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Pretty Simple Equation

webadmin on June 1, 2021

A little over a week ago, Knicks fans experienced an emotion they haven’t felt in a long, long time in mid-May, unless of course you want to count NBA Draft lotteries.
Knicks fans were re-introduced to the feelings of pain, anguish and heartbreak that sometimes comes with playing postseason basketball in the NBA.
The momentum of the Knicks-Hawks series was dictated in the first game.
Trea Young broke the hearts of Knicks fans and stunned the hostile Madison Square Garden crowd with a game-winning shot with less than a second to play.
Young’s theatrics in embracing the fired up, sold-out Madison Square Garden crowd did not put him in the good graces of Knicks fans, but his statement in the first game of this series was a simple one.
Young’s play basically proclaimed right out of the gate two simple truths in this series: he’s the best player on the floor and there’s not one Knickerbockers player who can stop him.
It’s been painfully obvious watching the first four games of the Knicks-Hawks series that the Atlanta Hawks are the more talented basketball team.
I underestimated the Hawks’ talent going into this series, but the results of the first four games have not been a fluke. Atlanta is more explosive, they are built better for the modern-day NBA, and they clearly have the best player on the floor.
Trea Young has been able to do whatever he has wanted in this series.
He’s gotten to the rack, he’s finished around the basket, he’s set his teammates up and he’s hit a ton of outside shots.
Young has left his mark in this series while Julius Randle, the best player on the Knicks, has not.
Randle’s play has not come close to resembling the excellence he displayed on the court throughout the regular season.
He has been inefficient and looks uncomfortable going up against Atlanta’s defense so far in this series.
The Knicks relied on Julius Randle all season and he delivered an incredible season. But the NBA’s Most Improved Player has not looked like that so far in this series.
So when you ask why the Knicks are one game away from elimination, the answer is pretty simple: Atlanta’s more talented and their best player has outperformed the best player on the other side of the court.
Sadly for Knicks fans, the equation is a lot more complicated when it comes to figuring out a way back in this series.

You can listen to New York, New York every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday nights on The Ringer Podcast Network on Spotify and Apple. You can also listen to our postgame shows with live callers on the Locker Room App after Game 5 Wednesday and after Game 6 if necessary on Friday.

It’s the Pitching Stupid!

webadmin on May 26, 2021

Rewind the calendar about six weeks, and it was full-fledged panic mode in Yankees land.
The Yankees started the season 5-10. They were 2-8 against the Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays and actually played worse than their record would indicate.
Over that 15-game stretch, I couldn’t really pinpoint one particular aspect of the game that was working well for the team.
That said, I always expected the Yankees to find their groove at some point in the regular season because a team with that much talent is usually going to perform to the back of the baseball card.
The Yankees have done exactly that. Since the 5-10 stretch, the Yankees have won a whole lot of series.
I’d make the argument that their most impressive series of the year was this past weekend against the Chicago White Sox.
The White Sox are one of the most talented teams in baseball and a team the Yankees will likely meet if New York is still playing in October.
The Yankees won two dramatic games and found a way to sweep one of the hottest teams in all of baseball.
The negative vibes of early and mid-April have turned into walk-offs and post-game Gatorade showers.
So, what’s been the biggest difference from the Yankees of April to the Yankees of right now. It’s the pitching stupid!
Since mid-April, the Yankees starting rotation has been among baseball’s best units.
Offense is down across the sport, we all know that, but that does not in any way take away from what the Yankees rotation has been able to do.
Heading into Tuesday’s matchup against the Blue Jays, the Yankees starting rotation has hurled 35 consecutive scoreless innings.
It helps when you have Gerrit Cole, who clearly profiles as baseball’s second best pitcher, but he has had a whole lot of help recently.
Corey Kluber has so far lived up to the task of being a legitimate number-two starter. He has flashed the form we saw from him from 2014-2018 with the Cleveland Indians, and threw the Yankees first no-hitter in 21 years last week against Texas.
In addition to Kluber, Domingo German and Jordan Montgomery have been durable and reliable arms that have exceeded expectations.
The Yankees rotation went into the season with all sorts of questions. Two months into the season, it has provided a whole lot of answers.
It may not be the case for all four starters not named Gerrit Cole, but I do believe the success of the rotation throughout the last six weeks is sustainable.
The Yankees have put together the best rotation they have had in ten years, and help is still on the way. At some point, former ace Luis Severino will make his return to the team from Tommy John surgery.
Who knew that two months into the year, the success of the team would be tied to its pitching staff? That’s baseball Suzyn!

You can listen to my podcast New York, New York every Sunday Night, Tuesday Night & Thursday Night on the Ringer Podcast Network on Spotify and Apple. There will also be bonus episodes on Wednesday & Friday Night after both Knicks playoff games.

Of Rats & Raccoons

webadmin on May 13, 2021

I’ve learned over the years that when it comes to the New York Mets, expect the unexpected. Last week was one of those weeks that kind of had it all.
It started on Tuesday, when the Mets fired hitting coach Chili Davis after scoring a bunch of runs on Saturday and Sunday in Philadelphia.
The timing was strange. After all, we are only 20-plus games into a 162-game season. But when you hear about a fake hitting coach named “Donnie Stevenson” (actually Pete Alonso alias), and you combine that with a slow start for a bunch of key Mets, sometimes a minor change at hitting coach happens in an organization.
It wasn’t fair to Davis. But whether it was his old-school hitting mentality that didn’t sit well with the Mets front office or a new owner itching for a change and some big wins, it was quite a way to start the week.
Little did I know the drama for the New York Mets was just beginning.
Friday night’s come-from-behind win against the Arizona Diamondbacks was overshadowed entirely by an argument that “may or may not have happened” in the hallway leading to the Mets locker room.
Clearly at the end of the 7th inning, something was off between Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil.
It was obvious watching numerous Mets players run into the dugout at the end of the half-inning that something was going down between the middle-infield duo.
After the game, the explanation from Francisco Lindor was very bizarre. He said the brouhaha was the result of a rat or raccoon scurrying around.
It was comical to listen to Lindor and, to a lesser extent, McNeil try to spread the fairy tale.
It doesn’t take a baseball genius to figure out there was clearly a disagreement between McNeil and Lindor. But guess what? That’s okay.
Here’s a dirty little secret: not every teammate loves one another. At times there are fights and disagreements.
Sometimes two guys blowing off a little bit of steam ends up being the best thing for the team. I’d rather hear about two guys putting it behind them and not about rats or raccoons, but hey, that’s me.
I didn’t love the way Lindor handled the situation on Friday night, but the reality of the weekend is that the argument seemed to bring out the best in the two scuffling teammates.
Lindor hit a game-tying home run on Friday night and McNeil homered on Saturday night, propelling the Mets to victories against the Diamondbacks.
The release of pressure by putting it all behind them is maybe the spark to get them both playing better and more relaxed this season.
The Mets will need Lindor and McNeil to deliver big if this team hopes to win a division title.
You could say the same about Jacob deGrom, who we learned on Sunday will have to spend some time on the Injured List.
It’s only the first month of the season, but we’ve had a little bit of everything from the Mets standpoint.
Fired coaches, phantom coaches, injuries, rats and raccoons, but also a winning record.
Strange times, winning times. Go figure.

You can listen to my new podcast New York, New York on The Ringer Podcast Network every Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday night. Download and Subscribe on Spotify and Apple.

A Different Draft

webadmin on May 4, 2021

For one of the football teams in town, the draft provided little-to-no drama, playing out the way you thought it would a week ago.
It was the worst-kept secret for the last two months that the Jets were selecting Zach Wilson out of BYU as their next quarterback.
Wilson’s baby face and outward charisma will be touted in commercials and on billboards across the Big Apple in the months ahead.
Media attention for a rookie quarterback in New York City is par for the course, however the plan of attack for the Jets in building around this particular rookie quarterback is drastically different than the way they built around their prior rookie quarterback in Sam Darnold.
The Jets did a terrible job of surrounding their last quarterback with offensive talent.
Clearly, Jets general manager Joe Douglas wanted to avoid the mistakes of the past. The Jets traded up for an offensive tackle in the middle portion of the first round.
They drafted a wide receiver in the second round, and they added a running back in the later rounds.
The message from top to bottom was simple: we are going to do our best to set up a rookie quarterback in the best position imaginable.
Can I tell you for sure that in five years the Jets will be a competent, well-run organization? Of course not, but the plan in place is certainly set up for success.
For the other football team in town, the drama was all about a draft-day narrative that was squashed for good after Friday night.
In the days leading up to the NFL Draft, Giants general manager Dave Gettelman heard a pretty basic critique of his draft day strategy: “when will Dave Gettelman trade down in a draft?”
It was a fair question considering that Gettleman in his years running both the Carolina Panthers and New York Giants has never traded out of a draft pick to accumulate more assets.
In 2021, it seems like hell may be freezing over. Dave Gettelman not once, but twice traded down.
When the Giants missed out on the chance to land Alabama standout wide receiver Devonta Smith, the team made a practical move.
The Giants identified the Chicago Bears as a quarterback needy team and worked out a deal to acquire the Bears first-round pick next year plus additional assets.
In addition, the Giants found themselves in a similar position in the second round of the draft. They traded back with the Miami Dolphins and picked up their third round pick next year.
The Giants landed Florida Wide Receiver Kadarius Toney and Georgia edge rusher Azeez Ojulari, who should both fill obvious needs for the team.
It’s a win-win for the Giants, because they are also set up next year with a bundle of draft picks, a bundle of draft picks that could be used to build around Daniel Jones or to land the franchise’s next quarterback.
I look forward to grading these draft results in the years to come, but I know this, draft day was certainly done differently in New York this time around.

You can listen to me on my new podcast “New York, New York” on the Ringer Podcast Network which can be found on both Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Pair of Pocket Aces

webadmin on April 27, 2021

Three-plus weeks into the 2021 Major League Baseball season, it’s fair to say there are plenty of questions about both local teams.
We’ll save that list for another day.
But know this: we are lucky to watch the two best pitchers in baseball every fifth day at the absolute peak of their greatness.
Over the weekend, the brilliance of both Jacob deGrom and Gerrit Cole was on full display, and boy was it fun to watch!
Jacob deGrom has been dominating hitters since his first start at Citi Field back in 2014.
His resume has him in the conversation as one of the greatest Met pitchers to ever put on the uniform.
Tom Seaver will always be the gold standard as far as that honor, but there is a very good chance we are talking about deGrom as the second greatest Met pitcher ever.
deGrom has thrown a lot of gems over the last seven years, but Friday night might have been his very best performance.
He threw a two-hit, complete-game shutout, striking out 15 Washington Nationals batter and retiring 19 straight.
It may sound crazy, but deGrom’s stuff has gotten better over the last few years.
He’s topping 101 mph on the gun, and the off-speed stuff has become even more nasty.
deGrom’s last three years will go down as one of the most dominant individual runs we have seen from a New York athlete in quite some time, and his career is pointed towards a bust in Cooperstown.
He’s the best pitcher in baseball and seems to be getting better and better.
On the other side of town, the Yankees have an ace that is the second best pitcher in the sport. Trust me, there’s no shame in that.
Gerrit Cole was paid over $300 million to deliver at the highest of levels for the Yankees.
He was paid to lead the rotation and to be ace of the staff, to matchup with whoever the opponent threw against the Yankees.
Saturday night was one of those heavyweight pitching performances. Cole matched up with the reigning AL Cy Young winner Shane Bieber. In the battle of aces, Cole outshined Bieber.
He threw seven innings of one-run baseball, striking out 11. Cole’s quest for perfection is a joy to watch every fifth day.
It was pointed out during the broadcast on YES that he is the pitching version of former Yankee Paul O’Neill.
I never really saw the comparison until Saturday, but then all of a sudden it clicked.
Cole’s quest for throwing the perfect pitch every single time, and showing frustration when he doesn’t, certainly equates to the hitting style of one of my all-time favorite Yankees.
The Yankees have a lot of questions this season, but the performance of Gerrit Cole is certainly not on that list. He’s been worth every penny so far in his tenure.
It’s sure nice to know that every fifth day as a New York baseball fan, you’re going to get a chance to watch a dominant hurler.
We get the opportunity to watch Jacob deGrom and Gerrit Cole every fifth day. As my guy Larry David would say, “pretty, pretty, pretty good!”

You can listen to my new podcast “New York, New York” on the Ringer Podcast Network every Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday night on Spotify and Apple.

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