Sorry for the long delay between posts. I should have posted something after we got Melo but I wanted to see how the games would play out first.
Knicks fans are funny. Many of you will remember when the trade was going down, I, initially, was very hesitant to like this deal. Melo is amazing and so is Billups but I seemed to know one thing that a lot of fans seem to have either forgotten or ignored. And that is that there would be chemistry issues. The reason why I was hesitant about this deal was because I knew, in the interim, that it would hurt the Knicks. You can't bring a superstar of Melo's caliber on to a team that already has a superstar and expect them to click. Look at Miami if you want proof. Yeah, they are playing well now but they needed at least half the season to get in sync with each other. And this is after they had most of the summer and early fall to get to know each other and prepare. The Knicks have had only 21 games to get used to their new set of players. This trade was not done for this year. It was done to build for the future. Now, the Knicks still expect to make the playoffs and I still believe that once they do, anything can happen. But Melo was brought in to make the Knicks a championship team for the future and any chemistry issues on the court and even losing streaks in the meantime are to be expected. Everyone want's D'Antoni to be fired and even I will admit I get frustrated with his non-defensive ass. But honestly, that has always been D'Antoni's style. Mike Wilbon put it best on PTI. He said the Knicks D will be the Knicks D. It will be ok at best under D'Antoni. But once players get acclimated to his system and have the whole offseason to gel together, the system works because the Knicks will outscore and run everyone of the court. That is how they will win. And that is what D'Antoni's system is based on. Give him the offseason and the beginning of next year to see how the Knicks play together. If by the all-star break next year the Knicks are struggling, by all means, fire him. Until then, have a little freagin patience.
Next up, Opening Day 2011, baby!!! Haha. So excited about this year. The main reason I am excited is because the Yankees, for the first time in many years, are considered underdogs. And I agree that in the Yankees' division, Boston, with the signing of Crawford, is a formidable opponent. But, I swear I am not using my Yankee bias here, I think the Yankees are a better team than people are giving them credit for this year. Yes, they didn't get the superstar pitcher they wanted and they lost out on Cliff Lee, but honestly, the Yankees starting rotation, as is, is not all that bad. First off, you have Sabathia whose "bad" outings consist of games like yesterday where he gives up three runs. Next up, Burnett. Ok, admittedly, I am a little worried about Burnett. But honestly, I think last year's performance by him was an anomaly. He's had a few great years as a pitcher. The Yankees fired their pitching coach and I believe Burnett will be back to form this year. And when Burnett is on, he's unhittable. Phil Hughes is number 3. Nothing bad to say about the kid. He's good, he's young and he's chock full of potential, which leaves Ivan Nova as the #4 starter. I really like this kid. He's already proven himself as a solid pitcher in tough situations. I think he may have a breakout year for the Yanks and he'll win at least 10 games, I am sure.
On to the bullpen. This is where the Yankees are the strongest. Their bullpen, with revamped Joba (he lost 30 pounds this offseason and has been consistently throwing over 90 mph this preseason and yesterday), newly acquired setup man, Soriano (whose just plain nasty) and good ole' Mo is not an easy bunch of pitchers to face. If the Yankees starters can at least get into the 5th or 6th inning, the Yankees have the pitchers to put it away from there. As far as hitting, all I have to say is Texeira, Granderson, A-Rod, and Jeter (who I am sure will have a bounce back year. He has too much pride not too). All in all, I think this is a pretty good setup for a team who I think can go deep in the playoffs and contend for championship #28.
Woohoo! Baseball is back! On to game 2.....
Knicks fans are funny. Many of you will remember when the trade was going down, I, initially, was very hesitant to like this deal. Melo is amazing and so is Billups but I seemed to know one thing that a lot of fans seem to have either forgotten or ignored. And that is that there would be chemistry issues. The reason why I was hesitant about this deal was because I knew, in the interim, that it would hurt the Knicks. You can't bring a superstar of Melo's caliber on to a team that already has a superstar and expect them to click. Look at Miami if you want proof. Yeah, they are playing well now but they needed at least half the season to get in sync with each other. And this is after they had most of the summer and early fall to get to know each other and prepare. The Knicks have had only 21 games to get used to their new set of players. This trade was not done for this year. It was done to build for the future. Now, the Knicks still expect to make the playoffs and I still believe that once they do, anything can happen. But Melo was brought in to make the Knicks a championship team for the future and any chemistry issues on the court and even losing streaks in the meantime are to be expected. Everyone want's D'Antoni to be fired and even I will admit I get frustrated with his non-defensive ass. But honestly, that has always been D'Antoni's style. Mike Wilbon put it best on PTI. He said the Knicks D will be the Knicks D. It will be ok at best under D'Antoni. But once players get acclimated to his system and have the whole offseason to gel together, the system works because the Knicks will outscore and run everyone of the court. That is how they will win. And that is what D'Antoni's system is based on. Give him the offseason and the beginning of next year to see how the Knicks play together. If by the all-star break next year the Knicks are struggling, by all means, fire him. Until then, have a little freagin patience.
Next up, Opening Day 2011, baby!!! Haha. So excited about this year. The main reason I am excited is because the Yankees, for the first time in many years, are considered underdogs. And I agree that in the Yankees' division, Boston, with the signing of Crawford, is a formidable opponent. But, I swear I am not using my Yankee bias here, I think the Yankees are a better team than people are giving them credit for this year. Yes, they didn't get the superstar pitcher they wanted and they lost out on Cliff Lee, but honestly, the Yankees starting rotation, as is, is not all that bad. First off, you have Sabathia whose "bad" outings consist of games like yesterday where he gives up three runs. Next up, Burnett. Ok, admittedly, I am a little worried about Burnett. But honestly, I think last year's performance by him was an anomaly. He's had a few great years as a pitcher. The Yankees fired their pitching coach and I believe Burnett will be back to form this year. And when Burnett is on, he's unhittable. Phil Hughes is number 3. Nothing bad to say about the kid. He's good, he's young and he's chock full of potential, which leaves Ivan Nova as the #4 starter. I really like this kid. He's already proven himself as a solid pitcher in tough situations. I think he may have a breakout year for the Yanks and he'll win at least 10 games, I am sure.
On to the bullpen. This is where the Yankees are the strongest. Their bullpen, with revamped Joba (he lost 30 pounds this offseason and has been consistently throwing over 90 mph this preseason and yesterday), newly acquired setup man, Soriano (whose just plain nasty) and good ole' Mo is not an easy bunch of pitchers to face. If the Yankees starters can at least get into the 5th or 6th inning, the Yankees have the pitchers to put it away from there. As far as hitting, all I have to say is Texeira, Granderson, A-Rod, and Jeter (who I am sure will have a bounce back year. He has too much pride not too). All in all, I think this is a pretty good setup for a team who I think can go deep in the playoffs and contend for championship #28.
Woohoo! Baseball is back! On to game 2.....
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