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They Can Find $36 Million For Jared Jeffries But...

Why in the world is James Dolan allowing this Isiah Thomas trial to keep moving forward? If you owned a business that was getting dragged through the mud on a daily basis in front of your customer base what would it be worth to you to make it stop? Take into account that said company was part of a larger consortium that is fanatical about its public image and said customer base was being insulted by the people they pay good money to watch play and/or coach. To me it would be worth quite a bit to make it stop, if not for the $10 million asking price then for something close to it that made the whole thing go away. Alas, I'm not James Dolan and we're sure to get more charming missives like the one that Stephon Marbury sent to someone who worked for Anucha Browne Sanders.

"No one likes that black bitch," Marbury told a Sanders underling, according to the Nov. 28, 2005 note. "F - - - that black bitch. She thinks she runs the Knicks. She don't run s- - -. I sell the tickets around here, not her. I put people in seats. This is my team."

And that actually came on a good day for the Knicks defense team. Team President Steve Mills testified that Sanders resigned from her job before the Knicks fired her, making a retaliation charge quite tough to prove, and outlined several ways that she was deficient in her job duties. That basically means that the Knicks were more than willing to keep paying for someone to do a mediocre job, that's their defense actually, and Mills said that when Sanders finally told him about Thomas' improper advances he spoke to Isiah about it. That was in December 2005, just before the Knicks and Sanders parted ways.

I'm not a legal analyst nor am I knowledgeable about the inner workings of the Knick organization but this whole deal needs to go away posthaste. It's clear that this woman, however bad she may have been at her job, was subjected to a difficult working enviornment above and beyond what most reasonable people would accept. Settle this and move onto to the season which actually holds some promise of a positive outcome.

Mets Get Back On Track

Unlike the Red Sox the Mets really did have something to worry about if they couldn't stop their losing streak. The second place team in the NL East is guaranteed nothing by way of the Wild Card so it's really the best bet to keep a tight grip on that brass ring. After a week of slipping the Mets finally did just that. And of all the bold-faced names on the roster they have Jorge Sosa to thank for their change in fortunes. Sosa relieved Mike Pelfrey in the sixth inning with runners on first and third and nobody out. The Mets had a 5-3 lead but it didn't seem all that secure given the recent bullpen performances. Sosa, however, put the past behind him by striking out the red-hot D'Angelo Jimenez and getting Nook Logan to ground into a double play. The Mets scored three runs in the top of the seventh and the 8-4 win was secure as Sosa, Aaron Heilman and Billy Wagner closed the door on the pesky Nationals. 

• Of all the Molinas in all the world, wouldn't it have to be Yadier who helped the Mets regain a game on their lead over the Phillies. In a tasty bit of symmetry, the Cardinals catcher drove home the winning run, on his very own bobblehead night no less, in a 2-1 game that had a lot of impact on the Mets. It's a weird way for the Phillies to lose. They got great pitching for most of 10 innings but their powerful bats couldn't do anything against Adam Wainwright or the St. Louis bullpen.
• Alfonso Soriano put the Cubs back into the lead in the Central division with a splendid all-around effort in the 3-2 win over the Reds. He kept the game tied at 2 in the top of the eighth with a peg to nab Norris Hopper at the plate. That came several innings after he led off the game with his 28th home run of the season. Throw some credit to Ted Lilly for seven strong innings and to Bobby Howry for two good innings of relief but it was Soriano that gets to wear the hero's cap.
• You can close the book on the Detroit Tigers after C.C. Sabathia struck out seven for his 18th win in yesterday's 4-2 Indian victory. The sweep knocked the Tigers five and a half games out of the Wild Card hunt and sliced the Tribe's magic number to three all of which means that Jim Leyland's October cigarettes will be smoked on the golf course or at the bingo parlour and not on national television.
• The Diamondbacks never thought they'd regret trading Scott Hairston to San Diego but for a moment last night they had to wonder if they made the right call. Hairston hit a two-out, three-run ninth inning home run to lift the Friars to a 5-3 win over the Pirates that keeps them just a game back of Arizona in the West. It will be down to a half-game if they can beat the Bucs again today and you have to wonder if Leo Rosales was worth all the trouble. 

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Yankees Gain But What Do Red Sox Lose

Make no doubt about it, cutting Boston's lead from 14 and a half games to a game and a half over four months is an impressive achievement. Many teams have folded the tents after a poor start and Joe Torre deserves a mountain of credit for keeping his team focused on winning and not dwelling on the negatives of the first two months. Having a chance at a tenth straight division title isn't something that anyone could have imagined at that point so Torre, the players and the whole organization deserve a round of applause regardless of how it all turns out.

But if it does turn out that they climb the last patch of the mountain and overtake the Red Sox everyone should spare the hyperbole that compares this to the all-time great comebacks. Whether or not the Sox hold onto the top spot in the East they will be playing meaningful games in October just like they were in 2004 when the Yankees won the division. The Wild Card has changed the face of baseball pennant races too much for a team to be overly ashamed of losing a division lead when they still make the playoffs. Even if the Red Sox hold onto their slim lead they could still wind up with the third best record among division winners, it's a three-way tie this morning, and play as the road team in their first series. That's not so different from where they'd find themselves as the Wild Card, in fact it's exactly the same place.

This "collapse" should mean something to the Sox because they have been playing quite poorly and because their two top hitters are ailing. Manny Ramirez hasn't played since August 28th and David Ortiz has a sore knee that may keep him out of the lineup on Friday. Also worthy of some hand-wringing is the routinely crap Eric Gagne, the tired arm of Hideki Okajima and last night's gopher ball served up by Jonathan Papelbon in the 6-1 loss to the Blue Jays. That's two straight wash-outs for their closer and that's not going to help anyone sleep at night.

It means more to the fans, though, since the Red Sox are virtually assured of that playoff spot and have proven that being the fourth team in doesn't much matter so long as you're in. For the fans it's something to razz each other about and that's good fun. You need no more evidence of that then the reaction of Yankee fans in the ninth inning of last night's 2-1 win. Mariano Rivera was struggling to get through the ninth but the fans were cheering wildly when Russ Adams' grand slam was posted on the board and they realized the Yankees were just one loss behind their eternal rivals. Fans determine, by and large, how important something in sports is and they've spoken their mind about the significance of winning the division.

Putting it into the same conversation as 1978 or the 1995 Angels or the 1964 Phillies, though, is ridiculous. None of those losers remained eligible for a World Series title and at the end of the day that's the only thing that matters.

Mets Lose Again

In an article on MLB.com yesterday Marty Noble quoted an unnamed Met as saying that "we play at the temperature of the manager. I know Willie cares a lot, but he's not showing it much." Mike and the Mad Dog talked about it with Paul Lo Duca yesterday and Lo Duca wouldn't say anything when they asked if the manager should have come out to join arguments the catcher and Marlon Anderson had about balls and strikes. That all led to a team meeting before last night's game with the Nats which David Lennon of Newsday astutely pointed out can have two results - Team wins and manager a genius or team loses and manager a desperate sap. I guess that makes Randolph a desperate sap.

The Mets lost 9-8 in Washington last night thanks to a terrible outing from their starter. The last time a Maine got shelled like that Teddy Roosevelt charged up a hill; John gave up 11 hits and eight runs before getting the hook one out into the fifth inning. By that point the Mets had blown three seperate four-run leads and whatever fire they might have generated with the meeting was snuffed out. Watching the Mets is watching a dead team right now. If they pitch well they don't hit. If they score eight runs, their staff gets lit up for nine. If they pitch ok and hit ok, they can't catch the ball. It doesn't add up to wins and that's obviously going to fall on Willie.

Michael Kay was pontificating during the Yankee game last night that he doesn't understand why people would criticize Randolph for having such an even keel since, after all, he studied at the Joe Torre school of serenity. What Kay didn't mention is that when the Yankees have a rough patch people always criticize Torre for not getting angry and not throwing bats because they expect to see their manager's passion to snap a losing streak boiling over. The difference between the two seems to be that back in the day when the Yankees needed to show some grit and fire they had a Paul O'Neill to personify it and in recent years they've lacked that kind of attitude on the team. That's the same problem the Mets have. Lo Duca is a fiery little guy but he doesn't seem like he's got the whole clubhouse in his corner but the rest of the team looks like they couldn't care less about what's going on. I'm sure it's not true but when Maine ran into trouble last night the team just deflated and even when they rallied in the ninth it didn't feel like the win was there for the taking.   

What snaps the losing spell? A great start would be, well, a great start. It's Mike Pelfrey tonight, though, and the Nats are definitely loving their spoiler role. Their fans aren't, there were about 750 people at the game last night and most seemed to be staffers from Charlie Rangel's office, but the Nats are playing like it's the World Series. Hats off to Manny Acta for that and the Mets should try to follow their lead. They could also use the old Jose Reyes and a dose of good luck but that good start would make everything so much easier.

Two Men, Two And A Half Games

Two Yankees solidified their spots on the postseason roster and the entire team crept closer to an unlikely division title during a 12-0 rout of the Orioles. Mike Mussina, all-but-certain Game Four starter in October, threw seven shutout innings with sharpness that eluded him most of the season. He held his former club, who usually find success against Moose, to three singles and struck out six Orioles and each inning he put in the books was another point in his column in the notebook Joe Torre uses to figure out his postseason roster. There doesn't seem to be anything Phil Hughes or Ian Kennedy could do to upset that decision, the only snag could be if the Yankees are in the ALDS with an extra off-day.

The other Yankee to reassert his claim to a spot in the lineup is Doug Mientkiewicz. If there's something Torre loves more than green tea and abusing relievers it's good-glove first basemen. Mientkiewicz qualifies on that front but he's forcing his way past Jason Giambi because he's hitting just as well, if not better, than the sweaty slugger since returning to the team. He's 6-for-13 in September and hit a three-run homer to break open the game last night. He was already holding a spot on the roster but Dougie M. is going to play come October and probably going to play a lot.

Who he and the rest of the Yankees will be playing against remains to be seen because the Indians and Angels are deadlocked with 89 wins apiece. And also because the Yankees are just two and a half games out of first place after Eric Gagne failed to help the Red Sox close out a game yet again. He allowed three Blue Jay runs in the bottom of the eighth inning of the 4-3 loss. That's the fourth blown save for Gagne in a Sox uniform and with Jonathan Papelbon up and ready in the bullpen I'm curious what situation Terry Francona was waiting for before going to his closer. During the Fox game this weekend Josh Lewin pointed out the salary difference between Francona and Torre and it was bigger than I expected but Lewin went too far in comparing the two of them. Francona has managed one of the most talented teams in baseball for four seasons with one World Series title and not much else to show for it. Last night's game made me think that his in-game work, a problem with Torre as well, might have something to do with it.

What Does 2-0 Mean To You?

Every football season brings a handful of teams that win their first two games and dreams of postseason crop up in places that were just hoping for a .500 record before the season started. According to the Houston Chronicle, since 2002 41 teams have started 2-0 but only 24 of those teams have gone on to make the playoffs. That's 58.5% which means that two wins to start a season doesn't guarantee anything more than not finishing 1-15. Take the 2002 season, for example. Carolina, Chicago, Denver, Miami, New England, New Orleans, Oakland and San Diego all won their first two games but only Oakland, the eventual Super Bowl loser, ended up playing more than 16 games. With that in mind I thought I'd take a look at this year's hot starters and see which of them were likely to keep up the good play in coming weeks.

New England Patriots - I'd say they are very likely to keep up the good play and will end up shy one first-round draft pick next April. The New York Post might be putting an asterisk next to their record but it has about as much of a place as it does next to Omar Vizquel's career home runs. The wins count, the team is loaded and a run at the '72 Dolphins probably isn't out of the question. However unlikely an undefeated season might be the Patriots will make it at least 25 playoff teams since 2002.

It's Getting Tight In The Collar Out There

Tim Wakefield might want to consider throwing four wide ones the next time Frank Thomas lumbers to the plate. The Big Hurt had gone deep three times in one game before last night's game - September 15, 1996 with all three coming against the knuckleballer - and repeated the trick in last night's 8-1 Blue Jays win. Only the first two came off Wakefield this time, number three was off Kyle Snyder, and the prodigious night pushed Thomas into a tie with Ernie Banks and Eddie Matthews into 18th place on the career home run list. The Sox can't feel great about their lead over the Yankees right now but probably feel even worse about the way that Wakefield has been throwing of late. He missed a start with back problems and has been shelled in his subsequent outings leaving them a bit short on reliable starting for the rest of the month and beyond. It's all enough to send Sox fans to the bottom of a bottle for relief.

• Baseball's a simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball and you hit the ball. The Mets are making baseball harder than it should be right now. They committed four errors, got a terrible start from Brian Lawrence and got shut out after the fourth inning in a 12-4 loss to the Nationals. That means their lead is down to two and a half games and the pressure is really starting to show in Flushing.
• The Phillies aren't exactly having an easy time playing the role of dogged pursuers. They led the Cardinals 11-0 after six innings in St. Louis last night but thanks to their horrid bullpen needed to hold on for dear life. They finally eked out a 13-11 victory after Francisco Rosario struck out Russell Branyan with two on in the bottom of the ninth. That pitching is going to make the last push to the summitt difficult but oh those marvelous bats! Ryan Howard hit two homers, Aaron Rowand had a pair of his own and stealth MVP candidate Jimmy Rollins poled his 28th of the season.
• While the Phillies were doing their best to blow a lead the Cubs were furiously coming back to beat the Reds and stay in front of the Brewers. Mark DeRosa's fifth hit of the night scored the pinch-runner Sam Fuld and made the Cubs 7-6 winners. The win could technically be recalled as the Reds played it under protest after Lou Piniella made what they called an illegal double switch. Belichickian drama aside, the Cubs have won six of seven in their attempt to close out Milwaukee.
• The Cassel family isn't used to the spotlight. Barbara Cassel won an Emmy at the untelevised technical portion of the awards for her work as an art director and elder son Matt has backed up Matt Leinart and Tom Brady at USC and, currently, with the Patriots. But younger brother Jack finally put the family's name in lights by beating the Pirates 3-0, his first win in the bigs, and drawing the Friars within a game of the Diamondbacks out West.   

(AP PHOTO/Frank Gunn, The Canadian Press)

25 And 6 To 4

Last night's 8-5 win over the Orioles have the Yankees three and a half games behind the Red Sox and ahead of the Tigers by the same amount. Given their schedule edge over the gang from Detroit it's hard not to start looking ahead to October and part of that gazing includes figuring out who is going to be on the roster for the playoffs. Most of that group is easy to prognosticate but there are definitely going to be some hard choices for Joe Torre when it comes to filling out the edges.

Lineup - Jorge Posada, Jason Giambi, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, Melky Cabrera and Bobby Abreu are all going to be there.

Bench - Jose Molina is the backup catcher, Wilson Betemit and Doug Mientkiewicz are going to be infield reserves. Shelley Duncan played yesterday for the first time in almost 10 days and they could really use his righty bat but he's got a bruised pelvis and a hernia. If he can play, he'll make the team. They could really use another position player but there aren't any available outside of Alberto Gonzalez and Bronson Sardinha, neither of whom has more than a shot of espresso at this level.

Starters - Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens are locks. I think Torre will opt for Mike Mussina unless Mussina forces him elsewhere with another awful start. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy will be in the mix for bullpen spots, I suppose, and it's probably wise to have at least one of them on hand if a Mussina performance forces a change in rotation strategies.

Bullpen - Mariano Rivera, Luis Vizcaino, Joba Chamberlain and Kyle Farnsworth are definites with Ron Villone likely slipping in thanks to being the only experienced lefty. If you assume eiher Hughes or Kennedy are part of the roster that leaves two spots for Edwar Ramirez, Sean Henn and Brian Bruney. Henn is a lefty and that's the only useful thing about him, Ramirez has pitched well since returning from the minors but how many rookies can you expect Torre to keep and use while Bruney has experience but not great results. I'd bet on Bruney and Ramirez but wouldn't hope to see much of either one.

The toughest choice is in the rotation where six worthy candidates will have to become four starters come the ALDS.

(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Shelley Duncan Is A True Yankee

They say that when September rolls around rookies have graduated to an in between level of experience. Something like floor 7 1/2 in Being John Malkovich, I guess. You aren't quite a veteran but you are more than just a greenhorn. Shelley Duncan of the Yankees, for example, is in just such a situation. He hasn't been up in the Show for more than a couple of months but he's playing on a team in a pennant race and can't be acting like he's wet behind the ears. If the way he signed an autograph for a young Red Sox fan is any indication there's not much chance of that.

Griffin Whitman, a 10-year-old Red Sox fan from Swampscott, was excited to attend his first Yankees vs. Red Sox game Friday night. The young autograph -collector was even more thrilled to score Yankees outfielder Shelley Duncan’s signature before the game. That is, until Griffin read the message from the 27-year-old rookie: “Red Sox suck! Shelley Duncan.”

“It was cool to get his autograph,” Griffin said. “It didn’t make me feel happy when he wrote that.”

Griffin’s mother, Karen, blasted the Yankees slugger’s bad manners.

“This is someone who wears the Yankee uniform and is on the payroll and should be setting an example for 10-year-olds,” she said.

Mrs. Whitman could start setting her own example for young Griffin by buying herself a sense of humor. Duncan could tell her where to go to pick one up. She could also buy a book on the history of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry because when a kid dressed in Red Sox garb asks a Yankee player for his autograph he should be so lucky as to get a player who knows the game and knows how to have fun with the fan of the rival team. My first kid is on the way and if they turn out to be a Yankee fan like their dad and they ask an aging Jacoby Ellsbury for an autograph one day I hope he's cool enough to give an equally entertaining John Hancock.

(Tip of the signed Yankee cap to River Ave. Blues)

Lookin At The NFL - Week Two

New England 38, San Diego 14 - Whoever said that cheaters never prosper never met Bill Belichick. Coming off a week that saw him fined $500,000 and his team stripped of a draft choice, Belichick first received a contract extension and then a hero's welcome by the hometown crowd at the outset of last night's game with the Chargers. His team responded to all of the chaos by laying another beating on an AFC rival and further establishing themselves as the team to beat in the conference. Taking the talent of the Patriots and adding in the fury of a woman scorned is a dangerous combination indeed for the NFL. Dangerous for the Chargers is a second poor outing for Philip Rivers and the sneaking suspicion that they may have missed their last, best chance at making it to the Super Bowl against these same Patriots in the playoffs last season. 

Houston 34, Carolina 21 - What a difference a quarterback makes. Matt Schaub spent more time slinging passes to Andre Johnson than staring at the clouds and the Texans are 2-0. They've got a good little defense, too. They forced three turnovers and sacked Jake Delhomme three times to help overcome a 14-0 first quarter deficit. The Panthers need to work on holding onto the ball and the defense could use an upgrade but Delhomme and Steve Smith need no remedial work. They hooked up for all three Panther touchdowns.

Cleveland 51, Cincinnati 45 - Message to Chad Johnson: Don't tempt the powers of karma by leaping into the opposing team's stands after you score a touchdown. Message to Cincinnati defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan: You need to do a better job. Message to Derek Anderson: Job very well done. Message to Jamal Lewis: Welcome back!

Jacksonville 13, Atlanta 7 - David Garrard threw for 272 yards and a touchdown and the Jags sacked Joey Harrington seven times. They also committed 11 penalties and needed two missed field goals to escape with a win against a terrible Falcons team, which is what we in the business call bad omens of future success.

Indianapolis 22, Tennessee 20 - The Titans blueprint for this season is pretty clear. Run the ball behind a talented offensive line all day long and let Vince Young take care of anything else. It worked in Week One and nearly did the trick against the Colts on Sunday but the Indy defense stiffened late and held off the last-ditch rally. 

San Francisco 17, St. Louis 16 - Remember when Dante Hall was one of the most explosive weapons in the NFL? You'll have to because now he's a guy who fumbles punts in the fourth quarter and sets up the game-winning field goal for the opposition. Frank Gore bailed out another crap performance from Alex Smith with 81 yards and two touchdowns but the Niners need to find a passing game if they want to keep winning games.

Green Bay 35, Giants 13 - Those of us in New York were thrilled to find the Giants on Fox for the early game on Sunday afternoon. Check that, we were dismayed, depressed and searching for any other way to spend the day especially once the fourth quarter began. The Pack blew open a 14-13 game with three fourth-quarter touchdowns against a team that quit playing. That sound you hear is Tom Coughlin's resume getting updated.

Pittsburgh 26, Buffalo 3 - The Steelers did what they were supposed to do to a team playing with a skeleton defense and a heavy heart after Kevin Everett's injury. If they keep this up against teams that aren't from Buffalo and Cleveland we'll start getting excited.

Tampa Bay 31, New Orleans 14 - Was Joe Horn really the reason why the Saints had the most explosive offense in the NFL last season? He was the only significant departure from the roster but seems to have taken all of the firepower to Atlanta with him. It should be noted that the Falcons don't have any firepower so perhaps it's some kind of chemical reaction that needs both Horn and the Saints together but whatever the case the pressure is mounting on Bourbon Street.

Arizona 23, Seattle 20 - Arizona blew another huge lead and was staring at another Neil Rackers field goal from the hash to try and pull out a win. In the Chicago game that effectively ended Dennis Green's tenure, Rackers missed and the Bears won. Yesterday, however, Rackers was true from 42 yards out and the Cardinals pulled out a big divisional victory.

Dallas 37, Miami 20 - The Cowboys offense continued unabated and the defense showed a little more steel than they did against the Giants. Unless the old Wade Phillips rears its ugly head the 'Boys are going to be one of the toughest teams to beat in all of football.

Detroit 20, Minnesota 17 - The Vikings defense is no joke. Tarvaris Jackson is a huge joke, though, and that's the difference between being 2-0 and 1-1. On the Lions side as long as Jon Kitna is in the game they have a chance to win but when he's out, as he was for most of Sunday's contest, J.T. O'Sullivan isn't able to keep the offense humming.

Baltimore 20, Jets 13 - So glad that the Jets found the money to keep Justin McCareins on the team but weren't able to scrape together a couple of nickels for Pete Kendall.

Denver 23, Oakland 20 - The Raiders need to play 60 minutes of football, stop worrying about when the other guy calls a timeout and figure out if Josh McCown is hurt or just a bad quarterback, in that order.

Chicago 20, Kansas City 10 - What a difference a year doesn't make - Bears defense and special teams win a game because Rex Grossman isn't able to get out of his own way.

(AP Photo/Winslow Townson)