On the Brink of Futility

I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy, well maybe the Boston Red Sox, Boston Celtics, New England Patriots and maybe even the New York Mets.  The New Jersey Nets lost again last night in Sacramento, and are now 0-16 and one loss away from tying the worst winless streak to start the season.  The Clippers back in the 1999 lockout shortened season and the expansion Miami Heat of 1988-1989 season both started 0-17. 

There is talent on this squad, problem is some of it has been hurt for much of this streak to start the season.  They have one of the best young centers in the game in Brook Lopez.  They have an All Star point guard in Devin Harris who has missed 10 games this season.  Courtney Lee who they got from the Orlando Magic in the Vince Carter trade has missed a total of 7 games but when he has played it appears he's still sulking over the trade from Orlando to New Jersey. Yi has only played in four games all year.  Youngsters Chris Douglas-Roberts and Terrance Williams flash some bright spots to the future.  Veteran point guard Rafer Alston has given the team a nice veteran presence to help run things on the floor in the absence of Harris earlier in the seaosn.  With all that being said, it's led to nothing.  No wins.  They also have a date Sunday night with the Lakers at the Staples Center which almost assures them of tying the mark at 0-17 and joining the Clippers and Heat in a category they don't want to be join them in.

This all brings me back to some memories from my own team.  The 2003-2004 Orlando Magic.  Coming off three straight playoff appearances, but unfortunately three straight first round exits, they shook things up a little in the offseason.  The Darrell Armstrong era was over, in came Tyronn Lue with his prior claim for fame being doing a good job guarding Allen Iverson in the 2001 NBA Finals.  Juwan Howard was coming in to man Power Forward, a veteran talent but a man who has had a history of playing on bad teams.  Hold overs from the Mike Miller trade the season before, Drew Gooden and Gordon Giricek were over from the Memphis Grizzlies.  The team had a different look, and subsequently there was hope that the Magic could finally end the "Curse of Shaq" and break out of the first round of the playoffs.  Wrong.  They actually won their first game of the year on opening night on October 29th, 2003; in Madison Square Garden against the Knicks.  It was an 85-83 win in Overtime.  You always feel good when your team starts 1-0.  That was about the only good feel you had with that team all year.  They lost their next 19 games before finally winning again on December 8th 2003; at home against the Phoenix Suns, confetti dropped after the buzzer sounded.  Head Coach Doc Rivers was gone by this point, fired 10 games into the 19 game losing streak.

I'm rooting for the Nets, I tune in late in the games to see if they maybe can stop the streak, it hasn't happened yet.  I'm actually shocked Lawrence Frank still has a job.  I'm not saying he's the issue, he's even done a good job with the Nets since taking over for Byron Scott back in the '03-04 season.  Still, you figured he would have taken the fall by now.  I know how it feels New Jersey, hopefully Brooklyn isn't too far away and it can pump a little life into what right now is a lifeless franchise.

Red Sox going hard for Halladay

The Red Sox want Halladay before the start of the winter meetings, that's what is being reported by Mark Feinsand and Bill Madden of the New York Daily News.  New Blue Jays GM, Alex Anthopoulos, is willing to deal Halladay within the division for the right price.  Any package the Red Sox put together will have to include promising young starter Clay Buchholz.

A move like this would certainly change the balance of power in the AL East.  When you can trot out there Josh Beckett, Roy Halladay and Jon Lester as your top 3 starters, you are going to put yourself in position to be one of the best teams in baseball.  It will be interesting to see how the Yankees get involved now.  We remember last year that the Red Sox were the front runners for Teixeira until Brian Cashman and the Yankees came in and made a late push and signed him to an 8 year 180 million dollar deal.  Thanks also in part to Teixeira coming out of a meeting less than feeling good about this future owner/boss John Henry.  The Yankees have the players to make a move for Halladay.  They can offer up Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes.  They also have promosing catching prospects in Jesus Montero and Austin Romine; and Center field prospect Austin Jackson.  The other option is they can keep their prospects and make a counter move by courting free agent starting pitcher John Lackey.

It should be interesting to see how this plays out.  It could end up being like last years trade deadline and nothing happens at all and we will re-visit all this Halladay trade talk starting in June of 2010 as we approach the July 31st trade deadline next season. 

Miguel Cabrera adeed to the list of Tigers on the block

So far they haven't taken any action, but it's been rumored that the Tigers are ready to start unloading contracts.  Names that have already put out there are Curtis Granderson, Edwin Jackson and Magglio Ordonez.  Now it's being said that they might even try to deal slugger Miguel Cabrera.  Cabrera broke out on the scene for the Marlins as a 20 year old in 2003.  He hit .265 with 4 HRs and 12 Runs batted in during the 2003 postseason which saw the Marlins win their 2nd World Series as they defeated the New York Yankees in 6 games.  Since that time he has driven in 100 plus runs each year and hit at least 30 HRs in 5 of those 6 seasons, the only year he didn't was 2006 when he hit 26 bombs. 

Now to the bad news, as great of a hitter as he is, there is going to be some baggage coming along with him.  The biggest bag of all is his contract.  He is signed to an 8 year 152.3 Million dollar contract that runs through 2015.  The 6 years left on his contract break down to 20 million due in 2010 and 2011, 21 million due in 2012 and 2013, and 22 million due in 2014 and 2015.  That will be a lot for any team to take on.   He's also best suited as a DH, as he's never been a great fielder and has bounced around from the outfield to third base and last year playing 153 games at first base.  He's also known for his off the field issues and word is he loves to party and drink a bit too much.  On the last weekend of the regular season Cabrera had come home at 6:00am, after a night of drinking at the nearby Townsend Hotel in Detroit, and got in an argument with his wife.  Police responded to a call at their home due to this argument and Cabrera was taken in for questioning.  It was found that his blood alcohol level was at .26, three times the legal limit.  This was just 11 hours before the team was set to play the White Sox, a game which Cabrera went 0 for 4, leaving six runners on base.

Buster Olney of ESPN is currently reporting that possible suitors could be the Red Sox, Angels, Mets, White Sox, Giants, Mariners, and Braves.  When all is said and done I find it hard to believe that any of those teams want to take on the financial responsibility and everything else that comes along with Cabrera.  Bottom line though, the man can hit.  He would be an instant difference maker in anyone's lineup. 

Cuban Sensation: Aroldis Chapman

Aroldis Chapman is a 21 year old pitcher from Cuba who successfully defected from Cuba while in the Netherlands this past July while pitching for the Cuban National team.  Word from scouts is that his fastball has been clocked as high as 102 MPH during the 2009 World Baseball Classic.  Not sure how accurate that figure is, but he can bring the heat to say the least.  So now he stands to get a pretty decent contract despite the fact he has no big league experience.  Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News thinks that the Yankees will have the inside track to land Chapman.  The one advantage is the Yankees can eat up their mistakes and are one of a few teams who can afford to give Champman a 4 year 20 million dollar contract, which is what it appears he is shooting for.

The Yankees are no strangers to pitchers defecting from Cuba.  They landed Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez back in 1998 and he made his debut with the club in June of that year.  El Duque became one of baseballs best big game pitchers, winning his first 8 postseason starts.  He may have also saved the 1998 season for the New York Yankees in Game 4 of the ALCS against the Cleveland Indians.  El Duque delivered 7 shutout innings to help the Yankees tie the series and eventually go on to win the World Series and go down as one of the best teams in baseball history, boasting 125 wins including the postseason.

Christmas Eve of 2002 brought another hot Cuban commodity to the Yankees.  Jose Contreras defected and the Yankees and Red Sox fought it out over his services.  Theo Epstein wanted him so badly that he purchased every room at the hotel where Contreras was staying at in Nicaragua, to try and keep the Yankee brass as far away from him as possible.  The move failed and the Yankees still ended up landing Contreras.  Epstein was said to be so irate that he hurled a chair through his window in his hotel room. Though Contreras didn't succeed in New York, he did help the Chicago White Sox win the World Series in 2005, their 1st since 1917. 

Expect the Yankees and Red Sox to be the two teams most involved in the Chapman sweepstakes.  Keep the chairs away from Theo if the Yankees beat him to the punch again. 

By Vinnie Ferrarini

New York Yankees News and Notes

I've heard a couple of different rumors today surrounding Nick Swisher and the possibility that the Yankees have put his name out there as a possible player available through trade.  I can't see why the Yankees would do this, I wouldn't mind Swisher getting a lesser role as maybe a part time DH/RF, but I think he's a good fit and a well liked player in the clubhouse.

Free agents can officially start signing with teams at Midnight.  Matt Holliday apparently has the Yankees on the top of his wish list and would love to play in New York.  I'm still hearing Roy Halladay's name tied to the Yankees as well as the Red Sox and Phillies.  The Yankees are apparently very high on John Lackey.  According to Jon Heyman of SI and MLB Network, the Yankees first priority will be to add another pitcher.  They got through the postseason using only 3 starters but it appears a priority will be to add another arm and some other guys available outside of Lackey and Halladay could be Derek Lowe if the Braves decide to put him on the trade market as well as free agent projects Ben Sheets and Erik Bedard, two pitchers coming off of surgery.  

By Vinnie Ferrarini

Trials and Tribulations of being a Sports Fan

My fiance thinks I'm ridiculous, and probably rightfully so. When it comes to sports I wear my emotions on my sleeves and take things way too seriously, I'll be the first to admit that. When you are a sports fan, be prepared for one thing, much more failure than success. I guess you can equate it to being a Major League hitter, even a great one. You will fail much more than you succeed.

I was at a bar once maybe about 2 or 3 years back and was having a discussion about how many championships I've seen my teams win. It didn't take long to come up with the answer, at the time the number was at four, and it was all because of the Yankees. My other two teams the Magic and Jets have just one championship combined and that was the Jets in Super Bowl III in 1969 and I did not get to witness that. The Magic have been close twice, with two Finals appearances, one back in 1995 when they were swept by the Rockets which included the Nick Anderson game, in Game 1 where he missed 4 consecutive free throws to ice the game thus blowing that game and maybe the series with 4 failed strokes from the free throw line. That was easily one of the toughest defeats I've witnessed in my history of sports watching. The second was last year when they lost to the Lakers in 5 games. The closest the Jets came was a 10-0 lead early in the 3rd quarter in Denver against the Broncos back in January of 1999 in the AFC Championship game. They started turning the ball over like crazy, Elway and Terrell Davis did their thing and the Jets lost that game 23-10, thus ripping my heart out and leaving me wondering when I would see them reach the pinnacle. Well, I'm still waiting ten years later and obviously I'll still be waiting after this year.

So all this was leading me to think while sitting in front of a bucket of Budweisers at the bar that day and watching the Giants and Bills play, a game the Giants won to start their run as they were getting ready to go on their eventual Super Bowl drive. What is the percentage of times my teams have actually won it all? How far back should I go to calculate this? I won't start in 1980, that's the year I was born. I go back to my first real memories of sports. I remember being a kid watching the Bears and Pats in the Super Bowl back in the 1985 season. I remember the Mets/Red Sox World Series back in 1986. I remember trying to watch as many Yankee games as I could back around that time and I remember sitting in front of the TV in my Jets uniform and helmet every Sunday.

So it's 1986, that's the year I will start. Now that is only for the Yankees and Jets as the Magic franchise was just in the early founding days, thanks to Pat Williams down in Central Florida, getting the ball rolling on that. So that's 24 seasons I've watched each the Jets and the Yankees, giving me a grand total of 48, and I'll count this season for the Jets already being a failure, they obviously aren't going anywhere. The Magic started play in 1989 but I didn't become a fan till they drafted Shaq in 1992, prior to that I had no team that I followed in the NBA. So that's 17 seasons of Magic basketball that I've been watching, zero championships. Oh boy.

So let's do the math. 48 seasons of Jets and Yankees and 17 seasons of the Magic, that's a grand total of 65 sports seasons that I've invested a lot of time, energy, emotion and passion into. I'm going to break down the percentages in three ways; playoff berths, conference/league championships and World Championships. The New York Yankees obviously lead the way with 14 playoff births, 7 League Championships and 5 World Championships. The Orlando Magic have had 11 Playoff births, 2 Conference Championships and 0 World Championships. Then there are the Jets, oh man, don't get me started on the Jets. They always will find a way to break my heart. 7 Playoff births, 0 Conference Championships and 0 World Championships.

So going back now, combined, that is 65 seasons, 32 playoff births. So 49.2 percent of the time I do at least witness my teams making the playoffs, the Yanks boost that but let's not forget from 1986-1994 I didn't witness the Yankees make the playoffs at all, so it wasn't always like it is now. There have been 9 Pennants/Conference Championships in 65 seasons, that would put it at 13.8 percent of the time I've witnessed that. Now comes the bottom line, what it's all about. Being able to see your team celebrate to Queen "We are the Champions". It's been a grand total of 5 times in 65 seasons, that's 7.6 percent of the time.

It's really interesting to go back and think about things like this, do it with your teams and see where you stand. I have one thing to say in closing, thank god for the New York Yankees.

By Vinnie Ferrarini

Jameer Nelson out 4-6 Weeks

In what is shocking injury news out of nowhere, or maybe considering who we are talking about it shouldn't be. Jameer Nelson had to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery on Wednesday to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. I didn't watch the postgame last night, so I didn't hear anything about a possible injury, and he did indeed finish out the game last night. Apparently the injury happened in the 4th quarter.

Nelson missed almost half the regular season last year and the entire Eastern Conference Playoffs with a torn labrum in his right shoulder. They did trade for Rafer Alson last year to help them down the stretch run and into the playoffs. However, Alston was traded in the offseason along with Tony Battie and Courtney Lee to the New Jersey Nets for Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson. The Magic did sign veteran point guard Jason Williams this summer to help solidify more depth at the PG spot and they also have veteran Anthony Johnson who was the backup point guard last year behind Nelson and later Alston.

Injuries are nothing new for Nelson. He had the torn labrum in his shoulder last year and has been sidelined at times for various nagging injuries throughout his career. Durability has always been an issue and the Magic were counting a lot on their franchise point guard to stay on the floor this year.

Hey New Jersey, you haven't won a game yet and are going nowhere, how about letting us get Rafer back, please?