Self Inflicted

It all looked so promising for the Giants yesterday. Jaxson Dart drove them down the field on their first two possessions, throwing two touchdown passes to his favorite target, Theo Johnson, to put New York up 14-3 two minutes into the second quarter.

They were sailing; they were taking care of business against an 0-4 team; the New Orleans Saints literally had no answers for them. This was going to be like shooting fish in a barrel.

But instead of fish in a barrel, the Jints wound up shooting themselves in the foot; five times, in fact. Up 14-13 late in the first half, and in field goal range, Darius Slayton fumbled the ball at the Saints 32 yard line. Jonas Sanker picked it up and ran it back to the Giants 42 yard line. Eight plays later, New Orleans took the lead with a 29 yard field goal. 

Sadly, Big Blue wasn't remotely done. On their opening possession of the second half, Dart, with no one around him, fumbled the ball at midfield. The Saints would kick another filed goal. Trailing 19-14 late in the third quarter, Dart, once again, navigated his team down the field all the way to the Saints 15 yard line. A go-ahead touchdown seemed like an inevitability. 

And then on the first play of the fourth quarter, Dart handed the ball off to fellow rookie Cam Skattebo. Skattebo then had it stripped from him and Jordan Howden ran it all the way back to put the Saints up 26-14. And that, as they say, was the ballgame. Dart would throw two interceptions in the fourth to cement the loss. Five turnovers in all; a pathetic performance against a team that managed only 88 yards of total offense in the second half. In all, the Giants offense gifted the Saints with 13 points on the day, while costing itself at least six.

If this team had any sense of shame at all, they'd climb under a rock and stay there until the end of the season. How bad were the Giants? They were the first NFL team in nine years to turn the ball over five consecutive times. The last team to do that was the other New York area franchise: the Jets. Fittingly, both team are a collective 1-9 this season. Talk about embarrassing. 

But as inept as the Giants offense was on Sunday, their defense wasn't much better. The front seven was virtually a non-factor in this game. As a unit, they managed just three pressures, one hit and zero sacks against Spencer Rattler, after getting twenty pressures, twelve hits and two sacks against Justin Herbert the previous week. 

There is simply no excuse for this loss; none. This was not the Cowboys in Dallas, where the Giants held their own against a potent offense and only lost because Dallas has a kicker capable of making a field goal from Mars. This was a team that, let's be honest, when the schedule came out, you had a W next to their name. Don't lie, I read your tweets. 

And don't give me any "That's why they play the game" bullshit. I know what an upset looks like. This wasn't an upset; this was a Giants team that counted its chickens before they were hatched and wound up getting botulism. 

So instead of being 2-3, and having a modicum of hope, the Giants are now 1-4 with the Philadelphia Eagles coming to town Thursday night. The Eagles blew a 14-point lead against the Denver Broncos and lost 21-17. How much you wanna bet they will be in a foul mood when they take the field at MetLife.

To channel my inner Mr. Rogers, "Can you say 1-5? I knew you could."

At the risk of repeating myself, Bill Parcels was right: "You are what your record says you are."

Let's face it: the Giants are a bad football team.

Fait Accompli

In 2007, 2008 and 2025, the New York Mets went into the last game of the regular season needing a win to qualify for the playoffs; they lost all three times. And the team that eliminated them each year was the Florida Marlins. The baseball gods have a wicked sense of humor, don't they? 

But unlike those '07 and '08 teams, who collapsed late in the season, this year's collapse began much earlier; June 13 to be precise. Two prolonged slumps (3-14 and 2-14) did the lion's share of the damage. Despite a 45-24 start, the Mets were never able to completely regain their footing. In a year where 84 wins would've been enough to snag the third Wild Card spot in the National League, the Mets won 83. I guess $340 million doesn't go as far as it used to.

To say this team fell far short of expectations would be putting it mildly. A roster that was assembled to win the World Series didn't even make it to the first round of the postseason. This will be a very long offseason in Flushing.

But before we get to the postmortems, in the spirit of Dave Letterman, I thought I'd compile a Top Ten list of games the Mets lost this season, any one of which, had they won, would've been enough to get them into the playoffs.

June 13: 7-5 vs. Tampa Bay Rays. New York had just completed a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals at CitiField. They were 45-24, five and a half games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East, and had a 5-1 lead over the Rays through five when Carlos Mendoza decided to pull Clay Holmes after throwing only 79 pitches. The Rays scored six runs in the top of the 6th against Paul Blackburn and Max Kranick.

June 29: 12-1 at Pittsburgh Pirates. After gaining a spilt in their four-game series against the Atlanta Braves at home, the Amazins hit the road and got swept by the Pirates. Not one of the three games was competitive. Frankie Montas allowed six runs over four innings in this one.

July 10: 3-1 at Baltimore Orioles. David Peterson was pitching a gem at Camden Yards. Leading 1-0 in the bottom of the 8th, the Orioles got a lead-off hit. It was only the fifth hit allowed by Peterson in the game, but Mendoza pulled him anyway. The next batter, Gunnar Henderson, hit a pinch-hit two-run homer off Ryne Stanek to give the O's the lead for good.

July 28: 7-6 at San Diego Padres. After enduring their worst slump of the season, the Mets appeared to have righted the ship. They won eight in a row and had just completed a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants when they began a three-game series against the Padres. Up 5-1 in the bottom of the 5th, San Diego scored five runs against Frankie Montas and Huascar Brazoban to take the lead. The Mets would lose the game in the bottom of the 9th.

August 28: 7-4 vs. Miami Marlins. The Mets had just completed a three-game sweep of the Phillies at home to pull to within four games of first place. Once more, it looked like they had righted the ship. But three errors by New York led to five unearned runs for the Fish.

September 7: 3-2 at Cincinnati Reds. The Mets had taken two of three against the Detroit Tigers and were looking to take the rubber game against the Reds. This was a critical loss because it gave Cincy the tie-breaker against New York.

September 8: 1-0 at Philadelphia Phillies. After getting swept in New York, the Phillies looked to exact revenge on their division rivals. The Mets stranded the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position with one out in the top of the 9th. They would finish the season 0-70 when trailing after 8.

September 11: 6-4 at Phillies. The Phillies complete a four-game sweep against the Mets who blew a four-run, first-inning lead. The loss was New York's sixth in a row.

September 26: 6-2 at Marlins. After taking two of three against the Cubs in Chicago, the Mets had a one-game lead against the Reds when they went to Miami for a season-ending, three-game series. They were in control of their own destiny. All they had to do was win out and they were in the playoffs. Instead they laid an egg.

September 28: 4-0 at Marlins. Once more, New York was presented with a chance to salvage their season; once more, they looked a gift horse in the mouth. While the Milwaukee Brewers were beating the Reds 4-2, the Mets went out with a whimper.

So what happened? How did the best team money could buy implode before our very eyes? Well for starters, despite all the hoopla that preceded the season, the fact is this was a very flawed roster. There are three components to baseball: pitching, hitting and fielding. Turns out, the Mets weren't good enough in any of them.

Pitching: Even before their first slump in June, alarm bells were going off. The starters were having a hard time going more than five innings. For the season, the Mets had 38 quality starts; the Phillies, by comparison, had 84. This failure to go deep in games put an unnecessary strain on a bullpen that wasn't exactly deep go begin with. Something had to give, and give it did. From April 13 on, the team ERA was 4.95, fourth worst in the majors. That they went 38-55 during that stretch should surprised no one.

Hitting: The addition of Juan Soto was supposed to transform the Mets into an offensive juggernaut. Instead, they scored two less runs this season than they did last season. But even with all that, this was a very top-heavy lineup that was inconsistent much of the year, and until August struggled to drive in runners in scoring position. One game, they'd score 12 runs, the next, they'd be lucky to score one. Case in point, game 162. With their season on the line, they were shutout after scoring five runs the previous game.

Fielding: Let's cut to the chase: this was a sloppy team in the field. Ground balls booted; line drives misplayed; cutoff men missed; throws off target. There were times this season when it looked like the Mets had nine Marv Throneberrys out there. Truth be told, with the exception of Francisco Lindor and Tyrone Taylor, there isn't one player in this lineup I would trust to make a defensive play with the game on the line. And that is a huge problem for a team with championship aspirations. 

So why was this roster so flawed? It comes down to money. Even an owner as wealthy as Steve Cohen has a budget. With the bulk of the payroll going to Soto, Lindor and Pete Alonso, David Stearns simply didn't have the resources to go after a top tier starter like Max Fried, who signed an eight-year, $218 million contract with the Yankees last offseason. Fried went 19-5 with a 2.86 ERA for the Bronx Bombers. So Stearns went shopping at the bargain basement store and settled for the likes of Montas ($17m x 2) and Sean Manaea ($25m x 3). Both pitchers were bitter disappointments and will still be on the books next year. 

Pitching wasn't the only position to bow to economic reality. Around the time the Mets were negotiating whether to bring back Alonso, Alex Bregman's name was floated as a possible replacement. The third baseman won a gold glove playing for the Houston Astros in 2024 and would've been a considerable improvement over Mark Vientos at the corner. But Stearns only had enough money to sign one, not both players. Once Pete re-up'd, that was it for Bregman.

Instead of acquiring a legit centerfielder, Stearns opted for a tandem of Tyrone Taylor and Jose Siri. Taylor was a vacuum cleaner in center, but barely hit his weight at the plate; while Siri was injured and missed most of the season. Things were so bad, Mendoza was forced to use Jeff McNeil, a second baseman, in place of a struggling Taylor. When your manager is playing his players out of position, that's usually a sign the front office didn't do a good enough job. 

And speaking of which, it needs to be reiterated that Stearns had a bad trade deadline. He needed to add starter; he didn't get one. He needed a centerfielder; he got Cedric Mullins. As a result, the starting rotation continued to struggle, while Mullins was no better than Taylor at the plate and worse in the field.

And last, but not least, we come to the manager. I've been pretty clear that I don't think Mendoza was the main culprit in this tragedy, but he was hardly blameless. Throughout his two-year tenure in the dugout, he has been guilty of over-managing this pitching staff, pulling starters too early, even when they weren't in trouble. Like he did when he pulled Manaea in the second inning of the season finale, even though he hadn't allowed a run.

Mendoza also failed to hold his players accountable when they screwed up. While a manager isn't responsible for strikeouts and bad pitches, he is responsible for setting the tone for his club. There was never any sense of urgency with this team; no willingness to look in the mirror and admit they were blowing it. Just the opposite, in fact. They seemed oblivious to the peril they were in. Losses that should've been wins were shrugged off with a chorus of "we'll get 'em tomorrow" excuses. Well on September 28, they ran out of tomorrows.

Obviously, changes will have to be made. Mendoza may be coming back, but some of his coaches won't Jeremy Hefner should be the first to be shown the door. It is inconceivable that this rotation could sail through the batting order twice, only to fall apart the third time around. That cannot be a coincidence. This malady even impacted the new pitchers who were brought up in September. Enough is enough. 

The next to go should be both hitting coaches; yes, you heard right, the Mets have two hitting coaches. Clearly Jeremy Barnes and Eric Chavez aren't getting through, because there's simply no excuse for a team with this much offensive talent to be this anemic with runners in scoring position.

Stearns has a lot on his plate this offseason. He needs to improve both the starting rotation and the bullpen. Both Edwin Diaz and Alonso can opt out of their contracts; Pete has already said he's doing so. Will the Mets re-sign both? If so, how much will it cost? Will they trade McNeil and / or Vientos? Will they bring back Starling Marte? If not, who will take his place? Is Brett Baty ready to take the reins at third base full time? Who will play centerfield? If Alonso returns, will it be as a DH or first baseman? If Pete doesn't want to be the DH, who will?

You wouldn't think an organization with a payroll of $340 million would have that many questions, but that's where we are. The Mets seem to have as many holes as they have talented ballplayers. 

One thing is certain: the roster that crashed and burned in 2025 will have changes to it come 2026.

A New Hope

Week one of the Jaxson Dart era is now officially in the books and the reviews couldn't be better. In his first start in the NFL, Dart showed poise, ability and good judgment, as the New York Giants beat the Los Angeles Chargers 21-18 at MetLife Stadium for their first win of the season. But more than that, Dart gave his head coach, his GM, the franchise and its fanbase something they haven't had in a long time: hope.

After last week's abysmal "effort" by Russell Wilson against the Kansas City Chiefs, the natives weren't just growing restless; they were getting downright ornery. Another phone-in performance like that and the fans would've started wearing bags over their heads. I've seen it; it ain't pretty.

Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka drew up a game plan for Dart that was deliberately simple, but still gave the rookie enough latitude to show off the skillset that made Joe Schoen trade back into the first round to pluck him in the Draft. In his first possession, Dart took his team 89 yards on 9 plays, helped by a 14-yard pass interference penalty, and capped off by a 15-yard quarterback draw to put the Giants up 7-0. It was the first time the Chargers had allowed a first quarter touchdown this season.

Dart was very effective going through his progressions, particularly on third down, where the Giants as a team were 7/15. Overall, he was 13/20 for 111 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 96.0. He also rushed for 54 yards on 10 carries. By comparison, Eli Manning's slash line in his first start was 17/37, 162, 1-2, 45.1.

Cam Skattebo, another impressive rookie drafted by Schoen in the fourth round, also had a solid game, rushing for 79 yards on 25 carries. In all, the Giants ran the ball 42 times for 161 yards. With Tyrone Tracy out with a dislocated shoulder the next couple of weeks, Skattebo will have to carry most of the load in the backfield.

But as good as Dart and Skattebo were, it was the defense that stole the show, especially the front seven. Led by Brian Burns, Abdul Carter (the third pick in the '25 Draft), Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux, they had 20 pressures, 12 hits and two sacks against Justin Herbert. They also forced two interceptions, which led to 11 points for the Jints. It was the first time this season that the Giants held an opponent to under 20 points, and the first time since week 16 last season against the Indianapolis Colts at MetLife that they led in all four quarters of a game. In case you're wondering, the Giants don't have many of these games.

But the news was not all good for Big Blue. Malik Nabers, whose 1204 yards was good enough to finish fifth in the voting for rookie of the year last season, suffered a torn ACL in his right leg in the second quarter and is out for the rest of the season. The star wideout had 18 receptions for 271 yards when he went down. Against the Cowboys two weeks ago, he led all New York receivers with 167 yards on 9 receptions and two touchdowns. His presence will be sorely missed.

All things considered, though, the Giants did what they had to do Sunday: win the game. They are now 1-3. If they beat the Saints in New Orleans next week - which they should - they will be 2-3. Before the start of the season, I said the Giants had a chance of going 3-6 in their first nine games. With the Philadelphia Eagles (twice), the Denver Broncos and the San Francisco 49ers all upcoming, they could still do it.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. The headline here is that the Giants have found their quarterback. 

And his name is Jaxson Dart.

It's Dart's Time

 

A week ago, the Giants offense looked like Air Coryell; last Sunday, it looked more like the Hindenburg at Lakehurst, New Jersey. And Russell Wilson, who last week had regained his Super Bowl form against the Dallas Cowboys, reverted back to the player Sean Payton couldn't wait to ship out of Denver against the Kansas City Chiefs.

So much for making progress. I thought this team was moving in the right direction. Clearly I was wrong. 

You can make all the excuses you want: Steve Spagnuolo double-teamed Malik Nabers; the Chiefs needed the win more; Patrick Mahomes is a magician who alluded the Giants pass rush all night; Graham Gano got injured during warmups, rendering New York's kicking game practically useless. 

It's time to face facts. Despite all the offseason maneuvers, this is still a bad team. Bill Parcells was right: You are what your record says you are; and right now, the Giants are 0-3. From what we've seen, so far, and based on the strength of schedule, if this team goes more than 2-7 in its first nine games, I would be very surprised.

Contrary to what I wrote before the season, waiting until week ten to make a change at quarterback is too late. Apparently, Brian Daboll agrees. The head coach announced this afternoon that Jaxson Dart will start this Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers. 

It was the right decision, and for the following reasons.

Going into the 2025 season, the assumption was that Wilson would be competent enough to give Daboll the time he needed to bring Dart along, so that when he finally took over the reigns, he would be able to handle the pressure.

But in two of his three starts, Wilson has been underwhelming to say the least. Against Kansas City, he looked completely lost; indeed, he looked more like a rookie than the guy who was being groomed to take his job. His two interceptions on Sunday were forced passes that never should've been thrown. 

Look, we all gave Wilson kudos for throwing for 450 yards and three touchdowns against the Cowboys in week two. But when Caleb Williams threw for 298 yards and four touchdowns against them the following week, it was fairly obvious that Wilson's performance was an anomaly. Hell, the way that secondary is playing, Peyton Manning could come out of retirement and throw for 200 yards and a touchdown against it.

But here's the biggest reason for making the switch. This team is 0-3. After this Sunday, they will likely be 0-4. Justin Herbert, the player Dave Gettleman really wanted, might be the best quarterback in the NFL. If the Giants can't move the football and put up some points, this game will be over at halftime. Dart at least has an element of speed to his game that Wilson lacks. When he came in last Sunday, you could feel the electricity resonate within the stadium. If he was good enough to be the backup, he's obviously ready to be the starter.

There's losing and then there's losing without a fight. Right now, the Giants are losing without much of a fight. Daboll had no choice but to pull the plug on Wilson. Even if it turns out that Dart isn't the second coming of Eli Manning, he will at least breathe some life into a locker room that desperately needs something to believe in.

The fans are disgusted. The players frustrated. The season is hanging in the balance.

It's Dart's time, ready or not. 

Deja Blue

Two years ago, the Giants were playing the Bills in Buffalo. Despite their 1-4 record, they outplayed the Bills. But because of several mistakes - one near the end of the first half - they lost the game when Josh Allen connected on a 15-yard pass to Quinton Morris in the end zone with 3:48 left in the fourth quarter. That was basically it for Big Blue. They never fully recovered from that loss.

I'm not prepared to throw in the towel on the Giants just yet. For one thing, this was only the second game of the season; for another, unlike that game in 2023, and so many others over the last ten years, this time around the offense wasn't the problem. Indeed, after sleepwalking through a 21-6 loss to the Commanders in Washington the previous week, the Jints looked like Air Coryell against the Cowboys in Dallas. Russell Wilson resembled the quarterback who took the Seattle Seahawks to consecutive Super Bowls a decade ago. If you're a Giants fan, you haven't seen anything like this since Eli Manning was under center. 

The Giants put up 37 points on the day, with Wilson completing 30 of 41 passes for 450 yards and three touchdowns, the last one coming with 25 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to put New York up by three. And if Shane Bowen had been more aggressive with his defensive play calling on the Cowboys last possession in regulation, this team would be 1-1 instead of 0-2.

Then again, if James Hudson hadn't committed four penalties on the opening drive - one of which cost his team a first and goal at the two yard line - the Giants probably would've had a seven-point lead against the Cowboys with 25 seconds to go instead of three, thus rendering the soft defensive play calling by Bowen moot. 

But then that's been the pattern for this franchise for years, hasn't it? When they score, their defense fails them; when they play good defense, they can't find the end zone to save their lives. And sometimes, it's just good old-fashioned poor play calling or untimely mistakes. The Giants are a veritable smorgasbord of bad luck, if ever there was one. 

And in a season in which their first nine games are the toughest of any team in the NFL, they can ill afford to squander any opportunity to get a win. That's what makes Sunday's loss in Dallas so brutal. They outplayed the Cowboys for the majority of the game; they were the better team on the field; they deserved a better fate than they got. Stop me if you've heard this before.

And with the Kansas City Chiefs coming to town, things aren't going to get any easier for the men in blue. The Chiefs are 0-2. The last tine they started the season 0-3 was 2011 - 14 years ago! The Giants, on the other hand, have started the season 0-3 four times over that span. If we know anything about Patrick Mahomes, he hates losing about as much as a vampire hates a sunrise. He knows he hasn't played up to his standard, and neither have his teammates. With the sting of last year's Super Bowl flop still sticking in their craw, they will be in a foul mood when they take the field at MetLife this Sunday, you can be sure of that.

Look, we all knew the Giants had a brutal schedule before the season started. They should be 1-1; they aren't. As an old boss of mine used to say, "Pete, it is what it is." What's important now is that this team continue to play as hard as it can. They have talent on both sides of the ball; more talent than they had three years ago when they went 9-7-1 and secured a Wild Card spot. They have a quarterback who can throw deep and on target; Malik Nabers is a star in the making; and as a team they've recorded six sacks so far.

In August, I predicted a record of 7-10. I saw nothing in Dallas to make me regret that prediction. Just the opposite, in fact. If they play like they did against the Cowboys - sans the penalties and soft defense - they are going to surprise a number of teams before this season is over; perhaps even the Chiefs. 

Just don't quote me on that, okay?

Read It and Sweep

"I'm responsible. I'm the manager. It's my job to get these guys going and I will." 

- New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza

Immediately after the "unsinkable" Titanic sank, many people were quick to put the blame on Captain Edward J. Smith. He was the obvious choice. He had received no less than six ice warnings, yet decided not to reduce speed, change course, or post additional lookouts.

But over the course of the next few months, three inquiries - one in the United States and two in England - shed additional light on the disaster and spread the blame more equally around. The insufficient number of lifeboats to accommodate everyone on board and the decision not to include a double skin in the construction of the ship played a major factor in the huge loss of life that night. There was also a mystery ship ten miles away that, had it responded, could've arrived in time to pick up hundreds of passengers that later froze to death in the North Atlantic.

We still don't know how the 2025 Mets season will end. But as of right now, it's fair to say that this once invincible ship is taking on water and seriously listing. It's hard to believe it but on June 12, their record was 45-24. They were five and a half games up on the Philadelphia Phillies and looking to run away with the National League East. After getting swept by those same Phillies last night, the Mets record now stands at 76-71, and they are only one and a half games up on the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds for the last Wild Card spot. For the benefit of those who didn't bring their calculators with them, the Mets are 31-47 since June 13. Only the Colorado Rockies, Minnesota Twins and Washington Nationals have a worse record over that span. 

While I admire Mendoza's courage and willingness to throw himself under the bus, by no means is he the main culprit in this disaster. The chief architect of this shit show that currently resides at CitiField is none other than G.M. David Stearns. It was his decision not to re-sign Jose Quintana and instead sign Frankie Montas. Quintana wound up signing with the Milwaukee Brewers - the first place Milwaukee Brewers - for $4 million and is currently 11-6 with a 3.88 ERA, while Montas is making $17 million and was 3-2 with a 6.28 ERA before going on the IR. He then, for some strange reason, convinced Clay Holmes that he could be a starter, despite the fact he hadn't made a start since 2018. Not unexpectedly, the former Yankees closer is running out of gas over the last few weeks.

At the trade deadline, Stearns opted for Cedric Mullins form the Baltimore Orioles instead of Harrison Bader from the Twins, believing that Bader, like he did in Queens last year, would not be a productive second half hitter. But Bader is batting .339 since being acquired by the Phillies, while Mullins is batting an anemic .174 for the Mets. Stearns also elected not to pursue a starter at the deadline, despite the fact that the starting rotation was crying out for someone who could go more than 5 innings. The strain on the beleaguered bullpen was bound to take its toll. Overall, the team ERA is an abysmal 4.02, 10th worst in the majors. On June 12th, it was a major-league best 2.80.

And speaking of the bullpen, while no one could've foreseen that Ryan Helsley would implode the way he has, it's worth noting that Stearns could've gotten Jhoan Duran from the Twins for a little bit more than what he paid for Helsley, and Duran would've been under team control for another two years, unlike Helsley, who's a free agent after this season. Imagine Bader in center and Duran setting up Edwin Diaz. How many more wins do you think this team would have right now with just those two players on the roster? Four, five, six? Even three more wins would mean a four and a half game lead on the Giants and Reds with a nine-game home stand starting tonight.

This is what happens when your owner spends $765 million on one player and your GM shops at the bargain basement store for a pitching staff. The sad fact is that the Mets are wasting a spectacular second half by Juan Soto, who since August 1, is first in the majors in OPS, on-base percentage and stole bases, second in home runs, and third in slugging percentage. Indeed, he's one home run and five runs batted in away from being only the fifth player in major league history to have at least 40 HRs, 100 RBIs and 30 SBs in a single season. The other four are Jose Conseco (1988), Barry Bonds (1996), Alex Rodriguez (1998), and Shohei Ohtani (2024).

Imagine having a lineup with Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor AND still missing the playoffs. That is unacceptable, and yet that is the likely fate which awaits this team over the next couple of weeks unless something dramatic happens. And let's be honest: even if they were to clinch that last Wild Card, do you have any faith that this team can win two games in Philadelphia, where Phillies fans will be frothing at the mouth looking to exact revenge for last year? Me neither.

But before I make Stearns out to be a modern day J. Bruce Ismay - look it up - the players deserve some of the blame here. Including last night's fiasco, the Mets are now 0-63 when trailing after 8 innings. Last season, they had nine comeback wins in the 9th inning, 45 overall to lead the majors. You can have the greatest front office in the history of the sport but if your players don't perform up to ecxpectations you're not going anywhere. 

So there you have it: a season with high expectations, that got off to such a great start, has now spiraled into a tailspin that knows no end.

I hope you brought your lifejackets. That ocean's pretty nasty. 

2025 Giants and NFL Preview

Since the New York Giants won Super Bowl 46, they have had exactly three winning seasons (2012, 2016 and 2022). They've made the playoffs twice ('16 and '22), and won once ('22 against the Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card round). Over the last fourteen years, this fanbase has gone from hope to despair, to hope, and finally back to despair. If there was such a thing as PTSD for football fans, Giants fans would be first in line at the clinic.

Face it: it's been a vicious cycle for the Big Blue faithful. You get your hopes up, only to have them dashed. Then when you finally write them off, they surprise you by having a good season. You think we'd learn our lesson, but, alas, it's like that scene in The Godfather Three when Michael says, "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in." We couldn't quit this team even if we wanted to.

Looking back at my past predictions, it seems I have not been immune to this trap. After a successful 2016 season, I thought the Giants would be Super Bowl contenders in '17. They ended up being one of the worst teams in the league that year. After a surprising 2022 season, I again thought they'd be contenders the following year. Once more, I was wrong. Indeed, the only times I've been pleasantly surprised was when I managed my expectations for them.

Which leads me to 2025. After an abysmal 2024, in which they went 3-14, the Giants had their best offseason in years. They improved their secondary by signing Paulson Adebo; they totally revamped their quarterback position by signing Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston; they selected what many thought was the best player in the NFL Draft in Abdul Carter; they then traded back into the first round and got the quarterback of their future in Jaxson Dart; and in that same draft they added depth at running back, tight end and the offensive line. By any objective metric, this is a better and deeper roster than last year's.

So what does that mean for the Giants? Well, for starters, it means they won't suck this year. And, trust me, after enduring the last two hellish seasons, that's no small feat. But while not sucking is nice, it might not make much difference in the standings. That's because, as I wrote in an earlier piece, New York's schedule is brutal. Giants opponents had a .574 winning percentage in 2024; by comparison, the Super Bowl champ Philadelphia Eagles opponents had a .561 winning percentage last season. As Mike Francesa said on his podcast, "The Giants could play 40 percent better this year in every aspect and win five games."

While I'm not as pessimistic as Mike, I'm also not going to make the same mistake I made the last two years by overestimating their chances. The Giants had an outstanding preseason going 3-0, but the real season starts September 7. Any honest evaluation of this team's prospects must be realistic.

Ironically, last year I predicted the Jints would go 7-10; this year, I'm predicting the same record for them. That's because I believe this is the best front seven the Giants have had since their Super Bowl days; Wilson is considerably better than Daniel Jones; and they have speed at the wide receiver position with Malik Nabers on the verge of stardom. And if that isn't enough, Brian Daboll is coaching for his job. Another 3 or 4 win season, and he's gone. You can bet the ranch John Mara made that clear to him seconds after the conclusion of last year's train wreck.

As to where they finish in the NFC East, thanks to Jerry Jones giving away Micah Parsons to Green Bay, third place is not out of the question. But if I were a betting man, I'd say fourth, just to play it safe.

Below are my predictions for the 2025 NFL standings and postseason.

NFC East:

Eagles

Commanders

Cowboys

Giants

NFC North:

Packers *

Lions

Vikings

Bears

NFC South:

Falcons

Buccaneers

Saints

Panthers 

NFC West:

49ers

Rams

Seahawks

Cardinals

AFC East:

Bills

Dolphins

Patriots

Jets

AFC North:

Ravens

Steelers

Bengals

Browns

AFC South:

Texans

Titans

Jaguars

Colts

AFC West:

Chiefs *

Chargers

Broncos

Raiders

* Number one seed

NFC Wild Cards:

Commanders

Rams

Lions

AFC Wild Cards:

Dolphins

Chargers

Broncos

NFC Championship game: 

Packers over the Eagles

AFC Championship game: 

Bills over the Chiefs

Super Bowl:

Packers over the Bills

From Despair to Hope

On August 15, the New York Mets were in the midst of the worst slump of their season. They had just lost 11-9 to the Milwaukee Brewers, their 14th loss in 16 games. They were 64-58, six games behind the first place Philadelphia Phillies, and only a half game in front of the Cincinnati Reds for the last Wild Card spot. The team that was two wins away from going to the World Series last season was in jeopardy of dropping out of the playoff picture altogether.

To be honest, with the preseason the New York Giants were having, I was pretty much done with baseball and looking forward to football season. I have a sneaky suspicion a lot of Mets fans were feeling the same way. No fanbase, except for maybe the Jets, has had more experience saying "Wait'll next year."

And then Nolan McLean took the mound at CitiField on August 16 and did something a Mets starter hadn't done since August 4: pitch at least five complete innings without surrendering an earned run. And unlike that early August game, which was a 7-6 loss to the Cleveland Guardians, this time around, the Mets prevailed 3-1. McLean went 5.1 innings, allowed 2 hits, 4 walks, no earned runs, and struck out 8. It was his first start in the majors and it could not have come at a better time for this beleaguered franchise.

So far, the 24 year old righty has started three games for the Amazins, and his stats are off the charts. In 20.1 innings, he is 3-0, with 21 strikeouts and a 0.89 earned run average. That is better than what Jacob deGrom, Dwight Gooden and Tom Seaver did in their first three starts. Last night, he threw eight shutout innings to help the Mets complete a three-game sweep of the Phillies to pull them to within four games of first place.

McLean's arrival has been a Godsend for the Mets. They are 8-3 in their last eleven, and have outscored their opponents 74-40. But even before he was brought up from Syracuse, there were signs that things were starting to turn around. Since August 12, New York's batting average with runners in scoring position is .388. Prior to that, it was .233.

Leading the way is Mark Vientos. After an impressive rookie campaign in which he hit .266 with 27 HRs and 71 RBIs, the third baseman was having a hellish second season, hitting just .234 with 7 HRs and 31 RBIs through July. But in August, he has rediscovered his swing and his swagger. He's hitting .297 with 6 HRs and 18 RBIs. He's tied with Francisco Lindor with an OPS of 1.000. Only Brett Baty - 1.002 - is higher. Juan Soto, the 765 million dollar man, is hitting .400 with an OPS of 1.156 with runners in scoring position since July 29. Even Tyrone Taylor is getting into the act. He's hitting .360 with an .OPS of .888 this month.

 

But with the starters continuing to struggle getting past the 5th inning, David Stearns has seen enough. He's calling up Jonah Tong from Syracuse, who will make his season debut Friday night against the Miami Marlins. Tong was 8-5 with a 1.59 ERA at Binghamton this season, and 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA at Syracuse. There are those in the organization who think his ceiling might be higher than McLean's. Meanwhile, Brandon Sproat, who's 7-6 with a 4.50 ERA at Syracuse, could be called up in September. The Mets haven't had three young starters with this much potential since the days of deGrom, Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard. Now you know why Stearns was reluctant to part with his top prospects at the trade deadline.

A revived offense that can hit in the clutch and averages seven runs per game; a revamped starting rotation that can go six or more innings; this was the way the Mets drew it up on the board before the year started. With 29 games remaining in the regular season, the Flushing Faithful finally have something they can look forward to in October.

Jaxson Dart is Making a Compelling Case to Be the Giants Starting QB

In 2004, everyone on Planet Earth knew that Eli Manning was the New York Giants quarterback of the future. Then GM Ernie Accorsi traded an '04 third round pick and a first and fifth rounder in '05, along with Philip Rivers, to the San Diego Chargers to get Peyton's younger brother. 

The plan was to let Eli sit and learn behind former Super Bowl winner Kurt Warner. And based on what we saw in the preseason, that plan certainly looked feasible. Eli put up respectable numbers - 24/49, 327, 0 over four games - but was hardly a show stopper. Indeed, head coach Tom Coughlin waited until week 10 before finally turning the reigns over to him.

Fast forward 21 years to the 2025 NFL Draft. Present GM Joe Schoen traded three picks to move back into the first round to select Jaxson Dart at number 25. The Giants believe strongly that Dart is their quarterback of the future. Like in '04, the plan is to let Dart sit and learn behind another former Super Bowl winner, Russell Wilson. 

Warner to Eli, Part Deux, right? There's just one not-so-small problem. Dart has thrown a monkey wrench into those plans. Through two preseason games, Dart is a combined 26/35 for 291 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs. His 117.7 passer rating is the best on the team, a full 45 points better than Wilson.

Dart has become THE football story of the preseason. Initially he was viewed as a mid second rounder that needed a lot of work to smooth out the rough edges. NFL.com gave him a 6.17 grade in their eval, listing him as a "good backup with the potential to develop into a starter."

That was no backup we saw Saturday night. Seven quarterbacks took the field at MetLife Stadium; four for the Giants and three for the Jets. Dart was better than all of them, and it wasn't even close. Head coach Brian Daboll has a real dilemma on his hands. On the one hand, it makes perfect sense to start the season with Wilson at the helm. Clearly someone at NFL headquarters has a sick sense of humor, because the Giants, coming off a 3-14 campaign in 2024, wound up with the toughest schedule of any team in the league this season. Throwing a promising young talent like Dart into that gauntlet could have disastrous consequences for the Giants. And if there's one thing this franchise can ill afford to do is fuck up another young quarterback. John Mara will skin both Daboll and Schoen alive if that happens.

On the other hand, while Wilson has been good, he's been on a downward trajectory since the 2020 season. At this point in his career, he is nothing more than a bridge to a successor. At least when the Giants signed Warner in '04, he was three years removed from his second Super Bowl appearance and led the league in passing yards with 4830 that season. Daboll, after two very disappointing years in which the fanbase was calling for his head, could hardly be blamed for wanting to roll the dice with the player he moved heaven and earth to land.

What to do? That is the question. If I were a betting man - and I'm not - I'd put my money on Wilson being the stater week one, with Dart as the backup. That means that Jameis Winston, whom Schoen signed to a two-year, $8 million guaranteed contract during the offseason, will likely be traded for a draft pick. No sense having an $8m asset on your books when you already have a bonafide starter waiting in the wings. And besides, the way Tommy DeVito has played this preseason, if he gets cut, he'll be picked up by another team quicker than you can say, "you want mashed potatoes with those cutlets?"

As for when Daboll makes the switch to Dart, I'm thinking week 10. That's because the first nine weeks of the schedule will be particularly daunting. Just take a gander at who the Giants play:

@ the Washington Commanders

@ the Dallas Cowboys

vs the Kansas City Chiefs

vs the L.A. Chargers

@ the New Orleans Saints

vs the Philadelphia Eagles

@ the Denver Broncos

@ the Philadelphia Eagles

vs the San Francisco 49ers

If they go 3-6 during that stretch, they'll be lucky. I've been a fan of the Giants since the dark days of Joe Pisarcik and John McVay. I've seen the football gods smile and frown on them. Trust me, they took a dump on the 50 yard line with this schedule. As much as I want to see Dart be the starting quarterback, I'd rather he not do it from inside a rubber room.

No, the sensible thing to do is let Wilson take his lumps as the starter in the first half. Then after week nine, thank him for his service, send him to the nearest triage unit, and have Dart close out the season.

If the Giants don't screw this up, they'll be in good shape for 2026 and beyond.

Of course when it comes to the Giants, "if" is a four-letter word. 

The Tragic Is Back!

Another series played, another series lost. That makes three series in a row that the New York Mets have lost, during which they've gone 1-8. Yesterday's near shut out at the hands of the Cleveland Guardians - they were literally two outs away from being no-hit - just underscores how futile their level of play has been since winning seven in a row.

Forgive me if this sounds familiar, but on June 12, the Mets record stood at 45-24. They were solidly in first place in the National League East, five and a half games up on the Philadelphia Phillies. They had just swept the Washington Nationals after having swept the Colorado Rockies. They were on a roll. The Flushing Faithful had visions of 1986 dancing in their heads. 

Since then, the Amazins have gone 18-28, and are now in second place, two and a half games behind the Phillies. Their team ERA, once the best in the majors at 2.87, is a second-worst 4.99 during this skid. Their team batting average has gone from .248 (12th) to .225 (24th). Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso, who were unquestionably the two best offensive players on the team early in the year, are clearly struggling. In the month of July, Lindor and Alonso batted a woeful .206 and .141 respectively. Apart from a few games, Juan Soto, the 765 million dollar man, has yet to get untracked in his rookie campaign as a Met; of his 26 home runs this year, 20 have been solo shots.

If the season ended today, the Mets would face the Phillies in the Wild Card round as the visitors. The way they've played the last seven weeks, I wouldn't be surprised if they got swept.

This is not the same Mets team we saw last year. Last year, the Mets found ways to win games; this year, they're finding ways to lose them. Case in point, a game against the San Diego Padres in July. After the Mets took a 5-1 lead in the top of the 5th inning, courtesy of a Mark Vientos grand slam, Frankie Montas and Huascar Brazoban couldn't hold it. The Padres scored five runs in the bottom of the 5th and eventually won the game in the bottom of the 9th. The loss mirrored almost exactly another one in June against the Tampa Bay Rays at CitiField. Once again, the Mets jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the 5th; once again their bullpen couldn't hold it. In both instances, that loss was followed up by a prolonged losing streak.

Resiliency is a word that doesn't get used a lot in baseball; it's typically reserved for sports like football, basketball or hockey. That's because, as Earl Weaver once said, momentum is only as good as your next day's starter. Unfortunately for the Mets, their starting rotation has been neither resilient nor momentum stoppers. When they've needed a strong performance, they haven't gotten it. David Peterson has been the most consistent of a very weak lot, and his ERA over his last two starts is 4.50. The only bright spot has been the back end of the pen, where Ryan Helsley and Edwin Diaz have yet to give up an earned run in the month of August. But given how many times the Mets have taken a lead into the 8th or 9th innings over the last few weeks, that's not much of a consolation prize. 

I won't mince words. This team is in big trouble. They're not pitching, they're not fielding and they're not hitting, especially with runners in scoring position, where they continue to be near the bottom of the league. Their 18-28 record since June 13 is tied with the Atlanta Braves and the San Francisco Giants for the worst in baseball.

And with three upcoming games against a Milwaukee Brewers team that is 9-1 in their last 10, this skid has the potential to get considerably worse. The Mets are only three games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds for the last wild card spot in the National League. By Monday morning, they could conceivably be out of the playoffs. At the rate they're going, they will be lucky to finish the season above .500 let alone go to the World Series.

For a team with the second highest payroll in the majors at $339 million, that would represent the worst fail in franchise history.

Stearns Goes All In

Last season, David Stearns had a fairly conservative trade deadline. "No blockbuster moves," was how I described it. And who could blame him? While the Mets were tied for the last Wild Card spot, by no means were they a shoo-in for the playoffs. A year after they sold off Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander to restock their farm system, the last thing Steans wanted was to undo all that progress the organization had made for a team that might not be ready to win. So he hedged his bets, opting instead to add a few complimentary pieces.

There was no hedging this time around. The Mets were in first-place going into the trade deadline; their owner, Steve Cohen, coughed up $765 million during the offseason to sign Juan Soto to a 15 year deal; the expectations could not be higher for this team. Stearns knew there were holes that had to be filled, and fill them he did.

The Bullpen was the number one concern. In April, the Mets overall team ERA was 2.68; in May, it was 3.08; from June 1 to June 12, it was 2.60; but from June 13 to July 31, it ballooned to a season-high 4.94. The major reason for this increase was the bullpen. Put succinctly, it's been overworked. With the exception of Edwin Diaz and Reed Garrett (most nights), every reliever showed definite signs of fatigue. It had gotten so bad that every time Carlos Mendoza went to his pen he was playing Russian Roulette, only with six bullets instead of one. Clearly, the situation was untenable. Failure to act would've been tantamount to executive malpractice on Stearns' part.

So he went out and got one very good, and two exceptional arms. Gregory Soto was the first to arrive. A southpaw, Soto's specialty is dominating left-handed hitters, holding them to a .547 OPS. Righties, however, have an OPS of .726 against him, so Mendoza will have to be careful in how he utilizes him. 

Tyler Rogers and Ryan Helsley are both right-handers and were acquired within hours of each other. Rogers boasts a 1.80 ERA, while Helsley had 21 saves for the St. Louis Cardinals this season. Both pitchers should make ideal set-up men for Edwin Diaz, while Soto will primarily be used in the 6th or 7th innings.

Centerfield was the next concern. Let's face it: if there's a more automatic out in baseball than Tyrone Taylor, I haven't seen him. Initial reports had the Mets acquiring Luis Robert Jr from the Chicago White Sox, but when Chicago's asking price was too high, Stearns shifted gears and landed Cedric Mullins from the Baltimore Orioles. To be honest, Mullins is the better player. Going into last night's game against the Giants, Mullins slash line was 15 / 49 / .229 / .738, while Robert Jr's was 11 / 44 / .213 / .653. 

In Mullins, the Mets have an exceptional outfielder known for his glove and ability to hit the long ball. He will be a vast improvement over Taylor and allow Mendoza to keep Jeff McNeil at Second Base where he belongs. As for the lineup, since Stearns didn't have to part with any players on the roster, it just got longer. The only casualty was Luisangel Acuña, who was sent down to Syracuse to make room for Mullins. His defense and ability to steal bases will be sorely missed. 

The good news is that Stearns was able to add four very valuable pieces at the deadline without sacrificing any top prospects in the organization.  The only bad news was that he wasn't able to land a starter. While not nearly as troublesome as the bullpen, the starting rotation is, nonetheless, becoming a concern for Mendoza. David Peterson is the only starter who's been able to consistently pitch into the 7th inning. Clay Holmes, the converted closer the Mets stole from the Yankees during the offseason, hasn't gotten through the 6th inning since June 7, and lately has struggled to get through five. In his last outing, Frankie Montas was staked to a 5-1 lead going into the 5th inning and couldn't hold it. His ERA is as high as an attendee at a Grateful Dead concert.

It would've been nice to add someone like a Dylan Cease or Joe Ryan or Sandy Alcantra or Merrill Kelly to that rotation, but I suspect the price tag for those starters was more than Stearns was willing to pay. Indeed, it probably would've been more than what he paid for all three relievers. The logical choice was to fortify the bullpen and hope that Mendoza can somehow manage to get five innings out of his starters.

Last year, I gave Stearns a B+. This year, I'm giving him an A. With the exception of A.J. Preller of the San Diego Padres, no executive had a better trade deadline than Stearns. He identified two critical needs on the roster and he addressed both of them. No, he didn't get everything he wanted; spoiler alert: no general manager ever does. But what he did get should be enough for the Mets to win the National League East, and perhaps advance to their first World Series in ten years.

Lofty goals, to be sure, but as I wrote above, the expectations for this team could not be higher.

Mets At the All-Star Break

Last year, the New York Mets went into the All-Star break with a record of 49-46, 12.5 games out of first place; this year at the break, their record stands at 55-42, a half game out of first. 

At first glance, you'd probably conclude that this Mets team is much better poised to win than last year's. But when you check under the hood, that conclusion seems a bit premature. I'll explain.

The 2024 Mets got off to a dreadful start. On June 2, they were 24-35, mired in fourth place in the National League East. CitiField looked more like a morgue than a major league ballpark. Slowly, but surely, the boys from Flushing clawed their way back into playoff contention. But it wasn't until late August that the Amazins really took off. They went 20-9 down the stretch to clinch a Wild Card spot.

This year, the Mets got off to a great start. On June 12, they were 45-24, five and a half games up on the Philadelphia Phillies. Since then, they've gone 10-18. Their bullpen, once the best in baseball, has struggled mightily. Apart from Edwin Diaz, there's not one reliever Carlos Mendoza can rely on to get a crucial out.

Reed Garrett, who had an ERA of 0.95 on June 10, has allowed nine earned runs in his last nine and a third innings. Though to be fair, eight of those earned runs came in two games; and in one of those games, he failed to record an out.

Ryne Stanek, who had an ERA of 1.04 in the month of May, has posted ERAs of 6.23 and 7.36 in June and July respectively. Mendoza, for some strange reason, elected to go to him in the 8th inning of a game in which the Mets were ahead 1-0 and David Peterson was in complete control; he then promptly surrendered a two-run home run.

Huascar Brazobán, like Garrett, got off to a very good start. In May, his ERA was 1.26. In June, it was 13.5, and in July it is currently 5.40.

Starting to notice a pattern? Hopefully David Stearns is. Because this bullpen isn't remotely good enough for a team with championship expectations. And let's get one thing straight: when you drop $765 million on a single player, the expectation is that at some point you're going to win a championship. While it's true that Steve Cohen may be an incurable optimist, he didn't get to be this successful by throwing away his money. 

But the bullpen isn't the only area of concern. Put succinctly, there are four bats in this lineup that, with a few rare exceptions, have been pretty close to automatic outs this season. Tyrone Taylor is a vacuum cleaner in center field; at home plate, he's utterly useless; Luis Torrens (.206) and Hayden Senger (.174) are outstanding defensive catchers who can barely hit AAA pitching; Mendoza has tried three different players at 3rd base and so far, none have hit well enough to win the position outright. As for the DH spot, the Mets would do better holding a telethon. Face it: as good as Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil have been, there's no way this team will win the World Series with that many holes in the batting order.

With the return of Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea, Mendoza will have a much better starting rotation in the second half. The only question is how deep can these starters go? So far, only Peterson has demonstrated he can go more than six innings. Clay Holmes is basically a five-inning pitcher, and Senga is injury prone. In other words, whichever starter the Mets send to the mound, the bullpen will likely be the difference between winning and losing.

With that in mind, Stearns would do well to focus his efforts on fortifying the pen. Middle relievers will cost less than a starter. As far as adding a bat, Harrison Bader could be had for a mid-level prospect. He's currently batting .254 with 11 home runs and 34 runs batted in for the Minnesota Twins. Last year, he hit .236 with 12 HRs and 51 RBIs for the Amazins. Assuming Francisco Alvarez gets recalled sometime this month, the hope is he can rediscover the swing he had two years ago when he smacked 25 homers. 

The good news is that even with all their flaws, the Mets are only a half game out of first. That's because the Phillies have their own flaws. It wouldn't take much tweaking by Stearns to put this team on the glide path. The issue isn't who's available but what the asking price will be. If the Mets can get a player or two with team control without having to give up a top prospect, they should absolutely do it. But if the asking price means gutting their farm system, I would pass.

On the whole, the Mets have had a good first half. They seem to have weathered the worst of that storm in mid to late June. And they are still the front-runners in the National League East. Can they win it all? That depends on what Stearns does over the next couple of weeks.

Leon Gets His Man

It's official: the New York Knicks finally have their head coach. After an exhaustive thirty-day process in which Leon Rose interviewed multiple candidates, and asked permission to speak with several more, the President and GM chose two-time NBA Coach of the Year Mike Brown.

Brown's credentials are impeccable. He was an assistant under Gregg Popovich, during which time the San Antonio Spurs won the title in 2003; he took the Cleveland Cavaliers to the finals in 2007 in just his second season as head coach; in 2009, he won the first of his two Coach of the Year awards when the Cavs won a franchise record 66 games; he was an assistant under Steve Kerr, during which time the Golden State Warriors won three championships, two back-to-back; and he won his second Coach of the Year award in 2023 when he guided the Sacramento Kings to their first playoff appearance in 16 seasons.

He has a regular-season record of 454-304 and a postseason record of 50-40, which includes two trips to the conference finals and one trip to the league finals. Not only is he eminently qualified to coach this team, he is a considerable improvement over the man he is replacing.

This is not a knock on Tom Thibodeau, but anyone who watched the Knicks play last season knew there was something wrong. Despite having more talent, they looked disjointed at times, and often lacked the resiliency and toughness that had come to define past teams. Some of that is the players fault, but ultimately it's the coach's responsibility to make things work. Thibs' reluctance to hold his players accountable and his stubbornness when it came to making adjustments proved to be his undoing. The Indiana series was the final nail in the coffin, as far as Rose was concerned.

It is highly unlikely Brown will make the same mistakes. Indeed, all indications are that he is the polar opposite of Thibs. He has a history of getting his players - all of them - involved. In the 2022-23 season, the Kings not only had the number one rated offense in the NBA, they had six players score in double digits. He's coached such notables as LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kyrie Irving. If he can deal with those personalities, he should have no problems with Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.

So now that Rose has his man, what next? Well for starters, Brown will have a deeper and more productive bench than Thibs did. That's because in addition to looking for a head coach, Rose was busy signing Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele. The former is a guard who can play either the one or the two and averaged 16.2 points and 3.7 assists per game last season for the Utah Jazz; the latter is a center / forward who averaged 11 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last season for the Philadelphia 76ers. Rose was able to get both and still stay $2.2 million under the second apron. Last season, the Knick bench averaged a paltry 15.8 points per game. Clarkson and Yabusele all by themselves can put up 27 per game.

As for those LeBron rumors, you can forget them. If Rose didn't want Kevin Durant, what makes any body think he would agree to take on a 40 year-old, soon-to-be retired Hall of Famer? Besides, once he opted in to his contract with the Lakers, it pretty much put the kibosh on him going anywhere. With the apron system now a reality in the NBA, high-priced contracts are almost impossible to move.

So what are the expectations? Given that Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Halliburton will both be out next season with torn Achilles, the Eastern Conference is wide open and there for the taking. I'm sure Brown knows, and has been told, that anything less than a finals appearance will not be acceptable, especially for an owner whose franchise hasn't won a title since 1973. The natives aren't just restless, they're downright ugly.

Parallels have been drawn to the Yankees of the mid-1990s. After George Steinbrenner fired Buck Showalter in 1995 and replaced him with Joe Torre, a lot of people thought he was crazy. Buck was a proven manager, while Torre had never won a thing. But Torre proved to be the right manager at the right time, and in '96, the Yanks went on to win their first World Series championship since 1978. While it's a little premature to predict whether history will repeat itself, it's worth noting that we are hearing a lot of same second guessing coming from both Knicks fans and beat reporters alike.

Could lightning strike again? Only time will tell.

Drury Silences the Critics, for Now

Let's face it: the last twelve months have not been particularly good for New York Rangers fans. Barclay Goodrow waived, the infamous memo, Jacob Trouba traded, the team imploding, Kaapo Kakko, Filip Chytil and Ryan Lindgren sent packing, Peter Laviolette fired, Mike Sullivan hired, Chris Kreider shipped out. Jesus, a circus has less excitement. One could certainly be forgiven for being jaded about this team's prospects going into free agency. To tell you the truth, my expectations were pretty low.

But you know the old saying, when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade out of them. Well, Chris Drury did better than that; he took those lemons and he made a lemon soufflé out of them.

At 12:49, the first domino fell. Vladislav Gavrikov: $7 million x 7. Those of us who were following the news on Twitter thought it was a misprint. No way Drury signed the number one UFA defenseman on the open market for that much. Only the previous day, the Columbus Blue Jackets re-signed Ivan Provorov to a 7 year, $8.5m AAV extension. Based on that, you had to figure Gavrikov would come in at $9m easy. But, sure enough, it wasn't a misprint. Drury got his man for below market value. So far, so good.

Over the next several hours, the majority of us kept refreshing our time lines, widely speculating on what Drury's next move would be. Re-sign Will Cuylle, dump K'Andre Miller, add a scorer.  At 5:24, Larry Brooks broke the news. Cuylle was re-signed to a two year bridge deal with a $3.9m AAV. A sigh of relief went up in Rangersland. With Matthew Knies getting $7.75m x 6 from the Toronto Maple Leafs, the prevailing sentiment was that Cuylle would certainly get an offer sheet somewhere around $5m. But as the hours wore on, it was looking more and more like the Rangers were going to dodge a bullet.

The next domino fell right before 6:00. Miller to Carolina in a sign and trade for a conditional first round pick, a second round pick and defenseman Scott Morrow. Murrow was considered the top prospect in the Hurricanes organization. Eric Tulsky actually agreed to an 8 year, $7.5m AAV contract for a player with more turnovers than a bakery on Christmas morning. Maybe Rod Brind'Amour can turn him around, but, frankly, I have my doubts. Good luck, Canniacs, you're gonna need it.

Wow! What can I say? In less than six hours, Drury signed his number one free agent target for less than what most thought he would have to pay, re-signed one of his best two-way forwards to a very team-friendly deal, and rid himself of a defenseman responsible for more gray hairs than Methuselah. 

But Drury wasn't done. Later that evening he signed forward Taylor Raddysh to a two year, $1.5m AAV contract. Raddysh had 7 goals and 27 points for the Washington Capitals last season, and in 2022-23, registered a career-high 20 goals for the Chicago Blackhawks. At 6-3, 198 lbs, he should make an ideal bottom six forward. Even the Drury haters were forced to admit he was on a roll.

Now by no means is this team a Cup contender. They still have Carson Soucy on their roster, and if you thought Miller was bad, Soucy makes him look like a cross between Scott Stevens and Brian Leetch. And Mika Zibanejad, who had his worst season since 2017-18, is still a huge question mark going into this season. Pending any additional moves, the Rangers are a Wild Card, borderline third-place team at best. Sullivan may wish he'd stayed in Pittsburgh.

However, that shouldn't detract from what Drury has done here. Think about it: in just over a year, he has turned over more than a third of the roster and made this team younger and tougher. Gavrokov is the best left-handed defenseman the organization has had since Ryan McDonagh; Will Cuylle has a chance to become one of the best two-way forwards in the NHL; and in just the last three months, the Rangers went from having practically no draft capital to having two first rounders in 2026, one in '27 and one in '28. They also have second round picks in '26 and '28, as well as a third, fifth and sixth-round pick in all three years. In other words, they're loaded.

Sam Pollock he ain't, but he sure as shit ain't Phil Esposito.