Okay, I think I’ve really had it now. I’m going to take my Joba Rules shirt and burn it. What am I saying if I wear his shirt…..that I’m a sissy boy? It’s okay, Joe, take me out after three, watch every pitch, call every pitch and then take me out whenever you feel like it, whenever the mood strikes you, because I’m SOOOOO happy to be a Yankee.
What a wimp!
I’ll trade you for an old David Wells shirt, another big guy but he had some uh, canoles? Really, it’s sickening. Joba had been the only Yankee I liked and now that feeling’s out the window too.
I’m just glad that I didn’t buy one of those exorbitant tickets to the game. Imagine laying out all that hard-earned cash expecting to see Joba and getting him for just 3 innings, no matter that he just gave up a couple of runs. I mean, what about truth in advertising? Isn’t a “start” supposed to be something in particular? Anyway, if I had the poor judgment to buy a ticket, I’d be asking for a refund now.
And then Joba makes it worse by saying he’s fine with it. I don’t know, Joba. You lost me. I mean forever.
The Yanks appear unbeatable right now. Looks like that 140 mill paid off. Teixeira, Sabathia, Burnet, what’s not to like? The one weak spot was Mitre and then he goes and delivers a quality start. Relief had been a problem and then, lo and behold, Hughes becomes Mr. Lightsout in the 8th.
Jeter’s locked in, and he’s been locked in for a long time. Damon’s hitting them over that short wall with regularity; a juiceless Arod’s delievering less but still enough to get by. It’s sickening really. You have to look pretty hard to find a weak spot; in fact, it’ll be a fruitless search.
Argh, enough about the friggin’ Yankees. I’m just glad the Rangers wooped their butts. There’re some real men down there in Texas, just as you’d expect.
And now I see some articles to the effect that the Wilpons’ management of the Mets club isn’t affected by the huge losses they suffered in the Madoff soaking. Yeah, sure. And still nobody knows how much they really lost. They don’t have to tell. I mean, that’s fine, but if the losses have been so insignificant, why not let anybody know how bad it was or wasn’t.
I won’t dwell on the Mets. It is amazing, though, how many hits it takes to score a run with these new guys. Day after day, you see numbers like 13 hits, 4 runs and if you’re a Mets fan, you don’t know whether to be happy for the hits or unhappy for the runs.
This weekend was all about football. The Jets and Giants put on a good show but it’s hard to really judge whether the Jets are that good or the Giants are that bad. I know I saw a lot of bad things as a Giants fan. I surely didn’t see any Plaxico look-alikes. Hakeem Nicks made some nice catches though.
Sinorice Moss showed nothing. Manningham showed even less. Hixon, Smith, none of the “regulars” showed anything, unless you count the ability to drop the big one. This questionable attribute was displayed by Smith and Hixon for sure, and Manningham was only consistent in that he dropped nearly everything.
The depth chart right now is scary. Hixon and Smith are the starters backed up by Manningham and Moss. The third string shows Nicks and David Tyree, the Super Bowl hero, who didn’t play. Smith is great as a possession receiver. It looks as if he’s a long way from catching the long ball. Hixon is a decent backup, that’s all. Moss and Manningham should be cut. That’ll give Nicks and Barden their chances.
The Giants tackling left a lot to be desired too. On the Sanchez pass to Chansi Stuckey, Stuckey broke three Giants tackles with no trouble at all….as if they weren’t there. Coming off his disappointing showing against the Ravens, Sanchez looked great against the G-Men so the question becomes obvious, i.e. “how bad are the Giants”?
But you have to like Sanchez. He seems to read the defenses, he delivers the ball right where it needs to be, and he seems to be a leader. There’s not much missing, is there? There aren’t even any nits to pick.
So, all in all, everything’s rosy for Gang Green going into the 4th week of exhibitions. Having a quarterback everrybody believes in is half the battle in football. Of course, as Thomas Jones pointed out, it’s still the exhibition season, but still…..
Other than the locals, I watched several other exhibitions, if, for no other reason, to watch for good fantasy sleepers. My draft was Saturday morning, and Brady’s injury Friday night pretty much locked me up on Drew Brees as my number 1 pick. Not just because Brady was nicked up, but because his line didn’t hold up. The final straw was Belichick giving absolutely no indication as to the severity of the injury.
Brady looked great though. I have to hand it to him. He and dandy Randy Moss seem to still have that magic that carried them to so many td’s and so many yards back in 2007 before Brady was hurt. He could have looked even better, too, except that Wes Welker didn’t play.
The Packers certainly look impressive as do the Saints. The Steelers haven’t lost much either. As for individuals, Matt Cassell, KC’s new QB , was hurt already. And I almost felt bad for Josh McDaniels, Denver’s new coach (from the Pats again), who was made to look foolish in the Broncos’ exhibition versus da Bears.
Kyle Orton just isn’t Jay Cutler, that was all too obvious as Cutler ate up the Broncos and Orton did very little, and then got hurt. Then there’s the new NFL idiot, Brandon Marshall.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Who's the Fantasy Number 1 ?
Drew Brees? Peyton Manning? Tom Brady? Aaron Rodgers? All week, and even longer), these names and others keep buzzing by my head. Yesterday, while fixing the roof and cleaning the gutters, the question was all-consuming, who should be by number 1 overall pick in our 2009 Squander Fantasy Football League?
Now, some of you are probably asking yourself why I’m focusing on quarterbacks. What about the consensus #1 pick, Adrian Peterson, the great Minnesota running back? There are some great runners out there, and aren’t you concerned about the shortage of running backs, the traditional approach of fantasy pundits for the last ten years or so?
Well, first you have to understand that, while most fantasy leagues award passing TD’s with just 4 points, which tends to equalize a quarterback’s value with running backs and receivers, Squander Football insists on awarding a TD with 6 points; a touchdown is a touchdown, right?
Well, I’m ok with that notion, what the hell, we can come to grips with anything, this league doesn’t have any duffers, these guys have been doing this for years and years. The commissioner, my brother John, was an old Strat player and, many times you could find him happily playing it down the basement when he was maybe 6 years old.
John disagrees, by the way, with my theory that this points system should humongously skew the draft towards qb’s. The deciding factors should be scarcity at individual spots and point increments between the leaders and those following.
He maintains that the overall points difference between Drew Brees, the top fantasy scorer last year, and the rest of the qb’s, doesn’t exceed that of the top running back, Peterson, from the rest of the running backs. And that may even be so, I won’t be listing the stats here, too boring, but what happens when you list the all the available players and sort by total fantasy points?
Of the first 15 players of all types last year, a running back doesn’t appear until number 9 on the list. And it isn’t Peterson, it’s DeAngelo Williams, the Carolina RB back that tore up the league last year. Of the next 6 spots, 4 more are qb’s before you get to 15, Adrian Peterson’s rank. The points differential between Drew Brees and Adrian Peterson was 361-233 or a whopping 128 points. Even spread out over 16 weeks, that’s a little more than a TD per week. The top back scored 272 points, still 89 less or about 5 points per week.
In a snake draft as in Squander, the number 1 picker’s next pick doesn’t occur until pick 24. So, taking a qb, I’d get 360 for Brees and then be faced with selections worth 210 points. That gives me 360 plus 210 or 570 points. Taking a running back first, I’d get 270 for the back and then probably the 10th or 11th best qb, currently Eli Manning, at 231 points. That’s basically 500 points overall. So I pick up 70 points overall by taking a QB first. I don’t think there’s any two ways about it.
And furthermore, I’d have Brees and either a top wide receiver or a middling running back versus having Peterson and Eli Manning. While I really like Eli, he can’t be a top fantasy qb playing for Coughlin and the Giants, a shame really, but there you have it. Imagine Brees and a top receiver, maybe even a Larry Fitzgerald or Randy Moss. Or, I’d have Brees and a middling running back, say a Ryan Grant or Ronnie Brown.
It doesn’t really matter, running back or wide receiver, as I also get pick 25 in a snake draft. So the real choice is how to combine the picks for maximum advantage. My next pick wouldn’t occur until pick 49 (and then 50), at which point the talent is significantly thinned. A quick look at the list shows players such as Roy Williams and Larry Johnson there, not too shabby.
But the significant thing is that statistical edge going into the third round if I take a qb first; it doesn’t even have to be Brees, it could be Philip Rivers or Adam Rodgers who both scored about 335 fantasy points on the season, still way ahead of the top-rated running back at 270.
There are flaws to this approach, of course, the biggest one being the fact that what happened last year will not necessarily happen this year. Statistically, it makes more sense to look at career performances among the qb’s, which of course would add to the luster of guys like Brady, who was hurt last year, and Peyton Manning, the only Manning in town, so to speak, when you’re talking fantasy.
Then there is aesthetics, the art of the game and my enjoyment of the season. There is also the fun of the draft itself to keep in mind. I’d get a kick out of surprising the numbers 2 through 5 pickers, and maybe even a psychological advantage. For example, I could take Brady and really discomfit Snake Eyes, picking at number 2.
There is embarrassment to consider too, but I don’t really care about that so much. Last year, for example, I took Tony Romo with the number 1, an unconventional choice that drew some jeers but I was never really sorry, this despite Romo’s missing of a few weeks and then returning at only about 70%. Romo is a lot of fun to watch and you never know what starlet he’ll be bringing to the stadium.
And, speaking of last year, though I lost every game Romo didn’t start (backup Delhomme was truly horrible), I made the playoffs and won at least once in the playoffs, even though I needed a savvy running back pickup to muddle through.
But running backs will be a secondary consideration. There are too many good ones, too many split backfields and the wildcat too. The quarterback stirs the drink in Squander.
Now, some of you are probably asking yourself why I’m focusing on quarterbacks. What about the consensus #1 pick, Adrian Peterson, the great Minnesota running back? There are some great runners out there, and aren’t you concerned about the shortage of running backs, the traditional approach of fantasy pundits for the last ten years or so?
Well, first you have to understand that, while most fantasy leagues award passing TD’s with just 4 points, which tends to equalize a quarterback’s value with running backs and receivers, Squander Football insists on awarding a TD with 6 points; a touchdown is a touchdown, right?
Well, I’m ok with that notion, what the hell, we can come to grips with anything, this league doesn’t have any duffers, these guys have been doing this for years and years. The commissioner, my brother John, was an old Strat player and, many times you could find him happily playing it down the basement when he was maybe 6 years old.
John disagrees, by the way, with my theory that this points system should humongously skew the draft towards qb’s. The deciding factors should be scarcity at individual spots and point increments between the leaders and those following.
He maintains that the overall points difference between Drew Brees, the top fantasy scorer last year, and the rest of the qb’s, doesn’t exceed that of the top running back, Peterson, from the rest of the running backs. And that may even be so, I won’t be listing the stats here, too boring, but what happens when you list the all the available players and sort by total fantasy points?
Of the first 15 players of all types last year, a running back doesn’t appear until number 9 on the list. And it isn’t Peterson, it’s DeAngelo Williams, the Carolina RB back that tore up the league last year. Of the next 6 spots, 4 more are qb’s before you get to 15, Adrian Peterson’s rank. The points differential between Drew Brees and Adrian Peterson was 361-233 or a whopping 128 points. Even spread out over 16 weeks, that’s a little more than a TD per week. The top back scored 272 points, still 89 less or about 5 points per week.
In a snake draft as in Squander, the number 1 picker’s next pick doesn’t occur until pick 24. So, taking a qb, I’d get 360 for Brees and then be faced with selections worth 210 points. That gives me 360 plus 210 or 570 points. Taking a running back first, I’d get 270 for the back and then probably the 10th or 11th best qb, currently Eli Manning, at 231 points. That’s basically 500 points overall. So I pick up 70 points overall by taking a QB first. I don’t think there’s any two ways about it.
And furthermore, I’d have Brees and either a top wide receiver or a middling running back versus having Peterson and Eli Manning. While I really like Eli, he can’t be a top fantasy qb playing for Coughlin and the Giants, a shame really, but there you have it. Imagine Brees and a top receiver, maybe even a Larry Fitzgerald or Randy Moss. Or, I’d have Brees and a middling running back, say a Ryan Grant or Ronnie Brown.
It doesn’t really matter, running back or wide receiver, as I also get pick 25 in a snake draft. So the real choice is how to combine the picks for maximum advantage. My next pick wouldn’t occur until pick 49 (and then 50), at which point the talent is significantly thinned. A quick look at the list shows players such as Roy Williams and Larry Johnson there, not too shabby.
But the significant thing is that statistical edge going into the third round if I take a qb first; it doesn’t even have to be Brees, it could be Philip Rivers or Adam Rodgers who both scored about 335 fantasy points on the season, still way ahead of the top-rated running back at 270.
There are flaws to this approach, of course, the biggest one being the fact that what happened last year will not necessarily happen this year. Statistically, it makes more sense to look at career performances among the qb’s, which of course would add to the luster of guys like Brady, who was hurt last year, and Peyton Manning, the only Manning in town, so to speak, when you’re talking fantasy.
Then there is aesthetics, the art of the game and my enjoyment of the season. There is also the fun of the draft itself to keep in mind. I’d get a kick out of surprising the numbers 2 through 5 pickers, and maybe even a psychological advantage. For example, I could take Brady and really discomfit Snake Eyes, picking at number 2.
There is embarrassment to consider too, but I don’t really care about that so much. Last year, for example, I took Tony Romo with the number 1, an unconventional choice that drew some jeers but I was never really sorry, this despite Romo’s missing of a few weeks and then returning at only about 70%. Romo is a lot of fun to watch and you never know what starlet he’ll be bringing to the stadium.
And, speaking of last year, though I lost every game Romo didn’t start (backup Delhomme was truly horrible), I made the playoffs and won at least once in the playoffs, even though I needed a savvy running back pickup to muddle through.
But running backs will be a secondary consideration. There are too many good ones, too many split backfields and the wildcat too. The quarterback stirs the drink in Squander.
Monday, August 24, 2009
How Unlucky Can You Get?
How unlucky can you get? Our lovable Mets are testing that question this season and continued their inquiry yesterday as Jeff Francoeur, on what should have been a single to center (on any other team), hit into an unassisted triple play for outs one, two and three of what was looking to be a very promising inning.
The national media concentrated on how unusual the play had been in the annals of professional baseball, how it was one of the only times in the history of baseball that a game had ended on an unassisted triple play. To me, though, they missed the boat. The real question is how unlucky one single team has been in any recorded baseball season.
And now we hear that Omar Minaya is returning. I could live with that. I mean, if this guy has been the unluckiest person in the whole wide world this season, it only stands to reason that his luck must change for the better, everything in life following the natural rhythms of the universe. A new GM might begin a whole new cycle of misfortune.
The GM likes the manager and I do too. Who’d we go to? Randolph? Valentine? No thanks.
But then I hear that the team will reduce its payroll for next year. That’s not good. While it may not be as bad as it may sound, as quite a bit of salary will be coming off the books, much of it paid out for a remarkable lack of production, it could hardly be interpreted as a good thing.
I still think Madoff’s Ponzi scheme may be seriously affecting Wilpon’s handling of this team, despite statements made to the contrary. How could it not? And maybe that piece of serious misfortune was the unkindest cut of all, coming at a most inpropitious moment in time, when opening a new expensive stadium for a team that’s setting records for snake-bitten-ness. (I know it’s not a word, no letters please). Wilpon may have killed a spider, that’s supposed to bring bad monetary luck.
Call it what you will…cursed, plagued, gremlin-infested, the evil eye, this Mets team has them all at the same time. So maybe Minaya walked under a ladder while a black cat was ambling by. Maybe he spilled salt after breaking a mirror, or, even worse, he stepped on a crack. Anyone watching baseball has seen a variety of pitcher-types jump over the baseline. Oliver Perez comes immediately to mind but he’s not the only one.
And it certainly didn’t help Perez out yesterday. Once again, he stunk out the joint, lasting about 2/3 of an inning after giving up six runs. Maybe he should try digging his spikes into the line, then stomping on it. He couldn’t possibly be any worse. His pitch selection and location stink too, any nobody will be happier than I to see the back of Brian Schneider.
I keep thinking of that trade with the Nats a couple of years ago that brought us Church and Schneider, while we sent off Lastings Milledge and Paul LoDuca. We’ve had nothing but bad luck since. Church is already out of here, thank the baseball gods, and now there’s just Schneider. That may bring more good luck than you would ordinarily think it possibly could. That original trade must have been done for specious reasons totally unfair to LoDuca. And if anybody could cast a jinx, or throw an evil eye, my guess is that LoDuca would be just the one.
Besides just letting Schneider go, maybe we could do some other things that may help, like throwing salt over our left shoulders. Seriously, the Mets need a lot of help.
As this is written, for example, the Phils are kicking our butts. It’s just 5-2 now in the 4th, but things could get worse in a hurry, as it’s Cliff Lee, one of the premiere pitchers in the majors, going against our Bobby Parnell, one of the league’s least accomplished. The two runs we have on the board were unearned.
While the Phils picked up Lee to flirt with another World Series, we’re trading Billy Wagner to flirt with disaster. But that’s ok, I guess, maybe we’ll get a guy in return who can help us down the road, and for less money, as that is increasingly going to be an issue. And besides, if it makes Papelbon unhappy to trade Billy to Boston, I’m all for it. What an idiot that guy is.
And, speaking of bad luck, we just hit into another irksome double play, Sullivan having been retired after trying to scramble back to first on a hard-hit liner to Utley at second base. I thought he was safe but the umpire called him out. (I absolutely promise that a future article will deal with the total incompetency of umpires this year, for balls and strikes and on the bases).
That’s all I have to say about the Mets. Let’s just pray the bad luck doesn’t spread to the Jets or Giants, or the Knicks and Nets either. (I don’t care about hockey). I do so want to enjoy my autumn (and perhaps winter for the Giants). But there have already been articles written about the demise of the much-ballyhooed Giants defensive line.
The Giants looked awful this weekend against the Bears. Not that anything about exhibition games should be taken seriously, but the team was curiously lifeless for the period of time that I could devote to an exhibition.
The Jets go tonight, of course, and Mark Sanchez will get another chance to impress. I sure hope he does because I’m not too anxious for another year of quarterback controversy. Let’s end the controversy right here,okay. Sanchez will be the QB, Clemens will be the backup. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
(And now it’s the Mets Takahashi, a 40-year old rookie, facing Ryan Howard, whose 2 dingers and 5 ribbies have paced the Phils). An omen perhaps? Howard struck out.
The national media concentrated on how unusual the play had been in the annals of professional baseball, how it was one of the only times in the history of baseball that a game had ended on an unassisted triple play. To me, though, they missed the boat. The real question is how unlucky one single team has been in any recorded baseball season.
And now we hear that Omar Minaya is returning. I could live with that. I mean, if this guy has been the unluckiest person in the whole wide world this season, it only stands to reason that his luck must change for the better, everything in life following the natural rhythms of the universe. A new GM might begin a whole new cycle of misfortune.
The GM likes the manager and I do too. Who’d we go to? Randolph? Valentine? No thanks.
But then I hear that the team will reduce its payroll for next year. That’s not good. While it may not be as bad as it may sound, as quite a bit of salary will be coming off the books, much of it paid out for a remarkable lack of production, it could hardly be interpreted as a good thing.
I still think Madoff’s Ponzi scheme may be seriously affecting Wilpon’s handling of this team, despite statements made to the contrary. How could it not? And maybe that piece of serious misfortune was the unkindest cut of all, coming at a most inpropitious moment in time, when opening a new expensive stadium for a team that’s setting records for snake-bitten-ness. (I know it’s not a word, no letters please). Wilpon may have killed a spider, that’s supposed to bring bad monetary luck.
Call it what you will…cursed, plagued, gremlin-infested, the evil eye, this Mets team has them all at the same time. So maybe Minaya walked under a ladder while a black cat was ambling by. Maybe he spilled salt after breaking a mirror, or, even worse, he stepped on a crack. Anyone watching baseball has seen a variety of pitcher-types jump over the baseline. Oliver Perez comes immediately to mind but he’s not the only one.
And it certainly didn’t help Perez out yesterday. Once again, he stunk out the joint, lasting about 2/3 of an inning after giving up six runs. Maybe he should try digging his spikes into the line, then stomping on it. He couldn’t possibly be any worse. His pitch selection and location stink too, any nobody will be happier than I to see the back of Brian Schneider.
I keep thinking of that trade with the Nats a couple of years ago that brought us Church and Schneider, while we sent off Lastings Milledge and Paul LoDuca. We’ve had nothing but bad luck since. Church is already out of here, thank the baseball gods, and now there’s just Schneider. That may bring more good luck than you would ordinarily think it possibly could. That original trade must have been done for specious reasons totally unfair to LoDuca. And if anybody could cast a jinx, or throw an evil eye, my guess is that LoDuca would be just the one.
Besides just letting Schneider go, maybe we could do some other things that may help, like throwing salt over our left shoulders. Seriously, the Mets need a lot of help.
As this is written, for example, the Phils are kicking our butts. It’s just 5-2 now in the 4th, but things could get worse in a hurry, as it’s Cliff Lee, one of the premiere pitchers in the majors, going against our Bobby Parnell, one of the league’s least accomplished. The two runs we have on the board were unearned.
While the Phils picked up Lee to flirt with another World Series, we’re trading Billy Wagner to flirt with disaster. But that’s ok, I guess, maybe we’ll get a guy in return who can help us down the road, and for less money, as that is increasingly going to be an issue. And besides, if it makes Papelbon unhappy to trade Billy to Boston, I’m all for it. What an idiot that guy is.
And, speaking of bad luck, we just hit into another irksome double play, Sullivan having been retired after trying to scramble back to first on a hard-hit liner to Utley at second base. I thought he was safe but the umpire called him out. (I absolutely promise that a future article will deal with the total incompetency of umpires this year, for balls and strikes and on the bases).
That’s all I have to say about the Mets. Let’s just pray the bad luck doesn’t spread to the Jets or Giants, or the Knicks and Nets either. (I don’t care about hockey). I do so want to enjoy my autumn (and perhaps winter for the Giants). But there have already been articles written about the demise of the much-ballyhooed Giants defensive line.
The Giants looked awful this weekend against the Bears. Not that anything about exhibition games should be taken seriously, but the team was curiously lifeless for the period of time that I could devote to an exhibition.
The Jets go tonight, of course, and Mark Sanchez will get another chance to impress. I sure hope he does because I’m not too anxious for another year of quarterback controversy. Let’s end the controversy right here,okay. Sanchez will be the QB, Clemens will be the backup. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
(And now it’s the Mets Takahashi, a 40-year old rookie, facing Ryan Howard, whose 2 dingers and 5 ribbies have paced the Phils). An omen perhaps? Howard struck out.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
On Plax and Other Clunkers
Who needs a theme? Isn’t it better to just comment on the things that pop into your head, the things occupying the cerebral bits right now? I think so. It’s an intriguing format, especially at the convergence of seasons. I mean, right off the bat, I’m dying to say some more on Plaxico, on Ryan Church, Michael Vick, Brett Favre….maybe even clunker cars.
I can’t help myself, I feel bad for Plaxico. I just heard he accepted a 2-year jail sentence. I hope all you Giants fans remember who put him there. Bloomberg, nobody else. Burress gets two years for stupidity. Bloomberg gets not even a hand slap for obstructing justice, or dictating justice, just the way he’ll be dictating how your kids are educated.
Meanwhile, Plax goes to jail….as an example. Other perpetrators of the same crime don’t get these kinds of sentences. It doesn’t matter though to our “justice” system.
And Plaxico may never get out. With his attitude, he’ll be in solitary for the entire time. While I’m sure that there are people out there who’ll applaud the verdict, the same kind of people who get upset when somebody else is late for work, or who doesn’t always show up a half-hour early, the same kind of people who hate smokers and drinkers and anybody else who seems to be getting away with anything, the officious people who seem to be everywhere these days.
One thing more I’ll say is that Plaxico was a great wide receiver who did his job well. He caught the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl. He accepted his good fortune with grace and humility. He was also a young and impressionable person who may have also been a bit paranoid of his own security. We know he took advantage of rules he thought were stupid.
Plax didn’t deserve to get two years.
In lighter matters, Ryan Church of course comes to mind because he was recently in a tiff about Jerry Manuel saying that David Wright and Church were two different cases. He seemed to think Jerry was insinuating that Wright tried hard all the time and was anxious to return while Church was just a taker, somebody who’d take your money for two years, play lousy baseball and even forget to touch the bases. I mean, what else could he have been thinking? If Jerry didn’t spell it out, Church certainly did.
Michael Vick is another poster boy for dumb, dumb, dumb, at least mostly dumb rather than cruel. I don’t suppose he ever thought about dogs as living beings, but his actions really only mimicked those of countless English (and other cultures) behaviors over many centuries. Sure, it was illegal, but it wasn’t enforced, was it? Until now. I have less sympathy for Vick than Burress but they’re both being used.
Michael Vick was the best college football player I ever saw. He was also a very good QB in the professional ranks, but he too, like Plax, was somebody who couldn’t really fully utilize his natural abilities in a “system”. Vince Young, Tarvaris Jackson, and yes, even Brett Favre also come immediately to mind as having similar situations, albeit not on the same scale. None of these I mention had the athletic ability of Michael Vick.
Anybody who’s ever read my column knows my feelings on Favre. He’s a taker too. He’ll take it all and drink it up. Painkillers, money, adulation, press conferences….pretty much everything but practice. He doesn’t take to that too well, rather like Allen Iverson really. Like others once hooked on painkillers, he’s equal parts narcissist and paranoid. Ask him if he ever dreamed he’s Jesus. My bet is his answer would be in the affirmative.
Favre stunk out the joint as a Jet. But there he was Sunday after Sunday ruining his team’s chances. He turned a playoff run into a road to perdition. He was outplayed by the man he replaced, Chad Pennington, who handled the reins for a less talented football team. But Chad was a leader, much as Eli had been a leader the year before.
But it’s a symbiotic relationship, this love-in of the Vikings and Favre. The Vikings are selling a lot more tickets. That’s their take. Favre gets an opportunity to fulfill one of his dreams, no doubt, to be the hero while he leads his new team over the Packers to take the Division Championship.
Can he do it? I don’t think so. Even with the best running game in the league and the best running back, Adrian Petersen, Favre will throw the big interception much as he’s done so many times before, as a younger man. But he gets to keep number 4. He already took that from the incumbent Viking inhabiting the jersey. And he’ll make one more tired old retirement speech. He’ll have one more tired old season.
Clunker cars? Yeah, I had two but it’s now down to one. I think everybody should take advantage of this program. Under a 2-party system that usually only rewards big corporations, doctors, lawyers, foreign governments and insurance companies, this is a freebie for you, one of the few freebies you’ll ever see. I got $3500 for my 1993 Jeep on a new Scion and could have gotten $4500 if I had bought a Yaris.
Don’t think for a moment that the U.S. government was trying to help you directly though. This was a measure to help the big automakers while we are just contingent beneficiaries. Until we learn to back independents, this will be our fate. And how many Obama’s do you suppose there are? Bush would have found another way, a more patrician-friendly way, something that would have reduced taxes (on the rich) while adding to the national debt.
And then there’s my Mets. The bloom is firmly off the rose after watching Bobby Parnell get blasted by the Braves. We can only hope it was an aberration; even Halladay had a bad day.
I can’t help myself, I feel bad for Plaxico. I just heard he accepted a 2-year jail sentence. I hope all you Giants fans remember who put him there. Bloomberg, nobody else. Burress gets two years for stupidity. Bloomberg gets not even a hand slap for obstructing justice, or dictating justice, just the way he’ll be dictating how your kids are educated.
Meanwhile, Plax goes to jail….as an example. Other perpetrators of the same crime don’t get these kinds of sentences. It doesn’t matter though to our “justice” system.
And Plaxico may never get out. With his attitude, he’ll be in solitary for the entire time. While I’m sure that there are people out there who’ll applaud the verdict, the same kind of people who get upset when somebody else is late for work, or who doesn’t always show up a half-hour early, the same kind of people who hate smokers and drinkers and anybody else who seems to be getting away with anything, the officious people who seem to be everywhere these days.
One thing more I’ll say is that Plaxico was a great wide receiver who did his job well. He caught the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl. He accepted his good fortune with grace and humility. He was also a young and impressionable person who may have also been a bit paranoid of his own security. We know he took advantage of rules he thought were stupid.
Plax didn’t deserve to get two years.
In lighter matters, Ryan Church of course comes to mind because he was recently in a tiff about Jerry Manuel saying that David Wright and Church were two different cases. He seemed to think Jerry was insinuating that Wright tried hard all the time and was anxious to return while Church was just a taker, somebody who’d take your money for two years, play lousy baseball and even forget to touch the bases. I mean, what else could he have been thinking? If Jerry didn’t spell it out, Church certainly did.
Michael Vick is another poster boy for dumb, dumb, dumb, at least mostly dumb rather than cruel. I don’t suppose he ever thought about dogs as living beings, but his actions really only mimicked those of countless English (and other cultures) behaviors over many centuries. Sure, it was illegal, but it wasn’t enforced, was it? Until now. I have less sympathy for Vick than Burress but they’re both being used.
Michael Vick was the best college football player I ever saw. He was also a very good QB in the professional ranks, but he too, like Plax, was somebody who couldn’t really fully utilize his natural abilities in a “system”. Vince Young, Tarvaris Jackson, and yes, even Brett Favre also come immediately to mind as having similar situations, albeit not on the same scale. None of these I mention had the athletic ability of Michael Vick.
Anybody who’s ever read my column knows my feelings on Favre. He’s a taker too. He’ll take it all and drink it up. Painkillers, money, adulation, press conferences….pretty much everything but practice. He doesn’t take to that too well, rather like Allen Iverson really. Like others once hooked on painkillers, he’s equal parts narcissist and paranoid. Ask him if he ever dreamed he’s Jesus. My bet is his answer would be in the affirmative.
Favre stunk out the joint as a Jet. But there he was Sunday after Sunday ruining his team’s chances. He turned a playoff run into a road to perdition. He was outplayed by the man he replaced, Chad Pennington, who handled the reins for a less talented football team. But Chad was a leader, much as Eli had been a leader the year before.
But it’s a symbiotic relationship, this love-in of the Vikings and Favre. The Vikings are selling a lot more tickets. That’s their take. Favre gets an opportunity to fulfill one of his dreams, no doubt, to be the hero while he leads his new team over the Packers to take the Division Championship.
Can he do it? I don’t think so. Even with the best running game in the league and the best running back, Adrian Petersen, Favre will throw the big interception much as he’s done so many times before, as a younger man. But he gets to keep number 4. He already took that from the incumbent Viking inhabiting the jersey. And he’ll make one more tired old retirement speech. He’ll have one more tired old season.
Clunker cars? Yeah, I had two but it’s now down to one. I think everybody should take advantage of this program. Under a 2-party system that usually only rewards big corporations, doctors, lawyers, foreign governments and insurance companies, this is a freebie for you, one of the few freebies you’ll ever see. I got $3500 for my 1993 Jeep on a new Scion and could have gotten $4500 if I had bought a Yaris.
Don’t think for a moment that the U.S. government was trying to help you directly though. This was a measure to help the big automakers while we are just contingent beneficiaries. Until we learn to back independents, this will be our fate. And how many Obama’s do you suppose there are? Bush would have found another way, a more patrician-friendly way, something that would have reduced taxes (on the rich) while adding to the national debt.
And then there’s my Mets. The bloom is firmly off the rose after watching Bobby Parnell get blasted by the Braves. We can only hope it was an aberration; even Halladay had a bad day.
Monday, August 17, 2009
The Beat Goes On
The Mets saga conTINuuuuues. Just when you’ve decided not to watch, even on TV, here come the Mets again, the Mets you expected, well, maybe not expected exactly, but the team you know they could be, iff they would just pitch once in a while.
Well, pitch they did, well, Pelfrey sure did. It seemed as if he was suddenly unhittable. How nice for him. I just wonder where the heck that pitcher goes every fifth day? It’s like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Pelfrey. Maybe he can only whip the San Francisco’s of the world?
Then there was this kid Parnell. He sure did very nicely in his first start ever. The kid has some speed and some stuff too. Hell, he could be the number two starter. I got almost excited as the Weather Channel guys at the prospects of that new tropical storm, or the Republicans after helping kill any healthcare changes.
Anyway, in the short term, there’s somebody besides tired old Livan friggin’ Hernandez and the crazy lefty Perez to throw out there. The depth chart now reads Santana, Pelfrey, Hernandez, Perez and Parnell. That’s not too shabby really, they sure are all different. It’s just that you’d like to see some more consistency, y’know?
But starting with the last game vs. Arizona, the Mets are on an impressive run. Crazy Ollie pitched that last game and allowed just one run in 5 1/3 impressive innings. Even the atrocious reliever Sean Green couldn’t lose it for him. Then it was Parnell with the shutout, a shaky Santana which is still not horrible, and then Pelfrey’s little gem. A Mets fan could get used to this.
And just when you thought the baseball gods had forgotten about the Mets, here they came with one more salvo, leveling the one remaining core guy, good ol’ David Wright. It came in the form of a shot to the head, of course, that nobody thought was intentional, but….still. There may have been a feeble attempt at retaliation as roly-poly Bengie Molina was hit by a pitch much later on, but you can never really get even for your rock going down for the count. With a concussion, he may as well be lost for the season, especially this season.
Fernando Tatis is now our third baseman, backed up by a fella named Andy Green, who is, surprise, surprise, a very light-hitting guy indeed. But the lineup against the Giants on Sunday was Pagan, Castillo, Sheffield, Francoeur, Tatis, Murphy, Santos and Anderson Hernandez, which can be a pretty entertaining group. I’m looking forward to seeing if Livan can get by SanFran’s Joe Martinez.
Oh, but just to keep things in perspective, the Mets are 55-62, 12 games back of the Phillies in the NL East and 9 ½ behind the Rockies for the wildcard. And they’re way way back on that list too. It’s good that football season is almost upon us, unless of course you’re a Yankee fan.
The Yankees are way ahead of Boston and are 41-18 at home, the best home record in either league. They lead Detroit in that respect by a game but Detroit has a losing record away from home. The Yanks are also 33-26 on the road. They have the best overall record in both leagues, Mark Teixeira is being touted for MVP and Jeter just passed Luis Aparicio for most hits be a shortstop. So what’s not to like?
Aside from this innings thing with Joba, there’s almost nothing left to criticize. You see little chinks now and then, like Sergio Mitre maybe not being that good, and I suppose Chad Gaudin hasn’t really proven anything yet. And now Matsui’s a little banged up.
But with the Yankees, if they’re close through 6 or 7 innings, you get the feeling they’re going to win the game. There are not that many teams you can say that about.
The big news in the American League is the Texas Rangers. It looks as if they have the staying power to outlast Boston for the AL wildcard. They put them away yesterday head-to-head after losing a tough one a day earlier. And with the same pitcher to close things out, Frank Francisco, who had a 2.01 ERA before Boston lambasted him for 6 big runs on Saturday.
Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, Josh Hamilton…the Rangers have got a hell of a team and even the pitching is holding up. It’s a pitching staff put together by a real man named Nolan Ryan, who pees on pitch counts. This team stayed together and played well, even after losing Hamilton and Kinsler to injuries for, in Hamilton’s case anyway, a good portion of the season.
The Red Sox seem a mess compared to what they had been. Between injuries to key players like Matsuzaka and Wakefield and performance funks from the likes of David Ortiz and the shortstop position, the Red Sox are hanging into the race by the tips of their fingernails. And their confidence had to be shaken by the sweep the Yanks laid on them.
So things should be quite tolerable for the rest of the baseball season, even for a Mets fan. When boredom really sets in, we can just tune in to the NFL station and watch some exhibitions. For me, I’ve been checking out the quarterbacks for fantasy purposes, especially QB’s who changed teams or whose team was enhanced by some key additions.
In Buffalo, I watched Trent Edwards looking good throwing to Lee Evans, even with Terrell Owens out with a bad toe. On the other hand, the much-ballyhooed Jay Cutler looked lousy with da Bears and Kyle Orton didn’t look that great in his exhibition. Tony Romo looked as if he was trying a bit harder to stay in the pocket and looked pretty good while Donovan McNabb seemed to have an easy time of it in his few minutes on the field.
Then there’s Mark Sanchez. And we’ll see Eli tonight!
Well, pitch they did, well, Pelfrey sure did. It seemed as if he was suddenly unhittable. How nice for him. I just wonder where the heck that pitcher goes every fifth day? It’s like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Pelfrey. Maybe he can only whip the San Francisco’s of the world?
Then there was this kid Parnell. He sure did very nicely in his first start ever. The kid has some speed and some stuff too. Hell, he could be the number two starter. I got almost excited as the Weather Channel guys at the prospects of that new tropical storm, or the Republicans after helping kill any healthcare changes.
Anyway, in the short term, there’s somebody besides tired old Livan friggin’ Hernandez and the crazy lefty Perez to throw out there. The depth chart now reads Santana, Pelfrey, Hernandez, Perez and Parnell. That’s not too shabby really, they sure are all different. It’s just that you’d like to see some more consistency, y’know?
But starting with the last game vs. Arizona, the Mets are on an impressive run. Crazy Ollie pitched that last game and allowed just one run in 5 1/3 impressive innings. Even the atrocious reliever Sean Green couldn’t lose it for him. Then it was Parnell with the shutout, a shaky Santana which is still not horrible, and then Pelfrey’s little gem. A Mets fan could get used to this.
And just when you thought the baseball gods had forgotten about the Mets, here they came with one more salvo, leveling the one remaining core guy, good ol’ David Wright. It came in the form of a shot to the head, of course, that nobody thought was intentional, but….still. There may have been a feeble attempt at retaliation as roly-poly Bengie Molina was hit by a pitch much later on, but you can never really get even for your rock going down for the count. With a concussion, he may as well be lost for the season, especially this season.
Fernando Tatis is now our third baseman, backed up by a fella named Andy Green, who is, surprise, surprise, a very light-hitting guy indeed. But the lineup against the Giants on Sunday was Pagan, Castillo, Sheffield, Francoeur, Tatis, Murphy, Santos and Anderson Hernandez, which can be a pretty entertaining group. I’m looking forward to seeing if Livan can get by SanFran’s Joe Martinez.
Oh, but just to keep things in perspective, the Mets are 55-62, 12 games back of the Phillies in the NL East and 9 ½ behind the Rockies for the wildcard. And they’re way way back on that list too. It’s good that football season is almost upon us, unless of course you’re a Yankee fan.
The Yankees are way ahead of Boston and are 41-18 at home, the best home record in either league. They lead Detroit in that respect by a game but Detroit has a losing record away from home. The Yanks are also 33-26 on the road. They have the best overall record in both leagues, Mark Teixeira is being touted for MVP and Jeter just passed Luis Aparicio for most hits be a shortstop. So what’s not to like?
Aside from this innings thing with Joba, there’s almost nothing left to criticize. You see little chinks now and then, like Sergio Mitre maybe not being that good, and I suppose Chad Gaudin hasn’t really proven anything yet. And now Matsui’s a little banged up.
But with the Yankees, if they’re close through 6 or 7 innings, you get the feeling they’re going to win the game. There are not that many teams you can say that about.
The big news in the American League is the Texas Rangers. It looks as if they have the staying power to outlast Boston for the AL wildcard. They put them away yesterday head-to-head after losing a tough one a day earlier. And with the same pitcher to close things out, Frank Francisco, who had a 2.01 ERA before Boston lambasted him for 6 big runs on Saturday.
Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, Josh Hamilton…the Rangers have got a hell of a team and even the pitching is holding up. It’s a pitching staff put together by a real man named Nolan Ryan, who pees on pitch counts. This team stayed together and played well, even after losing Hamilton and Kinsler to injuries for, in Hamilton’s case anyway, a good portion of the season.
The Red Sox seem a mess compared to what they had been. Between injuries to key players like Matsuzaka and Wakefield and performance funks from the likes of David Ortiz and the shortstop position, the Red Sox are hanging into the race by the tips of their fingernails. And their confidence had to be shaken by the sweep the Yanks laid on them.
So things should be quite tolerable for the rest of the baseball season, even for a Mets fan. When boredom really sets in, we can just tune in to the NFL station and watch some exhibitions. For me, I’ve been checking out the quarterbacks for fantasy purposes, especially QB’s who changed teams or whose team was enhanced by some key additions.
In Buffalo, I watched Trent Edwards looking good throwing to Lee Evans, even with Terrell Owens out with a bad toe. On the other hand, the much-ballyhooed Jay Cutler looked lousy with da Bears and Kyle Orton didn’t look that great in his exhibition. Tony Romo looked as if he was trying a bit harder to stay in the pocket and looked pretty good while Donovan McNabb seemed to have an easy time of it in his few minutes on the field.
Then there’s Mark Sanchez. And we’ll see Eli tonight!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Did Somebody Say Dog Days?
Now what? I can’t possibly write any more about the Mets, can I? Let sleeping dogs lie. Dead dogs? Maybe, if none of these long-injured come back. If wilpon decides he’s seen enough of Omar, I guess that would be newsworthy if not quite sponge-worthy (for Seinfeld fans).
For a fan without a team, though, outside of fantasy baseball, there’s nothing. There are the Yankees, the Dodgers and everybody else. Reminds me of the Fifties really, except, as a kid, I wasn’t even really aware of much of a world outside of Yankees-Dodgers. I heard a lot about the Giants and Willie Mays (from Dad) of course, but back then all the other clubs seemed to be just Yankee farm teams, especially Kansas City, which would feed the Yanks great players in exchange for a couple of Coca-Colas.
Then the Dodgers moved to LA, the Giants to Frisco, and there was no National League baseball in New York, a totally unacceptable situation. Then the Mets moved in and many of our hearts started beating again. So thankful were we for a team, any team, that we’d gladly accept any players sent our way.
And we got a lot of the detritus of both leagues. But it didn’t matter, we said, “it’s okay, just don’t let us be left with the Yankees.” We smiled and smiled through the Marvelous Marv Throneberry years, and before you could say “Jackie Robinson,” we had our own remarkable pennant-winner in 1969. And that was how a Mets fan was born.
And I suppose, just as a Mets fan can be conceived, a Mets fan can die. It would have to be just the right set of impetuses ( a questionable word, I know, but why don’t I use it-the alternative would be impeti). As bad as things have been though, a bunch of injuries that never get better, washed-up Latino player of the week, etc., I don’t see me changing allegiances anytime soon. Santana and K-Rod could carry us through this downtime all by themselves.
We could be Pirates fans. That would undoubtedly be worse. As this is written, the Pirates are losing 12-zip to the Cubs in the second inning, and thank our lucky stars for any baseball at all on a hot and muggy typical August day in New Jersey. Besides, my fantasy pitcher is on the mound for the Cubs, and he’ll probably have to stretch a little to lose this one.
The football season is practically upon us. And the Giants will begin saying goodbye to Giants Stadium, that magnificent old palace that just couldn’t cut it in the new fantasy-world of marketing types, instead opting to erect a new place with fans’ money, laying off all the risk of future seasons on them. What the hell? They have the money and they’re just stupid enough.
But, aside from all that, Eli will be back and so will that magnificent offensive line. Their big bruiser Jacobs should continue doing what he does best and Osi Umenyiora coming back should strike fear in the hearts of opposing quarterbacks. They’re so happy with themselves that they’ve forgotten about Plaxico almost entirely. They drafted a rookie sensation in Hakeem Nicks and a Plax-lookalike in Ramses Barden so all is good with the world.
The Jets and their fat man Ryan couldn’t be happier either. Their rookie sensation will be playing QB though and my guess is that the smiles will fade quickly for the boys in green after about three or four games into the schedule. Defense is great to have but they get tired if the offense can’t move the ball, or even just possess the ball. It’s real easy to root for Rex though and, if they ever sign Washington, I’ll like them all that much better.
The Jets and Giants will have to deal with at least a couple of very tough divisional opponents, though, and, even without Michael Vick, Philly’s recent signing, the Eagles figure to be tough. Number 5 is still there, he moves pretty well, and even with some offensive line difficulties creeping up out of nowhere, he now can take a series off and let Michael worry about the red-dog (if you can excuse the expression).
And them Boyz figure to still be around with some Pro-Bowlers still to be dealt with, and this time around there’ll be no distractions coming from T.O. who’s taken his show off to Buffalo.
Then in the Jets’ AFC East, the big story has been the return of Tom Brady. The Jets were never able to deal with him and I don’t figure this year will be any different. They couldn’t even deal with Chad Pennington last year. Miami figures to be just as tough this time around.
Yeah, pre-seasons are great when everything’s still all even, a new start for everybody and damn last year and even the year before that. Anything’s possible and anything could happen. It often does….ask the Arizona Cardinals.
Oh well. Maybe the Rangers will unseat the Red Sox for the wildcard. Maybe the Florida Marlins will keep banging their way to a playoff situation. Maybe those ridiculous AL and NL Central teams will start making their presence felt in a big way. Then we could forget that the Yanks and Dodgers have all those big guns for a while.
It ain’t over till it’s over. How many times have we all heard that? Me, I think it’s over and it’ll be like old times again….the Yanks and Dodgers fighting it out for all the marbles and maybe the worst broadcast team as well.
You have to savor these moments. Your alternatives are poor. Who wants to really think the Mets can reach respectability, never mind contend for anything. Until they make whatever moves they’ll need for next year, it’ll pretty much be Yankees, Dodgers and the football pre-season dreamland.
Did somebody call these the dog days of August? Yeah, I’ll go with that. Sounds right.
For a fan without a team, though, outside of fantasy baseball, there’s nothing. There are the Yankees, the Dodgers and everybody else. Reminds me of the Fifties really, except, as a kid, I wasn’t even really aware of much of a world outside of Yankees-Dodgers. I heard a lot about the Giants and Willie Mays (from Dad) of course, but back then all the other clubs seemed to be just Yankee farm teams, especially Kansas City, which would feed the Yanks great players in exchange for a couple of Coca-Colas.
Then the Dodgers moved to LA, the Giants to Frisco, and there was no National League baseball in New York, a totally unacceptable situation. Then the Mets moved in and many of our hearts started beating again. So thankful were we for a team, any team, that we’d gladly accept any players sent our way.
And we got a lot of the detritus of both leagues. But it didn’t matter, we said, “it’s okay, just don’t let us be left with the Yankees.” We smiled and smiled through the Marvelous Marv Throneberry years, and before you could say “Jackie Robinson,” we had our own remarkable pennant-winner in 1969. And that was how a Mets fan was born.
And I suppose, just as a Mets fan can be conceived, a Mets fan can die. It would have to be just the right set of impetuses ( a questionable word, I know, but why don’t I use it-the alternative would be impeti). As bad as things have been though, a bunch of injuries that never get better, washed-up Latino player of the week, etc., I don’t see me changing allegiances anytime soon. Santana and K-Rod could carry us through this downtime all by themselves.
We could be Pirates fans. That would undoubtedly be worse. As this is written, the Pirates are losing 12-zip to the Cubs in the second inning, and thank our lucky stars for any baseball at all on a hot and muggy typical August day in New Jersey. Besides, my fantasy pitcher is on the mound for the Cubs, and he’ll probably have to stretch a little to lose this one.
The football season is practically upon us. And the Giants will begin saying goodbye to Giants Stadium, that magnificent old palace that just couldn’t cut it in the new fantasy-world of marketing types, instead opting to erect a new place with fans’ money, laying off all the risk of future seasons on them. What the hell? They have the money and they’re just stupid enough.
But, aside from all that, Eli will be back and so will that magnificent offensive line. Their big bruiser Jacobs should continue doing what he does best and Osi Umenyiora coming back should strike fear in the hearts of opposing quarterbacks. They’re so happy with themselves that they’ve forgotten about Plaxico almost entirely. They drafted a rookie sensation in Hakeem Nicks and a Plax-lookalike in Ramses Barden so all is good with the world.
The Jets and their fat man Ryan couldn’t be happier either. Their rookie sensation will be playing QB though and my guess is that the smiles will fade quickly for the boys in green after about three or four games into the schedule. Defense is great to have but they get tired if the offense can’t move the ball, or even just possess the ball. It’s real easy to root for Rex though and, if they ever sign Washington, I’ll like them all that much better.
The Jets and Giants will have to deal with at least a couple of very tough divisional opponents, though, and, even without Michael Vick, Philly’s recent signing, the Eagles figure to be tough. Number 5 is still there, he moves pretty well, and even with some offensive line difficulties creeping up out of nowhere, he now can take a series off and let Michael worry about the red-dog (if you can excuse the expression).
And them Boyz figure to still be around with some Pro-Bowlers still to be dealt with, and this time around there’ll be no distractions coming from T.O. who’s taken his show off to Buffalo.
Then in the Jets’ AFC East, the big story has been the return of Tom Brady. The Jets were never able to deal with him and I don’t figure this year will be any different. They couldn’t even deal with Chad Pennington last year. Miami figures to be just as tough this time around.
Yeah, pre-seasons are great when everything’s still all even, a new start for everybody and damn last year and even the year before that. Anything’s possible and anything could happen. It often does….ask the Arizona Cardinals.
Oh well. Maybe the Rangers will unseat the Red Sox for the wildcard. Maybe the Florida Marlins will keep banging their way to a playoff situation. Maybe those ridiculous AL and NL Central teams will start making their presence felt in a big way. Then we could forget that the Yanks and Dodgers have all those big guns for a while.
It ain’t over till it’s over. How many times have we all heard that? Me, I think it’s over and it’ll be like old times again….the Yanks and Dodgers fighting it out for all the marbles and maybe the worst broadcast team as well.
You have to savor these moments. Your alternatives are poor. Who wants to really think the Mets can reach respectability, never mind contend for anything. Until they make whatever moves they’ll need for next year, it’ll pretty much be Yankees, Dodgers and the football pre-season dreamland.
Did somebody call these the dog days of August? Yeah, I’ll go with that. Sounds right.
Monday, August 10, 2009
The Yanks Are the Story
So to what do Mets fans look forward in these last months of a lost season? Well, there is next year of course. Santana and K-Rod are keepers. I know that much. Wright too I suppose. Who else can we feel is indispensable?
Let’s talk disappointments. How about Sean Green? No offense but he’s been awful and I’m sure some other team would love to have him. Goodbye Sean. It’s been real. That catcher of ours, the arguable number one catcher, Brian Schneider, he can hit the dusty trail too. Other than those two, there really aren’t that many players you can point to who have had to live up to grand expectations. Well, if you don’t count the pitching side, and other than the core guys who’ve been out.
Most of the players on the field now for the Mets are reserves in the real world. Even a Pagan, who seems as if he could be a regular, doesn’t have enough of a track record in the bigs yet to inspire any kind of expectation. Cora’s a nice reserve, there’s just not enough bat there. Berroa seems like a retread. From Kansas City, hmm.
Any good performances have been surprising, from players nobody expected much from. Omir Santos, the catcher, is a nice example. Jeremy Reed, this new kid Sullivan, certainly David Murphy, these fellas just play the game hard and a fan hopes for the best, but there are really no expectations.
We need to get back to reality, a time when there were expectations of performance at every position, especially shortstop, first base and centerfield. It’s high time we looked at contract situations for Beltran, Delgado and Reyes.
Beltran got a seven-year contract for 119 million back in 2005. That takes Mr Beltran all the way out to 2011, only two years from now. I for one would love to see Carlos in centerfield for the next five years or so, but only if he could be a happy, healthy Carlos. We don’t need a guy who’s unhappy.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Delgado back at first base either but he’s 38, he’s hurt and he’s expendable if his demands become unbelievable. Reason would dictate a new first baseman though, one of the young guns that we can find in Kansas City’s Brett Butler or Pittsburgh’s kid, Garrett Jones.
Reyes should be moved if possible. He signed a 4-year back in 2006 for 23.25 million, a bargain if he plays but a bust if he sits. I’d start looking for a suitor. I’m tired of hearing about potential. He’d have great trade value. It’s almost a lock that some other team would be interested.
But this team needs big-time performance at these slots. The only other position player capable of big performance at the plate is Wright. Francoeur will be a question mark, Sheffield is too old, that centerfielder from the minors is always hurt. Murphy hasn’t shown any real consistency and, well, we need hitters badly. First base and centerfield would be good places to shop.
And then there’s the pitching. Santana is in a class by himself which he proved again yesterday, a real competitor and leader. Pelfrey, Maine and Perez have been very disappointing, for one reason or another, inconsistency or physical well-being always cropping up. But at this point, hanging on to them might make the most sense.
On the relief front, Billy Wagner can probably be traded. Putz should be better as should Green. We could maybe get a big-time position player for Wagner. Everybody needs a good closer, everybody but the Mets. K-Rod’s been a revelation when he’s not been bored to death.
“Boring” is watching this Mets team facing San Diego in San Diego. Could anything be worse? The mind boggles. Thank God for Santana.
As boring as the Mets were, the Yankees were unbelievable. As much as I dislike the whole Yankee organization, you have to give them credit for their demolition of the Red Sox head to head Thursday through Sunday. They hit when they had to hit and they pitched all the time, whether they had to or not.
What a disaster for the Red Sox! They pretty much kissed the AL East title goodbye and their quest must now be for the wildcard. Sabathia, Burnet and Pettite buried them after Joba just got by. When Joba faltered, the Yankees bats came to the fore. It was either Arod or Teixeira or Damon or Posada, it seemed but they got production from just about everybody in a striped shirt.
Teixeira went 6 for 17 with 2 homers, Arod went 4 for 18 with 2 homers, Damon had his 2 homers too, and he scored 4 times, Posada and Cano both went 8 for 18 and Posada had a homer of his own. The new Hinske and Swisher platoon seems pretty formidable too, and their infield defense, with the addition of Teixeira and the improvement in Cano, is almost scary.
Yes, I hate to say it, but the Yanks are loaded. They’re serious, very serious. While I was thinking that they might try to go forward with Mitre as a fifth starter, they picked up Chad Gaudin, a legitimate starter, who has kicked around the majors for several years with mixed success but had really shown marked improvement recently.
So while the Mets have nothing, the Yankees have everything, starters, relievers, hitters, fielders, you name it, they’ve got it. While they can and probably will look bad in certain games going forward, particularly if they get a bad start out of a starter, since their middle relievers can be somewhat compromised.
That alone should make for a livable August and September. I’d hate to have to just live and die with the Cubs or the Rangers for the rest of the season. And it’s still too early to get into football.
The Yanks are the story. The Mets are the footnote. I’ll try to wear a smile.
Let’s talk disappointments. How about Sean Green? No offense but he’s been awful and I’m sure some other team would love to have him. Goodbye Sean. It’s been real. That catcher of ours, the arguable number one catcher, Brian Schneider, he can hit the dusty trail too. Other than those two, there really aren’t that many players you can point to who have had to live up to grand expectations. Well, if you don’t count the pitching side, and other than the core guys who’ve been out.
Most of the players on the field now for the Mets are reserves in the real world. Even a Pagan, who seems as if he could be a regular, doesn’t have enough of a track record in the bigs yet to inspire any kind of expectation. Cora’s a nice reserve, there’s just not enough bat there. Berroa seems like a retread. From Kansas City, hmm.
Any good performances have been surprising, from players nobody expected much from. Omir Santos, the catcher, is a nice example. Jeremy Reed, this new kid Sullivan, certainly David Murphy, these fellas just play the game hard and a fan hopes for the best, but there are really no expectations.
We need to get back to reality, a time when there were expectations of performance at every position, especially shortstop, first base and centerfield. It’s high time we looked at contract situations for Beltran, Delgado and Reyes.
Beltran got a seven-year contract for 119 million back in 2005. That takes Mr Beltran all the way out to 2011, only two years from now. I for one would love to see Carlos in centerfield for the next five years or so, but only if he could be a happy, healthy Carlos. We don’t need a guy who’s unhappy.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Delgado back at first base either but he’s 38, he’s hurt and he’s expendable if his demands become unbelievable. Reason would dictate a new first baseman though, one of the young guns that we can find in Kansas City’s Brett Butler or Pittsburgh’s kid, Garrett Jones.
Reyes should be moved if possible. He signed a 4-year back in 2006 for 23.25 million, a bargain if he plays but a bust if he sits. I’d start looking for a suitor. I’m tired of hearing about potential. He’d have great trade value. It’s almost a lock that some other team would be interested.
But this team needs big-time performance at these slots. The only other position player capable of big performance at the plate is Wright. Francoeur will be a question mark, Sheffield is too old, that centerfielder from the minors is always hurt. Murphy hasn’t shown any real consistency and, well, we need hitters badly. First base and centerfield would be good places to shop.
And then there’s the pitching. Santana is in a class by himself which he proved again yesterday, a real competitor and leader. Pelfrey, Maine and Perez have been very disappointing, for one reason or another, inconsistency or physical well-being always cropping up. But at this point, hanging on to them might make the most sense.
On the relief front, Billy Wagner can probably be traded. Putz should be better as should Green. We could maybe get a big-time position player for Wagner. Everybody needs a good closer, everybody but the Mets. K-Rod’s been a revelation when he’s not been bored to death.
“Boring” is watching this Mets team facing San Diego in San Diego. Could anything be worse? The mind boggles. Thank God for Santana.
As boring as the Mets were, the Yankees were unbelievable. As much as I dislike the whole Yankee organization, you have to give them credit for their demolition of the Red Sox head to head Thursday through Sunday. They hit when they had to hit and they pitched all the time, whether they had to or not.
What a disaster for the Red Sox! They pretty much kissed the AL East title goodbye and their quest must now be for the wildcard. Sabathia, Burnet and Pettite buried them after Joba just got by. When Joba faltered, the Yankees bats came to the fore. It was either Arod or Teixeira or Damon or Posada, it seemed but they got production from just about everybody in a striped shirt.
Teixeira went 6 for 17 with 2 homers, Arod went 4 for 18 with 2 homers, Damon had his 2 homers too, and he scored 4 times, Posada and Cano both went 8 for 18 and Posada had a homer of his own. The new Hinske and Swisher platoon seems pretty formidable too, and their infield defense, with the addition of Teixeira and the improvement in Cano, is almost scary.
Yes, I hate to say it, but the Yanks are loaded. They’re serious, very serious. While I was thinking that they might try to go forward with Mitre as a fifth starter, they picked up Chad Gaudin, a legitimate starter, who has kicked around the majors for several years with mixed success but had really shown marked improvement recently.
So while the Mets have nothing, the Yankees have everything, starters, relievers, hitters, fielders, you name it, they’ve got it. While they can and probably will look bad in certain games going forward, particularly if they get a bad start out of a starter, since their middle relievers can be somewhat compromised.
That alone should make for a livable August and September. I’d hate to have to just live and die with the Cubs or the Rangers for the rest of the season. And it’s still too early to get into football.
The Yanks are the story. The Mets are the footnote. I’ll try to wear a smile.
Friday, August 7, 2009
The Gods of Baseball
Yeah, I had hoped the Mets could get a few more good starts from Livan Hernandez but it wasn’t to be. Before that, I had hoped that Jonathan Niese might be a nice addition to the pitching staff. More recently, I’d hoped for all kinds of things from these Mets but it’s all starting to wear kind of thin.
The baseball gods have abandoned the Mets. Well, that’s not entirely true. Abandonment would imply some neutrality to their situation. What we have here is some active dislike. Surely, random chance would not account for the myriad of misfortunes surrounding this accursed team in 2009.
These latest injuries, Castillo twisting his ankle on a dugout step, Niese totally pulling a tendon from a bone, can’t really affect a Mets fan anymore. We’re out of it. We know we have no chance. So stop already, demons, or whoever you are, you must have accomplished your mission by now.
It’s not even just the players and fans who’ve suffered. The hellcats have managed to get the management too. In one week, Bernazard and Minaya suffered embarrassment that usually takes a few months or even years to accumulate.
For Mets fans, what had been a pleasant trip for several years, a fantasy cruise, has become a nightmare. To borrow from the movie Sahara, what had been the good ship Lollipop has become “a ghost ship, a death ship.”
I’ve been searching for silver linings all season. And, boy oh boy, have I had every opportunity! We’ve certainly had a good look at the minor league system. And we’ve seen some imaginative deals for players, some pretty good players at bargain basement prices, Sheffield for just 400K and Francoeur for very little, really!
There may be some problems that needed uncovering too. Beltran has intimated his injury was not treated right and there certainly have been a preponderance of hamstring injuries, Reyes (again), Niese, Sheffield and, well, what’s the use really of belaboring all this. I’m willing at this point to call everything “acts of God,” or, because I really don’t think God cares too much about major league baseball, “acts of the baseball gods.”
Maybe if I could take some solace in the fact that the Yankees are doing well, I’d feel better. They pounded the Red Sox this night, finally, after eight beatings, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they turned this whole thing around the other way. I mean, really, the Red Sox are all banged up too, and who knows whether the gods will favor them with their malicious intentions.
Jason Bay, who was killing the ball for much of the season and was arguably the best Red Sox player this year, was out, Dice K was out, Big Papi has become Big Poopie, and they had Youkilis playing left field. Oh, and did I mention their starting pitcher is 42 years old? Yeah, I know it’s John Smoltz but just saying….
Joba walked 7 batters in five innings and the Red Sox scored all of four runs. There’s more to this than meets the eye, even given Joba’s penchant for making great pitches in bad situations.
Yeah, they have their ace, Josh Beckett, going tomorrow but I just have this feeling that it won’t appreciably help their situation. The Yanks have Burnett going, which is to say definitely not chopped liver. Then they have Sabathia going, and then Pettitte and things aren’t looking that rosy for the Red Sox, y’know?
Everything’s right with the Bombers these days. Phil Hughes filled their gaping 8th inning hole and then there’s Mariano for the ninth. Even Sergio Mitre is looking good to me. A lot of things that could have gone badly for these damned Yankees is going right.
Wasn’t Matsui a question mark? Not anymore. How about Posada? He’s just fine, thank you. Damon? He’s having an incredible year. Cano is playing out of his mind, at the plate and especially in the field.
He’s been getting to every ball and it doesn’t seem to matter whether it’s to his left or to his right. He just makes it look more impressive when the ball is hit to his right side so he can make that incredible throw he’s developed back to Teixeira. They’ve been calling it a Jeter move but it’s really not. Jeter jumps high in the air, spins and throws, all of which takes some time. Cano just whips the ball over his left shoulder in one motion. It’s really unbelievable, especially for a guy who seemed to be loafing for much of 2008.
It’s looking a lot like a Yankees year. But it’ll take some convincing for me to believe these matters are being decided on the field and not in the heavens. And, yeah, I know, people make their own luck. Gimme a break, okay.
If people make their own luck, why do we have Murphy at first base, Cora at second, and Berroa at shortstop? And the unlikely combo of Tatis, Pagan and Francoeur manning the outfield? The only remaining regular is Wright at third, and I’m kind of afraid to even point that out.
This could’ve been, should’ve been, the Mets year. They had it all but relief pitching. Minaya finally picked up two of the best relievers out there in K-Rod and Sean Green and it should have been all over but the shoutin’.
No, this isn’t a case of people making their own luck. This is just too weird. Have you noticed that it rained all through June and July and it’s been about 10 degrees cooler? And there’s been hardly any sunspot activity? And, wonder of wonders, Bill Clinton got those two reporters out of North Korea? And, well, the President is Barack Obama?
Okay, maybe I’m overdoing it but I’ve just about had it. When the Yankees start having good luck too, on top of their incredible resources, the fates seem to be just piling on. Or is it those baseball gods?
The baseball gods have abandoned the Mets. Well, that’s not entirely true. Abandonment would imply some neutrality to their situation. What we have here is some active dislike. Surely, random chance would not account for the myriad of misfortunes surrounding this accursed team in 2009.
These latest injuries, Castillo twisting his ankle on a dugout step, Niese totally pulling a tendon from a bone, can’t really affect a Mets fan anymore. We’re out of it. We know we have no chance. So stop already, demons, or whoever you are, you must have accomplished your mission by now.
It’s not even just the players and fans who’ve suffered. The hellcats have managed to get the management too. In one week, Bernazard and Minaya suffered embarrassment that usually takes a few months or even years to accumulate.
For Mets fans, what had been a pleasant trip for several years, a fantasy cruise, has become a nightmare. To borrow from the movie Sahara, what had been the good ship Lollipop has become “a ghost ship, a death ship.”
I’ve been searching for silver linings all season. And, boy oh boy, have I had every opportunity! We’ve certainly had a good look at the minor league system. And we’ve seen some imaginative deals for players, some pretty good players at bargain basement prices, Sheffield for just 400K and Francoeur for very little, really!
There may be some problems that needed uncovering too. Beltran has intimated his injury was not treated right and there certainly have been a preponderance of hamstring injuries, Reyes (again), Niese, Sheffield and, well, what’s the use really of belaboring all this. I’m willing at this point to call everything “acts of God,” or, because I really don’t think God cares too much about major league baseball, “acts of the baseball gods.”
Maybe if I could take some solace in the fact that the Yankees are doing well, I’d feel better. They pounded the Red Sox this night, finally, after eight beatings, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they turned this whole thing around the other way. I mean, really, the Red Sox are all banged up too, and who knows whether the gods will favor them with their malicious intentions.
Jason Bay, who was killing the ball for much of the season and was arguably the best Red Sox player this year, was out, Dice K was out, Big Papi has become Big Poopie, and they had Youkilis playing left field. Oh, and did I mention their starting pitcher is 42 years old? Yeah, I know it’s John Smoltz but just saying….
Joba walked 7 batters in five innings and the Red Sox scored all of four runs. There’s more to this than meets the eye, even given Joba’s penchant for making great pitches in bad situations.
Yeah, they have their ace, Josh Beckett, going tomorrow but I just have this feeling that it won’t appreciably help their situation. The Yanks have Burnett going, which is to say definitely not chopped liver. Then they have Sabathia going, and then Pettitte and things aren’t looking that rosy for the Red Sox, y’know?
Everything’s right with the Bombers these days. Phil Hughes filled their gaping 8th inning hole and then there’s Mariano for the ninth. Even Sergio Mitre is looking good to me. A lot of things that could have gone badly for these damned Yankees is going right.
Wasn’t Matsui a question mark? Not anymore. How about Posada? He’s just fine, thank you. Damon? He’s having an incredible year. Cano is playing out of his mind, at the plate and especially in the field.
He’s been getting to every ball and it doesn’t seem to matter whether it’s to his left or to his right. He just makes it look more impressive when the ball is hit to his right side so he can make that incredible throw he’s developed back to Teixeira. They’ve been calling it a Jeter move but it’s really not. Jeter jumps high in the air, spins and throws, all of which takes some time. Cano just whips the ball over his left shoulder in one motion. It’s really unbelievable, especially for a guy who seemed to be loafing for much of 2008.
It’s looking a lot like a Yankees year. But it’ll take some convincing for me to believe these matters are being decided on the field and not in the heavens. And, yeah, I know, people make their own luck. Gimme a break, okay.
If people make their own luck, why do we have Murphy at first base, Cora at second, and Berroa at shortstop? And the unlikely combo of Tatis, Pagan and Francoeur manning the outfield? The only remaining regular is Wright at third, and I’m kind of afraid to even point that out.
This could’ve been, should’ve been, the Mets year. They had it all but relief pitching. Minaya finally picked up two of the best relievers out there in K-Rod and Sean Green and it should have been all over but the shoutin’.
No, this isn’t a case of people making their own luck. This is just too weird. Have you noticed that it rained all through June and July and it’s been about 10 degrees cooler? And there’s been hardly any sunspot activity? And, wonder of wonders, Bill Clinton got those two reporters out of North Korea? And, well, the President is Barack Obama?
Okay, maybe I’m overdoing it but I’ve just about had it. When the Yankees start having good luck too, on top of their incredible resources, the fates seem to be just piling on. Or is it those baseball gods?
Monday, August 3, 2009
The Good and Bad of New York
The pitching just isn’t there. Although I’d like to keep kidding myself, the Mets can’t contend for anything with their pitching. Pelfrey isn’t consistent at all and he’s the number 2 on the staff. Perez is mostly bad. So there’s Santana and pray for rain.
When the minor leaguers they bring up do better than the regulars, you can really just mail it in.
Not that there aren’t some good things to say. I really like watching these guys, Francoeur, Reed, Pagan, Sullivan, Murphy, Niese, the future looks pretty bright but it’s the present that’s kind of shaky.
As far as the regulars coming back, it sounds like a bunch of doubletalk to me. Beltran probably just wants to get his at-bats up so his resume won’t have a big hole in it. As for Reyes and Delgado, at this point I’d rather watch Cora and Murphy. I just don’t believe these players are hurt as bad as they seem to think they are.
I couldn’t help but notice that, since Minaya’s unfortunate running at the mouth, some of the absentees have appeared in the dugout. Putz, Delgado, Reyes….it’s nice to see. Anyone would think that they give a damn.
When they do get a decent pitching performance, this team is fun to watch. Good fielding, good baserunning, good at-bats generally, but as I read somewhere today, they just can’t hit a sinkerball pitcher. Oh well.
Let me talk about some other things. The Mets are just too depressing. Thank God for Jerry Manuel. He makes things bearable.
There are some bright spots in New York sports. Take the Yankees…please. As much as I dislike them generally, Cashman at the very top of my list, you have to like the lion’s share of the players themselves.
Swisher climbing the walls, Teixeira lunging and coming up with ball, Jeter being Jeter, and Melky playing out of his mind. Hitting for the cycle the way he did yesterday was just amazing. To need a triple and then get it? Waddaya kiddin’ me? . Damon, Matsui, Gardner….in fact, I kinda like everybody whose name doesn’t end in a “rod”.
On the pitching side, CC’s always good for a smile or two and Burnett is a real pro, a tough guy you like to see out there. And Joba, how can you not like Joba? The fact that Pettite and Mitre haven’t really done anything just adds a bit to their humanity, if anything can.
And Hughes has been pretty awesome when not used too awfully much, which I think has been his problem lately. Mariano Rivera has been quite impressive, of course, and provides that close of things, even if he does have to provide four outs as he did yesterday. The rest of their relief staff you can have.
Football’s starting to come to the forefront of everyone’s mind and the Jets especially look to be a very exciting team, if not the best team in New York overall. Their new head coach, the very ample Ryan, to put it nicely, has them all chomping at the bit. Compared to Mangini’s death camp, it’s a very nice change of pace.
They’ll have defense up the ying-yang. Too bad the offense looks as if it will probably leave a bit to be desired. Whichever quarterback finally wins the starting nod, he’ll be relatively new at the job and it’s really hard to like a new NFL quarterback too much. But thank God Favre’s doing his press conferences somewhere else.
Why they continue to give their best players such a hard time at the contract table is beyond me though. Give Leon Washington his due, Tannenbaum, and while you’re at it, give him some money too. I can’t believe they punish their best “team” players the way they do, using their team feeling as leverage at the contract table, a pretty despicable negotiating strategy if you ask me. And stupid in the long run.
The Giants are the real pros in town. This should be a great year if injuries don’t cripple them. Of course, they have to get over the loss of Plax and Toomer, something that won’t be too easily done. But drafting Hakeem Nicks, and then signing him relatively quickly, was a step in the right direction.
On defense, the significance of getting Umenyiora back can’t be overplayed really. The pass rush and the defense against the run should be alive and well. They’ll have Eli back and Jacobs, of course, and a great offensive line. They’ll also have good backups at just about every position.
The indictment of Plaxico today won’t help matters but it was nice to see the grand jury go easy on Antonio Pierce. It’ll be life as usual for the G-Men from here on in. Despite Antonio’s age and lack of speed, he’s been a great leader for the Giants defense and a great spokesman too.
While I’m saddened by Burress’s situation, I guess he couldn’t expect much better treatment and it appears he’ll be out of football for quite some time. But a quick look back at his Super Bowl performance against the undefeated Patriots less than two years ago should make any Giants fan feel a bit in the dumps.
What a waste! You can blame Plax, I’ll hate that sorry excuse for a mayor, Bloomberg, using his power as Mayor to undermine the legal system. New York should rid themselves of him.
He’d be a better candidate for New Jersey politics as he’s no better than the 22 or so politicians hopefully jail-bound this year. And no less heavy-handed than Hoboken’s sorry excuse for a mayor, the guy who promised to grind up anybody not in his constituency.
Gee, I guess I really am a Giants fan.
When the minor leaguers they bring up do better than the regulars, you can really just mail it in.
Not that there aren’t some good things to say. I really like watching these guys, Francoeur, Reed, Pagan, Sullivan, Murphy, Niese, the future looks pretty bright but it’s the present that’s kind of shaky.
As far as the regulars coming back, it sounds like a bunch of doubletalk to me. Beltran probably just wants to get his at-bats up so his resume won’t have a big hole in it. As for Reyes and Delgado, at this point I’d rather watch Cora and Murphy. I just don’t believe these players are hurt as bad as they seem to think they are.
I couldn’t help but notice that, since Minaya’s unfortunate running at the mouth, some of the absentees have appeared in the dugout. Putz, Delgado, Reyes….it’s nice to see. Anyone would think that they give a damn.
When they do get a decent pitching performance, this team is fun to watch. Good fielding, good baserunning, good at-bats generally, but as I read somewhere today, they just can’t hit a sinkerball pitcher. Oh well.
Let me talk about some other things. The Mets are just too depressing. Thank God for Jerry Manuel. He makes things bearable.
There are some bright spots in New York sports. Take the Yankees…please. As much as I dislike them generally, Cashman at the very top of my list, you have to like the lion’s share of the players themselves.
Swisher climbing the walls, Teixeira lunging and coming up with ball, Jeter being Jeter, and Melky playing out of his mind. Hitting for the cycle the way he did yesterday was just amazing. To need a triple and then get it? Waddaya kiddin’ me? . Damon, Matsui, Gardner….in fact, I kinda like everybody whose name doesn’t end in a “rod”.
On the pitching side, CC’s always good for a smile or two and Burnett is a real pro, a tough guy you like to see out there. And Joba, how can you not like Joba? The fact that Pettite and Mitre haven’t really done anything just adds a bit to their humanity, if anything can.
And Hughes has been pretty awesome when not used too awfully much, which I think has been his problem lately. Mariano Rivera has been quite impressive, of course, and provides that close of things, even if he does have to provide four outs as he did yesterday. The rest of their relief staff you can have.
Football’s starting to come to the forefront of everyone’s mind and the Jets especially look to be a very exciting team, if not the best team in New York overall. Their new head coach, the very ample Ryan, to put it nicely, has them all chomping at the bit. Compared to Mangini’s death camp, it’s a very nice change of pace.
They’ll have defense up the ying-yang. Too bad the offense looks as if it will probably leave a bit to be desired. Whichever quarterback finally wins the starting nod, he’ll be relatively new at the job and it’s really hard to like a new NFL quarterback too much. But thank God Favre’s doing his press conferences somewhere else.
Why they continue to give their best players such a hard time at the contract table is beyond me though. Give Leon Washington his due, Tannenbaum, and while you’re at it, give him some money too. I can’t believe they punish their best “team” players the way they do, using their team feeling as leverage at the contract table, a pretty despicable negotiating strategy if you ask me. And stupid in the long run.
The Giants are the real pros in town. This should be a great year if injuries don’t cripple them. Of course, they have to get over the loss of Plax and Toomer, something that won’t be too easily done. But drafting Hakeem Nicks, and then signing him relatively quickly, was a step in the right direction.
On defense, the significance of getting Umenyiora back can’t be overplayed really. The pass rush and the defense against the run should be alive and well. They’ll have Eli back and Jacobs, of course, and a great offensive line. They’ll also have good backups at just about every position.
The indictment of Plaxico today won’t help matters but it was nice to see the grand jury go easy on Antonio Pierce. It’ll be life as usual for the G-Men from here on in. Despite Antonio’s age and lack of speed, he’s been a great leader for the Giants defense and a great spokesman too.
While I’m saddened by Burress’s situation, I guess he couldn’t expect much better treatment and it appears he’ll be out of football for quite some time. But a quick look back at his Super Bowl performance against the undefeated Patriots less than two years ago should make any Giants fan feel a bit in the dumps.
What a waste! You can blame Plax, I’ll hate that sorry excuse for a mayor, Bloomberg, using his power as Mayor to undermine the legal system. New York should rid themselves of him.
He’d be a better candidate for New Jersey politics as he’s no better than the 22 or so politicians hopefully jail-bound this year. And no less heavy-handed than Hoboken’s sorry excuse for a mayor, the guy who promised to grind up anybody not in his constituency.
Gee, I guess I really am a Giants fan.
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