My Euro Picks

No sooner had I pointed out that I had 7 of 8 quarter-finalists picked then all but one of them went crashing out.  That’s right.  I had ONE semi-finalist right.  I also had one finalist right, though, so it wasn’t a complete bust.  Come on the Deutschland!  I’ve had them pegged from the start to be champions.

My Euro Picks

Just for the record, I correctly picked 7 of the 8 teams that advanced in the Euros.  I picked Poland over Croatia… which was the only team I got wrong.  I had Germany finishing in first in their group as well, so Croatia and Germany were flip flopped, but other than that I picked ’em all.  I could get all the picks wrong from here on out, but I’m glad that I was able to pick 7 or 8 quarterfinalists.  Maybe this bodes well for my weekly pick ’em during the upcoming club football season???

Uber Uber! Deutschland Deutschland!

First of all, thanks to Kenny Hassan of World Soccer Daily for coining the title phrase.

Second of all… DEUTSCHLAND!  DEUTSCHLAND!  The Nationalelf dispatched of Portugal yesterday.  Their Teutonic power and precision proved too much for the Portuguese.  Superman Michael Ballack netted another goal, only cementing his place as well… THE man.  Steven Cohen, the other host of WSD, said that week that Ballack was his favorite Chelsea player because “he is just a man.”  I wholeheartedly agree.  Great win for Germany.  Many people had them pegged as underdogs and didn’t think they could handle Portugal.  They showed why you should never count out a national team like Germany.  Next up for the Germans, the winner of Croatia and Turkey.

Say NO to C.C.

The Yankees should say NO to C.C. Sabathia, even if Wang misses a couple of months, or even the whole season.  Call me crazy but I would just as soon keep the prospects in our system and give the in house options a chance.

The only way that I would entertain a C.C. deal is if the Yankees have no interest in re-signing him at the end of the season.  If they can get two first round picks out of the deal as well, it might be worth it.  That is a big MIGHT.  Depends on what the Indians are asking for.

My biggest hope is that Wang’s injury isn’t as bad as it seems to be.

Shock and Awe

I’m still reeling from the events of the last week.  Germany loses to Croatia.  Shocking.  Poland draws with Austria because of an absolutely horrendously criminally terrible penalty decision by the referee.  Tim Russert collapses and dies.  The Celtics come back from 20 something down and beat the Lakers.  Turkey scores 3 goals in the final 20 minutes to defeat the Czech Republic and advance to the quarterfinals (this was probably one of the most exciting football matches I have ever seen in my life.  It not only featured 4 second half goals, but a red card for a goalkeeper in the final minute and a shot that hit the post… incredible).  Tiger Woods sinks his final putt to send the US Open into an 18 hold playoff.  And to cap it off Wang seriously injured his foot in the Yankees game on Sunday.  Wow.  What a week.  Each one of these events is worthy of two or three posts, but this is all I can muster for now.

The Importance of Scoring First

Everyone always talks about the importance of scoring the first goal in a football match… and for good reason.  This year’s European Championship has been no exception.  There have been 8 games.  Teams scoring first have won 7 times.  The 8th game ended in a goalless draw.

My Thoughts On Day 1 of the Yankees Draft

When the draft started I really hoped the Yankees would grab a big bat with their first or second pick.  They didn’t.  Can’t really blame them for snapping up Cole with #28.  He was projected to be a top 10 pick by nearly everyone, and to have him fall to us could be a coup… if he pans out.  At first I was shocked by our second pick but, according to the boys at River Ave Blues, John Manuel of Baseball America was raving about the pick.  I hope the kid proves to be a good lefty reliever… something the big league team really needs.

I won’t pretend to be any sort of expert in the field of baseball prospects.  Once you get out of the first couple of rounds I have very little to no idea who anyone is.  But the pick the Yanks made in the fifth round stood out for a couple of reasons.  Not just his .700 batting average this year, but the fact he seems like an absolutely great kid.  A mentor to the younger kids from his neighborhood according to reports.  There is nothing better than being able to root for a good kid who has a chance to be good.  I just watched his scouting video from mlb . com and he seems to have a pretty good stroke.  I guess you’d have to have one to hit .700.  I just heard of Chris Smith for the first time yesterday, but he’s already jumping up my list of young Yankees kids to root for (assuming he signs).  With all the brew-ha-ha with Tabata this year, a kid like this is a welcome addition.

I also love the Bittle pick in the second round.  He’s a reliever that relies almost solely on a cutter to get outs.  Hm.  Sound like any anyone else in the Yankees system?  (Hint… he wears #42 and will be a first ballot hall of famer…)

Day 2 at the draft just kicked off.  Can’t wait to see what signability guys fall to the Yanks in the later rounds.

Pete Says So Too!

Yesterday I ranted about Yankees management.  I never claimed to be the only one who feels this way, and I know many many Yankees do as well.  In yesterday’s rant I said that the Yankees should pass on Sabathia and keep their draft pick.  Pete Abraham wrote the EXACT SAME THING on his blog this morning.  Sweet validation, my friends.  I met Pete this past weekend at the Metrodome and he’s awesome.  If you are a Yankees fan, you should read his blog every single day.

Problems With Yankees Management

This is not the first time that I’ve said this.  Not on this blog, and certainly not to my family and friends.  I’ve been saying this for YEARS:

The Yankees are in real trouble because they do not know how to put together a winning baseball team.  By “they” I mean the Steinbrenners.  I have full confidence that if Brian Cashman was running the show by himself, things would be different.  Instead of spending money to get players before their prime and develop young players, the Steinbrenners are convinced that they should over pay for superstars that are on the tail end of their careers (See: Giambi, Damon, Pavano, Randy Johnson, etc).  Just because we have the money does not mean we need to spend it stupidly.  This is why the Red Sox and Rays are so much better than the Yankees now.  They pour money into player development and DO NOT OVERPAY FOR OLD PROS WHO ARE GOING TO SUCK IN A COUPLE OF YEARS.  They spend wisely, thinking about the future of the team, not just the current season.  I’ve been saying the Yankees should be spending wisely for years, and there are some signs that we’re moving in the right direction.  We’re just a couple of years behind everyone else, so there will be a rough transition period.  There are two things that I hope do NOT happen this off-season: 

I hope the Yankees do NOT sign Sabathia.  Lots of people want this to happen, but I don’t.  Sabathia has thrown a ton of innings, and they will catch up to him at some point.  He’s already been a little worse this year than he has been in the past.  He is not worth the amount of money and number of years he will be asking for.  I really hope the Yankees pass on him.  Worst of all, signing him would cost us a first round draft choice.  I would not give up that pick for anything.

I hope the Yankees do NOT trade away any of their prospects.  There is a chance the Yankees will not make the playoffs this year.  I hope that if that were to happen that the Stienbrenner boys don’t freak out.  It would be easy to point to the youngsters and how they underperformed and write off all player development.  I can’t even begin to describe how insanely wrong it would be to do that.  Just be patient… we have young pitchers.  They will be good.  Be patient.

I also want Brian Cashman to be GM until he doesn’t want the job anymore… a job for life.  I know not everyone likes every single move that he’s made, but I have overwhelming confidence in him and his staff.  He should never be fired, forced out, or marginalized.  I would take him in charge over any Steinbrenner on any given day.

I’m listening to The Herd on ESPN Radio, and he says that spending wisely is a New England trait, and that New York teams don’t spend wisely because it’s not part of their psyche.  Colin called it “Spending Sensibility.”  Althought I’m a Yankees fan, I’m from MA… in the heart of New England.  Maybe that’s why I’ve been calling for sensible spending for so long.  I agree that it is a New England trait… it’s part of our mindset… it’s part of the way we see the world.  In conclusion, the Yankees should hire more people from New England to run things.  They need to be Yankees fans of course, which severely limits the pool of potential hires… but they can always turn to me.  I’ll be there in a flash if called upon.

Yanks vs. Twins Series Round Up

Here are my final thoughts after seeing the Yankees play in person for the first time:

1. I can’t stand Johnny Damon.  I’ve never liked him.  I know I’m biased and I pick out all the bad things and don’t point out the good things.  So I’ll start by complimenting him.  He runs pretty fast.  Despite that, I’m tired of seeing him out there.  He hit into 3 or 4 killer double plays this weekend.  I’m calling for Brett Gardner to replace him… and have been every single day for a while.

2.  Kyle Farnsworth does not need to be anywhere near the mound when the game is close.  I don’t know why the Yankees continue to think he can pitch.  He can’t.  He throws hard… SO WHAT?  Chad Corderowas one of the best closers in the National League and he could barely reach 90 mph with his fastball.  Throwing hard does not a reliever make.  The Yankees have some young kids working their way up in the minors, but they’re not ready yet.  Until then, try everyone else out and see who can handle the 8th inning.  If you think that experimenting will cause us to lose a few games, I ask you… would it be any different than the way it is now?

3.  I’m tired of Jason Giambias well.  I know he’s producing and there are no other options to play first… so he has to stay in the lineup… but with a decent fielder at first last night Andy’s pick off throw doesn’t get away.  I can only hope the Yankees don’t pick up his option for next year.

4.  The following players played well, in my opinion: Chad Moeller, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Melky Cabrera, Hideki Matsui, Bobby Abreu.  Cano is still slumping a bit at the plate but he made some awesome defensive plays.

5.  It’s great to see the way the Yankees players interact with Harlan Chamberlain.  They show him a ton of respect.  He deserves every ounce of it, but it’s nice to see highly paid professionals show some common decency.