JETS: MATCH.COM

With Bill Cowher now off the list for the NY Jets Head Coach here is the my top list for the job:

1) Bill Parcells - no questions here
2) Steve Spagnuolo - Jets need a defensive minded head coach and he is the guy
3) Jon Gruden - if he is fired he is a guy that gets an immediate turn-around from his teams
4) Mike Shanahan - offensive-minded coach whose offense revolves around the running game..hello Thomas Jones
5) Mike Holmgren - for Favre
6) Steve Mariucci - for Favre

My list revolves around the idea that what has been lacking to the Jets isn't necessarily the players on defense, but the overall scheme of it. If we can get a defensive minded coach like Spagnuolo to setup the defense with a wide of range of blitzes this defense can be one of the better ones in the league.

JETS & GIANTS: 2009 OPPONENTS

I know its a little early to look at next season but here are the opponents the Jets & Giants will face in 2009:

JETS

Home:
Dolphins - Division
Patriots - Division
Bills - Division
Bengals - Random added game
Titans - AFC South
Jaguars - AFC South
Falcons - NFC South
Panthers - NFC South

Away:
Dolphins - Division
Patriots - Division
Bills - Division
Colts - AFC South
Texans - AFC South
Raiders - Random added game
Saints - NFC South
Buccaneers - NFC South

As you can see the Jets will face the AFC & NFC South this year (combined only had one losing team this year, Jaguars) and their 2 random games are @ Oakland again (for some reason the NFL keeps scheduling these two teams every year) and home to the Bengals again (2nd year in a row).

---

GIANTS

Home:
Cowboys - Division
Eagles - Division
Redskins - Division
Falcons - NFC South
Panthers - NFC South
Raiders - AFC West
Chargers - AFC West
Cardinals - Random added game

Away:
Cowboys - Division
Eagles - Division
Redskins - Division
Saints - NFC South
Buccaneers - NFC South
Broncos - AFC West
Chiefs - AFC West
Vikings - Random added game

So the Giants play the NFC South (best division in football record-wise) and the AFC West (worst division in football) as well as the @ Vikings and home to the Cardinals (both division winners).

BAD KARMA

Bad karma is something that I never really believed in.
I was always from the school of thought that if something was supposed to happen it will happen , regardless of your bad karma or not.

Recently, I have changed my views on this topic.
The reason being , is solely because of the Jets most recent collapse.

You see, I'm one of the few Yankee/Jets fans.
So I know my share of sports disappointment's.
Thank Goodness though that I am Not a Mets/Jets fan.
If that were the case I probably would not be here typing this post. I would either be in a mental asylum or rather at the edge of the Verezanno bridge.

Over the past few seasons, Since the Yankees basically have been a non factor. I got the next best thing.
In case you were wondering what that may be , let me tell you .
Every Yankee fan , whether he likes to admit it or not .
Loves to see the New York Mets fail.
Its not because us Yankees fans despise the Mets .
But We love to see the Mets fans suffer in anguish.
I know that sounds kinda sick and twisted.
But what do you expect from us? Mets fans have as much hatred for the Yankees than the love they have for the Mets .
Its only natural for Yankee's fans to have mutual feelings.

So when the Mets Collapsed for the second straight season to their FLORIDA rival , I was down right jubilant.

Not only did I rub it in every single Mets fans that I know faces.
I declared that September should be renamed , "Another Amazin Mets Collapse Month " .
I realized it wasn't catchy enough to get the rest of the world to agree with me so I quit my campaign.

The 2008 NFL season started out so promising for the New York Jets.
With the Acquisitions of a hall of Fame QB in Favre and the rest of the Pro Bowlers . The Jets were primed to make a serious push at the post season. In the NFL , once you're in the Post season, anything can happen.

So you could imagine, Myself along with most of the Jets fan base was reved up for the roller coaster ride that the Jets always provide. Except this season , the general pulse of Jets Nation was "this year is different"

I don't know why, but every freakin year I fool myself and say this will finally be the season.
I seem to forget that this team has broken my heart time and again.
I seem to forget that this is a cursed organization and no matter who the personal on the field or off, that we will never win.

And you know what? I probably will forget these facts at the start of next season as well. But that's the beauty of football and the rest of sports for that matter.

After the Jets handed the Undefeated high and mighty Titans Their first loss of the season and ran there record to 8-3 , you could imagine the sudden SUPER expectations the Jest have suddenly painted themselves.

Newspapers , radio shows, power rankings, you name it . Were all just putting the Jets in the Championship game, some even the Superbowl.

Not only was I buying into the fact that this Jets team is Different . I was already looking to purchase Playoff tickets!

With a relatively soft schedule for the remainder of the season.
You couldn't even dream of them managing to not make it. Every aspect of The Jets , either Offense, defense and even special teams were flat out dominant.

this is where the bad karma comes in.
I rooted so hard for the Mets NOT to make it. I also rooted SO hard for the FLORIDA marlins to give the Mets the final knock out punch. To my dismay, I was granted my wish.

As the Jest were in the final stages of there most recent debacle .
It was only befitting it came by the hands of the hated FLORIDA rival.

To add insult to injury. Once fan favorite Chad Pennington (still is) who was casted off to make way for the big bad Brett Favre.Was the face of the Dolphins. Gave the Jets A Knock Out blow of there own.
This also added a new wrinkle in the Bill Parcels saga.

I truly believe this was a typical case of bad Karma.

JETS: REPLACEMENTS

Now that Mangini is gone who is the next Head Coach for the Jets?

1)Mike Holmgren - If you want Favre back this is the guy you go after
2)Steve Marriucci - Again appeals to Favre
3)Bill Cowher - Hard-nose coach may be what this team needs
4)Marty Schottenheimer
5) Steve Spagnuolo - Great Defensive Coordinator possibly good Head Coach
6) Brian Schottenheimer - Current Offensive Coordinator - has been interviewed by other teams
7) Bill Parcells - Can opt out of current 4 yr 12 mil contract in January and receive all 12 million (best fit)

If you have an interesting Head Coach for the Jets let me know in the comment section

JETS: MANGENIUS NO MORE!

Less than 24 hours after being eliminated from playoff contention the Jets fire Head Coach Eric Mangini

PRESS CONFERENCE AUDIO


Rumors are swirling as to what the main reason for this firing was
Some say it was the collapse
Some say it was the Jets listening to Favre and how he was brought into the principal's office to talk about all his bad INTs..so maybe they are trying to keep Favre..
GM Mike Tanenbaum mentioned the fans in the press conference so maybe this has to do with those expensive PSLs
Whatever the reason this team is looking for a new head coach after having winning seasons in 2 of the last 3 years
Whoever is the new head coach he will have a great base with a good offensive line, RB, D-line and a secondary that needs a couple of players
My issue is that the Jets needed a safety and another corner last yr and Tanenbaum did not deliver and it showed
Other firings include Browns Head Coach Romeo Crennel and GM Phil Savage, Lions Head Coach Rod Marinelli
On the other hand the Raiders are expected to keep their coach Tom Cable and the 49ers have signed Mike Singletary to a 4 or 5 yr deal

NFL: PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

AFC

#6 Ravens @ #3 Dolphins - Sunday 1pm CBS
(only team Miami beat last yr was Baltimore)
#5 Colts @ #4 Chargers- Saturday 8pm NBC

#1 Titans will play lowest seed of the two winners

NFC

#6 Eagles @ #3 Vikings - Sunday 430pm FOX
#5 Falcons @ #4 Cardinals - Saturday 430pm NBC

#1 Giants will play lowest seed of the two winners

---

Divisional Playoffs
Saturday, Jan. 10
AFC:Lowest Seed at Tennessee, 4:30 p.m., CBS
NFC: Highest Seed at Carolina, 8:15 p.m., FOX

Sunday, Jan. 11
NFC: Lowest Seed at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m., FOX
AFC: Highest Seed at Pittsburgh, 4:45 p.m., CBS

Conference Championships
Sunday, Jan. 18
NFC: To be determined, 3 p.m., FOX
AFC: To be determined, 6:30 p.m., CBS

Super Bowl
Sunday, Feb. 1 in Tampa, Fla.
AFC vs. NFC, 6 p.m. (NBC)

YANKEES: CONTRACTS

The following are the details of the new Yankee contracts:

Brian Cashman Senior VP, General Manager
3 years/about $6M (2009-11)

• signed extension 9/30/08

C.C. Sabathia lhp
7 years/$161M (2009-15)

• signed by NY Yankees as a free agent 12/11/08

• $9M signing bonus (paid in 3 installments: 12/31/08, 3/1/09, 7/31/09
• 09:$14M, 10-15:$23M annually
• salaries to be paid semimonthly over all 12 months of year, rather than semimonthly during season
• Sabathia may opt of of deal after 2011 season
• no-trade protection
• perks: suite on road trips

Mark Teixeira 1b
8 years/$180M (2009-16)

• signed by NY Yankees as a free agent 12/23/08
• $5M signing bonus
• 09:$20M, 10:$20M, 11-16:$22.5M annually
• full no-trade clause

A.J. Burnett rhp
5 years/$82.5M (2009-13)

• signed by NY Yankees as a free agent 12/12/08
• 09-13:$16.5M annually
• limited no-trade clause (Burnett may block deals to 10 clubs each year)

Nick Swisher of-1b
5 years/$26.75M (2007-11), plus 2012 club option

• signed extension with Oakland 5/11/07, replacing 1 year/$0.4M deal for 2007 signed 3/07
• $0.5M signing bonus
• 07:$0.7M, 08:$3.5M, 09:$5.3M, 10:$6.75M, 11:$9M,
• 12:$10.25M club option ($1M buyout)
• 2012 option increases to $12M with top 5 in MVP vote any year 2007-11
• limited no-trade clause 2011-12 (may block deals to 6 clubs)

Damaso Marte lhp
3 years/$12M (2009-11), plus 2012 club option

• re-signed by Yankees as a free agent 11/12/08
• 09:$3.75M, 10:$4M, 11:$4M, 12:$4M club option ($0.25M buyout)

If I missed anyone let me know...

JETS AND METS

I think the image above pretty much describes what a Mets & Jets fan like me feels like every year...
You start off running every year with high hopes just like Charlie Brown did every time Lucy would put the ball down..
Then right at the end you had the high hopes of making the playoffs or going all the way just as Charlie did in kicking the ball...
Then right at the end you collapse and end up with a headache and nothing left to show for it..Like Lucy picking up the ball and Charlie missing the kick in anguish...

RIGHT ON THE MARK

Buster Olney has reported that the Yankees have come to terms with Mark Teixeira.

Terms and details of the contract have not yet been revealed but reports are stating its around 8 years 180 Million dollars.

Tex will slot nicely into "a desperate for offense Yankee lineup".

Starting pitchers across the league probably have just soiled their pants at the thought of a A-Rod Teixeira 1-2 punch.

Are the Yankees overpaying here? the answer to that is Definitely.

But in my opinion the fact that we kept him off the Sox is worth a boat load of money in its own right.

Mark Teixeira is not a Hall Of Fame type player and he probably will not put up the same offensive numbers Manny will in the next few seasons. With all that being said, I'm still thrilled to have this guy on my team .

Ultimately I feel the Yankees made a great decision here.

Tex, has not been injury prone and is as consistent as they come .

Plus, in his limited post season experience he has put up monster numbers.

Great Signing all around.

I think its safe to say Happy Chanukah/Merry X-mas And happy Quanza to all Yankees fans.

Probably the greatest off season of all time.

I love being a fan of the Evil Empire, now lets get Manny...

NFL: PLAYOFF SCENARIOS

AFC:
#1 Titans - BYE
#2 Steelers - BYE
#3 East Winner - see below
#4 West Winner - see below
#5 Colts
#6 Wild Card winner - see below

Jets:
Division
1) Win over Miami, Pats Lose to Buffalo
Wild Card
1) Win over Miami, Ravens Lose to Jaguars

Patriots:
Division
1) Win over Bills, Jets win over Phins
Wild Card
1)Win over Bills, Ravens lose to Jaguars, Phins beat Jets

Dolphins:
Division
1) Win over Jets

Ravens:
Wild Card
1) Win over Jaguars

Chargers/Broncos:
Division
1) Win

PS - If Ravens and Pats lose then Ravens get Wild Card and NYJ/Miami play for division.

NFC - UPDATED AFTER SUNDAY & MONDAY NIGHT GAMES

PAYROLL: METS & YANKEES

METS:

Opening Day payrolls for 25-man roster
(salaries plus pro-rated signing bonuses):

o 2008: $137,793,376
o 2007: $115,231,663
o 2006: $101,084,963
o 2005: $101,305,821
o 2004: $ 96,660,970
o 2003: $117,476,429
o 2002: $ 94,633,593
o 2001: $ 93,674,429
o 2000: $ 79,800,000



YANKEES:

Opening Day payrolls for 25-man roster
(salaries plus pro-rated signing bonuses):

o 2008: $209,081,577
o 2007: $189,639,045
o 2006: $194,663,079
o 2005: $208,306,817
o 2004: $184,193,950
o 2003: $152,749,814
o 2002: $125,928,583
o 2001: $112,287,143
o 2000: $107,588,459

SALARY CAP:

o 2011: $178,000,000
o 2010: $170,000,000
o 2009: $162,000,000
o 2008: $155,000,000
o 2008: $155,000,000
o 2007: $148,000,000

The penalty for going over the salary cap is....
22.5% for first time offenders, 30% for second time and 40% for third time and beyond. All of this money is then divided among small market teams. The tax has been implemented ten times and the Yankees have been taxed five times.

JETS PLAYOFFS??

WOW! i was just fiddling around with some numbers and came across this:

If the Phins and Pats both lose this week and the Jets win vs SEA
AND the Jets lose to the Phins in the last game of the year they still lose the division!!

here is the rundown - Pats also win their last game then:

a) they will all be tied in record 10-6 (Jets, MIA, NE)
b)All 3 head-to-head are 2-2(all split games vs each other)
c)All 3 teams are 4-2 in division
d)Common Games: Jets are 8-6 with 2 other wins coming vs Cinci and Tenessee, Phins are 10-4 with 2 other losses vs HOU & BAL, and Pats are 10-4 with 2 other losses vs PIT & INDI
e)Pats and Phins left...both teams are tied in conf record 7-5
f) Strength of Victory - MIA +14 NE +48..
PATS WIN DIVISION..

So...the Jets must win their last 2 games of the year in order to win the division and their only likely shot at the wildcard is the Ravens losing their last 2 games (Jets lose 1 game)..

PS JUST WIN!!

PINCH HITTING AT LoHuD

SAM I AM SPORTS BLOG UPDATE

Hi Everybody,

As I was skimming through the blogs i read every morning and I came across one of my favorites.
The LoHuD Yankees blog which is updated multiple times a day. The Author of this blog isn't your average Tom , Dick, or Harry that has a Sports blog (Such as myself).

The Author of this blog is an established New York Yankee Beat reporter (My dream Job) for the Journal News .

This Blog gets thousands upon thousands site hits a day. to say the least , it is extremely popular.
Pete , posted today that he will need a few pinch hitters in his absence. Naturally , I shoot him an email asking if I could get a shot.
To my disbelief , He told me "your in".
Now, i must think of a topic to write to my national audience.
This is where you guys (and gals)come in .

What should my topic be about?

Q & A: OMAR MINAYA

Steve Serby of the NY Post does a great job in his interview with Mets GM Omar Minaya..
They talk about what he did immediately when he landed in Vegas and how the JJ Putz deal got done...click here for entire article...

Some excerpts:

Q: The first call you made when you landed in Las Vegas and checked into the Bellagio?

A: The very first call really was to get together that night with Frankie Rodriguez and his agent (Arn Tellem).

Q: Were you optimistic? (about K-ROD)

A: They were at three years and vesting for a fourth. We were at two years vesting for a third.

Q: What was the game plan at that point?

A: We were not sure if Fuentes was going to sign before Rodriguez. We felt being patient was the key here. Fuentes might have been waiting to see what Rodriguez got. They felt Rodriguez was gonna drive the market.

Q: You were supposed to meet with Trevor Hoffman, as well.

A: His plane got delayed. We were never able to meet with him.

Q: K-Rod had one concern.

A: He also wanted to know "Who's the guy that's gonna give me the ball?"

Q: What did you tell him?

A: "Look, we're gonna try to trade for a guy." I didn't want to give him false hope.

Q: But you wouldn't trade your young pitching prospects Jon Niese or Bobby Parnell.

A: So what happened was, he asked me, "Can you get me (outfielder Franklin) Gutierrez and (Aaron) Heilman? I called Mark (Indians GM Mark Shapiro) and asked, "Will you do Gutierrez for (Joe) Smith?" 'cause they like Smith. He said, "Let me think about it."

Q: Do you think you've closed the gap on the Phillies?

A: I don't believe in winning championships on paper; I think we're a better team. I think like last year, it's really who gets the stroke of luck. Unfortunately for us, we haven't had the stroke of luck. They're champions, and we respect that. One of these years, we'll get a stroke of luck.

Q: You're the talk of the town.

A: Being a Met fan, it's a passion. I just want Met fans to know we all care. I say, "Look, if you're afraid of your heart being broken, you cannot be a baseball fan," but you can't be a Met fan if you're afraid of your heart being broken. We overcome tough losses. It's like relationships in life - you overcome them. You bounce back. The fact that it's Christmas in the city, waiting for spring to start for new hope of a better year - they (Mets fans) should feel ownership and the front office will continue to do everything they can to provide them a championship team.

For the entire article click here.

METS: K-ROD CONTRACT DETAILS

3 years/$37M (2009-11), plus 2012 option

• signed by NY Mets as a free agent 12/9/08


• $2M signing bonus


• 2009:$8.5M, 2010:$11.5M, 2011:$11.5M, 2012:$17.5M option ($3.5M buyout)
  


• 2012 option becomes guaranteed with:
• 55 games finished in 2011, and
  
• 100 games finished in 2010-11, and
• doctors declare Rodriguez healthy after 2011
  

• Rodriguez receives $3.5M termination buyout if 2012 option does not become guaranteed
• annual performance bonuses, 2009-11:
  
• $0.15M each for 50, 55 GF; $0.2M for 60 GF

• 2012 performance bonuses:
  
• $0.3M each for 50, 55 GF; $0.4M for 60 GF
• (GF means "Games Finished")
  

• limited no-trade clause allowing Rodriguez to block deals to 10 clubs

WEEK 16: AFC PLAYOFF SCENARIOS

Okay! here are the Jets playoff scenarios:

Most important thing is to win vs MIA otherwise they lose their edge in division record and in conference record which is vital in any tie-breaker situation!

To win the division:

a) Win both games - simple!

b) lose vs SEA win over MIA; Pats need to lose to ARI or BUF (hold tie-breaker with MIA in head-to-head)

c)win vs SEA lose to MIA; MIA to lose to KC; Pats need to lose to either ARI or BUF; then it goes to best record among the three..Jets 2-2...MIA 2-2, Pats 2-2..then it goes to division record(if Pats lose to BUF then they are out) otherwise all tied at 4-2; then it goes to best record in common games and your on ur own there...

To win the wildcard:

Only team that is realistic is the Ravens (since Colts have 2 game lead on Jets) and if tied with Pats or Phins then division rules apply so see above..

a)As of now they are both tied in Conf record at 7-4..that is first tie-breaker..so if Jets lose to SEA and Ravens lose to JAX then Jets get in..

b) If tied in Conf record then goes to common games in which they have played:
CIN: Jets win; Ravens 2 wins
OAK: Jets lose; Ravens win
TEN: Jets win; Ravens lose
MIA: Jets 2 wins (if they win last game); Ravens win

So as you can see the Dolphin game comes in again, so it is a must win..

c) If common games is tied then it goes to Strength of Victory in which i believe it means points for subtract points against...in that case as of now the Jets are +66 and the Ravens are +112 so we lose there...

I hope I didn't lose you!

IF THE SEASON ENDED TODAY:

Titans - Bye and Home Field throughout playoffs
Steelers - Bye
Ravens @ Jets
Colts @ Broncos

MLB: WINTER MEETINGS

"And the award for the best GM at the winter meetings goes to.......

TOP 5 MOST OVER USED SAYINGS AT THE WINTER MEETINGS

#1 "Taking a Flier"

Every time a reporter gathered information that a club is showing interest in a high risk player they used the term "Taking a flier".
For example, The Yankees are taking a flier on AJ Burnnet.

Investopedia Says:When an investor is taking a flier, he or she is knowingly acquiring a high-risk, speculative instrument that may end up with them taking a bath

#2 "Kicking the Tires"

I don't know who or why this expression makes sense. Like "Taking A Flier" This saying apparently means that would like to do a general investigation on a player.

Investopedia Says:Individual investors and fund managers alike partake in tire kicking. Asking your full service broker or financial adviser about a company, calling and visiting a company, and doing general investigative research prior to investing in a stock are all examples of kicking the tires

#3 "Believed to be having Internal discussions" .

To me All this means is some reporter sees 2 GM's at a black jack table and start to speculate that they are discussing some sort of baseball transaction. meanwhile they are probably just discussing the wild night they had the night before.

#4 "stepped up their efforts"

To me, this expression is just used out of desperation by clubs when they are afraid their potential client is losing interest.

#5 "Making progress"

The expression making progress is used when a counter by any party is made. That's all it means...

There are many more Over used Aggravating sayings I must have read over the week.
But these are the ones that got under my skin.


Let me know which sayings annoyed you?

METS: JJ PUTZ INJURY

Last night at 7pm Omar Minaya had a press conference where he announced the signing of K-Rod...Minaya finished the press conference and immediately his phone rang..he grabbed a pen and paper and started writing names down..as he was doing that Mets executives pushed him into their suite and the negotiations for JJ Putz got serious...

A few hours later at around 1045 pm I went to my computer and refreshed the Metsblog.com page..it said Mets acquire JJ Putz, Sean Green, and Jeremy Reed for Aaron Heilman, Joe Smith Endy Chavez and a bunch of minor leaguers...Quickly i reached for my phone and texted my phonebook about the news...I then ran and told my father the news..then while going back into my room out of excitement i jumped and landed sideways on my right foot...crack..crack...crack....ten minutes later the swelling could be seen from miles away..


I rushed to the hospital via ambulance and took some x-rays...the doctor came in to tell me the news but before she did she asked how it happened so i told her about JJ Putz and the whole thing..she then laughed and told me that she is getting married to a Putz in April and her last name will be Putz...Freaky!..and i know i am a putz too lol....so i fractured a bone in my foot that goes to my pinky toe (Seinfeld!)..and i'll be sidelined for 4 to 6 weeks..

Anyways if there is an award for die hard Mets fan or crazed Mets fan i think i win!

Here are some fun facts on Putz:
a) he had less walks in 06 and 07 combined then K-rod had in any one year of his career
b) while in Michigan University he shared a dorm with Quarterback Tom Brady

Acc to ESPN's Keith Law: “If the Mets get the healthy J.J. Putz - he missed time with rib and elbow injuries in 2008 - they might actually have acquired the best closer of their offseason, one even better than their new closer Francisco Rodriguez.”

Word is also that Johan Santana is pushing the Mets to sign Bobby Abreu...

NOW IM OFF TO THE DOCTOR TO GET MY CAST! (i think the doc's name is LaPorta so he's the guy that got traded for CC last year)

DO YOU CC WHAT I SEE?!?!?!?!

We all have been waiting for CC to make up his mind .

He did what any sane person should do.To tell you the truth i would do the same!

He waited to see if any team would come close to the Yankee bid , and if they did he knew the Yanx would up the anti. He had no intention of Pitching anywhere but NY. He just wanted the most he could possibly get.

After these long and torturous past few weeks.

Mr Sabathia realized the market is not what he and his agent expected.

So he pounced on the Yankees offer which was never going anywhere to begin with.

I actually am thankful the Mets got K-Rod for so cheap. This definitely sent a message to CC that this Yankee offer would not be trumped.

If such a high profile Free Agent got just half of what he sought after there is no way any other offer would come close!

CC's thought process must have been "this was the best He's going to get".

I also love how all of those sports columnists that said CC had no intention of pitching in NY are Nowhere to be found today.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Whats Next?

STARTING PITCHING:

Word has is the Yankees are closing in on Lowe. You know what ? The Yankees sure can be stupid sometimes.... I want Zero part of this guy.

On the other hand, I would LOVE if the Yanx signed Sheets to a two year deal. But no more than 2 years.

I'm Praying Burnette signs with Atlanta. He simply is not worth the risk. Not for that many years with those dollar figures.

Pettitte and Cashman will probably meet in the middle and settle on a $12 Million dollar deal which is still not worth it but what the hell.

Projected rotation

1 CC (only bec the Money)

2 Wang

3 Sheets/Lowe/Burnette

4 Joba

5 Pettitte

OFFENSE:

Its no secret the Yankees are in need of some offense .

They just lost a ton of production in Giambi and Abreu.

Plus , how Confident can you be that Matsui and Posada will be healthy and that Cano will bounce back.

Why is everybody and there mother counting the Yankees out of the Texiera sweepstakes? Just because Hal/Hank Just broke the bank on the Lard Lefty , it doesn't mean diddly squat.

Hal wants to make a mark and follow in daddy's footsteps his first year behind the wheel. If you remember his remarks last month , he said , and i paraphrase "Everybody is a target".

If the Red Sox Sign Tex I will gag. It just can not happen. PERIOD.

There are several fallback options however.

For example Adam Dunn would be a great fit.

And then there always is that fellow named Manny...

Whispers of Rick Ankielle are being floated around and being linked to the Yankees. I am lukewarm on Ankielle. Not so sure he could maintain his offense.

Once again we have no way of knowing whats going to happen until it happens. We are reduced to the waiting game.

I personally enjoy reading completely false rumors . throughout the day. Its fun to see people make complete fools out of themselves by just trying get any story possible.

Until Next time my friends....

METS: K-ROD

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, Ted Berg of SNY and Joel Sherman of the NY Post report that the Mets and Fransisco Rodriguez have agreed to a 3 yr 37 million dollar deal with a vesting option for a 4th year at 14 mil (pending on IP in final yr or final 2 years of contract)..Sherman also writes that K-Rod will be in NYC tomorrow for a physical and possibly a press conference..

The Angels will get the Mets first round pick the year (25th overall). but that should be made up if Oly Perez signs elsewhere..

Great pickup by Omar..and i don't think he is even close to finishing..he still has teams interested in Aaron Heilman for a reliever like Houston Street and said after getting his closer he will look to improve the starting rotation...and Sherman says that the Mets will now move on to Derek Lowe..

THE HOT DOGS JUST WENT UP ANOTHER DOLLAR AT CITIFIELD.. lol...

For Joel Sherman's complete column on the signing click here...

UPDATE: Mets sources say deal is awaiting a physica...
Omar Minaya has a press conference at 6pm today..prob on SNY or ESPNEWS...

KEEP IT UP OMAR!

JETS: PLAYOFF SCENARIOS

With the Jets recent disappointing play in the past 2 games..the following are their playoff scenarios:


Out of the 3 teams noted above the Jets have the easiest schedule since SF is better than BUF and KC may be a bit better than SEA but the west coast trip prob makes up any difference..

For the Jets its simple win out and you win the division..
It may all come down to the last game at the Meadowlands (if both the Jets and Phins win both of their games)..since first division tie-breaker is head-to-head..if Jets win they will have won both games vs the Phins and they would hold the tie-breaker against the Pats if they won out since they split the season series 1-1, it would go to the second division tie-breaker which is division record in which the Jets are 3-1 and the Pats are 3-2...

The longest road to the division title is the Pats who down't hold any tiebreakers amongst the three teams as of now...

The other option is the wildcard:

As of right now this seems unlikely since the Jets are a game behind both of these teams and don't hold any tie breakers against them:
a) Conference record - Jets 4 losses, Ravens 3 losses, Colts 2 losses
So if the Ravens lose a conference game and the Jets win out the will be tied in record and conference record..
b)So, the second wild card tie-breaker is record in common games (min. four) in which they both beat 2 common teams and both lost 1 game in which the other team won...
So, it then goes to margin of victory in which the Jets are currently +62 and the Ravens are +116...so there goes the wild card..

For a complete run down of all the NFL playoff tie-breakers click here..

There are other scenarios but as of now these are the clear ones if you can even call them clear!

PS In 1993 the Jets were 8-5 going into their last 3 games and they lost all three to the Cowboys, Bills and Oilers (Bills went on to play the Cowboys in Superbowl)(Oilers started season 1-4 and finished 12-4, got a bye and then lost to KC in playoffs)

J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS!!!

DAY 1: MLB GM MEETINGS

Today was day one of the MLB GM meetings in Las Vegas...YAY!...here is the summary:

Mets GM Omar Minaya met with K-Rod and according to reports over a steak dinner offered him a 3yr deal.. one report has a 4th yr option...One story out of Vegas has K-Rod willing to accept a 2 yr deal as the Yankees would be interested as Rivera's contract will be up by then..
Also teams are waiting for the Mets to sign K-rod quickly so that the asking price for Fuentes, Wood, Hoffman etc..drops...
So, if the Mets sign a closer not named K-Rod..then K-Rod will probably only get a 2 maybe 3 yr deal at at most 8 mil per year...so maybe its best for him to agree to a deal sooner than later

Minaya also met with Brian Fuentes at 12:30pm and then Trevor Hoffman shortly after..
Also in Las Vaegs is Jeff Wilpon which might mean that the Mets are looking to get things done instead of waiting 6 weeks after the meetings like they did last yr when they landed Johan Santana..

Another developling story is the Brewers offering CC a 6th yr and acc to one report putting an opt out clause after the 2nd or 3rd year....as he will be 30 at that point and if he really misses the west coast he can opt out..

Amongst all this specualtion there has been one deal that has been confirmed and that is a Gerard Laird to Detroit trade that has a couple of minor leaguers going to Texas..

The Jermaine Dye deal is being knocked down and as of now is a false story....

Also the Phillies are looking into trading for Delmon Young..you know the guy that was traded for Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett and a reliever...so who will this "talent" be traded for next..rumor is it is Phillies top SS prospect Jason Donald....

Also one guy that is getting lost in the mix is John Smoltz..he played through injuries last year before shutting it down..I am very skeptical to see where he goes and for how much...

UPDATE: SI WFAN SNY Jon Heyman is reporting that the Mets have offered K-Rod a 2 yr deal with a 3rd yr option at roughly 12 million per yr

METS : FA 101

With the obvious need for a closer the Mets might be using an interesting method in approaching a few big ticket closers...


Acc. to ESPN's Buster Olney he says "It is not known exactly what the Mets intend to offer to the top-flight closers, but let’s say they proposed a three-year, $36 million deal to Francisco Rodriguez; a three-year, $30 million offer to Brian Fuentes; and a two-year, $18 million offer to Kerry Wood. And then they could tell all three that the first to bite gets the contract. The Cardinals, Brewers, Indians and other teams are looking for closers, but probably won’t spend at the same level as the Mets."

Is this a good method?

Should teams use this method??

CITIFIELD??????

With the season less than 5 months away and the Mets eager to open up their new stadium.
Only one question remains.
NO, not who will the closer be.
But, what will the name be???
With the government's recent bailout of CitiGroup .There are sources that say that they will back out of their record setting 20 year 400 million dollar deal. For the naming rights of the stadium as well as a few extra marketing perks.

So the big question is What will the new name of the stadium be? TaxPayerField???
Lets get creative.

Mickey Beyda - TARP (Troubled Assets Recovery Program), Field at Bailout Yards or Hank Paulson Stadium.

Post some of yours in the comments section!

JETS = Jets End Titans Streak!!

After defeating the previously undefeated Tennessee Titans the Jets are among the top teams in the NFL..BUT this Jets fan is not ready to use the "S" word just yet..

Here is Ed Werder with Leon Washington...

46 REASONS TO TRADE PHILLIP HUGHES

TRIVIA QUESTION :

What Do All These Players Have in Common?

Edwin Jackson, Greg Miller (both with the Dodgers)

Adam Lowen, Zack Greinke, Gavin Floyd, Jose Contreras,

Adam Wainwright, Jeremy Bonderman (up and Down) Dennis Tankersley,

Jerome Williams (Giants) Jon Rauch (minor league player of the year with the White sox),

Boof Bonser, Chin Hui Tsao with the Rockies was HUGE.

Bobby Bradley with the Pirates, Kurt Ainsworth with the Giants, Bud Smith with the Cardinals.

Brett Myers, (Not nearly as good as advertised.)

Mark Mulder and Bary Zito (only had a couple of good seasons but also not as good as advertised.)

Matt Riley with the Orioles was a Huge prospect , Kip Wells, Wilfredo Rodriguez with Houston.

Tony Armas Jr, Carl Pavano (both were HUGE) prospects Montreal got for Pedro.

Jon Garland, Danys Baez, Jesus Colome. Bruce Chen was the next Tom Glavine.

AJ Burnette Didn't turn out as good as expected, JOHN PATTERSON.

Ryan Bradley with the Yanks, Jeff Weaver , Matt White with the (Devil) Rays.

Kris Benson was hailed as the next Messiah, Matt Clement.

Jaret Wright ("the next Clemens") Braden Looper threw 100 MPH

Prior, Wood, Jesse Foppert, Juan Cruz, Ryan Anderson, Rick Ankiel,
Brad Penny.
And Finally Paul Wilson and Bill Pulsipher.


ANSWER:
The answer to this question is, they were all HUGE pitching prospects over the last decade and NONE of them turned out to be what they were supposed to be.

Sure, some of these guys had moderate success in the majors. But by and large, they all are disappointments.
Every single one of these guys was predicted in Baseball America to be Extremely productive pitchers if not Aces for many years to come.
But, we all know that "Prospects are Suspects".

(These 46 names were compiled by Avi D,

There are more . These are just the poster boys of the list of baseball busts)

After seeing that list of let downs. How can you justify Not Trading Phillip "the Phranchise" Hughes, Ian Patric Kennedy etc...
For relatively young established Major league aces when they are available?(ie, Johan last year, and Peavy this year )

It just doesn't make sense. Even if Hughes lives up to his potential , he never will come close to the hall Of Famer in the making (Johan).
I know that Peavy is an extreme drop off from Santana. But we cant miss out on the same kind of opportunity just because of last years "NON" trade.

There are always prospects who actually do live up to there potential.
Yes every now and then we encounter guys like Lincecum , Cain and Joba. Beckett and Shields Garza and Kershaw, Billingsley ,Volquez ,Danks and Hamels.
(some of these guys are still yet to prove it for more than a few years, but you get my drift)
But to every ten busts there is only one success story.
What I'm trying to say is, Get the ace when you have a chance . Because when it comes to prospects , pitching in particular. Its like NY Lotto's slogan. "Hey Ya Never Know..."

DUSTIN PEDROIA? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME

I know automatically before reading this rant all you people are saying to yourselves "hes just a bitter Yankee fan".

But COME ON!!!!!

Dustin Pedroia?!?!?!?

I heard whispers about this late in the regular season but immediately dismissed them. Why would a player who doesn't lead the league in any major categories win the highest honor that MLB has to offer?

Just look at his stats.

AB 653 R 118 H 213 2B 54 3B 2 HR 17 RBI 83 TB322 BB50 SO52 SB20 OBP.376 SLG. 493 AVG.326

Joe Mauer won the batting title edging out the Red Sox's bald little elf by a few points.

Ichiro was tied with Pedroia for most hits .

His amount of doubles are Very misleading and were a product of the monster (I think, I didn't look at the splits)

This one is great. Get this Pedroia was tied with 5 other players ranking 43rd in the AL in Home runs. That means there were 42 other players (or more) that hit more HRs than him. (this is a joke)

Wait, there's more... He was 27th in the league in RBI's.

(He didn't even lead his team in those last two major stats.)

He was tenth in the league in OBP and once again didn't even lead his own team. (Youkilis was 6th in the league.)

Ill finish off with this one. He was 15th in the league in Stolen Bases.

I seriously don't understand why the current system is still in place. These baseball writers are flat out dumb.

For example, (courtesy of RAB) A Milwaukee writer had 3 or 4 1st baseman ahead of Pujols on the ballot. He had a few Brewers ahead of him. Why isn't there a uproar that this popularity contest is still in place is beyond me.

My choice for the AL MVP is Justin Mornoe. His Stats are far and beyond better than This Little mans were. If your of the school of thought that you must be on a winning team. (which in my mind is another incoherent thought, if one of you peers are better , don't punish him because the team around him sucks...but whatever I'll save that for another post.) Mornoe actually led his team to a one game playoff with the Chi Sox.

Also, Mornoe edged out Jeter a few years back with the same kind of stats he put up THIS season. Although I was extremely pissed off that Jeter was robbed of highest honor (which would of put a cherry on top of his already HOF career). I couldn't do anything about it. The opposing argument was, that Mornoe's power numbers were far and beyond Jeter's (which is true). So if that's the case, How in the Hell is it possible that this year Mornoe didn't win again? The scenario is was eerily similar. Except Jeter was better that season than Pedroia was this season. I just don't get it.

(This reminds me of when Ichiro won the ROY then when Matsui was up for the award he loses to Angel Berrowa. WHY may you ask? well, the reason they gave was "Matsui isn't considered a rookie, hes a Japanese vet". WTF, so where was that theory when it came to Ichiro...just pathetic)

Just because he plays in Boston and hes short and scrappy, Doesn't Justify him getting this award.

Does he get more out of his talent than say Cano? The answer to that is HELL YES. But that doesn't warrant this pathetic choice.

This Red Sox Bias has gotten to a point of ignorance and patheticness . End of Story

Cashman for Three........ SWISH

In a shocking turn of events, Brian Cashman makes a GREAT move!

Not only did cash net Swisher, who is an on base MONSTER who is a 30 HR threat (short porch BABY!) He got him for adequate prospects at best. The fact that he conned the Chi Sox to throw in another minor league prospect in this deal (Not the Teixera I was counting on) Is a joke.

If the Yanx slot Swish into RF and Still sign Big Tex. This will be a dream come true. I don't like the move, I LOVE IT...

Here are another few reasons why I love this guy.

The Loss of A Baseball Prophet

For all of you who do not know. There is a man who prides himself on being " The Baseball Prophet".
He claims that anything baseball that is uttered from his lips is "straight from G-D's mouth".
The Person I am referring to is an avid reader of this blog and contributes sparingly. You can see his picture in the right hand side with the likes of A-Rod (his former hero) and Cano. As well as Sterling and Sheppard.
His name is Avi Dwek.

The truth is, He "WAS" a heck of a talent.
Although I never wanted to admit it. He always "WAS" correct.
Whether he was predicting which prospect out of high was the real deal or which prospect would be a bust, he always was dead on.

If I were a baseball owner I would hand over the General Manager job of my franchise to him in a heartbeat.
He simply "knew" how to evaluate talent as good if not better than Theo himself .
I know for a fact he would field a championship caliber team with a Billy Bean like budget .
I don't know anybody who is a better at Fantasy Baseball than him.

There comes a point in every man's career where you start to see a drop in his productivity.
Its only natural to slip in performance as you get up there in age.
Just look at the ladder stages of Bernie Williams tenure in pinstripes for example.
He was a shell of his former self and nobody gripped about it simply because it happens to just about everybody
(with the exception of Barry Bonds but we know the truth behind that story )

The drastic fall of Avi however came upon us in the blink of an eye.
Some say it was his Devotion to his job (anybody need a car?),
some say the key to his downfall was his obsession with fantasy baseball. However you slice it, the facts are inevitable. Avi Dwek no longer is "The Baseball Prophet".

Here are a few telltale signs of my reason why.

#1, A few years ago our former "Prophet" lost a monetary bet with another one of our readers Max N.
The wager was that Bobby Abreau will not reach the 100 RBI Plato after his first half of the season slump.
Avi made it a point to publicize this wager to prove his point.
As we all know, El Come Duce reached the century mark on the Yankees final series of the year to cap his blistering second half.

A few minor false predictions were made that I don't feel is important to mention. I skip all the way to this past season and give a few more examples.

#2, Before the season, along with everybody else that knows baseball , Avi was screaming that Yankees should somehow rid themselves (one way or another) of the services of Mike Mussina.
He even was willing to bite the bullet and cut him.
By no stretch of the imagination could anybody not entertain that notion. Especially after his atrocious 2007 campaign.
As it turns out. The Moose turned in one of his best years of his career and established himself as the Yankee stopper and ace. In a year when they least counted on him and needed him most.
Mussina ended up throwing over 200 innings to an E.R.A in the mid 3's and won the elusive 20 games. Something he failed to do through out his entire illustrious career.

Anybody else gets a pass on this one.
But, if your calling yourself "The Baseball Prophet" , you must take the hit.

#3, The final example I will be giving is,
This past season Avi Predicted at the half way point that
"Grady Sizemore WILL NOT hit 30 HRS this season".
Once again, he was wrong. He ended up with 33.

In no way shape or form am I saying Avi no longer knows his stuff. I still would let him be my GM of my franchise.
But I think its time to announce that He no longer is
"The baseball Prophet".

Its a shame we lost such a talent in Avi. It was a once in a lifetime gift which we may never see again and I am happy to have been a part of something special.

AWARDS: CY YOUNG

As the 2008 season comes to a close we will now go through the awards given out at the end of each year, starting with The Cy Young Award.

American League:
In the AL the top contenders are Cleveland's Cliff Lee, LA's Fransisco Rodriguez and Toronto's Roy Hallady. In my eyes there is no debate here, Cliff Lee gets this hands down... he went 22-3 with a 2.54 era on a .500 team (81-81)...and set a record with over 27% of his teams wins...

National League:
Now this one is open to debate..
There is San Fransisco's Tim Lincecum who went 18-5 with a 2.62 era, his best stat is his 265 K (Led NL) in 227 IP..
Next is Arizona's Brandon Webb who went 22-7 (most wins in NL) with a 3.30 era while striking out 183 in 226 IP..
The final candidate is New York's Johan Santana who went 16-7 with a 2.53 era (led MLB) and 206 K in 234 IP....
Another candidate that may get consideration is Milwaukee's CC Sabathia, who combined went 17-10 with a 2.70 era..

ESPN has what they call the "CY Young Calculator" which you can go to by clicking here.

Who's your guy??

STADIUM AUCTION

As both Yankee and Shea Stadiums come to a fall, there is still a way to keep a piece of history:


The Mets have an auction on their website which you can go to by clicking here. It includes items from the "S" from the Shea Stadium main sign to a brick for $50 to wall panels to the most random items that have been a part of Shea Stadium.

Once the Yankees start to auction off their parts I will set up their link.

TAKE YOUR PICK!

The following is a free agent list for this offseason, as the title says "Take your pick" and prove/show how your team will improve this offseason:

Catchers
Brad Ausmus (40)
Paul Bako (37)
Rod Barajas (33) - $2.5MM club option for '09
Josh Bard (31)
Michael Barrett (32)
Henry Blanco (37) - $3MM mutual option for '09
Johnny Estrada (33)
Toby Hall (33) - $2.25MM club option for '09
Jason LaRue (35)
Paul Lo Duca (37)
Miguel Olivo (30) - $2.7MM mutual option for '09
Mike Redmond (38) - $0.95MM club option for '09
Ivan Rodriguez (37)
David Ross (32)
Javier Valentin (33)
Jason Varitek (37)
Gregg Zaun (38)

First basemen
Rich Aurilia (37)
Hank Blalock (28) - $6.2MM club option for '09
Sean Casey (34)
Tony Clark (37)
Carlos Delgado (37) - $12MM club option for '09
Nomar Garciaparra (35)
Jason Giambi (38) - $22MM club option for '09
Eric Hinske (31)
Doug Mientkiewicz (35)
Kevin Millar (37)
Richie Sexson (34)
Mark Teixeira (29)
Daryle Ward (34)

Second basemen
Willie Bloomquist (31)
Jamey Carroll (35) - $2.5MM club option for '09
Craig Counsell (38)
Ray Durham (37)
Damion Easley (39)
David Eckstein (34)
Mark Ellis (32)
Mark Grudzielanek (39)
Jerry Hairston Jr. (33)
Orlando Hudson (31)
Tadahito Iguchi (34)
Jeff Kent (41)
Felipe Lopez (29)
Mark Loretta (37)
Nick Punto (31)

Shortstops
Willie Bloomquist (31)
Orlando Cabrera (34)
Alex Cintron (30)
Alex Cora (33)
Craig Counsell (38)
David Eckstein (34)
Adam Everett (32)
Rafael Furcal (31)
Nomar Garciaparra (35)
Jerry Hairston Jr. (33)
Cesar Izturis (29)
Felipe Lopez (29)
Edgar Renteria (33)
Juan Uribe (30)
Ramon Vazquez (32)
Omar Vizquel (42) - $5.2MM club option for '09

Third basemen
Rich Aurilia (37)
Casey Blake (35)
Hank Blalock (28) - $6.2MM club option for '09
Willie Bloomquist (31)
Aaron Boone (36)
Russell Branyan (33)
Craig Counsell (38)
Joe Crede (31)
Nomar Garciaparra (35)
Mark Loretta (37)
Fernando Tatis (34)
Ramon Vazquez (32)

Left fielders
Moises Alou (42)
Garret Anderson (37) - $14MM club option for '09
Milton Bradley (31)
Emil Brown (34)
Pat Burrell (32)
Carl Crawford (27) - $8.25MM club option for '09
Adam Dunn (29)
Cliff Floyd (36) - $2.75MM club option for '09
Luis Gonzalez (41)
Jerry Hairston Jr. (33)
Raul Ibanez (37)
Gabe Kapler (33)
Kevin Mench (31)
Jason Michaels (33) - $2.6MM club option for '09
Craig Monroe (32)
Greg Norton (36)
Jay Payton (36)
Wily Mo Pena (27) - $5MM club option or $2MM
Manny Ramirez (37)
Juan Rivera (30)
Fernando Tatis (34)

Center fielders
Rocco Baldelli (27)
Willie Bloomquist (31)
Mike Cameron (36) - $10MM club option for '09
Jim Edmonds (39)
Jerry Hairston Jr. (33)
Gabe Kapler (33)
Mark Kotsay (33)
Corey Patterson (29)
Scott Podsednik (33)

Right fielders
Bobby Abreu (35)
Casey Blake (35)
Cliff Floyd (36) - $2.75MM club option for '09
Brian Giles (38) - $9MM club option for '09
Ken Griffey Jr. (39) - $16.5MM club option for '09
Vladimir Guerrero (33) - $15MM club option for '09
Gabe Kapler (33)
Jason Michaels (33) - $2.6MM club option for '09
Fernando Tatis (34)
Brad Wilkerson (32)

DHs
Milton Bradley (31)
Pat Burrell (32)
Adam Dunn (29)
Cliff Floyd (36) - $2.75MM club option for '09
Jason Giambi (38) - $22MM club option for '09
Vladimir Guerrero (33) - $15MM club option for '09
Raul Ibanez (37)
Manny Ramirez (37)
Juan Rivera (30)
Mike Sweeney (35)
Frank Thomas (41)
Jose Vidro (34)

Starting pitchers
Kris Benson (33)
A.J. Burnett (32) - can opt out after '08 season
Paul Byrd (38)
Roger Clemens (46)
Matt Clement (33)
Bartolo Colon (36)
Ryan Dempster (32)
Shawn Estes (36)
Josh Fogg (32)
Freddy Garcia (33)
Jon Garland (29)
Tom Glavine (43)
Mike Hampton (36)
Mark Hendrickson (35)
Livan Hernandez (34)
Orlando Hernandez (43)
Jason Jennings (30)
Randy Johnson (45)
John Lackey (30) - $9MM club option for '09
Jon Lieber (39)
Braden Looper (34)
Rodrigo Lopez (33) - club option for '09
Derek Lowe (36)
Greg Maddux (43)
Pedro Martinez (37)
Sergio Mitre (28)
Jamie Moyer (46)
Mark Mulder (31) - $11MM club option for '09
Mike Mussina (40)
Carl Pavano (33) - $13MM club option for '09
Brad Penny (31) - $8.75MM club option for '09
Odalis Perez (32)
Oliver Perez (27)
Andy Pettitte (37)
Sidney Ponson (32)
Mark Prior (27)
Kenny Rogers (44)
Glendon Rusch (34)
C.C. Sabathia (28)
Curt Schilling (42)
Ben Sheets (30)
John Smoltz (42)
Tim Wakefield (42) - perpetual $4MM club option
Kip Wells (32)
Randy Wolf (32)

Closers
Brian Fuentes (33)
Eric Gagne (33)
Eddie Guardado (38)
Trevor Hoffman (41)
Jason Isringhausen (36)
Brandon Lyon (29)
Francisco Rodriguez (27)
Salomon Torres (37) - $3.75MM club option for '09
Kerry Wood (32)

Middle relievers
Jeremy Affeldt (30)
Luis Ayala (31)
Joe Beimel (32)
Joe Borowski (38)
Doug Brocail (42)
Shawn Chacon (31)
Juan Cruz (30)
Alan Embree (39) - $3MM club option for '09
Scott Eyre (37)
Kyle Farnsworth (33)
Casey Fossum (31)
Keith Foulke (35)
Tom Gordon (41) - $4.5MM club option for '09
LaTroy Hawkins (36)
Mark Hendrickson (35)
Matt Herges (39) - club option for '09
Bob Howry (35)
Jon Lieber (39)
Jason Johnson (35)
Damaso Marte (34) - $6MM club option for '09
Trever Miller (36) - $2MM club option for '09
Guillermo Mota (35)
Will Ohman (31)
Darren Oliver (38)
Chan Ho Park (36)
Horacio Ramirez (29)
Al Reyes (38)
Dennys Reyes (32)
Arthur Rhodes (39)
Juan Rincon (30)
Glendon Rusch (34)
Rudy Seanez (40)
Brian Shouse (40)
Russ Springer (40)
Mike Timlin (43)
Ron Villone (39)
David Weathers (39)
Kip Wells (32)
Matt Wise (33)
Jamey Wright (34)

IS THERE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL?

After collapsing two years in a row the Mets thought they had the manager they wanted in Jerry Manuel. Omar Minaya in his conference call said that Jerry Manuel will be the manager for the Mets in 2009 and that they are "in talks" with his agent. However, as many people are reporting talks have hit a stall as the 2 yr near 2 mil (a mil per yr) with an option for a third yr is not enough for this "gangsta". With the Mets already owing Willie Randolph 2.5 mil in 2009 it doesnt seem like Jerry will get any more money.

So, what is the Mets next move. Do they have any other options? Well according to an email sent to ESPN's Andrew Marchand from Bobby Valentine, it says, "I am working for a team that needs me and wants me as their man," Valentine replied. "I love it here, but I am an American and love great challenges. I was in a Met uniform in the '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000, and would love to be there in the next decade."

As for Valentine, he could be too expensive for the Mets. He reportedly is making $4 million annually managing in Japan, a salary that makes him the second highest-paid manager in professional baseball, behind the Dodgers' Joe Torre.

A poll done today on Metsblog.com asked fans who they would rather have as their manager. Over 3,600 votes came in and the answer...Bobby V with 57% (2,067 votes) and Jerry Manuel with 41% (1,475 votes) with 3% saying neither...

So, the ball is in Fred Wilpon's and Omar's court. We all know what Bobby V did with the Mets team from 96'-02'. They vastly overachieved, making it to the World Series in 2000, in a yr when they only had one guy with over 100 rbis (Piazza), one guy with over 100 runs (Alfonzo), noone with double-digits in stolen bases and lets not forget Armando Benitez..Do you believe he can do the same with a team that has 3 guys over 110 rbis, 4 guys over 95 runs and few speedsters...I do!

It would do me a great pleasure to tell one radio host...Mike Francesca..to shut his mouth about how the Mets should trade their "core" and how Ryan Church hates NY acc. to his "source"..when 3 articles said that he loved it in NY..someone is looking for ratings after losing his co-star/STAR!..it's amazing to me how even the biggest Yankee fans are now sounding like Mets fans did in the 90's...

Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself and this is all just a news page article...but if Omar can get this done imagine the scene at Citifield next yr..wow...This just might be the change the Mets need. Now, let's see if Omar can deliver and earn that new contract he just signed while the ink is still wet..

10/03/08 4:42PM - ACCORDING TO KEN ROSENTHAL AT FOXSPORTS & JON HEYMAN AT SI - THE METS AND JERRY MANUEL HAVE AGREED TO A 2 YEAR CONTRACT WITH A CLUB OPTION FOR A THIRD YEAR...

THE METS COLLAPSE...AGAIN

After last years collapse of 7 up with 17 to go the Mets manage to almost top it with a collapse of 3 1/2 up with 17 to go..

After going through both of them the only thing I can say is that i would never wish this on anyone else(except maybe the Phillies)...

This was a waste of a year in my books and coupled with last year is wasting all of the talent that both 07 and 08 brought us..

You can rip them all you want but i don't think i need Elias to tell me that it's the first time a team that have 4 guys with at least 160 hits and 32 doubles and 3 guys with at least 25 hr 110 rbi to fail to make the postseason..its unbelievable to me..and just magnifies the bullpen woes that this team had..even back in the 90's i don't think that they could have predicted how vital a bullpen is to a team..maybe it was one fifth of a team now it is prob greater than a third of a team..

This team had the hitting even had the starting pitching and comparing this team to any of the past Mets teams arguably you could say this was one of the best right next to the 86' team(bullpens werent a big thing then)..


As much as my father kept telling me before hand that they would blow it..and even when they went down 4-2 he said "they'll get the tie run on base or to the plate and hit it to the wall just to tease you and get your hopes up"...him being a Mets fan from their creation..and then afterwards saying i told you so..I still know that i will be back at the new ballpark Citifield on Opening Day sitting and looking forward to a new year..as Tug Mcgraw said "Ya Gotta Believe"...call me a sucker or maybe just a Mets fan..

Ranking the past few years in disappointment i would have to go in succession of year..i.e. #1 2006 #2 2007 and #3 2008...

Looking to the future there is hope..hope that once Shea is demolished and the new Citifield is opened..October baseball will be restored in Flushing..

It's going to be a difficult offseason in Queens, and with some tough questions:
Do you rip apart this team..trade a Carlos Beltran or Jose Reyes?
Is David Wright the face of the franchise/leader of the club?
How can you sure up the Bullpen?
Who will play 2nd base and Left field next year?
Etc...

I don't know how Omar got a 4 year extension based on the past 4 years i guess it was put togther by the same guy who offered Castillo 4 years..and we'll see if Omar can earn his money this offseason...

There are many questions that need to be answered..my answer to all of this..is not to create more questions by solving one of them..Meaning don't trade a Carlos Beltran just to change the team if it means wondering who will play centerfield and who's gonna give us 25+ homers and 100+ rbi..

Anyways this is my immediate reaction to all of this...
Maybe in a few days when my emotions clear a bit..and Shea is put to rest..we can all get over this collapse..


I just hope that the final collapse the Mets and their fans have to witness is the collapse of Shea Stadium.

ITS THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN

Being a Yankee fan now really sucks. for the first time in more than a decade I don't get to see my team battle for a world title. While St Joe Torre will try and continue to rub it in to the Steinbrenners over in L.A.

But The New York Mets are doing a good job cushioning the blow by attempting to somehow squander away a playoff berth for the second consecutive year.
To tell you the truth, I couldn't be happier.
With the Marlins playing with a vengeance,this series spells a recipe for disaster for the Metropolitan's.

We only can wait and see at this point...

ONLY THE CAPTAIN CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN

In a season that there pretty much was nothing to cheer about. Where the high and mighty Yankees suddenly hit rock bottom.

A Packed house at the stadium, day in and day out was trying to find something to root for in a positive manner.
In a way it would only seem befitting to send off this history packed cathedral in the Bronx.

In the past, whenever the Yankees needed a big hit , Derek was always there to save the day.
On those nights all the Jeter basher's who don't understand the clutch factor and who just didn't think his stats were up to par .On those nights were flat out lost for words.
(In my opinion the rise of fantasy sports lessened the value of the intangible type players.)

A few weeks ago when Yankee Stadiums final home stand was looming closer and closer. All was lost. The players quit and in effect the fans quit. It took all the luster out of what was supposed to be a momentous and grandeur time.

New York was searching for even a tidbit of positivity. With the Mets in the midst of pulling off an almost identical performance of last years team really wasn't helping this city to say the least.

This is where the Captain comes up clutch . Not only to save his organization from being the laughing stock of the AL East . But to save the face of Yankee Stadium.
At a time when an entire fan base didn't know where to turn, Jeter provided guidance.

Call it timing, call it luck.
But Jeter Breaking The Iron Horses hit mark at the stadium at the time he did is just flat out clutch in more reasons you could imagine.

Hell, Isnt that what Jeter has been doing his whole career? Why should we expect differently.

2008 PLAYOFF SCHEDULE AND 2009 TENTATIVE SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED!

The following is the 2008 MLB PLAYOFF SCHEDULE:

NLDS

SERIES A & B

GAME 1: WED OCT 1ST

GAME 2: THURS OCT 2ND

GAME 3: SATURDAY OCT 4TH

GAME 4: SUNDAY OCT 5TH

GAME 5: TUESDAY OCT 7TH

ALDS

SERIES A & B

GAME 1: THURSDAY OCT 2ND/WEDNESDAY OCT 1ST

GAME 2: FRIDAY OCT 3RD

GAME 3: SUNDAY OCT 5TH

GAME 4: MONDAY OCT 6TH

GAME 5: WEDNESDAY OCT 8TH

Looking at the 2009 schedules you see a few interesting things:

1) The Mets will open Citifield on April 13th vs the Padres, the Yankees will open the new Yankee Stadium on April 16th vs the Indians

2) The Mets will not play the Yankees in May instead they will play the Red Sox.However they will play the Yankees 2 out of 3 weekends in June on June 12-14 and June 26-28.

3)The Yankees will play a total of 6 Inter-league series 2 vs Mets and 1 for each of PHI, ATL,FLA,WSH. Interleague is getting out of hand..Most or the rest of teams play at most 5 series.

4) THE SEASON ENDS ON OCTOBER 4TH!! A new record..

WHO EVER SAID IT AINT EASY BEING GREEN?

As the Yankee season is all but done in a what turned out to be a very embarrassing farewell tour of the house that Ruth built and now the Steinbrenners are tearing down. I cant help myself but turning my attention solely to the only sports franchise right now that is giving me something to be positive about. For all of you who don't know who I'm talking about , I'll be more than happy to tell you. J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS !!!!!!!.

The new look NY Jets have suddenly catapulted their way as Superbowl contenders and NO I'm not getting ahead of myself here. Being a Jets fan my entire life, I have been used to failure, have been used to bad signings bad draft picks and have always been frustrated at the "Non Moves" that should be made.

But for whatever reason being. All that has changed this past off season and I couldn't have been more thrilled. But being the Passionate fan that I am, I was skeptical and I seriously, can you blame me?!?!?! Ive never seen this team win in my entire life time.

Even going into week one going up against the lowly 1-15 Dolphins. I was expecting the worst (praying for the best). As the game started and we lost the coin toss I said to a friend of mine "seasons over" but to my dismay the defense looked solid. granted we were facing Miami , but I liked what I saw.
Brett Favres 56 yard TD throw to Cotch was simply a thing of beauty. That's when suddenly it all hit me, Holy crap we got Brett Effen Favre on our team we really have a chance to be a contender.
The most important acquisitions of the off season The newly revamped O-line was better than advertised. Not only did Faneca look every penny worth his contract, He transformed The "Brick" physically and mentally into a legitimate looking 4th overall pick instead of the bust in which i thought he was.

As we all know, a good O-line = a good running game which in effect makes Thomas Jones into an elite back.

So lets simplify things, we have a great QB a solid running game, suddenly the Jets have a Damn good offense.

This leaves us to the million dollar question, Is the Jets Defense good enough to make them a factor in the AFC this year? well, aside for those 2 minutes of Chad looking like Montana, I would say yes. When was the last time you could remember a Jets defense holding the opposition to less than 60 yards rushing? In my recent memory, NEVER.
The corners were solid all game , highlighted by Revis's game saving INT and the D-line was applying heavy pressure which was sparked by the performances Bryan Thomas Calvin Pace and Shaun Ellis.

If this is all that happened in week one , I truly would have been satisfied.

But the Highlight of my weekend (call me sick) was the game break that CBS showed when Brady went down.
I
don't want to hear all you politically correct people yelling at me that I'm a monster for being happy somebody got hurt. To all those people I say " Screw You ". If your a true fan of sports and a certain somebody especially the face of the enemy themselves go's down, your thrilled .

When I heard Beckett or Schilling got hurt, I had the same feeling.
Why? Well because when people that make you upset can no longer do that , there is nothing else but jubilant feelings to be felt. Its only natural, If you don't, your lying to yourself.

Its nothing personal, For all I know Brady is a great guy. He's probably a sweet heart. But on the field, I hate the man with a passion.

For the past 7 years all I see is this guy beating us and making me frustrated. Its time for My team to shine.
I agree that its nicer to beat the Pats with the Reigning MVP, but when your a Jets fan, you simply take whats given to you and be happy. Even if its not the same, I'm at he point where I say to myself "who gives a damn".

For all I know Cassel is a pretty good QB, Even though he hasn't started a game since High school. But I know one thing, Cassel is no Tom Brady.
With the Pats losing Brady and every big AFC threat losing, This division is wide open and the possibilities are endless.