SU was watching some Yankee action this afternoon (naturally, we use that term loosely).  All of a sudden in the 6th inning, up comes A-Rod to pinch hit with 2 men on and 2 outs.  He just missed a 96 mph fastball and then hit a liner foul in the right field corner.  He ultimately walked and kept the inning alive.  Not much right?  But SU saw something: the guy has pride and even though he never plays anymore, he really took each pitch seriously and was right there.

Here is what needs to happen right after the All-Star Break:

• Trade Beltran before he really pulls his hamstring.  They are going to lose a great opportunity by keep running him out there.  Do it now!
• Shut Texeira down now for the season.  He is awful.  A-Rod gets all the flack but Texeira is an automatic out.  Let him have his surgery.  You can’t move him with his bad knee and bad neck and 13 rbis for half a season.
• Trade Chapman to the Nationals so he can be re-united with Dusty Baker.  They need a closer and are a win now team.

Prediction: the Yankees will still contend for the wild card even with these moves because A-Rod is going to catch fire and Refsnyder will get more steady at bats.  But you have to loosen the roster.  Aaron Hicks can go in any trade – not a NY guy.  SU hopes he figures it out but it won’t be in the Bronx.

By the way, how good is Didi Gregorius?  This guy is hitting .300 with power.  He should bat 3rd or 4th.  Girardi has him (finally) up to 5th.  I know it was hard to move him ahead of Chase Headley.

Of course, Aaron Judge now tweaked his hamstring and went on the DL.  But he will come back and needs to be part of the picture.  The fans are ready.  SU is ready.  Cashman: make it happen.

As for the Mets, their pitching is falling apart but with Wheeler coming back, they should be able to hang around.  Too bad for Harvey although many Met fans have no compassion for this guy.  No doubt, he has lost millions on his next contract.

SU has always been a big Nunez fan from his Yankee days.  Since being dealt to the Twins, he is one of the few players that I follow in the box scores each day.  This is a guy who coming out of spring training did not have a position.  He was a utility infielder who could also play the outfield as needed.  Even now, he alternates between shortstop and 3rd base with the occasional 2nd base appearance.  For the season, he is hitting .316 with 11 homeruns and 35 rbis, 19 stolen bases and 94 hits.  The Yankees saw hims as Jeter’s heir apparent for a while but he often got hurt and was never given the chance to really play every day to prove himself (unlike Aaron Hicks who has proven himself to be a .201 hitter.  Does he really need to play so much to keep A-Rod on the bench?).

There is article in today’s New York Times that talks about how many players are on this year’s All-Star teams that were drafted or acquired by Theo Epstein between the Cubs and the Red Sox.

When you compare that track record to Cashman on the Yankees, big, big difference.  No doubt the Yankees could use a guy like Nunez now.  But that’s ok: we have Chase Headley and Ellsbury to root for.  Zzzzzzzz.

SU was surprised to see the Mets force feed Jose Reyes into the line-up last night after a stretch of games where the offense was really clicking.  Question: why mess around with a good thing?  You put a hot bat on the bench at least for one night.  Let’s see how this plays out.

Amazing that the entire Cubs’ infield are All-Star starters and the Red Sox also have a bunch of players on the AL team.  The pressure on the Cubs will arrive in October.  SU says they are going to make an aggressive bid for Miller or Chapman on the Yankees.  Right now, the key for the Yankees is to get Texeira hot enough to be desirable by some team for the stretch run.  Beltran needs to stay healthy also so he can be dealt.  SU is a long-time fan but it’s so clear that this roster needs to be blown up over the next couple of years.  The fans will be patient.  Just bring up Aaron Judge and anyone else under 30 years of age.

SU has had a day to reflect on Kevin Durant’s decision to go to Golden State with a 2-year deal for a lot less money than he would have received by staying at OKC.  My thoughts:

• Everyone is anointing Golden State to be the NBA champions for the next several years.  SU says not so fast.  I don’t think there are enough basketballs to go around for this talented group.  OK, there will be a “transition” period – that is the consensus opinion.  You see this sometimes in the Olympics with the “Dream Teams” as they pass up open shots in order to defer to their other talented teammates.  No doubt, there will be a lot of that on Golden State in the beginning.
• The Warriors have had to decimate their roster and they will not be nearly as talented on the bench.  What does that mean?  In the perfect world, you wouldn’t start either Klay Thompson or Durant, and have one of them play significant minutes with the 2nd unit.  Is there a chance in hell that happens?  Nope.
• Durant had his reasons for leaving and who knows if he was fed up playing with Russell Westbrook in OKC.  If he was, that’s fair.  The guy is super talented but is a ball controller who loses his mind on occasion.
• Durant took less money.  Sure, he will likely get paid in the long run but he is taking a gamble with a 2-year deal to win a championship.  Not everyone does that in free agency (see Carmelo Anthony who took the money over a chance to win now.  Nothing wrong with that – it’s a personal preference).

Bottom line: SU is fine with the decision but feels it’s premature to say the Warriors are a lock to win the championship next season.  Team chemistry is a tricky thing and in the end, injuries often come into play. SU predicts some other team is going to emerge that will surprise – maybe the Boston Celtics.  Coaching matters at some point and they have one of the best.

Meanwhile, should the Cavs now look to move Kevin Love to become more offensive?  You know Carmelo would fill that void nicely in the event they meet Golden State in next year’s finals.  Love is a poor fit with the Knicks but maybe there is a 3-team deal somewhere that would make sense.

Brandon Jennings has now signed with the Knicks to be a back-up point guard.  Positives: he is someone that has always wanted to play in NY.  Negatives: another high volume shooter for his position.  Probably past his prime.  Phil Jackson has assembled a roster that likely make the playoffs this year.  Certainly not much youth here and a lot will depend on team health.

Former Michigan player of the year Trey Burke has been traded to the Washington Wizards.  Another team for SU to watch.  Now OKC needs to move Mitch McGary to the Knicks or the Nets.

So, Met fans, who knew that signing Jose Reyes would have such an impact on the team’s offense?  He has inspired the entire team by just playing in the minor leagues.  How crazy is baseball?

Over in the Bronx, it’s time to put A-Rod in the line-up every day.  Enough with nursing Beltran’s hamstring and waiting to see if Aaron Hicks can hit as high as .220.  July will be a really interesting month for Cashman and the Yankees.   SU says do the right thing and trade Beltran now before he totally blows out the hamstring and has no trade value.

SU is all set for the coming season.  Jeremy Lin gets 3 years at $36 million from the Brooklyn Nets.  Actually compared to other numbers being reported today, pretty reasonable.  Assuming he is a starter, that’s a bargain.  Great move for Lin as he will be immensely popular in NY.  Hopefully, he can also irritate the Knicks in the process.

Here is a staggering contract number for you coming out of Toronto: unconfirmed but being reported that DeMar DeRozan is being offered 5 years, $145 million by the Raptors.  SU’s crack research team has done the math and that comes out to $29 million a year.  What does that make Durant or LeBron worth then?

Holy moly, have you seen the size of these new NBA free agent contracts with the higher salary cap this year?  SU used to think that parents should raise their kids to be left-handed relief pitchers so that they could pitch until they were 47 years old.  But the early returns on the NBA contracts are jaw-dropping:

• 4 years and $72 million for Joakim Noah who is 31 years old and is coming off 2 injury-plagued seasons.  The Knicks are clearly looking to win now as Melo’s window is closing and Derrick Rose’s knees have been given some fresh scotch-tape to hold them together.
• Timofey Mozgov is getting $64 million for 4 years from the Lakers in a league where the center is no longer the center piece of the action.
• Kent Bazemore of the Atlanta Hawks averaged 11.6 points and 5.1 rebounds last year.  He is looking for $19 – 20 million a year in his deal.  Huh?  But at least he’s a young guy.
• Nicolas Batum will stay with Charlotte for 5 years, $120 million.  He is a nice player but is not a superstar.

Meanwhile, apparently Hassan Whiteside will stay with the Miami Heat.  The rumors  run rampant this time of the year but the fact is that the player’s original team can offer more years in any contract than another team.  SU believes Durant will also stay at home after entertaining team representatives out in the Hamptons this weekend.  That must be fun.  The Knicks are competitive now on paper but SU maintains that if you field an old team with question marks then those question marks will become issues as the season progresses.  Especially for a guy like Noah who plays hard and throws his body all over the place.  Of course, time will tell.

The Yankees have put off breaking up the team for another week on the heels of two walk off 9th inning wins.  Nothing more exciting than the walk-off passed ball.  They are going to keep teasing the fans for another month and may just fool Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner to become buyers come late July.  Of course, they will then completely collapse in August.  As a representative of the entire Yankee fan base, SU says you have our permission to break up the roster.  We are happy to be patient and watch the youngsters develop.

Met fans are in full panic mode on the NY sports talk radio shows.  I must say, Yankee fans get pissed off but seem calmer.  Met fans are almost hysterical.  One guy wanted them to break up the whole team and start over.  Say what?  Get a grip and see how this plays out.  You are right there and if you get the pitching right come October, they are a threat when runs are at a premium in the post-season.

SU has had enough.  What is with all of the articles bashing A-Rod?

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/yankees/post/_/id/93353/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-alex-rodriguez

Here is the truth: the guy is not done yet.  Throughout his career, A-Rod has been a guess hitter and I believe he has hit righties better than lefties for the past 21 seasons.  That is not the case this season in a small sample of at bats.  The Yankees are now fully in humiliation mode in limiting his at bats to only against left-handed pitchers.  SU believes it’s coming from Cashman, not Girardi.  You don’t have to bat him 3rd or 4th but he is still a force in the line-up.  Hicks, one of Cashman’s great off-season acquisitions, is younger and hits .215 with no power.  Shouldn’t he have to prove something to earn his at bats?

Plus, once the Yankees become sellers, they will move Beltran and then who is going to DH?  SU says bring up Aaron Judge and stick him in right field once Beltran goes.  Time to call it a day and move on for this season.  It is just not right to throw A-Rod under the bus.

Knick Fans: alert; alert!  Melo is actively talking up playing in NY with Durant!  Thank goodness one of the great NBA recruiters is on the case.  Surely, this will make the difference.  SU is still anxiously awaiting Dwight Howard to come to the Knicks.  Can you think of a worse signing?

The Mets have a bone spur epidemic and had better quarantine the other pitchers.  First Matz and now Syndergaard.

Sad news about Pat Summitt.  A fierce competitor who absolutely hated losing.  There are coaches who yell on the sidelines at their players and then there was Pat Summitt.  She was scary.  You have to give her tremendous credit for putting women’s hoops on the map at the college level.  Very sad ending to a storied career.  Some nice remarks from various UConn players who played against her teams over the years.

Only 2 more days til NBA free agency officially begins.  Jeremy Lin has now been linked to over 10 teams.  SU says he is a starting point guard in this league.  His defense is underrated but he needs to make a smart choice.  Do not go near Houston, the Knicks (now that they have Rose) or the Sixers (too many young studs who will ignore and resent him).  And of course, do not go near DeMarcus Cousins in Sacramento.

After watching bits and pieces of the Yankees and Mets over the weekend, SU decided the time was right to check out the COPA finals last night between Chile and Argentina.  After all, I was in a no scoring mood and a low scoring game would be consistent with what NY fans are now used to.  Even though the ref thought he was Joey Crawford, NBA ref, for one night, this was a very exciting game.  SU is not the biggest soccer fan but I watched the whole game.  Messi is amazing with his touch passes and great vision although I guess also a bit of a diva as he said he won’t play for the Argentina team again.  Very physical game, poor reffing, and a huge crowd.  Felt like an NFL playoff game.  Of course, too bad it comes down to a shootout in the end but even the World Cup is structured this way.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the clock is ticking for the Yankees to set a date to DFA both A-Rod and Teixeira.  Interesting.  That would be very un-Yankeelike but after the Colorado Rockies ate about $32 million of Jose Reyes’ contract, I suppose anything is possible.  Tex will be a free agent after this year and the Yankees would receive a 1st round pick if he leaves (surely they will let him leave and roll the dice with Greg Bird although many reporters feel otherwise) so SU doesn’t see that happening.  If he gets hot, some team might be willing to give up a prospect and the Yankees should pursue that.  SU would keep A-Rod as he is still the only interesting player other than Beltran to see up at the plate.  As stated before, I would definitely move Beltran as he would fetch some value from a contender.  The Yankees are going nowhere and attendance and ratings are down.  Even a run for the wild card will not create interest with this roster.

SU likes the Mets’ move of picking up Reyes but this needs to be step 1 of a 5-step plan over the next month.  The guy screwed up and he needs to own up to what he did which I believe he did although not positive on that front.  Like Chapman, if he can perform, all will be forgiven.  If he doesn’t, he will be booed unmercifully.  But the Mets need to find 1 or 2 other bats. Sure, they have had some tough luck with injuries but other than Cespedes and Walker, everyone else has under-performed this year.  Their pitching is too good to not spend some money here.  Big series with the Nationals this week but still plenty of games to go no matter what the outcome.

NBA free agency about to kick off.  Note to readership: ignore the rumors and the quotes from “an agent in the know.”  It’s all BS and smoke.  Durant will stay in OKC.  End of story.

Finally, SU is excited about the start of Wimbledon and Novak Djokovic’s continued quest for the Grand Slam in 2016.  Andy Murray will be tough to beat on grass playing at home.  Federer is not match tough with all of the injuries – can’t see him making it through.

… I still don’t like the Derrick Rose trade.  I agree with the comments that the Knicks didn’t give up anything in the way of players (that’s the advantage of having a terrible roster – any trade only involves bad players coming off the books).  I agree that Rose is a 1-year investment and maybe he will surprise.

What is most disappointing is that New York is no longer a “destination” for free agents.  The NBA is a national brand and players in smaller markets (OKC, Miami, Cleveland, etc.) can all become hugely popular playing there.  Sure, the Knicks haven’t won a championship in 40 years but that is only important to the NY fans.  Players in other cities who have no connection here could care less.

To date, Melo has failed to attract any free agents of consequence.  That is the reality.  Other players do not want to play with a player who is a ball hog.  Do you see guys running to Houston to play with James Harden who is Melo on steorids?  Jeff Hornacek says he wants to play an up tempo style but that is anti-Melo who is a slowdown, walk-it-up isolation specialist.  Can Rose even play at that fast pace at this point of his career?

For SU, Isiah Thomas did irreparable damage for me as a lifelong Knick fan when he was running things.  I am still not back in the fold and am fine picking teams each year to watch and root for.  I like Porzingis a lot but Rose is a high volume shooter as is Melo.  Are they really going to defer to Porzingis?  Nope.  SU is happy to be proven wrong.

SU is unimpressed and uninspired by the Derrick Rose trade.  The guy is an injury waiting to happen.  It’s like getting Penny Hardaway past his prime or Ronoldo Blackman or any of the other multitudes of over-the-hill players who have found their way to MSG.  He was great when healthy but his knees are pretty much shot now.  The good news is that they didn’t give up anything to acquire him so from the standpoint of taking a flyer, sure, worth the risk.  The rumors have already started about Durant now seriously considering the Knicks or what about Dwight Howard??  Dwight Howard is only about 7 years removed from being good.

Phil Jackson was able to clear cap space so that’s a positive.  But how is Rose going to play an up tempo pace with bad knees?  SU is perplexed.  Still waiting to see where Jeremy Lin lands in free agency to determine my new team to watch on the NBA Season Pass in 2016-17.

I know there are plenty of Knick fans out there.  Care to weigh in?  Thumbs up or down?

First of all, SU’s prediction of the Cavs in 6 games was not that far off.  It didn’t look good at 0-2 but stranger things have happened.  A few observations:

• Cleveland’s comeback from down 3-1 ranks right up there with the Boston Red Sox series win over the Yankees in the ALCS in 2004 when they were down 0-3.  Both teams were trying to win their first world championship and both achieved something that had never been done before in terms of comebacks.
• Richard Jefferson had a huge series. All the talk was how Channing Frye would help Cleveland with his 3-point shooting but he hardly got off the bench in the last few games.  SU is very proud of Richard.
• Knick fans must be happy to have 3 former players get their first rings (JR Smith, Mosgov, Shumpert).  A tribute to the Knicks’ ability to make trades to help other teams.  I guess you can also throw Channing Frye in there but he has been gone for a much longer time.
• Just think about this statement: a team with JR Smith in the starting line-up won the NBA championship.  And he played significant minutes every game.  It speaks to the greatness of LeBron.
• When you watched LeBron in those last 3 games, you saw how he made his teammates better and how he played both ends of the court.  How many blocks on breakaway lay-ups did he have?  He is a true superstar and in the top 5 of all-time greats.  And, Knick fans, when you talk about Melo being a “superstar”, look at the difference here.  It’s not even close and he’s not one.  Carmelo is a great scorer – a modern day Adrian Dantley.
• It’s time for the NBA to make a new rule: no taking your mouth piece out of your mouth and chewing on it.  Man, that is a bad look.  It almost makes you turn away.  First time is a warning; 2nd time is a technical.
• The Minolta Turning Point of the series was clearly Draymond Green’s suspension in game 5.  But he earned it for a series of bad fouls.  SU does not feel sorry about that.
• What was Kyrie Irving doing in the last 30 seconds when he raced up the floor by himself and almost turned it over?  He is a great, great scorer and made a couple of and 1’s in this game that made me laugh out loud they were such great shots.  But his basketball IQ must be in single digits to have tried that last play.

So, what does this mean going forward?  All the talk has been about moving Kevin Love but SU actually thinks LeBron may want to move Irving out of town and bring in Carmelo.  You know he would love to get championships for his buddies Melo and Chris Paul.  SU says how about a trade of Irving for Melo?  The Knicks need an up tempo point guard and LeBron can easily move back to playing the point in Cleveland (heck, he pretty much does anyway).  Irving and LeBron are still a mis-match.  If I am the Knicks, I make that trade and throw in some extras to make it work (must admit cannot even think of what extras they have).

Final thought: LeBron was totally gassed at the end of the game.  He had nothing left.  I did not understand why Cleveland kept walking the ball up the court and then making LeBron go 1 on 1.  Run the offense that got you there.  They were fortunate that the Warriors went 0 for 9 down the stretch.  It’s a fine line between winning and losing for sure.

Before I go, must comment on the US Open final round.  That was embarrassing.  Not making a decision on whether Dustin Johnson made the ball move on the 5th hole until after the round is over is like playing game 7 of the NBA finals and not checking on a 3-pointer that was near the line until the game is over.  Golf is one strange sport.