Knicks Beat Washington

The Knicks still don't have it all figured out, but they just won an exciting game in Washington because Carmelo Anthony is still elite, and now he's got a supporting cast, and deep second unit around him.  Melo had 37.  The rest of the team combined for 80, and that was a little amazing because Lopez, Zinger and O'Quinn were in foul trouble all night.  Lance Thomas had a big game and may be more than just a coach's favorite.  Jerian Grant hit a huge 3 in the fourth when it was going back and forth and Langston Galloway hit two.  Jose Calderon's D lead to some of the foul trouble for the bigs, and he as supplanted in the clutch by Grant and Galloway.  Galloway just keeps getting better.  Grant needs to cut down on turnovers, but he could follow a trajectory that's similar to Galloway's.  Huge win for the Knicks, and a great sign that Melo can still do this.

This Week on the Blog

Alright, this week had a bit of excitement.  JPP returned to the Giants and seems like he could play next week, and the Knicks showed they were differnt than last year's team.  The Rangers bumped alonng, the Yanks are looking good in the AFL, and the Giants beat Dallas.   But, we need an even better week this week.

Giants:  The Giants should beat New Orleans, except they almost never win down there, and tomorrow is All Saints Day.  Still, the Giants should prevail, though, they rarely do what they they should do, and there is literally no excuse for heading back to .500.

Rangers:  The Rangers continue to win with minimal contributions from their big guns.  This week we discovered that McDonagh's foot injury was worse than we thought and he may not be 100% at any time this year.   What's more the team's passing and shooting is abysmal so far, and they just aren't shooting enough.  But, getting points for every game is the best way to stay in it while you're figuring things out, and they're sure doing that, even if it is hard to watch.

Yankees: The Yanks need to make room for Gary Sanchez, who is mashing up the AFL. He's a rare talent and if Girardi doesn't think he's a fit at C, then it really is time to force his hand.   Gary could be another Posada, and the Yanks tend to win a lot when they have C's like that.   I think they really have to get rid of McCann, who's basically been declining since well before they signed him.   We'll see what happens.   They also have to find a way to get Ben Gamel on the 40 or trade him for something good, because he will be the first or second pick in the Rule 5 draft if he isn't protected or exchanged.

Knicks:  The Knicks play again in an hour, and through two, they are fun to watch.  It's a work in progress, but this team probably could roll at some point.  They also did something interesting today, and that was, they drafted Jimmer Fredette with the #2 overall pick in the D-League draft.  Using that valuable a pick on Jimmer means they probably have a long term tryout agreement with him.  I think he'll be a fit on the second team, once Grant or Galloway or both graduate.  And this probably is the beginining of the end game for Calderon.

So, go teams, and have a great week everyone!

Zucc Socks the Leafs

Mats Zuccarello just posted his first career hat-trick, as the Rangers beat the somewhat hapless Leafs, 3-1.  It should have been a shutout, but Hank gave up a late one.  This team is still not functioning anywhere near its potential, but at least their winning - flat as they've been, and if they find those other gears, they could cruise.

Knicks Bash Bucks

Holy crap!  The Knicks just beat the Bucks, 122-97 in Milwaukee.   I hope you got to see, because for the first time in years, they played like a team on offense and defense.  Melo was off early, but shared the ball and played concerned and concerted defense.  Porzingis and Grant had terrific debuts as they both showed great talent on O and D, and within the team concept.  Derrick Williams was probably the star of the night, coming off the bench to score 24 points.  Langston Galloway also looked much improved, and deadly form 3.  Oh, and Kyle O'Quinn was a beast in the first half, posting 8 point, 9 boards, and great D.  He wasn't as productive in the second, but I'm not sure he is used to being as trusted as he as out there tonight.   I'm glad the Knicks locked him up, but starting to get concerned that they didn't lock up Willams.   Both look like break out possibilities.   At the end of the game, when the resuly had been determined, Galloway and Grant and the others set up the Lance Thomas show.   Just a great night to be a Knick fan, and probably the most fun since Linsanity.

Giants Sign JPP

The Giants today, apparently content with JPP's football shape, re-signed their erstwhile end.  He's still probably a few weeks away for competing, but perhaps this is the beginning of guys getting back instead of going out with inane injuries.   I assume the contract is loaded with incentives and won't harm the cap war chest the Giants will take into the offseason.

Rangers Win

Rangers just won, which gave them 3 points off the back-to-backs, which is only 25% suboptimal, but we have to remember that a goal was disallowed in regulation against the Flyers yesterday on a terrible call.  Rangers were a little flat in the first period, and fell behind 1-0 with Antti Raanta back back in the net, but they came to life in the second. Oscar Lindberg tied it in the second and then they rolled getting goals from Girardi (?!), Klein and Brassard before the game was over.   So a big game to salvage what had been an unsatisfying spell for them.   Big win, and nice to see Raanta steady and Oscar scoring again.

Giants Beat Dallas

This should not have been as tough a game as it was against a Dallas team starting Matt Cassel.  But it was.  The Giants couldn't stop the run all day, though they did pick off three passes, including 2 by DRC, onc of which was a pick 6.   Anyway, the biggest play of the game happened after the Cowboys  hit a big play in the end zone to tie it.   But on the ensuing kickoff, former Cowboy, Dwayne Harris took it to the house to make it 27-20 and that's how it stayed.   In the final two minutes, the Cowboys turned it over on downs, but then the Giants couldn't burn the clock.  Fortunately Dallas muffed the punt and Myles White plucked it out of the air.   So, some huge plays in the secondary and on specials, but the only offensive TD came from Orleans Darkwa, who probably needs more reps.

This Week on the Blog

Alright, last week was nothing special, let's hope this week is.

Giants:  The Giants, basically, face another save or lose the season game today.  I posted that picture of Larry Donnell because his massive inconsistency personifies the team.  After last weeks no-show against Philly, I'm not sure the 2015 Giants are any better than last year's team, and that ridiculous, because they should be.  They played way too softly against Philly last week, now let's see if they can turn it around against Dallas.

Rangers:  The Rangers' record is okay, but they're off to another kind of crappy start this year. It's not as bad as last year's start, which they were able to overcome and win the President's Trophy, but it's frustrating to watch.   They're hurting themselves on offense, but over-passing and not putting enough shots on goal.  They should have won last night in regulation, but for a disallowed goal that the league made up a new rule for.   They play again today, and it's time to get some momentum going.

Knicks:  The Knicks will start their regular season in a few days, and I'm not really sure what to make of them.   It seems like th D is going to be improved, and there's already a much better sense of "team" in this edition, than I've seen since the Riley/Van Gundy era, and since I believe teams win, that should be good news for the Knicks.  I think they're only somewhat built now, but I like where they seem to be going from a construction standpoint, and we'll have to see if that turns into a good record this year, or just an improved one.  

Yankees:  The Yanks are apparently set to name Tim Naehring as the replacement for Billy Eppler, but won't announce it till they complete some more changes in their heirarchy.  Interestingly, Naehring won't have the same job titles that Eppler held.  That's a little like what they did last year when Denbo replaced Newman, but with a slightly different set of responsibilities.  We'll see what it looks like when it shakes out.  Naehring has been a scout for the Yanks since 2007, though I think he's mostly been on the less impressive pro side.   Oh, and Gary Sanchez hit another bomb yesterday. Do not trade him.

So that's what it's looking like.  Have a great week everyone.

Rangers Win

Chris Kreider finally scored a goal tonight, as did Yandle and Nash for their firsts and Hayes scored his second,  as the Rangers beat the Yotes 4-1.  JT Miller still doesn't have one but he did pick up an assist on Hayes's goal and was a one man wrecking crew hitting anything that moved tonight.  Love to see him compete and still making plays while he works toward that first one.  I cannot believe the number of posts and crossbars the teams has hit through 8 games.

The Kreider goal was at the end of a stretch play that got the puck to a breaking Zuccarello, who then passed it over to a streaking Kreider for the re-direction.  These stretch plays have really been missing through the first 8 games, and I wasn't sure whether the league was taking them away or if the Rangers were like Eli and Odell and just missing them all the time.  Good to see Yandle score, and it was a powerplay goal.   But it was only his third goal as a Ranger, and Duclair already has 5 or 6 for the Coyotes, and they still have our one coming.  Just a terrible, terrible trade, and possibly, the anti-Gomez move.

Nash scored on the empty net.  He didnt actually shoot the puck into the net, but he was hooked on a breakaway and was awarded the goal.   Hopefully tonight can get Kreider and Nash scoring like they should,   Kreider just missed a second, by the way, and was flying all night.

Do you realize that the Rangers third line with Hayes, Miller and Lindberg has 3 centers?   Weird.

Yanks Name Hit-Deki Matsui Special Advisor to Cash

The Yanks have given Hideki Matsui a Special Adviser post and expect him to work in player development.   They say he'll mostly travel througn the minors, in uniform, working with all the hitters.   That sort of replaces what Gary Denbo was doing before he became head of player development.   Obviously, Hit-deki was a great hitter and also fundamentally sound, so this should be a good match.

Yanks: Tanaka Has Arthroscopic Elbow Surgery

The Yanks have announced that Masahiro Tanaka underwent arthroscopic elbow surgery to remove a bone spur from his pitching elbow.  First off, it's amazing he could pitch through that, and second off, he'll be ready from Spring Training.   Jacob Lindgren had the same surgery over the summer and was ready to return had the Yanks gone deeper.   So this is really good news as far as it goes.

The most famous bonespur in Yankee history was probably Joe DiMaggio's.  I believe it was in it's heal and was reducing him, till it broke off getting in or out of a taxi cab.

Rangers Waive Tanner Glass

So maybe there are consequences...  The Rangers have finally waived Tanner Glass.   Of course this is a move that should have been made in camp on a player that should have never been signed for one year, let alone three years.  Look, I'm sure Glass is a great guy, and the guys like to be around him, but in today's NHL you can't have unproductive players and Glass is the very definition of that.   I assume he'll go down to Harford and teach the kids "grit" or whatever hockey skill he has to teach.   The move creates a little more cap room.

Rangers Shut Out Sharks!

Aanti Ranta earned a shutout in his first ever Rangers start as the Rangers beat the Sharks 4-0 at the Garden.  Big and needed win.  Fast, Staal, Zucc and Stalberg had the goals.

Yanks Fire Pentland and Tuck

The Yanks today, or, it was learned today that the Yankees have fired one of their hitting coaches, Jeff Pentland, as well as their bullpen coach, Gary Tuck.

Pentland was one half of their hitting coach team, and it looks like Alan Cockrell is safe.  I don't know if this represents a fair accounting of who did what, but let's hope the guy who helped Didi is the one they kept, and we know, neither of these guys abused Betances and Shreve.

The Yanks also fired Gary Tuck, who is nominally the bullpen coach, but really a legendary catching instructor.   Even with Pena and Girardi likely still around, they are going to need to replace Tuck with someone really good, since guys like Murphy, Sanchez and Torrens are already there or on the way.  I'm hoping Tuck was just sick of the grind and might be willing to take a job in the organization. This one reminds me of when the Giants fired Pope.

And Tuck still wasn't responsible for the pitching abuse or for McCann hitting .199 from August first on.   Odd moves.  And sickeningly it seems even more like Girardi is safe.

This Week on the Blog

Alright, this past week was just okay.  It started with Giant and Ranger wins, then went downhill from there.  Let's see if we can't do better this week.

Giants:  Giants play the Eagles on Monday Night tomorrow, and for a change I think they are lucky that they got the extra day.  This is because both Beckham and Randle tweaked their hammies last Sunday night and the extra day gives them, and everyone else who's dinged, and extra day. As a result of those uncertainties, we could see an even heavier dose of Shane Vereen tomorrow.  Tiki used to give the Eagle fits, and maybe Shane can have the same effect.

Rangers:  The Rangers won their first three games, then a few minutes ago, lost their third straight.   They have scored a total of 2 goals in the three losses, and have played disgracefully.  Not really sure what the problem is with Kreider, Hayes and Miller, but if they're not chipping in goals, the Rangers will continue to struggle.   They're just not getting their stretch passes or playing good D.  And they're not playing fast at all, especially on the PP.   It's early though, and they should adjust.

Yankees:  The Yanks cut Rico Noel this past week, and will  have to continue pairing down the the 40 man roster over the coming weeks.  They've also got to find a new Assistant GM, as well as a new AAA manager.  So, lots of housekeeping.

Knicks:  The Knicks have looked good in the preseason.  Last night, they lost for the first time, but they also didn't dress Melo, Lopez, O'Quinn or Calderon, and they were in it the whole way.  Zinger, who's still finding his way played for only the third time last night.  Jerian Grant, who's still finding his shot, continues to impress on D, and at the point.  Galloway and Early both look much improved. This could be a really interesting, if not rewarding season for a change.

So that's about where we are.  Have a great one, everyone.

Yanks Offseason, Pt.4

Whatever the plan turns out to be, it cannot include "getting older" at any spot on the diamond.  I think there's a belief somewhere in the Yankee heirarchy that established superstars drive attendance.      While that was certainly true when ARod came to the Yanks, what is equally true is the fact that over the hill superstars don't seem to drive attendance at all.   And that's clear because evcn though this year's Yanks were constantly in contention and even picked up a wild card -- attendance was down.     What's more, aging superstars break down constantly as we've witnessed with ARod, Tex, and Beltran over the past few years.   Oh, and CC with his knee.   Anyway, signing over 30's, and constantly tacking on the extra year is a large reason for why they are where they are right now, and it's got to stop.

Of course, the other issue is that back when a lot of the best players were coming out straight high school like ARod and Jeter, now a lot of the best players are going ahead with college,  and thus aren't starting their clocks till they're 22, 23 or 24, and unlike the old days when they'd hit free agency around age 27, nowadays, they're hitting it at 30.   And the Yanks should just layoff those kind of players.

So, how do they get younger?   Keep developing and calling up the kids and work a bunch of old for young trades.  They can even work young for young trades if it "makes sense."  What they've got to do though is get younger and stop signing big name re-treads like Zobrist.

Yanks Offseason, Pt. 3

One of the big organizational decisions the Yanks have to make about next year and the future is how to incorporate a system that is back "on" and producing lots of major league talent again.   To that end, it would seem, Tyler Wade has been playing 2B in the AFL, and today, Gary Sanchez, who hit his second homer, was taking balls at Third.   Sanchez was a 3B before he signed with the Yanks and was immediately converted to C.  So, hopefully they're trying to breed some versatility up and down the chain, as a few of the other up the middle guys have been playing both positions in Instructs, too. One of them, like Thairo Estrada or Abiatal Avelino, could turn into a Super Ute.   The Yanks have wanted to develop one who isn't a nothing at the plate and is credible at 2B, SS, SB and OF.

They used to have one, you know.   Look up Gil McDougald some time.  He could play all the infield positions at a gold glove level, and for the first half of his career, he was also a damn good hitter.

Anyway, the Yanks could save a ton of money on all glove crap by breeding some veratility in their fine young hitters.

Giants: Donnell Saves the Season

This was yet another game where the Giants refused to put it away in the first three quarters against an inferior opponent.  In fact, after the 49ers scored with a little more than a minute left, the Giants trailed by 4.   What's more Beckham and Randle were both out with hamstrings when the final drive began.   But, the Giants did have three timeouts and worked a bunch of plays with Vereen before hitting Donnell, who had to reach over Navarro Bowman,  to secure the ball and the catch for the touchdown and the win.   Huge play.

Odell, did come back and draw a crucial pass interference penalty to get the Giants the first down that lead to the touchdown.  And that was huge.

Beason received a concussion on the first series of the game, and Pugh also left limping late in the game, to go along with the injuries to Odell and Ruben.   Will Tye had an encouraging second game.

This Week on the Blog

Alright, last week the Yanks ender their season by getting shutout at home, wich put a big crimp in all of our Autumns.     That being said, the Giants got back to .500, the Knicks started playing preseason games, and the Rangers went 3-0 to start their regular season.   So everybody else was good, except the Yanks.   This week should be fun.

Giants:  The Giants play the 49ers tonight.  I've despised the 49ers since the Walsh era, and I hope the Giants make quick work of them tonight.  Really, I don't want to see another game where the outcome is in question in the final 10 minutes.   The 49ers are a bad team now, and the Giants have to step on them.  So no mistakes and keep your foot on the gas.   Then the Giants have to think about re-integrating Will Beatty and maybe even JPP.

Rangers:  The Rangers are off to a strong start, and some of their best players, like Kreider and Nash, haven't even scored goals yet.   We should see those guys join the party any minute now, but I'm not sure that life isn't setting the groundwork for a Rick Nash trade.  I remember talking about trading Gaborik a few years ago and being told "no way."  But the Rangers are and will be desperate for cap room, and Nash has not really won over the crowd, and isn't even wearing a letter, even after St. Louis' retirement.   Just a thought that he's the most obvious place to find more cap space.

Knicks: The Knicks have really looked like a team in the early going.  Unlike last year's team, everyone seems to be on board, and there's no weird vibe about it, and no JR Smith's.  Kristaps Porzingis was nervous in game one, then began to show his all around abilities in game two.   Both he and Jerian Grant look like ringers.  This is an exciting time to be a Knick fan, even if they won't contend.

Yanks:  The AFL starts this week.   The hitters the Yanks have sent are pretty ho-hum, but the pitchers they've sent are anything but.   Domingo Acevedo and Ian Clarkin are probably the Yanks 1 and 2 pitching prospects now that Severino has gradutated to the majors.   They both need innings.   Acevedo was limited to around 50 this year because of a blister problem, and Ian missed the whole season, so those two will be worth the price of boxscore tracking - at least.   And, of course, there are a million other things they need to do.

Have a great week, everyone!

Rangers Win Again

The Rangers scored three times in the first five minutes of the game tonight, and then settled down for a 5-2 win.  Oscar Lindberg had the first two goals, and he may be even better than I thought he was and I've been calling for him to be promoted forever.  Dominic Moore had the 3rd.   Derick Brassard had a PP goal in the second, and Stepan scored a dagger in the third.   Having said that, I think AV is going to be pissed at them,

Here's why: Hank was amazing for the first two periods, and part of the reason he had to be was the Rangers turned down the energy once they got the 3-0 lead.  Then CBJ scored twice in the third, including one on a powerplay, that shouldn't have been allowed -- not by Hank -- but by the defense.  They left Johansen all alone in the crease for the second one.  So I think AV is going to drill them,

That said, if they can tighten up the D, and do a better job of staying out of the box, they will be able to build leads and calm it down, but they can't lower the energy so much that they get sloppy, or so much that they aren't ready to play a full game when they need to.  

Still, it's a very encouraging start to the season, but they still have to build.

Rangers Stun Columbus Late

Holy crap.  The Rangers are scary sudden.   The just beat Columbus,4-2, after being down 2-1 with about 3:51 left.   Then they scored 3 goals in 1:17 for the win.  I can't tell you how stunning that was and what a great sign that is for the Rangers going forward.   Holy crap.  First, Miller makes a great pass, and Oscar Lindberg converts it (he might be great).   Then Hayes shoots one from the wall and it goes in, that was from Girardi and Stepan. Finally Mats Zuccarello, scored his second of the game from Brassard, and that was that.

Zucc had scored his first goal with :42 left in the first off a steal and a backhand.   That was just a fabulous win.  Really.  I don't want to get ahead of myself, but that was special, and this team could be, too.

Yanks Offseason, Pt.2

We got into this a bit during the regular season, but as the season ends, the Yanks' 40 Man Roster is still a big problem area, and it's currently being compounded because all of those guys on the 60 Day DL will come back on it and place their number at 46.   Of course, the pending free agency of players like Drew and Capuano will help a bit, as will non-tenders and DFA's, but they will now have to make trades in order to turn the 40 back into asset protection mode by the time the rule 5 draft occurs in December.

So we're probably going to see some 2, 3 and even 4 for one trades in the offing.  And because of that, we will probably still have to part with some talent, that will would have been able to keep, had the 40 not gotten so screwed up.  The trades will probably start in November.

Rangers Beat the Blackhawks 3-2

Oscar Lindberg scored in the second or third minute of play, and looked like the real thing all night long.  The Blackhawks tied it at one, but then Keith Yandle made a perfect pass to Klein for the one timer down low, and then Stepan scored as he trailed a two on none from Hayes and Kreider.   JT Miller had assists on the first two goals, and both Hayes and Kreider got assists on Stepan's and that's all the scoring the Rangers did tonight.

The second period was a bit of a disaster, but they only gave up one goal, and it was on a typical Giradi turnover.  He's just not what he used to be, and shouldn't be in the top pairing anymore.   Hanks was solid all night, as the Rangers did enough in the third to leave with the 3-2 win.

All four Ranger lines had good jump, and Yandle may be coming around.  All good signs.   A scary moment came late when McDonagh was hit in the throat by the puck, but it didn't look like he missed a shift.   Big win, which was delayed by the Blackhawks naming all of the citizens of Chicago during the banner hanging ceremony.  Sweet to beat em.

Yanks Offseason, Pt. 1

The Yanks' offseason started today, and both Cashman and Levine gave interviews.  Now, long time observers won't put too much stock in these interviews because the Yanks have not yet had their organizational meetings and those, very really, or where the offseason agendas are set.

Right now, they will most likely they will perform their due diligence, both on the team, the system, and the market.  As of now, they hold the 22nd pick in next year's draft -- which could go higher if teams in front of them sign  arb eligible free agents.  They should hold onto that pick like grim death, for a few reasons.   First, they still need to add talent to their farm, second, first round picks pump ups bonus pools, and third, since this will be the second and last year of their IFA austerity punishment, they might want to go big in the June draft, so they should go in with all the ammo they can.  That way, they can go back to topping off the IFA market the following year, while they deal with minor draft penalties.   We'll see.

Two years ago at their organizational meetings, they decided to sign 3 over 30 free agents and the cost of their 3 first round draft picks, and that has been an unmitigated disaster so far and will be an financial fiasco by the time those players come off the books.

Beyond that, they do have prospects who'll be sought after in trades, but the Yanks should be trying to sell as many of their over 30's as they can.  So we'll see what happens there.

They also have to either have a strong talk with their manager about his propensity to play every game like it's the 7th game of the world series and thus destroy his bullpen every year, and also about segmenting the season into areas where they can start breaking in more of the farm ready talent.  And if he doesn't want to change, they need to move on, to someone they can trust with pitchers and prospects.

Down on the farm, they will probably continue their rolling rebuild, as they already have to find a new manager for at least Scranton, and who knows where else.  

Should be interesting.  

Yanks Lose Eppler to Angels

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have just named Yankee Assistant GM Billy Eppler as their new GM.   For one thing, this will mean that the Angels will join the Braves in waiver claiming and otherwise grabbing all of our former minor leaguers.   What's more Eppler will have to be replaced, and there are a number of up an comers in the organization who might step into slot.   And that would then mean replacing that person, and hoping Eppler doesn't poach any of our executive talent.  I said I wasn't going to get too into the offseason till it starts, but we've just added something to the to do list.

Yanks Stumble Into a Home Playoff Game

Yanks just got manhandled by the Orioles in a three game sweep.  But, because the Astros lost to the DBacks today, the Yanks will host the elimination game Tuesday night.  I don't want to get into the offeason yet, which could start as soon as Wednesday, but this whole season could have been better managed.   All I can do now is root as I always have and always will for the Yanks.

Giants Win Ugly

The Giants are now 2-2, after an ugly and somewhat nerve-wracking 24-10 win in Buffalo.  The Giants looked very good for almost the entire first half, but when offered the opportunity to score to end the first half, then get the ball and score to start the second, the Giants turned down both opportunities, and really didn't have any good drives till the beginning of the 4th quarter, when Eli hit Jennings and he went for a 51 yard score.  Odell did not have a big game, and Harris who did have a TD, injured his ribs when he was hit after a drop, and was in and out after that.

The Defense played pretty well and at times started to show that old, physical Spags feel.  Kennard, Wynn, Prince, Collins and Nikita Whitlock all had big plays on D.

Though ugly, this was a big and needed win for the Giants, and they should get some players back at some point.  Home against the 49ers next week.

This Week on the Blog

Alright, big week on the blog coming right up.

Yankees:  The Yanks have to win 1 game this weekend to host their wildcard play-in game on Tuesday against the Astros.   If they can't get it done, they'll travel to Houston to play it.  It will be interesting to see how they set their roster for the play-in game, and if they win that, thereafter.  They'll need ace Tanaka, not gopherball T.  And I will hopefully write something about the farm this week.

Rangers:  The Rangers start playing real games in Chicago on Wednesday.  It bothers me, sort of immensely, that as of now Tanner Glass is still on the team.   That he is has me sort of worried about Gorton, who I really wanted for that job.   There seems to be some indication that they still might make a deal, but it seems it will be to trim the 14 forwards, and in that case it can't be Glass, because he's untradeable and will instead be someone like Moore, whom I like.  They head to West Point tomorrow.

Giants:  The Giants face another must win game.  This time in Buffalo.  They were supposed to get Cruz back, but that's not happening.   It seems they are getting Owa Odigizuwa, back, and that could really end up helping the passrush going forward -- if not tomorrow.  And that could really help them with some decisions.   Beason should see more snaps, too.   So we'll see.  They really need to win.

Knicks:  The Knicks wrapped camp at West Point today, and will presumably start playing preseason games this week.  Melo made it through all the practices.  Zinger did not, as he tweaked his knee and they kept him out.   It's being characterized as a very minor thing, so he should play in the games.

So, there we have it.  And important slate of games and or decisions coming up on all fronts.   Have a great week, readers!

Yanks Clinch a Wildcard

The Yanks just clinched at least a wildcard game.   As the Yanks clinched,  Greg Bird, Rob Refsnyder, John Ryan Murpy, Slade Heathcott, Brett Gardner and Dellin Betances were playing defense.   All Yankee draft picks.  Bird and Refs also homered in the 4-1 win, and and Adam Warren, another pick, pitched 3 innings of scoreless relief.  It was also the Yankees 10,000th win.   Wow.

Now the Yanks need one more win or one more loss by the other wildcard contenders to make it a home playoff game.

Knicks Stuff

So, the Knicks have started their camp up at West Point (interestingly, the Rangers are heading their for  three day mini-camp before the season starts, too).   The Knicks just posted a clip from last night's open practice, and I've got to say, it's got a much more professional vibe to it than recent camps have had, ie. less playground stuff, more execution.

Unfortunately, The Zinger has tweeked his knee today, and is now limited. We'll see how long this is an issue.   He's sort of entering into a rookie script we're familiar with from all of our teams.  Meanwhile, if you watch the tape, he looks thicker than he did in Las Vegas, so, that part of the program is moving along nicely.