Consider myself truly lucky to have worked at Greenwich Time, The Record (NJ) The New York, the Brooklyn Nets and MSGNetworks.com Equally blessed to have been a contributor on ESPN, SNY and YES. Ridiculously thankful to teach at Rutgers and NYU. Best of all, my love Nicole and my son Harry. I'm a mean-ass cancer fighter. Mean!
Daniel Stephen Jones III,
the quarterback the Giants allegedly drafted too high, the seemingly second
coming of mind-mannered Eli Manning, the old-school drop back passer, shattered
all those preconceived notions on one glorious evening in Tampa.
Jones, the No.6 pick in
the draft, bolted seven yards with 1:18 left for what proved to be the winning
touchdown as he rallied the Giants to a 32-31 win in his first NFL start.
Afterward, after Jones had
rallied the Giants from an 18-point deficit, after the rookie from Duke had run
for two touchdowns and passed for two touchdowns, after he completed 23-of-36
passes for 336 yards, it was learned he dropped the ‘F’ bomb in the huddle.
Now that’s a quarterback
for New York.
“(He) cussed one time,” wide
receiver Russell Shepard told reporters after the game. “I ain’t never heard
him scream. He started screaming and cussing. We were in
the red zone and he was like, ‘Let’s f—ing score.’”
“The fact that he did that (curse)
was an eye-opener because we never seen him get out of his personality. He’s
very mellow, very mild-mannered individual. He doesn’t get too high or too low.
To see him get like that was pretty impressive. That was the thing that
propelled us offensively to keep fighting.”
The Giants had gone 55 games in which
they had failed to win after trailing by 18 points or more at halftime. They
trailed 28-10 and Jones had played like a rookie quarterback making his first
start on the road no less.
And then the third
quarter started and Jones, before our very eyes, transformed himself from a
wide-eyed, overwhelmed 22-year-old rookie into a seasoned season savior. Jones
completed 5-of-8 passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns.
When Matt Gay yanked a 34-yard chip shot that
would have ruined Jones’ debut, the Giants, led by a jumping up and down Jones,
celebrated as if they had won the Super Bowl. It was only their first win of
the season after two miserable losses.
“We had a chance there at the end of the
game,’’ Jones said. “That’s all you can ask for, We kinda struggled to move the
ball there at points and — just a great job, great job moving the ball down
the field as a team. We got some guys open, and they made plays. So great job,
loved the fight and loved the grit of this win.”
Lost in all this, of course, was Eli Manning,
the two-time Super Bowl MVP who should be remembered as one of the franchise’s
all-time greats. He was the only player on the winning sideline that knew just
how impressive Jones’ performance was.
But Jones is not Eli. He just penned the first
chapter in his book. Some of the words might have to be blacked out.
“I was just excited,” Jones told reporters when
asked about his huddle expletive. “I don’t know exactly what happened.”
What happened is a star has been
born. A F5$king star.
This is wonderful and cofounding baseball time in this town.
The Yankees have claimed the American League East Division crown
for the first time since 2012. They’ve won 100 games. They are in a panic.
The Mets (80-73) are playing meaningful games in September but
they remain three and one-half games out of the Wild Card. They are euphoric.
Only in New York.
The Yankees barely had time to enjoy their division title. Domingo
German was suspended for the rest of the season, including the playoffs, under
MLB’s domestic violence policy. German is the Yankees winningest pitcher this
season, owning an 18-4 record and a 4.03 ERA.
The Yankees were planning to use the inexperienced German out of
the pen in the playoffs. They can use a boost there after Dellin Betances, who
after a grueling, season-long comeback from shoulder and lat injuries, returned
only to suffer a partially torn Achilles tendon and is done for the year.
This 1-2 punch has left the Yankees scrambling to figure out
their postseason rotation and bullpen use. This is cause for concern on any
team. In Yankees Land it’s cause for hysteria.
Long before spring training opened the Yankees had a two-ton bat
weight dropped in their dugout: Win the World Series or this season is a
failure. The Red Sox won it last year. The Yankees went all-in and have to win
it this year.
The Mets were hoping to have a winning season. By mid-July they
were on life support. Then came the ridiculous win streak and here are the Mets
hoping for a playoff season.
While the Yankees were fretting over their postseason pitching
options, Mets manager Mickey Calloway was tinkering with his starting-rich pitching
rotation by swapping Steven Matz for Marcus Stroman in Sunday’s final of the
three-game series in Cincinnati.
It’s rich enough to wonder if there’s a conspiracy theory taking
place. In a season that should be a Yankees celebration the Mets are hanging
around like a meddlesome yellow jacket.
Surely the Yankees are the more successful team. But the Mets are the feel-good team. And they
can feel even better courtesy of one man – Pete ‘Polar Bear’ Alonzo.
Alonzo blasted, and we mean blasted (437 feet), his 50th
home run of the season Friday night in the Mets 8-1 win over the Reds. He
became just the 30th player in history and the second rookie to
smack 50 home runs.
The only other player to accomplishment that feat is Aaron Judge
of the Yankees who set the rookie home run mark of 52 in 2017. Alonso has nine
games remaining to break Judge’s record.
Wouldn’t that be the perfect itch in the Yankees’ jock? Alonso
blasts his 53rd home run in the final game of the season. The
Yankees are going to the playoffs. The Mets are not. But all radio talk show
hosts and bar stool fans want to talk about is a guy with the nickname of Polar
Bear.
File photo NY Giants #10 Eli Manning Neil Miller/The NY extra copyright 2019
Robbins Nest
By Lenn Robbins
Safe to say in their storied history, the Giants have never
absorbed a 1-2 punch like this.
Eli Manning, the second son of a regal football family, had
become the No.1 quarterback the Giants have ever known. Two Super Bowl titles.
Two Super Bowl MVPs. Zero embarrassing moments in a city that has made a fool
of millions.
He was benched on Tuesday. A 2019 knockout punch.
The end of an era. Sixteen seasons, 233 games, 231 starts,
56,287 yards and 361 touchdown passes came to an end in the form of a press
release.
“Eli was obviously disappointed, as you would
expect, but he said he would be what he has always been, a good teammate, and
continue to prepare to help this team win games,’’ coach Pat Shurmur said in a
statement.
Good teammate, for sure. Better person, no
doubt. Fall guy? Of course.
Manning’s benching came two days after the
Giants dropped a 28-14 decision to the Buffalo Bills, a loss that dropped them
to 0-2.
Has Manning been bad? Yep. Has the entire offense
been bad? Yep. Has the defense been bad? Yep. Have the special teams been bad?
Yep. Coaching? Yep.
Front office? Yes! Hell yes!
The 0-2 start is not an indictment of Manning.
It’s a referendum on how lacking this roster is in elite talent.
With the exception of Saquon Barkley, is there
one difference maker, one player that keeps an opposing offensive and/or
defensive coordinator downing Red Bulls at 3 a.m.? No.
The only other game-changing offensive player the
Giants had was on full display Monday night in MetLife Stadium, the building
Big Blue calls home, in the Cleveland Browns 23-3 win over the Jets.
Odell Beckham Jr., the most exciting wide
receiver in the game, was traded away because GM David Gettleman didn’t believe
he fit the culture in East Rutherford.
That culture is in shambles today.
The Giants are the Miami Dolphins of the north.
One day after Beckham torched the Jets for 161
yards receiving and one touchdown, the Giants decided this was the best day to
bench Manning in favor of the player that was drafted as his replacement.
Daniel Jones will start at quarterback Sunday
when the Giants play at Tampa Bay. A road game. Nothing like giving a rookie
his first start on the road.
We all knew, Eli knew, that sooner or later the
Giants would turn to Jones, the No.6 pick in the 2019 draft. So it begs the
question, ‘Why didn’t Jones get more than some mop up time in these first two
games?”
Why has he only been getting backup reps in
practice and splitting time with Alex Tanney on the scout team?
The Giants weren’t going to win these first two
games. Not with this roster; not with this management.
It doesn’t matter if Jones turns out to be a franchise
quarterback. Given his skill set as a pocket passer, he will never provide the
jaw-dropping, you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me moments OBJ dropped on us, not once,
but twice.
He made one of his patented one-handed, ‘did you see that?!’
catches in the first quarter for 33 yards. He turned a short slant into the
longest catch and run of his NFL career, an 89-yarder.
If OBJ was still a Giant even he couldn’t have prevented a
third straight 0-2 start. This franchise has bigger problems – a GM that claims
to have an impressive resume; ownership that cares but is stuck in the past,
reacting instead of proacting.
The Giants should have taken a page out of the New York Rangers
playbook. In February of 2018, management sent fans an email stating they were
building for the future. Translation: The current season will be an audition
for future roles.
That’s what the rest of this season is for Big Blue. Jones’
audition for the lead role begins Sunday. He should make friends with Barkley
immediately. It’s all he has.
Manning will say the right things. He’ll hold the clipboard
and help Jones as best he can. But no one can get this franchise off the
canvas. This 1-2 punch ended the season, and if Jones fails, many more to come.
file photo NY Giants #10 Eli Manning Neil Miller/The New York Extra/copyright 2019
By Lenn Robbins
You know the state of professional football in the metropolitan
area is in sad, sad shape when the best team in the Empire State doesn’t call
MetLife Stadium home.
The fact that the Buffalo Bills have beaten the Jets and Giants
is just the wild wings appetizer in this story.
The Bills (2-0) have their quarterback of the future in Josh
Allen.
He has such a powerful arm it’s rumored he can throw a pass from
the Anchor Bar to the Statue of Liberty. From his knees. He is more mobile than
Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones.
The Jets (Darnold) and Giants (Jones) believe they are set at
that vital position but we don’t know. Jones didn’t play in the Giants 28-14
loss to the Bills on Sunday and Darnold (mononucleosis) won’t play Monday night
against the Browns.
The Giants (0-2) have their back of the future in Saquon
Barkley, although his name will always be linked with Darnold, which takes us
back to the franchise QB issue.
Should the Giants have drafted Darnold? Is Jones the real deal?
The Jets (0-1) have their star back in Le’Veon Bell but he’ll be
a salary cap albatross before Gang Green makes the playoffs. You read that
right.
The Bills got their back of the future, Devin Singletary, in the
third round of the draft. It didn’t cost them the second pick in last year’s
draft (Barkley) or a Brinks truck (Bell).
The Bills have a balanced, aggressive defense. The Giants have a
defense that allowed Dak Prescott and Allen to look like Tom Brady and Patrick
Mahomes.
The Jets defense looked good in Week 1 in a 17-16 loss to
Buffalo. It will be without LB C.J. Mosley and first-round pick DL Quinnen
Williams against the Browns.
As bad as Cleveland’s petulant QB, Baker Mayfield, looked in a
Week 1 loss to the Titans, we expect Gang Green’s defense to be exposed.
Worst of all, it feels as if the Bills are building something,
as if there’s a plan and everyone is drinking the same sports drink.
The Giants are a QB change away from acknowledging what every
Big Blue fan knows – this roster is lacking and the season is a long, cold
march to the draft.
The Jets want us to believe they can be competitive this season
but we’re about to meet Trevor Siemian who couldn’t win the starting QB jobs in
Denver or Minnesota. He’ll play quarterback until Darnold can return.
The Jets follow Monday’s game against Cleveland with the Pats,
Eagles and Cowboys. It’s possible that by the time Darnold returns the Jets
could be in draft lockstep with their MetLife neighbors.
The Bills next face the Bengals so 3-0 is probable. Buffalo hasn’t
done that since 2011. Spoiler: The Bills finished 6-10.
Forget the future. The
Bills are 2-0. They’re having fun.
When a reporter asked Allen what he thought he had proved to New
York City fans and New York City teams, the second-year QB picked apart the
question.
“Um, [there’s] one New York team,” he quipped.
“I’m just kidding.”
They’re laughing upstate. We’re about to cry Niagara Falls tears
down here.
09/08/19 Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets at Metlife Stadium East Rutherford N.J. New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold #14 leaves the field in dejection after the game today
By
Lenn Robbins
Stars
rise fast these days. Some handle it well. Some don’t.
Sam
Darnold, 22, would have made the 15th start of his NFL career Monday
night when Gang Green hosts the Cleveland Browns and their second-year
quarterback, Baker Mistakefield, 24. It’s likely Darnold will miss more than
just Monday’s game with mononucleosis.
Mayfield
was the No.1 overall pick in last year’s NFL Draft. Darnell went No.3. You know
ESPN is scrambling to replace all those Mayfield-Darnold comparisons.
It’s
a shame that Darnold has been sacked by the kissing disease, as it’s referred to
in KidsHealth.org. Because Mayfield is the kid in this tandem. Darnold is the
adult.
Mayfield’s
talent-laden Browns, considered the favorites to win the AFC Central, got pummeled
by the Tennessee Titans, 43-13 last weekend. The ailment he’s suffering these
days is a bruised ego.
Mayfield,
who any minute now could declare himself the best young quarterback in the NFL,
completed 25-of-38 passes for 285 yards with three interceptions, one touchdown
and garnered a QB rating of 64.
Darnold
wasn’t much better in his team’s season opener, a soul-sapping 17-16 loss to
the Buffalo Bills. He completed 28-of-41 passes for a meager 175 yards with one
touchdown and no interceptions. His QB rating was 84.9-percent.
09/08/19 Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets at Metlife Stadium East Rutherford N.J. New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold #14 throws in todays game
So,
on paper, after one week, the Jets have the better quarterback.
Now,
let’s put these silly analytics aside. Because really, QB rating is nonsense.
If a quarterback gets his team in the end zone and wins games, the rest is
window dressing.
John
Elway’s QB rating? 79.9. Johnny Unitas? 78.2. End of story.
Here’s
why we’re perfectly comfortable with Darnold being in New York and Baker
Blabber being in Cleveland.
After
the Jets blew the game against the Bills last week, this was what Darnold had
to say:
“We
never really got into rhythm and I put that on myself.”
file photo N.Y.Jets #14 Sam Darnold walks off the field after the Jets lost last Sunday Neil Miller /The New York Extra
After
the Browns got pulverized by the Titans, this is what Baby Baker had to say.
“We don’t really give a damn what’s going on on the
outside,” Mayfield said when asked how stunned the NFL world was by his
team’s debacle.
Darnold said “I.” Mayfield said “We.”
Darnold has shown uncanny poise and has an understated presence. Guys
like to be around him.
Mayfield has dissed former teammates (see: Duke Johnson) and
coaches (see: Hugh Jackson) and opponents (see: Daniel Jones). He likes to be
the light and the moth.
Mayfield can be seen on TV hocking Progressive Insurance, which in
theory is fine. But it makes you wonder if some of the veterans on the Browns,
that have never had a sponsorship deal, are a little irked.
Darnold hasn’t filmed a national television commercial but he did
dress up as Santa Claus last Christmas and surprised kids at a New Jersey mall.
We won’t get to see Darnold-Mayfield Monday night, which is
disappointing. Both seem to be remarkably gifted. Mayfield is more mobile.
Darnold has an Elway-strong arm.
Here’s the shame: The QB that carries himself like a petulant
child didn’t get the kid’s virus.
09/08/19 Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets at Metlife Stadium East Rutherford N.J. New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold #14 leaves the field in dejection after the game today
Robbins Nest
By Lenn Robbins
One of the many factors
that contributed to Mike Maccagnan getting stabbed in the back by Adam Gase was
the feeling that the former GM gave out overly generous contracts to Le’Veon
Bell and C.J. Mosley.
09/08/19 Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets at Metlife Stadium East Rutherford N.J. New York Jets head coach Adam Gase during the 2nd half today
The two will earn a combined $33.5 million this season. The rest
of the roster, starting with Gase, should earn nothing.
What other conclusion can one draw after the latest Jets
debacle, this one epic even by Gang Green’s lowly standards?
The Jets forced four first-half turnovers, led 16-0 midway
through the third quarter, and lost, 17-16, to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
09/08/19 Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets at Metlife Stadium East Rutherford N.J. New York Jets inside linebacker C.J. Mosley #57 scores a touch down on a pick six in the 1st half today
09/08/19 Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets at Metlife Stadium East Rutherford N.J. New York Jets inside linebacker C.J. Mosley #57 celebrates after a turnover with New York Jets cornerback Darryl Roberts #27
09/08/19 Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets at Metlife Stadium East Rutherford N.J. New York Jets linebacker Neville Hewitt #46 reacts after a turn over today
09/08/19 Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets at Metlife Stadium East Rutherford N.J. New York Jets outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins #48 clebrates a defensive play in the 1st half today
09/08/19 Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets at Metlife Stadium East Rutherford N.J. New York Jets outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins #48 celebrates a defensive play in the 1st half today
New York Jets inside linebacker C.J. Mosley #57 elebrates a turnover in todays game
Gase, making his Jets head
coaching debut, put an incomplete team on the MetLife Stadium field. The Jets were
putrid in special teams, porous on the offensive line and unable to sustain defensive
intensity for 60 minutes.
“When you take a loss like this, it kind of defines
you,” Bell told reporters. “We’re going to see how guys respond. When you have
that many turnovers and we still don’t win the game, we didn’t deserve to win
that game.”
The Jets built their lead largely because they had two NFL-proven
stars in Bell and Mosley. And then they got exposed by a Buffalo team that had
a solid plan and solid, if not spectacular, roster.
The Jets kicker, Kaare Vedvik, who was signed off waivers last
week, missed a PAT and a 45-yard field goal attempt.
09/08/19 Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets at Metlife Stadium East Rutherford N.J. New York Jets kicker Kaare Vedvik #6 reacts fater missing a fg in todays game
“It sucks,’’ Vedvik told reporters. “Everybody
wants to do their part in helping the team win. A close game like that, it’s
bad.”
The offensive line, which was so suspect the Jets had to woo
Ryan Kalil out of retirement in early August, gave up four sacks and never
allowed Sam Darnold, who got hit nine other times, to feel comfortable.
“Whenever you have the lead going into the
fourth quarter, that’s never the result you want,” Darnold, who was 28-of-41
passing for 175 yards and one touchdown, told reporters.
The defense looked competent until Mosely left the game midway
through the third quarter with a groin injury.
09/08/19 Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets at Metlife Stadium East Rutherford N.J. New York Jets inside linebacker C.J. Mosley #57 runs in a interception for a touch down in the 1st half today
“When he went out, it
was kind of a game changer as far as they didn’t have somebody that vocal in
the middle of the field that was able to make all their calls and all their check,”
Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen told reporters after the game.
Bell, who should have gotten the ball more than 23 times,
finished with 92 yards from scrimmage, a touchdown reception, a leaping
two-point conversion catch and showed that despite a year away from football,
he remains a dominant back.
09/08/19 Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets at Metlife Stadium East Rutherford N.J. New York Jets running back Le’Veon Bell #26 celebrates his catch for a 2 pt conversion in todays game09/08/19 Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets at Metlife Stadium East Rutherford N.J. New York Jets running back Le’Veon Bell #26 runs for a gain in the 1st half today
Mosley scored the Jets other
touchdown, their first of the season on a 17-yard interception return. Before
leaving midway through the third with a groin injury and defense’s heart, he
had five tackles, two passes defensed and the Pick Six.
Gase, allegedly a quarterback
whisperer, couldn’t protect a 16-point lead at home by calling plays like a
coach that was trying to protect a 16-point lead.
“I felt like our energy died, man, and we
wasn’t playing team ball,” safety Jamal Adams told reporters. “So any time you
do that, a team is going to take advantage of it.”
The way Gase’s team is constructed, don’t be
surprised if the Jets get taken advantage of a lot this season.
08/11/19 Washington Nationals vs New York Mets at citifield queens ny #39 Edwin Diaz reacts after giving up a 2 run homer in the 8th inning file photo Neil Miller The New York Extra
ROBBINS NEST
By Lenn Robbins
What made this loss so gut
retching, was that for the first eight and one-half innings Tuesday night, Mets
looked like a playoff team.
They had roughed up Nationals
ace Max Scherzer for four runs. Joe Panik hit his first home run as a Met, only
the 13th home run allowed by Scherzer this season.
The Mets had, wait for it,
given Jacob deGrom run support. deGrom wasn’t Cy Young good in the Mets
playoff-ending, soul-sucking 11-10 loss to the Nationals, but he gave the Mets
seven innings of eight-hit ball and left with his team up 4-2.
By the bottom of the ninth
that lead had swelled to 10-4. How safe is 10-4 going into the bottom of the
ninth? According to ESPN stats, it was 274-0 safe. Not once had a team leading
by six, with three outs to get, lost.
So safe that I opted to watch
an episode of the terrific series “Manhunter,” with my wife. We had just shut
the lights when my 14-year-old son Harry did what he has never done before.
He crashed open the bedroom
door. Don’t worry, not much goes on in there.
Anyhow, he always knocks. The
kids always knock. But this clearly was not a knockable moment. This was a Mets
hope-ending execution unlike anything he’d ever seen. Even Mets manager Mickey
Callaway couldn’t repeat his mantra that this team can do something special.
“We had a six-run lead,’’
Mets manager Mickey Callaway told reporters. “Major league pitchers have to be
able to hold that.’’
File photo Mickey Callaway Neil Miller / The New York Extra
You think?
When Kurt Suzuki crushed an
Edwin Diaz sacrificial offering over the fence for a three-run walk-off home that
gave the Mets one of the most gruesome losses in franchise history, fans had a
second of stunned disbelief. Then a second of anger. Then this:
Only the Mets.
It was as if this team had
discovered time travel and made its way back to 1962 when “Only the Mets,” became a refrain, said over and over again with a
chuckle that hid the disbelief over another Mets debacle.
Of course, when something so
colossally wrong occurs, it seems heartless to report more bad news, but hey, “Major
league pitchers have to be able to hold that.’’ The Brewers, Cubs,
Diamondbacks, Phillies – all ahead of the Mets in the Wild Card race – all won.
The Mets are five back, but
that’s just a number. It rightfully sounds so much better than 11-10 or 274-0.
Leave it to a former Met to
explain what a loss like this really means,
“If it doesn’t put the last
nail in the coffin, it’s awfully close,” SNY analyst Ron Darling said on-air.
“Someone’s hammering away.”
The Mets will never again
play a game this season in which a lead feels safe. Fans will never hit the
sack contently. This is a nightmare that will haunt the final 24 games of the
season.
There won’t be a 25th
game.
“It’s going to be a tough one
to digest tonight, but you have to do it,” Callaway told reporters. “We have
digested several.”
08/03/19 boston red sox vs ny yankees at yankee stadium bronx ny yanks win 9-2. #26 dj lemahieu hits a 3 run homer in the 4th innning Neil Miller / the New York Extra
By Lenn Robbins
This isn’t what Yankees fans want to hear and,
quite frankly, we hope it doesn’t come to be. Because there is no city in the
world that does a hero’s parade better than the Big Apple.
Who else has a ‘Canyon of Heroes?”
When the U.S. women’s national soccer team won
the World Cup (again!), they came here for a parade on Broadway. Their locks
were littered with ticker tape, just as Brian Leetch and Derek Jeter and Eli
Manning and Neil Armstrong and Nelson Mandela and the Mets, who got a parade in
1962 just for entering the National League!
So believe us when we say we want an October
parade.
But if it doesn’t happen, if the Yankees don’t
fulfill their 2019 destiny and come up short in their quest for a 28th
World Series title, this still has been a ridiculously amazing season.
That fact came into clarity this weekend when
the Yankees became the first team to reach the 90-win total. They did it in the
most riveting of fashions.
Trailing the Oakland A’s 4-0 going into the
bottom of the eighth on Sunday, the Yankees rallied for a 5-4 triumph when Mike
Ford became the first rookie in franchise history to smack a pinch-hit,
walk-off home run.
08/15/19 Cleveland Indians vs New York Yankees at yankee stadium bronx ny #36 Mike Ford ,who started the game as the DH, pitches in the 8th innning, smiles after he gives up a homer Neil Miller / the New York Extra
We are talking about the Yankees, who have more
remarkable history than any team in baseball. Ford, the former Princeton hurler
and career minor leaguer, has added to that history.
“I didn’t hear anything,
which is crazy,” Ford told reporters about his historic homer. “Just
a whole rush of emotion.”
That’s what has made this
Yankees season special. The emotion. Because the men in that clubhouse know how
hard they’ve had to grind, how many obstacles they’ve had to overcome.
The day before Ford got lost in emotion, DJ
LeMahieu hit a walk-off homer in a 4-3, 11-inning victory over Oakland.
These heroics came the day after the Yankees
set a more dubious record. They placed Gio Urshela on the injured list with a
groin injury. Urshela became the 29th Yankee make it onto that list,
which is a Major League record.
Despite this staggering procession of injuries,
the Yankees own a 90-49 record and have all but mathematically won their 19th
AL East title, the first since 2012.
Urshela is one of the most fantastic stories in
baseball with a slash line of .331/.370/.555 with 32 doubles and 18 home
runs in 414 plate appearances.
LeMahieu’s numbers make him the second most
fantastic story on the Yankees (Domingo German, noted). David John has a slash
line of .335./.382/.920 with 24 home runs and 90 RBI.
If the season ended today, LeMahieu and Urshela
would be 1-2 choices for team MVP, which is flat out mind-boggling when you
consider this is a team with guys named Aaron Judge, Didi Gregorius, Aroldis Chapman,
et al.
The Yankees have epitomized the “next man up,”
mantra.
“Our guys have been great at it all year,’’ manager Aaron
Boone told reporters. “Whoever we brought up has controlled situations and
moments really well and beyond, maybe, their experience. Ford has been one of
those guys, but the list is long.’’
It has been a long and astonishing list, but
here’s the rub. We’re still not sold on the starting pitching. Hold the paper shredding.
If one needed a reminder of the importance of starting
pitching, it came yesterday like the downpour that marked the day. The Yankees
were shutout for the first time this season, losing 7-0 to the Rangers.
05/10/16 Kansas City Royals Vs N.Y.Yankees at Yankee Stadium Bronx N.Y. New York Yankees lead 1-0 after 1 innning New York Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka #19 pitches in the 1st innning photos by Neil Miller / the ny extra
Masahiro Tanaka (10-8; 4.42 ERA) was solid,
surrendering two runs on seven hits over six innings. Mike Minor (12-8; 3.12)
was better, allowing just five hits through seven and one-third innings.
Considering this marked the first time in 220
games that the Yankees had been blanked, one can safely label this an anomaly.
Or a warning. Regardless, the Yankees starting pitching remains an abstract
picture.
J.A. Happ was brilliant against Oakland, tossing
one-hit ball over six innings. But that was the first time he’d gone six since
July 30th. Tanaka has been a workhorse. German has been terrific. But
Happ and CC Sabathia, who’s lost five straight, have not.
08/03/19 boston red sox vs ny yankees at yankee stadium bronx ny New York Yankees starting pitcher Domingo German #55 pitches in the 1st inning today09/13/16 Los Angeles Dodgers vs New York Yankees at yankee stadium bronx ny New York Yankees win 3-0 New York Yankees catcher Brian McCann #34 right celebrates with New York Yankees relief pitcher Dellin Betances #68 after the game photos by Neil Miller/ the New York Extra
James Paxton has won six straight since losing
five in a row so that jury is out. He’s been streaky all season, which is not
comforting entering the playoffs.
When one considers the pitching in Cleveland,
Houston, Oakland and Tampa, the Yankees are going to be tested – big time –
which is the way it should be.
They already have been tested more than any
team in baseball history. Without Luis Severino, Dellin Betances and the other
members of the injured list, it’s astonishing what the Bombers have done.
04/21/16 Oakland Athletics vs N.Y.Yankees at Yankee Stadium Bronx N.Y.New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Severino #40 pitches in the 2nd innning photos by Neil Miller/ the ny extra
A 21st 100-win season would be sensational.
A ticker tape parade would be better.
There
have been many impassioned debates as to whether or not Tom Brady is the greatest
football player of all time.
Recently
we wrote that Brady is the pick for the greatest quarterback of all time.
Now
we have learned that there is another facet of Brady’s greatness that ends any
debate Sorry, Montana. Apologies, Namath. Regrets, Unitas. Brady has indeed
taken the quarterback position to a new level.
He is
the Football Whisperer, the Freud of the Football. Not the game of football. The actual football.
Consider
his recent remarks when asked to assess the play of free agent wide receiver
Jacobi Meyers, who has impressed throughout training camp and the preseason.
“The football doesn’t care
how old you are, whether you were drafted or not. The football doesn’t care how
much experience you have. It just knows, when I let that ball go, it’s got to
be in the hands of the guy who it’s intended for.’’
Wait,
the football doesn’t care, as in the football has feelings?
It’s
impossible to overstate the importance of this discovery but we will try.
This
is like finding life on Mars. Or fresh water in the ocean’s depths. Or a
neurotransmitter in the deepest recesses of the brain that can be stimulated to
guarantee lifelong virility. (Willing to volunteer for the trial).
Tom
Brady, six-time Super Bowl champ, three-time Super Bowl MVP, husband to one of
the highest-earning supermodels of all-time, might just win a Nobel Prize for
science.
This
is like Kobe Bryant winning an Oscar for his truly wonderful animated short
film, “Dear Basketball.”
Brady,
we know, has an intimate relationship with footballs. He was suspended for the
first four games of the 2015 season for deflating balls in the 2015 AFC
Championship Game.
We
wonder: If he knew then what he knows now, would he have, um, deflated the balls?
Maybe his
Football
Whisperer skills were still being honed and he couldn’t yet communication with
the oblong, leather, ball.
We’ll
let the psychologists, therapists and linguists pursue this new avenue of
study. We’ve got bigger issues to address. With this being the last Sunday we
won’t have NFL football until February 9th, and all those priceless
preseason games in the books, it’s time to make our picks.
AFC
East: Pats – as long as the 42-year-old Brady doesn’t get injured or caught
deflating footballs.
AFC
North: Browns – Mayfield leads them to their first divisional title since 1989,
despite monthly reports he’s not liked in the locker room.
AFC
South: Texans – Without Luck, Texans have the best QB in the division – by far.
AFC
West: Chiefs – Andy Reid is a Hall of Fame coach, right? Right?
Wildcards:
Steelers – Addition by subtraction; AB
and his treasured helmet are gone. Chargers – Because I believe in the Ravens
less, not exactly a ringing endorsement.
AFC
Championship Game: Chiefs over Pats
NFC
East: Cowboys – America’s soap opera team.
NFC North:
Packers – Mr. Rodgers really likes the neighborhood now that the McCarthy house
has been sold.
NFC
South: Saints – Drew Brees is starting to slip. Really? Really?
NFC
West: Rams – Todd Gurley’s knee is as shaky as my short game but that defense
is as solid as my 19th hole storytelling.
Wildcards:
Bears – Taking a healthy but unproven Mitch Trubisky over a proven but not
necessarily healthy Carson Wentz. Seahawks – They just stole the best DE,
in football, Jadaveon Clowney,
and Texas didn’t even file a police report.
He was done with the blood in his urine, the pain in his body,
the cobwebs in his head. The 29-year-old Colts quarterback, with full life to be
lived, did what any sane, mature, young man should do. He retired.
These are some of the responses Luck received:
credit twitter
Some television announcers quickly bemoaned their disappointment
because they were going to pick Luck in their fantasy football draft.
Some Colts fans, who must be a quarter of a chromosome short of
human, booed Luck as he tossed passes on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium on
Saturday when the news broke.
Many debated whether or not Luck should repay some of his
contract.
How Luck’s retirement affects the Colts also made for a lot
reading.
Luck’s
short and long-term health was not a sexy story, so it got buried.
Now,
consider these story lines:
Luck
now probably has a good chance of watching the child he and longtime girlfriend
Nicole Pechanec are expecting to grow up. He can push her on the swings, attend
her school functions, maybe even toss a football around.
Luck
now probably avoids being one of the former NFL players sitting at home that don’t
know they’re sitting at home because their brains are irreparably damaged.
Luck
now probably won’t be one of the former NFL players – such as Jim Otto, who literally
is sitting at home – because they’re cripples. Otto had his right
leg amputated in 2007 after injury led to surgery and infection.
Luck
no longer is one of the current NFL players that are considering the long-term
health risks associated with their profession. Other players are actively
managing their injury care.
“I think it takes an immense
amount of courage, an immense amount of self-reflection and a lot of guts to do
what he’s doing,’’ said Texas defensive end J.J. Watt.
Here’s one of the undisputed truths in life that none of us
should ever forget: The only people that truly care about you are your family,
close friends and pets.
Big business certainly doesn’t care. And the NFL, which finishes
its preseason Thursday, is very big business.
It’s
so big that three days after Luck announced his retirement, the NFL and Oakley
announced a four-year deal in which the sports performance equipment company becomes the league’s official helmet visor provider.
It
didn’t seem like a particularly interesting announcement until one recalls that
tinted visors have been banned by the NFL since 1998. Visors only could be used
if the player was granted medical exemption.
Tinted
visors were banned for safety.
Medical
personnel feared that a helmet with a tinted visor could make it more difficult
to see a player’s eyes in evaluating possible concussion. And removing a helmet
with a visor could be hazardous in the event of spinal cord injury.
Oakley
claims, and the NFL nods in agreement, that its visors can be easily and safely
removed without removing the helmet.
Oakley
claims, and the NFL nods in agreement, that its subtle pink tint visors will
not hinder medical personnel from looking into a player’s eyes.
Oakley
claims its Prizm Clear visors feature Prizm technology which makes, “the colors on the field
pop. The football against the green field and the white hashmarks and sidelines
should all stand out more to the player.”
Sorry, just teared up for sec. Oakley better patent
that statement because it sounds like a Hallmark card in the making.
Here’s the deal. We’d love to believe that these
visors are safe and truly offer a scientific breakthrough in vision, but why in
the world would any player take Oakley and the NFL’s claims at face value?
Read of the terrific and terrifying book, “League
of Denial: The NFL, Concussions and the Battle for the Truth,” by Mark
Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru, and any mature young man will question if their
health is the league’s priority.
We don’t know how much Oakley is paying for this
partnership. We do know that the Oakley logo will have a place on every NFL
field. And that’s not cheap.
We do know that Oakley’s Sutro frames with
Prizm-lense sunglasses go for $163 a pop, so yes, we hope colors will pop, pop,
pop.
None of us know exactly what the last four years
have been like for the oft-injured Luck. He should go on to live a happy and
healthy life. He won’t end up like Otto or so many others.
