The New York Rangers were eliminated by the New Jersey Devils in last seasons Eastern Conference Finals. They lost in six games and the sting has been there ever since. The Rangers had to wait extra long as the lockout dragged on and was finally just settled last week. Training camp began yesterday and the first game will be Saturday night in Boston. There won’t be any preseason games and 48 games will be played in a pretty short amount of time. The Rangers will open up with a pretty tough schedule. They have the Bruins on Saturday, then come home Sunday for the Penguins then play the Bruins again at home. They then have the Flyers and Pittsburgh, it won’t be easy but it is important especially this season to get off to a good start.
I think the Rangers have one advantage in that they have the same core of guys. They have a few new guys including superstar Rick Nash. Nash seems to be comfortable though and has been living in New York for a few months, he says he really likes the city and today he had a nice quote about pressure. It looks like he is embracing it and looking forward to it and shouldn’t have any problems. The Rangers really do have a stacked team starting with the best goalie around in Henrik Lundqvist. They now have scorers on multiple lines, it looks like Brad Richards and Nash will work on the same line which is a nice combination. Marion Gaborik will be on another line and he is one of the best scorers. They have nice depth and good defense. It isn’t easy to win games and get far but the Rangers have a legitimate shot to win the Stanley Cup. I know one thing for sure they won’t be outworked. They are determined and they have a good coach who is going to push them, they get along very well and are excited to be playing again. I really think they will at least make the finals this year and may be raising the cup come April. If the Rangers are able to win it, it will be the first time since 1994. It looks like they are favorites to a lot of people also though which makes it tough but I think they realize what is in front of them and they are prepared for it.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
No one is elected to the Hall Of Fame by the BBWAA
The 2013 Hall Of Fame Class was an unbelievable one in name. It was star studded and included many locks for the Hall Of Fame. I should say they were locks if the suspicion and taint of steroids wasn’t hanging over them. Barry Bonds, Rogers Clemens, Mike Piazza, Craig Biggio. When you hear those names I am sure most would think Hall Of Famers except they aren’t at least not right now.
Mike Piazza had a near 60 percent showing as the first time on the ballot, I am sure he will get in one day. You have to remember that these guys as long as they receive five percent of the vote stay on the ballot for 15 years. That is a long time for minds to be changed and circumstances to be different. I think this ballot was just a perfect storm as many PED users or suspected users were on the ballot for the first time. This is the first time you had so many of those guys on the ballot and I think the writers were very conflicted.
I think next year you will still have a strong case and probably have many go in. The Veterans committee for instance will have Tony LaRussa, Bobby Cox and Joe Torre all on the ballot, I bet they all get in. Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine will be on for the first time and may both get in. I would say Maddux for sure, what about Mike Mussina, he is a borderline Hall Of Famer and it will be interesting to see how he does. Jack Morris is a guy that may have been caught with the other guys and overlooked a little. There are a lot that think he should be in and next year will be his final year on the ballot. I personally am not so sure he should be a Hall Of Famer. He had a near four ERA which I don’t consider very good.
I think that this is a good debate too have and baseball will be front and center now as this debate is not going away. I think the debate about the Hall Of Fame and steroids will lead us into Spring Training and then the season will start to take over. This is a very tough thing to go through with the steroid era, I really don’t know what to make of it. I have been leaning towards the if they deserve to be in by the numbers then they should be in. I have to be honest though I don’t know if I would of put supposed or known PED cheats in on the first ballot. I probably if I had a vote left Clemens and Bonds off and then voted for them later on. I don’t think McGwire and Sosa are worthy steroids or no steroids, they were too one dimensional for me.
Let the debate continue but I don’t think you can really blame the writers for this. Let’s remember the players, the owners they turned a blind eye to steroids and allowed this to happen so the game could take off again and the money gained out of it. They got tough after the fact but we can’t be naïve, we all know that they let this happen, it isn’t the writers fault that they chose to taint the sport. Lets have a healthy debate about who should be in and who should be out but lets not make it like it’s the end of the world. I think everyone is entitled to their opinion and to vote how they want to vote, let’s also remember these players have 15 years to get in, it isn’t a one and done proposition.
Mike Piazza had a near 60 percent showing as the first time on the ballot, I am sure he will get in one day. You have to remember that these guys as long as they receive five percent of the vote stay on the ballot for 15 years. That is a long time for minds to be changed and circumstances to be different. I think this ballot was just a perfect storm as many PED users or suspected users were on the ballot for the first time. This is the first time you had so many of those guys on the ballot and I think the writers were very conflicted.
I think next year you will still have a strong case and probably have many go in. The Veterans committee for instance will have Tony LaRussa, Bobby Cox and Joe Torre all on the ballot, I bet they all get in. Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine will be on for the first time and may both get in. I would say Maddux for sure, what about Mike Mussina, he is a borderline Hall Of Famer and it will be interesting to see how he does. Jack Morris is a guy that may have been caught with the other guys and overlooked a little. There are a lot that think he should be in and next year will be his final year on the ballot. I personally am not so sure he should be a Hall Of Famer. He had a near four ERA which I don’t consider very good.
I think that this is a good debate too have and baseball will be front and center now as this debate is not going away. I think the debate about the Hall Of Fame and steroids will lead us into Spring Training and then the season will start to take over. This is a very tough thing to go through with the steroid era, I really don’t know what to make of it. I have been leaning towards the if they deserve to be in by the numbers then they should be in. I have to be honest though I don’t know if I would of put supposed or known PED cheats in on the first ballot. I probably if I had a vote left Clemens and Bonds off and then voted for them later on. I don’t think McGwire and Sosa are worthy steroids or no steroids, they were too one dimensional for me.
Let the debate continue but I don’t think you can really blame the writers for this. Let’s remember the players, the owners they turned a blind eye to steroids and allowed this to happen so the game could take off again and the money gained out of it. They got tough after the fact but we can’t be naïve, we all know that they let this happen, it isn’t the writers fault that they chose to taint the sport. Lets have a healthy debate about who should be in and who should be out but lets not make it like it’s the end of the world. I think everyone is entitled to their opinion and to vote how they want to vote, let’s also remember these players have 15 years to get in, it isn’t a one and done proposition.
Alex Rodriguez injury worse then thought??
Alex Rodriguez doctor spoke on Tuesday and it seems that his injury may be worse then we thought. He still hasn’t had his surgery but will do so soon. The estimated time of recovery puts him back at no earlier then the All Star Break. He most likely won’t see any playing action until at least the end of July or maybe August.
The extent of the damage to the hip won’t be known until he is on the operating table. The doctor Dr. Kelly said “The big question is, how much cartilage damage is there, and how much unfixable damage is there?” The surgery according to Dr. Kelly is very technically challenging and it will be a two hour surgery. It is an arthroscopic procedure involved making three small incisions in the hip, penetrating three layers of muscle, inserting a camera to assess the damage, implanting an anchor in the top of the hip and reattaching the torn labrum to it, reshaping the femoral head of the hip to provide a greater range of motion and finally repairing as much of the cartilage as possible.
He said they can fix two of the three problems but the cartilage is a permanent injury and they won’t know how extensive the injury is until they are in there. The exam that was done by the doctor revealed some cartilage wear. This isn’t a very encouraging thing for the Yankees. If you are one of those that don’t believe Rodriguez will be viable going forward this certainly helps your case. I personally don’t know what to make of this, I know for sure we won’t be seeing 30 and 100 any longer but is 20 and 80 possible and a 270 average, I would say probably. If this is possible is it enough?? Not for the money they are paying him but as a DH?? It may be and it may have to be as there isn’t much choice, he has five years left and isn’t going anywhere.
The extent of the damage to the hip won’t be known until he is on the operating table. The doctor Dr. Kelly said “The big question is, how much cartilage damage is there, and how much unfixable damage is there?” The surgery according to Dr. Kelly is very technically challenging and it will be a two hour surgery. It is an arthroscopic procedure involved making three small incisions in the hip, penetrating three layers of muscle, inserting a camera to assess the damage, implanting an anchor in the top of the hip and reattaching the torn labrum to it, reshaping the femoral head of the hip to provide a greater range of motion and finally repairing as much of the cartilage as possible.
He said they can fix two of the three problems but the cartilage is a permanent injury and they won’t know how extensive the injury is until they are in there. The exam that was done by the doctor revealed some cartilage wear. This isn’t a very encouraging thing for the Yankees. If you are one of those that don’t believe Rodriguez will be viable going forward this certainly helps your case. I personally don’t know what to make of this, I know for sure we won’t be seeing 30 and 100 any longer but is 20 and 80 possible and a 270 average, I would say probably. If this is possible is it enough?? Not for the money they are paying him but as a DH?? It may be and it may have to be as there isn’t much choice, he has five years left and isn’t going anywhere.
Monday, January 7, 2013
The New York Rangers are happy that hockey is back
The New York Rangers lost in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals last year. They lost to the New Jersey Devils their rival. They have been itching to get back to playing hockey again every since. It has been a long seven months but the lockout is finally over and the Rangers players are starting to hit the ice. There were a bunch of Rangers at the practice rink, training camp will begin shortly and the season is expected to start on January 19th.
The New York Rangers were so close to getting to the Stanley Cup Finals and possibly winning the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1994. The Rangers nucleus remains the same but they added Rick Nash to bring some much needed scoring to the team. The Rangers have an all world goalie and a good defense that remains intact. They now have Nash to go with Marion Gaborik and Brad Richards as guys that can put the puck in the net and they can spread that over a couple of lines. Carl Hagelin had a strong rookie campaign and he is back and Kris Kreider came in late as a young rookie and showed the Rangers a lot. He will be available now for a full season and could bring some more scoring to the team. The Rangers appear to be very serious threats for the Stanley Cup. I would say that the one team that can derail that for them will be the Pittsburgh Penguins. It will be interesting to see how everything plays out in a 48 game schedule.
The Rangers can benefit from this though, they mainly have the same team as last year. The Rangers had Gaborik who was going to start the season hurt now fully healthy along with the rest of the team. They won’t be traveling as much, it all looks to add up to success for the Rangers. They are also a close knit group with them being very happy to be back as evidenced by how many guys showed up at the rink today. John Torterella the no nonsense coach also said his team will be ready and I am sure he will bring the most out of them. He is very demanding but the players all buy into his system. The Rangers look poised to take the next step and are roaring to go, we will soon find out if they have what it takes to hoist Lord Stanleys Cup.
The New York Rangers were so close to getting to the Stanley Cup Finals and possibly winning the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1994. The Rangers nucleus remains the same but they added Rick Nash to bring some much needed scoring to the team. The Rangers have an all world goalie and a good defense that remains intact. They now have Nash to go with Marion Gaborik and Brad Richards as guys that can put the puck in the net and they can spread that over a couple of lines. Carl Hagelin had a strong rookie campaign and he is back and Kris Kreider came in late as a young rookie and showed the Rangers a lot. He will be available now for a full season and could bring some more scoring to the team. The Rangers appear to be very serious threats for the Stanley Cup. I would say that the one team that can derail that for them will be the Pittsburgh Penguins. It will be interesting to see how everything plays out in a 48 game schedule.
The Rangers can benefit from this though, they mainly have the same team as last year. The Rangers had Gaborik who was going to start the season hurt now fully healthy along with the rest of the team. They won’t be traveling as much, it all looks to add up to success for the Rangers. They are also a close knit group with them being very happy to be back as evidenced by how many guys showed up at the rink today. John Torterella the no nonsense coach also said his team will be ready and I am sure he will bring the most out of them. He is very demanding but the players all buy into his system. The Rangers look poised to take the next step and are roaring to go, we will soon find out if they have what it takes to hoist Lord Stanleys Cup.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Yankees news and notes on a Friday night
The New York Yankees claimed Russ Canzler off of waivers from the Cleveland Indians on Friday. He is 26 years old and appeared in 26 games for the Indians as a September callup last year. He batted 269 with three home runs and 11 RBI. He is a right handed hitter and has flexibility as he could play first base, DH, left field. He made 24 starts last year with 11 in the outfield, seven at first base and six at DH and he hit safely in 15 of those games. The Yankees designated Chris Dickerson for assignment so they would have room on the 40 man roster for Canzler. He looks like a good bet to make the roster as he can get there in many ways.
Brian Cashman said today that Austin Romine could break camp as the starting catcher but most likely he is ticketed for AAA Scranton to get more playing time. If that is the case then Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart will be the catchers. Cervelli has already reported down to Tampa to start working out, he is determined to win the starting job. Cervelli would be a nice comeback story as he was cut on the last day of spring training last year and didn’t make it back until September as he was lost in a numbers game. He brings a lot of energy to the team and is a fan favorite.
The Yankees are apparently interested in Lance Berkman as a DH. He is best friends with Andy Pettitte and he was on the Yankees for half a season a couple of years ago. The Texas Rangers supposedly have a standing offer out to him and Houston is interested in signing him to finish his career out with the team he has played for the most during his career. I think it would be a nice move for the Yankees if they can do it.
Brian Cashman said today that Austin Romine could break camp as the starting catcher but most likely he is ticketed for AAA Scranton to get more playing time. If that is the case then Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart will be the catchers. Cervelli has already reported down to Tampa to start working out, he is determined to win the starting job. Cervelli would be a nice comeback story as he was cut on the last day of spring training last year and didn’t make it back until September as he was lost in a numbers game. He brings a lot of energy to the team and is a fan favorite.
The Yankees are apparently interested in Lance Berkman as a DH. He is best friends with Andy Pettitte and he was on the Yankees for half a season a couple of years ago. The Texas Rangers supposedly have a standing offer out to him and Houston is interested in signing him to finish his career out with the team he has played for the most during his career. I think it would be a nice move for the Yankees if they can do it.
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