Allstarjim

He's had them... he's made me sweat at times, and yes, he's blown big games. But EVERY single closer has blown big games before. No one is automatic. He's no Benitez, that's for sure.

I disagree, even when he's been bad he's been awfully good.

We would lose a lot defensively if Church were to play center. Fernando, I don't know about his defensive ability. I think the Mets consider Fernando their left fielder of the future. To me, a Martinez, Beltran, and Church outfield looks awfully good. I don't know why you guys want to get rid of Beltran so badly. If we did trade for Nady, they woudn't take Beltran because the Pirates would be looking for prospects, not a player they can't afford to pay. I like the idea of getting Nady back, but I don't know who we could afford to trade for him. I don't want Niese to leave the organization, nor Martinez, and surely the Pirates would want one of those guys. Plus, Nady would replace Delgado at first in the future, which is what I would really like to see.

Good points and I like your line of thinking. I do not agree with a notion of trading Beltran, though, I think he is part of the solution not the problem. All in all, we see the same problems, hopefully Minaya and Willie can figure this thing out. It's funny to me how teams like Oakland, Minnesota and even Florida have trust in their young, unproven stud talent and they come out and perform very well against the big boys, and it translates into wins. You don't ALWAYS have to have a $15 million/year player at every position to win. Talent is talent. Give the kids a chance sometimes.

Chase > Zak DeOssie. Don't know why people like that guy so much. He is not that good, IMO. People were talking about DeOssie being Pierce's primary backup. If that's the case we are in trouble. Hopefully Goff can fulfill his big potential and be in that role.

Well if anyone was interested in Delgado and would be willing to give us 1 half-way decent prospect for us, and we didn't have to pay his salary, I say do it. Otherwise we might as well just sit him. As far as blowing up the whole team goes, I don't know, I think it's too early for that. Like you said, there is a lot of mediocrity in the league, and as bad as we've looked at times, we are right there at a half game out of first. You never know what will happen when Alou comes back if he can provide a spark to the offense, and if and when Pedro comes back how he will do. There is still reason to be optimistic. Duaner's arm is getting stronger. I'm hoping Heilman will return to form. They had mentioned that last year he started the season poorly (not quite this poorly) before rebounding and having a solid year. Beltran hasn't hit yet. Reyes and Wright have been struggling. Clearly though, Delgado is a problem. And to a lesser degree Castillo (who has begun to hit a little in the last week or two). But one or two weak bats in the lineup isn't necessarily going to kill your season, particularly with superior pitching. Not that we've had that either (the D-Backs have, though). I just think that it's much to soon to give up on the season. As much optimism I have for this season (believe it or not, I still do), I have more for next year. Because hopefully F-Mart will be ready, but at least Delgado will be gone. Perez and Pedro also will likely not be re-signed. Perez has a chance if he can have a pretty good year this year. But one thing is for sure, the Mets will have a bundle of money coming off the books that they can spend in free agency.

I can only comment on what I've seen from him. He's been very successful and steady for this team in a starting role, and he throws strikes. He's been more reliable and consistent than any other pitcher in our rotation right now with the exception of Santana. There are plenty of pitchers that don't "figure it out" until they've been around a long time. I also know he's had some set backs that have occured to him in inopportune times. He also had tremendous success in the other places he's pitched. What's relevant is not where he's been, but what he's doing now. He's consistent and I feel more confident in him than I do Perez or Pelfrey taking the mound that he will give the team a chance to win.

Really VG? I can't say I agree. A first round pick at a position of need? I think he starts at one of the safety spots to open the season. He was the highest rated safety coming out of the draft. I think he has the athleticism to start right away, it will just come down to his dedication to learning the defensive playbook and his commitment in training camp/exhibition season. I think he will earn it to start the year.

At least the Braves lost AGAIN today to the Nationals, no less.

Was watching the end of the game on MLB.com. Cohen and Darling were taking calls and someone asked about trading Delgado. Darling and Cohen politely informed him that there was no way it was going to happen because of Delgado's enormous salary, age/stage in his career, coupled with his lack of production (why would anyone want him). But there was something else they said that I thought was interesting. They said if Delgado is still struggling in a couple of months, it's possible that they could bench Delgado and allow a prospect to play, considering that Delgado is in a contract year (the Mets have a buyout). I immediately thought of Mike Carp. I actually don't know what to root for. Do I root for Delgado to still suck, or for him to turn it around. I definitely don't want him to turn it around so that Minaya thinks its a good idea to keep him around for another two years. Plus, I certainly don't see him producing in the playoffs when we face good pitchers on a nightly basis (assuming we make the playoffs, which of course I cannot do).

Seriously. What I appreciate so much about Figueroa is that even though his stuff isn't electric, he throws strikes consistently. Give me that guy over a guy with great stuff and little control.

Not a pretty win tonight, but the Mets found a win despite struggling, and I think that is a very important thing to do. Sosa had a pretty good inning tonight. Heilman another mini-implosion before Schoenweis came in and rescued him. I can't believe I just typed that. Talk about a role-reversal from last year. And I liked seeing Duaner in the 8th inning of a tight game tonight. He got himself into trouble, but limited the damage to 1 run. After the way he's been pitching, he was due for a bad outing. I'm glad it came on a night where the Mets were still able to win the game. The Mets have now won 3 in a row again. It's nice when they can put together these little streaks. Not nice when the streaks are going the other way.

Lots of bad luck tonight. Who would've thought that the two guys that haven't allowed a run yet this year would allow the Pirates to tie this game?

When you hit a guy that hard you don't need to worry about wrapping up! DAMN!

Damn I'm good. I'm seriously having some ESP about the Giants lately. Back in season like week 16 or something I posted something about how Jeremy Shockey would look good in the Saints offense, and that they really need a player like him. The trade didn't happen but still. Then in the "Best of the Rest" thread, out of all the prospects I posted the analysis for Mario Manningham. Is Reese a reader of Sportswrath, or am I just that good? OK, I'm done patting myself on the back now.

Actually, at most, Accorsi built only 77% of a superbowl winning team. Hedgecock and Hixon were Reese's, along with the 8 draft picks, and 10 players out of 53 is about 23%. In reality, there were a couple more free agent signings that played minor roles on the team that were Reeses. I do see your point, though.

Hey boohyah, you're assuming that the Giants are only going to carry 5 WRs. I made that mistake last year and they ended up carrying six after the final cuts. I think Jennings and Hixon will be gone and it will be, in order: Plax, Toomer, Smith, Tyree, Moss, and Manningham. Manningham and Moss will compete for the KR job.

Well, I would say that at this point that Woodson will be battling for the 3rd string QB role with J-Load and Wright. They will not carry 4 QB's. Unless they convert J-Load to FB, LOL. My guess is that the 3rd string QB role is Andre Woodson's to lose. Wright and J-Load will most likely be cut. Woodson has potential to be a good starting QB in the NFL. Same can't be said for the other two, and the Giants will want to showcase him for possible trade, OR they only believe Carr will be a Giant for one year, so he is who they hope will be Eli's back up in 2009 and beyond.

What you guys are saying is cool, just that the Cowboys reasoning is dumb. If you think that Mendenhall is too much like your player who just went to the Pro Bowl, then you probably should take that player. Marion Barber is a fantastic running back. If I had a chance to get another guy just like him where I knew if he got hurt, I wouldn't miss a beat, that's my pick. It might not work out that way, but the reasoning is what I find comical.

Tempest, The reason I don't think the Giants would be worse off without Shockey is for several reasons. The first one, and most important one is, they beat 4 playoff games on the road with one of them being against one of the best teams of all time without him. There is a fair argument that we would have won those games with or without Shockey but I don't know that that's true. Don't know that it's not, either. But we won those games without him and that should stand on its own merit. Secondly, I believe Boss is a real player. And he hasn't made the mental mistakes that Shockey has had in the past that has cost us (unsportsmanlike penalties, etc). He is also completely unselfish. He will be happy if his team wins and he only catches one pass just as he would if the team wins and he catches seven. Not sure I can say that about Shockey. I think Eli is better off not thinking about getting certain players the ball to keep them happy. He needs to just make his reads and throw it to whoever can make the play. At times do I think Eli has tried to force it to Shockey? Yes I do. The reasons are debateable. But with Boss, the offense naturally flows to him and I haven't seen much of that forcing. I don't think the Giants NEED a Pro Bowl caliber TE to have a great offense. I think we need to upgrade the WR spot opposite Plax for a more dangerous receiver at some point. I see Amani as a player in decline although he will always be able to get those possession catches and he is still valuable. I see Steve Smith as a possession receiver as well who hasn't shown me he can be a deep threat. In the future, to me, Smith is the 3rd WR and we need to work on a replacement for Amani. With a guy who has size and can stretch the field on the opposite side of Plax, with Smith and Boss, this offense can be JUST as effective or more effective than with Shockey. It's not that I don't think Shockey is a bad player. It's just I think he would fit in New Orleans system better than ours, he would be happier, and I think that his jaw-jacking has a big negative side to the team at times, despite the fact that he is also a source of intensity. I think that he is unhappy with his role with the Giants, and if Eli tries to change for him, and tries to force things to him, then our offense may suffer. Also, you are not taking into consideration the player(s) we would receive for Shockey. It's not like we aren't receiving anything for Shockey in a trade, so you can't definitively say we would be worse off. We could theoretically draft a player that is BETTER than Shockey or one that gives us greater contributions at a position where we need better quality or depth. If you take your heart out of the equation, and dare I say a little Shockey homerism, then it really becomes fairly clear. I like Shockey. I like his intensity, I think he is a very good TE. He works hard and the times where he's opened his mouth I've defended him. However, I do not think that he is one of the top 5 TE's in the NFL anymore. Dare I say he's only the third best TE in our own division. I don't look at him through rose-colored glasses like some Giants' fans do. He is what he is. A talented TE who has lapses in concentration at times and commits stupid penalties at times and opens his mouth at times. He's a bit of a prima donna and isn't happy unless he's a focal part of the offense. I'm not sure that player is best for the team. As I said, Kevin Boss is sure-handed, runs well, is a huge target for Eli, doesn't complain, doesn't throw temper tantrums on the field, and doesn't commit stupid unsportsmanlike penalties. He just goes out there and plays football, gets his couple of catches and helps the Giants win. Am I saying he's BETTER than Shockey? No. I'm saying I think he's a better fit in our offense. Shockey is the better TE, Boss is the better fit for US. Again this is just my opinion. And you know if Shockey were to go we would acquire another TE who could block well and catch a little. Plus Pope will coach Boss up to where he is a more than adequate blocker. I heard the same doubts about Shockey's blocking when he was drafted. So, in conclusion, I think to be fair, you have to at least give me that you don't know that we would be worse off without Shockey, because you don't know what players he would bring to us. And you don't know for sure that our offense didn't run more smoothly when it was just Boss and Shockey and everything that goes with was watching the game.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley "I just spent several minutes talking by phone with a man who spent his day in the Cowboys' draft room. He said there was some serious debate on whether to choose Felix Jones or Rashard Mendenhall. In the end, scouts thought that Mendenhall was too much like Mario Barber." Ok, first of all it's Marion Barber. But my point is this... SO WHAT! That should be an endorsement. No, we don't want Mendenhall because he's too much like our Pro Bowl running back. WHAT?! I would take two Marion Barber's any day! To me, if you think Mendenhall is the better PLAYER, that is where you should go. I think the Cowboys took a misstep here, good for us, bad for them. Although I don't think Felix Jones is necessarily chopped liver, I think Mendenhall could be a GREAT back. Then the Cowpokes took a receiving TE in the 2nd who is not a good blocker whatsoever. You know, 'cause that was a big need. Go Giants.

Out of all this information, I shall provide you my fellow Giants fans, some info on intriguing players that I am ripping off from NFL.com. First is Mario Manningham: Height: 6'0" Weight: 181 Overview Mario Manningham is as smooth as his middle name -- Cashmere -- when it comes to running routes. The slight-framed receiver had great success as the favorite target for Wolverine quarterback Chad Henne. Playing mostly at split end, he finished his career ranked fifth in school history for receiving yards (2,310), fourth in touchdown catches (27) and ninth for receptions (137). All but seven of his touchdown grabs have come from outside the red zone. At Warren G. Harding High School, Manningham was a Parade All-American, first-team All-State, All-District and All-Conference selection as a junior and senior. He was rated 12th on the Detroit Free Press "Best of the Midwest" list and was a four-star prospect that was ranked the fifth-best receiver nationally and third-best prospect in Ohio by Rivals.com. College Football News rated Manningham as the sixth-best wide receiver and 43rd player overall in the country. He was named Prep Star's Dream Team as the sixth-rated receiver prospect in the nation and was named the seventh-best receiver prospect by Student Sports Hot 100 recruits. Manningham started the last two years of his three-year career. He had 105 catches for 1,883 yards and 24 receiving touchdowns in his final two seasons and also tallied four interceptions at cornerback during his career. He had 52 receptions for 821 yards and 10 touchdowns during his senior season, including seven grabs for 251 yards and three scores vs. Glenville, as he clinched the team's victory with an interception and 50-yard return for a score in the waning moments. Manningham caught 32 passes for 626 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior and made 21 catches for 436 yards and three scores his sophomore year. He also lettered in basketball, earning honorable mention All-State his senior year. The three-year varsity letterwinner averaged 17 points as a senior after posting a career-best 21-point average his junior year, gaining All-Conference and All-District honors during his final two years. As a freshman at Michigan in 2005, Manningham was a Freshman All-American honorable mention and Freshman All-Big Ten Conference choice by The Sporting News. The UM receiver was going to enroll at Ohio State, but the Wolverines wrested him away from his in-state team. He went on to catch 27 passes for 433 yards (16.0-yard average) and six touchdowns while starting three of 12 games at split end, sharing that spot with Steve Breaston. A partially torn medial collateral ligament and meniscus in his right knee vs. Michigan State required arthroscopic surgery in 2006, as Manningham started nine of 10 games in which he played. The Rivals.com All-American third-team pick finished third on the squad with 38 catches for 703 yards (18.5-yard average) and nine scores while lining up at flanker. Manningham shifted back to split end in 2007, starting 11 of 12 games. He led the team with 72 receptions and led the Big Ten Conference with 1,174 yards (16.3-yard average), as he scored 12 times. He also rushed 19 times for 119 yards. While his 72 catches are impressive, the fact that he had 142 passes thrown to him, leaving 70 potential receptions on the field, drew the ire of former head coach Lloyd Carr, who said Manningham didn't play as well as he can. Manningham was also suspended by the coaching staff for the Eastern Michigan game, for what Carr first cited as a violation of team policy. It was later revealed that the staff was made aware of an off-field incident on April 25. He was one of three people in a car registered to Manningham's father on a road from Ann Arbor to his home in Ohio. In southern Monroe County, not far from the state line, an unmarked car pulled up behind the Cadillac. The sheriff's deputy searched the three young men and the car. The two passengers had a small amount of marijuana in their clothing. The deputy found 500-milligram tablets of Vicodin, a prescription pain killer and a controlled substance, in Manningham's pockets and a couple in his suitcase in the trunk. The three young men were arrested and transported to a nearby State Police post. Manningham was questioned about the pills. He said that after undergoing surgery in January, he had been prescribed Vicodin, but he had run out and borrowed a few from a teammate for his upcoming car trip. In late October, prosecutor William Nichols announced he has decided no warrant against Manningham would be issued and he would not be charged with a felony for possession of Vicodin pills not specifically prescribed for him. He could have been charged with a felony. Manningham closed out his career by starting 24 of the 34 games in which he played. He had 137 receptions for 2,310 yards (16.9-yard average) and 27 touchdowns, scoring 162 points. He added 176 yards on 31 carries and 17 yards on a punt return, amassing 2,503 all-purpose yards, an average of 73.62 yards per game. Analysis Positives: Has adequate shoulder width and room on his frame to add more bulk, but only if it won't impact his quickness...Has exceptional speed and acceleration to suddenly burst off the snap and get into his routes (will struggle vs. a press)...Shows good sideline awareness and the ability to make the tough catch with his back to the quarterback...Can also surprise a second-level defender with his suddenness coming out of his breaks...Sharp pitter-patter route runner with a fluid change of direction...Plants and drives well on his routes and is alert to the stationing of deep coverage...Runs with very good agility and balance (fluid, natural motion) and is able to get to top speed instantly when he is not facing a strong jam...Has the body control to get in and out of his routes and is very elusive after the catch...Not the type that will go over the middle for the ball, but he is slippery trying to avoid tacklers...Very quick to see and adjust to the secondary's moves and has big-play ability after the catch...His straight-line burst allows him to consistently stretch the field...Creates a lot of separation on his own and can find space in the zone seams...Has the burst to separate deep separation and sideline body control to make acrobatic catches seem routine...Has a sudden burst out of his cuts and is known for making the off-balance grabs near the sidelines...Has the quickness to consistently beat defenders on deep routes...Makes most of his yardage after the catch, easily turning the defensive back on his routes while kicking into second gear to run away from his man...While he lacks the strength to escape the jam, he has the speed to elude...Able to drop his weight and show good body control in his short-area patterns and can get open deep due to his quickness coming out of the break...Has quick plant-and-cut ability and loves when the defenders give him even the tiniest of cushions...Shows smooth and fluid body adjustments while tracking the ball in flight...A liability when used on inside routes, but has the speed and suddenness to separate on the perimeter...Has good body flexibility to adjust to the ball in flight and, when he maintains concentration, he does a good job of looking the ball in and catching it with hands extended away from his frame...Has gazelle-like moves in the open field and though he lacks bulk to break tackles, he has the vision and elusiveness to make big plays...Shows good hip wiggle, shake and burst to take a defensive back out of his backpedal earlier than desired and has that game-breaking ability to stretch the field. Negatives: Has a slight frame with marginal strength and struggles to maintain additional bulk...In previous attempts to put on weight, it has impacted his quickness, making him look sluggish coming out of the gate and into his routes...Always looking for the home run, which will lead to concentration lapses, resulting in drops of easily catchable balls (was successful in getting to only 72 of 142 passes thrown to him)...Shows little willingness to sacrifice his body and get to the ball in a crowd, as he is more conscious of the defender closing on him, resulting in several dropped balls (converted just 12-of-42 third-down plays he was involved in during 2007)...Had an off-field incident that might need further clarification...Passive blocker who prefers to just "pester" his man and does not make much of an effort to sustain blocks...Likes to cradle the ball and sometimes will try to turn and run before he has properly secured the pigskin (does not have fumble issues, but did have several costly drops in 2007 -- see Oregon, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Ohio State games)...Competes better when he knows he will be the primary target, tending to throttle down when not involved in the play (resulted in his being benched briefly early in the season and be cited by coach Carr for a less than urgent performance on the field)...Needs to improve his balance coming back for off-target passes (does not get down well enough to make shoestring catches)...Must time his leaps better and improve his jumping ability, as he will lose more than a fair share of battles going for the pass at its high point (had 20 passes deflected away from him in 2007)...Needs to improve his overall strength, as the more physical defenders have good success in pressing and rerouting him (relies mostly on his speed to elude)...Must display better courage when operating over the middle and he shies away from contact...Liability for the ground game, as he is very hesitate when asked to cut block, will not face up to an opponent and takes poor angles. Compares To: SINORICE MOSS-New York Giants...Both have speed, neither can escape a physical jam and both tend to shy away from contact on a regular basis. While Manningham's college statistics are impressive and he has natural hands, he leaves a lot of passes on the field, lacking great courage battling for the ball in a crowd. Like Moss, if he has a clear path, he will torch the deep secondary and is known as a playmaker. The problem is, unless he gets more physical vs. the press and plays with better moxie going over the middle, Manningham looks like a classic boom-or-bust prospect. Injury Report 2006: Suffered a right knee partial meniscus and medial collateral ligament tear in the third quarter vs. Michigan State (10/07), undergoing arthroscopic surgery that prevented him from playing vs. Penn State (10/14), Iowa (10/21) and Northwestern (10/28). Copyright NFLDraftScout.com, distributed by The Sports Xchange. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ For the record, I know he is a "name" guy and is still available at a position I think we would be wise to address, but I don't want him. I want a bigger target for Eli, plus, I don't think we need another Sinorice.

You know I got your back!

Here are the players that have not yet been drafted that Gil Brandt had in his pre-draft rankings 51-100: Tier 6 (51-60) Clifford Avril, DE/LB, Purdue Bryan Kehl, LB, BYU Justin King, CB, Penn State Mario Manningham, WR, Michigan Tier 7 (61-70) Tyvon Branch, CB, Connecticut Oniel Cousins, OL, UTEP Tavares Gooden, LB, Miami (Fla.) DaJuan Morgan, S, N.C. State Kevin Smith, RB, Central Florida Tier 8 (71-80) Tashard Choice, RB, Georgia Tech Brad Cottam, TE, Tennessee Dre Moore, DL, Maryland Jeremy Zuttah, G, Rutgers Tier 9 (81-90) Earl Bennett, WR, Vanderbilt Andre Caldwell, WR, Florida Anthonty Collins, OL, Kansas Early Doucet, WR, LSU Andre Fluellen, DL, Florida State Charles Godfrey, CB, Iowa John Greco, OL, Toledo Erin Henderson, LB, Maryland Mike McGlynn, OT, Pittsburgh Reggie Smith, S, Oklahoma Tier 10 (91-100) Josha Barrett, S, Arizona State Shawn Crable, DE/LB, Michigan Thomas DeCoud, S, California Chris Ellis, DE/LB, Virginia Tech Stanford Keglar, LB, Purdue Josh Morgan, WR, Virginia Tech Carl Nicks, OL, Nebraska Steve Slaton, RB, West Virginia Craig Stevens, TE, California Tom Zbikowski, S, Notre Dame

Chillax, baby! <said in Conan O'Brien voice> Simmer down now! I'm just posting who's out there. You are correct that the likelihood is that Connor won't last, but he's still out there so I had to include him. Plus, you never know what kind of trades can happen Day 2 with the potential of NY getting a higher pick in the 3rd.... In a few minutes I will post the players 51-100 that have not been selected yet.