R.A. dickey is an angry Elf

The Mets had their annual holiday party, one of them dresses as Santa and they have a couple of elves. David Wright was there as Santa and R.A. Dickey and Ike Davis were elves. Dickey seemed to speak out about the Mets and their lack of effort with getting a deal done with him. I personally didn’t think it was horrible but it didn’t look good what he said. I am not sure that a event with children was the right place to air out your grievances. I do understand why he is upset though, he is only looking for a two year deal with fair market value. Dickey did win a Cy Young award last season. 
I think they may keep him but just have him on the final year of his deal. I think the Mets could trade him but want a really good deal for him and if not I don’t see them giving him two years. They probably should just give him a two year extension and leave it at that. Johan Santana is in his last year and the rest of the staff is young. It is good to have a veteran presence around but we will see how it plays out.

The other big story which is more up to date is Josh Hamilton agreeing to a deal with the Anaheim Angels on Thursday afternoon. He signed for five years and 125 million dollars. What a lineup they have with Pujols and Hamilton in the middle and they also have Mike Trout. The rivalry between the Angels and Rangers has also really picked up steam with this. The Angels and Dodgers though in different leagues have a little territorial rivalry going like the Mets and Yankees. It will be interesting to see how Hamilton performs outside his comfort zone. He won’t be expected to be the guy in Anaheim as Pujols and Trout are also there. A city like Los Angeles though can be very tempting and they better have someone watching his every move to make sure he doesn’t fall off the wagon.

New York Yankees moves and a big trade in baseball

The New York Yankees have signed Kevin Youkilis to play third base for them in 2012. Alex Rodriguez is their third baseman but he is having hip surgery and will miss at least half the season. If Rodriguez comes back in half a season who knows how he will be and if he can play the field anymore. I know that Youkilis is one of the most hated players to go against the Yankees for all those years in Boston. The signing though one year for 12 million is not a bad move in my opinion. I would say he was clearly the best option out there, he is not as good as he used to be but he still hits lefties and can get on base. He walks a lot and gets hit by pitches. It will be interesting to see how he is received by Yankees fans and of course how they react in Boston to him.

Ichiro Suzuki hasn’t officially signed yet but he is coming back to the Yankees. The only question now is if he is coming back for a year, a year and an option or two years which is being rumored. Ichiro has a chance of reaching 3000 hits and the Yankees may tie bonuses to his contract if he does that. I like the move with Ichiro to be the right fielder, he does so many things right. He also brings that speed element which I think is so important. I think the Yankees will have a different offensive team next year. They will have to create more runs which in the long run is good for them. They have become too reliant on the homerun and that has cost them in the postseason. I think the Yankees will also sign a right handed outfielder to complement Ichiro but we will see. Scott Hairston is an option.

There was also a big three way trade in baseball on Tuesday between the Cleveland Indians, Arizona Diamondbacks and Cincinnati Reds. The Indians got Drew Stubbs a center fielder, right handers Trevor Bauer, Matt Albers and Bryan Shaw. Shin-Soo Choo has been the right fielder for pretty much the last seven years for the Indians. He went to the Reds, Jason Donald and 3.5 million also went to the Reds. Tony Sipp a reliever and first baseman Lars Anderson went to Arizona. It looks like Cleveland may have gotten the upper hand in this deal but we will wait and see how it all plays out.

The Jets are able to win a close one in Jacksonville

The New York Jets defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars by the score of 17-10 on Sunday afternoon. The game was played in Jacksonville, Florida. Mark Sanchez was 12-19 for 11 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. 
Bilal Powell led the rushing attack with 78 yards on 19 attempts and a touchdown. Shonn Greene had 20 rushes for 77 yards and a touchdown and Sanchez had three rushes for 11 yards.

Jeff Cumberland led the receivers with one catch for 37 yards. Jeremy Kerley had four for 27 yards, Chaz Schilens had two for 27 yards and Mardy Gilyard had two catches for 15 yards. Konrad Reuland had two catches for seven yards.

Nick Folk was 1-1 on field goals making a 44 yarder and he had two extra points. The Jets had two interceptions and Laron Landry led the defense with nine tackles and one assist. The Jets also had three sacks. David Harris, Muhammad Wilkerson and Quinton Coples each had a sack.

Chad Henne was 21-43 for 185 yards and no touchdowns with two interceptions. Montell Owens led the rushing attack with 14 attempts for 91 yards and a touchdown. Richard Murphy had four attempts for 19 yards, Jordan Todman had three for eight yards and Greg Jones had two rushes for four yards.

Justin Blackmon led the receivers with six catches for 57 yards, Jordan Shipley had five receptions for 55 yards and Kevin Elliott had three catches for 38 yards. Owens had one catch for 11 yards, Guy Whimper had one for 10 yards and Jones had two catches for eight yards.

Josh Scobee was 1-2 on field goals making a 31 yarder and making one extra point. Paul Posluszny led the defense with 10 tackles and an assist. Jason Babin had the only sack for the Jaguars and they didn’t have an interception.

The Jets improved their record to 6-7 and the Jaguars dropped their record to 2-11.

The New York Giants roll past the New Orleans Saints

The New York Giants special teams did some heavy lifting on Sunday evening. The Giants were able to beat the New Orleans Saints by the score of 52-27, rookie David Wilson set a Giants rookie record for most all purpose yards ever. The Giants rookie had a 97 yard kick return for a touchdown and a couple of other long ones which really set up the Giants field position all day. 
Eli Manning was 22-35 for 259 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Wilson had 13 rushing attempts for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Ahmad Bradshaw had 11 carries for 33 yards and Henry Hynoski had one carry for five yards.

Victor Cruz led the receivers with eight catches for 121 yards and a touchdown, Hakeem Nicks had four catches for 67 yards and a touchdown and Martellus Bennett had five catches for 32 yards and a touchdown. Domenik Hixon had three catches for 30 yards and a touchdown and Hynoski had two catches for nine yards.

Lawrence Tynes was 1-2 on field goals making from 39 yards and he had seven extra points. Stevie Brown on defense had two interceptions and the Giants had one sack from Osi Umenyiora. Michael Boley led the defense with seven tackles and three assists.

Drew Brees was 26-43 for 354 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions. Mark Ingram led the rushing with 13 attempts for 68 yards. Darren Sproles had five rushes for 56 yards and a touchdown, Pierre Thomas had five rushes for 19 yards.

Joseph Morgan led the receivers with two catches for 106 yards. Marques Colston had four receptions for 61 yards, Thomas had seven receptions for 57 yards, Jimmy Graham had five catches for 56 yards and Darren Sproles had four for 28 yards and a touchdown. Lance Moore had one catch for 26 yards, Devery Henderson had one for 11 yards and Jed Collins had two catches for nine yards.

Garrett Hartley was 2-2 in field goals with his long being from 32 yards and he made three extra points. The Saints defense had two interceptions and Curtis Lofton led their defense with seven tackles and two assists.

The Giants remain in first place in the NFC East. They are now 8-5 on the season and will travel to Atlanta for their next game on Sunday. The Saints record dropped to 5-8 on the season and they will have to win out and hope for a lot of luck, but they are basically out of the playoffs now.