MLB

Cano, Yankees hanging in there

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You don’t have to bleed pinstripes to notice the Ed-uar-do Nun-ez chant doesn’t have quite the same ring to it as the Der-ek Jeet-er. And if a fellow fan came up to you on the street and asked: “Who’s playing 3rd base for us right now?” you couldn’t be mad at them (because that’s a tough question). It’s a difficult time for us fans, and we’re looking for a reason to believe we can ride out and survive this injury bug.

Although the team is only a couple games out of first, these goddamn injuries have us watching games through our fingers, knowing the next player could go down this inning. The bullpen that once was a strongpoint of our team is now made up of guys like Shawn Kelley and Preston Claiborne, with Boone Logan as our setup man. Tell me that doesn’t make your stomach a little uneasy.

Another part of what makes this period in time so difficult for Yankees fans is watching the remains of the old foundation continue to wither away, especially when it doesn’t seem like there is anyone capable of picking up the slack. Vernon Wells is no Curtis Granderson, and Eduardo Nunez is no Derek Jeter. Everyone knows this, and it would be unreasonable to expect more of these backups, but that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.

You’d think that these injuries would crush New York’s chances of winning the division – and it still may turn out that way – but somehow they keep plugging away and find themselves in the middle of it all.

But how is this possible?

Its Robbie Cano, don’t cha know?

The man leads his team in every offensive category – which shouldn’t be too much of a surprise when comparing him to anyone else on the active roster. We all expect Cano to play like the best position player on the team, because he is. That fact is becoming more apparent now that the infield surrounding him has been reduced to practically nothing. His supporting cast of Jeter, Youkilis, and Teixeira is now Nunez, Nix, and Overbay – of course he is going to shine brighter by comparison.

Here’s a stat I stumbled upon today: Cano has played more games as a Yankee than the other 12 position players on the active roster combined. This bit of information says it all: he is no longer defined as the young, swing-happy second baseman caught in the shadow of Jeter and A-Rod. He is a superstar that has slowly but surely come into his own, and now, by no choice of his own, Robbie Cano has inherited this team — at least for the time being.

It will be interesting to see how Cano handles himself once help starts to arrive around midseason, but until then, he is a leader by default. I think he is finally ready for this role, he has done a great deal of maturing since the Melky Cabrera days when he seemed to lose focus at times. We need him to finally develop into the team leader everyone expects him to be.

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NFL

Rob Parker: RG3 a “Cornball Brother”

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by Jim Bearor

This past Thursday on First Take, Rob Parker put his foot so far in his mouth that he’s going to be taking some time off of work. Parker never really wowed me with his insight or analysis to begin with, but then again, those aren’t two elements that I look for when I watch the show. Usually when I tune in, I anticipate a few talking heads calling each other names and carrying out farfetched arguments over a number of moot points for a couple hours. The show gets incredibly heated, and that’s probably the only reason it is still on television. But during an intense discussion of Robert Griffin III and how he carries himself, Parker went a bit too far when voicing his opinion and earned himself an indefinite suspension from ESPN.
Parker opened his little rant by asking if Griffin is a “real brother” or a “cornball brother”, which is not a good way to start an argument that is supposed to be professional. He then went on to say: “He’s black, he kind of does his thing, but he’s not really down with the cause, he’s not ‘one of us.’ He’s kind of black… but he’s not like the guy you really want to hang out with.”
You may want to read through that a couple times, I know it made me laugh even harder the second go-around. After you get your laughs, try to think of why Parker would even consider saying something of that nature while working for ESPN. I pondered that for a while, and came up with nothing. Who knows, maybe he just got so fired up about the topic that he said something that he didn’t really mean, but more than likely this was just another example of Parker revealing his inner knucklehead on national television – but this time he brought it to another level.
You probably have heard opinions like this before, and they probably make you shake your head. They should make you shake your head. The idea that RGIII isn’t really black in some people’s eyes because he doesn’t act or talk a certain way is ridiculous and irrelevant. People like Parker are just reinforcing stereotypes that African Americans have been fighting against for so long.
Is RGIII a “cornball brother” because he is articulate and dresses nicely? If so, then what’s the alternative, acting like Terrell Owens or Allen Iverson? Sorry for bursting your bubble Rob Parker, but that’s not who RGIII is.
I was listening to Dan Lebatard the other day, and he brought up a good point. There are plenty of other successful black athletes that pride themselves on being professional, something that Parker is not familiar with. A few names that came to mind right away were Tiki Barber, Tiger Woods, and Marcellus Wiley. All of them have experienced their fair share of success in sports, and managed to do so while also being role models.
Another interesting part about Parker’s little ramble was right near the end where he said that “[RGIII] is not like the guy you really want to hang out with.” This is a bit confusing to me, was RGIII not endorsed by several large corporations even before he stepped on an NFL field? John Gruden seemed like he had a good time talking with him during his quarterback camp (but I guess Gruden is always excited, so never mind), and all you hear from his teammates is how great of a guy he is and what kind of leadership he brings to the team.
But regardless of what everyone else says, Rob Parker is probably going to continue to think the way he does. If he is going to speak for a small, uneducated group of people and disown RGIII because he sounds a little like Wayne Brady when he talks, then let him be. I’m just glad that we don’t have to deal with that sort of nonsense when we turn on ESPN, at least for a while.

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NFL

Thoughts on Kevin Gilbride

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I’m trying to move past the phase of calling for Kevin Gilbride’s head every time I think he’s being too conservative.  He’s been a part of two Super Bowl winning teams and that says a lot, but far too often I find myself with my head in my hands watching Gilbride’s offense fail to put in the dagger at the end of games.  Monday night is a microcosm of what I have come to expect with Gilbride: the offense is clicking early, Eli is hitting his receivers, and points start to pile up, the Giants seemingly control the pace of the game through the end of the third quarter.

 

Then, sometimes things go bad.

 

The offensive game plan becomes this weak attempt to control the ball and the momentum shifts.  Even though Bradshaw may be struggling through three quarters, he will continue to get the ball on a consistent basis.  Gilbride’s play calling completely takes Eli Manning out of the game and relies heavily on obvious runs up the middle with Bradshaw (and formerly Jacobs).  This is frustrating to no end, and a few fellow Giants fans would probably agree with me when I say that his schemes and coaching are holding back the passing game.

 

Not since 2007 has the running game been effective. It may be because the offensive line has gotten older, or simply that too much is expected from these running backs.  Either way, the ground game is the weaker aspect of this New York Giants attack, yet in key plays late in games, we continue to see Gilbride go back to the run like he trusts it more than his passing game.  I understand that in today’s NFL there must be some sort of balance between run and pass to keep defenders honest, but when your team is built around a quarterback of Manning’s caliber, wouldn’t you think that almost every do-or-die situation should be placed squarely on his shoulders?

 

I have no problems with running the ball 25 times a game even though it rarely works (I may have a problem with the running back that is getting those carries, but that’s a different story).  But when the team needs a scoring drive to cement the victory, the offense takes its foot off the pedal. These are the worst games to watch because you know exactly how it’s going to end.  I’ve seen it too many times to count, but the two instances that are freshest in my mind are the game from Monday, and the game a few years back when Mathias Kiwanuka failed to bring down Vince Young on a late third down that ended up winning the game.  I feel like he is so committed to his flawed schemes that he sometimes doesn’t adapt to the game.  The faster two-minute offense that we see before halftime and at the end of close games just looks like it fits better than the current system.

 

I’m sure he has his reasons for calling the games the way he does, but whatever way you cut it, Gilbride isn’t taking full advantage of his personnel.  Am I wrong on this?  Sure, the receiving core could be healthier, but isn’t throwing often to Victor Cruz and a banged-up Hakeem Nicks more effective than Ahmad Bradshaw’s fragile feet rushing it on predictable first and second downs all day?  It’s frustrating to know that nothing is going to change anytime in the foreseeable future, and I needed to vent.

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