Heading home
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on May 13, 2010 
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The Yankees might already be back in New York. Sweeny Murti, Erik Boland, Wally Matthews and I will be there in a few hours. Our plane just pulled up to Gate A78, which was a pretty significant relief.
The schedule hasn’t done the Yankees any favors. We’re barely a month into the season and it feels like the team has yet to play at Yankee Stadium. They’ve opened with a lot of road trips, and a lot of tough road trips. Boston and Tampa Bay. Oakland and Anaheim. Boston and Detroit. Those aren’t vacations.
Like Mark Teixeira said this afternoon, 3-4 trips like this one are going to happen in the course of the season. CC Sabathia got knocked around today, Derek Jeter has struggled and the bottom of the Yankees order has taken a hit because of injuries.
But it’s not all bad news. Ten positives to take from the past seven days…
• Joba Chamberlain’s velocity seems to be climbing. He looks like the dominant reliever we remember from two years ago.
• Six starts isn’t a fluke. Phil Hughes is a very, very good major league pitcher.
• Don’t forget about two out of three in Boston. Maybe the Yankees should be more concerned about the Rays at this point, but taking another series at Fenway is a good thing.
• Mark Teixeira’s last three games were bad, but he had four home runs in the three games before that. His bat is starting to turn around after his usual slow start.
• Alex Rodriguez hit this road trip. Getting him and Teixeira in high gear will make up for a lot.
• It’s a small thing, but Romulo Sanchez and Ivan Nova pitched well in their Yankees debuts. Sanchez was sitting in the mid-90s with his fastball in Boston, and Nova got through two scoreless in his first major league game in Detroit.
• Francisco Cervelli.
• Jorge Posada is back, Chan Ho Park is on his way and Andy Pettitte thinks his elbow issue is a non-issue.
• Good work by Javier Vazquez on Wednesday. Joe Girardi said at one point that Vazquez wanted to “join the party” with the rest of the rotation. He got a taste of the party with those seven strong innings against the Tigers.
• Those games seem like a long time ago, but the Yankees did score 24 runs in two days against the Red Sox. And that was without Posada. The lineup has struggled for a few days, but when it’s going good, it’s going really good.
The hard part of the schedule is over:)
Battle of the catching phenoms: It isn’t every year that the International League has two catching prospects as hyped as Jesus Montero (Yankees) and Carlos Santana (Indians). But a scout covering that league says there’s “no comparison” between those two.
Santana “fits exactly what I want in a catcher,” the scout said. “He’s 6 feet tall, compact, much more athletic and quicker. He can swing the bat … and he’s got the best arm back there I’ve seen in a long, long time.”
Montero, on the other hand, “just got benched for laziness, basically [i.e., not running out a ground ball]. And from what I’ve seen, the [Austin] Romine kid in Double-A is going to pass right by him, and Montero is going to end up as pretty much a right-hand-hitting DH. He’s got talent. But his swing is really long, and he has no discipline. So the Yankees are going to have two frontline catchers. But they’re Romine and [Francisco] Cervelli.”
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....ings100513
“Francisco Cervelli”
By himself, without comment.
That. is. awesome.
Excellent positives.
You could add:
11> GGBG exceeding expectations.
You are taking your blog life in your hands speaking logically Chad.
“Fans” on here are ready to dismantle the team and want Cashman’s head on a platter.
Just another fun day after a loss on the blog where the Yankees are the worst 22-12 team after 34 games in the history of baseball.
Does it ever feel like the Yankees are always on the road. While it didn’t end great the road trip started with a bang. Yet the team may be coming home to one of the toughest home series with the Twins, Sox, and Rays. We will see what this seasons team is made of in the next week or so.
My condolences to Chad and the rest of the beat writers that are cooped up in an airport and required to breathe in the same air as Matthews. My recommendation is to pull him into the bathroom, wrap a bar of soap in a sock or towel and beat him senseless.
Yanks’ next 10 games are tough.
I will take 6-4.
Francisco Cervelli – si! Everyone is loving our boy!!!
About Cervelli – told ya told ya told ya!
Betsy, I just want to say your posts have been some of the best here. Talk about a cool head! I really love when you’re in that mode, because you are so on target. GREAT job!
“My condolences to Chad and the rest of the beat writers that are cooped up in an airport and required to breathe in the same air as Matthews. My recommendation is to pull him into the bathroom, wrap a bar of soap in a sock or towel and beat him senseless.”
I needed that laugh tonight!!!!
HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH
Wait a second, that would require Wally Matthews to have sense to begin with!!!
In order to beat him senseless.
Maybe they could beat some sense into him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So according the dork who the article on Montero his contention is basically that Montero has gone from can’t miss uber-prospect to yesterday’s news in a matter of weeks.
Well Mr. Potato head I’ve got some news for you.
The guy is going to be the next great catcher for the Yankees, and he is an awesome talent.
Please try and catch on soon.
hahahaha Mets lost in the bottom of the 9th on a wild pitch
More ESPN scouting nonsense. The same kind that was so eager to downgrade Hughes.
Ramirez pitched 8 innings of 3 hit, 5K, 0BB shutout ball tonight. R.Marte pitched the 9th and gave up 2 runs.
CR9 – they came back from 10 down. I would say they’re serious as rain. But does Shaq weigh 500 pounds? He looks like a big truck that basically stands in one spot!
GB, Expressing terms of endearment & fondness for one Mr. Wally Mathews……The one and only GB7
LMAO Mets !
That loss has to hurt.
I know that the Washington Nationals aren’t first and foremost on everyone’s minds but have you at least noticed the splash they’ve made this season? Just unbelievable!!!
trisha
Haha about Shaq. I think Shaq is a valuable part to the Cavs, but what I watched of the series, Shaq still thinks he is 5 years younger and is the focal point of the team.
I cant tell you the amount of times I saw him in the paint, backing down the opposition, and either throwing up a bad shot that missed, or getting smartly fouled intentionally because of his iffy free throw shooting ability.
Chad, thanks for the list of positives to come out from this road trip/season. It’s very easy to think negative when it seems like everything is going wrong. My favorites from that list?
Phil, Nova and Sanchez and Javy. Also, Andy feeling fine and Park returning – the pen sorely missed Park.
Trisha-
Just wait till Mr. Strasburg enters from stage right.
anonymous scouts say the darndest things….sounds like a new TV show.
Trish, I’m trying! I still say there is nothing “wrong” with being concerned about things, but I’m not in that mode right now……..well, maybe in spots I am, but overall, I’m not.
CR, yes I remember that. What I most remember is the Knicks beating the Celtics at MSG and the back pages screaming “Miracle on 34th St” (or whatever address MSG is at, I forget).
I hope, hope that being home in their own beds will help the Yankees turn it on offensively – this is not an easy homestand. Then again, who said winning was easy?
It’s easy to say stuff when you don’t have to put your name to it…….
What are the probable pitching matchups for the Rays games ?
Anybody know yet ?
I just watched the replay of Phil’s game from yesterday. Thoughts:
1) YES ought to be ashamed of having 1/2 an inning taken over by two who-cares musicians. Kay and Singleton spent no time on what was a very interesting inning (as it turns out)
2) I actually saw a drop of emotion from Phil, two drops actually: once when he walked Damon (he was ticked off) and after he escaped the bases loaded jam (little fist pump)
3) It’s hard to beat a pitcher who can throw as hard as he does and has a filthy curve to boot
4) I like watching replays of his pitches because you can tell just how much they move
Trade Montero in a package for Greinke in the offseason.
Trenton has a 5-2 lead in the 8th inning over Binghampton. David Phelps had a rough night for him. Only 4 innings, 3 hits, 2 runs (earned), 4 walks, 5 strikeouts. Really unusual for him to be wild. The big bat is Brandon Laird with a 2-4 and 2 RBI. He’s 2nd in the league in RBI with 28 in 33 games. Austin Krum has a 2-2 night with 3 runs scored. David Adams is 1-4 with a double.
Wow:
http://www.newsday.com/sports/.....-1.1911221
Bernie Carbo tried to hire someone to break Keith Hernandez’s arms, the former major leaguer and 1975 World Series star told ESPN for an “Outside the Lines” interview scheduled to air in full Sunday morning.
“The truth? I knew some people, and I had $2,000, and I asked them to break his arms,” Carbo said of his plan, a reaction to Hernandez testifying in a 1985 trial in Pittsburgh that Carbo – a former teammate – had introduced him to cocaine.
As a Romine fan, I like what that scout is thinking
Hi all,
I have Driving Miss Daisy on in the background. I read the last thread and this one. If the discussion is going to be basketball, I am going to say goodnight because I really have had no interest since Betsy’s favorite players and not all of those…lol
Betsy
Was that Knicks-Celtics game a regular season game a couple years ago?
I wish Cavs can push into game 7, but the reality is LBJ might only have 20 mins left in his Cavs’ career.
And MTU, guess who picked up Stephen Strasburg, straight from the minors, and has him on her fantasy team, just waiting for him to come up? You got it! I definitely put my money where my mouth is.
Right now I have 5 Nats on my fantasy team, including Strasburg. And damn if they’re not doing a great job for me!!!
I love my Nats.
Betsy, you are absolutely right that there is nothing wrong with being concerned about things, and I think you are demonstrating a perfect balance. I know I’m definitely on the flattened end of the bell curve when it comes to worry. I have no way to explain why I don’t worry and why losses don’t phase me other than to say that I “know” it’s all going to work out in the end, and that allows me to bypass the inbetween!
Phil is the real stopper, CC has the title and gets the money! Phil will have an opportunity for 6 wins, befoe CC gets #5. Phill attacks the strike zone, CC nibbles.
Yankees and Twins have same record.,22-12, the Twins lead their division.
That’s it. Celtics is a better team, they have so many guns.
Please somebody!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Help Trisha send the Celtics bad vibes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PLEASE!!!!!!
To quote Benicio Del Torro in Usual Suspects “Im F’in dyin here!!!!!!”
What? We’ve played TWO series at Boston? And won both? The games bleed together and it’s been so long since they’ve been on the road, I seriously forgot they just left Boston.
Then I remembered something about Hughes v. Beckett?
Jhn, Phil is definitely harder to hit than CC and misses more bats…. at least, so far.
CC when he gets on his summer roll, will pitch as well as Hughes is now…. lol
CR9 – if the Cavs don’t pull this out it’s because the basketball gods have something even better in mind – for NY to get their LeBron and for the Celtics to have their butts handed to them in the finals.
But my money is still on the Cavs.
Trisha,
Good for you, ‘putting your money where you mouth is’ so to speak.
Cleveland had to win game 5.
Can’t expect to go on the road in game 6 and win in there.
When teams have to go on the road in a potential elimination game, the result usually isin’t very good. Maybe if they were facing some inexperienced team like the Hawks. Not a veteran team like the Celtics.
CR9 I fear we don’t have a lot of support because so many here have their thoughts totally on LeBron going to NY.
I’ll turn my attention totally to the game. I’m trying!
Later y’all.
Celtics have only lost a series leading the series 3-2 once in their franchise history….
… to Orlando last year. They won Game 7 in Boston. Now that is at team that has integrity!!!!
I just started watching.
The Cavs score 4 straight points down 12, and immediately a timeout from the Celtics.
there’s a real coach!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
hehe, If LBJ comes to NY Knicks, his chance to win champ is close to be zero.
I wouldn’t trade a bat like Montero. And Greinke doesn’t want to pitch in New York. He can’t pitch in large markets.
I love how some fans want to trade the farm just like they wanted to trade Hughes, and then they blame Cashman for not producing any talent out of the farm. Stick to your day jobs.
Good night all
Jhn,
lol, I don’t know what that’s all about. CC doesn’t nibble.
He just got hit hard today. CC is the master of adjustments and king of determination. Those are two of his best attributes.
This is just sick. I turn on the game, and it’s just a foul call every time down the court for the Celtics.
And Lebron got strangled, and no foul call.
Be careful what you wish for, guys.
The potential to get LeBron is NOT worth watching the Celtics potentially go to the finals… or worse, hoist their 19th World Championship!! Do you really want to see Pierce, KG, Tommy Heinshone, etc. on a podium with confetti raining down them as they hold the Vince Lombardi Trophy? Do those dbags really deserve a 2nd championship in 3 years? A 19th overall?
Now that you have that vision in your mind, project all the negativity possible towards Boston. Just one good quarter from the Cavs and we can spare ourselves that awful awful moment/sight.
They’re chanting “New York Knicks” when he’s the free throw line.
Please God allow the Cavaliers to come back in the 4th Quarter. Please dont allow those thugs to get the last laugh on him.
CR, that was in 1985….
Goodnight, SAS!
Let’s hold off on comparing Phil to CC, shall we? We’re talking all of 6 starts…….
Brian
It would be 18 for them, of which many were undeserved. Playing with 8 teams in a league and 6 of them making the playoffs.
I really don’t care if the Celtics win or not…
Trevor,
LOL. You know the funny part about that? That chant was organized by Bill Simmons.
Brian, Orlando should stop Celtics. I agree celtics are bunch of thugs
m
I can’t tell!
With the exception of Andy, who was sidelined with injury, the other three should feel embarrassed. The #5 rookie would be going for #7 if he wasn’t skipped in the beginning.
We watched Miguel Cabrera put on an absolute show today. He’s as gifted a hitter as the game as seen for the past three decades outside of Pujols.
At comparable or even younger ages for level Montero has been better than Cabrera was when in the minors.
And Cabrera played a much less challenging defensive position and in fact never really had to worry about defense because he wasn’t expected to play any.
Cabrera himself struggled significantly in the minors when he was in A ball. Montero dominated A and AA and is just running into his first episode of struggling in his entire career.
This doesn’t change anything for Montero.
This is the usual cycle prospects go through. Tremendous hype and then at the drop of a hat ridiculous backlash. Often by the same exact people.
Hughes just went through something similar. We heard plenty of stories about Hughes not being a hard worker, being soft and being lazy.
It’s just nonsense.
Montero has phenomenal bat speed and a great swing. He’s always been complemented for his work ethic – especially on working at getting better defensively. Many prospects that can hit don’t do much to get better defensively. That’s never been the case with Montero.
Those qualities haven’t suddenly disappeared.
I know you guys don’t like it but in some ways the Celtics have the same tradition in basketball that the Yankees do in baseball.
Ya..I’m a Celts fan although I acknowledge the Lakers are a stronger team. I think the NBA would love to see a finals featuring Kobe an Lebron so the idea that the refs are trying to bring about a Celtics win is humorous to me…just my opinion.
Y’all are really underestimating Orlando and the Lakers if you think Boston is going to be a lock for another championship.
ohhhh, 4 point game!
ray,
Agree. Celtics are the NBA’s Yankees.
Most people in NY are rooting for them anyway to get LeBron knocked out soon. So if you guys win, you can thank NY for projecting so much positive energy in Boston’s direction
YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
COME ON BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YA JUST GOTTA BELIEVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To me, Orlando should beat Celtics. But if Celtics somehow pass it and meet Lakers in the Final, they will win easily.
CR9 – have faith.
The faith of a mustard seed can move mountains. Besides it’s obvious we do have support here to help in our quest to always be sure that beantown is kept away from all tropies.
My desire to see all beantown teams go down in flames is as natural to me as breathing. It is in the blood.
I never understood those stories about Phil. First off, he always had a good rep. Second, no kid who is lazy and uninspired uses his bonus $$ to buy a house in Tampa so he could be near the ST complex and start working out early.
Miguel Cabrera? I don’t care how talented he is; what he did last year the night before the play-in game was a disgrace.
I can’t speak to Montero, but I will say that in general, people like to see big names or hyped prospects fall from grace and then pick themselves up again. They resent the big names or celebrities, so people want them to fail…………and then they proclaim some great comeback story when the big name rights himself. Phil was completely trashed the moment he experienced any setback and now all of a sudden he’s some underdog done good. Um, no – he was always supposed to be good. People just forgot that (and we’re talking experts) because he was hurt. Montero seems to be going through the same thing. I despise this cycle of resentment and condescension….
“# Zed May 13th, 2010 at 10:10 pm
Celtics have only lost a series leading the series 3-2 once in their franchise history….
… to Orlando last year. They won Game 7 in Boston. Now that is at team that has integrity!!!!
”
that was a great series last year. Orlando is a great team, they’ll take care of Boston(if they hold on) but Boston will make it tough. I think it will be another LA-Orlando Final
No foul!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And a foul for Rondo!
SICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
with all due respect, Knicks’ supporting cast is even worse than Cavs’
That said about Montero, I reallly don’t see any excuse for coming into camp overweight………..
No foul again!
They swallowed their whistles just for the team wearing Red.
Ray, how is Alaska treating you? I am so envious – it’s my DREAM to go to Alaska. Is it as spectacular as everyone says?
I hate Pierce but he is so clutch in big games
The refs just decided this game.
No fouls for Verajeo, but foul calls for 2 murderous thugs, Rondo and Davis.
Betsy-
“That said about Montero, I reallly don’t see any excuse for coming into camp overweight………..”
That’s generally what happens when you eat too much.
The referees stepped up when it counted.
MTU, of course – and I know that feeling, lol. Hopefully Montero learned his lesson..
The Lakers have no shot at beating a Celtics team.
Compared to the entire Celtics roster, Artest looks like a Nobel Peace Prize winner.
The Lakers cannot handle the thuggery and brute violence of the Celtics. They are criminals.
And the referees are Green Criminals.
Jz,
Yes, but remember IF LeBron comes, he is bringing someone else with him.
So it’s not just plugging LeBron in with the team that won 29 games. So he will have a ‘Robin’ with him in the form of Bosh or someone else. Far cry from Delonte ‘superman’ West and MO Wailliams.
j,
lol, it’s true that Phil is overshadowing the others right now, but that doesn’t mean the others haven’t pitched well.
In fact, the fact that Phil hasn’t done what CC, Halladay, Felix, and other frontline starters have done, which is have your normal up and downs to start the season, makes his season even more spectacular.
But his season doesn’t make the other Yankees starters any less significant.
only 8 mins left.
LBJ got 8 TOs
Betsy-
“Hopefully Montero learned his lesson..”
Maybe, but I bet that Venezuelan cuisine is mighty good, and Jesus looks like he likes to chow down. It might be hard to resist.
Can’t blame Mike Green for this loss.
LeBron did as well as he could – certainly stepped up and tried to carry his awful supporting cast to victory in a hostile environment… but alas, the refs wouldn’t let him will the team to victory.
Stern wants a Lakers-Celtics finals, like the good old days. He wants to create the old-time rivalry again.
Mo Williams just took a shot from the free throw line instead of taking it to the rim, because he knew the referees wouldnt call a foul for him.
Thats how referees control a game.
Game over. Goodbye Lebron. You did what you did do best. Choke.
Cavs are a joke
Rocco, I understand….. but still…
CB, I didn’t see THE GAME where Montero stopped running out the grounder, but, as you said, he’s never failed on the ball field, so, I’d tend to write it down as frustration and confusion. He’s in a slump and he doesn’t know how to correct it. I’d like to see NYYs bring him to NY and work with Long for a few days and see what they can come up with, instead of leaving him there to struggle. I like Wynegar as a catching instructor, but, not so sure about his ability to teach/instruct hitting. This has been going on for about 3 weeks now, He did have a couple of good at bats today, but, too early to say that he’s snapping out of the funk. No kid that’s lazy works that hard at a weakness. I don’t know. Maybe he’s working so hard on the defense that he’s ignoring his true gift.
Lebron got the game to a 4 point deficit by himself, and then not FULLY UNDERSTANDING THE green referees, he gave the ball to Anderson Verajeo on 2 straight possessions like an idiot.
Ver. was fouled both times, and the green referees did what they do best!
The NBA truly is the biggest laughing stock of a league.
Mike Brown is a horrible coach
Boston won’t make the finals
Im sick to my stomach. Now I’ve gotta worry about the GREEN REFEREES cheating Dwight Howard and putting him in early foul trouble.
why would the Refs want to help Boston? if anything they would want to help force a high rated Game 7
I hope Mike Brown is pleased with himself. I hope he finds himself on the streets with no job and no money, in 10 years time. Where he belongs.
tampayank
The referees main priority is advancing the Celtics. BOTTOM LINE. Now the Celtics, a team of thugs, and violent criminals get to laugh at Lebron.
CR9, if Final is between LAL and BOS. I just hope Lakers can learn the lesson from last final vs. celtics. And they have to be physical. Still, Kobe’s golden age is gone (almost), tough matchup all around.
On the other hand, Magics should have a much better shot to take out celtics. And I believe they will.
2 fouls on that possession and no fouls.
The Green Criminal referees just swallowed their whistles again.
Turnovers due to lack of referee calls.
LBJ should have been much more aggressive. too bad.
Wally Matthews is with you, that sucks.
Welcome to New York LeBron.
A foul call NOW. Down 14.
NOw it’s time to make it look fair.
Jump shot city for the Cavs.
CR9 is wrong. The Lakers are much tougher than they were 2 years ago. :raspberry:
The worst part is, this loser Lebron wont come to NY. He;ll be satisfied to stick with this pathetic run organization, and pathetic supporting cast.
And a foul for the Celtics. A foul for a foul will keep the Celtics 14 points up.
“This is the usual cycle prospects go through. Tremendous hype and then at the drop of a hat ridiculous backlash. Often by the same exact people.”
But yet ESPN goes ahead and runs with some quote from an anonymous scout…seems like every story they have starts with “a scout said” or “one scout said”…they never give names, which I guess is common but it sure would be nice to know who is making these insightful evaluations.
LBJ is a tremendous talent but these last 2 games really have made me question his heart and killer instinct…he can go to NY, Miami, wherever but I don’t think he’ll match even Kobe’s career or not even close to Jordan*my 2 cents
Romine reminds me of Phil
Montero remind me of Joba
Though Hughes was always the more hyped of the two, Joba stole his spotlight after Hughes got hurt and he was the flashy guy with the 100 MPH fastball and become a household name. That might have been bad for him, as it led to bad conditioning and questionable judgment (DUI, etc.) and maybe he felt a little entitled. Hughes, meanwhile always had a relentless work ethic but was battling injuries and was never the same until last year.
Montero is the guy who everyone talks about and everyone in baseball knows who he is and heard the hype about him. And maybe that hype got to him, as he gained weight this winter and came in overweight, and now he got benched for 3 games for not hustling. Romine on the other hand is a tireless worker who is a workout freak and has baseball in his blood and always works hard and plays hard.
Montero is still only 20 and will learn from this, but he should watch his his back because Romine is hungry and he is ultra talented and competitive and wants that job just as badly as Montero does. Joba might have let his guard slip a little (by his lack of conditioning and stubbornness last year) and Hughes was like a freight train and rain over him. Romine might do the same. I hope both of them do well – nothing like a good competition.
m
Im sure the Lakers are tougher than they were 2 years ago. But the Celtics are a bunch of violent thug murderous criminals.
And I hate to insult murderers.
Paul Pierce spits on people.
Kevin Garnett throws people down.
Glen Davis clotheslines children.
And now a foul for Lebron. Sickening.
Mike Brown is so horrible coaching right now, he’s making LeBron look like a scrub w/ his gameplan. He sticks him w/ the worst post options in Shaq and Varajao…doesn’t set up a play for him in the post, doesn’t set up 3 pt shots for Mo or Lebron or Jamison.
James is so leaving Cleveland but I’d still take Wade over him, b/c crappy coaching is one thing but will to win is another and James takes too long to show it.
That’s right cheer NY Knicks Boston, b/c if we get him, your gonna want to cry.
GB-
Maybe Montero just needs to change bats.
Look below :
http://students.umf.maine.edu/.....bunyan.jpg
Betsy,
Thanks for the sny article on phil. saw this article by sam borden linked on the side:
http://web.sny.tv/news/article.....38;vkey=10
No foul for Lebron.
But there’s a cheap foul there for Rondo.
I really don’t care where Lebron plays next year, but as an impartial party if I were a Knicks fan I would be cheering like crazy for Boston to close this thing out tonight. Orlando is probably going to beat whoever wins this series anyway and even if they don’t they would still have to beat the Lakers in the finals. The Knicks best chance at Lebron and a future is for the Cavs to lose this series.
Whistles right back in their pockets up 8 points. Once it got to sweating distance, no foul for the Cavs, foul for the Celts.
tampa,
Bingo. Kobe has killer-instinct, LeBron does not.
Like the media does nowdays, they anointed LeBron too quickly – he is the next Jordan, he is the best of all time.
Give me Kobe in the playoffs over LeBron anyday.
“No foul for Lebron.
But there’s a cheap foul there for Rondo.”
That was such garbage.
Call a foul here refs. Come on.
That “New York Knicks” chant is the best thing to come out of Boston.
“Give me Kobe in the playoffs over LeBron anyday.”
I’d say Kobe too especially w/ those 57 allstars all around him.
Brandon
Not garbage. That’s what referees do. Especially in the NBA. They control games to whatever outcome they want.
“I didn’t see THE GAME where Montero stopped running out the grounder, but, as you said, he’s never failed on the ball field, so, I’d tend to write it down as frustration and confusion.”
GB7-
Obviously I didn’t see the game. But I have to say – people who were at the game didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary about the way Montero ran out the ground ball. It’s not like he was loafing so badly that it was terrible.
That’s why it was originally thought to be Montero being removed for an injury.
Just my guess – but I think the Yankees are simply holding Montero to a very high standard because they see him as being an integral part of the future teams. He’s the guy who is going to form the core of that next generation of yankees that will ead the team into the future.
As you know – lots and lots of prospects don’t bust it down the line on every ground ball. Rarely are the pulled from games. It seems like they might be sending him a message that he’s got to assume leadership even if it’s by example. Perhaps he was starting to sulk some and they wanted him to snap out of it.
What to do with his slump is a tough thing to deal with. At times the worst thing you can do is to overload the kid with instructions – especially one who has got such a natural stroke. That’s when slumps can really get bad because you start thinking at the plate.
I don’t know if there’s a right answer on how instruction should be utilized to help him. My general sense is that they should give him at least 125-150 at bats before they start tinkering with his swing.
Let’s hope his at bats today were the sign of him turning things around. He’s far too talented to struggle for long. He’ll adjust.
“# Brandon’s Awesome (B/c my AWESOMENESS believes in tasing fans that jump fences) May 13th, 2010 at 10:45 pm
Mike Brown is so horrible coaching right now, he’s making LeBron look like a scrub w/ his gameplan. He sticks him w/ the worst post options in Shaq and Varajao…doesn’t set up a play for him in the post, doesn’t set up 3 pt shots for Mo or Lebron or Jamison.
James is so leaving Cleveland but I’d still take Wade over him, b/c crappy coaching is one thing but will to win is another and James takes too long to show it.
”
Good point on Wade. If you remember the summer olympics, Lebron would avoid taking all the big shots in HUGE pressure moments. Wade and Kobe were taking all the big shots. Wade won a title w/ a supporting cast that wasn’t ‘that great’ in Miami. Wade is my favorite player to watch in the NBA
He just threw the ball right to them.
I think he was aiming for them.
I go back to that scene where LeBron lost a heartbreaking game in Boston and an hour later, he is at Fenway Park promoting headsets with Dr.Dre and Jimmy Ivine and joking around with Carl Ravech, rather than taking the charter back to Cleveland with the rest of the team. He is a guy who is concerned as much about celebrity as he is about basketball.
You think Kobe is going to a Dodgers game and smiling in front of the cameras and promoting some product an hour after he looses a tough game to a rival?
He has already said he wants to be a billionaire athlete. How about winning a couple of rings first?
M, you’re welcome ! Sam’s article was good, but I disagree that Granderson was mostly bad….It seems like everyone forgot how dynamic he was for the first couple of weeks.
Goodbye Lebron. Hopefully, you come to NY, so there can be some bright spot out of this.
Mike Brown’s team just collectively quit.
Goodbye to Cleveland?
LBJ to NYK?
Only time will tell
They were chanting “NY Knicks” at the Boston Garden – never thought I would see that.
That was awesome. Were they trying to distract LeBron or something?
I don’t agree they say this is a huge upset. As long as celtics keep healthy, they are as good as anybody
Wade or LeBron …I WANT WADE, But I’ll take LeBron if he lands.
ANd look at Lebron. They raped and strangled and manhandled you all series, and Lebron hugs them.
But he didnt hug a Magic team who actually performed against a Boston team last year, and treated him with class and respect.
Again, it shows that you win with crass, not with class.
Lebron hugging a team full of murderous criminals.
But not the Magic.
That goes to show what kind of sick human being Lebron is.
Mike Brown is toast
Welcome to NY Lebron
Orlando will spank the Celtics.
Watch out for that Big Mouth Jay-Z he’s the trick card in all this.
And I read that LeBron wants John Callipari to be his next coach.
Yeah, just what an NBA team needs – a guy who is a great recruiter and an egomaniac.
And what has LeBron ever won to let him select his own coach anyway? I mean, I know Jason Kidd did it, but that was because he wanted power over him. LeBron has power over his entire organization and city.
Mike Brown is not a good coach but that team around LeBron is brutal. Jamison sucked. He was suppose to be the second guy. If LeBron leaves that team is going to hard to watch. Another Eastern Conference doormat.
A 20 year old kid struggles in his first month at AAA and anonymous scouts everywhere write him off….thus is life I suppose. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised if when a 20 year old kid starts to mash in his 2nd or 3rd month at AAA, that anonymous scouts everywhere sing his praises again.
Brandon,
Isn’t Jay-Z the minority owner of the Nets? I;d imagine he would push LeBron there.
Though grew up a Knicks fan ans is a true NYer, he will guide the King to the Garden.
Lebron or Wade + Bosh
Come on Walsh… Get the job done!
Mark Jackson telling it as it is – not sugarcoating it.
I want this guy to coach the Knicks so badly!!
Watch the Nets make a good move and snatch him up.
I hope Mike Brown is very happy with himself.
I hope Lebron leaves Cleveland.
I hope Mike Brown gets fired, and never sees another job in the NBA in his lifetime.
I hope he loses every nickel he owns, lands on the streets having to beg bums for money.
I hope nothing but the worst for Mike Brown.
Mike Brown is an atrocity to the NBA.
Mike Brown is the biggest criminal that ever existed on this planet.
He is a Fraud. He defrauded the Cavs out of how much money over the past several years.
He screwed an entire fanbase who has had nothing but heartbreak re: sports for decades.
Mike Brown deserves nothing in life. Mike Brown is a putrid atrocity to Cleveland.
Some things in basketball don’t change. If you don’t have at least three plus players you aren’t going to win.
And teams with talented bigs have huge advantages over teams without length.
The Cavs were a deeply flawed team and too much was read into their regular season record. They just weren’t very good.
But the failure of a system will be pinned on a single individual which of course will miss the entire cause of the failure in the first place.
Look at that d-bag Rasheed pumping up the crowd.
God, I can’t believe I rooted for this team. I feel so dirty.
“# Mike May 13th, 2010 at 10:56 pm
And I read that LeBron wants John Callipari to be his next coach.
Yeah, just what an NBA team needs – a guy who is a great recruiter and an egomaniac.
And what has LeBron ever won to let him select his own coach anyway? I mean, I know Jason Kidd did it, but that was because he wanted power over him. LeBron has power over his entire organization and city.
”
Brooklyn Nets?
Brandon,
lol, Active rosters only number 12 players.
But good point. We probably talked about this here when the news broke that the Cavs had signed Shaq. But what many of us thought came to pass. Shaq is way past his prime and it showed.
mike green is history, whether or not LeBron stays. His rotations were bad. That’s the difference between him and Phil (besides the personnel) is his rotations.
Like I said, I hope LeBron goes to the Knicks. They need a franchise player.
CB,
Couldn’t have said it better. They were really overrated from the start.
The thing is that everyone just assumed that LeBron would be a monster and would take over, a la Jordan, in the postseason. They never considered how the supporting cast could play a role.
Celtics and Magic have far superior supporting casts and this series showed that.
If I’m a scout and I tell my team to pick Carlos Santana over Jesus Montero I should probably be fired. Carlos Santana might be performing better than Jesus right now but he has 4 years on Montero.
24 year old being compared to a 20 year old. I’d feel real low about that if I were Santana. “Well gee whiz, atleast I beat the freshmen!’
CC’s on the phone
Telling of the promised land
Canyon of Heroes
Well knick fans july 1st has offically begun
The Cavs signed Shaq to be their “Dwight Howard stopper” in the playoffs.
Too bad they never got to use him and instead, he cost them games this series by how much he played. He is nothing more than a big body at this point. Varajao should have played much more over him.
LeBron + Bosh = Playoffs @ MSG next Spring
Cavs should hire Lawrence Frank to be LeBron’s coach.
Guy has playoff experience and is a nice guy who gets along with players.
EC
Too little, too late. You now feel dirty rooting for them.
Maybe you should have thought of that beforehand.
The entire Celtics team is a violent bunch of criminal thugs, murderous thieves, whining stranglers, children-beaters, despicable spitters, inhumane sickos, putrid snakes, evil rats, dirty mongrels, etc.
Every last one of them.
What do u guys think of this trailer?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z75o-F6ja2I
The most anticipated movie of 2010
FWIW, Colin Cowherd said he was told that if LeBron played for the Knicks, he could make an additional $20m a year from business ventures because private equity firms would be eager to underwrite any endeavor.
And the worst is Brian Scalabrine. If i ever met that punk in real life, I’d spit on him the way Paul Pierce likes to spit on fans and opposing players.
Lawrence Frank is like Jeff Van Gundy, a good teacher, but beyond that is extremely overrated.
CB, I have no answers about this slump either. I was hoping that the time off would clear his head, but, though it’s too early to tell, it doesn’t seem to have done much. Right now, what the organization needs is a Chris Chambliss/Don Mattingly type of traveling hitting doctor. Let a guy like that look at his swings on film from the good old days and now to see if they can pick something up. Not to revamp, but, to reintroduce. Just not sure that Wynegar’s that type. Maybe, like you say, one day soon, it snaps back in place and he starts hurting pitchers again. If I’m Cashman and knowing that since Chambliss and Mattingly are unavailable, I might call Frank Thomas and see if he’d like to pick up some loose change and work for the Yankees. Montero is about as close to the same type of hitter that Thomas and Miguel Cabrera are as you’ll find.
I hope AJ shows the Twinkies what some good old-fashioned Arkansas redneck Jack Daniels country hardball is all about.
Night all.
“The Cavs signed Shaq to be their “Dwight Howard stopper” in the playoffs.”
They couldn’t have honestly believed that given the age disparity. I think they signed Shaq to open up the court for LeBron, Willaims, etc., but Shaq is basically done.
*
Some things in basketball don’t change. If you don’t have at least three plus players you aren’t going to win.
And teams with talented bigs have huge advantages over teams without length.
The Cavs were a deeply flawed team and too much was read into their regular season record. They just weren’t very good.
But the failure of a system will be pinned on a single individual which of course will miss the entire cause of the failure in the first place.
******************************************************
CB, you are the poster version of CC Sabathia
m-sending out an S.o.S. , he’s either a Brooklyn Nets or NY Knicks by the summer. First wk. of FA I bet he makes that decision.
LeBron was alone out there, ever heard the expression ‘Every man is an island’ he was a lost island. Stranded. Hearing these ESPN sportcasters trying to put this on him is HILARIOUS! and praise Kobe w/ 94 ALLSTARS!!! COME ON!
Tommy Heinshone is the biggest criminal in Celtics Green! Bigger than any of the players!
ah yes, Inception
Why so anticipated?
Leo, Juno, Caine!
I truly despise Cleveland.
From their 3-1 lead in 2007 to the Sox, to their 1997 dethroning of us, to these putrid sickening Cavaliers.
They are just another farm team for Boston to beat up on.
There’s no big secret here. The Cavaliers aren’t particularly good. They have mediocre talent and are devoid of talent at the two most important positions on the court.
The NBA regular season just doesn’t mean a great deal – especially in the East because the talent just isn’t there.
Danny Ferry and Mike Brown have done a poor job constructing that team.
The Cavs actually lost this championship back in the winter of 2008 when the Lakers were able to execute the Gasol deal and the Cavaliers weren’t. That was their chance and they blew it.
Rich – You a Knicks or Nets fan?
Knicks, Mike.
Allan
You’re right. Tommy Heinsohn is a predator of the worst of kind. He is a menace to all nonBostonians. He is living proof that evil does get rewarded in this life. Heinsohn is a sick criminal.
CR9,
If the Flyers complete the comeback, it will make up for this.
Boston fans can never mention 2004 again without getting it thrown back in their face!
LeBron is far too young and healthy to be a New York Knickerbocker.
Give it a few years.
The Boston fans were awesome tonight! Those “New York Knicks” chants were beautiful!
Props to Bill Simmons were organizing that.
The Cavs won their three home games in 2008, while losing all 4 road games to the Celtics.
Here they are, with home court advantage, getting blown out in 2 games.
If they held serve on their home court this year, the Celtics would be out.
What a surprise, they decided to hold serve against a better Celtics team in 2008 in their 3 games, while losing the other 4.
When I heard the boston crowd chanting ”New York Knicks”, that was the stunning part of the night for me
“LeBron is far too young and healthy to be a New York Knickerbocker.”
People used to say that stuff about the Yankees. It was bull then and bull now.
LeBron James will not win with the Knicks. He’ll make them better, but, he won’t have any more help there than he does in Cleveland. He’ll ride out his career just like Wilt Chamberlain did. He won’t win until he’s got help and has others that can play with and without the ball. Chamberlain wasn’t considered a winner until he went to the Lakers.
Mike Green stuttering in his postgame news conference
So glad this is the last I will see of this clown. Wonder what team Delonte “Kobe” West will be on, or MO Williams.
And Shaq is more cooked than Ken Griffey. He should never have been used this series.
Just sickening.
I hope the Cavs dont allow Mike Brown on the plane tonight.
I hope they clear out his office, and ban him from that arena.
I despise Mike Brown, as I do Mike Scioscia. The 2 largest criminals in the coaching ranks.
“LeBron James will not win with the Knicks. He’ll make them better, but, he won’t have any more help there than he does in Cleveland”
You think they’ll stop with Lebron? Not happening.
Keep STUTTERING MIKE BROWN!!! Maybe if you keep stuttering, your owner will have sympathy for you and keep you around another season.
YOU STUTTERING FREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ah yes, Inception
Why so anticipated?
Leo, Juno, Caine
*****************************
Nick, there’s a scene in the trailer where the city is moving like a tidal wave.
The city of cleveland is going to be like that after tonight.
Congrats to the Cavs… they had a great year. 61 Regular seasons wins, LeBron wins the MVP.
Played a hard, competitive series, but just came up a bit short against a better team. Nothing to be ashamed of.
The best part of the broadcast?
mark jackson, “The cavs should be who they are in the regular season. If you’re going to dance and have fun in the regular season, don’t change now.”
How about, if you’re going to be serious in the postseason, when the real men show up to play. Then do it in the regular season, too.
I wish sports didnt exist! I hate sports. I hate sports more than anything in life. I never even hated my exwife. But I despise sports. Everything about them. Referees, Mike Brown, Jim Calhoun. ESPN. NESN. YES. I despise sports. They make me sick time and time again. And yet I continue watching, as they steal away years off my life.
“# GreenBeret7 May 13th, 2010 at 11:11 pm
LeBron James will not win with the Knicks. He’ll make them better, but, he won’t have any more help there than he does in Cleveland. He’ll ride out his career just like Wilt Chamberlain did. He won’t win until he’s got help and has others that can play with and without the ball. Chamberlain wasn’t considered a winner until he went to the Lakers.”
You’re joking right?
‘LeBron James will not win with the Knicks. He’ll make them better, but, he won’t have any more help there than he does in Cleveland. He’ll ride out his career just like Wilt Chamberlain did. He won’t win until he’s got help and has others that can play with and without the ball. Chamberlain wasn’t considered a winner until he went to the Lakers.’
GB7, I agree on that. If he wants to win the whole thing, he’ll pick the Nets. If he wants to win and be famous but take a long time winning the big one, he’ll pick the Knicks.
GB7-
You’ve written about this extensively – but I also find it frustrating that the yankees don’t have better and more extensive coaching at every level of the minor league system.
It’s just very short sighted. Unbelievably so. Coaches don’t make much. It would be one of the single most financially productive investments the team can make.
I’m sure it’s difficult in certain ways to even instruct Montero on how to hit, especially at that age. Wynegar has to be concerned about not ruining Montero’s stroke more than anything else.
It’s always difficult to know how great hitters will translate into coaches (the old splendid splinter problem…) but I’d have to think Frank Thomas would be a terrific hitting coach. He was such a great and smart hitter. Just a deep understanding of hitting.
And his style is very reminiscent of how Montero’s swing is structured.
If you’re Lebron, you have to be thinking to yourself “why would next year in Cleveland be any different”…..of course he could also ask himself “why would next year with the Knicks be any different”?
LOL
CR9 is on FIRE tonight
Al-
Thank you. I appreciate it.
There is only one Michael Jordan. The thing is, Lebron may physically be more talented than MJ. But he does not have the indomitable will to win. And of course MJ had Scottie Pippen for a sidekick. That certainly does help.
‘You’re joking right?’
No he’s honest, we don’t have the coach, the basketball IQ is developing in the NYK…and it isn’t there. Defense isn’t a priority and it’s almost like CLE, LeBron and who else?
Watch, lebron will wear a beautiful yankee cap when he talks to the media
Devin Harris, Brook Lopez, John Wall, Courtney Lee, Terrance Williams
or
Gallinari, Chandler, Douglas, Walker, Bosh/Johnson/Amare/Wade whoever he wants
Do the Nets have room for LeBron AND someone else? If they do, then it is no contest. The thing is, does he really want to spend 2 seasons in NJ?
Fortunately, James Dolan never got his greasy fat fingers close to the Yanks.
Lebron wants what all star athletes want. A boatload of cash and to win. Dolan can only offer the former.
i hate sports more than i hate the dentist. i hate them more than i hate divorces. i hate referees. i hate mike brown. i hate reggie miller. i hate tim hardaway. i hate tim mcclelland. i hate joe west. i hate angel hernandez. i hate every referee that has ever existed, in any sport at any level. i hate boston. i hate boston market. i hate them all. i wish sports never existed. I never thought id have such hate in my heart. but i do. and it’s all because of the constant gifts bestowed upon boston. why couldnt sports exist without boston teams. why.
Would you trade Gallinari for Tony Parker?
CR9 – here’s how we have to look at this. As much as we might have wanted the Celtics to go down in flames, maybe a more important thing was achieved. Now hear me out. The commentators earlier were talking about LeBron possibly leaving the team and they said he probably wouldn’t do it if the Cavs took the title because he would have wanted to go back and defend his title. So one purpose achieved. And it isn’t like the Celtics won anything. You think they’re going to care about bragging rights for beating the Cavs once the next round begins? No. Their fans want the trophy. And now they can taste it more than ever!
It’s like having the Sux losing 8-0 and then have them come back in the 8th to make it 8-6 and come back in the bottom of the 9th and have the bases loaded and one out and the opposing pitcher walks in a run and the fans are going wild and they can smell victory and they are screaming their brains out. And the next batter is up and on the count of 2 and 1 he hits one deep – and it goes foul by inches. So now it’s 2 and 2 and the next pitch is a ball. And for the next 8 pitches it’s a battle between the pitcher and the batter, with the batter fouling each one off. And the crowd anticipation is out of control. Only one out. And the pitcher uncorks one, and the hitter puts wood on the ball – and hits a weak grounder that turns into a DP!
This basketball series will end up being the equivalent of that. So it’s all good!
Knick fans are no different than any other NY fans. Lebron, if he comes to NY, will not bring a championship because the team stinks; he will get booed and treated like crap on sports talk shows. Patrick Ewing was never appreciated until after he left and he was “homegrown”. James will be in a no-win situation with the Knicks; if I were him, I would not sign with the Knicks
The Nets can only sign 1 max player. It’s either NY or Chi for LeBron.
Frank Thomas really was a great hitter in his prime.
everything in the sports world is flawed. there isnt an ounce of fairness anywhere. the only decent factor is the yanks have 27 world series. i hope baseball ceases to exist sometime in the next 10 years, so the sox cant have 20 world series gifted to them to equal us. maybe bud selig will start giving the sox 2 world series for every playoff appearance so they can catch up to us quicker. the celtics are the most heinous of criminals to ever exist on this planet, and there’s nothing i can do about it. i wish i was a cop in boston, so i could put them behind bars, where they belong.
CR9…….I understand you will have a difficult believing this, but there really isn’t an officiating scandal designed vs. any teams………The quality isn’t what it used to be, but no conspiracies………LeBron isn’t Kobe Bryant folks
Mike Brown is a moron as is the Cleveland GM. Mike Browns coaching consisted of “Give the ball to Lebron”.
Jordan didn’t win without talent around him.
Kobe didn’t win without talent around him – in particular he never won without big man talent.
Oscar Robertson – never won without talent around him.
And as GB7 pointed out – Wilt Chamberlain never won without talent surrounding him.
The list goes on and on and on. And that’s not even including all the players in the NBA who simply never won due to supporting cast.
If the most dominant player in the history of a sport can’t win without being surrounded by talent is pretty telling.
LeBron in NY wouldn’t be any different.
You need 3 players. Almost every great NBA team has three plus players.
If LeBron goes to NY he better bring Bosh with him.
CR9,
Calm down. Boston hasn’t won a championship, they still have 2 more rounds to go.
Pats haven’t won in 5 years.
Red Sox are done
Yanks have won a championship more recently than the Sox have (and we will win again this yr)
Giants have won a championship by RUINING the Pats undefeated season and the Pats haven’t won in 5 years.
Bruins are on the verge of a historic collapse.
Relax, bro. The Boston sports scene is not as vibrant as you think. NY has 2 championships in the last 3 years.
yankee stadium is completely demolished!
http://zellspinstripeblog.com/.....-all-gone/
“Devin Harris, Brook Lopez, John Wall, Courtney Lee, Terrance Williams
or
Gallinari, Chandler, Douglas, Walker, Bosh/Johnson/Amare/Wade whoever he wants
Do the Nets have room for LeBron AND someone else? If they do, then it is no contest. The thing is, does he really want to spend 2 seasons in NJ?”
If he has patience for the move, it’d be the best longterm move for him, since Knicks mgmt. is still not there yet. If he’s anxious, which he has to be..he’d pick NY..but there is no guaranteed championship until they develope team chemistry, basketball IQ and a defensive mindset. Don’t expect the Knicks to get Bosh, Amare etc…doubt that happens.
Have no fear though, the Magic are going to dismantle Boston. Their efficiency and ability to affect the efficiency of their opponents is unrivaled right now.
Nick in SF…..I hit both ends of tonights game……
Kobe is the closest thing there probably will ever be to Jordan. Lebron is a great player but he’s more Magic than he is Micheal…he needs help even more than Kobe does to win a title because its just not in his nature to take over the game and win it himself.
CB,
You are correct, which is why Walsh made that trade with all those draft picks – for the chance to bring in LeBron AND somebody.
He knows LeBron alone is not enough. Knicks have the capspace to bring in 2 guys.
CB, that’s the one thing that I fault the organization on….the lack of quality and quantity of minor league coaches. First and formost would be fixing the infield defensive issues. There are almost no attempts to fix that within the system. Every team leads their leagues in errors year after year. Then, work on the offense. They have some fine young hitters coming along and once they move up, they get changed around and are totally lost. Pitching seems to be the strong suit. The only issue is keeping them healthy. I’d start by finding solid instructors that are trying to get back into baseball, whether they are ex-Yankees or not…as long as they are they best available. get guys like Frank Thomas and Jose Cardinal, a great outfield and base running coach. Bring back guys like Gil Patterson and finally bury guys like Stump Merrill, Billy Conners and Nardy Contreras. Bring is $5 mil worth of coaches to instruct your billion dollar assets.
“Frank Thomas really was a great hitter in his prime.”
For a while, he was just about Pujols before there was a Pujols.
He was an all time great hitter. He was the entire package. Plus, plus bat speed, plus strike zone command, plus plate coverage, plus balance, plus hitting intelligence.
Not much of a fielder but man was a simply great hitter.
Please w/ Fisher,Bynum, Gasol, Odom etc etc…how is Kobe ever under pressure? you take Gasol away from them and they are a 1st rd. team.
“If LeBron goes to NY he better bring Bosh with him.”
They will. It’s why Jared Jeffries was traded. Donnie Walsh knows he needs that second player to entice LeBron.
Also Curry’s expiring contract now becomes an asset. They can possibly acquire a third player to add to that group.
DAMN great game by the Celtics. Gotta love a TEAM like that.
Queen James is a fraud.
i hate everything about sports. if sports werent in my life, id still have my marriage. i wouldnt have such hate in my heart. i hate having hatred in my heart. theres nothing worse than having to resort to rooting against an entire city. a city of thieves. a city of criminals. a city filled with murderers. a city with stranglers. a city of crime. a city of dirt. a city of slime. the people from Massachusetts planting that bomb in times square. a city of sleaze. atrocities, criminals, violence, harm, sickos, violence, peter gammons,dane cook, mike breen, bill simmons, criminals, frauds, defrauders, thieves, stephen king. i hate them all with every ounce of my being.
Brandon,
If LeBron wants D’Antoni gone, he will be gone after next year.
The only reason they even hired D’Antoni is because the stars apparently love him, especially LeBron.
I do admit that if the Nets were moving to BK for next season, I’d say it is a lock he goes there. But the fact that he has to play in irrelevant NJ throws a wrench in that plan.
“Have no fear though, the Magic are going to dismantle Boston. Their efficiency and ability to affect the efficiency of their opponents is unrivaled right now.”
I feel sorry for Boston, b/c they have no idea what Orlando is.
LBJ + Bosh != Champ.
night people, Yanks win tomorrow night
“yankee stadium is completely demolished!”
Well that explains their recent funk. The disturbance in “The Force” was too great to overcome.
Seriously, I hope they have a moment of silence or something tomorrow night.
Pat M: congrats. Good to see the good guys win.
whew! and i dont even feel an ounce better with my venting. time to exit stage Green Referee.
Let’s get the Yankees back on track tomorrow with some home cooking.
CR9 – you do realize the Celtics haven’t won anything right?
Jay, if he has patience he becomes a tristate star…going from CLE to NJ actually it’s New Rock, New Rock will be rocking. And then Brooklyn will be the place to be. Don’t think they don’t know they have a chance at putting Brooklyn on the map. But reguardless he will be in the tristate next season.
CR9 you are a funny dude!
Orlando will KILL the Celtics.
Regardless. Lebron was EXPOSED.
Amazed their team QUIT with over a minute left.
i hate everything about sports. if sports werent in my life, id still have my marriage. i wouldnt have such hate in my heart. i hate having hatred in my heart. theres nothing worse than having to resort to rooting against an entire city. a city of thieves. a city of criminals. a city filled with murderers. a city with stranglers. a city of crime. a city of dirt. a city of slime. the people from Massachusetts planting that bomb in times square. a city of sleaze. atrocities, criminals, violence, harm, sickos, violence, peter gammons,dane cook, mike breen, bill simmons, criminals, frauds, defrauders, thieves, stephen king. i hate them all with every ounce of my being.
——————————-
Is this a new rap song or something?
CB,
Now Thomas was a big guy that kept the bat in the zone.
Now Lebron + Wade would really be something…probably could rival Jordan and Pippen. Highly unlikely to happen but Lebron would be a better version of Pippen and Wade would be a lesser version of Jordan but it may equal out to about the same effect…although neither of them are anywhere close to the defenders that MJ and Pippen were (thats what really made them great).
“# Zolio May 13th, 2010 at 11:10 pm
The Boston fans were awesome tonight! Those “New York Knicks” chants were beautiful!
Props to Bill Simmons were organizing that.
”
Bill simmons organized that? ha
and remember the Nets will probably have the #1 pick in the draft(John Wall), a rich Russian billionaire owner, moving to Brooklyn, would be an interesting option
My 2 choices are Miami or Brooklyn Nets. For some reason I just don’t think he plays for the Knicks. If I were him I’d go to the Lakers if Kobe allowed it or the salary cap allowed it.
“Regardless. Lebron was EXPOSED”
It’s easy to get EXPOSED one on four don’t you think?
They BOX + 1 D on him, and said the hell w. the rest of them.
If I’m him I go to NJ if I want to win a championship, to play w/ Wall or who’s that other college top pick, a young Tim Duncan, CDR etc…they have the blocks of a special team. Lets not forget John Wall comes to NJ, Devin Harris gets traded for more players.
Brandon,
From a marketing standpoint, the Nets will be relevant when they finally move to BK. Jay-Z will market the hell out of it, so will that Russian owner. They’ll also have a nice young core, probably John Wall or Evan Turner.
Nets are going to be a very flashy team when they do finally move.
Well run organization and flashy. The thing is… they have no pressure on them to do anything. They can just sit back and see what is out there and have 2 years to put themselves in position for Brooklyn. The Knicks have all the pressure in the world on them this summer. Nets are in an enviable position.
Cavs should have gotten Amare over washed up Jaimison…..
CR9 – you know there is always a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Think of it this way. Imagine the Cavs won and went on to win it all and NY didn’t get LeBron.
Now imagine it this way. Because the Cavs lost, NY gets LeBron and there is some huge and magical turn around and the Knicks meet the Celts in the final and kick their behinds, and LeBron leads the charge!
And equally important – the Celtics didn’t win anything, and they won’t.
i hate everything about sports. if sports werent in my life, id still have my marriage. i wouldnt have such hate in my heart. i hate having hatred in my heart. theres nothing worse than having to resort to rooting against an entire city. a city of thieves. a city of criminals. a city filled with murderers. a city with stranglers. a city of crime. a city of dirt. a city of slime. the people from Massachusetts planting that bomb in times square. a city of sleaze. atrocities, criminals, violence, harm, sickos, violence, peter gammons,dane cook, mike breen, bill simmons, criminals, frauds, defrauders, thieves, stephen king. i hate them all with every ounce of my being.
——————————-
Is this a new rap song or something?
LMAO!!!!!!
GB7-
If I ever ran a team the first several things I would do are
1. Assemble the most extensive, best and if needed most expensive network of scouts in the game. That would include the international, amateur, minor league and major league levels.
The current structure of local scouts with area checkers that have to cover large regions is inadequate, imo.
Scouts are ridiculously underpaid. I’d try to disrupt the economics of scouting and hire the best evaluators I could possibly find at looking at talent.
If it took millions to set up – so be it.
2. I’d establish a unified organizational philosophy with respect to hitting and pitching. I’d teach that same system at every minor league level from the Dominacan Short season teams to AAA. I’d have that same system instituted at the majors.
And I would hire the most extensive set of coaches and instruction in the entire league to teach that approach to baseball at everyone of those levels.
I’d probably model this continuity program after the methods used by some soccer teams in Europe where they take kids from the age of 10 and train them to play the way the big league club does so that when they are 22-23 they know exactly how play the game. Now in baseball obviously you don’t get the kids at 10, but with internationals you get them at 16 and for high schoolers 18. I’d start teaching them how to play immediately and reinforce that at every level.
3. I’d hire the best PhD level statisticians and measurement development experts I could find.
Baseball teams don’t spend enough on their talent evaluation, teaching and evaluation. It’s really hard to believe.
As you say they pinch pennies on instructions after spending hundreds of millions on talent.
i hate everything about sports. if sports werent in my life, id still have my marriage. i wouldnt have such hate in my heart. i hate having hatred in my heart. theres nothing worse than having to resort to rooting against an entire city. a city of thieves. a city of criminals. a city filled with murderers. a city with stranglers. a city of crime. a city of dirt. a city of slime. the people from Massachusetts planting that bomb in times square. a city of sleaze. atrocities, criminals, violence, harm, sickos, violence, peter gammons,dane cook, mike breen, bill simmons, criminals, frauds, defrauders, thieves, stephen king. i hate them all with every ounce of my being.
——————————-
Is this a new rap song or something?
————————————————————
It’s a new genre. Conspiracy rap.
CR9? You were married?
And I never thought Marina Oswald would find love again.
trisha,
Yanks won a title last year. Sux are done. Yanks will prob. win again this year.
Pats have not won in 5 years and their last superbowl trip ended in the biggest upset in NFL history (next to Jets/Colts 69) and the NEW YORK Giants ended their undefeated postseason.
The Bruins are on the verge of blowing a 3-0 series lead (if you follow hockey)
Celtics ain’t getting past Orlando or the Lakers
Boston is still trailing in the race
Brandon,
As for the Lakers roster, I won’t apologize for it. Kupchak was shredded for taking the soft fat kid from NJ. We suffered with all the baggage Shaq’s eminent departure left us with. Grant, Kwame Brown. But Kupchak turned it all to gold. Dr. Buss paid to keep Odom. The front office made good decisions and the owners paid. Other teams have spent, but haven’t had the same success.
Queen James? You fans are so harsh. Kobe went through the same thing early on. With a prime Shaq. He’ll be ok.
CR9 May 13th, 2010 at 11:30 pm
i hate everything about sports. if sports werent in my life, id still have my marriage. i wouldnt have such hate in my heart. i hate having hatred in my heart. theres nothing worse than having to resort to rooting against an entire city. a city of thieves. a city of criminals. a city filled with murderers. a city with stranglers. a city of crime. a city of dirt. a city of slime. the people from Massachusetts planting that bomb in times square. a city of sleaze. atrocities, criminals, violence, harm, sickos, violence, peter gammons,dane cook, mike breen, bill simmons, criminals, frauds, defrauders, thieves, stephen king. i hate them all with every ounce of my being.
**************
The sun will come out tomorrow
Betcha bottom dollar than tomorrooooooooow
There’ll be sun
“why would next year with the Knicks be any different”?
Another max FA, Eddy Curry’s contract giving them the opportunity to set themselves up for another after 2011, $20m extra a year in added business ventures, playing at MSG in the greatest city in the word, and a young core with Gallo, Chandler, and Douglas,
“As you say they pinch pennies on instructions after spending hundreds of millions on talent.”
That was always George’s MO. I’m surprised that Hal hasn’t learned his mstakes.
U won’t see LeBron & Wade on the same team. They each need their own universe.
we just got BRON
I thought this was a Yankee Blog, lots of hoops here, for my money Le Bron comes to the Knicks and he’ll bring one of Dirk, Wade, Bosh, or Amare with him. Plus they’ll have enough money when they dump Curry for another player, add Lee to those three and watch everyone else get better. This is going to happen. As for the Yanks, we need a bat, I like Berkman. Career 900 ops, switch hitter, good power, last year of a contract at 14.5m, a $2m buyout of a $15m option next year. He’d replace Johnson who we can trade later if he ever gets healthy which is a remote chance. He’d be a good fit, has experience, plays on a terrible team that should want to move him, and it’d let us take our time to get Granderson back. We alos got to get rid of Winn and get a better 4th outfielder, he stinks, I ranted all winter that he stunk and was finished and I was right. He has no pop, can’t hit leftys, and provides no support when the starters are out. Come on Brian let’s get going before the starters get discouraged. You didn’t make one move in the off season that’s worked yet, get moving, get a bat, the Johnson experiment is over, dump him, don’t wait for him he’ll only get hurt again.
“Now Thomas was a big guy that kept the bat in the zone.”
Blake-
He really did. Thomas had a great swing. Similar to Pujols though just short in most dimensions – which of course isn’t saying much because Pujols has the best swing I’ve ever seen and it’s not that close.
Though we only saw Montero briefly in spring training one of the things I was really happy to see – that bat stays in the zone for a long time.
Wonder whether Lebron is dumb enough to join the Knicks. Terrible ownership, coach that doesn’t coach a championship style of play, etc. He’ll have options where winning is a lot more likely than NYC
bron+dirk remember who called it
“Brandon,
From a marketing standpoint, the Nets will be relevant when they finally move to BK. Jay-Z will market the hell out of it, so will that Russian owner. They’ll also have a nice young core, probably John Wall or Evan Turner.
Nets are going to be a very flashy team when they do finally move.
Well run organization and flashy. The thing is… they have no pressure on them to do anything. They can just sit back and see what is out there and have 2 years to put themselves in position for Brooklyn. The Knicks have all the pressure in the world on them this summer. Nets are in an enviable position.”
Carlos, not saying that he will, but if I’m him
#1 I tell the Cavs screw you.
#2 I look at NJ and wonder, if I go here, can I live w/ being 2nd fiddle for 2 yrs. but possibly have a ring over or a better shot at the NBA Finals
In Jersey, he has Lopez, Douglas Roberts, Courtney Lee possibly David Lee and John Wall, Evan Turner or Wall’s buddy Demarcus Cousins. They can trade Devin Harris and land some stars.
“He really did. Thomas had a great swing. Similar to Pujols though just short in most dimensions – which of course isn’t saying much because Pujols has the best swing I’ve ever seen and it’s not that close.”
If you watch Pujols from the side its incredible….you quickly see why he’s as good as he is.
“Wonder whether Lebron is dumb enough to join the Knicks. Terrible ownership, coach that doesn’t coach a championship style of play, etc. He’ll have options where winning is a lot more likely than NYC”
No, he won’t. The owner spends more money than any other owner and has given Donnie Walsh free rein. If LeBron wants a different coach, he’ll get one.
Good night Yankee people!
I watched several Kentucky games this season, John Wall is unreal, will be a good get for the Nets to compliment Lebron if he signs there
The Lakers are like the Yankees of NBA despite being behind Boston in Championships, star driven, free agents always want to go there, good tradition, marketable city. You can hate them but they run a great franchise
The Nets will always be a 2nd class citizen when compared to the Knicks, no matter how good they are; Lebron would be foolish to sign with them. Then again, I think he’d be foolish to sign with the Knicks as I have little respect for them.
blake-
He’s got almost no moving parts and that bat is in the zone for around 10 years. He’s a freak. He’s got almost a perfect swing.
Mauer has a great swing as well – but even his isn’t close to Pujols because he doesn’t generate nearly as much bat speed.
Alex has a great swing – but he gets long too often and has that hole inside.
Hanley has an awesome swing. But he’s got more moving parts and get can long.
Pujols is amazing. It’s bizarre to watch someone that good.
“You can hate them but they run a great franchise”
I do, but you’re right. Very well run.
Dolan gets a bad rep as an owner.
His problem is that he is loyal to a fault. However, if he hires the right guy, he is a great owner because he leaves the owner alone and has a blank checkbook.
Dolan will spend as much money as Walsh needs. Give me a dumb owner with money over a smart, frugal owner.
The Lakers have been run even better than the Yankees since the ’70s.
First the Knicks have to get rid of D’Antoni…..I’m not thrilled with Walsh, either – trading away all our draft picks.
John Wall is a talent but will not get to superstar levels, can’t shoot, did you see him in crunch time in the NCAA tourney, he was shooting bricks.
Betsy, if the Nets land John Wall or Demarcus Cousins or Evan Turner…but especially if they Wall, LeBron will be in NJ.
George is actually overrated as an owner. People only remember the good. As if the 80s never happened. He wanted to trade away all of the core 4 but Stick stopped him.
Stick and Buck built the dynasty while George was suspended. George himself wasn’t the sharpest tool in the drawer.
“The Lakers are like the Yankees of NBA ”
The Lakers have been influenced by one individual to a degree that perhaps no other sports franchises in America has. It makes them very unique.
What Jerry West has done for that franchise is staggering.
It’s as if you merged Lou Gehrig and Gabe Paul into one person.
“John Wall is a talent but will not get to superstar levels, can’t shoot, did you see him in crunch time in the NCAA tourney, he was shooting bricks.”
You are crazy, there wasn’t a game in crunch where he put Kentucky on his back, one upset series and already he’s a not a superstar, the guy is better than CP3 and D-Will combined.
This is the window of opportunity for the Knicks to capture the spotlight and keep it on 8th Ave & 33 rd Street…..Once the Nets hit Brooklyn it’ll be much more difficult for the Knicks if they’re not The NYC team by then…….
It’s amazing how a man can go from being boy genius to bum in just a few years. All we heard for years was how highly regarded Trey Hillman was, both inside and outside the Yankees organization. Now he’s been fired by the Royals just a couple of years into his reign as manager. I am not privy to the goings on with the Royals, but it stinks that Hillman has to take the rap for the horrible job the GM has done there. He can only work with what he has………….
there wasn’t a game in crunch where he *DIDN’T* put Kentucky on his back
Brandon, I can’t see it ………….at all
“First the Knicks have to get rid of D’Antoni…..I’m not thrilled with Walsh, either – trading away all our draft picks.”
Actually only one (unless you’re really high on Jordan Hill, the other pick given up is really a swap of picks), but if he signs LeBron and another max player, he did the right thing. If not, then yes, he messed up.
No one cares about the empty Nets. Just cause they’re going to Brooklyn will not make them bigger than the Knicks.
And I don’t know anyone in Brooklyn that roots for the Nets. Everyone is a Knick fan. The basketball fan base in NY consist of Knick fans that includes the outer boroughs. Net fans long island/jersey.
Gator, not a question! Heck it probably HAD to happen this way for NY to get what it’s wanted for a long time – LeBron!
And as we continue to say – the Celtics didn’t win anything tonight except the guarantee of heartbreak at the next level.
“Brandon, I can’t see it ………….at all”
Dwayne Wade himself said if John Wall lands in Jersey he’s following.
Pat M, why do you think that’s the case? Do you think Knick fans that are tired of losing will give up on their team and switch loyalties? That seems hard to believe.
Betsy,
Knicks didn’t have a pick this year anyway, that went to Utah back in 2004 in the Marbury trade. So Walsh didn’t trade that.
And Houston gets to swap picks with the Knicks in 2011, so we still get a pick but it will be Houston’s. The only pick we forfeited entirely was 2012, and even that is Top 5 protected.
But that was the price to pay to get FAs. We had to be able to get 2 FAs. LeBron (or Wade or anyone good) was not coming here alone. And even if they did, we still wouldn’t be that good. We needed the second max slot.
“Alex has a great swing – but he gets long too often and has that hole inside.”
He does get long sometimes. Arod has an unbelievable swing as well but its not as consistent as Pujols. Pujols is like a robot…much like Halladay repeats his delivery, Pujols repeats his swing. When Arod stays short and is covering the inside pitch he can be as good as Pujols, he just can’t seem to do it as consistently. Really love Mauer’s swing but as you said he just doesn’t generate the same kind of bat speed that Arod and Pujols can. Only swing I’ve seen in my lifetime that can compare with Pujols is Bonds. Steroids or not, it was the shortest quickest thing I’ve ever seen.
CB,
Jerry West said today on tv that Kobe was the greatest Laker in franchise history. Of course that’s taking it a little too far, but it was very nice of him to pass the torch like that.
I think Dr. Buss’ accomplishments get overlooked at times, too. If I’m not mistaken, he was the first to do regional tv for a sports team? Kind of the model for networks like YES and NESN?
What’s Kentucky’s payroll now that Wall has left?
Pat M, by the way, I was listening to a John Flaherty interview on WFAN today and he said something that made me go, “huh?”..He said that he had Yankee coaches tell him in ST that if Phil won 10 games with an ERA around 4.70 that the Yankees would be thrilled. Being as 4.7 is closer to 5 than 4, my jaw almost dropped.
How long until the Nets shed the NJ label/aura/rep?
Jason, I just think the Knicks are fools for counting their chickens before they hatch. If they don’t land Lebron + or some combo of hot FA, then they have killed the franchise……….I don’t get why anyone goes to their games anymore, to be honest.
“Pujols is like a robot…much like Halladay repeats his delivery,”
Very good comparison. They are very similar in their approach and execution of mechanics.
Agree with you on Bonds. But his swing was so short that it was really tough be believe it was ever real in terms of generating that kind of power.
Ralph,
Still around $70 million. Once Callipari is exploited for more violations, that number would jump to about $140 million.
Betsy,
lol. I don’t think the coaches will be very happy with those numbers for Phil now. He’s halfway there now.
“And as we continue to say – the Celtics didn’t win anything tonight except the guarantee of heartbreak at the next level”
They didn’t win anything but they’re playing with house money now. Already further than anyone projected.
Trevor, Just remember when The Islanders were King of the hockey world as the Rangers became 2nd class citizens in the late 70′s and early 80′s……
“Jason, I just think the Knicks are fools for counting their chickens before they hatch. If they don’t land Lebron + or some combo of hot FA, then they have killed the franchise……….I don’t get why anyone goes to their games anymore, to be honest.”
Hopeful, desperation.
“How long until the Nets shed the NJ label/aura/rep?”
Oh about 5 minutes after the first episode of gunplay breaks out at the new arena.
Steroids or not, it was the shortest quickest thing I’ve ever seen.
—
You do it in the dark then?
I still think it is a complete joke that the Bulls had the 9th worst record and got Derrick Rose.
The lottery system is so flawed. Why don’t the other sports institute that rule? Why doesn’t Selig worry about the Washington Nationals tanking games the final week to get Bryce Harper? Or some NFL team resting guys to secure the top pick to get a once in a lifetime player?
The worst team should get the worst pick, period. The Nets won what, 10 games this year? And they might pick 4th. They didn’t tank, they were one of the worst teams in NBA history.
I think Wall will do fine, might take his lumps for a few years but he was just amazing to watch last year at Kentucky
“Agree with you on Bonds. But his swing was so short that it was really tough be believe it was ever real in terms of generating that kind of power.”
I know, thats why he never had that sorta power before the steriods…he was a great hitter with that short stroke but the steroids added to the distance a bit…it was synthetic power but still pretty amazing to watch. You couldn’t pitch to him at all for about a 3 year period.
Nets already one step ahead, they are court Calapari and Avery Johnson behind the scenes.
I don’t know if I’d want a Russian “billionaire” as my boss. If the performance review was bad…
“Trevor, Just remember when The Islanders were King of the hockey world as the Rangers became 2nd class citizens in the late 70’s and early 80’s……”
Before my time. Don’t know anything about that.
M, lol – true.
The NBA under Stern sucks. The soft cap is the worst system possible. If your team’s management is inapt, as a fan, you are held hostage to that suckitude for years. He has killed the sport.
“Jerry West said today on tv that Kobe was the greatest Laker in franchise history.”
West has been remarkably gracious to Kobe (as has Magic…). West really acts like a father figure for Kobe.
You probably know the story – but I’ve always loved West’s story about working Kobe out before the draft.
They were doing individual workouts with Kobe and West was blown away. He said it was the best workout he’d ever seen. At some point West concluded that Kobe was a better player than Eddie Jones was at that time and he made the Divacs trade for the 13th pick (nicely done there Calipari…).
There is simply no substitution in sports for the evaluation and identification of talent.
West was amongst the elites of all time in any sport at it.
There’s very little doubt about who the greatest laker has been.
And it’s not Kobe Bryant and it’s not particularly close.
The Nets are going to try to appeal to the Youtube/Facebook/Twitter generation of fans by marketing Jay-Z and that Russian playboy owner and whatever draft pick they get.
The diehard Knicks fans won’t jump ship, but trust me, plenty of folks in the NY area will. Look at how many Lakers fans invade the garden or how many people in LeBron jerseys invade the garden. Think they were always fans of those teams? No, they were probably Bulls fans when Jordan was there.
NBA has the most bandwagoners of any sports. People are connected with the players moreso than the franchise.
How about the Wilpons asking about buying The Isles and moving them to Flushing.
I like that idea.
Rich,
Good point! Forgot to mention that.
The lottery and soft cap make the NBA a joke. That is why we have to resort to this method to get back to respectability.
“I don’t know if I’d want a Russian “billionaire” as my boss. If the performance review was bad…”
Tell that to Michael Bollock and Didier Drogba…
“You probably know the story – but I’ve always loved West’s story about working Kobe out before the draft.”
The Knicks reportedly could have had Kobe instead of the Lakers if they had been willing to trade Oakley. That’s how short-sighted this franchise has been since the early ’70s.
Why didn’t the Knicks get Jerry West over Walsh?
It’s simple Yanks 33, if he lands Jersey, New Rock will be sold out, LeBronis big w/ or w/o NYC…ppl this city was once all about the NY Mets…the Yankees were the NJ Nets of this area…and then what happened? That’s exactly what can happen to the Nets. This is Knicks town right now, but if LeBron lands you know where…he will still be the talk of NY.
St Louis Cardinals swept by the worst team in the NL, the Astros, cheer up Yankees fans.
Because Jerry West is a Laker bleeds purple & gold!
Every kid that comes into the system needs to go to a Yankee baseball academy, much like Ewing Kauffman’s back in the 70s. Use ans many of the best bi-linuel instructors as you can…teach the American coaches to speak spanish at the very least. It’s tough to tell a kid how to do something if he doesn’t understand what you’re teaching. Set up the academies in Tampa in the rookie league and Staten Island. If you have Korean, Taiwanese/Chinese or Japanese players, you’d better have coaches that can communicate without having to use an interpretor.
Teach these kids how to play correctly, but, teach them how to balance a checkbook, set them up with advisors on what sort of trouble there is with people trying to sell you anything. That’s for all of them…not just foreign players. There’s as much trouble with American kids not being able to read, write and do basic functions as there are with foreign players. The military does that and it works.
Do this before moving them up the ladder, instead up leaving these kids to shift for themselves. That’s why young players like Cano and Cabrera banded together…they had nobody else, so when one did something, so did the other. Basically, the yankee teaching system is broke. I think that’s why there are so many failures with can’t miss prospects like Justin Snyder, Carmen Angelini, Seth Fortenberry and Mitch Hilligoss, Melky Mesa. These guys should have been so much better for a lot longer than one year. Not saying that they are all can’t misses, but, they had talent.
The salary cap in the NBA is truly horrible and made the league comparatively boring.
It’s major unintended consequence has been to diminish the importance of talent evaluation and to disproportionately tie a franchises fate to random chance and luck.
“# Yanks 33 May 14th, 2010 at 12:13 am
The Nets are going to try to appeal to the Youtube/Facebook/Twitter generation of fans by marketing Jay-Z and that Russian playboy owner and whatever draft pick they get.
The diehard Knicks fans won’t jump ship, but trust me, plenty of folks in the NY area will. Look at how many Lakers fans invade the garden or how many people in LeBron jerseys invade the garden. Think they were always fans of those teams? No, they were probably Bulls fans when Jordan was there.
NBA has the most bandwagoners of any sports. People are connected with the players moreso than the franchise.
”
that’s true. in general the loyalty is not as strong in the NBA as it is w/ the traditional MLB franchises. A lot of people are fans of a ‘specific player’ and not the name on the front of the jersey. But I like the NBA, it has gotten a lot better the last 5 years w/ the wave of new stars, there was a long period after Jordan where I didn’t watch the sport
I think the Yanks would be very happy if Prokhorov lures LeBron to NJ.
Goin to bed. Gnight all, I saw heavy 2-seamers from AJ tomorrow in my FlashForward
.
“Because Jerry West is a Laker bleeds purple & gold!”
So much so that even as an “advisor” to the Grizzlies he still had to send Dr. Buss a going away present!
Good Night folks.
That’s a very insightful post, GB.
Jerry West bleeds Laker purple and gold and gifted them one and maybe more championships when he traded Gasol to LA for a pile of garbage. Can’t believe the NBA didn’t investigate that trade. It was a joke and it’s what’s put LA over the top the last couple of years. Gasol is a superstar and was had for absolutely nothing, what a freaking joke.
I have my doubts that even if the Nets get LeBron, that they would sell out games in Newark.
They couldn’t even sell out finals games. Why would it be different if they had LeBron?
Trev – Night bro. Dream of LeBron in Blue and Orange
Um, perfectly within the rules. Expiring contract. The rights to a good young center developing in Europe. Others could’ve done the deal. And the funny part is that the Lakers were exploring either Garnett or Gasol long before Feb. 08.
And that weasel Popovich should stop yapping about it. Talk about being gifted with franchise talent.
GB7-
Very good post. Agree with it strongly.
I know you’re not a soccer guy – but an interesting analogy to what you’re saying. Teams in europe literally buy players – they don’t make trades – they pay teams for players. That’s just how it works.
It’s very common teams will spend 30-50M to simply buy a player from another team. Then they have to pay the player’s salary on top of that.
Often times the players are very young when they are sold to bigger clubs.
There’s some evidence to suggest that one of the biggest reasons why these huge money deals fall apart is because players have to move to new countries and have trouble adjusting to life there.
The teams will spend tens of millions to buy a player but won’t spend a dime to do things like help the player learn the language or find a place to live, figure out what taxes they need to pay, etc.
As you said – it’s not only the internationals who need to transition. It’s strange teams don’t do more to protect their investments.
The early Bonds years swing depended on his version of balance and timing, and others like Stan Musial and Ted Williams, Bonds, Billy Williams and Mattingly, few left handed hitters had better, more perfect swings, in that they produced high average, runs and power. Pre-injury Fred Lynn had that type of swing. Boggs, Carew and Gwynn had beautiful swings, but, couldn’t match that kind of power.
For pure bat speed and timing, left or right handed, none was better than Mantle’s before 1963 and it was that blinding bat speed combined with brute strength that produced those ungoldly home runs.
I know some here may recall how over the years I’ve referred to CB as a guy who views the game through t the eyes of a GM…….And then a few months ago someone here pointed out how CB is Brain Cashman’s initials reverse…….That has stuck with me ever since……..Does anybody know if Cashman is a soccer fan ?????/
Would you accept this deal?:
you get a seat right behind home plate
right there, front and center
you’re in almost every camera shot, big man on campus
but you have to wear a pink Yankee hat.
betsy if u think walsh did the wrong thing then stop watching the nba. Only a fool could think that he wouldstay in cle after this. ANd hellno is he gonna play in jordans shadow in chi town.
I wonder how many really good players are lost just because of home-sickness. Even kids from the states are victims of it. Accents, preferences in foods that aren’t always available. Us kids might be left to grow up without supervision, but, that’s not always best, and you see that more in football and basketball than in baseball. You seldom see young baseball players get caught up in the gun trouble and rape charges as other sports. A lot has to do with all of that money given to kids that never had any. They get stupid with it. You see it in baseball, not not like the others.
These bonuses should be held in trusts and given out to the players as they mature each year. Put the trusts into interest bearing funds and let baseball control them…not the agents. You’d be less likely to see the Josh Hamiltons or the other crap you see in the other sports. It’s hard to imagine how an 18 year old can piss away $7 mil in less than 2 years and have nothing to show for it. That’s a great failure of the sport.
Pat M.-
It’s a process…
Speaking of cashman, thanks goodness Cashman didn’t trade the young master.
Think about how painful it would have been to watch him throwing games like he threw in Detroit, only in a Twinkies uniform.
That would have been awful. It would have been just a horrible experience as a yankee fan.
And it would have been a thorn that twisted every 5 days for years…
Dr. Buss… Sir Alex… Videographer Belichick… The serfs look up with humility…
Non Sequitur, I think the pink hat makes it a hard deal to do… could I toughen that cap up a bit?
And are you tanking the daily wear contacts out every night?
LeBron plus another max cap player in NYC, mark it down, it’s going to happen. Dirk could be the fit. He allows LeBron a legimitate kick out outside threat with size and a pedigree while not clogging up the lane. Lee would do the dirty work. Still need a point guard, anyone got an idea?
I know some here may recall how over the years I’ve referred to CB as a guy who views the game through t the eyes of a GM…….And then a few months ago someone here pointed out how CB is Brain Cashman’s initials reverse…….That has stuck with me ever since……..Does anybody know if Cashman is a soccer fan ?????/
–
Were that he was, we’d apparently have an amazing minor league instruction system
Soccer fan, maybe. Yo La Tengo fan, regretably not.
CB, your European Soccer teams sound much like years ago in the NHL when the sponsored/owned junior hockey teams and raised the best 13-15 year olds in their system and owned them from cradle to grave. They played the best and sold the rest. Gordy Howe, Bobby Hull, Bobby Orr…all were raised in that system. They’d buy an amateur team just to get one player.
sane again.
“Tell that to Michael Bollock and Didier Drogba”
Drogba led the PL in goals iirc and helped lead them to the PL title, and is one of best scoring talents in the world.
The Yanks have 2 travelling swing doctors. One is James Rowson. The other was his predecessor who left to coach the major league Blue Jays two years ago, then came back to the organization when the coaching staff was fired. I can’t think of his name.
maybe this will turn out for the best. lebron to the knicks along with another star. celtics lose to magic. lakers grab number 16. nite all. gotta keep the faith. and the sanity.
Phil in a Twins uniform would have been devastating. At the time, I told myself I could just follow him on the internet, but I knew it would come back to bite the Yankees. What was most painful was that I knew Cash didn’t want to trade him, but his hand was forced.
Phil, oh, this is so annoying because I know who you are referring to……….now I’m going to be thinking about this all night, lol
If you’re rooting for the Los Angeles of Los Angeles Lakers because it’s important to you that another franchise overtakes the Celtics in total championships… we’ll, sanity is definitely a worthy goal!
CB is The LoHud’s Clark Kent………And thank you for not falling into the declining Johan Santana frenzy ……..Besides, Phillip Hughes is the poster boy for the Cashman regime…..Good choice by the way…..However, you di along with Tin Cup rather well, so that clouds the theory somewhat
Who’s the rock climbing expert here?
Don’t worry, Betsy, Gary Denbo was the other guy I was thinking of. Also, for the record, most minor league mgr’s speak Spanish as well as English now. At the Yankee Academy in the DR they have English class and other school activities. That’s from a time after Robbie and Melky were down there. They have a Tampa Complex, as you all know, but I don’t know if any school type stuff is done there. A lot of indoctrination is done at instructs.
The trouble with Carmen Angelini was that he thought he knew it all and that everything that worked for him in HS would work in the pros. So he spent two years resisting coaching. The trouble with some of the others is something called “the curveball.” In general, the Yanks think it takes several hundred ab’s to start dealing well with curveballs, but sometimes they run into kids, like Melky Mesa who take a lot longer.
Phil, whew – thanks, that’s it.
I remember when they drafted Angelini, brought him to the stadium as a way to convince him to sign out of HS, and I thought “Finally , someone who might be ready at SS by the time Jeter is ready to move off!”
.218 .282 .283 .565 and 71 errors in 2 seasons are not helping.
They even gave him 1 AB in the Gulf league and he struck out
Wow, Angelini sounds like a jerk!
Jerkface….I too shared your enthusiasm….Late bloomer maybe ???? GB’s reports on him haven’t been very encouraging though
GB-
Do you see any hope with getting Angelini back on track. He just seemed too good in high school to fail but I know high school is a totally diff ball game from playing it. I was drafted in the 13th round by my hometown Cardinals (I was born in Brooklyn though so I’m a Yanks fan) and went to Mizzou to play football and baseball and blew out my knee ending any chance of getting drafted again. The guy put up Jeter numbers in high school. Any chance he picks it back up.
m
Let’s not jump to any conclusions, whatever his beliefs were, the poor kid is suffering for them now.
They have another kid named Lassiter who they gave a big bonus to and he’s really struggling his second time through Low A.
btw, everyone should remember when looking at minor hitting #’s, the home parks for Charleston, Tampa and Trenton really supress O. Norwalk was similar. That’s why guys like Cano and Soriano have seemed to hit so much better in the bigs.
Angelini pasta is still only 20 years old, so he has time.
Oh, Phil. I was joking.
That he was a jerk for striking out. Never mind.
Here’s hoping he starts developing this year. They were worried he would get discouraged when they sent him to Charleston and he struggled as an 18 year old. Hopefully, he’ll start hitting and stop making so many errors. 20 is not too old, but it’s getting dicey if you want to be a hitter.
Okay, m, it’s just that in this day and age, some people forget that they are just kids and trying to figure out a whole lot more than baseball.
Fingers crossed that Jeter can “hold” down the fort a bit longer.
That’s why they need someone who can play both SS and 3B as soon as next year, or perhaps the year after, to reduce the burden on Jeter and A-Rod, and/or step in if an injury or a precipitous decline occurs. Hechavarria seemed like the perfect option, but they can find another if Hal realizes that it’s a lot more cost-effective to spend a few million on kids with big upsides, than to burn money on the Winns, Thames, and Gaudins of the world.
Um, isn’t that what Pena’s for? I kid, I kid.
Hechavaria didn’t think Jeter was going anywhere, so he signed where he could play.
http://online.wsj.com/article/.....44562.html
And while Mr. Hughes consistently touches 94 mph with his fastball and has outstanding command, he lacks the sort of power that can dominate opponents.
****Interesting article on Phil. I disagree with the above, though; Phil is dominating major league hitters. I also thought it was interesting that he admitted to not committing to the change in the minors – presumably because he was dominating and didn’t see the need, even for when he reached the majors?
Hechavarria was short-sighted.
Even Keith Law now says that Hughes is very close to being an ace.
Cacciola offers no support for that assertion, but I will say this, the WJS now has a more interesting sports section than the NYT.
BBTN. Showalter on CJ Wilson. He’s the Phil Hughes of the Texas Rangers (2nd in ERA behind Phily).
Young stud starter who went to the bullpen last year after coming off TJ surgery. Showalter wondering out loud if management/manager will resist the temptation to ride him to a division title.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/noteboo.....-clubhouse
Rich, Keith Law won’t even admit that Phil’s ceiling is that of an ace; he qualified his comments by saying that his ceiling is that of a #1 or #2. A #2? Really? He’s crazy, lol
Rich, absolutely not. The guy sounds like he knows what he’s talking about, so it’s odd he would say that. Two things:
Can anyone get Phil’s height right? He’s 6’5, yet articles have him variously as 6’3 and 6’4. It’s not that hard, lol.
Also, it’s weird seeing “Mr. Hughes” and “Mr” everyone, but I know that’s how the NY Times does it too, not counting the sports section. I agree with you – the NY Times sports section is ridiculous. There are more articles on the Sox and other teams than on the locals. I don’t care to read about those teams; I also find that there is better coverage of the Mets than the Yankees
Betsy
I heard Law with Colin Cowherd today and he used the word “ace.”
I’m off tomorrow, but I’m passing out. GN
Thanks, Rich. I tried to listen for myself, but when I click on the podcast, instead of Law I get Jerry Crasnick……..
is it safe to return to the blog???
good points Chad!
Morning Kate-
How are things in your neck of the woods ?
good morning to you MTU
its a bit rainy up here, but I had yesterday off and it was beautiful. My son is home after a successful first year in college, so its all good…and the Yankees are finally home
Kate-
Right now I owe Hughes a 5,500 ft. climb. 500 ft. for every win. I’m alllowed to “bank” overages so I will try to get ahead if I can.
You gonna run any extra miles for his victories ?
MTU
yeah, an extra mile for every victory, I will catch up tomorrow. We need to do something to send some good vibes to Javy.
Kate-
I am optimistic that Vasquez will be fine from here on out.
That last outing was just what the Dr. ordered.
yes, I hear we have you to thank for that, for the successful removal of the loser gene
MTU = genetic genious.
Kate-
We have to monitor the gene splice carefully but it is now possible for Javy’s natural talent to come to the forefront.
Isn’t modern science wonderful ?
Blake-
Drs. Watson and Crick have nothing on me.
Either the body snatchers got to him, or this is his doppelganger.
Whatever the case, this ersatz Mark Teixeira is really becoming vexing.
Maybe he should wear a mustache so we can tell the good one from the bad.
Blake-
I hope you have noticed my work on sabotaging the entire genetic structure of the Sox ?
I have re-activated their “loser” gene.
I will be working on Tampa Bay next.
Blake-
With respect to the Rays.
I hope to bring out Maddon’s horses azz gene because I want to express his “Jackazz” gene more fully.
I hope to cause a regression in performance in some of their better players thru selective inbreeding with fruitflys.
Blake-
And finally.
I plan on enhancing the greatness of the Yankees by extending the thickness of their “Telomeres”. Giving them extra longevity invisible to all but a few who are in the “know”.
Solutions are in the works for Bud Selig, Press core bias, Hank Steinbrenner’s mouth, and Betsy’s ultra realism.
BryanHoch Does it feel like the Yankees haven’t been home all season?
I say yes.
Do I dare try to fix GB’s typing, and Randy’s golf game ?
That’s really going for it.
For trolls I will implant the “spontaneous combustion” gene.
That should take care of them.
7-0 homestand….MAYBE 6-1….and the train is back at FULL SPEED, ALL !
For 2011, MLB considering having the Yanks play 132 road games.
The remaining 30 home games will be played against a collection on National League and American League All-Stars.
“Do I dare try to fix GB’s typing, and Randy’s golf game ?”
mtu -
the problem i’m having now is the ball is going too far and going into the hole too fast.
i’m not getting my money’s worth .
they should charge golfers by the swing. the more swings you take the more it costs
( … and for gb7 , that would be whether he hits the ball or not )
Trey Hillman … get him in the organization!
http://waswatching.com/2010/05.....nt-page-1/
Is that MG or another mg?
Randy-
“the problem i’m having now is the ball is going too far and going into the hole too fast.”
That’s funny Randy.
There is nothing in genetic engineering that would have affected the curvature of the Earth or it’s Gravity ?
Oh well. Some things are best left unexplained.
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