MLS CUP!

So...I was watching Sports Center last night before the Bears vs. Eagles game because I can't stand the number of commercials on the NBC Pre-game. I continued to watch ESPN and the MLS Cup Pre-game was on. (Must have been a huge TV audience). What I found hilarious was the fact that the pregame team had to run through the entire season's happenings because no one cares about MLS Soccer. Imagine Joe Buck needing to explain what happened during the baseball season to the watchers of the World Series. What a joke! Until those with the athletic skill of Kobe and LeBron start playing goalie and the likes of Adrian Peterson, Chris Johnson, Maurice Jones-Drew and others play striker will soccer have any meaning in this country. I hope that day will come - but it wont anytime soon.

Yaros

Nets and Wind Up

As many of you know, I will be working in the "real world" for the next 40 years and will be unable to consistently publish.

One last comment on the New Jersey Nets:
They have a dearth of talent!

They will enjoy a good draft pick in a strong draft in 2010.

Yaros

Yanks Win! Sox Steal Game!

The Yankees won another game in walk-off style. It is remarkable who often the Yankees destroy a bullpen. It is so often a role player that gets the winning hit. Gotta love it! It feels like the late 90s again.

Up in BeanTown, the Red Sox stole a game from Brian Fuentes and the Angels. Granted, Fuentes put 3 guys on base with 2 outs and up 1 run; however, with 2 strikes on Nick Green Fuentes threw a pitch that Green gave a half swing at. Green thought he swung and so did anyone with half a brain; however, because the game was in Fenway (and I will take that opinion to the grave) the first base umpire said no swing. Then on a 3-2 count, Fuentes threw a pitch right down the pipe and a few inches above the knee. It was K-Zoned and was deemed well in the strike zone. What an abomination!

Rick Reed really screwed up this game - he was the Home Plate Ump, he also got an assist from First Base Ump Jeff Kellogg. They didn't lose the game for the Angels, but they really screwed it up!

Yaros

NFL Hindsight Week 1!

-This is one of the luckiest, most bizarre plays you will ever see. It could only happen to the Bengals. Why would a safety not stay back in that situation? How idiotic! But hey, it is the defense-less Bengals!

Take a look:


Stokely's decision to run along the goalline is a genius play. Those are the intangible plays guys learn playing with Peyton Manning.

I have one other comment on the situation. The prior play should have been challenged by the booth. A DB on Cinci picked a ball off along the sideline that was called out of bounds. I didn't get enough looks at it to determine if both feet were in, but it was definitely close.

-The Colts are clearly not the same offensive juggernaut of years past. Reggie Wayne is the same and obviously Peyton is the same; however, Harrison is gone and Gonzalez is already injured. The issue I believe is most key is the lack of production from Joseph Addai. Addai has been a product of Peyton Manning and he simply is not that good. He has run for over 78 yards once in his last 21 games - pathetic!

-Brett Favre didn't have to do much to win today - think Adrian Peterson! Not impressed with him, I can't stand his ego, but, if he plays well I'll admit it!

-The Jets really dominated defensively - 0 points allowed. Mark Sanchez allowed the defense to run the show, and the offense gradually became more comfortable. Sanchez was really solid - I liked the Jeff Garcia comparison - and the running game eventually beat down the pretty solid defense of the Texans.

-Drew Brees and Jay Cutler are having completely opposite games this week. Brees had the most TDs by a QB in Week 1 since 1950 (aside from Week 1 of my flag football league in which I through 8 and aside from my Backyard Football season when, in Week 1, I clicked away as Pablo Sanchez through for 7 - good luck next year Drew, I still beat you!) I am writing this during half time of the Bears/Packers game (it's ugly), Cutler is having a nightmare! 3 picks and a 36.4% completion percentage.

-Brodie Croyle played about as well as one could have imagined today against the Ravens defense. It is unlikely that Matt Cassel would have done better. The Chiefs defense just happens to stink. It's good to see an old Rutgers guy - Ray Rice - play really well in the NFL. Hopefully his success will attract guys to East Rutherford - yes, I'm a sad closet Rutgers football fan!

Yaros

Serena Loses!

This has to be one of the most wacked out endings you will ever see.

That lines lady should have kept her mouth shut, but, so should have Serena.

What a shame!

Never call that kind of foot fault!

Yaros

Its Time For A Preview, NFL Style!

Last NFL season, the NFL Hindsight column came out every Monday or Tuesday. Look out for this year's column as well.

The most important previews that must be discussed are of course the Giants and Jets - after all, we are in NYC.


Jets:

Most important player: I'd have to go with Thomas Jones; however, Mark Sanchez is not a bad answer. Thomas Jones is already 31 and needs to have a superior season for Jets to be in contention. Without exaggeration, he needs to repeat last season's performance (1300+ yards and 12+ TDs). The one good thing about Jones with respect to his age is that he got a late start in terms of starting the NFL, his first year of a full load of carries was 2004/2005 - perhaps he still has some horsepower left in those legs.

Biggest Issue: I don't think QB is that issue, receiver is. Jerricho Cotchery is a solid receiver, but he doesn't have the speed/size combo of a #1. Because of the lack of ability on the outside, Dustin Keller and Leon Washington will likely play a huge role in the flat.

Results: The AFC East is playing the AFC and NFC South - giving them the toughest of schedules. The Jets schedule is considered the 7th toughest - although, I never really understood the actual schedule rating system because of the parody and vast record changes form year to year. The Jets are starting with 2 home games against strong teams and 3 potentially tough road games. Starting worse than 2-3 will really cripple the team if it expects to have a shot at a wild card. The last three games before the bye week (in week 9) are a bit easier (Buffalo, @Oakland, Miami). If the Jets end up 1-4 in those first five, winning those 3 favorable games are essentially must wins.

I expect the Jets to be 3-5 or 4-4 going into the bye. Watch for that seemingly joke Oakland game - it's one the Jets often lose.

The Jets second half begins with a potential tough one against the Jaguars (the Jags won't be seen by too many people - none is Jacksonville - but they are often a really strong team with excellent coaching and a solid defense/run combo). The next 2 games are rough - Pats in Foxboro and then Carolina. December is not easy either - 3 tough ones in a row (@Tampa, Atlanta, @Indy).

Overall: The Jets will learn a lot about themselves this year and almost every time a team starts a rookie QB, there is a serious learning curve. With solid lines and a quality run game, I see the Jets as a 7-9 or 8-8 team. I see the Jets perhaps fighting for a 9-7 wild card spot if they split with Miami and Buffalo and get off to an okay start.

And...

Giants:

Most Important Player: It has to be Brandon Jacobs. This team will always be as good as the running game. There may be 8 guys in the box on a consistent basis and the Giants are simply going to have to run over those 8 and then go for big plays with the receivers playing off the run.

Biggest Issue: This is an easy one - special teams gunner (just kidding), the receiving core is seriously lacking. The Hixon, Steve Smith and Nix have little experience and many question the physical skills of Smith and Hixon on the outside. Can they beat single coverage often enough to open up running lanes for Jacobs and Bradshaw. Ely Manning has never been in the top 10 in QB ratings to begin with, to say that he will be above "solid" with no receiving core is a stretch.

Results:
In the toughest division in football, 11 wins is the maximum number I can expect. I think Dallas is going to take a step back this year, but the Redskins may be better than last year and Phili is really good. I can't imagine the Giants doing better than 4-2 in the division. That means that the Giants should win the division if they can get to 7-3 against everyone else. The first 5 of the 10 games are 2 cupcakes and 3 very winnable games. @Tampa should be won, @KC and Oakland at home are definitely cupcake games. The last 2 are @New Orleans and Arizona at home - they should win those 2. From the standpoint that it is hard to win 5 straight, I would like to say they would go 4-1 in those games, but I'll go with 5-0. Can they pull off 2-3 the rest of the way to win the division? They have one more cupcake (@Denver); however, the rest of the games are not easy. Carolina gave the Giants trouble last year, Atlanta won't be an easy game (especially coming off the bye), San Diego is considered one of the best teams in the NFL (Rivers plays with a little extra against Eli and the Giants) and closing @Minnesota with the division on the line will not be fun.

I expect the Giants to get to 11 wins, but it won't be easy. Don't be surprised to see them need to win in the Metrodome to win the division. The Vikings may also need that game to win their division - a hell of a game to watch, an absolute battle!

So...11-5 it is!

Here is the playoff prediction...

AFC:
(1) New England
(2) San Diego
(3) Pittsburgh
(4) Indy
(5) Baltimore
(6) Tennessee

Wild Card Weekend
PITTSBURGH over Tennessee
INDY over Baltimore

Division Weekend
NEW ENGLAND over Indy
PITTSBURGH over San Diego

AFC Championship Game
NEW ENGLAND over Pittsburgh

NFC
(1) Giants
(2) Atlanta
(3) Arizona
(4) Green Bay
(5) Philadelphia
(6) Washington

Wild Card Weekend
ARIZONA over Washington
PHILADELPHIA over Green Bay (Phili can handle the weather)

Divisional Weekend
ARIZONA over Atlanta (playing the dome will really help Warner)
PHILADELPHIA over Giants (really close game!!!)

NFC Championship Game
PHILADELPHIA over Arizona



NEW ENGLAND over Philadelphia

Hope you enjoy! Keep coming back for NFL Hindsight!

Yaros

Black Outs In NYC??

There is the famous 72 blackout rule in the NFL. For the uneducated - teams must sell a game out at least 72 hours prior to a home game in order for that game to be seen in the home market.

The NFL said recently that it would post the game online after the Sunday night game so the home crowd of the blackout game could watch.

I would like to welcome the NFL to something called bootleg NFL games on the internet. Virtually any sports game can be watched live on a number of websites regardless of when or where the game is being played. In other words, Jaguars fans will be able to watch the game live.

The blackout rules have an impact, but in the internet age, trying to appease people by allowing them to watch an old game on the small screen is dumb. It's like taking a squirrel's big acorns and telling him he will get small acorns later. He can get small acorns now, he just wants the big ones!

Yaros

Mr. T Admits Mistake! Reflects On Mangini?

Mike Tannenbaum admitted today that he made a mistake not putting Brett Favre on the injured list as probable last season with a torn bicep muscle.

This is an example of the kind of garbage last year's management team tried to pull. Mangini tried doing it again this year by not releasing his starting quarterback's name. Obviously it got leaked within a couple of hours (probably by someone in the organization who thinks the secrecy is ridiculous).

It is very irritating when people try to over complicate things - don't try to be sneaky, don't think you are above the rules (injured players must be reported) and don't have a greater than thou attitude.

Everyone is happy Mangini and his uptight locker room is far away from New York.

Yaros

U.S. Open Week 1: Thoughts...

There is a clear distinction between the men and women with regards to elite level talent. There is 1 dominant player on the woman's tour (with the exception of Venus Williams at Wimbeldon). That would be Serena. There is simply no one else who is close in terms or talent or nerves. She is a women among girls. There are a few men who simply will not lose in the first few rounds. Nadal, Murray, Novak and obviously King Roger always make it to the middle weekend.

The next issue to discuss is the Russian women. Why is it that they consistently fall in pressure situations. The obvious examples among the current elite level players are Safina, Dementieva and Petrova. However, with 4 of the top 7 players from Russia - those 4 do not include Petrova and Sharapova - there is simply no excuse for the lack of wins. I understand that a few players generally win most of the majors; however, the Russian failures have been far to rampant to ignore the pattern. After 3 different Russians won slams to close 2004, only 3 of the 19 have been won by Russians. Perhaps the obsession with a single activity that occurs in the Russian academies has been too much for the women to handle. The singular focus on tennis may create pressure to intense for success. Sharapova, a Russian who was trained in the U.S. has not had the same grand-slam-itis. She has won 3 of the 4 slams (her game is not suited for the French).

The 2 most intriguing stories of the tournament are Kim Clijsters and Melanie Oudin. Both women have upset elite players, but, I'd say that Oudin is not developed enough to move past the Quarters. Clijsters will face Serena in the semis if she gets that far - she has no chance. But to get that far, I'd say there is a 50/50 shot.

On the men's side, I'd expect very few major upsets of the top players.

Yaros

Yanks Cruise Again! Mets Continue Salvaging!

As the Mets yawn through another playoff-less season (albeit in much less shocking fashion), they continue to lose the first 2 of a series and win the third game. This is the third straight time that has happened. Bottom line, the team has not won a series since late July and Met fans just need to remember that it is only one more awful month.

The Yanks are in a far different situation. With 28 games left, they are the only team with a win total in the 80s (they have 86) and need to play .500 ball through September to get to 100 wins - a fairly easy task.

Who would have thought that Aceves would have as many wins on September 3rd as AJ Burnett. It speaks to Burnett's recent struggles and the comeback abilities of the Yankees - Aceves is not that good.

Yaros

A Wide Out To The Jets?

Apparently, Brandon Marshall is being closely looked at by the Jets. Josh McDaniels is trying to act like Bill Belichick in a similar fashion to Eric Mangini. These young Belichick guys need to remember that they have not won anything yet!

In any case, it clearly would help the Jets if they could pull in Marshall at a reasonable price. The help to Sanchez would be immeasurable because most teams don't have the cover guys to single team Marshall. Cotchery as a 2 makes the team far more dangerous as a passing team.

I'd put the odds of Marshall actually making it to NYC at very low because of comments made by the Broncos in response to the recent rumors. It was reported that the Broncos are said to be closely watching the situation to make sure the Jets don't commit any league violations in their assessment. That is not a comment that could create a relationship.

My guess is that Marshall stays in Denver.

Yaros

AAANNNDDD.........We're Back!

After a two-week hiatus to study for the CPA exam, I am back!

Here is what I think must be looked for over the next month in the baseball:

-The Yankees must resolve the Posada/Burnett issue prior to the post-season. Posada must start every game (aside from 3-0 in a best of seven series) and must be on the same page by October 1st. Bottom line, if Girardi needs to call the pitches from the bench the way they do in little league in order for Posada's bat to be in the line-up, that is what is going to have to happen.

-Phil Coke has lost much of the tiny amount of trust I had in him. He should never pitch in a close game because he simply can't get the job done. His new name is Phil Choke and frankly, I rather have Hughes and Aceves pitch almost every day down the stretch than see Coke pitch in any close game.

-Joe Mauer deserves to win the AL MVP. He is having a historical season for a catcher and giving the MVP to anyone else is ignoring what is just. This is an example of a player on a mediocre team having a season so far beyond the scope of normalcy that it would take an A-rod in 2007 season to surpass Mauer.

-On the NL side, Albert Pujols is still the leader in the MVP race as only Hanley Ramirez and Prince Fielder have considerable numbers. Pujols' team is the only one that will make the playoffs of the 3 (unless the Marlins make a late run) and his numbers are somewhat better than the others regardless.

-The Rangers have fallen by the wayside and it is unlikely that the Twins have enough pitching to contest with the Tigers for the AL Central title. That leaves one interesting race that could go down to the wire. Again, it all comes down to pitching - the Giants simply can outpitch the Rockies in every which way. After a lull in Tim Lincecum's performance, he seems to have pitched like a CYA candidate again. I have to imagine that the Giants will win the division. Would I rather play the Dodgers in a short series or the Giants in that same short series? A very debatable question that the Cardinals and Phillies will ask themselves.

More to come...

Yaros

Yanks Looking Exhausted!

I know that the Yankees won tonight, but, I get the feeling that the team is just tired. They have played a lot of games in a row recently and the team is simply beat up and in need of rest.

The good signs for Melky started happening last night when Melky seemed to start squaring the ball better. He didn't get production out of his swings, but tonight, things seemed to come together more.

One last thing: If there is any CC Cy Young talk because he is tied for the AL lead in wins, just stop waisting time and annoying non-Yankee fans (and some Yankee/realist fans like me).

Yaros

Joba's Breather!

Does Joba need a breather? Probably not! Does Joba need a more consistent slider? Yes!!! Joba is simply as inconsistent as his slider. I've explained this countless times, but today is just such a wonderful example of how awful his slider can be. Joba currently throws a max of 93/94 MPH as opposed to his 98/99 MPH as a reliever. That is perfectly normal.

The one issue that it raises is the effectiveness of a slider that can't be thrown for a strike. When a fastball is in the upper 90s, a hitter doesn't have enough time to decide whether a pitch is a fastball or slider. If its a fastball he has to swing immediately. That increases the effectiveness of a slider that only lands in the dirt because guys swing at it and the pitch is impossible to hit.

However, at 93/94, there is time to decide and hitters lay off the slider in the dirt. Even Russell Branyan was able to layoff the pitch.

When Joba tried throwing the slider for strikes, he hung it and the pitch was crushed.

I hope Joba enjoys his vacation and works on starting that slider higher in the zone while maintaining its break. If that pitch can land on the outside corner to a righty it would be a great pitch. Occasionally Joba lands it there consistently, but those games have not come recently.

Yaros

Brady To Baker ... Repeat!

Gotta love how the meaningless NFL pre-season starts.

Tom Brady comes back from ACL surgery and throws 2 TD passes to former Jet Chris Baker.

For some reason (also known as - "The Jets always screw up and the Patriots always succeed"), the Brady/Baker combo will likely continue to be fruitful all year long.

It would not surprise me if Baker catches 10 TD passes. He had 12 in 7 years with the Jets.

Yaros

Wagner To Waivers - Yankees Interested?

It has been a very tumultuous topsy-turvy ride for Billy Wagner in Queens. He has been marvelous at times and a choker at times. He has coughed up some big save opps and has had at least 27 saves and an ERA at or below 2.63 each year as a Met.

With K-rod in the mix, the Mets are looking to get rid of Wagner as he returns this week. They have allegedly put him on waivers with the goal of trading him. Could the Yankees claim him off waivers?

8 million for a great set-up man is certainly not a terrible price for the Yankees. He obviously needs to show he can still throw hard, but his showcase over the next couple of weeks may be a good indicator.

Tommy John used to be a career killer. More recently, it has just been a bump in the road and that could be the case with Wagner. There is some doubt as to that because Wagner is a small guy who throws very hard. He needs perfect mechanics for the machine to work and Tommy John could throw that out of whack. In other words, he has less wiggle room than others.

Wagner is getting up there (38) and will likely get a 3 or 4 million a year contract for 2 years after this contract is over. I see a team like the Rays or Rangers signing him. A midmarket team that is on the up-and-up.

Yaros

Yanks Sweep!

It is pretty obvious how the post-game press conference is going to go. Reporter - "Why Coke in the eighth instead of Hughes?" Girardi (in his classic Mangini-esque monotone) - "Well, Hughes pitched the last couple of days and I wanted to give him a break". Blah Blah Blah. Bottom line - there is no excuse to not have your top guys in there against Boston with a change to sweep in a 1-0 game.

These games are the reason guys get paid the big bucks and are games that managers can't mess-around with.

I know the Yankees won and that will limit the Coke criticism, but, it was still an odd and, in my mind, ridiculous move!

Overall: great series. Completely shifts momentum. Great pitching. 31 straight scoreless innings!

Yaros

Coke Blows! Hughes???

The fact that Joe Girardi did not pitch Phil Hughes tonight in the 8th is a joke. He has pitched in the last 2 games, but only a 3rd of an inning in each game and only 9 pitches combined.

Phil Coke is an inconsistent pitcher who doesn't belong in pressure situations!

In a Lester game, Girardi can't expect a lot of runs.

They kept showing Rivera in the pen tonight while Coke was pitching. Hughes looked super-pissed sitting in the pen with glove in hand.

What a joke! No excuse!

Yaros

Pettitte Throwing Well, Lester Dealing!

Even though the Red Sox lineup has dominated Andy Pettitte historically, he has fared well thusfar. Incredibly, he has been able to miss a bunch of bats with his mediocre stuff.

From a mechanical perspective, it seems that both CC and Pettitte are hiding the ball very well and then finishing their pitches better recently.

When CC follows through on his fastball, he can paint the outside corner to a lefty, but it leaks over the plate when he pulls off. Pettitte's slider and cutter both have better bite when he finishes well. That, in addition to a 90+ fastball has allowed Pettitte to pitch well.

Lester, on the other hand, has been pretty dominant. His fastball has been supreme and he has been freezing guys with his off-speed pitch. The Yankees have done nothing as of yet.

Pettitte is really going to have to continue to keep the Sox under 2 runs for the Yankees to stay in the game.

One more thing: The ESPN crew talks way too much!!!

Yaros

Pressure Flop!

Joba certainly did not come up huge last night. In fact, with his utter lack of control (7 walks - the most he has ever given up in a game), Joba needed the assistance of John Smoltz to win his eighth game. However, Smoltz did come through. The guy is likely done after off-season surgery and rehab. He has given up a bunch of home runs this year and his WHIP is over 1.30 for the first time in 20 years!

Okay, so the Yanks won yesterday - and now, all of the sudden, Beckett must win tonight. The Red Sox are 3.5 games out and if Beckett loses, the Yankees can easily stretch the lead to 6.5 after Sunday's game.

Beckett typically comes up huge in these situations and Burnett has come up really small against the Sox this year.

Can Burnett pull this one out? With a huge crowd on his side, I expect Burnett to throw a gem. Can Beckett match? He has the stuff to do so, but the Yanks are on a roll right now. I see the Yankees winning this one 6-2.

Yaros

Eli's Contract - Worth it?

There is usually an issue in assessing NFL contracts because a team can cut a guy whenever it wants - I.E. no guarantees.

However, when it comes to QB contracts, the rule is out the window.

With that intro, I must try to explain Eli Manning's contract.

Based on traditional statistical analysis, Eli is not a top of the line NFL QB. He throws bad interceptions and has had a mediocre to bad QB rating ever since becoming a starter. Last season was his first QB rating inside the top 20 among qualified leaders! That is pathetic! Last season, he wasn't even in the top 10!

However, (please note, as much as it hurts every fiber of my green-blooded being, I am about to say something good about the Giants) Eli Manning is a really good NFL quarterback. He is not his brother; however, he is scrappy, tenacious and most importantly, he is a winner.

I would describe him as Brett Favre light. He is erratic at times, but, he often gets the job done, and, he has already won the big one.

Perhaps another analogy would be Eli:Peyton::Jeter:Pujols. Peyton and Pujols have both won a title, are the elite of their league and truly dominate. Eli and Jeter both have won, are kind of scrappy and often play well on the big stage. They both make a ton of money and that may have to do with NYC; however, if they win, regardless of how they pull it off, they have earned the big contracts.

Eli's contract is very hefty and he probably is overpaid for playing in New York, but, he is no slouch under center and he is certainly worth far more than Matthew Stafford - but that story is for another day.

Yaros

Santana Struggles!

Johan Santana was marvelous last year and got a raw deal with the Mets. Last year Santana was 16-7 with his lowest ERA in years. Thus far this year he is 12-8 with only his second ERA in the 3s since becoming a full-time starter. Also, Santana has his highest WHIP since becoming a starter.

Some people argue that Santana is getting burned this year the same way he was last year. I took a look, and it is simply not the case. What I did is looked at all the quality starts for 2008 and 2009 that Santana pitched (at least 6 innings with a max of 3 runs) and took out the ones that were exactly 6 innings and 3 runs and called those a wash. Then I looked for what I would call the "raw deal" stat. How many times did Santana get a raw deal over the course of the season and how many times did the team pick him up. It is a simple +/-. For every time Santana pitched like garbage but got a ND or a win, he got a +, for every quality start (aside from the aformentioned 6 innings, 3 runs) that got him a ND or a lose equated to a -.

To my surprise, Santana has not gotten close to the raw deal he got last season. In 2008, Santana was a -10. That means that he got a "raw deal" from the team 10 times!!! That is unheard of!

In 2009, through tonight's rough outing, Santana is only a -3. While he has not gotten good run support, he has not pitched nearly as well as last year and has not gotten a raw deal too often.

Santana is great, but is he slowing down or is he just having a rough season?

Yaros

Mets Hitting MVP Injured!

As the rough luck for the Mets continues, Luis Castillo was injured tonight when he sprained his ankle. The serious of the sprain is still in question; however, with his style game, Castillo may miss some time.

Although Castillo has been on the bad side of Mets fans since Omar Minaya gave him one of the dumber contracts ever. That being said, Castillo has played well all year and contract-blind, he has certainly done his job.

The Met season is over so this doesn't matter in the scheme of things, so perhaps Met fans should view this positively in that the injuries should all be had this season so next year can be a healthy one in Queens.

Yaros

Iverson to Knicks?

Apparently, the primary options Allen Iverson has at this point are the Miami Heat, the New York Knicks and Europe.

Europe offers the most money, the Heat offer the best chance to make the playoffs and the Knicks offer ??? - not much.

At any rate, he may get stuck coming to the Knicks if he wants to stay on this side of the pond known as the Atlantic.

This would be a classic Dolan move to bring in a guy who helps the team is ZERO ways and can negatively impact younger players via his ME attitude. The only reason to bring Iverson in is to put butts on cushions. The Knicks are probably going to have issues selling seats this season and they have no star power to draw anyone. Sadly, the Garden is kind of like Baltimore in the summer - Camden Yards gets full when the Yankees and Red Sox come to town. MSG will be full when LeBron and Kobe come to town - pathetic!

Yaros

Burress In Serious Trouble; Pierce OK

Here is my take on the issue:
Burress is one of those classic ME athletes (there are many ME wide receivers) who thought it was cool to carry around a gun. He got clumsy with the gun and shot himself.

Should that be enough punishment? Obviously the DA of New York did not think so and frankly neither do I. However, where we differ is in the hard ball Mr. Morgenthau has played. Burress was okay with going to jail for one year in a plea. I am willing to bet that under the same circumstances Morgenthau would have agreed to the plea had Burress not been an athlete.

With regard to Pierce, under the circumstances, there was no reason for any charges to have been in the thought process of Morgenthau.

Morgenthau is a 90 year old on his way out as the DA, I just question whether this case is about him leaving his office with his name in the news or is this case about justice?

I am not arguing that Burress is a good guy or on the right side of the law, but 1 year seemed fair!

Yaros

Depressing Week End in the MLB (Unless you are from Boston)!

Met fans certainly have what to cheer about - having won 6 of 8 (2 coming via late grand slams) and Red Sox fans have the luxury of watching Victor Martinez hit at Fenway for the rest of this year - and next.

For the rest of the league, I think this week has been a disaster. I understand that certain teams picked up some pieces (Peavy to the White Sox, Lee to Philly, Washburn to Detroit, Holliday to St. Louis, Cabrera to the Twins); however, on a global level, I think baseball became a weaker sport in the last week. The A's and most notably the Pirates got rid of all the talent on their squads. The Indians got rid of 2 of their 3 best players and Seattle made a curious move trading prospects for a defensive minded shortstop and then trading their second best starter.

To use an accounting analogy, I would argue that anyone traded by the Pirates in the last 2 years has been traded during a "fire-sale" and fair market value for a comparable player can not be judged based on the quality received by Pittsburgh in any of their trades.

Baseball needs to find a way to forbid poorer teams from trading away anyone who is going to make big money. Creating a minimum base teams must spend on salaries must be part of the deal and a more serious luxury tax should be put in place as well.

Just one note on Victor Martinez: If he plays catcher, the deal was a great one for the Red Sox, if he plays first base, it was bad. Lyle Overbay would have cost alot less in prospects than Martinez and has comparable statistics. Among catchers, Martinez is special.

Yaros

Manny and Ortiz Took Same Drug!

Here is my theory, both Manny and Ortiz have taken steroids for years, both were forced to stop taking the classic stuff in 2004 so they would not get penalized.

They found a new substance, HCG. It is a female hormone they would only use for athletic enhancement purposes.

In 2008, the substance was banned. That is the exact point where Ortiz's statistics went sour. He no longer had the same power or average. This year is more of the same.

Manny, on the other hand, did not stop taking HCG. It continued to help his performance and he was finally caught taking the drug at the beginning of this season.

Sounds logical to me!

Yaros

Not Exactly Surprising...Ortiz/Manny RXN!

I was shocked about Manny the first time because he just seemed to much of an aloof guy who could care less to actually bother going to the effort of taking steroids. However, once I saw the true Manny, this result is expected.

Ortiz is certainly not as talented as Manny and is certainly the kind of player that is a rather obvious steroid user. This is certainly not the first time he has been accused and this is just the nail that sealed his stake in cheater's row.

Ortiz jumped onto the map as a 27 year old on the 2003 Red Sox. He had not done much as a youngster and the Twins essentially gave up on him. Over the next 5 seasons he finished in the top 5 in the MVP voting every year and has clearly fallen off dramatically over the last 2 years.

My only question is, did he just get away with doing steroids ever since the testing began? Was he on something not detectable that has become detectable over the past 2 years? Is he one HGH? Who knows, but he wasn't make the hall anyway.

Yaros

Joba Faces Minimum Through 5; Mets Rained Out; Boston Struggling

Joba had a 0.80 ERA going into tonight's rubber game against the Rays. He has faced the minimum through 5, only allowing 1 hit (CS of Bartlett) and 0 walks.

As a trade deadline with no pitcher brought in looms for the Yankees, Joba's inning limit is almost definitely out the window.

The Mets were rained out today - the day Johan is supposed to pitch. This must be frustrating to the Mets because every start for Johan is precious and the more he gets in the more successful the Mets will be. However, they had this coming for often pushing Johan back when he could have started earlier. The Mets deserve to get screwed like this - enjoy it!

Brad Penny struggled today. Odd stat - he had given up 3 walks in his last 5 starts combined, tonight - 4 walks so far.

Yaros

Lee To Phils!

Cliff Lee has been traded to the Phillies along with Ben Francisco.

Lee has pitched extremely well of late and Francisco is a great defensive outfielder.

The Phillies are obviously out of the Halladay race and it looks more and more likely that Halladay will remain a Blue Jay. Toronto was simply asking for an entire farm system and no one was willing.

The Phillies did not give up too much in the Lee deal. The only issue is that he is a lefty and now the only right handed pitcher in the Phillies rotation is Joe Blanton.

The Phillies have 2 legit aces on the staff and are now the clear favorite to win the National League.

Yaros

No More Snell... Washburn No More???

Ian Snell of the oft trading Pittsburgh Pirates was one of the pitchers the Yankees were looking at prior to the trade deadline.

Snell has officially been traded to the Mariners along with Jack Wilson.

This deal is significant to the Yankees from 2 standpoints. First, obviously Snell is off the table. Second, Jared Washburn was one of the main focuses of the Yankees prior to the deadline. With the Mariners appearing to be buyers, there is little chance they would trade their second best pitcher - Washburn.

The Yankees now must look elsewhere for some pitching. Here is what I expect, unless the Reds eat a lot of Bronson Arroyo's contract, the Yankees are not going that way either, so the Yankees will have to manage with their current rotation. That means allowing Joba to pitch all year, dealing with the ups and downs of Andy Pettitte and looking for junk ballers to pitch every 5th day.

Yaros

Wang Done For 2009! 2010?

Chin Ming Wang has been absolutely dreadful this year and one has to ask oneself why. How does a pitcher who 46-15 over the previous 3 years pitches so poorly.

Here is my theory: Guy has terrible foot injury in the middle of 2008 season after pitching very well to an 8-2 start. Tries to come back and feels tentativeness in his foot when driving off it landing on it because of prior injury. This causes 2 things: First, a lack of velocity due to improper mechanics and Second, a flattening of the sinker. When a pitcher throws a sinker, it is critical to drive through the ball (in pitcher's speak) to get the proper sink. Wang was scared to fully drive off his foot and then also tentative about driving his body towards home plate and putting all of his weight on his right foot to complete a pitch. This naturally causes a pitch to be higher in the zone - killing the sink action.

Wang needed to compensate and tried throwing extra hard to increase his velocity. Only problem, he continuously blew out his arm and created a weakness in the shoulder capsule. This made the entire shoulder unstable.

Wang will likely be able to start throwing in 5 to 7 months. That puts his time table to start throwing between December and February. He probably needs another 2 months to be ready to pitch in a game and another month of rehab to be formally ready to rejoin the rotation. That puts Wang's earliest estimated return at the beginning of next season and a more reasonable estimate at late May or early June of next season. That is without any issues along the way, which is a unlikely at best.

The Yankees can not count of Wang for next season because of the injury + his performance this season. It is a sad case of a pitching career gone awry caused by a bad step taken running the bases.

Yaros

Rough Night For A Closer In New England!

The Curse of the Bambino was on Jonathan Papelbon tonight as he blew a 7-4 lead in the 9th inning against the A's. An assist goes to Nick Green on the error with 2 outs in the top of the ninth that cost Boston the game.

Green is batting .202 since June 1st and may be spending his last few days as the starting SS.

The Red Sox has suffered offensively lately. Over the team's first 11 games in July, they went 7-4 and scored more than 4 runs in a game 8 times! Since the all-star break, the team has gone 4-7 and has scored more than 4 runs only 3 times!

Kevin Youkilis only has a .308 OBP this month and is contributing significantly to the Red Sox woes.

Yaros

Mets Look More Rediculous With Wilpon's Comments!

OMAR MINAYA AND JEFF WILPON (nydailynews.com)

Some may completely disagree, but, I think it would have been best for Mets COO Jeff Wilpon to just shut his mouth.

Everyone, including Minaya himself, disagreed with Minaya's dumb comments towards Adam Rubin.

Jeff Wilpon is just giving the incident more legs.

The Mets NEED to get this story off the back pages of New York papers and off the headlines of national sports websites (in this case Yahoo!Sports) and it only reappeared because of Wilpon's comments.

The Mets have now won 4 games in a row and no one cares because Omar Minaya thinks Adam Rubin has a vendetta against his buddy Tony Bernazard.

Perhaps if Omar realized that the issues K-Rod, Billy Wagner and Johan Santana (among others) had with Bernazard are of more significance than anything to do with Adam Rubin, he would have fired the guy long before and would have a better shot at keeping his job after this season.

Too Late Omar! (The only reason he may stay on is financial - Hello Bernard Madoff!)

Yaros

Buehrle Perfect Through 5!

I can't even imagine it. A perfect game has happened less than 20 times in history, 2 in a row, what???

Can't happen!

Yaros

Twitter

Feel free to follow me at on twitter at twitter.com/talkingNYsports

Yaros

Longoria Injured?

I'm very curious to see how Evan Longoria performs against the Yankees over the next few days.

I have previously declared him injured and maintain my position.

He hit .367 over the first 33 games of the year and in the .230s since.

Here is my original post - click here!

A great hitter doesn't have such a lengthy slump for no reason.

Yaros

Vick Has Served...

Michael Vick did an awful thing.

Michael Vick lied to the NFL commissioner's face.

Michael Vick deserved to go to jail for 23 months and lose a lot of money.

Michael Vick has done all of those things.

In effect, he has served a 2 year suspension from the NFL due to his prison sentence.

Why the league feels he needs to be suspended for even more time is a ridiculous power trip! The guy needs to be watched carefully and given serious guidance, but he should be allowed to play starting Week 1, not Week 6.

Yaros

Minaya Next?

Omar Minaya announced the firing of Tony Bernazard this afternoon and got into a little spat with Adam Rubin. It was odd seeing a sports reporter speaking in front of the microphones he usually holds up.

Minaya looked pretty foolish and up tight. Bottom line, the Mets have no clue what they are doing on an upper management level.

Minaya has a 3 year contract starting AFTER this year. What a joke! The guy doesn't deserve to be here anymore and he may keep his job because of money (The New Madoff Mets).

In fact, lets start calling the team, the "Madoff Mets" because what he has done clearly controls the team.

Sad state of affairs, but, at least Bernazard is gone!

Yaros

A's Make Yankee Pitchers' Lives Easier!

In advance of the July 31st trade deadline, the A's and the Cardinals have reportedly made a deal sending Matt Holliday to the Cardinals for a bunch of prospects.

For Holliday, the switch back to the weaker NL should increase his production (wahoo, fantasy points for me!)

This helps the Yankees over the next couple of few days because the terrible A's lineup has just got even worse!

Yaros

Good Night Moon...

As the Yankees played baseball on the west coast schedule (starting the game at about 10:00 (and I don't have kids yet so I don't have to know where they are), the game started out really flat because the A's young, Jersey born, pitcher, Vin Mazzaro was absolutely dealing. Through three innings, he had pitched to 10 batters. He gave up 1 hit to Cano (who was promptly thrown out by a mile at second trying to stretch the hit - I think he thought it was going to be foul and didn't run). Mazzaro had struck out 6 of the 10 batters and I was going to shut the game off in the disgust.

But then, Mazzaro faced 14 more batters, 3 walks, 7 hits and 4 outs. Ouch!

This was a classic case of second time through the lineup. The kid is only 22, but the A's should watch his confidence level because he has a terrible record with a not so bad ERA, just watch out there Mr. Beane.

Other thoughts on the game:
-Robbie Cano has a cannon for a second baseman and has been much better on defense this year. I think his range up the middle is better than his range in the hole. With Teixeira swallowing up a lot of the balls in the hole, Cano has been able to shade up the middle a bit and continuously make those nifty submarine throws to first base.

-Teixeira hit an absolute bomb in the 4th inning on a 3-0 pitch. It completely shell-shocked Mazzaro.

-i think A-rod has a tendency to get very aggravated from a bad balls-strikes call and essentially thinks about it for the rest of the at-bat. He had a really bad day at the plate.

-Eric Hinske has been a nice addition, but his arm in right field is awful. What is with those lollipops? However, if anyone saw the throw by Jerry Hairston from CF to the plate early in the game, it was the worst throw from a guy other than Johnny Damon I have ever seen in my life.

Yaros

Sick Catch To Save Buehrle

Congrats to Mark Buehrle on throwing a perfect game.

Watch the above video and see Dewayne Wise make the best "Perfect Game-saving" catch ever! Seriously, perhaps ever!

Yaros

V-Mart Obsession!

It seems that both of the teams competing with the Yankees for the AL East division title are now focused on trading for Victor Martinez. There is little question that the guy is an excellent hitting catcher - in fact, he is second best to Joe Mauer in the baseball.

Because of his catching ability, he will fetch an absolute fortune in prospects.

Here is the problem, among catchers who qualify, Martinez has the fourth highest OPS. Among those above him is Pablo Sandoval who mostly plays 3B.

However, is Martinez going to remain at catcher for much longer? This year he has played half his games at first base. That trend will likely continue. Among first basemen who qualify, Martinez has the 18th highest OPS - just below Lyle Overbay - a guy no one considers 1/2 as good as Victor Martinez.

One could argue that Martinez hits more as a first baseman than as a catcher and in fact that is the case this year. However, the sample is small and in the larger sample that is his entire career, the difference between his OPS as a catcher and his OPS as a 1B is far less significant.

Don't get me wrong, the guy is worth a lot, but I question if he is worth as much as the Red Sox and Rays may have to pay for him.

Yaros

Tampa Needs Longoria To Step It Up!

What ever happened to that MVP talk?

Since pulling his hammy on June 2nd, he has hit to a .205 clip (27/132) with 6 homers and 17 RBIs.

His production for the season's first week (HRs and RBIs) was greater than his production for the entire month of June.

Clearly, the guy is hurting. His batting average has dropped from .322 to .275 since the injury. His OPS has dropped from a fabulous 1.005 to .892.

The guy is clearly injured and needs to be looked at further. If they want the real Evan Longoria for the stretch run, a stint on the DL might not be a bad move.

He has not shown himself to be comfortable as the DH (he is 0-10 this season - granted, not a large sample) and could probably use some rest for the hamstring. Those injuries don't magically disappear.

Yaros

Ummm....Hello??? They Are The Nationals! Hit The Ball!

Apparently the Mets have forgotten that the Nationals have the worst pitching staff in the National League. The Nationals pitching staff is last in ERA, strikeouts and WHIP in the NL. The team ERA is about 1/2 a run less than any other team in the NL.

What a joke? I understand injuries, but, this is the Nationals!

The current constituted Mets may be worse than the Nationals. Achieving that feat may be more challenging than winning the division.

The season is over, has been over for a few weeks now and Met fans ought to look forward to 2010.

Yaros

Who Is Pat Roessler?

It is just not fair! Just so you know, Pat Roessler is the man in charge of player development for the Yankees.


HERE HE IS CHATTING IT UP WITH A-ROD IN MID-APRIL WHILE A-ROD WAS REHABBING IN TAMPA.

His job is to ensure the solid development of the Yankees' prospects and he is one of Brian Cashman's go-to guys on baseball operations advice. There is seldom a news story about him, no one knows his name - that is unfair. The guy cares more about the team than himself and he keeps a low profile for the sake of Yankees.

Guess who cares more about himself than anyone else? Guess who wants to be the next guy in line to replace a fired GM? Guess who is clueless about his place in his organization? Tony Bernazard!

Tony Bernazard can't stay out of the news. He fights with players (Billy Wagner and Johan Santana to name a couple) and challenges his AA squad to a fight! He has a wild temper and he is considered the guy who got Willie Randolph fired. Many believe he is part of the schism between the Latin and non-Latin players that was evident in the Mets clubhouse in past years.

Tony Bernazard deserves to lose his job ... TODAY!

I was going to add a picture of Bernazard to go along with the picture of Pat Roessler; however, I declined to do that because Bernazard has managed to get his picture into the paper numerous times and Pat Roessler deserves to stand alone atop the mountain of media attention today!

Yaros

Francesa Asks Yankees To Impose Personal Salary Cap!

Mike Francesa has asked the Yankees to limit their spending and not add a big name pitcher (like Roy Halladay) at the break. He said that it would take away from winning because it eliminates any level of competitive fairness.

Mike, I think we are already at that point. The MLBPA will in all likelihood never agree to such a salary cap and it ruins the competitiveness.

I personally think it would be ridiculous for Toronto to make any trade with the Yankees or Red Sox because it is so counter to their goal of beating those teams head-to-head.

It would be a real shame for the Yankees to just continue to pull in talent by taking on enormous contracts.

I will never talk about baseball switching to the hard salary cap system because it is a waste of time - as sad as that may be.

It is up to the Yankees to police themselves? I would hope they would do so, because getting Roy Halladay by giving up prospects and more importantly, taking on the contract of Vernon Wells would ruin the season - regardless of the outcome of the playoffs. Signing C.C., A.J. and Teixeira is more than enough acquisitions for the year.

Yaros

Burnett Having A Classic Day

AJ Burnett is pitching in his classic dominant yet inefficient day. He has only given up 4 hits through 6 innings; however, his pitch count is high and his walk total is as well.

He always manages to get out of trouble without giving up a big hit. In fact, his stuff is so good that in 4 of his last 10 starts, he has given up more walks than hits. That is a curious number that could be really bad (Oliver Perez has gone 4/10 in that stat as well - but, allows far more of those runners to score).

Burnett has had 9 quality starts in his last 10. If only Burnett could throw strikes more consistently and not go from 1-2 to 3-2 so much with sliders over a left handed hitter's back foot.

Just to note, Perez has 2 quality starts in his last 10.

Yaros

Miami Heat Trying To Mix It Up In The East!

DOES IT IMPACT THE POTENTIAL OF A BIG NAME ON THE KNICKS IN 2010-2011?

The Heat are in talks with Lamar Odom about a potential deal to bring the supremely talented (yes he is) forward back to Miami. Additionally, Miami is in talks with Utah about a trade that would bring Carlos Boozer down to South Beach. The combination of D. Wade, a PG, Odom, Boozer and Jermaine O'neal as a starting five with an improving Michael Beasley and tough guy Udonis Haslem coming off the bench. They could definitely contend in the Eastern Conference.

The impact of those potential/looking more and more likely moves (although the Odom one is rather questionable because LA would be stupid to lose him) could mean one more guy off the list of potentials pearls of the 2010 Free Agent Class.

I still think LeBron is going to sign with Cleveland. He is from there and the Cavs have shown that they are willing to get big players to help LJ23.

D. Wade has been looking for help in Miami before signing there. If he gets the above help, I have to imagine he will sign. Miami is a great basketball market to begin with.

Amare and Chris Bosh will certainly become free agents. Amare is hitting his prime as the Suns are in the twilight of their run. This season will be the last hurrah. Chris Bosh is an incredible player who plays in a bad NBA market. Toronto is an afterthought and he wants to play in the big time. Of all the guys, I think the Knicks are most likely to land Bosh.

The problem is, he, more than a smaller player, needs guys around him to play well. The Knicks are lacking those guys. However, the Nets, are in far better shape from a player development standpoint. But, with Bruce Ratner apparently looking to sell the team and the Brooklyn idea all but over, does a superstar really want to play in East Rutherford or Newark? Only time will tell if a venue outweighs talent... or perhaps, neither team will sign anyone!?

Yaros

Ay Karamba!

If I were writing a book, The Life and Times of Oliver Perez, I would title the first chapter "7 innings, 2 hits, 0 earned runs, 3 walks and 10 strike outs", I would title the second chapter, "4.2 innings, 5 hits, 7 earned runs, 6 walks, 4 strike outs". I would title the third chapter, "7 innings, 2 hits, 0 earned runs, 3 walks and 10 strike outs", I would title the fourth chapter, "4.2 innings, 5 hits, 7 earned runs, 6 walks, 4 strike outs".

SEE A PATERN! The guy is wildly (literally) inconsistent. He almost always has great "stuff", but is often wild! Tonight was another rough night for Oliver. The frustration from a potential ace like Perez is far greater than the frustration from a number 5 starter will ever be!

Another rough one for the Mets!

Oh, they also didn't score a run!

One last note: Cliff Lee has had a really rough year for a really bad team. He is 6-9 after going 22-3 last season while winning the Cy Young! Part of his troubles have been run support. He has 4 losses and 4 no decisions in games in which he has thrown at least 7 innings and given up a max of 3 runs. All of last season, he had 3 no decisions and 0 losses in the same type of game. Such is life on a last place team!

Yaros

Is Minaya A Bold Faced Liar?

Those words are pretty harsh but it does seem that something "funky" is going down in Queens. Yesterday, Jon Heyman wrote an article for SI indicating that the Mets specifically turned down a trade offer proposed by the Blue Jays.

At 1:05, Mike Francesa said specifically on the air that he personally called the Mets and they said no such trade was offered.

Someone is lying and I have little faith in anything that comes out of Minaya's mouth considering his past history (the Willie lie. Reminder: in the middle of the night Minaya fired Randolph after telling everyone - including Willie, to his face - that Willie's job was safe).

The Mets are trying to protect themselves from getting killed for not making the trade for Halladay. I would have done it. Francesa says the same thing; however, Heyman says that many GMs love prospects and just refuse to part with maybes that can make little money for 6 years (3 at <$1,000,000 and 3 at arbitration levels) for a sure thing making big bucks.

The Mets got a steal when they traded for Santana and there is no sure thing in the group that supposedly was going to Toronto. None of those players are as good a prospect as Scott Kazmir and Halladay is about 100 times better than Victor Zambrano.

If a prospect for big time trade works out for the team getting prospects, they have won the lottery (ex. Bartolo Colon for Brandon Phillips, Sizemore and Cliff Lee), but the likelihood is very low. The Mets have talent on next year's roster, if Santana and Halladay lead the rotation (in that ballpark) every Met fan would be drooling!

Yaros

No Chance Of Vick Being A Jet!

Michael Vick's NFL fate is now in the hands of the commish; however, even if he is reinstated, where will he play.

Any Jets fans who for some odd reason want the guy might as well give up all hope, Rex Ryan and Mr. T are just not that dumb.

With a rookie quarterback of the future in camp, putting pressure on him by having a high-profile back-up is completely illogical.

Woody Johnson was quoted as saying that Vick is not in the team's plan.

Yaros

Halladay To Mets Not Happening at the Moment!

According to Jon Heyman of SI, the Mets have outright rejected the proposed trade of 4 Met prospects including the beloved Fernando Martinez (wasn't Lastings Milledge also beloved) and pitching prospects Bobby Parnell and Jon Niese along with SS Rueben Tejada.

The Mets always overrate their prospects (Bill Pulsipher) as do the Yankees (Ian Kennedy) and trading for Halladay is probably worth what the Mets have to offer.

Here is the problem: The Mets think the world of a lot of prospects that never get anywhere, the Wilpon family lost tons of money with Bernie "Made-Off with Your Money" Madoff and Halladay would not come to the Mets because they are not in the running for a ring this year.

Halladay will probably end up with the Phillies or Dodgers because those 2 teams seem to have the most to offer and can pay the big bucks. Halladay may look for an extension in the CC range, so whatever team gets him better expect to open the wallet big time.

It's hard to believe that Halladay will stay a Blue Jay after reports of the team offering trades have been leaked.

Yaros

3 Gems In A Row!

Andy Pettitte pitched a gem for the Yankees 3rd straight 2-1 victory. It's interesting how the Yankees have been so streaky this year. It seems as though they just don't bother showing up for certain series and play phenomenally in others. Obviously, the series against the Red Sox, Angels and Nationals stand out, but there are other times as well when the pitching is dreadful and the hitters just swing away (other than Jeter of course).

The hitting has not been too plentiful over the 3 games, but, the pitching has been stellar.

One interesting note is that the Yankees are still continuing to pound home runs, even while only scoring 2 runs a game. Over the 3 games, the Yankees hit 5 solo shots!

Tomorrows' starters are Rich Hill (the former Cubs prospect who burned me in fantasy last year - not really, he was a late round flyer) with a 7+ ERA this year and Sergio Mitre - who is making his first start with the Yankees, but pitched a lot for Girardi in Florida.

I would not expect the scoring drought to continue considering the quality of pitchers.

A few notes about Mitre. He has a 5+ career ERA with a awful 10-23 record. He is 3-1 this year with a 2.40 ERA at AAA and was suspended for 50 games for juicing. He had Tommy John last year.

Good to see the Yankees trying to win with known steroid users (note the baseball purist cynicism!)

Yaros

Joba's Starting Issue!

One of Joba's main issues is pitch count/length. Case in point is the fact that Joba has only 11 decisions in his 30 career starts over the course of 2 years. Joba has faltered in many ways as a starter; however, he has shown significant glimpses of promise.

General Managers have a tendency to refuse to back track on questionable decisions (i.e. moving Joba from the pen to the rotation).

Joba will likely finish the year with 9-11 wins and 5 or 6 losses. For a full year of starting, 11 wins is very mediocre. My guess is that he will never be put back in the pen so long as Brian Cashman is the GM.

Yaros

Crumbling Under Pressure!

Tom Watson got off to a poor (pressure filled) start that was explained by Jack Nicklaus as a combination of both nerves and age not allowing an older golfer to have proper feel for the club in pressure moments.

However, talk about choking. Ross Fisher, a little known English golfer was all of the sudden up 2 strokes through 3 holes this morning... and then... bam! The bottom fell out. Bogey, Quad, Par, Bogey, Bogey! The moment he looked at the scoreboard and said to himself "Holy @#$%, I'm actually winning", he collapsed. Hope he enjoyed the 15 minutes.

Yaros

A The Open Championship Comment...

With Woods out of the running (and the rankings all but down the tubes - after all, Phil isn't playing either), the hope of a decent British Open rating is now a strong possibility because good old Tom Watson is leading after 3 rounds. He is at -4, one shot up on a couple of guys. Lurking are Retief Goosen and Jim Furyk (-2 and -1 respectively).

One thing that irks me is the name. I hate when certain championships or organizations have egotistical names. "The Open Championship" are you kidding me?! Why is Miami called "The U"?! Why are the Cowboys, "America's Team"?! It just annoys me. I'm trying to think of others as well. If anyone has any suggestions, post them.

About the golf itself, I can't imagive Watson will win. At 59, I don't think he has four great rounds in him. I would expect either Goosen or Furyk to take the championship. The British is notorious for obscure winners, but with elite golfers in the mix on Sunday (elite in the 21st century - as opposed to Watson), they have the big time edge - especially Goosen.

However, props must be given to Tom Watson for his stellar performance thusfar and ABC should pay him half their advertising revenue for saving their behind!

Yaros

YES and SNY Lucky

Congrats to the Yanks and Mets on better weekend tv ratings as Tiger is out of the British.
Yaros

Preview Review

In early April, I wrote an American League preview. Some of my predictions have been ridiculous and some have been quite good. Now that the season is half over, I will revisit those predictions. I will also be writing a second half preview this week! Look for it! The way I'm doing this "prediction correction" is by bolding new comments within the original post. Here we go:

AL East: This division may be won or lost in April. Dumb comment! If the Yankees come out fast (perhaps thanks to a boost from opening the new stadium) and then get the extra help when A-rod comes back, they will win the division. In all likelihood, the Yankees, Sox and Rays will all have 89+ wins. If the Yankees play above .550 ball pre-A-rod, they will get to the 96 number that will probably win this division. Looks like all 3 teams will get to 90 so, wahoo on that one. Although most people assumed that, so I refuse to pat myself on the back.

Health concerns are obviously an issue for Burnett, Sabathia (he pitched a ton of innings last year), Kazmir (has only reached 30 starts in 2 of his 4 full seasons), Jon Lester (will the major increase in innings last year hurt his arm) among others. Will Mo Rivera stay healthy? 1 for 5, Kazmir had issues (at least I'm above the Mendoza line)

The bottom line is the the Yankees have the best lineup, but I think they will fall short and the Red Sox should take the division with a strong year from Josh Beckett and a huge boost from John Smoltz in June. Must add that the Sox will also take the division because of head to head matches! If the Yankees win 5 of the 19 games I'll be surprised!

The Rays will win a lot of games and Pat Burrell's added bat should help extend the lineup; however, the pen will not come close to the success of last year and they will not make the playoffs. Oops on Burrell, the guy forgot how to hit the long ball! I was right about the pen! But the starters are so freaken good!

The Yankees will probably get off to a slow start (like they always do), but make the playoffs entirely based on a high payroll and the ability to add talent mid-year. I expect them to win 92 games and finish 4 behind the Sox. Looks OK

AL Central: This is a tight division that includes a major disappointment (Tigers), a consistent lunch pale team (Twins), a consistent team with a crazy manager (see below) and a very talented team with the incumbent CYA winner. Funny video, but boy was I wrong about Lee!



They can all win the division. I expect a rebound year from Carmona and the Indians to win the game. If he falters, then look for the White Sox to come through again. The Mauer injury may linger and will badly hurt the Twins. EEEEEEEKKKKK!!!!

AL West: Is this even close? Well, the A's always seem to find solid starters within and have signed or traded for some really solid guys including a stud named Matt Holliday. If they are not in the race, he will be gone by the deadline. Holliday will be traded. The A's know he is not coming back, so they will trade him for a bag of ball on the 31st.

The Abreu pickup should help the Angels a lot and the pitching injuries won't knock them off the very tall pedestal. I thought they would win it all last year - didn't happen. Look for them to run away with the division with 93 wins and no one within 8 games. I should be okay on this one. The Rangers may push the Anaheim.

AL wildcard: This is clearly the Yankees or Rays. For the above reasons, the Yankees will take the wild card.

The Yankees and Angels will meet in the division series again and I look for the Yankees to take the series based on the new pitching additions and the K-rod-less bullpen out west. The Red Sox should have no trouble with either the White Sox or Indians. I still think this is true, the Angels pen will kill them in the playoffs.

Based on home field and the superior pitching of the Red Sox, they will beat the Yankees in the ALCS.

AL MVP: the newcomer on the Yanks, Mark Teixeira should really benefit from the jet stream to right field at the new stadium and the countless runners on base in front of him. I expect .315 avg with 35 home runs and 135 RBI. That should take the award. His numbers may be better than this. But, Mauer will get it if he hits above .390 and the Twins win their division.

The Cy Young will go to Josh Beckett in another masterful year in his career long one year up/one year down formula. I think this one will be right on! Its a done deal if Halladay if shipped off to the NL. Greinke's numbers are on the downhill and his team stinks!

I expect a 21-7 record with 200+ strike outs and a low 3 ERA for Beckett.

I don't think I did too poorly. The Indians are awful and so are the A's, but I give myself and overall pat on the back.

Yaros

Irony of Mets Game!

A few Mets comments:
First, there is no reason that numerous aces who actually pitched in the all-star game are pitching tonight while Johan Santana is not pitching. He is fully rested and is by far the best the Mets have (duh!), so pitch him as much as possible!

Second, it was a classic Mets performance tonight with a small burst in a middle inning accounting for all the Mets' runs. They never can maintain hitting consistency.

Finally, isn't it ironic that Derek Lowe pitched for the Braves last night and Oliver Perez pitched for the Mets. The clear mistake that was the Perez deal is only compounded with the fact that pitchers of quality like Lowe were available on the market.

Yaros