I want to Jump off a Lilli-bridge

The Yankees lost for the second straight game to the White Sox in another low scoring tight battle. For two straight nights the Yankees could hardly manage a hit against the Sox starter. Yesterday they were no hit until the 7th by Humber, finishing the game with 2 hits and 0 runs. Tonight they had 4 hits off Gavin Floyd and 2 runs, failing to up his pitch count and get him out before the final inning. Last night the team never scored, never led, never smelled a chance at a win, and just got outplayed. Tonight they let the game slip through their fingers.

Rafael Soriano is slowly starting to emerge as a huge bust of a signing. For a 10 million dollar set up man, you can't be blowing leads like this. He came into the 8th with a narrow 2-1 lead after the Yankees got just enough from two solo shots from Cano and Gardner and Nova pitched a great game. Soriano proceeded to hit Quentin and then served up a two run shot to konerko. He also walked Dunn and let AJ get a single in the inning. This disaster of an inning was hardly the first implosion for Soriano and upped his already disturbingly high era up to 7.8! Let's hope he can right the ship soon or it will pave the way for Dave Robertson in some 8th inning duty.

The Yankees had a chance for the comeback pie in the 9th but were thwarted by some spectacular defense by Brent Lillibridge. With first and second and 1 out A-rod scalded a ball to the right field wall and Lillibridge made a fantastic leap up against the wall to rob Arod of an extra base hit and saving the game. One batter later Cano drills a line drive to right and again that man Lillibridge made an all out diving grab to rob Cano of a game tying single. The Yankees did show some fight with the late game rally but this is two games in a row the offense has been non existent.

Overall there are a few concerns here. The offense will not struggle for very long but I am worried that the Yankees rely too much on the long ball and will fail to tack on runs to insure Ws against teams like the Chi Sox. Also the bull pen was supposed to be a huge strength has now become shaky. Soriano looks miserable, Job has been inconsistent, Mariano is Mariano but he did blow 2 straight saves, Logan is awful and he's the only lefty, and Robertson is the only reliable RP thus far.

I don't look at these two losses as the end of the world but I do look at them as a microcosm of the issues the Yankees are facing. An offense that needs to learn how to play small ball, a bullpen far under performing, and starters that MUST maintain their excellence. On a final note, it was good to see Posada FINALLY pulled out of the lineup in favor of Chavez. Arod can DH sometimes this way and if Posada is hitting .148, it's time to rest up dude. He's never been a full time DH and he's never been 40 before. I hope it's April struggles but you never know....

Knicks Down in a Sweep

Well the Knicks season has come to a violent and disturbing end. After showing improvement and making the playoffs for the first time in 7 years, the team looked lackluster and failed to win a playoff game just like the last playoff series in 2004. The Knicks playoff drought is now up to ten years without a playoff win and they became the only team in the playoffs to get swept (possibly Denver ironically).

After a 42-40 season and the first winning season in a while, it looked as if things were on the rise for this struggling franchise. The Knicks came out and looked great in game 1, but collapsed in the final minutes as the Knicks tend to do. However they played the whole game with hustle, defense, determination, wit, and aside from a few boneheaded plays by Carmelo Anthony, should have walked away up 1-0. They lost Chauncey at the end of the game to a knee injury and wouldn't see him again for the rest of the series, likely his last game in Knick colors.

In game 2 the Knicks came out with a vengeance, firing on all cylinders. They did it without Billups and Amare Stoudemire got hurt within the first ten minutes creating a 1 on 5, Carmelo vs the Celtics. They hung in there with grit and sheer dominance from Melo to the tune of a 1 point lead with 19 seconds left. For the second straight night at the TD Garden they blew the lead and lost the game in heartbreaking fashion.

After those first two games it felt like all of the wind was knocked out of their sails. Imagine a team that made a big blockbuster trade during the middle of the season adding one superstar to join another superstar to provide a huge 1-2 punch but only has 20 games to work with each other. The team makes the playoffs for the first time in a long time and has to go into Boston to play the defending Eastern Conference Champs. You do so with injuries and a very young and inexperienced supporting cast. You play two nail biter games that come down to the wire but the team fails to execute and loses both games. It's not difficult to see why and it was impressive to see the team play with such heart, but there are no moral victories. The two losses in Boston were symbolic of the team itself, very talented and very competitive but not quite there. It also set the tone for the two games in NY. The collapses by the Knicks in Boston were so difficult to overcome that it was clear the team was going to get mowed down at the real Garden.

The team did just that. They got stomped in both games at home and Boston just showed why they have been the best defensive team in the East and are two time Eastern Conference Champs in the last 3 years. They came out with energy and were dominant and unafraid to go for the kill shot when the lead ballooned. Rondo was penetrating in the paint and looked to quick to guard. He was hitting his open jump shots, getting his running layups, and dishing for any man in a green Jersey. He did this to the tune of 20 assists and his 3rd career postseason triple double. Pierce and Allen looked like they couldn't miss and any time the crowd started to creep back into it, they would have a big shot and silence the New York faithful.

The Knicks on the other hand looked tired and uninspired. The were lazy, didn't rotate, failed to box out on the glass, and were not dishing and swishing as Clyde would say. Only 3 assists in game 3 from their PG play, you could say they missed Billups. Amare looked like he was at 50% strength and was only in there to play Willis Reed for motivational support. Anthony tried his best Superman impression as he had done in game 2 (42, 17, and 6) but he was double and triple teamed and no one was willing to help him. All in all, they just got manhandled by a better team.

So game 3 and game 4 the Knicks went quietly and they now sit around for the next 6 months and wait for their next chance to play with Melo and Amare. The good news? They have 2 superstars who will learn how to play with each other and have training camp to learn the system. They got their young guys some playoff experience which will be vital going forward. They didn't expect to win a playoff series, however it would have been nice to win a game or two.

The team needs to address big man and point guard in the offseason. Billups injury showed a glaring hole in their team, they have point guard play and it is the KEY to a D'Antoni offense. Toney Douglas is hardly a point guard, he is a scorer and a good defender but he doesn't distribute the way a PG should. The Knicks were at their best this season with Raymond Felton dropping 9 assists a game and establishing a pick a roll offense every time down the court. Billups is old and over the hill and if the Knicks bring him back, they'll need better than Carter or Douglas as a PG to back him up. Chauncey will get hurt and will not play more than 30 minutes so we need something legitimate. We also desperately need a big man. Jeffries, Turiaf, Sheldon Williams; none of these guys qualify as a solid C and none of them can score. Amare shouldn't play the 5 and this is something we need to work on for next season.

We did bring some energy back to the Garden, but we have a little ways to go....

Baseball Courtroom--The Steroid Debate

Should Proven Steroid Users be Allowed in the Hall of Fame?

My answer is a clear and resounding no. Let me preface this by saying it is difficult to argue such a blanket statement and as with all things baseball being no different, it's hard to not look at things on a case by case basis. That being said I still firmly believe that proven steroid users have no place in the shrine of baseball legend. My arguments can be broken down into three different categories. They are as follows:

Argument 1- Character and integrity are key factors that Hall of Fame voters must use to determine if a player is worthy.

· It doesn't matter that everyone was doing it and it doesn't matter that there was tons of peer pressure blah blah blah, any baseball player who knowingly did steroids would have trouble admitting that what they were doing was ok. Every proven roider who knowingly took steroids knew they were cheating and getting an unfair leg up on the competition. They didn't want others to gain that advantage over them, so they joined in on the party. Not that I can't sympathize with that mentality, but it doesn't make it a moral or legal act and when being judged on character and integrity, these players unquestionably fail.

Argument 2- Cheating is cheating and the issue must be addressed.

· As good as many of the steroid users are and were (Arod, Bonds, Clemens etc) and yes you could field one hell of an all-star team with those users, they cheated and must be penalized. When Reggie Bush broke the NCAA rules, they stripped him of his Heisman Trophy. That's one way to handle things; maybe we should strip our steroid users of their accolades. Take Bonds' 7 MVPs away, wipe clean his career home run record and strip him of his single season home run record. But Baseball has elected not to go that route, leave the past in the past move forward. Since many of these players are done playing, we can't suspend them or make them leave baseball. So what do we do to punish cheaters? The only we can....tarnish the legacy.

Argument 3- What about the other guys?

· I look at baseball and the way it's handled incidents of this nature in the past. Roger Maris' 61 home runs had an asterisk for over 20 year simply because baseball changed and he played 8 more games than Ruth. Pete Rose is still not in the Hall of Fame because he gambled on baseball years after playing and racking up the most hits of all time. If these players can be vilified for their actions, should we not treat these roiders the same way? Granted we have evolved and nobody thinks what happened to Maris was justified, but if we are determining that rule breaking such as Rose merits you on the outside looking in, this should fall into the same category.

· What about guys like Chipper Jones, Omar Vizquel, Mike Mussina, John smoltz, Curt Schilling, and many others who are border line Hall of Famers (you may disagree with my list), if we allow steroid users in the HOF many of these guys will simply miss out. It's not fair that the outcome for playing the game with honor and dignity is to not be remembered among the greats. Had Larry "Chipper" Jones done steroids could he not have reach 500 home runs and won another MVP? Would his achievements not have surpassed a Manny Ramirez? I'm not arguing who's a better player; I just don't know how much the drugs help an athlete. I know it won't turn me into a Hall of Famer that's for sure, but I wonder to what lengths it makes an impact. For example the most home runs hit in a season was 60 and then 61 for 71 years combined. Then in a matter of 4 years we had that record broken 6 times, 6 times!! Bonds had 73, McGwire had 70 and 65, and Sosa had 66, 64, and 63. These were very good home run hitters no doubt, but would any of them have broken 60 without help? We will never know. So I wonder what accomplishments were aided by steroids and what wasn't and rather than attempt to sift through all of the statistics, I'd rather support the Smoltz's of the world for racking up great stats fairly. He might be a worse pitcher than Clemens and honestly I'd have a hard time arguing that he was better. However Smoltz deserves the HOF in my opinion because he didn't succumb to the pressure (I hope) and he accomplished so much with dignity.

In Conclusion I just want to address one final point, the "Everyone was doing it" argument. This to me serves as a justification for acting unethically and doesn't serve as any excuse. Steroid users and other baseball writers have said that it's hard not juicing because they're all competitors and to win and stay competitive you have to do anything you can to improve your chances. I've even heard players and former players say they would do steroids if they knew they wouldn't get caught because they were such fierce competitors and they wanted to be the best. My response to that: Real competitors want to win the right way. Juicers want the stats and the fame; the clean players want to honor the game. The real competitors want to work harder to succeed and deserve to be viewed in a class amongst themselves, not with phonies.

Analysis of AJ Burnett

Is AJ Burnett's good start a fluke or has AJ turned it around from last year, that's the question we all want to know. Last year Burnett dominated in April and fell off the rest of the year, are we in for the same nonsense this year? I think these first three games are a sign to come for a few reasons.

Reason 1- Russell Martin

AJ looks way more comfortable with Russell, someone who will be in the lineup every time he starts and brings a defensive presence. Russell also showed up for AJ last start. Not with the bat, but with his glove, diving into the dugout to try to make an impressive catch. These actions demonstrate a hustle, a determination, and a desire that may not have been present the past season with Jorge and Cervelli such liabilities behind the plate.

Reason 2- New Pitching Coach

I don't know if Burnett worked well with Dave Eiland, but what I do know is it helps to have a new pitching coach to bring a new perspective in the off season. Burnett seemed really bothered about the way he performed last year and I think he worked hard in the offseason and spent a lot of time with Rothschild to get his head right. We saw evidence of this in the last game he pitched. In the second inning he walked Morneau and Thome and I thought he was going to fall apart like typical AJ. Instead he geared up and got out of the jam and demonstrated a new confidence in tough situations.

Reason 3- The Yankees need him

I think somewhere deep down Burnett is going to will himself to be better this year. it's weird to say that because it's not as if he's going to try harder this year, but I do think there is something to be said for the pressure of the number 2 starter role in a very chaotic rotation. He knows there is a lot that rests on his shoulders and he knows how poorly he pitched last year. He understands he is a key component in this team's success and is doing more than his fair share of extra work to get things going right.

Conclusion

Only time will tell if this is just a couple of good starts in April of if AJ is really going to be a better pitcher, but I think it's the latter. I think between Russell, Rothschild, the pressure, and a year off to get his head right, AJ will continue to thrive and will be back to his 09 self. Let's see him continue that magic tonight...