Yankees closing in before the break

Rick here giving you my opinion on some tidbits of New York Sports.

First and fore most i hope everyone has a safe and pleasant 4th of July. NOW ON TO THE SPORTS!

Yankees have had an interesting couple of weeks and the Mets are floundering with an offense that is anything but that. The jets will lose a large cog in the new supposedly vaunted Rex Ryan defense. The Giants are still hearing how they will go to training camp lack a number 1 receiver and if it will be enough to win another superbowl or even a division. One thing at a time now.

Leading off is the Yankees. The Yanks have started to get on a roll recently and are currently the owners of the 3rd best record in baseball. They are also 1 game out of first in the division. Considering the horrendous 0-8 against the division leaders many may be surprised at this. The Yanks have some issues that are just starting to resurface. The issue as with many teams is depth. Most teams do not have it but when you are the New York Yankees you can get a person like Eric Hinske for clip board and no one thinks twice about it; in fact many fans call up talk radio and ask “is that it?” I tend not to be so greedy however i can tell outfield help is a need and of course the (insert sarcasm) terrible bullpen that the yankees have. Phil Hughes has turned into the return of Joba. Phil Coke has been pitching very solid and brian bruney should eventually turn it around, even though there is little evidence to prove other wise. With Chien-Ming Wang going down with a shoulder injury and being placed on the Disabled List i would think that the apparent move is Phil Hughes.

Phil Hughes should be in the rotation

However, Hughes has been lights out that in the ‘pen that moving him back to the rotation is not what the Yankee Brass wants by evidence of having Alfredo Aceves pitching 4 1/3 innings today it seems the Yankees would like to stretch him out and leave Hughes in the bullpen. However the bullpen has been fine with out Joba and it will be fine with out Hughes. The Yankees needing this 8th inning set up man and now baseballs constant baby-ing of pitchers that has gone on too long we are leaving organization number 1 prospects to pitch 7th and 8th innings? Hughes is the main reason why Johan Santana is not in pinstripes and i was fine with that but did the Yankees lose Johan Santana for a set up man and 4th outfielder in Melky Cabrera? Next year i would see the Yankees be hard pressed to let an aging Andy Pettitte resign even though as of now he is 8-3. If these guys have what it takes the stunting of the development of young pitchers needs to stop. Johan Santana was not the great pitcher that he was at Joba or Hughes age. I do not understand because they can pitch an 8th inning well some one expects a kid 22 or 23 years old to be Koufax or Bob feller. I think people need to remember they need to develop and harness their skills and once that happens watch out cause i believe these two have a great future. I know the Yanks want to win this year but do not fall into the traps of trades and free agent and mortgage the future like what happend in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.

——-

On to The Mets. Being a die hard Yankee fan i watch very little Met games but i do tend to talk alot about them with my girlfriends father who is a Met fan so i do get some good tidbits from him. David Wrights batting average has dropped about 20 points since the Yankees first played the Mets and if i was a Met fan i would worry about that. However lets use the big excuse: Injuries. I have not seen a team this riddled with injuries since the Giants in 2006 when they got killed by the Eagles and they had rumors of bringing in Jesse Armstead to play Linebacker that one playoff game. Anyway the injuries have hit the everyday players and the rotation. The games i have watched the team has Wright and no one else. People seem to want to wait on Delgado coming back but seeing the way A-Rod came back from hip surgery this could be another disaster as he is older and not the player that A-Rod is. Perez is an absolute head case but atleast will provide stability to a rotation that has Redding and Livan Hernandez, who with the exception of Friday in Philly has pitched better than many could has expected. Being 4 out of a struggling Phillie team is rough pill to swallow but it is not even the all star break and plenty of time to get atleast Beltran and hopefully Reyes back to get some hope. With a struggling offense it might be able to take some pressure of some suspect pitching and even Johan Santana who has already had to carry the team befor the injury bug hit the team now this takes on a whole new relm of pressure. I am sure everything will work out the Mets will be in the chase, it is anyone’s guess what happens then.

——-

Jet time

Alright Jet fans Calvin Pace is down for four games and will return for the MNF against the Dolphins however it will be interesting to see how the Jets fare on til then with a difficult schedule it could be a big question mark between on the road against Houston and back to back home games against the rival Pats and then the Titans and then the high powered offense of the New Orleans Saints. The jets can easily go 4-0 or 0-4. This team was going to be built as Rex Ryans previous team was, The Ravens, with a grind out offense lead by a rookie quaterback and a smash mouth football.

Calvin Pace suspension could mean trouble

Calvin Pace was one of the better defenders on the teams last season now with Bart Scott expecting to become Ray Lewis (north edition) in Rex’s defense with Jim Leonhard roaming the safety spot with an established player like Kerry Rhodes this was shaping into a top notch defense on paper. Vernon Gholston should be the name to step up and produce but after an extremely dissapointing rookie campaign this should be a more of wait and see approach. Other questions become whether or not Sanchez can become the ball control rookie quaterback that does not have to throw 35 times and do too much and keeps the clock moving. With Thomas Jones and a good offensive line i think that could happen and with a safety blanket in Dustin Keller and nice option in Cotchery and Chansi Stuckey proving he can play some ball there are some options for Sanchez to develop nicely. Now if only the defense can hold its own until Sanchez develops then the Jets can have something good brewing here.

———-

Now on to the Giants. I have heard people talk badly about Eli Manning since the day he was drafted and can not understand it. He is a smart quarterback who is at his best at the 2 min drill and has done nothing but win games. He has been in the playoffs 4 years in a row with 2 division titles and a superbowl win. Not too shabby for a guy who people say have not lived up to his family name. Now onto the offense fire power of the offense. The giants have some good Wide Recievers, not word beaters but serviceable. Between Hixon and Steve Smith and Sinorice Moss and Mario Manningham there are some very good speed and some good hands. As of now that will be the rotation as Ramses Barden and Hakeem Nicks develop and get the feel for things, even though i expect Nicks to contribute more than Barden

Hakeem Nicks doing work

.  Looking at the clips on Giants.com i can see these guys can play but right now they are in shorts so theres alot more to come once training camp gets underway( which i will attend one of the day of the last week of Giants training camp for the first time). The giants have Clint Sintim who looks like he will be a rock on the strong side making the transition from 3-4 to a 4-3 so thats something to keep the eyes peeled on. The giants no longer have Burress but dont exactly miss him either he was not lighting up fantasy leagues last season so i think it will be ok to go in a new direction offensivly. I do not know how this will turn out but it will be an interesting story line all season.

 

That’s all folks!…i am currently trying to work on a podcast and i have no idea how so if anyone has any clue on how to do that send em on down. Again i appreciate the comments so keep em rolling. Ill keep you guys posted on through out the summer thanks for staying loyal !

Sorry for the delay. We’re Backkkkk!!!

Ok. Sorry for the delay but between not much happening in Giant/Jet land and the Yankees slow start i was not dying to face the fact that not much was going on. However, finals are over and I (Rick) have just totally caved in and gave into the twitter world. Lets recap!

 

Me and Anthony were supposed to do a draft blog. Do i even know if this happend? Nope. Sorry.

Now to the loyal Jet fans…Tired of watching a superbowl champ play in the same building finally do a smart thing and go out and get a franchise quarterback. I have to go off the fact that he will be able to step right in there day 1 based on the fact the fact the he played at USC and a pro style offense under Pete Carroll.  I am not big in having a guy step in day 1 but when there is no better option i get the move. Kellen Clemens might be good and deserves a shot however under the regime of the stand up comedian Rex Ryan he may want to start with a new leaf and start with Mark Sanchez. People, including Joe Namath, have said that Sanchez can step right in and have the same success as Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan. Those players had 5 and 4 years, respectivly, of expierence and Sanchez has 16 games of expierence. So this remains to be seen. If i am Jet fan, which most of people who know me i am not, i would be very pleased to hear about Sanchez and his meeting with his WR corp to start to get ready for work. I know that is more of intangible but it lays a nice ground work. Now I have heard people in other blogs  say for the Jets are interested in former Giant, Plaxico Burress. He would help the Jets greatly and give them a great deep weapon. The common belief is that Burress will plea bargain his way out of jail or into a minimal stay in prison. There is no way Plaxico Burress can plead guilty to any charge and not suspend him when he has gone out of his way to make guys in trouble in the NFL’s life miserable. This is an illegal hand gun in New York City, not exactly the wild wild west that allows the sort of things. As a New Yorker gun laws are not very flexible. Burress picked one of the worst places to be caught with an illegal hand gun. He will be suspended for quite some time at the very least. Sorry Jet fans.

quick thoughts for the jets

• Whats up with Mark Sanchez modeling his clothes (Taken from GQ)
  

  Marky Mark modeling it up

• Drew Rosenhaus(Who i follow on twitter) said on twitter that Thomas Jones will be at the OTA’s next week.
• Thomas Jones would be wise to duplicate last seasons numbers with Shonn Greene and Leon waiting for the RB-1 spot
• Leon play says he deserves his money because he is an absolute game breaker but what happend to the old days when if you were not the starting RB you were not paid like one
• Rex Ryan will be a hit with the media, but all the corny one liners have all ready gotten on my nerves
• I know Bart Scott will be a force for years to come but man does he ever stop talking. It goes with out saying he is already a media favorite.
• Many people figure i hate the jets, and theyre right, but if Sanchez manages the game half way good and the defense is as good as it should be i say they win 10-11 games. Im not sure if that wins the division but it should put them in the playoffs
• The Jets do need a bonafide #1 WR. I do not think it will be Braylon Edwards. Sorry.

—————————

OK. Giant Time!

There has been absolutely no news on the giants. Which after last season it is kind of nice. The Giants went and drafted and absolute catching machine Hakeem Nicks. I initally wanted Kenny Britt (due to size and resemblence of Burress) or Rey Maulauga because Antonio Pierce has slowed down. The giants took care of the SAM LBer spot with Clint Sintim who was a OLB in the 3-4 of Virginia.  Many people have been concerned with the new transition for 3-4 to a 4-3 but i think many Giant fans would agree back in the glory days (1980s not 1950s-1960s) they would switch based on the talent level from the days of Carson, LT, Banks, they had the talent for any type of defense. Football players are players and i think Sintim should eventually get the defense as Tom Coughlin did say he was good in coverage so lets see how this goes. The giants got Hakeem Nicks and the tall Ramses Barden who seem like very talented options. Along with H-back Travis Beckum. It looks like they will be able to create some match up issues while learning on the job. Kevin Gilbride said it looks like the WR corp will be Hixon, Smith, and Moss. Yes, that Sinorice Moss who had 8 catches last year. Probably wishful thinking and way to build confidence in a WR who has not sniffed the field they figure to get Mario Manningham involved as well who like Moss did not get involved at all other than a quick slant and an Uber-failed reverse (probably explains why the giants dont run plays like that). I expect Nicks to be heavly involved as he is quick and strong and has drawn comparisons to Michael Irvin and Aquan Boldin (if he is 3/4s of that the giants are thrilled) Ramses Barden and Beckum seem to be nice goal line/ and other matchup options. The loss of Plax hurts but lets give it a shot. The Giants rarely throw the ball 35 times a day. Brandon Jacobs and Bradshaw and Danny Ware seem to have there mix of carries and figure to be key roles. The giants also selected Andre Brown from NC State might crack the line up as Jacobs usually gets hurt at some point during the season. The giants have given Eli many options to move the ball and with the stacked defensive line and nice Will LBer Michael Boley and Kenny Phillips going to be a starter this season the giants should be a tough defense just like last season and plan to make Sundays hard for Campbell/Romo/McNabb who they would like to give some payback for the rough playoff loss last season. However i can not wait!

• Hakeem Nicks says he wasnt used as a deep threat but feels he can do it all. After this video why not
• Ramses Barden looks to have great skills and can be a great option for Eli. He makes a big blunder midway through but he seems like he can be a big player. No pun intended for a 6′6 WR
• Whats up with WR picking non WR numbers: Nicks 18/ Barden 13/Britt 18/ Maclin 18/ Crabtree 15. Whats the deal with that?
• I have been checking out the new meadowland stadium. It looks nice but with gray seats and concrete walls it looks incredibly bland. I understand stayin nuetral to the Giant and jet fans but yeesh it looks boring. HOORAY FOR HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE!
• OTA start first week of June for the Giants so thats when I will update status of Nicks/Barden/Beckum/ Sintim.

————————–

Quick Blurb on the Yankees.

• A-Rod is looking mighty comfortable at the band box formally known as Yankee Stadium
• Teixiera better start buying A-Rod dinner for all the halfway decent pitches he is seeing with A-Rod behind him and not Nick Swisher
• Joba has been a bull and will be a bonafide super star as a starter with in the next 2-3 years
• CC Sabathia its good to finally meet you!
• Phil Hughes i know youre young but you need to start pitching better.
• 7 game winning streak and the yankees have picked up 2 games on the Blue Jays. I think they might be legit this year.

———————–

Quick NBA

• Beat LA! (im hoping Nuggets in 6)
• I am looking foward to Kenyon Martin abusing Pau Gasol for the next week. Should be fun.
• Jerry West is right Lebron is the best player in the league
• So, do the Cavs win in 4-5-6?
• I think this is Lebron’s year.
• Knicks can not buy a break can they? 8th pick?  They would probably trade this pick for Eddy Curry. Oh that already happend.

————————————————

I swear there will not be a huge delay in post. Enjoy the NBA playoffs and baseball season and training camp. I will try to keep updating as much as possible.  Anyone agree/Disagree/ wanna argue/ Leave comments i love feedback. Thanks readers