Howie Karpin's 3 Balls 2 Strikes

Jake's Take: Rangers Pass Their First Test

2016-11-22T12:51:00.003-05:00

Rangers Pass Their First Test

By Jake Karpin

The New York Rangers were facing their first real test of the season last night in Pittsburgh. They already have played some good teams, but for the most part they had steamrolled their way to the top of the Metropolitan division, that is, until the last few days. All of the sudden, they lost two straight games in which they looked often lazy and outworked. Even worse, two key cogs to their great start, Pavel Buchnevich (back injury) and Mika Zibanejad (broken fibula) are both expected to miss some extended time with injuries.

There were danger signs up ahead. Their first losing streak of the season was followed by a home and home against the Pittsburgh Penguins who eliminated them last year. There was definitely some extra juice for both teams coming into this game with last season’s playoff encounter that was won by the Pens in five games.

The first period at times bordered on dirty hockey with both teams exchanging cross checks and slashes. With all the extra curricular activity that was going on, the Rangers had allowed a Penguins rookie named Jake Guentzel, playing in his first NHL game, to score his first two goals to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead. The Rangers looked like they could be run out of the building early. They were not controlling the puck and looked like a team that was tired and had lost two straight games coming into this one. Then something else happened that the Rangers have been doing all year long. They responded to the challenge.

Slow starts have been common for the Rangers so far this year and yet they haven’t let it affect the rest of their game. The Rangers are doing most of their damage in the 2nd period and that’s certainly what happened last night as they scored three times to take a their first lead and suck the life out of the building.

This season the Rangers have been closing out opponents late in the game (something they had a lot of trouble doing last year) as they have won every game in which they’ve taken a lead into the 3rd period. It seems to fit their identity that they get their legs under them as the game progresses. It’s not exactly the best strategy for winning a ton of games and it could come back to haunt them, but it’s better to be playing good later than early.

The Rangers are still learning how to be a complete team and that means every player on the ice committing to defense. Early in last night’s game that wasn’t the case. There were too many times that they were trying to play the puck and not the man leading to many chances in front of the net.

In the 2nd period, the Rangers commitment to back checking was on full display when J.T. Miller raced back time and time again to break up plays. Eventually he was rewarded with a shorthanded goal on a lucky bounce. The Rangers are undefeated when Miller has a point in the game.

All the Ranger forwards understand the importance of defending their own zone and how that creates the odd man rushes that so often lead to quality scoring chances. This has been especially valuable to the Rangers defensemen who are able be more aggressive when they know they can count on a forward to defend their spot. The Rangers’ captain Ryan McDonagh has benefitted greatly from the team defense and so has Rangers rookie defenseman Brady Skjei. The 22-year old has shown a lot of poise and skill for such a young player and his skating and puck handling ability have paid off offensively as he leads all NHL rookie defensemen in assists. As he gets more games under his belt, he’ll learn to cut down on the mistakes and the Rangers defense will get even better.

This team will face more tests in the coming weeks, starting with another game against the Penguins tomorrow night. The Rangers will likely want to avoid a slow start in this one at the Garden but even if they don’t, this team has the ability to come back when needed. Slowly but surely they are building a quiet confidence about them that will serve them well.

The Rangers offense seems to come in waves. Even on a night when the Rangers were playing a back to back and were missing two of their best forwards, they continued the offensive onslaught. So other NHL teams might want to put an emphasis on beating the Rangers early because it’s going to be tough to beat them late.

2016-11-16T15:52:00.000-05:00

Jake's Take: Jets and Giants Going In Opposite Directions In More Ways Than One

by Jake Karpin

In football, a team’s fortunes can change quickly. Look no further than the two teams playing in New York. The Jets entered the season expecting to challenge for a playoff spot. They brought back the starting quarterback that had a career year and was backed by a strong defense keyed by its talented defensive line. Under second year head coach Todd Bowles, there was reason for excitement. Things have not materialized as many in the organization would have liked as they now sit at 3-7 and virtually eliminated from the playoff race where they are the worst team in their own division.

The Jets season has been a disaster from the start as they lost 5 of their first 6 games to teams that made the playoffs last year. (their only win coming against the Bills who did not make the playoffs) However that doesn’t take the blame away from the coaches and players who simply haven’t performed up to expectations. The quarterback play has been poor and the defense hasn’t looked as dominant as last year’s unit. Ryan Fitzpatrick had a fantastic year last year, no one is debating that, but this year is a different story.

The problem is that, in the early portions of this year we saw too much of why they missed the playoffs last year.

The defense has been inconsistent. Darrelle Revis is clearly on the downside and may have to accept an eventual move to safety if he hopes to continue his career. The vaunted defensive front has not lived up to their biling and has underachieved. There have been disciplinary issues as well and that’s on the head coach who has had more than his share of the blame on his plate.

Earlier this year, Fitzpatrick threw six interceptions against the Chiefs and three against the Seahawks. He hasn’t thrown for more than one touchdown since Week 1 against the Bengals. Even with the injury to wide receiver Eric Decker, “Fitz” still has some decent weapons around him in Brandon Marshall, and Quincy Enunwa who has proven to be a solid receiver. Simply put, Fitzpatrick is someone who does not seize the moment and never has. It’s why the Jets were very wise to balk at his demand for a multi year deal and it’s why he should never play another snap in a Jets uniform even if he is healthy. There is a reason why the Jets kept four quarterbacks on the roster and this should be it. Geno Smith and Fitzpatrick will be gone next year because neither will factor in the future of the Jets. Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg should be getting every single snap behind center for a team that hasn’t had a franchise quarterback since Joe Namath.

The Jets would be wise to stay the course and see what these young quarterbacks are capable of doing instead of trying to wring a few extra wins out of a season that seems lost. Things weren’t pretty last Sunday with the loss to the Rams. This Jets team as currently constructed is not a contender. The good news is that they aren’t that far off as well. Look no further than the Dallas Cowboys to see how quickly a team can turn it around with the right picks and right moves.

On the other side of the coin, the Giants entered the season with cautious optimism. The ownership gave the green light to GM Jerry Reese to go out and make improvements to a defense that was arguably the worst in Giants history and the results have been promising. Although the defense is ranked in the middle of the pack they have been effective in closing out games, something the Giants’ teams of the last few years had been severely lacking. This has been especially valuable for a Giants offense that has many times this year looked one dimensional.

The Giants season has been a pleasant surprise to its fans who have witnessed four straight seasons without playoffs and haven’t had a winning team since 2012. They overhauled their defense in the off season, signing Olivier Vernon, Damon Harrison, and Janoris Jenkins to lucrative contracts and for the most part they have been worth it.

Last year, the Giants struggled mightily in late game scenarios which led to a lot of close defeats. Much of it could be attributed to the awful play from the defense and the running game being unable to run out the clock and close out teams. This year the running game has been just as abysmal but the defense has been better than the offense, an offense that many thought could be one of the best in the game with their passing weapons. The defensive renaissance for the Giants has been led by Landon Collins, the second year safety out of Alabama who has blossomed into one of the best in the NFL. His emergence, along with a healthier Jason Pierre-Paul, and their new additions have made the Giants defense a force to be feared.

In the game against the Eagles, the Giants defense negated a late turnover and sealed the win. Against Cincinnati, the defense came through in a big way by getting a late interception by Collins and several huge sacks by the defensive line to contain Andy Dalton and A.J. Green. The run game which was non existent for most of the season, came alive and got two first downs to seal the win.

The defense continues to look strong and the offense continues to do just enough. As it is, the Giants are 6-3 and well positioned to get to 8-3 in the next two weeks as they are facing two of the worst teams in the league (Bears and Browns) but there are still some things that need to be worked out. The run game needs to continue to produce especially if Victor Cruz cannot stay healthy (missed Bengals game with sprained right ankle.) Having a veteran presence in Eli Manning at quarterback is a huge benefit but this team is relying heavily on rookies and they need to continue to come through. Other than Odell Beckham Jr., the Giants receiving options are suspect. Cruz can’t stay healthy. Sterling Shephard, Roger Lewis, Jerell Adams are all rookies but are going to get many important snaps over the rest of the season. Running back Paul Perkins, the Giants fifth round pick this year, will get his share of carries as they try to get the offense to come around. If the offensive line can get healthy and this unit can continue to jell, there is still a lot to like here.

Overall this year’s team still has some glaring issues too. The offensive line is having problems in pass protection and run blocking. They have been outscored on the season (-2) and they have a minus turnover differential (-8) yet as they continue to play it seems as though they are getting better with each game.

Both the Jets and Giants came into the season with expectations and glaring weaknesses. The difference is the Giants have had some important pieces in place that allowed them to overcome their weaknesses, i.e. a franchise quarterback and a star wide receiver. The Jets have some good pieces in place but they have not been able to overcome their weaknesses on offense and that is what has killed them this season. In the coming months the Jets will have to decide what to do at the quarterback position and what other parts of the team need changes for them to get back to being a playoff caliber team. Meanwhile the Giants will hope to be gearing up for a playoff run.

Danny Karpin: At the 1/2 Way Mark: Do We Really Know What Kinda Team The Giants Are?

2016-11-09T19:25:00.001-05:00

Well here we are the halfway point in the season for the New York Giants and I honestly do not know how to feel.

At 5-3 the Giants have to be feeling pretty good though. They are the only team in the NFL to have beaten Dallas and carry a 2-1 record against divisional opponents heading forward. They have three more divisional games in the second half. Those will be crucial if the Giants want to win the division this year and make it back into the playoffs.

Looking at the season as a whole there are several things that have made you happy as a Giants fan and several that have left you shaking your head in frustration. Here are 3 things that have gone right for the Giants so far, instilling them with confidence and raising hopes for maybe a playoff run this year.

Passing It Around

One thing that really was expected to excel this year for the New York Giants was their passing game. They used their second round pick in this year’s draft to take highly skilled wide receiver Sterling Shepard and it only added to the expectation that the Giants would be one of the best passing teams in football. So far they have lived up to that hype phenomenally.

Their passing game has been one of the main reasons for their five wins. They rank in the top ten in the league for total yards (9^th) and passing yards per game (6^th) Which is good, they are moving the ball and it is giving them chances to put points on the board. They have been able to get big plays. Not playing to the cameras on the sidelines needed to stop ASAP and it appears he’s done that.

Eli Manning has effectively silenced the critics who had claimed his best was behind him. His brother was productive till his 40s, why can’t Eli be so too. They do have the same genes as much as people like to forget that. The passing game is a huge reason why they are 5-3.

Dollars on Defense

After putting together one of the worst seasons in franchise history last year, the Giants’ defense seems to have rebounded pretty nicely. For the most part the new acquisitions have been stellar. Janoris Jenkins has earned every dollar from his big contract so far by playing like a true shutdown corner. Damon “snacks” Harrison and Jonathan Hankins anchor what is probably one of the best run stopping duo of defensive tackles in the game, and it shows. The Giants rank in the top ten in rushing yards allowed per game (9^th) and rushing yards allowed overall (7^th)

Olivier Vernon has not been quite the destructive presence they envisioned when they signed him but it’s clear his presence has helped take the pressure off of Jason Pierre Paul. Their second year safety, Landon Collins, is quickly becoming a star and is on the fast track to being one of the best safeties in the game. I get flashes of Kenny Phillips when I watch him play and Phillips was phenomenal until injuries ended his career too soon.

All of these things combine to form a very good “bend but not break” defense that the Giants have relied on this year, and that is another huge reason why they are 5-3.

Too Close For Comfort

This Giants’ team has shown immense composure down the stretch and that is where the new coaching regime deserves some credit. They haven’t had many crucial errors in tight games, in fact it seems like they have been on the right side of those crucial errors all season. Now that is something that may have just been luck on their side but you cannot ignore the fact that they have won almost all of their games by 5 points or less. In fact their largest margin of victory this year came against the Rams when they won by only a single touchdown. All of their other wins have been by small margins which meant that in those contests they made most, if not all the right moves down the stretch.

Now this is by no means a total endorsement of Ben McAdoo’s play calling and decision making. He still calls that half-back draw play, which in my opinion, is the worst run play in football. Regardless he has shown that he has poise for a young head coach. This translates to some confidence in them moving forward.

The Eagles game was an especially good example of this. In past years, when the Giants had the Eagles on the ropes, something would always happen to let the game slip away. This time, when they needed to pad their lead by scoring a touchdown, the Giants did so. Now if you have been watching the Giants the past five years, could you confidently say that they would have done that under Tom Coughlin’s watch? I would not.

Coughlin’s Giants, while capable of winning two super bowls were also capable of wild inconsistencies, such as putting up 14 points in the beginning of the game and then being shut out offensively for the rest. Whether that came from not adjusting mid game or just the system Coughlin had in place, it was known to happen. The fact that McAdoo has the Giants winning this many close games this early on is a plus for him. It shows that he is putting his fingerprints on the team. That poise is another big reason why they are 5-3. However they do have 3 losses in 8 games so not everything is going right for them….

On the flip side, here are three things that not have gone so right for the Giants…..

Running Blind

Like a repeat of last season, their run game has been abysmal. They are dead last in the league in rushing yards per game.

There’s a myriad of factors contributing to this, one of them being their young and inexperienced offensive line. They already had problems on the offensive line, now with possibly their best lineman out for weeks (Justin Pugh, sprained MCL) the run game could actually get worse as scary as that sounds. They need to find a way to rejuvenate this part of their offense, a run game is crucial to keeping drives alive and running clock.

The reason Dallas has been so good all year is mainly their run game. It allows them to control the game, keep the defense on the field and subsequently gives the offense that much less time and drives overall.

A running game is essential to a team’s offense. Without it the team cannot run clock effectively which is exactly what the Giants have failed to do in the games that they’ve lost. With a decent run game you could probably pencil in the Giants for another win or two and they might be 7-1 instead of 5-3.

Pass Rush or Pass Relax?

The Giants have no pass rush period. There is not much more I can say about it other than that. They were once known as the team who could knock a QB out of the game at any moment, almost able to could get to the QB on almost every play. Now the opposing QB can sit back and tear them apart. In response to this adversity, Steve Spagnuolo has been forced to rely on creative blitzes to generate a pass rush. This needs to change and they will need to find ways for their front four to be more effective in rushing the quarterback.

It should be noted that this past Sunday against the Eagles, Jason Pierre Paul did have his best game since his fireworks accident. Still, one game does not make up for the other ten-plus where he has looked very average. The lack of a pass rush will always be concerning to me since I am so used to seeing Giants teams where that is the strength of their defense. They are lucky their secondary has played so well this season.

Brown Out

Look I hate to bring it up again but the Giants totally flubbed this one. I wrote back when it came out that he was a habitual spouse abuser, the Giants should not even wait for further information but kick him to the curb. It would be a completely different story had it been a one-time incident but with over ten instances of it being made public, the Giants should have stuck to their integrity.

Too many times they will pass up on a highly talented player in the draft with the simple excuse of “character issues” Well I’d like to know who told John Mara that character issues don’t extend to spousal abuse.

Josh Brown is a kicker, he’s not Odell Beckham Jr or Eli Manning, HE IS A KICKER AND THEY ARE A DIME A DOZEN.

I am still in awe that Giants let themselves absorb this embarrassment over a player who should’ve been off the team the day after the allegations came out. This is something that they did wrong this season, even if it was off the field. They are lucky the distractions that arose from this did not affect their play directly.

The Giants have some work to do if they want to have a winning and productive second half of the season, but there are still things to revel in.

Thankfully the team has a winning record. With eight games to go, they could possibly have ten wins this season. Anything can happen, that’s why we watch.

Jake Karpin on NY Rangers: Don't Call It a Rebuild

2016-10-25T00:16:00.001-04:00

Don’t Call It A Rebuild
By: Jake Karpin

When the New York Rangers were ousted in five games by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last spring, there was a growing consensus that a team that had been one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference the last few years had its window closed. That an aging roster, particularly on the defensive side, and a goaltender who was approaching the wrong side of 30 would make them a good bet to regress even though the team had just finished up another 100 point season.

The reality is that they may be better off having been eliminated so early.

There was no denying that last year's Rangers' team looked old and slow as they often gave up leads late while providing teams with easy scoring opportunities in close in front of the net.

The team looks more refreshed this season. This Rangers team is relying a bit more on younger players. The head coach, Alain Vigneault, and his staff are eager to see how far they can go.

Their prized acquisition in the off season, Jimmy Vesey, is combining with newly acquired Mika Zibanejad to form a nice young core. Both players are just 23 years old and have immediately proven to have an impact on the club.

Vigneault has seen enough from the young Vesey to give him heavy minutes on the power play unit and the results have been exciting. This is also due to the impressive play of the rest of the Ranger forwards who have played a better brand of two-way hockey. The power play looks "worlds" better than the last few years. The Rangers have been precise and deliberate with their passes with the man advantage, as opposed to previous seasons when they would often be holding the puck and cutting short their shot totals and scoring chances.

Vesey’s two goals against the Capitals were impressive. One showed an awareness around the net that a lot of young players don’t have and the other one displayed a strong power move that would make a veteran defenseman look bad. There will be growing pains for the youngster but his talent is undeniable. Playing with Kevin Hayes, who like Vesey played his college hockey in the Boston area, has helped him acclimate quicker to life in the NHL.

Then there is Zibanejad who has shown that the swap for Derrick Brassard could end up being a steal for the Rangers. Zibanejad is second on the team in points to Chris Kreider who may finally be ready to deliver on the talent that has been seen in spurts the last few years. Ranger fans will remember the timely goals Brassard scored during the playoff runs but Zibanejad has already shown skills that make it seem the trade will be worth it. The Rangers center has proven to be good on face-offs and on the penalty kill, two areas that are already looking superior to last years squad. Lastly, Zibanejad, who is a right handed shot, is six years younger than Brassard and has more of an upside.

There were stretches of games last year where the Rangers relied too heavily on its aging goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. Some of that was a result of a lackluster defense. This year the Ranger blue line still features veterans Marc Staal and Dan Girardi. Both are coming off down years but so far, they have played well. Solid players like Nick Holden, Kevin Klein and Brady Skjei makes this year's unit more reliable. Rangers Capt. Ryan McDonagh looks healthier than he has all of last year. Their defense has been good and played well in front of their goaltender who still looks like he has a few great seasons left in him.

Even though the season is young, GM Jeff Gorton has done a masterful job bringing in talent to provide depth to a roster than seemed a little thin last year on special teams.

There is a long way to go before declaring any team a playoff contender at this point in the season, instead what we are looking for is reasons to be excited and for the Rangers there are plenty. They are 4-2-0 but could easily be 6-0 with how they played in those two losses. Even more impressive was overcoming a 2-0 deficit on the road against the Capitals, one of the best teams in the league and then winning the next night in a back to back although it was against Arizona.

The NY Rangers have been a very nice surprise to fans who thought they may be entering a down period and with their surplus of young talent, the team looks well situated to compete down the road as well.

Danny Karpin: Knicks Have a Ways to go to "Get Back"

2016-10-11T13:44:00.002-04:00

Well here we are once again fellow Knicks' aficionados.

The off-season has been in full swing with some major surprises taking place.

Not one to be left out of the festivities, the Knicks made some splashes of their own. They completely retooled their roster (which was smart) and added the big name marquee players like Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Brandon Jennings.

They added to their depth with guys like Courtney Lee and signed one of their standouts from last year’s roster in Lance Thomas. (although they probably should have tried to sign one or two more; I would have really liked them to keep Langston Galloway)

Their new additions have high praise for the team as they should, I just wish they would temper their expectations a little. They made some pretty good moves and it has the whole basketball world saying that famous phrase that any realistically thinking Knicks fan absolutely HATES to hear: The Knicks Are Back".

With all due respect to the Beatles, If the Knicks are going to "get back to where you once belonged", it's not going to happen in one off-season.

Let me be one of the few people to declare we have a long way to go before the Knicks are officially “back”. This was also said when Amare Stoudamire came to the Knicks. Unfortunately that never came to fruition as he gave the Knicks just one good season, then his knees fell apart on him (something that could very well happen to their biggest offseason acquisition) His contract became a black hole of team funds. The Knicks were not “back”.

This was also said when the team traded basically their whole serviceable roster PLUS A FIRST ROUND PICK (?!?!?!) for Carmelo Anthony even though the whole basketball world knew for a fact that he would have signed with the Knicks as an impending free agent. Sorry, but that thought still stings to reminisce about. How great has he worked out for us? He was part of a Knicks team that featured the worst roster in possibly the history of the 70-year old team

This “The Knicks are Back” mindset just seems to be implanted in all of the basketball world and Knicks fans alike. Honestly can you blame them though? The last time the Knicks were good was three years ago when they “fluked” themselves to a 53 win season, only for their resident clown at the time, JR Smith to elbow Jason Terry in the playoffs against Boston and needlessly extend the series. The result made them that much more tired when they had to go up against a powerhouse of a team in the Lance Stephenson-era Indiana Pacers. That was the closest the Knicks got to real success recently.

Boy does that feel like a long time ago. They have only gone downhill from there, compiling what are some of the worst seasons in franchise history including one that set a franchise record low for wins! ('14-'15)

I’m sorry but it’s going to take some time before I am convinced that "The Knicks are Back".

I have seen this story before, and the only thing that makes me hopeful is that we have possibly the best European player to come to the NBA since Dirk Nowitzski.

Yes, the Knicks traded for Derrick Rose, the youngest MVP in the history of the NBA. The best part of this trade honestly is that they didn't give themselves a possible future blunder for the franchise by surrendering a first round pick.

Giving up their possible point guard of the future could turn into a blunder here.

Yes, they signed what was once one of the best centers in the game in Joakim Noah, but they might have offered him a couple of years too many. Do not be surprised if they are trying to trade him in two years if they have a better younger option coming in from the Spanish league.

Yes they signed Jennings and Lee, the former of which can really put up some dumb shots and the latter most of the time plays pretty average. Lee couldn’t possibly be as bad as last year’s starter at the position which is not a fair assessment to Aaron Afflalo but a true one. (He was barely put in a position to succeed here in his one year)

All this amounts to a lot of what ifs.

What if Rose is the exact same injury riddled player the Bulls wanted to rid themselves of? What if Noah follows that same archetype and does not see nearly as much floor time as expected? What if Jennings becomes the second coming of JR Smith on the Knicks (Not counting the year he won sixth man of the year) What if Lee is ultimately only remembered for that shot he missed with the Orlando Magic when they played the Lakers in the finals.

It means that the Knicks are not back just yet so please stop saying that.

Derrick Rose please do not make any more remarks about how the Knicks are a "Super Team". Joakim Noah, we are pleased that you are back playing in your home town but just show us a full year of minimal injuries? Courtney Lee please provide the defense they expect out of you, you won’t need to score we have plenty of guys who do that.

Please, Knicks, show us that we can actually say that you are back and not feel like we are yelling into a wall hoping it will magically open up one day and there will be a Larry O'Brien trophy sitting there for us. This kind of thing simply does not happen overnight.

The Knicks have a ways to go before we can officially declare they are “back”.

Danny Karpin: All is Not Right in Giant-Land

2016-10-04T15:46:00.000-04:00

All is not right in Giant-Land.

The latest loss to the Vikings has me thinking that this team has many more problems than what has surfaced in the first four games.

Now it’s two years in a row they have lost to a Sam Bradford led team on Monday night. Last year’s game might have actually been worse considering they intercepted him three times and could not score a single point off those turnovers.

Hey, at least last year they were forcing turnovers, this year they have one through the first four games and have turned the ball over 9 times! A -8 differential in the turnover department is not going to help you win a lot of games but that’s just the tip of the iceberg for the Giants problems.

Where do we start?

Their tight ends are still glorified fourth stringers. Larry Donnell can never get open and Will Tye can't block.

The linebackers would not even be starting on most other teams, I almost have a heart attack every time the opposing team gets a play going beyond the line of scrimmage. Once the ball gets past their line it’s like a guaranteed 15-20 yards at least.

Their multi-million dollar defensive line has barely produced any QB pressure. I have not seen a really convincing quarterback crushing sack from this team in years. Olivier Vernon, while effective I will admit, has not produced the type of pressure they envisioned when they signed him, and if this is what Jason Pierre Paul is after fully recovering, I would let him walk next year in free agency.

Heck they should have resigned Linval Joseph instead and just invested in pairing him with Johnathan Hankins, which would have been the best combo of DTs in the league. He looked very excited to play well against the team that decided they did not want to pay him. He was all over the line in that game and it really reminded me of what they once had.

Their supposed future franchise left tackle, Ereck Flowers, is holding more than a single mother of three on grocery day, he is almost guaranteed a penalty every game nowadays.

Penalties are destroying the Giants and that needs to stop.

Then there's Odell Beckham Jr.

What has happened to the Giants wide receiver? He's gone from star to stagnant almost overnight. After taking the league by storm his first two years it appears as if this league has him figured out. His off the field behavior is becoming a serious nuisance, His tantrums and emotional outbursts are now an expected event from him.

Teams know this and they are now trying to exploit it. He’s been like non-existent in every game despite his numbers that may look respectable without the touchdowns of course. Oh yeah, where are the TD’s?

Might he be due for a big game? Possibly, but the Giants needed it yesterday. They need him to be “mouse-like” on the sidelines and start eliminating those drops that an elite receiver should not be making. From now on, until he begins to prove otherwise, the refs are going to be looking for things based on his rep and he cannot indulge them on that.

Is he going to return to the form that had put him on a pedestal? Is he running his routes well enough? Is he staying on the same page as Eli? Is he getting enough help from his other receivers? Is the lack of a big and tall wide receiver hurting them more than we thought?

Maybe Odell is just not as good as we all pegged him to be. Sure he started out like Randy Moss in his first two years, but he has not continued the progression. One of the main things in this game, and in all sports, is being able to make the subsequent adjustments to the opponent’s adjustments that are being made to stop you. Clearly he has not taken the next step to adapt to what teams are trying against him and it is really hurting the Giants. I still think he is very talented and has all the potential in the world but it is up to him to act upon that potential and not his temper.

Now these two losses are not solely on him, there is a litany of other aforementioned problems plaguing the Giants.

If Odell is not playing like the Odell we all know and love, then the Giants chances of winning these games goes way down. He is probably their most important player behind Eli. He needs to get going so the Giants can put together some offense. It has been dismal the past few weeks.

Something needs to change or they will get blown out in Green Bay

dk

Bad, Bad Josh Brown Draggin' Giants Down

2016-08-25T13:01:00.001-04:00

By Danny Karpin

Ray Rice and Greg Hardy are just two examples. The list is already too long.

Domestic violence is a serious societal problem that is being executed in part by NFL players. No one is denying that and this is not an indictment on the violent tendencies of an average NFL player. I cannot make a "blanket statement" that NFL players are violent off the field even if there have been documented cases of violence committed by NFL players. (There are too many accounts of violence from people who are not NFL players)

No, that is a conversation for another day.

This is a realization that my team, the team that I grew up watching, loving and rooting for with all my heart, is no different from any other team in the NFL. The almighty dollar dictates how the most important decisions are made.

The New York Football Giants, a team that in my eye was once synonymous with class, integrity and respect, have lost that in their recent decision to keep their kicker of the past two years. It was clear that they thought Josh Brown was the best kicking option available to them and that if they got rid of him they would be in danger of losing games which would ultimately affect the teams overall value and subsequently, their financial worth.

I'm not writing this post to render judgement on the man that is Josh Brown. There is a whole justice system in place for that. I am in no way condemning the human being that is Josh Brown. This could all be a farce for all I know, there is always an untold story to these things.

This is a statement on how the Giants handled this situation. Up until now they had been that team that would not have stood for this kind of nonsense. They have employed a brand new head coach in Ben McAdoo who publicly denounced domestic violence shortly after he was hired..

The Giants put their foot in their mouth by not cutting Josh Brown, I am sorry but this has me losing a lot of respect for the team. It would be one thing if it was an isolated incident but with his ex-wife reporting that over 20 times Brown assaulted her, the Giants should have had no other option than to cut him and move on.

The NFL is a value based league and certain players have more value than others. There are certainly other options out there. (The Giants signed former Jets kicker Randy Bullock)

The player in question is not Eli Manning or Odell Beckham Jr. Those are guys who are not replaceable.

By taking this stand, they have damaged their reputation and their credibility. I can no longer hold them in high regard as the class of the NFL, because they have an accused wife beater on their roster. This whole thing just makes them look hypocritical. I lost a lot of respect for my favorite team this off season, especially since they have shown little hesitation to cut others with off the field problems in the past. Don't even get me started on the whole Damontre Moore headphones' incident...

Let me reiterate, this is not an indictment on the violence of NFL players, Josh Brown as a person, or how domestic violence is handled by the NFL (poorly) but it is a question of how the Giants handled this situation other than just having Owner John Mara saying they will make a "football decision".

The Giants had a decision to make with keeping or cutting Josh Brown, they made the wrong one.

St. Valentine's Day "McIlrath"

2016-02-15T01:56:00.000-05:00

On a day meant for lovers, Dylan McIlrath endeared himself to Ranger fans with the Valentine that he sent to the Flyers' Wayne Simmonds.

It had been eight days since Simmonds clocked Ryan McDonagh in the face, putting the Rangers captain on the sideline with a concussion while thrusting himself to #1 on the latest "Garden Villains Hit Parade"

It took only 39 seconds to answer what was not only a punch in the face for McDonagh, but for the rest of the team, a punch in the stomach.

The question going in, how would the Rangers respond. "I wanted to stick up for my teammate", McIlrath said after the game, "our captain, our best player."

McIlrath showed a lot more than just plain old guts in sticking up for his teammate, he showed that he's become too valuable to be a healthy scratch anymore.

McIlrath and Simmonds squared off, both got some punches in and I found myself doing some "blow by blow" during an update on WFAN radio.

The crowd was already fired up as Simmonds hit the ice for the first time but after the first round of fisticuffs, you could feel the electricity had gone up a notch.

Twenty seconds later, it was Tanner Glass and the Flyers Ryan White who were engaged but not in the sense of a Valentine.

It was like an ol time encounter between these long time rivals.

Philadelphia even had a player wearing the name "Schultz" on the back of his jersey, though it was Nick, who is not related to Dave "the hammer".

Beside providing an answer for a Rangers team that was already close-knit, McIlrath continues to show improvement in his game.

He's cut down on the mistakes in his own end and has provided a physical presence that is sorely needed on the back line.

(I'm a little surprised that the Rangers have not tried McIlrath at the point on the power play. He's got a blistering shot and would be valuable on the ice with the man advantage)

It's becoming much more apparent that the Rangers are a better team with McIlrath in the lineup. The Rangers have a bit of a dilemma. McIlrath needs to play.

So You Want to Work in the Sports Business by Danny Karpin

2016-02-09T20:48:00.002-05:00

by Danny Karpin

The night of Christmas Eve 2015, many people may be inside their houses with their families. Others may be having a nice dinner at a restaurant surrounded by the ones they love. On this night, I reside in the office of CBS Sports Radio. My shift has just begun and I am scheduled to run a “Best of” Show. There are probably many other things or other jobs that I could be doing at this moment.

It’s not necessarily that I do not want to be here. I have never really been the type to enjoy any holiday and the job itself involves work that is not particularly challenging to me. Honestly I regard that lack of a challenge in a good way because it comes from working in one of my passions in life: sports. I got to work with great people most of the time covering interesting and fun sports events. The contempt stems more from the fact that I am here in general, working here in sports journalism.

This was an area I never particularly saw myself going into. I did not watch professional sports games and ponder if I would be the one speaking to the audience one day. Like many I was more into fantasizing about playing for one of the teams I followed, but also like many that dream came to an end pretty early in my life. I did not attend games and think that I might one day be the one announcing the players who walk onto the field. These are not the positions and occupations I particularly saw myself in but it is something I could have been on track to. It was not something that I considered impossible for me to do; after all I do like sports a lot and follow them pretty much effortlessly. I’m a fan of the American big four: baseball, basketball, football and hockey, but the drive has to come from more than just being a fan. Nobody will tell you that though.

Nobody said it is easy, nobody will tell you that it will all just fall into your lap. If it did then nobody would want to do it and it wouldn’t pay much at all, but sports journalism is an area where many find themselves trying to break into. If you like sports, then you think you can work in sports. If you cannot be a pro sports player then maybe you can cover sports or be a sports announcer.

I asked myself, ‘many others do it, why can’t I? Why can’t I join the ranks of some of the greats within the sports journalism industry?’ I will tell you why, because it is harder than I or you or anybody else could have even imagined. While someone who pursues a professional sport might have to go up against more competition directly within their sport, their field is strictly performance and results based. When it comes to this industry, performance and results can be a lot harder to measure in the work of a sports journalist.

If someone thinks you sound good it does not necessarily mean you do. Now consider if that person happens to have the power to put you in the position that you want to be in, such as on-air or covering a specific team that you enjoy watching. The subjectivity is overwhelming.

Fast forward a week and I am here again, in the throes of the office, preparing to produce a nationally syndicated radio show. It is New Year’s Eve, many would not be willing to work on a night like this but I am in need of the money and the work. Again like I said the work does come easy to me. Still another thought looms in my mind as I work.

Is this where I want to be? I look around at some of my co-workers, many like me, love sports and just want to do something involving something they love. Don’t we all? The problem for me is the drive and this industry requires a ton of it.

Drive has been something that, admittedly, I have had trouble finding for years.

I do not want to push myself into an industry where the drive to succeed and advance is key. If I am speaking honestly that drive has to probably exist in most if not all professions, how far can you really go without the will or wherewithal to do what the others won’t. Sometimes I recall a conversation I had one night with one of my co-workers regarding the secret to success. He told me a story, I am sure it was something told to him by a mentor or a teacher. It is definitely a story that has been handed down generations throughout the years. It provides a lot of insight to my situation.

It mentions a man, a man who wants to succeed. So he consults a guru, who then brings him to an ocean and says the secret to success lies out there. The man takes steps out into the water until he cannot stand anymore without being under, the guru then proceeds to hold him under until he can barely breathe. Only when he is about to die is he finally able to push off the guru. In anger he confronts the guru who calmly tells him that the only thing he needs to succeed, is to bring that same drive he had to survive under water, to anything else. He claims “when you want success that badly, you will have it” I like to think this can apply to any job, career and/or future.

It is about the drive, the drive to commit, the drive to accomplish, the drive to succeed. That drive is not something I have felt working in sports journalism and a part of that saddens me deeply. It really does because it is one of the few jobs I have had where I can go to work and enjoy what I do. Then I consider the other factors, the politics and commitment one has to have to succeed in this business and I am completely off put. Maybe I do not have what it takes, and I am willing to admit that. Above all else it is something that I have had to face; it is the reason why I am leaving my hometown where I have a job working in sports journalism.

Without the drive the rest is useless. The climb would be useless because I would, without a doubt, fall before I get to the top. So I am taking a pre-emptive approach to that fall, an approach to make sure it does not happen. So I am writing this as a view into the other-side of things in the sports world. Just because you like sports does not mean you can handle the climb through the sports journalism industry. For those who are trying to break into it or have started working in it, just remember this, working as a successful and truly recognizable sports journalist is an art and it is not ever easily duplicated.

If Giants Let Him, Beckham Will Wreck-'em

2015-12-21T16:53:00.001-05:00

In what should be as "red a flag" as the color they wear on their white uniforms, the Giants need to get control of an "out of control" Odell Beckham Jr. or both sides will lose.

What went on at Met Life Stadium Sunday is inexcusable, much less tolerable which seems to be the way the coaches are viewing it.

The NFL suspended Beckham for one game for what was an embarrassing scene for the sport. His helmet to helmet hit (that certainly looked deliberate) on Panthers corner Josh Norman could not have come at a worse time for the League with the movie "Concussion" about to make it's debut in theaters on Christmas Day.

During a conference call earlier today, head coach Tom Coughlin was asked about why he didn't sit Beckham as he piled up three personal fouls and acted like a lunatic on the field. Shockingly, Coughlin said, "I don't watch one player throughout the course of the game and I wasn't aware that all of the personal fouls were directed at Odell."

With the penalties and the player's number being announced to the crowd by the referee through the use of a "state of the art" sound system in the Stadium, I find it hard to believe that Coughlin or the other coaches did not know that Beckham was racking up all that penalty yardage.

Beckham's antics may have already sealed Coughlin's fate because the Giants are not making the playoffs, no matter that they're mathematically still alive. If Washington wins Saturday night, then the tally will officially be four years and counting without post season football.

The officials, who have had their fair share of problems this season, did not do Coughlin or the Giants any favors by not ejecting Beckham.

If he gets tossed, then the decision whether to play him or not is taken out of Coughlin's hands and gives the coach plenty of "ammo" to sternly impart his message for his receiver being selfish, right after the game. Once Beckham caught the tying touchdown, the leverage kinda shrunk for the head coach at that moment, although, this suspension restores some of that if Coughlin chooses to go that route. It seems like he will not.

The Giants have to prod him certainly, but they also have to hope that Beckham starts to "get it" as to how he should be acting on the field.

It's looking more and more likely that Coughlin will not return next season. If there is a new head coach, he'll be facing the same hurdle that this one is facing.

A new head coach may not be so tolerant because he can't allow Beckham to ruin his credibility.

With Beckham demonstrating how selfish he can be, he may get turned off by the rigidity of a new head coach and be disruptive. Whoever is doing the hiring will have to take that into account and bring in someone for the good of the team, not someone who is there to placate an immature, but immensely talented wide receiver.

3 on 3: Three Reasons Giants Win, Three Reasons Giants Lose

2015-12-19T18:42:00.000-05:00

3 Reasons why the Giants will win against the Panthers and 3 reasons why they will not.
by Danny Karpin

The Giants go up against the undefeated Panthers on Sunday and it is a game they must win if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive. Here are some reasons why they could win and why they might not

Reasons they will win:

1. Odell Beckham Jr.

The Giants have one of the best receivers in the game if not thebest in Odell Beckham Jr. The guy can change a game with one play and the only real problem for the Giants is finding other wide-receivers who are good enough to take advantage of the space Beckham Jr creates. The wide out will be facing a tough match-up in this game as he will probably be going against the games' best corner- back, Josh Norman. The Panthers DB is a defensive back equivalent to Odell in the sense that he has absolutely blown onto the scene this year. I mean just look at this playto clinch their win against the Saints.

2. Eli Manning

The Giants have a decent chance to win this week and every week simply because they have a great leader going onto the field on Sunday. If the Giants had a better defense and a decent record this year, he would be a good candidate for MVP. Coming off what will probably be his best game as a pro, Manning torched the Dolphins for 4 TDs. Now that he has developed rapport with his number one receiver, he looks to end the Panthers perfect season and keep the Giants playoff hopes alive. He is their best shot at doing this.

3. Giants run the ball effectively

The Giants must must get their running game going if they want to have a shot in the game. Last Monday against the Dolphins it looked as if they would have a bad performance running wise but then it got going and really opened up the passing game for Eli and Odell. It might be an area to exploit because the Panthers have given up 8 TDs on the ground this year and they have had five games where they gave up over 100 rushing yards. Something that might help the Giants are the screen plays they can run with Shane Vereen. The former Patriots back has been a bright spot for "Big Blue" in their backfield. Many feel Vereen has been under-utilized this season. They must get him involved against the Panthers.

Reasons they will lose:

1. The Panthers can control the line of scrimmage as good as anyone

The Panthers pride themselves on having a dominant defensive and offensive line. The O-line manhandle the pass rushers to create big holes for their running backs. They also are third in the league in sacks with 40. There is no doubt they can get to the quarterback. The last time Eli Manning could barely step up in the pocket was the game the Giants played against the Redskins and they were shut out until the fourth quarter…

2. The Panthers can run the ball very well

One of the reasons why the Panthers have not really felt the loss of their talented receiver Kelvin Benjamin is their run game. They have been so effective at keeping the ball on the ground and running up their time of possession that they have not really needed to rely on a passing game that much. Even with Jonathan Stewart out, Carolina has depth at the position and can overcome the loss of their leading rusher. This brings me to the next reason why the Giants will probably not win on Sunday.

3. The Panthers have an MVP candidate in Cam Newton

When they had number one overall in the NFL draft five years ago, the Panthers obviously made the right pick in QB Cam Newton. who now is their best offensive weapon. There is nothing he cannot do from the quarterback position. He is on track to have the most rushing touchdowns as a quarterback. Newton is only four rushing touchdowns shy of Hall of Famer Otto Graham’s record. He currently is the only player in the NFL to rush for at least five touchdowns in the each of the last five seasons. It is pretty clear that if the Giants want to win on Sunday they will have to slow down Cam Newton.

Battle of the Rooks, Porzingis vs Towns: Checkmate

2015-12-17T01:25:00.000-05:00

It was billed as the first meeting between the #1 and #4 picks in the NBA draft.

So what was the result of Karl-Anthony Towns vs Kristaps Porzingis.

On an individual basis, I'd call it a draw.

Porzingis' Knicks beat Towns' Timberwolves 107-102. As far as the individual battle, I would label that a "wash".

I was working stats for Minnesota radio so I got a first hand look at what transpired last night at MSG.

The career high tying seven blocks was what stood out for Porzingis, while Towns showed his rebounding prowess (10 boards, three offensive) and a nice mid-range shooting touch, particularly in the fourth quarter when he shot 5/6 (the lone miss being a desperation three at the end that ironically was blocked by Porzingis) and scored 11 of his 25 points. Porzingis hauled in six rebounds (2 on the offensive glass)

Both players did not show much of a low post game.

Porzingis in particular. His shot chart (4 of 14 from the floor) shows he took one shot in the paint all game. Almost all of his 13 other shot attempts came from the top of the foul circle and beyond (1 for 6 from "3") and he took only one shot in the fourth quarter. By the way, he entered the game with less than seven minutes left in the fourth.

The Knicks rookie should not be taking that many shots from beyond the arc for two reasons. One, he needs to start incorporating more of a low post game. I cringe when I see the ball go into Robin Lopez for an offensive set. The other reason is that Porzingis is out of position for an offensive rebound when he launches a "3". A by-product of that miss from three point range is a fast break the other way because of the long rebound.

Porzingis does need to add some bulk and get stronger, but he's only 20 so he may naturally fill out some but will probably be put on a program during the off season.

The Knicks should go back to basketball 101 with this kid and incorporate a low post game. Imagine the ball going inside to Porzingis. With a good ol' fashioned hook shot and a couple of fakes every now and then, opponents would have to respect Porzingis' offensive game. Thus, the defenses would start collapsing and double teaming him. The 7'3" Latvian has good hands and would be an effective passer out of the low post, which would enable Carmelo Anthony and Arron Afflalo to get more open looks.

One other note from the game last night.

Jerian Grant was a DNP for the second straight game,

While on the way home, I was listening to Larry Hardesty on ESPN NY and he brought up Grant's absence and touched on some good points.

Two straight games, zero minutes. Sounds like something is going on here. Is that the player's fault or can it be something with the head coach.

Is Grant's work ethic in question? I would think with his dad, Harvey and Uncle Horace, who were both NBA players, lack of work ethic would not sit well in the Grant family.

Has it been Grant's play on the court? At times, he has seemed lost, especially defensively, and he's made some poor decisions but he is a first year player and you have to live with some growing pains.

Does Derek Fisher feel Grant is not up to speed with his grasp of the position because he was an NBA point guard himself?

From the games I've seen, Grant seems to be lacking confidence. I've seen a kid who can penetrate and attack the rim. He has thrown up a couple of "wild shots", but again, he is a first year player.

I cannot accurately say what's going on between head coach and player but if a poor work ethic or lack of effort or something along those lines is the reason for the lack of playing time, then the player doesn't deserve playing time.

The Knicks need to see what they've got in Grant so they can decide how they want to proceed on this player. DNP's are not the way to go.

Knicks Knacks

2015-12-15T22:19:00.000-05:00

Things are not getting better for the New York Knicks. Despite their win over Portland, they've still lost 8 of their last 11 and stand at 11-14. Granted this is not a horrendous record, they are off to a much better pace than last year. Still, if they want to change their losing culture they will have to start capturing the winnable games on their schedule.

A handful of winnable games have been lost this season and I cannot help but look at the head coach as for part of the reason why.

Derek Fisher's inauspicious start to his coaching career is just getting more and more frustrating. He continues to give minutes to the elderly Jose Calderon who is now averaging a career-low 3.7 assists per game. Maybe they could try Langston Galloway at the starting point guard. What they are doing with Calderon is just not working. They do not have much of an option elsewhere because of the inexperience that comes with Jerian Grant but still he shows so much promise that you might just have to start him and deal with the mistakes. If he gets more minutes now it could help him develop his game that much more in the long run.

Fisher should not be afraid to limit Carmelo Anthony's minutes later on in games. Carmelo simply does not have the speed and athleticism anymore to beat a defender one-on-one. He is pushing himself into bad shots, more than he usually takes, and disrupting the offensive flow as a result. Now the offense could put up with his selfishness when he was making a decent amount of shots. Currently he is averaging a career low in field-goal percentage. It just shows how bad he has been playing despite his high scoring average.

The Knicks have to find a way to right these problems.This is just some of the stuff that has plagued them this season. I have not even begun to discuss their complete lack of defense. It's part of the reason why they have been playing from behind so much. Thanks to the Andrea Bargnani disastrous trade, If they do not start playing better soon they will be handing the Raptors a great pick come next years draft.

48 Hours: Mets and Yanks take "second chance"

2015-12-11T12:47:00.002-05:00

In a span of 48 hours, both the Yankees and Mets improved their middle infield.

By bringing in Starlin Castro, the Yankees now field a combination up the middle that is athletic and should be defensively efficient. (Both have shown some "slip-ups" on routine plays but that can certainly improve)

Of course, it will take a little time for Castro to mesh with shortstop Didi Gregorius, get to know each other's tendencies and things, so that will be interesting to watch in spring training.

What the Mets are getting in Neil Walker is a steady second-baseman, who won't overwhelm you with his glove, but will make the routine play and the smart play. Walker is a switch-hitter who has struggled from the right side. Kevin Long has some work to do, but he may be the right coach to bring the best out in his newest pupil.

Despite some high strikeout totals, Walker is a prototypical number-two hitter. He can manipulate the bat so he's a solid "hit and run" candidate.

Mets Mgr. Terry Collins already dropped hints that Walker will bat second which means David Wright will be moving down in the order. How far that is remains to be seen but, for the good of the team, Wright may end up fifth or sixth depending on the construction of the roster.

Asdrubal Cabrera is a solid signing. Of course, you've already seen some of the unnamed scouts' quotes which say Cabrera is not the same fielder he once was, he's lost range. Well tell me someone who's played nine years in the major leagues as a shortstop and second-baseman and has only played 21 of his 1106 career games as a designated hitter, who wouldn't lose range. Just because an infielder has lost range doesn't mean, he can't be a productive player at that position. A veteran infielder like Cabrera can make up for a lack of range by knowing the hitters, plus he'll be playing behind a power starting rotation.

Cabrera is a tough out at the plate. He's kind of a younger version of Juan Uribe as a hitter and he'll give you those "grind it out" at-bats that frustrate pitchers and lead to good results.

Walker has gotten a number of big hits for the Pirates and the reaction in Pittsburgh is one of major disappointment in losing him, which is telling.

When the Yankees acquired Castro, I thought about Yankee GM Brian Cashman's comment (and I'm paraphrasing) that he would be comfortable going into next season with a platoon of Rob Refsnyder and Dustin Ackley at second base.

Cashman has "rappelled" (or dropped) "that line before".

Going into the 2006 season, Cashman indicated that he would be comfortable with Bubba Crosby as the starting centerfielder. The Yankees signed Johnny Damon and Crosby became the answer to a trivia question. (Who collided with Gary Sheffield on a fly ball to right center field in game 5 of the ALDS loss to the Angels?)

Sorry folks. Despite what was said, privately the Yankees felt they had to do better at 2B than the platoon idea and they came away with more than they could have hoped for.

It was a perfect storm in the Bronx.

The Yankees had a versatile, young and attractive arm in Adam Warren. The Cubs sorely wanted Ben Zobrist but they had to deal Castro first and was looking for pitching. Cashman had made a previous inquiry about Castro and eventually got his man for a cheaper price than most thought it would cost for a player with the second baseman's profile.

He'll be 26 years old in March and he's already had six years of major league experience. He's nine hits shy of 1000 and is still developing as a hitter. That development may have been sped up with his strong finish last season (.369, .400 on base, .655 slugging in September) Castro's average on August 22nd was .237. He finished at .265. Impressive, because that increase came after he already had over 400 at bats.

Castro had some trouble adjusting to second base last season, (Remember, he was charged with a controversial error in Jake Arrieta's no-hitter vs. the Dodgers in late August and he'd only been playing the position a short time) but he got better with every game and seemed to settle in nicely towards the end of the season.

By giving up Warren and then dealing LH Justin Wilson to Detroit, the Yankees appear to be a little short in the pen going into next season. Then again, going into last season, Dellin Betances was the only "given" in the pen. Did anyone know what kind of season Wilson would have and that Andrew Miller would develop into a dominant closer? My point is bullpens (especially the front end) nowadays are a "crap shoot" every year.

You've got to give to get but if you approach a proposed deal in an intelligent and prudent manner, they usually work out.

The Yankees and Mets both made deals for middle infielders that have an excellent chance of working out.

Is There Somethin' "Fisher" Goin On At MSG?

2015-11-30T18:24:00.001-05:00

Two months into the NBA season and the New York Knicks already look so much better than the disaster that was last season. With the futile effort they put up last year it would be hard to emulate that. With the emergence of their top draft pick, combined with the additions they made in free agency, one can not help but wonder if they should be a little bit better.

For sure, we all expect the "quick fix", but when you follow a team that has been mired in mediocrity as long as the Knicks have, it is understandable when you want to rush the progress of that team becoming relevant again.

Now the Knicks are indeed much more fun to watch this season as compared to last, don't get me wrong. They rebound better, play much more defense than last year and have a player in Kristaps Porzingis who has unlimited potential with every minute he plays.

All these things combine to make a much more watchable team, but is it a playoff team?

There is no reason not to expect this Knicks team to at least secure an eighth seeded spot in such a watered down Eastern conference. But the Knicks, losers of four in a row after winning four in a row, look like a team defined by streaks. With them being on a bad one, does Derek Fisher have the coaching prowess to pull them out of it?

One of the main problems for the Knicks has surprisingly been their offense. When they score less than 90 points in a game this year they are 0-6. In their losses they are averaging 87.4 points per game. It seems like the NBA now has a beat on this Knicks team. Clearly when the game becomes a grind it out, defensive, gritty match-up they are not up to speed and their offense suffers.

Although they can play defense, they are not a particularly defensive minded team so they will need to rely on a potent offensive effort if they want to win more. This lies on Derek Fisher, he needs to find line ups that work better than what he has been putting out there. In the beginning of the season their bench was a strong point for the team and a main reason why they had been winning. Fisher will also need to find a way to get that bench back to the productivity level it started the season with.

There seems to a be a pattern of questionable decision making from the head coach, particularly with dishing out playing time.He tends to limit certain players' minutes who could really bring an offensive spark, players like Derrick Williams and Jerian Grant. Williams still could have a successful career, he is laden with talent. Grant shows a knack for running the point. It looks like he is already the best "true" point guard they have.

These guys are young and looking to make their mark. Both could add offense when the Knicks need it. They play with aggression and athleticism and should not be sitting out at the expense of players like Lance Thomas and Jose Calderon.

On another note, Robin Lopez has not exactly impressed this season. I mean we all knew what we were getting offensively out of him but other times when he should be going up for a rebound or protecting the rim, he just looks lost. I blame the Knicks in part because they feed him the ball too much in the low post. We all know they did not sign him for his low post aptitude. They need to stop giving him the ball so much on offense. I know they want to keep it moving but he simply cannot do much for them when they are in need of a bucket.

If the Knicks want to inspire confidence that they are moving in the right direction then they will need to play with more consistency, possibly compete for a playoff spot while learning how to win.

Thanks to Porzingis, the Knicks have a building block for the future. Who they surround him (head coach included) will be a dilemma for the team that never solved that problem during the "Patrick Ewing Era".

Knicks Have a "Zing" and a Prayer

2015-11-17T20:00:00.002-05:00

Knicks Have a "Zing" and a Prayer
By Danny Karpin

When a franchise is successful it’s the result of making the correct decisions, based on educated projections of what they feel a player can do for them. This takes into account all aspects of acquiring players, whether it’s through trade, the draft or free agency. A team needs to build using all three of these avenues but one has to be the basis that can build for the future. While the Knicks did make some good moves in free agency by picking up some tough rebounders with size, they hold their future in their hands because of what they’ve acquired with the number four overall pick in the draft.

Kristaps Porzingis has already shown signs of being the future face of this franchise. If you have been watching the Knicks at all this year you have been seeing the emergence of a player that could reach such heights, the likes of which the NBA has never seen before. Additionally they may have gotten a steal by turning a trade of Tim Hardaway Jr. into another first round pick that netted them Jerian Grant.

Grant and Porzingis already look like players that could be future cornerstones of the team.

If you’ve been watching the Knicks you have also seen some of the growing pains involved with young players like Grant and Porzingis. Grant can drive the ball into a bad turnover a couple of times a game. It’s a habit they need to break him of if they expect him to be a starter. His athleticism and court vision show the flashes of what could be. There is little doubt he could be a top point guard one day if they develop him right.

Porzingis is the player that has garnered more attention and rightfully so considering he was the Knicks highest draft pick in a long time. He was also coming into the draft as the biggest enigma. So no matter what team he ended up on, there still would be plenty of eyes on him, and he has not disappointed. Lets take a look at some of the numbers he has put up through his first eleven games as a pro.

Points Per Game	Rebounds Per Game	Assists Per Game	Blocks Per Game
11.4	8.4	0.6	1.1

Not bad really, pretty respectable for a twenty-year old who has not gone through the traditional college basketball system that most players do. There have been some growing pains as the league gets more of a beat on him.

But now let’s compare them to some of the more established players in the NBA through their first eleven games

Points Per Game	Rebounds Per Game	Assists Per Game	Blocks Per Game
7.7	3.9	1.1	0.7
6.5	3.7	1.7	1.1
8.8	6.2	1.2	0.7
15.1	6.5	1.9	2.2
12.4	7.2	1.2	0.9

These are the numbers of some well-known power forwards in today’s game. For a start, Porzingis has shown a better rebounding average than them. The five of them combined only had five double doubles. Porzingis already has four. Now look at which names match the stats if you have not already.

	PPG	RPG	APG	BPG
Dirk Nowitzski	7.7	3.9	1.1	0.7
Kevin Garnett	6.5	3.7	1.7	1.1
Kevin Love	8.8	6.2	1.2	0.7
Pau Gasol	15.1	6.5	1.9	2.2
Marc Gasol	12.4	7.2	1.2	0.9

These are all well-known, proven, good if not great NBA players. You have two if not three sure fire Hall of Famers in that list. While I am sure you can find many players who may have put up similar numbers to Kristaps Porzingis in their first eleven games, none of those have shown as much potential to do the types of things he could possibly do.

The point I am trying to make here by comparing him to these established players is that he has already shown more ability than they had shown in their first eleven games and they turned out to be phenomenal players because they further developed their game the right way.

Pau Gasol became a great post scorer and rebounder. Marc Gasol developed his strength and plays tough inside anchoring a hard fighting Memphis Grizzlies defense, and Kevin Love developed his jump shot to the point where he is now one of the best three point shooters in the NBA.

Porzingis can be great but only if the Knicks handle him well and nurture his talents the right way. They need to help him find an identity for his game as he has been a little all over the place with his offense He has shown such a good affinity for rebounding so it might behoove the Knicks to try and make him a post up player. With his shooting touch, it looks like you could just stick him in the low block and let him get creative.

The guy just looks to get himself shown on the court, he wants to affect the game any way he can and that is something you cannot teach. Add to that, his effort is clearly there, and that’s another thing you cannot teach.

The Knicks must really put the time and focus their attention on him and Jerian Grant because it could really pay off if they want to be anywhere near a championship team in the future.

The Knicks finally have something to build around. For the first time in a long time the Knicks look to have somewhat of a bright future coming into the picture, if they make the right moves from here on in that is.

Hicks-Ups? for Yanks

2015-11-12T13:36:00.000-05:00

If you're looking for numbers from Aaron Hicks, you won't get them. If you're looking for potential and upside, then the Yankees may have something here.

The Twins traded the 26-year old switch hitting outfielder, who was the 14th overall pick of the 2008 draft, to the Yankees in exchange for back up catcher John Ryan Murphy.

If, as expected, Minnesota signs Korean slugging 1B Byung-ho Park, then the plan is to move last season's DH Miguel Sano to the outfield. Park and Joe Mauer would rotate between 1B and DH.That meant Hicks was the odd man out as the Twins essentially gave up on the once highly touted prospect.

So why did the Twins let Hicks go?

The numbers from his first three major league seasons do not exactly knock your socks off. He's posted a .225 average with 20 HRS and 78 RBI's in 819 major league AB's.

Hicks has shown an ability to draw a walk (.370 on base pct. in 8 minor league seasons) but it's a skill that has drawn some criticism.

The scouting reports on Hicks have all had the same phrases when assessing his game. "Five tool player", "passive approach at the plate", "doesn't attack pitches when he's ahead in the count".

There has also been some questioning of his maturity and work ethic.

According to the blog, twincities.com, in 2014, Assistant General Manager Ron Antony said Hicks came to the ballpark and did not know who the opponent's starting pitcher was:

"“It’s mental preparation. When you show up at the ballpark, it’s knowing who you’re facing, what you’re going to try and accomplish, what your approach is going to be rather than walking in and looking at the board and then asking who’s pitching”, Antony said.

So what exactly are the Yankees getting? Is it a player that the Twins gave up on and don't expect to ever fulfill his potential or is it a player that the Yankees can work with and bring the best out in him.

Hicks has the ability to play all three outfield positions and has a terrific arm (in 3 big league seasons he's got 22 assists) and the Yankees like his potential as a right handed batter (career .272 hitter, .360 on base, .808 OPS vs LH pitching) although he does strike out a lot.

The 26-year old actually gave up switch hitting for a spell but went back to it.

The Twins felt he was starting to get it together during the 2015 season and was penciled in to start in LF until they won the rights to Park.

Minnesota felt they had surplus to trade an outfielder and desired Murphy who has the potential to blossom into a front line back stop. The Yankees had Gary Sanchez knockin' 'em dead in the Arizona Fall League so they feel he's ready to take the next step. Even though Sanchez would be behind Brian McCann on the depth chart, the Yankees think it would benefit him to be here, thus Murphy became expendable. (For those of you who believe Sanchez needs to remain in the minors and not be a back up, remember how Jorge Posada was groomed when he was backing up Joe Girardi in the 90's)

The NY Daily News and NY Post have speculated Hicks' acquisition could lead to another move, There have been reports the Yankees and Mariners have discussed a deal for Brett Gardner. The Yankees are too left handed which is why Hicks was brought on board in the first place, so it makes sense to break up the Gardner/Jacoby Ellsbury 1-2 top of the order combination.

Let's be real.

The Yankees have a "project" on their hands.

The "red flags" are posted on Hicks who could turn out to be a complete bust as a high draft pick, but if the Yankees can work with him, get him to get his "mind right", then they may have a player who can become a regular contributor. The fact that he's only 26 years old makes this a worthwhile gamble for a team that needs to take some "risks".

Mixed Bag for Yanks

2015-11-11T18:33:00.001-05:00

Mixed Bag for Yanks
by Danny Karpin

To say the Yankees limped into the playoffs would be an understatement. They lost their final four games to end the season including the wild card, one game, playoff loss to Houston. They lost seven of their last eight games and eight of their last eleven.

Toward the end of the season it was clear they were not the same team that had been in first place for so long throughout the season. Why did they fall so hard? Did the trades that the Toronto Blue Jays orchestrated really create that much of a gap between the teams. They lost the division and barely made the playoffs so with this end to the season it is clear that the Yankees need to make some major moves. Just making the playoffs should not be enough, they need to re-evaluate what players they will want to be a part of their future and which ones they do not.

-Players that are important to them:
Mark Teixeira is a key piece of this team. He was a huge part of their offense and probably their MVP. Had he not been injured toward the end of the season, one could assume that the outcome would’ve been different. Teixeira has been a face of consistency for them and they should look to put some young talent around him for next year so he does not have to push himself as hard and hopefully remain healthy, efficient and available.

Luis Severino and Greg Bird are two players who have emerged in their limited playing time as possible future cornerstones for the Yankees. Albeit it’s a small sample size, but both of them performed well. Bird had 11 homeruns in just over 150 at-bats. He could be a real power threat in the future if he can temper his strike-outs. In that same amount of at-bats he collected 53 strikeouts. Severino finished with an ERA under three but only made 11 starts. It’s a nice beginning for him but he will need to build on it next year. Teams will have a better gauge of what he can throw so he’ll have to adjust to the subsequent adjustments that the hitters will make on him. If he can do that he will take the next step. Making the proper adjustments to the adjustments is what separates a good player from a great player.

-Players they might want to consider trading:
Brett Gardner: He's a fan favorite but his fielding and speed overshadow his weaknesses at the plate and continuous base-running gaffes. In the wildcard game he batted leadoff and managed to put up an 0-4 with three strikeouts. He’s a decent player who, you can make the argument, is overrated. With his speed he should be close to if not eclipsing 35 steals every year, which he has only done twice in his eight years in the league. Now at 32 years old he might be nearing the end of his days as a useful player. Reportedly, the Yankees have already offered him in a deal with Seattle.

Dellin Betances: In the past two years he has been a lights out eighth inning set up guy, but that is all he is. At 27 and three years into his career, he will probably never be much more than that. Sure they could use him in the eighth inning spot again next year and he might continue to be lights out and he might not. But the bottom line is that his role is very replaceable, and not crucial to the team.
Even if Andrew Miller fails in the ninth inning next year, there is no guarantee that Betances will be a fitting replacement. He could be worse. Closing is very different than being a set up man. With his value at an all-time high, they might want to offer him around to a team that had bullpen trouble last year and might be looking to add a high profile reliever. This could be another guy they could feasibly give up to get younger.

Players who surprised this season:
Didi Gregorius: No his stat-line of .265/9HR/56RBI is not going to jump out of the charts at anybody, but he was completely solid at shortstop all year long. Not to mention he was an improvement from last year defensively. So I think he did a fine job in his first full season as a Yankee. He showed some consistency this season and at only 25 years old, maybe his real game has yet to show itself. Additionally, he only struck out 86 times in over 500 at-bats. Maybe he warrants a couple of starts at the lead-off position should they trade Brett Gardner. His 86 strikeouts total was 49 strikeouts less than Gardner's count and tied with Jacoby Ellsbury. It is worth mentioning that Gregorius had about 100 more at-bats than Ellsbury this past season.

Alex Rodriguez: You knew he would end up in this section. Alex Rodriguez had a great season for the Yankees. Even if he did slow down heavily at the end, it is worth noting how good he played throughout the season as a whole. If it was not for him helping out Teixeira, they may have not made the playoffs considering how close it was in the end.

This season is a revelation for him, the Yankees and Yankee fans alike. It shows he is not completely washed up, that he can be somewhat productive. With the money they have committed to him, not having him in the everyday lineup just seems like a waste. With his productivity this past year the Yankees can justify going into next season with him as their DH. One thing to keep in mind, the season he just put together came after he had sat out the entire season before. Hopefully he does not have any fatigue from the 150+ games he just played this past season...

Bats vs. Arms; The 2015 World Series

2015-10-26T22:29:00.000-04:00

The Kansas City Royals are a team that features an efficient offense, strong bullpen depth, above average starting pitching, good defense and experience.

The New York Mets are a team that features great starting pitching, a closer who has raised his game in the post season, an offense that can be functional but is inconsistent, and they are a gritty and resilient squad that has defied the odds.

Ever since they lost game 7 to the Giants last season, the Royals have had their sights set on getting back to the World Series.

Ever since they won game 4 against the Cubs last Wednesday night, the Mets have had their sights set on playing in it.

The match up is fascinating.

Kansas City's efficient offense vs. the Mets great young studs who make up the most enviable starting staff in the sport.

Those "position-by-position" match ups (I don't subscribe to them, just mentioning them here) will give the Royals an advantage at almost every position among the eight around the diamond, along with a significant edge in the bullpen.

Of course the Mets starting pitching is their advantage but you're hearing how the Royals were very good against power pitchers during the season.

The website baseballsavant.com reports the Royals hit .284 against power pitching, (95 MPH or higher)

Those numbers are accumulated with the help of the various radar guns around the league.

Let me caution you. The guns can be inaccurate, so those 95 MPH readings may not be as fast as it's showing or as effective, plus it doesn't account for the movement.

I used to know a person who worked the radar gun from behind the plate. He told me the readings can get "skewed" when the batter swings at the pitch.

(During the season, I worked one of Masahiro Tanaka's final outings in the regular season. The "gun" had him throwing 95 but it didn't look 95 to me, or the hitters. After the season, Tanaka had bone spurs removed from his elbow)

The marquee match up for the Series is the Royals lineup against the Mets starters.

Kansas City has not seen a starting staff like the Mets have but the Royals are the best team that they've faced all season.

FIRST THINGS FIRST:

You've all heard the Royals don't strikeout. They don't walk a lot either so that should tell you that they are aggressive early in the count. It also tells you that they don't run up the count. They rely more on their power, speed and swinging at strikes.

That could work against the Mets starters who, as a whole, don't walk many hitters.

It could also work for them.

Where the pitchers have to be careful is with the first pitch. You want to get a strike but you can't make it too good for this Royals lineup.

The Mets pitchers' ability to use their secondary stuff early and often will be a key.

NO OFFENSE BUT THE ROYALS HAVE THE BETTER ONE

One through nine, the Royals have a better lineup but the Mets may have some "x-factors" that could work in their favor.

Kansas City's pitching staff is dominated by right handers which makes it pertinent for the Mets to get some production from their left handed hitters.

During the post season, the Mets have faced some of the toughest pitchers in the game so seeing the Royals starters could turn out to be like a class that sees a substitute teacher come in the room.

Can Daniel Murphy remain red hot? His M-O has shown he can be very streaky. He's had a long lay off so who knows what that will do.

A productive Lucas Duda would go a long ways towards alleviating the pressure on Murphy to keep being all-wordly.

Curtis Granderson will need to set the table and look for Michael Conforto to make some noise.

The Royals running game will be more of a threat than the Mets. Kansas City will take advantage of the Mets starters' weakness which is holding runners on. That will put a lot of the focus on Travis d'Arnaud's arm while Salvador Perez is the best catcher in the American League and has a pretty good percentage of throwing out runners.

Additionally, KC will look to run on Granderson's arm in right. Yoenis Cespedes will probably start in center field. He'll need to make the throws if there's a choice between him and Curtis.

If Mets Mgr. Terry Collins wants to think outside the box, when he puts his defensive team on the field, keep Yoenis Cespedes in center, move Granderson to left and play Juan Lagares in right field. Lagares has been dealing with an elbow problem but, even at less than 100%, his arm is still better than Granderson's. (Lagares has played 16 games in RF in the bigs)

BULLPEN CAN BE REDUCED TO BULL-........."

How can you nullify a deep bullpen in a short series? Get the lead.

Having the lead in the late innings will lessen the impact of an opponent's bullpen.

Obviously easier said than done.

The Mets bullpen depth will be tested more in this series than they have in the previous two series.

A left hander who can get some outs in spot duty will be crucial because those will be critical match ups at key points of these games.

As great as their bullpen is, the Royals will still need some length from their starters.

DEFENSE

The Royals possess one of the better defensive teams in the sport. They are athletic, fundamentally sound and rarely make mistakes in the field, either physically or mentally.

You know that the Royals will test the arms of Mets outfielders not named Cespedes, but as good as Lorenzo Cain is in center, he can be inaccurate with his throws at times and Alex Rios is no "Roberto Clemente", so the Mets may have a chance to "monitor a test" or two.

If the Royals are putting the ball in play on the ground, the Mets infield defense could be exposed. So far, the pitchers have done a good job of limiting the infield chances. It would help to continue that trend in the World Series

BENCH

This is one category that makes sense to match up "side by side".

I give the Mets a slight edge, especially if Juan Uribe is on the roster (and I think he will be). Kansas City has more speed off their bench but the Mets have better bats (again, if Uribe is playing)

HOMEFIELD

It becomes more of a factor in the World Series than the DS and CS because of the alternating DH rule.

Kansas City was 13-7 vs. the National League, 5-5 in the NL parks without the DH.

Putting Kendrys Morales on the bench at CitiField would weaken the Royals lineup. There's been some talk of possibly playing Morales at 1B while moving Eric Hosmer to the outfield for games 3, 4 & 5. That could be risky because that weakens the Royals defense.

INTANGIBLES

Of course, they're hard to measure ahead of time but here are some factors to consider:

Lucas Duda gets going (see above), Juan Uribe returns to the active roster (see above), and Jonathon Niese who will be counted on to provide some left handed, spot relief out of the pen.

The Royals have numerous candidates that could sway the Series their way but Alcides Escobar has provided them with a dangerous lead off presence in this post season. The Mets will need to keep him off base.

KC has shown a relentless ability to come from behind so they are dangerous with the lead and without.

The Mets have shown grit and resilience throughout so they will be a tough out.

THE PICK

Sounds like a tough one to call and it is.

The Mets have to get one in Kansas City and will maybe need two when it's all said and done because they can't expect to sweep the three games in NY.

If the Series does get to a seventh game, the Mets' bullpen will improve because they'll have one or maybe two of their starters available to work in relief.

The Royals have positioned themselves for this moment and don't want to let it slip away.

"Bats" vs. "Arms"

I'm going with the "Arms"....Mets in 7

Mattingly is Taking the Heat, but Kershaw Lit the Fire

2015-10-10T03:23:00.002-04:00

Another post season and another controversial decision by Dodgers Mgr. Don Mattingly has helped put them in a 1-0 series hole after the Mets' 3-1 win last night.

Mattingly took out two time NL Cy Young and NL MVP award winner Clayton Kershaw with the bases loaded and two out in the seventh.

The scheduled batter, David Wright, had already become two of Kershaw's 11 strikeouts, but Mattingly opted for Baez.

Anyone watching the game (myself included) thought Mattingly should have stayed with Kershaw, but the left hander did prepare the "barbecue" by walking the bases loaded.

Baez ran the count full on Wright who was totally locked in on the 3-2 offering as he drove the ball into center field for a huge, two run single. The hit loomed even larger when the Dodgers scored their run in the eighth.

He was already under the gun heading into the series for past post season failures, so this latest costly decision has likely put his future into an even more murky state.

One thing that will be overlooked because of the managerial situation is Kershaw again failed to deliver in a big spot in the post season.

To the Mets' credit, they were able to make Kershaw work hard in the early innings. The pitch count may have not told the entire story but the work was enough to get the ace left hander into the 100+ pitch range by the sixth inning.

Were the three walks in the seventh the result of fatigue. Pitch count may not accurately depict that face, but the at-bats were not easy, even during his supposed low stress innings.

To secure 11 strikeouts is a bare minimum of 33 pitches but those weren't three pitch K's.

The Mets deserved to win this game. Jacob deGrom outpitched Kershaw and the Mets were simply the better team, but Mattingly's move will certainly be heavily scrutinized leading up to game two later today.

Mattingly has been lambasted before for his decision making in the playoffs but one time was not fair.

That was two years ago in game one of the NLCS in St. Louis.

With the score tied at two in the top of the eighth, Adrian Gonzalez led off with a walk. Mattingly elected to use Dee Gordon as a pinch-runner, try and get the lead and hope the bullpen could finish it off.

Gordon never got a chance to run as Yasiel Puig forced him at second before Juan Uribe hit into an inning ending double play.

Micheal Young, who replaced Gonzalez at first, came up in the top of the tenth with runners at first and third and hit a fly ball to right. A.J. Ellis tried to score and was thrown out at home by Carlos Beltran.

In the top of the 12th, Young hit into a conventional inning ending double play and the Dodgers went on to lose that game in 13 innings and eventually the series.

Mattingly took a lot of heat from the geniuses on the West Coast. "How can you pinch run for Gonzalez?"

I'm sure if he knew the game would last that long, he may not have pinch ran but he went for "the kill" and got burned because they couldn't complete the job.

Last night, he deserved the criticism but compounding that with previous instances such as the one above, it's almost a certainty he will be gone if the Dodgers lose.

Mets Chances in NLDS: "It's Not Impossible, Nothing is Impossible"

2015-10-08T23:08:00.000-04:00

Three guys were sitting around discussing (and paraphrasing) the Mets chances of beating Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers in the NLDS.

Micheal: It's not impossible, nothing's impossible

Tom: I'd be like trying to kill the President, there's no way they can get to him

Michael: Tom, you know you surprise me. If anything in this life is certain, if sports has taught us anything, it's that you can beat anybody, Rocco

Rocco: Difficult, not impossible

In reality, the Mets are not facing Hyman Roth and the Rosato Brothers, but Kershaw and Zach Greinke can make their opponents an "offense" they can "defuse".

There's no denying the difficulty of beating a team with two of the best in the business, but as Micheal Corleone's bodyguard Rocco maintained, "difficult, not impossible" for the 2015 Mets.

As evidenced by the early games in the post season, home field has meant nothing.

I felt that opening on the road could serve the Mets better in this series. Now that comes with a disclaimer, if you will.

In a 3 of 5 series, the road team hopes to win at least one of the first two and then take their chances at home.

The caveat is, if you come home 1-1, that puts you in a position to win both of the next two at home (and you can still afford to lose one) and put the other team away without going back on the road for game five.

Opening on the road also puts a little more pressure on the home team, one that's already feeling a lot of heat entering the series because of their recent post season failures.

Again, it's not impossible for the road team to win game five, but first things first, win one of the first two but the Mets will be facing the most difficult "1-2 punch" in the sport.

Combine the fact that the team just did not hit down the stretch and has shown they can go into run scoring droughts, it makes the task sound even more daunting.

Realistically speaking, the Mets cannot expect their offense to suddenly wake up against those big guns, but it doesn't mean they can't be efficient.

Offensive efficiency will be a key vs Kershaw and Greinke because of their greatness.

What does that mean? Just this: fundamentals.

If they get an opportunity (and I know they got no-hit last Saturday) such as a runner on second with no out, it's imperative to move the runner to 3B,

Same goes for a runner on third and less than two out. That run has to score to have a chance to win a game like this.

Any failure in those situations will not just detract from the scoreboard, it would provide a "mental downer" and a lift for the opposition, something that an inexperienced playoff team may not be able to overcome.

The Mets will need to have an "outside the box" approach. They don't possess a lot of team speed, but that doesn't rule out using a good ol' fashioned "hit and run" play.

Kershaw's and Greinke's numbers are great against both left handed and right handed hitters but here are some underlying factors that may work in the Mets' favor.

Micheal Cuddyer (who will start against the lefty) is a career .338 hitter in the post season (25 hits in 74 AB) and is a career .290 vs. lefties (4 fo 16, .250 vs Kershaw)

Cuddyer's experience and leadership may not show up in the box score, but I have a feeling he'll make an important contribution.

David Wright has a career .365 mark against the Dodgers, .307 at Dodger Stadium. He has waited a long time for this return engagement and, thanks to his previous experience, will be better versed this time around.

Ruben Tejada has 5 hits in 14 career AB's (.357) against Kershaw because he has not been overaggressive in those at bats. It will be his job to "work the count" if possible and give the lineup some of the fundamentals as mentioned above because he can manipulate the bat.

From the left side, Daniel Murphy can go to the opposite field and that's one way to do anything against a guy who doesn't give much.

The only slight difference between the Dodgers starting pitchers and the Mets starting pitchers is experience.

The Mets starting staff is more than capable of dominating the Dodger hitters.Will they do it remains to be seen but the potential is there.

Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Matt Harvey in the first three will not be walk in the park for a lineup that, like the Mets, was in the middle of the pack in team offense rankings.

Limiting the damage from Adrian Gonzalez' bat will be key.

The young pitchers cannot allow LA's most dangerous hitter to come up with men on base. If the Mets stick to their regular season trend of few walks, they'll be in good shape.

Ol' friend Justin Turner has been the clean up hitter and he would love to stick it to his former team. The Mets will certainly harken back to his penchant for hitting the ball to right field and with the hard throwers they have, they'll need to adjust their defense accordingly.

Greinke is a very good hitter, but so is deGrom and Syndergaard is no slouch at the plate.

There's an interesting contrast of Cuban born players in Yoenis Cespedes and Yasiel Puig. Both are talented players and both lug along some baggage but Cespedes has been said to crave the "big stage" and he will certainly have his opportunity. Not to mention his impending free agency.

Puig is coming off a lengthy hamstring issue so his status bears watching as the series progresses.

The Mets have more depth in the bullpen but as we've seen in the past, some relievers can overachieve or underachieve in the post season. You never really know what you're going to get out of the pen.

Some of the intangible things to look for.

The Mets are keeping their fingers crossed that Murphy doesn't make one of his patented "bonehead" plays that could cost a game.

Don Mattingly's in-game managerial skills have come into question, but this is also Terry Collins' first go-round as a post season skipper.

It all adds up to what should be an exciting series but in making a pick I refer to the earlier portion of this post.

I think the Mets can grab one of the first two

Mets in four

At the End, the Yankees Were Exposed

2015-10-07T02:36:00.001-04:00

The Yankees season literally rode on the flight of Colby Rasmus' second inning HR.

The ball hit an apex that was riding high and then it came down and landed at the edge of the RF bleachers.

The Yankee season hit an apex that was riding high, but then it plummeted down and landed in the Astros first-baseman Marwin Gonzalez' glove.

The Yankees were being exposed in the final weeks of the season, something that was developing throughout the second half, but it became more apparent with each passing inning last night.

Let's try and break down what went wrong and "break down" is an appropriate term. They featured a roster that was filled with older veteran players and not much depth. That combination caused an offense (that was somehow second in the league in runs scored at one point) to fizzle down the stretch.

All season long, the Yankees rolled out an unbalanced lineup.

They were too "left-handed" and relied way too much on the long ball.

Having two left handed hitters at the top of the order turned into a disaster.

If Tony Gwynn and Rod Carew are your #1 and #2 hitters then you may have something there, but Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner. Yeah, it worked for a few months but it dried up real fast in the second half. Not to mention that they hardly ran and never really brought the factor of speed into play.

It's a big reason why the Yankees struggled against left hand pitching

Mgr. Joe Girardi's decision to start Gardner over Ellsbury back fired in a big way and an overwhelming number of those who called for the latter were not second guessers.

There was too much reliance on an older Alex Rodriguez. Yes, he had a solid comeback season when it was all said and done but his last two months and particularly September, you could see his bat had severely slowed down.

The Mark Teixeira injury hurt big time but without any production from the table setters, Tex's presence may not have mattered that much. If anything, the injury created an opportunity for Greg Bird to get some playoff experience and he had one of the Yankees three hits last night.

Enough of the offense, let's get to the bullpen.

Girardi got credit for his utilization of the 'pen in the first half of the season, but his M-O was to over use some of those arms and he paid for it.

Dellin Betances was not the same down the stretch. His fastball lacked life and the outstanding command that he displayed in the first five months disappeared. He didn't face as many base runners early on as he did in the final weeks, but the Astros knew they could steal on him and took full advantage.

The stolen base is not his fault but the walk to the first batter that he faced, Chris Carter, gave Houston a chance to go to their bench which was a little deeper than the Yankees. Betances was walking a lot more batters than ever down the stretch and you have to take into account all those multiple innings, when there were times Girardi could've stayed with a pitcher who was doing okay. Justin Wilson was throwing well but Girardi went to Betances with one out and no one on in the seventh and the right hander gave up a huge run.

Remember earlier this year when Girardi took out Wilson who had a 1-2 count on a left handed hitter who was batting .200 at the time and brought in Betances who walked that batter, and by the way, he got out of a jam of his own creation. In early September, he had a six run lead, two out and the bases loaded in the 7th inning at Fenway and he brought Betances in that game. Did he really need to use him there? He was lights out at that point of the season so why did he not trust someone else to get the final out of that inning.

The starters were inconsistent, and for the most part, unrealiable.

Nathan Eovaldi was 14-3 but was he really pitching to that record because his ERA was over four. Ya wanna go to the WHIP. His was 1.5 which meant he was putting on a runner and half every inning.

Masahiro Tanaka was very ordinary and a home run machine. Personally, and again this was not a second guess, I would've taken a chance and started Luis Severino last night. C.C. Sabathia was showing his age and mortality and Ivan Nova did not rebound well from Tommy John surgery.

It's going to take a few days to assess this Yankee season. Were they over or underachievers?

I felt all along that this was a flawed roster that was exceeding its expected output.

Let's not forget, this team blew a seven game lead in the division on August 28th and was fortunate to have a margin of error for the Wild Card game.

Sorry to say this but the product on the field this year was "stale" to say the least.

Attendance was down, TV rating were down and so was the overall interest. The game sold out last night but it didn't seem that way Monday night while the Mets sold their games out in no time.

The front office is going to have to come up with something a lot better to excite the fans next season.

Mets Are Not Sitting On The "Dock of the Bay" With Cuddyer

2014-11-11T01:46:00.004-05:00

The Mets had quite the "off season day" yesterday.

Not only is Jacob deGrom named the National League Rookie of the Year (the first for the Mets in 30 years) but they sign a free agent that won't fall under the "here we go again" category.

You're gonna get your cynical Met fans who will never believe that the team ever makes a good signing, who will compare it to to every free agent bust from Jason Bay to Chris Young, but this one will be different for a number of reasons.

His numbers won't blow you away and you'll probably say that the Mets overpaid which brings us back to "here we go again", but this time, "here we go again" is finally, "here we go forward".

The Mets needed an outfield bat.

The Mets got an outfield bat that not only serves their short term purpose and enhances their offense with more than just numbers, but also leaves them one big move "short" of putting out a solid everyday lineup.

There are a lot of fans (like my longtime colleague Rich Mancuso who wrote this piece for New York Sports Examiner)

http://newyorksportsexaminer.com/articles/mets-signing-of-cuddyer-is-not-smart-and-neither-is-a-move-for-tulow

who will point to the fact that Cuddyer only played 49 games last season due to injuries.

For most of his 14-year career, Cuddyer has stayed on the field and I hear 'ya that he's 35 years old, but again, his impact will not be measured solely in numbers.

For a very long time, I've felt Cuddyer has been one of the most underrated players in baseball. He's a fundamentally sound player, and despite his high strikeout totals, he knows how to cut down his swing and get a run in from third with less than two out.

Cuddyer is a very dangerous hitter when he's ahead in the count and doesn't fail many times to take advantage of those situations.

Of course, the strikeouts rise when he's behind in the count, but he's a very good situational hitter, despite the "K's".

You slot Cuddyer into the five hole and he offers protection for Lucas Duda, especially against left handers who will have to throw a few more fastballs to avoid facing the righty,

Oh, did I forget to mention that he plays first-base and plays it pretty well (15 errors in 14 seasons) which offers some depth at that position.

What's notable here is that the front office bypassed the draft pick, signed a player who brings intangibles that have been lacking at CitiField in recent years, and completed a big step one of the off season blueprint.

"I think it's a big addition for us", David Wright told 3balls2strikes.blogspot.com "In my opinion he's one of the most underrated players in the game. He's won a batting title and his #s speak for themselves but he's a terrific competitor and a great guy. It's a perfect fit for us and I'm really pumped."

Now comes step two and that's finding a shortstop.

There has been some talk that the Mets are showing interest in Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki but I wouldn't go there.

You talk about not being able to stay on the field and Tulo is the "poster boy". He's also coming off major hip surgery.

Tulowitzki will earn $20 million dollars a year through 2020 with a team option of $15 million for 2021 or a $4 million dollar buyout.

Step 2a is finding a leadoff batter.

Jose Reyes would solve both needs but the Blue Jays may not be willing, and who knows if the Mets would be willing to go there again.

Alexei Ramirez would be an interesting addition but could he be a steady presence at lead off?

If they keep Daniel Murphy at two, then 3-7 would look like, hopefully a healthy Wright, followed by Lucas Duda at clean up; Cuddyer at five, Curtis Granderson would hit sixth and Travis d'Arnaud at seven. That's a very nice balance of alternating left handed and right handed hitters, which can put pressure on even the deep bullpens around the league.

If the Mets acquire a shortstop who doesn't bat lead off, then maybe you have to give Juan Lagares an extended look in the top spot in the order.

The Mets need a shortstop who's at least a solid fielder (Ramirez) and pretty good hitter, and that could lengthen the lineup even more.

The front office is on the clock this off season and so far, they're on the way to meeting that deadline of February 2015.

What Goes Around, Came Around for World Series Participants

2014-10-30T14:54:00.001-04:00

Payback is a "bitch" and both the Giants and Royals got some last night in game seven. For San Francisco, it came after a little over 52 years, while for Kansas City, theirs took 29 years and was more painful.

In the ninth inning of game seven of the 1962 World Series, the Giants had runners on second and third with two out. Hall of Famer Willie McCovey ended the game by lining out to second baseman Bobby Richardson in one of the most exciting endings in the history of the Fall Classic.

There was the thought of "what if McCovey's shot (which was an absolute "bullet") was an inch to the right or left of Richardson".

There was the debate of why the Yankees even pitched to the left hand hitting McCovey when there was an open base at first, but the roadblock was Orlando Cepeda, an equally dangerous right handed hitter on deck.

And in a classic case of "what goes around, comes around", before McCovey's at-bat, Willie Mays doubled down the right field line, but Matty Alou, who was on first, was held at third, as Yankees RF Roger Maris hustled to get the ball back in quickly.

"Should the Giants have sent Alou that time?" is a question that will never be answered while the question of "should the Royals have sent Alex Gordon with two out against the Giants?" will also provide debate fodder for years to come.

We'll never know but that's what makes baseball different from any other sport. These debates will last a lifetime.

Another "What Goes Around Comes Around".

While the key defensive play of the '62 game was made by the Yankees second-baseman, the key defensive play of the game was made by the Giants second-baseman Joe Panik when he turned a spectacular (and replay delayed) double-play to snuff out a potential rally in the fifth.

Which leads me to my Royals WGACA play.

In the 1985 World Series, the Royals benefited from an umpire's missed call when 1B ump Don Denkinger ruled Jorge Orta safe at first on bang-bang play. Replays showed Orta was clearly out but the call changed the complexion of the inning and Kansas City scored twice to win game six in walk off fashion and force a seventh game and eventually win the Series.

Last night, the Royals thought they avoided the double play started by Panik as Eric Hosmer was called safe at first after a head first dive.

For the first time in Series history, a call was reversed, the Giants had the double-play and the rest is history.

In baseball, what goes around seems to come around in a bizarre sort of way.

Do You Know My Buddy, Derek Jeter?

2014-09-24T11:38:00.003-04:00

I had a dream last night. I was walking on the street with Derek Jeter and I ran into an ol’ friend

“Howie?…….is that you…..oh my god, is that?….”

“Hey!!!, it’s been a long time. How have you been? Do you know my buddy, Derek Jeter”….

“Is that really Derek Jeter?”

“Yes it’s really him, we’ve known each other since, uhh, 1996 I believe, right buddy?”

“That was a great season. You won the AL Rookie of the Year Award and the Yankees won the World Series.”

“You were there?”

“Yeah, that was great, right Derek. I was in the winning locker room with you and the guys, getting splashed with champagne, I was so happy for you and myself. Here I was, in the World Series, winning locker room of my favorite team, that I grew up with, getting soaked with champagne”

“Wow, that must’ve been great. I know we haven’t seen each other in a long time, a lot has happened since then”

“A whole lot. Hey Derek, remember the time you dove into the stands. Your face was a mess but you played the next night at Shea against the Mets”

(I playfully push Jeter) “Yeah, yeah, I get it, my face is always messed up”

“I remember that game. I was watching it on TV”

“Derek was in the first game I ever scored”

“When was that?”

“1998, I got a chance to score my first game and the rest is history. Hey Derek, I don’t know how many times I’ve written your name into the box score”

“Looks like you guys have a good relationship”

“Well, there’s been some times that the relationship was strained. Hey Derek, you were pretty pissed at me with the “E” I called on you eight years ago in that game against Baltimore”

(All 3 men laugh)

“That call was a firecracker for sure. Hey buddy, I had to call it on you, it’s in the rule book”

“What call was that?”

“It was a pop up in the infield. Derek and Alex Rodriguez converged on it but it dropped and I called an error on A-Rod. Someone came up to me and said Jeter may have bumped Alex and according to the rule book, he should be charged with the error, so I made the change an inning later. Derek didn’t know about the change until after the game and we had a little “pow-wow” about it. I ended up getting my name in a number of the papers, there was a column written by Wallace Matthews, you remember that Derek. Wally wrote it like you were trying to intimidate me, ‘button-hole me up against the wall, right”

“You’re like a celebrity”

“Well, not really but a couple of years ago, Ian O’Connor wrote a book called “The Captain: The Journey of Derek Jeter” and he interviewed me about that incident and wrote it in the book”

“You’re shaking your head Derek, what’s wrong? You didn’t like the book, uhh”

“He didn’t authorize the book so I can understand it a little bit, but people want to know about you, buddy”

“You get your name in the paper, I’ve heard your name mentioned on T-V by Micheal Kay. That’s gotta be pretty cool”

“Yeah, it’s nice but Derek can be a pain in the neck for the scorers”

“Why is that?, does he confront you on any calls?”

“Only that one with A-Rod but, you hit so many of those little dribblers and damn, if you don’t hustle down the line every freakin’ time. Most times the scorer has to call a hit and there are some out there who believe we favor you on the calls”

“Were you the scorer when Derek got his 3000th hit?”

“No, my colleague, Jordan Sprechman worked that game. I had enough problems with hit #2987”

“What do you mean?”

“In 2011, Derek was in pursuit of his 3000th hit and he was 14 shy of the milestone when the Yankees hosted the Red Sox. Derek hit a chopper towards the middle that Marco Scutaro backed up on and then threw the ball to first in the dirt. Adrian Gonzalez couldn’t pick it, Jeter reached and, to the despair of many, I called it an infield hit”

“They thought it should be an error”

“A number of people did. Bob Raissman wrote an article about how the scorers in town are dealing with Jeter's run to 3000 and he happened to call me the next day. I also got into a heated argument on-air at Sirius XM with Chris Russo”

“You could write a book”

“Maybe one day but I still need the job”

“(Laughs) yeah, I guess that would cause a problem”

“What’s that buddy, you gotta go. Already? It’s only been 20 years. Okay, I get it, you gotta leave. Well, I’ll be seeing ‘ya”

and then, I woke up and realized, hey, he is leaving