SU is back from some badly needed R&R in the Canadian Rockies but as always kept a close watch on the latest developments in the sports world. As we near the August 1st trade deadline, the question is whether the Yankees should be buyers, sellers or stand pat. SU has given this some thought:
- The recent winning record is a mirage. Do not be fooled. This team is still unwatchable, old and plodding. They are uninteresting. Cashman’s deal for Chapman was excellent. They picked up a top prospect, got back Adam Warren and even a couple of other middle-level pieces. This gives the fan base hope for the future. Young guys who can run, steal bases, advance from 1st to 3rd on a single (what???) and make plays in the field are why we watch.
- Moving Beltran is a no-brainer but you have to do it soon as who knows if/when he will re-aggravate his hamstring? He has had a great year and some team can certainly use him. He needs to go soon.
- The question is do you also trade Andrew Miller? He has 2 years left on a reasonable contract and is highly valued by the Nationals. The talk is that it’s easy to pick up a closer. SU does not believe that but if you can get a top prospect at any position, I would do it. Betances can slide into the closer role for next year. The key is not to get someone like Aaron Hicks.
- Mark Texeiria has started to hit (note this is all relative as he had one game with 2 hits). SU believes he is another guy a contender might be interested in.
Bottom line: as a life-long Yankee fan, I would be more than happy to sacrifice the rest of this year to have some youngsters who are near Major League ready for the future. Note to Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner: stay the course and move the players now.
SU is making its debut at Citifield tonight for the Mets – Cardinals game and will report back on the mood of the fans. They are still right there and ready to make a run down the stretch. They could use an offensive jolt but if you have strong pitching, you are in every game. No one will want to face them come playoff time.
Olympics just around the corner. SU says all of the Russians should have been banned from Rio. They take cheating to a new level. Can you imagine if they had an expansion MLB team?
Roger Federer is out the remainder of the tennis season. His knee is not responding. If would be sad if his career ended from an injury caused by giving his kids a bath which is where he first tore his meniscus.
Finally, sad to hear that Amar’e Stoudemire is calling it a career. Good guy who wanted to play in New York. The Garden was alive for a couple of years and he even made Raymond Felton look good.
Sports Update Intergalactic 
UNTIL THE HOUSTON SERIES i WAS ON BOARD TO CALL IT A SEASON AND RETOOL FOR THE FUTURE. HOWEVER, AFTER BEATING 2 EXCELLENT PITCHERS ON THEIR OWN HOME FIELD AND BEATING 3 OTHER TOP PITCHERS DURING THIS 8-4 STREAK WITH 4 DAYS LEFT BEFORE THE TRADE DEADLINE AND ONLY 3.5 GAMES BACK AFTER JUMPING OVER MULTIPLE TEAMS THIS IS A TOUGHER DECISION THAN YOU THINK. OF COURSE WE AREN’T THE BLUE JAYS OF LAST YEAR WITH FEARED HITTERS, BUT YOU NEED TO ASK YOURSELF THIS; “ARE YOU SATISFIED TO ONLY MAKE THE PLAYOFFS. YES, ITS BEEN 7 YEARS SINCE WE WON IT ALL, HOWEVER WHEN YOU LOOK AT SO MANY TEAMS JUST HAPPY TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS HAVE THE YANKEE FANS SIMPLY GOTTEN TOO SPOILED WITH OUR PAST SUCCESSES SINCE THE MID 90’S. THOSE WHO ARE IN THE AGE GROUP BETWEEN 15- 35 ONLY KNOW THE YANKS AS WINNERS. MAYBE IF THEY HAD A TASTE FROM 1965- 1976 AND AGAIN DURING THE MID 80’S THROUGH EARLY 90’S THEY COULD APPRECIATE MAKING THE PLAYOFFS MORE. YES, WE WERE ONLY AROUND 2 GAMES OUT AT THIS TIME LAST SEASON, HOWEVER OVER THESE PAST 2 WEEKS WE HAVE GONE AGAINST THE BEST IN THE MLB AND HAVE A 9-4 RECORD. I’M JUST NOT SURE THE DECISION IS THAT EASY NOW. WE HAD 13 HITS LAST NIGHT. STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED…. JUST LOOK AT THE METS LAST YEAR BEFORE AND AFTER OBTAINING CESPEDES. ARE WE ONE IMPACT PLAYER AWAY? WHOSE TO SAY… AS A YANKEE FAN LETS UP A BIG HITTER FROM A TEAM FAR BELOW THE 500 MARK AND LET’S BE ENTERTAINED FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SEASON. I’M WILLING TO ROLL THE DICE….. WITH AT LEAST ONE EYE OPEN.
Andy, that is certainly the other position here. I get it. Of course, much of this is contingent on Beltran not slowing down at all and others continuing to hit better than they have for the first 100 games of the season. But for me, I would rather have younger pieces in the pipeline for the next several years to look forward to. This team is not there offensively as currently constituted.
Any Jets talk around these parts? Signing Fitz (before training camp) definitely put the Jets back in the playoff contender category. The Pats without Brady for 4 games probably has them looking at a 2 – 2 start which gives the Jets a bit of an opportunity to actually win the division. Of course all of this depends on avoiding injuries and their defense carrying the load as they will be decent on O but not record setting.