So the Yankees are done before clinching the World Series. Here are some suggestions from one fan on how to move forward:
1.) Sign Cliff Lee. They should and probably will. I know it is very insightful of me to suggest that.
2.) The approach to managing pitching prospects needs to change. Look at what the Rangers have accomplished since Nolan Ryan eliminated pitch counts. Stop coddling these guys and getting them to think they have something wrong with them if they throw more than 100 pitches in a start! Joba Chamberlain is a textbook example of how to take a weapon and de-fang it. Look at what he was in 2007 and what he has been since. Would that have happened with Nolan Ryan managing the situation? The same goes for Phil Hughes. He was awful against the Rangers and struggled the whole second half. Chamberlain and Hughes should be weapons. They are not. I'm saying its the pitch counts.
3.) Some Jeter changes. It appears they plan on letting him play SS in 2011. They should make the move one year too early, not one year too late. More importantly, Jeter is not a top of the lineup hitter anymore. Any contract negotiation should stipulate that he will bat 7, 8 or 9 and play right field. I love Jeter. I don't care about his ego or hurt feelings. I care about getting back to this:
If Jeter is not amenable to those changes, then I would call his bluff and move on. With Jeter in right-field:
4.)Its time to move Nick Swisher. I LOVE Swisher and follow him on Twitter. And in case you can't tell, I'm not feeling very sentimental right now. Swisher feasts on Orioles and Blue Jays to pump up his batting average and does not hit good pitching. Too bad the postseason is only good pitching. Other than game 3 against the Phillies last year, Swish has really struggled in the postseason.
5.) The Yankees seem to love Eduardo Nunez as a shortstop prospect. Why not get a short-term shortstop who could potentially lead off to replace Jeter and be the bridge to Nunez if he is really that good? I'm thinking a David Eckstein type if he was younger and still played short. If the Yankees get Lee, then Swisher can be used as a trade chip for this purpose. If they don't get Lee, I'd imagine they will start a package for a top guy with Swisher and Joba.
6.) Its time for Posada to DH. If Pettitte comes back, Posada could be his personal catcher because Pettitte will hold runners on himself. On Pettitte's days you could move Jeter (if still at SS, likely to be the case) and A-Rod to DH and plug Nunez in. The other 80% of games (likely more because Pettitte will probably have at least one DL stint) could be cobbled together by Cervelli and Jesus Montero as the transition to Montero full-time begins.
So that is it, my suggestions. I doubt any of my Jeter-related ones will be employed by the twenty-seven time champs.
I was completely and totally wrong. I assumed LeBron James wanted the glory of winning a ring in New York. I did not know LeBron James like I thought I did. The fact that he feels the need to ride D-Wade's coattails tells me a lot. I think Bill Simmons said it best about what LeBron going to Miami says about him:
In May, after the Cavs were ousted in the conference semifinals, I wrote that LeBron was facing one of the greatest sports decisions ever: "winning (Chicago), loyalty (Cleveland) or a chance at immortality (New York).
I never thought he would pick "HELP!"
Would Jordan have done this? Bird? Magic? This isn't long suffering Kevin Garnett agreeing to a trade after years of being surrounded by nothing. This is one of the very best players ever saying "I give up, let me join with a proven winner and I'll get a ring by default."
A few thoughts:
I thought I hated Kobe. If Kobe met the Heat in the finals I root for a Lakers sweep! LeBron, his Svengali, Riley, Wade and Bosh are the biggest heels in sports.
On that note, my love for the Knicks has never been stronger than right now. One regular season win against the Heat will be almost as satisfying as the Giants beating the Patriots.
On that note, this is not all doom and gloom for the Knicks. It was worth a shot at LeBron James despite what a spineless egomaniac (seemingly contradictory but two words that perfectly describe LeBron) he has shown himself to be. You take a chance at getting the best. And beyond that, you rid your roster of bad contracts. We now have one bad contract and he's the best power forward in the conference. Walsh should build slow, not push any panic buttons, buy a first round draft pick or two. We'll be back in the playoffs soon.
Wade and LeBron both need the ball. This could end very badly. The Knicks can slowly build and then be ready to compete at a high level when LeBron or Wade is traded for ten cents on the dollar (could Shaq-Kobe II be in our future?)Hang tight Knicks fans. Remember when Allan Houston hit that runner in the key to eliminate the #1 seed Pat Riley coached Miami Heat in 1999? A feeling like that might come sooner than you think.
Thirty million dollars. We hear that number all the time. The Cleveland Cavaliers can offer LeBron James $30 million more than any other team. The problem is that this huge figure is presented without any context at all.
Let me put it in context.
This article, which buys into the $30 million hype, explains how an NBA max contract works for re-signing with your team or signing with another team. The author, Brian Mahoney, does a good job explaining how compensation differs:
Having completed seven seasons, James and his marquee classmates will be eligible for first-year salaries of more than $16.5 million no matter where they sign. The difference comes in the raises. A player signing with his own team is eligible for annual increases of 10.5 percent, while a new team can only offer 8 percent bumps. The home team can also offer a sixth year, whereas maximum length deals for players joining new teams are only five.
Read that last sentence again. Only the re-signing team can include a sixth year in the contract. I used Mahoney's figures to do the math about signing a max contract with your team or with a new team. Have a look:
Notice how small the differences in salary are in years two through five? So when people write that he can get thirty million more from the Cavs, that applies only if LeBron James is willing to commit to six years with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
LeBron's last contract extension was for three years. If he signs a three year contract now, he is a free agent again at age 28, a perfect time to then sign the six year max deal. He can sign with the Knicks for $1,357,912.50 (by my math) less than the Cavs over the course of three years. Then he would be free to re-up with an awesome Knick team or make another big splash by going to Brooklyn or returning to the Cavs.
In conclusion, $30 million applies only if LeBron commits to the Cavs for six years. How likely is that to happen?
There are no guarantees. At the same time, the conventional wisdom that LeBron will turn down the Knicks is foolish for its certainty in the face of evidence to the contrary. Allow me to detail that evidence to the contrary.
He's probably leaving Cleveland.
Again, nothing is certain. I have a feeling he may not know at the moment what he will do. The conventional wisdom has shifted. Before game 5, the NBA media were almost unanimous that he would stay there. They have since been convinced by his actions during games 5 and 6 and especially by what happened after game 6. His press conference after game 6 was pretty bad if you're a Cavs fan. From a basketball perspective, it is doubtful he wants to stay with his current team. They cannot bring in anyone who will help. They finished ten wins short of the goal, not even close. Does he really want to stick around and watch Antawn Jamison grow old?
The silliest argument is that he would never leave a stacked Cavs team for a bare cupboard in New York. The New York Post's Mike Vaccaro had a great point today: Trade LeBron for David Lee. The Knicks would then have won fifty games this season. The Cavs would have won thirty. So what's the big deal about leaving the Cavs for the Knicks?
The biggest reason to suspect he's leaving Cleveland is that he simply has not re-signed with them already which he could do for more money than any other team can offer at this exact moment. If he was so excited about staying in Cleveland, why is he exploring his options?
It is doubtful he will be a Chicago Bull.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the fact that the conventional wisdom has LeBron signing with Chicago. Perhaps after signing, LeBron can enjoy a celebratory dinner with a gentleman named Brian Griese. Griese can tell him about what it was like going to work everyday and being greeted by a statue of John Elway. Do you really think LeBron wants to go to a place where he can win three championships and people will say, "but he's no MJ."? In New York, no matter what happens, it is a mortal lock that no one will say, "He's no Ewing." Besides, LeBron and Derrick Rose love having the ball too much to share it peacefully. And these John Calipari rumors? Please. Cal is heading to multiple championships at Kentucky. Is he going to give that up to be fired the second his friendship with LeBron sours? No player is firing him at Kentucky. Sure, Cal will play the Bulls and Cavaliers off each other to get more money out of Kentucky, but he is not leaving.
Should I even dignify the ridiculous Miami and New Jersey rumors with a response?
LeBron can go to Miami so he can win titles and be accused of riding Dwyane Wade's coattails. Dwyane Wade has already won a title there. Would someone with LeBron's ego agree to being his 1B? Never. As for the Nets, here is their pitch:
You can waste two years of your prime in Newark, New Jersey. Then, when you want to make your brand the biggest in the world, you can go to bootleg Manhattan to do it. Author's note: I love Brooklyn, but comparing it in prominence to Manhattan is silly. You can play for our sketchy owner. And best yet, rather than out Jay-Zing Jay-Z, you can just be his boy.
As a Knicks fan, I somehow think LeBron will politely decline.
From a basketball perspective, The Knicks are the right fit. LeBron can come to the Knicks and have a blank slate that he can build in his image. He can have an elite player with him but not have to share the rock with Rose or Wade. LeBron would get to essentially be the point guard in the Mike D'Antoni "Seven Seconds or Less" offense. This plays to his strengths and is something he wants to do. LeBron likes D'Antoni and told Danilo Galinari (who along with Wilson Chander could handle some fourth quarter shots) to take good care of his injured back. Also, LeBron would be paired with the perfect Dwight Shrute to his Michael Scott: Chris Bosh. LBJ has openly talked about how much he would like to play with Bosh. LeBron's exact quote on the subject is: "I would definitely love to play with Chris Bosh," James said during the Eastern Conference All-Star team's media session. "Being around him last summer (in the Olympics), I got to see how smart he is. His basketball IQ is unbelievable. He's a very, very good player." No other team, none, can pair LeBron with Chris Bosh.
Plus, the Knicks have a ton of cap space coming off in 2011 with Eddy Curry, finally, mercifully, coming off the books. So the Knicks have room to build. They have that more than any other team courting LeBron.
The Knicks are also able to accommodate any trading deadline deals LeBron would want. Luxury tax is nothing to the Dolans. He will go to New York knowing there will not be financial barriers to him getting the pieces he wants around him.
Let's not forget that LeBron James has a New York Yankees Fetish.
In 2007 when the Yankees were playing in Cleveland in a playoff game, LeBron showed up wearing a Yankees cap. Cleveland's own, their local hero, showed up to support the Yankees. Come on. What an "FU" to all of Cleveland on New York's behalf! Does that not give you some indication of how excited he is about coming to New York? If that doesn't, how about the fact that he had special New York Yankees World Series Champions sneakers made for him by Nike?
Suppose I'm wrong. Suppose LeBron wants to make it happen in his hometown despite the teams lackluster and immovable supporting cast? Maybe LeBron is up for being compared to MJ. Maybe being D-Wade's boy sounds good to him. Maybe playing with Brook Lopez is too much to pass up. In that case...
Don't believe the hype about what happens if the Knicks do not get LeBron.
Listening to Mike and Mike this week, I learned that the Knicks will be devastated if they do not get LeBron James. Only, its not true. Not even close to being accurate. Sure, that is how it will be portrayed in the New York media and the national media. But here's what happens if LeBron goes to another team: the New York Knicks have a ton of cap room in the summer with the best free agents available. Then they have room to add a max player in 2011 when none other than Carmelo Anthony comes available. They have a grown-up in Donnie Walsh making the decisions. Sure, the possibilities of overpaying for David Lee or adding Amar'e Stoudermire are there. After sniffing LeBron, those two options would be devastating. But other consolation prizes are Bosh and Joe Johnson (easily a top 4 Eastern Conference team), Bosh and Carmelo by Fall 2011 or even Wade and Bosh. Let's not forget that Wade sold his Miami house for less than he paid for it and he too is going to free agency. Could it be that just like in LeBron's case, the New York grass is looking greener than his home turf?
Either way, good days are ahead for Knicks fans, LeBron or no LeBron. Knicks fans should realize it but many I talk to are dwelling on the past decade which, fourty-five days from LeBron's free agency, should be dead and buried. I will leave you with the song that all Knicks fans should have playing in their heads right now.
I tend to think LeBron James will be a Knick regardless of what happened in Boston tonight. There are many reasons, perhaps I'll blog about it later. But I can't help but notice that the Knicks may have come full circle from fifteen years ago.
You may remember. A really good team has home court in the conference semi-finals. They had been to the NBA Finals in the recent past and lost. And their unexpected loss was a sucker punch for their fan base. It was quickly followed by their leader (Pat Riley) leaving town so quick you would have thought he was told all bagels and pizza are poisonous.
I was at that awful game seven. I remember Ewing's missed finger roll. It was the worst moment of any sporting event I have ever witnessed live in person.
Let's just say we were not shocked about Riley skipping town when it happened shortly thereafter. We were about as surprised by that as Springfield's citizens were that Barney Gumbel had been to a burlesque house.
LeBron James is Pat Riley fifteen years ago. How long after the game tonight in which he and his team completely gave up with ninety seconds left did it take for LeBron to rip off the Cavs jersey?
He's on his way Knicks fans. It has finally come around for us. Fifteen years later.
I lived in Flushing until my family moved to Long Island shortly before my eighth birthday. Flushing counts, but who really thinks of it when they think, "New York City"? I can remember taking the school bus to Manhattan for field trips and a Knicks game or two. It was very impressive but hardly a part of my everyday life. That disconnect from the city grew on Long Island. Sure there were occasional Yankees and Mets games but not much more.
In high school, my good friend Ethan's dad lived in the West Village. The family loved having Ethan's friends over and a group of four of us often spent weekends there. This was 1995-1996. What a great time to get to know New York City. The 1990s revitalization was in full swing. I see footage of the subway from the 1980s covered in graffiti and looks like another universe to me.
We were less than ten years removed from this era but by 1995 it was dead and buried. This was also when the Knicks got real good. Hmmn, I wonder what that was like:
The father of a friend of ours had an in for Knicks tickets and we got to watch Ewing, Oakley, Starks, Mase, et. al. I began to have a Pavlovian response to the Long Island Rail Road. If I was boarding it, that mean either fun times in the Village or a Knicks game.
My friends and I ate many meals at John's Pizzeria on Bleecker Street where you can eat the best pizza I have ever tasted. I was a Long Island teen, enjoying the city for all it was worth.
And then I went to college in Washington, DC. My trips to the city became much less frequent. If I was heading out of DC, it was to Long Island. I went to college in DC and then lived there for two more years after. When I finally left it was for San Francisco. I had become very accustomed to DC. It is a small, manageable city. I would occasionally imagine people I knew who lived in Manhattan. It seemed like an intense existence; waking up everyday to being overwhelmed by your environs.
My career would bring me back to New York. I wanted to be a teacher and the New York City Teaching Fellows was the quickest way into the classroom. Notice I did not say easiest. I said quickest. In September 2003, I moved back to New York City for the first time since I was seven. I lived on 87th between 2nd and 3rd. You do not need to be Bruno to say, "That neighborhood is soooooo last season!" Ethan, who loves New York with a passion, says that area is hands down the most boring part of New York City. I would take the 5 train up to the South Bronx every day. Not only was the contrast in conditions from my neighborhood to my work jarring, the first year for any teacher is very stressful and this was that to the extreme. Reflecting back, things were so difficult that year I would have hated wherever I was living and in this case, I was living in New York City. It was during this first year that I ate a 4x4 cheeseburger at American Burger Company in Huntington, Long Island. At the time the prize for doing so was your name and hometown on the wall. I put my hometown as Greenlawn, the Long Island hamlet my family moved to from Queens. Ethan objected saying I lived in New York City. I refused to accept it as home. By the way, American Burger Company took down all the names off the wall. Thanks for honoring the people who had your back at the start. Forget them!
Anyway, by the time year two of my teaching stint rolled around in September 2004, I had moved to the Upper West Side and started dating Erin who is now my wife. She was living in Philadelphia and we would commute to see each other on the weekends. That year was actually much more enjoyable for me. Work was much easier and I was in a great mood because of my girlfriend. I knew early on that it might lead me to moving to Philadelphia. That added to the damage of my first year of teaching and I was looking right past New York City. I lived in a great neighborhood, right at the doorstep of the Museum of Natural History and I did not care one bit. The damage was real. All those stressful days in the South Bronx, trying to get crosstown on the Subway on a Sunday, the highway robbery of Food Emporium, Gristede's and Duane Reade, long waits for the Subway on Friday and Saturday nights, the way the heat and the concrete blended in the summer, my list of grievances was long enough for a lengthy Festivus airing.
In January 2005 Erin gave the thumbs-up to my plan to move to Philadelphia and teach there in September. To paraphrase Cosmo Kramer, in my mind I was already gone. I did nothing to commemorate it. No "I have to do this and that before I no longer live here." I spent most of that summer on Long Island working at the same camp I worked at in college. On the weekends Erin introduced me to Ocean City, New Jersey. Just another place I considered to be better than New York. Now I think of Ocean City as the place that changed my long held notion that Long Island is the best place to spend a summer but that's another blog post entirely.
I arrived in Philadelphia in August 2005. For the next three or so years, I ventured to New York City only occasionally. I did have a wonderful New York City night in August 2006 when I met up with my brother, Ethan and some friends for a Yankee game. Bleacher seats. Followed by a few rounds at a dive bar near the Stadium. Ethan and I then got the Subway to Astoria, Queens where we walked through some sketchy blocks to get his father's car. From there we drove to a diner at the foot of the Tribourough Bridge. The diner was fantastic and we each enjoyed a huge breakfast at midnight. Living in PA now, I really miss that. In New York, Long Island and New Jersey, you just take fantastic diners for granted. For some reason, diners in Pennsylvania are terrible. After our midnight meal, I showered at his dad's in the Village and then got the Subway to JFK for a flight to LA. I started sneezing and was able to get cold medication at a bodega in the Village at 2AM. Only in New York. I slept in the terminal at JFK to end my New York night.
2007 and 2008 had Erin and I buying a house, getting married and changing jobs. Thinking about that, I am not too surprised that I rarely ventured to the city.
That changed on January 3, 2009. It was a Saturday. I decided to take a day trip to the city to catch up with a bunch of friends there, many I had not seen in a while. I got off the NJ Transit train and met up with Ethan's mom June. She suggested we rendezvous at a place Ethan had recommended, Crumbs Bake Shop:
Wow! I used to be a Magnolia fan, but no more. I fell for Crumbs. I have documented my love for Crumbs in another blog post. It felt great catching up with friends on that cold January day. I wondered why I didn't do it more often.
In May Erin and her mom went to New York for a breast cancer walk. I joined in and we stayed at the Hilton New York and enjoyed late night dessert at Cafe Lalo, a place where Erin and I had enjoyed when we first started dating. Erin insisted on trying the Bolt Bus because she hates trains. I was reluctant because I hate being tied to a bus schedule. I used to be all about SEPTA to NJ Transit. Not anymore. The Bolt Bus works wonderfully. $12 each way and WiFi! This discovery made it so much easier for me to access New York.
The Bolt Bus enabled my summer of New York. I likely would have made a number of trips anyway to see new Yankee Stadium and Citi Field but the Bolt Bus opened the floodgates. I could take the same train Erin takes to go to work in the morning and get on the 9AM Bolt Bus to New York. My trips continued into the fall as the Yankees won the World Series and Jay-Z released a song that I interpreted as the anthem to my Bolt Bus trips and will play all over ESPN when LeBron James signs with the Knicks.
I have not been back yet in 2010. I look forward to that changing. I have too many friends there and there are too many things to see and do. I could write up my personal "Peterman Reality Tour" (how many Seinfeld references can I fit in?) that documents my NYC history but for now I will just share a few things I love to do when I am in Manhattan. I already mentioned John's on Bleecker and Crumbs. Also check out:
Vol du Nuit. Most people call this the "Belgian beer bar in the West Village." I have spent an absurd number of evenings there. Pricey no doubt but a great place to hang out with a bunch of friends. The fries with dipping sauce are tremendous:
Aroma. Ethan turned June on to Aroma and she turned me on to it. Ethan describes it as the "Israeli Starbucks" because they apparently are all over Israel. Their sandwiches are legit but everyone is there for the espresso/coffee drinks, all of which come with a small chocolate bar. Erin says the chocolate croissant she ate there is one of the best desserts she has ever had:
John's in Time Square They have another location and it is just as good. Plus the building used to be a church and is a great place to sit down for a meal:
So there is my relationship with New York and some things I love about this wonderful city. I could never live there again - a cheapskate like me with that cost of living! But I will always love visiting it and my friends there. I will sign off with this picture I took as I was about to board the Bolt Bus for the last time during my 2009 summer vacation.
Bobby Flay opened a Bobby's Burger Palace in West Philly on April 3. My wife works at Penn and was able to enjoy it for lunch recently. She had an LA burger (cheddar cheese, avocado relish and watercress) crunchified meaning they put potato chips on it. She loved it. I had been anxiously waiting to try it and finally last night (Friday 4-16-10) my wife and I and our friend had dinner there. BTW, thank goodness the Bobby in Bobby's Burger Palace is Bobby Flay and not another Bobby. That might change the dynamic somewhat.
We stood in line for a while. I wish I kept time but I didn't. I'm guessing twenty to thirty minutes. It was the Friday night of Spring Fling and we were joined by a lot of drunken college students. My wife thinks it was only because of Spring Fling. Our friend said any Friday night will be packed. I look forward to settling this debate in the future.
Our friend had the Napa burger which he enjoyed. He also ordered the French Fries which I tried. I have to be honest and say that fries were not hot enough. The sauce they came out with was fantastic. The bar has sets of sauce bottles.
The sauces are a huge plus for this restaurant. They all tasted great and show that Bobby Flay knows what he is doing. My favorite was the Chipotle Ketchup. The burger sauce (a steak sauce) was also great. I even liked the yellow mustard and I'm someone who hollers if yellow is served instead of spicy. There was also regular ketchup and a jalapeño hot sauce. The hot sauce was a little too spicy for me but still pretty good.
My wife and I waited a little too long for our order to come out. Our friend's arrived shortly after we all ordered. My wife and I ordered together at the same time he was ordering. Ours did not come out until he was finished with his burger. Perhaps it was because I ordered a turkey burger.
We shared some onion rings:
The onion rings were fantastic. A perfect onion ring. They came out just the right temperature. Also unlike the fries they do not come with a special sauce but that is hardly a problem with all the great sauces at the table.
My order was the LA turkey burger hold the cheese.
I really loved this burger. I can't imagine how decadent it would have been if it were an actual hamburger with cheddar cheese on it. The "avocado relish" was wonderful. I noted that Bobby had made up a new name for guacamole just to sound cool and my wife disagreed. She said the avocado relish is spiced very differently than guacamole. She might be right.
She had the Dallas burger (spice crusted, coleslaw, Monterey Jack, BBQ sauce and pickles) crunchified.
I had a few bites. Fantastic. My wife noted just how great the spice rub was. And not too spicy at all. I would happily order this again.
The "Crunchified" Thing Before my schpiel about this, please watch this 1:05 long Bobby's Burger Palace promo video. Please pay special attention from 0:38 to 0:46.
Notice Bobby patting himself on the back for giving you a handful of potato chips free with a burger. Wow, how are you going to make any money being all Santa Claus like that? My wife noticed that I had decidedly more avocado relish on my LA burger than she had on the LA burger she had ordered her previous time there. Just looking at the burgers coming out, it seemed like there was less topping on the crunchified ones. What costs BBP more, those chips or extra avocado relish or whatever fancy topping on their burgers? And notice how they promote "crunchified" in the video. I'm not a conspiracy theorist but I think it is safe to say you get more bang for the buck by not getting your burger crunchified.
The Big Picture
My criticisms of crunchified, the cool fries and the delay in getting our order aside, I LOVE this place. The food tastes great. The sauces show a wonderful attention to detail. The wait is long but the end product is worth it. I didn't even get one of their milkshakes or even better, spiked milkshakes. In the future, that is where I will spend my calories, not on the fries or onion rings. Also, I have to get the Grilled Cheese Deluxe next time I go. It has Brie, goat cheese, tomato and bacon and sounds like what Bobby used to win the grilled cheese episode of Throwdownagainst the Pop Shop in Collingswood, NJ. I cannot wait to get back.
Happily married teacher living in the Philadelphia region. Interested in nature, sustainability, H2O, public transit, cats, Yankees, Giants, and Knicks.
