Defending My Position on Konerko

Some of my buddies want to know why I included Konerko in the list of large first basemen who broke down or did not live up to their contracts. After all, he leads MLB with 10 home runs so far this season (dumb argument; one month does not make a 5 year contract worth it unless the player gets lucky and it's in the playoffs). Also, he only weighs 215 lb (less than Teixeira) and is only 34 (better argument).
Let's review some history. Paul Konerko hit 40+ homers in back to back years. At age 30 he received a 5 year contract for I believe about $75 million (doesn't sound like so much now, I know). He hit 35 home runs that year. But starting the next year, at age 31, his batting average dropped big time and he has averaged 26 homers, which is not terrible obviously but a little low for what is supposed to be a slugging 1B. He has been limited/ hindered somewhat by nagging injuries which have limited his playing time a little (has missed over 10 games each year of his contract and has been on the DL) and are the likely cause for some of his lost power. When healthy he is still a productive player but the odds of that happening for a full season, forget about multiple seasons, is not too high. He is only 34. We can only imagine how things will progress in the coming years. However, his contract was not a complete bust and waste of money like the others. (Good move by the White Sox to only give him five years which is through his age 34 season.)
The reason Konerko is on the list is because he was the best example of someone who has not been a complete bust yet has not lived up to his contract due to nagging problems. We must consider the fact that Ryan Howard will not completely break down but will have nagging injuries and sapped power to the point that though he is mostly on the field, he will homer in the the mid-20s. I think that even if he would perform like that, his contract of $1 million per home run would not nearly be worth it.More likely, considering the fact that a "slim and in shape" Ryan Howard still weighs more than 40 lb more than Konerko, is that Howard busts. But maybe he will perform decently with just minor nagging problems and above average performance. Either way, the odds of Howard living up to his contract and being worth it from age 32-37 is not too high.

What do you think? Feel free to disagree. Just post it in comments (we could use some).

Ryan Howard's Contract Extension

This week, Ryan Howard signed a massive extension onto his contract. This 5 year $125 million contract ensures that he does not become a free agent until 2017 when he is 37 years old.

This contract is crazy. There is no reason for the Phillies to sign Howard now. If they would have waited, it is pretty much guaranteed that if they would make the same offer he'd take it. Why sign him now. What if he starts breaking down by then? Furthermore, the Phillies gave Howard a ton of money (which has Albert Pujols and Boras I mean Prince Fielder drooling). There is no way he is worth that money. There is no way he would have seen that money on an open market, which again wouldn't be until after next season anyway.

Yet, the main reason why this move is dumb is none of those. Ryan Howard is a large slugging first baseman. Pretty much every one in the oversized 1B group has broken down from the age of 31-34. This group includes the likes of Thome, Giambi, Konerko, Mo Vaughn, and many others.

THE METS ARE IN FIRST PLACE! AMAZIN!
NL East
1.NYM(12-9)
2.PHI(11-9)
3.FLA(11-10)
3.WAS(11-10)
5.ATL(8-12)

Joe McKnight

One thing to wonder about the ability of Joe McKnight is why did his former college coach Pete Carroll pass on McKnight in the 4th round if McKnight was so talented. Just a thought.

Reacting to the Jets Trade of Leon Washington

This move seems like a poor move at first. The Jets were only able to get a 5th rounder (which turned into blocking FB John Conner) for Leon and a 7th rounder. However, according to Jets' beat reporter Manish Mehta, the Jets feel that it will take 2 years for Leon to fully recover from his leg injury. He is not ready now and it seems pretty clear that he will not be performing like his old self this season. This likely is why the team dealt him.
The question is why the team was unable to get better than a 5th rounder for him. I would have assumed that they could have done better, but i trust Tannenbaum that no better offer was out there. He does his "due diligence" as he likes to call it and if he accepted this deal there must not have been anything better. I would have considered keeping Leon for another season and then putting a 2nd round tender on him to see if anyone bites. But that would only work if the new bargaining agreement would still with 2010 rules(that until 6th year in the league, a player becomes a restricted free agent instead of unrestricted) instead of the rules that the NFL likely will go back to (only restricted for 4 years). This would explain why Tannenbaum made the move. All in all, the Jets are definitely safer and likely better at running back than they were 2 weeks ago.

Reaction to the Jets Releasing Faneca

Many were shocked and upset when the Jets released Pro Bowl LG Alan Faneca on Saturday. Faneca has been known to be one of the top guards in the NFL. At first glance, it would seem like a dumb move to replace him with unproven players.
Before we can give accurate analysis of this move, we must first figure out why the Jets made this move. The first reason appears to be that Faneca is a shell of his former self. Though he still remains an above average run blocker, his pass blocking has become terrible to the point that some call him the worst pass blocking guard in the NFL. Even if that is overstating things, he is definitely a declining pass blocker and is clearly the worst pass blocker on the Jets' offensive line. The Jets feel that they can get almost as good if not better production from the young players while setting themselves up long term. (As fans, we should be happy that Tannenbaum is trying to set the team up for long term success besides just the moves he has made toimprove the team for 2010.) There is little reason to argue with the team's assumption. (One area where Faneca will be missed, however, is in his pulling ability as a guard to open up big runs. It remains to be seen if the replacements will be able to pull effectively.)
Obviously, cap considerations played heavily in the decision to release Faneca. Most (uneducated) fans think that "all the Jets saved is $2 million because the rest of his base salary is guaranteed." It is very offensive that people accuse our GM of making this move to save our billionaire owner Woody Johnson $2 million. There is no cap this season. Obviously, the reason Faneca was released was to save money on next year's cap (which there most likely will be if there is a season). It is beyond the scope of this post to discuss all the rules of the NFL cap. However, one important rule is that when a player is released, all guaranteed money left on the deal goes on that year's cap. By cutting Faneca now, the Jets saveda cap hit of all the guaranteed money on next year's cap (or if they wouldn't be able to cut him, his $10 million salary would be on next year's cap). This is a significant amount of money which will enable the Jets to re-sign an extra player from this team. Many players are free agents including Holmes, Edwards, Harris, and Cromartie. Surely the Jets are better off with those players long term than 1 extra season of an aging Faneca.

Jets 2010 Draft

Drafting Kyle Wilson was a great pick by the Jets. They are lucky that Wilson fell to them. Wilson clearly is the best cover corner in the draft. How he fell to #29 and how 3 corners were taken before him is very hard to understand. His only issues are that he is only 5"10 and that he is somewhat of a poor tackler currently. His height should not pose a problem as long as he learns good jump-ball technique (from Revis). The team will have to teach him proper tackling technique but I'm sure that can be handled over the next season. Some are complaining that they wanted a defensive lineman or a pass rusher in the 1st round. The Jets are currently stacked at those positions (with Gholston moving to line they have him, Jenkins, Pouha, Ellis and Devito for 3 spots, and at outside LB they have Bryan Thomas, Pace, and Taylor) and there is no guy available at #29 who would likely be an upgrade this season. Corner is a need as good passing teams take advantage of the 1 bad corner on the field.

In the 2nd round, the Jets got a steal with G/T Ducassse. He is a mauler and a beast. He will be a very good player who will either win Faneca's vacated left guard spot or eventually take over for Damien Woody at right tackle.

In the 4th round, the Jets drafted Joe McKnight. McKnight will replace Leon Washington as the speedy back. Look for a few explosive plays and some catches out of the backfield. Though he's not a starter at running back, this guy can be a star.

In the 5th round, the Jets drafted FB John Conner. The Jets traded Leon and their 7th rounder to move up into the 5th round to get Conner. Conner is a tremendous blocking FB and can handle the ball very well. He will take over for T-Rich after Richardson retires.

Undrafted Free Agent Signings:
The Jets signed cornerback Donavan Warren who is a bit of a project. However, he is talented and hopefully Rex can turn him into a talented player. Most people thought he'd be drafted around the 3rd round. He's definitly an improvement over Drew Coleman.

Stay Tuned for Reaction to the losses of Faneca and Leon Washington

Jets restructured Gholston's contract & all money is on this year besides league minimum 2 seasons after & bonuses. Mike T= (cap) genius.

The Mets Disaster

I was at last night's Mets disaster. Everyone who saw the "game" knows that the bats were asleep and the bullpen stunk, especially Manny Accosta who doesn't belong anywhere near a major league team. But one thing that perhaps nobody complained or worried about yet is the performance of our starter, Oliver Perez. Everyone can remember the good old days of "Good Ollie or bad Ollie tonight?" The days of mostly good Ollie turned to always bad Ollie very fast. Bad Ollie would flash some talent but then would fall asleep on the mound and walk 12 people in a row with some wild pitches sprinkled in. This year, however, we have not even merited "Bad Ollie" (except for a brief showing yesterday in the 5th when he walked the pitcher). Ollie's fastball is now topping out at 84 MPH. He is getting hit around and hard. This is not something we are used to seeing, and this is very worrisome. Ollie was
supposed to get in shape in the offseason, but still the velocity just isn't there. He's not even
giving himself a chance to blow the game all by himself. "Good Ollie" and "Bad Ollie" has given way to "Too Many Tacos Ollie." At least there's only 2 years and $24 million bucks left on the $36 million Oliver Perez Ponzi Scheme.

Jets 2010 Schedule

BAL@NYJ 9/13 7p
NE@NYJ 9/19 415p
NYJ@MIA 9/26 820p
NYJ@BUF 10/3 1p
MIN@NYJ 10/11 830p
NYJ@DEN 10/17 405p
GB@NYJ 10/31 1p
NYJ@DET 11/7 1p
NYJ@CLE 11/14 1p
HOU@NYJ 11/21 1p
CIN@NYJ 11/25 820p
NYJ@NE 12/6 830p
MIA@NYJ 12/12 415p
NYJ@PIT 12/19 415p
NYJ@CHI 12/26 1p
BUF@NYJ 1/2 1p

Keep in mind that the last couple of game times can be switched due to the NFL's flex schedule.

Jerry Manuel's 'Brilliance'

Lost in all the excitement over Jerry Manuel "outmanaging" Tony LaRussa (who obviously didn't care too much about winning) is the boneheaded way he handled Krod last night. He made him warm up in basically every inning. The guy threw more pitches than the starters! No doubt this had a negative effect on Krod's performance when he finally got in the game. Why not just bring him in in the 10th inning and have him pitch 2 innings? Isn't 2 innings from your best pitcher right away better than a chance at one inning of him for a save? And now he is unavailable for tonight's game! Jerry's stupidity costs this team every day! He has to go! Now!

Mets Win in 20!

Congrats to the Mets for pulling out the win in 20 innings. But, before u start feeling all excited for them, look at the game a little deeper. 1) Jason Bay, the newest big acquisition was 0-7. 2) The Cards pretty much layed down & gave the Mets the game starting in the 18th inning by putting in Felipe Lopez to pitch, yet the Mets continued their porous hitting and couldn't hit against their shortstop! Tony La Russa saw that the Mets couldnt hit Lopez, so he put it a different position player hoping the Mets could hit him so everyone could just go home. Lo and behold, the Mets were able to break through & get 1 run on a sacrifice fly. Yay! Every1 go home. NAIN! (NOT!) Frankie blows the game! The Mets got lucky by a bad call at 2nd base, so after 19 it was only 1-1. La Russa, after seeing that the Mets could hit Mather, left him in to pitch the 20th, again hoping the Mets would score. Once again they got 1 run on a sac fly and Big Pelf was able to shut the door and the Mets won!

Be sure to download the Amazin Avenue Annual free PDF from amazinavenueannual.com. All about the Mets. It is trully Amazin'!

Finally! Good News for Knicks Fans

The NBA cap has been set at about $56 million. This is great news for Knicks fans as it means that the Knicks can sign 2 max contracts (though I doubt they will because they would need to renounce rights to all free agents from the team; it's a little complicated though and not for now) and still have a little money left over. Whatever happens, it is good to have the extra cap room. Let the LeBron era begin!

Indeed, here at depressednewyorker, we stand for pessimism in the New York sports world. This perspective is due to the fact of us being longtime Mets, Jets, Knicks, & Ranger fans. We are fully familiar of the depressednewyorker's mindset.

The Jets and the Uncapped Offseason

Everyone is very excited about the Jets. From last year's dominating defense and running game, to the great playoff run, to the impressive offseason pickups, Jets fans are hopeful that this upcoming season will bring a Super Bowl victory. We are in unfamiliar territory. We are starting to no longer believe (somewhat) that this team will fall flat on its face at the worst possible time.
However, here at depressednewyorker, we don't get optimistic that easily. We are always looking out for a perspective that perhaps isn't as rosy; a perspective that is being ignored by typical fans.
That being said, I don't mean to rain on the parade (and hopefully the Super Bowl Parade will be very nice), but the Jets face some serious long term problems. The are far too many players on this team that become free agents in the near future. WR Braylon Edwards, WR Santonio Holmes, RB Leon Washington, CB Antonio Cromartie, LB David Harris, WR Brad Smith S Eric Smith and S Brodney Poole become free agents after the 2010 season. With the probable return of the salary cap, the Jets are going to have some issues keeping these players. This will especially be the case if the Jets have a strong season, as other teams will be making strong bids for these players. This is a very serious issue, especially when the Jets will have to replace some aging veterans as well. They will also have to give monster contracts to budding superstars like Darelle Revis. This is why it is hard for good teams to stay successful for many years in a row. It is very difficult to keep the whole team together.
Fortunately, this year there is a solution to this problem. Here at depressednewyorker, one of our specialties is offering radical yet practical solutions that you will not find anywhere else. The solution to the Jets' problem is to sign each player that they would like to keep long term to new long term contracts that are extremely frontloaded. With most of the money being paid this year which is uncapped, the Jets will have these players making little money on the cap when the cap returns. It may not be so cost-effective, but Woody Johnson has a lot of money, and by adopting this plan the Jets will be good for five or six years. The Jets will even have some cap flexibility to sign free agents. Hopefully, with this strategy, our Jets team can stay intact and go on to become one of the greatest dynasties in NFL history.

Jerry Manuel's dumb move of the night:
I can't decide between pinch hitting Cora while having Tatis to pinch run instead of the opposite or bringing in Mejia.

Nets Lose. Again

The Nets surprised no one losing again. The only half surprise: THEY PLAYED THE HEAT'S BACKUPS! Wade, O'neal, & Haslem were all healthy scratches. They finally realized that you don't have to have your starters playing to beat the Nets.

Final Score: Miami Heat 94 New Jersey Nets 86.

Congrats on the Nets finishing 12-70 on the year. Hey, look at the bright side, you won 12 more than 0!

This is how bad the Nets are. Only backups play them
Fwd: ESPN NBA - Heat will sit G Dwyane Wade, C Jermaine O'Neal, F Udonis Haslem for regular season finale vs. Nets

While Mike Jacobs and Catalanatto struggle to hit, Ike Davis is raking in AAA. Can't we get him or Cris Carter up here to play 1B? We need someone who can hit!

With the latest acquisition by the Dolphins of Brandon Marshall, it's my opinion that the Dolphins are clearly the 2nd best team in the AFC East. Obviously they're behind the Jets though! Now we know why Mike T went out to get Cromartie. We need to cover Marshall and Ginn. The Dolphins already signed Karlos Dansby this off season as well. Oh boy, this is going to be a tough & close game.

The Mets right now are brutal to watch. Usually I go to sleep late, but last nights game put me to sleep very early. It seems that right now, all of New York is waiting for Manuel to get fired, so we can bring in Bobby V.