New York

Did Yanks Get Damaged Goods?

Photo of the Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Some say that timing is everything.

Well in that case, the timing of Michael Pineda’s injury sucks.

23-years-old and a torn labrum…

Great.

It’s unlikely that when the Yankees traded for starting pitcher Michael Pineda this past off-season, they had anticipated him warming the bench, rather than up on the mound every fifth day.

At 6’7 and 260 pounds, Pineda was the center piece of the Yankees off-season acquisitions, and at a position in which they clearly needed help.

In his rookie season just a year ago, Pineda was 8-6 as a starter for the Mariners with a 3.03 ERA at the All-Star break. His velocity was up to 98 MPH, and it seemed as if CC Sabathia would be pitching twice every five days for the Yanks in 2012.

That won’t be the case.

The 23-year-old’s shoulder injury will likely keep him off the mound for a minimum of one year, and seemingly makes what was finally one of the Yankee’s strengths this season, into somewhat of a weakness moving forward.

Pineda has not started a game this season due to the injury, which leaves some fans entertaining the question:

Did the Seattle Mariners knowingly trade an injured player?

Here are a few reasons as to why this speculation might just add up in all the right ways.

A.  Pineda’s numbers after the 2011 All-Star break.

In the second half of last season, Pineda only went 1-4 as a starter for the Mariners with a 5.12 ERA. In addition, his velocity fell staggeringly from 98 MPH to 90 MPH.

In baseball, the slightest dip in velocity for a pitcher can mean the difference between strikeouts and homeruns.

These are signs that either Pineda struggled the second half of his rookie year, OR that he had been fighting an injury.

B.  Who the Mariners acquired in the Pineda trade.

Obviously the Mariners weren’t going to just give up their top young pitching prospect without first being compensated.

And boy, were they ever.

Jesus Montaro had been the Yankees’ top minor league prospect for a number of years. He’s a solid catcher and a phenomenal hitter, as shown by his minor league statistics.

A coveted young player, the Mariners were willing to give up Pineda for Montaro without too many qualms. Could this be because the Mariners’ organization knew Pineda was injured, thereby acquiring a young player in Montaro to build their team around and essentially giving up nothing?

Mariners’ Gerneral Manager Jack Zduriencik has denied the idea of trading the Yankees an injured player, and Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman has said he does not believe Pineda was injured before the Yanks traded for him, and that he passed all team physicals before the trade went down.

Still, Yankees fans are left only to ponder at some of the sketchy details surrounding this trade.

Zduriencik’s “unethical motives” in making this trade may seem farfetched, an easy scapegoat, or even just the New York media poking a stick into the bee hive that is Michael Pineda’s torn labrum.

But then again…

I guess we’ll never really know.

Why The Knicks Could Be Poised For A Playoff Run

Photo of the Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

The National Basketball Association Playoffs are looming.

With just four games left in the regular season, 16 teams will be gearing up for the most exciting time in the NBA. The Playoffs are THE time to really showcase all of the blood, sweat, and tears that go into a season. It’s the time where you want to be peaking and playing your best basketball.

No one can attest to that right now more than the New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony.

Over his last 10 games, Melo has averaged over 30 points, and has been the catalyst for his team’s success, as the Knicks have come away with wins in 7 of their last 10 games.

As it currently stands, the Knicks sit in seventh place in the Eastern Conference out of eight potential spots.

If the Playoffs were to start today, the Knicks would have to face LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and the second place Miami Heat, a team many people believe will win the NBA Championship when it’s all said and done.

That being said, don’t count out the Knicks just yet.

Here are a few reasons why this year’s Knicks team has the potential to turn the Heat off early on in the Playoffs:

• Carmelo Anthony

Melo is a star player in the NBA. He can completely take over a game when his mid-range jump shots are falling. Some of the shots he takes and makes are simply unfair for opposing defenses, it’s seemingly unstoppable. Combine that, with his ability to drive to the basket and get to the foul line, and he is able to place the Knicks in a position to win night in and night out.

LeBron James, more than likely, will be covering Melo. If Melo can get to the foul line early and get LeBron in  foul trouble… Advantage Knicks.

• DEFENSE

Since the departure of head coach Mike D’Antoni, the Knicks have seemed to be playing with a much more heighted sense of urgency and accountability on defense. This starts with interim-head coach Mike Woodson, and is fueled on the court by players such as Tyson Chandler and Iman Shumpert.

At 7’1, Chandler turns defense into quick offense with his ability to shot block and snag offensive and defensive rebounds off the glass.

Though only a rookie, Shumpert has proven to be the Knicks best perimeter defender, and is a prime candidate to match-up against Dwayne Wade if in fact the Knicks do play the Heat. Shumpert’s role in this potential series will need to be limiting Wade’s offensive production. If he is able to stay in front of Wade and hold him to say under 20-points, that places the Knicks in a great position.

• Turnovers

With veteran Baron Davis running the point-guard position, the Knicks are more likely to take care of the basketball. Davis, more than anything, needs to be a facilitator of the basketball, and create for his teammates. At the same time, the Miami Heat are a team that like to get out in transition and run the floor. (“Run the floor,” essentially means that the Heat want to score quickly off of New York turnovers.) If Baron Davis can take care of the basketball, and limit his team’s turnovers… Advantage Knicks.

• The BENCH

Production (or lack thereof) from the Knicks bench will make or break their potential playoff run.

J.R. Smith and Steve Novak are the two Knicks players who have to show up.

Smith is a hot and cold type player, while Novak is a three-point specialist. Both have shown moments of brilliance, such as their performance a few nights ago against the Boston Celtics, combining to hit 15 out of 20 three-point shots.

So…

Melo + limiting Wade (Shumpert) + taking care of the ball (Davis) + three-point shooting (Smith/Novak) = the Knicks’ success or failure against the Heat in these 2012 NBA Playoffs

The Knicks match-up well against the Heat.

Let’s just pray they don’t find a way to screw it up in these next four days.

Easy, Skipper: The Reason For The Yankees’ Early Season Struggles

by Brian Delaporte

In sports, there’s coaching, and then there’s over-coaching.

New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi is guilty of the latter.

The Yanks fell to an early 0-3 deficit this 2012 season, being swept by the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-game series.

Why, or even how you might ask?

For starters, the Rays are a strong ball club. With starting pitching such as veteran James Shields, mixed in with young, dominant talent like David Price, the Rays can flat out pitch. Not to mention players like Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena, who could very well be considered All-Stars by mid-season.

But how good the Rays are or might be this season is beside the point.

This isn’t Joe Girardi’s first rodeo.

He’s won three rings as a player and one in 2009 as the Yankees skipper. He knows what it takes to win in New York, he’s proven that already. Yet he continues to make irrational in-game decisions and unnecessary changes to the line-up, intentionally walking hitters and “resting” players one game into the season.

Mistake A:

On Opening Day, Yankee’s ace CC Sabathia was off. He struggled to find the strike zone, and didn’t have a good handle on his fastball. With two men on base, Girardi being Girardi, decided to intentionally walk the batter to load the bases for Carlos Pena.

Yes, you read correctly, that potential All-Star player the Rays have in their lineup.

And wouldn’t you know he lived up to his potential, hitting a grand slam.

Yanks go 0-1.

Mistake B:

Girardi decided to DH Derek Jeter, opting to start Edwardo Nunez at shortstop.

This is illogical for a few reasons:

1. IT’S GAME TWO OF THE SEASON! You don’t need to rest your captain the second game of the season. Yes, Jeter’s getting up there in age, but rest him before the post season or during the summer on a 10-game road stretch when the heat is a factor, not in April.
2. Put your best defense out on the field. Jeter is a better defensive player. He has the experience and knows what it takes to get the job done at shortstop day in and day out. This was made blatantly apparent when Nunez committed an error on the first batted ball of the game.
3. IT’S GAME TWO OF THE SEASON!!!!! Why mess with the lineup now Joe? Establish yourself as a team with a solid starting record, and go from there. There’s no reason to dig yourself in a hole this early on.

Yanks go 0-2.

Year in and year out, the Yankees are always a World Series contender. That’s the way they are built, that’s the way they play, and that’s the way they need to be coached.

So Joe, please.

Stop notoriously over-coaching, let the lineup we spend all that money on be, and let your best players do what they do best.

Play.

3 Reasons Why Tim Tebow May Succeed or Fail as a New York Jet:

by Brian Delaporte

Tim Tebow is as polarizing a figure as there is in the sports world. The Big Apple is the Mecca of sports cities. So, are Tebow and New York a match made in heaven?

That’s flat out debatable.

Here are a few reasons why Tebow might experience success on his new team, and why he might just crash and burn as a Jet…

1.      Tebow is playing in New York City.

Tim Tebow is a well-respected person. He is a man of faith, and wears that on his sleeve. Similarly, the people of New York pour their hearts and souls into sports. They are passionate and forthright, maybe more than any other fans on Earth. In this sense, Tebow and New York fans are compatable, and I can see why many fans will in fact embrace him as a Jet.

From his time in high school and throughout his time as a starter in the NFL, the man has won games, plain and simple. If he can contribute to the success of the Jets next season and continue to win games as the football player he is, he’ll be loved and welcomed by the fans.

However, if he continues to struggle throwing the football or cracks under the pressure that comes with playing in New York, he might not be a Jet for very long.

2.      Tebow will run the Wildcat offense.

Just as fads and trends come and go over the course of time, it seems like the Wildcat has seen better days.

The Wildcat offense is essentially an extension of the running game, where the quarterback scans the defense and can elect to run a spread option, college style of offense. This set package is typically incorporated into a team who lacks an effective passing game, or more or less likes to run the ball.

The Jets lack an effective passing game.

Rex Ryan loves to run the football.

And when you think of the perfect player to run the Wildcat offense, Tim Tebow immediately comes to mind.

First and foremost, Tebow is big and athletic for a quarterback. He’s a scrambling quarterback who likes to get outside the pocket and make plays with his feet. This type of player is ideal to run this style of offense.

Secondly, Tebow has run the spread option/ Wildcat nearly his entire life. He ran it at Florida where he led his team to two National Championship victories. He also ran an extension of it last year while with the Denver Broncos, winning the division and leading his team to the playoffs.

Finally, newly hired offensive coordinator Tony Sparano started the Wildcat trend as head coach of the Miami Dolphins. The offensive proved to be successful that season in 2008, as Sparano led his team to an 11-5 record, division title and into the playoffs.

Sparano must be salivating over the idea of Tim Tebow running his Wildcat offense, and Tebow has to like the idea of working with a coach who knows how to maximize his skill set.

In other words, Tebow has had success with the Wildcat in the past. Who’s to say he won’t in the future?

Answer: Defensive coordinators.

Over the past few years, defensive minded coaches have caught on to the Wildcat. Sparano’s offense is a classic case study of this. After a successful 2008 season, Sparano only won 7 games in each of the following 2 seasons, leading to his inevitable departure in 2011.

So, can Tebow and Sparano bring back the Wildcat? It seems like a fitting situation, but only time will tell.

3.      Tebow is currently the back-up quarterback of his new team.

For the time being, Tim Tebow is the back-up quarterback behind Mark Sanchez.

Obviously Tebow doesn’t want to be a specialty package player, he wants to be a starter, it’s only human nature.

Many analysts and football experts don’t believe Tebow has what it takes to be a starter. His lack of accuracy and poor mechanics has granted him an enormous amount of criticism.

Yet at the same time, the Jets starting quarterback hasn’t quite lived up to his expectations either. Sanchez has also been routinely scrutinized for his lack of leadership, drive, and enthusiasm, all of which are qualities Tebow seems to have inscribed in his very DNA.

So, the Jets have two “starting” quarterbacks, both of which seem to have contrasting characteristics and skill sets. Will Tebow strictly run the Wildcat and be a back-up to Sanchez? Will that hinder his game at all?

You know what you’re getting when you sign Tim Tebow on your roster. “Tebow-Mania” is a given for the Jets organization now.

The question is, will what Tebow brings to the table translate into success, or failure for his team?

That remains to be seen.