Yanks Win!

CC was good but ended up getting a no decision after the TIgers tied the game at three on an unearned run. The Yanks got their three on a mammoth homer from Mark Teixeira. The Yanks took the lead for good on a homer from Curtis Granderson, who also made some great catches. Joba pitched a 1-2-3 7th. Soriano pitched a 1-2-3 8th. And Mo did his thing to close it out. The Yanks also picked up runs on a sac fly from Jete and a dunker from Swish. Needless to say, a nice start to the season for the Yankees. Go Spanks!

Life Begins

In a little over an hour, the Yanks will begin their official quest for #28. Pundits think the starting pitching is short, but the line-up and bullpen both look undeniable. The key for the Yanks is to get off to a good start and be patient. The kids they have in the system are better than anything they are going to be offered. Montero pressed and didn't hit in ST, but he will and he'll be back up, in the next few months. I'm expecting big years out of the usual suspects plus Gardner and Granderson. The bench looks better with Nunez, Chavez and Jones than it has in years. We just need production out of the rotatation, and that should start with CC today. Go Yanks!

Knicks Win Again!

Carmelo went for 39 and ten again, and added 5 more assists as the Knicks came back from another bad start against a bad team tonight. Chauncey Billups seems to be rounding back into form and went 33/6/6, Amar'e, who may be running on vapors at the moment scored 23 with 2 blocks but only one rebound. Let's clinch already and give the man some rest. Anyway, it seems some halftime adjustments were made, and the Knicks were able to assert themselves and win. Nice work. Let's hope this is still the beginning of a magic carpet ride. Go Knicks!

Knicks Win!

For the first time in some time, the Knicks won a game. It was not as easy as it should have been to beat the Magic without Knick killer, Jameer Nelson in the line-up, but you have to crawl before you can walk and tonight was a good time to start. They blew a chance to win it in regulation but missed shots. They finally put it away after Howard fouled out in the OT. I still think they have a fun run in them this year, perhaps it's starting. Go Knicks!

Kreider Time Again?

Chris Kreider, the Rangers #1 prospect, may have played his last collegiate game last night as BC was eliminated by Colorado. Kreider, who'd been out with a broken jaw, returned for the game and was rusty, but did record an assist. The Rangers drafted Kreider out of prep school two years ago, and Sather tried to steer him away from BC and into juniors at that time. But Kreider chose BC. Torts has fallen in love with him at both prospects camps and other events. He has been a key player for the US Junior team that won a gold medal last year, then took the bronze this year. He's already won and NCAA championship at BC as a frosh. He was also the MVP of the Beanpot just before he had his jaw broken. Hopefully, the injury will remind Chris that it's better to be on the payroll at such times.

Though, Jesse over at Prospect Park, thinks Kreider hasn't done enough to come out. I agree the production isn't point a game, but he has been great in big games, and seems to play up to the level of his C's. In both that sense and in the sense of size, speed and hands he's sort of like Evgeny Grachev, though even faster. Seriously he has Pavel Bure type speed at power forward size. Anyway, I don't think he should risk getting injured any more at BC, and he already has had a ton of experience and success there. He's very much the kind of high character, team oriented kid the Rangers have been stocking the shelves with, and he should sign. Hopefully in the next few days. Go Rangers!

Rangers Shutout Bruins!

Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers withstood a wild barrage by the Bruins in the third period to win 1-0 in Beantown. It was Hanks's 11th shutout and one of his finest moments as a Ranger, and he got massive support from his teammates who were giving up their bodies and blocked something like 17 shots in the 3rd alone! Girardi was great. Derek Stepan scored the lone Ranger goal on a deflection. It was his 20th. He's special. This Ranger team may be a little bit ahead of schedule. Go Rangers!

Yanks Trade Mitre, Sign Milwood

Not sure of all the details here, but the Yanks have apparently traded Sergio Mitre to the Brewers, no clue on the return, and signed Kevin Milwood to a deal that either let's him start in the minors and allows him to opt out by May first. It appears that both Colon and Garcia will make the roster to start the season, and Milwood will wait in reserve. Decent situation. Trading Mitre is always good. Go Yanks!

Something Up Their Sleeves?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the Knicks lost again. And, yet again it was a game they might have won had more of their shots gone down. But what has me pretty excited was the little two man game Melo and Amar'e played as the game was winding down. If you've been watching, Melo had been playing a lot to pick and roll with Turiaf, which seemed a little weird. But tonight they showed it late, with Amar'e and it was sick. I still think the run is coming. Go Knicks!

5 straight!

Hank contributed his 10th shutout of the year, and Brandon Dubinksy score the game winning goal in the 3rd, for the Rangers 5th straigth win. They are rolling now, but they are gonna be GREAT soon. Go Rangers!!!!!!!

What a Win!

After a cheap shot elbow from Matt Cooke to Ryan McDonagh, the Rangers roared back from a 2-1 deficit to win 5-2 in Pittsburgh. Anisimov, who continues breaking out, had the first goal. Then Gaborik tied it during a two man advantage in the third. Ryan Callahan who had taken a high stick which drew blood, then untied it, and all bets were off. McDonagh got his revenge by assisting on a Derek Stepan goal, and Dubi hit an empty netter to end it. Pittsburgh had been outskating them for the first two and a half periods, but the Rangers responded to the cheap shot, and have now won 4 in a row! Go Rangers!

Rangers Win Again

The Rangers scored 5 times in the first period on their way to beating the Canadiens 6-3 at the Garden tonight. The breakout seasons of Anisimov and Boyle continued, while Girardi had a rare two goal effort. Gaborik and Callahan stayed hot and you have to wonder where the Rangers would be if those two hadn't missed so much time. That's three in a row for 6 points. Go Rangers!

Rangers Sign McIlrath, Bourque

The Rangers continued solidifying their system by signing former pick Dylan McIlrath and Ryan Bourque to contracts today. Apparently, they also plan on signing Michigan's Carl Hagelin, and hope to sign Chris Kreider from BC as soon as their seasons end. I'd also like to see them sign Roman Horak, a former pick, who's been averaging better than a point a game this year. McIlrath, is the big, tough defenseman they picked last year in the first round. The kid just keeps getting better, and add to the Rangers group of talented young D's soon. Ryan Brourque is the smurphy son of Ray Bourque, who scored more than a point a game in juniors this year. I don't know what's going on with Ethan Werek. Go Rangers!

Nova!!!!!!

Ivan Nova threw 6 innings of no-hit ball against the Orioles tonight, which is great since he's competing for rotation spot with Garcia and Colon. What's most interesting about Nova is that he has developed a slider this Spring and it's showing signs of being a plus pitch. Followers of the system will recall that Ivan has always had a top arm, capable of reaching 97 or so, as well as a good curve and change. The perplexing thing about his minor league career though, was that he couldn't use all that stuff to create K's. He's got better last year, now, if he's added a plus slider, we might be getting something a little better than a 4 or 5. Its very interesting stuff. Go Yanks.

Rangers Trounce Islanders

Marian Gaborik scored twice and Brian McCabe had his first Ranger goal as the Blueshirts downed the Isles 6-3 on the Island. Cally, Christenson and Prust had the other three goals. These were two big points as the Rangers look to stay in the race. Go Rangers!

Christian Thomas

Chris Thomas, the Rangers second round draft choice from last year, has exploded this season in juniors, netting 5 goals in his past two days to bring his season total to 54 with a few games left. He is averaging way over a point a game and is looking like a big time snipe, despite his shortish stature. That's just a lot of goals at any level. Ethan Werek and Ryan Bourque are also averaging better than a point a game in juniors. It's a good year for the system.

Game Winner!

Wow! Carmelo Anthony just hit a gamewinning shot with .05 seconds left in regulation. The Knicks had been up by as much as 17 but they went a little cold and dealt with a really lopsided foul situation all night. They shot wonderfully, but only got to the line twice! Anyway, Melo finished with 31 and Amar'e had 26. They are both playing really well, and really well together. As expected, Melo is turning out to be a bit more complete than people thought. Toney Douglas and Landry Fields have also stepped up lately, as has Roger Mason Jr. Douglas has a chance to be really, really good, though he still makes extra mistakes. Huge game against Dallas tomorrow. Go Knicks!

Knicks Destroy Jazz

Both Amar'e and Melo topped 30 in limited minutes as they absolutely clobbered the Jazz tonight, scoring a season high 131 points. Toney Douglas had another big game in the absence of Chauncey Billups, with 20 pts on 6 of 9 shooting. Needless to say there was extensive garbage time and everybody played. Derrick Brown actually showed some sick explosivity, as he threw down a few. Shelden Williams even scored in double figures in the second half. Sharpshoot Roger Mason Jr. got some more minutes and looks like he may hit a big shot for us at some point. Big win. Go Knicks!

Knicks Win!

The Knicks were without Billups for the third straight game, and also without Turiaf and Billy Walker, went down to Atlanta and beat the team they are chasing. Amar'e scored 26, though Carmelo never really got off after being poked in the eye early. It was the team D they played and the contributions of role players like Fields, Carter, Williams and Mason, that really put them over the top against the Hawks. The Knicks were trading 1 point leads with the Hawks till there were till there were about 9 minutes left in the 4th, and then the Knicks exploded. Huge win! Go Knicks!

Dominance!

Ryan Callahan had 4! goals, Mats Zuccarello added 2 and Artem Anisimov had 1 as the Rangers just pasted the Flyers 7-0 for Hank's 9th shutout of the year. Cally had never had a hat trick before, but he blew by that mark when he scored his 4th early in the third. Anisimov seems to be taking a step up - and just in time. MZA is looking like he could be a real scorer. And obviously, the defense played great, lead by Mark Staal and Dan Girardi. McDonagh returned today and continued to look like the real deal. Gaborik returned and, although a little rusty, something sure gave the team a lift. Huge win! Go Rangers!

Big Year Brett?

Brett Gardner's wrist is finally healthy and he's been proving that by ripping doubles and a triple in ST. The wrist is one of the reason I think Gardy will have a big year. The other is the quality of his walks. As he was developing we always wanted him to walk more, but he would often turn down a walk and swing when he shouldn't. He no longer seems to do that, instead, if it's a ball, he takes it, and if he likes it, he gives it a rip. That seems like a small thing but it's huge thing in his development. Last year, playing hurt, Gardy walked 79 times and got 132 hits. Now that he's healthy and has better discipline, I expect Brett to walk close to 100 times, and significantly up his hit total. Throughout his career, Gardy has taken some time to adjust to a level and then just exploded. I think now that he's healthy, we're gonna see it at the ML level. He's probably never gonna have 10 homers, but I expect broad based growth in all of his other offensive contributions. Btw, he already has two baserunner kills from left in the Spring games. Oh, and did I mention? This is his age 27 season. Let's see if he does, indeed, breakout.

Wow

If Manny Banuelos had not been shut down last Spring with appendicitis, the Yanks might have a clear cut #5 right now. Manny Banuelos was once again sublime last night against the Sox, throwing two innings, and getting three K's and three groundout. He also gave up a groundball double over third, and a walk. But he showed three plus pitches and touched 96 with his fastball. That is insane for a 19 year old.

Between, Banuelos and Betances, Yankee fans have a lot to be excited about. And Andrew Brackman pitched a sim game today and should see game action this week. Good times are coming. Go Yanks!

At Least the Rangers Won!

While the Knicks were inexplicably losing to the Cavs again, even while getting great games from Melo and Amar'e, and the Yanks were losing to the Sox in Tampa, the Ranger halted their 3 game skid beating the Sens 4-1 on the row. They now have 20 road wins against 14 at home. Weird. Derek Stepan scored again and it looks like he could finish with more than 20 in his rookie year. Nice.

As for the Knicks? They wasted great games by Melo and Amar'e. Things should start rolling when Chauncey gets back.

For the Yanks, Manny Banuelos pitched two more scoreless innings hitting 96 on the gun and showing three plus pitches. If he didn't have an innings restriction he would make the team. Wow! Can't trade him. Go Teams!

Cervelli Out For at Least a Month

It is time for Jesus. Look, I thought he was going to win the starting job out of camp, anyway, but now they have no reason not to bring him North and let the era begin. Go Yanks!

Knicks Win!

The Knicks gave the "Toastmaster" a taste of MSG fun and what is probably in his future as they energetically dismantled New Orleans tonight at home. Melo was once again impressive, playing through obvious elbow pain, he threw himself around like Derek Jeter going after loose balls and making plays all over the place before sitting out the 4th quarter. Amar'e was also terrific and will keep upping his game as the new chemistry sets in.

What was most interesting about tonight was the way that Toney Douglas stepped up for the injured Chauncey Billups. He played with energy and scored in a variety of ways. He made some bad decisions, but a lot more good plays. He may indeed be a keeper (or a very valuable trade chip). When he goes off, he is somewhat reminiscent of Nate, though he is a much more intense defender.

Landry Fields continued to miss shots he usually makes, but his effort was there on the boards and on D. It will all come together soon. Shawne Williams bounced back from a long draught and looked really impressive. Carter made some plays when he was in, and Jared Jefferies tried to lead the D on his return.

It was a very nice game by the whole team, and the energy in the Garden had to have Chris Paul dreaming of what could happen in the not so distant future. Go Knicks!

Knicks Claim Derrick Brown

The have apparently been rewarded PF Derrick Brown on waivers from Charlotte. At 6'9", Brown is a long lean defender who shot the 3-ball well at Xavier. He was not getting heavy minutes in Charlotte, but does take the long-lean project role previously held by Randolph and Brewer. Jared Jeffries is still expected to sign later today and is already with the team in Orlando. Go Knicks.

UPDATE: Apparently, Charlotte tried to sneak him through waivers after their 3 for 1 trade last week, but the Knicks grabbed him, instead. Raymond Felton was a big fan.