So, what is it about the pattern of former Yankees who have failed PED tests? Melky Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Francisco Cervelli – all friends of A-Rod. Hopefully, not friends of A-Rod’s chemist. SU was saddened to learn about Cano – 80-game suspension and cannot play in the post-season. Brian Cashman no doubt feels like they did the right thing letting him go to Seattle – that plus having Gleyber Torres to play 2nd base at 21 years old. Cano did not appeal the suspension.
Apparently, Cano was on a trajectory to make the Hall of Fame. He already was in 2nd place for career home runs by a 2nd baseman. It’s hard to see that happening now. He failed a test for a drug that is used for masking other drugs. His statement said he was taking it for some unmentioned medical condition. But we have heard all of this before from anyone that is caught.
SU caught some of the Rockets – Warriors game last night. Kevin Durant is unstoppable. The problem is that he is scoring mostly in 1-on-1 situations. While he gets his points, the other players are not in rhythm and then can’t turn it on when needed. SU still believes too much of the Rockets’ offense runs through Harden vs. letting Chris Paul orchestrate more but they had the most wins this year so it must work. This is an interesting series. SU says the Warriors need a rim protector in there when Harden drives and beats his man to the basket. They have that guy in McGee but he doesn’t play at all. Meanwhile, the Cavs are in big trouble but Boston has not played well on the road in the playoffs this year so they need to hold serve these next two games.
The Yankees are keeping Brandon Drury in the minors for now. Bird returns in a week or so. If he can stay healthy (no small feat for him), roster moves will need to be made. SU says package Hicks, Austin and maybe even Drury for a young, front-line pitcher. Clint Frazier gets his shot this weekend and if he can produce, his upside seems to be higher than what we see in Hicks so far.
Finally, I get that the pro sports leagues want their cut of gambling revenues. However, once you start putting kiosks in your stadiums and arenas to allow for in-game gambling or even displays at every seat, this could get out-of-hand. It’s like putting pouches of smokeless tobacco at every seat. You are inviting people with addictive personalities to get addicted. As a fan, do you want to sit there and bet on missed foul shots?
Sports Update Intergalactic 
Letting Cano go looks smart right now but it already did. He’s had a couple good years. A couple OK years. Nothing that’s lived up to his contract. This was a very smart non-signing by the Yankees and that was true with our without the suspension.
They have completely made the right call with Drury. They are playing well without him and his career stats don’t predict upside beyond what they’ve been getting from Andujar. I’d like Andujar to take some walks but he’s otherwise contributed nicely.
It’s because of Cano deal in Seattle that we got Ellsbury so while Cashman may be glad he didn’t sign Cano now, he still has to live with Jacoby–luckily he is hurt so much, it never involves roster moves and who knows, maybe insurance is picking up part of the salary from disabled list visits. Yanks do need a pitcher, especially when you look at that trio in Houston (1-2-3 in ERA and BA against) and that doesn’t include Yankee killer Keuchel. Come playoff time we will need starters that can stick with these guys through 6 innings and then hopefully our bullpen beats theirs.
This is a great.point. I regard the Cano non-signing as one of the best decisions Cashman has made. Still, it would have been even better if it was followed by not signing Ellsbury.
Just to share an observation from this past weekend. The Royals are a pretty bad team. Of course that doesn’t sound like big news. That’s been the case for most of the past few decades. But it is an important point when taken in the context of their World Series win in 2015 and it’s aftermath when the baseball world (and many Yankees fans in particular) pointed to the Royals as the model for building a successful franchise in the current environment. Well the Royals dropped to .500 in 2016, below .500 in 2017, and now they look pretty awful. I had a minority opinion at the time but I’ll repeat it now, the Royals model from 2015 is not applicable to teams that want to remain relevant year-in, year-out and have the resources to do so. It is a model that allows a small market team to have a successful season every once in a while and maybe win a World Series every 30-40 years. The Yankees decision to get younger over the past couple seasons has been admirable and they are reaping the benefits. But it has been, and must continue to be coupled with a willingness to spend big money and trade away some youth selectively. The entire Yankees organization is not sustainable if the team performs poorly for many years in a row. This is a cycle that may work in KC by not in NY.
Need at least 1 front line pitcher and to win the division and not blow your wad on using Severino in a one game Wild card playoff game. i trust no other pitcher to go toe to toe against the other competitors who all have a minimum of 2 top line pitchers. Madison Bumgartden, if Frisco is out of it come mid July. What about the LAD and their 21st century Sandy Koufax. That’s a team that needs prospects.
66 wins by Houston… no one should change their philosophy. Remember when the Knicks won 60 games/ We thought they were invincible. Golden State needs someone to guard the rim or Houston will keep scoring 110+ points.
So the Knicks pick 9th….that sucks. It will be another year for me to find other things to do