Wow, that was quick.  A-Rod sat yesterday and is sitting tonight against a left-handed starter, in AJ Happ.  Girardi implied that he may even sit tomorrow.  Refsnyder is starting in right field and A-Rod, Gardner and McCann are all sitting.  SU feels bad for A-Rod (OK, he’s still getting paid) but this has to be a major ego blow.  You can say he’s earned the bench time by his performance but he was starting to hit before he tweaked his hamstring and the only way he will get back in the groove is to throw him out there.

It looks like he will become an occasional starter against left-handed pitchers but not all lefties.  They clearly feel Beltran is much better as a DH.  Refsnyder gets his big shot tonight.  He needs to not screw this up and take advantage.  Looks like Chase Headley is safe given that he is terrible from both sides of the plate and you don’t lose anything based on who’s pitching. Romine is the back-up first baseman.

Time to tell the truth about the 2016 Yankees: this is a $200 million+ payroll?  Is there any GM out there that couldn’t do better than this?  SU will say it again: the fans will not continue to watch this line up.  Like Knick fans, they can handle a rebuild situation.  Please, please, please give us the rebuild.  Paging Ross Moschitto, Jerry Kenney and Horace Clarke.  Please report to active duty.

As predicted by SU last week, Golden State completed the comeback from being down 3 -1 and secured the Western Conference Championship.  So, how did they do it?

• Klay Thompson dug deep and won game 6 for them and in the process, allowed Stephen Curry to get healthy and regain his shooting form.  Curry took it from there in game 7.
• Billy Donovan went from a coaching genius up 3-1 to a rookie NBA coach who has more to learn.  The truth, as per usual, lies somewhere in between.
• Russell Westbrook can’t help himself.  His crazy athleticism is a curse.  He is so good and so fast that he resorts to taking over the game down the stretch.  At the end of game 6, SU heard a stat that in OKC’s last 15 possessions, there were 14 passes in total.  The NBA has already launched an investigation to find out how ex-Knick coach Mike Woodson sneaked onto the  OKC bench and was allowed to call offensive plays for the Thunder.  Westbrook was criticized for turning it over 3 times late in game 6 but it did appear that on at least one of those instances he was trying to pass the ball.
• Durant is terrific but he logged a lot of minutes last night and seemed to tire late.  You have to hand it to Steve Kerr for resting his stars and getting great production from some bench players in the 3rd and 4th quarters (and for not taking the Knicks’ job last year).
• Reggie Miller’s insights were interesting as he pointed out how the OKC players were yelling at each other when things started to head south in the 3rd quarter.  Grace under pressure?  Show some leadership.

SU believes Cleveland is a very tough match-up for Golden State.  LeBron appears to be on a mission.  SU predicts Cavs in 6.  But this will be a great series.

SU was also correct about Matt Harvey – at least for one start.  It looks like he made some mechanical adjustment and his velocity is back up in the high 90s.  Of course, time will tell but Met fans must be breathing a little easier.

Speaking of breathing, the Yankees are giving new meaning to the term “lifeless.”  Great stats:  last night you had key players in the following slumps:

• Gardner: 0 for 19
• McCann: 1 for 19 with his homerun in the 9th inning
• A-Rod: 1 for 16 with a ton of strikeouts
• Castro: 2 for 25
• Hicks: 2 for 15
• Beltran: 4 for 21 (and supposedly carrying the team)

Afer 50 or so games, they have been limited to 2 runs or less 21 times already – worst in the majors.  SU says they are officially unwatchable.  They will win enough games with CC, Tanaka and Eovaldi plus the bullpen to hang around .500 but they are going nowhere and no-one is going to be watching.  SU says time to clean house and go young.  But I have been ignored before.

The whispers in Yankeeland have begun that the return of A-Rod off the DL will hurt their offense and recent success on the field. The premise is that Carlos Beltran hits much better as the DH vs. when he is playing right field.  Allowing Beltran to DH also frees up Hicks to play the outfield where he has been hitting about .285 for the past few weeks since he has seen more regular at bats.  Andrew Marchand of espn.com weighed in recently:

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/yankees/post/_/id/92877/a-roag-its-time-the-yankees-made-alex-rodriguez-a-part-time-player

The reality is that the Yankees started winning when Ellsbury was also out for several games.  They are winning due to better starting pitching and enough offense to eke out some wins.  Mark Texeiria is now having neck spasms and will miss several games.  Can you say psychosomatic symptoms of stress due to being in the walk year of his contract?  SU is all over this one.  He is seeing millions of dollars evaporate before his eyes and having 12 rbis through 40+ games is a bit embarrassing.  A-Rod had started to hit before his hamstring injury and hit a homerun last night in his rehab assignment.  You don’t have to bat him 3rd and you don’t have to play him every day.  But Beltran runs hot and cold and there is no reason to think his hot streak will last for a long time.

There are rumors now that Andrew Miller will be shopped before the trade deadline.  SU is not following this one.  He is in the 2nd year of a reasonable 4-year contract and has proven he can play in NY.  Chapman is great but will be a free agent after this year.  There are also rumors about trading Beltran before the deadline.  SU would keep Miller and move Beltran.  This team may get a wild card but won’t go anywhere in the playoffs and they are incredibly boring to watch.  If you are looking to put fans in the seats and watching on YES, it’s time to rebuild and might as well get started.  But let’s do it more thoughtfully please.

Met fans panicking about Matt Harvey.  SU says calm down and keep rolling him out there until he figures it out.  You may not want to sign him long-term but you do need him this year and it’s important to maintain his confidence and stroke his ego.  It’s likely that his medical issues are a bigger deal than is being let on.

Cleveland will put away the Raptors in game 6 and that will be that.  But SU says do not give up on the Warriors just yet.  OKC is combustible and Golden State just has to win game 6 on the road.  I know it’s rare to see anyone come back from down 3-1 in the NBA playoffs but this group won over 70 games this year.  Steve Kerr needs to make an adjustment – let’s see if he is up to the challenge.  SU loves having a game on each night for this round.  The post-season has been terrible til now – record number of blowout games which is odd.  Home court seems to count for too much – certainly more than it should.

SU must admit I was shocked that Draymon Green was not suspended for game 4.  Surely during the David Stern era this would never have happened.  He was a stickler for the rules and if you took a half step onto the court from the sideline in a fight that was happening 30 yards away, you received your suspension – even in a game 6 of a playoff series.  There is no way Green was kicking his foot that high as a natural follow-through on his shot.  In fact, both Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson thought he should have been suspended, and Van Gundy figured the league was trying to decide between 1 and 2 games.

If Golden State wins tonight and goes on to win the series, this decision will no doubt taint their success to some degree.  But good drama tonight and Green will receive the John Starks treatment for what he used to get in Indiana after head-butting Reggie Miller back in the 1990s.

The 4th quarter of the Cavs- Raptors game last night was great.  At one point, Cleveland made 11 shots in a row and still couldn’t win the game.  Even SU fave Richard Jefferson got into the act with 8 4th quarter points.  Cleveland is discovering what many teams already knew: live by the 3, die by the 3.  Did you really think JR Smith was going to keep shooting at that high a level?  And Kevin Love seems to shrink from the spotlight when the light shines brighter.  I will say this: LeBron James is pretty much unstoppable.  When he is playing his pass first game and lets the offense come to him, he is the man.

Channing Fry is a nice player but you can overdo the 3-balls on every possession.  True, it took Toronto to have exceptional games from Lowry and DeRozan to win and that won’t happen again.  Cleveland will win in 6 games but they need to mix it up offensively to get ready for the finals.

Look for the Warriors to bounce back tonight.  Westbrook is due for a 6 for 27 shooting night.  You can feel it coming.

The Golden State – OKC series is really good stuff.  The teams don’t like each other and OKC is playing with a desperation to finally get that first championship.  Kevin Durant has been pretty much unstoppable against the Warriors this year – it’s just a bad match-up for Golden State.  Both teams like to push the ball at a fast pace and no lead really ever feels that safe (although last night’s 40-point bulge is an exception to that).

The NBA’s decision on the leg kick to Adams’ groin by Draymon Green to suspend or not to suspend will be key.  SU says that if Patrick Ewing’s one step onto the court against Miami was a suspension back in the 1990s, and if Amar’e Stoudamire’s one step onto the court against the Spurs was a suspension, then this is a suspension.  It doesn’t matter if you are a superstar or a rising face of the franchise.  The NBA always calls it like it sees it (except of course the refs at the end of games when they don’t always see it) and Green was clearly looking to give it to Adams and it’s happened 2 games in a row now.  But even if Green gets the 1-game suspension, Golden State is a deep team and they have a good shot at winning game 4.  OKC hates prosperity and Westbrook can easily go off in the other direction.  It’s why we watch.

Can you imagine the Knicks playing this up tempo style next season?  Me neither.  Let’s move on.

How about them Yankees?  5 in a row over lowly Arizona and the Oakland A’s who have about 20 players on the DL.  SU says it’s all good but do not be fooled.  The offense is still flawed.  Cashman needs to shake things up by moving one of the regulars in a trade.  But hey, 1 game below .500 is a step in the right direction.

Noah Syndegaard appears to be the best of the Mets’ hard throwers.  It will be interesting to see where they put their money going forward as they look to shape the roster for the future.  This is where the GM earns his salary.  No easy decisions here.

Does Green deserve to be suspended?

Yankee fans were grateful to hear that Hal Steinbrenner is not happy with how things are progressing for his team.  Wally Matthews of espn.com feels Steinbrenner should be pointing the finger at himself for approving the roster.  SU agrees but only in part.  The real accountability rests with Brian Cashman although we don’t know in the end who ultimately was approving those long-term deals for Ellsbury, CC (extension) and A-Rod (extension).  The reality is that 2016 and 2017 are transition years and only the true diehard fans will continue to watch.

SU used to be in that boat but I must admit, this year’s team, like last year’s, is unwatchable.  In the past, SU would always stay up for the West Coast late games to the end.  No longer.  And right now, there isn’t one player in the line up who you look forward to seeing up there.

Girardi is being criticized for pulling his starters after 6 innings and going to his Big 3 in the bullpen.  He has done it twice this week with Eovaldi on Wednesday who had retired 18 in a row, and Nova last night.  While SU would like to see Girardi leave them in, I get it.  He is managing a line-up that puts up 2-3 runs a game, and it’s his job to find a way to get as many wins as possible with this offense.  It’s the right move but as a fan, it’s boring and uninspiring.

Mark Texeiria and his .148 left-handed batting average got the night off last night.  No-one is talking about it but SU has identified the issue.  Texeiria is in his contract year with the Yankees – he is a free agent after this season and he is clearly pressing to have a good year to sign with someone else for the next 3-5 years.  Sure, he’s always been a slow starter but he’s coming off an injury and people are watching to see what a 35-year old with lots of mileage can still do.  SU believes the Yankees will let him go and go with Greg Bird to give the fans some hope for youth.

In the meantime, SU is absorbing the Knicks rumor that Jeff Hornacek will be the new coach.  I must admit that his signing leaves me with that “meh” feeling.  Could have been worse (see Kurt Rambis) and the names out there (Frank Vogel) are so defensive minded which is also unappealing.  If Hornacek is smart, he got Phil Jackson to agree to move Carmelo, sign some free agent guards (Jeremy Lin is still out there) and build around Porzingis.  Hornacek favors a fast-paced offense.  Anthony just doesn’t fit into that model.  Why hamstring a new coach with personnel that don’t fit how he wants to run the team?  SU is not committed.  If Lin goes to Brooklyn I am all in.  Isiah Thomas has poisoned my relationship with the Knicks for life.  There is no going back.  And, by the way, with all the coaching changes in the NBA the last few years, you don’t see anyone knocking on Isiah’s door.  Surprise, surprise.

SU was going to give its take on the fracas between Jose Bautista and Odor of the Rangers.  But active SU commenter, S. Goldman, beat me to the punch and weighed in today with the following:

“All is quiet at SU despite signs of a continued resurgence in the Bronx and the Toronto/Texas brawl. A few things about the brawl:

1) Texas very well may have tried to hit Bautista as retaliation for a bat flip in the playoffs. This is more or less in line with the unwritten rules we often hear about although I’m now learning that the unwritten rulebook has as a subchapter on this that indicates the retaliation should happen early in the series rather than late in the game on getaway day. I have little patience for all of this, mostly because MLB has been policing this for years in a way that is about as effective as can be expected. People still get hit but it rarely gets out of hand with retaliation after retaliation. In any case, it was late in a close game and getting a free trip to 1st base is valuable in its own right.

2) Bautista’s slide into second was just wrong. It was not quite Chase Utley bad because it was actually a slide but it was a slide that pretty much began after passing the base. Middle infielders should have to deal with hard slides but they should be comfortable knowing that the slides are headed towards (not away from) 2nd base. The rules could be clearer on this and it doesn’t have to be about feet first or no roll blocks or whatever. The slide can be hard but it has to be towards the base. Period. Anything else results in an out at 1st base. And I’d give Bautista the same suspension given to Utley, especially if his motivation was to hurt more than to break up the double play.

3) We can’t pretend to know what athletes are really like as people. But maybe this shows us that those who were offended by Bautista’s bat flips were onto something. You might say the same thing about those that were offended by Bryce Harper. I don’t know if baseball needs to be made fun again but, if so, maybe we can find some better guys to do it.

4) Compared to Bautista or Harper, I know even less about Odor but his reaction was truly ugly. I don’t know if he’s nastier than the next guy in a fight or if he just got lucky to connect with a punch (where others rarely do). In any case, a fist to the jaw is not the image MLB wants to be associated with (other than the attention and clicks it draws on their sites and apps) and he’s going to see a pretty hefty fine and suspension as well.”

SU is not a Bautista fan.  I am not “sold” on his sudden power resurgence at the later stages of his career.  I hated the bat flip in the playoffs as I am clearly old school and not into showing up the opponent.  I saw the videotape of his slide and he was intent on hurting someone there.  I must admit: that was a great punch by Odor – you never, ever see a sports fight have such a direct hit on a punch.  It’s bad for baseball’s image and you certainly don’t want youngsters thinking that is the right thing to do.  But…. it was amazing how everything went flying there.  The reality is that guys like Bautista and Big Papi never get thrown at or hit.  They comfortably stand right on the plate and no-one moves them back.  Big Papi trots around the bases in about 28 seconds and Bautista does his elaborate bat flips and twirls.  The Rangers’ pitcher hit him in the side.  True, last at bat was not the best timing I suppose but not the worst thing.  It was a bad brawl but it does add some bad blood and spice to the rivalry.  Yankees – Red Sox could sure use some of that.

Scientists have been weighing in on Chase Headley’s 9 for 27 homestand with a couple of homeruns and a few rbis.  The laws of Physics are definitely involved here as well as probability.  SU believes it’s a clever Stephen Drew ploy.  Just when it looks like you will be released, you get a few hits and keep the lions at bay.  Let’s see if he can sustain it.  Mark Texeiria is next on the SU hit parade.  No doubt he will get it going on this road trip.  7-3 homestand was huge.  SU is still not sold.

Finally, Mets and Nats in an early season showdown.  They are coming off a lousy road trip but SU believes it’s just the ups and downs of a long season.

All of a sudden, the Yankees have gone on a winning streak and are actually scoring runs via hits.  Many people ask SU: what’s going on?  It’s interesting:

• First of all, Ellsbury went down with an injury (shocking, I know).  He has been an offensive blockade at the top of the order for the last 5 weeks.  Girardi has no choice but to keep him there as he has 4 more years on this awful contract.  Having him on the bench allows Girardi to play Hicks who is rapidly becoming an SU fave.  Young, athletic, swings with purpose and has an upside (what a concept).
• Next, Texeiria went down with an injury.  Neck spasms.  “Bothering me for a while but I won’t use it as an excuse.” (which means he is using it as an excuse).  Tex is clogging the middle of the line-up with poor production and his 6th year in a row of hitting into the shift left-handed (can you believe he was a .300 hitter before coming to the Yankees?)  He needs to sit out 5 games to let others play.  Anyone.  Ackley has shown he has ability and deserves some at bats.
• Chase Headley has quietly moved his average above .170 and even increased his RBI total by 50% last night (we are up to 3 now).  He is the last piece to the puzzle.  Once Headley is moved, things can only get better.  He just cannot play in NY and joins a long list of players who are not good in a major market.  Not his fault – he was happy out in Arizona.

The return of Chapman is already creating problems in the bullpen.  Girardi is usually the master of the relief corps and protects them from overuse and having to warm up and sit down.  The last two days Betances has warmed up several times and has not been used.  SU recommendation: let Chapman show he is the real deal and then trade him for some prospects in July before the deadline.  Miller is just as good and you don’t need 3 of these dudes.  Get something in return for the future.

Bottom line: the team is much more interesting with the youngsters and role players in there.  Once the starters return, SU will be dozing off again.  Let them rest and get well.

Over the weekend, SU was one of the 4 people watching the finals of the Madrid Open between Djokovic and Murray.  Interesting moment in the finals where Murray was taking a long time to towel off and erase some ball marks in the clay around the baseline.  Djokovic was ready to serve and waiting.  The umpire issued a warning to Djokovic for taking too much time to serve (part of tennis’s pace of play initiative to move things along).  Murray walked up to the umpire and told him it was his fault and that Djokovic shouldn’t be penalized.  To me, it’s just another example of the respect between the top players and how in this great era of men’s tennis, the story is about the actual matches vs. all of the gamesmanship that we saw during the McEnroe/Connors era of the past.  You need to watch how good these top players are as they won’t be around forever and you won’t see an era like this again.  High quality and high respect for one another.  SU finds it to be an interesting contrast to NBA play or Big Papi hitting a homerun and taking 47 minutes to round the bases.

Very interesting that Brian Cashman, GM of the Yankees, did multiple media interviews yesterday and used the word “horrific” to describe the team’s April performance.  While Cashman has become much more candid and direct over the years, this is pretty extreme even for him. He particularly singled out Chase Headley – SU non-fave.  I am telling you his days are numbered.  Even defensively, they altered his throwing motion in the off-season and he literally cannot complete a double play now – takes him so long to gather himself and throw to 2nd base.  He is going to be the fall guy.  Unfortunately, Rob Refsnyder is not taking advantage down in Scranton – batting .213 and who knows how many errors at 3rd base.

SU caught WFAN’s Mike Francesa for a few minutes yesterday doing a rundown on some surprises in the early MLB season.  The great thing about the Imperious One is that you can listen, run inside for something, and then resume listening and not miss a beat.  By saying everything in triplicate, it allows the listener to come and go and stay current.  Here is SU’s take on some early season stats:

• Francisco Cervelli – now everyday catcher for the Pirates: .309 and 12 rbis.
• Eduardo Nunez – getting more playing time for the Twins all over the field: .371 – he has earned the extra starts.  Good for him.  SU misses him in NY
• Stephen Drew – .111 for the Nationals.  Shocking!
• John Ryan Murphy – back up catcher for the Twins: .083.  Of course, the guy the Yankees traded for him, Hicks, is also hitting sub-.100
• Robinson Cano (remember him?): 8 HRs, 24 rbis.

Cashman says Girardi and the coaches’ jobs are not in jeopardy.  I agree about Girardi – not his fault.  It’s the roster he’s been dealt.  But one of the batting coaches will be gone by June.  Not their fault either.  Never is.  And is Kevin Long now a genius with the Mets?  They are raking now – Cespedes is a lot of fun when he’s hot.  You just have to ride out the bad times.

The Yankees now face Baltimore, Boston and KC.  The next 9 games will be very telling.  Watch for Hicks to play every day in the outfield – Cashman is going to force that one.  Headley will be benched for the utility infielder.  And Jacoby Ellsbury is due for an injury – he has played too many weeks in a row.  And A-Rod is going to go off now that he has a new girlfriend (Silicon Valley CEO).

Unlike most people in the media, SU had low expectations for the Yankees this year.  As I have said for the past several months, this is an incredibly boring team.  Now, they are off to an 8 – 14 start for April – the worst since the Stump Merrill years of the early 1990s.  SU was glad to read that Joe Girardi basically yelled at them in the clubhouse after Friday night’s loss which clearly inspired them last night in an 8-0 shutout  where they pounded out 5 hits.  At 8 wins, they have 1 more win than the two worst teams in the AL – Minnesota and Houston.  They are on pace to lose 100 games for the year.

Now, the “common wisdom” is that guys will eventually start to hit like the back of their baseball cards.  SU says that may in fact be true but so many of these players are old and they are going to trend toward the 25th percentile of their body of work.  This is not something to look forward to.  Truth be told, Girardi is limited in what he can do.  Ellsbury has several years left on an untradeable contract and you don’t want to hurt his sensitive ego (SU senses he would not respond well).  Texeiria always starts slowly and you don’t even have another player who knows how to play 1st base.  A-Rod is on contract for 1 more year but for SU, he is the only player worth watching – still.  Brett Gardner has some trade value.  But it’s time to make a statement.  Some player must be sacrificed and he be Chase Headley.  SU has run the numbers and projecting his current numbers shows no homeruns and no extra base hits for the entire season.  Eat his salary and let him go.  Put Refsnyder or some other young guy in there.  Bring up Nick Swisher to at least have someone yukking it up in the dugout.  Just another bad move with Headley – admit the mistake and move on.

Meanwhile, SU has taken in a bit of the Mets lately.  Wow.  And they aren’t even hitting with RISP yet this season.  Guys are having fun, there is energy in the stands and there are numbers starting with “3” in their batting averages.  They have a mix of youngsters and veterans and a cockiness about them.  Thank goodness.

The NFL needs to put Deflategate behind it now.  Reduce the Brady suspension to 2 games and call it a day.  No more scientists showing the results of their ball air pressure tests.  SU still maintains the suspension was way over the top for the crime.

SU  caught a bit of the NFL draft.  It’s so funny to hear the commentators gushing over every pick – literally.  They make is sound like every guy will be a future Hall of Famer at his position.  Except of course for the Mississippi lineman, Tunsil, with the gas mask and the bong.  The Miami Dolphins will need to assign someone to be with this guy 24/7 to keep him out of trouble.  But SU hopes he does well – makes for a good story.

Big game 7 for SU favorite team, the Charlotte Hornets today.  With Nick Batum hobbled, they just don’t have enough scoring to win but SU still enjoys watching them as Jeremy Lin gets his shots and minutes and doesn’t have to look over his shoulder every time he makes a mistake.  If Kemba Walker can avoid trying to win the game singlehandedly, they have a shot today.  He needs to get everyone involved first.  Btw, 2 weeks for a 7-game series?  The NBA needs to move things along – hard to maintain interest much less find out which channel is even broadcasting the game day-to-day.

Lots of comments from the SU faithful on the NHL playoffs.  Good to see.  The Islanders are tied 1-1 but have home ice advantage now in the series.  They are a good story and SU has been watching here and there.