Open Thread: A night with Joba
ByNo, not like that you pervs. This is actually for a good cause.
Camp Acorn is a summer/winter social and recreational program for children and young adults with multiple disabilities. They offer a therapeutic and instructional program that develops fine motor, gross motor and transitional skills, all while building confidence and self esteem skills. All activities are adapted to the individual needs of each camper. You can find out more about the program at it’s website.
Next Monday, Camp Acorn is hosting a kickoff dinner to begin the camp’s capital fundraising effort and raise awareness about the camp’s programs and the population it serves. Those who attend will get a chance to meet Joba Chamberlain, as well as other athletes. Here’s the details:
- Date: November 16, 2009
- Time: 6:30 – 9:30 PM
- Location: The Venetian, 546 River Dr., Garfield, NJ 07026
- Ticket Price: $175/ticket, $1,400/table (table of ten)
- Attire: Business Casual
Yeah, it’s a little pricey, but it’s for a great cause. If you’re interested, head on over to the website to register for a spot. Seats are limited.
* * *
Here’s your open thread for the evening. We’ve actually got a pretty decent MNF game, as the Steelers are in Denver to take on one-loss Broncos. The Knicks are in action too, and there’s also a new episode of House. Talk about whatever you want, just be cool to each other.
anyone want a lockerz invite? it seems pretty legit and i get points for inviting people
Isn’t it a scam?
i don’t think so. i saw some videos w/ proof and the site looks real. i wouldn’t bet on its legitimacy though
I’ll give it a shot. How do I get the invite?
whats your email dude
Do you have aim? If u do IM me and I’ll give it to you on there — Andrew6132
A/S/L? Haaaaawt.
haha
randy winn? could he be useful as a stop gap?
I was looking at that too.
If they didn’t have Melky and Gardner, I’d be more interested, because I think that Cameron, Damon, Swisher and Winn, plus a guy like Miranda could be a decent OF/DH situation.
winn can play all 3 outfield positions (bad uzr in cf, however) which could be handy if damon doesn’t resign
Cameron is a much better option, if that’s what you’re looking for. Winn isn’t good enough to make him worth the attention if you’re looking at him as more than a 4th OFer.
Agreed.
Cameron >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Winn
The Yankees had arguably 6 OFs on their roster this year that are better than Winn (Hairston and Hinske included in that 6)
Well…Winn’s actually a fine hitter as a lefty, and his defense is a lot better than Hinske’s. So…as a guy who’d start in a corner position against right-handed pitching, he totally has some value.
Heh Varitek had his team option declined. Think he’ll use his player option?
Of course. He aini’t getting $3M anywhere else.
With Boras as your agent, anything is possible.
Hell they might convince the Mets to give him more, you never know.
i know ur semi kidding, but its pretty unlikely he’d get a contract at all from anyone else.
Nah it was all a joke.
And here I was thinking the joke we’re talking about was the Mets. Silly me
No, it’s understandable how you got mistaken.
Don’t rule out the Metssigning him. I truly believe they’re THAT stupid.
if his last name was “sanchez”, you’d better believe Minaya would be all over that action.
would he wear a “Si” on his chest?
hahahaha IETCVM
If his last name was Sanchez, we are the ones who should be all over that shit. We’re trying to corner the market on Sanchezes.
He’s not fat enough to join our Sanchez brigade.
Gary Sanchez isn’t fat either. There’s an inner bridage (the fat one) and an outer brigade (the regular sized guys).
It’s like the 2009 Yankees vs. the “Core Four”.
It’s like the 2009 Yankees vs. the “Core Four”.
Romulo = “True Yankee”
I hope he does. It’ll be a bright spot in the long winter.
How long can a winter be when you carry the trophy, babeeee?
for reals. everything is gravy this winter.
yay college basketball is back
Anybody like Breaking Benjamin? Dear Agony is a sick album.
Phil Hughes does…
Not to be a kiss ass, but I’m amazed at how you guys put up three really interesting pieces on a day when there’s almost nothing in terms of baseball news. As someone who does a tiny bit of part time blogging myself, I know that’s not an easy thing to do. Great work (as always) guys. Best Yankee blog around.
+ infinity
Ha! Beat y’all.
Oops tried to reply to artist.
What a nerd.
About Ben’s Joba piece, I didn’t think his drop off in Aug-Sept was as much about the career high in innings as it was the way they jerked him around and gave him nothing resembling a regular schedule. First long rest, skip a start here and there, then regular work on limited innings. The whole episode was flailing about and ill-conceived.
I’ll give them credit for one thing, however. They always gave him less work than he could handle, which is why I don’t think they were as concerned about any set number on an innings jump year over year. But they hurt the team with his ineffectiveness, and the team always has to come first. So they blew it.
I hope that next year with the Hughes-rules, they simply hold him back a month without game action in spring training. Let him report with pitchers and catchers, but don;t get into any games until mid-March. Then he can finish stretching out his arm in AAA in April, and join the team as a full-fledged member of the rotation on May 1st. Then he can start every 5 days and his innings won’t be an issue. With off days, they can skip him, here and there and limit his innings even further. But by doing it that way, we can avoid repeating the mess we made with Joba late this year.
I hope that next year with the Hughes-rules, they simply hold him back a month without game action in spring training.
I really hate this idea, but I’m going to hold back on discussing it since I’m still basking in the glow of the championship.
Tell me why. That’s the idea, to kick it around some. Maybe there’s someting I’ve missed.
Unlike Accent above me I like your idea with Hughes.
The problem with this theory is that it doesn’t agree with the facts. The Yankees started adjusting his schedule and pitching him shorter outings for his August 25th start. In his three outings before that start he had an ERA of 6.75.
As for the idea of limiting his (Joba’s or Hughes’) innings early in the season – they tried that last year with Joba and it backfired and he ended up not reaching his innings limit.
As for the idea of limiting his (Joba’s or Hughes’) innings early in the season – they tried that last year with Joba and it backfired and he ended up not reaching his innings limit.
They didn’t try nearly hard enough. For all the talk of “we’re gonna skip his turn in the rotation since he’s the fifth starter”, Joba’s turn was pretty much never skipped until August.
That’s the whole point: The plan wasn’t nearly deliberate enough. It was a “let’s play this by ear” plan to keep his innings down. Plans like that tend not to work.
I’d rather be more aggressive with Hughes for 2010. Skipping all of April seems a good way to be aggressive.
By last year I mean 2008. They tried to limit his innings in 2008 by starting him in the bullpen and then moving him to the rotation. That would have been a great plan, except he got injured and failed to reach his innings limit. I would much rather have the flexibility to skip him later in the season than being forced to accept a lower innings total because he got injured.
As for the Joba plan in 2009, I have no issues with them wanting to remain flexible. The Yankees were in a pennant race and modified the plan to meet both the short term needs of the team as well as Joba’s developmental needs. It sounds nice to say that a young pitcher’s future/health is the number one priority, but that’s just false. Winning a championship is the number one priority, and sometimes you have to sacrifice some of the certainty going forward for a better chance to win now.
Ah, gotcha.
I think the 2008 structured Joba plan was even dumber than the 2009 non-structured Joba plan. I don’t want starters being forced to be skipped multiple times, and I don’t want starters being transitioned from the bullpen to the rotation midseason.
I want Hughes in 2010 to be able to take the ball every fifth day and just pitch. The best way to do that without having him throw too many innings (and still keep him available in October) is to delay the beginning of his season. It’s the best strategy amongst numerous strategies that all have their own particular flaws, drawbacks, and dangers.
So Gaudin starts as the fifth starter?
Gaudin, IPK, and Mitre battle it out in camp for the 5th starter spot. Hughes joins the team a month later and bumps the winner to Scranton or to the pen.
Of course, J-Douche would also be a fine man to occupy that April void. I’m just saying…
I’d love to see Kennedy.
BTW, say Kennedy pitches brilliantly. Not just good, like J.A. Happ ROY good. Then what?
It’s one of those nice problems if it happens, but a problem nonetheless.
PUSSYTUBING
My mind, it is blown.
Sorry, but both Ben and I referred to both the shorter stints AND the longer rest between starts. The longer rest started in mid-August, which is what you’re citing.
You’ve also cherry picked one bad outing in Texas to pump up his ERA. The 3 starts before that, he gave up 4 ER each, and going into August 16th his ERA was a respectable 3.98.
I didn’t include the Texas start, because that was after a longer rest (8 days). The three starts before that (BOS, TOR, @SEA) he had a 6.75 ERA. Of course his ERA was still good after those 3 starts – he pitched 16 innings in those 3 starts, compared to 110 innings before that.
Also, if the long rest were the issue, then why didn’t it affect him coming out of the All-Star break?
+65
http://www.nydailynews.com/img.....ackson.jpg
How great is the story of the Yankees 1978 opening day? Reggie! Bar promotion day, Jackson hits a homerun, and the field gets littered with the candy.
I never get tired of stories about baseball fans going crazy.
Ah, WTF. Just saw my schedule. I guess I have a stupid dinner with the Chancellor of DU tomorrow night. This sucks considering I have 7 papers to write by next Saturday (except one of them is due by this Saturday) and have finals next weekend.
finals? already?
Yea I have 3 tests next week, a research paper (for a bullshit class) next week, and this week is homecoming. Gotta find time somewhere. Can’t wait to see Daniel Tosh tomorrow night!
On the Matsui piece, does anyone have an idea if the Elias rankings take fielding into account? As a full-time DH, that might explain his being unranked and leads me to a larger point.
While we can all nitpick about defensive metrics and which ones we prefer, nobody denies that fielding adds value of some kind. Having a roster spot taken by someone with zero value as a fielder and a good bat replaced by someone with a lesser bat but above-average fielding skills plus the ability to run the bases could very well be a net+ for the Yanks next year.
Either way. DH is a fulltime position in the AL.
I am all in favor of the concept of jettisoning Matsui the DH and replacing him with some sort of non-DH bat who can play DH sometimes and play the field other times.
I’m in favor of that concept… in the abstract. I am struggling to find an actual player I’m willing to actually replace Matsui with, though. Even though HazMat’s limited by his inability to do anything but DH, I think all the other options are either a prohibitively large contract outlay or are a big step down in overall production (even when discounting Matsui’s production since he’s only half a player.)
I don’t have any names either, but we keep hearing the non-tender list is going to explode this year, and some of the names may surprise people. Guys who teams may like, but they won’t risk going to arbitration with. I’ll bet there’s someone out there who can fit the bill.
I’d vote for Cameron to replace Matsui (and resign Damon). On most days, they can play Cameron in LF and have Damon DH. On days they want to give the aging regulars a half day off, they can bench Gardbrera move Cameron to CF and Damon to LF.
That’s about the only real option I like.
Put it this way: Between Damon, HazMat, and Cameron, I want two of those three signed to 1 year or 1+1 deals this winter. Any two of those three are acceptable.
We can get Pujols and Dunn to fill the spot.
/mryankee’d
There’s no possible way we repeat unless we trade for Roy Halladay and Adrian Gonzalez. Because if we don’t, the Sox will and they’ll win 135 games next year.
/mryankee’d
135 is the under.
…They’re going to thaw Ted Williams out, too. His WAR is 27.0! That’s right, the Sox just went 162-0. The Yankees, in retaliation, are going to have to hurry up with their gene splicing of Dimaggio, Gehrig and Ruth.
This is all Ted Kennedy’s fault.
/Mr. Fleicher Yankee
I think I’d actually prefer a DH who can’t field, so the team isn’t tempted to run him out there. Better to have a Matsui-type at DH than an Adam Dunn-type.
That said, not willing to pursue this argument, still basking in the glow of #27.
Haha, anyone remember this:
http://www.nydailynews.com/spo.....to_-2.html
Good times. It’s funny how stupid some writers are.
Ugh, the blond highlights. They buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurn.
Those highlights were a much, much bigger mistake than taking steroids.
I’m still waiting for A-Rod to apologize for them.
It was loosey-goosey era for hairstyles back then. He was young and naive.
what an idiot
Heh.
Tim McCarver just called someone else an idiot. That’s funny.
False. That was why they gave ARod the 30M in potential bonus money.
The 275M they gave him in non-bonus money had nothing at all to do with any pursuit of Bonds’s record or any fanciful desire to “erase the stain of steriods and bask in the glory of their brand”.
They gave him the 275M to carry the offense to championships. Which he has now done, and will continue to do.
So, Bill Madden, the entire lead-in premise to your abortion of an article is horrendously retarded. Stop speaking and go sit in the corner.
Yea exactly. I mean, eating $270 mil no matter who you are is ALWAYS a bad idea.
Seriously, that article in retrospect looks almost as dumb as Matt Taibbi’s.
Think about that you’re saying. Taibbi’s was incredibly, horrifically bad.
I know, but Bill Madden’s article was pretty bad too.
I believe the award they gave Taibbi for “Worst Performance in Journalistic Non-Excellence” is called the “Madden”.
A stack of articles written by Perlman reads like a journalistic Hall of Shame.
anyone else think A-Rod with a ring is just going to DESTROY the league next year?
(raises hand)
I always expect Al to destroy the league, he’s the best player in the game imo.
.318/.451/.662 with 58 HRs 162 RBIs, 149 Runs scored, and 24 SBs. 4th MVP. 2nd ring.
Tex for MVP.
He’s one of the most complete players in the league, lacking only one of the five tools (speed), and he’s smack in the middle of his prime years, and he plays for the Yankees, which makes him the shit automatically. Like Scotty Bro.
I’m not so sure. A-Rod>>>>Tex. More average, harder position, probably more RBIs and HRs.
A-Rod is definitely greater than Tex, but Tex is just too good to go his whole career without winning an MVP. Plus he’s clearly in his prime, A-Rod is debatably in the tail end of his prime.
Yea, I agree. But I don’t think Tex has a chance at least until 2-3 years as he is overshadowed by A-Rod and Jeter. Both of them have to decline considerably or Tex has to hit considerable better than them to win MVP. That’s asking a lot. But it’s definitely possible.
It’s like reading the comments forum on ESPN.
Why did Wonderboy trade for Hermida? He’s pretty bad on defense and his offense isn’t exactly a high point. Any ideas?
Because he’s Wunderkind?
All he had to give up was Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez? That’s why he did it.
Low risk, possibly high reward.
How is Hermida better than Melky?
I’m lost…
Who A) ever said he was better than Melky and B) cares about if he’s better than Melky in terms of whether or not Hermida for Jones and Alvarez is a good deal?
Sorry to confuse you… It was was a non sequitur that I’ve been mulling in my head since the trade went down. No one mentioned Melky, I was just looking at their stats and was surprised to see how similar they are. You mentioned Hermida as possibly high reward, I’m just curious how he’s better than Melky.
he hasn’t proved it yet, but he went 11th overall back in 2002. clearly someone thought he had serious potential
Gotcha.
Meh, I think Melky and Hermida are pretty equal, all things considered. I liked the Hermida trade for Boston. Had they given up the same two marginal prospects for Melky, I also think it would have been a good trade.
It’s not earth-shatteringly good, just good.
Boston Globe Headline:
“All Ground Lost to NY made up as Theo Once Again Outfoxes Cashman. Start planning parade.”
To fire up the bandwagon again. It’ll get the Nation (What a bunch of expletive is that?) talking and feeling good again like how they felt for Penny, Smoltz, and Baldelli.
Because he has untapped potential according to the aforementioned Wonderboy.
Can’t wait to watch the Broncos season opener tonight
I was really hoping both teams would wear their super-bland brown and yellow/black and yellow throwbacks today.
We could have called it the Monotony Bowl.
http://ultimatecheerleaders.co.....owback.jpg
http://static.nfl.com/static/c.....ry_600.jpg
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/.....-deal.html
Thoughts? I hate this trade for the Jays and love it for the Mets, but think the Mets using this deal to facilitate swapping Castillo for Orlando Hudson (and giving up a first rounder to get Hudson) is not a smart move on the whole.
Milton Bradley + Vernon Wells in the same OF = A lot of booing
OK, never mind. Take out OF and put in team.
Wells is liked as a person, he’s just been God-awful as a player. Bradley produces, but is a complete asshole.
They’re like George and Jerry. Put them together, and you have one whole man.
Like the Overbay part, but I’ve never understood the Mets fascination with Orlando Hudson.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/b.....order/true
Middling 2B at best, I’d say just keep Castillo, but I know Mets fans hate his guts.
Agreed.
Castillo + a first round pick >>>>> Overbay and Hudson
If I’m Minaya, I’d rather just sign a real first baseman (that doesn’t cost me a first rounder), like Delgado, Nick Johnson, or Jim Thome; keep Castillo and call it a day.
Johnson is WAY too injury prone.
Any chance the Mets could sign Adam Dunn? He only comes to mind because he’s on the worst team in the league, and the worst team in the league generally trades players a lot.
Dunn is under contract.
Okay, just wondering since he seems like a good fit for NY.
Nick Johnson’s always hurt. He’d only make sense to them if they had a Jesus Montero-type who plays 1B on his way up, which of course they don’t. Then you could break in the kid while Nicks on the DL for a month, and ditch Nick in 2011.
I like Delgado, you should be able to get him for 1 year at a decent rate. But he had the same hip injury that Alex, Utley and Lowell had. I’d need to know more about Delgado. Is he the Alex/Utley type who will bust his butt to come back, or the Lowell type who will just do the basic rehab and not be the same again. Delgado (37) is older than Lowell (35) Utley (30) or Alex (34), so that’s a factor as well.
Not really sure why Toronto would deal Overbay, except to perhaps save money. But I highly doubt the Cubs would chip in that much dough to make that the case.
There aren’t many situations in which I can see Bradley succeeding. However, one that comes to mind might be the Yanks. If Matsui opts to retire from MLB, then the Yanks COULD use him as a mostly full-time DH (120± games).
They get a legit bat for DH.
They can rest him similarly to how they rested Matsui.
Guys like Damon/Alex/Posada can get 1/2 a day off, so as to keep Milton fresh.
Guys like Jeter, Posada and Mo can keep him in line (kind of like when Rodman was on the Bulls).
Its crazy, but it might work.
Milton Bradley on the Yankees is the textbook case of Bad Idea Jeans.
He’s a myth. He’s a #6 hitter who wants to be treated like (and paid like) a #3 hitter. Stay far, far, far, far away.
Bad idea jeans?
“did you use a condom?”
“no, but i figured, when is the next time i’ll be back to Haiti?”
He is tempting to me. I’ve thought about it many times. Maybe I’m naive but it’s tough for me to believe that in a locker room with CC, Jorge, Derek, Al Teix and co, that Bradley would actually cause trouble. Again, maybe I’m naive but I just don’t see him being an issue.
Bradley is a world class a-hole.
i can’t imagine why anyone would want to add that kindof risk to a team that is firing on all cylinders.
Whether or not he causes trouble is not the main point.
The main point is, he’s just not that good. That 161 OPS+ he put up in Texas looks like a massive statistical outlier. Dude’s on the market because he just put up a .257/.378/.397, and unlike Nick Swisher, Bradley is old, injury prone, not a plus defender, and likely to regress further instead of bounce back and improve.
Oh, and he’s making 20M the next two years.
Stay far, far, far, far away. Dude is not a good ballplayer. He was just inflated by the Texas launching pad. Six teams have given up on him because he’s not a quality, productive baseball player.
I think Swish and Bradley both share that off-brand quirkiness. Those 2 guys would hit it off. Swisher has shown himself to be a welcoming personality. he openly embraced Arod’s company after Arod’s admission.
Bradley wouldn’t be a bad option on this team, but the trade has got to make sense.
“Bradley Being Discussed In Three-Way”
Ouch, somebody’s ass is going to be sore. And it won’t be Milton’s.
they dont give up a 1st for hudson since they were obviously in the lowest 15. they give up a 2nd and they draft lousy anyway.
Okay, good point.
I still don’t see the point of flipping Castillo for Overbay and then giving up a second rounder for Hudson. That pick is still a top 60 pick.
“And with their first pick of the 2010 MLB Draft, the New York Mets select…they’ve elected not to draft a player. Team representatives have said they didn’t really feel like it.”
On Ben’s Ari Fleischer piece, he notes that the Yanks tend to win with a Democrat in office. Democrats also tend to get elected when the economy sags going back to FDR. As we’ve seen with this recession, Yankee receipts tend to hold up well while other franchises do poorly. That widens the gap between the haves and have-nots in baseball, and the Yanks take advantage of the opportunity.
If anyone looked at payrolls this year, the gap between the Yanks and everyone else was wider than ever. A few years back, the Red Sox, Angels and Mets were all around 140-150. This year, they all fell back to around 130-ish or below, while the Yanks went from 210 to 205. So the 50 mil gap became a 70 mil gap.
http://spreadsheets.google.com.....pPRtt9qIGw
Steelers getting the Royal treatment
http://www.nesn.com/2009/11/ja.....d-sox.html
“With the incentives, Varitek would earn an additional $400,000 for starting 80 games in 2010 and another bonus for every 10 starts thereafter.”
Oh please start Varitek for 80+ games, please, Boston!
80 games=240 outs for Boston [hyperbole].
That’s not that off. He’s had a .313 OBP in both of the last 2 years. In 80 games, he’d get about 320 ABs. 240 outs is a .250 OBP. If he has a .313 OBP again, he would make about 220 outs.
So, yea that’s not really a hyperbole considering he will decline more.
By golly, you’re right.
“Oh, let’s all cheer up because A-Rod’s come full circle now. He’s got his ring, he’s complete, blah, blah, blah, whatever. Listen, they’re used to it, and they have to accept the fact that no one outside New York is even remotely happy today. OK, the Yankees won. Move on. When does spring training start? When do we sign free agents?”
Curt Schilling on WEEI talking about A-Rod’s 6 year quest to bring the WS to NY.
Curt Schilling: Provng once again that Boston players are the classiest in the world [see: Pedro Martinez].
you have to love the irony of Curt Schilling, who IS NOT ON THE RED SOX AND HASN’T BEEN FOR 2 YEARS, going on Boston radio and telling people to “move one”.
the guy who wrote a blog post a few weeks ago commemorating the 5 year anniversary of the bloody sock game…
the guy who once ate an entire flash-fried buffalo in one sitting.
ok, i made up the last one. it was over several sittings.
Nobody outside of NY is remotely happy…yet throughout the country there are more Yankee fans than any other team, even “Red Sox Nation”. Not to mention this WS had like 33% better ratings than last year, and it’s not the Phillies because they played in the WS last year.
I’d say the country is pretty happy right now. It’s Massachussetts and sportswriters that have the problem with it.
I’d love to see Curt do an episode of Man vs Food.
http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Man_v_Food
BTW-Great show if you haven’t seen it. Hilarious stuff.
Best quote EVER:
“Wild boar testicles are the most underrated food in the world.”
-Andrew Zimmern
I agree. Man Vs Food is a great show.
Anyone partial to particular WS champ memorablia? I went for the locker room t, parade t, and a Matsui t with the WS Champs patch on the sleeve. I spent about $200 on the Giants Super Bowl, I’m figuring slightly less on this WS title. Maybe $150 after clothing, pictures, etc. Man, winning championships can get pricey.
Parade t and a raglan–the options are limited for women.
Will be going for DVD.
Also have the program and my ticket stubs!
I just got the locker room t-shirt.
I’m thinking about the hoodie.
Sweet. This type of short passing I like, not those dumb little bubble screens every freaking time.
Damn you Orton
Dick LeBeau belongs in the NFL Hall of Fame. Dude is one of the best coaches in the history of football, even if he wasn’t a head coach of note.
Just an informal poll, would you rather do a “low risk-high reward” type signing with a pitcher or a hitter?
Pitcher
Which is another way of asking “How do you feel about us getting Justin Duchscherer and giving Wang and Nady incentive based deals?”
BTW-Yes to all of the above.
I’d say yes to J-Dukes and maybe Wang, but most likely not Nady.
That’s just because you’re still mad at him for winning the starting RF job over your man-crush last April.
Nady and Wang won’t come back until mid season, so I really don’t see the downside. It would have to be a low base salary incentive laden deal,
If anything, I wonder if either of those guys would accept a deal with the Yanks, unless they had some assurance of playing time and/or someone was hurt. Both will be playing for a contract next year, and will need to show teams they’re healthy. It might need to be a Jon Leiber type deal, where they have a 2nd year kick in with some easy to reach numbers.
J-Dukes is more likely to shit the bed. I’m sorry, I just can’t help myself.
hitter. the bandbox sonll!!
srsly, a hitter. an OF type. Jermaine Dye?
If Dye weren’t so egregiously useless in the field, he’d be a great OF bench option.
His UZR was only like negative Pi. Remember watching Abreu try to chase balls down at the wall? Could you imagine how funny it would be to watch Dye?
And if Andruw Jones wasn’t so crappy at the plate of late, he’d be a good bench option as well. If only there was a way to combine them…
If only there was a way to combine them…
http://www.impawards.com/1996/.....u_ver2.jpg (safe)
Anybody care to give me predictions on how the Giants are gonna finish the season? I think the Giants can win 4 of the next 7; those games against Atlanta, Dallas, Washington, and Carolina.
The D-Line will be ready to go after the bye. Canty is back. Boley is back. Pierce is getting his week off to rest. Can the secondary pick it up?? Offensively, Ahmad Bradshaw really needs the week off to get healthier. Eli needs to realize that Hakeem Nicks is the best playmaker on the team and throw more balls his way. This is it…
Giants make playoffs??
I said yesterday I was unoptimistic, and meant it. However I think 10 wins means playoffs, which is not IMPOSSIBLE.
They’d need to beat Atlanta, Dallas, Philly, Carolina,and Washington IMO.
…While beating all those teams is not IMPOSSIBLE, it does not look good.
I agree. Unless Minny decides not to risk Favre’s health those last couple weeks , there’s a shot that a backup will take many reps that game against the G-Men. We could definitely win that game … especially if it meant playoffs or Jet-ting to a beach.
Gotta get that 10th win. Beating Dallas just seems more doable than Philly.
I really hope they get to 10. But truthfully I predict 8-8. We lose to Dallas and Philly (which would suck since they’re division rivals).
I’m calling 5-2. 10-6 overall record – playoff berth.
/blind faith’d
Also, that Minnesota game could mean absolutely nothing for the Vikes. They could have a bye all wrapped up. By no means is that an unwinnable game for the G-Men.
I don’t think any of the games are unwinnable, but I think the ones I mentioned above are their best shot.
Gut reactions:
11 – Atlanta – WIN
12 – @ Denver – LOSS
13 – Dallas – WIN
14 – Philadelphia – LOSS
15 – @ Washington – WIN
16 – Carolina – WIN
17 – @ Minnesota – WIN
I don’t think you win on the road in Denver. My hunch is you split the two back-to-back divisional home games in one way or another. Probably comes down to a 9-6 record going into Week 17 against the Vikings, and I think you win because they probably have nothing to play for.
10-6, playoffs.
Say they lose to the Vikings. Are they out of the playoffs? Or is 9-7 enough?
I doubt 9-7 cuts it. 9-7 probably means you’re tied for second in the NFC East (best case scenario) and probably fully in third place (more realistic scenario).
And, both New Orleans and Atlanta are making the playoffs, so you can’t be in third in your own division. 9-7 probably stays home.
I look at all of these games as winnable. Not that they’ll win all of them, but I don’t see a slam dunk blowout in there.
Agreed. Neither the Jets nor the Giants have any single game left on their slate that you’d have to call an automatic loss. They could both have solid second halves, or they could both struggle.
I’m going to stop talking, because I’m starting to sound like Joe Morgan.
Now, the Jets:
10 – Jacksonville – WIN
11 – @ New England – WIN
12 – Carolina – LOSS
13 – @ Buffalo – WIN
14 – @ Tampa Bay – WIN
15 – Atlanta – LOSS
16 – @ Indianapolis – LOSS
17 – Cincinnati – LOSS
8-8, no playoffs. I think we have the Pats number and can sweep them, but facing DeAngelo Williams, Michael Turner, and Cedric Benson with no Kris Jenkins in the middle seems dicey. The only saving grace is, all three of those games are at home; maybe that gives us a small advantage and we win one or two of them.
The difference for the Jets between 8-8 and 10-6 is pretty small. This season is up in the air at this point.
You think they lose to Cincy?
I do not think the Jets are particularly good, yet even I think they’ll beat Cincinnatti in the Mangini Bowl.
I think you’re confusing Cincinnati with Cleveland.
You’re right, my bad.
-1 for me I guess.
No chris henry. Carson Palmer and the Bengals will be in the playoffs by then. Jets totally win that last game.
Perhaps. All three of those home losses are very winnable.
You really think the Jets will beat the Pats in NE? Highly unlikely. Brady and Moss are back on track, Jenkins and Washington are out, and Sanchez is up and down. I just don’t see it.
I may be overly optimistic on the NE game. It’s probably countermanded by me being overly pessimistic on the Carolina, Atlanta, and Cincinnati games.
Also, I gave us a loss against Indy, even though (just like the Giants at the Vikings) that game may end up being a gimme win just because the Colts have nothing to play for.
I wouldn’t be surprised by any finish for the Jets between 7-9 and 11-5.
Granted I’m a Pats fan, but I can definitely see the Jets beating Carolina and Atlanta, at home, before that Pats on the road. The Pats, not exactly a superbly physical team manhandled the Falcons on both offense and defense. A little tougher without Jenkins, but I can see them just being more physical than the Falcons and winning that game. And as far as the Panthers go, I think with the pressure the Jets can bring you know Delhomme will throw a few picks, if the Jets don’t turn it over themselves I’d say that’s another win.
Ironically the loss of KJ may help the Jets– it forces more 4-3 alignments, and our front of Douglas-Pouha-DeVito-Ellis is actually strong enough to dominate the LOS. The over reliance on Jenkins was palpable during the Bills game. But watching the Oakland and Miami game, the Jets looked like they could actually contend.
Also, don’t underestimate Pouha’s and DeVito’s progression this year. They’ve been getting good push up front at the NT position.
Also Turner and Hunter are great backup Olinemen.
Yea it surprises me too, the Jets actually have serviceable depth on their lines.
I still agree we finish 8-8, but that’s mostly due to Sanchez’s inconsistencies and bad play in the meadowlands in December.
Looks like a catch to me
Jon Heyman : Mets people seem concerned enough about lackey’s past arm issues to keep them away. Yankees are definitely interested.
What? If the Mets are not interested, that says something. Yanks should not be either. I think he’s just bullshiting this
I agree. I do not think the Yankees will even consider him unless Pettitte retires.
+1
That’s the only way it makes sense to me, if Andy’s gone.
I think whoever signs Lackey will be signing a guy to a 5 year deal who already had his peak years for another team. In a pitcher’s park like Citifield, maybe. But Yankee Stadium? I’ll pass.
Co-sign all of this.
Yea, this is assuring from Cashmoney:
“I have a feeling that we’ll be a little more cautious than anxious”
I seriously doubt the Yanks are interested in Lackey. Unless they plan on trading Joba or Hughes this off season, which I also doubt.
Well apparently to be a good reporter just say the Yankees are interested in everyone. Which is true I suppose but I doubt these “interests” are serious.
Varitek’s back, just at the lower rate
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/.....offer.html
From 2008 All Star to 2010 bench scrub.
Maybe he can call pitches from the bench, then they can take advantage of his amazing game-calling skills.
I’d say make him player-coach, but he already is one. Maybe they can sell him a piece of the team and make him the first player-coach-owner since Connie Mack.
and he could wear a seersucker suit and top hat on the bench
Yeah. Plus, he could kick all the coloreds off his team and make it whites-only again. Boston would love that.
but what about this??????
I shall never forget Connie Mack’s gentleness and gentility.
—Ty Cobb, New York Times
Consider the source.
I got to use the “Ty Cobb stabbed a guy” line tonight. It was awesome.
(internet high five)
irony fail
/resolves to use sarcasm tag in the future
Damn if he became a free agent he could be AJ’s catcher and we’re going to have to consider Burnett being the ace of the team.
Did you know Varitek
caughtguided 4 no hitters?I wonder why Varitek didn’t go to free agency. He’s worth millions for his game calling abilities.
Tek couldn’t leave the Sox in their hour of need. He’d never dream of it. And that reminds me of a story.
One night, a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with Jason Varitek. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand. One belonging to him and the other to Jason Varitek.
When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of his life.
This really bothered him and he questioned Jason about it. “Jason, you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.”
Jason replied, “My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never leave you! During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”
That man… was me.
For Diamond Cutters, I’m Peter Gammons, ESPN.
*golf clap*
LMFAO. I was dying. I had no idea the man would be Gammons mid way through the thing but it’s so fitting. Damn that was great.
Incredible.
+ 4 (teh no hittaz!)
You’ve somehow outdone yourself, Tommie.
He had 5 days to exercise that option, took him about 5 minutes.
Finally, someone in Boston understands his value.
YEAA!!! Defensive TD FTW!
Please bring Matsui back.
That’s all I got.
Think Marlon Byrd would take a bench role? He’s not a black hole with the bat and he’s a good fielder.
I doubt it. The reasons you list that make him desirable also probably earn him a starting role elsewhere.
You: Ants
My post: Picnic
Your killing my dream.
/mryankee’d
I would like me a Josh Willingham. most likely a B prospect would likely to land him?
Hmm, I think he’d cost more than that and his fielding is iffy.
King Felix has 810 Ks and 58 wins entering his age 24 season…if he pitches until he’s 40, what kind of numbers could he put up, counting-stat-wise?
i’m gonna say he ends up w/ 300 wins and more than 4000 Ks
If he plays for the Yanks soon, he will make the HOF for sure.
Denver D imploding. Cmon stop em guys
The Pittsburgh Steelers have had the best blocking WR’s and TE’s in the game for a long time now. It’s one of the many reasons they’re consistently physical, and consistently physical equals consistently good.
HAHAHAHA! I just called that pick. I had just said it too. I also called a pick before but instead they got recovered a fumble.
Man, Orton’s inability to spread the field is hurting tonight.
Would be nice if the Broncos score a TD soon
Everyone seems to have moved on to next year, but Yankee fans should be SAVORING their 27th Championship. Check out this graphic of the 2009 season – shows the hot and cold periods, including when everyone was panicking in late April!
http://visualbaseball.wordpress.com