Posada Puts Teammates in Jeopardy

The Yankees have shown a fighting spirit this season, winning 47 games in come-from-behind fashion on their way to the best record in the Major Leagues.

But last night’s brawl against the Toronto Blue Jays was a lose-lose proposition for the Yankees, and it never should have occurred. It was a virtual Fight Night in the Bronx.

After two Blue Jays were plunked earlier in the game, Toronto reliever Jesse Carlson threw a pitch behind Jorge Posada while the Yankees catcher was batting in the eighth inning of Toronto’s 10-4 victory. Posada eventually got on base and came around to score. Upon crossing home plate, he threw a forearm to Carlson, who was backing up on the play. That touched the bench-clearing melee.

Posada is a team leader, but he is also a hot-head whose temper has cost the team before. Fortunately for the Yankees, there doesn’t seem to be any injuries associated with Tuesday’s brawl. With the playoffs just a few weeks away, Posada put his team in a dangerous spot to have a player get injured in touching off the brawl.

“I told them, there's a lot at stake here and we can't afford to get anyone hurt or get anyone suspended," manager Joe Girardi said. "In the heat of the moment, sometimes we get caught up. We make decisions that maybe we wouldn't have made if we weren't in the heat of the moment. It's an ugly incident that probably shouldn't have happened."

Girardi is correct there. The brawl shouldn’t have happened, and Posada was the player at fault. Home plate umpire Jim Joyce called Posada’s forearm to Carlson “a cheap shot” and immediately ejected Posada.

A large welt decorated Carlson’s forehead after the brawl, and Girardi had a small bruise under his left eye and a cut on his left ear. Posada’s actions placed his teammates in jeopardy of being injured against a team that can’t wait for the season to end. It makes no sense.

“I don't know if that was too smart, because they certainly have a lot more to lose than we do," Toronto manager Cito Gaston said in The Daily News. "They're going to the playoffs and maybe the World Series, and you can get guys hurt out there.”

It’s no surprise that Posada would be the player to start the brawl, but the veteran catcher has to be smarter than that. Not only is there a risk of injury, but there could also be suspensions. For a team that is starving to get back to the World Series, Posada simply can’t take the chance to touch off a brawl against a team that has nothing to play for.

It didn’t need to happen. Posada should have returned to the dugout and let the incident go. He is fortunate neither he nor his teammates were seriously injured, but with so much at stake, the veteran catcher simply needs to be smarter in these situations.

Osi a Big Return for Giants

It was a transaction that slipped under the radar of a lot of NFL observers in the off-season, but the Giants acquired the services of an All-Pro defensive end.
For a defense that was already one of the best in the business, that is no small addition.

Having Osi Umenyiora back on the defensive line is a major addition for the Giants, and he proved why in Sunday’s easier-than-it-looked 23-17 win over Washington.

Umenyiora, 27, missed all of the 2008 season after undergoing knee surgery last August. He suffered a torn lateral meniscus cartilage in his left knee in a preseason game against the Jets on Aug. 23 and was placed on injured reserve three days later.
The injury came after a brilliant season in 2007, when he led the team in sacks with 13 and was the only member of the Giants defense selected to the Pro Bowl.

Oh, and the Giants won the Super Bowl that season.

Umenyiora returned Sunday, and he made his presence felt. In the second quarter, he stripped quarterback Jason Campbell, picked up the fumble and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown.

Welcome back, Big Fella.

“I can't even explain it to you.,’’ Umenyiora said on what it was like to be back on the field. “Sometimes when you're out there all the time, you kind of forget what it feels like to not be out there. Last year, I missed it and I'm happy I was able to come back this year.”

Umenyiora finished with three tackles as the Giants defense set the tone for the season by stifling the Redskins for most of the day. The Giants forced two turnovers and held the Redskins to just 85 yards rushing, 34 of which came on a Clinton Portis run on the first play from scrimmage. The front line pressured Campbell all afternoon.

“I don't know many sacks we ended up with but it felt like we were getting to him,’’ linebacker Antonio Pierce said. “But he did break out of the pocket and made some great throws. I think everybody knows what the New York Giants defense is about, getting after the quarterback and applying pressure throughout the game. We did a pretty good job of doing that.”

A lot of the preseason talk regarding the Giants centered on quarterback Eli Manning and a virtually new crop of wide receivers. No Amani Toomer, no Plaxico Burress. But they still have a veteran offensive line, a strong running game and Manning, who is the highest paid player in the league.

This is a team, however, that will be defined by its defense. The strength of the Giants is their defensive line, and adding Umenyiora to the mix makes them even stronger. Having Umenyiora back harassing quarterbacks makes the Giants one of the top defensive teams in the NFL.
If any body doubts that, they should just ask Jason Campbell.

Jets Might Be a Surprise Playoff Contender

There is a lot of anticipation in New York as the NFL season prepares to get under way.

Most of the talk centers on the Giants, who are generating a lot of attention as a preseason NFC favorite to win the East and reach the Super Bowl. They improved their depth on the defensive line, have one of the league’s top quarterbacks and a strong running game.

They also have a strong pedigree, winning the Super Bowl in February of 2008 and a coach most regard as one of the best in the business in Tom Coughlin. There is no reason not to believe the Giants won’t be playing in January and perhaps making it to the Bowl once again.

But the intriguing team in New York is the Jets, who turned over some key personnel after going 9-7 last year. They have a new quarterback in Mark Sanchez, and a new coach in Rex Ryan but the most important thing is this: a new defense, orchestrated by Ryan, which will go a long way toward determining Gang Green’s fate this fall.

The Jets open their season Sunday in Houston.

The key addition to the defense is linebacker Bart Scott, who came over with Ryan from the Ravens. He will play on the inside with David Harris, and with a defensive line anchored by Kris Jenkins, the team should be difficult to run on.

“I expect him to play lights out,’’ Ryan said of Scott at Thursday’s news conference. “I expect him to be a physical presence like he always is and bring that type of mentality to the defense. He already has. The great things is, I think he feels great about David (Harris) playing right next to him. That’s the big two right there in the middle and then you’ve got (Kris) Jenkins in there with them. He’s just a guy that’s fantastic for the whole unit.”

If Scott and Co. can control opponents’ rushing attack, the Jets appear to have a strong secondary that will make them difficult to attack through the air. Darrelle Revis was an All-Pro selection last year, and CB Lito Sheppard joined the team from Philadelphia. Kerry Rhodes was one of the best safeties in the league in 2007 and veteran Jim Leonhard also comes over from Baltimore. The defensive backfield should be one of the team’s most improved areas this season.

The key will be getting a pass rush, but Ryan’s aggressive mentality should help the team keep heat on the quarterback.

The Jets were in the running for a playoff spot last year until a late-season swoon derailed their season and led to the firing of coach Eric Mangini. The Jets were 8-3 after beating Tennessee on Nov. 23, but followed with consecutive clunkers against Denver and San Francisco. After beating Buffalo in Week 15, the Jets lost to Seattle and Miami and missed the playoffs. In their final five games, they surrendered an average of 24.4 points per game.

It didn’t help that quarterback Brett Favre, as we found out this week, played most of the season with a torn biceps. The No. 4 Sideshow is off to Minnesota now, and Sanchez takes over with a veteran offensive line and shifty running back Leon Washington.

The Jets won’t be a high-octane offense, but maybe it won’t have to be. If the defense plays as well as Ryan promises, this could be a team that is fighting for a postseason berth in December. Maybe both New York NFL franchises will be playoff-bound, which would be a welcome sight for New York fans.

A Typical Jeter Performance

The Derek Jeter Show finally re-emerged in Wednesday’s 4-2 victory over Tampa Bay, and the great Yankee captain showed why he’s poised to step into history.
Jeter collected three hits in the victory to tie Lou Gehrig for most hits in a career by a Yankee with 2,721. The shortstop can surpass the Hall-of-Famer in Friday’s game against Baltimore.
The way Jeter went about getting the hits showed why he’s also bound for Cooperstown.
In the first inning, he dropped a bunt down toward the third base line and beat the throw. The hit snapped a 0-for-12 drought, his longest hitting slump of the season.
"That's why I bunted in the first inning. I needed to get one hit, right?" Jeter said.
Then, showing the power that makes him such a dangerous threat, he hit a booming double to deep center field in the fifth that took one hop over the wall. He tied the Iron Horse with a sharp grounder to right field off of Rays pitcher Jeff Niemann in the seventh. It was the classic Jeter stroke, and the sellout crowd roared its approval.
"I really didn't know what to do because we were losing at the time and I didn't want to disrespect Tampa," Jeter said in an on-field interview with Kimberly Jones of the YES Network after the game. "I never dreamt about all of this."
It was a typical reaction by Jeter, who could give lessons on how to show class and humility in any circumstance. He didn’t showboat and didn’t embarrass the pitcher. The game didn’t become All About Jeter. It was just a historic moment in a taut game, and the Yankees were trailing 2-0 at the time.
The Yankees rallied for three runs in the eighth inning, capped by Jorge Posada’s three-run home run, for the victory.
In his final at-bat, Jeter had an opportunity to overtake Gehrig but walked against pitcher Grant Balfour.
Jeter settled for a share of the record with Gehrig – for now. Gehrig’s career ended in 1939, and even in the great Yankee legacy, no player has come close to toppling the record.
Until Jeter came along.
"He's one of the classiest people to ever play this game," Jeter said.. "It's just kind of mind-boggling to have my name next to his."
In the end, the night showed why Jeter is on the cusp of history. He showed his versatility with a surprise bunt, power with a booming shot to center and dexterity with the single to right, where so many of Jeter’s hits have landed before.
He did all of that while playing a flawless game at shortstop, leading the Yankees to another victory and doing it with dignity.
It was, in essence, the Derek Jeter Time Capsule game. It was a game to bottle for the archives, a typical Jeter performance that will one day pave the way for his path to Cooperstown.

Oudin Steals the Show at U.S. Open

The Yankees have opened up a season-high nine game lead on the Boston Red Sox in race for the American League East.
The Giants and Jets haven’t started their seasons yet, and the Mets … wait, are the Mets still playing?
So it is against that backdrop that a 17-year-old girl from Marietta, Ga., has seized the September spotlight on the New York scene. She is enjoying her tennis Coming Out Party on the world's biggest stage.
When Melanie Oudin defeated Nadia Petrova in three tough sets in the U.S. Open Monday, she did more than advance to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open. She created a buzz in the New York consciousness, which is difficult to do for a women’s tennis player not named Williams or Sharapova.
Very few people outside of the tennis community knew of Oudin before the U.S. Open fortnight began, but with victories over No. 4 Elena Dementieva, three-time major champion Maria Sharapova and now Petrova, Oudin has become the “it” girl.
“It's really a great feeling. I mean, to know like everyone stood up when I had my first match point,” Oudin said about the crowd support during Monday’s victory. “Just when I won the second set, a standing ovation. I mean, it's crazy how many people are cheering for me and supporting me.”
Oudin was impressive against Petrova after dropping the first set, 6-1. She won the second set, 7-6 (2), and captured the third set, 6-3. Oudin doesn’t throw a lot of bombs with her serve – she did not have any aces – but uses her quickness to get to balls many others would give up on.
“You know, I think it's just mentally I'm staying in there with them the whole time, and I'm not giving up at all,’’ Oudin said. “So they're going to have to if they're going to beat me, they're going to beat me, because I'm not going to go anywhere.”
Oudin is the first U.S. teenager to make the Open quarterfinals since Venus Williams in 1999. She has drawn comparisons to Tracy Austin, who won the U.S. Open as a 16-year-old and Chris Evert, who reached the semifinals as a 17-year-old.
More importantly, she has provided a spark to the U.S. Open. There are no Americans left in the men’s draw, and Venus Williams has been knocked out on the women’s side. Serena Williams is in the opposite bracket from Oudin, who will meet ninth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinals.
Whatever the outcome there, Oudin has shown that she isn’t going any where. She’s a new face, but she also brings a fresh perspective. She writes “Believe” on her sneakers before her match, and has shown that she does indeed believe.
And belongs.
”Going into the tournament, I did believe that I could compete with these girls, but it was just figuring out a way to win in these tough matches and these pressure situations actually coming through and winning,’’ Oudin said. “So now, even if I get a set down, I still, like, believe in myself and my game. I know that if I fight as hard as I can, do the best I can, hopefully I can do it.”

Giants, Jets still face questions

The NFL preseason has come and gone for the Jets and Giants, and heading into next week’s season-openers, the big questions on both teams still have to be answered.

The Jets open their season Sept. 13 at Houston, and the Giants open their season the same day at home against Washington. For all of the new faces and big-name players on both squads, how each team fares this season will be determined by two very different phases.

The Giants, who went 1-3 in the preseason, are one of the favorites in the NFC to reach the Super Bowl. They have a stout defense that overcame a rash of injuries last year and is one of the best in the league.

Quarterback Eli Manning is steady, if unspectacular like his brother Peyton, and Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs give the team what they believe is one of the best backfield tandems in the league.

The question marks are at wide receiver, where Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer are gone and will be replaced by an untested group. The team believes it has the replacements for the two veterans in Steve Smith, Mario Manningham, Hakeem Nicks and Domenik Hixon.

Smith, in his third year out of USC, is the most experienced and caught 57 passes last year for and will probably be the guy Manning looks for in the clutch. Whether he can become the team’s No. 1 option is unclear. The Giants struggled down the stretch last year when Burress left the team, and Smith will see a lot of extra coverage this year.

Manningham, in his second year out of Michigan, had just four receptions last year. Nicks, the team’s first round draft choice out of North Carolina, has played well in the preseason. He caught six passes against the Jets last week and Thursday against New England, he took in a 64-yard touchdown pass.

Hixon’s value is primarily on special teams, where he is a dangerous return man, but he could also see time at receiver in obvious passing downs.

It’s going to be critical for the Giants to develop a passing game so teams can’t load up in the box against Jacobs and Bradshaw, who will also see their share of passes from Manning. But if the young receivers can’t get separation and force the Giants to become one-dimensional, they won’t be heading to the Super Bowl.

The Jets (2-2 in the preseason) aren't considered Super Bowl contenders, but Rex Ryan was brought in to improve a defense that played poorly during last year’s 9-7 campaign.
The team brought in Mark Sanchez as the team’s top pick and named him the starting quarterback after a preseason competition with Kellen Clemens, but the team’s success will be determined by its defense.

Ryan brought over linebacker Bart Scott from Baltimore, and he should help improve a defense that had difficulty stopping teams last year. The Jets surrendered 356 points last year, the most allowed in the AFC East. With Scott and All-Pro safety Kerry Rhodes, there are some pieces for an attacking defense, which Ryan employed as the defensive coordinator for the Ravens.

While Sanchez and running back Leon Washington are the featured offensive players, it will ultimately be the defense that decides the fate of the Jets this year.

Jeter On The Brink Of History

There are some critics of Derek Jeter who believe he’s slipping.

He’s not the player he once was, the critics say, and believe his skills have diminished significantly since he was named the American League Rookie of the Year in 1996.

Those critics haven’t been watching this year.

The future Hall-of-Famer is poised to step into history sometime over the next few days, when he will become the all-time Yankees hit leader. After getting another hit last night in a 9-6 win over Baltimore, Jeter is 10 hits away from surpassing Lou Gehrig’s record of 2,721 hits. He could surpass Gehrig this weekend in Toronto.

Don’t let that information pass without giving it some thought. In the history of the Yankees, baseball’s gold standard and the team with the most World Series championships, the team with legendary names such as Ruth and Mantle and Berra and DiMaggio and Jackson, Jeter will have more hits than any of them.

When Jeter’s career is over, he will have a lot more than all of them. He already owns the record for most career hits by a shortstop, passing Luis Aparicio earlier this year, and he’s among the candidates for the MVP award. Jeter has collected a lot of hardware, but never an MVP trophy.

This has been another vintage year for Jeter. He’s hitting .333, and ranks fifth in the American League in hitting. He’s second in the league in runs scored and hits, sixth in on-base percentage and ninth in total bases. Pick a hitting statistic, and you can usually find Jeter’s name among the league leaders.

When Jeter was a rising young star back in the mid 1990s, more than a few wondered who would be the better shortstop of the course of their careers: Jeter, Nomar Garciaparra or Miguel Tejada.

The conversation almost seems laughable now. Garciaparra and Tejada started off well, but their careers have slipped noticeably in recent years. Tejada is now with his third team, and rumors of performance-enhancing drugs have clouded his career statistics. Garciaparra is with his fourth team, and has played more than 120 games only twice in the past seven years. He is nearly 1,000 hits behind Jeter for his career, and is not even a shortstop any more.

Jeter, by contrast, continues to play almost every game at the most demanding defensive position. He has been in the lineup 2,111 times and will soon pass Yogi Berra for third for most games played with the Yankees. He has played 148 games more every season since 1996, except for 2003 when he missed 43 games with an injury.

Jeter’s name pops up frequently throughout the Yankees record book, but the career hits mark might be the most significant. With all of the Yankees legends that have worn the pinstripes over the years, Jeter will have more hits than any of them.

Hopefully we will have the privilege of watching Jeter play for a few more years. He is still a treat, and any critic who thinks No. 2’s skills are eroding simply isn’t paying attention.