Giants in Control of Their Own Destiny

To be clear, the Giants deserved a better fate than the one they got in Minnesota on Saturday. For most of the game, they were the better team. They out-gained the Vikings, both on the ground and in the air. Despite throwing only his first interception in the last five games, Daniel Jones was the better quarterback. Indeed, with a receiving corps that consisted of Richie James, Isaiah Hodgins, Darius Clayton and Daniel Bellinger, Jones still managed to complete 30 of 42 pass attempts for 334 yards. Imagine the stats he could've put up if he had Justin Jefferson to throw to.

But, alas, Jones did throw that pick, early in the 4th quarter with his team trailing 17-13. And while it didn't lead to any points by the Vikes, it nonetheless deprived the Jints of what surely would've been at the very least a field goal and quite possibly the go-ahead touchdown. Though it wasn't the only turnover of the game - Bellinger coughed up the ball at the Minnesota 39 early in the 2nd quarter, which led to a Vikings field goal - it proved to be the most costly.

Still, if you are a fan of this team, you had to be impressed with the resiliency you saw on that field. After a blocked punt led to a Vikings touchdown that ninety-nine times out of a hundred would've iced the game, the Giants drove 75 yards in 59 seconds to score a touchdown and two-point conversion that tied the score with just over two minutes remaining. Saquon Barkley capped off the possession with a 27 yard run on 4th and 2. In the end, a 61-yard field goal as time expired was the backbreaker. 27-24, Vikings. Like I said, they deserved a better fate.

But as cruel as the football gods were to the Giants in Minnesota, they are still in control of their own destiny. That's because the Lions (7-8), Seahawks (7-8) and Commanders (7-7-1) each lost as well. All the Giants have to do this Sunday is beat the Colts and they will make the postseason for the first time since 2016. It doesn't get any simpler than that. Win and in. If that slogan isn't plastered all over walls of the Giants locker room before the game, someone needs to be fired.

There will be no excuses for not winning. None! The Colts are a hapless team in the midst of a terrible season in which their head coach, Frank Reich, was fired and replaced by ESPN analyst Jeff Saturday, who clearly should've kept his day job. Their 4-9-1 record speaks for itself. 

The Giants, on the other hand, at 8-6-1, have been one of the most overachieving and hardest working teams in the NFL this season. Only once have they lost a game in which they were favored going in: the Lions in week eleven, 31-18. And it's worth noting that Lions team is considerably better than the Colts team that will be limping into MetLife Stadium this Sunday. 

Head coach Brian Daboll - who should be on the short list for coach of the year - will have his troops ready when they take the field in front of 82,000 screaming fans. Let's put it this way: If they bring the same level of intensity to this game that they showed in Minnesota on Saturday, Big Blue will punch its ticket to the playoffs.

Look, I know nothing is ever etched in stone. Let's not forget this is the same franchise that gave us "The Fumble" back in 1978. Anything is possible. But given what we've seen so far from this Giants team, they should be able to take care of business against the Colts. If they don't; if they squander this opportunity, it will be a very, very long off season - even for an organization that is in year one of yet another rebuild.

Cohen Made the Correct Call on deGrom

In the end, it didn't come down to the dollars but the term. The Mets had a three-year, $120 million offer on the table to keep Jacob deGrom in Queens. That's $40 million per season. That wasn't good enough. So the two-time Cy Young award winner bolted and signed a five-year, $185 million deal with the Texas Rangers last week. At $37 million per season, deGrom traded $3 million in annual salary for an extra two years of job security.

It was a deal Steve Cohen had no choice but to reject. To commit five years to a pitcher who over the last two seasons started a grand total of 26 games and had only two more innings pitched last season than team closer Edwin Diaz would've been insane. The fact that they were willing to go as high as three years is proof that they were serious about retaining deGrom. 

And while I don't begrudge any professional athlete for getting the most money they can, my gut tells me that this is a move deGrom will come to regret, and probably sooner rather than later. The Rangers were one of the worst teams in baseball last season, and even if the righty regains his Cy Young dominance, the prospects of Texas making the postseason next year or any year in the future are remote at best, especially in a division that already has the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners.

So where does this leave the Mets? Fortunately, we didn't have long to wait for an answer. Monday, they replaced deGrom by signing three-time Cy Young award winner Justin Verlander to a two-year $86.6 million contract. A little more than Cohen probably wanted to fork over, but given the circumstances, necessary. Last season, Verlander went 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA for the World Series winning Astros. In 175 innings pitched, he surrendered only 116 hits while striking out 185.

If there's one concern I have here, it's the age at the top of the starting rotation. Verlander will be 40 by the time he takes the mound for the Amazins next season. When paired with 39 year old Max Scherzer, the Mets will have the oldest one-two punch in the big leagues. And given how Scherzer began to break down near the end of the season, Cohen is taking a huge risk here.

Another concern I have is the amount of money being doled out to Verlander and Scherzer. Last season, the Mets had a MLB high team payroll of $251 million. With the Diaz extension, the possible return of Brandon Nimmo, and new contracts for arbitration eligible Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil, that payroll will likely swell to $280 million, of which Verlander and Scherzer will command $86.6 million. That's a lot of up front Benjamin Franklins for a team that still needs a third starter and has a lack of depth in the bullpen. The reason the Astros won the World Series last season was because they had the best and deepest pen in baseball. If Billy Eppler doesn't address this sore spot, the Mets will go out early again in 2023.

But for now, at least, Cohen did what he had to do. He replaced an ace with an ace, albeit, one who's six years older. And he has shown the Mets faithful that he is no Jeff Wilpon. He's willing to spend whatever it takes to make sure this team is a contender. 

Good for him.