 Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Not looking good for Joe Torre
In our Podcast yesterday the Tank indicated that the length of time we wait for the decision by the Boss on Joe Torre's fate, most likely the better. I agreed with the Tank at the time, but now it is Wednesday and still no word yet. If the Yankees wanted to bring Joe back they would have made a quick announcement, like Omar did about Willie. That is the best way to do it, come right out and make the statement. The longer they wait, the more they are taking time to do damage control, PR spin, etc. The longer they wait the more damage they do since more speculation blogs like this one go up drawing attention to the action and making it a media event. Prediction: The Yankees let Joe go. Posted by Steve in New York
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
Ladies and Gentlemen Your 2007 World Champion Colorado Rockies....
Last night playing in the relentless rain at Coors Field the Rockies won their ninth consecutive game, their 20th in 21 and are on the verge of a sweep of the Diamondbacks in the NLCS. Is there anyone who can stop them? No, order their World Series rings now. Sure they have to finish off the Diamondbacks and then face the ALCS champion Red Sox or Indians, but they are firing on all cylinders and will most likely clinch tonight and then have the rest of the week to take batting practice and wait for the outcome of the ALCS. The same thing happened last year, the Tigers were hot, blew past two opponents and then had to wait a week to face either the Mets or Cardinals. The Cardinals had a 7 game war with the Mets that went to the bottom of the 9th with bases loaded, but came back and beat the Tigers quickly. Some say that it is better to have the time off (Steve) and some say it is better to be hot and roll right in (The Tank.) Will history repeat itself? Steve has his money on the Rockies. (And by strange coincidence he will be in Denver tomorrow on business, maybe he can join the party for winning the NLCS.) Posted by Steve in New York.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
NFL Week #6 Picks
I was 2-0 in last week's picks thanks to Dallas' late comeback. I am 5-2 on the season.
This week's fearless picks:
The Jets beat the Eagles in a must win at the Meadowlands.
The Giants beat the Falcons on a tough Monday night game in Atlanta.
The Bills have a bye this week.
Posted by the Tank in NY.
Friday, October 12, 2007
College Football, Alcohol, and the Tank Help Crime Scene Survivors and Witnesses Cope
JH and I hung out on the Upper East Side this past Saturday to watch college football, especially my game of the year nominee, #9 Florida at #1 LSU. While JH rooted for Florida, I rooted for LSU because I picked them. I couldn't help but notice eight young male professionals sitting to my right who were rooting for Team Alcohol. These guys drank everything -- beer, shots, you name it. They really didn't care who was winning and thoroughly enjoyed my sports commentary, especially my replay commentary of Stanford's successful 4th and goal conference to beat USC. (USC was 41 point favorite, at home, and Stanford's starting quarterback was injured. What the heck? But that what is great about college football.. So who am I to argue?
On various tables, there were sheets of paper which read Florida, LSU, Clemson, etc. But their's read "The Four Knives Club". Were they a college fraternity? Were they a secret society like Skull and Bones? I didn't say it out of respect to the Florida fans at the table to my left. The Florida fans must have been ridiculed after a young student was recently tazed for asking John Kerry about his membership in Skull and Bones. ("Don't taze me bro!" the young student pleaded as the campus police were tazing him.) No, they but a group who called themselves the Four Knives Club as they had witnessed and thankfully survived a knife wielding maniac who stabbed two people with four knives the night before at the Gemini Diner on the East side.
We often get too caught up in life about which team we root for. For the Four Knives Club, living to live and enjoy another day is the most important game of all.
Last Week's Picks Recap: The Tank was 6-2 last week to bring my season record up to 12-7.
This Week's Fearless Picks:
Rutgers beats Syracuse in the Carrier Dome.
#1 LSU wins at #17 Kentucky.
#6 Oklahoma beats #11 Missouri at home.
Posted by a grateful Tank reporting Live from the Upper East Side in NY.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Confessions of a Mets fan
Last Sunday when the Mets blew it I was close to 5,000 miles and 7 times zones away and many of my friends thought that I had jumped off the ledge. The truth is that I already knew they were going to blow it and was not all that mad. Mets fans were out for blood and in "shock" last Sunday and I was not. I was prepared for the collapse when I saw it was inevitable around Wednesday of the week before-and the warning signs were there a week before that. Not many Mets fans will admit this, but the implosion is just part of being a Mets fan. While I wanted to win, we have a history of losing and are use to it. I was not happy. Since I was prepared for the collapse it was not a shock, but it still hurt. I looked at the final standing and seeing Philly in first place while not really earning it, but benefiting from the Mets demise, poured salt into the wound. That said, seeing the Phillies lose in 3 straight games made the pain easier. Seeing the Yankees lose in 4 games and the turmoil it has caused made the pain easier. Watching the Phillies lose and taking joy from that is because they represent the chance the Mets could have had and watching them celebrate the NL East was not fun. So that made me happy. It shouldn't, but it does. Watching the Yanks lose did not make me happy insofar as the lose, but the aftermath of the loss takes the focus off the Mets and hey, misery loves company, all of NY is just plain pissed. So we are in it together. Now that the New York teams are playing golf, Steve and the Tank will cover the playoffs without a New York spin. We'll cover hot stove and the A-Rod decision and play the role of blogger GM. Sometimes the real fun is the winter trades and free agent signings, this year promises to be one where the Mets should spend like crazy for bullpen and pitching and the Yankees, well are the Yankees, expect them to run up the national debt for some sluggers and old pitchers. Posted by Steve in New York PS Steve also hopes that the Tank is more realistic next year and stops picking the Yankees over the Mets in the World Series in 7. (We all know the real prediction should be Mets over Yankees in 7.)
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Don't Fire Joe Torre
All signs are leading that the Yankees will fire 12 year manager Joe Torre. Never mind that he has delivered 12 years in a row of post season play, 10 division titles, 6 world series appearances and 4 championships. The last three years the Yankees exited in the first round, and four years ago was the collapse against Boston. Yesterday GM Brian Cashman admitted, "I'm sick of losing." Hinting that this might be the busiest off-season of the last decade, with multiple free agent signing/departures on the horizon. This is exactly what the problem of the Yankees is. In years past the Yankees were about pitching and small ball. This won them 3 championships in a row and 3 in 5 years. They did this with quality pitching and small ball-nobody on the Yankees hit over 30 home runs in those years. Ever since they signed Jason Giambi and went the route of the long ball, things changed. They started failing in the post season. Good pitching shuts down good hitting and anything can happen in a best of 5 series. You witnessed it the last 3 years in a row. This is not Joe's fault. He has done the best with the team he has. We are judging him by the team performance in the post season. Sure there has not been a championship in 7 years. But each of those last 7 years Joe has managed well and gotten the team to the playoffs. Thats more than any other team can say, no other team has made the playoffs 12 years in a row. (Actually the Yankees are 13, but we are only looking at Joe.) Keep Joe Torre at least another year until Don Mattingly is ready. Posted by Steve in New York.
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