Pumped for Football Season

Based on what you have read so far on this site from me, it is very easy to see that I am an unbelievable huge hockey fanatic.

For awhile, it was really the only sport I ever followed until 1997 when my co-publisher John Strawbridge got me into baseball. From 1997 to 2012, hockey and baseball were the only sports that I truly care about.

This all changed in the fall of 2012 when I became a football fan. Football was my escape from the NHL lockout and the more I watched it, the bigger fan that I became.

Here we are several months later and I am absolutely pumped for the upcoming NFL season. It will be interesting to see the kind of follow-up seasons that both the San Franciso 49ers and Baltimore Ravens have among many other things.

Here are some questions I have going into the season:

- Who is going to be the starting quarterback for the New York Jets, Mark Sanchez or Geno Smith?

- What kind of season will Minnesota Vikings' running back Adrian Peterson have? He had a record-breaking year last season so it will be interesting to see if he can have a repeat performance?

- Speaking of repeat performance, what can we expect from Indianapolis Colts' second-year quarterback Andrew Luck and Washington Redskin's second year quarterback Robert Griffin III? They were both terrific last season, especially RGIII, so will they be able to avoid a sophomore slump?

- Who will be the best quarterback in the league this season? Will it be Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, RGIII, etc., ?

This is just a start in terms of the questions I have coming into this season so feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Nova Strutting His Stuff

While there is no doubt that the New York Yankees have problems generating offense, keeping guys healthy or even having one stay off the juice, one problem they do not have is pitching.

This really came to light in last night's 8-1 win over the Kansas City Royals. Yes, the team's offense came to life but more impressive was the second straight solid performance from starting pitcher Ivan Nova.

Nova burst onto the scene with the Yankees in 2011 and in his first big-league season, showed that he had the stuff to be an above average starting pitcher in the Major Leagues. That season, Nova won 16 games, had a 3.70 ERA and finished fourth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting.

With that kind of season, the team and their fans were excited about his future and their expectations were raised. Unfortunately, Nova fell off last season as he won 12 games and had an ERA of just over five, which made the team wonder if he was a one-year wonder.

While that question is still being asked, Nova has definitely turned it around in his last few starts. As Yankees' manager Joe Girardi mentioned after the game last night, Nova did a good job of mixing all his pitches and showed that he is more than capable of being a starter in any Major League rotation.

Nova's last two starts in particular are reasons why the team and their fans should continue to be patient and show some faith in him. Last Friday night in the team's 3-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles, Nova was masterful in pitching a complete game, allowing two earned runs and striking out 11 against an extremely talented offensive Orioles ball club.

Last night against the Royals, Nova was just as good in allowing just one run and striking out five over eight innings. Put the last two games together and that three earned runs in 17 innings.

Remember folks, Nova is just 26 years old and has shown that he can pitch well and do so in big games. If the Yankees want to stay in the tight race in the American League East, Nova will need to continue to strut his stuff like he has done over the last few games for his team.

Is Howard Worth It?

When talking about the NBA's best players, one thinks of Lebron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul and many others before thinking about the Houston Rockets's newest acquisition, Dwight Howard.

Based on what happened with Howard and the Magic and then Howard and the Lakers, it appears that no good can come from signing him. In fact, one has to really think about if he is really worth all the drama that seems to find him.

For starters, Howard was the main reason Stan Van Gundy was let go. Although Howard made it seem like things were cool with him and Van Gundy in front of the media, that simply was not the case behind closed doors so the Magic thought they did what they had to do to keep Howard happy.

Unfortunately for the Magic, they never got to witness Howard's happiness and he left and went to the Los Angeles Lakers. At the time of the move, it seemed like the Lakers were doing everything they can to win another championship but as it turned out, things never ended up going their way.

Howard dealt with injuries, clashed with teammates and once again came up short in a quest for a ring. While he was not terrible on the floor, he was not at his all-time best.

Even with that, the Lakers were determined to do everything they can to try and make him stay. They hung big jersey's of his as advertisements and even the great Magic Johnson, along with teammate Steve Nash,  tweeted Howard asking him to stay.

Unfortunately for the Lakers, their courting efforts fell short and Howard ended up deciding to go join the Houston Rockets. The Rockets are one of the younger teams in the league and with a player like James Harden and a terrific head coach in Kevin McHale, the Rockets are a franchise that is definitely on the rise.

With all of that said, one has to wonder if Howard is going to pull the same kind of stunts that he did with both the Magic and Lakers? Will he try and get a coach fired? Will he have trouble with a teammate or will he end up leaving the Rockets if things don't go well for him after his first year?

If these are the kind of questions that you have to ask yourself before trying to bring this player to your franchise, can he really be worth it? 

Can The Yankees Offensive Offense Be Fixed?

“Get us to Memorial Day, and the reinforcements will come.”

That was the general message for the New York Yankee offense heading into Opening Day, which entered the season with an already injury-depleted, old, un-Yankee looking lineup. Although the offense has been a problem since day one, the first 83 games have yielded results that tell the tale of two different halves:

1^st Half – an upstart group doing just enough to support a great pitching staff, featuring rejuvenated veterans and unexpected, timely contributions.

2^nd Half – a feeble failure of patchwork fill-ins, dejected by the failure of the reinforcements to come back and STAY back, whose luck has apparently caught up to them.

They did their job in that first half of the 83, but were immediately asked to duplicate it beyond what was expected and forced to reach beyond their capabilities.

The Yankees entered Memorial Day, the finish line for “the replacements”, with a record of 30-19. Curtis Granderson had just suffered yet another bad “break” two days earlier, but the team was feeling good after hitting their high water mark for the season just one day earlier. All reports also indicated Mark Teixeira was progressing nicely and would be riding in on a white horse to do his best Tywin Lannister impression to save the day.

Since Memorial Day, here is what has taken place:

• The Yankees have gone 14-20 (winners of their last 2)
• Mark Teixeira has come and gone, for good this time
• Kevin Youkilis has come back and gone back, for good this time as well
• Eduardo Nunez has fallen deep into the injury abyss for the second straight year
• Alex Rodriguez joined Twitter to do his best to take our attention away from what was actually happening on the field – Brian Cashman took his bait
• Derek Jeter may or may not have ran from 1^st base to 3^rd base… and this is “major progress”

 

Beyond their lengthy credentials and proven track records, these players all have something else in common – they’re all right handed hitters. The Yankee lineup looks positively anemic against left handed starters, and they are also extremely vulnerable against the lefty specialists that occupy every team’s bullpen for late inning situations. The offense has been an issue all season long, but there was always the hope of an end date in sight… not anymore.

The permanent absence of Teixeira and Youkilis is crippling to this roster, as is the failure of Eduardo Nunez to seize a golden opportunity to be a regular. The black cloud representing a 50 or 100 game suspension that hangs over the head of Arod, coupled with the soap opera drama surrounding his ability to even rehab and get back to the majors, dilutes our only main organizational threat from the right side of the plate. Yankee third basemen have hit 4 home runs and driven in a total of 23 runs in 83 games this season. I’m sorry, but Arod WILL be an upgrade to those numbers regardless of the extent that his skills have eroded. Look at all of those who have come through and played third base this season:

(numbers ONLY as a third baseman)

Player	Average	HR	RBI	OPS
David Adams	.189	2	7	.547
Jayson Nix	.267	0	7	.621
Alberto Gonzalez	0/11	0	0	.000
Chris Nelson*	.222	0	2	.521
Kevin Youkilis**	.266	2	7	.759

* no longer on team

** out for season

Lyle Overbay has done an admiral job filling in for Mark Teixeira this year. His numbers come in underwhelming (.240/9/34), but they are watered down by his production against lefties. There is absolutely no way he should be playing against lefties, but honestly, there’s noone else! Overbay is hitting .260/8/24 against righties, with 12 doubles, which is acceptable when paired with his great defense. His numbers have also dipped lately due to decreased playing time in June when Teixeira made his brief appearance.

Along with Overbay, Vernon Wells and Travis Hafner played starring roles in the team’s early success. Unlike Overbay, Wells and Hafner have completely disappeared. 

• Travis Hafner since May 1:  .174 (25-144), 6HR, 19RBI, .256OBP
• Vernon Wells since May 16: .147 (19-129) 0HR, 8RBI, .160OBP

These numbers are completely unfathomable. I honestly don’t even know how to comment on them. These two guys have spent the majority of the season protecting Robinson Cano. Clearly Cano is getting nothing to hit, and this is why. Hafner and Wells did everything they could over the first six weeks of the season to get us off to a good start, but they have rapidly descended to the depths that made them bargain investments in the first place.

So, what is the solution? There seems to be a litany of problems with this lineup, and I think the front office needs to look outside of the organization to find a solution. Even if Arod comes back, remains healthy, and gives us solid production, the Yankees still have at least one glaring hole to fill in order to make a run at the postseason. After all, Arod is going to need regular rest and will probably be spend a lot of time DHing when he comes back. 

With the addition of the second Wild Card last year there are more teams in contention as the trade deadline approaches, thus thinning the market and allowing the few sellers to raise their asking prices. Here are a few players the Yankees should at the very least take a look at.

Michael Young (Phillies) – I have said throughout his entire career that Michael Young is among the most underrated players in baseball. Of course he’s 36 now, but year in and year out he produces. He brings a wealth of experience, along with rare production from someone with such versatility; he has the ability to play all four infield positions. With the uncertainty surrounding Jeter and Arod, coupled with the ineffectiveness of Overbay against lefties, Michael Young seems like a perfect fit. If the Phillies make him available I fully expect the Yankees will try to acquire him.

Kendrys Morales (Mariners) – Morales has come a long way since the infamous walk-off broken leg that dropped a bomb on his budding career. A switch-hitting 1B/DH may be a good fit.

Chris Carter (Astros) – Absolutely the cheapest option on this list. A power hitting, right-handed first baseman, his addition could create a 4-way 1B/DH platoon with Overbay, Hafner, and Wells. It would also give Girardi at least 1 option off the bench to pinch hit late in games – a luxury that has not been available this year. Carter would also provide the Yankees with a definitive right-handed power bat, something that has been absent this season.

Paul Konerko (White Sox) – This is a very remote possibility, since he is practically married to the White Sox and has been one of the faces of their franchise since Frank Thomas left. However, there will be a massive firesale in Chicago sometime very soon, so you never know. Konerko would be a more permanent fixture at First Base for the remainder of the season; he is not splitting playing time with anyone. This is a longshot, since he is so beloved in Chicago that he was actually briefly discussed as a possible player-manager candidate before the team hired Robin Ventura. Perhaps Jeff Keppinger, a player the Yankees pursued in the offseason, would be a better option (although he has had a dreadful season).

Clearly this offense needs a pick-me-up. Whether it is a healthy Arod and/or Jeter or the addition of a player via trade, there needs to be a shakeup on this offense before it’s too late. The Yankees currently sit at 44-39 and are 6 games out of first place (5 in the loss column), with the Wild Card safety net within 2.5 games. The playoffs are certainly within reach, but they are hanging on by the skin of their teeth. There must be an improvement on these American League rankings:

(of the 15 AL teams)

AVG	RUNS	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	OBP
13th	11th	11th	12th	12th	12th	13th

 
After being swept this past weekend in Baltimore, the Yankees began a stretch of 14 winnable games this past Monday, against Minnesota (7), Kansas City (4) and Baltimore (3). They must use the next two weeks to gain some momentum heading into the All Star break, before hitting another rough patch in the schedule immediately thereafter. Although two months follow July, the tenuous state of this lineup gives July a make-or-break feel.

It's your move, Mr. Cashman.

Why Missing the Postseason Would Be Good for the Yankees

Before getting into the meat of this blog, I must admit that I have been a Yankees' fan my whole life. 

I have been to a ton of games, watched many on television and went to the parade in 2009. It is safe to say that they are my favorite MLB team.

With that said, it is time for the team to change in a big way. Over the course of the past few seasons, we have seen teams get younger, teams utilize more home grown talent and teams adapt to what is going on in the league.

The Yankees have not done this yet. Year in and year out, they look to go out and sign the big free agents, sign the big stop gaps or look to get players that can help them win now.

For the Yankees, especially this season, doing these things have not helped. Curtis Granderson is hurt. Mark Teixeira is done for the season. Alex Rodriguez has not played all season.

The stop gaps, such as Vernon Wells, Lyle Overbay and Travis Hafner have produced but have not done so on a consistent basis. The home grown talent, though not terrible baseball players, simply are not Major Leaguers yet.

Nevertheless, the Yankees find themselves with a 43-39 record (as of this writing) and just 3.5 games out of first in the American League East. While everyone who roots for the Yankees should be satisfied with this record considering the lineup they throw out on the field on a nightly basis, I would urge fans to hope that this team does not make the playoffs come the end of the season.

The franchise needs to be dealt with the reality that the league is changing. Over-the-hill players are not going to get it done anymore and neither are the stop gaps or fill-ins that the team acquires and puts out on the field.

The club needs to go into rebuilding mode and build the team around the Cano's, Gardner's, Pineda's, and Roberston's of the team. The team needs to rebuild from within and allow the growing pains to occur because if they do not, it is going to be the same thing over and over again for the Yankees.

It is easy to see why doing something like this might be a hard pill to swallow. The Yankees are a prideful franchise that has done it all and won it all when it comes to baseball.

With that said, it is time to take a backseat and look towards the future. It is time for the Yankees to start anew and start doing things the way clubs like the Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, and St. Louis Cardinals do.

Again, the franchise and their fans may not like it but for the betterment of the future, missing the postseason needs to happen.

Devils Smart to Acquire Schneider

With Martin Brodeur nearing the end of his very illustrious career, the New Jersey Devils absolutely had to address their goaltending needs going forward sooner rather than later.

For Devils’ general manager Lou Lamoriello, there was no time like the present. Lamoriello shocked the hockey world when he traded his club’s ninth overall pick of the NHL Entry Draft to the Vancouver Canucks for goaltender Cory Schneider.

It appeared that for the longest time, Canucks’ general manager Mike Gillis was doing everything he possibly could to try and deal netminder Roberto Luongo. However, because of Luongo’s contract and cap hit, there were not many takers on the market.

With the team needing some more depth up front, especially at the centre ice position, Gillis decided to move Schneider to the Devils and with the ninth overall pick, took London Knights’ forward Bo Horvat. This move may not end up being liked by many in Vancouver but for the Devils and their fans, it is a move they needed to make and a move that needed to be done for the betterment of their team’s future between the pipes.

At 27 years of age, Schneider has already proven that he can be a starting goaltender and a successful one at that. This past season, Schneider went 17-9-4 with a 2.11 GAA, a .927 save percentage, and five shutouts.

Playing behind a guy like Luongo probably wasn’t easy in the beginning as Schneider probably did not know how many games he was going to get to play. With that said, he showed the Canucks that there was not much of a drop off when he was put in between the pipes and not only that, he showed that he could put up numbers that were just as good, if not better than Luongo’s.

Obviously, no one is quite sure how much playing time he will get this season considering that Brodeur is still on the team and in the last year of his contract. Brodeur has been everything and more to the Devils and obviously wants to do everything he possibly can to go out on a high note.

With that said, the Devils and their coaching staff has to realize that the goaltender of their future is now Schneider. Brodeur may have the recognition, the trophies, and the experience but father time is all but here for the Devils’ 41 year-old goaltender.

For the first time since Brodeur stepped up on the ice when the franchise wore red and green, the Devils appear to have a goaltender for the future and in Schneider, there may not be any goaltender that a team would rather go with than him right now.