RaginCaucasian

same old, same old. They buy the best FA's who don't do shit when they join the team. This offense is so bad right now. The defense has been playing better but still I don't get it either. I had a feeling this would happen. I think the loss of Avery does not help matters. He should be back in a few weeks or less, so I will judge then. If it doesn't work out, I am a Pens fan.

Avery not being there is a problem, although he doesn't score much you can't put a value on the attitude and swagger he brings to the team.

I think that Renney would be best served however if he stuck Jagr with either Gomez or Drury and left them there for a good 3 weeks.... all of this switching shit back and forth is killing their chances at developing any sense of familiarity.

Straka not skating with Jagr isn't helping either, I am impressed with how well Staal and the rest of the defense is playing.... minus Malik of course.

My only concern is that Don Maloney not being there at this trade deadline will allow James Dolan to use his martinet Glen Sather to land some high priced free agent to be in an attempt to win it all and fail miserably (I've seen this happen once or twice before.)

Boston is going to be a real bitch now, as if they werent already.

Good, let them sign him and never win another postseason game...... why couldn't they have had him tonight? :brooding:

Boras tells Yankees that A-Rod will opt out.

By Jon Heyman, SI.com

 

DENVER -- Alex Rodriguez notified the Yankees on Sunday that he's opting out of his record $252 million contract, SI.com has learned.

 

Rodriguez's decision means he will become a free agent and be able to negotiate with all clubs. Rodriguez's bombshell move will shake up the entire winter for the Yankees -- who had hoped to retain him with a big extension -- as well as other big-market clubs that will now pursue him.

 

Rodriguez's agent Scott Boras said he sent word of the opt-out in writing Sunday and left phone and text messages for Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. The Yankees have said that once A-Rod opts out, they wil not pursue him, since they will lose the benefit of the Texas Rangers' $30-million subsidy.

 

"Alex made the decision today,'' Boras said. "I thought we should notify the club.''

 

The Yankees were preparing an extension to his current contract for either five or six years, believed to be for close to $30 million annually. However, team officials said Boras has politely declined to meet with them in recent days, and they never presented the offer.

 

Rodriguez technically had until 10 days after the World Series ended to exercise his opt-out rights, which were provided in his $252 million Texas deal. However, Boras said Rodriguez felt there was no way he could make a decision to stay in that short a period of time since several situations remain unsettled, including those of Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte.

Got tickets from a account rep from work (there is no way I could score these seats without selling my car) and about 5 seats over from me was

Victoria Silvstedt...... amazing, such a piece of ass it was incredible. Aparently a big fan of Lundqvist...... and might I add single. Great, all I need now is a 7 figure income and I'm pretty much set..... she likes the Rangers as do I and she enjoys getting freaky..... so do I. See how simple this is when you just take the KISS method to everything?

Observations from the game:

-It's a great thing to watch now the Karel Rachunek plays for the Devils, I'll enjoy watching moves like that all season long.

-Jagr and Drury should take shooting lessons from Dawes for at least a week....... Shanahan too.

-Marc Staal impresses me with his intelligence and poise, for once we have a home-grown defenceman!!!!

-Good to see Dubinsky play an inspired game, IMHO he was about one more invisible game from getting sent down.

-Lundqvist played his best and finally enjoyed a lead.... thank god.

Whoops, I was thinking before the era of the Wild Card round. My bad yo.

It's cool, sorry for the late response.... I needed a beer.

Uh, sure it is.

Really? Not since 1990 last I checked.

Warner Wolf said this morning Zach Thomas was involved in a car accident and might not play.

 

God really wants this team to go winless.

That would be fucked up, consider the irony..... possibly they go winless and their hated division rival breaks their 35 year old record of a perfect season.... both in the same year. Ouch, that's gotta friggin hurt.

Sean Salisbury said the Giants should be playing Dallas in the NFC championship game.

 

Im shocked that an ESPN analyst gave the giants credit, but at the same time it scares the shit out of me

This just proves Salisbury is an even bigger moron than he gets credit for....... he forgot that the Giants would meet Dallas in the divisional round of the playoffs. It's not possible for two teams from the same division to play against one another in the NFC championship.

Then again, Salisbury is the same guy that has virtually gone down on Donovan McNabb every time they show an Eagles highlight so this really doesn't surprise me.

The Armpit of America...... I gotta admit I thought this thread was going to be about New Jersey.

Pittsburgh is going to have to play the Rangers alot better head to head than they did last season, despite the fact that they are loaded with lots of young talent you saw how easily Ottawa dismantled them in the playoffs.

Yeah boy!

:worshippy:

We're in, something Metsies fans can't say yet.... their lead is down to 1 game now.

I'm out for 4-6 weeks too, only because keeping 3 women happy proved to be too much for one man. :brooding: Ohhhh, the agony!!!!! See what Tiki has to say about that!

The score was 4-3, so if you're gonna tout your pitching, we didn't use any of our 3 best relievers and we only gave up one more run than you did. It might've slipped your mind that our cleanup hitter (Manny Ramirez- remember him?), one who's had success against Clemens, was out of the lineup, replaced with a guy hitting about .200. As for the "aside from Farnsworth" part, Kyle Farnsworth is a little more important to the Yankees bullpen right now than you might think. He had been pitching well lately, and that was a good sign for them in light of the fact that Joba can't pitch on consecutive days. Once again though, with the pressure on, he fell apart.

 

These were two close games and the breaks seemed to go your way. If the season so far is any indication, the momentum is gonna shift about another 15 times between now and the playoffs, so I'm trying to keep a level head about recent developments (though I admit it's pretty hard).

 

Truthfully, I don't recall any close plays at first that the ump might've missed.

Again, not to get into a pissing match but:

1. Would the 3 best relievers have mattered? The Sox were losing.... considering their offense had been dormant all night what good could possibly have come from bringing them in? We saw this afternoon how most everyone is starting to think that the season is catching up with Okajima & well...... I'm about as confident in Gag-me as Farnsworthless. Placing blame I'd look at Beckett, last pitch of his got deposited in the left field stands for the winning run.

2. Farnsworthless almost gave the game away again, prompting Mo to have to come in for a 4 out save.

3. As far as the Manny being the difference, c'mon man.... last I checked there were 7 other guys in that lineup that are everyday players (your shortstop I left out as well as the left fielder)..... not one of them could step it up and produce? So if we are going to tout pitching I'd prefer to look at 5 1/3 hitless innings by Clemens.... not at who the Sox didn't use/didn't have available.

Lastly, yes these games are usually very close.... who knows there is even a chance these two teams will exchange the division lead again (I doubt it but ...... whatever).

I only wish more teams had Yankee killers like Josh Beckett on their pitching staffs.

LOL!

Right. And Yankee fans declaring the 98 Yankees the best EVER, when never having seen other teams they are compared to play, is not homerism?

 

I watched both the 86 Mets and 98 Yanks play, and although it's impossible to say who'd win a 7 game series, I do know it probably would be alot closer than any Yankee fan would ever admit.

 

And I still think Ray Knight would punch someone.

Not to quote Dub but having not been alive for the Yankees teams of the 50's or earlier I'd have to go with a team that won 114 games as the best I'd ever seen or heard of in recent times.

And for that matter it might not have been a 4 game sweep but the 98 Yankees would have beaten the 86 Mets anytime, anywhere..... despite Ray Knight punching anyone.

Not to ruffle feathers but despite not having Chamberlain tonight the Yankees had no problems with the Sox lineup (I was @ the game) aside from Farnsworthless this game was pretty cut & dried...... although I will give Sox fans this..... that first base umpire is clearly on our payroll.

they sure liked you guys in 98 when mark langston threw strike three right over the plate before tino's grand slam

Jeez, bitter much? Was one pitch going to make a difference? Last I checked the Padres got the broom in that series .

Ian Kennedy?

 

Moose is not hurt, he said it himself...unless he's lying. I choose to believe he just can't get away with a 86mph fastball that he can't locate anyway. He's done. Also, how do we get rid of him?

Ian Kennedy, Joba Chaimberlan.... who gives a fuck...... Smalls, I'd put you out there in front of Mussina and I'd guarantee you'd be twice as effective....at least nobody has looked at your stuff for the last 3 years and been trying to tee off on it.

Either way, if he's on the team next year I shoot him and Cashman in the face with a 12 gauge.... nuf said.

What really bothers me is the fact that they cant even generate 1 run against the Tigers...... intolerable & not what they need going into the series against the Red Sox.

Ok, somebody please explain to me why with the lead they Yankees decided to allow "The Farns" to pitch please!?!?!?!? Even my ex-girlfriend could tell that that was a bad move!! C'mon Joe!!!! :explode:

That's really strange. I was just passing a whole room full of treadmills and thinking how it was like the Dallas QB situation; a whole string of guys going nowhere.

I wholeheartedly nominate Tree for post of the year.

Steve Phillips is nothing more than another ESPN talking head, as a GM he wasn't terrible but if one of your highlights as a GM is getting Mo Vaughn it's safe to say that there is a reason why he and Dan Duquette are usually mentioned in the same sentance.

As far as Chaimberlain goes it's blasphemous that any Mets fans are comparing him to Joe Smith, Smith was never as highly touted as Chaimberlain has been and while he might have been as effective early I fail to see how anyone that has seen Joba's stuff can't immediately see the difference between the two.

Even if Joba stays in the bullpen he will be dominant, could you imagine the sort of dominance that you witnessed over the O's for 7 innings?

I realize that he has only pitched 8 innings in the bigs but anyone that has that kind of dominance will only get better with more experience..... especially when he has worlds of talent around him to help tutor him like Rivera & Clemens.

The immortal duo of Keith Elias & Sean Bennett.

Anyone see the quote on NFL Live by Eli? More or less he said...."We're excited by the players who wanted to return for this season"

Linkage

Eli Manning has been criticized for not being enough of a vocal leader during his three seasons with the Giants. Yesterday, however, the usually soft-spoken quarterback didn't hold back when asked about what he thought life would be like without newly retired running back Tiki Barber. "I don't think we're concerned," Manning said. "We're excited by the players that we have who wanted to return for this season, and who wanted to be a part of the Giants and play."

 

Barber, who will be a correspondent this fall for NBC, had a sometimes contentious relationship with coach Tom Coughlin over the past two years. And when word of Barber's retirement leaked out during last season, many in the media questioned Barber's dedication to the team. Manning's parting shot, however, is the first time a teammate has openly criticized the Giants' all-time leading rusher.

 

Manning was at Grand Central Terminal yesterday, competing in a putting contest as part of a promotion for next week's Women's World Match Play Championship at Wykagyl Country Club in New Rochelle. Despite any lingering hard feelings, the fourth-year QB said he was looking forward to filling the leadership void left by Barber.

 

"You lose Tiki and someone has to step into the role of leader on offense, and I'm excited about the opportunity," he said. "You want to be a leader, even when things are going good or going bad. I want to be the guy to step up, make plays and lead the team."

 

Manning is 20-19 with Big Blue and 0-2 in the playoffs. Last season, when the Giants went 8-8, he threw for 3,244 yards with 24 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. "As far as leadership," Manning said, "it's something you earn, the respect of your teammates. You play well, prepare for every game and when things get tough . . . you step up."

 

Asked if thought he had already earned that respect, Manning added: "I think so. We've won enough games, they know how I prepare, how I work and study and get mentally ready."

He is the new hitting coach.

Yeah, I got that........ sorry, I think the humorous portion of my reply was missed.

Ricky Henderson is back!

Why, did you guys need a bigger asshole on your team? I thought that Lo Duca had that covered.

What's he gonna do? Get Reyes motivated to run the bases by saying he can beat him to the bag? The Mets problems lie more with getting their lineup healthy than trying to improve hitting from what's currently available.