Rangers Screw The Pooch

The Rangers just put the lie to their player development mantra. In sending down Filip Chytil and Vitali Kravstov, while keeping replacement level crap like Greg McKegg and Michael Haley they've screwed the plan. First of all Chytil made the team last year, and now Quinn would rather have crap like McKegg and Haley?  Really.  Or does this come from JD?  They also sent down Ryan Lindgren and kept Brendan Smith -- whom everyone was expecting to be sent down for cap relief.  What the hell is going on?  Kaapo Kakko made the team, but I guess they only want one skillsy forward at a time, even though Kravstov was great in Prospect Camp and Traverse City,  This is idiotic.  I haven't followed this rebuild so closely to watch Haley and McKegg and Brendan Smith. Smith's underperformance of his contract helped hasten the collapse and rebuild in the first place.

I know they think they have a good staff down at Harford and maybe Chytil will become an NHL read C there, and maybe Kravstov will - I don't know what - there, but until the new staff proves itself, sending a kid to Hartford is like sending him to Alaska.  We'll see what happens,

Libor Hajek made the team.

Giants Win Ugly

The Giants just beat the crap out of the Skin, 24-3, but it was a game marred by crazy refs, and what looks like a season ending injury to breakout rookie linebacker Ryan Connelly.  So Rings of Harmony around that young man. The Giants scored on their first two drives, the Daniel Jones threw his first and second career interceptions on successive drives in the second quarter.  That done, he went back to his natural ways, but was stymied somewhat by bs ref calls - Latimer pushing of his jam at the LOS, before going for 50, for example. And others.  The Defense looked much better, and yes, it was the Skins, and yes they had to put in Haskins, but the Giants D has been undermanned and became even more so when Connelly went down on a non-contact play.

Washington seems desperate and played dirty from the opening whistle.  Some of it was called, and then there appeared to be makeup calls against the Giants.  This was almost unwatchable because of the refs.

We'll see if the Redskins fire their coach today. He had wanted to trade up for Jones rather than to sit still for Haskins who threw 3 picks.

This Week on the Blog

The Yanks are wrapping things up, the Giants won a game, the Rangers moved closer to regular season action, and the Knicks either did or didn't open camp.Things are looking ups bit. Let's take a look.

Yankees: the Yanks dodged a bullet last night, when James Paxton was lifted early for a "glute."  They said it's not serious and he could have continued. Phew. In other Yankee news, Stanton is catching fire and he could make a huge difference in the post season. Everything else is pretty calm.  Voit's still not hitting, but that could turn around in an instant.  It's unclear if Encarnacion will be ready for the first series - which has a huge chance of being against the Twins. I guess we'll see.

Giants: The Giants need to keep it rolling against Washington tomorrow.  Last week, we got a better look at the Shurmur offense when Jones became the QB. They've lost Sasquon Barkley for a few weeks, but they should still be able to put together a winning game plan tomorrow.  The skins have 28th against the run, so maybe Gallman can be effective, and let's hope they aren't tempted to run Jones into the ground. They did promote Jon Hilliman from the P-Squad, so he could also get some carries. Wouldn't be surprised if we see Darius Slayton's first TD.  It would also be nice to see what he can do if he catches one in stride.  Let's hope Engram keeps braking out.

Rangers: The Rangers will wrap up their preseason tonight against the Islanders. Then, they will start their regular season on Thursday. They've cleaned up the D a bit over the past couple of games, and they do look like a better team when Panarin can go.  He's scored in both of the games in which he has appeared. The final cuts will be interesting, as some pundits think Kravstov is going down. That would be insane. Beyond, the stars like Panarin, Zibby, Buch and Kreider, they have a bunch of replacement level guys and the kids. The kids should always play ahead of the replacement level guys. Speaking of kids, Lias Andersson has looked like a whole new guy in the early going and really resembles peak Stepan - but faster, all of a sudden. Good stuff.  We'll see what happens with the roster.

Knicks: Looks like the Knicks might open camp on Monday. That doesn't mean they haven't already been practicing.  They don't have any transformative arrivals, like the Rangers did, but between the draft and their Plan B free agents, they've gotten a lot deeper, and a sensible rotation and game plan could get them 30 or more wins. We still don't know what kind of coach David Fizdale is, because they started the Tank the minute he walked in.  But if he is a competent coach, they should be a lot more competitive this year.  We'll see.

So there it is, all 4 teams are about to be in league action.  Fun times.  If the Giants can win tomorrow, they might actually have a season.  Have a great week, everyone.

Daniel Jones!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy Crap!  What a game. So Tampa loaded up to keep Saquon from beating them.  Instead, they tried to make Daniel Jones beat them.  So he did. The Giants were down 28-10 at the half, and deeply deflated after losing Saquon to an ankle or foot thing that had him on crutches and in a boot.  So rings of harmony around Saquon.  He missed a lot of fun in the second half.  Speaking of which, the fist play of the 2nd half was a perfectly thrown ball to Engram which he took 75 yards to the HOUSE.  Then Jones threw one to Sterling Shepard, that was perfectly placed.  Then things backed up because Nate Solder was having a career worst day (was was Janoris Jenkins on D).  But in the 4th quarter, the defense held the Bucs to a field goal, then Jones lead the Giants down the field, and scored the winning touchdown on a 7 yard run on 4th and 5.  So 2 passing TD's, and 2 rushing TD's, and a whole new outlook on the season - so long as we get Saquon back.  Huge win, unbelievable first game!

This Week on the Blog

It was sort of a surreal week, especially for the Yanks and Giants, but it's ending and a new one's about to start. Let's take a look.

Yankees:  The German situation is shocking. Whether he is innocent or guilty, the Yanks have lost a key arm heading into the playoffs, and may have to do some extra shopping this winter. That was surreal.  On the field, the Yanks took care of business and clinched, but they are giving away a few too many games and could lose home field advantage as a result.  Also, Gleyber Torres left the game last night and had to have an MRI on his leg. That's an injury they really cannot afford. The regular season ends next Sunday and the playoffs start on 10/4. They need to keep the hammer down.

Giants:  The Giants named Daniel Jones the starter this week, to end the long and glorious then gross Eli Manning Era. The Jerry Reese FO is absolutely responsible for the gross years, by refusing to restock the OL when the classic guys dropped like flies in their early 30s. So if, for some reason Eli doesn't make the Hall, it's Jerry Reese's fault. But that's past now, and a New Era could start tomorrow. The OL seemed to love Jones in the preseason, picking him up after his first TD pass. Now  Daniel gets to play with Saquon Barkley. Barkley has been underused and used as a decoy over the first two games. That can't happen any more and the two 22 year olds need to find major chemistry.  And they very well might, as the playbook will now be wide open, and we're liable to get our first look at the real Shurmur offense. Of course, there could be growing pains, but, if Jones is really the guy - and he sure looked like it in preseason - the Giants will head into this offseason with high picks and a ton of open cap room, with which to build around their young stars and fix the freaking D.

Rangers:  The Rangers now have everyone in camp.  They started playing game this week, and in each of the two games they gave up a goal in the first minute or so.  Last night Jack Hughes undressed Hank in the first minute. Suboptimal.  They play Philly later today, and we'll see what the game roster looks like. They've already sent down Joey Keane and Gave Fontaine who played last night.  Chytil, like Kravstov, on Wednesday,  almost scored a bunch of times, but didn't. Howden did, and people seem to forget about hm and his good hands. Buch had an assist on a Namestikov goal, and that was it for the Rangers.  Judging by who they are running out there, the Rangers seem to be way more interested in giving chances and getting looks than they are in winning these games. We'll see if those priorities can produce a win, or even a lead later today,

Knicks: The Knicks will open camp this week, though from their social media updates, it seems like they never stopped practicing. There should be some interesting battles going on.  First, if they are out of "tank" mode, Elfrid Payton may well beat out Dennis Smith Jr. at the point.  And Marcus Morris may well beat out Kevin Knox at the 3, unless they play him at the 4.  Then there's the question of which 4 will play the 5, because they have a lot of 4's but no real 5, unless Mitchel Robinson has grown into one.  He does have the Bill Russel tool box, so it's possible. Anyway, it should be an interesting camp.

So there it is, the Yanks need to get healthy and stay healthy, the Giants need to open the playbook, the Rangers need to get a lead and a win, and the Knicks need to have a great camp.  I hope all of you have a great week.

Tony DeAngelo Signs

Tony DeAngelo ended his holdout and rejoined the Rangers today. The holdout was sort of insane given his lack of leverage, but it's over now and let's hope he can catch up. According to the metrics he could be called Tony DeAnalytics. Undercover good player who should really benefit for a vast skill upgrade around the roster.

In other news, the powerplay looked potentially awesome and produced a Panarin one timer in game one. They lost, but Kakko and Kravstov both had assists and Lias Andersson scored.  So, good stuff. Chytil didn't play but he and everybody else will get their first games tonight in New Jersey.

Yanks Clinch the East!

The Yanks just took care of business beating the Angels 9-1 and locking up the AL East for 2019.  Who would have thought that a team with so many injuries to key guys could do what they've done so far this year?  It's definitely a fairy tale setup.  On the field, Tanaka was excellent tonight and if that's the guy we have henceforth this year, this won't be the last Yanks Clinch.  Enjoy it!

Yankee Stuff

Luis Severino returned to the Yankees last night and pitched 4 scoreless innings, striking out 4, walking 2 and giving up 2 hits.  He was hitting an easy 98 as the game progressed and looked like his good old stuff.  He three 60 or so pitches, and they're probably have him all stretched out by the playoffs. Huge boost. On the flipside of that, Dellin Betances partially tore his achilles, and is done for the year. This hurts, and puts Dellin in a terrible position entering free agency. Also, Gleyber Torres is good.  Needs to walk a little more, like he was a month or two ago.

Jones Will Start

It's official.  Daniel Jones will start of the Giants this coming Sunday in Jacksonville. So it is done.  Hopefully, the organization can now row in one direction, and stop trying to give Eli a fairytale career kiss off.  This way, they can take their young QB lumps starting now, when they're already 0-2 and really know what they'll have to do with the draft picks and cap room. That's either build around Jones, or draft another QB and build around him. No more bandages.

Eli started the last few games of his rookie year.  That offseason the Giants signed Plaxico Burresss to   give Eli a big target and Kareem McKenzie to protect his front side.  They also signed Antonio Pierce in with just 4 picks left for the Eli trade, grabbed Corey Webster, Justin Tuck and Brandon Jacobs. All of whom became key players in the two latest Super Bowl wins.

This year, they will have more picks, because they didn't have to trade up for Jones, and more cap room.  This could be fun.

Now take the job, Jones!

Shurmur Refuses to Name a Starter

At his Monday presser, Coach Shurmur did not name a starter for next Sunday's game in Tampa.  That's lead to massive speculation that the Eli Manning Era is over and the Daniel Jones Era is upon us. Let's be honest, Eli has not been the King of the Fourth Quarter Comeback in a few years.  During Eli's prime the Giants failed to replace the classic Dieh, Seubert, O'Hara, Snee, McKenzie line.  They didn't even replace 1 of them.  Just incredible. and Eli spent the back end of his career getting hit as he threw,  What's more his pocket mobility was literally beaten out of him, and defenders have know n where he'd be and been able to block his passes with greater and greater frequency. Something else that has bothered me throughout Eli's career is the fact that refs did nothing to protect him.  Maybe it was because  he forced his trade to the Giants, or whatever, the refs let dozens of personal fouls against Eli go uncalled, and the Giants should have done more about that.  Anyway he is the Giants greatest QB by about a mile, and belongs in the Hall of Fame for beating the Patriots twice whyymile winning 2 SB MVP's.

As per Jones, he is much more mobile, but there probably will be some growing pains. But those are better than the groaning pains we have experienced for the past 2 years and 2 games.  Let's hope they make the move.

Giants Get Creamed Again

The Giants lost a game that they perhaps should have won today.  The Refs screwed them on the Bills fumble that was whistled dead while it was being fumbled, and an unheard of striking the Center call during a field goal attempt that did not occur.  But Eli also was scatter armed and threw 2 picks, while the Giants watched their athletic young QB Josh Allen move closer to stardom, while the Giants own athletic young QB stayed glued to the bench via owner's dictum, and because Eli Manning feelings are more important than wins and losses and whether your coach can open up his playbook, like the Bills did.  The D was a little better. We'll see what happens, but they can't fire Shurmur if they don't let him play Jones,

This Week on the Blog

The Yanks lost more players and lost more games, possibly, because of the injury absences and young players like Gleyber Torres and Aaron Judge being "rested." Judge has missed a huge chunk of the season already. The Giants prepared to face the Bills, and maybe play some defense?  The Rangers opened camp.  And the Knicks' Frank Ntilikina scored 11 points, and was +22 as Team France beat Team USA, which is good for Frank, and unacceptable on every other level. Let's take a look at this week.

Yankees: The Yanks are supposed to get Sevy and Staton back. That could and should be huge. A premier pitcher and an NL MVP. So let's hope they play like they can.  Missing Sanchez, again, and Encarnacion, again, is going to be tough. But Stanton can replace a lot of that jolt and EE is thought to have a different kind and less mild form of oblique injury than the one that cost Judge so many games. Now they need to take care of business.

Giants: The Giants were befuddled by Dallas's play calls last week, and probably looked far worse than they really are. Giants had a game like that against the Colts years ago, when the Colts just reversed tendencies and really made the Giants look bad. So that's one possibility. The other is that they're just a bad bunch of player stuck in a bad scheme. We've seen that before, too.  So tomorrow, if if they can get a few stops and not forget they have Saquon Barkley, they could look much better. Sterling Shepard will miss the game with a concussion, so all the more reason to keep going to Saquon.

Rangers: The Rangers opened camp Thursday, and took care of physicals.  Then yesterday they did the skate testing which both Lemieux and Kakko mentioned as "hard." Today they have their first on ice practice.  So its the first time that Panarin, Trouba,  Mika, Kakko, Kravstov and Fox will be out there together. Pretty cool. They're preseason schedule starts Wednesday, which could be our first exposure to Kappo/Hughes -- and that already feels played. Still, nice to have them back.

Knicks: So, outside the aegis of MSG someone found a winning use for Frank. Interesting, You used to hear coaches say their job was to come up with a scheme that works for the players they have.  Not sure if that's a thing anymore - or if coaches ever meant it.  I remember Dan Reeves coming in and cutting Pepper Johnson and others to bring in players he had in Denver. Anyway, Frank really has never gotten a chance with the Knicks and he's still only 21. They need to give him a try.  +22 guarding Kemba is outstanding.

So, there it is, Yanks need to keep on keeping on.  The Giants need to show us something better. The Rangers need to ford a team, and the Knicks need to give Frank a chance.  Have a great one.

Severino to Start Tuesday

Breaking News:  Luis Severino will return to the Yankees and start against Toronto in Tuesday,  He threw 61 or 64 pitches for Trenton last night, so they'll continue stretching him out down the stretch with major league starts. As long as he's not tipping pitches, and they had Beltran watching him in the minors, he'll be his awesome self. Sevy and Paxton could be amazing.

Rangers Sign Lemieux

Just in time for the start of camp tomorrow, the Rangers signed sandpaper but surprisingly skilled forward Brendan Lemieux to a one year contract, which will lock him up till they have more cap room. I mentioned earlier that with all of the skill they now possess they will be all the better if the role players don't suck and have nice ceilings of their own.  Brendan is such a guy and will score some big goals once they're back in the playoffs.  Now they have to get DeAngelo locked up, but that's probably coming, too.  Who wouldn't want to be on the Rangers right now?

Rangers Stuff

Tomorrow, the Rangers report to camp, but Lemieux and D'Angelo are still unsigned. They have no leverage and it was reported that Lemieux was already at the newfangled training center skating with his teammates. So it's unclear whether or no this will be a thing, but both kids are better than most believe and they are probably important to the long term aims of the franchise.  When building a top NHL teams, it better to have some guys like this - who are controllable - but already good, than to have to bring in Tanner Glass types when you're on a run. So let's hope this is not a thing.

It doesn't look like they're trading Kreider, now. That's keeping them pretty cap-strung, but probably making them a better team to start the season.  Most pundits think the Rangers won't make the playoffs.  I'm not sure that's so.  While they will, mostly likely be playing 3-4 rookies every night, there is something being overlooked far and wide.

That's this: creativity. the Rangers are adding Panarin, Trouba, Fox, Kravstov and Kakko.  Of that group, Panarin, Fox, Kravstov and Kakko have tremendous creativity, It's been sort of an afterthought in analysis of Kravstov and Kakko - but when combined with each other, or with Fox, it proved too much for the competition at Traverse City. And Panarin put on a clinic last year. So the Rangers have added two bets and some kids, but really, what they've added is a ton of creativity.  On the last run, the Rangers had more grit than skill.  This time around they might have more skill than grit, but they'd better add grit, and guys like Trouba and Lemieux will help.

Quinn seems like he demands grit. It will be interesting to see how he handles all of this creativity.

Kaapo Kakko Goes Off

Holy Frijoles.  If anyone is wondering why Kaapo Kakko was such an easy pick in June, they just had to watch him today. He'd missed the first two games of the Traverse City Tournament with a touch of the flu.  Then, starting in the third period, with the Rangers down 2-0 Kaapo assisted on two PP goals by Kravstov during a 5 minute power play that bridged the second third periods. Then the Rangers fell behind 3-2 and Kaapo assisted on the game tying goal, from behind the goal - a la - The Great One.  This game into overtime and Kaapo scored the winner on a double wrap around move.  Holy crap is he good.  And he showed serious chemistry with Kravstov, who has had a great tourney as has Adam Fox as well. They play one more game tomorrow, but they have to love that their high end teenagers, and their cagey collegiate pick up are killing it.

Giants Get Destroyed in Dallas

Ugh.  The Giants had a nice first drive that was keyed by a 59 yard Saquon run from scrimmage, then proceeded to let the Cowboys tie it up - then blow them out.  Remember how the offensive line was so discombobulated at the start of last year. The entire defense is that way now. Seriously they couldn't stop a Division 3 team today. That's got to change. Also, it's not clear whether or not Eli is capable of the big comebacks that marked his glory days, but he was check down Charlie when they fell behind, and Saquon didn't get anywhere near enough touches. David Jones came in late, and was 3-4 before running for a first down, straight into the back Wayne Gallman which caused him to lose the football. Ugh.  Just a a horrible and hopefully forgettable day,  That said, cap room and high picks next Spring are among the nicer consolation prizes.

Adam Fox Has 5 Points as T-City Rangers Win

So much for Hockey East inflating his point totals. Adam Fox just had 2 goals and 3 assists as the Rangers bounced back from yesterday's loss and beat Dallas 7-4.  One of the 4 assists came an a Fox snapshot that Karl Henriksson redirected to start the Rangers scoring. Vitali Kravstov, showed his playmaking dimension with 3 assists.  Matt Robertson also scored after being robbed yesterday.  In tougher news Ygor Rykov scored a goal but had to be helped from the ice - let's hope it was just a cramp. Ryan Dmowksi, scored 2 goals, including an empty netter as he and Brett Kemp (1 assist) continued to make their case for contracts.

This Week on the Blog

This week saw the Yankees add more IFA money, the Giants cut Nate Stupar, the Rangers get off to a bad start at Traverse City and the Knicks part ways with Kris Wilkes. Sort of significant stuff this week could be even more significant. Let's take a look.

Yankees:  The Yanks seemed a bit disinterested last night in Boston. They'd better put the hammer down today. Prior to last night they'd been lo  oking pretty dominant.  In really good news, Luis Severino pitched 4 strong innings in Trenton last night and it looks like they're building him up to start rather than relieve down the stretch. It's unclear when Stanton and Hicks will be back, but they really have to keep chugging and not relax down the stretch. They're not having to expend extra energy catching anyone, they just have to pay attention.

Giants: the Giants kickoff their regular season tomorrow - and the way is unclear.  They should be much improved, on both lines, and having Mayo instead of Stupar improves the defense some, and more than makes up for Stupar's loss on Specials. The big question, as the season moves on is how long is Eli's leash, and how much  Shurmur's O could expand with an athlete like Daniel Jones running it. They can't fire him for wanting to win.  So, we'll see if this is orderly.  I think it's been mishandled and that Jones should be starting tomorrow.  As for tomorrow's game: as a rule, the Cowboys are always overrated and the Giants are always underrated.  And and the lower expectations go for the Giants, the better they seem to play.  We'll see what they can do tomorrow.

UPDATE: The Giants restructured Nate Solder today to create 5M in additional cap space for the season.  That could come into play sooner than later since they've only got 52 men after the Stupar cut.

Rangers: the Rangers looked rusty yesterday and ran into a hot goalie.  Against a regular goalie they would have scored more, but probably still would have given up 6. I think think they play again tomorrow, though I thought they were playing today - but it doesn't look like it on my app. We do know that Camp opens on Thursday and that should be pretty exciting with all the additions they made like Panarin and Trouba and all the draft picks and prospects they've collected over the last few years.  And I just  checked: the Rangers play against Dallas this evening.

Knicks: The Knicks open camp in September 30th, and Kris Wilkes, one of their clever pick-ups just isn't healthy enough to participate yet. Remember he was one of their analytic efficiency pick ups. So it's a bit of a shame that we won't be able to see their  attention to modern methods rewarded, in this instance. Iggy was another one of those guys, he's full go.  Let's keep finger crossed that everybody else is.

So there it is.  No coasting for the Yanks. Chance for an upset for the Giants.  More Traverse City for the Rangers, and hopefully better health for the rest of the Knicks.  Have a great one!

Ranger Prospects Hit Traverse

The Rangers prospects will take the ice in about 90 minutes. This should be fascinating. First for the obvious presence of the high upside kids, including Kakko, Kravstov, Fox and  Shesterkin.  But really the whole team. And to add to the intrigue, they'll be coached by the new Hartford staff, include Kris Knoblauch, Gord Murphy and the rest.  Because Shesterkin and Adam Huska are there, so's Benoit Allaire. This is significant, because in the past, the Rangers didn't really have any sort of development presence at the tourney - now they do.  I wonder if Glass and Ruutu are there.

It's unclear whether or not Kaapo Kakko will play today as he was under the weather.  We'll see.

UPDATE:  Kaapo Kakko didn't play.  The Rangers scored the first and last goals of the game - both by tryout player Brett Kemp (he's 19 so it was a good day for him) but the Rangers didn't score any of the middle SIX goals.  Red Light Shesty needs some adjustments.  Fox and Kravstov looked gifted, and should have score a few goals. Matthew Robertson had a great breakaway, but the Blue Jackets goalie made an even greater save.  SOG were pretty even last I checked.  But results were not.

Big Maple is Big Time

Over James Paxton's last seven starts, he's 7-0 with a 2.98 era, and oodles of strikeouts. In other words he's looking exactly like the pitcher the Yanks thought they were getting - and just in time for the playoffs.  Last year, Paxton said he had finally figured something out and now it looks like he has again.  Or maybe that knee that put him on the shelf earlier in the season has finally stopped barking.  But, more likely, Big Maple has just inverted his pitching tendencies and is relying more on his curve ball than he was earlier in the season. In any event, instead of getting Happ 2, it looks like the Yanks have another ace. Oh, and Sevy should be ready to return for the post season.

Yanks Make Another Trade for IFA Money

This is unusual: the Yanks traded J.P. Feyereisen to the Brewers for 16 year old Brenny Escanio,  a kid they had signed on 7/2/19, and international pool money.  So literally the Yanks are adding to their 2019 IFA class both by adding dough to sign their guys and by acquiring Brenny as well as the cash. We'll see if they make any more of these trades or whether they now have enough to lock up their class.  

Yanks Trade McBroom for International Dough

Over the weekend, the Yanks traded 1B Ryan McBroom to KC for international pool money. It's a little odd that they didn't pull off any of these deals before the deadline and before they started losing presumptive signees.  And they have lost at least one OF Jhon Diaz.  Let's hope they can keep the rest of the class together.

UPDATE:  And while I was writing this Gardy and Ford homered in the bottom of the 9th to walk the Yankees off again!   Woo hoo!!!!!