SU is decompressing from Election Night and what is a better distraction than some hot stove talk?  Long-time SU subscriber S. Goldman commented earlier today that he had heard that the Yankees were in pursuit of Carlos Beltran.  To quote S. Goldman, “Please tell me I read this wrong.”

SU would agree here.  They lucked out last year with Beltran and he produced big numbers.  But the guy is pushing 40 and you really risk his health and productivity at this point.  While there is some chatter that the Yankees like him, the Red Sox seem to be a more likely landing spot.  The Yankees are rumored to be going after Kendry Morales.  This does not excite SU.  Right now, they have Brian McCann as the full-time DH (he of the hard ground ball to 2nd base fame) but Cashman is looking to move him.

SU says get young and stay young.  A guy like Aaron Judge who is not a terrific fielder might be good as the DH or else just rotate younger players through this spot.  Do not overpay for the DH.  You can always pick up someone.  2017 is the year of the young players in Yankee Stadium.  Do not limit someone’s development and growth by getting an aging journeyman player.

The other hot rumor regarding the Yankees is Rich Hill.  I like that one as they could use another arm and he is enjoying late career success.

Ah, it feels good to talk about the Yankees again.  Now if you can trade Jacoby Ellsbury, it would fee really good.

Any Mets talk out there?

SU stumbled across this story line this morning.  I must admit it made me laugh out loud.  Duh.  Apparently, the statistics show that the major culprit is Derrick Rose who as the point guard (where the job description says you need to get others involved), he is rarely even passing the ball once he has it.  More alarming as long-time SU subscriber T. Potter has pointed out in recent comments is that he only has 10 assists in 4 games.  The stats show that the ball sticks when it goes to him – even more than when Melo touches it so you know we are in rarified territory here.

It’s still early and of course things will sort themselves out.  SU likes that Hornacek has gone public with the statement.  The game against the Bulls tonight will be a good test.  Rose back home will get booed and no doubt will try extra hard to score even more (and pass less).  As a fan, watching Melo and Rose take all the shots this year is unwatchable and of course another wasted season.  But time to be patient.  With Jeremy Lin out with a hamstring strain, SU needs to tune in to other games for a while.

SU says there is something to the Joe Torre style of managing where you sit back and let your players do their thing.  Last night in Game 7, Maddon was obsessed with getting Jon Lester into the game.  He had him warm up early and basically forced his own hand to put him in with 2 outs in the 5th inning.  Kyle Hendricks was cruising along and getting ground ball after ground ball with a low pitch count.  He walked a guy with 2 outs after being ahead  on the count 0-2 and then getting squeezed by the home plate umpire.  Incredibly, Maddon gave him the hook and while Lester had some bad luck in giving up the 2 runs there, he still needed to cover the last 4 innings of the game.  And as we saw, he only trusted Lester and Chapman to make that happen.

Chapman had been wasted in game 6 in a game that was well in hand.  And having been used heavily for 3 straight games finally took its toll in the 8th inning.  You view Maddon as a genius who knows what he’s doing and isn’t afraid of doing the unorthodox.  But you almost feel like he panicked there.  Even Andrew Miller was gassed in game 7 and gave up a couple of runs.  SU hopes none of these guys have any lingering effects next season from overuse.

It was a great game 7 and shows how baseball can really capture the nation’s interest just like in the old days.  The crowd seemed to be evenly split and so much was riding on every pitch.  Props to the Indians who didn’t quit there down 5-1 and 6-3.

Chicago was in full party form afterwards.  Long-time SU subscriber, S. Levine, was down at Wrigley Field enjoying the festivities and shared these photos.  Go Cubs Go!

Ratings for NFL games this year are down.  Many theories abound:

• Presidential debates for a couple of the night games hurt ratings
• People are paying a lot of attention to the Presidential race (but on Sunday afternoon?  Come on)
• Games are taking too long – seem to average 3.5 hours these days
• Absence of quality QBs (see injury to Romo, retirement of Peyton Manning, Brady suspension)
• People are pissed off about players not standing up for the national anthem
• Games are just not that exciting
• Few really superior teams other than the Patriots

SU is a long-time fan and I must admit, the games are not as interesting.  3rd down and 8 yards to go feels like 3rd and 50.  Quarterbacks throw the ball 5 yards and you end up kicking.  There are so many mediocre quarterbacks out there or rookies who are learning on the job and are still not ready for prime time.  And what is up with the field goal kickers?  The best ones are all in their late 30s or early 40s.  Finally, I don’t know about you but there are so many injuries this year, and many seem to be the result of targeting by defensive backs.  A lot of cheap shots.  Whatever happened to not damaging someone’s ability to earn a living?  Hard hits are fine but it sure seems like there are more vicious ones this year.  Bottom line: is this a blip?  Or the start of a longer term trend?  SU subscribers: what do you think?

On the other hand, now that the NBA season is entering its 2nd week, they are also suffering from an absence of great teams.  The Cavs are already humming along but they had minimal disruption from off season moves.  Golden State has no bench other than Sean Livingston.  This will bear watching as the season moves along.  Expect some mid-year deals to get some role players.  But this is what happens when your total payroll is taken up by 4 players.  SU is enjoying watching Jeremy Lin and some of the Michigan alumni on various teams but they are mostly role players off the bench.  But I think it’s early and as teams get used to playing together, some will emerge to become must see tv.  The Knicks have that potential if they can stay healthy.  (Did I just say that??  Must be delirious).

Game 6 tonight.  You know this is going 7 games.  The Indians have been fortunate to keep these games low scoring.  That will be their challenge the last two games: anything over 4 runs will be hard for them to keep up.  It’s been a good series – a lot of passion in the stands as they both have terrific fan bases.  Terry Francona is a genius for the moment but SU says keep an eye on Andrew Miller’s arm in 2017.  Overuse sometimes doesn’t pop up until the following season.