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

13Mar/130

Tuesday’s Thoughts

While wondering who will be the next quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, here is what's on my mind this evening:

* The Cleveland Browns signed Ravens outside line backer Paul Kruger to a 5 year deal. Kruger is suppose to be the pass rushing linebacker that the Browns have been looking for. While many are praising the signing, I'm wary of the fact that last season was Kruger's best. It also was his walk year and he was surrounded by an all-star filled defensive unit. I hate to be negative but has anyone heard of Mario Williams. Ask Bills fans about him.

* For the life of me I am totally besides myself over the signing of Desmond Bryant. The Browns strength last year was their D-line. Phil Taylor and Ahtyba Rubin were solid for the Browns. Why do they need another D-tackle. Questionable signing as far as I'm concerned.

* In case you haven't noticed, the New York Knicks are in trouble. With Amare Stoudamire out for 6 to 8 weeks and Carmelo Anthony less than 100%, the Knicks need to get some consistent play out of Raymond Felton and JR Smith. They also need to utilize Chris Copeland more. The way things are going, the Knicks will have a hard time getting out of the first round.

* Rather unfortunate that Niagara's basketball team was knocked out of the MAAC Tournament. They are a very young team and should be a contender once again next year.

* With the release of Ryan Fitzpatrick, does this mean that the Buffalo Bills will draft a quarterback in the first round or will they acquire a veteran like Matt Cassel??

* Chicago Bears made a nice signing in acquiring tight end Martellus Bennett, formerly of the NY Giants. He should be a great weapon for Jay Cutler.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs probably turned in one of their worse performances of the year in a 5-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. The Leafs team defense was abysmal and the turning point of the game was with the Leafs down 2-1 they had a 1:53 two-man advantage and could not score.

* Critical questions for Coach Randy Carlyle: 1.) When will Jake Gardiner be called up? Leafs could use his offensive talent particularly on the power play. 2.) Why not put Mikhail Grabovski with JVR and Phil Kessel?? Would leave Tyler Bozak with Nikolai Kulemin and Leo Komorov. 3.) Who plays goal Thursday against Pittsburgh??

* Is it true that Brian Cashman is reaching out to Wade Boggs and Scott Brosius to see if they will come back and play third base??

11Mar/130

Gotham Geezers

I nearly fell off my chair at work today when I saw on twitter that Brian Cashman was going to reach out to Chipper Jones to play third base. Jones' agent quickly indicated that his client had no desire to play baseball, even though it would be nice to put the Pinstripes on. But it didn't stop with Chipper. It has been reported that Cashman is now reaching out to Derek Lee and Scott Rolen. Maybe the Yankees figure if they can sign a few more geezers maybe they can get Social Security to pay for some of the salary.

If this doesn't illustrate the depth of mismanagement of this organization I don't know what does. Scott Rolen will only come if he gets guaranteed playing time. Derek Lee?? Really?? The Boss must be rolling over in his grave. Brian Cashman should be fired. He has totally screwed this season up. Some will say, "how could he predict the injuries to Granderson & Teixera." He couldn't but he could have had depth players ready to fill in if necessary. He had Jayson Nix, Juan Rivera, Matt Diaz, and now Ben Francisco which makes up the weakest Yankee bench in a long time.

If Hal Steinbrenner wants to believe that the Yankee farm system will provide cheap talent to keep this team winning then why not give Ronnier Mustelier a shot at third base. The kid can hit and I would rather have him there than the ancient Rolen. I would also rather see Zolio Almonte play over Matt Diaz and Juan Rivera. The Yankees would be no worse off going with these two kids for a month.

This is the perfect opportunity for the Yankee organization to come clean and say we need to rebuild for the future. Of course they believe that won't fly with a fan base that has been fed the corporate crap that the season is not a success unless they win a World Series. As a Yankee fan for 50 years, I can take a rebuilding season. I've suffered through many. But what I can't take is the propaganda which tries to make us believe that this team has a shot at winning their division and being world champions.

Get ready for the 2013 season for the Gotham Geezers!!

10Mar/130

Leafs Fight Hard To Earn A Point

Being down 3-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins after the first period, it looked like the Toronto Maple Leafs were going to be blown out of the ACC. But the Leafs turned things around in the second period and tied the game late in the third to earn a big point before losing in the shootout 5-4 to the Penguins. Randy Carlyle deserves full marks for making line-up changes heading into the second period when he moved the Grabovski line against Sidney Crosby's line and moved Tyler Bozak's line against Evgeni Malkin's line. Carlyle moved Jay McClement on Grabovski's line and put Leo Komorov on the 4th line. The other big move was pairing Cody Franson with Dion Phaneuf.

James Reimer over came a rough first period and made some critical saves particularly in the third period that gave the Leafs the opportunity to tie the game. Reimer also had a huge save on Crosby in overtime. James van Reimsdyk was a physical presence as he gave Marc-Andre Fleury fits all night, parking himself all night in front of the net which resulted in his 14th goal of the season that got the Leafs on the scoreboard. He also leveled Evgeni Malkin in the third period that sent Malkin to the bench for the rest of the game.

Phil Kessel tied the game late in the third and he also had 2 assists. Kessel was flying in the third period. The Leafs outplayed the Penguins in the third period and in the overtime. They also had 2 power play goals and killed off all 4 of the Penguin power plays, including a 5 on 3. An unsung hero was Jay McClement. He was a force on the penalty kill and he really was aggressive on the forecheck particularly when he was re-united with Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin.

Tonight was a clear indication that this team is quite different from last year's squad. In a week that they faced New Jersey, Ottawa, at Boston and Pittsburgh, the Leafs earned 5 points out of a possible 8. The point tonight was huge, especially with the way the game started.

The Leafs are next in action Tuesday at Winnipeg, at home against Pittsburgh on Thursday and close the week out at home against Winnipeg.

9Mar/130

The Beginning Of The End & Changes For Tonytalkssports

Tomorrow it will be official: Mariano Rivera will be retiring at the end of this baseball season. How fitting that with the 2013 season looking to be one of the worst in recent Yankee history, Major League Baseball's greatest relief pitcher is ready to call it quits. It's rather unfortunate that the team he plays for has done nothing to put itself in a position to get another World Series title for him.

The Yankees made a conscious decision to let Russell Martin, Nick Swisher, Eric Chavez and Raul Ibanez leave the Bronx. While one can make an argument that this was the right thing to do, the problem is that the Yankees did nothing to replacement these players. You see they believed that the team had enough firepower to still win. Well, they didn't count on Mark Teixera and Curtis Granderson to be out of action until mid-May. By that time, it may be too late.

I will be shocked and stunned if the Yankees make the playoffs this year. I'll go one step further, it may be a stretch for them to win more than 85 games. The person I hold responsible for this is Brian Cashman. He has done absolutely nothing to provide quality depth for this team to sustain injuries which will take place when you have the oldest team in baseball. In addition, the farm system that he heads up is years away from producing any bona fide major league ball players.

Yankee fans get ready for the worst season that this team has had since the late 80's. Smugness and arrogance reigns supreme in the Bronx and it will be interesting to see how long it will take to wipe the smugness off the faces of Levine, Trost and Cashman.
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Because of my work responsibilities, posting in the morning has been increasingly difficult. So starting this evening, my new posts will be published in the evening. Tuesday's Thoughts will continue and will be posted Tuesday evening. I am also going to dedicate a day each week to comment on either the Yankees, Maple Leafs, Browns or Knicks. A lot will be determined if one of the team's had a game that night. If that happens the post will be about the game.

I hope you still are able to follow tonytalkssportsblog.

Filed under: Yankees No Comments
2Mar/130

More Deception From Cashman

Yesterday, a report from Tampa said that Yankee GM Brian Cashman will be dropping out of an Army airplane continuing his role as the daredevil general manager of major league baseball. The day before Cashman did some more dropping as he told the media that the Yankees have made a substantial offer to Robbie Cano. Cashman then caught himself and said he thought he was just repeating what Hal Steinbrenner had said earlier. Really??

Cano is represented by Scott Boras and the super-agent did not confirm Cashman's assertion which leads one to believe that the Yankees were playing the PR game. You see, the Yankees have made it their team policy not to negotiate during the season. They held this policy with such Yankee icons as Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Bernie Williams. They also did not negotiate before Alex Rodriguez's contract expired. Cashman will tell you that said policy isn't written in stone and any organization can decide to change.

While that may be true, this whole orchestrated announcement by Cashman reeks of trying to paint the Yankees in a positive light to the fan base. You see when contract negotiations stall, the Yankees will be able to say, "see we told you we made a substantial offer. It's that damn Boras being greedy." I'm one Yankee fan who won't buy it.

I have been complaining for awhile now that all I want is for the Yankees to be upfront and honest. If it is true that Hal wants to get the payroll down to $189 million by 2014, then they should also tell us that they are committed to a rebuilding process. From where I sit, you can't sign late 30-somethings to one or 2 year contracts and expect to continue to contend for a title. It would make more sense to let some kids play and see what they can do. While it's true that the Yankees best prospects are probably 2-3 years away, there are kids like Zolio Almonte, Ronnier Mustelier or Melky Mesa. Let them play as opposed to Matt Diaz or Juan Rivera. The results in the standings probably won't be that much different. In fact, they might be surprised that they could find a potential starter.

The problem with what I'm suggesting is that the Yankees fear that the fan base won't buy into it. Less people in the stadium. Ratings for YES would fall. That's why they re-sign Ichiro to a two year contract. That's why they sign Kevin Youkilis and Travis Hafner. You see the Yankees need the names to provide false hope. After all, the Yankee mantra is that if they don't win the World Series then the season is a failure. This was created by the Yankees and the fan base has bought into it hook, line and sinker.

27Feb/130

NHL Realignment Proposal Needs Work

The proposed four division realignment plan that has 16 teams in the Eastern Conference and 14 teams in the Western Conference leaves a lot to be desired. The plan moves the Detroit Red Wings and the Columbus Blue Jackets into the Eastern Conference and Winnipeg into the Western Conference. The four divisions would breakdown like this:

Eastern Conference
Division 1: Carolina, Columbus, New Jersey, Philly, NYR, NYI, Pittsburgh and Washington
Division 2: Boston, Toronto, Montreal, Buffalo, Ottawa, Detroit, Florida and Tampa Bay

Western Conference
Division 3: Chicago, Dallas, Colorado, St.Louis, Minnesota, Nashville and Winnipeg
Division 4: Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Jose and Vancouver

The East has 16 teams and the West has 14 teams. The top three teams in each division and two wild card teams from the rest of the conference would make the playoffs. This is where the first problem crops up. There is an inequity as 2 wild card teams in the East would come from the 10 remaining teams while in the West 2 wild card teams would come from the 7 remaining teams.

The second problem is that what happens if Phoenix goes belly up? Quebec City or a second team in Toronto could not be added because they would create a bigger imbalance between the two conferences. It would appear that this would mean that Seattle would be the most likely fall back solution if the Coyotes need to head out of the desert.

Can Seattle support an NHL team? Maybe, as its close proximity to Vancouver could result in a similar situation as you have in Buffalo. However, there would be no question about the ability to support a team in Quebec City or a second team in Toronto.

Realignment should be the opportunity to strengthen the league and should result in an even amount of teams in each division. That would mean either adding two teams or contracting two teams. In my opinion, contraction is the answer. My plan would be the following:

* Move Phoenix to Seattle
* Contract the Florida Panthers and the New York Islanders
* Two 14 team Conferences: top 8 teams make the playoffs or 2 seven team divisions within each conference

Eastern Conference
Division 1: Boston, Buffalo, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Detroit and Columbus
Division 2: Philadelphia, NY Rangers, New Jersey, Washington, Carolina, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay

Western Conference
Division 3: Chicago, St.Louis, Minnesota, Dallas, Nashville, Colorado and Winnipeg
Division 4: Anaheim, Los Angeles, Seattle, Vancouver, San Jose, Edmonton and Calgary

Contraction would strengthen teams and makes more sense than adding two teams. Each conference would be balanced. The loss of the Islanders would be a shame based on the team's history but that was almost 40 years ago and the ownership has done nothing to bring this club along. In fact, they have actually damaged the Islander brand. Will contraction happen?? Absolutely not. The owners and the players would never agree to it. But if they did what was right for the NHL that's what needs to happen. What do you think??

26Feb/130

Tuesday’s Thoughts

While thinking about how many times Yankee-Red Sox games will be on national television this season, here is what's on my mind this morning:

* The Toronto Maple Leafs came up with a big road win last night defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2. The Leafs received scoring from four different players and once again received solid goaltending from Ben Scrivens. This was the type of game last year that the Leafs would have dropped as it was an opportunity to extend the gap between themselves and the teams below them. The victory left the Leafs 5 points ahead of Philly and Tampa Bay and 6 points ahead of the NY Rangers. They are also only 3 points behind conference leading Montreal, who they will face Wednesday at the Air Canada Centre.

* Interesting stat: the Canadiens only have 4 regulation losses this season and 2 of them were at the hands of the Maple Leafs. This should make tomorrow's game pretty heated between these long time rivals. On top of the fact that the Leafs beat Montreal 6-0 a couple of weeks ago that included plenty of fights where the Leafs came out on top.

* Dave Feschuk, a writer for the Toronto Star, is one of the most negative media types around. His column today about the Leafs not being straight about the return of James Reimer was a typical example. Feschuk keeps on saying that Reimer was suppose to be back in a week when in fact the initial statement from the Leafs was that Reimer would be out a minimum of one week. Most hockey observers and legitimate hockey media types concluded that this was going to be a 2-3 week recovery period. Obviously, Feschuk doesn't pay attention to that because he spends his time trying to cause a controversy where there is none.

* Once again, kudos to Buffalo News columnist Jerry Sullivan for continuing to tell it like it is. Yesterday on Schopp & the Bulldog's show, Sullivan said what most Sabre fans and Buffalo media types don't want to hear: the Sabres are not as good as we think they are. He went on to say that he questioned the claim that the team has all this talent and just haven't been able to mesh together. I'm sure Sullivan's comments didn't sit well with the WGR 550 gasbags as they have been responsible for building up expectations.

* You could tell that Schopp was uncomfortable as he changed the subject trying to get Sullivan to talk more about the firing of Lindy Ruff. Sullivan expressed that Ruff should have been let go last year and now the focus needs to be on General Manager Darcy Reiger which once again led Sullivan to proclaim that the roster that Darcy built is not that good.

* The New York Rangers had very high expectations this year, particularly with the addition of Rick Nash. However, they moved or let go a number of heart and soul types which has had an impact on the team. This is another example that winning the off season does not translate to winning on the ice or playing field. Think about that Blue Jays fans!!!

* Read an article in the NY Daily News questioning whether the Yankees should be interested in Alfonso Soriano. The point being made was that they only needed a short-term solution as a result of the injury to Curtis Granderson. Hello!!! The Yankees need a legitimate right-hand hitting outfielder and Soriano is a big upgrade over Juan Rivera and Matt Diaz. He also hits for power. In addition, Soriano's contract would be offset by the Cubs and he would be a Yankee next year when all signs point to the possibility of Granderson exiting due to free agency.

* Didn't watch one second of the NFL Combines.

* Nearly drove off the road yesterday when Schopp & the Bulldog actually were talking about baseball. For the record, Schopp was predicting the Rays to win the AL East and the Bulldog concurred while still thinking the Yankees and Red Sox will be contenders. That will probably be the extent of GR550's baseball talk for the season. It lasted a whole 3 minutes.

* I wonder when GR550 gasbag Jeremy White will finally admit that the Sabres have wasted a year of development for Mikhail Grigerenko. White had a man crush on the 18 year old and was lobbying hard for the Sabres to leave their first rounder up with the big club. Grigerenko should have been sent to Rochester where he could play. Now that this team looks to continue to fall hopelessly out of the playoff picture, Grigerenko should get more minutes. If he doesn't, whoever was responsible for keeping this kid in Buffalo should be held accountable.

* And finally, has anybody seen Ville Leino???

25Feb/130

Now What Mr. Cashman??

Yesterday afternoon, the big experiment of moving Curtis Granderson to left field and Brett Gardner to center field came to a screeching halt as Granderson will be out for ten weeks as a result of a broken right forearm. Granderson was hit by J.A. Happ in his first at bat in a game against the Blue Jays at George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida. Upon seeing Granderson get hit, you knew it might not be good. I thought it was his wrist but when I heard it was the forearm I thought maybe there was a chance it wouldn't be that bad. So much for wishful thinking as it was later announced that the Yankee outfielder would be out for ten weeks due to a broken forearm.

The injury leaves the Yankees with a whole in their lineup as Granderson was hitting fifth behind Mark Teixiera. The injury also means that the Yankees lose another legitimate power hitter. So now what?? How is the void going to be filled for the 30-some games that Granderson will miss? Yankee General Manager Brian Cashman indicated that for the time being the answer will be found internally. That would mean that it must come from Matt Diaz, Juan Rivera or one of the youngsters in training camp. Among that group, I say go with one of the kids.

Since we are only talking about 30-35 games, why not try one of the kids in left field. The group to choose from could be Zolio Almonte, Melky Mesa or Ronnier Mustelier. Almonte probably has the most upside of the three yet he is also the least experienced. Mesa is a solid outfielder but probably the weakest hitter of the three and Mustelier falls somewhere in between as the Yankees haven't really figured out where this kid should play. With the Yankees committed to getting their payroll down to $189 million in 2014, they are going to need to have young talent make the big club.

Granderson is a free agent next year and there is plenty of speculation that the Yankees will not be able to re-sign him as they will be focused on re-signing Robinson Cano. Granderson's injury allows the Yankees to see what they have and how life will be without the classy outfielder. While Cashman says the answer to the problem is internal, that doesn't mean that bringing in a veteran from elsewhere isn't a possibility. Of the names mentioned, the only one that makes sense to me is Alfonso Soriano.

Soriano is a right-handed hitting outfielder who has power and would also be your right-handed hitting designated hitter. The former Yankee would be a good addition and the Cubs would be willing to eat a significant portion of his contract. I am not crazy about getting Vernon Wells, as his production has been on the decline for the last two years. If your going to bring Johnny Damon back you might as well bring in Bernie Williams.

For me, I'd like to see them go with one of the kids. While Slade Heathcott, Tyler Austin or Mason Williams are the top outfield prospects in the Yankee system, if the decision is made to leave these kids in the minors then I say let either Almonte, Mesa or Mustelier play left field. Do you remember the energy that Melky Cabrera brought to the team when the Yanks gave him a shot in center field?? It would be exciting to see a young kid in the lineup as opposed to Matt Diaz or Juan Rivera. If the Yanks aren't comfortable with that, then they need to get Soriano. Hmmmm...would things be so bleak if the Yanks still had Raul Ibanez and Andruw Jones?? Maybe someone should ask Mr. Cashman that question.

22Feb/130

Burke’s Fingerprints All Over Leafs 3-1 Win

On a day that Brian Burke's relationship with the Toronto Maple Leafs officially came to an end, his fingerprints were all over the Leafs 3-1 win over the slumping Buffalo Sabres. Phil Kessel, the player Burke traded for and was routinely criticized for acquiring, showed why he is a special player even though he didn't score a goal last night. Kessel assisted on Dion Phaneuf's first goal while the Leafs were on a power play as he made a nice pass setting up the Captain. But as nice of a play as that was, Kessel's second assist was the offensive highlight of the game as he fooled Leaf-killer Ryan Miller and made a beautiful pass to James van Riemsdyk who tapped the puck into the net and gave the Leafs a 2-1 lead. There is no doubt that Miller thought Kessel was going to shoot the puck as the Leaf forward decoyed him beautifully.

van Riemsdyk, acquired by Burke from Philadelphia, scored his second goal late in the third period on a nice pass from Cody Franson while the Leafs had a two-man advantage. JVR now leads the team with 11 goals and has been a big contributor, not only offensively but also killing penalties. The 23 year old seems to be buying into Coach Randy Carlyle's system as he is consistently placing himself in front of the opposing team's goalie.

Ben Scrivens bounced back strongly from Tuesday's 4-2 loss against Tampa as he was solid in goal particularly in the first period when the Sabres outshot the Leafs 13-10 in the first period and turned away 31 shots overall. I had to laugh Wednesday morning as hockey expert Pierre MacGuire was critical of Scrivens based upon his performance against the Lightning. The kid had one bad game in the last five, yet MacGuire had the gall to say that Scrivens needs to show that he wants to be the number one goaltender. Well, the way to do that is to bounce back from a bad game and the kid did just that last night.

Cody Franson had one of his better games as he was definitely a force offensively and showed some of the promise that the Leafs believed was possible when Burke acquired him in a deal with Nashville that sent Brett Lebda to the Predators. Not sure if either Lebda or Robert Slaney, the other player Burke sent to Nashville, are playing in the NHL.

It is obvious that this young team has bought into Randy Carlyle's system of play. The Leafs are becoming a more difficult team to play as they lead the league in hits and in fights. It should be pointed out that Brian Burke inherited Ron Wilson. Wilson was hired by Cliff Fletcher, prior to Burke's arrival. As Burke admitted upon Wilson's dismissal, he and Wilson had a difference of opinion on the team's style of play. As a result, Burke's biggest mistake may have been hanging onto Wilson for too long. Who knows if the fiery Irishman would still be here if Wilson was let go prior to last season. However, it may not have matter as Burke wasn't corporate enough for the Bell/Rogers executives. But as Dave Nonis said, when this team sees playoff success it will be because of the groundwork laid by Brian Burke.

Game Notes: Sabre fans and media types have a hard time admitting that the Leafs are a better team right now - Rob Ray is one of the worst analysts in the NHL. He referred to Nazem Kadri as Nathan Kadri and at the end of the game praised the Sabres for a good effort. Not sure what game he was watching - It will be interesting to see how long Terry Pegula keeps Darcy Reiger as GM - WGR 550 resident hockey gasbag Paul Hamilton was lamenting Steve Ott's goal being disallowed for goaltender interference. This from a guy who was all over the Milan Lucic hit on Miller last year when Miller was in the faceoff circle. Miller was even questioning last night's call but what would you expect from a team looking for excuses as opposed to looking in the mirror - check out the following column from Damien Cox. Great read:

http://www.thestar.com/sports/leafs/2013/02/21/exmaple_leafs_gm_brian_burkes_departure_to_anahiem_as_parttime_scout_shouldnt_be_a_surprise_cox.html

21Feb/130

Yankee Issues Begin Early At Training Camp

As the New York Yankees begin their 2013 training camp, issues have already started to creep up as it was announced that Phil Hughes will be shut down for 2 weeks with a bulging disk. Hughes was to be one of the constants of a pitching staff that needs to be the team's strength if the Yankees are to make the playoffs. Moreover, with an aging starting rotation, losing Hughes for any amount of time would be a huge problem. The Yankees are optimistic that this won't effect Hughes' ability to be ready for Opening Day but with backs one has to wonder.

ESPN New York is reporting that Yankee owner Hal Steinbrenner is freaking out about the reaction from fans and the media as it relates to his edict to reduce payroll to $189 million in 2014. The fear of a half-empty stadium and declining YES ratings may have something to do with Hal's concerns. Maybe he has come to the realization that the farm system is not ready to bring up young cheap talent that is going to keep the Yankees competitive.

There is a report that the deep bone bruise that Derek Jeter suffered late in the 2012 season was actually a stress fracture. If that was the case, how did the Yankees allow Jeter to play in the playoffs?? It would be obvious that this is what caused the Yankee Captain to break his ankle. Something is terribly wrong. They didn't know which hip was bothering ARod and we don't know what they knew about Jeter's ankle. Whether they knew about Jeter's ankle or not, it doesn't look good on the team.

Joe Girardi's claim that Eduardo Nunez does not have a guaranteed spot on the Yankee opening day roster better be a way to motivate the young Yankee because if Nunez is not on the roster Brian Cashman needs to be held accountable. Remember Cashman's refusal to include Nunez in the deal to bring Cliff Lee to the Yankees is what killed the trade with Seattle. The Yankees inability to find a place for Nunez has been a failure and as a result the best thing that could happen to Nunez may be that he is moved to another team.