Broadway Brett? Favre to the Jets

In 2005 the Mets signed the greatest pitcher of our generation, Pedro Martinez, to a 4 year $54 million dollar contract.

He brought star power, buzz and excitement to Shea. He was a star player for a team that had just won the world series.

And his old team didn't want him. They were happy to let him go.

So what has Pedro done for us?

30 wins in 4 seasons.

..........................

Brett Favre is a lot like Pedro Martinez with one big exception.



Football is a team sport. There is only one pitcher in the mound. The success of the quarterback depends so much on the team surrounding him.

No one was talking about how great Brett Favre was in 2005 when the Packers won 4 games.

No one was talking about how great Brett Favre was in 2006 when the Packers won 8 games.

Instead, people were calling him done. A gunslinger who was out of bullets.

But things changed in 2007. The Packers won 13 games and made it the NFC championship. And as always in Green Bay, Brett Favre was in the center of it all.

But something else changed for Packers in 2007.

Take a look at the Packers defensive statistics over the last 3 years:

2005- 21.5 PPG (19th in NFL)
2006- 22.9 PPG (25th in NFL)
2007- 18.2 PPG (6th in NFL)

Over the course of three years, the Packers rebuilt a defense that became among the best in the NFL. And you know the old adage. The best offense is a good defense and vice versa.

And yes, the Packers were better offensively. but the weapons surrounding Favre in Green Bay were superior to what the Jets have to offer.

Donald Driver is a better version of Laverneus Coles.
Greg Jennings is a better version of Jericho Cotchery
Ryan Grant looks like he is a better version of Thomas Jones.

In reality, who knows.

Maybe Brett Favre may still has some magic left.

But when he had a bad team around him he was really really bad.

And the Jets are a bad team.

Who knows what Alan Faneca, Calvin Pace, Vernon Gholston and crew. do to the Jets?

All I'm saying is that in my opinion this is a lot more hype than anything else. These are the Jets and they play in the AFC. They are not close to the Patriots, Colts or Chargers. They are not better than the Jags or Steelers. So chances are they are fighting for one playoff spot.

If you are a rebuilding team is this really how you want to build for the future? A shot- and I mean a shot- at the 6th seed.

A couple of 8-win seasons before your QB retires and you have to start all over.

I don't know.

Vaya,
Sip

(Pic courtesy of Wordpress.com

Baseball's Most Important Man

Bud Selig.

Cooperstown.

Scott Boras.

These names are all as big as any superstar in baseball. They have as much of an impact on the game as Derek Jeter or David Wright.

They are as wise as Theo Epstein or Billy Beane.

They manipulate like Free Agency or Arbitration.

Over the course of my lifetime, there is another name that has catipulted to the top of baseball names. I'm not sure if this guy will ever be in the Hall of Fame but there is a decent part of me that thinks he should.

His impact on the game may be greater than any player.

The mention of his name is scarier than a Josh Beckett fastball or seeing David Ortiz in there with the bases loaded in the month of October.

This man has the ability to make or break a season and even a career.

This man is Dr. James Andrews.



.............................

Dr. James Andrews is maybe the most important thing to come out of the great state of Alabama since Forrest Gump.

He is the man that every pitcher, Quarterback and even blogger sees to repair their elbow or shoulder.

And now, he is the man looking after the man that only needs one name.

Joba.

..............................

On June 4th I wrote:

The Yankees would protect his arm with the secret service if they could for three reasons.

1. He is their ace of the future
2. With the initial failures of Kennedy and Hughes, they need Chamberlain to be great to justify ever using young talent again.
3. They can not get this guy injured. God forbid this guy breaks a toe nail and all of a sudden, the second guessers have all the ammo they need to question the midseason move to the rotation. And then hell breaks loose.

James Andrews is baseball's equivalent to the secret service. You don't see this guy for a dead arm. You see him if you are worried about much worse.

The risks of adding Joba Chamberlain to the rotation this Summer were vast.



But most of these risks have been overcome. Chamberlain has looked great and up until the last couple of weeks so did the Yankees pen.

However, the Yankees remain a third place team, 6.5 games out of first place.

The bullpen looks like a collection Toby Borland's since the All Star Break, with an ERA close to 7.00.

And Joba Chamberlain is now hurt.

The Yankees better pray for the best on this one. Because if Chamberlain is seriously injured then the front office has to be the one to blame. At least that is how the fans and media will perceive it.

I'll be the first to admit, I don't know the physical makeup of the shoulder or elbow. I don't understand why some pitchers can pitch forever while some pitchers get hurt all the time. But it happens and when a pitcher gets hurt, especially a reliever converted to a starter, the average outsider will assume that the cause is an increased workload.

.......................

This Yankees season remains enjoyable.

For the last bunch of years I have said that I would never count the Yankees out of the playoffs until the day the season ends and they don't qualify.

And there are a number of reasons why the Rays can implode.

Scott Kazmir, James Shields, Matt Garza, Edwin Jackson and Andy Sonnanstine, all kids, can all tire. Grant Balfour and JP Howell can turn into Aaron Heilman. And Evan Longoria might decide that he is not ACTUALlY the best player in baseball.

But there are a lot of reasons to be confident in the Yankees failures. First and foremost is the starting pitching.

If you were to tell me that entering August this team would have 26 wins from Pettite and Mussina and that Mariano Rivera would be 26 for 26 in save chances, I would have sighed and laughed.

Good old # 26.

But with Wang and potentially Joba out, the Yankees have all their eggs in the basket of a bunch of dudes with loose skin and old balls.

And that doesn't win you ballgames.

If this were four years ago I might alerady be planning a champagne celebration. But as I get older and a little more saner, I can prepare for a pleasant chuckle.

Nothing would make me happier than a DBacks V Rays World Series. Me and 10 of my buddies would take care of 1/2 of the ratings share and would be loving every second of it.

Vaya,
Sip

(pics courtesy of espn.com, about.com)

Lost Weekend

It really was about as bad as it could have been. Three straight losses to a team that entered the weekend 7 games under .500.

And we're supposed to be a playoff team? If we can't beat the Houston Astros once with Pedro, John, and Ollie on the hill... honestly, what can we expect?

What can we expect when we blow seemingly a million bases loaded opportunities?

What can we expect with Nick Evans patrolling left field? Look, ever since Mike Pelfrey turned into Cy Young, I'm all for giving prospects time to develop. But let's be real, could Nick Evans look less comfortable in the batters box (to say nothing of how he looks out in left)?

It's wrong to pin it on Evans, even if he did slip out in left and even if he did strike out with the bases juiced. This weekend is on everyone.

The Mets are 3 games out and in third place. We're 5 games over .500. If we're going to make playoffs, we've got to start playing much better ball.

But as I wrote Saturday night, is there any reason to think we're capable of much better ball? Is there reason to think we're anything more than the team that's gone 48-53, aside from one 10-game winning streak?

It's like the old adage. No team is ever as good as it looks during a hot streak and ever as bad as it looks during a cold streak. We were never as good as we looked during that 10-game winning streak, we all knew that. We're not as bad as we look right now during this 4-game losing streak.

There's another, what, 97 games out there, and in those we're 48-49. That's what we look like when we're not hot and not cold.

Not a pretty picture. Is it just a bad weekend talking? Let's hope so.

- A.F.O.M.G.

Meet the Mess

Question for us to consider: when you get rid of that 10-game winning streak, what are we left with in this Mets team? A team that's gone 48-52.

In other words, it's not a fun question to answer.

They're 48-52 the rest of the way because of games like tonight's, which saw another lousy loss against a lousy team. It was another game the Mets should have won, another game they blew.

For 10 games the stars aligned and the team looked dominant. Which team is going to show up over the remaining 52 games? The team that won 10 straight? Hate to say it but there's 100 other games that beg to differ.

- A.F.O.M.G.

Sip Talks Deadline

I thought about reflecting on my sweet night in Georgetown with Austin Kearns, Aaron Boone, Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn. But today is a time to talk baseball. Let me just say, baseball players live great lives and those were some sweet dudes.

But the Deadline. Ah the Trade Deadline. The time of year when Steve Phillips gets to run his mouth on whoever the Mets GM Du Jour is. The time of year when we all reflect on Scott Kazmir and what could have been. And this year, its the time where baseball really decided to shake itself up.

1. How Bad of a Guy must Manny Really be?

These are ballplayers here. No one is asking for a Saint.

That the Red Sox would give up Manny, two prospects and then pay the rest of Manny's salary to get a lesser talent in Jason Bay really says something.



All that to get rid of arguably the games best right hand hitting bat.

Theo's my guy. He wouldn't do this unless he had to. So all I can gauge from this is that Manny Ramirez is a dispicable human being. This is much worse than lagging 5.7 seconds to first base or complaining about a knee problem to avoid the King or Joba. This guy has to just be a real piece of...

There is just no other explanation.

2. Griffey to the Sox

Ehh. Griffey is pretty much done. Would love to see the guy have a sweet postseason ten years too late. Griffey in my eyes is just likable.

3. X and Marte to the Yanks.

People seem to love this deal for the Yankees.

I dont LOVE it.

This is Xavier Nady here guys. Yeah, hes hitting .330 this year, but isn't this guy the definition of a mediocre outfielder?

He's topped 14 HR and 50 RBI once in his illustrious career.

Sure he is having a career year. But he is doing it in Pittsburgh.

I just want to remind people that this is Xavier Nady and not Jack parkman or Clew Haywood.




As for Marte. Solid pickup. He showed what he can do against lefties when he faced Big Papi. He also showed what he can do when he is used as more just a few days later.

If this guy's job is to get out Papi, Carlos Pena, Jim Thome and Garett Anderson, then its a great move.

Lets just see how the Yankees use him.


4. Pudge for Farnsworth

On paper, you gotta love this deal for the Yankees. Yankee fans have been dying to run Farnsy out of town since the day they shockingly overpaid him three years back.



But there is one catch to all of this.

Since Joba Chamberlain joined the rotation, Farnsworth has been the 8th inning guy. And he has been awesome.

So the Yankees are selling high on this one which is smart. They are getting an aging Pudge to replace an otherwise Minor League catching platoon of Jose Molina and Chad Moeller.

But what happens the first day that Edwar Ramirez or Jose Veras blows an 8th inning lead?

The backpages of NY are going to have a field day with that one.

Moving Joba from the pen was a risky maneuver that seemed to work. But are the Yankees now playing with fire? Are they getting a little too cocky with what they have in front of Mariano Rivera?

We can always hope.

5. Silence in Queens

Doesn't bother me much. The Mets look great these days. The rotation is a very solid 4 deep, only matched by the boys at Wrigley.

The lineup is clicking, Glass is back, Delgado is Cerrano again and all of a sudden the Mets are a formidable team in the National League.

This is a playoff team now. No one on the market was going to change that. No one that is except...

Barry Bonds.



I've said it before and I will say it again.

This guy should be a Met.

He is the asshole-prick that makes the Mets the Anti-Yankees. We are the scum to their class. Anyone who doesn't admit that was not a fan 15 years ago.

Didn't Jason Giambi take steroids? No one seems to care about that across town? So if Bonds goes all Teary-eyed Bob from Fight Club on us, everything will be ok?

This is a game of hypocrites.

As I said at the top, these are ballplayers not saints.

Some are really good guys, some are pricks.

But winning is winning.

And people love a winner.

Vaya,
Sip

(pics courtesy of redsoxtimes.com, baseballaha.com, mlb.com, newsday.com)