Knicks Going Forward

The Knicks just traded their best asset for a bad player, Dennis Smith Jr. , two expirings that they'll probably trade away or release, and the Mav's first picks in 21 and 23, though 23 is top 10 protected and it could switch to 22 and 24 if the Hawks 19 picks ends up in the top 5.  Complicated enough?  Stupid enough? The advantage the Knicks got from KP's injury was a year to be bad, while they rebuilt the core, with another lottery pick in June. They coudn't see that through and that's the sign of weak characters in the front office. Two deer in the forest are not worth your fridge full of venison.  Kristaps Porzingis was the Knicks best pick since Patrick Ewing, and a wonderful face for the franchise. Now their best young player is either Kevin Knox or Mitchell Robinson - which is not terrible - as both still have lots of upside (as they showed last night), but they are literally down two 2 such players.  When the day opened they had three. The firm of Ntilikina, Smth and Mudiay is uninspiring. Trier and Dotson are useful, and will be good pieces to have if they can hit it in the draft again. Because of today's move and the expirations of Matthews, Jordan and Enes, they can sign 2 max players this June.  Who wants to be one of them ends up being Kemba?

We'll have to see if they can flip anyone other than Mitchell and Kevin at the deadline, it's always good to have multiple picks in a given draft, especially when you are as talent challenged as the Knicks just became.

Wonder if they'll call anyone up from Westchester.

Breaking: The Knicks are Trading KP to Dallas

I hate this guy.  He's gonna send KP to Dallas to play with Luca. So, they're also moving Courtney Lee and Tim Harday, and getting Dennis Smith Jr. and two expirings. Worst trade ever.  I'll update if there is more.

UPDATE: Trey Burke is also going to Dallas and the Knicks are getting a pick or picks.

UPDATE: It's 2 future firsts from the Mavs, which can be used in drafts, or as trade currency before those drafts, including this year.

KP Might Prefer a Trade

According to reports, injured Knicks star, Kristaps Porzingis had a tumultuous meeting with the Knicks brass, today, where he objected to the losing and questioned the culture and if there was a plan.  Woj is now reporting that he left the Knicks feeling that he'd prefer a trade. Now, I am a little suspicious of this because I think what KP wants and has wanted is a max extension. If he gets traded without one, what he might become is a unrestricted free agent after next season - and thus unable to make max Bird right's money. So if he's saying he wants a trade, it's got to come with the max extension and that's makes it harder for the Knicks to trade him.  So I suspect this "KP wants a trade" idea is coming from the Knicks themselves. We've seen lots of pro teams start dinging their stars to make trades more palatable to their fanbases, and that's what I suspect this is. Could be a really rocky deadline week, and, possibly, next several years.  Why can't they just keep it quiet and tank?

This Week on the Blog

Alright, this week, the Rangers have been off for the NHL All Star Game, the Knicks have just been off, the Yanks made Ottavino official and saw two Yankee Greats elected to the Hall of Fame, and the Giants scouted the Senior Bowl. Let's take a look what's up next.

Yankees: The Yanks may or may not be done with the acquisition phase of their offseason work, but let's talk about some other stuff. The Captain's Camp which original gave close prospects an opportunity to work with Derek Jeter, should be getting underway this week. Now last year, they worked with Nick Swisher, who is now part of the org, so we'll see who the special guest "Legend" is this year. Mariano has decided to start working with Yankee pitchers, so it could be Mo.  In other organizational news, David Adams, the starcrossed 2B, will be managing SI, and rising managerial talent, Patrick Osborn is taking over the Thunder.  Former Yankee opponent, Jay Bell will be guiding the Railriders.  We'll take a look at the staff, once the seasons are starting.

Giants: the Giants were at the Senior Bowl this week, and we can assume they were looking at QB's, OL's, Pass rushers and LB's.  Otherwise, the Senior Bowl is tomorrow, the Combine is February 27-March 5th, and Free Agency starts on March 14.  The NFL Draft will be from April 26-28. If there's any other news, we'll jump on it.

Knicks: The Tank continues and with the Frebuary 7th trade deadline on the way, the bad roster might get even worse. All but a few Knicks, like Knox and Robinson, are and should be available.  The situation with Enes Kanter seems to be degrading, so we could see something there any day now. Tank seasons are hard to watch.

Rangers: the NHL trade deadline is Februart 25th, for those playing at home and many Rangers seem to be available. Assuming they can match last year's haul, including even more 1st rounders, it would be a great next move in their rolling rebuild. I'm hoping they hold onto Kreider and Mika, but we'll see.

So there we are, more organizational stuff, than anything else, since both the Knicks and Rangers are tanking. Have a great week!

Mo and Moose Make it to Cooperstown

I think all of my Mussina pics are on my old computer. Anyway, and justly, the great Mariano Rivera and great Mike Mussina just got voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. This is deeply awesomeo for the Yanks and their fans, and I think it's also deeply awesome for the Hall, and I'll tell you why.  Some decades ago 300 wins became the standard of HoF induction for pitchers. And, as a result, a bunch of very deserving pitchers, including Mussina today have been kept out by idiotic writers that didn't notice the advent of the bullpen by committee while they were pushing the 300 win standard. Roy Halladay also got in today and he had just 203 wins. So what Moose and Doc imply is that some other great pitchers - not flashes in the pan - but really great pitchers will get another look and have more chances. We'll see. Though, we know there will be at least one great day in July of 2019.

Breaking: Sonny Gray Traded

Okay, this is just happening, and I'm using this picture of 2B Shed Long as at least a placeholder till we find out what the takeback is. He's been rumored to be in the deal all weekend.  Will update.

UPDATE: It is Shed Long and the 2019 Comp Balance Pick.  Nice. Yanks also gave up LHP Reiver Sanmartino.

Further Update: The Yanks flipped Long for CF Josh Stowers, and second round pick from last year's draft out of Louisville. You might recall that the Yanks popped some speedy CF types in that draft and he's probably from their list. Bats right and gets on base.

This Week on the Blog

Alright, this past week saw the Rangers win a couple of games, the Knicks continue to almost win some game, the Yanks beef up their pen, and the Giants lose assistant db's coach Deshea Townsend da Bears. Let's take a look at what's on the way.

Yankees: Perhaps as soon as today, the Yanks will trade Sonny Gray to the Reds, or the Giants or someone. Cincy seems to be closest.  If the Yanks get the #36 pick as part of an Reds trade, that might make them a little more likely to sign a free agent, that requires compensation. Like Bryce Harper. Anyway, the buzz about them wanting a 6th starter has been refreshed lately, so maybe something like that is coming, too.  We'll seee.


Giants: The Giants lost Deshea Townsend to the Bears and will probably add another coach, there. Though, they said they wanted to keep all the coaches, they did also meet with the ex-DC from the Jets. So they may be open to some changes along those lines. In other Giants news, they seem set up to have a lot of picks, and if this year's draft is like last year's draft, they will get multiple players and it will be a great weekend.  They already used their 3rd round pick on Sam Beal, so they're probably looking to add another one. Hopefully, there are move roster players they can trade.

Knicks: The Knicks lost a heartbreaker in London on a goaltend! Yeesh.  They do have some really good periods, but keep finding ways to lose, the 4th period rotations have been ponderous, and it really does look like they are tanking intentionally tanking. Had Mitchell Robinson, who is back, been in on the fateful goal tend, it wouldn't have happened. Ah well. they need health luck and lottery luck, and there's nothing they can do about that right now.

Rangers: The Rangers had looked sort of tank city since November, but lately, they've been playing better D in 3rd periods. They called up D Ryan Lindgren the other day, and maybe he's helping. Skjei looks a little better.  Also, MZA has been on fire, which probably means his trade return is going up.  And Chytil is looking elite again. I guess hockey development is not always linear. Whenever I see young guys flashing some games, but not others, it reminds me of Kovalev, and I get a little worried. We'll see what happens.

So there it is. Waiting on a Sonny Gray trade, and status quo everywhere else, until the trades and new hires start.  Have a great week!

Yanks Closing in on Ottavino

Alright, as they grow ever cloder to becoming the New York Rockees, the Yanks are close to adding Adam Ottavino to their already lethal pen. Ottavino was a JAG, until he suddenly discovered a wipe out slider. Literally, the best in the world. And he's now bringing it to the Yanks on what sounds like a three year deal. This could be an historically signicant pen. And K's can make up for cruddy D in a few spots.

This Week on the Blog

Alright, the Yanks continued to behave curiously, the Knicks and Rangers continue losing during their acknowledge rebuilds, and the Giants watched the playoffs. Lets take a look at this week.

Yankees: The Yanks curiously signed LeMahiue yesterday.  For him to play, one player, who's a better or much better hitter than he is will have to sit. He had played a lot with Tulo and that might or might not mean something. Anyway, what will they do next? They still haven't traded Sonny Gray or added another starter. So here's what I think will happen. Machado will choose the Yanks. The Yanks will then turnaround and trade Gray, Andujar and maybe something else for a top starter. And LeMahieu will play 3B, Manny will play short and Tulo will be the extra piece, most days.

Giants: The Giants were interested in the Jets deposed DC, so perhaps they are looking for upgrades on the staff. They have important cap decisions to make, starting with Eli. They'll make them. I am reasonably and finally certain that the OL will be fixed before we play another game. Could be another quiet week.

Knicks: The Knicks are still tanking, and only fun to watch in spurts. Enes Kanter may be on the way out, which would be fine, if they gain an asset, but now there are reports that KP is unhappy - and that is not fine. The Knicks only jobs this year were to develop the kids and keep KP happy. So they better fix that.

Rangers: Rangers are currently tied with the Islanders, 1-1. Chytil has to goal, so it's a good game. Chytil's having a weird year. He has games and periods where he looks absolutely elite, then games and periods where he disappears from the score sheet. He is the youngest kid on the team, so he's got time to step up. Rangers have to start thinking about the trade deadline.

So there we have it. Yanks make no sense, Giants make no moves, though they might, Knicks and Rangers must continue developing/tanking and thinking about trades. Wouldn't be surprised if the Yanks make a trade or two this week.

Have a great one.

Yanks Sign 2B/3B DJ LeMahieu

Yanks have probably taken themelves out of the Manny Machado sweepstakes by signing DJ LeMahieu to a 2 year and 24 million dollar deal. This is ponderous. The man has won 3 gold gloves, a batting title at age 27, and been an all star. But he is also, 30, and in every year but his age 27 year, he's been a below average major league hitter.  Also, he plays 2B, 3B and 1B, not short, so he's no replacement for Didi and when he does play one of the positions he can play, a young player will sit.  Ponderous, and sick money for this particular guy.

Yanks Re-Sign Britton

The Yanks have re-signed Zach Britton for what looks like a 3 year, 40M deal with a 4th year option that would bring it to 50. I think this was probably the best RP on the market. Before he tore his achilles he was one of the top two or three in the game, and once or twice he was #1.  He had some good performances down the stretch for the Yanks, and was a better health bet than Andrew Miller, at this point.  Now, they can eithe add Ottavino or try someone from the farm - that is loaded with RHP's.  Good move.

This Week on the Blog

Alright, the Giants's season ended, the Knicks and Rangers continued their rebuilds, and the Yanks took a flier on a guy who's played less than Ellsbury lately. Let's see what's coming up.

Yankees: The Yanks signed Tulo for the vet minimum, that should not imply playing time, but we have plenty of references saying his veteraness will lead to too much playing time. That's been the case with Torre, Girardi and Boone with Walker during last season's early going.  So, ugh.  Meanwhile I don't think the Tulo signing has anything to do with their pursuit of Machado, which I suppose could reach a conclusion this coming week. That said, the Yanks still need to add a reliever or two, and offload Sonny Gray.  Something is holding up the market.

Giants: Shurmur and Gettleman spoke to the press this week, and really gave no clue as to what they plan to do with Eli. Dave said he had a blunt conversation with Eli and that Eli was a mensch. Wonderful. What's the plan? Eli's coming cap hit is 23M, and that cannot work for the Giants.  They also signed nine stree free agents, and seem to be content with the coaching staff.

Knicks: The Knicks beat the Lakers last night. It was one of those games where Trey Burke scored a bit and Herzonga was effective. Anyway, Mitchell Robinson will be back any day now and the team will be more fun because of that. Kanter had a good game last night, but seems unhappy and perhaps headed for a trade demand.  We'll see.  Maintain the tank.

Rangers: the Rangers have been playing like crap lately, and while that's fine during the first year of a rebuild, it's hard to watch.  K'Andre's Team USA beat Karvstov's Team Russia last night and will now compete for gold. That's key. Also the world juniors are loaed with Ranger Scouts as some of the kids in the tourney, who haven't already been drafted, will be draft eligible this June.

So there it is, still waiting for the Yanks to make moves in the midst of our tripartite tankathon.  Do something smart Yanks!  Have a great one, folks.

Yanks and Tulo Have a Deal Pending Physical

The Yanks are apparently signing Troy Tulowitzki, pending a physical, which given his history over the past few years he will or won't pass. I'd expect it's for the Neil Walker role and not as fill in for DiDi or anything.  Sort of an odd move.