Rangers With a Big Win

Just when you start think Pavel Buchnevich really is the best player or the Rangers, Mike Zibanejad also does something amazing and leaves you just super grateful we have both.  And it also leaves you scratching your head as to why AV ever broke them up.  The Rangers were down 2 goals, and the line of Kreider, Mika and Buch came through with 3 goals, and Mika assisted on Kreider's and Buch's.   The Rangers ended up winning 6-4 and also got goals from Vesey, Zucc and Grabner on an empty netter, but it was a Mika and Pavel show all the way, and they probably saved AV's job for the time being.

Yankees Post Season Week 2

Alright.  As of last week, three teams still needed managers.  But the Nationals and Phillies got their guys and now there's just one team that doesn't have a manager.  It's our team. The Phillies hired Gabe Kapler, whom LA sports reporters had linked with the Yanks.  Though he was supposedly a great candidate, I couldn't really get over his Red Sox days or his steroid denials, so perhaps this will work out for the best.  Some ex-players who've maintained their press contacts like David Cone and Jerry Hairston Jr. have had their names floated, but I think it just might be someone that's already in the sytem, which would be great because they would already know all the players coming up.  The Yanks, so far, haven't acknowledged talking to anyone, though they have interviewed 4 candidates for Denbo's old job.

Also, this week, the World Series will end, and then there are just 3 days for Tanaka to opt out. We could also hear about Brian Cashman's new deal.

Knicks Beat the Cavs!

Holy crap.  We may have 3 exciting player not 2.  Tim Harday went for 34 and 8 assists tonight, while KP went for 32 and 12 boards.  Frank still played really intense D, but didn't compile many numbers on O, which is okay.  He's not playing with KP much.  He did thread some needles with his passing. The Knicks are now a surprising 2-3 and have won their two quite convincingly.  Are they the young Yanks of the hardcourt?

Yanks Front Office

George King just posted an article positing that they Yanks were more likely to fill the Denbo job, than they are to fill their managerial job.  And by the way, have any of you ever seen such a loaded team with so many job openings?  King reports that the Yanks have already interviewed Eric Schmidt, John Kremer, Kevin Reese and Carlos Mendoza.  Of those guys, Kremer comes from the Sports Science division and has great analytics cred.  The other guys seem a little more old school and that might be more appropriate for the player development job.  I do like that they are staying in house and don't seem interested in bringing in a disrtuptive outsider, or someone who has to be brought up to speed on Captain's Camp or no beards.

And of course they couldn't interview Dan Greenlee because Denbo swiped him.  That has got to stop.

Meanwhile, nobody is talking about Cashman's new deal, but with all the ideas around about modernizing the managerial post with a young analytical guy. What about modernizing the front office by making Cash President and someone like Naehring or Eric Chavez as GM?

I'd really like to see them grow the brain trust, and keep improving scouting and player development as they embark on their latest dynastic run.

This Week on the Blog

It's been an exciting week, what with the Yanks moving on from Girardi, Boo and Buch putting on a show at the Garden, the Giants having no game, and Frank Ntilikina and Kristaps Porzingis both going off at the Garden last night  This week could see some more progress on most fronts.  Let's take a look.

Yanks: The Yanks are looking for a new manager, and have asked the Dodgers for permission to talk to Gabe Kapler. They've also asked all the other teams for permission to talk to their coaching staffs.  So they want to hire more than a manager.  They still also need to extend or extend and promote Brian Cashman, and optimize their front offiice.  They also still need to replace Gary Denbo. And they also need to start setting up their 40 in advance of the Rule 5, that is still awhile away, but needs to get addressed, and room must be made.

Knicks: Holy crap, was Frank impressive last night.  He finished with 9 points and 5 assists, with a steal.  They only gave him credit for one steal, but his elite defense lead to a few more turnovers.   He did all of this in 22 minutes. The entire team's defense picked up with Frank on the floor, and they easily handled the Nets.  Kristaps had 30 and 9 with some blocks, one of which was called goal tending but wasn't.  The Knicks are going to have to make a trade or two as they currently have 3 C's and a 4th soon to be back from suspension, and 2 old PG's with a younger one who looks ready to start.  Sessions and Jack are the old PG's and though Jack's contract is not guaranteed and he can be easily cut, the O has looked like an O with Jack running it, but not with Sessions running it. Soon, the Knicks will have to start Frank, and Jack seems like the better bet for veteran support.  We'll see what they do.

Rangers: The Rangers called up Boo Nieves the other day and immediately put him on a line with Buchnevich and Grabner.  Technically the 4th line, they are among the very fastest skating lines in Ranger history.   AV will probably screw it up and start swapping them out, but while they are together, enjoy the burn. Marc Staal is playing a lot better lately, like back when he was good. Not sure why, unless he changed something about his conditioning or finally feels healthy again. We'll see if they can start putting wins together.

Giants: this is the Giants bye week. Thank the lord. Tuesday is the NFL trade deadline and it will be interest to see if ownership lets Jerry make a trade or two, or whether they want to save everything for the next GM.  We'll see.

Alright, let's hope the Yanks do all the right things, Frank and KP become the toasts of Broadway, the Rangers do the right thing on the coaching front, and the Giants maybe get some players back from injury so they are well rested and somewhat hole when the games start again.

Buch and Boo Each Score 3 Points in Ranger Win

Pavel Buchnevich scored two goals and an assist, tonight, Boo Nieves, in only his second NHL game, had three assists, and Michael Grabner had two goals.  And all three of them were on the 4th Line because AV is an absolute moron. Chris Kreider had the other goal in a 5-2 win and also beat the crap out of someone in defense of Grabner.  In a further tribute to the Ranger Scouts, Anthony Duclair scored the first goal for Arizona.This team should be much better.

Yankees Manager Hunt

Now the Yankees need a manager.  Because they played into the League Championship Round, the Yanks missed out on the sort of top industry managerial candidates, but that's probably okay.  The Yanks have only had 3 Managers in the last 25 years, so they're not really one of those teams that picks a new skipper every few years or so, like the Mets or someone.   Most of those 25 years were taken up by just Torre and Girrardi.  But I think the current situation should produce someone like Buck Showalter.  That is someone from the system.

Back when Buck took over, Stick Michael had used George Steinbrenner's suspension to rebuild the Yankee system into a winning machine.  So Buck who'd come up through the system, blocked by Mattingly as a player, before becoming a coach, became the manager.  Stick was wise enough to let the system produce the manager.  Then the Boss came back, fired Nardi Contreras and Buck quit.  

Right now, the Yanks are back where they were in the mid-90s, with an amazing system, and they should probably let that system produce the new manager.

That's not just a desirable efficiency.  One of the problems I had with Girardi's Yanks, was that they didn't grind out their AB's.  That's something that's been preached in the Yankee system going back to Miller Huggins, Ed Barrow, and Joe McCarthy, but it was being dropped at the ML level by a lack of emphasis by the coaching staff.   I think it would be optimal, to have the prospects learn one way to do things in Rookie Ball, and end up doing the same things when they make the bigs.

From the `30s to the `50s, the Yanks had a ton of middle infielders, but whomever was playing SS and 2B was able to turn DP's at a greater than expected rate.  That's been the secret weapon of every Yankee winner.  Though when they have a guy like Soriano or Castro playing second, they probably turn them at a less than expected level, and surprise! They don't win.

That's what an effective system can do, like that had in the Barrow Era, the Weiss Era and the Stick Era.  That's what they should be doing again, and the new Yankee Manager should know about things like that, and GRINDING.

Girardi's Out

For the 2018 season, the Yankees will have a new manager.  Let me start by saying, I really appreciate that Joe Girardi was able to win a World Series for the Yanks, and I will now go back to liking him as I do just about all ex-Yankees.  And I wish him only the best in the future.  Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see if they keep the search in-house or look aroud a little more.  I Al Pedrique, who manages AAA, is very popular among the young Yanks who played there, and Rob Thompson has seemed to be popular among the front office.  We'll also have to see what the coaching staff looks like, since, I believe all of their contracts are up.

Kristaps Porzingis

Because of the Yanks' abrupt cessation of games and the Giants and Rangers seasonal no-shows, there is a lot of pressure on Krisztaps Porzingis to perform this year.  He is basically all we got right now.  If Frank ever plays, we'll have him, too, and if Willy ever makes it back into the rotation, or Hardaway becomes a godless asssassin we'll have them, too, though we will root for them to lose. For now, we'll just have to enjoy KP and his 30 ppg's, and maybe become a more consistent volume rebounder, better defender and a better passer - you know - a top 5 or 10 player in the league.  Go KP.

Yankee Offseason, Week 1

This is coming a week or so sooner than I'd hoped, but let's face it, this run was all house money and well ahead of schedule.  Most of us didn't think this was a year to add at the deadline, but indeed, so far so good.  The Yanks have a bunch of roster issues to address (rotation, a 2B who can't turn DP's or get on base much, and a back-up catcher who can't throw or hit a lick, for starters) but first thing's must be straightened out in the front office, minor league system and coaching staff.

I think the Yanks must re-sign Cashman, and, if possible, make him President (and dump Levine), like the Cubs have done with Theo.  That could be a way for them to promote someone else and prevent more poaching. They also have to address the manager position, as well as replace Gary Denbo.  They also need to extend their scouts, who have kicked total ass lately.

That's the housekeeping, and that can be taken care of right away.  Also, Tanaka can opt out within three days of the close of what will be a low rated World Series, so they should lock him up now, and go into free agency with one less issue.  Could be an interesting week.

This Week on the Blog

Crazy week, but today is do or die for our Pinstripers.   Rangers got their second 2 point win of the year earlier today, the Knicks play when the Yanks play, the the Giants have Seattle tomorrow.  Let's take a look.

Yankees: I will never not believe that the 3-1 pitch that was ball 4 to Hicks, but was called strike 2 buy the Homeplate Ump, is the only reason we are playing again today.  Now, anything can happen in  a game 7, but I think the Yanks will pound them.  If they don't it's been a great season and we are well  ahead of schedule with more and more great young players coming up and a system that is the best in baseball again.  This was true from the `30s-`50s and early to mid `90s, so it's nice the be there again and the offseason, win or lose, will give us tons to dream on.  But let's keep playing.  Go Yanks!

Giants: Going into the season, we thought the Giants could beat everyone, but then found out they couldn't beat anyone.  They won convincingly last Sunday, and will have another chance to confuse us again tomorrow against Seattle.  They might get Sterling Sheppard back tomorrow, who'd be a great complement to Evan Engram, and we'll see if they can run again.  Can't really seen them going far without OBJ, but it would be nice to establish a few new weapons.

Rangers: The Rangers just won only their second regulation game of the season today, and Chris Kreider finally scored a goal.  Had they lost today, I thought it might force the coaching change they so desperately need.  They still didn't look particularly good, but Hank made some saves, and they held on for the win. We'll see what happens next, because they are going nowhere with AV.

Knicks: The Knicks play at the same time as the Yanks tonight.  So only the Met fan component of their massive, and strangely, to the league, unimportant fan base will be watching.  Frank got hurt again, so no Frank, and for some reason, Willy's not currently in the rotation for which leaves us all guessing.  So we have to hope that KP scores another 30+ and Hardaway shows chemistry with KP and big value.  They did play a several minutes of good D the other night, so maybe they can expand it?

Alright, the key thing is GO YANKS!  Have a great night and a great week!

Knicks Tonight

So, the Knicks tonight will begin their long, taxing march to next summer's lottery.   The new management team has commited to building around KP, Willy and Frank.  That's great, but should be loserful this year, though we can prove ourselves true fans by watching the games and looking for growth.  What's suddenly become a real possibility is that the Knicks will be rebuilt and ready to challenge before the Rangers!   I doubt Hornacek is going to make the climb with them, though, since the team Prez is a dyed in the wool David Blatt fan, but we will probably find out if he can coach during this long tank and grow season ahead of us.  Personally, I'm slightly sickened that they are opening up against Melo. But that's what they have to do.

Giants Shock the World ---- Again

Every once in awhile, the Giants beat the Broncos.  Superbowl 21, the Shock the World Game in 1998, the Eli breakout game in 2005, and tonight.  The Giants were without their three or four top WR's, they were also missing one of their top 3 corners, some DE's, the C, and others.  But, no mind. They used their rearranged OL to get Orleans Darkwa 117 yards.  Because they were suddenly able to run, they abandoned their breakout strategy for Evan Engram, who still had 82 yards and a TD.  And the stars who could play, JPP (3 sacks) Snacks (run D, 1 sack) Janoris Jenkins (pick 6! and 4th and goal stop) and Landon Collins (int), played well, and showed real leadership.

On the coaching side, Mike Sullivan took over play calling, and between that and re-shuffling the OL, the Giants rolled, 23-10.  Huge win, and you now have to look at them as a team that can beat anyone, as well as lose to anyone.  Best Monday of the season coming right up!

This Week on the Blog

Alright, let's keep talking about the Yanks playoff run in the Yanks vs. Astros thread.  Meanwhile, the Giants still suck, the Rangers are pulling a Giants thus far, and the Knicks will finally start their season this week.  Let's take a look.

The Giants are on Sunday Night Football tomorrow night, and with no Yankee game tomorrow, it might be the ideal Sunday to catch up on everything you've been putting off or meaning to do.  Seriously, the Broncos have elite passrusher and the Giants have no OL, and are down to one or two weapons on O. So what's the point?  Btw, it feels like the owners may not be allowing Jerry to trade future picks for quick fixes.  The situation bears watching.  I have a feeling Jerry could get flipped for Gettleman, if there's no miracle.

Rangers:  The Rangers are 1-4 and both offensively and defensively challenged.  They have a bad coach and they may have finally tuned him out.  That said, AV still did manage to get Filip Chytil sent down. I think it's somewhat significant that he was sent to the AHL and not back to his Euro Team. So maybe he'll be back if he does his phenom thing down there.  He got less that 20 mins over two three games to prove himself.  AV is the only reason the Rangers have not have, and will not have an OBJ, KP, Sanchez, Severino type transformational talent come along.  AV won't allow it, and AV must go.

Knicks:  The Knicks went 0-5 in the preseason, which is fine.  KP and Frank barely played at all, and they are significant pieces of whatever the Knicks will be. Before the season opens, the Knicks have to trim the roster, and at this point they have too many 1's, 2's and 5's, so hopefully trades can be made for Courtney Lee and KOQ, or other veteran extras.  We'll see.

Go Yanks!  And have a great week everyone!

Yanks vs Houston

The Yanks finished this season second to Cleveland in Run Differential.  The difference between this team now is that the issues that made the Yanks finish second: no Sanchez for a month, no Bird for three months, no Didi for three weeks to start the season, two long Hicks absences, and the Judge slump, are mostly all resolved.  Add those missed players in and the Yanks would have finished firtst, by a ways.  Anyway, if the Judge snaps back out of it, I thik the Yanks will continue to surprise eveyone but us.  Let's crush them with our full lineup.

Onto the ALCS!!!!!

Okay, now we are waaay ahead of schedule.  In what should only have taken 4 games, finally got done in 5 and the Yanks are onto te ALCS for the first time in years.  And though the young homegrowns all had their moments in the series, it was some older homegrowns like DRob, Gardy and Kahnle who might have been the biggest heroes.  Anyway, about that, the umps screwed the hell out of Aaron Judge this series, but he could take over the next series, or any series, likewise Sanchez and Bird.  Didi put his foot down HARD with two early homers, and the other kid we traded for, Aaron Hicks also chipped in.  What a team!!!!!!!

Yanks back to Cleveland

If we had a good manager, it would be on to the ALCS on Wednesday, but instead, because we don't it's back to Cleveland for game 5.  I thought we had to win it in 4, and no would would have but for an idiotic lapse by the manger in game 2.  Anyway,  Sevy lit it up, and though he gave up 3 runs over 7 with 9K and only 4H, 2 of the hits were HR's.  He's got to stop hanging so many sliders.  Judge had a big double and Sanchez had a big solo shot.  Clint Frazier had a great game, and Tommy Kahnle got 6 outs, 5 by the K, to end it when Betances was off his game again.  Now they have to beat Kluber for a second time, which is a tough order. especially if he gets the jumbo strikezone he often gets.  Anyway, they need to do this one more time, if they want to go on the run they are worthy of, despite their manager.

Phew!

Those of us here have always known that Greg Bird was in the same hitting universe as Judge and Sanchez.  Now more people are starting to get it.  Sure he's had bad luck with injuries and medical idiocy, but here he is now, and because he is, the Yanks will play again tomorrow.  Tonight in a scoreless tie through 7, Greg Bird went second deck and that was that.  Tanaka was brilliant and DRob and Chapman kept it clean.  Big game tomorrow.  Judge still doesn't have a hit and Castro should be batting 9th.

Rangers Beat Habs, 2-0

After two tough losses in their first two games, the Rangers, with Hank looking like King Henrik again, shutout Montreal at the Garden.  Skjei and Mika had the goals.  Mika now has 4 in three games and that line is looking like a ball of fire again to start this season, so let's hope they can stay healthy.  Skjei just keeps getting better, btw.

This Week on the Blog

I was expecting to choose between yesterday's Yankee heroes for the photo, but, sadly, Joe Girardi didn't let us have any.  Between the 0-4 Giants, the Yanks being down 0-2, the Rangers starting out 0-1 and the Knicks having lost both of their preseason games this week, things have pretty much sucked since Tuesday.  Let's hope this week is better.  Let's take a look.

Giants:  The Giants play the Chargers tomorrow, and both teams are 0-4.  The Giants can't possibly be this bad, and yet, they are what their record says they are.  The defense was terrible last week, and the O is sort of coming around.  Let's see if they can put it together tomorrow and go from there.

Yanks: The Yanks are down 0-2, and it's because they have a non-competive manager trying to manage a competitive team.  There is no excuse for his failure to compete yesterday, and he cannot be brought back. Billy Martin, a competive guy and a great game manager, is spinning in his grave.  A lot of us probably slept poorly.  Girardi's error was far worse than Toe's idiocy, though he would have scored had he just stayed put. He shouldn't be back eigther.  The team doesn't need a mascot. By the way, I do believe the Yanks can win three in a row, but I also went in believing they had to win it by game 4.  That's no longer possible.

Rangers: The Rangers are 0-1 and though they looked good for much of game one, the other goalie was hot and Hank was not.  I hope that's not microcosmic of the season as a whole.  They have a very tough game against Toronto tonight, and the situation with Chytil bears watching.  He and Buch really stood out the other night but when the game bogged down with penalties and kills, AV buried Chytil. So we have to see if his intention is already to send Chytil back.  AV has never won anything and really should not have the power to spit in the scouts' faces.  So let's keep an eye on it.

Knicks: The Knicks will start their regular season in the next week or so, and they've had their moments in the first two games, though both KP and Frank sat last night.  THjr does look more assertive, and they do have some good shooter/scorers, including Enes Kanter who really does have classic center moves.  If they make an effort on D, they might be a little too good to tank.  Though, I still think they have to move Courtney Lee and maybe a a few other guys.

Kind of sad when our only impressive team is the Knicks, and they haven't even won!   Go Yanks!  Go Giants! Go Rangers!  And go all of you, and have a great week.

Girardi Blows Game, Possibly Denying Kids a Run

This clown must go.  After not doing anything about yesterday's BS strikezone, he blew an 8-3 lead by not challenging a HBP which was actually a foul tipped 3rd out, which set up a grand slam, and well, you saw the rest.  Stupid decision after stupid decisin, including using Toe to run for Frazier, and have him running, even though a bunt was in order, and getting him picked off.  Yanks lost many more games than they had to this year, directly as a result of Joe's bad decisions.  Enough already.  He is not the guy for the new Dynasty.

Yanks Move on to the ALDS

Okay, after one of those crazy games from the last dynasty, the Yanks won, and will advance to the their first true post season in five years.  The heroes were Didi, Gardy, Judge and Bird, as well as the bullpen who had to take over with 1 out in the first.  Huge win.  And, with all this young talent, there could be more, but we'll have to see, and not too much pressure on all these young stars.