CHAMPIONS

JUST ONE MORE

113! Thats how many victories the Yankees have won thus far.All they need is just one more victory to head back to the promise land. Its been way too long. Cmon Boys lets get it done tonight!

JETS: 10 UP 10 DOWN

At the Daily News Rich Cimini gives his top 10 reasons to be fired up and concerned about the Jets:

Top 10 Reasons to be Fired Up:

The season ended 4 1/2 months ago, and it's four months until the 2009 regular season, which puts us in the middle of nowhere in terms of the football calendar. It's not exactly a "dead" period, as OTAs begin today (Thursday is open to the media), but you get the point. To pass the time, we're going to gaze into a crystal ball and take a look at 2009.

Today, we'll examine the top 10 reasons to be fired up about the Jets in 2009.

Tomorrow, we'll list the top 10 concerns.

Here we go:

1. Philosophy + attitude = plan. By this, I mean the Jets know what they want to be. Under Rex Ryan, they will be a defensive-minded team that plays ball control with a strong running game. He established that mindset from the beginning. They will be a "ground and pound" offense and attack on defense. A year ago, the Jets suffered an identity crisis, as Brett Favre's late arrival forced them to change their plans. They never found a comfort zone. Eric Mangini's beloved "game plan-specific" approach never afforded the players a chance to develop a personality. Basically, they were all over the place, especially on offense.

2. Attacking D. The read-and-react days are over; the Jets will be playing downhill in the front seven. Technically, Ryan's base is a 3-4, but he uses multiple fronts and it's not a pure two-gap system, as it was under Mangini. You will see a lot of 4-3 looks with OLB Bryan Thomas, or perhaps OLB Calvin Pace, as a down lineman. You won't see Kris Jenkins head-up on the nose every play; he'll move around. You won't see S Kerry Rhodes disappear for long stretches; there will be schemes tailored to his play-making ability.

3. Continuity on the O-line. All five starters return, a rarity in the NFL. That will help tremendously, especially with an inexperienced quarterback. C Nick Mangold and LT D'Brickashaw Ferguson are ascending players. LG Alan Faneca and RT Damien Woody, both on the wrong side of 30, are getting close to the downside, but neither player has hit that slope just yet. In other words, on paper, the line should be better than last season.

4. Improved secondary. With the additions of CB Lito Sheppard and S Jim Leonhard, this should be the most improved area on the team. There will be a lot more man-to-man coverage in Ryan's scheme, but Sheppard and Darrelle Revis should be up for it. Under Mangini, the Jets were scorched by short-passing teams because the corners played "off" coverage and the linebackers were too slow in their drops. As a result, they made heroes of pedestrian quarterbacks like Shaun Hill, Seneca Wallace, etc. Better coverage will help the pass rush, too.

5. Bart Scott. The $48 million inside linebacker's confident attitude is infectious, and he will bring energy and swagger to a defense that lacked both last season. He also knows Ryan's defense, as does Leonhard and DE Marques Douglas, which should make the transition period easier for the entire unit.

6. Three-headed monster. With Thomas Jones, Leon Washington and rookie Shonn Greene, the Jets have a deep and diverse backfield - and that's what you need to be a smashmouth offense. The Jets are stealing a page from the Giants' playbook, but, hey, it works. The trick will be managing the "touches," making sure each player's ability is maximized.

7. The QB competition. In a sense, this is a huge question mark, considering neither Kellen Clemens nor Mark Sanchez is proven, but let's take a look at the positive side: Nothing stirs a team like a legitimate QB competition. Clemens knows he's the underdog, but this is his chance to take a stand and make the organization feel like it screwed up by making such a huge splash for Sanchez. If Clemens has anything, he'll show it now; his career is riding on it. Those around Clemens and Sanchez should be able to feed off the intensity of the competition.

8. A chance for B Schott to be Schott. Ryan is giving coordinator Brian Schottenheimer complete control of the offense, which means he won't have to change his system to suit a geezer quarterback (see Favre) or a micro-managing coach (Mangini). This will be Schottenheimer's baby and, from the early indications, he wants to go back to the style he ran in 2006, when they relied heavily on motions and shifts to create mismatches. He had to scrap that last season because of Favre, who preferred static formations. This will be a great opportunity for Schottenheimer to sell himself as a head-coaching candidate.

9. The Leon King. Washington is one of the top playmakers in the league. Now all they have to do is get him the ball more than 12.5 times per game, last season's average (based on rushes, receptions, kickoff and punt returns). Washington is dangerous in space, making him the ideal complement to Ryan's "ground and pound" approach.

10. Vernon Gholston. He has to get better, doesn't he?

Top 10 Reasons to be Concerned:

1. No proven quarterback. Kellen Clemens has a 3-5 career record as a starter, and only one of the starts (a close loss in Baltimore in '07) could be considered a meaningful game. Rookie Mark Sanchez started only 16 games in college, albeit at a high level of competition. The point is, the Jets don't know what they're going to get from the quarterback position, and that's a scary proposition in the NFL. You've read a lot about Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan, both very successful as rookie QBs, but those were rare, perfect-storm situations. Flacco and Ryan started 26 and 32 games, respectively, in college - a huge help.

2. No No. 1 wide receiver. They have a very good No. 2 receiver (Jerricho Cotchery) and a handful of candidates for the No. 3 and No. 4 jobs, but the lack of a true 1 will have a major impact on the offense. With no one to stretch the field and/or draw extra coverage, the Jets will see more blitzes and more eight-man fronts, designed to choke the running game. It's hard to score points when your offense is operating on a 20-yard field, but that could be the case. I wouldn't be shocked if the Jets make another inquiry into Anquan Boldin before the start of training camp. And they will continue to monitor the Plaxico Burress situation.

3. Is there a blocking tight end in the house? The Jets are delusional if they think Bubba Franks is the answer. He hasn't played a full season since 2006, he's an old 31 and he didn't exactly light up the place last summer in training camp. He was dropping everything. But the front office botched the Chris Baker situation, and now it's paying the price. No matter what they say, Dustin Keller can't block. Nice receiver, can't block. It's hard to believe that a team with smashmouth intentions would fail to address such an important position.

4. A rookie coach. Rex Ryan has an impressive resume, a winning personality and good football genes, but he's never been a head coach in his life. There are bound to be some mistakes along the way, especially with game management. He's also had no experience on the offensive side of the ball, so it'll be interesting to see how he coordinates all three phases - offense, defense, special teams - into weekly game plans. Defensive-minded head coaches tend to be conservative on offense, and that's okay, but will that jibe with Brian Schottenheimer's vision for the offense?

5. Lack of depth - in a lot of places. The Jets are thin at tight end, offensive line, defensive line, inside linebacker and safety. Of course, that's what happens when you trade away draft picks. They've picked only 13 players in the last three drafts, and that catches up to a team in terms of the bottom third of the roster. They'd better hope they stay healhy, especially on both lines.

6. A shortage of edge speed. Truth be told, the Jets haven't had a speed rusher since John Abraham. Calvin Pace is a solid, three-down linebacker, but he's not going to draw two blockers. Neither will Bryan Thomas, who has had two straight subpar years. Vernon Gholston was supposed to have edge speed, but he plays about 2/10ths of a second slower than his 40 time. It looks like Ryan will have to manufacture sacks with clever schemes.

7. A short of long speed on offense. Other than Leon Washington, they don't have any home-run threats. WR David Clowney is a burner, probably the fastest guy on the team, but he doesn't have any pelts.

8. Unhappy campers. Washington has joined Thomas Jones on the "disgruntled running back" list. Recent history suggests the organization will eventually cave in. They gave Pete Kendall a "Get Out of Jail Free" card, trading him to the Redskins even though there was no adequate replacement, and they placated Baker by basically granting him free agency before he was due to become free. They pretty much did the same for Laveranues Coles. Washington is underpaid and, I suspect, will land a new deal before training camp. The Jones situation could be trickier. Will Mike Tannenbaum take a hardline approach? Will Jones try to shoot his way out of town? This one could turn ugly.

9. Learning a new D. Ryan's system is radically different from the Mangini scheme, and it will take some getting used to. Players say they're still thinking too much on their feet, not reacting instinctively. It's early in the process, very early, but it would be unrealistic to expect the defense to be as smooth and efficient as Ryan's old team in Baltimore. There will be growing pains.

10. Can anyone punt? There are no experienced punters on the roster. T.J. Conley, a rookie free agent from Idaho, has a chance. If he bombs, they'll sign a veteran for training camp.

MANNY RAMIROID?

I can't help but laugh at Manny.
No, not because he was just suspended 50 games for the use of PED's.
Turns out that Manny wasn't enhancing his performance on the field.
According to sources, this drug was to enhance his sexual performance. http://www.rotoworld.com/content/Headlines.aspx?sport=MLB&hl=262161

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=ApmVQi9LjECCyZYtsXRrNcI5nYcB?slug=ys-ramirezsuspension050709&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
The only thing confirmed over here is that it was NOT Viagra.
At least Palmero was smart enough to make money out of his sexual problems.


I guess Manny was having a tough time getting "good wood" .
Or maybe he was having trouble "knocking it out of the park".
Maybe this explains all those late season "long balls".
I guess this confirms he really was a "dick" in the Boston clubhouse.
I hope they don't go to "hard on" him.
I'm here all night folks...

METS: OY VEY!

Over at Metsblog.com...Matt Cerrone points out a few interesting stats on the Mets:

1. Mets are now 0–7 this season during games in which a win could have taken the series, completed a sweep or prevented a sweep.
2. Mets had a lead in eight of their 12 losses. Meaning, if they just split the difference, the team could be 13–8.
3. According to WFAN’s Boomer and Carton Show, the Mets have left 173 men on base in 23 games, or roughly seven per game.
4. In an 11–month span from June 2007 through today, the Mets are 151-141. Take out a brief two month boost from new manager Jerry Manuel last season, and the Mets are 112-122.

Oh and David Wright is on pace for 200 strikeouts...

JETS: JASON CAMPBELL

At the NY Daily News Rich Cimini had this interesting thought:

"Here's a really warped way of analyzing the Sanchez trade: If it weren't for "Dancing With the Stars," Jason Campbell would be the Jets' quarterback.

Follow along:

If it weren't for the popular TV show, Jason Taylor might have reported to the Dolphins' offseason program last year instead of dancing on TV.

If he reported to the Dolphins, he wouldn't have ticked off Bill Parcells.

If he didn't tick off Parcells, Taylor wouldn't have been traded to the Redskins.

If he wasn't traded to the Redskins, the Skins would've kept their second-round pick (No. 44 overall).

If the Redskins had their second-round pick, they would've offered it, and their first-rounder (No. 12), to the Browns at No. 5.

If the Redskins offered the 12 and 44 picks, it would've been a better package than the Jets' offer - 17 and 52. The Browns would've
accepted the Redskins' offer and the Redskins' would've picked Sanchez.

If the Redskins took Sanchez at 5, they would've tried to deal Campbell, their incumbent.

If the Redskins tried to deal Campbell, the Jets would've made a deal for him because they wouldn't have wanted to go into the season
with Kellen Clemens and Brett Ratliff.

So there you have it. Farfetched? Absolutely, but I'm experiencing post-draft, pre-minicamp withdrawal, so my judgment is impaired."

FLASHES OF THE FUTURE

You can look up and down the Yankee's $201.449.189 roster and not get too exited of what the future holds for this group of aging vets.

The Yankee's have only 3 good position players under the age of 30.

Mark Teixeira (29), Robbie Cano (27), and Nick Swisher (29).

The only players under the age of 30 on the starting staff are CC (28) but turns 29 this coming July, Joba (24) and Wang (29) who by the way is sporting a 34.50 ERA .

So basically, next year the Yankee's will only have ONE position player under 30(Cano) and ONE starter (Joba).

The pen on the other hand is young but extremely tough to gage. Unless you have yourself a dominant reliever, the year to year performance on those guys can change drastically. So when Mariano is gone, who knows what will be with the Yankees pen.

So the future of this club is none too encouraging .

Which is why lasts nights game was oh-so important. Not for the 2009 Yanx(although it was nice to halt a 4 game skid) but for the Yankee's of 2010 and beyond.

When Phil Hughes took the mound last night I wasn't sure what to expect. Were we going to see the dominant AAA pitcher or the ineffective major league'r we've grown accustomed to see.

Obviously , We saw the potential of greatness for many years to come. His fastball was sitting at 94 MPH and he was locating it . The movement was a thing of beauty. Phil's uncle Charley was just as effective. But what got me real excited was the development of his cutter.

Maybe that injured rib last season really hampered his ability's to dial it up and locate? Either way , He looked filthy last night . How old is Phil Hughes may you ask? 27? 28? No, he turns 23 in June.

After Hughes was given the pat on the back and given the rest of the night off.Due to a much needed 10 run outburst from the run starved Yankee's offense. The ball was handed to none other than the future star of the Yankees pen Mark Melancon (24) who is my bet to be the heir of the great Mo.

Last nights game left a huge grin on my face. I couldn't help but think of the future....

JETS & GIANTS: UNDRAFTED FREE AGENT SIGNINGS

Jets
DE Jamaal Westerman (Rutgers)
TE Andrew Davie (Arkansas)
DL Matt Kroul (Iowa)
P T.J. Conley (Idaho)
S Emanuel Cook (South Carolina)
TE Robert Myers (Utah State)
FB Brannan Southerland (Georgia)
QB Chris Pizzoti (Harvard
OT Tavita Thompson (Oregon St)
WR Britt Davis (Northern Illinois)
OL Ryan McKee (Southern Mississippi)
DE Zach Potter (Nebraska)
OT Kyle Link (McNeese St)
TE J'Nathan Bullock (Cleveland State - Basketball)

Giants
TE Darius Hill (Ball State)
DE Maurice Evans (Penn State)
DE Alex Field (Virginia)
S Kenny Ingram (FSU)
CB Vince Anderson (Webber International)
S Sha'reff Rashad (UCF)
CB Vince Anderson (Weber International University)
DE Kenny Mainor (Troy)

For a complete listing of UDFAS click here.

If you don't think any of these players can make a difference..here is a list of players who went undrafted in the past 10 years:

Chris Carr CB Oakland
Joshua Cribbs WR Cleveland
Robbie Gould K Chicago
Ryan Grant RB Green Bay
Jim Leonard S Jets
Lance Moore WR Saints
Nate Washington WR Tennessee
Pierre Thomas RB New Orleans
Davone Bess WR Miami
Wes Welker WR Patriots
Willie Parker RB Pittsburgh
Jason Peters OT Eagles
Tony Romo QB Dallas
Gary Brackett LB Indianapolis
Antonio Gates TE San Diego
Bart Scott LB New York Jets
James Harrison OLB Pittsburgh Steelers
Shaun Hill QB 49ers
Matt Bryant K Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Antonio Pierce LB Giants
Rob Bironas K Tennesee
Adewale Ogunleye DE Bears
Jeff Saturday C Indianapolis Colts

MARK SANCHEZ: HOW THE DEAL GOT DONE

"And with the fifth pick in the 2009 NFL draft the New York Jets select Mark Sanchez QB USC"...these words were only made possible due to Abram Elam...don't know what I'm talking about...

At si.com Peter King gives a behind the scenes story of how the deal got done...click here.

THE RETURN OF THE PHRANCHISE?

Rumors are swirling in Yankee land the Philly Phranchise will be getting another crack at the Yankee rotation.

With Wang's latest clunker down in clearwater the Yankees are internally discussing whether or not to place Wang on the shelf.

In my opinion this is the smartest thing to do for more than one reason.

A) The Yankees can ill afford to lose every game they trot out the Taiwanese terror and B) this has got to be destroying Wang's confidence which we know plays an important role in every starting pitchers arsenal.

And Hey, I would love to see what Phil has been working on down there in the minors since last years debacle.

I actually just picked up Hughes in Fantasy baseball so I guess I'm expecting (more like praying) the "prospect" that we have been waiting to emerge as the next stalwart in the Yankees staff.

GETTING TO KNOW ST NICK

When it comes to picking my favorite players , I have had a rough time over the past few seasons.

To tell you the truth, Since the departure of Paul O'Neill I have had an extremely difficult time finding "my favorite player".

When news broke a few moths back that Cash swindled a deal with the ChiSox and acquired Nick Swisher I was ecstatic.

I always admired the way Swish approached the game of baseball. He seems like he always is excited to live out the dream of millions of youth throughout the world.

If half the players in the major's had a swisher like attitude, baseball would that much better.

When I started to look into Nick Swisher as a person and not the player , I was so impressed and relieved to see that Nick Swisher is not only a good player but a GREAT! person as well.

Last week River Ave Blues , linked a very telling Sweeny Murti article which I will use to show you that Nick Swisher Is a downright great person.

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

*Established the Nick Swisher Foundation and "Swish's Wishes" foundation in 2007 to assist children with life-threatening illnesses.

*Organized his first Swish's Wishes Celebrity Cruise in January 2009.

*Hosted Swish's Wishes Days in Chicago in 2008, where kids in need would be his guest to the game and visit with him on the field.

*Was a regular visitor at children's hospitals in Chicago.*Supports Lynn Sage Cancer Center in Chicago.

*Dyed his goatee pink on Mother's Day to raise awareness for breast cancer and blue on Father's Day to raise awareness for prostate cancer.

*Provides holiday gifts and a party for mentally challenged children at Janet Pomeroy School in San Francisco.

*Supports UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco, where he served as the honorary chairman for the 2007 Macy's Tree Lighting Ceremony.

*Has also funded programs at the Children's Hospital & Research Center in Oakland and frequently reads books to children in the hospital.

*Teamed with Columbia Pictures in 2007 to host a private screening of the movie "Water Horse: Legend of the Deep" for 400 sick and low-income Bay Area children.

*Participates in Strikeouts for Troops, a non-profit organization that provides assistance to our wounded war veterans and their children by providing "comforts of home" while they recover in military hospitals nationwide.

*Toured U.S. bases in Spain, Greece and Italy on a goodwill mission to visit American soldiers and their families stationed abroad.

*Helped fund two programs for children in need at Tony LaRussa's Animal Rescue Foundation. *Participated in adopting 25 military families in need and provided Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner as well as Christmas gifts for the children in 2007 and 2008.

*Threw out the first pitch to eight-year-old Adam Bender on 7/1/08 vs. Cleveland… Bender lost his leg to cancer at the age of 1 and was flown from Kentucky to Chicago with his parents, older brother and younger sister by Swisher's foundation to celebrate the one-year anniversary of "Swish's Wishes." Bender plays catcher for his Little League team in Lexington, KY. Swisher provided Bender with a personalized White Sox jersey and a bat autographed by the team.

*In honor of his grandmother, Betty, who lost her battle with cancer in 2005, Nick joined as an ambassador to the EIF Foundation and the Women's Cancer Research Fund.

*Went without a haircut for nearly one year in 2007 as part of the non-profit Pantene Beautiful Lengths program that encourages people to grow, cut and donate their hair to create live hair wigs for women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments… his father, Steve, made the "kindest cut of all" on the field in Oakland on 5/19/07, cutting Nick's hair to be donated to the program.

*Also supports childhood diabetes, prostate and breast cancer, and the Special Olympics.

*Was the Athletics' 2007 Roberto Clemente Award nominee.

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

Here is a particularly telling quote that Sweeny found on Swisher's website.

"I love helping people, especially kids. They are so innocent, full of such hope and wonder. The youth of today truly are our future. I plan to use whatever profile I may have while playing this great game of baseball that I love, to make a difference in the lives of others. Whether it's reading a story to a child in the hospital, visiting with our injured troops, growing out my hair so a wig can be made for a woman dealing with hair loss from chemotherapy, or simply making sure I sign as many autographs as I can - well, this is what drives me. This is who I am."

After reading all of that, I am proud to say that Nick Swisher is my favorite player in baseball, regardless of what he does on the Field.

OPENING DAY AT CITIFIELD

I went to opening day at Citifield...I took over 225 pics...here are the links to the albums...

Album 1
Album 2
Album 3
Album 4
Album 5

ENJOY!!

i also took 5 videos..i will try to add them later...

THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE...

I know that I have been M.I.A. for a while, but without further ado......

2009 METS 25 MAN ROSTER

The 2009 New York Mets 25 man roster is set:

C Brian Schneider
C Ramon Castro
1B Carlos Delgado
2B Luis Castillo
2B/SS Alex Cora
SS Jose Reyes
3B David Wright
OF Carlos Beltran
OF Ryan Church
OF Daniel Murphy
OF Gary Sheffield
OF/1B Marlon Anderson
OF Jeremy Reed
OF/3B/1B Fernando Tatis

SP Johan Santana
SP Mike Pelfrey
SP Oliver Perez
SP John Maine

RP Darren O'Day
RP Pedro Feliciano
RP Bobby Parnell
RP Brian Stokes
RP Sean Green
RP JJ Putz
RP Fransisco Rodriguez

On April 11th they will release Marlon Anderson and call-up Livan Hernandez as their fifth starter.

TOP 10 JETS OF ALL TIME

The NFL Network ran a list of the top 10 Jets of all time you can see the video by clicking here.

AROD OUT 10 WEEKS!!!

ESPN.COM's Enrique Rojas is reporting that Alex Rodriguez will undergo surgery on a cyst on his hip on Monday and will miss 10 weeks making his return sometime in mid-May.

There are many out there that believe that the cyst is connected to his steroid use just like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens had cysts...However multiple "prominent" doctors have come out and said that there is no link between injecting anabolic steroids and having a cyst..

Anyways the Arod Saga continues...

The question now is Who will play third for the Yankees??

My plan is to move Robinson Cano to third..and bring in a Ray Durham type player for second

I have been saying for years that the Yankees need to move Cano to third Arod to short and Jeter to second..It just makes sense defensively..and forget about all this captain at short stuff...

A MUST READ

At SI.com Peter King does a great job outlining what it took the Jets to sign Bart Scott as well as details on Chris Canty, Albert Haynesworth etc..Click here.

EMOTIONAL DAWKINS

After 13 seasons with the Eagles Brian Dawkins has agreed to a 5 year $17.2 Mil contract with the Broncos.

An emotional Dawkins did an interview with Comcast which he had to cut off after less than 2 minutes..click here.

GREAT SCOTT!!!!

The Jets Blog are reporting that the Jets are oh so close to finalizing a deal with stud LB ( the better and younger of the Ravens Dynamic duo) Bart Scott. The contract is believed to be a five-year deal in the neighborhood of $37.5 million.

I'm not sure how this effects the cap and I will not pretend too.

This would be a a tremendous pickup and a great way to kickoff the Rex Ryan era.

J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS

SORRY FOR VIDEO REMOVALS

I would first like to thank Abie for his tireless work over here at The SAM I AM SPORTS BLOG.

His constant video updates are nothing short of fabulous.

It pained me to remove some of the videos that were recently posted.

But the videos were simply slowing down peoples modems which forced my hand to do so. Sorry for the inconvenience.

sympAthy fOR the Devil

As mentioned in previous posts, their is no love loss here for A-rod.
I once was amongst his biggest supporters. Every time he made out in a big spot I was one of the first to say, give the guy a break, Baseball is a team game. Its not his fault that the pitching staff put the team in a situation where they needed him to come through just to save their hides.

But when Good ol' Scottie Boris instructed him to opt out a little over a year ago, I got out of character and just was fed up with the guy. In a way I felt betrayed.

From that day forth, I no longer supported Alex.
It would be foolish to say that without him the Yankees are better.
Without those "numbers" the Yanx and their lineup wouldn't be what it is.

The thing that does stand out however is that because the team is so accustomed to see him prosper in the regular season, its only natural to rely on him in the post season. So when he doesn't come through its catastrophic for the team and its psyche.

One thing that nobody can argue is that A-rod in all interviews just tries too hard and he comes off as a phony.

He seams like a guy that should have all the confidence in the world.
Hes got the looks , hes got the talent, hes got the money and he can get whatever girl he wants.
Its amazing how he is so self conscious of what the rest of the world thinks of him. I guess its just not that simple....

Which brings me to my point. Alex just doesn't seem like he means what he says. Its so easy to get rubbed the wrong way by just listening to him try to be sincere
In the aftermath of A-rods presser from yesterday when he divulged some more information of his PED use over the 3 year span. I think it could have gone better (why did he bring his cousin into the mix?, that will only make things more complicated) but it also could have gone a hell of allot worse.

There will always be questions and grey areas that we wont get satisfactory answers on. But on a whole, he basically got everything out there and I thank G-D for that. Because otherwise we wouldn't hear the end of it from the media.

I took note to the players faces when he turned to them and apologized. They didn't look to forgiving. But you could read into that whichever way you like...

Its a pipe dream to say that this story will get played out and we can turn the page.
When he pays visits to Boston, Texas, Seattle and even comes home to New York, He will always be a sideshow whether we like it or not.

In a way, I feel terrible for the guy. Every morning he wakes up he knows that where ever he goes he is enemy number one and that he is just not liked. And if he is liked, he has the sneaking suspicion, does this person really like me ? or are they kissing up to me for the money?
Its actually a depressing life come to think of it...

METS: OFFSEASON GRADES

OK... with the offseason now officially over here are my grades for the Mets and Omar Minaya's offseason...

Please be aware that these are not grades on the overall team but grades on the offseason moves..

Starting Lineup: With the same lineup coming back from last year there is no improvement in this area. Relying on a platoon of Daniel Murphy and Fernando Tatis in LF and not finding a replacement for Luis Castillo were two areas of failure. But, picking up the option on Carlos Delgado was a good move in my mind however obvious at it may have seemed. Grade C

Bench: Here is where Omar has signed or acquired many players hoping to find a spark with a few of them. You have Ramon Castro and Marlon Anderson returning with Alex Cora as the new backup 2nd baseman as well as the sitting LF. The other two spots are a toss up between Jeremy Reed, Corry Sullivan, Angel Pagan, Nick Evans, Robinson Cancel, Rob Mackowiak, Bobby Kielty, Ramon Martinez and Andy Green. Take your pick. While Omar does have quantity, it is yet to be proven as quality and the bench still lacks a guy with power or that bats right handed. Grade B-

Starting Rotation: While signing Oly over Lowe might have been a mistake, signing so many back-end starters can and i think will be one of the better off-season moves that Omar has made. Every team goes through injuries and I think the Mets are well prepared. With the competition of Freddy Garcia, Tim Redding, Livan Hernandez, Nelson Figueroa, Casey Fossum, Tony Armas Jr, Jonathan Niese and Bobby Parnell, only one will be the fifth starter with one or two being added to the pen. Grade B

Bullpen: Obviously the area that needed the most improvement and boy did Omar come through. With an injured Billy Wagner out at least until mid-August, Omar signed and then traded for the top two closers on the market (FA and trading). K-Rod being the obvious one, but the trade for Putz was the better of the two in my mind. The Putz trade has to be one of the best trades Omar has ever pulled off. Giving up Heilman, a guy most NYers wanted out, Joe Smith, Endy and a bag of balls for Putz (replaces Heilman), Sean Green (replaces Smith) and Jeremy Reed( replaces Endy) really helps this bullpen out and makes it one of the best in baseball. Grade A+

Overall Grade: B+

SPRING TRAINING: TV SCHEDULE

Yankees 2009 TV Schedule:

February 26	Tampa Bay Rays	1:15 p.m./YES HD
February 28	Minnesota Twins	1:15 p.m./YES HD
March 3	Team USA	1:15 p.m./YES HD
March 7	Atlanta Braves	1:15 p.m./YES HD
March 10	Cincinnati Reds	7:15 p.m./YES HD
March 14	Houston Astros	1:15 p.m./YES HD
March 17	Pittsburgh Pirates	7:15 p.m./YES HD
March 19	Toronto Blue Jays	7:15 p.m./YES HD
March 24	Boston Red Sox	7:15 p.m./YES HD
March 26	Philadelphia Phillies	1:05 p.m./YES HD
April 3	Chicago Cubs	7:05 p.m./YES HD
April 4	Chicago Cubs	1:05 p.m./YES HD

---

Mets 2009 TV Schedule:

2/26	Florida Marlins		1:10 PM	SNY
2/27	St. Louis Cardinals		1:10 PM	SNY
3/1	Houston Astros		1:10 PM	CW11
3/3	St. Louis Cardinals		1:10 PM	SNY
3/7	Washington Nationals		1:10 PM	CW11
3/9	Baltimore Orioles		1:10 PM	SNY
3/12	Florida Marlins		7:10 PM	SNY
3/18	Atlanta Braves		1:10 PM	SNY
3/19	Houston Astros		1:10 PM	SNY
3/22	Atlanta Braves		1:10 PM	SNY
3/25	Detroit Tigers		1:10 PM	SNY
3/27	Washington Nationals		7:10 PM	SNY
3/28	Florida Marlins		1:10 PM	CW11
3/30	Baltimore Orioles		7:10 PM	SNY
4/3	Boston Red Sox		6:10 PM	SNY
4/4	Boston Red Sox		1:10 PM	CW11

?????????????

To see why Mike Pelfrey is wearing this helmet click here.

Top Ten Messages Left on Alex Rodriguez's Answering Machine

10. "Hey, it's Mark McGwire. Want to get together this week and not talk about the past?"
9. "Joe Torre here -- thanks for helping book sales"
8. "Could you find a steroid that keeps you from choking in the playoffs?"
7. "Are you worried this will taint all the championships you didn't win?"
6. "It's Bernie Madoff. Nice try but I'm still the most hated man in New York"
5. "Michael Phelps here. Got any snacks?"
4. "This is Sammy Sosa. Just pretend you don't speak English"
3. "Michael Phelps again. Did I call you or did you call me?"
2. "Hey, it's Rod Blagojevich -- I'll say you're innocent, if you say I am"
1. "It's Madonna. You got a phone number for Jeter?"
For the video click here.

MLB: 2009 PREDICTIONS

At Baseball Prospectus Nate Silver calculates how many wins/losses among other stats each team will have in 2009.
He has the Mets winning the division with 93 wins and the Yankees winning the wild card with 97 wins one shy of the Red Sox total..

He also calculates that Jose Reyes will hit .309 with a .374 OBP, 15 HR, 73 RBI and 64 stolen bases, while Johan Santana will go 15–8 with a 3.14 ERA.

Also, Silver projects Luis Castillo will have a .347 OBP in 448 plate appearances, while stealing 17 bases.

METS & YANKEES: 2009 PAYROLL

Adam Rubin of the NY Daily News does a great job of breaking down the Mets 2009 payroll player-by-player.

According to his estimates the Mets as of now are at $140 Mil (w/ Garcia) and the Luxury Tax hit is after $162 Mil..

To see the entire article click here.

At River Ave. Blues Joseph P. runs through the Yankee 2009 Payroll which he estimates is between $192.35 Mil to $206.35 Mil depending on the signing bonuses of Tex and CC..

To see the entire article click here.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

VS.





Oliver Perez and Fransisco Rodriguez both signed similar deals with the Mets this offseason..Who is worth more to the Mets?

TWO FEET DOWN??

IS HIS RIGHT FOOT DOWN?????
and remember he has to have complete control of the ball from the time when he catches it and in this picture it is when he is just receiving the ball...and his right foot is just above the ground.and from here it leaned on his left foot as he tilted out of bounds..

METS: BIG BAT?

At MetsFever Ed Ryan goes through the reasons why the Mets need a big bat and the big IFS the Mets have with their offense. Just click here.

IS IT JUST ME?

OK! I get it that I'm a Mets fan and any comments I make about the other team in NY makes me look bad...BUT!!!

As I look at the Yankee bullpen I don't see much...I don't know why more people aren't discussing this..I'll dissect it..

Closer - Mariano Rivera - No questions about his stuff..BUT coming off of shoulder surgery as minor as they say it was, he is still in his upper 30's and any surgery then is a red flag...

Setup Man - Damaso Marte - He was a good lefty specialist in Chicago and Pittsburgh, but it seemed that once he came to NY he was used in a different role and was asked too much of himself..he posted an ERA of 5.40 in NY..I don't see how he is the new setup man...

Setup Man #2 #3... - Brian Bruney - Jose Veres - Edwar Ramirez - Jonathan Albaladejo - All of these pitchers are yet to be proven..YES they have shown some upside but to put a season on the line with a bunch of maybes is just stupid...

All you need to do is look across the street at the Mets last year and you'll see how a bullpen can ruin a season..

Relying on Marte and a bunch of unproven pitchers to get the ball to Mariano who may not be 100% on opening day is very un-yankee like..wheres John Wettland, Mike Stanton, Jeff Nelson..even a Jason Grimsley?

Maybe my memories of last year's Mets bullpen and the acquisitions of K-Rod and Putz has blurred my vision of a bullpen a bit, but as a Yankee fan are you trully happy with the bullpen as it stands now?

PETTITTE IS BACK, FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE

I will be the first to say that Cashman has done a remarkable job on getting Pettitte for the dollar amount that he did.
Andy will probably do what he always does. Fill the Innings that the Yankees desperately need while winning 10 plus games.
Last season it was well documented that Andy was going out every 5th day in the second half with lingering arm injuries. Which is probably why his season ended as ugly as it did.
All considering, He still ended up with 14 victories.
As a forth Starter, that is more than acceptable.
With last years lack of Andy's spring training work out regimen Due to the steroid fiasco its a strong possibility why he wasn't conditioned for the stretch run of the '08 campaign.
At the end of the day, I am happy Andy will be back in pinstripes.

But, River Ave Blues notes that Mike Ashmore is not sure if this is such a good thing.
An important question is raised . "Yankees fans have to ask themselves…what’s more important, Andy Pettitte getting 30 starts or Hughes/Ian Kennedy/Phil Coke/Alfredo Aceves getting 30?"
then He asks, "And how long before some of these players start getting frustrated with having to repeat levels of the minors?"

These are the questions that Yankees brass had to have been asking themselves throughout the Pettitte negotiations. I hope the correct decision was made. We must play the waiting game to find out the true answers.

• 1 year/$5.5M (2009)
• re-signed by NY Yankees as a free agent 1/26/09
• $4.5M in performance bonuses: $0.5M each for 150, 160, 170 IP; $0.75M each for 180, 190, 200, 210 IP
  
• $2M in roster bonuses: $0.1M for 120 days on active 25-man roster; $0.2M for 130 days; $0.25M each for 140, 150 days; $0.4M each for 160, 170, 180 days

SUPERBOWL: PARTY

Its that time of the year where fans from all over the world sit down for 5 hours and watch some of the best and worst commercials of the year with some NFL game interruptions in between.

Like always there will be a Superbowl Party..

This year it will be hosted by Ralph Hanan in Brooklyn,NY

Party starts at 5pm

Whether your from NY or NJ come...its always fun to have all the boys together.

No cover charge although donations are accepted.



Back by popular demand...TV IN THE BATHROOM..also guaranteed to have more than 3 TVs..

Alcohol and soft drinks will be served along with Buffalo Wings, Cajun Poppers, Freedom Fries, And General Tsao's Chicken - All Home Made!

If your part of the boys & not just a crazy yankees fans mad at sammy for his brian cashman remarks - you know who you are come over and enjoy! Wives welcome too!

For more information or for the address get Ralphs cell number and text him.

TO MY DEFENSE

After today's bashing that I endured I will try to defend myself to the best of my capabilities.
Although I can not get to everyone of your points I will touch upon the most important and rational opinions.
But before I do I am trying to understand what type of malicious people you all are.
Since I am entitled to my opinion and I thank Peter for giving me the opportunity of relaying it to a larger audience, all of you as well are entitled to your opinion.
You don't have to necessarily have to agree with my opinions nor I do yours.
Being a civil human being I respect yours nonetheless.
Who do you people think you are displaying this animalistic behavior? I will be a better man and not stoop down to your level and start name-calling like a 12 yr old girl.

James:
1) I'm not saying they should have kept Lowell, all I am saying is they either should held onto him or at least get something worth-while.
2) Ted Lilly was a lefty who showed lots of promise. END OF STORY.
3) Kevin Brown's back was an ongoing injury before the Yankees got him. Trading for a high-priced aging pitcher with a bad back is just foolish.
4) You rather Shef over Vlad? What are you smokin'?
5) The Yankees gave up a hell of alot more than the Sox did. Casey Fossum had nowhere near the value of Johnson and Rivera.
6) Pavano's career stat wise was just plain mediocre. If you actually take the time to look at his stats you would notice that his Hits/IP were horendous.
7) Jaret Wright coming off one good year after years of being an experiment is NOT somebody I want on my team. Wright and Pavano were definetly products of the NL.
8) Johan is light years ahead of CC, and Miggy is a hell of alot better hitter than Mark Texeira. You are wrong we do have the prospects! Melky and Kennedy were actually worth something back then. The Mets gave up far less!
9) Finally, this article was not hindsight at all! These were all bad moves at the time.
But thanks for your opinion I really appreciate it.

Ross, I am flattered from your praise. Just because the Yankees didn't have many options for third base it doesn't mean they should have brought back a guy that carries a guy to the postseason only to abandon them once there. A guy like that has his teammates looking at him to carry the load and YES if he doesn't it cripples the team. I agree its not fair to expect the world from one player, but you've got to do better than that. I guarantee you, if you give the same amount of at-bats to any other player in the majors, he puts up better numbers.

Becca, I wasn't permitted the amount of words to write this post that I would have liked. In my original draft I did note his good moves, but I had to edit them out. You along with many others are saying, I don't have my facts straight but you are failing to point out which of my facts are incorrect. Moot point.

Moose and Matsui were good signings and the acquisition of David Justice was a great move.
But, how could you say that the Nady and Marte moves were good ones? Yes, Nady had a decent stretch last season, but we did give up Jose Tabata, who does have attitude problems but not too long ago Baseball America regarded him highly.

You ask how I could bash the Burnett signing, this guy is the most injury-prone guy in the game. It makes zero sense to give him that contract. You're setting yourself up to have the Darrel Rasner's of the world spot start when he goes on the DL.

Kevin S., You don't even deserve a response from me. You obviously are an angry man!

Potch, which of my facts are incorrect?

Barton Bickle, whichever part of the media you run, I wouldn't work for you for free. You apparently are as ignorant as the rest of them. BTW Mike Francesca is an idiot.

I appreciate all of your support and hope to hear from you soon.

PINCH HITTING ON LOHUD

Today I am featured on Pete Abe's Blog.
I am taking my share of bashing. Check out the comment thread to see what I'm talking about.l
I will be more than happy to answer every one of you on THIS comment thread.
Here is the link.

http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2009/01/04/pinch-hitting-sam-i-am/

METS: APPLE & MANNY

During the 2007 season the website savetheapple.com was created in order to create a petition to save the home run apple that was in Shea Stadium and put it in the new Citifield. They got 9,133 signatures! Back then their plans were to auction it off to the highest bidder, but now after the petition was created they now say it will be placed on the concourse and some rumors have it back in its place beyond the centerfield fence.

The reason I bring this up is because there is another petition going around for Mets fans to put Manny Ramirez on the team. To sign the petition just click here.

Question of the Day