Is Carlos Mendoza the Next Willie Randolph or Davey Johnson?

In the end, and for reasons we will likely never fully know, Craig Counsell, the man everyone assumed would be the next manager of the New York Mets, opted not to take the job and instead signed with the Chicago Cubs. Was it the money? Perhaps. Or maybe it was something else. What we do know is that Counsell never gave the Mets a chance to match the Cubs offer. So with Counsell gone, Steve Cohen and David Stearns chose Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza as their next skipper.

Almost immediately, the "Who the fuck is Carlos Mendoza?" contingent chimed in with their nickel's worth of "expertise," with several radio talk-show hosts proclaiming they were done with the Mets. One of those talk-show hosts, by the way, was the shit head who hung up on Carl Banks the other week, so take that with a rather large grain of salt.

As far as Mendoza is concerned, he is pretty much an unknown commodity. According to Wikipedia - yes, I had to go there - he spent 13 seasons in the minor leagues. In 2011, he was hired by the Yankees to manage their Gulf Coast League team, and in 2017, he was promoted to the big club where he's been the bench coach since 2020. Apart from a rave review he got from Aaron Boone, it's anybody's guess how he will perform in the Mets dugout.

In fact, Mendoza's hiring is eerily familiar to the Willie Randolph hiring in October of 2004. Like Mendoza, Randolph was a Yankees bench coach with no big-league managerial experience. In fact, the only difference between both men is that Randolph had a distinguished career as an all-star second baseman with the Bronx Bombers that included two World Series rings: 1977 and 1978.

While the Mets won the National League East in 2006 with Randolph at the helm, they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS; and then in '07, suffered one of the worst late-season collapses in team history, finishing 5-12 down the stretch and blowing a seven game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies. Randolph's lack of experience was cited as the reason for both failures. He would eventually be fired the following season after the Mets got off to a slow start.

The question for the Mets right now is are they repeating the same mistake they made 19 years ago by going with someone with no big-league managerial experience? The hope is that Mendoza won't be the next Willie Randolph, but the fact is nobody can know for sure. Davey Johnson, if you recall, had no big-league managerial experience either when he was chosen by Frank Cashen to manage the Mets in 1984, and we all know how that turned out. Two division titles and a World Series championship later, the hire is generally considered to be among the best in franchise history.

We also have to keep in mind that Stearns was hired by Cohen because of his expertise in building an organization. Even though the Milwaukee Brewers never won the World Series during his tenure there, he was nonetheless responsible for their ascendancy into playoff contenders. We need to give him the benefit of the doubt here regarding Mendoza, inasmuch as we don't know how the interview went. For all we know, Mendoza hit it out of the park. Take it from a former sales manager who was responsible for hiring and firing, you can never underestimate the importance of a face to face meeting. 

Bottom line, the Mets have their manager in place for the 2024 season. Now they have to fill in their roster. That task will fall exclusively to Stearns now that Billy Eppler is no longer the GM.

But that's another story altogether. 

November Will Test Rangers Mettle

To say that the New York Rangers had themselves a good October would be the understatement of the decade. For the first time in franchise history, they went 5-0 on a road trip. Headed into November, they sit atop the Metropolitan Division with a record of 7-2-0, two points ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes; they are tied with the Colorado Avalanche for the third most points in the NHL with 14; and they have allowed the second fewest goals at 18.

Their 5v5 play has improved tremendously under new head coach Peter Laviolette; their special teams are clicking on all cylinders; and they are getting elite-level goaltending from both Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick. Contrary to what some have said on a certain social-media platform, these are not the 2021-22 Rangers. That team won in spite of itself; this team is making its own breaks. I have not seen a Rangers team with this much discipline and focus in a good many years.

To be honest, I'm somewhat surprised they've gotten off to such a fast start. Based on what we saw in the preseason, the consensus was that that the Blueshirts would likely struggle out of the gate. Comparisons to the 2013-14 team that went 16-18-2 in its first 36 games seemed appropriate. That this team has done as well as it has this early in the season confirms two things: 1. Laviolette was the right choice for Chris Drury; and 2. Gerard Gallant wasn't.

I don't wish the man ill, but it's clear that Gallant's unwillingness or inability to make adjustments was the primary reason for the Rangers collapse against the Devils in the playoffs last year. There is no other plausible explanation for how a series in which they dominated so thoroughly through the first two games turned so suddenly. The power play, which had gone 4-10 in the first two games, went 1-21 over the last five. It was obvious what had happened. Lindy Ruff made an adjustment on his penalty kill unit that took away the tip-in goals Chris Kreider was getting. But rather than tweak his power play, Gallant stood pat, believing it was simply a matter of execution. He was wrong and it cost him his job.

There are other differences, too. While the Rangers haven't fully implemented Laviolette's 1-3-1 system yet, there has been a reduction in the number of odd-man rushes and shots on goal the team has given up. Indeed, through nine games this season, New York has allowed an average of 26.22 SoG. Last season, the average was 29.33; in 2021-22, it was 30.83. Translation, Ranger goalies are having to work less hard than they have in the past.

Witness the game in Calgary. Shesterkin had to make several tough saves to preserve a 3-1 win over the Flames. Two years ago in Toronto, he had to practically stand on his head against the Maple Leafs just to get the Rangers to overtime, where Artemi Panarin won it late. The point is while goalies are required to steal the odd game or two for their teams, these types of heists should be the exception, not the rule. During Gallant's tenure in New York, they were the the latter.

But that's all water under the bridge. There's a new sheriff in town now. And while the first nine games of the season were an unqualified success, the next 12 are going to test the mettle of this team, starting with tonight's game against the Canes at the Garden. After getting off to a slow start, Carolina has allowed two goals or fewer in their last three games, all of which have been wins. It is one thing to beat a struggling Flames team or an Edmonton Oilers team without Connor McDavid; it is quite another to beat one of the best defensive teams in the NHL over the last two years. This will be the toughest opponent the Rangers have faced, so far.

And the schedule doesn't get any easier after tonight. In addition to the Hurricanes, the Rangers will face the Detroit Red Wings twice, and the Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars and dreaded Devils once this month. The Red Wings are one of the surprise teams in the league this season, while the Bruins, Stars and Devils are all legitimate Stanley Cup contenders.

The Rangers took care of business in October; and that was good. But all that earned them was the chance to do it again in November.

What a Difference a Year Makes

The most abused word in the English language is the word if. This is especially true when it comes to sports teams. After watching the New York Giants lose to the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium Sunday, the word if was thrown around so much, had it been a small animal, the ASPCA would've been called in.

If either Tyrod Taylor or Tommy Devito didn't have a collective minus 9 yards passing on the day; if Graham Gano had converted on just one of his two missed field goals; if Brian Daboll had gone for it on 4th and 1 from the Jets 17 with 28 seconds left in regulation up 10-7; if Kayvon Thibodeaux had not stopped the clock with 17 seconds left by jumping offsides; if Wink Martindale had elected to drop eight defenders into coverage instead of trying to rush Zach Wilson, then maybe, just maybe, the Giants might've snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, instead of the other way around. 

But, alas, they couldn't. Against a Jets team that went 2 for 15 on third down, the Jints found a way to one up them, going 2 for 19. And one of those first downs came courtesy of a roughing penalty. Indeed, it was only because of penalties like that, the running of Saquon Barkley and the defensive play of Thibodeaux, who had three sacks on the day - 8.5 on the season - that the Giants managed to get the ball across the 50 yard line at all. Barkley rushed for 128 yards, including a 34-yard run on the opening drive of the second half; and Thibodeaux stripped the ball from Wilson on the Jets opening drive of the game, giving the Giants the ball at the Jets 26 yard line.

And yet all they could muster was a lousy 10 points. That they were seconds away from pulling off an improbable win just goes to show you how snake bit this team truly is. They are nothing if consistent. 

For the third week in a row, Martindale's defense put the Giants in a position to win. They held the Buffalo Bills to 14 points; the Washington Commanders to 7; and the Jets to 13. Last season, they would've gone 3-0; this season, they went 1-2.

After the game, Daboll took responsibility for his decision to go for the field goal rather than the first down. Fans may question the call, but it was the correct one. Considering how bad the Giants were on 3rd down, converting a 4th and 1 would hardly have been a slam dunk. Besides, if your field goal kicker can't make a 35 yard field goal then what's he doing on the team? The fact is had Gano simply done his job, the Jets would've needed to go the length of the field to score the winning touchdown with less than 20 seconds left in regulation.

What a difference a year makes. The 2022 Giants were a resilient football team that found ways to win the close games. The 2023 Giants are the polar opposite; they invent new ways to lose the close games. It's hard to fathom just how fundamentally flawed they are, especially on offense. It doesn't matter who's quarterbacking them, with the exception of that second half against the Cardinals, they have been one of the worst red-zone teams in the NFL. Ironically, the only team worse than Big Blue in the red zone is the Jets, the team that beat them on Sunday.

Oh, death, where is thy sting?

So now that what little hope the Giants had of salvaging this train wreck of a season is gone, the only question that remains is how big of a selloff will they have? The first domino to fall is Leonard Williams. The underperforming defensive end was dealt to the Seattle Seahawks for a 2024 second rounder and a 2025 fifth rounder. Joe Schoen was able to get the return he got because the Giants picked up the bulk of Williams remaining contract. I would not be at all surprised if Adoree Jackson is the next one out the door. It was his pass interference penalty in OT that set up the Jets winning field goal. Both players are in the final year of their respective contracts and neither is expected to return next season. As for Barkley, I seriously doubt he gets traded. John Mara loves him, and let's be honest: without him, this team would probably be 0-8.

If there is a silver lining here, it's that the Giants, as of now, have the 4th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Not quite how the fanbase envisioned things going when the season started. But then I'm sure the passengers on the Titanic didn't envision a collision with an iceberg ruining their voyage across the Atlantic either.

Shit happens, you know.

Rangers Off To A Good Start - So Far

Over the first six games of Alain Vigneault's tenure as head coach of the New York Rangers, they went 2-4-0. Not quite the start they were looking for. The team would struggle most of the first half of the 2013-14 season; on December 20, their record stood at 16-18-2. To say the natives were restless would be putting it mildly.

Fortunately, the Blushsirts turned it around, going 29-13-7 the rest of the way, finishing second in the Metropolitan division, and advancing all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 20 years. Despite losing to the L.A. Kings in five, the consensus was that the season was an unqualified success.

There are several parallels between that team and the current one: a mix of seasoned veterans with a sprinkle of young players, a Vezina trophy goalie capable of stealing games, and an established head coach with a new system.

In his first six games behind the Rangers bench, Peter Laviolette has managed to kill two birds with one stone. Not only has his team gotten off to a fairly impressive 4-2-0 start, in three of those wins they appear to have successfully implemented his system. Granted, the Buffalo Sabres, Arizona Coyotes and Seattle Kraken are hardly the Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche and New Jersey Devils, but you have to learn to walk before you can run.

During much of the 1990s and early 2000s, the Devils employed the 1-3-1 neutral zone trap so effectively, they won three Cups. Now that Laviolette has brought that neutral zone trap to New York, the hope is that history will repeat itself on the other side of the Hudson. After watching the Rangers cede their blue line for years, it's refreshing to see them finally stand their ground and make opponents work to gain the offensive zone. 

There are two statistics that stand out. The first has been a sore spot for years. In their first five games, the Rangers have won 55.7 percent of their face offs. Last year, they won 49.1 percent of them. You have to go all the way back to that '94 Cup year to find a team that dominated at the face off circle. In a league that values puck possession, winning face offs is a must.

But it's the other statistic that's turning heads. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Rangers are currently ranked 8th in Corsi for shot percentage at 5v5. Last season, they were ranked 17th. In Gerard Gallant's first season as head coach - the year they went to the conference finals - they were ranked 25th. Combined with a power play that is currently ranked 4th in CF%, the Rangers have the potential to be one of the elite teams in the league this year.

Another encouraging sign is the way Laviolette is utilizing the "kids." Both Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko are starting to flourish in the top six, and Filip Chytil is becoming a solid two-way center with Artemi Panarin as his left wing. Chytil has five assists in his last two games, while Lafreniere scored a power play goal against the Calgary Flames the other night, the fourth of his career. He's tied with Panarin for second most goals on the team with three. Not bad for a supposed "bust."

Look, it's still early. Anything can happen. But with the Carolina Hurricanes struggling and the Devils defense and goaltending leaking like a sieve, a first place finish in the Metro isn't out of the realm of possibility for the Rangers.

Tell me you saw that coming in September. I sure as hell didn't.

2023-24 Knicks Preview

The 47 wins the New York Knicks amassed last season represented the most the franchise has had in a decade. And like that 2012-13 team which lost to the Indiana Pacers in the second round, last year's Knicks also saw their playoff aspirations come crashing down in the second round, courtesy of the Miami Heat.

Since their last championship 50 years ago, the blue and orange have made two trips to the NBA Finals: 1994 and 1999. Both bids came up short. Loyal fans are understandably hoping and praying that this is the season the drought comes to an end.

The good news: The 2023-24 Knicks should be better than the 2022-23 Knicks. Jalen Brunson - arguably last season's best free agent signing - begins his second season with the club, and Josh Hart - acquired at last year's trade deadline - begins his first full season. When they are on the floor together, they are one of the better backcourt tandems in the NBA.

The Knicks also boast one of the deepest benches in the league, led by perennial sixth man of the year award candidate Immanuel Quickley, newcomer Donte DiVincenzo and Isaiah Hartenstein. They give head coach Tom Thibodeau something few coaches have: an ability to rotate players in and out of the rotation without losing any quality on the court.

Assuming he isn't part of a package to land either Joel Embiid or Karl-Anthony Towns, RJ Barrett should continue to improve. The 6-6 guard / forward is entering his 5th season in the NBA and the Knicks are looking for him to drive to the basket more. Julius Randle is the face of the franchise and unquestionably the hardest-working player on this team, but there are limits to his game that were made abundantly clear in the Miami series last season.

And that leads us to...

The bad news: Despite being one of the toughest teams in the league to play against, the Knicks are NOT in the same class as the Milwaukee Bucks or the Boston Celtics: two teams that dramatically improved themselves during the off-season. If anything, the gap between the Knicks and the top two teams in the Eastern conference has widened. The opinion shared by most basketball writers and executives is that unless Leon Rose is willing to pull the trigger on a major trade that brings that elusive and coveted elite player to New York, the Knicks will never be anything more than just a very good team that occasionally teases its fanbase with a win now and then in the postseason, but never seriously competes for a title.

Immediately after the Bucks acquired Damian Lillard in a three-team trade that sent Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers, the speculation was that Rose might at least kick the tires to see what it would take to bring Holiday to the east coast. Apparently, that discussion never took place. Whatever it is that the Knicks plan on doing with their eleven number one draft picks - seven of which are their own - it's clear they aren't going to be parting with any of them soon. Perhaps if the right player becomes available at the trade deadline - another Josh Hart, for example - they might give up one or two. In the meantime, Rose and James Dolan appear content with the makeup of this team.

Prediction: The Knicks will win 48 to 50 games this season and compete with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat for the third best record in the East, but will fall short. It won't be from lack of effort or sweat. The fact is that despite all their depth and grit, it's still front-line talent that determines how far teams go in the NBA. And the Knicks just don't have enough of it to play in the big boys sand box.

Translation? The drought will continue for at least another year.

Below are my predictions for both conferences.

Eastern Conference:

Bucks

Celtics

Cavaliers

Heat

Knicks

Sixers

Hawks

Nets

Raptors

Bulls

Wizards

Pacers

Pistons

Hornets

Magic

Western Conference:

Nuggets

Warriors

Suns

Jazz

Grizzlies

Timberwolves

Lakers

Clippers

Kings

Mavericks

Trail Blazers

Pelicans

Rockets

Spurs

Thunder

Eastern Conference finals:

Bucks over the Celtics 4-3

Western Conference finals:

Nuggets over the Suns 4-2

NBA Finals:

Bucks over the Nuggets 4-3

This One Hurt

The Giants were humiliated by the Cowboys.

They came from behind against the Cardinals.
They were outclassed by the 49ers.
They were out-coached by the Seahawks.
They were overmatched by the Dolphins.

They deserved better against the Bills.

For the first time this season, Big Blue lost a game they should've won.

The much maligned Giants defense held the third best offense in the NFL scoreless through three quarters. Bobby Okereke had his best game as a Giant, forcing a fumble and an interception. It was the second game in a row the Giants won the turnover battle. And had Tyrod Taylor not had the brain fart of the century on the last play of the first half, New York would now most likely be 2-4 instead of 1-5.

It was a play that, like so many this season, has come to define the Giants. With 14 seconds left in the 2nd quarter and no timeouts, Taylor, for some strange reason, called an option audible at the one yard line and handed the ball off to Saquon Barkly, who was stuffed at the goal line. The clock ran out before Taylor could spike the football.

A visibly upset Brian Daboll let Taylor have it on the sidelines. But the damage was done. Instead of being up 9-0, or perhaps 13-0, going in at halftime, the Giants were forced to settle for a 6-0 lead. We all know what happened. The Bills eventually broke through and scored two 4th quarter touchdowns en route to a 14-9 victory. The final play of the game for the G-Men was a pass attempt by Taylor to Darren Waller in the end zone that was incomplete thanks to a no-call on what should've been a holding penalty on Bills cornerback Taron Johnson. It was a fitting end to another bittersweet loss.

Their outstanding defensive effort notwithstanding, the Giants, once again, failed to score an offensive touchdown. That's three games in a row now. Take away the four they had against the lowly Cardinals, and the Jints have scored exactly one offensive touchdown all year.

Pitiful doesn't begin to describe their level of play. Even in Ben McAdoo's second season as head coach - the one where he went 2-10 and was fired - they were more competitive with the football. I'm not suggesting that Daboll should lose his job; just pointing out that what's happening here doesn't bode well for him or his staff.

How can a team that was so disciplined and creative offensively one year be so inept the next? The acquisitions Joe Schoen made during the offseason were supposed to make this team more explosive. If this is explosive, I'd hate to see what comatose looks like.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, there's plenty of blame to go around here. A porous O-line; bad decision making by the QB; bewildering coaching decisions. It's like watching a comedy that isn't funny. And when I look ahead at the remaining schedule, I don't see much hope. Unless something fundamentally changes, this team could well go 3-14, or worse.

You tell me: Washington (twice), the Jets, the Raiders, the Cowboys, the Patriots, the Packers, the Saints, the Rams and the Eagles (twice). Ok, maybe 4-13. MAYBE.

Rebuilding a football team takes time and patience, I realize. But after a playoff appearance last season, there was a reasonable expectation by the fanbase that this team had turned a corner. 

About the only thing the Giants are turning this season are stomachs.

Rangers Make Good First Impression

In the end, a win is a win, right? The Rangers opened up the 2023-24 season with a solid 5-1 victory over the Sabres in Buffalo Thursday night.

Winning the first game of the season isn't exactly newsworthy for the Blueshirts. Last year, they opened the season with an equally impressive 3-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Garden, and we all know how that turned out.

But there was something different about this win. That wasn't your typical Rangers performance out there. You know the kind: jump out to an early lead and then hold off the coming onslaught from the opposition. With the exception of a few minutes in the third period when the Rangers were killing off a couple of penalties they unwisely took, New York was in total control of the game. Against a Buffalo team that finished third in the NHL in scoring last season, they gave up a total of 25 shots, only two of which were high danger chances.

For the first time, Ranges fans got to see the deployment of the 1-3-1 defense, which for all intents and purposes is a neutral zone trap; the same neutral zone trap teams like the Devils utilized so effectively in the 1990s. It proved to be the difference Thursday night. The Sabres top line of Tage Thompson, Jeff Skinner and Alex Tuch was held off the scoring sheet, managed just six shots on goal and was a minus two for the evening. When was the last time the Rangers allowed only one gaol and Igor Shesterkin wasn't one of the stars of the game?

But it wasn't just the stifling defense that stuck out. The Rangers were relentless in their forecheck pretty much the entire game. It led directly to two goals, and Alexis Lafreniere figured prominently in both. After an Artemi Panarin shot was kicked out by Devon Levi, Panarin grabbed his own rebound and slid it across the goal mouth to a breaking Lafteniere who stuffed it in the net for a 1-0 lead early in the first period. Then in the second period, Lafreniere forced a turnover in the Buffalo zone that Panarin pounced on and blasted a shot passed Levi for a 3-0 lead. The only blemish on the night came off a rebound shot by JJ Peterka after Jacob Trouba blocked the initial shot. In all, the Rangers blocked 23 shot attempts.

Chris Kreider - two goals and an assist - might've been the number one star of the game, but it was Lafreniere who got the game hat from this teammates. The first overall pick of the 2020 draft is being counted on heavily this season, and after a less than stellar preseason that left many wondering whether the winger was up to the challenge, his performance Thursday night did not go unnoticed, especially his coach. He even went 4-1 on face-offs. If Lafreniere, along with fellow "kids" Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil, take the next step, this team will be a force to be reckoned with.

But for now the Rangers will take the two points. Next up on the schedule is the Columbus Blue Jackets, another team that missed the playoffs last season. Then they fly home to play the Arizona Coyotes at the Garden. Time will tell if they've fully grasped Peter Laviolette's system, or whether the Sabres were just a lucky one off.