Is the Jokinen on Us?

Now the rumors are saying Kotalik and Higgins have been traded for Olli Jokenin. If true, they could be getting a good player. He's a free agent at the end of the year so it's not a bad deal, and at times he's been a very good player. Maybe the change of scenery and the prospect of needing a new deal will inspire him. Funny thing is, I always thought he's be a Ranger at some point. Let's see if it's true!

Update: a few sources are now saying it's Jokinen and Brandon Prust for Kotalik and Higgins. Prust fights a lot.

A Deal in the Works?

Word is coming in from all over that the Rangers are in the process of trading Ales "Alice" Kotalik. Depending on the take back this could be great. It will probably before someone else's problem, but maybe that someone else can play. Would that be asking too much?

Heading To Camp Early

In what could be great news for the Yanks, Joba Chamberlain is hitting Tampa early in order to get a jump on the season. Joba clearly hasn't been the same pitcher since he sustained the shoulder problem in Tampa in the `08 season. Part of that may have been because he didn't keep up his conditioning and rehab last year. In any event, hopeful we'll see the return of his fastball, and it's terrific that he's taking things so seriously. Go get em, Joba!

Chris Palmer Retires

Giants QB Coach Chris Palmer retired today. Coach Palmer was very close with both Eli and David Carr (whom he had coached with the Texans). Not only was Palmer close with Eli, but Eli's comp% kept going up as Palmer coached him, so he was effective, too. Replacing him will be tricky. I wish they would call Jim Fassel, but I have no idea whether or not he would take it. Go Giants!

So Here We Are

With the signing of Winn, and the final goodbye to the 2M left in the "budget" and to Johnny Damon, the Yanks seem to be done with their offseason work. Sure, they may still hand out some ST invites to players like Rocco Baldelli or others, but the 40M roster is now set, and barring an unforeseeable trade, this is the team they'll open the season with.


So, what do we think?


I'm still very happy about the Granderson trade. Sure we gave up a big package that included good chips like Austin Jackson and Ian Kennedy, but I still like it as we got a player that's still in his prime may really be able to rake in NYS. AJack was an interesting prospect who had lost a lot of development because he was also very talented at basketball. He was coming along fine, with the Yanks, but unless he develops more power than he's shown lately, he was going to be a solid player, not an all-star. Ian Kennedy was just blocked in the short term and it was probably time to move him. He had nothing to prove in the minors, and couldn't beat out Phil or Joba in the majors. Coke gave up too many homers, and that's not the kind of guy we want pitching in NYS. In all, a very good trade, but one that did take a bite out of the farm. Little did we know at the time that he really was the replacement for Johnny Damon.


Next, they re-upped Andy and his 200 innings for another year. Andy's ERA+ was not even 10% above average last year, but he was money in the postseason and, hey, he's Andy. He's still a horse, though not as consistent, and he still adds some mentoring value to the rest of the staff. The Yanks were 2 for 2 at this point.



Next, we picked up Nick OBP Jesus Johnson, for 5.5M and a mutual option for a second season. This was a terrific move since Nick cost just money and no picks. He will bat second and get on base at his usual .400+ clip. He has the kind of skills that could really adapt to the stadium and see his homers go way up. Just a terrific move. The Yanks were 3 for 3.


Next, they surprised the lot of us with a sudden reprise. They traded Melky Cabrera, Arodys Vizcaino and Michael Dunn for Javy Vazquez and Boone Logan. Vazquez was coming off a terrific season where he was one of the best pitchers in the NL and one of the few available pitchers on the market who could actually step in and help the Yankee rotation. He's a K pitcher and that's what we'll need going forward at NYS. Logan is probably a Loogy only who may not make the team. Now the problem here was two fold: first adding Vazquez shut off the possibility of both Joba and Phil staring the season in the rotation, which will lead to the partial waste of 1 season from one of them. Second, they used Arodys Vizcaino in the deal. Now, the Braves wanted salary relief and would have preferred trading Derek Lowe. But did the Yanks really need to throw in one of their best pitching prospects to get the deal done? For a rental? Anyway, it hurt the farm. The Yanks were 3-3 with a sac fly.


Little did we know at this point that they really were done with their big moves and that there'd be no Matt Holliday or any other big solution for left.



The Yanks then re-uppped Mitre and Gaudin which made little sense, after the Vazquez deal. They will now be the 7th and 8th starters and vastly overpaid for their positions on the organizational depth chart. Inexcusable for a team that became budget conscious overnight. The Yanks were 3-5 with a sac fly.


Now the Yanks have added Winn with their final 2 million. Right now, he profiles as a defensive replacement/pinch runner you only want to see with a lead. Like the minor leaguer, Golson, we picked up from the Rangers on Tuesday, and the Jamie Hoffman, who we had the Nats pick in the rule 5 for us. It sets up a camp batter for 2 spots, 4th and 5th OF. This deal puts pressure on Gardner to have a break out year with the bat, and I know a few of us think he can. The Yanks are now 3-6 with a sac fly. Good game.


Anyway, where we are right now is strong in the line-up, with LF still a question mark, and strong in the rotation. The pen should improve with Robertson having established himself and Melancon unlikely to repeat his struggles.


The bench remains weak offensively, but strong defensively with Cervelli, Pena, Winn and Hoffman. I don't know if Juan Miranda will be up, but he'd be an ideal power bat off the bench.



The farm is another matter. With the loss of Jackson, Vizcaino, Kennedy, Dunn and others, it took some shots. Sure, they have signed or traded for some veteran minor leaguers who are at least a little interesting, and they've signed some high upside IFA's, but they haven't replaced prospect value at the upper levels, and just continued to increase it at the lower levels, where they were already loaded.



They need big bounce back seasons from some of the injured prospects, as well as a strong draft (they still have all their picks!) and IFA period to restock the cupboard. The only way they're ever going to really lower the budget is by producing their own.



And that's the way it is.



UPDATE: Raphael DePaula's suspension from baseball is over. DePaula was a 6'3" RHP who the Yanks were about to sign only to see suspended over the summer. It will be an interesting test of sorts to see if they are willing to win the bidding again. He would very much replace what they lost when they traded Vizcaino.

Giants Hire Tampa DL Coach Nunn

The Giants hired former Tampa Day DL coach Robert Nunn today to replace Mike Wauffle. They've played a traditionally aggressive 4-3 down in Tampa over the years so, he should fit okay, but does this mean we are gonna be moving to more of a Tampa 2 base? We shall see.

Randy Winn?

We're now hearing reports that the Yanks have signed Randy Winn, pending a physical. All this does is assure the Yanks that they will be trading even more prospects at the deadling if Gardner does not come through as a starting OF. Winn is probably not a better player than Gardy right now, and his best position would probably be "retired." Ponderous.

Johnny On the Clock?

Jon Heyman has tweeted that Johnny Damon has a few days to take a low money deal from the Yanks before they move onto other targets. Hopefully, the deal includes incentives that will reward Johnny for another good year, and hopefully he agrees to it. Go Yanks!

Knick Killer

Not to play the blame game, but Bobby Duhon is really holding back the Knicks. If the Knicks had even an average NBA PG, let along a good one, they would already be a top 8 team in the East, and a team that could do damage in the postseason. Lee, Gallinari and Chandler are ready to start winning. The Knicks have to get them a point guard, even more than they have to add LeBron.

14 Goals Over the Last Two - But - GET THIS GUY!

After beating the Habs 6-2 on Sunday, the Rangers came back and pasted the Lightning 8-2 at the Garden tonight, there were 8 different goal scorers, though Gaborik wasn't one of them. However; Gabby did tie a career high with 4 assists. Dubi scored again, and he's going off. Prospal scored, Drury scored, Lisin scored, Higgins scored, Staal scored, Voros scored and Girardi scored. And Hank was once again better than he was earlier in the year. That's two impressive wins in a row.

Still, the Rangers could really use a second Gaborik type player for the second line, and the one that's available is Ilya Kovalchuk. The trade would have to involed Rozsival's deal and some younger players, but the Rangers should be able to use Callahan or Dubi or Higgins and Sanguinetti along with a pick to get it done. That would not overtax the system, and would give the Rangers another top 5 type player. Of course, they'd have to negotiate and extension to get it done, but having big salaries going to Hank, Gaborik and Kovalchuck in their 20s is better than having the big salaries tied up in age. It would als force the Rangers to keep promoting kids. What's more, they might have to send Redden and his deal down to make room. All good outcomes. And none involve trading for older players or bad deals like LeCavallier's.

The Rangers could make a run if they can get that correct second scorer. Go Rangers!

Yanks Sign an IFA

The Yanks today signed IFA SS Fernando Perez. Perez is now 19, but was 18 when the Yanks signed him under the name Arredondo in July, thinking he was 16. Make sense? Arredondo got age suspended by major league baseball, but because he can run a 6.4 60 and has shown hitting prowess, the Yanks re-signed him today at the end of his suspension. So, throw another toolsy IFA on the pile. If he can stay at SS all the better, cause we have a ton of high upside OF's in the lower minors. I believe the Yanks will be signing some more IFA's if they have haven't already. I'll let you know as I find out. Go Yanks!

Fewell It Is!

The Giants have finally confirmed what those who were doing the math all along have suspected. Perry Fewell is the new Giant defensive coordinator. Coach Fewell has a reputation for being a great teacher, a creative gameplanner and play caller, a fiery type and a Coach who gets his players to overachieve. Sounds like just what we need and he is. He is much more like Spags than Sheridan was and that's an important issue. The defense just did not respond to a more reserved DC. Fewell will teach them and get after them, and that seems like what our players crave. The fun part will come as he fills out the staff. Oh, and though he has run the Tampa 2 the past few years, he hasn't only run it and it's not the only thing he runs. He has had great success in coaching up DB's so no matter what zone we use, perhaps they'll finally know how to execute it. Go Giants!

Haslett On the Way

Definitive retread, Jim Haslett will be coming in to interview with the Giants are their vacant DC spot. Haslett made a name for himself coordinating the Pittsburgh 3-4 years ago, then went on to be a head coach with the Saints and the Rams. He was a former NFL coach of the year, but recently found himself squaring off agains Jim Fassel's Vegas team for the championship of the new league. Haslett lost. He's friend's with Tom Coughlin and we'll see what happens tomorrow. No news on the Fewell front so far today.


UPDATE: He's not coming! He's been named DC for the Redskins. Bahahahahahahaha!

Fewell If You Think It's Over

So Perry Fewell left Chicago to go back home and discuss things with his wife. Reports are he doesn't have an offer from Chicago or The Giants, but I think that is either BS and he has offers from both, or he told them both at the outset he would only negotiate with the one he picks, or something like that. I think it's being done this way so the public won't see a bidding war and so the team that doesn't get him (remember he has relationships with both Lovie Smith and Tom Coughlin) can deny that they made an offer. Cause, quite frankly, if he has no offers what does he have to talk over with his wife? What to do for dinner? We'll see what the couple decides.

Still Looking or Still Waiting?

Well, another day has passed and the Giants are still without a defensive coordinator, and they still employ some guilty parties on the defensive staff. Romeo Crennell now looks like he will be the new DC of the Kansas City Chiefs, and Perry Fewell, who was allowed to leave the compound for a meeting with the Bears, may be the new DC there. Now, I supose the speculation will begin that the Giants are waiting for someone in the playoffs. The linebackers coaches from both the Jets, Sutton and the Cowboys, Herring, have been mentioned in some reports. This hire will either be Tom Coughlin's anchor or his life raft, I guess we'll see. Go Giants.

Yanks Pass on Chapman

Yanks officially lost out on Chapman today when he signed with the Cincinatti Reds for 5/30. The deal is a minor league deal, so until he pitches in the majors he will not count toward the luxury threshold. And so it would seem the Yanks have lost out on another special arm. So now it's Cole, Ynoa, Chapman and the trading off of Vizcaino. You really do have to wonder what is going on down on the farm. Now, I don't want to go too crazy about this as I did hear back in November that they were working on some other Cubans and late birthday kids, one of whom, Bautista is already suspended. I'm going to wait and see who the rest of the list is, and then see if there's really a problem here or just a series of coincidental missed opportunities.

Hairston Jr. on a Budget?

So, a bunch of the stories today suggested the Yanks were in deep negotiations with Jerry Hairston Jr. about his possible return, most likely in a utility roll, for about 2-3M. Okay, now we've all see Jerry field poorly, and revert to his norm in September. And since the Yanks are on a tight budget which precluded their signing Holliday or Chapman, is Jerry Hairston really the type of player we want to spend 2-3 million dollars, that would go a lot farther in IFA or the draft, on employing? I don't really think so. Jerry's a good baserunner, and not particularly good at hitting or fielding. Ramiro Pena is cheap, is also a good baserunner and a great defender, though not as good a hitter as Jerry was last year. Though Ramiro is heading up and Jerry is declining. I sure hope those dollar numbers are wrong if they are indeed bringing back Hairston Jr.

Big Win

Brandon Dubinsky had a goal and 2 assists as the Rangers beat the Bruins in Boston today. Dubi now has 5 goals in his last ten games and is playing his best hockey as a pro. Things may be clicking for him. Erik Christensen had a goal and an assist and now has 7 points in his last six games. Michael Del Zotto who has a big game on D also scored. It was his first goal in 22 games and another play where he reminded you of Orr and Leetch. He's gonna be really good. Hank was terrific and just missed a shutout off a bad icing call.


In other news, the Rangers are apparently looking to make a trade and are engaged with several teams. I'd assume they wants scoring.

Minor Neglect?

Now that it looks like the Yanks will be letting Aroldis Chapman sign elsewhere, I think we're confronted with two trends on the farm. One is good. One could be catastrophically bad. First, I think we're seeing the benefit of all the scouting talent and crosschecking expansion we have done over the last few years. This year alone they found Gary Sanchez, Chris Cabrera and a few others in IFA, as well as Slade Heathcott, JR Murphy, Graham Stoneburner, Neil Medchill and others in draft and they've all been impressive either in games or instructs. That leads us to the the scary part: there should have been more of them.

For the past two years, the Yanks have missed on an alarming number of big ticket items in IFA and the draft. In 2008, Gerrit Cole wouldn't sign with them and IFA Michael Inoa backed out of deal with them to sign a bigger deal with the small market A's. Then this past year, they had a deal fall through with a Cuban who lied about his age, then another one fell through with a Domincan shortstop who was similarly suspended. Looks like they're gonna re-sign him for much less under his new name "Perez" at some point in the near future. So they ended up with only Gary Sanchez and Chris Cabrera from the 7/2 signing date.


Now, what they had originally intended to do was sign up to 25 more IFA's that were either bypass (didn't get signed at 16) or late birthday kids. But they changed plans because Aroldis Chapman defected and they really wanted him...


Now here's the sneaky problem . Before the draft and IFA were held, the Yankees felt the best impact bats available to them would be in IFA, so that's why they reportedly short shrifted the draft budget, which was less this year than it had been in a few years, even though they had saved a lot last year by not signing Cole.

So, though they decided to hold off on a bunch of IFA's like Sano, they had already decided to not spend as much on the draft so they could spend it on the IFA's like Sano. So now, we don't sign as many of our draft picks as we should have, and we don't even sign Sano! And we're not gonna sign Chapman.


Of course, you would think with the money saved on Cole, Inoa, some picks this year, Sano, the Cuban who's deal got denied, Arredondo (Perez) who's deal got denied, and now Chapman, you'd think we'd be sitting on a ton of budget and signing more of the IFA's at the very least or at least articulating some new commitment to the farm. Instead, we've traded a bunch of prospects including Arodis Vizcaino and Austin Jackson, and apparently nothing's being done to replace not only those prospects but the picks we haven't signed over the last two years and the big ticket IFA's we didn't sign.


I did hear some buzz in late November that we were going to be signing some other Cubans and late birthday kids, but nothing has been anounced on any of that, and I'm wondering if the plans were once against changed and money was once again saved on the wrong end of the operation.


This will be an area of concern till we see expanded spending on the farm.


Update: Cash casually dropped the idea that he might trade for another OF earlier today. Obviously, any more like that could also hurt the farm.

The Dynamic Duo

The Knicks won again tonight, and they may have not one but two most improved players candidates. Both Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari are having breakout seasons. While I've always had faith in Gallo, I waivered on Chandler and was willing to trade him. While that still may be a possibility, it would have to bring quite a return, cause the kid is coming on strong.


At first I thought his improvement was due to leg health, but recent articles have reported that the coaches were really working with him on his dribble drives and several other aspects of his game that other teams were exploiting. Remember, Chandler was "raw" when we drafted him and now we're seeing what can happen to a raw guy when he gets coached up. He looks like a much more complete and effective player. One other thing about the two kids, is that they try on D, block shots and get rebounds.


And speaking of rebounds, David Lee is also one of the most improved players in the league. He was already good, but his mid-range jumper has really come along, and he may just make the all-star game. Go Knicks!

Romeo Redux?

Apparently Fewell left without a deal and the Giants have now turned their focus to Romeo Crennel. Now Romeo was a Giant assistant for a hell of a long time, spanning the Perkins through Handley eras. He was the special teams coach, when specials were not very good, and then he became the DL coach when Lamar Leachman retired. He did a good job there. Then he went off to work for Parcells and Belichick in their gigs, rising up to DC under Belichick before being made a head coach of the Browns and not doing very well. I like Romeo. Two of his rings are Giant rings. Here's the thing, though, he's old, and his favored D is the 3-4. Our parts, like Osi and Tuck are made for a 4-3. Now people will say, he can coach a 4-3, but honestly, I've never seen him coach anything well when it wasn't under a Bill. So that's my big concern. Like Romeo, but think he's a bad fit, and Tom Coughlin cannot afford to whiff again on a DC. Go Giants.

Giants and Fewell Still Talking

The Giants are continuing their marathon interview with outgoing Bills' DC/Interim HC, Perry Fewell. As you know, in Giant land, the longer the visit the most likely the deal. I like Fewell and think he overachieved with the talent he was handed year after year in Buffalo. He's fiery, which is something I think we need on D, and he's a great teacher. Seems like a good fit. Go Giants.

Avery

Could it be that Sean Avery is the key to the Rangers? Tonight against his old team, the Stars, Avery went after it like he hasn't in some time, and the team really responded. Avery had 4 points (1G, 3A) in the 5-2 win, but his physicality was contagious and got the whole team playing tougher than I've seen them play all year. This was a great game! Gaborik, Kotalik, Drury and Callahan had the other goals. Hank could have had a shutout as both goals given up took bounces of Rangers first. Still it was a good night for the Rangers and it may be time to start talking about them again. Go Rangers!

Ugh!

So, reports are coming in from all over that the Yanks are not in on Chapman. I'm hoping this is an elaborate ruse, otherwise I'm getting concerned about our organizational will going forward. The Yanks radically altered their IFA plan as soon as Chapman defected. Not only that, but since then, they have traded off a nice chunk of talent, including one very high upside arm from their farm. Chapman represents a great opportunity for a team that never picks hight to add a top talent to their farm and future. Passing just doesn't make any sense, unless he did something to really turn them off. They have to replace the lost talent and they should be starting with this kid. Go Yanks.

Waufle Out

Mike Waufle, the highle regarded DL coach of the Giants has been fired. He was the one guy on the defense I thought was safe. I guess none of them are. Romeo Crennel may be the leading candidate for the DC job, though Fewell is still coming in tomorrow and Pepper Johnson has also shown interest in the position. I'm not too confident in how this is shaping up.

Looking for a Fewell Good Man?

Word on the street has it that Perry Fewell, the damn good DC of the Buffalo Bills will be meeting with the Giants about their vacant DC position on Thursday. Fewell has had very good success with limited resources in Buffalo, and is not only a top notch techinician, but he's an emotional coach, like Spags was and unlike Sheridan was. He has worked for Coughlin before as a db's coach, so there's nice familiarity there. He may be surprised at how TC has mellowed. The potential fly in the ointment is that the Bears may want him, too, and the Giants have historically not gotten into bidding wars for coaching talent. If he's their guy, I hope they do what it takes to make him a Giant. Go Giants!

John Mara Goes OFF!

So what does it say about the Giants "performance" this year that the gentleman in the picture with the Cardinal went off today? The've got it on http://www.wfan.com/ and in many ways you can tell that John Mara is as die hard as the most die hard fan, but he just happens to be one of the owners. You've heard of people putting things in "no uncertain terms"? Well, John Mara doesn't have other kind of terms. Expect changes


Btw, as is there habit, we won't know about changes till after they've happened. I'm pretty sure some of the coaches have already been fired. Go Giants!

Giants Will Pick 15th

With the Jets win over the Bengals, the Giants secured the valuable 15th overall pick in the draft. After hitting consecutive homers with Phillips and Nicks picking late in the first in the last two drafts, just imagine what they're gonna be able to find at 15, and with the rest of their middle of the round picks. I think Jerry and the scouts will clean up with these picks. Go Giants!

The Offseason Begins

Jerry, meet adversity. Adversity, meet Jerry. Now that we've got the intros out of the way, it's time for Jerry Reese, the owners and Tom Coughlin to start fixing things. First things first, it's time to fire a coordinator or three, and then it might be time to wave goodbye to some other coaches. Then they'll need to find replacements, and not just replacements, but upgrades. They can take their time with cutting players. Here's why: 2010 is looking like an uncapped year, and as soon as that's official we can dump any deal we want with no repercussions, so we might as well wait. The bad thing about the uncapped year is the Washington and Dallas who are cashflushed already from their stadiums can both get out of salary hell and start offering huge bonuses. Hopefully, the Giants will be able to come up with enough cash to get the players they want this offseason but it's gonna be tough.


I don't really have a plan for this yet, I'm waiting to see who gets fired first, and then we can start looking at what should be done. They should be able to reload and get right back in the thick of things with good hires and an effective offseason. Go Giants!

Nate!

I missed the game, but apparently, while I was out, Nate Robinson returned to action and dropped 41 on the Hawks as the Knicks started the New Year right last night. It says a lot about Nate that he could come off his 14 game benching and go off like that. And I would think it also indicates that the Knicks may be able to trade his expiring contract with either Jeffries or Curry. It's suddenly a very nice situation as the deadline approaches. Hopefully, he'll be back in the rotation for the rest of his time, and if we have any luck at all, he'll be getting more minutes than Duhon while he's here. Go Knicks.