You remember the 1996 season.  New manager, nice mix of veterans (Chili Davis, Paul O’Neil, Daryl Strawberry, etc) and the up and coming youngsters (Jeter, Pettitte, Bernie).  Well, SU is getting that feeling again with a team that I felt was a year away from really contending.  Last night’s game cemented it for me.  Chapman implodes in the 9th inning although only one hard hit ball in the inning.  SU was growing tired of Aaron Boone’s strategy comments and saying it was a no-brainer to walk Bryant to pitch to Rizzo with the bases loaded.  For the record, SU called the HBP there (naturally, only my chair and the adjacent couch can confirm that).  But here’s the thing.  In years past, you bring in Paul Quantrill with the game tied and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th to end the game quickly.  No one did that better than Quantrill – wild pitch, quick single – get the jet warmed up as it’s time to get out of there.  Girardi summoned Tyler Clippard and lo and behold, he escapes.  SU watched through the 11th but did wake up in the middle of the night to confirm that they lost.  Surprise: 5-4 win in 18 innings.

This year is different and this team is really balanced.  When healthy and able to keep Chris Carter on the bench (he is worse than I thought; Greg Bird: please stop sucking), you have a true circular line-up where everyone can make contact and even run the bases.  SU cannot express enough gratitude to Mark Texeiria for retiring and for Brian McCann moving on.  There is ball contact this year!  Soon they can bat Chase Headley 9th in the order and really take off.

Meanwhile over in Flushing, the Dark Knight was exposed for the lazy dude he is.  Think about being a starter for a major league team.  You pitch every 5th day, you walk to your position, you walk back to the dugout.  All they ask of you is to show up on days that you’re not pitching, shag some balls in the outfield during batting practice and then sit on the bench and pretend you’re not chewing and spitting tobacco.  Not that hard right?  So, it seems he played golf on Saturday, called in that he had a migraine and then claimed mis-communication.  You can see it as there really aren’t enough ways to communicate with your boss these days.  Perhaps the wind direction was not conducive to using smoke signals.  It’s not like he over-worked during the off season to shed a few pounds either.  There may be a better explanation but for now, SU sides with management.  No doubt this was an accumulation of things over some period of time.

So, how good is LeBron James?  Another 4-game sweep and scored 35+ points each game.  It’s hard to see either the Celtics or Wizards making them sweat on their way to the finals.  Golden State vs. Cleveland is worth watching although we will need to slog our way along another month to get there.

Finally, interesting to see that Brian Cashman was willing to give Girardi an out on his contract in 2013 to go to the Cubs to be their manager.  And have you seen that former Yankee utility man Clay Bellinger has a son playing for the Dodgers who is tearing it up as a rookie?  Not bad – good for him.

SU has been following the Boston – Baltimore series this week up in Fenway and it’s great to see teams that really hate each other.  First, you have the Manny Machado beanball stuff and the Red Sox pitchers’ inability to actually hit him.  SU knows this is baseball tradition – you have to protect your players.  But I say in this case, as Machado is the one who started the whole mess although obviously unintentionally when he overslid the bag and hit Pedroia in the leg, why not just stage a pre-game ceremony.  Instead of having someone throw out the first pitch, have Machado stand in the batter’s box and allow a Red Sox pitcher to hit him in the side.  Case closed, game on.

As mentioned earlier, SU says the Red Sox, of all teams, should not be complaining here given their history of throwing at Yankees hitters for years without retaliation.  Naturally, Pedro had to weigh in on the MLB Network and say that he would have drilled Machado.  Duh.  Once a head hunter, always a head hunter.  SU says great pitcher but no respect for him here.

The racist taunts towards Adam Jones were quite frankly pretty appalling as well as how other players including CC Sabathia weighed in that they had experienced the same thing over the years up in Boston.  Anyone who has gone to a game is used to the drunken fans feeling free to say whatever they want as they paid for their ticket.  SU has observed this over the years and quite frankly it’s why I will not sit in the cheap seats anymore.  It’s uncomfortable.  But no matter how vile and vicious the comments that you hear, I have never heard anything racist.  No doubt last year’s presidential political campaign has empowered some to feel they can say anything.  While the Boston fan base is mostly white, SU believes what’s happened here is just some stupid, drunken fans and is not representative of the typical crowd.  Credit to the team President for being proactive here.

Speaking of bad blood, SU says check out the Celtics – Wizards series.  These teams hate each other.  Again, that’s how it should be.  Back in the late 60s and early 70s, the Knicks and Celtics were bitter rivals.  You would never see any of the players talking to each other on the court.  The big money contracts, Dream Teams and common endorsements of sneakers has changed all that.  SU says nothing wrong with players being as passionate as the fans when it comes to rivalries.

Yankees sitting at 17 – 9 with a +45 run differential, best in the American League.  Gary Sanchez is back this weekend.  If and when Greg Bird returns to his spring training form, that means 3 young guys in the thick of the line up.  I know it’s early but this team has shown the ability to come from behind and play with passion.  Of course, you need to have starting pitching to sustain it and that remains to be seen.  Enjoy it while it lasts.

So much for the Syndegaard bulking up in the off season and not throwing program.  That was an injury waiting to happen.  As active commenter S. Goldman says, your rotation on paper never seems to translate on the field no matter how good it may look in the spring.

SU is back from a quick swing through Chicago and had the chance to visit both Wrigley Field and the United Center and their brand new offices for the teams.  The Wrigley Field area has really developed from what I recall back in the late 70s – crazy development and for the better.  New hotel going up – this will be a real must see destination in Chicago.

Thoughts for the day:

• Much was made after Manny Machado over-slid 2nd base and banged into Dustin Predoia who had to leave the game with an injured leg.  SU must say that the long-time baseball tradition of “protecting your best player” gets a little tiring.  Machado over-slid – he wasn’t trying to take him out and put him into left field.  But, of course, the Red Sox players were all up in arms.  SU note to Red Sox fans: where were you all those years when Pedro and Company were hitting Yankee hitters?  The Yankee pitchers never retaliated because of course you couldn’t hit “Big Hugs” Papi.  That was always outrageous.  SU says the Red Sox have gotten the better of this statistic for about 20 years.  I guess that’s why they were so upset with this incident – not used to it.  Anyway, their reliever over-reacted and got the suspension he deserved.  If the Red Sox are smart, they will realize that Machado is a free agent in a couple of years.  Maybe you don’t want to piss him off so he might consider the Red Sox?
• SU just read that Larry Bird has stepped down at Indiana.  Can Phil be far behind?  Another example of a great player who struggled to live up to his high playing level as a sports executive.  But his teams generally made the playoffs and were competitive.  Truth is as we all know, it’s not that easy to find guys who will actually pass the ball willingly for the betterment of the team.  I guess we will see how good Derek Jeter is soon enough once they complete the sale for the Marlins.  That will be interesting to watch.
• SU loved this quote in Harvey Araton’s column today about the Knicks in the New York Times.  He was writing about Porzingis and why he might not want to stick around NY when he becomes a free agent: “The worst thing is, he knows he didn’t get better this year,” the person said. “How could he when they bring in Derrick Rose, a point guard who doesn’t pass the ball? With Kristaps, I’m afraid they’ve gotten themselves in a very difficult situation, and I don’t know how they get out of it.”  So true about Rose; dude did not even look to pass.  All about resurrecting his career as a free agent.
• The Mets are in free fall and while it’s still early, they are already 7+ games behind the Nationals and having injury issues all over the place.  It gets late pretty early doesn’t it?  Still a long way to go but lots of bodies are breaking down.

Meanwhile, the Yankees all of a sudden have a legit looking starting rotation.  Severino has been lights out and even Pineda is keeping it together.  They are right up there in runs scored for the season but not really hitting on all cylinders and without Didi and Sanchez.  This could be good – really good.  SU needs Greg Bird to get untracked or else they should send him down to regain his confidence.  It’s actually hard to watch right now.  And Matt Holliday even got a big hit last night.  SU is still not sold on him but I am prepared to be won over.

SU knows the Yankees will not win the next 145 games in a row so I am going to enjoy this winning streak while it lasts.  A few things to keep in mind:

• As pointed out by Jeff, Chase Headley will not hit .400 this year.  I must admit it’s shocking to see him get any hits after the last few seasons.  In the past, it was jolting to ever see Headley or Brian McCann ever get a hit through the shifts.
• It’s important that Chris Carter be bad.  I do not want Girardi to platoon him with Bird at 1st base.  I know there are some Bird skeptics on the this blog but SU believes he is the real deal and will be a solid contributor who should play full-time.  So far, Carter is cooperating.
• I know Matt Holliday hit a 458-foot home run last night but he is one wild swinger.   He is a guess hitter.  SU does not like him batting 3rd — too much feast or famine.  Once Sanchez and Didi return, you can almost pick the players out of a hat to make the line-up – really won’t matter that much.
• Most importantly, unlike the last several seasons, this is a likeable team.  The players seem to enjoy one another and the youngsters make a huge difference energy wise.  Plus, the more I read about the kids down in Trenton, this could just be the beginning.  I know the Yankees over-hype their prospects but the way I look at it, most of the good ones were obtained last year in trades so they are not home grown per se.  Maybe that will be the difference and will allow them to avoid the Jesus Montero effect.

Carmelo Anthony and La La are separating:

https://hollywoodlife.com/2017/04/17/carmelo-la-la-anthony-break-up-separated-marriage-living-apart/

This means that Melo should be more open to possible trade destinations says long-time SU subscriber J. Levine.  However, SU says he may still use the “NY schools” excuse to want to stay in NY for his 10-year old son.  In the meantime, Porzingis is upset about the chaos in the organization.  SU says get over that.  He will stand to make a lot more money through endorsements in NY and hey, it can’t get any worse once they move Melo unless they bring in in Demarcus Cousins or Rajon Rondo.  The fans will love you here and they are prepared to build around you.  Man up.

Finally, a warning to Yankee YES Network viewers this week.  Al Leiter is doing the color this series.  Prepare to mute.

SU knows it’s early but the Yankees’ 7-game winning streak with both Sanchez and Didi on the DL is impressive.  I agree that in baseball, a lot of winning and losing comes down to when you play certain teams.  Look at Toronto: 2-10 and you know they are much better than that.  The Cardinals are off to a slow start and the Yankees have played 6 games vs. Tampa Bay.  But… their bullpen is airtight, they are actually getting timely hitting and the starters are showing that there are no weak links as of now in the rotation.

SU was relieved that Greg Bird got off the schnide last night with a long home run – that should get him going and keep Chris Carter chained to the bench.  What’s really more amazing is that Chase Headley is actually hitting .400 and going to the opposite field.  SU attributes that to the retirement of Mark Texeiria who had to be a bad influence on everyone with his pull at all costs mentality.  With Judge and Hicks now finding the range, the Yankees and their youngsters are becoming quite entertaining.  Hicks’ improvement this year was certainly unexpected and he is showing that he should be getting regular at bats.  Quite frankly, SU predicts that the guy who may be the least productive is going to be Matt Holliday.  And that will create a problem for Joe Girardi as he will want to play the hot hands.

The Mets blew three games over the weekend as their bullpen was exposed without Famillia.  Their rotation is still lights out but they were exposed a bit down in Miami.  It would be great to have both teams in the mix come September.

SU has to comment on the umpiring in last night’s Yankee game.  First, Judge’s home run was clearly a home run.  Did MLB not have anyone working the replay room last night?  The decision took over 5 minutes and then they awarded a triple to Judge for fan interference?  Second, there was a force play at 2nd base where the infielder clearly just dropped the ball but the umpire said he was taking the ball out of his glove.  Is that not reviewable?  Again, not even close to what happened there.  Finally, there was a fan interference call down in the right field corner where the umpires ruled that the Cardinals’ right fielder would have caught the ball.  Again, not even close as the outfielder made no attempt to catch it – pulled up.  SU says we are not that far away from electronic umpiring for balls and strikes and everything else.  And I have always maintained that umpires get the close plays wrong more than 50% of the time.

Long-time SU subscriber B. Levine commented that the Golden State Warriors should not be rewarded for stacking the roster with Durant.  Thoughts?  SU says they are fun to watch and I generally root for them.  But apparently many do not.

Finally, Phil Jackson appears to have made up his mind to deal Carmelo.  Of course, he had no leverage now and will not get good trade value from the handful of teams that Melo will even consider.  Who is at fault here?  Melo or Phil?  And is Jackson the one that should go?

OK, so SU is not totally enthused about this year’s playoffs.  I have shared my lack of interest in this year’s NBA season and several of you have weighed in to show why I should be more jazzed.  I am prepared to get involved and stick with the long slog over the next 2 and a half months til the season ends in mid-June.  As we know, the 1st round takes about 2 weeks as teams play every 3-4 days.  SU’s thoughts on what you should keep an eye on as well as our fearless predictions:

• Golden State vs. Portland: these teams do not like each other and Portland is very cocky.  This is a good series to watch in the first round.  True rivals with bad blood.  No Big Papi big hugs here.
• Houston vs OKC: a mano a mano match up of Harden and Westbrook should be entertaining.  This could be the all-time battle of ball control players.  Definitely worth a look.
• Milwaukee vs. Toronto: this is the SU special for a possible upset.  Jason Kidd has the Bucks playing well.  They are a threat.

I don’t see anyone beating Golden State out west.  They will advance to the finals without any stress.  I don’t think Cleveland makes it to the finals this year – keep an eye out for the Wizards.  And the Cleveland loss opens the door for the Carmelo trade in the off season.  SU is feeling strongly about this and I don’t care if the move makes sense.  This is about playing with your friends and superstars calling the shots.  But Golden State will win it all in the end come summer.  Just not sure my interest level can hang in there for the long journey.

Big admission of the day: SU watched the last half period of the Rangers opening playoff game the other night.  End to end action; few stoppages in play.  Good stuff.  SU also did a comparison of regular season records between the NHL and the NBA.  Did you see that the Islanders at 41-29 did not make the playoffs?  Neither did Tampa Bay at 42-30.  Compare that to the NBA where .500 record teams are in the mix.  Very odd.

Yankees have righted the ship with 4 straight wins as a variety of players are contributing.  Greg Bird is torturing me – he just needs to get untracked.  Love the way Aaron Hicks has taken advantage of his chance to play and SU hopes he can light a fire under Ellsbury or at least threaten some of his playing time.  There is nothing better than a little competition to make guys uncomfortable and play a little harder.  SU has even watched some Met games of late and they are hitting now with Cespedes in the middle of one of his torrid streaks.  I must say his home runs are not cheapies.  I am still struggling staying awake for a full Yankee game but I am down to 1 brief nap per game now which is an improvement over my early season average of 2 per game.  Yankee games are soooooo long and slow moving.

OK, any thoughts about NBA playoff champs?  Anyone ready to go with an upset?  And NHL fans: rather than always complain that SU ignores hockey, here is your chance.  Plenty of room to comment.

SU doesn’t want to jinx him but you might want to check this out this afternoon.

SU just stumbled across this story on espn.com about yesterday’s LPGA golf tournament and a 4-stroke penalty that resulted from an email sent in by a TV viewer the next day after it happened.

http://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/19062269/lexi-thompson-gets-4-shot-penalty-loses-major-viewer-tip

This happened in a major championship no less.  It is hard to believe that this is even allowed.  The players are supposed to police themselves.  There isn’t a camera on every player on every hole for every shot.  And suppose the email came while Thompson was on the 16th hole and they didn’t rule until she was on the 18th green ready to putt?

I know there are many, many golfers on the SU subscriber list.  Comments?  “Par for the course” in golf?

SU has run the numbers, done its modeling and flipped its coins.  The time has come to make the 2017 MLB predictions.  A few thoughts for your consideration:

• The Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians are the overwhelming picks out there to make it to the World Series.  SU says it’s very hard to repeat – very hard.  Did I say it was hard?  You need to stay healthy, have players have similar seasons to the prior year and then win hard fought, close playoff series.  I don’t see it.
• The Red Sox, on paper, look very imposing in the AL but SU says a big payroll with big names is no guarantee.  David Price already has a sore arm and the retirement of Big Papi has to be a factor.  For starters, more players in the line up will probably get hit this year to make up for 14 years of teams not wanting to offend the Big Hugger.  Perhaps even the Yankees will make up for lost time in that category?
• SU likes the Mets’ chances in the NL.  They certainly have the pitching if the starters can stay generally healthy.  The Nationals lack character and their playoff history is not good.
• The Astros are ready to take the next step.  Brian McCann is going to have the season he couldn’t have in New York.  Plus he gets to grow a beard now.

American League

The Division winners will be: Boston; Cleveland; and Houston with Texas and Toronto as the wild cards.  The Yankees will finish 80 – 82 and will be sellers by the trade deadline.  But they will be infinitely more fun to watch – especially in the 2nd half of the season. when the youngsters flood the roster.  The starting pitching is just not good enough.  Tanaka, who was unhittable in spring training, got rocked yesterday and SU says his torn tendon will become an issue during the season as he over-extends due to the opt out clause in his contract.  CC Sabathia is the #2 starter: need I say more?  How terrifying is that?  But it’s all good as long as they play the young guys and stick with them.

Houston will advance to the World Series.  I think Toronto is a weak wild card but I don’t see any other team being good enough to be in the mix.

National League

In the National League, the Division winners will be: Mets; Cardinals; and Giants; with the wild cards as the Cubs and the Dodgers.  The Cubs will be injury plagued but will sneak into the playoffs.  The loss of Chapman as the closer will become a factor as well as the season wears on.

The Giants will advance to the World Series and will beat Houston for the championship once again featuring a roster that isn’t good enough on paper but finds a way to win.  They are due.  I think it will be a good year for the Mets who will make some good mid-season pick-ups to help the offense and will generally be healthy to make up for last season.

So much of a team’s success comes down to the health of the starting pitchers.  You can plug in hitters as the season unfolds but it’s much harder to find another consistent starter along the way.  I also think it will be a great baseball season with new young stars emerging and renewed fan interest.

Random thought of the day: the Cleveland Cavaliers are not heading into the playoffs with any momentum.  It could be a case of boredom but SU says if they don’t make it to the finals, LeBron will put his GM hat on and insist that they acquire Carmelo Anthony.  I am not saying it’s the right move but I think he is at the point in his career where he can see the finish line and wants to play with his buddies.  You can say I am way off base but SU will mark this on the calendar.

OK, it’s time for SU to acknowledge those of you from the intergalactic subscriber base who put their reputations on the line with fearless NCAA Final Four predictions.  Let us summarize what we heard from the SU faithful:

• Mark N. leads the charge with his prediction of Gonzaga topping UNC in the finals.  He is well positioned certainly.  Well done!
• There was a lot of love for Northwestern from P. Friedman and Jeff.  SU likes the passion for the Wildcats and they had a strong comeback against Gonzaga.
• P. Bok did well by picking both UNC and Oregon in the Final Four and was impressed by Oregon going in.
• Of course, SU crashed and burned with Arizona.  But the important thing is putting your picks out there and manning up.

I have to admit: I watched a lot of the early rounds but I have minimal interest in the Final Four.  I still don’t know how Oregon got there – they are not that good and were fortunate to get by Michigan.  You have to feel like North Carolina is ready to avenge last year’s buzzer beating loss and will cut down the nets Monday night.

SU watched a fair amount of last night’s UConn – Mississippi State Final Four game.  The announcers were saying this was one of the biggest upsets ever in NCAA history but I don’t see that.  Mississippi State is a #2 seed and while they were killed by UConn last year by 60 points in the Elite 8 , that was a very different UConn team.  True, UConn came in undefeated but their win streak covered a bunch of players who are no longer there.  It was an upset obviously but not one for the ages.

SU is a major UConn fan and I know there are a few subscribers who are also passionate about the women’s team.  Mississippi State really stymied UConn’s ball movement on offense by clogging up the passing lanes and doing a bit of holding and grabbing.  Here is the thing with “playing aggressively on defense” with this style of play.  SU has seen this before (see Rye High School vs. Blind Brook HS with their football style of grabbing and shoving back in 2006).  What happens is that the refs realize that they can call a foul on every play and may start out that way but as the game goes on, they don’t want to keep doing that and start to pocket their whistles.  The announcers call it “physical play.”  SU sees it as grabbing and holding.  I am not taking anything away from MSU – they executed their game plan and did not back down.  But for the fan, I would rather see the game played with ball movement and cutting, and if the defense is impeding that, then call the fouls.  We don’t need a return to Pat Riley 1990s Knick ball.  In any event, it’s good for women’s college hoops to have some upsets and this will only fuel UConn next season with a stacked roster.

Also, the flagrant foul call at the end of the game was bogus.  How can you review the video and then go back and call a flagrant when there was no foul originally?  The reality is that if there hadn’t been a stoppage in play, it’s possible that the game could have ended and THEN the refs check the video.  Are you telling me they would have gone back and allowed UConn to shoot 2 foul shots then??  I also think there was some acting by Samuelson there.  Thought from those of you that saw that play?

Finally, SU checked out the Kyrgios – Federer match last night which Fed won 7-6, 6-7, 7-6 in a 3-hour slugfest.  It was great tennis and Kyrgios is managing to keep it together much better now.  Of course, he did destroy his racket on the court after losing match point but still progress for him.  He will never be a class act on the court and fans may long for the days of the Big Four and their mutual respect for one another.  But he will be knocking on the door for the next year and will have his share of upset wins.