Closing the Baseball Season, Opening New Doors

So the Yankees lost to the Rangers. It's going to be 5 months until we see some more NYY Baseball. For most, this is an epic failure and defines frustration. I'm only frustrated because this marks the end of the season and it means a long lapse without baseball. As far as the success of the season, things could have been worse. We still had a season that included Arod hitting his 600th home run, a team that won 95 games, a potential MVP performance in Cano, and a potential CY Young season in CC Sabathia. This team struggled mightily down the stretch, going 29-30 in the final 59 games. The team was not the best in baseball when the playoffs began and got beat by a better and more playoff ready team in the Rangers. The Yankees starters were hurt and problematic all season and became the weak link in the playoffs. The offense which still led the league in runs scored, failed again on the big stage to get the big hits. Too many times we looked for the home run or the 5 hit rally instead of getting the runners in from 3rd with one out. Our bullpen, which was a strength in the finals months, struggled to keep us in the game by allowing too many runs and hits to the Rangers. All in all, we got beat and we move on. We will miss our Yankees but there are some New York teams still alive and thriving.

The New York Giants for example, come into tonight's game against the 1-4 Cowboys at 4-2, winning their last 3 games and looking quite good doing so. The Cowboys despite their talent on the field, have a 1-4 record due to their turnovers, penalties, poor management, and lack of leadership. The Giants need to get pressure on Romo from their front 4 so they can drop their safeties and linebackers into coverage. Forget Marion Barber, the Giants need to make sure they bottle up Felix Jones. Jones is the more explosive back and if he sheds a few tackles could turn the game in favor of the cowboys. The Giants receivers need to catch their passes and not allow Eli to get any picks on tipped passes (a theme all season). The Giants need to establish the run early with Bradshaw and Jacobs and make sure they Cowboys are tired on D late in the game. Mckenzie will have his hands full with DeMarcus Ware, but he needs to not let Eli get hit off the edge because Ware is a nightmare and doesn't just cause sacks, but forces fumbles as well. Hopefully the Cowboys continue to shoot themselves in the foot and the Giants can keep the sleeping Dragon from awakening. A 1-5 team no matter how good they are is likely to miss the playoffs and it especially helps when the Giants would be 5-2 and tops in the division. This is a must see Monday Night Football game, so tune in.

The Knicks season will begin in a few days, and there is a lot to discuss there, so i will do so in a separate post, as well as discuss the future for the Yankees faithful during the offseason. For now, go Giants (both NY and SF).