Yanks: Still Loaded Post Deadline

Estevan Florial is still a Yankee!  Maybe they can promote him to Tampa now.  We will probably see the deserving Solak move up to Trenton now that they have a spot open in the infield.  What we're really seeing is a testament to just how deep the system has become over the past several years.  And the system didn't just become great because we got Torres and Frazier, et al, at last year's deadline.   The Yankes were able to scotchguard the bullpen and the rotation, get at least a better defender at 3rd,  as well as mucho international dough, with mostly draft picks and really only one of the trade pieces, Littell, from the recent sell-offs.  And the system is still loaded.  So loaded in fact, they're going to have to use the waiver trade deadline, and all of the time before the rule 5 roster freeze to create more space on their 40 man roster.

Losing Blake Rutherford was brutal, and Mateo, who had worked hard to find his game was tough, too.  But as much as we loved Kaprielian and Fowler, their injury situations were clouding the Yanks rotational and outfield situations. And the Yanks just drafted about 60 Kaprielian clones, and Florial will be the CF as fast as he can climb there. It will be interesting to see if Sonny Gray will be David Cone or Jimmy Key, in terms of impact, or if he'll be able to stay healthy.  But they were able to get him for two high upside injured prospects with clock uncertainty, and a guy with 80 speed.  I think Mateo's 80 speed is the only thing for which the system doesn't have a ready made replacement.  Overall, the system is still in really good shape, and thus, so is the future.

Yanks Acquire Sonny Gray

Okay, this is just breaking but the Yanks have acquired Sonny Gray for Fowler, Mateo, and Kaprielian.  Fowler has the injury, so and Kap is coming back from TJS.  So the physicals won't be an issue. Fowler was a late bloomer and his injury is a scary one.  I am believer in Mateo, so that's tough.  And I'm a big fan of James Kaprielian but the TJS kind of screws up his clock, and Clarke Schmidt has the same TJS issue, but is on a different clock.  They hold onto Florial, and the rest, with Florial appearing to be the longterm plan for CF, as he should be.

So Sonny Gray, is a smaller version of Kaprielian and Schmidt, but healthier and with MLB success.  He's the type of pitcher we are now leaning toward drafting, and could be a big contributor with Sevy and Monty as the transition to a young rotation. When his curveball is on, he can be elite.

Yanks Trade Yefry Ramirez for International Pool Money

In a bit of good news, the Yanks today traded Yefry Ramirez to Baltimore for International Pool Money.  This clears a spot on the 40 for a decent enough prospect who was going to keep getting passed by the really good prospects.  Good stuff!

Yanks Trade for Jaime Garcia

Yanks opened up the final full day of the non-waiver trade period by acquring LHP Jaime Garcia from the Twins, for Dietrich Enns and Zach Littell. This is the second time Jaime has been traded in the past two weeks.  First from the Braves to the Twins and now the Twins to the Yanks. He has been a starter, and we'll have to see if this satisfies the season long quest to add a starter, or whether the Yanks are stil after Sonny Gray.

The move does remove Enns from the 40 Man roster, and the need to add Littell, who was shining this year, from the need to this offseason.  Garcia's ERA+ for this year is 116, while Gray's is 122.  I wonder if they will go to 6 starters, since Sevy and Monty will reach innings highs, and both Tanaka and CC are better on extended rest, or whether they will put Monty or Garcia in the pen.

This Week on the Blog

Alright, we are less than 48 hours away from the non-waiver deadline, the Yanks have won 6 in a row, the Giants have practiced twice,  the Knicks are moving toward some sort of deal, and it seems the Rangers are, too.  Let's take a look.

Yanks: The Yankees are bound to get another starting pitcher in the next 48 hours.  And this is just what Girardi's been signaling for since he first started Luis Cessa, instead of any of the better options in the system.  He has not been interested at all in having another rooke in the rotation.  He proved that again today, when he yanked Caleb Smith with one out and one on in the top of the 4th,  He's nuts, and we're about to lose more future because of that.  Seems like it's most likely to be Sonny Gray or Lance Lynn.  The A's have already announced that Gray will be skipping his start tomorrow.  We'll see what happens.  Gray is younger and having a better season than Lynn.

Giants:  The Giants are through two days of practice and will have tomorrow off.  No big injuries have been reported, so that's great.  Odell is already making news with his vision of true caplitalism for the NFL's future and himself in particular.  Not sure if he'll be highest paid player, but damn sure the Giants will make hims the highest paid WR. John Mara is personally fond of him, so this will happen, possibly before the season begins.

Knicks:  Scott Perry is on the verge of making his first big move as GM.  Melo is heading somewhere, and the question is whether or not there's away to bring Kyrie Irving to the Knicks, for whom he, almost suspiciously wishes to play.  Cleveland was originally on Melo's target list, but now he seems bent on going to Houston. We'll see what happens.

Rangers:  The Rangers officially announced the hiring of Lindy Ruff, which thankfully starts the clock on AV.  Some of the kids are playing in an international tourney and Andersson did the hockey version of decleating a guy from the USA today,  But the US won, and they have Tim Gettinger and Sean Day from the Rangers.  Rangers are still looking for a C, and a deal for Kyle Bozak has been imminent for the last two weeks.  I have no idea what's causing the delay.

Okay, so the big thing is the trade deadline and the Giants health.  I hope neither makes you unhappy. Have a great one.

Yanks At the Deadline

I'm starting this now, because even after a horrible month of baseball, replete with negative contributions by some veterans, the Yanks are back in First Place.   So, under Yankee Policy, they must buy -- while I'd still rather sell -- but understand they're switchover to the Steinbrennerian Overdrive. At the begininng of trade season Cash said they wanted to be careful buyers and not disrupt the long term plan.  A few weeks ago, I set out the players at each level that I didn't want to trade.  Definitely already traded one and possibly two,  Now we'll have to see if they can get their extra starter by turning over a passel of B+ type guys rather than any of the unique talents we have mixed among our prospects.  To wit, Jake Cave and Billy McKinney have FOUND THEMSELVES. Cave has been the best hitter on the entire AAA level since returning from an early season injury, and McKinney is looking just like the hitter that got him drafted in the first round.   These are ready made MLB corner outfielders.  While the Yanks seem to have their corners taken care of for the next several years, these guys can do it for another team starting as soon as they show up.  The Yanks should be able to pair these two as well as 2 pitching prospects and work something out.  I think the fact that Ben Gamel has turned himself into a regular guy for Seattle can only help the Yanks move these two.

It would also be good for the Yanks, through both this deadline and the waiver period, to make some room to get some people off of the 40 man roster.

So those are the twin missions: get a usable starter, and pair down the 40 man.

The other reason I'm starting this tonight, is because the Yanks have traded for pitching on a number of Friday Nights over the years, and I wouldn't be surprised if it happens again tonight.


UPDATE: Zach Littell has been scratched from his start...

Yanks Shouldn't Trade Mateo, Either

Since Eric Duncan and Edwar Ramirez made a little adjustment to Jorge Mateo's set-up or load, he's gone off, gotten promoted and been the best player on the EL leading Thunder.  He still has his 80 speed, and is now playing plus D whether it's at SS or CF.  The other day he hit a Grand Slam and has had an even bigger impact on the Thunder than Clint Frazier is having on the Yankees.   He like Florial, is someone that the Yanks should hang onto like grim death and certainly not throw into any trade that isn't for a Superstar (Trout, Stanton, Harper, Judge level) or a young ACE, and none of those are available.  Sonny Gray is, and though he's a good pitcher, I'd be stunned if we don't produce comprable or better starters over the next few years, starting with a healthy Kaprielian.

Anyway, the Yanks should only be making trades to set up the next dynasty, not prematurely try to start one, and throw future fixtures into a trade for a #3 starter.

Giants Open Camp

Here we go.  The Giants are reporting today to begin their march to the Superbowl. Most teams think this (not the Jets), but I think the Giants are set up to win big. Not only are they returning a once again dominant D, but on O. they've added big targets like Marshall and Engram, and will no longer be handing the ball to Rashad Jennings.  In fact, the Giants now are three or four deep at running back, and all of them can catch. Their kicker Aldrick Rosas is a bit of an unknown, but they can always find another.  There's even a chance that they've impoved the OL. But that remains to be seen.

The Yanks Shouldn't Trade Florial

This morning (PST), social media has the usual suspects claiming the Yanks are closing in on the momentarily and massively oveerrated Sonny Gray, and that the A's are willing to accept Estevan Florial. How kind of them. Any team getting a 5 tool OF like Florial for a non-ace starter like Sonny Gray should be doing back flips. This is particularly troubling for the Yanks because, after trading Rutherford for a curious package of players they'd  previously dismissed, the OF cupboard is BARE after any Florial trade. They have no tooled up and productive OF's below Charleston. And this guy has a pretty good shot at eventually being an all-star for the Yanks and his power is lefty. Just a hideous error instead of the smart play of keeping him.  Feels like this is gonna be a rough day.

Rangers Lockup Mika Z

The Rangers today made Mika Zibanejad "core" by locking him up for 5/5.35 per.  For this to work out, he's got to stay healthy and produce at the level he was before he got hurt last season.  And progress from there.  He's only 24 so the deal will be over before he's 30.  Good way to do business for the Rangers.  Now let's see who they trade for.

Castro Out, Wade On the Way Back

Castro is not in the lineup tonight, so the belief is he's headed back to the DL and Tyler Wade, who's been hitting again in AAA, is coming back.  Let's hope he hits better this time because he is the best defensive player or the team as soon as he's on the field.

This Week on the Blog

This past week so the Yanks be a little more aggressive than we wanted them to be here in trade season.  There are ominous signs that they're going to keep it up. Of course, this was also the last week without Football, and the Knicks and Rangers are still both positioned to make a move or two before their training camps begin.

Yankees: Today, we'll see if the Yanks remember how to win 3 in a row, which they haven't done since early June.  It will be a little tougher than it should be since Joe Girardi used 3 of his top 4 relievers last night to cover 3 of 4 low leverage innings that could have easily been split up by Green and Warren.  Warren did pitch the ninth.  Tonight, they will be withouth Betances, and should be without DRob, who worked a simple 1-2-3, but was up 3 times Thursday night.  We'll see what the binder says about that.  It displayed a stunning level of bullpen idiocy that he probably learned from Torre, who also used to like to show off his best relievers when they weren't needed.

Tomorrow, is still an interesting day.  Luis Cessa(?????) is still scheduled to start and it felt all week that that was the slot where we'd see whichever starter they could acqure woud debut.  But nothing seems to be cooking, and they probably will, once again, work against their Mission Statement and start Cessa.  They are, apparently still in the market for more 1B's, too,

Giants: The Giants will report to training camp later this week, and may even have their first practice next Saturday.  So let's say this right now: if they get proper production for the OL, and I do think Bisnowaty could be the answer, there should be no reason why they don't win another Super Bowl.  They are loaded on O and D, and the coach must realiz that he made some playcalling and game management mistakes in his first season, so I expect that to be corrected.

Rangers:  The Rangers signed that Russian goalie, which really gives them ridiculous goalie depth, one of which will probably be packaged for a C.  Speaking of C's, the good one they have, Mika Zibanejed, still needs a new deal, and that could be announced at any time.

Knicks: Okay, for about a month it looked as though a Carmelo trade to Houston, rather than Cleveland was afoot. That changed when all dealings were paused the Knicks so they could hire a GM, and then yesterday, Cleveland might have become a little more motivated as Kyrie Irving has asked for a trade.  So there might be a possibility of a deal where Kyrie comes to the Knicks and Lee goes to Arizona for a PG that will go to Cleveland with Carmelo. Of course the Knicks have to decide whether or not they really want yet another ball dominant player.  Do they believe they can unlock his innner Michael Porter?  These are the big questions, but it seems like something that could happen.   Or Houston will finally step up.

So there it is, still ten more days or trade terror, but the Giants will be back, Judge appears to be regaining his mojo,  Now we need Sanchez to, and that this can really get fun again.  Have a great week everyone.

Severino Conquers King Felix

Severino was brilliant again, and aslo getting squeezed again.  He pitched 7 scoreless innings, and was credited with 6K's though he might have had 9 or 10 if the zone were standardized. Felix was getting a much bigger zone and it helped him K Judge looking at two balls. Ridiculous.   But what we are seeing with Luis is the birth of an ace, and he's giving the Yanks length.  And it keeps getting easier.

So while we watching Sevy do this, tonight several teams were looking at Domingo Acevedo in Trenton. If you think Sevy's combination of huge fastball, good change and killer slider (when it's working) is making an ace, well Domingo has the same three pitches and hits triple digits, too.  He's 6 or 7 inches taller than Sevy, so it will look different to batters, but it is the similar filth.  This is the kind of guy you hold onto and don't throw into deals over overrated guys like Sonny Gray. Domingo's at AA and probably won't get a taste of AAA this year, but could. That starts him in the mix for some time next year.  Isn't it montrously reassuring to know you have another beast on the horizon than to throw said beast is a deal for anything less that a super star?  Same goes for Mateo.  Nothing out there is worth Mateo.

Yanks: Already Seeing the Fruitlessness

Okay, last night they made a big trade.  Today, they fell behind 6-0 in the second.  Now because they were sitting Judge and Holliday, for starters, they didn't GRIND.  They just gave up, except for Clint Frazier, who is looking more and more like a long term fixture.  One of the hallmarks of the Girardi Era is that that his teams don't grind like the old championship teams did.  And the guys that do grind had the day off. In general, my point has been it is no use buying when the Yanks don't have the kind of veterans their championships have always had. I'll tell you another thing, Castro rarely grinds and Didi, likable as he is, never does.  He kept making 1 pitch outs when the Yanks were down 6-0 EARLY.  The not too distant Yanks would have considered that a challenge.

Sucky vets aren't my only complaint.  Let me add one more point about that: when Hicks comes back, if he does, they cannot let Ellsbury's contract decide who stays and who plays. He's not better than either of them.  He's not better than Jake Cave.  He's basically replacement level, and he doesn't steal bases anymore.  Gardy's not much better.  And neither of them can be allowed to block Frazier and Hicks.

Finally, down 6-1 in the bottom of the 8th, Girardi decided to waste an inning of Tommy Kahnle's.  I'm sure he was excited to get a look that the new shiny, but he still hasn't learned to apply his relievers to appropriately leveraged situations.  This was like a spring training looksee and I'm quite sure not what the Yanks just re-acquired Tommy to do.  Now he won't be available Friday, and that game is not already decided like today's was,

And it was ownership signalling use of a messed up Tyler Clippard for over a month that probably lead to last night's overpay.  

Just pathetic, and I hope they are not thinking of sacrificing anything more for this year.

Yanks Today

The Yanks are a better big league team today than they were yesterday.  They have iron plated their bullpen, a unit that had already been bouncing back with solid performances by Heller and Holder and more good work from Green.  But, because their manager can only win with a totallly stacked deck, they sacrificed a top prospect for bullpen support last night. I like Rutherford because he's a lefty hitter with walks and a great approach.  Now saying that, I think this trade is an overpay, but hurts more because the farm has been sort of injured and static this season.  Kap, Torres, Fowler and Schmidt is a lot of talent on the shelf, and, other than Florial, there haven't been a lot of breakout performances down there, yet this year. But they did get the top OF in IFA earlier this month, and the machine will keep churning out Yanks for the forseeable.

Bullpen Encores On the Way, Done Deal

The internet is alive now with reports that DRob and Tommy Kahnle as well as rental Todd Frazier are on the way to (and back to) the Yanks for a package topped by Blake Rutherford and Ian Clarkin and including Tyler Clippard.  This is a spectacular waste of Rutherford as none of the three players coming back are of the impact variety Blake projects to be. Kahnle has been good, but he's not a closer, and he and DRog will be working the 6th and 7th.  That's worth Rutherford?  WTF? Also, assuming they haven't given up anymore - they'll have to DFA 2 guys from their 40 to fit the 3 White Sox, and what the hell are they going to give up for a starting pitcher, which they were rumored to be after even before Pineda went down?

Update: The Deal is Done.  They just overpayed for relievers and a rental.  They gave up Rutherford, Clarkin, Tito Polo and Clippard for DRob, Kahnle and Todd Frazier.  None of the players coming back is worth Rutherford, so all three are not worth Rutherford plus two guys and a money favor.  I have nothing against the two returnees or Frazier, but I would only have moved Rutherford for a young ace or in a package for a young superstar.  The Yanks didn't do that.  Now how will they overpay for a starter?  That's the really frightening thing.

Woj: Melo Wants Out

One of the things I noticed about Melo, from the first time we looked into acquiring him was that it was very important for him to come across as a "good guy."  And the Knicks for the whole of his time with them pretty much obliged the image he sought for himself.  So we didn't really hear about his refusal to play with Lin, or his refusals to play in either MDA's offense or the Triangle.  Or the fit he threw when they traded THjr, or his original outburst about the drafting of KP.  So ultimately, what the Knicks traded for back in `11 was a limiting partner, not a winning player.  You couldn't build around him because he only ever wanted to play iso. Sure, he'd put out for Team USA, around players he wanted to impress, but not for a living and not for the Knicks.

So, Woj is reporting that Melo has made it clear to the Knicks that he wants out and has no interest in being reincorporated into the team this year.  There's never been an I in team and that's why the Knicks have never won with this score first, last and ever player.  It think it would finally be "good" of him to expand his list.  He has hamstrung the Knicks long enough, and his favored Rockets don't have what it takes to get something done to satisfy the Knicks.  So if he's serious, he must expand his list.  And GOOD RIDDANCE.  Also, the Knicks should immediately give out his number.

Save The Farm

Ugh, the Oakland A's who have a prematurely diminished Sonny Gray and a suspiciously breakout 30 year old 1B on the way to UFA to offer, are apparentlu scouting Rutherford and Florial down in Charleston.  Trading the low A and lower guys would be spectacularly short sighted.  The last big championship dynasty petered out when Paulie and Brosius and others retired and broke down, and no second wave of Jeters, Mo's, Andy's and Jorge's where ready.  Way the Yanks are set up now, they should be able to add more from the far next year and the year after and probably the next  two years after that.  If they start trading Rutherford's or Florials for anything other than foundational pieces, they'll be messing up their second wave.  Thus the coming dynasty will not be as long as it should be.

Rangers Sign G Alexander Georgiev

As if they didn't have enough netminders in the pipeline, the Rangers netted Russian goalie, by way of the Finnish League Alexander Georgiev.  He'd been playing with some the of the Ranger prospects over there, as well as for Russia in the Word juniors. Unlike Shesterkin, Georgiev will probably come right over and compete in the AHL.  As you know, most of the other goalie prospects, like Wall,  are in college.  I guess you can never have enough puckstoppers.  It could also mean some of the other  goalie depth could be heading off in the trade for a C we've been expecting.

Bird Having Surgery Tomorrow

Greg Bird will finally have surgery tomorrow.  It's a six week rehab and he should be back by mid-late September and be eligible for the post season.   This, of course, most regretable.  The best hitter on the team goes down early in the season, and it takes 9 doctors to figure out what's wrong.  And they finally do surgery around game 89.  Meanwhile, some unnamed jerk in the organization blasted Bird's will.  This is NOT BIRD'S FAULT. The Yanks need to take a very careful look at their medical people, because their ineptitude has probably cost the Yanks two or three wins already this year, just in the case of Mr. Bird. They need new doctors.

Also, I think Pineda is having his TJ tomorrow.

Knicks Intro The New Heirarchy

Today the Knicks introduced Perry as the New GM and Mills as the New President. Somewhat astonishingly, they are first such combination of African American Execs in NBA history. It's 2017.  Ridiculous.  Anwyway, Mills said he will give Perry "the room" to come to him with all of his decsions and then, when appropriate, they would debate them.  Doesn't seem disorderly to me, and also doesn't seem like groupthink will be in the cards. So, now that this is done, things like trades can go forward, though we might have to build in some time for internal talks, etc. We'll see how fast they can get it up and running.  I seem to remember Isaiah trading for Marbury almost immediately.

BTW, Mills made the first sensible comment I've heard about Hardaway's deal.  He said he's a legitimate, starting 2, and that you usually don't get a shot at them at 25, and have to wait till they're older.  He also said that 16.5 is what starting 2's make and that's what they gave him.  He also said you have to pay more for RFA's and that's how it happened.  I have to think that if they are going back to Horny's run and shoot, he might have had a loud preference for Hardaway.  We'll see. Damyeon Dotson makes us 2 deep and talented there, so they better trade Lee.

This Week on the Blog

Rough one for the Yanks, interesting one for the Knicks and Rangers, and just two more weeks till Giants training camp starts.  Let's take a look at what's going on.

Yanks: Another heartbreaking loss last night that really featured unearned runs.  Montgomery was off and inefficient, thanks to the D behind him.  The middle of the pen was fine, and then Betances fell victim to bad D and his own lack of control,  The Cubs have already made a big deal, and the Yanks a a small one.  So trade season in underway.  I hope Brian Cashman has realized that even if he goes out and gets more relievers and a starter, the veteran gaggle of Ellsbury, Gardner and Headley cannot be relied upot to play Playoff Baseball, so they're best hope would be a second WC and one and done, with this particular crew of vets.  In fact, this is yet another season when the Yanks should sell.  I have a feeling that they'll buy, so I'm praying they are smart about it and keep the guys I listed last week.   Btw, Castro is back today and Wade is down.  They don't care about defense.

Giants: Just two more weeks!  And with all the Yankee and Knick issues, I haven't spent a moment thinking about the Giants OL till just now.

Rangers: With the retirement of Kevin Klein, the Rangers gained cap room.  They may or may not still be looking of a C, though they have signed both their first rounders and they are both C's.  I'd  prefer to give JT Miller a chance. When they drafted him Gordie said he had a centerman's game, and he really is a playmaker.  So, save the assets and give him a try.

Knicks: The Knicks had quite a week.  First, they seemed to massively overpay for Ron Baker (the living tribute to John Rudd), and then it looked like they had no plan at all and that the Melo trade was eternally at the 2 yard line.  Then it finally became clear when the Knicks went outside of their MSG pool of whirling execs and hired Scott Perry to be the new GM.  Their first move after that was to "pause" the Carmelo trade talks. Perry and Mills want to try to get Melo to expand his list.  In doing this, either by Melo actually expanding it, or pretending to expand it, Melo's agents will be under pressure to get Houston or Cleveland to step up with something that works.  Ther are also reports that the Knicks are listening to offers for Lee and O'Quinn and searching for veteran PG.

So there you have it.  Yanks should sell but probably won't.  Giants two weeks away.  Rangers could pull off a trade at any moment. And Knicks could pull of three trades starting whenever.  Have a great week!

Rangers Do Something Unusual

Over the past two days, the Rangers have signed both of their first round picks to ELC's.  That's really unusual.  I can't remember the last time they have done that, though it may be because neither pick has a college commitment, like Kreider, Miller (who backed out and played Junior Hockey) and Skjei did.  In fact, even with their picks who haven't gone to college, like McIlrath, they haven't signed them right away.  I guess this migh be to get them in Hartford right away, but at 18 and 17 on draft day last month both Andersson and Chytil will be very young for league.  Could the Rangers really see both guys as that close and not want them back in Europe for a year or so?  We'll see, but after the way they dominated the other prospects, I guess it's a possibility.

Scott Perry is Official: 5 Year Deal

So the Knicks did end up giving one of their multiple 2's in 2019 as welll as cash. Seems like there were no picks involved at all until NBA sources started tweeting about the highway robbery the Knicks had performed, then, last night it was said the compensation was still being negotiated.  Apparently, the Kings decided they needed a pick on top of cash. Sounds like a bait and switch, but what's done is done and the Knicks now have a supremely qualified GM for the next 5 years.

In researching Perry, it's kind of surprising he hasn't been a GM already.  In fact the Kings had hried him to run their basketball operations, but he was a VP and not GM. Weird, but that might be why he was so eager to jump to the Knicks where he finally is a VP.  Let's hope he crushes it.

Pineda Has Partially Torn UCL

Sometimes guys perform poorly because they are hurt. Turns out the ever frustrating Michael Pineda has been pitching with a partially torn UCL. They've tried a bunch of different things with this particular injury, including TJS, something that's like TJS but isn't TJS, which Betances had years ago, and rest, which has always just delayed the TJS.  Given his coming UFA status, we have most likely seen the end of Big Mike as a Yankee.  Get well!

Knicks Pause Melo Trade Talks

As the Knicks tie the knot with their new GM, they have reportedly "paused" their trade talks with Houston and Cleveland.  This seems like a formality while Perry saddles up, but could also be a re-set of the Knicks' leveraage over the next few days.  Kind of them to let us know that we probably don't have to keep checking our twitter feeds over what I hope is a lovely summer weekend for all.

Knicks Stuff

Interesting day.  Heading into this offseason, I maintained for months that Phil Jackson and the Knicks needed a smart plan. After bad lottery luck, they were able still have a strong draft, though they were not able to add extra picks for a draft that was deep through the middle if light on talent at the top. So that was all okay, except for the fact that during the draft Phil melted down and horrified the base by shopping Kristaps Porzingis.  And he was rightly fired.  But the Knicks still looked deeply dysfunctional, even thoough Phil left them with all of their first rounders intact and only one terrible contract.  Things started to look desperate when the Knicks brought back Hardaway for good player money - though less than what Otto Porter (a single digit scorer) was able to score by playing the RFA market.

Last week it looked like they were willing to cede control over the David Griffin, the ousted Cleveland GM, but that fell apart over the weekend, either because he was unwilling to work under Mills, or because Mills wouldn't let him bring in his own guys.  Things still looked dysfunctional, though now they look like they might have been reasonable.

Meanwhile, they have been in the midst of trading Melo to Houston for the past two weeks.

Things got a lot better today, wich started out with other teams claiming the Knicks already had their new GM, and scaring longtime Knick fans into thinking it was Houston.  Thankfully, it wasn't. It's Scott Perry, a highly regarded executive and talent evaluator.  He's sort of got the Walsh rep without the ludicrous mileage.

Bringing up Walsh, our last two brand name Czars have left behind but some talent.  In Walsh's case it was Warkentein, who I think he poached from Toronto, and in Phil's case it's Big House 2, the scout who found KP, Willy and others.  So, if we look at Mills as sort of a Net Neutral, meaning bright enough guy who'll realize the Knicks best interests are his best interests, adding Perry to Wark and Gaines coudl really work out for the Knicks,

And we should know as soon as we see the take back from the Melo deal and what we are able to turn it into.  Interesting times.

More Knicks Stuff

More rumors today, and not about Melo.  Earlier today, there were report that Mills had taken over as President and that other teams were saying the Knicks already had a new GM.  People feared that it was Allan Houston, which it might still be, but today they are also meeting with the Kings Scott Perry, who's only been with the Kings since this past Spring after coming over from Orlando.  He had started out in 2000 with Dumars in Detroit. So he may or may not be the new GM that other teams are talking about, or he may be something else.  And could this mean Dumars is also on the way?  Or will it be Vinnie Johnson?  And how much influence does Zeke still have?

Yanks Trade for 1B Garrrett Cooper

Yanks just traded Tyler Webb for 26 year old AAA 1B Garrett Cooper.  Cooper was a 6th round pick out of Auburn in 2013.  He is currently OPS'ing 1.080 at AAA and hits right.  This could be a platoon partner for Choi or insurance for Bird.

Bird Working Out in SI

In some great news, that may save prospects at the deadline, Greg Bird has been taking batting practice and taking grounders with the Staten Island team this week, and reports are that he hopes to get a rehab assignment. This is the best possible bat the Yanks could get by the deadline, so let's hope he's really on the way back.

Melo Update

So in the past hour or so Woj has said the Knicks and Rockets are determined to make this trade and are looking over possible mixes that could involve up to four teams.  Does this mean that the Knicks are actually insisting on getting value back?  Have they rested control of this from Melo and his NTC? We'll see, but Woj also commented that nothing is imminent, so I should probably slow down on my twitter refreshes.  Rockets are introducing Chris Paul on Friday.

More Knicks Nonsense

As I kept refreshing Twitter, waiting on this Melo trade, I saw the Knicks had re-signed Ron Baker for 8.9M dollars.  Now, I like Ron Baker because he plays D, but, DAG! He was undrafted last year and that's not how these things are supposed to work.  As it stands, prior to any Melo or Lee or O'Quinn trades the Knicks are about 1.5M under the cap.  They have nowhere near the number of plus players to justify that cap figure.  Many things have to give.

All Star Break: The Coming Dynasty

We have a few days here without the Yanks and though it's been a challenging several weeks, we are undeniably at the cusp of the next Yankee Dynasty. With any health luck at all, and as long as they don't revert to an `80s level of stupidity, it's going to happen.

Now, the first obstacle to it happening is this month's trade deadline.  While the Yanks do currently have a more robust system than they've had at any time since the `50s. and perhaps moreso based on a far more diverse approach to talent collection. So, the opportunity does probably exist to use some of what we have to get another piece or two at the deadline.

Here's the big problem with that: teams know how good the Yankee farm is, and will be asking for the top of it.   AND THERE IS NOTHING ON THE MARKET THAT IS WORTH THE TOP OF THE FARM. I hope that's clear.  Last year, the Yanks were able to take advantage of the desperation of historically challenged teams and got them to vastly overpay of two of the best relievers in the game.  Now those teams were desperate, and perhaps a player away.  btw, looks like the Cubs may have broken Chapman for this year.  Anyway, it would be dumb for the Yanks to trade for relievers because outside of the best of the best, relievers are fungible, and the Yanks already have two of the best of the best. They should be able to make the bullpen work with what they have on the 40 man roster (Heller, Cessa, Holder) etc.  What they can't do is keep running Clippard out there.

So that's the first big proviso: Don't trade for relievers.

Secondly, they should only trade for young, controllable players - if they make trades at all.   In other words, if they can't get more young talent without blowing up the coming Dynasty, don't make trades.

Third, should try to trade veterans like Gardy, Ellsbury (because of his ridiculous contract might have to happen in the offseason with the Yanks sending money) and Pineda.  I'd move Headley, too, if possible, even if they won't let Andujar come up and learn on the job, Tyer Wade can play 3B and it doubtless a better fielder than Headley.  In fact, I suspect Wade is the the best defensive player on the team and perhaps in the whole organization.  He's off to a slow start with the bat, but he will hit, and they shouldn't trade him.

Just for fun, here are my untouchables for this current market (not including any of the young players on the 25).

Pitchers:

Kaprielien
Adams
German
Acevedo
Perez
Littell
Guzman
Acosta

Guys that were just drafted are now eligible for trade.  Too soon to consider trading any of them.

Infielders

Torres
Mateo (he is looking special again and taking his walks, supremely disruptive player)
Esrada (he's a righty Cano)
W.Garcia
D.Garcia (just 19 still and light tower power, another Sano)
Solak
D. Sands (catcher)

Outfielders

Florial
Rutherford
Amburgey

That seems  like a long list of untouchables, but there are no actual ACE type picthers or middle of the order superstar bats on the market right now.

And even saving all of these guys, the Yanks still have a bunch of position players and pitchers that would be appopriate for what seems to be available. I'm hoping they can add vets into the deals.

In all, as long as they don't move the wrong players or overpay in any sense for any player, their next dynasty is just around the corner.  They cannot derail it for the division or wild card this year.  They have too many injuries, and error prone veterans.

Knicks, Knicks Where Have You Gone?

Holy crap are the Knicks ever strange. Two offseasons ago, they had a brilliant draft night, which brought them KP and Willy.  Before and after that, it's been twenty years of pure insanity. A few weeks ago, the Knicks fired Phil Jackson, presumably for cause and for threatening to trade KP on draft night.  Since then, they have been casually looking for a new President or GM.  Now it's only and or situation instead of a new President and GM, both of which are needed, because Mills is running the search. Even with his proven incompetence running the show, this morning it looked like they were starting contract talks with David Griffin, who was a free agent exec and would have restored credibility in fairly short order.  Then early this afternoon, Griffin took himself out of the running, presumably because Mills wouldn't allow him to bring along his own peeps.  In other words, someone who Griffin would probably replace blocked him.  It seems the only chance the Knicks have at honest and intelligent leadership is if some brilliant basketball guy runs into Dolan when Mills and Houston aren't around.  Otherwise, they'll gaslight him. They are the Herb Williams's of NBA Execs. And we're probably as screwed by them as we are by having Dolan as the owner.  Or Melo with a no-trade deal.

Clint Crushes the Crew

I almost lost an ear today as I was getting hair cut when Clint Frazier launched his walkoff and made bounce out of the chair.  Let's see what he did today.  He broke up and no-hitter.  He tripled in two runs (first scored during a missed pick off throw when Clint was at bat, so he gets the RBI) and then he hit a 3 run come from behind walk off homer. In case you're wondering, this is a kid you keep.  They need to trade Gardy and make room.  It's that simple. You don't send down special, and whether it's Tony Fernandez getting hurt, or Gardy needing to be traded, you find room.

Sources: Timmy's Back

Breaking all over Twitter, Atlanta won't match, and Tim Hardaway Jr. is once again a Knick. All the scouts are saying that he's a different player than when he left, and is also ascendant, having averaged over 18 ppg when he was made a starter with about 6 weeks left in the season. This gives the Knicks another long, athletic player who can hit threes, score and is athletic enough to become a good defender.  Now, this is only a really bad move if they can't move Lee.

This Week on the Blog

Alright, it was yet another brutal and highly puzzling week. We seem to be on the cusp of bad news and maybe some good news, so let's chill and take a look.

Yanks:  This the elephant in the room, so we'll talk about the Yankees first. The Yanks are currently 6-17 since their last series win. That's ridiculous on a Yankee level, but somewhat understandable for the transitioning team.  The current Yankeee problems are threefold: injuries; pitching; and veterans. The injuries will sort themselves out, but what was totally unacceptable was a Yankee "source" yesterday blasting Greg Bird for not wanting it. That was ridiculous and barring amputation, Greg Bird is a big part of anything they want to do in the foreseeable future. Whoever it was should be fired.  But injuries have shortened the lineup significantly. What's more pitching, and the way the manager has used it, starting with Sabathia's injury, has put the Yanks in one tough situation after another, and has directly lead to most losses.  Further, the dire pitching mismanagement has put undue pressure on Severino and Montgomery and had them trying to hard at times. Finally, the veterans, like Ellsbury, Headley and Gardner are taking turns making huge mistakes.  This is weird, because you would expect the kids to be making all the mistakes, but they're not. The vets are.  And that's why it's still time to sell, and not buy - unless it's favorable to the system and the 40 situation - as July progresses.

Giants: Still about 3 weeks until training camp starts.

Rangers: The Rangers are the MSG with the steady, rolling, winning culture.  This week, they wrapped Jesper Fast for a favorable three year term, signed David Desharnais to compete at C, and welcomed the retirement of Kevin Klein, which opened  back up their cash situation, that could lead to trades as the offseason progresses.  They still have to lock up Mika Z, but that will happen.  And we'll see what else can.  They still have a logjam on D from 5-9.

Knicks:  The Knicks are the other team at MSG.  Right now the Knicks, having fired their president, alienated their young star, and offer sheeted the hell out of their 2013 first rounder, Tim Hardaway Jr. They should find out if Tim Hardaway is coming or not at some point today.  This could trigger a Lee trade, or maybe a Melo and Lee trade or maybe two separate deals involving those players.  The buzz this moring is that the Knicks are looking to a get long and athletic, thus THjr, Frank and everyone else they've been collecting.  Not a bad plan if you look at what Golden State veers toward.  And certainly the Knicks newfound post Weiss, post Lampe, post Vranes, reliance on Euros. In that sense, they're being put together like the Spurs, who have used lottery luck( Robinson, Duncan) and foreign players to build a championship winning eternal dynasty.   The Warriors and Spurs are excellent models, and the Knicks are doing some similar things.  And with Horny putting his offene and especially if THjr. is back, the Knicks are going to start jacking threes like never before.  The most important things now are to get Melo and Lee off the team.

Alright, so the Knicks could get some news or start a chain reaction of trades today.  It's Sevy's last start before the All Star break.  The Giants are chilling and the Rangers probably won't pull off any trades until after the weekend, as their in no rush.  Have a great one!

Knicks Re-Sign Hardaway Jr. to a 71M/4YR Offer Sheet

This is pure Thursday Night Craziness - unless something else is also happening.  The Knicks tonight have signed their traded away former #1 pick Tim Hardaway Jr. to a 4 year 71M offer sheet that the Hawks now have 2 days to match.  This is curious for a few reasons.  First: Tim is a 2 and they have two 2's already in Courtney Lee and Damyean Dotson, who has looked like a steal in Summer League.  So that means Lee is getting traded.  Second, it's tying up cap for a two when what they have wanted is a veteran one to guide Frank.  It's just very weird and you have to wonder what else is going on.  They'll have to rescind their rights to Rose in order to re-sign Tim, so that means no sign and trade there.  But could this mean a Melo trade is already in place?  If not this is just odd.  Very odd.

Yanks Stuff

The Yanks are 6-16 since they last won a series - and they really shouldn't be buying at the deadline.  In fact, they should be sellers again. I'm not saying this because I think they are bad. I'm saying it because some of the veterans are really hurting them.  In today's debacle, sure Pineda was terrible and Dellin was lost, but both Ellsbury and Headley had bobbles that cost the Yanks runs. We expect the young players to make some mistakes, but that's not what's happening. Yesterday, Carter's bobble cost them, and thankfully he's now gone. It's time to unload some of these other guys.  I have have no doubt the team could improve by doing so.

Carter DFA'd Again, Choi Called Up

After once again hurting the Yanks chances of winning any time they played him, Chris Carter has been DFA'd, and Ji-Man Choi has been signed from AAA.  It's sad that Carter could not get untracked, but he was really given every chance, and too many chances due to Bird's injury, and Girardi's belief in NL Excellence.  Choi is a lefty hitter who has been on fire lately, though he too, is not the answer at first and they should probably have Tyler Wade get a 1B glove and take grounders there throughout the All-Star break. They might as well see if Choi can take advantage of the short porch for the balance of this homestand.

Ranger to Sign David Desharnais

The Rangers are apparently about to sign C David Desharnais.  He's short, but he scored 60 points a few years ago, before missing time with injuries. This is probably a decent bet for the Rangers, adding another C to the mix who might have some upside.  It also keeps them from trading more prospects or picks, just as their farm is starting to get back where it was before the crazy cup trades started.

Knicks Stuff

Okay, NBA UFA opened Friday Night/Saturday Morning, and not only have the Knicks lost both of the Summer League games since, but they've made no move on a veteran PG, and actinng Basketball Czar Steve Mills isn's talking to the press.  Still, things like Melo's willingness to be traded to Houston or Cleveland, and the possibility of the Knicks getting involved with the Bucks on and sign and trade for Derrick Rose.  Obviously, any deal of combination of deals that rids us of those two ball hogs, is probably a net positive, but the devil will be in the details, the Knicks can not afford to, once again, trade bad for worse or even bad for just as bad but different.  Also, they might be trying to trade Courtney Lee for cap space.

Mills wants the permanent job, so it would be behoove him to be impressive here.

Yanks Trade Matt Wotherspoon for More IFA Room

The Yanks just did something we've been pulling for them to do since the rules were changed.  They trade RHP Matt Wotherspoon for IFA money.  This kind of move - as well as trying to acquire competetive balance picks in the draft - is always a great idea.  Wotherspoon is pretty good, and, with the way our former relievers are lighting things up elsewhere might have deserved a chance, but he was expendable - especially after we too all of those RHP's in the draft.  Strong move.  Let's see how they spend it.

Yanks Add 4 in IFA

The Yankees have apparently come to terms with two OF's and two SS's. Everson Pereira is purportedly the #4 prospect in this Class.  He is an OF from Venezuela.  Ronny Rojas is an easy swinging SS from the Dominican.  Roberto Chirinos is a SS from Venezuela and Anthony Garcia is an OF from the Dominican.  Ronny is still 15 for a few more weeks, but will officially sign on his birthday.  It'll probably be a few years before we know if we got anything.  But, the Yanks have been doing well in IFA, so we should pay attention.  Also, that they had these 4 hitters lined up, may speak to the number of pitchers they took in the draft.

This Week on the Blog

Alright, this past week has been tumultuous and we've got a lot more coming up this coming week. Let's take a look.

Yanks: The Fowler injury lingers and pains us.  We'll keep pulling for him.  CC should be back this week, pending a bullpen session today.  And that should end the brutal and costly Cessa miscalculation. Clint Frazier has been called up and should debut.  Tomorrw, the Yanks can officially sign, or start signing their latest IFA class. What we know of it is that it's all hitters, so far, no pitchers.  That goes a long way to explaining the pitcher heavy draft. Also, by the end of the week, the signed draft class will be complete, and we'll see which, if any Day 3 targets took the overage.

Giants: The Giants are still off. Maybe some contract news somewhere.

Rangers: the Rangers knocked out two huge needs today, and have cap room to address the C position through UFA or trade. The Rangers are in really good shape going into the rest of the offseason, and their impressive prospect camp ended yesterday.  Let's see how they sove C.

Knicks: the Knicks have plenty of cap room, but are already down to contacting Rose, who really screwed up the development of KP and WH.  Let's hope they find a better option.  The way things are breaking, it would be possible for a good executive to move Melo.  Let's see if we have any of those.   No one seem to be offering the Knicks a Shatty Discount.  Their Summer League has started, but Frank isn't playing yet.  Kornet has been hitting 3's.

Alright, everybody, have a safe and fun 4th, and let's hope the best for all our teams and each other.

Rangers Land Shattenkirk

I was out when this became official, but I have had this picture ready for over a year.  We have to now bestow Ninja Credit on Gorton. In the early offseason, it seemed like Kevin was the goal, but then the news kept coming out that the Rangers weren't going to be willing to play in a 6 or 7 year market.   They played it cool and acquired Tony DeAngelo, who, though young, has a ton of talent and can run a PP.  Then something interesting happened,  according to the report, Shatty came to the Rangers with the four year term and deal they just could not and should never say no to.  It's hard to believe but they got him for 4/6.65.  The Devils were reportedly offering 7x7.  So Shatty has left millions on the table to be a Ranger. That's just incredible

So what are we getting? We're getting a guy who strong both ways and is basically Brian Leetch on the power play. In fact, he says he was a Brian Leetch fan growing up in New Rochelle, and it's believable for his game.

What this also does is finally give McDonagh a partner he doesn't have to cover for, we we could see his O explode.  Next two will be Smith and Skjei and next DeAngelo with either Staal (if they can't unload him) or one of the kids.

Having secured a first pair D, and a back-up G, the Rangers now must solve for C.  Lias Andersson could actually be the solution if they go Mika and Hayes 1-2.  But I'm sure they look to bring someone else in to take the pressure off of Lias.  

This could really be a great offseason for the Rangers.  And the Knicks have reached out to Derrick Rose...

Rangers Sign G Ondrej Pavelec

The Rangers have signed Ondrej Pavelec to back up Hank this year.  It's a 1 year deal for 1.5M.  Sweet, that should give the Rangers all the time they need to raise another.  They have to wait 2 more years before the heir apparent can come over from Russia.