New York Yankees updates heading into the Winter Meetings

The baseball hot stove has heated up the past couple of days. The Yankees are in the news for signing a couple of their old players. The Yankees have resigned Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera to one year deals. They did the same for Hiroki Kuroda a couple of weeks ago, they seem pretty set in the pitching department. The Yankees head into the winter meetings looking for a catcher, right fielder and some bench help. 
Andy Pettitte was signed officially yesterday for one year and 12 million with performance based bonuses. Mariano Rivera officially signed tonight for one year and 10 million also with performance based bonuses. Kuroda had signed earlier in the off season for one year and 15 million. The Yankees did lose Russell Martin to the Pirates tonight though, he signed for two years and 17 million pending a physical. The Yankees apparently didn’t make him an offer as they said they weren’t going to match that offer. I want to make it clear that it wasn’t that they didn’t have the money, they just chose not to spend it on Martin. The Yankees I am sure have a plan for catcher. I would trust Cashman and company more then some of the fans do. I do think he was a very good catcher but he did hit 211 last year so let’s not act like it is the end of the world.

The Yankees right now though have Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart as their catchers with Austin Romine in the minors about to get a good luck. I don’t think the Yankees will sign any of the free agents such as Mike Napoli and A.J. Pierzynski. I think if anything the Yankees will make a trade for a catcher, maybe they will just go with what they have, say play good defense and don’t worry about the hitting. They may figure that these guys can’t really do worse then 211, they will lose a lot of power though.

The Yankees most likely will resign Ichiro Suzuki to a one year deal to be their right fielder and I am all for it. They are going to lose Nick Swisher along with Martin though and that is a lot of power gone from the team. The Yankees may have a whole new offensive strategy though which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I am all for Ichiro, Gardner, Nunez and one of those catchers playing. They can use speed, more bunts and hit and run and manufacture runs. When it comes to the playoffs that is how you score runs and the Yankees won’t have to wait for the homerun and more often then not fail because of that.

In other baseball news the Minnesota Twins traded Denard Span to the Washington Nationals for minor league right handed pitcher Alex Meyer. It was a good move for the Nationals as they have a legitimate leadoff hitter now and he will play good defense also. Bryce Harper can now shit to left field where he is better served.

There are some other rumors going around such as the Dodgers being the favorites to sign Zack Greinke. The winter meetings will begin next week and I am sure we will get a lot of action and really start to see how things are going to line up for next year. Will the Yankees have a new catcher and right fielder by the end of the meetings, will they sign some spare parts?? Will the Yankees make a big move such as signing Josh Hamilton?? I would doubt them making a big move but you never know.

The New York Jets suffer an embarrassing loss on Thanksgiving night to the New England Patriots

The New York Jets were defeated by the New England Patriots by the score of 49-19. It was a embarrassing performance. Mark Sanchez was terrible but Tim Tebow had a couple of cracked ribs and he wasn’t able to play although he was the only other quarterback on the roster for the game. The Jets didn’t have a good game in any facet of the team. 
Mark Sanchez was 26-36 for 301 yards and one touchdown and he threw an interception. He also fumbled the ball and the Patriots ran it back for a touchdown. Shonn Greene led the Jets rushing with 71 yards on 14 attempts, Bilal Powell had 40 yards on 12 attempts and a touchdown and Joe McKnight rushed for six yards on one carry. Sanchez had two yards rushing on two attempts. Jeremy Kerley had seven receptions for 86 yards, Dustin Keller had five receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown and Jeff Cumberland had four receptions for 58 yards. Chaz Shilens had two receptions for 28 yards, Clyde Gates had two receptions for 20 yards and Stephen Hill had two receptions for 16 yards. Powell had two receptions for 13 yards, Greene had one reception for nine yards and Konrad Reuland had one reception for seven yards. Nick Folk was 1-1 on field goals making a 32 yarder and making two extra points.

David Harris led the defense with eight tackles and two assists. Demario Davis had six tackles, LaRon Landry had five tackles and three assists and Kyle Wilson had four tackles and two assists. They didn’t have any sacks or interceptions.

Tom Brady was 18-28 for 323 yards with three touchdowns. Stevan Ridley had 21 rushes for 97 yards and a touchdown. Shane Vereen had 10 rushes for 42 yards and Brady had three rushes for five yards and a touchdown. Danny Woodhead had two rushes for eight yards, Julian Edelman had one rush for three yards. Vereen led the receivers with two catches for 91 yards and a touchdown. Wes Welker had seven receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown, Julian Edelman had two receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown and Aaron Hernandez had two receptions for 36 yards. Brandon Lloyd had three receptions for 26 yards, Daniel Fells had one reception for 24 yards and Woodhead had one reception for 11 yards. Stephen Gostkowski missed his only field goal attempt, he had seven extra points.

Jerod Mayo led the Patriots defense with eight tackles and three assists and a sack. Brandon Spikes had seven tackles and four assists, Steve Gregory and Alfonzo Dennard each had five tackles. Donta Hightower had a sack.

The Patriots moved to 8-3 and in first place in the AFC East and the Jets dropped to 4-7 and tied for last place with the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East.

The New York Giants win in dominating fashion over the Green Bay Packers

The New York Giants defeated the Green Bay Packers by the score of 38-10 on Sunday night. The Giants had a couple of pretty bad weeks and they hadn’t played a really good game in quite a while. The Giants brought their A game in this one and looked like the World Champions that they are. The Giants after giving up an early score to the Packers really shut them down. The Giants offense was really balanced with the passing and rushing and their wasn’t much to complain about at all. 
Eli Manning was 16-30 for 249 yards and three touchdowns. Andre Brown led the rushing with 64 yards on 13 attempts with a touchdown, Ahmad Bradshaw rushed for 58 yards on 10 carries with a touchdown. David Wilson had six rushes for 13 yards. Hakeem Nicks had five receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown, Bradshaw had two receptions for 61 yards and Victor Cruz had three receptions for 36 yards and a touchdown. Martellus Bennett had three receptions for 44 yards, Rueben Randle had two receptions for 26 yards and a touchdown. Lawrence Tynes made one field goal from 43 yards and five extra points.

Mathias Kiwanuka had five tackles and an assist and two sacks to lead the defense. Kenny Phillips and Antrelle Rolle each had five tackles. Chase Blackburn, Chris Canty, Osi Umenyiora each had a sack.

Aaron Rodgers was 14-25 for 219 yards with a touchdown and an interception. James Starks led the Packers rushing with 35 yards on eight carries, Alex Green had 10 rushes for 30 yards and Rodgers had three rushes for 22 yards. John Kuhn had four rushes for 17 yards and Randall Cobb had one rush for 12 yards. Jordy Nelson led the receivers with two catches for 71 yards and a touchdown. Jermichael Finley had three catches for 51 yards, Kuhn had three catches for 49 yards and Cobb had four catches for 39 yards. Alex Green had three catches for 20 yards. Mason Crosby was 1-2 on field goals making a 28 yarder and missing a 55 yarder. He had one extra point.

A.J. Hawk led the defense with eight tackles and two assists. Brad Jones had six tackles and two assists, Dezman Moses had the only sack of Manning on the day.

The Giants and Packers both have records of 7-4. The Giants are in first place in the NFC East by two games over the Dallas Cowboys. The Packers are behind the Chicago Bears for first place in the NFC North. The Giants will face the Washington Redskins in Washington next Monday night.