Can't Overplay the "Team" Stuff

Sometimes with these Mets you can watch the ugliest baseball you’ve ever seen. Pitchers slide on the grass. Batters swing at pitches that hit them when they’re not watching perfect strikes to the outside corner. These Mets can’t run either. But, before you can say “Jordany Valdespin”, they manage to come out with the win. The sliding pitcher tonight was Bobby Parnell, a guy I hate watching just in general. He is one of the Mets I’d like to see join some other team. I’ve just never seen a player, pitcher or position player, have worse baseball instincts. But Parnell managed to get out of two jams he put himself into and the Mets lived on. Ike Davis is another guy that hasn’t been able to hit a thing since his injury last year. He starts his swing as the pitcher unwinds. When he has finished swinging, the ball is just approaching the plate. Nobody you’ve ever seen since Little League has worse timing at the plate….but not this night…not in his last at-bat anyway. Reserve catcher Mike Nickeas, who had to relieve Josh Thole late in the game after Ty Wigginton tried to take his head off at the plate, usually can’t hit a lick. And this night he was only facing Jonathan Papelbon, Philly’s elite closer. You can see where this is going. Nickeas had one of the best at-bats ever versus the big right-hander. Even with Davis on third and Nickeas on second, it was still easy to figure that, with Valdespin at the plate and two outs, it was still looking pretty good for Philadelphia. But Papelbon grooved a fastball that Jordany was waiting for. Bang…zoom…the ball rocketed into the night. The Mets took the lead, 5-2. Frank Francisco, the Mets closer, almost always looks confused. He’s a guy with all the talent in the world but his talent is matched by his insecurity most nights…just not this night. Francisco looked confident and he proved it by making a great play on a Rollins bunt before blowing away the next two batters and the Mets had beaten Roy Halladay and Papelbon. You can’t overplay this “team” stuff. But what a way to start a road trip! These Mets came to play baseball and when Thole got hurt, they really got fired up. I think a lot of guys took issue with Wigginton’s shoulder to Thole’s head. I know I did. I’m hoping for a nice high hard one tomorrow when Wigginton steps up to the plate. These Mets may be short on talent but they’re a real team. There was good baseball all around. Murphy’s tough at-bats and Ike’s slap tag on Rollins, Turner’s turning that double play despite Victorino’s interference, Wright’s two ribbies early and Torres’s tough at bats all night long. So where are they tonight? The standings always really tell the story as to how good a team really is, or has been anyway, and the Mets are in third place in the NL East behind the surprise Nationals and the Braves, two teams that aren’t all that perfect either. It’s such a long season though. The Nats will be without Jayson Werth, a bigtime hurt, but now it looks as if The Mets will be without Thole and Tejada, for a little while at least. The Braves have Chipper to keep healthy and the Marlins in 4th are just a game behind. The Fish have finally begun to play like a team themselves. They may have finally incorporated Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez, and Giancarlo, formerly Mike, Stanton and even Carlos Zambrano. The Fish will be moving on up. But, I’m telling you, this “team” stuff can’t really be over-rated. You can see it and feel it. The Mets may not be the best all-around talent but they do seem to play tough one-run games, always historically an indicator of a good team. They’re tough in the late innings, as the Indians were tonight sweeping the Pale Hose. Even the Knicks showed some of that “team” stuff in that win over Miami in Game 4. Amare melded with Carmelo, finally, and Bibby, of all people, made a huge shot from 3-point land. This is a team that’s fated to play without a strong point guard, it seems, but five guys playing as a team can overcome the obstacles and look for opportunities to win. For one night, the Knicks were able to overcome adversity and play as a team. You see the San Antonio Spurs playing team basketball, and the Celtics too, the Bulls not so much. The Rangers in the NHL and the Devils too must be doing something right, and I guarantee you they’re both playing as teams. All those line changes in hockey demand a team concept by definition. Back to baseball though, you see that camaraderie among teams that have played together for a long time, that easy and happy feeling that carries onto the field. You see it in these Mets, you see it in Texas, you see some of it in Cleveland now, and Baltimore too, a bunch of minor leaguers all coming together in the major leagues. The Yankees? I’m still undecided on them. But most Yankees are free agents when you think about it but there still are Jeter and Cano who came from the minors. There had been Mariano too, and that catcher too…..yeah, you know who. Don’t think their loss doesn’t have some affect on that team feeling. In the final analysis, though, winning is a combination of talent and teamwork, especially in baseball, given the length of the season. The finals always match this talent and teamwork versus that talent and teamwork. Invariably too, there are usually one or two guys who inspire the rest of the team to heights unknown. The Rangers have Hamilton and Kinsler and Young, the Knicks have Pierce and Garnett and Allen, and maybe even Rondo. The Spurs have Duncan and Ginoboli. The Mets have Wright.

Nice To Own A Cable Company

It wouldn’t be right to ignore the basketball season altogether, right? Even if basketball was never my game. As the would-be art aficionados like to say, “I know what I like”. And what I like is usually a nice combination of talent, effort and brains.

Amare Stoudemire is ok, he’s got everything but brains. And Carmelo Anthony’s got talent and brains but so far hasn’t shown that complete effort I’d ordinarily like to see. That he did show some effort against the Bucks in that first game with the Knicks was absolutely heartening.

I hated the Anthony deal. I liked Gallinari and Felton especially, and Chandler seemed to be getting better and better. Mozgov was an unknown, but only because the NBA refs don’t give rookies any break at all before the All-Star Break.

All I hear is that the Knicks were only 28-26 and none of those traded guys made any difference. I disagree. A 28-26 record with a very young team is a hell of a lot better than the same record with an older team. And all those young kids were fun to watch…..so much energy, even if some of it may have been misdirected.

Did I like Gallinari just because he’s Italian? Yes. Now he’s in Denver and he won’t get many touches there. My guess is he’ll be off to Italy as soon as he can get there.

The other main theme of the Knicks trade was that the Knicks now own two elite players and are in a position to get a third, a combination guaranteed to bring a title to New York, as soon as 2012. And, while that’s true, they won’t be getting Deron Williams any time soon.

And, besides, they don’t really need a point guard. Chris Paul may be a slight upgrade over Chauncey Billups but he won’t be noticed as much as a big center.. I thought I’d heard that Dwight Howard might be available next year. Now that would be a nice addition.

I loved the Nets trade for Deron Williams. Not only is Williams a great point guard, ranked with Chris Paul as 1 and 2 or even 1 and 1A, but that the deal came as a complete surprise to the entire league was especially satisfying. It showed the enterprising spirit of that down-on-their-luck team, and especially Billy King and owner Prokhorov.

So now the Nets can hope to see some more free agents give serious consideration to Nets offers in the future. For the Nets, it doesn’t even matter what they had to give up. They badly needed credibility, something that’s been missing in Jersey since Jason Kidd was traded.

I should mention here that I had been a Nets fan through all the Kidd years and was a half season ticket holder for them back in those wonder years when the Nets shocked the whole NBA before losing to Shaq and the Lakers in the finals, Shaq of the offensive foul never called, Shaq of the elbow to the face never seen. Not that I’m bitter.

Ever since the Kidd days though, I’ve been a Knicks fan. Even in the Isiah years, they were obviously striving to get better, no matter that most of Isiah’s moves were totally inexplicable and just made the team worse.

My Knicks loyalty got stronger in a hurry when Dolan finally brought in some real basketball minds, in the personages of Donnie Walsh and Mike D’Antoni. Do I like D’Antoni just because he’s Italian? Absolutely.

But while owners Dolan and Prokhorov seem to be getting most of the credit for these incredible player acquisitions, it was really the positioning that each team enjoyed, brought about by their respective GM’s, Billy King and Donnie Walsh, and, in the Nets case, Kiki Vandeweghe and Rod Thorn before that.

I still think the Knicks gave up too much for Anthony. It seemed as if their only competition for him were the Chicago Bulls and the Nets. Anthony would never have signed with the Nets and Chicago’s offer wasn’t really that close. As for him re-signing with Denver, I suppose that was possible but unlikely. And I would have loved to have seen the great Melo caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place.

But the Knicks had all the credibility in the world, even without Anthony, what with the Garden and the heritage and a good talented nucleus. Now the nucleus is gone except for Landry Fields, who I fear has moved a little closer to oblivion now that the big Three will be monopolizing the ball.

And that fast-paced exciting brand of play will be slowed down considerably with Billups running things, at least in the long run. It’ll be post-up, post-up one-on-one stuff now. I suppose D’Antoni can continue to hope for it but he won’t likely be seeing the defense he’d seen coming up to the trade.

For now though, I’m going to make the best of it. So the Knicks won’t be that exciting anymore. They won’t exude a whole bunch of energy. But they will be pretty good. Look for a lot of high-scoring games, something that had always been a D’Antoni trademark but that will be even more pronounced in the future, if D’Antoni is still the coach in the future.

That there should be any doubt about this management team’s future Is perhaps the saddest thing of all. It demonstrates that Dolan is still a bad owner who runs things his way, even if it’s the stupid way, the thoughtless way, the arrogant way. That it was necessary to deny the allegations that Isiah was coming back just demonstrated once again how out of touch the man is with the media (and reality).

In fact, I like to think of him as the Herman Edwards of basketball owners. It must be nice to own a cable company. It requires little intelligence though, at least less so than is needed to own a pro basketball team.

Mets May Only Live Twice

Watching James Bond as this is written in “You Only Live Twice”, a real classic, and it appears my Metsies will have to live twice as their first life seems to be ending rather rapidly, and a little too abruptly in my mind. No pitching, no hitting, and before you could say “Jackie Robinson”, the Mets had lost 2 of 3 to the Reds and have so far lost 2 in a row to a Braves team that looks pretty scary right now.

Earlier today I watched the Phillies play really tough to eke out a sweep of those same Reds that just took my Mets apart. Sooo….the Phils are coming on, the Braves keep keepin’ on and the Mets are just in a bad way, the pitchers and hitters all faltering, and, just to add injury to insult, Jose Reyes had to come off the field after making a very nice throw to first base from deep in the hole.

Deep in the hole, that’s where the Mets will find themselves at the break, and, if they can’t take this last game against the Braves to at least salvage some face and avoid a series sweep to the division leaders. It’ll be Johan facing Derek Lowe, still another pretty good Braves pitcher. Geez, this reminds me of the Braves heyday with Glavine and Schmidt…..see how quickly a Mets fan can start losing it?

They’re five games back now and I’d sure like to see them cut it to 4 to finish off nicely before Tuesday’s All-Star Game. It’s not as if they’re even playing badly, they’ve just been getting beat by some pretty good teams, and some pretty hot teams, come to think of it, but that doesn’t make me feel any better.

At least I don’t have to worry about them shedding some good players for a Cliff Lee rental. Dickey and Niese still look pretty good to me, and we’ll all have to hold our breath or say a little prayer for Mike Pelfrey to come back from mediocrity. And I think Takahashi is starting to fade but I hope it’s just my imagination. I really need Johan to come through tomorrow to restore my dwindling faith.

It’s good that the Mets aren’t the only game in town when it comes to sports entertainment though. (They’re just the most fun). The Knicks are making their bid to get better, and to me it’s a lot more fun to do it without a superstar, not that Amare Stoudemire isn’t one, but he’s not LeBron either, or even Kobe. But Raymond Felton is Raymond Felton, and he should definitely be an upgrade over Chris Duhon.

The Knicks got more athletic too with their big Cliff Lee deal. Now, I know everybody loves Lee in New York but Stoudemire will be replacing him. The Knicks got Ronnie Turiaf, who can play center, and Anthony Randolph, a former first round pick with nice potential and he’s long too at about 6’10 or so. And, if that wasn’t enough, they also got Kelenna Azubuike, who can score bigtime. All these guys can defend a little too, something I was never sure of with Cliff Lee.

The Nets haven’t done much but sure have a lot of cap space so we have something to look forward to.

Then there were the Yankees, losing a heartbreaker to the Mariners, not my heart of course, just theirs. That bloated roach of an organization, that tried its damnedest to extinguish the rest of the league’s hopes by grabbing up Cliff Lee, was thwarted in those efforts by the Rangers, who don’t even really have an owner anymore. I love a good Yankee burn.

The afternoon went by a little quicker too when the Germany-Uruguay World Cup match turned out to be a really good one, something that tournament badly needed, I think, after that horrible Germany-Spain game. And tomorrow will feature that Netherlands-Spain matchup, one I suppose Spain will win but it sure could be a close one.

I wish I could get more excited about the All-Star Game itself, but the ridiculous voting process really turned me off. I like Nick Swisher a little less now. I never cared for politicking and that’s pretty much what he and the Yankees did to secure that All-Star berth. I know I won’t stay mad, how can you stay mad at Swisher, but the game really won’t be the best against the best.

It will be for home field in the World Series though, a fact that all by itself should justify a smarter selection process. If the league is making a sham of the selection process, I’d rather just have the game be a totally meaningless exhibition. When the NL loses again, at least it won’t have any lasting effect. The AL doesn’t need any more advantages.

Especially if the AL rep in the series winds up being the Yankees, it certainly doesn’t need any favors. I know it’s just an aberration that the AL keeps winning that infernal All-Star Game, but it’ll be even worse if the AL keeps winning the World Series. Not that I’m a National Leaguer, heh-heh.

I know I’m taking all this much too seriously. It’s not as if I had money on any of these games. But what the hell, they haven’t won anything, the Mets that is, in such a long time and last year, the year they finally had all the ingredients, they all got hurt. I hate talking about fairness, but I thought this year that surely the good fortune would be rolling our way.

It may just be that the Mets have started to exhaust their luck this year. Maybe it’s time for them to come back to the pack. Maybe all those rookies performing a lot better than anybody expected, maybe that was the aberration. The Mets started bad, got much better, then faded, came back but are fading once again.

And you only live twice.

On Bad Coaches and Players and Good Games

As I finally get to watch a college bowl game that I’ve heard of, the Cotton Bowl, my thoughts turn to some of the crazy happenings this week in sports.

Giants defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan’s responses to questions regarding his job status, Broncos’ head coach Josh McDaniel’s decision to bench Brandon Marshall for the finale and Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni’s decision to take Nate Robinson off the bench against the Hawks, come immediately to mind.

First there is the remarkable story of Bill Sheridan, Giants defensive coordinator.

He benched Osi Umenyiora, arguably the best defensive player on the team. He never rushed the passer despite having the worst secondary in the league. His players never showed any heart despite having shown pretty unequivocally two years ago that they had huge heart when playing for Steve Spagnuolo. He’s big on losing the forest for the trees.

But Sheridan thinks he should be retained. He actually said the following earlier this week:
“One thing at least we will get credit for is we stuck to our plan of how we’re going to coach and how we’re going to teach and gameplan….We’ve done that every single week and, like they say, the proof will be in hindsight.”

Excuse me, Bill, but……this year’s Giants defense has performed worse than just about any Giants defense in the long and mostly illustrious history of that great franchise. They have allowed 49 touchdowns in 15 forgettable contests, 20 on the ground, 27 through the air and 2 special teams TD’s.

The best defensive team also resides in New York, or actually New Jersey, if you want to be technical. That would be the New York Jets. They actually have a meaningful game tomorrow. Anyway, they have allowed just 26 (vs. 49) touchdowns, 11 rushing (vs. 20), just 8 (vs. 27) through the air, and a comparatively bad 7 on special teams. Compare….8 receiving touchdowns to the Giants 27!

Sheridan is a man who tried to get himself situated in the booth rather than the sidelines for games. His responses the other day to questions as to his job status tell you why. They are suggestive as to his personality. He is an automaton.

Football is an emotional game. Maybe Sheridan would fit better at Toyota.
I’ll breathe a huge sigh of relief when he is gone.

I actually have mixed feelings on the Josh McDaniels/Brandon Marshall showdown number 2. On Marshall’s side is the fact that an injury is an injury. On the coach’s side is the fact that an MRI showed nothing wrong. Coach also is sitting Tony Scheffler, his tight end, who has grumbled about game plans. Good for him. They should take the measure of Kansas City without those two malcontents.

Then there’s the curious case of Nate Robinson, the nutcase Knicks guard with a lot of talent and…..well, that’s all. He scored 41 last night to beat the Hawks but the Knicks record without Robinson in the lineup was 9-6. Nate doesn’t defend, doesn’t listen to his coach… or anybody for that matter, and doesn’t seem to really care who wins the game.

I’m almost sorry Robinson impressed last night. The Knicks are better without him. Good for Mike D’Antoni for having the guts to sit him, and the guts to play him as a last resort. But Robinson won’t change. In the long run, he’ll be a detriment to winning. Bring him in when you need some scoring and then sit him along with his other clueless friend Mr. Curry.

I’ve pretty much had it with selfish players. And clueless coaches too.

In this same vein, in a new book by Bob McGinn, “The Ultimate Super Bowl Book”, there are some real gems, including stats from the games and other things you’d expect, but also some interviews and quotes from coaches and players in hindsight on the games. I highly recommend it.

For Giants fans, there are several tidbits of “inside the game” type material, such as Bill Belichick’s take on the game, details as to the defensive calls and big plays, and a re-hash of the big catch by Tyree and the double-move and fade by Plaxico for the game-winner.

There are also quotes from Spagnuolo, such as his recollection of the long Patriots drive that preceded the winning Giants drive…..”It was max-protection, they kept the tight end in. They were in a pressure situation needing to score and they executed their offense…..We should have pressured more.”

It’s also worth noting that Rex Ryan’s Dad Buddy coached the defensive line for the Jets in Super Bowl III, and that Don Maynard was hurt pretty badly, which was why George Sauer caught all the passes that day from Broadway Joe. I was also reminded that, after the AFL Kansas City Chiefs whipped the NFL’s Vikings the very next year, 1970, there was the merger.

Each one of those first four NFL-AFL games was truly more than a game. Ever since, each Super Bowl has pretty much just been another game.

Not that each game doesn’t have its own excitement though; tomorrow’s Jets game will certainly go a long way towards defining the Jets stature in New York, along with that of Rex Ryan and those defensive stars, Revis and Scott and Harris, and whether Ochocinco will make good on his web-site promises.

There’s the Cowboys-Eagles game too. Will McNabb and that wondrous group of wide-outs dictate against a Cowboys defense that sparkles, especially against the run. (When I was foaming at the mouth about the Eagles earlier, I hadn’t considered that the Boyz defense had only allowed 7 rushing touchdowns all year and just 19 through the air….the Eagles numbers are 10 and 25…quite a difference).

The Pats – Texans will also be a big one. The Texans have a decent shot at the playoffs still, and the 1 PM start guarantees they won’t know in advance how the Ravens and Broncos and Jets are doing.

The Steelers have about the same shot. Stay tuned.

June Snooze

There’s nothing to get excited about, I guess, but Mickelson just lost out on an Open win and now Sharapova has gotten by the first round at Wimbledon. The Penguins beat the Red Wings and the U.S. soccer team very unexpectedly got into the semifinals of the Confederations Cup. In just about everything except Major League Baseball, there’s excitement galore.

In baseball, nobody seems to want it, not unless you’re talking about the Colorado Rockies. They’ve won 8 straight and 16 of their last 17 games, an incredible streak for this fickle sport. But it is reminiscent of their World Series year when they preactically ran the table at the end of the regular season.

The incredible Denver contingent has swept St Louis and Milwaukee, taken two of three from the Rays and then swept the Pirates. If they can somehow get by the tough Angels and take the measure of the Oakland A’s, it’ll set up a real barn-burner against the Dodgers, presently the toughest team in both leagues by a large margin.

Of course, there are teams who want it, but the fates seem to be intervening on the side of the devils. In the case of our beloved Mets, they’re just totally snake-bit. Now Beltran is having an MRI, and if it shows something that indicates that playing will make his knee worse, Carlos will join all the others on the DL. Depending upon the length of his disability, that could really end things this year for our Metsies.

The Yanks have never been my favorite but they’re in the throes of a bad stretch too. They just have no relief pitching whatsoever. The starters look shaky lately, and come to think of it, the whole team really hasn’t been anything to write home about. Teixeira has been quite a find though.

Now Boston wants it, I’m sure of that. And it’s looking as if they’ll get it. Except for the conspicuous failures of Dice-K, the pitching looks as if it’s holding up and in the batting order, Big Papi is even starting to come around with 5 homers in June. They have some great relief pitchers in Papelbon, Saito, Ramirez, and Okajima, and it’s amazing that they’re not in front by even more than they are.

They talk about the dog days of August but right now, it sure seems to be occurring in June, much as this non-stop June rain reminds me of April. If Philadelphia were doing a little better, I’d just forget about the whole season right now. But it’s now official, Beltran will be out for a while and here come some pretty tough teams, St Louis, the Yanks and the Brewers to close out the month.

Maybe I should just pay attention to the tennis for a while and break my focus only for the NBA Draft. Thursday night should be interesting for both the Knicks and Nets, as there are some excellent players available at their respective draft positions.

The Knicks need a point guard and if they manage to get Curry from Davidson, they will have done very well for themselves. The Nets may go with a guard too, but I’m hoping they go a little bigger and get some really athletic guy who can shoot the ball, somebody like Vince Carter without the arm socks, or maybe a tough guy like Dejuan Blair.

Whatever else June might bring, let’s hope the baseball picks up a little. I just heard Tatis will be batting cleanup for the Metsies, God help us.

The WBC and Not Much Else

Well, a lot sure has happened since last time, notably the “friggin’ Netherlands” upsetting the Dominican Republic after I made some reference to the ten run rule. So apologies are in order. I guess I’ll be “in Dutch” with them for quite a while.

But then it is baseball. Especially if an inferior team can put together some semblance of a pitching staff, the chances are fair to middlin’ that they can eke out a win against a superior opponent, especially if it can take a lead. That’s of course exactly what happened to the stunned Dominicans, who seemed to be pressing for most of the game.

The U.S. team was fortunate to get by the tough Canada team in their opener but then really handed it to the Venezuelans in Game 2. As this Mets fan watched Victor Zambrano head out to the mound in the 5th, I knew the game was just about over. You might recall the Mets trading Scott Kazmir for Victor, an early Omar Minaya particularly gaseous brain fart.

While the entire core of the Mets team frolics in various sites around the world, the Mets fan gets to watch what’s left. It’s not saying a lot. I know I haven’t been able to tune in since the Classic started. What would be the point? I know I’m enjoying this World Championship though, almost as much as the players themselves.

You had to like the U.S. team as players such as Chris Ianetta of the Rockies came through with the big, big triple to clear the bases against Zambrano.

It seemed almost impossible that anybody could knock Arod out of the headlines, but Terrell Owens and the Dallas Cowboys managed it in splendid fashion. Of course, it was only momentary relief as Arod’s back in front again, finally deciding on having the surgery he so obviously needed. That the Yankees took so long to figure that out is way beyond me.

But then I remember it’s Cashman pulling the strings and then it makes perfect sense. The Yanks still have quite a few seats to fill in their new digs and what better way to stay on the front page (or back page actually in New York) than to drag out even obvious decisions? And that’s it for that subject. I promised myself not to dwell on A-Fraud.

On lighter matters, Jim Berman says that “no team circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills.” It had better be true because they’ll have to do a lot of circling next year. Has anyone in the entire history of the NFL needed more apologists than Terrell Owens?

While a lot of folks think T.O. was a great acquisition for the Bills, and my brother not the least among them, I tend to disagree. It’s not as if they’re Super Bowl material up there, and as they’re only getting him for the one year, eight and a half million dollars would seem kind of pricey for a one-time winning record of about 9-7.

The Bills are, after all, the Bills and they’re in a pretty tough division. T.O. won’t be scaring the likes of the Patriots, and the Jets just beefed up their secondary. And nobody knows (and probably dislikes) T.O. better than Bill Parcells, who just happens to run operations down in Miami.

So I figure the Bills will, at best, win two of those six intra-Division games and probably only one. If they even manage 9-7 overall, it’ll be a miracle. Of course, their fans will probably be much happier with that than with what has been trying to pass for a competitive team all these long years.

But it was great to see ESPN’s obnoxious Stephen A. Smith say a lot of foolish things about T.O. before he signed with the Bills. Most memorable for me was that Stephen was absolutely sure that Owens would sign with a team that had a great quarterback. He mentioned Tom Brady and hinted that the Colts would be a good place too.

I guess Trent Edwards qualifies, somehow, as a good QB but it’s really, really hard to figure out why. I won’t bore you with statistics but Edwards has been mostly a disaster unless you’re overly amused by interceptions at the worst possible times. Let’s hope T.O. can have a positive affect on the “team of the Northeast.” I’m quite sure they deserve better times.

And, who knows? Maybe T.O. really was being picked on in Big D. Maybe he’d start getting more separation if he had a better chance of getting the ball thrown to him. There’s nothing quite so pointless as running hard on every play, only to see the ball go underneath to somebody else.

But football is way in the future and, as I can’t get into hockey (although I couldn’t help but notice the attention being paid to Martin Brodeur lately), that leaves just basketball. Thank God for March Madness because we won’t be seeing too much more of the Knicks or Nets.

The Nets are usually entertaining for three quarters, but then you remember that the game has four quarters. What a bad bunch down the stretch this group is! Going through the motions is almost more than you can say about these guys. Sadly, their play is typical of other teams around the league once they’re out of the playoffs.

D’Antoni finally aired some of his frustration with his Knicks team lately, so maybe that’ll have some kind of positive effect on what appears to be just a bunch of chuckers. I’m ashamed now to admit that Al Harrington is from New Jersey. Does the ball ever come back again once it gets into his voracious hands? He truly never had a shot he didn’t like. I just wish he made more of them.

It’s got to be challenging for D’Antoni, who never misses the playoffs, to watch these guys under-perform night after night. And now Curry’s coming back. Heh-heh.

Around the New York Sports World

So what’s new in the sports world?

The Knicks come immediately to mind, they’ve been trying to stay with the Lakers and Cavs of the world and now the Celtics…bad luck…and the Celtics just lost to the Lakers by a point in overtime…they won’t be thrilled with that. The Knicks are in trouble.

But just in the short term. Some of these new guys can really shoot, it seems. Gallinari and Harrington and Chandler and even Lee….I think they’re in 10th place in the East now…and I’m beginning to think they have a chance. If Harrington starts to pick up some assists in his game, things might be better….

It seems the good teams, the best teams, always have their share of assists. The bad teams never have good assists numbers. Fantasy players, take note.

Speaking of assists, Kevin Garnett was out of the Celtics lineup and Paul Pierce was trying to do everything….and made a pretty nice job of it…that Allen and Pierce and Garnett trio might be the best thing in pro hoops right now…I know most folks like Kobe and LeBron but geez…how much can you take of them? The NBA needs to realize there’s more to the league than just Kobe and LeBron. There are some great stories around the league besides just LeBron and Kobe.

Hey! The Pro Bowl’s coming up….heh-heh….

Yeah, football’s over…which is a good thing because I’m ready for baseball. Not just the Mets, my team, but the Yankees too. And I do hate them and always will….they buy everything…shotgun approach…throw enough brown stuff on the wall and sumthin’s gotta stick…..

I mean, really, they pick up Sabathia and Burnett and Teixeira, re-sign Pettite, and are now supposed to be shopping Nady because they have their new addition Swisher. Just like the Yankees to be so disorganized. Swisher was insurance at first base, I guess. And then they picked up Teixeira…..

So their lineup will be pretty awesome. I wouldn’t be thrilled with a couple of things myself though, if I were them. To me, there’s no real leadoff hitter on that roster. Damon’s getting a little long in the tooth, I think. And he does seem to be injured quite a bit. They’ve picked up guys with speed in the past and sat them on the bench.

So, let’s see, Damon, Jeter, Teixeira, Arod, Matsui (as a DH), Nady, Posada, Cano and Cabrera/Swisher, not a bad lineup at all and chock full of lefty-righty combinations. And it just struck me that Swisher could play center but Nady never could….of course, then there’s Andruw Jones…but he wasn’t interested in the Yankees….haha…gotta love an old National Leaguer.

Damon had 29 stolen bases in ’08 but was caught 8 times. He played in 143 games, more than I would have guessed. Maybe he is a real leadoff hitter….at least he’s easy to talk to….

And, speaking of talking, Joe Torre sure seems to have said more than was absolutely necessary…I love hearing from indignant Yankees fans that he broke the clubhouse code….

The Mets I have talked about enough…but have I mentioned that Wright and Reyes are both first-rounders in most fantasy leagues…that says something good…but Beltran will only be a second or third-rounder….fielding doesn’t count in 99% of fantasy leagues.

The U.S. Government is showing its stupidity once again in court, trying lamely to introduce into evidence things they knew never had a shot….but it did make all the newspapers, didn’t it……hmmmm.

I’m thinking now that Bonds will walk. He admitted to using “the clear” and “the cream” and the U.S. can’t prove differently. You have to admire Anderson, his druggie trainer, who decided jail was better than testifying against his friend, or client, whatever….could make a good TV movie……

I just heard the Jets might be showing interest in Ray Lewis! He’d have to be better than Favre, wouldn’t he? It’s hard to judge a Jets defense when a QB turns the ball over so much…and I hope Pennington lights it up again next year too….M-A-R-S-H-A-L-L ..

The Giants are quiet except for losing Spagnuolo and making some noises toward bringing Plaxico back…can’t say I’d be sorry to see it….(if I’m feeling some sympathy for a guy like Bonds, you know I feel sorry for a guy who catches the winning TD against the hated Patriots in the Super Bowl and then shoots himself in the leg…..too bad it wasn’t the foot…’cause he really “shot himself in the foot”, as it were….

And I won’t have Herman Edwards to kick around anymore….that’s sad in itself…I just heard that Larry Johnson wants to leave…..don’t think the Chiefs will be crying too much about that one…..but I will miss those ridiculous play calls from Herm…

The Nets are making the best of things….getting more than their share of injuries..now Najera and Yi out but Carter and Harris have been playing hurt…and why aren’t they playing at the Prudential Center? I have no idea but I wouldn’t miss the parking fees…

It should be interesting to see who’ll wind up higher in the standings, the Knicks or the Nets. The Knicks just took a hit with their losses to the Cavs and Lakers but are still just two games behind the Nets in the win column….

And Seton Hall beat St. John’s…their second win in the Big East…of course it’s probably too much to expect 60% shooting from 3-point land most nights…Jeremy Hazell sure is lighting it up though….

Rutgers hasn’t shown much at all but it’s really a tough conference….that’s as nice as I can put it…

And somebody besides the Dodgers has expressed interest in Manny, if you can believe the news reports (or that agent of his)….only when his lips are moving….

That’s it for me this Friday. I should just go skiing. Of course, there’s the 4-hour drive, the lift ticket(s), the hotel…the drinks…the tolls, the gas….maybe I’ll just take a nice long walk. Healthy stuff.

Giants Eat Ravens - Mangini Eats Crow

Gee, if it weren’t for the economy going to hell and everyone’s retirement money going into the abyss, no jobs around or even on the horizon and state and local budgets going farther into the red, we’d have to be happy campers here in New York, unless you have to rake the leaves, of course. Then you have a real problem.

What can you say? The G-Men look invincible, the Jets refuse to lose and even the Knicks and Nets aren’t going down without a fight these days. Every day seems to bring with it new wonders. Even baseball fans can look forward to the next big signing, after Nick Swisher, that is.

Invincible? I don’t know that that’s the right word for it, but those Giants surely made some kind of statement against the Ravens on Sunday. Everyone seemed to be expecting a very close game as the Baltimore defense had been allowing almost nothing on the ground. It was Ray Lewis this and Ray Lewis that, and surely the Ravens stable of running backs, featuring Willis McGahee and Rutgers own Ray Rice would challenge the G-Men’s front seven.

It sure didn’t turn out that way. The Ravens running game was stuffed. Jersey’s own Joe Flacco, the rookie QB, was the leading rusher with 57 yards, the rest were in the teens. In fact, the biggest surprise in every respect was Flacco, who gave the Giants fits, both with his arms and legs.

But the issue was never in doubt. The tone was set from the first drive of the game, when Jacobs got hit behind the line, shrugged it off, and wheeled around to his left for about 40 yards, rendering quite a few Ravens tough guys on the ground before going out of bounds. When he crashed into the end zone a few plays later, it was pretty much all she wrote.

The Jets were less awesome to be sure, but they managed to beat their perennial nemesis, New England. I would have preferred a game with less Jets lead squandering and more convincing defense but it wasn’t to be. Favre had to save their butts in overtime after some Mangini over-think allowed the Pats to tie the game on its last play.

I won’t belabor the point but the Genius abandoned what had been working all game to present the most appropriate possible defense for the situation, classic over-think, and of course he ate crow.

In fact, the best characterization of the weekend is to say that the Giants ate the Ravens while Mangini ate crow. Not to be cruel but the Jets should be winning more easily with the talent they have. They’ll make the playoffs but Mangini will make every game an adventure. Not that I don’t like the man. Heh-heh.

Oh, and Leon Washington is just super. So is Kris Jenkins. Okay, enough about the Jets. They’re almost certain to be a disappointment in the final analysis.

How good is it to see Mike D’Antoni’s influence paying off for the Knicks? Although they lost a tough one last time out against the tough Mavericks, when Dirk Nowitzki went crazy and the Knickerbockers went very very cold (for the first time), they are 6-4 and will face the Celtics tonight sans Kevin Garnett, who was suspended a game for hitting Andrew Bogut in the face. (Yeah, I know, just a game suspension for hitting somebody in the face)?

The Nets are a very surprising 4-5 after beating what had been thought to be a tough Atlanta Hawks team twice in a row. The guard they got in exchange for Kidd, Devin Harris, has been pretty phenomenal and is making the Nets management look very good indeed, especially considering the fact that draftees Brook Lopez and Ryan Anderson are both proving they play some pretty good basketball in those West Coast colleges.

Hockey? Sorry, I don’t do hockey. And neither do the Devils this year by all accounts.

Then, of course, there are the Yankees. Let me remind my readers that I truly hate the Yankees, not the players, of course, but the management. No, let me be more specific than that, it’s GM Brian Cashman who bugs me (lately).

Nevertheless, I do pay attention to their doings, if just to be able to pick on Cashman a little bit more. I hate that the Yanks are going after Sabathia, one of the very best pitchers in the game, but who is just not a good fit for the Yankees. (Time will prove me right on this one if he is stupid enough to take their offer). Sabathia’s a free spirit whose fire will go out on that humorless team.

But I must say I love their signing of free agent Nick Swisher. Here’s a guy who is coming off a very mediocre last year but who had two pretty good years before that. Here’s a guy who plays the game hard, takes a lot of pitches at the plate, and can play any outfield position in addition to first base. For a team with needs at both positions,it was a brilliant move, and one that will be a good fit for both team and player. Good move, Brian, for once.

My favorite team, the Mets, will make its fans agonize for a month or so before GM Omar Minaya gets us a closer, and probably make us wait even longer than that to fill out the rest of the bullpen. I remain concerned that the Mets will trade Beltran, my favorite Mets player. (What’s not to like? He does everything well).

While there has been talk of the Mets acquiring a bigtime closer in free agency (Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes), there have also been rumors of trading for Bobby Jenks. While I’d love to get Jenks, it makes me wonder who’s on his way to Chicago. And the White Sox will be needing an outfielder.

I’m thinking I should brace myself for disappointment.

Curiouser and Curiouser

Well, tomorrow's another big football day and things just get curiouser and curiouser in the National Football League. Where's the defense? How many teams really have one worthy of the name? Certainly not the Jets, who, while they won their game against the Pats in overtime, let the Pats and Randy Moss tie it up on the last play of the game.

The Giants, too, would seem to be a little suspect after allowing the Eagles to score as many as they did. I mean, gimme a break, they won much because of overly conservative Herman Edwards-like play calling.

Yeah, I know, both teams are leading their divisions and who cares about defense anyway. Well, besides me, most successful playoff teams of yesteryear have cared rather passionately about defense. Need I mention the '85 Bears? Nah! How about the 2007-08 GEE-Men?

In the Jets case, their coach just overthinks everything. What had been successful against Moss all day was abandoned on that last play. Because he had thought, "well, there's no time on the clock, the qb can't afford to scramble, the ball can't go to the middle of the field, yada, yada, ad infinitum, and he forgot that he had put Moss to sleep all day by smashing him at the line of scrimmage.

Randy looked like a kid who's just gotten his first bike for Christmas. And, when he snared that pass from Cassell (and indeed, Randy was the only guy who could have caught it), he got his bike, and a Christmas goose too. Wait...check that, it was the Jets who got the goose. That they came back to win in OT was great, but somehow that bad taste lingers for me. Can the Jets really go much further?

The G-Men will finally see some real defense played tomorrow. The Ravens are unbelievable, a fierce defense, no over-thinking going on. I don't see Brandon Jacobs or Derek Ward doing much, not that Coughlin won't try. Hopefully, he will change his game somewhat in the face of some furious realities in the forms of Ray Lewis and his band of renown.

What's most curious about football is the emotion involved in the game. The fact that the G-Men have a nice little cushion in their division will surely alter the metabolism of each and every man on that field. The same will apply to the Baltimore crew, of course, and their collective chomping at the bit can only bode well for them.

The other curious thing is the affect of injuries. Who could even figure out who's playing? "Questionable" means everything from "no way" to "definitely in". Take Clinton Portis, for example. He's questionable every week. The G-Men have some questionable secondary people for tomorrow. I have no idea who's playing.

And, speaking of curious, let me turn to baseball for a second. Isn't it a little strange that C.C. Sabathia may be practically forced by the Players Union to accept the highest salary offered? When did the players give up their individuality? Who authorized that?
<>What if C.C. hates the Yankees? I can’t think of a team that less suits him. I have followed C.C. since his first year in the majors, if just for the size of him and the tilt of his cap. Will the Yankees make him straighten it out? Probably. Never was there a more serious bunch than these Yankees. Never was there a group that appears to be having less fun.

Shouldn’t C.C. be allowed to take that Milwaukee offer? Sure, it’s millions less but what about job satisfaction? Shouldn’t that really be the first consideration? C.C. won’t like the Yankees, I know, and, as hard as this may be to believe, I don’t think the Yankees will like him.
<>Money, money, money. It’s keeping Stephon Marbury in limbo, if a very rich and comfortable limbo. Last on the bench, first in the bank account. Isn’t he a basketball player? Doesn’t he care about that?

Whether Stephon may eventually get bought out or not, the Knicks’ fortunes have certainly been changing for the better. They seem reborn, these D’Antonians. Defense once again graces the floor of Madison Square Garden. No more Marbury or Curry, these Knicks have guys who actually leave their feet.
<>Wilson Chandler seems to be the biggest difference, an under-sized power forward who does it all, rebounding, scoring, blocking shots, and yes, thank goodness, defense. The most curious thing, though, is that much of the personnel remains the same, Jamal Crawford, Zak Randolph, yada yada. Oh, and a guy who cares not so much for money, an unselfish point guard named Duhon, Chris Duhon.

On the other side of the river, the Nets look horrible one night, terrific the next. While that inconsistency is supposed to be normal for a young team, a kind of consistent inconsistency, it still seems awfully strange. I’m glad I don’t gamble. I’d never have picked them to beat the Atlanta Hawks.
<>The world of sport is filled with curiosities, of course. New York has no monopoly on strange. The Cowboys could be the weirdest of the bunch (if you don’t count the Raiders and the Lions). How can a premiere team neglect to get themselves a decent backup quarterback?

Tomorrow, we’ll see another curious but interesting phenomenon, the positive affect that the quarterback return can have on a team. The Redskins, though much improved themselves this year under new coach Zorn, will have to deal with a Cowboys team that should be angry, fed up, and just delighted to have good old Tony back behind the center. I think they’ll totally forget the PacMan, and maybe even their crazy owner, even if he does place himself front and center on the sideline.

Enjoy Week 11 (including the bye week, another curious thing), sports fans. I know the fans in Miami will, what with Chad at the helm and in Atlanta, where a Yankee named Ryan seems to be taking the Falcons to the heights.

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D'Antoni Sono Buoni

After hearing a good deal of nonsense about how Mark Jackson was promised the job, and how it's somehow "confusing" that a bad team would hire a good coach, I was happy to hear both Mike D'Antoni and Donnie Walsh debunk those rumors and express some difficulty in even understanding why a bad team could NOT hire a good coach.

The shock jocks on WFAN and YES did it again though. I keep thinking they can't say anything even more shocking than the day before, but they surpassed themselves today.

One key piece of research, I would think, that one should do before an interview is to know the interviewee's name. After two or three times calling the coach "D'Antonio", they finally managed to correct themselves. They later excused themselves by saying that "a lot of people have gotten it wrong" and "it's a hard name".

I keep asking myself WHY I continue to listen. The answer lies in the fact that their show gets ALL the important interviews. Their show has become so popular over the years that it has become a huge sports forum. And that's to every sports fan's benefit, but, still, for two Italian-American interviewers to botch another Italian-American's name is embarrassing to me, both as an Italian-American and as a New Yorker.

In any event, so far so good with D'Antoni and Donnie Walsh too, for that matter. D'Antoni made it clear that he can coach, he can be flexible, that he didn't come to New York just for the money, that he and his family both love New York, and that he gets along very well with Stephon Marbury.

He also explained that he coaches to the strengths of his team, and he had very skilled offensive players in Phoenix as well as a 6'7" center. He also had to defend his record in Phoenix, as if that record needed any defending, but he made it clear that they lost to San Antonio (THAT'S where they got the "D'Antonio" from, I guess), arguably the best team in the NBA for years.

Mr. Walsh made it clear that he NEVER offered the job to Mark Jackson, that he liked Mark Jackson very much, but that Mike D’Antoni was the most qualified person for the job. And nobody could argue with that, not even those two. He made it clear that, before making any big decisions on personnel, he would first determine his current player’s talents, in what scheme they would be most effective, and only then would he make decisions on acquisitions.

Walsh also made it clear that he would never swap a player with just one year left on his contract for one with three or four years to expiry. That, of course, was a discussion with respect to Marbury, who, although he will earn (well, maybe “earn” is too strong a word) about 21 million dollars next year, it will only be for one more year, and, besides, he made no bones about the fact that he recognizes that Stephon is a very talented player.

Walsh also answered the question as to whether he ever said that he wanted a defensive coach. While he didn’t say that, he clarified that defense is certainly important and stressed the significance of point differential rather than points made or given up on either side of the ball.

Given the stated process, it’s hard to believe that progress will come quickly for the Knicks. That being said, however, Walsh has pulled rabbits out of a hat before with Indianapolis.

And D’Antoni has had success at every stop. From West Virginia to the NBA,ABA and Italian League as a player, than as a coach, he’s been part of winning teams and sometimes championships. Of course, he had incredible success with Phoenix of the NBA. And, judging from the reactions of the Nets’ Boki Nachbar to D’Antoni’s hiring, he’s also a dream to play for.

So what’s not to like? I’m not sure I like his mustache, but I struggle to find anything else. In fact, for as much flak as Knicks owner James Dolan has had to take over the years, he seems to have hired the best possible choices for both GM and now coach.

Let’s see what transpires though. Let’s see what happens when D’Antoni runs smack into the horror of Eddy Curry as center. That to me is a gigantic problem, and will no doubt be D’Antoni’s biggest challenge. There are Marbury, of course, David Lee, Jamal Crawford and Zak Randolph with talent, but the rest of the roster is expendable. Combined with the fact that a few of those expendable players have a few years left on their contracts, some of the problems become long-term ones.

There’s always hope though, especially with good people at the top. And that appears to be in place. If they can sign their probable lottery pick in this year’s draft, success could be right around the corner. After all, Isiah’s team was doing creditably just two years ago before injuries to Crawford and Lee.

When Crawford and Lee returned, however, there was Zak Randolph, who, for whatever reason, never worked out, although he should have been a big help. His stats had been among the highest for power forwards in the entire league. Unfortunately, the fragile Curry never seemed to recover from the challenge of having another inside scoring presence. And neither player played defense.

Isiah always seemed to think he could just acquire good players, and everything else would work itself out. Maybe they did to his mind in Detroit. Isiah never flinched when asked about how Marbury would mesh with another fine scoring point guard, or how Randolph and Curry would co-exist. Of course, they never did, and I wonder to this day whether Isiah is worried yet.

Probably not, he’s got some guaranteed money coming his way. And, no doubt, he’ll still be useful as a consultant. As long as the questions are pointed to past experiences, everything should be just fine in Knicks-land.

Just Not Getting It

Why do I like the Knicks so much? It's inexplicable really. They have one guy who shows up every day, a veritable superstar in my mind, a guy who not only shows up every day, but does so in the absence of anyone else. That would be Jamal Crawford, of course. Half shooting guard, half point guard, he consistently does either job, whichever one is needed the most that night.

And, yes, there is David Lee grabbing rebounds left and right. He does his job, but at 6'9" and 240, really can't be a presence in the middle. He rebounds and makes a lot of dunks, seldom showing any propensity to shoot the ball from any distance, not because he can't necessarily, but because he has to get in line.

Maybe this Knicks team reminds me of those Mets of the Sixties, those lovable oafs. Who can forget Marv Throneberry, early Eddie Kranepool, Choo Choo Coleman, Rod Kanehl, and over-the-hill stars such as Duke Snider, Richie Ashburn, Gil Hodges and Frank Thomas? How about Roger Craig pitching just well enough to lose 20 games?.

You have to go back that far, and to another sport, to find anything that quite mirrors this bunch. I think you can even draw a remarkable parallel between Isiah Thomas and that first Mets Manager, Casey Stengel. Try to get a straight answer out of either of them.

The Marv Throneberry of this Knicks team would have to be Eddie Curry. I'm not quite sure he's as lovable but he sure is colorful. He plays hard about one game out of every three. A giant of a man at 6'11" and 285 pounds, he has 23 blocks this season, four of them in one game. Just for perspective, let me add that the fine young center, Carlos Boozer of the Utah Jazz, has only 24 blocks but he has grabbed 595 rebounds to Curry’s 247. Boozer is also a fierce defender.

I find it quite amusing now that Eddie seems puzzled by his absence from the lineup. And Isiah justifies it, not by admitting the guy epitomizes "soft" but by philosophizing about the way the game has changed, how more and more, teams are going with smaller lineups. Casey couldn't have said it any better. Isiah is either a very nice man, or he brought Eddie to the Knicks. Or both.

Then there is 6'9" power forward, Zach Randolph. He has 9 blocked shots. I tried to find a picture that would show some kind of vertical leap. Shown above is the result. He could be 8" or so off the ground. Has anyone seen him dunk? Despite his inability to get up in the air, he shoots the ball quite well, and actually does get his share of rebounds, averaging a humongous 10.1. So he does at least serve a useful function on the floor.

Curry, who used to score, can't even do that this year. The team suffers with both big men on the floor. Eddie apparently doesn't know what else he could be doing when the ball goes to someone else.

It’s a shame really. Randolph could have been a great addition despite his defensive liabilities. If only those two could have played together, the Knicks would have had two big scoring threats down low, a tough thing to defend. But, no, Curry elected to pout.

The rest of the team is no bargain either. Quentin Richardson, the starting small forward, has been incredibly inconsistent, and, for one long stretch of critical games (they’re all critical when you’ve won so few), could not find the basket. It seemed to have left the building. It was like watching the Yanks Chuck Knoblauch trying to find first base.

At point guard, there had been Stephon Marbury, of course. Flawed at best, his season started badly, there was a death in the family and then some fairly serious injuries, and ended quite early. There is hope in Nate Robinson, though, who, while small in stature, can jump through the roof, can shoot the ball, and can really be a spark plug when he is not throwing the ball away. I’d compare him to an early Mets fellow named Ron Swoboda, who could be great, but was more often not in his formative years.

There is hope still, however, if you show patience. A starting lineup of Robinson, Crawford, Lee, Richardson and Randolph is not too shabby. Although I’d like to see a more consistent small forward, Richardson does play defense. David Lee also tries to put in a good defensive effort, but doesn’t have those quick feet.

Yes, this Knicks team is exciting to watch, if you don’t expect too much. Even the backups can be exciting. Mardy Collins, listed as Robinson’s backup at the point, can play defense and Renaldo Balkman does the same behind Richardson. Jared Jeffries has been spelling Zach Randolph and is also a defensive specialist. Freddy Jones backs up Jamal, and he shows flashes of real ability.

James Dolan apparently decided not to make any more moves under Isiah, deciding apparently not to send good money after bad, or, at the very least, deciding to let the next man do it. And, although I’ll miss what a new ingredient could have added, in the person of a legitimate point guard, small forward or center, it’s heartening to get an indication that change is on the way.

I have tried to support Isiah all the way. Isiah was such a breath of fresh air over Larry Brown, who did nothing but whine, and seemed to try to lose games, no doubt, putting his bid in for the GM role. Isiah has been, if nothing else, a gentleman, at least in the public eye. Even his player moves could have worked out, if not for Eddie Curry, Isiah’s biggest mistake.

Curry just never had it, and despite Isiah’s most fervent prayers, Curry would never get it. He now occupies the bench much of most nights, a place he richly deserves.

What's With the Knicks?

A team can't possibly play this badly, can it? Their 104-59 loss to the Celtics last night is totally inexplicable. Are the guys from Boston that good? Was it Quentin Richardon's comment regarding the Celtics bench? Do the players hate Isaiah? How can you beat the Jazz only to lose the next game by 45? And on national television!! All in all, it was a disgraceful performance.

I've been on Isaiah's side since he's been here, but if the Knicks' players won't play their hardest for him, James Dolan will be forced to make a change. On the other hand, it's just one game. If they lost by 2, it'd still be just one "L". I'm hoping they rebound quickly. It's a likeable team really, with guys like Jamal Crawford, Renaldo Balkman and Robinson. But the new guy, Zach Randolph, has to step up, along with Eddie Curry and Stephon.

Let me express my disappointment with the Mets trading Lastings Milledge away, and not getting much in return. I think that young man has some exciting baseball left in him.