Tuesday’s Thoughts
While wondering if any of the remaining Buffalo Bills games will be sold out, here's what is on my mind this morning:
* The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to snap a two game losing streak when they take on the struggling Carolina Hurricanes tonight at the ACC. Had to laugh yesterday listening to Toronto sports radio as the big issues were: should Jonas Gustavsson replace James Reimer in goal and is it panic time for Leaf fans. As far as the first issue goes, Reimer is the Leafs starting goaltender. Are you going to blame Reimer for taking 6 penalties against the Washington Capitals??? I can't recall since Reimer's return a weak goal being allowed. It is ridiculous to believe that this kid was going to be in mid-season shape after having been out since October 22. Reimer is your guy and Gustavsson will certainly be in the nets over the weekend since the Leafs have back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday. With respect to the second issue, I'm not panicking yet. I think it is unrealistic to have thought that the Leafs were going to be a top 4 team in the Easstern Conference. They will be in a fight to land somewhere between 6th and 8th. They also are getting players back from injury so chemistry needs to be developed. However, the Leafs need to establish a better record at home. They have not played well recently at the Air Canada Center. With a number of home games coming up, it is imperative that they get things going on home ice. Tonight is a game that they need to win with tough contests coming up against the Sabres and Canucks on the weekend.
* The NFL today may rule on a suspension for James Harrison as a result of his hit on Colt McCoy Thursday night. My opinion is that Harrison should be fined and suspended. Having watched the hit over 10 times in slow motion, Harrison led with his head and McCoy was in a defenseless position. This was not similar to the hit Harrison made on Joshua Cribbs last year as Cribbs was not in a defenseless position as a runner. But along with Harrison, the Cleveland Browns should be fined for not following established league protocols. Along with that, the hit on McCoy should lead the NFL to adopt a policy that makes it mandatory for a player to be evaluated immediately by an independent physician after a hit to the head. The evaluation should be done off the field. This is similar to what is done in the NHL. If Commissioner Goodell is serious about player safety then this type of policy needs to be established and implemented immdeiately and the Players Union should be pushing for it.
* Where is Mike Holmgren??? With the organization he heads being questioned about its actions involving McCoy we have heard nothing from Holmgren. Just another reason for me to begin to doubt whether this guy can lead the Browns back to respectability.
* Listened to Cleveland Browns Daily that is hosted by Vic Carucci and he had on as a guest Michael Reghi who is a Cleveland sportscaster. Reghi was telling Browns fans that they need to be patient because Holmgren and Tom Heckert inherited a team that was old and devoid of talent. Well, I'm not going to dispute that. But what I take issue with is Reghi's call for fans to be patient. Are you kidding me???? 12 years with one playoff appearance and only 2 winning seasons in those 12 years!! My problem is that Holmgren and Heckert are selling that you have to build through the draft. But the Browns are so lacking in playmakers that they must augment these draft picks with free agents. Without the signing of quality free agents, we are looking at a 5 year rebuilding plan. 5 years from today!!!!!
* It was 47 years ago yesterday that the Browns clinched the Eastern Division title with a 52-20 rout of the New York Giants on a Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. I remember it like it was yesterday. Two weeks later they would go on to upset the favored Baltimore Colts 27-0 to win their last NFL Championship.
* Todd Haley and Tony Sparano were fired yesterday as was Terry Murray the head coach of the LA Kings. I have a feeling their may be more firings in the NFL as one has to wonder how long Steve Spagnulo can last along with wondering about the job status of Raheem Morris. In the NHL, you have to wonder about Jack Capuano with the Islanders.
* One NHL city where there should be some question of coaching competency is Buffalo. Lindy Ruff is one of the longest tenured coaches in the NHL. The Sabres are playing like a listless hockey club and Ruff doesn't seem to have any answers. It could be that Ruff's act has gone stale with many of the veterans. The problem is that as long as Darcy Reiger is in charge Ruff isn't going anywhere. Maybe both should go. If Mr. Pegula is serious about winning a Stanley Cup, these two must be shown the door.
* Interesting how I haven't heard the radio loudmouths on WGR550 clamoring for Jonas Enroth anymore. Prior to Ryan Miller's injury, there was all kinds of calls for Enroth to play more games with Jeremy White saying that goaltending doesn't matter. Well, Enroth is what we thought he is: a good back-up to Ryan Miller. His comments after the Ranger game were disturbing and if they were made by Miller they would have been considered selfish.
* The announcement that Sidney Crosby will have to sit out games due to concussion like symptoms is really unfortunate. Crosby is the best player in the game and its a shame that he may be out for awhile. You have to wonder if this kid is heading down the path of Eric Lindros.
* It's been reported in both NY dailies that the Yankees will bid on Yu Darvish but they will not go all out to get him. It is reported that the posting fee and contract for Darvish will be somewhere in the neighborhood of $125 million. The Yankees are reported to make an offer that will be somewhere in the neighborhood of $60-80 million. Not sure what Brian Cashman is doing. Maybe he's going to go the low end route and sign Joe Saunders who has been non-tenered by the Diamondbacks. I'm going to say one last time: I don't think Cashman is going to do anything. Hopefully, I am wrong.
* Had WGR550 on yesterday morning and it was typical GR. Not sure if its Jeremy White who does the sports updates but whoever it was led off the spot by saying that the Bills lost to the lowly Chargers. Really??? Look who is calling the kettle black. Maybe the better description would be the under-achieving Chargers. Would you rather have Philip Rivers or Ryan Fitzpatrick?? How about Scott Chandler or Antonio Gates??? Stevie Johnson or Vincent Jackson??
* I was laughing out loud listening to White and Howard Simon lamenting about the success of Aaron Maybin. They were questioning the Bills coaches for not getting the most out of its players and that they were tired of fans saying that if the Bills had Tom Brady he would be nothing because Brady has more weapons in New England. First of all, Simon has been bashing Maybin for years. If he is such a football wizard, why wasn't he saying that the Bills coaches weren't utilizing him better when he was here??? Instead he was blasting the general manager who selected him. With respect to their criticism of the fans, what do you expect from people who spend their hard earned money to go see a team that these losers on GR build up in July, August and September instead of being honest about the team's prospects. Simon had these guys in the playoffs after 6 games. They overrated the team's start. They didn't acknowledge the fact that they were living off turnovers. They weren't dominating teams. Now they cry and lament and blast the fans.
* I like Rob Gronkowski. The tight end position is my favorite in football. Guys with size who can run. Gronkowski is having a great season and I'm happy for him as he is from WNY. But, proclaiming that he is going to the Hall of Fame?? Well, that's what White blasted off on Twitter on Sunday and repeated yesterday on the radio. And you want to know why White is such a joke.
* Finally, this week my NFL Picks will be made on Wednesday as I will not be posting after Wednesday until Monday December 19th. Tomorrow, recap of Leafs-Hurricane game.
Yankee News….Or Lack Thereof!!!!
Well as we enter into the third day of the Baseball Winter Meetings, the New York Yankees have yet to make any additions to a team that won the American League East but didn't make it out of the Divisional Series. Some will say they don't need to do anything. They won 97 games last year, best in the American League. But in the end it meant nothing because they couldn't get by Detroit.
Brian Cashman says that it doesn't seem like the Yankees will be doing anything at this point. The asking price for free agent pitchers is too high. As far as a trade goes, the Yankee GM believes that teams are asking for too many of the Yankees prize prospects. So what does that all mean??
Well, let's start with the positional players. It would appear that the starting 8 will be the same. No major changes however there is always a concern about injuries when you are dealing with late thirty-somethings like ARod and Derek Jeter. More than likely both will have to DH throughout the season which will mean that Eduardo Nunez will have to fill in. I like Nunez offensively, but defensively not so much. The kid will have to improve if he is to be the shortstop of the future.
By putting Jeter and ARod at DH, this would appear to take at-bats away from Jesus Montero. The Yankees truly need to find out if this kid can be a major league catcher. If he can't, then they need to find another place for him in the field. They can't afford to have a 22 year old DH when they have a long term commitment to a 37 year old Alex Rodriguez. ARod has 6 more years on his contract. I don't see him playing third base at the age of 40. I'm not saying Montero can play third but if he can't be a major league catcher how about the outfield.
The Yankees have a problem with their starting eight. They are aging, particularly on the left side of the infield. In addition, is it realistic to expect that Curtis Granderson is going to have the monster year that he had in 2011??? Who will pick up that slack??? It should be ARod and Mark Teixiera. That's what they are getting the big bucks for: to carry this team on their backs. There has been a lot of criticism of Nick Swisher and his playoff performances. But Swisher was not acquired to carry this team in the playoffs. He was acquired in a trade for Wilson Betemit. He was not a high impact, highly paid free agent. He was brought in to do exactly what he has done. Contribute 20-25 HR's and 80-100 RBI's. The same can be said for Curtis Granderson. He was acquired in a trade to provide speed, defense and occasional power. I don't think Brian Cashman was expecting 40 HRs and 110 RBI's. The guys who are suppose to do that is ARod and Teixiera.
I have gone over and over the pitching situation. They need to get another starting pitcher. If they don't, it will be another early exit in October.
Leafs Lose, Browns About To Lose & Yanks Snooze
The Boston Bruins showed why they are the defending Stanley Cup Champions last night dominating the third period as they defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1. The return of James Reimer was not enough to give the Leafs their first win of the year against the Bruins. Reimer played well but the Leafs were unable to generate many scoring chances and their power play was non-existent. In the third period, the Bruins put on a clinic controlling the puck in the Toronto end as if they were a junior team playing a bunch of pee wee house league players.
The Leafs had difficulty getting any consistent offensive attack against Tuuka Rask and probably could have used the likes of Colby Armstrong and Mike Brown. Mikhail Grabovski was an offensive threat when he was on the ice and I think that Ron Wilson needs to use him more on the power play. Joey Crabb also played well but that was about it as far as offensive jam went. Jake Gardiner was the best defenseman on the ice last night for the Leafs. This kid is going to be a star in the NHL.
Matt Frattin had his worse game as a Maple Leaf as it seemed he had a difficult time throughout the game trying to get out of his own zone. Quite frankly, I have had enough of Cody Franson. If this kid has any trade value the Leafs need to move him. It would be best for him and for the team. Play Aulie until Kommisarek comes back.
The Leafs have lost two in a row after coming off a 3-1 road trip. It doesn't get any easier as they will take on the Rangers at MSG Monday night. The Rangers have won 5 in a row and have been playing much better since the last time the Leafs were in the Big Apple. Will be interesting to see who Wilson plays in goal against the Rangers. It is the first of a back-to-back as the Leafs play the New Jersey Devils at the ACC on Tuesday. The Leafs need to stop this mini losing streak.
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The Browns take on the Baltimore Ravens this afternoon at 4pm in Cleveland Browns Stadium. If the Browns are to have any chance today they will need to be able to run the ball. Peyton Hillis will be keyed on by the Ravens and it could be a long day for Colt McCoy. Not sure what to expect from the Browns. Their defense will need to play at its best and keep Ray Rice from running wild. I think it will be a defensive struggle but the Ravens will prevail.
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As we get ready for the Baseball Winter Meetings, reports in both New York dailies are that the Yankees will not be making a lot of noise. Brian Cashman is not interested in entering the free agent market for a pitcher since he believes that the going rate is too high. While there is always the possibility for a trade, it seems like Cashman will need to be blown away. In my mind, the White Sox have assets that could help the Yankees: John Danks and Matt Thorton. Danks is a 25 year old lefty who could slot in nicely behind CC Sabathia. Thorton is a lefty reliever of which the Yankees only have one: Boone Logan. Then there is always free agent Mark Buehrle.
Not making any moves means that the Yankees believe they have enough on their roster to win it all. But unless they get some help from the highly touted farm system, if Cashman does nothing all I see is another playoff appearance without a parade down the Canyon of Heroes.
Yankee Rumblings Part II
The New York Yankees announced the signing of CC Sabathia to a contract extension thus precluding the big lefty from opting out from his original contract. The move ensures that the Yankees will have their left-handed ace for the next 5 years. One thing that Sabathia needs to do is take care of himself better and I am particularly referring to his weight. Carrying the extra weight could ultimately be a problem the older Sabathia gets.
With CC secured, the Yankees will not be in panic mode this year however General Manager Brian Cashman indicated that the team will try to bolster the pitching staff. As it stands, four spots are set for the rotation: Sabathia, Ivan Nova, Phil Hughes and AJ Burnett. The Yankees have indicated that they may be willing to bring Freddy Garcia back for the last spot in the rotation. However, there may be better options. The guy I would like to see the Yankees make a run at is Mark Buerhle. Buerhle is 31 years old and has been a solid successful pitcher for the Chicago White Sox. Buerhle was a part of the White Sox World Series Championship team in 2005 and is an innings eater. In my mind, Buerhle would be your number 2 starter behind CC.
There are three other pitching free agents who I believe the Yankees should stay away from. CJ Wilson will be looking for big dollars and quite frankly I am not impressed. He doesn't have that big of a body of work to warrant a big contract. The Japanese phenom, Yu Darvish has many people salivating over his abilities. Quite frankly, it has been proven that pitchers from Japan have not translated well in the U.S. Let someone else spend the money. In fact, but for El Duque, the Yankees have had terrible luck in the importing of pitchers from other countries. The Phillies did not pick up the option on Roy Oswalt and the Yankees should steer clear. Oswalt has never pitched in the American League and I don't believe he has the personal make-up to handle pitching in New York.
Another way to improve the starting rotation would be through a trade. A name that has been floating around which may be able to be had is John Danks. Danks is 25 years old and the White Sox are looking to shave payroll which could mean that the asking price for Danks may be reasonable. A couple of mid-level prospects for Danks would be a good move.
The bullpen appears to be solid. It would be nice if the Yankees could get another lefty reliever in addition to Boone Logan. But once again the Yanks do not need to overpay for one. They will be getting Joba Chamberlain back and Rafael Soriano elected not to exercize his opt-out clause and he will be back. This should once again be a strength.
There are some who are suggesting that it is not essential to have a dominating pitching staff as they point to the ouster of the Phillies and the success of the Rangers. But I would still want to have a good pitching staff going into a short playoff series. That being said, the Yankees need to make sure that Phil Hughes comes into camp in good shape and that Ivan Nova does not suffer a sophomore jinx. That's why my ideal situation would be to sign Buerhle and bring Garcia back. If Nova or Hughes falter in camp you have a fall back option in Garcia. If they do well, then you can use Garcia as a long reliever or cut him. The other wild card is Burnett but as the Yankees proved this year their offense can compensate for him.
One other area that needs to be looked at is the Manager, Joe Girardi. While many praise Girardi for his handling of the bullpen, I believe that the manager needs to be more closely scrutinized. Girardi is addicted to his binder with all of his statistical match-ups. While numbers are important, as a manager you also need to have a feel for who's hot and who's not. Case in point: this year's playoffs. While everyone wants to get on Nick Swisher for not producing, my question is why wouldn't Girardi have flipped Jorge Posada with Swisher in the line-up. Posada hit over .400 and certainly had successful playoff experience. In addition, with offensive production being a problem, Girardi did not utilize his bench at all during the post season. With Russell Martin struggling at the plate, I don't understand why Jesus Montero wasn't given an opportunity. And as I mentioned in my previous post, Andruw Jones should have been given more opportunities particularly with Swisher struggling. Girardi will tell you that the Tigers had mainly right handed starters and that he wanted to get more left handed bats in the lineup. But once again if you see that guys are struggling, you need to shake things up.
The Yankees also need to begin the process of incorporating more youth in the lineup. Hopefully, Manuel Banuelos and Dellin Betances will be able to make a contribution this year. They also need to see some progress from Eduardo Nunez and Brett Gardner. They must avoid bringing in aging players unless they are going to be around in a back-up roll. Some are clamoring for the Yanks to get Carlos Beltran or Grady Sizemore. The problem with both is that they are injury prone and could clog up an already overcrowded DH spot in the lineup due to the aging of ARod and Derek Jeter.
With the Red Sox in disarray and the Rays not in a position to substantially improve their offense, the Yankees should be in good position to qualify for the playoffs again in 2012. The key will be performance in the post season and the progression of young players to ensure long term success for the future.
Yankee Rumblings
Congratulations to the St.Louis Cardinals for winning the 2011 World Series. Now that it is over, it's time to begin the yearly winter ritual of determining what the Yankees need to do in order to win the 2012 World Series. It is apparent that the Yankees will announce the re-signing of Brian Cashman as General Manager. I suppose the Yankees have no choice. While I agree with Cashman's desire to build up the farm system, he has had free reign since 2006. It's time to see the fruits of farm system. They have screwed up Joba Chamberlain, need to get Phil Hughes on track and have not had a legitimate power hitting outfielder come from the farm system since Bernie Williams. To his credit, we do have David Robertson and Ivan Nova. In addition, I truly believe that Jesus Montero can be a big-time power threat for the Yankees. He's the type of young blood that they desperately need.
Positional Players
The Yankees are stuck with ARod and Mark Teixeira. Someone needs to get into Teixeira's head. He is turning into a better fielding Jason Giambi. I've seen too many home runs hit in blow out games and nothing when its really needed. Giambi hit home runs when it mattered. He's fallen in love with the short right field porch. His average has gone down every year since he's been a Yankee. Hitting genius Kevin Long needs to get Teixeira to go the other way particularly when he is batting left-handed.
With respect to ARod, the Yankees need to hope that he can get healthy. Some numbers to consider: in 2007 ARod played 158 games. The number of games go down every year after 2007: 2008 - 138 games, 2009 - 124 games, 2010 - 137 and 2011 - 99 games. The Yankees are faced with the fact that ARod may have to DH anywhere from 35-45 games next year which could end up taking at bats away from Jesus Montero unless they feel comfortable with Montero behind the plate.
With ARod and Derek Jeter both needing spells at DH, the Yankees need to decide if they are prepared to allow Eduardo Nunez to be their back-ups. Nunez was the piece that Cashman would not part with in order to get Cliff Lee from the Mariners. I think Nunez has offensive ability. He has some power and good speed. However, the kid was a defensive liability when he filled in for Jeter and ARod. He also seems to lack some baseball sense. This year will be the second year of Jeter's new contract. He will be 38 in June. The Yankees need to decide if Nunez is the heir apparent.
There is no question that the Yankees will pick up the club option year on Robinson Cano. Despite Scott Boras' comments about wanting an extension, the Yankees have no reason at this time to do that and Boras has since backed off his comments. I also don't think Cano has any desire to move from the Yankees. It is being reported that the Yankees will pick up the club option on Nick Swisher. Swisher has been a good fit for the Yankees. He has produced in the regular season and is a great guy to have in the clubhouse. If you don't think having a good clubhouse presence is important go ask the Red Sox. Of course he has not produced in the playoffs and that has led many to say that the Yankees should get rid of him. It's being reported that the Yankees will pick up the option and possibly try to move Swisher in a trade. I'm not sure what they would be looking for in a trade but Swisher is marketable based upon his age (31) and his contract ($10.25 million) Depending upon what the Yankees would get I might not be opposed to a trade. However, we should be clear about something: the Yankees did not get Swisher to carry this team. In fact, in one of Brian Cashman's better moves, he got Swisher for none other than Wilson Betemit. Wilson "freaking" Betemit. For me Swisher stays. His contract is up at the end of the year and if you don't want him back you let him go. It's nice to acquire someone from another team that truly appreciates being a Yankee.
What they should do: They need to bring back Russell Martin and commit to Jesus Montero. The only way I would trade Montero is if they were going to get King Felix and I don't think that is going to happen. With Eric Chavez probably not coming back next year, they need to consider picking up a guy like Ty Wigginton. He can play multiple positions, hit for power and knows what it is like to play in New York. If they can I think they should bring Andruw Jones back. Jones came up with some big at-bats against the Red Sox late in the season in Fenway and I think Girardi screwed up by not giving this guy more at-bats during the playoffs. I would not sign Carlos Beltran. Beltran will be 35 years old next April. He will be looking for a 3-4 year deal at around $20 million per year. The Yankees don't need another aging injury prone player who may need to DH when they have ARod under contract until he is past 40. There are many that point to Beltran's post season stats. But a closer look makes you wonder. In 2004 at the age of 27 he hit .435 with 8 HR's and 14 RBI's. Two years later, at the age of 29 he hit .270 with 3 HRs and 5 RBI's. At the age of 35 he is more likely to match the 2006 numbers than the 2004 numbers. That is if he stays healthy.
Next week I will take a look at the Yankee pitching staff and Manager Joe Girardi.
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