Rangers Win Again!

Marc Staal is playing as well as he was before the injuries started to pile up a few years ago.  Tonight he assisted on the Rangers first two goals and was just terrific all night.  MZA was too, he had a beautiful play on his secondary assist on the Brassard goal.  Boyle scored the first goal cleaning up Staal's shot.  Brad Richards scored the third goal on a beautiful set up from Ryan Callahan.   This game was super tight and tied 1-1 till the third.   MZA's play to tilt the ice changed it.  And McDonagh just scored an empty netter.   Staal and McD are playing out of their minds.

Strang Confirms The Multiple Teams Have Been Given Permission to Negotiate with Cally

Okay, this is now ridiculous.   The Rangers seem to be auctioning off their Captain as he plays for them tonight.  By giving multiple teams permission to talk to Cally's agent, they are basically granting him his free agency today and allowing him to field offers.    Now we'll see if anyone outbids the Rangers and if the Rangers can extract what they'd need to to part with their Captain and a significant figure in the restoration of the Rangers as a competitive team.    I hope this doesn't drag out, because it's monopolizing my blog time.  I've been meaning to write about Yankee prospects at some point.

SNYRangersblog: Rangers Have Given One Team Permission to Talk Contract With Callahan?

Holy crap.  My stomach just dropped.  Apparently the Rangers have given one team permission to talk to Cally's agent.  Some believe this is to make it "real" for Cally and gauge if he really wants to go, while Dreger believes he's as good as gone if he doesn't back off his contract demands which are reported to be 6x7.   Whoa, I think my stomach would drop if they gave him that.   A lot of his value is intangible and tangible production is usually worth more.   It would also set a terrible precedent for future deals.   I didn't really think this could happen, but it really looks like it might.   The Rangers better get a lot back.   He's been their heart and soul.

Rangers Interested in Chris Stewart?

So, the buzz this am is that the Rangers are interested in the Blues' Chris Stewart.  As you know Chris is a youngish (26) power forward who sometimes scores and sometimes fights.   He's had periods of offensive clarity where he's scored almost a point a game for extended periods and had 36 points in last year's truncated season.    The question is what kind of deal would this be?   Are we trying to acquire him or are we being offered him for Callahan or Girardi?   Two separate issues.  I like the player fine, but unless there's also a prospect and a 1 coming back, I do not like the player for Callahan or Girardi.   But if they're looking to just pick him up as their annual Jody Shelley fighting guy, maybe, just don't use picks.

Rangers Tonight

Rangers play the Islanders again tonight.  And it's the same story as always: they've got to gun it for 60 minutes to have a chance.   These games are super huge to the Islanders for some reason, and the Rangers, as we've seen, can lose them if they don't match or beat the Islanders energy.   Meanwhile, Anthony Duclair scored 7 points last night for his junior team.   Coming into last night's game he was leading his league in goals and ten points off the overall scoring lead, so he scored 7.  I know it's the Q, but he's a great skater the whole offensive tool bag other than outstanding size.    But as long as force equals mass x acceleration, he should be able to learn how to check effectively.    As you know he's already signed, and we could see him as soon as next year.. they could even pull a Kreider with him if the Rangers stay hot into the playoffs.   Fun stuff.   Let's go, Rangers!

Knicks Crush the Cavs

Tim Hardaway Jr. scored a career hight 29 and that was matched by 29 from Melo in limited minutes as the Knicks toyed with the Cavs all night.   JR Smith also had 19 as he went to the rack memorably on more occasions than usual.   Tyler was was once again impressive.  Metta is still getting back together, but added 5 and 5.   Chandler was steady and Felton wasn't bad.   Big win.  The one issue now is depth and that will be tested when Miami comes to town this weekend.  They have revived the homestand, and now they have to finish it in style.  Hardaway may be the goods.

Some Giant Thoughts on a Rainy Thursday

It's been almost a week since we've seen the shakeout on the offensive coaching staff.   I think it's really interesting, and I think one of the themes of the changes has been quarterback friendliness.   McAdoo, Langsdorf, and Johnson have all worked extensively with QB's.   Langsdorf will be working directly with Eli, and Johnson will be working to tighten up the run game and the protections  Eli will receive from the backs.    I still find it odd that they let Pope go since it appears their plan was always to replace him with Gilbride.   This might have something to do with McAdoo's own experience as a TE coach in the system he plans to install.  Maybe he felt a young dog could learn new tricks better than an old dog could.  Meanwhile, it's not particularly comforting that Pope took a job with the Cowboys.   I like that Ryan is back at WR's.   Nicks and Cruz and Manningham flourished last time he was there.   As for old Tom, I think he'll have the time of his life re-designing things with his new assistants.  He loves stuff like that and now he'll get to do stuff like that.

Free agency is till a bit more than a month away, and the Giants can use that time to negotiate with their plethora of FA's and probably extend Eli and Rolle to create more space.   They have to fix the OL, and several other spots.  On O the Giants need 2 RB's, a WR, a TE or 2,  possibly another backup QB since Painter is a FA and stinks.

On Defense, the Giants need a DE or two, a DT,  one or two LB's depending on what happens with Beason, a CB or 2 and a Safety.   That's between 10 and 15 players they have to find, beyond the 4 they need for the OL.

I've done a myriad of draft simulations, and can't find a way to make much of a dent in the Giant roster problem without trade downs.  That's trade downs plural.

The Giants will really have to do more than usual to address some of these necessities before the draft.   I really hope they have some young talent on the roster that I'm not factoring into this examination of their needs.   That would be really, really good, because from where they're sitting today, it looks like a two offseason job.

Anyone else disgusted the Giants aren't playing Sunday?    I sort of felt this way when the Giants didn't play in the 2008 SB, when Bruce plays.  This should have been all NY/NJ, but it's not.   Too bad.  Should be a good game, though.

Knicks Tonight

The Knicks will see if they can keep it going against Cleveland tonight.   It will be tougher without Iman Shumpert who is out with a jammed shoulder for an unknown period of time.   JR Smith has slowly been coming around, and with Melo's continued dominance, they may have enough to beat the Cavs. They'll have to play D, though, and that's tougher without Shump.    Hardaway's D has been impressive at times, and he was just chosen for the Young Stars game, or whatever the NBA is calling it this year. It will be nice to see if Tyler can build on what he's been doing, too.   Let's go, Knicks.

Rangers Go Undefeated at Yankee Stadium

The Rangers got timely goals from Pouliot and Carcillo and ended up beating the Islanders 2-1.     The Isles actually scored first with just over a minute left in the second period, but the Rangers answered back with Pouliot's goal before time ran out.   Then Carcillo scored his goal through some front of the net traffic in the third, and that was that.   It was a weird game and there were cracks all over the ice.  We're pretty lucky that no on was seriously hurt.  They'll have to figure some more things out before they do this again next year, and the ratings were such that they will.   And again I salute the players from all three teams for putting on the show and the intrepid fans of all three teams who made it out to the grandson of the house that Ruth built is such terrible conditions.    Now the Rangers have to keep it going till the break.  

Rangers Tonight

The Rangers will conclude this year's Stadium Series with a game against the Islanders tonight.  Should be another great event, though god bless the people in the stands, as it's supposed to be very cold.    That could cause ice problems again, too.  As for the game, last time they played the Islanders they didn't put up a 60 minute effort and ended up giving away the game.   Let's hope for a better effort tonight, because that's the only way they can get a better result.  Let's go Rangers.

Knicks Crush Celtics

The Knicks steamrolled the Celtics tonight, and Melo didn't have to do it all himself.  He scored 24 while playing a little more than a half, but amply supported by JR Smith with 17, Jeremy Tyler with 17 and Hardaway with 15.   Metta World Peace returned late and kept it going. Jeremy Tyler and Tim Hardaway Jr. are looking like really good possible pieces, and it's nice to see them getting run.  Unfortunately, Iman Shumpert appeared to hurt this shoulder after a good start and didn't return.  KMart got banged up again and had to leave in his return.   Can they make it 4 in a row?

Ranger Rumors?

The Canadian guys are now reporting that one or both of Girardi and Callahan could be traded if they have not signed by the deadline.  I have written quite a bit about this, but I don't really expect the Rangers to act so rationally, though, if these rumors are true, they might.  There are actually two deadlines this year, first at the Olympic break, and later on the regular trade deadline.  As I have said before, they would have to get huge returns if they moved either of them.

Yanks Sign Aussie Teenager

You're looking at 17 year old Brandon Stenhouse, the latest member of the Yankee farm.  Apparently the Yanks signed him yesterday after he dazzled at the National tournament down there over the weekend.   You remember a couple of years ago they signed Adam Silva, a catcher, who hasn't really done anything.   And I think there might have been two more back aways and that big guy in the late `80's who people liked but blew out his arm.  Anyway, this kid has reportedly been dialing 93 for awhile now, so, why not?  The report said another team was in on him, but they didn't say who.  Meanwhile, Brandon will attend ST, then go back to Australia to finish school and join the organization next year when he's 18.  So nothing to follow this summer, but another solid arm for the farm.   You can't tell from this picture, but he dwarfs his dad in the other picture I saw. so there could be projection.  Now if only the Yanks had some people who could develop him;)

Knicks Tonight

The Knicks will try (I assume) to keep it going against Boston tonight.    There best bet is to go with their hot hand, but also share the ball like they did Sunday in beating the Lakers.   Hardaway has to keep improving, and they have to keep working on D.  The switching remains too easy to exploit.   Let's see if they can make it three in a row.

Fixing the Giants OL Part 2: The Goal

Okay, yesterday we talked about how the Giants arrived at the point where they need to rebuild the OL and how the possibility of a seamless transition was bumbled away through draft decisions and free agents mistakes.    Now here we are.

Going into 2014, the Giants have one healthy projected starter and that's Justin Pugh, and - no kidding - he just had thumb surgery.   But he should be good to go and solve one of five spots for the Giants.

But what about the other 4 spots?

This is where there's really nothing more than uncertainty.   Will Beatty, had a bad season then broke his leg and may or may not be able to recover and recalibrate his career trajectory.   At left guard Kevin Boothe is a free agent.  At center, David Baas is always hurt.  And at right guard, Chris Snee is coming off a lost season where he had hip and elbow surgeries.

So Pugh really is the only guy who we'd want to build around at this point.   And that's fine, because he is a pure Mel Hein type and exactly the kind of OL we've won all of our titles with.  So people should feel really good about Justin Pugh.   All he needs in time in an NFL weight room and teammates.

Onto those.

I think the Giants will want to hit OL 2 or three times in FA.  No kidding.  But I don't think they should break the bank on any FA unless Alex Mack doesn't get franchised and decides he wants to be a Giant.   Beyond that, I'd like to see them get three guys with some tread left on their tires who can come in and start for a year or so, while the real work goes on in the draft.

http://www.kffl.com/static/nfl/features/freeagents/fa.php?option=OL&y=2014

Above is the KFFL list of FA's and potential FA's this year, though it doesn't include cap cuts and there are always plenty of those, in fact the Giants could be releasing Baas and Snee.

Alex Mack really looks like the only guy who can settle a position for 5 or 6 years and play like a classic Giant OL.   Everyone else looks like a bandaid of one sort or another and that's fine because bandaids shouldn't break the bank.

They just have to be better than Kevin Boothe and James Brewer and whoever else we were trotting out there last year.  Boothe actually looked better at C to me.  And they should think about bringing him back there if the money makes sense and they don't have to start him.

But what they really need to have when they come out of FA is (barring a Mack deal) a starting 5 that can be counted on to be better than last year's starting 5.   That sounds daunting, but they should be able to get it done in free agency.

All I'd be looking for in FA is a two year fix, with some veteran leaders and mentors because in the next two drafts the Giants have to go "Snee Hunting."

You'll recall that Chris Snee was picked at the top of the second round in 2004 and went on to be one of the greatest Giant linemen ever.   He's had an early decline and may not be able to come back, but what the Giants need to do in the next two draft periods is to find 4 more guys like Snee, and that means using premium picks on OL's.  If healed, Snee could be a bandaid this year, but he'll have to take a massive pay cut to stay.

This year, there are a few OL's who fit the Giant mold that should be available in round one.  Ideally, the Giants would only use the #12 pick on a playmaker, but failing that, hopefully they'd be able to trade down a little for an additional 2 or a high three, and pick either Zach Martin of Notre Dame or David Yankey of Stanford. That would be fantastic. Then they could use their first second on a playmaker and their extra pick on another OL.

The scouts also have to forget about projects on the OL like Whimper and Brewer, and even Beatty  were, and get players.   It's mind boggling that they haven't found another Rich Seubert among the undrafteds since Rich Seubert.   They've found Cruz and some workable TE's and LB's, but no more big time OL's. I think it is a result of the internet creating better coverage of all the draft eligible players. and the better players not thinking they could make the Giants roster. But as much as our scouts haven't found another Seubert, they also haven't found another 5th round David Diehl. In fact, other than Pugh, who was a first rounder, they haven't made a great pick on an OL since Snee.

That's why they have to use premium picks to fix this, their returns on third day guys have declined sort of severely. So they can't reliably put fixing the OL off until day three of the draft.

The job would become a lot easier if they believed Beatty can come back and be good.  Or if they knew they could get something out of Mosley or Brewer.   But as it stands they'll need 3 or 4 bandaids this year, and 4 premium picks (unless they get lucky with a Diehl or Seubert on day three or UDFA) over the next two years to get this thing fixed.

Mack would knock those numbers down to 2 bandaids this year and 3 premium picks over the next two drafts, but he's a pipe dream at this point.

So there it is.  How do you fix the OL?  You throw money and premium picks at it for two years and pray for luck.

Rangers Talking Contract With Cally and MZA

The buzz today is that the Rangers are talking contract extensions with both Ryan Callahan and Mats Zuccarello.   This is just what they should be doing, and the truth is, locking up MZA may be more important than locking up Captain Cally.  MZA is younger and has been more productive in AV's system and he's still got some upside in it.  Cally, on the other hand will probably require a bigger deal and for less statistical production. I know and love Cally for his toughness  and intangibles, but how do you put a price on them - and are they still worth what they were in the AV system?   That's something that bares watching.   This morning I read an article stating that the Rangers probably wouldn't move Callahan, but I'm not as sure.   Obviously, they'd have to get a TON back in any Cally trade, but if he's not playing as much as he'd like to and in as many situations, and they can still look down at the AHL and see JT Miller, who's, in some senses, a bigger version of Cally, it might make sense to move him.   They can't pay him the same amount as big scorers get, regardless of his intangibles.

Btw, as a fan, it would break my heart to trade Cally and Dan Girardi.   They have won games for us.  And it would enrage me if the return wasn't great in any trade involving one of them.  But that's life under the salary cap.  You just can't keep everybody and you really can't pay guys for what they have already done in a different system when they haven't proved what they can do in the current system.

Giants Making Sense

Now we get word that Sean Ryan has indeed been moved back to WR's and Kevin Gilbride Jr. has been moved to TE's.   This is what we expected all along, and were a little surprised Friday when some reporters had Ryan moving to TE's   Sean Ryan is a damn good WR coach.  Gilbride has coached TE's at lower levels, and will no doubt benefit from the presence of Ben McAdoo, who was a good TE coach himself and will probably have a lot of ideas for Gilbride, who is following a legend.  Okay, the coaching staff has now been rebooted, and it's making a lot more sense.

Fixing the Giants OL, Part 1: The Problem

I'll probably do a few posts on this in the coming days and months as we try to get this thing straightened out before we play another meaningful game.  

Okay, first thing's first.  Why has the OL been so bad for the past few years?  That's really been a combination of things.   First, there's the decline and/or retirement of McKenzie, Seubert, O'Hara, Diehl and Snee (decline only so far).   These were the five basic building blocks of two Super Bowl winners and now all but Snee are retired, and he has been a shadow of his Pro Bowl self for the past few years.

Okay, so that's the foundation of the crisis but there've also been mistakes made in recognition of the crisis, drafting and perhaps plain luck

Between drafting Chris Snee in the second round of the 2004 draft and Justin Pugh in the first round last year, the Giants spent a total of 1 top 3 round pick on an OL, and that was Will Beatty.    Will Beatty was taken with the Giants second second round pick in 2009.  Up until Beatty's poor season last year he had been like part of the solution.   Putting that aside, a colossal error was made with their first second rounder when they took Clint Sintim instead of pro-bowl C to be Max Unger.  

This is something that cannot be adequately explained by the Giants.  As Giant fans know, they have won all of their championships with basically two models of OL's.  The first model we'll call the Mel Hein.   The Mel Hein includes all the lunchpail type guys like Benson, Ard, Williams, Seubert, Snee and that lot.  The other model we'll call the Rosey Brown.   These are basically the guys who are just great athletes for their size.   William Roberts was one, Eric Moore,  I'd argue O'Hara and Oates (as they were more finesse than power), and William Beatty.    So the Beatty selection was a Rosey Brown pick, but in missing out on Unger they completely whiffed on a Mel Hein no-doubter.

And missing on Unger when they did is a huge contributing factor in the demise of the line. Because had they nabbed Unger when they should have they would not have to had hire David Baas, who looks the part of a Mel Hein, but doesn't play the part.   In fact, hiring Baas for too much, then re-doing his contract at least once is not only a huge problem for the line, but a significant issue for the cap.

Whiffing on Unger caused a chain reaction we still might not be able to fix this year.   That my friends, is a HUGE WHIFF and there was no excuse for it.  Clint Sintim was a terrible pick, who didn't fit any of the Giants AA qualifications but did fit their strange predilection for picking pass rush LB's and trying to make them into SAMs, which goes all the way back to Ryan Phillips.  Instead, they should have honored their own winning OL history and picked Unger.

So, that's one thing they did really badly.  Beyond Beatty, every OL they drafted either didn't make the team or couldn't grab a spot.   Whimper looked like he could be a guy.  His name was even Guy.   He was a clear Rosey Brown pick, and looked impressive in the playoffs against Tampa Bay when he had to sub in for Diehl.  But apparently, he was never into practicing like a Giant and has bounced around the league since then.   Mitch Petrus was another big whiff.  And you could tell they thought he was a guy.   Reese used to rave about him, even comparing him to Rich Seubert.  He even looked like he might eventually contribute in his second year, before not being able to make it out of his third camp.

James Brewer is still around, and he was a massive Rosey Brown pick, but has been massively inconsistent, and it's unclear if he takes his job seriously enough.   That's sort of a side issue, but the Giants lost a lot of leadership when the old guys left, and Snee was out with injuries.    The meeting room could not possibly be what it had been.

They envisioned Brandon Mosley as a guy who could play tackle and guard like David Diehl.   Well, so far he has been no David Diehl.  Before getting IR'd as a rookie, he looked bad in the preseason.  Then this year, when they tried him at guard to mixed results, he got hurt again.   He may be headed for his last round-up if the can't contribute in 2014.

Okay, so we've covered the drafting problems.   And they really are inexcusable.  In each draft, most Giant fans can go through the prospects and point out which ones are like the guys we've won with and which ones aren't, but the Giants usually end up passing on them, as they did in the egregious case of Max Unger.

On top of the drafting problem, the Giants have, since Seubert, failed to find another long term fix from the ranks of the undrafted.    Finding Seubert was luck and I think I remember him writing a letter to Mouse McNally about how he had trained himself using a McNally book or video tape.  But we won two Super Bowls because we found Seubert and might have won more without his injuries.  Not being able to find even a top 5 guy from UDFA has made the task ahead of the Giants more daunting.

The Giants have also screwed the pooch in OL free agency.  In the beginning of the Coughlin era they signed O'Hara, then McKenzie.  Both huge piece of the puzzle but since then, no such luck.  Baas, as has been recounted, has looked terrible and had a net negative effect on the OL and the Cap.  In 2010 they made a good pick up with Shawn Andrews who was a total Rosey Brown who could play anywhere but center, but then couldn't renegotiate him and he decided he didn't want to play anymore.   Meanwhile, the Giants haven't found a long term fix in OL FA since McKenzie.   They needed to do better than that to head off this crisis.

So here we are, by overlooking Giant type OL's in drafts, failing to find overlooked guys in UDFA, and not only bumbling the David Baas FA move, but not finding a long term fit in FA since McKenzie, the Giants find themselves where they are today:  fielding an OL full of questions marks.

Due to injuries and personnel issues, I don't think it's necessarily fair to blast Coach Flaherty, but some may be inclined to do just that.  For my money from 2004-2010 Coach Flats proved to be one of the best in the business, and unless they are completely becoming a zone blocking spread O in 2014, I wouldn't think of replacing him.  I would take a good look at who his assistants have been and which ones have produced the best results with him

Tomorrow or later this week I'll start looking at how the Giants can fix it, and whether they currently have any of the solutions on the roster.

Knicks Win

Carmelo had a mellow 35 as the Knick beat the Lakers this afternoon.   The Lakers were without Kobe, but the Knicks still sort of had their hands full well into the 4th.  That will probably be the case when Camelo is even somewhat mortal.   Tim Hardaway Jr. is really starting to look like he'll be a better pro than collegian.  He really does need to take it to the rack more often and not be just a perimeter jump shooter.   Felton was better than usual.

Rangers Romp in Stadium Series Debut

Wow, what a crazy game.    Hank looked terrible early and was quickly behind 1-0, then 2-1.  Fortunately, the 4th line showed up early and got big goals from D. Moore, the Brian Boyle to keep the Rangers in the game.  In the middle innings, that is the second period, Hank settled down and the Rangers went to work.  From 3-2, they scored 5 straight goals to banish Brodeur and go on to win 7-3.  The final Ranger goal came on a penalty shot by Derek Stepan.   All 4 Ranger lines score.  MZA had two, one of which came on a gorgeous pass from Brassard.  Stepan assisted Nash with another great pass.    Hagelin was credited with a goal on a wrist shot, but it may get switched to Richards who was providing an effective screen.   It started snowing in the second period, when the Rangers were going wild.   Looked like a great day in the Bronx.  The Knicks are now my only team that hasn't played in Yankee Stadium, to my knowledge anyway.   They might have played there in an exhibition in the early days of the NBA.  I think the Globetrotters did.    Next game they are back at the Stadium to take on the Islanders.   Stick tap to all of the intrepid fans from both teams who made it out there.  Let's go, Rangers!

Rangers Today

The Rangers live a lot of baseball players dreams as they take on the Devils today in Yankee Stadium.    Should be an absolutely great event, that they pretty much must win.   Apparently, it's in some sort of rain delay now, but anything's better than the NFL pro-bowl, right?

This Week on the Blog 1/26-2/1

Okay, should be another interesting week on the blog.

Rangers:  The Rangers begin the Stadium Series tomorrow and it would be a great idea for them to win both games.  Otherwise, they should really start thinking about next year, AV's system and adjusting the personnel.

Yankees:  The Yanks are in better shape than they were last week.  They still need help in the infield, and perhaps the bullpen.  Though, the bullpen might be most efficiently served from the farm.

Giants:  Hopefully, we'll get clarity on the coaching staff.  Maybe they'll start signing some of their own FA's.

Knicks:  Can Melo keeping scorching it?   Will they make some sensible moves?   It's still crazy with this team,

So, all four teams have their work cut out for them this week.  Let's see what happens.

Sean Ryan to Coach TE's

Apparently, the Giants are moving Coach Sean Ryan from QB's to TE's.   It seemed more likely that they would move him back to WR's, but I guess they'd rather make one move than two.   That may turn out to be sub-opmtimal.   Kevin Gilbride Jr. didn't distinguish himself as coach of the WR's.   Nicks declined, Cruz's drops seemed to go up,  Randle didn't develop into anything reliable, and Jernigan either didn't develop quickly or was criminally overlooked.   Gilbride Jr. had coached TE's in one of his earlier stops, and Ryan had been good with the WR's.   But, I guess this is what they want to do.   The Giants are used to having Mike Pope at TE's.   There's almost no possible way this is an upgrade.   What's more, they now have a QB coach at OC,  a collegiate OC at QB's, a QB coach at RB's and now a failed QB coach / good WR coach at TE's.   Let's hope these guys are up to the task,

And I still can't believe they didn't change any defensive coaches or Quinn.

Melo Goes Off!

Carmelo Anthony set a Knicks and Garden record tonight with 62 points, before leaving the game with over 7 minutes left in the 4th.   He also had 13 boards.  This was part of a blowout win over the Bobcats.   This accomplished a lot of things.  First it helped the Knicks in their battle for the playoffs.  Second it too the Garden record away from Kobe Bryant and gave it back to a Knick.  And thirdly, it gave the Knick/Garden record to a Knick on a winning team.  When Bernard King scored 60 on Christmas 1984, the Knicks lost the game to the Nets.  I remember because I was there.   Now it least it was set in a win.   What a performance.   Jeremy Tyler looked good, too.

Yankees Make More Money

The day after signing Tanaka to his 7 year 155M deal, the Yanks got back to doing what they do best. Today they completely the sale of everything but 20% of the YES network to Fox, and also traded David Huff, the guy they DFA'd to make room for Tanaka, to the San Francisco Giants for CASH.   Not sure what the Huff deal is, but the Fox deal should allow the Yanks to start collecting HUGE BROADCAST fees like they used to from MSG.   They still own 20% of it, still less we be a matter of moving money from one pocket to another, with more new money coming into the system from FOX.   Thus is till always make sense for them to make big deals an put great players on the deal, to increase the value of their TV rights.

Giants: Danny Langsdorf to QB Coach?

Wow.  The latest sourced rumor is that Danny Langsdorf will be joining the Giants as QB coach.   Guess they got tired of  waiting for Sully.  If this is true, he fits the profile of what we were expecting.  Young coach with pro and collegiate experience.  Between stints at Oregon State he spent three years working with the Saints offense with Ben McAdoo among others.  So we will now have input from a McCarthy disciples on the staff.   I hope this is true.  As much as Eli might have been more comfortable with Mike Sullivan, maybe it's time for him to be more challenged.  This guy could also step in if McAdoo gets a head coaching job somewhere.   Presumably Coach Ryan will be moving back to WR's and Coach Gilbride will be moving to TE's.  And all of a sudden the Giants are primarily young on the offensive staff.

UPDATE:  Ralph is confirming this and Connor Orr is saying Ryan has been let go.   Interesting.  We'd still need another new coach then.

David Diehl Retires

And speaking of core:  the Giants longtime Guard and Tackle, David Diehl retired today.   We speculated about this ten days or so ago, and now it has come to pass.   First of all, if you could get a David Diehl quality player in the 5th round of every draft, your team would never be out of contention.  Diehl came right in and started as a rookie, he had played under one of Mouse McNally's disciples at Illinois and scooted right in at right guard.  That was when Richie Seubert was looking like a future pro-bowler at left guard.  Tiki was through the roof because both guards could pull.  Dave would move around from there, but always gave it all he had, often playing through injuries during his 120 straight starts.   Eventually he ended up at left tackle for two Superbowls, cause no one else could do the job and cause Beatty got injured in `11.  

Dave was not only great on the field, but his selflessness on the business side of things helped the Giants field better teams.   That's another thing about core, they should want to be there, and prove it at some point of points.   Dave took a catch deal that would pay him one rate at tackle and another rate at guard.  And they could always call him for a re-do.  

He even drove Eli around.   David Diehl was just everything you want a Giant today and the Giants as an organization as well as the fans were lucky to get to cheer for him for all of these years and through two titles.  May the sun always shine on David Diehl.

Managing Core

The Yanks have already lost Cano.   The Giants seems poised to lose Nicks and possibly Linval Joseph in March.  The Rangers could lose Callahan, Girardi and others after the season.   Because of the NBA's insane cap, teams don't have cores.  They have hired guns who can be traded any time that it makes cap sense, and very few are long term players anywhere.

Over the past several years much was made of the Yankee core four of Andy, Posada, Mo and Jeter.  Now only Jeter is left, but the Yanks won a ton of games, pennants and titles with those four.  Of course it was more than that, it was Bernie, too, the great trade they made for Paul O'Neill, etc.    But a team's core is the group of players it has either drafted or otherwise acquired that it expects to win with over the long haul.   The guys you can build your winner and brand around.   Players who aren't at that level should be traded or allowed to leave.

The problem has always been keeping your core together.   The Yankees free agent advantage over the last 20 years hasn't been so much that they could sign outsiders, but that they could keep Bernie, Posada, Mariano and Derek Jeter for their whole careers.   Andy left for awhile and nobody won.

What we saw at the end end of last year was Robinson Cano, a core member of the Yanks for his whole career signing with the Mariners.  This made no story sense as he seemed determined to be a career Yankee and cruise right into the Hall of Fame.   But now he's gone, and regardless of what else they have done, the Yanks have major instability in their infield.

This was an awful precedent and it should have been avoided.  No, the Yankees should not have given Cano a 10 year deal at 32, but they should have either signed him to big extension two or three years ago, or traded him last year at the deadline.

Core players like Cano are huge assets and the truth is you either have to find a way to keep them, or exact a king's ransom for them in a trade.  You can't let them leave via free agency because you just don't get enough return.  

In the Yankees case they need to be able to identify who those players are by about 28 and give them extensions through their age 36 season if they are position players, and 33 if they are pitchers.  Then keep giving them smaller extensions to by up the rest of the their 30s.   This is essentially what the Yanks are doing with Jeter and what they should do next time they get a young core player.   They don't seem to have any now.

This brings up the Giant cases of Nicks and Linval.   As a rookie, Hakeem Nicks showed himself to be core.  Just a great football player.  And he was phenomenal last time the Giants made the post season and won the Superbowl.   Then injuries and communication issues have lead to the current situation.  He's scheduled to be a free agent,  and the Giants seem like they'll let him go.   Baseball careers are easier to chart than football careers, but as soon as things started to go South, and no extension was reached with Hakeem, he should have been traded.

The Giants weren't making the playoffs anyway, and now they'll just lose him.   On the flip side, Justin Tuck has been a great Giant through two Super Bowls, and it looks like they'll be able to make a friendly deal to keep him.

Linval Joseph is an interesting case.  He's gotten better and better and now appears to be the kind of core guy they should keep and build around.  Problem is, he's going to cost a ton, and they've already drafted his replacement in Johnathan Hankins.   The real core guy on the DL is JPP, even though Linval was a better player this past year.  JPP is harder to replace.

In a perfect world, Linval would have been extended before becoming a FA or traded, though NFL trades are more rare than baseball trades because of the cap.

That brings us to the Rangers. They have a bunch of FA's and RFA's they have to take care of in the coming offseason.  They have already locked up Hank and McDonagh for the foreseeable future and now they have to make tough decisions about Girardi and Callahan.

For years, both Girardi and Callahan have been core, and the Rangers have become a winning team again because of those two, Hank and a few others.   But it's also true that with Vigneault, the core might have to change.  It's already shifting to guys like McDonagh, Stepan, Krieder, and MZA, with other kids like Miller and McIlrath waiting in the wings.

So the Rangers have big decisions to make with Girardi and Callahan.  They can't let them leave as free agents, so they either have to work out extensions, or trade them at the deadline.   They have been core and still are core, but it will make sense to move them if they can't get reasonable extensions done.  And they'll have to get a king's ransom.  Which will be much more than the Yanks got for not having locked up  Cano or the Giants will get for not having locked up  Nicks and Linval.

Rangers Lose

This was an annoying loss against a good team that had not been playing well.   Rangers gave up the game's first goal on yet another controversial kick in that Toronto overlooked.  They tied it up late in the second, Nash.   Then Nash got whistled for slashing in the third, and Hank got beat 9 seconds into the power play and that was just about it.  The refs did a horrible job and Chris Kreider was fouled all night without drawing one.   Frustrating game.

Yanks Considering Stephen Drew?

Lots of rumors around that the Yanks are considering a run at Stephen Drew.   He was on the Red Sox last year and has garnered little interest through the first few months of this offseason.  Apparently, he was insisting on only playing SS earlier.   Now he's said he'd play more positions, thus a 2 year deal where he could play 3rd this year and SS next might make some sense to the Yanks.   Like Brett Gardner his defense has been more consistent than his O over this career.  Can't hit lefties and that's surpressed his numbers.  Walks 60 times per 162,  which isn't nearly enough to compensate for the low BA he puts up against lefties.  He's another guy who might really benefit from the home park.

I'd still rather try to trade for someone, but Drew is not a terrible bandage as we transition from the legends to a younger team.   We'll see what happens.  Had a good year last year, but the Sox don't seem to want him back.   Could run well at one point.

Knicks: Bargnani Out Indefinitely

Apparently Bargnani has a torn ligament in his elbow.   Don't know if it's his shooting elbow, because his shot has been off for years.  But now, he too, will join the Knicks injury procession.   Seems like he'll be gone ever longer than Amare and KMart.    Hope he's okay, but don't really know if this will be a good or a bad thing for the Knicks.

Whither Brett Gardner?

Now the Yanks know they will not have to use Brett Gardner to get a pitcher.   The rotation is full, and Brett is too much to give for a reliever.   Thus, they are either keeping him for the year, or moving him soon or at the deadline for a need.  The need they have now is at 3B so he'll probably either go for one now, or at the deadline.  Because unless the Yanks solve that now, they will have to try to solve it at the deadline -- and at that point the farm should look better than the injuries and off years caused it to look last year.  

I'll talk about this in the next few days, but the Yankees really need to do a better job of figuring out who's core and who's not, and not get into these situations where they have a good player like Brett Gardner who is just inconsistent enough at the plate to never be what they consider core.  And they have to trade these guys who aren't core, sooner, rather when everyone knows they really should.

Rangers Tonight

The Rangers face the St.Louis Blues tonight.   Needless to say, to have any chance at all, they have to play hard for 60 minutes.   They've got to have a terrible taste in their mouth over their last game and the way to get rid of it is to win.    Hank will be back in net, and it looks like Kevin Klein might make his return.   That will allow John Moore to play the left side, where he is more comfortable.   Hopefully that will lead to more production.   Let's go, Rangers.

Knicks Lose Yet Again

The Knicks did it again, this time against the 76ers.    They are in the process of pissing away their longest home stand in years.   It's remarkable, that on the day where the Yanks got a pitcher, the Giants hired a coach, and the Rangers finally traded Del Zotto -- the Knicks who are in the most desperate need for players, coaching changes and trades, did nothing but LOSE again.    This is just embarrassing.  

Giants Name Craig Johnson New RB Coach

This is interesting.  Craig Johnson was most recently QB coach of the Vikings.  In fact between the Vikings and Titans, 5 QB's he has coached have made the Pro-Bowl.  But he does have previous experience with RB for at least 1 season, and that's what he'll be doing with the Giants.   Have no idea whether or not this is an improvement.  It certainly means neither Ryan nor Gilbride will be moved there if they are replaced.  Interesting.

Update: Oh, I see. Karl Dorrell, whom the Giants were likely to name WR coach took the OC spot at Vandy.  That probably means Ryan will go back to WR's, Gilbride will go to TE's and Sullivan or someone else will be the new QB coach.

Rangers Trade Del Zotto for Kevin Klein

          

The Rangers have traded Michael Del Zotto for Nashville D Kevin Klein.  Albeit he's a righty shot, but he's also -11 in 47 games this year.  There is very little chance this deal will make the Rangers any better or worse.  Klein was playing more minutes this year, but still, no great shakes and the -11 is discouraging.    Having looked around so much to see what they could do with Del Zotto, it's disappointing that this was all they could do.

More On Tanaka

The Yanks had to do it.  Because of injuries in the system to guys like Pineda and Banuelos, and the big league flameouts of Hughes and Joba, the Yanks needed a young dynamic starter to help now, but also to begin the transition to a younger staff over the next several years.  Now they line up:

Sabathia
Kuroda
Tanaka
Nova
Phelps?

That's not so bad.  But the rotation next year, which will probably lose Kurodo, would be unthinkable without Tanaka.

The next guys to help from the system are likely Pineda and Banuelos, but they were still recovering from injuries and and Manny's case, he still has to rebuild his innings.   So he might not be available to help the rotation next year.

Hopefully, Nova will discover some consistency in his age 27 year, and Phelps will show that he's more than a #5.    That would allow them to slot into 3 and 4 next year when Kuroda will probably be gone.

So getting Tanaka was very necessary and not just for this year.    This also saves the Yanks from what was a terrible pitchers market in FA.   And since teams are locking up guys like Kershaw, Felix and Verlander these days, they had no other option for getting the stalwart they needed.

Yanks Nab Tanaka!

The Yankees did what they had to do.   They landed 25 year old Masahiro Tanaka to help anchor their rotation for the next 7 years.  The deal is said to be 7/155, with an opt out after 4 years.   So, if he's as good as he looks on tape, they'll be re-signing him in 4 years.   Apparently, a lot of teams were interested, so it's not too hard to understand how the years went to 7 and the dollars to 155.

We'll start to see what we've landed when pitchers and catchers report in a few weeks.  On tape he shown some deception, some pitchability and one hell of a splitter.  He may not be a number 1, but he could be a top number 2, and may have to be a number 1 for the Yanks, depending on whether or not CC can come back.

He''ll probably start out as the #3 behind CC and Kuroda.   It's even possible that he'll start in the minors, as they did when the got Orlando Hernandez many years ago.   Let's hope he's that good.

Meanwhile, they still need a 3B.   Adios, 189!  Go Yanks!

Rangers Lose

Rangers got a goal from Nash is the first minute of the game, and then relaxed.   Though they would lead 2-0 then 3-1, they gave it all up and lost 5-3 because they didn't skate hard for 60 minutes.  That's the only way they can win.  You can't bury anyone with a first period goal, Rangers.   That was horrendous.  People will now have to work harder than you did all night just to get home in the weather they came to see you in in NYC.   Just inexcusable.  And Pouliot seems to be regressing.  And Talbot needs to stop allowing so many rebounds.  Other than that, he was still good.  Just needs to clean that up.  Kreider had a goal, be he also had a too many men on penalty, which allowed the Islander PP that gave them the game.   Use your head, smart guy.    Just atrocious.

Tanaka Reportedly Deciding Between Yanks and Cubs

That's the latest from YES.  Who seem to have a hot stove special scheduled today.    As I said last week, I can't believe he or anyone would choose the Cubs if the money was close, and the Yanks cannot let themselves lose out to the Cubs because Hal suddenly backs off his pennywise and pound foolish ways.    There can be no choice here.  Can there?   Go Yanks!

Rangers Tonight

According to Ranger reporter/blogger Dave Shapiro, Hank is sick today so Cam Talbot will be in goal against the Islanders later.   That's if it's not snowed out.   This is another big game for the Rangers, and they'll have to play 60 strong minutes to get their 2 points.  The Islanders have been streaking, too, but, who cares?  Gotta beat them.  Let's go, Rangers!

Mara to Talk Contract With Coughlin

Today, John Mara announced that he will be talking contract with Tom Coughlin.  How that turns out will go along way to determining the Giants future.   If they extend him one year, it might mean they have an exit strategy in mind.  Any longer and they will be liable to lose McAdoo and any other young coach on the staff who'll be lured away by advancement opportunities.   So, there could be even more coach rotation coming up in the next few years.  

Meanwhile, they really have to fix the roster and it may be too big a job for one offseason.

Tanaka Watch

According to reports we could hear where Tanaka is heading in the next 24-48 hours.   The Yankees really need to come through here, or things will be that much worse for that much longer.  They are on the edge of abyss due to their stingy ways in the draft and IFA before the rule changes.  If it's not Tanaka, it could really be awful for awhile.

Knicks Lose, Melo Rips Team

This is bad.  They got blown out by the Nets, who are also off to a bad start, and Melo ripped the team for not fighting.   Something has to change.   And the Knicks need to figure out if their star wants to stay or they need to trade him.  Likewise Tyson Chandler, no use having them if you can't build around them.  I don't know what they'll elect to do, but they can't keep going on like this with a crummy record and disgruntled stars.

UPDATE: Beno Udrih has requested a trade, and the beat goes on...

Knicks Today

Maybe they can stop imploding for MLK day.    They really shouldn't be this awful with Melo and Chandler ready to go.    Must be the coach.

Rangers Willing to Move Callahan?

Wow.  According to Steve Zipay, the Rangers may be willing to move Ryan Callahan.   That's a little surprising.   Sure, moving Dan Girardi would seem to make sense if they don't have room to re-sign him or would rather get the assets, but Cally?   Logically, trading Cally might make sense, depending on the return.  He gets hurt a lot, and if they could get a first rounder and someone with more reliable health, it would probably make more sense than overpaying to keep him.  That said, he's a totally homegrown Ranger, has worn the shirt proudly, has played terrifically, is the Captain and has all sorts of intangibles.   Those kind of guys tend to stick around at least until their late thirties, right Brian Leetch?    But seriously, unless something else is going on, I really don't see it happening.  It will be hard enough to part with Girardi if they do that.

Rangers Rip Caps

Rick Nash scored two goals to lead the Rangers to a 4-1 win over the Caps.  Like I said earlier, when the Rangers are good, they beat the Caps,  They did it again tonight, so they must be leaning toward good.  Hank got the win.  They just got to keep going,   This is getting fun!  Islanders are next,

Rangers Tonight

The Rangers have to keep it going tonight against the Caps.  This is one of those teams that the Rangers beat, when they are any good.  Once again, we'll see them put McDonagh on Ovechkin, the science experiment, as much as possible.  And they have to watch for shots from the D, which have hurt them them against the Caps in the past.  Beyond that, they have to play 60 minutes of Ranger hockey.  Not let ups.   Hank should be back in net.   Let's go, Rangers.

Giants: Losing Nicks?

Weird morning.   For no apparent reason, there are stories circulating the Hakeem Nicks will not be back, because not only were the Giants disappointed in his play lately, but he also missed treatment for his injuries and the Giants had to fine him numerous times for being late for meetings.  That was quite a load of information to get first thing.

While I always thought they could lose Nicks, I had hoped they'd find a way to keep him, the reason being that he is really hard to replace.   Hakeem Nicks was a dynamic WR and playmaker.  He used to score a lot of TD's and he could change and take over a game, like he did against Atlanta and then the Packers the last time we were in the playoffs.   There's no one in free agency to replace him, and Ruben Randle ain't it.   So the Giants would have to use their first rounder,  or seriously pray for a Tiki/Strahan sized miracle in the second round.

And that's going to be tough this year because even though it's a good, deep draft for WR's,  it's also a  good draft for Guards and fixing the OL should take precedence over WR, and would if we had already locked up #88.

That being said, I am still not sure he's leaving.   Wherever this stuff came from, it's meant to make Nicks look bad.  For instance,  Nicks said he wasn't injured, yet, someone is saying he missed treatment for his injuries.    The fine stuff is whatever it is, but the effort stuff is not good, and now it's been introduced to the marketplace.

It is not like the Giants to kick a player as he's leaving. However; it is not unlike the Giants to take part in a form of reality therapy when trying to sign a moody player.  Remember Plax?    Anyway, let's not call this over till it's over.   The Giants already have a ton to do with the OL, RB, and TE, let alone having to find another #1 type WR.

More on Tanaka

Now it's being reported that the Yankees and 5 other teams made offers to Tanaka on January 16.  And it seems like people are a little confused.   Any team he's interested in will no doubt have a chance to sweeten the deal till it's agreeable.  It's not like the high offer will win right off the bat, unless it's so high that no one can top it.  Feels like people are getting things a little confused with how the blind bidding used to work for posting fees.   But that system has been replaced by the one price post.   So anything now is as it would be with any other free agent.  Hopefully the Yanks will do what it takes.  It would really help now and over the next several years.