SU has been quiet for some time now. Let’s face it: not a whole lot going on in the sports world of late. But here’s what’s on my mind today:
- I am having A LOT of trouble getting excited about the Yankees for 2016. With Greg Bird going down, there really is no young player to follow. It sounds like minor league slugger Aaron Judge will start in Scranton for sure. That leaves Brett Gardner (nursing a sore wrist), Jacoby Ellsbury (already planning which month he will get hurt in 2016) and Carlos Beltran in his final season roaming the outfield. SU will be interested to see if this new guy Hicks is any good. On the infield, Starlin Castro is a fresh face but as long as Chase Headley is at 3rd base, it just feels like more of the same of what we’ve seen the last few years. My only hope is that Headley is ultimately replaced by Castro and Refsnyder gets to play 2nd base. The starting pitchers are all injury-prone. The bullpen is stacked but as of now, SU is unimpressed and unexcited.
- I believe the Mets will own New York for 2016 hands down, and will push them on attendance. And that has not been the case for about 20 – 25 years. SU is not on the Mets band wagon but will be paying attention.
- On the other hand, March Madness is just around the corner and that does excite me. Especially this year where about 15 teams have what it takes to win it all. SU is already running the numbers and will come out with its predictions once the brackets are filled. As much as I hate to say it (and believe me I hate to say this), Michigan State may be peaking at the right time.
- Carmelo Anthony is going to go down as the Adrian Dantley of his generation. A one-dimensional talented scorer who never really won over the course of his career. Melo really should remove the trade veto and allow the Knicks to find him a new home where he can get his ring. I suppose it’s admirable that he wants to win in New York but this roster is far, far away from contending and they don’t have the draft picks or the cap room for a quick change (Kevin Durant is not coming here). SU turned on the game last night in the late 2nd quarter where the Knicks were blowing out the Magic by 20. I believe Anthony shot the ball on about 6 possessions in a row. I was doing my triangulations and somehow that did not compute in terms of ball movement. He finished 7 for 22 in a blowout win where everyone else shot well. I just don’t think he is having any fun out there. Perhaps in the off-season some deal will come his way and he will allow them to move him. I believe this is very possible.
Anyone want to weigh in with an early NCAA prediction?
Sports Update Intergalactic 
I’m not a Melo fan but he does get betweein 8 and 11 rebounds a game while Dantley neverPlayed much D.
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1. You’re preaching to the choir on Anthony. He’s Bernard King without half the talent. 2. As for the Yankees, they are trying to rebuild and contend which is never easy. They should be in about the position as last year, and contend for the wild card. There is no doubt that their farm system is finally relevant and productive. As for Gardner, I was for trading him in the offseason and letting Hicks,Heathcott and Gamel compete for his spot. Left hitting outfielders and relief pitchers are in abundance on their farm and they should deal from strength.
Jeff, you are right about the Yankees’ farm system. For the first time in years, they have some position players who will be major league ready in the near future. That is what excites me – the chance to watch those guys grow and improve. But this year will be like last year for sure and that is another non-entertaining season.
Andy, I would say this year Anthony is occasionally playing some defense as opposed to past years. When he plays the 4 position, he gets his rebounds. He has clearly been trying to pass more this year and play defense and I commend him for making the effort (of course, where has this been for the last 11 years?). Note that Harvey Araton wrote a similar column to what I wrote yesterday in today’s New York Times. SU: always at the forefront.
I’ve never been a big Melo fan throughout his professional career. I will though give him some credit these past two years. Many times i have seen him with 10-12 boards along with his 20+ points. But the down side now is that he is shooting around 30%. What happened to the triangle offense? You never hear about it even slightly working. It is like fitting a square peg in a round hole. You simply can’t force this onto players who are not suited to play this way. But even with that said these are supposedly the greatest players in the world so you would think they should be able to adjust. They adjust in football, hockey and baseball somewhat so why can’t they adjust in basketball. You are not asking them to dribble the ball differently nor shoot differently s its all about position on the court. Now even with that said the triangle offense was played with two of the greatest players of all times with some smart complimentary players to go with it in both Chicago and LA. Do we have that kind of mindset on the Knicks? I’m afraid not.
Now to add more doom and gloom to these Knicks, Melo wil play hard but deep down would love to play for a winning team. Jackson will continue throwing out this triangle stuff while he is here… but I predict he will give it one more year and then he will move on and join a monastery in Tibet where even ESPN won’t go.
The Yankees may have the best bullpen in the MLB… but you will need to get there first by either being ahead or tied heading into the final 3-4 innings. Where is this offense coming from to get to that point? So many health question marks. On average we will have 2 big injuries this season. It’s just how it is. Unless some of our players overachieve coupled with making two big offensive moves in gaining players we are in for another non playoff season.
Interesting remarks last night by Amar’e Stoudemire that some players on the Knicks resented Jeremy Lin’s brief success several years ago. Melo said that he assumed the remarks were not aimed his way. I believe that JR Smith was annoyed by the whole Linsanity experience. I assume Mel was as well but he never said anything at the time. I agree that Anthony will have enough of his inner circle whispering in his ear that he should move before the end of his contract. The money is guaranteed so he will get paid. I think the Yankees can contend for the wild card again but will be dull. The AL East is pretty balanced – 90 wins might even be enough this year.
This was clear at the time but so upsetting. Because along Jeremy Lin’s points during that amazing stretch was a whole lot of winning. No athlete should be upset during a winning streak.
I’m not giving Melo any credit this year. He’s getting some more rebounds and passing a bit more but he’s not making the players around him better. He’s never done that. His career is littered with bad relationships, fired coaches, etc. He actually complained to a reporter a couple weeks ago about how he hasn’t had any continuity around him. How he’s played for so many coaches and with different teammates. What? If he had done what any of those coaches asked, maybe the coach would still be here. Had he elevated other players rather than bring them down, maybe they’d still be here. No, ownership hasn’t landed a huge free agent to play with him. But they’ve tried a bunch of different things. He’s the common denominator in recent Knicks history.
I’ll say what I’ve said about the Yankees the past few seasons. I don’t expect huge things but I also wouldn’t be surprised if they win the division. This is not a great division. Toronto’s offense still scares me but that’s about it and now Bautista wants to cripple the team with an awful contract. If the stars are aligned for the Yankees, they have as good a shot as the rest of the East.
Melo made the news by telling a heckler to ask Dolan for his money back when Dolan was sitting a few rows behind him. Regardless of how big a tool Dolan is, that isn’t a great way to cement your relationship with the guy paying your salary. Especially when moving you for assets is probably the best way to return the Knicks to some level of respectability.