsh and hasten his departure from the team.

The other major factor is Isiah.

Walsh fired Isiah but never really got rid of him, thanks to Dolan's blind loyalty.

Isiah was a "cancer" for the Knicks. He single handedly destroyed any credibility that the franchise had; he got involved in a sexual harassment lawsuit that terribly embarassed the Garden brand and has been nothing from trouble from the moment he arrived in NY.

When Thomas first came aboard, he ordered the MSG TV Network to cool it on the critiques of the team. That should've been a "red flag" for the trouble that was yet to come.

Dolan is gutless and it shows in his adverse reaction to any media types.

Dolan never speaks to the media because he's scared that he'll be exposed for the fraud that he is.

According to Frank Isola's article in today's NY Daily News, Dolan was upset that Walsh gave an interview to Mike Lupica (Dolan can't stand Lupica); and reamed him during a phone call.

Another item in Isola's article points out how Dolan looked to Walsh for losing out on LeBron James. "Privately, Dolan blamed Walsh, confined to a wheelchair following spine surgery last June, for losing James".

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith (who is shockingly back on the air) took the James episode to another level back in February when he sounded like a spokesman for Isiah. These quotes appeared in Bob Raissman's column in the February 22nd edition.....

"Personality is what matters once the money is not an issue," Smith said Sunday night on ESPN-1050. He said when Walsh met with LeBron James last summer, the King couldn't "relate to a 70-year old man in a wheelchair, wearing a neck brace.

"It's about relationships," Smith said. "Most young brothers don't have relationships with a 70-year-old executive. One's white. One's black. It's about personality. You need a big-time personality to relate (to these players)."

Those quotes sound just like the ones that Thomas whispered into Dolan's ear when the Knicks failed to land LeBron.

How do you think Walsh reacted when he read those quotes?

Isiah and Dolan are the only two (maybe Stephen A. is in that group also) who thought Thomas could make a difference when it came to LeBron. The bottom line is that, no matter who was running the Knicks, James was not coming here.

Its true that Thomas will never return as the Knicks President or General Manager, but he's still around and still has Dolan's ear and if you don't believe that, I've got a bridge to sell.

Don't sugarcoat this disastrous occurence by saying, "The Knicks have Anthony and Stoudemire so the future is bright".

I'll say this about Stoudemire. He had a tremendous impact on the Knicks in his first year and probably set the table for the acquisition of Anthony, (Do you think Carmelo comes here if Amare is not here?) but here's my prediction.

The Knicks got the max out of Stoudemire in his first year and will not get any better for the remaining length of his contract. That is not a criticism, that is merely a belief that Stoudemire's health will suffer throughout the remainder of his deal.

Hopefully, that doesn't happen. As I reiterated, it's only my opinion but what has happened is that Donnie Walsh is gone and somehow, Isiah is still around.

The Garden is undergoing a massive renovation. Too bad it doesn't extend to the Knicks ownership.

Get ready for more misery Knick fans. No matter how they slice it, Isiah is back

Manager Deserves Some Blame for Colon Meltdown

2011-05-24T13:52:00.006-04:00

If you missed last night's Yankees/Blue Jays game and you're reading the accounts of the game, you're being led to believe that Bartolo Colon collapsed when he gave up five runs in the sixth inning to power Toronto to a 7-3 win.

Joe Girardi deserves some of the blame for Colon's poor inning because his strategical maneuvers threw the portly righthander off his rhythm.

Colon was pitching great for the first five innings but he made a bad pitch on Corey Patterson who led off with a double to right-center field.

With Jose Bautista (who had already homered off Colon) due up and an open base, Girardi intentionally walked the Major League's leading homerun hitter.

You can't argue with that move, but to be frank here, I would've taken a chance and see if you could get Bautista to swing at a bad pitch out of the zone.

I would argue with what happened after that, and I'm not second-guessing because I don't play that game. I didn't like this move from the start.

Yunel Escobar sacrificed the runners to second and third which brought .228 hitter Juan Rivera to the plate.

Girardi tells Colon to intentionally walk Rivera to set up the double play.

A second intentional walk in one inning can throw off a pitcher's rhythm, that's why you don't have a pitcher, who is just entering a game, intentionally walk the first batter he faces. The pitcher, who is already in the game, issues the intentional pass before the reliever comes in.

Consider what happened next.

The first pitch to Aaron Hill was a single to left to score the go ahead run. Colon then walks rookie Eric Thames (who has all of 5 days of ML service) on four pitches to force in a run.

J.P. Arencibia clears the bases with a double to make it 6-1.

Colon then strikes out Edwin Encarnacion and gets Rajai Davis on a soft comebacker to the mound.

Did Colon suddenly find his rhythm after the Arencibia double?

Girardi has done this kind of stuff before.

In 2008, Girardi's first season, the Yankees were hosting the Reds. Mike Mussina was on the mound. The game was tied at one in the top of the fifth when the Reds had a runner on third and one out. Mussina got Paul Bako on a grounder to second with the runner holding at third. Rookie OF Jay Bruce was up next with shortstop Jolbert Cabrera, a more experienced hitter, in the hole.

At the time, Bruce was in the bigs less than a month, yet Girardi ordered Mussina to intentionally walk the rook.

I know that Bruce is a left handed hitter, but he was a rookie and had not faced Mussina before that night.

Cabrera doubled in two and scored on Ken Griffey Jr's single, and the Reds went on to a 4-1 win.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me

Jose Reyes Holds Himself Back From Being Great

2011-05-05T19:47:00.006-04:00

Mets SS Jose Reyes is off to a great start, but there's an underlying current of immaturity that still clouds his ability to play to his potential.

Reyes is hitting .313, he's scored 19 runs and a third of his 42 hits have been for extra bases including 10 doubles and 3 triples. Reyes OBP is .363 and his slugging pct. is .455.

Impressive numbers to say the least, but beyond the numbers, there are still some negative intangibles that hamper Reyes from being a great player.

In the top of the 5th of yesterday's 5-2 win over the Giants, Nate Schierholtz hit a slow grounder towards Reyes, who was playing pretty deep at short for a left handed hitter. Reyes didn't charge the ball which resulted in him having to uncork a throw that went off Ike Davis' glove at first and allowed Schierholtz to take second.

In the previous inning, Reyes was called out on strikes and showed his disdain for the call by having a little "temper tantrum" on the field before he took his position.

Mets broadcaster Howie Rose has harped on this point before, saying Reyes sometimes takes his frustrations out on the field, and maybe, that's what happened.

This is just one example of why Reyes may never live up to his full potential.

In the past, it's been a health issue, but these little mistakes have also plagued him throughout his career.

Reyes has tremendous ability both at the bat and in the field, but he sometimes allows those talents to camouflage his lack of a fundamental approach to the game.

Reyes rarely charges a ball at short, instead he relies on his arm and yesterday, it burned him. It didn't help that he had Luis Castillo on his left for a few years, because Castillo did some of the same things that rubbed off on Reyes.

It's not just defensively where Reyes can have these "lapses".

Consider what went on in a 4-3 loss to the Astros earlier this season.

In the bottom of the ninth, Reyes led off with a single and was the tying run on first. Josh Thole tried to sacrifice but popped it up in the air. Reyes was late getting back to first and was doubled off, which killed the rally. There's no reason to get caught off first like that.

That wasn't the only mistake of the game for Reyes. Another one went unnoticed because nothing happened on the play.

It was the bottom of the first and Reyes was on second with one out after having stolen the bag. David Wright was batting and worked the count full. Remember, it's one out and Reyes is not forced, with Wright at the plate, who can be a "strike out machine" at times. Reyes took off for third on the 3-2 pitch but Wright fouled it off. On the next 3-2 pitch, Reyes stood still at second.

Staying back on routine grounders and relying on his arm, bad base running plays, these are just some of the flaws in Reyes' game that have never improved.

In the opening game against the Giants, Reyes was the tying run on first but never tried to steal second against SF's closer Brian Wilson to get himself in scoring position.

No matter how many stolen bases, no matter how good he is offensively, if Reyes does not "polish up his act", then he will never be the great player that many expect him to be.

Bitten By the EEL Once Again

2011-04-21T00:17:00.004-04:00

Twelve minutes and thirty six seconds of hockey, that's 12:36 if you're keeping a score sheet.

If you're a Ranger fan, you got zapped by the "EEL" (Eventual Emotional Letdown) once again

I had just finished keeping score at CitiField, working the Mets/Astros game when I got bit by the "EEL".

All I needed to see was the second overtime. 12 minutes and 36 seconds of hockey was all it took for the "EEL" that comes with rooting for the Rangers.

Not only do they lose this key playoff game in double-overtime, they blow a 3-0, third period lead to set themselves up for an "EEL".

Throughout their history, losses like this have been the norm, not the exception.

The 1994 Stanley Cup Championship was like a blip on the Rangers history radar screen. (I still pinch myself and make sure that banner is still hanging at the Garden)

I felt all along that the power play was the key. The Rangers had to cash in on opportunities and they're 1 for 18 with the man advantage in this series, a number that you cannot ignore.

You can only get so far with grit and great goaltending, you have to score goals and the Rangers have had problems putting the puck in the net all year long.

There's no questioning the heart and the character of this team, but they come up short on the talent end of the stick.

Melo Needs to Prove He's A Winning Player

2011-04-19T14:31:00.003-04:00

Following the Knicks two point loss to the Celtics in game one, some of the post game analysis that was orated:

"Carmelo could've taken a better shot at the end", "why didn't Stoudemire get the ball when he was a dominant force on offense" and "why wasn't Landry Fields on the floor in the second half after he did a good job defending Ray Allen".

Sound like familiar refrains?

During their six game losing skid in March, that's exactly what was happening, except no one noticed.

All you heard and still continue to hear is that the Knicks have only been together a short time. That short time has already extended into a tenure.

We all know Carmelo Anthony is a great scorer, but is he a great player? A great player would've found a way to, at the very least, get off a better shot with time running out.

A great player would've found a way to acquiesce to a teammate who was having a better night. Think back to Micheal Jordan's "double-nickel" game against the Knicks. Jordan scored 55 points that night, yet he passed to Bill Wennington for the winning bucket to beat the Knicks in the waning seconds at the Garden that night.

Let's be real. Carmelo hogs the ball. That's fine when he's scoring and having a good game. It's the times that he's not having a good game where his decision making comes into question.

Stoudemire was their best offensive player in game one and deserved to have the ball at the end. Don't give me this "the Celtics played good defense on him in the fourth quarter".

If you look at the final possession, Stoudemire was on the left side and had screens in front of him. All he had to do was move back and he would've been open, but Anthony decided to launch his shot instead.

The Knicks could've found a way to get "Stats" open. Part of this is coaching but that's for another day.

I know Landry Fields is not a lock for the Basketball Hall of Fame, but ever since Carmelo arrived, his game has gone backwards.

The Knicks basically asked Fields to make a change in mid-stream. After playing 50+ games in one system, Fields has had to learn another style on the fly, thus you have a kid who's game has gone in reverse.

Fields minutes immediately went down and now he's not attacking the basket for offensive boards and put-backs as he did in the games before Anthony arrived. I think Fields is intimidated by Anthony's presence and has become tentative because of it.

I'm not saying the Knicks should not have made this trade, but with all things being equal, you wonder if the "pre-Carmelo" Knicks would've had a better outcome.

Remember the game in December when the Knicks played the Celtics "toe to toe" and lost because Paul Pierce made a big shot and Stoudemire just missed beating the buzzer. Who was on the court that night for the Knicks?

'Melo doesn't know what he's in for if he doesn't perform well in these playoffs. The honeymoon with the fans will be over and then he'll know what its really like to play in New York

Shades of Jean Ratelle

2011-04-05T15:11:00.002-04:00

If you've been a Ranger fan as long as I have, you knew something bad had to happen.

It was going too good. The Rangers were playing well at the right time of the season and even though they have not clinched a playoff spot, things were looking up for the Broadway Blueshirts.

This 2010-2011 gritty and gutsy edition of the NY Rangers succumbed to their checkered past when Ryan Callahan (the Captain to be) broke his ankle late in last night's stirring 4-3 come from behind win over the Bruins.

Callahan was one of two players (Henrik Lundqvist the other) that the Rangers could least afford to lose.

After blocking a Kris Letang shot back in December that broke his hand, Callahan missed 19 games and the Rangers were a totally different team without him.

To lose him now is a crushing blow but one that Ranger fans have been used to for years.

Go back to March of 1972.

The Rangers had their GAG (goal a game) line of wingers Vic Hadfield and Rod Gilbert and the center was Jean Ratelle who was having his best year as a Ranger.

That line led a team that was a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, but Ratelle broke his ankle in March and was never the same. He returned for the playoffs but was not the same offensive force he was before the injury and the Rangers lost to the Bruins in the 1972 Finals.

Eerily similar is this Callahan injury.

Despite their grit and their hard work ethic, Callahan is the "heart and soul" of this Ranger team and his loss will be felt bigtime.

Mets 162-0

2011-03-29T15:26:00.002-04:00

My brand new book is out. "Mets 162-0, Imagine A Season Where They Never Lose", published by Triumph Books is in stores and available on line.

I've also got a Facebook and Twitter page dedicated to the book, so please check it out. On each page, we're giving away a copy of the book to the 100th follower.

If you're a Met fan or if you're just a baseball fan and love to read about games of the past, you will love this book.

Check it out and N-Joy the read.

"Mets 162-0"

Montero Behind the Plate Not Catching On

2011-03-25T15:00:00.005-04:00

The Yankees should abandon the idea that Jesus Montero can develop into a serviceable, defensive Major League catcher and try to find another position for him.

Montero swung the bat well in the early part of the spring and defensively, he was showing progress. Since his defense has literally gone south, his hitting has followed.

It's obvious that he's taking his defense into his at-bats, because if you have any kind of an eye for baseball talent, this kid could be some kind of big league hitter.

If I'm the Yankees, I try and find another spot for Montero.

I know the Yankees are blocked at certain positions that he could possibly adapt to, but I would try him in the outfield and I would do it now.

You could try him as a corner infielder, as the Yankees are short on outfielders on the big league roster, while being a little thin in their farm system at that spot.

Why not try Montero in a corner outfield spot?

Some baseball officials say Montero's defensive liabilities as a catcher is limiting his trade value.

If that's the case, another argument for a position change.

Montero is going to be sent back to the minors and the Yankees will keep trying to duplicate what they've had with Jorge Posada the past 15 seasons.

For this kid's own good, and, more important, for the team's best interests, a move from behind the plate should be seriously considered.

Courtside Observations

2011-03-24T16:52:00.004-04:00

Last night, I was the statistician for Orlando T-V, so I sat courtside for the Knicks/Magic game. Here are some observations, take them for what they're worth...

Its becoming increasingly apparent that Chauncey Billups is playing "very old" these days. The veteran guard made some terrible decisions down the stretch, took some bad shots and cannot guard anyone with quickness like Jameer Nelson.

To me, Toney Douglas should be the starter and Billups should come off the bench.

The bottom line is that the Knicks functioned better on offense with Raymond Felton than they're doing with Billups.

Speaking of the Head Coach, it surely looked like Mike D'Antoni seemed very disinterested, especially in the fourth quarter after the Knicks lost the lead. There was no fire from him on the bench, he just sat there and seemed to accept the loss.

The Knicks took their cue and also looked lost at that point.

David Steele and former NBA'er Matt Guokas both made the comment on their broadcast that the Knicks body language was indicating that they were beat.

The Knicks lack of height and presence in the middle is really costing them against the better teams. They can't out-rebound most teams and they're giving up too many second chance points.

There were times when they played very good defense on Orlando, only to see a shot missed and the Magic get the offensive rebound and eventually score off the added possession.

Once again, the mystery of Landry Fields continues to rear its ugly head. Fields started off fast and was the best player on the floor for the Knicks in the first quarter, yet D'Antoni pulls him with a little over three minutes left.

I was sitting next to Walt Frazier, who was doing the MSG Broadcast, and he questioned the wisdom of taking out Fields during his commentary.

Before the trade, there were 14 games that Fields had ten or more rebounds and was averaging 7.1 rebounds/game. Since the trade, he's had only one and is averaging 5 rebounds/game in that time.

Fields was nowhere to be found in the fourth quarter and now there are some "experts" out there who are saying that he's hit a "rookie wall" and that the Knicks should've traded him.

Amare Stoudemire had his worst game as a Knick. After the game, D'Antoni said "he (Amare) was tired". If that was the case, why did he keep Anthony on the bench for the first four and a half minutes of the fourth quarter when the game was getting away from them.

There were some positives:
It looked like Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire actually "meshed" a little more than they have been down the stretch. Anthony looked to pass the ball and set up Stoudemire for some inside shots.

Lack of height and backcourt play are the two biggest issues at this point of the season. The Knicks won't be able to get a rebounder or inside presence this year, but they can change the guard rotation.

I'm not calling for D'Antoni's dismissal, but you get the feeling that if the Knicks collapse and fall out of the playoffs, there could be a change at the Head Coaching position.

I wouldn't be shocked, and this is just an opinion, that D'Antoni is so fed up with how these changes went down, that he may walk away from his deal with a year remaining on the contract.

Don't forget, the Lakers will need a Head Coach after this season. Does anyone else see a connection?

Knicks Have Become Too "Melo"

2011-03-22T16:14:00.006-04:00

Since the acquistion of Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks have changed, but has it been for the better.

Before the trade, the Knicks were a more cohesive unit. There were still the same defensive problems, but the offense ran through Amare Stoudemire and, to some extent, it was working.

Eventually, the Knicks were going to need an upgrade if they hoped to be a championship contender but this trade for Anthony has created more of a mess than before.

Look at last night's debacle.

Earlier this season, the Knicks played the Celtics "toe to toe" and lost on a last second jumper by Paul Pierce. That was pre-Carmelo back in December.

That was also a roster that had Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, just to name a few. The effort in that game, as compared to last night, was like "night and day".

Last night's final 7:26 was an absolute disgraceful performance for a team that claims it's an NBA franchise. The Knicks looked totally out of synch, their floor spacing was atrocious and it looked like no one wanted to take charge.

The Celtics pushed them around, got away with a few fouls that should've been called, and the Knicks wilted.

I know that the Knicks are not a championship team with Felton, Gallinari and Chandler, but are they a championship team with Carmelo Anthony?

Not if he doesn't alter his game because Carmelo hogs the ball and that has taken away from Stoudemire, not to mention, Landry Fields' game has suddenly plummeted.

Of course we'll hear the refrain, "Well Fields is not Carmelo Anthony" as everyone falls in love with the "star power" on the Knicks. "We've got two studs" say those who peed in their pants over this deal, but Fields was in integral part of their success earlier this season and now he's become a non-factor.

It seems as if Stoudemire has been put on the back burners as well. All you hear and read about these days is what Carmelo does when it was "Stats" who helped put the Knicks in position to even make a trade for Anthony.

Stoudemire made Felton, Chandler, and Gallinari all better players with his mere presence on the court, thus their value increased by leaps and bounds in a matter of months.

Carmelo has to abandon this isolation game that he plays because it doesn't work. He never looks to pass the ball and seems to have a habit of putting up contested shots when other players are wide open.

As you well know if you've read this blog before, I am not a big Mike D'Antoni fan.

The Knicks quit at the end of the game last night and that's on the Head Coach. He had timeouts that he did not use when the game was getting away from them. Just an overall poor job by D'Antoni, but this is not all on the Head Coach.

Chauncey Billups does not fit D'Antoni's system as Felton did, but that's no excuse for a lack of effort like what occured last night.

Additionally, the Knicks were a better rebounding team before this trade. They are geting destroyed on the boards in some games.

This current Knicks roster does not fit into how D'Antoni wants to run his team and its up to him to adjust to what he's got on the floor, but this is also on the players.

Donnie Walsh can cover it up all he likes but he was not in favor of this deal and neither was the Head Coach. They realized what could happen and it has happened.

The Knicks, and in particular Owner James Dolan, felt that they were backed into a corner by the Nuggets. After losing out on LeBron James in the free agent market, Dolan was scared to let Carmelo test the free agent waters, so he pulled the trigger on this deal.

I get the feeling Dolan made this trade to justify the enormous price hikes they've invoked for next season.

Star power means money to the franchise, but it doesn't necessarily mean championships.

The Knicks have changed alright, but they're going to have to change once again, or this deal could blow up in their faces

Knicks Have Become

2011-03-22T16:14:00.001-04:00

Mets Are Making A "Second" Mistake

2011-03-15T14:01:00.003-04:00

Met fans are ecstatic over the news that Terry Collins does not want Luis Castillo to be the starting second-baseman.

Ridding themselves of Castillo is a symbolic move that needs to be made.

Collins wants Luis Hernandez to be his starting second-baseman and that may not be such good news.

The 26-year old Hernandez' claim to "Mets" fame came last September when, after fouling a ball off of his foot, he hit a homerun and hobbled around the bases. Hernandez underwent surgery to repair a broken bone in his foot and now the new Manager wants to name him his starting second-baseman.

The scouting report on Hernandez is that he has a "good glove and good range" but is "mostly a non-factor with the bat and on the bases" but that he also has a penchant for making "mental mistakes".

The Mets best choice for second-base was already sent to the minors.

Ruben Tejada was sent to Triple-A to play shortstop on an everyday basis, as it appears the team is planning for the departure of (free agent to be) Jose Reyes after this season.

I know that if you look at the "numbers", Tejada didn't seem like much of a hitter so why him over Hernandez.

My first response to that is Tejada is still developing physically. He's only 21 years old and despite a dismal batting average of .213 last season, he hit over .300 (14 for 45) over the final 16 games of last season, .284 overall in September.

If you watched the games and not just focused on the box scores, you saw Tejada's bat developing before your very eyes.

His swings came with much more authority over that 16-game span, he even had five doubles and he only struck out six times.

In addition, Tejada is a pretty good bunter and defensively, he was good at turning the double play and he's better than any of the candidates still in the running.

Daniel Murphy is NOT a second-baseman, I can't emphasize that enough. Brad Emaus, the rule five pick, is not that good with the glove and what you see is what you get with Hernandez.

With Reyes' penchant for getting hurt, you may see Tejada up here sooner than later, but the Mets should've given him a chance to win the starting second-base job. It would only make them a better team.

Officially Screwed But Justice is Not the Issue

2011-03-10T16:36:00.004-05:00

By now, you've all seen or heard about what went on at the end of the St John's/Rutgers game yesterday.

No question, the officiating crew messed up big time but some of the outrage being aired is missing the point of putting this incident in its proper perspective.

First off, this is a College Basketball game, not a Ponzi scheme that ruined many lives or a natural disaster.

In the sports vernacular, what happened in the game is an injustice but remember this. Rutgers was not screwed out of winning the game. They were screwed out of a chance (albeit a long shot) to win the game.

Despite what's being said, a technical would not have been called after St John's Justin Brownlee threw the ball in the stands because that was not showing poor sportsmanship. It was all about a kid who got excited at the end and didn't realize the situation that developed, partly because of him.

If you get right down to it, the officiating crew could've called a tech on Steve Lavin, who had left the bench area before the clock hit zero. It's a technical foul when the coach leaves the bench area as marked off on the sidelines.

Lavin was strolling past Brownlee at the time he traveled, then went out of bounds and threw the ball in the seats.

I think Lavin fooled not only Brownlee, but he also fooled the refs into thinking the clock had already hit zero.

Some are actually blaming the Rutgers coaches for not spotting Brownlee stepping out of bounds but let's be real here. Once Brownlee got the ball, with scant seconds remaining, did anyone in his right mind, either watching at home or live at the Garden, think that the kid was going to step out of bounds with the ball?

Some media members are questioning the leadership of the Big East for botching this incident but what was the Commissioner of the league supposed to do.

The rules state that if the officials do not blow a whistle, then the review process does not come into play. If the refs blew a whistle at the end and the clock ran out, then they could implement the video review. Since there was no whistle, there would be no review.

The three man officiating crew of Jim Burr, Tim Higgins and Earl Walton did the right thing by withdrawing from the remainder of the tournament, but their careers are on the line here because they committed a "cardinal sin", they were being human.

As a society, we forgive rapists, murderers, child molesters and even people like Bernie Madoff, but because these three men made a brutal mistake in trying to do their job, they should be "burned at the stake".

Beltran Makes "Right" Decision for Him and Team

2011-03-01T00:13:00.005-05:00

This was the opening portion of my post from this past September 30th, 2010

"If Carlos Beltran is a part of the 2011 Mets, he should not be playing centerfield.

Beltran was diagnosed with inflammation of his surgically repaired right knee and he has been shut down for the season.

So the Mets switch-hitting outfielder will rest up and try to get himself healthy for the 2011 season.

There is more than an issue of health here.

Beltran cannot play centerfield anymore"

Apparently, Beltran got the message.

Yesterday, the switch hitting outfielder made the move to become the every day rightfielder.

This move needed to be made in the best interests of both the team and Beltran.

The five time All Star never would have made it through the season if he had to patrol the cavernous centerfield at CitiField which is not good for him or the team.

The Mets need Carlos Beltan to be in the lineup on a consistent basis. Even if they don't contend this season, Beltran could be valuable come trade deadline time.

The Mets could choose to deal him for the right return and if he walks, you've got $18.5 million "coming off the books" (a phrase that would certainly excite the Wilpons these days)

This will most certainly be Beltran's last year with the Mets and the team needs to maximize this once attractive asset to improve their chances in the future

Can't Forget About Amare

2011-02-24T12:14:00.004-05:00

With all due respect to the late Dean Martin, I'm paraphrasing.

"When your shot doesn't fall 'cause you're not getting the ball, that's Amare".

The Knicks get Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire became an "after-thought".

At least, that's the way it appeared last night.

The newest Knick received most of the attention last night, and rightfully so, but let's not forget what player has been on the floor for the first 50+ games or so to help the team get to a point where they would be more attractive to a player like Carmelo Anthony.

I know it's only Carmelo's first game. He's played with Chauncey Billups, Stoudemire has not, but sometimes a first impression leaves a lasting one and a 25-13 shot attempt differential may not sit well with the man who fans are chanting "M-V-P".

There were still a few of those chants but it sure felt like Stoudemire was just a bit player in the Knicks 114-108 win over the Bucks.

To me, Stoudemire just didn't look right and you can blame unfamiliarity for only so long.

Is a 25-13 shot attempt difference going to be the norm around the Knicks?

The Knicks introduced Anthony first and Stoudemire last, so you could interpret that as a sign that this was still Amare's team, but will it be in a few weeks from now.

There are Knick fans out there who will lambaste you if you have anything negative to say about this deal.

Anthony had 27 points and 10 rebounds, but don't overrate the board total.

Carmelo is an average rebounder at best and some of those he got last night were not what you would call "legit" rebounds. On 3 or 4 occasions, Anthony got credited with rebounds that were created by Ronny Turiaf's grit inside as Carmelo cleaned up the loose ball.

Everyone knows the Knicks defense has not improved with this acquisition. Last night, the Bucks treated the Knicks interior defense like a T-V show, "C-R-I (Come Right In) NY"

Carmelo is a "scorer", plain and simple and he takes alot of shots.

It will bear watching how the ball distribution and shot attempts pan out for the remainder of the season.

If the first game is any indication of how the shots will be taken, then it will be even more interesting to see how Stoudemire is dealing with it.

Great Move by the Knicks?........Remains To Be Seen

2011-02-23T12:51:00.006-05:00

Knick fans are ecstatic over the acquisition of Carmelo Anthony.

It's a trade that the Knicks had to make, but it doesn't automatically make them an NBA title contender and there are some blips on the radar screen.

If you've read this blog, you know that I posted if getting Carmelo means Isiah Thomas is back and calling some shots for the Knicks, then that is a problem.

The move does give the team a chance to build around two legit superstars but there are a couple of factors that could put a "fly in the ointment".

We'll break it down to the Roster, Coaching, Meshing on the court, long term ramifications and who's team is it, Melo's or Amare's.

ROSTER:
Look, personnel wise, the Knicks are better, you can't deny that. I was never against the Knicks giving up the players they did to make this deal (as long as Landry Fields was not involved) but there are still some major holes to fill.

The Knicks still need a defensive presence in the middle, one who can rebound, block shots and occasionally score. Scoring is not a problem with the two big stars.

Chauncey Billups or Chris Paul, or whomever is the point guard, will need a solid back up to alleviate the starter's minutes and keep them fresh throughout the season.

Deron Williams is off the market for now and with the uncertainly of the new CBA, who knows if Chris Paul will be available after the 2011-2012 season.

COACHING:
How Mike D'Antoni handles this personnel will be interesting to watch.

You can bet he'll shorten the roster, as he did in the early portion of the season, which could really be rolling the dice with the 35-year old Billups, who was averaging a little over 32 minutes per game with Denver.

Billups will slow this offense because that's how he plays, but he's still going to have to succumb to the fast pace that D'Antoni preaches.

Will the head coach play Anthony at the "4" and will Carmelo be comfortable in that spot, and who gets the shots in crunch time.

D'Antoni's contract is up after next season and if this team does not start to mesh by next season, you can bet Isiah will be whispering "sweet nothings" into James Dolan's ear about his head coach.

MESHING ON THE COURT:
There is a question as to whether or not Anthony and Stoudemire can co-exist on the court.

Both players are averaging 19 shots per game, both are accomplished scorers and you can say that both essentially do the same thing.

When the Knicks (who already had Hall of Famer Walt Frazier in the backcourt) acquired Hall of Famer Earl Monroe from the Baltimore Bullets in 1971, you heard some of the same critiques, but "Earl the Pearl" made adjustments to his game and the two HOF's became a dynamic duo that helped the Knicks to their second and last title in 1973.

Can these two accomplish the same?

Remember, Anthony and Stoudemire are not players who complement each other.

Then there is the question of who gets the shots down the stretch? That will provide the most interesting aspect of how they'll function on the court.

LONG TERM RAMIFICATIONS:
Anthony and Stoudemire are signed through 2015 and are in the prime of their careers, so the Knicks will have a good chance to put together a team around them that can win a championship by that time.

With that in mind, if Isiah Thomas comes back in any form (don't be shocked if that return would be as the head coach for a second time) then all bets are off.

Personally, I don't expect Donnie Walsh to return, but I could see Dolan promoting Allan Houston in title only, while giving Isiah "carte blanche" to continue to make suggestions from "afar".

Remember, they've given up some future picks again (one of Isiah's favorite trade tactics) so you hope they won't get burned as they have been in the past ten years.

WHO'S TEAM IS IT?:
Let's face it, Stoudemire came to NY because they were willing to give him a five year, $100 million dollar contract. You can't begrudge him wanting to make big money, but there has also been some buzz that he wanted to come here to get out of the shadow of Steve Nash.

As great as he and Nash were, it was always Nash's team. With the Knicks, it's been Amare's team, but does that change with 'Melo on board.

Stoudemire has proven himself to be a real leader, on and off the court and something that not many thought he had in him.

Now he's got to share top billing with another star.

There's alot more to this deal than just what you're seeing on the surface.

Will the Knicks surface as a title contender once again. They have a chance to.

If Getting Melo Means Isiah Comes Back, Then Its a Bad Deal

2011-02-21T13:18:00.003-05:00

Donnie Walsh has made the Knicks relevant, yet, it doesn't seem that he's even involved in this attempt to trade for Carmelo Anthony.

Knicks Owner James Dolan seems to be "smitten" with former Knicks President Isiah Thomas and it appears that Thomas is calling some of the the shots.

Sorry to be blunt about it but if Dolan brings Thomas back to run the Knicks, then he's dumber than he even appears to be.

Thomas is a franchise killer. His backers say he's got an "eye" for talent, but that is not enough to warrant a return.

From 1994-98, Thomas became part owner and Vice-President of the Toronto Raptors but left after a dispute with management over what was termed the franchise's direction.

After a short stint as a broadcaster, Thomas put up $10,000 to become the owner of the Continental Basketball Association. In 2001, the league was forced into bankruptcy and folded.

Many CBA managers blamed Thomas, citing mis-management and out of control spending on his part.

From 2000-2003, Thomas coached the Indiana Pacers. When Larry Bird returned as the President of Basketball Operations, his first act was to replace Thomas as the head coach with Rick Carlisle.

In December of 2003, Thomas was hired as the Knicks President of Basketball Operations.

If you're a Knick fan, you're well aware of what went on during Thomas' tenure.

At the end of the 2005-06 season, the Knicks had the highest payroll in the league and the second-worst record. He traded away several future draft picks to Chicago in a deal for Eddy Curry including what turned out to be two lottery picks in talent-rich drafts.

In 2007, Thomas instituted a series of secret pre-NBA draft workouts for potential draftees, which is in direct violation of league rules.

Last month, the NBA, after an investigation, fined the Knicks $200,000 for those workouts.

Of course, lest we forget the sexual harassment suit and his near drug overdose.

If you owned a team and you saw this kind of resume that features first-hand experience, do you bring this person back?

I heard someone on the radio say, "With Carmelo and Stoudemire, even if Isiah comes back, how can he screw this up?".

Let me count the ways

In Defense of the Knicks, There is None

2011-02-12T13:05:00.003-05:00

Wake up Knick fans, this team is improved, but they're not that good.....yet.

The Knicks are heading in the right direction, (heck, anything is better than what they've put out on the floor the past few years) but they are not a championship contender at this time and Carmelo Anthony is not the answer.

Anthony is a scorer, plain and simple. He can get some rebounds, is not a good passer and is a sub par defender who needs to have the ball.

Let's say the Knicks trade for Anthony. Does his addition make the Knicks a better rebounding team? A better defensive team? Get my drift, you don't win championships without rebounding and defense.

Second chance points in the NBA are critical. Combine that fact with poor perimeter defense and that's where the Knicks are getting beat.

The Knicks should make a play for Anthony but he's not the missing piece. Anthony makes the Knicks a 50-win team, but he doesn't make them a champion.

Let's say the Knicks are able to add Anthony as a free agent. Depending on if they do a "sign and trade" with Denver, the roster, with Anthony is still lacking an inside presence and a back up point guard.

Look at the two time defending champion Lakers. They had the great Kobe but they needed to go out and get Pau Gasol to put them over the top.

Amare Stoudemire has had a terrific season but as I've posted here before, he is getting run down from all that he's had to do on the court.

Raymond Felton surprised us with his play but he's slowed down and you're seeing why Charlotte may have given up on him.

Without a legitimate back up point guard, Felton has had the carry the load and he's also worn down.

The system that head coach Mike D'Antoni uses lends itself to transitional opportunities for the opponent.

D'Antoni's philosophy is to get off as many shots as possible and that includes launching three pointers, even when they're not called for.

When a "3" is missed, the result is usually a long rebound. That enables the opposition, if they secure the rebound, to run a fast break that requires less of a distance to complete. The rebound is garnered near the foul line and its off to the races.

Now that the Knicks have gone into a bit of a funk, the talk surrounding the team is sounding like they're underachieving.

The Knicks are exactly where they should be, a .500 team that can play on an elite level some nights and play down to the level of inferior competition on other nights.

Yes, you would like to see them make the playoffs. Even if they got swept in the first round, the experience would be beneficial for the young players.

In order to take that next step, the Knicks are going to have to solve their rebounding woes and play more consistent defense on a night in, night out basis.

Yanks May Be Better Off Without Pettitte

2011-02-03T15:46:00.004-05:00

Andy Pettitte will make it official tomorrow at a Yankee Stadium news conference.

The left hander will announce his retirement after a 16-year career and you can hear the "gasps" and the panic that has ensued.

"What are we gonna do now" is the cry heard around Yankee-Land. It's not as historic a cry as "The British are coming" but the Yankees may be better off in the short and long run.

There's no denying the Yankees are thin in their starting rotation but do you really think Pettitte would have provided the answers.

Yankees broadcaster and ESPN 1050 host Micheal Kay broke the story earlier today. Kay has always been close to Pettitte but one thing he said, about why the veteran lefty retired, doesn't sit right with me.

Kay quoted his source as saying that Pettitte decided to hang 'em up because he didn't want to be away from his family for such a long time and that it was not a physical issue.

In fact, Kay quoted that same source as saying Pettitte feels like he could pitch another five years.

Lest we forget, that Pettitte has been plagued by elbow problems ever since the early part of the 2000's. It was an elbow injury that Pettitte says spurred him on to use Human Growth Hormone to speed up the healing process.

As late as last season, Pettitte experienced elbow problems in May but was able to overcome that until he injured his groin which cost him two months.

(You wonder if in trying to protect his elbow, that Pettitte suffered an injured groin because he may have altered his mechanics a bit)

Remember, Pettitte was reportedly throwing the ball in January, which led to speculation that he would come back. I have a feeling that something physical has surfaced prompting this decision.

Even if Pettitte came back, do you really believe that he would've lasted the whole season to make 30-35 starts. I don't believe that.

I firmly believe that Pettitte would've been injured again at some point of the season and the Yankees would be in an even worse position with their starting rotation than they are at this moment in time.

At least they have spring training to try and sort this out.

I know Yankee fans are not thrilled with the names they're bringing to camp, but right now, that is their only alternative in which to open the season.

The bottom line is that even if Pettitte was in the rotation, the Yankees would still need a much better season out of A.J. Burnett and a "step to the forefront" season from Phil Hughes. Of course, we cannot forget a return to form from their "ace" C.C. Sabathia.

The Yankees have some promising young arms on the rise and I know prospects are just that, "prospects" but when you keep hearing positive and glowing reports from numerous scouts and baseball people I respect, then you must heed the "hype".

This will not be a lost season because Andy Pettitte has retired. Even if he was back, it wouldn't guarantee a berth in the 2011 playoffs.

To me, Pettitte falls short of a Hall of Fame career but that doesn't take away from what he accomplished in Pinstripes. The HGH admission will likely cost him many, many votes but even without the drugs, he still falls short of being inducted.

The time has come for both sides to part the ways.

"No Brag, Just Fact"

2011-01-16T23:08:00.003-05:00

"No Brag, Just Fact".

That's a credo from an ol' TV show (The Guns of Will Sonnett) that suits the Jets very well.

There are no disclaimers; no alibis; no excuses, no nothin'.

Bottom line, the Jets beat the Patriots in Foxboro.

With all the trash talking this week, what got "swept under the rug" was the fact that alot of the Jet players were mad that New England rubbed it in during that 45-3 embarassment.

This time, here was no luck involved, no miraculous breaks, no gift calls from the referees. Plain and simple, the Jets beat the Patriots "every which way but loose".

Mark Sanchez' offense outplayed Tom Brady's offense. Darrelle Revis' defense outplayed Vince Woolfork's defense. Special teams went the Jets way, and oh yes, Rex Ryan outcoached Bill Belichick. Everything went the Jets way because they made that happen and now its on to Pittsburgh.

There's an ol' expression I like to use when evaluating a potential championship game. "They win the games they have to win".

In any team sport, you can't expect to win every game of a season, but there are certain games that "you must win" if you want to be among the league's elite.

The Jets have won those games.

I can't say enough about their mental toughness. That came into play after Nick Folk missed that field goal in the first quarter and the Jets held the Pats to a field goal on the ensuing drive.

Alot of teams would've crumbled from that point on, but not the Jets.

The Steelers will be no easy mark. Troy Polamalu is playing this time which makes them that much more dangerous.

Pittsburgh will be seeing a different Jets team as well, a better Jets team than the one that captured a 22-17 win at Heinz Field late in the season.

Just getting back to the AFC Championship is a remarkable feat in itself, but the Jets will be under alot more pressure to get it done this time around.

Mental toughness may make the difference

Remember the Alomar, Stats the Reason He's In

2011-01-05T18:52:00.003-05:00

A lifetime average of .300 over a 17-year career; 2,724 hits; a 12 time All Star, the 1992 ALCS Most Valuable Player, 4 Silver Sluggers and 10 Gold Gloves.

That all adds up to today's news that Roberto Alomar was elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame.

Last January, Alomar missed election by less than 2% of the vote. (A candidate needs 75% of the votes to be elected).

This time around, Alomar garnered 90% of the vote, so what changed in the last 12 months.

I suspect that some of the voters took into account the spitting incident with umpire John Hirschbeck and held back their votes for a year. That's been known to happen in the past.

Maybe some of those voters watched Alomar during his 1 1/2 year tenure in Queens where, frankly speaking, it appeared at times as if he wasn't even trying.

Being an official scorer gave me a little different perspective on Alomar's career, particularly on defense.

Alomar was very talented with the glove but there would be times he would make a routine play look more difficult than it was so that, if there was an error charged to him, he could appeal to the "scorer", claiming he couldn't complete the play because of the level of difficulty.

For example,
runner on first, one out. The ball is hit towards the middle where Alomar's range enables him to get there and backhand it. He has time to brace himself and flip the ball to the shortstop who was covering second. Instead, he flips the ball behind his back and it's not a good flip so the runner is safe and Alomar has to be charged with an error on the throw.

Alomar appeals to his P-R representative (whoever that is) to get the official scorer to change the call, claiming that flipping the ball behind his back was the only way to make a play. It didn't matter that the runner on first was so slow, Alomar could've made the play by just stepping on the bag, but he elects to make a fancy play instead.

I've heard that the scorers in Cleveland and some of the other places that Alomar called home, would change many of the calls, thus his error total would be lessened.

Obviously, that did not happen here and at times, it was a problem.

If you look at Alomar's career record, he has 98 "sacrifice hits" (or bunts) while playing in 1,671 American League games.

Alomar batted in the first three slots in the order for the bulk of his career.

Why does a player of his offensive abilities need to bunt 98 times in American League games?

Some of those bunts came in situations that were certainly not warranted (did anyone say Luis Castillo) and there was a belief that he did this, not to help the team, but to protect his batting average.

Not what I'd call a "winning player".

Roberto Alomar has been elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame, but to call him a Hall of Famer leaves alot to be desired

NFL Should Diss-Parity

2011-01-03T20:08:00.003-05:00

Expansion brings more revenue to a league but it's also a gamble because you "water down the product".

When the NFL went to the four divisional set up in 2002, there was always the risk that one of those divisions would be won with a team that finished under .500.

That became a reality this season in the NFC West as the Seattle Seahawks won the division with a 7-9 record and will host next week's playoff game against the defending champion Saints.

New Orleans finished four games better than Seattle, yet they have to go on the road.

There is something radically wrong with this scenario.

The Seahawks are not exactly a hot team as they enter the post season. In fact, if you include last night's win, they lost seven of their last ten games.

Add the fact that Seattle played six divisional games against teams with a combined record of 18-30 and you have to seriously question the validity of being a division winner.

Now comes the post season.

What if Seattle beats the Saints and moves to the second round. Upsets are the scourge of the post season. I can guarantee you that no one outside of Seattle wants the Seahawks to win. It would be an embarassment to the league.

The Seahawks record speaks for itself.

Seattle is one of the worst qualifiers for a post season berth in the history of the NFL.

It doesn't mean they can't win in the post season, it's just a by-product of the inequity that is today's NFL.

The League has to seriously look at this system to see if it is working.

It's true that the NFL can boast that any team can go from the very bottom of the league to the "top of the heap" in just one season, but is that really healthy for the sport?

With parity, there is a severe lack of great teams. There are no dynasties to shoot for.

"Well that makes it equal for all teams, unlike other sports", the pundits will say.

It also makes for many mediocre games like last night's NFC West showdown game.

That was a joke to compare that game to the great regular season finales of the past.

NBC was making that out to be an epic battle, yet it belonged on their reality show, "The Biggest Loser" because the real fans lose out on competitive football.

To camouflage that "slop" as a fun and competitive game is an insult to any real football fan.

The NFL should take a look at two divisions per conference.

This would eliminate any team with an under .500 record from even making the playoffs.

If they don't like that idea, at least mandate that in order to host a post season game, a team must be at .500 or better, even if they win the division.

The more parity that you have in a sport, then the majority of the games will be rather bland and non competitive.

Stop Sugarcoating It, the Giants Blew the Season

2011-01-03T14:37:00.005-05:00

Having followed the Giants since the early 1960's, I think I'm qualified to put the 2010 season in perspective.

It's the "emptiest" ten win season that I can ever remember.

I'm not feeling so giddy about beating a crappy Redskins team in a game that defined anticlimactic.

Let's face facts, the Giants blew an opportunity for another potential run to the Super Bowl.

We all know what happened in the Eagle game, there's no reason to rehash that experience, but how about losing at home to a sub par Cowboys team. That game was as bad a loss as the Eagle game because that set the collapse in motion.

With the uncertainty of the labor situation in the NFL, the Giants had to bring Tom Coughlin back, but he better be on a short leash. The Giants can't afford to miss the playoffs for a third straight year, and how much pressure will be on next year's divisional games against Philly.

Give John Mara and the Giants credit for not allowing any stories to develop and get "legs" in the media.

Coughlin's collapses are well documented and let me put this one to you?

If Coughlin's team doesn't win the Super Bowl three years ago, do you think he would've survived this year, much less last year's debacle? I don't think so.

I'm sure Giants management is feeling more dissapointed over not having a chance to host the first post season game at the New Meadowlands. The Jets are in the playoffs but have no home games. Don't kid yourself, there is a rivalry between the two ownerships, despite the fact they share the Stadium.

So what happened to this team.

Maybe they weren't as good as their record "says you are".

On defense, the Giants had a terrific defensive line but their linebackers are a weakness and teams exploited that throughout the second half of the season.

Once you nullified their D-line, then you could attack the Giants in the middle of the field. Because the linebackers can't cover and can't tackle, that can lead to big plays.

The defensive backs gave up some big plays (see above) but the lack of solid linebackers feeds that as well.

Special teams were horrific, there's no other way around that. The Giants need to be alot better in that category.

Eli Manning had a terrible year, he'd be the first to admit that, but you don't give up on this guy.

He's not in the class of his brother or Tom Brady as NFL quarterbacks, but Eli Manning knows how to make plays and how to win.

Having a "check-down" back would certainly help.

Who is that "third down" type of back that the Giants have? They don't have that type of back and they need that weapon added to their offense. How many screen plays have the Giants run in the past few years? Not many.

Brandon Jacobs is a year older, which means another year of hard hits is starting to accumulate and you have to figure he's on the "downside" of his NFL career.

The Giants could use another running back.

The receiving corps should be fine, provided they are healthy.

Offensive line could always use more options and the younger linemen like Will Beatty and Kevin Boothe seem ready to step in and make a contribution.

The bottom line here is that, despite being a flawed team, the Giants had as good a chance as anyone in the playoff field, but of course, they're not in the playoffs.

There are no great teams in the NFC. Atlanta and New Orleans are very good teams but they don't measure up to the great Patriots teams of the past ten years or the Steelers teams that won 2 Super Bowls in the first decade of the 21st century.

Maybe the "flaws" mentioned above would have hampered their run to a Super Bowl, but with the way the NFL is structured these days, anything can happen.

Seasons are precious in the NFL. The Giants were right there at 9-4 and "spit the bit" in two big games.

Eli Manning is not getting any younger and the team would like to take advantage of his prime years.

The stunning loss to the Eagles brings even more "pain" today, than it did when it actually occured.

I'll be watching the NFL playoffs because I'm a pro football fan and I work in the business of covering sports, but in the back of my mind, I'll be thinking "what if?".

Knicks Can Take Moral Victories as Progress

2010-12-29T16:02:00.006-05:00

In any sport, a legitimate championship contender should not accept a "moral victory".

When you're a team that's averaged a little over 28 wins the past six seasons and have made the playoffs just once in the last nine campaigns, then "moral victories" are a sign of progress.

Mike Vaccaro (he's a terrific read), the outstanding columnist for the NY Post, had a great quote about the state of the Knicks. "They still are at that point in their climb, innocent or otherwise, where they aren't always judged by the final score".

The Knicks have played four games against two of the best in the East, Miami and Boston, and have lost all four. The last two times against the Celtics and Heat, the Knicks gave those two powerhouses quite a scare and showed that they are on the way back to respectability.

An 0-4 mark against the top teams in the conference is not a good sign for a team that entered the season as a contender. 0-4 against Boston and Miami would not wash for Orlando or Atlanta or the Bulls.

For the Knicks and the way those four games have panned out, its a refreshing demonstration that Donnie Walsh and company have gotten this team back on track.

The Knicks may not have all the tools to start beating the top contenders on a consistent basis but at this point in time, that's not a priority.

What is important is that the additions of Amare Stoudemire and Raymond Felton, not to mention the scouting acumen that helped acquire Landry Fields, have given this team a jolt that they've needed for a long, long time.

The Knicks still have many things to work on. Perimeter defense, rebounding and shot selection are just a few areas that need to be tweaked but it's still better than the type of teams that have been patrolling the Garden floor the past nine years.

The Knicks are "watchable", they are competitive and they may even make the playoffs this year. If they make the right moves, they could thrust themselves into championship contention (are you listening LeBron?) sooner than expected.

As the line that Vaccaro penned to end his column says, "Coming close will cease to be an acceptable standard".

For now and for this season, it's more than acceptable.

NCAA Should Suspend Themselves For "Impermissible Benefits"

2010-12-23T11:53:00.005-05:00

The NCAA is at it again.

The most hypocritical organization in the United States suspended Kansas State Seniors Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly for "impermissible benefits" in connection with the purchase of clothing at a local department store.

Pullen was suspended for three games, while Kelly's punishment has yet to be determined, so he remains in limbo.

As far as what actually happened, check out this quote from a story written by Kelly Robinett of the Kansas City Star:

"The clothing Pullen and Kelly took from the store exceeded the value of the merchandise paid for. The difference in value is the impermissible benefit. Pullen’s suspension is specific because K-State has learned the value of his improper benefit. The sources said Kelly’s merchandise value was larger and is still being determined."

Sounds like they were offered a discount by this Manhattan, Kansas store for being on the Kansas State basketball team, or maybe they were given a "freebie".

They didn't steal anything, they didn't cause a ruckus in the store, they didn't harm any children and they didn't murder or rape anyone, but in the world of the NCAA, this is a major crime.

Even head coach Frank Martin drinks the NCAA "Kool-Aid", but, in all fairness, he proably has to but he didn't need to utter this quote about his kids. "These young men have worked hard to represent themselves and Kansas State in a positive manner," coach Martin said in a release. "Having said that, they made a mistake in judgment and have to pay a price for that decision."

"A mistake in judgment" is that they took the clothes, either at a discount or for no charge. I can't imagine that the two players went to the store looking for "freebies". They probably went there looking to buy some clothes and were made this offer when it was discovered that they played for Kansas State.

These kids are getting big time exposure. On TV, on the internet, in the newspapers, the players for the major schools are treated like celebrities. Everyone knows them because their pictures are posted everywhere and when the general public gets to interact with celebrities, then offers will be made. It's human nature.

For years, the NCAA has hidden behind their supposed "morals" of running collegiate sports, but in reality, they are trying to protect their "cash cow" which brings in billions of dollars at the expense of young kids who are gifted athletes.

"We give them an education" is what the NCAA screams when the notion of paying these kids is brought up.

You wouldn't be "giving" an education to these kids if they couldn't help you become a winning football or basketball team.

Look at the Cam Newton situation. Do you really think the NCAA would suspend Newton because of his father's transgressions? The NCAA suspends the Kansas State players but Newton gets off "scot free". After all, Newton's Auburn team was unbeaten and would be an attraction in the BCS Championship game. Without Newton, the attraction is lessened. At the time of the ruling, Auburn was one game away from the Championship game. The Tigers could've beaten South Carolina in the SEC Title game but without Newton, there wouldn't be the same "buzz" for the title tilt as there is with him eligible to play.

Winning in collegiates sports translates into big bucks so you can legitimately make an argument that Collegiate Sports is big business.

The NCAA doesn't allow beer sales at their games. That is a clear demonstration of their morality, right? They can afford to not sell beer because they're making billions of dollars from all the other revenue sources, especially T-V.

Merchandise, like collegiate uniform tops, can be found at any store like Modell's or Dick's Sporting Goods, and you know where the money goes from those jerseys.

I don't know if paying these athletes is the answer, but I do know that they're not treated properly for what they bring to these schools and the NCAA.

"Impermissible benefits" are forbidden for the athletes, but the NCAA is doing quite nicely with their "permissible benefits" at the expense of collegiate athletes.

Observations from a Courtside Seat

2010-12-16T11:59:00.004-05:00

I was the statistician for Boston TV last night so that meant I had the extreme pleasure and privilege to sit courtside for that great game.

Some observations:
The Knicks are much improved but they won't ever be a championship contender until they play consistent defense, especially on the perimeter.

Along those lines, I thought the head coach made some tactical errors down the stretch.

Why was Danilo Gallinari on the floor when the Celtics had the ball with :12 left? The Knicks need a stop, not a bucket and Gallo does not possess the footwork to be a good defender.

During the game, the Celtics tried to isolate Paul Pierce on Gallinari because Gallo can't guard anyone.

Speaking of Gallo, its true he had a great second half but does anyone remember that, in the first half, he missed all three free throws after he was fouled beyond the 3-PT line. This is supposed to be an 85-90% shooter at the line and he misses all three. Do you think that may have been costly?

There was .4 on the clock when the Knicks, who trailed by two, inbounded the ball to Amare Stoudemire beyond the three point line.

Anyone who follows basketball knows that its nearly impossible to get off a shot with that amount of time left, much less a "three". That rule was born in NY thanks to one Trent Tucker, but why didn't the Knicks try a lob pass towards the rim, have everyone storm the bucket and try to get the tying points.

With the way the game was being officiated, (and it was one of the worst officiated games that I've seen in a long time) who knows. Maybe they would've called a foul, but to attempt a three in that spot leaves me scratching my head.

Believe it or not, when Stoudemire hit the shot that didn't count, Spike Lee ran on the court and started taunting the Celtics. If this guy is supposed to be this great Knick fan, he does all he can to rile up the other teams.

The real Knick fans spend their hard earned money to sit upstairs. Unlike Spike Lee, they're far away from the court but they're just as passionate about their team as he is.

There are legit reasons to be excited about this team and considering where they've been in the past nine years, any notable improvement is welcome.

Raymond Felton is playing better than anyone could have anticipated. Landry Fields has been quite a find (although he had his first "off game" last night) while Wilson Chandler continues to get better.

The Knicks are still a ways away from championship timber, but after a long drought of "no progress", they're on the way to being a real good team again.

Cliff Anger Won't Push Yanks Over the Edge

2010-12-14T13:23:00.005-05:00

He made his decision and now the Yankees can move on.

Yankee fans seem to be in full panic mode after Cliff Lee turned down their lucrative offer to sign a five year deal with the Phillies.

Those of you who speak to me on a regular basis, or read this blog, know that, all along, I never felt Cliff Lee would come to NY.

The talented lefty never struck me as being a "New York" type of guy. It's true that he succeeded in pressure situations, but the pressure to succeed here is unsurpassed.

Judging from the reaction to the Phils and Red Sox moves this off season, they may as well cancel the season and print the World Series tickets in Philly and Boston.

There is no doubting the Yankees need to fortify their starting rotation but now that they've been forced into an alternate plan, things may just work out for the better.

The Yankees have re-stocked their farm system with talented young arms. I know, prospects are just that, prospects, but when you talk to people "in the know", the Yankees are always being asked for their young arms in potential trades.

Sometimes you've just got to trust your gut and not always resort to "buying" your way out.

Earlier today, the Yankees came to terms with free agent Catcher Russell Martin. Boston was reportedly showing interest but now that he's signed with the Yankees, the Red Sox are saying they had "minimal interest".

Don't kid yourself, the Bosox wanted Martin because they're not sure about their catching situation. Jason Varitek is not the same player he once was and the Sox don't trust Jarod Saltalamacchia.

Martin has been damaged goods the past two seasons but he's worth the risk because he is a "leader" type behind the plate, something Jorge Posada never really lived up to.

Posada has been a terrific Yankee, one of the best catchers they ever had, but he lacked the attitude and the proper amount of arrogance to push his pitchers to greater heights.

How many times did you see Posada goout to the mound and "ream" his guy?

The Red Sox played second fiddle to the Yankees until 2004 and a big reason for that turnaround was the addition of Varitek who pushed the Boston pitching staff and was a leader that helped them get over the top, not to mention a second title in 2007.

I'm not saying Russell Martin is the savior but he could turn into a more positive addition than he's being given credit for.

Martin is the type of player who will be on AJ Burnett's hide and won't let him get complacent, and now that they've missed out on Lee, A.J. becomes even more important for the Yanks chances in 2011.

Phil Hughes and the other young Yankee pitchers will benefit from Martin's presence behind the plate.

The Yankees roster will not be the same on Opening Day as it is today, there will be changes, and there are other adjustments to be made.

The batting order needs to be tweaked. Derek Jeter cannot be the leadoff batter and Robinson Cano has to be moved to the third spot, followed by Mark Teixeira at clean up with Alex Rodriguez hitting fifth.

If you're a Yankee fan or a Yankee hater, remember this. They won't cancel the 2011 season just because two teams made solid moves to improve themselves. That's why they play the games

Seeds of Progress in the Garden

2010-12-08T23:37:00.003-05:00

Just in case you haven't been paying attention, the Knicks won their sixth straight game and improved to 14-9 after they got by the Toronto Raptors 113-110.

A fortunate bounce helped Raymond Felton hit the game winning three pointer and it seems like the Knicks are finally getting some fortunate bounces these days, but there are some real positive signs that have not been seen in "these here parts" for a few years.

Toronto's Jose Calderon used to eat the Knicks for breakfast but last night, he had a tough time keeping up with Felton, who I have to admit, is tougher than I gave him credit for.

Felton is listed at 6'1", 198 lbs. Calderon is 6'3", 210 lbs but the North Carolina grad looked like the tougher cover and the more physical player.

With Amare Stoudemire, the Knicks have a legit "go to guy". Think about how many games that the Knicks lost over the past six years or so because they didn't have anyone to take over the game in the fourth quarter.

Stoudemire is not a good "one on one" defender and tends to shy away when he's got fouls, but he blocks shots and can grab some boards as well.

Landry Fields was an absolute steal in the draft. This guy has basketball instincts that cannot be taught. He always knows how to get position for a rebound; he's not afraid to take a big shot and he's already shown a knack for making a big defensive play.

I didn't realize at how good a shot blocker Ronny Turiaf is. The Knicks need him to stay on the floor to take some pressure off Stoudemire.

There is still alot of "fixing" to be done with this team.

The Head Coach continues to play a short roster with a team that is not of championship caliber.

When you're winning championships and more than fifty games a year, you can work with a short roster.

When you're a team that's trying to get back on the road to respectability, to not use almost you're entire roster is hampering progress.

Last night, during the second quarter, Mike D'Antoni had Shawne Williams guarding Andrea Bargnini who was eating up the Knick forward as the Raptors built a double digit lead.

Why not use Timofey Mozgov at that juncture. Even for just three or four minutes, let Mozgov go in and be a little physical with Bargnani.

D'Antoni continues to alienate players and it hurts the team because limiting minutes means limiting value when it comes to using a player to make a deal.

Bill Walker has joined Anthony Randolph and Roger Mason Jr in D'Antoni's kennel.

Barring injury, the 11th and 12th men on an NBA roster rarely play, but D'Antoni shrinks his roster to six, seven or sometimes eight players.

D'Antoni's system has led to more offense because the Knicks added offensive players. Its made them more competitive and more interesting to watch but its only a small measure of progress to start consistently beating the "weaker sisters" of the league.

The Knicks still do not guard the perimeter very well and they're asking alot of Stoudemire every night, which may take its toll down the stretch of the regular season. The chants of M-V-P could turn into "give me an I-V" if they don't get help for their best player.

Now comes a stretch against the big boys with home games against Denver, Boston and Miami.

The Knicks have nothing to lose in those games because everyone expects them to lose.

If they can win two of those three, that would be a major accomplishement. Let's say they win one and are highly competitive in two losses.

That would be progress as well

For What It's Werth, Nats Future is Bright

2010-12-06T15:59:00.007-05:00

While the Baseball world is aghast at the lucrative contract that was given by the Nationals to free agent OF Jayson Werth, Washington is quietly building a team that could be one to reckon with in the very near future.

We all know Jayson Werth went for the money. After all, why would he sign with the "lowly" Nats, but consider the prospects of this team, not so much for 2011, but for 2012 and beyond.

Stephen Strasburg underwent "Tommy John" surgery in late August and will need 12-18 months to recover. The Nats hope he can at least begin throwing in the latter part of next season and hope to have him back in 2012.

Consider that RHP Jordan Zimmermann underwent the same surgery in August of 2009 and returned to the majors late last season.

It took him a few starts before the 24-year old was able to recapture some of his past form. In his last two starts, Zimmermann threw 11 innings, gave up two earned runs, walked only one and struck out eight.

Before the surgery, he was a "comer" and if healthy, could be the ace of their staff in 2011.

In addition, there are more "high upside" type arms in the farm system beginning with 6'5" righty A.J. Cole who has a "live" fastball and a really good slider that has late movement to stymie right handed hitters.

There is a left handed pitching prospect named Sammy Solis. The 6'5" southpaw has "whip-like" arm action. Solis has a live fastball with good movement and a "sweeping" breaking ball that will make him extremely tough on left handed hitters.

Solis (pronounced SOO-lese)features a change-up but according to some scouts, he has a habit of tipping his pitches. If he can develop his "change-up" to be a reliable third pitch, then he has a chance of being a #2 or #3 starter. Otherwise, he may be an effective reliever and maybe even a closer down the road.

Looking at the future of the everyday lineup, the Nats already have the makings of a productive left side of the infield with Ian Desmond at short and Ryan Zimmerman at third.

Then there is Bryce Harper, the 18-year old outfielder who is living up to his billing as a very special prospect.

Harper is a left hand hitter, Werth is a righty. Washington just lost a left handed power bat in Adam Dunn and are looking to Harper to replace that. Did anyone say balance?

Everyone who's seen him knows how good Harper can be. Fast hands, can hit with power to both fields, great arm from the outfield. Skill wise, he's the real deal. The only question with Harper will be his attitude.

Apparently, he has a talent for pissing people off. I saw a glimpse of that attitude on a video clip where Harper slid into third with a triple. The opposing third baseman tried to put a tag on him and properly held the glove on him until the play was dead. Harper took exception to that by pushing the glove away in a gesture that translated to "take your "f-'in glove off me".

If he pulls that kinda stunt in the bigs, look out.

These are just a few of the prospects Washington has stockpiled throughout their system and there's more to come.

Werth was certainly overpaid, but the Nationals feel he can blend in with this crop of young talent that is on the horizon, plus they value his veteran leadership.

With their deep farm system, the Nats could also use the trade route to make themselves better.

The NL East should not be mocking or scolding the Nats for what they did with Werth. The NL East should be concerned with a budding contender that could develop into a "team to beat"

"Antrel, You're Not in Arizona Anymore"

2010-12-01T12:17:00.005-05:00

Giants DB Antrel Rolle has already made his presence felt and not just on the field.

Rolle has been making his weekly appearances on WFAN a must listen but this time, he went over the line.

After their week two loss to the Colts, Rolle called out his team by indicating there was a "lack of leadership on the field".

To call out your team is one thing, to call out the fans is another.

Rolle couldn't understand why the fans were booing the Giants as they came off the field Sunday following a dreadful first half of football.

"You don't boo your team", Rolle said, "This is your home team......I don't care what the situation is. You don't boo your team".

Someone needs to get Rolle to "wake up and smell the coffee". If I may paraphrase a line from the "Wizard of Oz". "Antrel, you're not in Arizona anymore".

As Ralph Vacchiano pointed out in today's Daily News, Rolle "didn't have to pay as much as $20,000 for a PSL and up to $700 for a ticket to what was shaping up as an awful performance".

When you play in NY, no matter the circumstances, you don't take on the fans.

Here's the weirdest part of this whole deal.

Rolle praised Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora for their halftime speeches and for "not accepting mediocrity".

He added, "And that's exactly what we were giving out there on the field".

Antrel, don't you think the fans were seeing this as well. These are not your Arizona Cardinal fans who have become accustomed to these kind of performances. (I know they went to the SB a few years ago, but that was essentially a blip on their radar screen)

Antrel Rolle needs to realize that he's playing in front of fans who are not only passionate, and knowledgeable, but ones who really care about what's going on with their beloved Giants.

Antrel, "You're not in Arizona anymore"

Garden of Eden for Visiting Hockey Teams

2010-11-29T23:22:00.005-05:00

More than a quarter of the way through the NHL regular season, the Rangers have established themselves as a playoff contender, but if they keep missing out on home games, then they'll be on the outside looking in, just like last season.

If you were a Ranger fan who was watching the final regular season game when the Flyers beat the Rangers in the shootout to clinch the final playoff berth, you immediately thought back to all those lost points at home.

You can probably make the claim that at the same juncture of the season, (26 games in) this year's team is better than last year's team, but the same alarming trend is starting to rear its ugly head.

After last night's 3-1 loss to the Penguins, the Rangers are 5-7-1 at home. They're 9-4 on the road, which means they have 18 road points as compared to 11 at the Garden.

In October, the Rangers lost four of five home games including an OT loss to Toronto, who now occupies last place in the Northeast Division.

This month, they start off with a home win against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Black Hawks but they're shut out by St. Louis and then blow three separate one goal leads at home against Washington, so they came away with no points in those two games.

Two straight home wins followed but then came the ugly 3-2 loss to Boston where Henrik Lundqvist gave up the "softest" goal of his career that proved to be the game winner.

There was the 2-1 win over the Flames last Monday and then this one last night.

Which brings me to my next point.

What is the Head Coach of the Rangers doing with the lines?

He's got the third leading scorer on the team, Artem Anisimov, centering the fourth line.

He starts Derek Stepan on, what is now, the top line between Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky. After a couple of shifts, he puts Brian Boyle on that line and moves Stepan to center Alex Frolov and Brandon Prust.

In his short time in the NHL, Stepan has shown that he is a very good passer and real good on faceoffs.

You're wasting Stepan's talents on a line where one guy is just another underachieving European (Alex Fraud-Kovalev)and the other guy is not a goal scorer.
The Rangers looked way out of sync during the second period and the Penguins took it to them.

When Pittsburgh got up 3-0, "Torts" went back to some of the original line combinations and they clicked for the only goal of the game.

The Penguins got a number of "odd man" rushes during that second period and part of that was due to the Rangers playing with unfamiliar partners.

When you don't trust what the guy next to you is doing on the ice, that makes a player tentative and the entire team was tentative in the second period when the game was essentially decided.

This is not a playoff team yet, but they could be. It will depend on an marked improvement at home and consistency from the head coach.

Tuck Leads Giants Perry-Men

2010-11-29T16:16:00.004-05:00

Throughout their history, the Giants have always been known for their defense and they've had some great defensive players over the years.

From Sam Huff to Lawrence Taylor, there have been some outstanding men who have been privileged to wear the "Big Blue" jersey.

Add #91 in your program to that prestigious list.

Justin Tuck continues to show why he's the most valuable defensive player on this current cast of NY Giants and why he will go down as one of the all time greats in Giants history.

The third round pick out of Notre Dame is already in his sixth season but he's won a Super Bowl and been an All Pro and yesterday, he went the extra mile with his leadership skills to help the Giants get out of a malaise and rise up to earn a come from behind and crucial win over the Jaguars.

Tuck's halftime speech was not exactly a "win one for the Gipper" type thing, (it contained a few more juicy expletives) but it got the job done because it awoke the sleeping Giants.

Tuck is the complete package. He's got the ability to disrupt an offense and make big plays and now we all know how he can inspire his teammates to be better.

That is the sign of greatness. Making those around you better.

No matter the sport, all the great ones can do it and Tuck has joined that group.

Tuck not only said some things, he backed them up with a big second half. The Giants defense came alive, led by Tuck and some big turnovers, to clamp down on a Jags offense that was shredding them to pieces in the first half.

Think about the Giants collapse in the second half of last season. Tuck injured his shoulder after being tripped by the Cowboys Flozell Adams in the first game at the new Cowboys stadium.

Tuck was never the same after that and the team suffered big time as things just fell apart.

Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell deserves some credit because he's able to make the right half time adjustments and he lets Tuck and company do their thing.

This guy is a winner and will go down as one of the best to ever wear the uniform.

He's not L-T, no one ever will be, but this guy is pretty darn close.

Yanks Offer is on the Money

2010-11-23T16:29:00.002-05:00

Yankee Owner Hal Steinbrenner warned that things could "get messy".

The negotiations between the club and Derek Jeter have become just that, "messy".

Each side has tried to portray the other as the "bad guy", but, to be frank, it's Jeter's camp that has taken on the role of the "villain".

No matter what Casey Close (Derek's agent) claims, the Yankees will be here long after Jeter has stopped playing.

Baseball and professional sports in general can be very cruel. There is no such thing as loyalty when it comes to owners and players, but that's the way of the world and Jeter needs to come to grips with this fact of professional life.

Yankee GM Brian Cashman stated that Derek "should test the open market". Once your mouth returns from gasping in disbelief at the notion that the Yankees shortstop may be a former Yankees shortstop, Cashman is merely trying to let Jeter and his agent know that they won't get better offers on the open market.

Jeter has been and always will be very conscious of his public image. That image is taking a big time hit with the rhetoric that has gone down in recent days.

Wake up and smell the coffee Derek. You're a 36-year old (going on 37 next season) shortstop whose skills are in decline. You come off the worst year of your brilliant career and the fact that you've, in all likelihood, been clean, will enforce the theory that your best years are behind you.

The Yankees can still be a winning team with Jeter at shortstop next season and they won't collapse if he does end up wearing another uniform.

With all due respect to the late, great Frank Sinatra, who sang "It's up to you New York". It's up to Jeter and his agent. "Jeter made it here, but it's not a lock that he can make it anywhere".

Not at age 36 and not with the mileage that has already been accumulated over a Hall of Fame career.

There's no argument as to what Jeter has accomplished in a Yankee uniform, but the Yankees have no obligations to pay for past performances.

Wake up Derek, sign the deal

Yanks Have More Than Pitching Additions in Mind

2010-11-16T17:13:00.002-05:00

While the Yankees off season focus centers around signing free agent pitcher Cliff Lee, it appears the brass has other changes in mind.

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe is reporting the Yankees have spoken to the Diamondbacks about Justin Upton.

Kevin Towers, who is Arizona's General Manager, worked for the Yankees the past few years and was quoted in USA Today, "I'm open to listening on anybody. We got more hits on Upton and [Stephen] Drew. They're difficult to move, but sometimes to make your club better, you have to move good players. You never know when a deal might present itself."

One of those "hits" came from Boston, so of course the Yankees are going to get involved. Not to mention the fact, they may need an overhaul in the outfield.

Upton signed a six year, $50 million dollar deal that runs through 2015. The 23 year old right fielder has four years of big league experience. He had a break out season in 2009 where he hit .300 with 26 HRS and 86 RBI. Upton had 158 hits with 63 of those for extra bases.

Last season, he went backwards a bit but he was dealing with a shoulder strain for much of the season.

If the Yankees are showing interest in Upton, it means two things.

One, the Red Sox are in need of outfielders and are pushing hard to get this player in their uniform

Two, the Yankees do not believe in an outfield of Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher. Granderson will be in CF but Gardner would probably be used as a chip in a deal for Upton.

So why is Arizona willing to unload this highly rated young talent?

For one, his contract escalates from $4.2 million next season to $6.7 in 2012, to $9.7 in 2013 and over $14 mill per season for the final two years of the deal.

The Yankees have come to the realization that they're not getting enough offensive production from their outfield. As they're currently constituted, the offense comes mostly from the infield, and last season, that production, except for Robinson Cano, dropped off.

Towers knows the Yankee organization, which may give them an edge over Boston in a potential deal.

It's going to take a package that includes a player off the major league roster, probably an outfielder, to get Arizona to trade Upton, but it's something to keep an eye on.

The batting order needs to be tweaked, but if the Yankees can land Upton, it would go a long way towards improving that outfield production.

Jets Are Starting To Mirror '86 Giants

2010-11-09T12:03:00.003-05:00

While I was watching the Jets rally from ten points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Lions on the road, I couldn't help but think of some similarities with the 1986 Super Bowl Champion NY Giants.

The Giants went into the 1986 season with high expectations.

The Jets went into this season with high expectations.

The Giants lost their first game, a Monday nighter, that everyone expected them to win.

The Jets lost their first game, a Monday nighter, that everyone expected them to win.

After losing their first game, the Giants went on to win 5 in a row.

After losing their first game, the Jets went on to win 5 in a row.

The Giants lost their seventh game of the 1986 season.

The Jets lost their seventh game of the 2010 season.

During the 1986 season, the Giants came from behind to win on the road in a domed stadium (see: Giants vs Vikings, 4th and 17 to Bobby Johnson)

During the 2010 season, the Jets came from behind to win on the road in a domed stadium (see: this past Sunday, Jets vs Lions)

In 1986, the Giants defense was their strength and the offense was being questioned.

In 2010, the Jets defense is their strength and their offense is the question.

Following their week 7 loss to Seattle, the Giants ran the table and did not lose another game that season.

Following their week 7 loss to Green Bay, the Jets ran the.......wait, it hasn't happened yet.

Sure seems like it will

Hale To The New Mets Manager

2010-11-03T11:04:00.004-04:00

New Mets G-M Sandy Alderson will begin the search for a new field manager this week by interviewing candidates from within before obtaining permission to speak to some of the candidates outside the organization.

The Mets have a strong candidate from within and his name is not Wally Backman.

Third base coach Chip Hale is more than qualified for the job.

Hale grew up and played six years in the Minnesota Twins organization along with one year in a L-A Dodgers uniform.

The Twins are a model organization that educates their players throughout their entire minor league system so that players are not only physically ready, they're mentally ready for the majors as well.

That philosophy also prepares a player to become a coach or a manager when he retires from active duty.

Unlike Backman, who never managed above AA ball, Hale has managed and been successful at AAA.

Hale was manager of the Diamondbacks's AAA affiliate, the Tucson Sidewinders for three seasons. Under Hale's leadership the minor league Sidewinders finished the regular season with a record of 91-53, a new franchise record; and Hale was named Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year.

The 45, soon to be 46 year old, did a terrific job as the Mets third base coach, which has traditionally been a launching point for future big league skippers.

As a 3B coach, your baseball acumen is on display and tested all the time. When a runner is thrown out at the plate, its usually the third base coach who is held accountable.

The Mets did not have many runners thrown out at home this season. (Ditch the wiseguy remark about not having many runners touch home at all)

The fans want Backman to manage the team because they are emotionally attached to the 1986 championship club.

Some "red flags" have surfaced in regard to Backman's demeanor and how he goes about his business.

The Mets cannot afford to be embarassed again and yes, that's what they've been these past few years, embarassing.

Hale is a solid baseball man who has a bright future as a Major League Manager.

Wake up and smell the coffee.

The Mets have their man right under their nose.

"Droppings" Have Postponed Games Before

2010-11-02T15:43:00.004-04:00

Tonight's Knicks/Orlando Magic game was postponed.

The Garden is being refurbished as the Knicks and Rangers continue their seasons uninterrupted.

During cleaning at the Garden after last night's hockey game, asbestos fell from the ceiling and MSG officials say they will not reopen the arena "out of an abundance of caution" until it is safe.

This has to be the first time in Garden history that a game has had to be called off because of a reason, other than weather.

It's not the first time that a "leaky rook" has caused games to be postponed.

In 1986, during a game between the Phoenix Suns and the Seattle Supersonics, the Seattle Coliseum sprung a leak and doused the court with water. The game was called in the second quarter.

The Montreal Expos and Houston Astros, who both played in domed stadiums, had games called off.

The Expos game against the Dodgers in July of 1991 was postponed as rain cascaded through a ripped Olympic Stadium roof.

As Astros game against the Pirates was called off in 1976. The Houston area was bombarded with seven inches of rain. The players were able to make it to the Astrodome but the umpires were not so the game was called off.

In 2001, the Royals were getting ready to play the Toronto Blue Jays at the Skydome.

With the Royals taking batting practice, several big pieces of Skydome roof siding and insulation came tumbling down into left field. The roof had failed a test opening, to almost disastrous results. Blue Jays GM Gord Ash watched as one piece of metal dangled for an hour or so before crashing down. "That would hurt," he said. The game was postponed.

A game between the Orioles and Mariners in 1994 at the Seattle Kingdome was scratched.

About two-and-a-half hours before a game at the Kingdome, four 26-pound pieces of acoustic ceiling tile fell about 180 feet into the seats between third and home.

A few days later, the Mariners announced that they were going to have to play the remainder of the season on the road, but the strike cancelled play in August.

Mets May Have Scored A Coup With Sanchez

2010-10-29T12:56:00.007-04:00

While the Mets are excited about the hiring of their new General Manager Sandy Alderson, the club made a subtle signing that could impact their long term future.

The Mets signed 16-year old, slugging third baseman Elvis Sanchez from the Dominican Republic. Check out this video,you may like what you see.

Elvis Sanchez from Kiley McDaniel on Vimeo.

The kid is big, 6'2", 195 lbs and he hasn't stopped growing. That is also a "red flag" for some who have seen him because they worry about his conditioning down the road. If you "groom" this kid early with good habits, then the worries should lessen.

Putting that aside, if you examine his swing, you'll see that his hands don't move a whole lot, which would give him the ability to stay back on a pitch. Even though you're not seeing where the ball goes, you can hear (if you "up" the audio) that he's hitting them hard and drawing some attention as well.

He looks like he's blessed with "raw power" and a nice, quick stroke.

I'm not impressed with what I saw in the field. It was only a few grounders but you can already see that he doesn't have the footwork to be a solid defensive third baseman so I can see why some project him to move to the other side of the diamond.

Through all this, we still have to remember that he's only 16 years old. The skeptics will say that "we've heard this hype before" (see: Alex Ochoa)

I've learned to trust my "baseball instincts" over the years and have had a pretty good eye for scouting prospects.

Obviously, I would need to see more but from the small sample that I have seen, I'm impressed.

The Mets may have something here

World Series Preview

2010-10-27T13:31:00.002-04:00

The American League Champion Texas Rangers will be facing the best pitching staff that they've seen all year in the National League Champion San Francisco Giants.

The Giants will be facing the best offense they've faced all year in the Rangers.

The 2010 World Series will not be decided on those contrasting factors alone, there's the matter of the bullpens that could play a large role in deciding who walks away with the WS Trophy.

Texas dominated the Yankees so thoroughly that they won all four of their games by a minimum of five runs. There's a "catch-22" to that dominance. The Rangers bullpen was never really tested at all during the ALCS, especially Neftali Feliz who was never called upon to save a one run game.

In fact, the Rangers have only played a single one-run decision in the entire post season and that was their 6-5 game one loss to the Yankees in the ALCS.

On the other hand, the Giants have played 7 one run games in the post season and have won five of those, so you have to feel San Francisco is a little more battle tested than the Rangers are.

The Giants bullpen has been put to the test and they've passed with flying colors. It remains to be seen if the Texas bullpen can do the same.

There's no questioning the fact that the Rangers offense is alot better than the Giants, but with the NL having the homefield advantage, Texas loses the DH for the first two games.

The Giants will have to do what the Yankees and Rays have been unable to. Keep Texas leadoff hitter Elvis Andrus off base.

The 22-year old shortstop is "growing" before our very eyes in the post season and has become an offensive force that keys the deep Ranger lineup.

The Giants seem to be riding this "karma" of being able to get the big hits when they need 'em, a recipe for success in the post season.

They've been able to take advantage of limited opportunities and being in tight games suits them nicely thank you.

Texas will not be able to "pound" their way past this Giants team. They're going to have to pitch, more so than they did in the ALCS against an "overrated" Yankee lineup.

The Giants can "shorten" the game with their bullpen, plus they have left handers who can pitch to Josh Hamilton.

I think SF will try and avoid intentionally walking Hamilton as much as the Yankees did. The Giants pitchers will attack the strike zone, especially at home in their spacious park.

I give the Rangers bench a slight edge. When you can't play a Designated Hitter, it actually improves the bench and the Texas reserves are slightly better than the Giants.

Cliff Lee will not pitch three games in this series. I'd be shocked if he does, even if Texas trails 2-1 after three.

San Francisco's starting rotation is deeper and their bullpen is better.

Texas is a good team but they still have alot to prove and may get those exams in the coming days.

Giants in seven

The Baseball Manager of Life Took Bill Shannon Out Too Early

2010-10-26T16:12:00.006-04:00

I can't believe that, here I am again, writing a post because I've lost yet another baseball friend.

First, it was Ernie Harwell. Then came the news that Bob Sheppard passed away. Vic Ziegel and Maury Allen passed in the recent weeks and months.

Those hurt but this one hits home and my heart a little more.

My good friend in baseball and my mentor of Official Scoring, Bill Shannon, died earlier today when he was trapped in a fire at his mother's house in New Jersey.

Bill was caring for his 93-year old mother but he cared for so many with his personality, his pleasant demeanor, his willingess to help others, his sports knowledge, particularly baseball and his overall "good-naturedness" that touched many of us who were privileged to be in his presence.

I am an official scorer today because of Bill Shannon.

Throughout the history of N.Y. baseball, official scorers were spawned from the print media. Newspaper reporters made up the roster of official scorers, but a reporter, whose background was from the broadcast/radio media, never worked as an "O-S" until 1998.

That radio reporter was me and it happened because Bill Shannon believed in me.

I had been covering Yankees and Mets games since 1980 and got to know Bill from being at the ballpark. I was always fascinated by the official scorer's role and like anyone who sits in the press box, I would add my two cents to any of the scoring decisions that were being made.

After awhile, I had this crazy idea that I could be an O-S.

Bill was on the same page.

Bill Shannon went "out on a limb" in the late 1990's and convinced Phyllis Merhige, who was in charge of the official scorers throughout MLB, to give me a chance to be a scorer.

In September of 1998, I got my first opportunity to be an Official Scorer for the Yankees/Blue Jays game and the rest is history.

Bill was an amazing wealth of baseball knowledge. He was the one you went to if you needed a question answered on a scoring decision or a rule interpretation.

Bill was considered by many to be the "best Official Scorer in the country".

Even if Bill wasn't working the game, he was always being queried on scoring decisions.

He was the authority and deservedly so. Bill helped set the standard for the New York scorers and has left some "big shoes" to fill.

Bill wrote the book on official scoring with his nifty little tome called, "Official Scoring in the Big Leagues".

To those who didn't get to know him on an intimate basis, he was an imposing figure. Someone you wouldn't want to mess with but he was really a kind soul with a big heart.

He never seeked publicity nor recognition and he didn't back down from the discussions/confrontations that could surface while scoring a game.

Most of the working media will always remember his unique way of reading the pitching lines.

The lines are read and then repeated. Bill, who had a booming, radio-type voice, would give a conventional reading of the line the first time around. With the second reading, Bill would speed up his cadence and then end with a big finish. The final stat would be read with an emphasis on the number, a pause and then the statistical category it fell under.

I.E. Bill would say at the end, "and TWO...(pause)...strikeouts"

They say "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery". Bill's style was respectfully imitated many times at the local ballparks.

Bill was one of the great story tellers and I leaned on him at times to help me with some facts that I needed while writing some of the baseball books that I've done.

I could be here all day writing about all the good things that was Bill Shannon, but I'm being selfish and rightfully so because I'm hurting right now.

Losing my friend and my mentor is very difficult and there won't be any real closure to this episode until we start playing ball again next season.

Alot of nights when Bill was scheduled to "score" a game, he would get to the ballpark just before the first pitch was thrown, as if he wanted to make a grand entrance, but that wasn't his style. He was usually stuck on mass transit, or tied up with something else.

Sometimes, he wouldn't make it on time and either myself or Jordan Sprechman (Bill's close friend and a fellow scorer) would cover for him and call the first pitch. We didn't mind, we totally understood and we all help each other out as best we can.

It's hard to believe that I'll be looking for him to show up late but he won't be coming this time, however, his spirit and his legacy will always live in the press boxes at Yankee Stadium and CitiField.

Somehow, I'll be in touch my friend. I can still use that "security blanket" you provided with your loyalty and your support.

RIP

Yanks Need Additions and Adjustments

2010-10-24T14:11:00.011-04:00

With the loss to Texas having already begun to sink in, the Yankees now set their sights on 2011 and beyond.

Pitching is a need for any team but there are other items for the Yankees to address this off season.

You start with the batting order which became dysfunctional for a number of reasons starting with the leadoff batter.

Derek Jeter had the worst season of his career while hitting leadoff and it had a "trickle-down" effect on the rest of the lineup. The Yankee Captain didn't take many pitches and gave opposing pitchers too many easy outs in the first inning.

Barring a surprise, Jeter will be back but he should be taken out of the leadoff spot and moved back to second in the order. You can still use his ability to hit to right field as an asset in the two-hole.

I know that I'm probably in the minority here but I know what I see.

Brett Gardner is not the answer. The Yankees think of him as an everyday player but having watched him for the past three years, I don't feel he's the answer as an everyday leadoff batter.

He's got speed, you can't argue that, but every opposing team has a book on him now. Watch when he gets on first base. He can't read a pitcher's move and has no baseball intellect while running the bases. Opposing clubs realize he has severe limitations in the art of baserunning.

Gardner also strikes out a ton (101 times this season) and has not been an "October" player. In 40 post season at-bats, he's got seven hits and has struck out 12 times.

He's got holes in his swing and teams will challenge him to hit the ball over the head of any left fielder who will play him very shallow.

Many feel Cliff Lee will be the Yankees priority this off season. Maybe their focus should move to Carl Crawford, especially if Lee decided to remain in Texas. Don't be shocked if you see Johnny Damon's name being tossed around as well.

The other move that needs to be made with the everyday lineup is to move Robinson Cano to the three hole on a permanent basis. Mark Teixeira should hit clean up with A-Rod at five.

Rodriguez is still a very good hitter, but he's on the downside and may benefit from a move down.

A 3-4-5 of Cano, Teixeira and A-Rod is still very potent and would probably be more productive than this year's lineup.

Jorge Posada needs to catch less and D-H more. That time has arrived.

Jesus Montero hit very well at AAA after a slow start (.351 with 14 HRS after the AAA All-Star break, .289, 21 HRS, 75 RBI overall) and may be ready to take the next step. His defense is sub par, but he has improved and he has a terrific upside offensively.

Austin Romine is the better defensive catcher of the two and is no slouch with the bat, but he played at AA Trenton and may not be ready.

Every team needs pitching but the Yankees really need to fortify the left handed portion of their bullpen. They cannot afford to go into the 2011 season with just one left handed reliever in Boone Logan, who may have been exposed in the playoffs.

The Yankees will be keeping an eye out on the Mets and how things go with Pedro Feliciano, who is a free agent. Scott Downs is a possibility. The Yankees saw plenty of him with the Blue Jays.

Once again, if they don't sign Lee, they'll still need to improve the rotation.

Don't give up on Phil Hughes because he had a tough time against Texas. I expect him to bounce back and be even better next season. Hughes is a potential number two starter.

Barring a surprise, A.J. Burnett will return. Yanks have to hope that he can't be as bad as he was this season. He could still re-claim the #2 portion of the rotation, but as a #3, that's not so terrible.

Ivan Nova made youthful mistakes during his late season tenure. He's got the stuff to be successful at this level.

There are a few interesting free agent starting pitchers out there besides Lee.

Lefthander Jorge De La Rosa is very talented and has been pitching at Coors Field. Take him out of Colorado and put him in Yankee Stadium (a hitter's haven yes, but not Coors) and you may nab someone who will fly under the radar.

I've spoken about some free agents but lest we forget the trade route.

The Yankees have some trade chips to dangle.

The lack of trust in Joba Chamberlain at the end of the season is a "red flag" that he will be put up as trade bait. Nick Swisher is a possibility, especially with one year remaining on his contract.

Speaking of Chamberlain brings to mind one more thing to ponder if you're the Yankees.

What if Mariano Rivera decides to retire and not return in 2011

Rivera was, as usual, on top of his game once again in 2010, but he was not 100% physically at the end of the season.

There was a hip issue and a knee problem.

The Yankees already admitted that Andy Pettitte wasn't healthy and that's why he was pushed back to game 3 (see my post of 10/23) of the ALCS and who knows if he's not considering hanging up the spikes.

I think Rivera was in the same boat. What if he feels as if he's had enough. Who would close?

Chamberlain is not the heir apparent.

There is a candidate. Kerry Wood, who is a free agent, could possibly close if the job opens up but he would have to be signed accordingly.

My point is that the time for Rivera to bid baseball goodbye is coming and it may be here sooner than later.

The Yankees need to be prepared for that and more as they move forward

Yanks Got Their Butts Kicked

2010-10-23T01:38:00.004-04:00

There's no "sugar-coating" this one.

Plain and simple, the Yankees got their butts whipped by the Texas Rangers, who deserve to represent the American League in the World Series.

The Rangers thoroughly outplayed the Yankees in every facet of the game. You name it, Texas was better in this series.

Pitching, hitting and defense all went the Rangers way and the Yankees were fortunate to get two games.

So why did it happen?

Of course, we're going to hear that "they were an old team", or Andy Pettitte should've pitched in game two instead of three, or that C.C. Sabathia should've pitched on short rest, or this, or that......please. Come to grips with what's happened here. They were not the better team in this series and they GOT BEAT. You can look back and contemplate what would've been but considering the outcome, I don't think much would've changed, no matter what they did.

I've said this many, many times before about the post season.

Every team is flawed. You win by maximizing your strengths and overcoming your weaknesses. Texas did that and the Yankees did not.

The Rangers weakness was their bullpen but, except for game one, the Yankees never got to it. Never made them pitch in pressure situations because Texas maximized their strength with their everyday lineup, that was able to not only get the lead, but pad on as well. Remember, the Rangers won all four of their games by a minimum of five runs.

The Yankees are "old" in some spots and that's something that they'll have to address in this upcoming post season, but their bullpen (except for Mariano Rivera) was not old, nor was their starting rotation (except for Pettitte)

Let's speculate the Yankees threw Pettitte in game two and he won. Put in Cliff Lee's masterpiece and it's a Yankees 2-1 lead in the series heading to game four.

Judging by what C.C. Sabathia did in game one, do you think it would've been better for him to pitch on short rest in game four? I don't think so.

I'm not criticizing Sabathia because he is an "ace" and he gives it all for his team as evidenced by his willingness to push himself to help his team, (Brewers in 2008, pitching on short rest for Yanks in '09) but he's logged alot of innings over the past few years. From this corner, it appears he may have "hit a wall" at the wrong time.

Even in game five, C.C. wasn't at his best and that tells you how good he really is. That he was able to "gut it out" and put the Yanks in position to at least avoid a Texas celebration on their home turf.

A.J. Burnett was an absolute disaster and even though he only pitched in one game, his incompetence on the mound resonated throughout the clubhouse.

Don't give me this "he pitched well for 5 2/3 innings" stuff. He was not only lousy all season, I feel like he sat on his "championship ring" and didn't bring the same desire to win it again.

The bottom line is that A.J.'s performance during the season made the Yankees, the Yankee brass and the fans feel uncomfortable about giving him a post season start.

Burnett should be a #2 starter but he pitched like a -2 starter (everytime he took the mound, the Yanks were always down 2-0)

Pettitte was terrific in game three but maybe the added rest helped him there. He got two extra days off because he pitched in game three. Remember, he was coming off a groin injury and at his age, he was probably still hurting, even with his good game 3.

That's where Mgr. Joe Girardi knows more than we do because he does know the health of his players.

But the Manager has not shown he knows more than alot of us amateurs when it comes to navigating through a ballgame.

Last season, I was concerned that Girardi's "micro-managing" style would be costly in the post season. That did not happen but it did rear its ugly head this time around.

The numbers continue to dictate Girardi's moves.

Walking David Murphy to pitch to Bengie Molina in game four was not the way to go and this is not a second guess. I would've had Burnett out of there at that point. Some say he should've been out after five innings, a fair argument, but it points out Girardi's reliance on the numbers. It also provides a convenient alibi when the move doesn't work.

The bottom line is that the team did not execute in any phase of the game. Girardi should not be held accountable for this series but you look at what happened to this team in the final weeks of the season and that's how they played against Texas.

Girardi took his "foot off the pedal" in trying to "rest" players down the stretch.

His mindset of not going all out for the division and settling for the Wild Card may have thrown the Yankees out of whack.

They can deny all it they want. They can say they were trying to win the division but it didn't look that way and the play on the field may reflect that observation as well.

There were whispers that some of the players were not in line with Girardi's "rest and relaxation spa" that was being utilized for the final few weeks of the regular season.

Girardi's inexperience as a manager really showed up last night because he was managing "scared".

Now that the off season has arrived, the big question is what's to come? We'll look at that tomorrow

Wanted: Dead Or (How About They're Still) Alive

2010-10-21T12:55:00.008-04:00

If game 5 of the ALCS is destined to be the final home game of the 2010 season, at least the Yankees didn't lie down and let the Rangers celebrate on their field.

That is the nightmare for a team in the playoffs. To have the other team celebrate on your own field after they've just sent you packing.

It happened in 2003 and 2004 across the street as the Marlins and Red Sox danced on the Yankees "grave".

The Rangers were not going to have the same privilege, however there is still a huge hill to climb.

Only twice in the history of American League Championship Series play, has a team rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win the series by winning games 6 and 7 on the road.

The 1985 Kansas City Royals and the 2004 Red Sox were the only two teams to achieve the feat, but remember this sports credo, "the hardest thing to do is to close out a series".

If the Rangers cannot finish the Yankees off in game six, then they'll start to feel the pressure and it would be interesting to see how they respond, even with Cliff Lee on the mound in game seven.

First things first, game six.

The Yankees found some offense yesterday but they're lineup has gotten shorter with the injury to Mark Teixeira.

Robinson Cano is having a fabulous post season and the Yankees are going to need more of that if they are to have any shot at making this comeback, but moving him up in the order (out of necessity) leaves the 5-9 spots vulnerable.

The fact that Colby Lewis is right handed will be a little helpful because Curtis Granderson will hit second and Nick Swisher will bat fifth.

There are no left handed hitting options on the bench to fill the D-H role in game six, so I would use Swisher as the D-H and play Greg Golson, as opposed to Marcus Thames in right field. Thames is an all or nothing guy at the plate and is a butcher in the outfield. You cannot afford a defensive mistake to play a guy who may give you something offensively.

Swisher is dealing with a bum knee and is in the lineup for his bat, not his glove. This gives the Yankees a chance to improve their outfield defense for game six.

Golson is solid defensively, and who knows, he may get a hit here and there. The Yankees can't play it safe, they have to be aggressive during and before the game even begins.

And here's something you can put in your "pipe and smoke it".

No one in the civilized world believes, that if the Yankees do get it to game seven, that they'll beat Lee.

Tom Mariam, who is a friend and a colleague, tipped me off to this statistic.

Its a small sample, but when Lee has pitched twice in the same post season series, he has not been as dominant in that second game.

Lee faced Colorado twice in the 2009 NLDS and his second game was not as dominant as his first (gave up three runs as opposed to one, walked three as opposed to one)

Go back to last year's World Series. Lee was dominant in game one at Yankee Stadium
(9 IP, 1 un-earned run, 0 walks, 10 strikeouts) but in game five at Philadelphia, he worked seven innings, but gave up five runs on seven hits, with three walks and three strikeouts.

Somethin' to hang your hat on, just in case

Cervelli is not Posada, but Neither is Posada Anymore

2010-10-19T19:24:00.002-04:00

If you've been reading this blog, you know that I've called for the Yankee lineup to have Jorge Posada as the full time DH and have Francisco Cervelli behind the plate.

Tonight, half of that idea will come to pass as Cervelli will catch the enigmatic A.J. Burnett.

The pitchers will never admit it out of respect, but they're more comfortable throwing to Cervelli than they are Posada.

Cervelli is more nimble behind the plate, he blocks balls better than Posada and oh yes, he's better at throwing out runners.

There seems to be a prevailing thought that Cervelli does not have a superior arm to Posada but that is nonsense.

Stop focusing on the number of errors that Cervelli has made as compared to Posada. Cervelli makes errors of aggression. Posada's mistakes don't always show up in the boxscore, not to mention the inordinate amount of mental mistakes that he's made lately (harken back to game 1 when Posada never looked Elvis Andrus back to third on that first inning double steal)

Posada is throwing now like he's got a problem with his throwing shoulder and I think its also affected his hitting as his bat looks awfully slow these days.

Texas will get men on base and they will challenge Burnett.

If Cervelli cuts down a runner early, that will go a long way towards helping Burnett's and the Yankees confidence.

1 and 1 Means More Fun

2010-10-18T09:02:00.004-04:00

With both the ALCS and the NLCS tied at one game apiece, it makes for what should be an exciting lead-in to the World Series.

So what can we expect from what has become a best three out of five in both leagues.

Its an understatement to say tonight's game three in the ALCS is pivotal.

The Rangers come into the game with a load of confidence because they have the "unbeatable" Cliff Lee on the mound. The Yankees Andy Pettitte will toe the slab as the winningest pitcher in post season history so the Bombers are not lacking for confidence.

Pettitte's pickoff move could be a weapon but the first base umpire will be the beleaguered Angel Hernandez. According to ESPN's Buster Olney, Hernandez has had a history of calling balks on Pettitte and he seems to be the only one.

That little "game within the game" should be worth watching and it could allow the Rangers to run more than they would have against Pettitte.

Pettitte has not pitched in 11 days and as you saw in the first two games, that could be a factor, especially early on.

The Yankee lefty will need to keep Elvis Andrus off base.

The 22-year old Rangers SS Elvis Andrus is having a coming out party during this post season. He is 3 for 7 in the first two games with two stolen bases, including that steal of home in game one.

With Lee on the mound, the Yankees cannot afford to wait out a walk because the Texas lefty doesn't walk people, so how do you try to hit him.

Lee is around the plate, like all the time, so the Yankee hitters will have to be aggressive early in the count. They can't wait him out, it doesn't work with him.

Even when Lee allows baserunners, he has the stuff and the savvy to work out of almost any jam.

If the Yankees get any chances to score on him, they have to cash in.

The NLCS seems destined to go seven games.

The Phillies lost two out of three at A.T.& T.Park back in April and gave up 17 runs in the three games.

Obviously, this is a different Phillies team but it's also a Giants team that plays with confidence at home and got a split of the first two games in Philadelphia.

The Giants are going to have to take two out of three in San Francisco to have a chance to upset the two time defending National League champs but they've got the pitching to match up with the Phils starters and are superior in the bullpen (despite what happened in game two)

I think we're looking at seven games in the NLCS. No matter the amount of games, the Phillies are going to be tough to beat.

Yanks Will Have To Earn Another AL Pennant

2010-10-15T12:57:00.004-04:00

The Yankees will not "coast", "cruise" or "tip toe their way through the tulips" to a 41st American League Pennant.

They will have to be on top of their game to beat this Texas Rangers team, which many seem to be underestimating.

The stories of the first World Series rematch since 1977-78 have already been written but its no guarantee that the Yankees will get there.

The Rangers are the one team in the entire field of playoff teams that can match up to the Yankees offensive firepower.

Mgr. Joe Girardi has touched on the Rangers right handed power led by Nelson Cruz, who has been "murdering" the Yankees this season, but they have balance in that there is speed and "tough outs" sprinkled throughout their lineup.

Texas will use that speed to challenge Jorge Posada and the Yankee pitchers who have trouble holding runners on.

It's key that the Yankees keep Elvis Andrus off base. The young shortstop was outstanding in the ALDS as he batted .333 and was able to become a huge distraction when he got on base.

Andrus is on the rise and this could be his coming out party.

Josh Hamilton is dealing with a rib injury, so the Yankees have to make him reach for pitches and not let him have any comfortable swings.

Tampa Bay pitched him down and away and he was flailing at pitches and committing early because of the discomfort.

The Yankees seemed to find their game against Minnesota, then again, it is the Twins,
but there was a noticeable difference in their body language.

The Yankees have some things working in their favor as they play game one tonight.

Robinson Cano is still waiting for that big break out series. Maybe it comes in this ALCS.

Mark Teixeira's thumb will not be totally healed until next spring but this time off did him a world of good and Alex Rodriguez has yet to be heard from in the post season.

Even with Cliff Lee looming in game three, its crucial that the Yankees get at least a split of the first two games.

Lee has been literally unhittable in the post season. The Yankees should know that better than anyone but it doesn't guarantee that Lee will win his start.

The Texas lefty could pitch a real good game, but if Andy Pettitte can match that and at least keep the Yankees in the game, then they've got a shot at Lee. That's how they used to beat Pedro Martinez, when he was in his prime. They need to take the same approach with Lee.

Despite all those live, young arms in their bullpen, the Rangers are young in that department so you don't know how they'll react to this champioship series.

In the ALDS, the bullpen was not that great and, despite the fact they ended up in a fifth game after blowing a 2-0 lead, they weren't really tested in the pen.

Lee went the distance in game five so the pen wasn't needed but there will be moments where they'll have to come up big.

That's where the series will be decided.

If the Yankees get the starting pitcher out of the game but fail to capitalize against the Rangers bullpen, then Texas could pull off the upset.

I still feel Posada's defense will come into play this series, especially with the base runners. I don't think Jorge's arm is sound and I think the Rangers are aware of that.

Offensively, its up to the lower third of the order to contribute in some way or another.

Brett Gardner has not gotten on base much in the post season, maybe he's due.

The Yankees cannot afford to let scoring opportunities get by. If they play like they did in September, they'll be gone in a hurry.

The Yankees went 1-4 in Arlington, but the games were very close and the regular lineup was not in there at the time. Texas lost all three in the Bronx but that was very early in the season.

Game one is more important in this series than it was in the ALDS because of the presence of Lee in game three.

If they go back to the Bronx down 0-2, then even if they beat Lee in game three, they would likely have to go seven games to pull off the comeback. It's going to be hard to beat Lee once in this series. It would be very, very difficult to do it twice.

The Rangers bullpen is the "X" factor, whether they can handle the pressure and get the job done.

As I mentioned before, I think the Yankees have re-focused and are ready for this challenge.

Yankees in 6

Techically Speaking, NBA's Enforced Rule Will Hurt the Game

2010-10-14T00:00:00.003-04:00

In late September, the NBA announced a stricter enforcement of technical fouls.

From an article entitled, "NBA Set To Enforce Tougher Rules on Tecnhical Fouls" that appeared on NESN.com on September 24th.

"Referees are now told to make technical calls on actions such as aggressive gestures such as air punches, demonstrative disagreement and questioning a call excessively"

It's appropriate that the quote came from NESN.com, because the Boston Celtics felt the impact of the new philosophy last night in their 104-101 pre season win over the Knicks at the Garden.

About four minutes into the second quarter, a technical foul was called on Celtics F Jermaine O'Neal. Less than a minute later, Kevin Garnett was hit with a tech and then a second one which got him ejected from the game.

I was working stats for Celtics TV and from my courtside seat, Garnett did not say anything that should've warranted a tech, much less a second one that got him tossed.

Moments later, Knicks C Timofey Mozgov was hit with a technical foul for saying something about a call.

If the NBA referees are going to continue to make these outrageous and "thin skinned"
calls, while standing behind the league's edict to justify them, then the product on the floor will suffer and the fans will lose interest real fast.

You can't keep calling techs on the stars of the league and you can't throw these guys out either. Its not good business. "Not good" business is not good for the NBA.

According to the article, Ron Johnson, who is the NBA's senior VP of referee operations, said that "audience research showed that fans wanted stricter technical foul rules enforced".

I'd like to know which fans were part of that "audience research". The real fans who pay their hard earned money and who enjoy the game and know the game well or the upper class "wusses" who sit in the expensive seats and come to the games to be seen, not because of their passion for the sport.

NBA basketball is an emotional and physical game. When you remove those two factors, there's not much left.

Mistake Or A Break, Sizing Up Game 5

2010-10-12T16:51:00.003-04:00

Rays and Rangers in a "do or die" game for the right to advance to an ALCS meeting with the Yankees.

The pitching match up fits right in with the drama that is expected from this showdown game.

Cliff Lee stymied the Rays in game one while David Price struggled.

The Rays lefty did not walk a batter but he gave up five runs (four earned) on nine hits in 6 2/3 IP, using primarily fastballs. Look for him to change that approach tonight and try to keep the aggressive Ranger hitters off balance with a little more off speed stuff.

Lee dodged a bullet in the first when he worked out of a bases loaded, one out jam.

If the Rays do get an early opportunity to put a run on the board against Lee, they cannot afford to let that slip by.

Look for Tampa to play small ball early on against the Rangers left hander.

When they did get hits in game one, Tampa was aggressive against Lee and did not let him get deep in the count.

Lee's control is so good that you're stuck between a "rock and a hard place" when you face him.

You want to work the pitcher and get his pitch count up, but Lee's command makes that hard to do. On the other hand, if you're aggressive by swinging early in the count and you're not getting any results, that plays right into Lee's hands as well.

Look for the Rays to come out swinging early on and if that fails, then they'll switch gears and try to make Lee throw strikes.

The key here for both teams is to get the starter out and put the game in the hands of the bullpens.

"Do or die" games usually come down to a mistake or a break. If that happens, each teams wants to be in a position to benefit.

Gordon Should Not Get Away "Scott" Free

2010-10-12T14:44:00.004-04:00

While every sports fan is engrossed with the baseball playoffs or the NFL, the Rangers and Islanders resumed hostilities and if yesterday's game is any indication of what's to come, it should be worth watching.

Islanders defenseman James Wisniewski injected himself into the rivalry by challenging noted agitator Sean Avery, not only before the game during warm ups, but during the game, the free agent signee made an obscene gesture towards the Ranger winger after a mild scrum.

After the Islanders 6-4 win, Isles Head Coach Scott Gordon got agitated himself when he was questioned about Wisniewski's actions towards Avery.

"I don't talk about Sean Avery", Gordon said

Well, the head coach wasn't asked about Avery, but he was being queried about his own player.

Gordon then added that he should only be asked about the game.

Why?

Obviously, Gordon doesn't get it.

That incident is a large part of what went on at the Nassau Coliseum and when that was suggested to Gordon, the Islanders Head Coach walked out of the post game session.

This was after a win. What happens after a loss?

Wisniewski received a two game suspension for the gesture.

When you're the New York Islanders, and for the past 20 years or so, you've been the ninth most relevant team out of New York's nine, major pro sports teams, you need to realize that walking out of a post game presser is not the smartest move to make.

The Islanders look like an improved team, especially on defense. We don't condone how Wisniewski answered Avery's actions but standing up to one of the most "hated" players in the league serves the Islanders well.

Now Gordon needs to follow suit, stand in there and answer the questions.

Yanks Should Be Rooting For Tampa Today

2010-10-10T01:59:00.004-04:00

Now that they've dispatched the Twins, the Yankees can focus on the next step in the ALCS.

The opponent is yet to be determined, thanks to the Rays win in game 3.

It would serve the Yankees well if Tampa wins game 4 later today and forces a fifth and deciding game at the Trop on Tuesday.

That would mean that the two clubs would have had to exhaust their pitching staffs.

It would also mean that Texas has to use Cliff Lee in game five, so he wouldn't be available until game 2 of the ALCS at the earliest and maybe not even until game 3.

Its a situation that is similar to 1999. The Red Sox had to use Pedro Martinez for 6 innings of relief to win game 5 of their ALDS against the Indians so he wasn't available to pitch against the Yankees until game 3.

The Rangers have been hesitant to use Lee on short rest.

If Texas stays true to form and starts Tommy Hunter later today, then a Rays win would set up the above mentioned scenario.

Don't be shocked if Lee is the game 4 starter because that would put him in line for a game 1 of the ALCS, as long as the Rangers advance.

If Texas fails to put the Rays away in game 4, Lee may not even be enough to save them.

James Off Base Once Again

2010-10-08T14:52:00.005-04:00

Can we stop please, CAN WE STOP IT......

Here's a quote from an article that appeared today on MLB.com

"Lincecum had a 96 game score -- a metric created by Bill James to determine a pitcher's dominance in a particular game -- which was the fourth-highest in postseason history, the highest ever for the first game of a playoff series, and the highest ever for a Division Series game -- beating the 94 that Roy Halladay put up the day before"

Once again, Bill James suckers the numbers geeks into believing that this "game score" formula can measure a pitcher's dominance in any particular game.

There's no denying that Tim Lincecum pitched one of the great games in post season history, but to call his performance more dominant than Don Larsen's perfect game in 1956 is total nonsense.

James is solely basing that conclusion on the number of strikeouts.

Larsen had ONLY seven strikeouts but the bottom line is he did not allow a baserunner.

Do I need to repeat myself?

He did not allow a baserunner.

A pitcher's prime objective is to get outs. When you have a ratio of 27 batters, and there are 27 outs where not one single player reaches base, then there is no possible way that any other pitched game can be better than that.

At best, Larsen's performance can only be tied, unless someone went out and pitched a perfect game with extra innings in the post season.

Can we stop this nonsense once and for all.

Bill James is a prime example of what's happened to baseball. Conclusions are being made from boxscores and not from watching the games.

Halladay allowed one baserunner. With all due respect to Lincecum's game, I repeat. Halladay allowed one baserunner.

James top five list of his "game score" post season games has Roger Clemens' 15 strikeout, complete game, one-hitter against Seattle in the 2000 ALCS as his most dominant performance. Clemens allowed three baserunners, a dominant performance, but not better than Larsen. Once again, the strikeouts (a personal statistic) and not the objective of the game produce the conclusion.

Jim Lonborg's one hitter against the Cardinals in the 1967 World Series was more dominant than Clemens. Lonborg gave up one hit and walked one. Two baserunners. To me, that's as being dominant just as much as when you record a lot of strikeouts.

Can "we" watch the games please before making illogical conclusions.

TBS Strikes Out Again

2010-10-07T14:59:00.002-04:00

Once again baseball fans are being subjected to sub-par television coverage of the post season playoffs, the premiere event of the sport.

Last season, TBS was an embarassment in the way they covered the games including the disastrous stint of PBP announcer Chip Caray on the Yankees/Twins series.

This season, they're off and running to another embarassment.

Last night, after Roy Halladay made history with the second no-hitter in post season history, the host of the studio show incorrectly said Dal Maxvill made the final out in Don Larsen's World Series Perfect Game in 1956.

Any baseball fan, die hard or casual, knows Dal Maxvill did not make the final out of that game and most know it was Dale Mitchell who struck out.

That is an absolute disgrace.

Last night, in the Yankees/Twins game, Denard Span took third when Mark Teixeira had to field a ball in the hole and dive to the first base bag to get an out. Span was credited with his daring base running, yet not one of the three announcers pointed out that Alex Rodriguez was a little late covering third, leaving the bag wide open.

Ernie Johnson sounded like nine innings of an "informercial". He lacks the intangibles of a genuine baseball announcer and seems to have no grasp of the game.

TBS would do themselves a favor by taking a page from the way NBC used to cover the World Series. NBC would staff the games with one of the local announcers who followed the team all year long. The home team for that game would have one of its own announcers and vice versa when they switched sites.

Baseball sells their soul for money and sacrifices the on-air credibility of the sport..

This station has done a horrendous job in covering baseball. For the real fans sake, let's hope it improves

Girardi Will Strike Out With Kearns Over Gardner in Game One

2010-10-06T11:35:00.004-04:00

Yankee Mgr. Joe Girardi may be on the verge of making his first mistake in this post season before a pitch is even thrown.

There are reports Girardi plans on starting Austin Kearns in LF against Twins left hander Francisco Liriano in tonight's game one of the ALDS.

Girardi relies a bit too much on "data" and over-plays the whole lefty/righty thing.

The Yankees are playing the Twins in a ballpark that plays big. It's tough to hit homeruns at Target Field and it's foolish to rely on the longball in post season games.

Kearns is known as a "all or nothing" guy. That means his at-bats either produce a homerun or nothing else. Its been "nothing else" for a real long time now. Did you know that Kearns has struck out 21 times in his final 45 at-bats of the season.

He is an automatic "K" these days and the Yankees cannot afford to have that in their lineup, especially considering their recent struggles offensively with men on base.

Admittedly, I'm not the biggest Gardner fan, but he is the much better option in this case.

Gardner can slap a ball to the opposite field to get on base or he can beat out an infield hit, which gives him a "leg" up on Kearns' ability to get on base.

Gardner is the superior defensive player which is another ingredient that is needed to win in the post season. Poor defense will be very costly in these games and Kearns is a "butcher" in the outfield.

I have no inkling which way Girardi is leaning, but playing Kearns over Gardner would be a mistake.

My 2 Cents on the Post-Season

2010-10-05T17:17:00.004-04:00

NLDS
Reds vs Phillies

There's no doubt the Phillies, on paper, have the best starting pitching of all eight teams in the playoffs. It doesn't guarantee a win.

Great starting staffs have lost before and the Reds are being a little overlooked by all the "experts".

Cincy has one thing that could throw a wrench into the Phils plans of winning three straight NL Pennants and that's left handed arms out of the bullpen.

The Phils have had a number of run scoring droughts this season and that's because their lineup is predominantly left handed.

Cincy has the hard throwing Aroldis Chapman, who is "murder" on left handed hitters, along with Arthur Rhodes (even I find it hard to believe that Rhodes has been good but he has this season) and an "X" factor in Travis Wood, who is an up and coming southpaw that will work out of the pen in the playoffs.

If the Reds starters can keep the game respectable and allow the team to "hang around", then Cincy has the edge with the relievers.

I still like the Phillies to prevail but the Reds will make it tough and extend the series to five games.

Giants vs Braves

I'll be surprised if Atlanta wins one game.

Losing Martin Prado for the season really hurt the Braves chances because their defense went down a notch. 2B Omar Infante has had to move to third and Brooks Conrad is not known for his defense.

With Derek Lowe listed for game one, groundballs could be adventures.

Despite losing two out of three and having the NL West race taken down to the wire by San Diego, the Giants played very well down the stretch. Even with the race going the distance, San Francisco still has their rotation set up for a short series against Atlanta.

To have any shot, the Braves need to win the first game but they're going up against Tim Lincecum.

The Giants have a huge edge in pitching, offense and defense. SF in 3.

ALDS
Rays vs Rangers

This is an intriguing series because of how the teams match up.

The Rangers will throw lefthanders against the Rays in the first two games, but they'll need to stay away from the walks. Tampa has overcome a low team batting average to post an offense that lives off their speed, walks and execution.

When they get runners on, Tampa is very good at using productive outs to move runners and score runs from third with less than two.

The Rays have speed throughout the order but Rangers catcher Bengie Molina will go a long ways towards slowing them down.

Texas has an underrated lineup that can "wreck" a game and put runs on the board from all nine slots. Josh Hamilton is the "X" factor because of his injury and he's the main threat from the left side.

The Rays have lefty Randy Choate in the bullpen but without J.P. Howell (who went down for the season) they are short on southpaws in relief and that could play a role if the series goes the distance.

Tampa wlll have their hands full but I think they'll get past the Rangers in 5.

Yankees vs Twins

The Yankees need to re-focus and find their game or it could be a short stay in the post season.

The Twins have lost three times in the playoffs to the Yankees, who have never advanced beyond the first round as a Wild Card entry.

Minnesota wasn't exactly knocking 'em dead in the final weeks of the regular season but they had already clinched the AL Central so it was understandable.

The Yankees took their "foot" off the pedal and have been scrambling ever since.

Its no secret that, to be successful in the playoffs, pitching is the key but there are some underlying factors that could decide the outcome.

The Twins are not known for their running game but that may change considering how much trouble the Yankees have had with stolen bases.

It's true that the Yankee pitchers have trouble holding runners on, but Jorge Posada has taken a significant step backwards on defense and I think his shoulder is barking which is limiting his throwing. I think the Yanks best lineup for this October is Posada as the everyday DH and Francisco Cervelli behind the plate (don't buy those numbers on Cervelli's success ratio with throwing out potential base stealers. He's caught A.J. Burnett alot during the season and A.J. is the absolute worst at holding runners on)

Last season, Minnesota made some uncharacteristic mistakes and remember, they were red hot coming into last season's series. I don't expect a repeat of those mistakes because the Twins usually don't beat themselves.

One other major problem for the Yankees has been a severe lack of clutch hitting and if that does not improve, they will not beat the Twins.

The Yankees will focus on not allowing Joe Mauer to beat them, but some unsung players on Minnesota could burn them including Delmon Young and Orlando Hudson, who has always played well against the Pinstripes.

There seems to be some concern for Andy Pettitte because of his final two outings of the regular season.

In his finale against Boston, Pettitte gave up nine hits in four innings against a Red Sox lineup that was missing many regulars. If you saw the boxscore, that's an alarming number. If you saw the game, Pettitte actually threw the ball very well.

Pettitte was not behind alot of hitters and his cutter looked much better in Boston. Five of the nine hits were of the soft variety, while two were aided by the bright sunshine including Mike Lowell's two run double in the first that Nick Swisher eats up for breakfast if he doesn't lose it in the sun.

I think Pettitte will be fine which is why I'm not placing such added importance on game one as others are. It would be nice to win it, but if they don't, I wouldn't say the series is over.

The Twins have not played well in New York so the pressure is on them in these first two games. The Yankees can afford to split the first two and try to take care of business at home.

In 2005, the Yankees opened on the road in Anaheim and were set up after splitting the first two. In game three, Randy Johnson spit the bit and the Yanks had to scramble to win game four and send it back to the West Coast where they lost game five.

For the Twins to have a real shot at winning this series, they will need to win the first two games.

I think the Yankees find themselves a bit here and take the series in four

Mets and Jeff

2010-10-05T12:42:00.008-04:00

So the Wilpons did the right thing and made the first of the off season moves that needed to be made, so why am I scratching my head over what was said at that presser yesterday.

"WE FAILED" is the back page headline of today's Daily News but the question is "WHERE?" did they fail and "WHAT" are they going to do about fixing it.

Sounds like they "came clean" but there's still alot of cleansing to be done.

The first thing is to come clean about who was "calling the shots" for the organization. There have been numerous reports and I've heard many stories about how other General Managers have had problems in trying to deal with the Mets because their chain of command is so vague.

Like any corporation, the decision making structure starts at the top, but it doesn't necessarily mean the top should ignore those below. Minaya as General Manager still needed to finalize any personnel moves with Jeff Wilpon, but he was being handcuffed from trying to make improvements.

Omar Minaya is a gentleman, not to mention the fact that he's still under contract, so did you really expect him to admit that Jeff is the one who makes the final decisions and not himself?

Remember this little bit of history. Jeff was the one who listened to Tony Bernazard's "suggestions", that ultimately helped put the team into their current state.

This is how Jeff Wilpon's bio reads on the "Sterling Equities" website.

"Mr. Wilpon is the Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the New York Mets, where he oversees the team's day-to-day baseball and business operation and the Mets Foundation"

"Oversees the team's day-to-day baseball and business operation"

To me, "day to day" means that he's the one signing off on all personnel decisions, although Minaya was the one who was orchestrating them for completion.

I heard Jeff on one of his radio interviews and he basically threw Minaya under the bus. "The money (spent for free agents and bad contracts) turned out not to be well spent, I think the intentions were very good. The analysis and the execution turned out to be poor". Do you mean to tell me that Jeff Wilpon did not "sign off" on Luis Castillo's ridiculous four year contract?, or the Oliver Perez disaster?

When Minaya was hired in 2004, autonomy was the word being tossed around. Well that word got tossed around so much it landed on the sidewalk and was crushed from the moment Omar took office.

Jeff runs the show. They can sugarcoat it, deny it all they want but until Jeff stops running the show like he has been, then this Mets team will be mired in mediocrity.

Before a new General Manager is even hired, Jeff is already putting his fingerprints on the blueprint of the future. Wally Backman's name is certain to be pushed by Jeff to be on the new G-M's list of managerial candidates.

All the Met fans want Backman but a move like that could be just another rung on the ladder of trouble. There are whispers out there about Backman's personality. You can yell and get in the face of minor league players and they'll respond but that doesn't wash in the major leagues.

Maybe Backman does turn out to be a good major league manager, but if the new G-M does not favor the former Met as a candidate and lets Jeff dictate that his name be among those who are, then trouble begins, (excuse the pun) "right off the bat".

Chip Hale is a bright young coach who has shown managerial potential. You can tell alot about a coach's baseball IQ by how they handle themselves as the 3B coach. Buck Showalter was an outstanding third base coach and so was Jim Leyland way back when.

Hale has shown a sharp baseball intellect and he's a guy who grew up in the Minnesota Twins organization, a model for excellence.

I have to think that if former Twins G-M Terry Ryan is hired to be the Mets new G-M, that Hale will be on his list.

A good administrator, coach or manager puts his staff or team in a position to win.

Jeff Wilpon has not done that since he began overseeing the team.

For the good of the Mets organization and as a real favor to their fans (the loyal ones, not the ones who show up in the expensive seats just to be seen and kiss up to the C-O-O) Jeff needs to change and needs to change now.

Beltran's Corner

2010-09-30T11:03:00.004-04:00

If Carlos Beltran is a part of the 2011 Mets, he should not be playing centerfield.

Beltran was diagnosed with inflammation of his surgically repaired right knee and he has been shut down for the season.

So the Mets switch-hitting outfielder will rest up and try to get himself healthy for the 2011 season.

There is more than an issue of health here.

Beltran cannot play centerfield anymore.

On Tuesday night, Beltran was in center and went back on a ball that was smoked for a double to the right center field wall.

Beltran looked so gimpy, it was a wonder he was even out there at all.

WIth the ridiculous dimensions of CitiField, especially in the grand canyon (aka centerfield), Beltran cannot put that kind of pressure on his knees.

Whether he likes it or not, if Beltran intends to continue his career, a move to one of the corner outfield spots is a must.

Beltran cannot be expected to patrol the "wild, green yonder" in center.

It was just a matter of time before his knees would begin to feel the strain.

The Mets are saying that an "inflammation" is good news but its a red flag of what happens when Beltran has to "push it" these days and in center field, he has to push it more than if he was playing one of the corner spots.

For his own health and the health of the Mets, moving Beltran to a corner outfield spot must be done.

Girardi Took the Handcuffs Off, Now He's Really Got a Big Decision

2010-09-27T15:46:00.008-04:00

Some are calling it panic, I'm calling it the right move.

The Yankees finally came to their senses last night and put Phil Hughes on the mound instead of Dustin Moseley to start the biggest game of the season.

So much for the "innings limit". The Yankees were using this "method" to protect their young pitcher but in essence, they were "hurting" his progress and the team as well.

On June 19th, Hughes tossed 7 IP (99 pitches, 62 were strikes) against the Mets as he won the game and upped his record to 10-1.

At this point, the Yankees got nervous because his innings were starting to pile up (couldn't the front office have anticipated that if he was pitching well, that Hughes innings would start to compile) so they skipped Hughes next start and he pitched ten days later.

In his next six starts after being skipped, Hughes gave up 25 runs in 35 IP and his ERA went from 3.17 to 4.07.

Pitchers need to establish a rhythm and a routine. When the Yankees upset that routine, Hughes went backwards a bit.

Maybe, they've reversed that process by putting him back on a routine and not skipping his start. That whole deal didn't make sense anyway because Hughes had some success against Boston while Toronto has had his number.

Anyway, Hughes came up big and kept the Yankees in a game where Boston's Dice-K Matsuzaka was throwing his best game ever against the Pinstripes.

The Yankees found a way to get the job done and just about secure their place in the upcoming playoffs. Boston would have to win all of their remaining games and Joe Girardi's team would have to lose all of their remaining games, just to force a one game playoff.

Screw the innings limit. The Yankees should re-evaulate their procedure and stop solely using numbers to determine how to groom their players for big league action.

Now the big decision.

In case you missed the ninth inning last night, you can bet scouts and baseball people associated with the teams who could play the Yankees in the post season surely took notice.

The Red Sox ran roughshod on the Yankees and not just because Mariano Rivera had problems holding runners on.

With all due respect, because he's had a great Yankee career, Jorge Posada should not be the regular catcher in the post season.

Posada was never the greatest defensive catcher, but at least he had an arm to throw out base stealers. The throw that Posada "bounced" to third to try and nail Bill Hall should be a "red flag" that the Yankees should be taking note of.

Posada cannot consistenly block balls in the dirt because he can't move his body quick enough to smother those pitches and he doesn't steal strikes because he doesn't "frame" pitches to sway an umpire and get a called strike.

The time has come for a drastic move.

Francisco Cervelli should be the everyday catcher in the post season and Posada should be the everyday D-H.

I know that you're giving up offense with Cervelli behind the plate, but you win in the post season with pitching and defense, not offense.

Sacrificing three more at-bats for Marcus Thames (who's had a pretty good year) or Lance Berkman does not override the need for defense behind the dish.

The Yankees have been losing alot of close games the past few weeks because they've had a severe lack of clutch hitting, but base runners are taking liberties and that's been a contributing factor as well.

There is no doubt that Cervelli is the better defensive catcher. The Yankee pitching staff enjoys throwing to Cervelli. No offense to Posada because he's still one of the most respected players in the room, but Cervelli's presence behind the dish makes the pitchers more comfortable.

Posada is dealing with a cyst behind his left knee, which definitely has limited his flexibility and judging from last night's throwing display, it's this man's opinion that he has a shoulder problem as well.

The Yankees have other flaws but every team in the post season is flawed. None of the eight teams that make it are "perfect" in every way. That's the key to winning in the post season. You try and overcome your flaws with your strengths.

With Posada behind the plate, the defense at catcher is not a strength. That's a flaw where a solution is on their roster.

The Yanks best lineup and best chance for post season sucess has Francisco Cervelli as the everyday catcher and Jorge Posada as the everyday D-H.

Will the Yanks have the foresight and the guts to make this move? Their post season chances depend on it

Rays Can Walk Their Way To The Crown

2010-09-23T13:26:00.005-04:00

The Tampa Rays are third from the bottom in the American League in team batting average. With a .249 team average, Tampa is 26th in baseball.

The Tampa Rays, who are 26th in baseball and third from the bottom of the American League in team batting average, have the fourth best record in baseball and are considered one of the teams with a legitimate shot to win the World Series.

Tampa has hit 154 homeruns which is good for the middle of the pack among the 30 teams.

So how are they doing it?

First off, they have pitching. That's a given. We're discussing their offense in this post.

The Rays have 1,268 hits, fifth worst in baseball but obviously, they're making them count.

They also manufacture runs as well as anybody in baseball.

Consider these numbers.

Tampa leads all of baseball with 638 walks and have bounced into 89 double-plays, the least among major league teams. They usually don't "kill" innings.

The way to beat the Rays is to not issue walks.

It's become fairly obvious that, if you expect to beat the Rays, you need to limit the walks. That's how the Rays score.

They have an uncanny ability to take advantage of their walks and that would account for their total 762 runs scored, third best in baseball.

A great example of how they score occured in last night's game. Fifth inning, two out and John Jaso walks. The Rays get two more hits and plate a run to make it a 2-0 game.

If the Yankees cannot keep Tampa off the bases via walks, they will have a tough time overtaking them in the post season. Same goes for any team that they play.

What Goes Around, Comes Around

2010-09-22T11:52:00.004-04:00

The writing is on the wall for Mgr. Jerry Manuel.

The Mets are expected to fire Manuel at the end of the season, bringing an end to his 2 1/2 year tenure.

Yesterday, Joe Torre apologized to Manuel for implying his potential interest in the Mets job, while there is still a Manager in place.

Sound familiar Jerry?

Right before former Mets Mgr. Willie Randolph was uncermoniously dumped, Manuel was already told by assistant G-M (and resident A-Hole) Tony Bernazard that he was going to be named the interim manager.

The Mets were heading out West to begin a series with the Angels and Manuel went on that plane with the knowledge that Randolph would be let go and that he would become the next skipper.

Less than a month before, Manuel ran on the field to argue a call even though he was only a bench coach, and not the Manager.

Randolph was severely criticized for his inaction against umpires and a perceived failure to "protect" his players, but there was no reason for Manuel to take up that cause, unless, of course, he was campaigning for the job.

After he was fired, Randolph intimated that Manuel, along with Bernazard, had conspired to get rid of him.

Randolph had his faults as a manager, but you can't deny that in 2006, the Mets were a fundamentally sound and together ballclub that came within one inning of the World Series.

Randolph deserved to take the heat for the '07 collapse but there were underlying factors that contributed to that demise.

2 1/2 years later, where are the Mets?

Well they collapsed a second time in 2008 under Manuel as the Mets failed to secure a playoff spot, even though they controlled their own destiny.

Last season, an utter disaster and this year is not much better.

Check out these quotes from John Harper's article that ran in September of 2008, before the second collapse.

The team was playing well thanks to Carlos Delgado's second half surge (which began, by the way, when Randolph was fired)

“The other thing,” said Bernazard, “is that maybe it has something to do with the new people running the team.”

He didn’t refer specifically to either Randolph or Jerry Manuel, but with that one sentence, Bernazard may as well have declared:

“See? We were right.”

Bernazard still won’t say so publicly, but it’s clear in conversation with him about the state of the ballclub that he felt Randolph had to go, perhaps felt more strongly about the need for a change than anyone in the organization.

And even though the Mets can never defend GM Omar Minaya’s clumsy, insensitive handling of the firing, you can’t argue these days with the idea that indeed the front office was right."

Of course, we all know what happened with Tony B. He was finally let go but not before he took off his shirt and challenged minor leaguers to a fight.

2 1/2 years later, were they right?

Its' Not Good for the NFL, But It May Be Good for the NFL

2010-09-21T15:18:00.005-04:00

A trend has developed throughout the NFL in the last few seasons as blackouts of NFL teams' home games are on the rise.

That is not good for the NFL but it may be good for the NFL.

With the expiration date of the CBA looming at the end of the season, both players and owners need to take notice of what's going on, or should I say, what's not going on with live attendance at NFL games.

When the attendance drops, blackouts arise.

According to an article in USA Today from September 19th, there have already been three blackouts in the first two weeks of the 2010 season. Last season, there was only one blackout in the first two weeks.

The article goes on to say "At least 11 teams could face blackouts this season. Carolina, Cincinnati, Oakland, Detroit, St. Louis, Jacksonville, Kansas City and Arizona"

The sagging economy, PSL's, fantasy football and fans who are simply fed up with having to spend 4-6 hours of their football day in their car with traveling to the stadium and then the return trip home.

Fantasy football you say.

That's right. With the kind of access that fans now have, there is more of an emphasis on staying home, watching or checking in with every game and following what their fantasy players are doing on their computers.

Let's say that I'm part of a middle class family that has had to limit my budget for sporting events because the prices are too high and the effort to get there is too involved and too costly.

I'll stay home, pay around $250.00, get all the games on T-V and avoid the aggravation of using gas, losing patience and wasting time getting home.

If and when the players and owners sit down to hammer out a new agreement, one of ths issues on the table will be the "blackout rule".

It's also something that may actually get the two sides to the bargaining table.

Can He Turn Donnie Baseball Into Donnie Manager

2010-09-17T15:11:00.003-04:00

Numerous reports say Dodgers Mgr. Joe Torre has decided to step down at the end of the season and Don Mattingly will replace him.

Mattingly has been grooming himself for this position ever since he began his career as a batting coach with the Yankees in 2004.

I covered Mattingly as a reporter for his entire Yankee career and to be truthful, I'm not really sure if "Donnie Baseball" will make a good manager.

There's no doubt he has an eye for the game and the instinct, not to mention the respect that he's garnered from his peers. Whether those strengths will serve him well remains to be seen.

There will be the questions of how Mattingly handles the pitching staff, the toughest part of being a neophyte manager, much less a veteran skipper.

Mattingly never played a game in the National League, but he's been Torre's bench coach during Joe's return to the NL. There are reports that Mattingly would like to have Larry Bowa as his bench coach. That would be a smart hire.

Los Angeles is a big market and the Dodgers are big stuff out there, but it's not New York and that will work in Mattingly's favor. Mattingly brings an "inner fire" and doesn't wear his emotions on his sleeve which suits the laid back style of California just fine.

Speaking of work, Mattingly's team will not lack for that.

During his career, there was never a player who worked harder to get better than Don Mattingly.

There's one other factor working in Mattingly's favor. He'll come cheap and that's music to the ears of the McCourts, the owners of the club, who are in "da-courts" to finalize a nasty divorce.

Mattingly has no ties to the Dodger fans, as he would have in the Bronx, but there will still be alot of pressure to win.

We wish him all the best and we'll be curiously watching how it all unfolds

Dumb, De-Dumb, Dumb.....Brent and the Jets

2010-09-14T17:08:00.006-04:00

Two of the most bonehead plays in local New York sports took place on the same night.

In Tampa Bay, and in New Jersey, we saw two absolutely dumb plays that had an indirect impact on their respective teams' losses.

Brett Gardner entered the game as a pinch-runner and was on second (thanks to a stolen base) with two out in the tenth inning of a scoreless game, when, for some ungodly reason, he tried to steal third.

Not only was it a bad move to even try it, it was a terrible steal attempt to boot as Gardner was dead from the moment he took off.

Rays pitcher Joaquin Benoit stepped off the mound and threw to third to nail Gardner in a play that had to have the Yankee dugout wondering why he takes that chance when he's already in scoring position.

Everyone "drools" over Gardner's speed, citing the added weaponry that it provides the Yankee offense, but they fail to notice some subtle signs that he can run you right out of an inning as well.

Yes, Gardner is really fast and can put pressure on the defense, but he is not a smart baserunner. Having a talent but not getting the most out of it, doesn't cut it at the big league level.

Gardner has trouble reading a pitcher's move and, as evidenced by last night, does not make smart decisions on the base paths.

Go back to game 2 of the ALDS against the Twins. Gardner was at third as the Yankees had the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the tenth of a tie game. (Gardner was fortunate to even get to third because he was picked off at second and Twins pitcher Joe Nathan made an error that allowed him to be safe)

Johnny Damon was the batter with Mark Teixeira in the on-deck circle. Damon hit a line drive, right to the shortstop, but Gardner got too far off third and was doubled up to end the inning.

The Yankees and Gardner were fortunate that Teixeira led off the 11th with a homerun because if they would've lost that game and go on to lose the series, the Gardner play would've been severly scrutinized throughout the off-season.

Go about 1000 miles north and you've got Jets tight end Dustin Keller making a dumb play in the waning seconds of their 10-9 loss to the Ravens.

The Jets had 4th and 10 from their own 31 yard line when QB Mark Sanchez found Keller on the right side for a completion. Keller correctly ran towards the sidelines to get out of bounds, secure the first down and get the clock stopped.

Two out of three is bad in this scenario as Keller went out of bounds a yard short when he clearly could've gotten one more yard for the first down.

The Jets had no timeouts and there was no guarantee that they would've gone on to be in position for a potential game winning field goal, but if Keller gets the first down, you have to feel the Ravens would've been demoralized and maybe Rex Ryan's team could've pulled the game out.

That is simply an awful mental lapse by Keller, who is usually a reliable player.

Two bonehead plays, two awful losses.

These guys should write the book. "Pro Sports for Dummies"

Nova Could Be Part of the Post Season Roster

2010-09-09T12:29:00.004-04:00

The Yankees have to be pleased with what they've seen from rookie right hander Ivan Nova so far.

In his four starts since being recalled from the minors, Nova has been solid and a litle below spectacular.

The 23-year old has given up 8 earned runs in 21 2/3 IP as a starter. The youngster came up big in yesterday's "must win" game, making one youthful mistake as he grooved a 3-0 pitch to Orioles catcher Matt Wieters who slammed a two-run homer.

Nova has made some mistakes of inexperience, but you live with that because this kid's stuff is major league.

So what happens for the post season? Do the Yankees use Nova as a fourth starter in the divisional series if Andy Pettitte cannot go?

It's certainly tempting with what you've seen so far. Remember, the Yankees have a situation where not all of the teams will have seen Nova pitch live. They've seen him on video but there's nothing that compares to standing in the batter's box.

Tampa will probably get a look at him before the month ends but the Twins and Rangers, potential first-round opponents, will not.

I think that Nova will be a part of the post season pitching staff, except that he'll probably be used out of the bullpen.

Nova's stuff can tie up opposing hitters, (provided he throws strikes of course) more so than some of the other candidates to move to the pen.

If Nova is put on the roster, that means someone on the current staff will be left out.

It wouldn't be A.J. Burnett. No matter how much this guy makes you pull your hair out, the bottom line is that the Yankees are paying him alot of money and won't put him on the sidelines for that reason alone.

The victim here could be Javy Vazquez. He's a free agent after the season and with the season he's had, the Yankees will probably let him walk and take the draft pick compensation.

or Chad Gaudin could be the odd man out because Nova or Vazquez could work as a "long man".

Nova in, Vazquez or Gaudin out. Unless Nova just falls flat on his face in his succeeding appearances, there's a strong possibility that this will be the case come October.

It's always a risk to entrust a rook with such a big responsibility as a post season appearance. It's a risk the Yankees may feel is worth taking

Starting Trouble

2010-08-28T00:33:00.004-04:00

It is now official.

The Yankees have some real problems with their starting rotation and the "poster boy" for those woes is Allan James Burnett.

Ever since Andy Pettitte went out with a groin injury in July, the starting rotation has taken a step back as evidenced by the Yankees 12-13 record in August. Not exactly the way you want to be playing as they head down the stretch of the season.

Let's face it, the Yankees are in a dogfight, not only for the division, but also for a playoff spot.

If this rotation continues on their erratic pace, the Yankees could find themselves without October baseball for the second time in three years.

A post season bid is not a "berth-right" as some Yankee fans suggest. For some of the media to make guarantees about the outcome of a baseball season, is a commentary on their knowledge of the sport.

Baseball is a "slow moving" game where things happen fast and that includes the standings.

C.C. Sabathia has lived up to his status as the "Ace" of the staff because he's carried the starters since Petitte went out. With the way Burnett and Javier Vazquez have performed, that puts even more pressure on the Yankees to win Sabathia's starts.

You can't expect C.C. to win every single one of his remaining starts. He's gonna have a "clunker" sooner or later, that's the way the game goes, so it becomes more important for Burnett to turn things around quickly.

Vazquez is essentially a non-entity at this time. He'll work out of the bullpen for now but if Ivan Nova continues to perform at an acceptable level, Vazquez could be in real trouble as far as his roster spot. Nova is risky because he's young but if the Yankees get to October, don't be surprised if Vazquez is not part of the 25-man squad. (Remember, there have been instances of pitchers who come up late in the season and make an impact. I'm not saying Nova is that pitcher, but you never know. The Yanks may catch "lightning in a bottle" because of the youngster's unfamiliarity)

In his last two outings, Burnett faced two teams that have had trouble scoring runs and are predominantly right handed hitting clubs. With his stuff, it's a disgrace that A.J. put up these numbers in his past two starts.

The Mariners and the White Sox, two teams that have had problems scoring runs (why do you think the White Sox want Manny) combined for 15 runs on 20 hits with six walks in 10 1/3 innings against A.J. in his past two outings.

At least the post game comments have gotten more "truthful".

It used to go like this in the post game pressers with Mgr. Joe Girardi. Maybe Kim Jones of the YES Network or Suzyn Waldman of WCBS would ask the first question.

"Joe, what was wrong with A.J." and Girardi would always begin the response with one word, "command".

After last night's game, Girardi's response was "he didn't pitch well".

Bravo. Now, get it fixed

"Don't Make A Federal Case Out Of It"....Does Congress Really Need To Prosecute Roger Clemens

2010-08-23T13:01:00.007-04:00

You've heard the expression, "don't make a federal case out of it".

Well, that's exactly what Congress is doing with Roger Clemens.

Congress feels they've got a "Frankie Five-Fingers" (for you "Godfather" fans) in Clemens' former trainer Brian McNamee but why are they wasting their time and the taxpayer's money.

Yeah, Clemens probably lied to Congress....Yeah, Clemens probably did steroids but, if you put this whole situation in it's proper perspective, why is Congress even bothering.

So what if Clemens goes to jail.

Congress will feel good about themselves that they did their job in protecting the integrity of the United States by sending this man to prison?

Unemployment and the poor economy would seem to be more important than spending money to try a person and lock them up because they allegedly lied to Congress. Talk about hypocrites! Can you "honestly" tell me that no one in Congress has ever lied while in office?

This country has more pressing needs than to spend useless time and wasted money on a trial to convict someone who lied to Congress, yet there are "criminals" out there who don't get the treatment and attention that Clemens is receiving from our elected officials.

It's the same premise that unfairly keeps Plaxico Burress in jail. Burress had a gun in his possession, it went off and he injured himself. He did not shoot anyone in a pre-meditated act of aggression, he did not hurt anyone else or injure them with a gun shot. He deserved to do jail time because he broke the law, but this much time is way "over the top".

Burress was a celebrity who was used by the local politicians to hop on their "moral soapbox" and make a stand against a high profile individual without any threat to their own personal well being.

Now this is developing on the National stage.

It still hasn't been proven beyond the "shadow of a doubt" that Clemens used steroids but I bet if you polled the people of this country, it would be an overwhelming majority that would vote "yes, he took steroids".

"Innocent until proven guilty" has long been extinguished since before we entered the world of the Internet, so even if somehow, Clemens is acquitted, there will be those who will always believe he is guilty.

That is his real punishment. His reputation as one of the greatest pitchers of his era will always be tainted. There is a good chance he will not be enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Those are the repurcussions he has to live with for the rest of his life.

So does Congress really need to prosecute Roger Clemens?

Union Out of Line With Their Support of K-Rod

2010-08-19T19:40:00.003-04:00

It should come as no surprise that the Major League Baseball Players Association would file a grievance against the Mets and the Baseball Commissioner's Office for placing the closer on the disqualified list.

The union is protesting the Mets attempt to convert K-Rod's contract from guaranteed to non-guaranteed. It's an umprecedented step by the Mets and one that most experts feel will not be completed, but the bottom line here is that the MLBPA should not be supporting this player.

Having first hand experience, I know how a union works and the MLBPA is one of the strongest unions in the United States but for the first time in a long while, the Mets will not be portrayed as the "bad guy" in this scenario. Rodriguez and the Union will absorb that role.

The MLBPA will "go to bat" for K-Rod but what does that say about the Union and its members.

Rodriguez did not live up to his responsibilities under the written agreement between himself and the Mets. He not only committed a violent crime, he did so on Mets property.

The "Coup De Grace" of all this is when it was learned that K-Rod injured the thumb on his throwing hand while he was throwing punches at a 53-year old, defenseless man.

Don't give me this alleged legal-ese. There are enough eyewitnesses to support the facts that an "I-WITLESS" jerk continues to let his emotions get the better of him.

The Union will fight the Mets' attempts at voiding K-Rod's deal which pays him $11.5 million next season with a vested option for 2012 that kicks in if he finishes 55 games next year.

The MLBPA has an obligation to support its members but when one of its own behaves like this, there should be absolutely no support for this player.

The Mets justifiably want to rid themselves of Rodriguez but their hands may be tied.

Even if they win this case, the Union stands to lose alot of credibility. What Rodriguez did is apprehensible and you can bet, his Union brethren has not taken kindly to it.

I hope this never happens, but what does the Union do if one of its members accidentally or purposely takes another person's life. Do they back that player also?

A Tale of Two Closers

2010-08-12T02:07:00.004-04:00

There will never be another Mariano Rivera. No way, no chance, nada, zilch.

Rivera is still pitching at a very high level and that's bad news for the 29 other closers. It's even worse news for whomever closes for the New York Mets because he has to perform up to the same standards in the same city as the "great" Rivera.

The closer for the NY Mets is one Francisco Rodriguez, a.k.a. "K-Rod". Consider what went on with these two gentlemen at approximately the same time last night.

While Rivera was performing his latest bit of "magic", K-Rod was reportedly assaulting his father-in-law in the family lounge of CitiField.

Rivera came into the game last night, trying to protect a one run lead. I can only imagine K-Rod came into the Mets family lounge last night, trying to protect his ego and his obnoxious personality.

Rivera allowed a lead off triple and it appeared the Rangers were going to tie the game but "Mo" buckled down and worked out of it as he got Micheal Young on a short fly ball to right; (Austin Kearns made a nice "shoe-string" catch) Josh Hamilton on a comebacker to the mound and finally, Vlad Guerrero on a ground out to A-Rod at third.

K-Rod did not pitch last night in the Mets 6-2 loss to Colorado, but reportedly, he may have been upset that he wasn't brought in for a four-out save. With two out and runners at first and second, Manny Acosta uncorked a wild pitch to put runners at second and third. The Mets elected to intentionally walk Troy Tulowitzki (the right move) to load the bases but Acosta was left in to pitch to Melvin Mora and the ex-met smacked a grand slam that turned the game around.

Rodriguez' family altercation put his father-in-law in the hospital with "facial bruises and minor head injuries". Rodriguez was arrested late last night and charged with third degree assault.

K-Rod has always had a reputation for rubbing teammates, and others, the wrong way. He can be obnoxious and surly at times and his animated antics on the mound have never endeared him to opponents or teammates alike. It will be interesting to see if he's in uniform later today when the Mets host Colorado at 12 Noon.

A tale of two closers.

One closer walks off the field with handshakes and the other walks away from the field in handcuffs.

Class Act....Class Clown

The Buck Should've Stopped in Queens

2010-08-05T18:35:00.004-04:00

The losing culture in Baltimore is on the way out thanks to their hiring of Buck Showalter as the new Manager.

Showalter has worked at three venues and in all three, he made somewhat of a positive impact.

Showalter was hired by the Yankees to be their manager in 1992. In three previous seasons, the Yankees finished a cumulative 61 games under .500.

The Yankees finished 76-86 in Showalter's first year but you already sensed a change in the attitude and the lousy atmosphere that permeated the Yankee clubhouse from the late 1980's into the early '90's.

A 12 game improvement in 1993 thrust the Yankees into the AL East race. In '94, the Yankees had the best record in baseball when the strike hit. '95 produced the first post season appearance for the Yankees in 14 years.

Showalter was fired after losing to Seattle in five games in the divisional playoff but his finger prints were all over the Yankees run of four titles in five years, beginning in 1996, even though Joe Torre was the manager for that stretch.

Arizona hired Showalter to be their first-ever manager and he won 100 games in '99 only to lose to the Wild Card Mets. In 2000, the Diamondbacks were 85-77 but Showalter was let go. The next year, Arizona won the World Series.

Showalter took the Texas managing job in 2003 and posted a winning record there as well.

The Mets needed someone just like Showalter to take over the managing reins if they expect to become an elite team once again.

Almost to a fault, Showalter stresses fundamentals, discipline and a healthy respect for the game. Sounds alot like Bobby Valentine because they are similar in alot of ways. They're both "shrewd" dugout generals and they both have a penchant of getting under people's skins.

The only difference between Showalter and Valentine as far as the Mets are concerned, is that Buck doesn't bring the same baggage to Queens like Bobby does.

The two time American League Manager of the year would've been a perfect choice to run the Mets. Now he'll get things going in Baltimore, which just made the American League East a little tougher.

Like the Sopranos, Yanks Have To Be Concerned With A.J.

2010-08-03T18:57:00.005-04:00

There is a certain analogy between the Yankees and the hit T-V show, "The Sopranos".

The only difference is, one is fictional and one is real but they do have something in common. There is concern for A.J.

In the T-V show, it was Tony and Carmella's "underachieving" son, A.J.

On the Yankees, it's an underachieving pitcher named A.J.

A.J. Burnett's inconsistencies are at the point where there has to be major concern over whether he'll deliver the goods in the post season.

Last year, Burnett was good in game 2 of the Division Series against Minnesota (6 IP, one run on three hits)

In the ALCS against the Angels, Burnett pitched well in game two (6 1/3, 2 runs on 3 hits) but was on the short end of a 2-1 score before the Yanks pulled it out.

In game five, with a chance to put the series away in Anaheim, Burnett "spit the bit". After the Yankees rallied from a "Burnett-induced" 4-0 deficit to take a 6-4 lead in the top of the 7th, A.J. "lit the fire" once again by putting the first two runners on in the home half of the inning, and they eventually scored.

Burnett didn't get the loss and obviously, he didn't get the win.

In game two of the World Series against Philadelphia, he came up big with his best outing of the post season. In a game the Yankees absolutely needed (they were down 1-0) Burnett gave up a run on four hits with nine strikeouts in seven innings pitched and the Yankees evened the Series, enroute to their 27th title. His glory was spoiled in game five. Burnett took the hill with another chance to close out a Series and he "blew up" as he gave up six runs in two innings.

Burnett had the benefit of being on a team that went on to win the World Series. If the Yankees hadn't won, you can bet A.J. wouldn't be getting such "grace" from the paying customers in the seats. He got a smattering of boos when he left the mound last night. It would've been an "onslaught" if the Yankees hadn't won.

What the Yankees will get this time around is anybody's guess?

Burnett has "literally" had an up and down season. There are games that he's looked brilliant but there are too many games where he looks like crap.

At times, the talented but enigmatic right hander looks like he doesn't have a clue as to what he's doing.

After yesterday's game, he says that he didn't have his good curveball, but he kept throwing it throughout his outing and he got hammered. The Blue Jays got too many good swings against a pitcher with the kind of stuff that should be "missing bats".

Yankee skipper Joe Girardi stayed with him too long in last night's debacle. Will he be that patient when it comes to October.

Break Up The Mets, Start with Castillo

2010-07-27T10:56:00.003-04:00

The Mets should "smell the coffee" because they won't make the playoffs this season, but what about the future, particularly 2011.

The Mets need to begin overhauling this roster as its presently constituted and my first move would be to release 2B Luis Castillo.

Daily News Columnist John Harper wrote that the Mets should release P Oliver Perez because he's a negative presence in the locker room.

I'll go one better and say, if the Mets want to improve their chances of winning next season, they need to get rid of Castillo.

It's the three year anniversary of the trade that brought Castillo to the Mets, who have posted an overall record of 237-242 since.

Their mark with Castillo in the lineup is 150-180, without him in the lineup over that time period, their record is 87-62.

Coincidence? Maybe not.

Castillo has been a bad influence on the Mets, especially Jose Reyes, ever since he arrived.

In 2007, the Mets were 25-25 with Castillo playing second, but they collapsed down the stretch going 12-17 to blow the NL East title.

In 2008, Castillo was injured in late June. Mets Mgr. Willie Randolph wanted to put him on the disabled list but management refused. That conflict contributed to Randolph's firing and when Jerry Manuel took over, Castillo went right on the D-L.

Castillo missed 75 games and the Mets went 50-25 in that stretch, including 36-19 in July and August.

When he came back in September, the Mets finished 13-12 (6-9 with Castillo in the lineup) and blew the playoffs by one game for a second straight year. For the 2008 season, the Mets were 40-47 with Castillo in the lineup.

Last year, Castillo hit .302 in 142 games played but the Mets were 62-80 in the games he played, 70-92 overall.

I know getting rid of Castillo will not solve all of the Mets problems, but this is a disturbing trend of negativity that has developed since his arrival.

The other day, Angel Pagan, who was batting third, decided to sacrifice on his own in a situation that called for him to swing away. Castillo does that so its no surprise that Pagan would try it.

Castillo bunts in situations where its not called for and that trickles down to the young players who copy him.

Castillo is signed through 2011 (thanks to the ridiculous four year contract given to him by GM Omar Minaya) and the Mets should seriously think about letting him go, even if they have to eat the money.

Castillo has been nothing but a negative influence since joining the team three years ago.

Coincidence? Maybe not

Don't Kid Yourself, Yanks are Looking For Starting Pitching

2010-07-20T23:47:00.004-04:00

Yankees GM Brian Cashman says he's comfortable with Sergio Mitre for six or seven weeks while Andy Pettitte attempts to get healthy from his injured groin.

At Pettitte's age, there's no guarantee he can come back from this injury in what has been a traditional time period, and let's be real, do you think the Yankees really trust Mitre. I don't think so.

The Yankees are in the market for a starter and a reliever and they don't want a repeat of the Cliff Lee episode, so they're biting their lip with their public statements.

Cashman and company will not pursue Roy Oswalt, but they will look at Brett Myers as are other clubs.

Here are some names that may fly under the radar.

Pirates left hander Paul Maholm is 6-7 with a 4.03 ERA this season. He's 44-51 in his career with a 4.29 ERA. These numbers have been compiled with lousy Pirate teams so if you put him on a team like the Yankees, he may excel under a winning atmosphere. Then again, he may wilt under the pressure, that's the risk, but one I feel is worth taking.

The Cubs may part with Tom Gorzelanny, who would come cheaper than Ted Lilly and is six years younger.

Indians LH reliever Rafael Perez. The Yankees need another left hand arm in the bullpen.

I expect the Yankees to add another arm and maybe two before the deadline passes.

The Hall of Fame Beckons

2010-07-13T10:37:00.004-04:00

The Yankee family and anyone who holds them dear to their hearts are crushed again with the news that Principal Owner George M. Steinbrenner died this morning at the age of 80.

This blog has served as my "vehicle" for retrospect and personal tributes to those who I have interacted with in my thirty years of covering sports.

Already this season, I've lost Ernie Harwell, Bob Sheppard and now, George Steinbrenner.

I wasn't always a Steinbrenner fan, in fact I despised him from afar. I didn't like the way he treated people that busted their butt for him. I didn't like the way he was running the Yankees because I felt his interference was holding them back.

In 1980, I started covering the Yankees for SportsPhone and I have to admit that the first time I was in George's presence, I was intimidated but as the years went on, I got used to being around him and the way he operated, even though I always called him Mr. Steinbrenner. I didn't feel it was right for me to call him George.

SportsPhone's seat was located on the third base side of the Press Box, right next to Steinbrenner's private box. Whenever there was a news story involving George, reporters would walk over and try to get an audience with George, most times unsuccessfully.

George was a superstitious type who would walk out of his box and stand behind us in that press section because he felt it was good luck. Which leads me to a story where George and I stood united.

It was May 19th, 1998. The Yankees were hosting the Baltimore Orioles and in the bottom of the 8th, Bernie Williams hit a three run homer off Baltimore's Armando Benitez to give the Yankees a 7-5 lead.

The next batter, Tino Martinez, was hit square in the back sparking a wild, bench clearing brawl between the teams.

Steinbrenner, as was his custom when the team was losing, was standing behind me in the press box when the brawl broke out.

While this was taking place, I left my seat and George and I stood side by side. We were both incensed by what was happening on the field. The melee spilled into the Orioles dugout on the third base side, at which point, George began yelling towards the field saying things like, "I'll kick Peter Angelos (the Orioles owner) ass". I was stunned to hear this kind of passion that came out of his mouth and got right into it by "egging" him on to take care of Angelos.

There was a time in 1981 when I was privileged to be in Steinbrenner's office for an impromptu press conference. (There is actually a picture in a past Yankee yearbook of me standing at George's desk, holding my microphone to get his quotes about this news story)

Covering the Yankees during George's "hey-day" was a chore in itself. You could never be sure that when you left the ballpark, that your working night was over.

I was there the night in 1981 when George personally fired Yankee Mgr. Gene Micheal.

We had just completed our post game coverage and were packing up, getting ready to leave the press room. All of a sudden, here comes George followed by his P-R representative and then this shocking announcement, "I'm here to fire the Manager".

Some of the beat reporters had already left the Stadium when this news broke. Suffice to say, it made for a crazy evening.

Then there was the time that George's impulsive behavior had a direct effect on me.

There was a parking area for NYP Plates on the street that led to "the big bat" outside the ballpark. One night, George had trouble leaving the ballpark because of traffic congestion. George got so upset that he got in touch with Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and had the NYP Press Zone taken away so that traffic would move more freely.

You have to remember that these street changes usually take a little time, say a few months or more, but Steinbrenner got this change in less than 24 hours. The next night that I went to the ballpark, the parking area was not there anymore, instead it was moved to another location, a little farther away.

With all that went on, I am truly saddened today by the loss of George M. Steinbrenner.

All that's left for George is to take his rightful place in Baseball's Hall of Fame. RIP Mr. Steinbrenner

I Got To Call Him Bob

2010-07-11T18:19:00.005-04:00

Thirty years in the business and a Yankee fan for nearly fifty, I estimated that I saw approximately 1500 games at the original Yankee Stadium. Except for a select few, Bob Sheppard was there for every one of those also.

I remember the thrill as a kid, walking into the Stadium and then hearing Bob say in his melodious and rhythmic voice, "La-dies and Gentle-men, Wel-Come to Yankee Stadium".

That was my first encounter with Bob Sheppard until I had the privilege of a face to face encounter. That came when I began covering the team in 1980. Bob was always pleasant, courteous and just a "joy" to be around.

When I started scoring games in 1999, I saw how Bob would try to be the first one to bolt the Stadium once the game ended. Bob would stand just off to my right where there was a walkway that led to the front door of the Press Box. You had to walk down the hall, with the fans, to get to the Press Elevator. Bob somehow made it out before everyone else. Of course, there were those times when the game would continue and he'd have to hustle back to his booth to announce the next hitter.

It was awesome to just hear him say my name.

One time he complimented me for the way I read the pitching lines over the Press Box P-A system. He said I spoke with "clarity and precision".

Three years ago, I got the thrill of a lifetime, thanks to Bob, and yet I didn't really do anything.

Bob was working the home opener that year and had some health issues surface midway through the game that forced him to be rushed to the hospital. Yankee P-R Director Rick Cerrone finished the game.

A short time later that season, I arrived at the Stadium one night and was told that Bob Sheppard wanted to see me and that he was already upstairs preparing for the game.

I walked upstairs and went into Bob's booth where he announced the lineups.

Bob said "Sit down, I want to ask you something". So I took a seat and he brought up opening day when he had to leave the game.

Bob proposed to me to be his "emergency back up" in case something happened to him while he was working a game.

Bob was such a professional that, even if he wasn't there, he wanted that person to be representative of the position.

I was flabbergasted to say the least, told him it was an honor and hoped that I would never get the chance to fill in for him because that would mean that something was wrong.

Bob actually "showed me the ropes". He instructed me on using the microphone, told me to be just like I was on the "Official Scorers Mic" where he said I was "clear and my diction was very good".

Turns out, I never got the chance to announce the lineups at the ol' Stadium but it didn't matter.

Bob Sheppard, the "Voice of Yankee Stadium" was considering me to be one of his back ups.

It was an honor to interact with Bob over the years and it became a family interaction as Bob enjoyed listening to my wife Kathy on the Yankee flagship station, WCBS. "Is that your wife Howie", he would ask and I would proudly say "Yes".

Kathy would come to the games and see Bob in his booth, his face would light up like a Christmas tree because he loved my wife's voice and her diction on the radio.

It's almost fitting that Bob, who never spent a minute in the new Yankee Stadium, but was there for nearly 70% of the original building's life-span, would move on to the "after-life" only months after the original "House that Ruth Built" was brought down.

Rest in Peace Mr. Sheppard. Thank you for letting Kathy and I call you Bob

All The "Eggs" In One Basket

2010-06-25T16:47:00.005-04:00

For the past two years, the Knicks have been manipulating their roster to be in a position on July 1st, 2010 to sign a "max" free agent.

That date is less than a week away and the Knicks are not exactly giddy, in fact, they are dreading 7/1/10 because their chances of signing the premier free agent, LeBron James, are slim and none.

The Knicks showed you the past two years were literally "thrown away" in the hopes of luring James to New York. LeBron has made it clear that he wants to go to a team that has a chance to win now. The Knicks don't qualify for that prerequisite. They don't have the kind of team that James needs to play beside him in order to win a title.

They can tell you about how good Danilo Gallinari would be (I don't see it yet but that's my opinion)as a complimentary player to LeBron. You hear about Wilson Chandler who has talent but has not really progressed as a player under Head Coach Mike D'Antoni.

Oh yeah. The head coach. It was rumored that D'Antoni was brought here because of his amicable relationship with "King James". That may be the case, but LeBron will not come to NY just because D'Antoni is patrolling the sidelines. In fact, if James had spoken to Nate Robinson when he was traded to Boston, he certainly would not have received any glowing endorsements of the head coach who fails to coach defense and tends to place his personal agenda ahead of what's good for the team.

James has already made it clear that he won't be going on any "recruitment tour" which lends me to believe he already has his team in mind and I'm guessing its the Chicago Bulls. Its a perfect fit for LeBron and his reported "needs".

That silly notion that LeBron would not go to Chicago for fear of playing in Micheal Jordan's shadow is a bunch of gabage. LeBron is always playing in the shadow of Micheal Jordan, whether he plays for the Bulls, the Knicks or the Cavaliers.

If LeBron is going to be measured against Jordan and the all time greats, his legacy will likely depend on if he wins a championship,m no matter the uniform, and one won't cut it. LeBron's expectations are for more than one title, so he's chasing Jordan whether he likes it or not.

LeBron could also be the one to lead the Bulls back to prominence, the first title sans Jordan, so there's some added motivation to sign with Chicago.

I think he's going to the Bulls or back to Cleveland.

The Knicks put "all their eggs in one basket" and now they may be looking for another basket, something they've been doing for the past decade.

Mets and Yanks Survive Each Other

2010-06-21T12:07:00.007-04:00

The Mets took two out of three at Citifield, while the Yankees returned the favor in the Bronx.

A split of the Subway Series is nothing new. it's happened six times since the beginning of interleague play in 1997.

This year's edition of the "Subway Series", if anything, was extremely competitive and it showed that there's a chance of having a "magical" baseball summer, but the fact that it's over is a relief for both.

The Mets were working on an outstanding road trip having swept the "dregs" of the American League in Baltimore and Cleveland and were now looking at the last leg in the Bronx. They couldn't afford to be swept and once they got the first game, their fears were allayed.

You could argue that it's dissapointing for the Mets that they didn't win the series, but when you go into the home park of the defending World Champs and are a team that's looking to find its way, you take it. A 7-2 road trip is outstanding, no matter how it developed.

After losing the first game, the Yankees had dropped three of four to the Mets but they saved face by winning the last two. That's not to say that either club would've have suffered long term damage, but can you imagine the outrage from "Yankee-Land" if the Mets had swept the Yankees in the Bronx.

So what happens now?

Well, the Mets got the ball rolling in the right direction by finally sending Jennry Mejia to the minors to groom him as a starting pitcher. I had to laugh when I read Jerry Manuel's comments about Mejia. "We kind of felt that the development and progression had kind of leveled off". There was no progression, no real development.

Mejia pitching a scoreless inning when the team is losing 4-0 is not progress. Never defining a role for this kid is not developing him properly, so sending him to the minors is the right move.

The Tigers and Twins coming to "Citi" this week will provide a stiff test for the Mets. In fact, these six will probably be even tougher than the Yankee series because the Mets have that "built in motivating factor" when they play their cousins from the Bronx. They do not have that same emotional charge against these two AL clubs but that doesn't mean they won't get pumped for this homestand.

The Yankees finish off their interleague schedule with six games in Arizona and Los Angeles. Back in 2004, the Yankees went 3-3 on that same trip, losing two of three to the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

The Yankees have not played their "best ball", yet they sit in first place of the AL East, the toughest division in baseball. The Red Sox have surged back into contention while the Rays have leveled off somewhat.

Each of the three have their issues.

Tampa has not had a stable batting order. They've used a number of players at the leadoff spot (at least 8), including rookie C John Jaso, who has no speed but gets on base. The Rays bullpen is suspect and that could be their "achilles heel".

Boston's bullpen falls into the same category and, like the Yankees, are old in spots. The Red Sox will not rest on their laurels and will look to deal.

The Yankees have some age at key spots, they're thin in the outfield, and they need a second left hand reliever, but they're the most complete team of the three and will also be in the market for improvements. Look for the Yanks to inquire about LH reliever Will Ohman from Baltimore.

Say It Aint So, A.J.

2010-06-17T15:02:00.002-04:00

A.J. Burnett's performance last night was not only bad, it was a disgrace.

Looking at his body language, especially during that four run second inning, it appeared to me, (and this is only my opinion) that Burnett was so frustrated, he "gave up" on the game.

What is giving up on the game?

When a pitcher knows he doesn't have his good stuff, he learns how to "grind" and "battle" his way through a game. When you "give up" on a game, you don't grind or battle your way through, you "give up" or give in to your adversity, whichever you prefer.

Burnett stamped that opinion when he failed to cover first base on Chase Utley's infield single, which incidentally was his last batter. Mgr. Joe Girardi, probably seeing the same stuff as this blogger, promptly removed him from the game.

Think back to 1998 when David Wells gave up on a game in Texas. Joe Torre went out to the mound and put his foot down, basically telling Wells, "get your ass in gear or you won't be pitching here very long". After that "lay the law down" session, Wells went on to not only one of his best seasons, but a perfect game to boot.

Wells was one of those who would "give up" on a game. Red Sox ace Josh Beckett has been known to be one of those pitchers at times.

Some other examples of Burnett's "dis-interest" in the game. He pitched Phillies C Brian Schneider like he was Willie McCovey, walking him twice. Anyone who watched Schneider with the Mets, knows you don't walk a hitter of his limited caliber. Burnett fails to throw the ball down the middle on Schneider so then his frustration builds even more to where he grooves it to one of the Phils better hitters like Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth.

To his credit, Burnett is a stand up guy and accepted all responsibility for his outing, including the mental lapse at first.

C.C. Sabathia did the same thing the previous night, but that was his only mental lapse.

Burnett's mental lapse was the culmination of what was a night of lost focus.

Oh yeah, the hitters don't get a pass either. If you read John Harper's column in today's editions of the Daily News, he agrees, that the hitters let Jamie Moyer off the hook with a severe lack of discipline.

If you ask me, the Yankees got a little "giddy" after they beat Roy Halladay with their outstanding approach.

Last night, their approach sucked.

A Friend Named Harvey

2010-06-07T20:40:00.006-04:00

The Mets selected 6'4" righthander Matt Harvey out of North Carolina with the seventh overall pick in the "MLB First Year Player Draft". There were rumors that the Mets were going to pick the youngster, who is originally from Connecticut. I've been known to have a "pretty good eye" for baseball talent, especially pitching, so I've looked at about 10-20 minutes of video on this kid.

Here is a scouting report (not mine) on Harvey from a site called "rule4report.com"....

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Harvey pairs obvious strength and a broad, sturdy frame suitable for heavy workloads. Although physically mature, he already possesses premium velocity that he can sustain deep into games, so a lack of projection is not an issue. Harvey has gained approximately 30 pounds since high school, and he has proven that the added bulk is functional by maintaining good body control throughout his delivery. He is limited athletically, but has nonetheless demonstrated the capacity to make mechanical adjustments as needed.

MECHANICS

Harvey generates mid-90s velocity from a high three-quarters release point with relative ease. Plagued by mechanical inconsistency as a sophomore, Harvey now operates with a simpler and better-paced motion. Previously, he would rush toward home plate with a forceful stride, causing his arm to play “catch-up”, which produced varying release points and a cross-body finish. This season, he has shown more consistency in getting his pitching arm-side forearm to a vertical position as his glove-side foot lands. As a result, he has eliminated that cross-body action, increased his hip-shoulder separation, and improved his tempo, which explains why he is now pitching with the best velocity and fastball command since he arrived on campus. He has a tendency to pull his shoulder out as he swings his arm into the high-cocked position, making it more difficult than necessary to repeat his arm path, but suggesting that he could improve his command still further. The adjustments Harvey has made to this point are a testament to his work ethic and aptitude, which have been questioned in the past.

PITCH REPERTOIRE

Harvey’s four-seam fastball sits in the 92-96 mph range and touches 98, but has proven very hittable over his college career because it lacks for life. This prompted he and pitching coach Scott Forbes to develop a two-seam fastball this spring, a heavy ball that arrives at 91-93 which he keeps in the lower-third of the zone. Harvey has relied on his two-seamer often – particularly late in games – to consistently generate weak contact and limit his pitch count, which helps explain why he has pitched deeper into games with greater frequency this season. His breaking pitch of choice is his slider, which comes in at 83-85 and flashes plus right now. The pitch gets good rotation and tilt when thrown well, but it will occasionally flatten out and give the appearance of a slow cutter. He has lost the feel for his power curveball, which had plus potential coming out of high school as a third-round pick of the Angels in 2007, often failing to stay on top of it and hanging way up in the zone. But he has previously demonstrated the requisite hand speed to spin a good one, so this degradation should just be temporary. Harvey exhibits feel for a changeup, a 79-83 offering with some tumble, although his motion is noticeably more deliberate from a side view.

SUMMATION

Harvey’s combination of physicality, present velocity and potential stuff is tantalizing, but he is considered something of an underachiever because the results over three years in college didn’t match the talent. His past struggles can be mostly attributed to a lack of command (and at times, control), which, if resolved, could result in him becoming a No. 2 starter at his peak. Harvey’s track record indicates risk, but there is enough upside to warrant a top-10 overall selection.

NOW HERE'S MY SCOUTING REPORT:

Harvey was a third round pick of the Angels in 2007 but elected to attend North Carolina.

Coming out of high school, he, along with Rick Porcello, was being tabbed as one of the Nation's best pitching prospects, but he's been an "underachiever" during his collegiate career and control has been his biggest problem.

He's got a live arm but his fastball looks "flat". If he's developed a two seamer, he didn't feature it much on the video clips.

When you watch his wind-up, you can see why he has mechanical trouble and problems repeating his motion.

His left leg lands very stiff and it looks like Harvey is not using much of his lower body at all on his pitches. That leaves him off balance and would probably lead to him opening up too fast, which would limit his control and command.

Harvey has a good slider, but his curveball was not impressive. The reports say he has a change up but I didn't see it. Doesn't mean he can't throw it. He'll have to be good with his secondary stuff because he comes right over the top, which is "meat" for good hitters. Harvey looks like he can throw pitches from the same release point, but his inconsistency with his motion will take away from that advantage.

On the video that I saw, the hitters had good swings and seemed very comfortable against him.

Remarkably, Harvey once threw a 158 pitch, complete game against Clemson where hs struck out 15 and still registered 96 MPH on the gun with his final pitch of the game. I don't trust the gun but after 158 pitches, he had to be doing something good to last that long.

This feat alone is what probably makes him attractive but he reminds me a little of Ben Sheets and you know about his injury history.

Harvey has a little bit of a "sling shot" motion. Supposedly, it used to be worse but mechanically, this kid could end up with arm trouble down the road.

If the Mets can get him to be consistent with his delivery, they may have something, but Matt Harvey looks like it's going to take alot of work to make him a consistent and winning Major League pitcher.

Keepin' Up with Joneses (not Chipper) of the NL East

2010-06-07T14:29:00.007-04:00

The calls for the Mets to make a move have begun again, but they may be better served for their immediate future with tonight's "MLB First Year Player Draft".

Taking into account how more and more Major League players are coming through the draft, the Mets 7th overall selection tonight could be a key to their future success.

The "geniuses" out there are calling for the Mets to simply "snap their fingers" and go after Cliff Lee or Roy Oswalt.

There was one suggestion that the Mets should approach the Blue Jays about taking on Vernon Wells' ridiculous contract with the stipulation that Toronto trade their two young lefties, Brett Cecil and Ricky Romero. The Blue Jays will not trade two young promising pitchers who have less than two years of service between them. No, they won't do that, not even to rid themselves of Wells' contract. (By the way, Wells has a full no trade clause)

Now that draft day is here, consider the Mets plight in the National League East and what's going on around them.

The Phillies' window of opportunity has begun to close while teams like the Nationals, Marlins and Braves are on the rise.

The Nationals are sold out for tomorrow night's ML debut of last year's number one overall selection, Stephen Strasburg, not to mention the fact they have tonight's number one pick and are expected to take highly rated left handed hitting catcher Bryce Harper. Washington is building through the draft and its a solid structure that bodes well for the future.

The Marlins are about to bring up highly rated 20 year old outfielder Mike Stanton (the 79th overall selection in the 2007 draft, and you know about Florida's farm system which is loaded) and are looking to field a competitive team that will occupy their new stadium in 2012.

Atlanta has re-stocked their roster with good young players like Tommy Hanson and Jason Heyward and the Braves have more coming.

The Mets need to "keep up with the Joneses".

As far as trading for Cliff Lee, Seattle will demand a very high price because they won't mind losing him to free agency. Lee, whose contract expires after this season, is a "Type A" free agent which means the Mariners would get a compensatory draft pick from the team that signs him. That's the difference nowadays. Teams are willing to let a player walk in exchange for the extra draft pick.

If the Mets want to trade for Lee, the M's will start by asking for Ike Davis and Jenrry Mejia. Do you make that deal if you're the Mets? I don't think so.

It's a little different with Oswalt because he has another year left on his deal, but the Astros will ask alot in return.

The draft is the way to go. Look at the names that have made the Majors in the past ten years. Starting in 2000, you've got players like Adrian Gonzalez and Adam Wainwright (who was the 29th overall selection of the Braves that year). Move forward to 2001 and you see names like Joe Mauer and Mark Teixeira.

B.J. Upton, Zach Greinke, Prince Fielder, Jeff Francis, Matt Cain and, for Met fans, the infamous Scott Kazmir all were chosen in 2002.

Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis was the seventh overall pick in 2003, while the top ten picks in 2005 yielded eight Major League players including Ryan Zimmerman, Ryan Braun, Cameron Maybin and one Mike Pelfrey.

Look at the impact Davis made when he was called up. That's a prime example of what the draft can do for a team.

In recent years, most teams have cut back on their respective scouting departments and its turned into a big mistake. A solid "Player Personnel Director" and a good scouting department (i.e. the Twins) can be the backbone of a successful franchise.

The Mets should not abandon any hopes for this season. It's too early to do that, but they have to think about their immediate future and beyond and that starts with the draft, not a "big name" trade.

Maybe Its Starting To Sink In For Joba

2010-06-03T19:46:00.007-04:00

Maybe he is reading this blog.

After that disastrous outing last Saturday against the lowly Cleveland Indians, Yankee reliever Joba Chamberlain seems to have gotten it together against the even lowlier Baltimore Orioles.

Following Saturday's game, I posted on this blog how Chamberlain was counting too much on his secondary stuff to get out hitters, particulary the "lower third" of the opposing batting order.

Granted, the O's lineup isn't exactly "Murderers Row", more like "Skid Row", but how Chamberlain attacked the hitters in his past two appearances is what's important.

On Tuesday night, Joba pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning and he did it by throwing nothing but FASTBALLS.

His first batter was the #9 hitter, Cesar Izturis. Joba got Izturis to fly out to center on a 1-2 fastball. Joba got behind Corey Patterson 1-0 but retired him on a fly to center, both pitches were FASTBALLS. Finally, Joba gets Miguel Tejada to ground out to first on two pitches, both were FASTBALLS.

Bad offense, 8 pitches, all fastballs, three outs, back in the dugout to "set up" for Mariano.

Move ahead to earlier today (that's like a Kiner malaprop)

Chamberlain pitches the eighth with the Yanks leading 6-3.

Once again, Chamberlain retires Izturis on four pitches, all FASTBALLS. The second hitter was Julio Lugo who lines out to Nick Swisher in right on two FASTBALLS. Once again, Tejada is the third batter of the inning. Joba throws his only off speed pitch of the past two outings as he misses with a 1-1 slider but he comes back with the fastball to get Tejada to ground out to third to end the inning.

Bad offense, 10 pitches, all fastballs, three outs, back in the dugout to "set up" for Mariano.

The real test of this sudden resurgence will be against the tougher lineups in the league but if Joba maintains this same approach, the Yankees may finally have their "eighth inning guy".

Nobody's Perfect

2010-06-03T00:48:00.004-04:00

Following the most infamous blown call in the history of baseball, there was some question last night in the Yankee Stadium press box as to whether the Official Scorer in Detroit could've called an error.

The scorer makes his call according to what the umpire calls. Since first base umpire Jim Joyce signaled safe with an indication that, in his mind, (even though he was out) the runner beat the ball and there was no physical misplay, it has to be scored a hit. It's almost like someone hits a routine ground ball to the shortstop who throws to first but simply fails to get the runner who beats it out. There should have been an out recorded on that example, but it has to be scored a hit because there was no "physical misplay".

If Joyce gave a signal that the ball was somehow bobbled by Armando Gallaraga, or that he was off the bag because the throw pulled him off, then the scorer would rule an error on the pitcher covering, and the no hitter would be intact.

To their credit, both Joyce and Gallaraga took the high road. Joyce apologized for the screw up and Gallaraga had a memorable quote that sums up this whole episode. This is from a pitcher who was literally "robbed" of pitching a perfect game. He said, "Nobody's perfect".

Can't Say I Didn't Warn You

2010-05-30T02:15:00.005-04:00

This was my post back on March 26th when the Yankees made it official that Joba Chamberlain would be in the bullpen.

"Now that Joba Chamberlain is headed back to the bullpen, there are those who feel he'll dominate the hitters as he did when he burst on the scene in 2007.

Don't be shocked when that does not happen.

The word "phenom" is a derivative of the word phenomenon which features such synonyms as "abnormality", "rarity" and "uniqueness".

My point is that Joba Chamberlain will not be the same lights out reliever as he was when he came up three years ago."

Yesterday's disaster was a perfect example.

Joba enters the game in the seventh with two out and two on and the Yankees leading 10-6. The first hitter he faces is Mark Grudzielanek, a veteran, and Joba starts him off with a strike one fastball. He throws another fastball and Grudzielanek singles to center to drive in a run and make it 10-7.

Alright, you've got to give Joba a little leeway but here is where he gets himself in trouble.

He faces the #7 hitter in Matt LaPorta and starts him off with a slider which misses for ball one. That is Joba's biggest problem. He gets behind with his secondary pitches and then he has to throw the fastball in counts where the opposing hitters are sitting on it. Scouts are telling their hitters that, most of the time, Joba's first pitch is off speed and that he doesn't throw it for a strike. The hitters lay off and then he has to come in.

The other thing that the scouts are seeing is that when Joba starts a hitter with an off speed pitch, strike or ball, he always throws the fastball with the second pitch.

The second pitch to LaPorta was a fastball that missed and Joba went to 3-0 before walking him to load the bases.

The third batter that Joba faced was the #8 hitter, Lou Marson, who's hitting a robust .218. Joba got ahead of Marson with, lo and behold, a first pitch slider that he swung at and an 0-1 fastball, but he couldn't put him away.

Marson lined a 2-2 fastball (after Joba missed with two straight sliders) to center to drive in two cut the Yankee lead to 10-9.

Shall we continue down this beaten path?

Jason Donald, the ninth place hitter, swings at a curveball and misses, but he gets the fastball on the second pitch and doubles in two for an 11-10 Indians lead. It didn't end there as Trevor Crowe singled in one more run.

Do you get the pattern here? The opposing hitters certainly do. Joba is very predictable at times and he's probably "tipping" his pitches as well.

How about his last five innings pitched. 11 runs, 10 earned over that span.

You wanna say "the Yankees ruined him" with those "Joba Rules" is a valid argument, but a bit premature. I contend that even if he stayed in the bullpen all along, this development would've occured a little sooner.

Don't be shocked if, two years from now, Joba Chamberlain is wearing another uniform.

Can't Say I Didn't Warn You

The Wild, Wild West

2010-05-28T20:55:00.004-04:00

Major League Baseball handed down fines to White Sox Mgr Ozzie Guillen, White Sox P Mark Buehrle and Umpire Joe West for their part in an incident that took place during the White Sox/Indians game on Wednesday night.

It's rare when an umpire's punishment is made public, so this situation must've been taken very seriously by the people who deal with such matters in the MLB offices.

West called a number of "questionable" balks on Buehrle. The first balk resulted in the ejection of Guillen who argued the call. The second came an inning later and Buerhle was tossed as well.

I'm not saying Joe West is a jerk (even though he is), I'm not saying Joe West has his own agenda (which he does, see: Joe West CD) What I am saying is that Joe West has no credibility what-so-ever as a Major League Umpire.

This is the latest in a long line of embarassing episodes with West front and center.

Earlier this year, we had West criticizing the Yankees and Red Sox for the length of their games, ones, I might add, that he was working. West has been right in the middle of many controversial calls, such as the ones he made Wednesday night.

Buehrle has been making that "pick off" move for his entire ten year career. Coming into this season, the White Sox southpaw had only ten career balks called on him.

There are some who believe that West called those balks to "tweak" Guillen since the two have quite a history.

West has quite the resume himself including being caught up a labor dispute in 1999.

Unable to strike because they had a labor agreement in place at the time, more than 50 umpires resigned in an attempt to force negotiations with MLB for a new labor agreement. West was one of those umpires. He was also one of the 42 umpires, who when they saw this tactic wasn't working, tried to get re-instated.

22 of those umpires didn't get their jobs back for the 2000 season and one of those was West. MLB made a mistake when they re-hired him for the 2002 season.

Speaking of having an agenda, YahooSports.com reported that West solicited reporters this week to talk about the controversy he created in April when he called the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox "pathetic and embarrassing" because of their long game times.

Back in 1988, West made a cameo as an umpire in "The Naked Gun" and now he's got a CD titled "Cowboy Joe West" where he sings country music.

If Joe West wants to sing country music, he should dedicate a tune to his Major League Umpiring Career. How about a duet with "Dee-Part-in'" (aka Dolly Parton)

Having Super Bowl Here Will Not Be That Great

2010-05-25T16:26:00.004-04:00

Three cheers for the NFL. Hip, Hip Hooray. The Super Bowl is coming to the tri-state area.

That was made official moments ago when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made the announcement. Super Bowl 48 will be played at the $1.6 billion dollar New Meadowlands Stadium.

All you're going to hear in the next few days is that "everyone in New York and New Jersey will benefit from having the Super Bowl in this area".

Well, almost everyone.

Oh sure, local businesses will be helped by the additional revenue, not to mention the hotels in the area.

There will be a week's worth of events related to the NFL and pro football which will probably take place at the Javits Center on the West Side while the local politicians "grin from ear to ear" at the prospects of all this additional revenue.

Its a great thing right!!!! What about the game?

The Super Bowl is supposed to be the premiere game of the NFL season but instead, the game has turned into an "after-thought".

The skeptics that did not want the game to be played around here were worried their "corporate friends" would not be able to attend the game in severe winter weather conditions. Who do you think will be getting a chance to purchase these high priced Super Bowl tickets?

It won't be the real diehard football fans, the ones that pay their hard earned money to watch the games live because it's their passion, not because they are there to be seen with the "rich and famous".

Even the consumers who have season tickets to the Jets and Giants will not have guaranteed access to tickets for SB 48.

Just imagine if the Giants or Jets qualify for the game. Most of their loyal, season ticket, PSL holding fans will be shutout because most of the tickets will be "earmarked" elsewhere. Oh, they'll hold a lottery for the season ticket holders should one of the locals get in. How considerate?

I can't help but feel that the owners voted for a Meadowlands Super Bowl because the Jets and Giants are both having problems selling out. If that happens, then the "NFL's Blackout Rule" may be challenged because the league cannot afford to "black out" a Giants or Jets game these days.

Which brings us to those "darn" PSL's. The "Personal Seat License" will ruin live attendance at sporting events as we know it.

People will still watch the games because it will be a sensible alternative to paying for a PSL and then paying for the season tickets themselves. Fans will still follow the sports on TV but they're not gonna get "suckered" into literally paying twice (because that's what PSL's do, they make the fan pay 2X) but also add on the commuting time, and the other things you spend money on to get to and at the game and you get so fed up that you say the heck with it.

The four major sports have actually been shooting themselves in the foot with the television access that's available for every single game. (See: Direct TV, MLB, NHL, NBA packages)

They're cheering and partying at the Meadowlands now but wait until the season opens and the games are not sold out.

Having the Super Bowl here is just not that great.

Oswalt Does Not Make "Cents" For Mets

2010-05-24T19:43:00.006-04:00

With the news that Astros P Roy Oswalt would waive his "no trade clause" to accept being dealt to a contender, there are some who believe the Mets should make a play for the talented right-hander, who has had some injury issues.

To bring Oswalt now doesn't really suit the Mets needs.

First off, if you add Oswalt to the rotation, does that mask the fact that the Mets bullpen is being overworked and on a whole, has probably overachieved to this point. Does bringing in Oswalt cover up the lack of lefthanded power. Jason Bay, David Wright, Jeff Francoeur, Rod Barajas are all righthanded. The switch hitters (Jose Reyes, Angel Pagan) are not power hitters. It would be nice if Carlos Beltran comes back but that's not a lock by any means and how effective he'll be is anyone's guess.

Of course, adding a talent like Oswalt to a rotation that is now headlined by Mike Pelfrey and Johan Santana would be impressive but you're bringing in an "albatross" of a contract.

Oswalt is set to make $16 million in 2011 with a $16 million club option for 2012 with a $2 million dollar buyout.

Seven Mets, who are under contract for next season, total $111 million dollars. They include Reyes ($11 million club option for next season. Barring a catastrophe, I think the Mets exercise the option), Frankie Rodriguez ($11.5M), Wright ($14M), Johan Santana ($22.5M), Oliver Perez ($12M), Bay ($16M) and Carlos Beltran (who is owed $18.5M in salary not to mention a deferred payment of $5.5M which makes his a grand total of $24M)

That's not all.

Pelfrey's contract (approx $1M) is up after this season but he's not yet eligible for free agency. That aside, the righty is off to a great start and could be on the verge of a breakthrough season. Like the "Fram Oil Filter", the Mets will have to pay now or pay later because Pelfrey will be eligible for arbitration.

Let's say Pelfrey gets a nice raise and the Mets are over $117 million for just eight players.

I haven't even added Oswalt's $16 million to that total. The Mets payroll this season is a little over $126 million and that's down from $149 million in 2009.

With an approximate total of $133 million tied up for nine players in 2011, you would still need to have 16 more to fill out the 25 man roster, and they won't come cheap.

Oswalt has had some injury woes the past few seasons which makes him a liability with such a large contract.

The Mets have shown they can play with some of the better teams at home but they're inconsistencies on the road, leave them a notch below as a legitimate playoff contender. As such, they may have some crucial decisions to make on their future, whether to pursue trades to save this season or start thinking about down the road.

The Mets will likely try to move some of those named above (Perez's deal is up after next year, Beltran would have to waive his "no trade clause" but the chances of that has increased in the past few months) but theit trade value has lessened considerably so there may not be that much in return.

There's no indication Oswalt would waive his no trade clause to come to New York, and I don't think the Mets should waste their time pursuing him.