tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

Tuesday’s Thoughts

While wondering if we have had a better summer than this year's edition, here's what is on my mind this morning:

* CC Sabathia once again showed last night why he is the undisputed ace of the Yankees and a possible Cy Young Award candidate. Last night on the Yes broadcast they showed a stat which indicated that Sabathia's July numbers were the 3rd best in team history for one month behind David Cone in July 1998 and Whitey Ford in September 1963. Hopefully, Mr. Cashman won't play games and make sure that CC is back in Pinstripes next year.

* Kind of scratching my head this morning when I read an article in the NY Post which indicated that the Yankees had placed AJ Burnett, Rafael Soriano and Jorge Posada on waivers. Apparently, the Yankees can withdraw these players off of the list and the feeling is that because of their salaries its highly unlikely any team would claim them. It was also mentioned that it would smoke out teams that might be interested in the three players and possibly lead to a trade down the road. I wonder what these 3 guys are thinking about today.

* I saw something on Twitter this morning indicating that the 2009 World Series Champion Yankee team had a team ERA of 4.29 and that this year's team had an ERA of 3.47. I wonder what the American League batting average was in 2009 compared to this year? If I had to bet 2009 was higher.

* I'm happy with the Browns signing Brandon Jackson and Usama Young. Jackson should really provide the Browns with a nice change of pace back from Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty. Young will bolster the defensive backfield. It's too bad the Broderick Bunkley deal didn't go through.

* The Browns 1st round pick, Phil Taylor, tweeted last night that he looks forward to being in camp today which would seem to indicate that he has come to an agreement on a contract. Good news for the Brownies.

* It's going to take me a good couple of weeks to prepare for fantasy football this year with all the player moves. Not sure what to make of it all at this point.

* The voters in Nassau County turned down a bond issue that would have funded a new arena for the New York Islanders. The thinking is that once the current lease agreement ends in 2015 that the Isles will move out of Long Island. What a shame!! The Islanders were a wonderful team to watch back in the late 70's early 80's. They did not have a lot of superstars, in fact the only one was Mike Bossy with defenseman Denis Potvin being a close second. However, they had a great coach in Al Arbour, an outstanding center in Bryan Trottier and some great heart and soul guys like Bobby Nystrom, Garry Howatt and Butch Goring. Of course there was also the power forward Clark Gillies who could score and fight. It's too bad that this once proud franchise could be uprooted. It's also sad that they play in an arena which is no longer fit for an NHL team, let alone one in Greater NY City.

* When I saw last night that Michael Kay and John Flaherty were broadcasting the game, I knew it was going to be a long night. The mindless duo belabored the point that Jake Peavy seemed to struggle once he hit the 75 pitch mark. Kay almost was in countdown mode as he ridiculously was waiting for Peavy to lose it and Flaherty played along. Of course, Peavy went on to make 115 pitches and set down 10 out of 11 hitters after the 75th pitch. These guys are flat out brutal. What was also brutal was their defense of Brian Cashman for not making a trade. Let's see what the mindless duo has to say after the current road trip.

* This weekend we will get a preview of what lies ahead as the Yankees will go with Colon, Sabathia and Garcia against the Red Sox. In fact, after the Red Sox, the Yankees go home to play the Angels and the Rays. The next 2 weeks will give us a good indication of where this team is at and the performance of Brian Cashman.

* And finally, can an American League team go to the World Series with a DH and the catcher position batting under .230??