xxi-xxv

This is the most disgusting thing I have ever read. Team plays an awful game in a season where they probably were not getting anything more than 1 playoff game and your jumping ship? This is the reason so many Nyers in their late 30's and 40's are Cowboy fans, they pussed out in the 70's when times were lean, you want to do this after 1 game?

Anyway the cupboard is not bare and all is not lost. I think booyah hit the nail on the head in his assesment and its clear that Sheridan was not cut out for this job, nor did his players buy into anything he was doing. We could see that in week 6.

With some guys returning to health(Philips), some roster tweaking and a solid draft no reason to think that this team will not compete as they have the past 5 years in 2010. They have a franchise QB who put up numbers that many said he never could playing in NY and the northeast. They have some good young Wr's, something that 6 months ago everyone thought would be the death of them. The core of a championship team and 12 win regular season team is pretty much in tact.

I think back to 1988 when the Giants 2 years removed from a Super Bowl missed out on the playoffs by losing at home to a pathetic Jet team. They addressed some needs in the draft that year and got a bit younger in some spots that crept up on them age wise. I see no reason that this team cannot do the same and still compete. Like I said the cupboards hardly bare.

yes i think each time we lost, it was against coaches who outsmarted our defense. today, was the coup d'état.

could not have said or thought anything better blu...dead on

Interesting... I agree with most of this. Except I'm not sure why you prefer Holliday over Bay? Bay seems to have the most HR potential, something we are most desperate for. Both are not great outfielders (having both of them in the corner outfield would be a defensive disaster, Ditto!), but Bay, I think, is the better thumper, and commands less in salary than Holliday. Anyhow, I like you're thinking. Go for the cheaper between Marquis and Piniero and I would like them to sign Wang to a incentive based contract. It's a high reward move and doesn't have to cost a whole lot.

 

Francouer can have a good year. I think an outfield of Bay, Beltran, and Francouer is terrific hitting wise. I expect Francouer is going to have a big year for us. He's driven in a 100 RBI's before, and I think he can do it for us, wouldn't that be great? He reminds me of the Phillies' Jason Werth in what he can mean to our lineup and defensively.

 

XXI, what do you think about the prospects of trying to resign Delgado for one more year? I am really excited about the prospects of Ike Davis (and Josh Thole).

I am fine with bringing back Delgado. One thing that makes me worry is this supposed lockeroom presence and attitude of his. I am for anything that does not trade away prospects as I am also very excited by Ike Davis and to a lesser extent Thole. So to answer your question, yes I am fine with bringing back Delgado.

Where we differ is I like Holliday better than Bay, but he may be too pricey.

Giants need to win out and assume that week 17 pits 11-4 Philly vs 10-5 Dallas, now Dallas has tiebreaker over Philly at this point so if they win they would win div and Eagles be WC, so Philly has a lot to play for. SO what needs to really happen is get to 10 wins, hope Philly is motivated to play a home playoff game(vs Giants by the way) and then let Giants get 10 win tie breaker over Dallas.

I think the real stretch here will be getting Giants to 10 wins. I think what last night did was simply not allow the Giants any mulligans. That week 17 game is going to matter if the Eagles and Boys hold serve.

WHat gives me hope is that over these past 8 weeks that have been brutal on defense we have constantly faced quality qb's, Brees, McNabb twice, Warner, Rivers, dare I say it Romo(only exception Orton and they lost that game minute we stepped off plane anyway), now they get Jason Campbell, probably a backup or lousy Delhomme(who could be dangerous) and in all likelihood a backup in Minny as they will rest Favre in a meaningless game. Now the way the defense is playing Danny Kannell could possibly light them up, but I think we will see better defensive play if for no other reason the level of quarterback they face over the next three weeks will pale in comparison to the last 8.

Still have to correct the defensive mishaps. This is correctable. Driving home from the game Carl Banks said a very tellling thing. He said, and I am paraprhrasing a bit "every coordinator wants at least 5 or 6 very good players to work with, you cannot say that this defense does not have 5 or 6 maybe even 8 or 9 very good players on defense to work with". Told me all I needed to hear as to what Carl thinks is the problem. Then he started mentioning 1991 Handleys first year and a man named Rod Rust, a do coordinator I believe Banks went after during a game against the Cowboys in 1991 or 92 at halftime.

Sheridan is in over his head and its apparent. What we need to hope for is he has enough side support to make up for this

Well, that settles it. Lackey's going to the Sox.

 

I don't understand Happ and Blanton going to the Jays for Halladay, and they are now trying to trade Lee to Seattle. Where's the gain?

 

If I were the Mets, I would try to sign both Bay and Holliday. It would give them a solid OF with potent line up. I realize Bay's asking price is inflationary, though, so I can understand if the Mets reluctance to pull it off.

The Mets do not need 2 outfielders. Although he certainly is not the caliber of the other 2 the Mets seem content with jeff Franceor in RF. This much we know hes a much better defender than those 2 and has a cannon arm, something that is needed in that big outfield.

I would go after Holliday at this point, put him in LF, then try and sign a Jason Marquis type guy, go from there and then see where you are at at the deadline. This years free agent class is nothing like 2010-2011 off season so I do not want to overpay like they did say in 2002 when they had a similar situation and got burned by overrated bad free agent crop.

Sign Lackey. Give me Santana and Lackey and I will take my chances.

Cant help but think of what Joel SHerman said last week. if you said the KC Royals had 5 of the leagues top 50 players would you expect them to win 85 games and compete)he mentioned Reyes wright beltran santana and FRod). Some tinkering here and there and things will be fine. The 2009 Mets were headed to 85 90 wins before the injuries put 92 mil on DL. No team can recover from that.

the mets are the 4th best team in their division and thats if they get healthy and sign bay and lackey. justy a horrible orgainzation

29-20 2.5 games up with last game played before Delgado went down then Reyes and well you know the rest...Most wins in NL from 2006 to 2008. I'd say there are a lot worse organizations out there.

Damn, I read that book and don't remember it at all....

 

Power run game...Jacobs looked like a ballerina the first 6 games and still doesn't get the touches he needs.

If you have the hard cover copy storm its page 253, aout 1/4 way down....fucking classic from TC in my opnion and even more poignant now when you consider where each of them are 3 years later.

I think you mean a goose egg against da Raidas, and 7 against the Bucs...

yeah I fixed that, for the rest of this year when my mind says "Raiders" I think Eagles as the Raiders beating the Eagles knocked me outta my 10 grand knockout pool...fucking Eagles...

We beat the Bucs 24-0 and the Raiders 44-7 by the way

How come when ELI has a good game its because "no one covered the Wrs" or "that team has a horrendous secondary" or "his o line gave him all sorts of time", but when he has a bad game "he simply is not the guy that can carry the team like that", which is comical because 4 days earlier he won that game vs the Falcons, just as he did in week 2 vs the Cowboys. His play declined in the Saints, Eagles and Cards game with an injury that in hindsight he should have rested. He was arm throwing and awful, no plant, but he played so he cant use that as an exuse, but it conicides with it. His better play also coincides with a bye and some time to rest the foot. Anyway I will take 18 tds and 10 ints at week 11 every year.

The reason that this team is 6-5 is not ELI, its the fact that they have a defense who had 2 games where they allowed a total of 7 points and still have surrendered 261 points on the year. Think about that a goose egg vs the Bucs and a 7 spot against the Raiders and they have still allowed 261 points. In case your scoring at home thats 254 points in 9 games, thats 28.2 points/game. Now since I know that NOT ONE QB IN THE NFL has an offense that averages 28.2 points a game I do not see how he is any type of root cause of this mess. I will pin the Cards game on him, he was dreadful, but all in all the stats as everyone seems to only pay attention to are fine.

Blame a defense that has been brutal. Thats the 90% reason that this team stinks right now.

Few things to consider when discussing this. Did anyone read the G.M.? Book about Accorsi's last year? Anyway, in it there is a passage where Accorsi passes along a conversation he had with Charlie Weis regarding ELI Manning to Tom Coughlin. Now I am paraphrasing, but Accorsi told Coughlin that Weis said he could "fix" Eli. Coughlin, in what in my opinion was one of the greatest fuck you lines ever told Accorsi, "tell Charlie to fix Notre Dame first". Classic and in my opinion tells you all you need to know about a possible uniting of these two.

As for Gilbride, like I have stated before I am not always thrilled with him, but he does execute(for the most part) and effectively run the offense that is the backbone of the Tom Coughlin philosophy of football, power run game deep passing attack. What I would like to see more is short passing and less reliance on a play where you need the WR to get downfield, have the linemen hold their blocks long enough and need a good long throw to complete a pass. Again, this is their offense so its not like it should be revamped and all, but I think more creativeness in the passing game is my one gripe. I must say they seem to be doing that more with more WRs who can make plays after the catch.

We could do a whole hell of a lot worse than Gilbride.

People love to bash Gilbride when in effect all he does is incorporate the Tom Coughlin philosophy on offense. Power run game/deep pass game. Read Coughlins book its all in there about his principles of offense. He did this in JAX and has done it here. Although I am not enamored of Gilbride the man is not an awful coordinator. Would I like more runs on 2nd and 2 and 3rd and 2? Yeah sure I would. Would I like more short passes to take what the defense gives instead of long developing downfield plays? Yeah definitely, its just not what this coach stresses in his ideas of offense, proof is in the history going back to 1995 in Jax.

I think more balance in the passing game would be a better arguement by people as opposed to simply saying "we need to run more". More 3 step drops to set up the run to allow that play action passing deep that TC loves might be the better gripe.

We could do a lot worse here than Gilbride, but really whomever is the OC is just simply incorprating the TC philosophies of offense. I can say this Gilbrides done it much better than Hufnagel ever did.

ok, just so the dog is clear, you are stating that the giants need to win 5 out of 7 remaining games that include two wins against the two division teams they are competing with to win the division? hmmm, anyone want to argue the contrary?

I do not see how you can argue that to the contrary. The Giants cushion(lets say wins against Zona and SD) which would give them a 1 game lead(essentially 2 with a win over Dallas) does not exist, the margin for error is now down to having to win the divisional games to win the division. Its ironic because last year they had a similar home DEC. schedule and did not have to win those games to win the DIV. this year there is no choice. Giants to win NFC east have to go 4-0 at home and win one of 3 games vs Skins(preferably) Vikes or Broncos. There really is no other way to assume they can win the div with any other such type numbers. Of course if Dallas runs the table and goes 6-1 with one loss to the Giants its a moot point, but I dont see that happening and that would ensure the Giants IMO a WC spot then as Dallas would have taken care of Philly as well as the Giants. I dont see Dallas losing just one more game from here on out with games with SD, N.O. Philly Giants, guess its possible but doubtful, then again who the hell knows if the Giants can win another game either. Its just what I see as a must to at least have a chance.

it really essentially boils down to this...If the Giants win their home games from here on out they will probably win the divsion. Assuming they can get at least 1 road win as well. What will be interesting is how important the game is for the Vikes in week 17. We could actually have a role reversal of a year ago where if the Giants can beat an already clinched team they themselves might win their divsion.

I see 4 home wins and 1 of 2 road wins before week 17 as the Giants path to winning the divsion.

A new day has dawned....an awful season is behind us all and a new day is near. What will this team do? Play on the cheap? Spend some dough to fix some issues? Continue to be a MASH unit? Ahhhhh the tranquility of the end of 2009 and 2010 is upon us......

Congrats to the Yankees, a terrific team and franchise that humbled a scumbag franchise from an awful city.

until we know the extent of ELI's injury I would count on nothing...who the hell knows what an MRi reveals? Very worried .....

true enough, if the dog were saying he should just run over players...etc...but the dog is simply observing that he doesn't do that unless it is someone he signifcantly over matches. he doesn't have the ability to make people miss as it is not his running style, and he often gets stopped on short yardage situations...all observable and all speaking to the fact that he isn't the beast everyone here liked to describe him as for two years. the dog's point is that this is nothing new, so why discuss it now? nothing has changed, the line just isn't giving him the gaping gift holes right now. some backs can make something happen with less...he can't. he is not the type of back like bradshaw that is quick and can make people miss, and for reasons known only to him, he does not hit the LOS hard and run through tacklers unless he is in the open field and overmatching a smaller player...it makes for a average to solid back. nothing more.

I have seen Jacobs run over plenty of linebackers, one that stands out to me was the abusing he put on Urlachher both 2 years ago and this past pre season.

As for all these Jacobs issues, one that I think no one is giving any credence to is his trying to avoid contact thus to avoid injury, which if there can be any knock on him the past 2 years with a 5 yards a carry average and 20 tds is that his durability is not that great. Is it possible he is trying to avoid early season beatings so that he can actually play 16 games?

Most people in media circles thought the Mets were on the outside looking in, and that the Yankees were probably going to land Santana.

 

I actually DO think that the Mets could trade for Adrian Gonzalez. That's if the Padres are willing to put him out there right now. I don't think they will, however, because he is too popular of a player in San Diego and I don't think they will do that to their fans after trading Peavy recently. More gettable IMO is Carlos Pena, who is an unrestricted free agent after next year. He'll be 32 next year, so if the Rays continue to be cautious about payroll, it may be a good time to move him this offseason, since he will be 33 near the beginning of the 2011 season, and the Rays cannot afford to sign a big money deal to a player who may decline within a couple of seasons. I would say something like a package like Murphy and Parnell or Niese would get it done. It doesn't make a lot of sense for Murphy to stay if they go for a slugging first baseman with Ike Davis moving up the minors at a brisk pace, coupled with Murphy's lack of ability in the outfield.

 

Back to Gonzalez, he is signed through next season, and then has a $5.5 million club option for 2011, with a $500K bonus. I think that is pretty reasonable for the Pads for what they get from him... but I suppose it is possible that they may not want to pay that salary after 2010, and if so, then a trade this offseason or midseason next year is more likely.

Could work, especially if the Rays are helbent on getting rid of Crawford before his contract comes up like I heard Olney say the other day on ESPn radio. Maybe the Rays take less in terms of prospects if the Mets take more(pena) in salary. I like the thought of him as a stop gap until Reese is ready.

I like Murphy, but for him t play everyday they need 30 35 hrs from LF and I dont know if they are going to get that.

no it wasnt

No one thought the Mets had what it took to get Santana.

too bad the mets dont have the trade chips to land Adrian Balboa, let alone Adrian Gonzalez.

Its funny the same thing was said when it was a foregone conclusion in 2008 that they had no chance at Johan Santana.

This idea that the Mets are a complete mess for years to come is typical of a swarming media when they hate someone(Minaya) and the douchebagginess of Yankee fans and their obsession of letting Met fans know at every oppurtunity that they are the Yankees and the Mets are not.

No doubt that Minaya and Bernazard(which WAS HIS JOB) have done an awful job of assembling talent below the major league level. This completely came to the forefront in 2009 when they lost Reyes, Delgado, Beltran, Santana, Putz and Wright for extended periods of time. The drop off in talent from the big league squad to those below it was such a contrast that what should have been an 85+ win team became an utter abomination.

What Met fans, media type, asshole Yankee fans etc do not know is what the potential of the A and AA players is at this time. There is no doubt the cupboard was bare at AAA, but there are some young players down in the system who have some potential. Fernando Martinez was nowhere near ready for the big leagues this year and that both retarded his growth and lowered his expectations. I think he has some potential and could be a valuable commodity down the road. I have seen plenty of players come up at 20 and resurface a year or 2 later when they are big league ready. I also like the potential of Jon Niese as a mid to back end option in the starting rotation. Bob Parnell has shown flashes as a reliever and a starter in terms of his stuff and ability, not necessarily the numbers. A firm grasp will have to be made in terms of where he fits in. SS Ruben Tejada had a nice year in AA and looks to be a decent prospect as a middle infielder.

My plan for 2010 would be to have a healthy and healed Reyes, Wright and Beltran back along with Franceour. Luis Castillo, who had this team played to its potential and he not been remembered for 1 error in a game in JUNE has had a very nice year, I would look to deal him. If not I can live with him at 2b in 2010. The real issues to address are a #2 starter and a bat for LF and 1B. Personally I would look to make a deal for Carl Crawford whom the Rays apparently do not want to pay and place him in LF and team him at the top of the lineup with Reyes. As for 1B I do not want Murphy unless they get a big bopper like Holliday in LF. I probably still would not want him then, so 1b is a must acquire. If they go the route of less money or want a platoon there I would not be opposed to Mark Derosa on a 2 year deal. He also could spell Castillo at 2b and allow Murphy to get some at bats at 1b when that happens. I would love to make a deal for Halladay, probably not happening so I would have my eyes set on Jason Marquis or someone like that. Reyes, Crawford, Wright, Beltran, DeRosa, Franceour, C, Castillo with Pagan and Cora as your primary OF and INF backups is not terrible. This is premature, but just some early 2010 thoughts.

I do not expect the Mets to 10 years to get good again, in fact I expect some better luck in 2010 with health and at the very least a team that competes in their division. I also hope Bryce Harpers parents bring him to the D.R. , he declares for the draft, falls to the Mets at 5 or 6 and they take him.

I think being down to only 3 healthy Cb's forced the gameplan to place more importance on stopping the passing attack of Dallas. Not an exuse, but lets be honest this defense is not a 200 yard a game on the ground defense. I see than as an abberation.

Hoo hum.. its how we do it. Run the ball a little, play some defense, hit your hard...oh and it seems the Wr's and Te do know how to catch the ball.

Giants football at it best. Boring, nondescript and tough....exactly how I like it