-The Brad Richards era in Dallas may be coming to an end. He announced on Thursday that he won't re-sign with the Stars until the ownership situation there is resolved. This prompted Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk to discuss the possibility of trading his rights before Richards becomes a free agent on July 1. Ummm, Joe, where were you three months ago? You are going to lose your best player, and one of the better players in the NHL, and hope you can trade his rights? Umm, Joe, Richards has a no-trade clause. Good luck.
-There is already heavy speculation that the New York Rangers will attempt to sign Brad Richards this offseason. The Rangers lacked a true playmaking center this season and Richards would give Marian Gaborik someone to play alongside. If Richards does become a Ranger then Chris Drury will probably be gone so that the salary fits in with the Rangers cap. Adding Richards should elevate the Rangers into Cup Contenders as well. But then again, everyone thought the same thing when Scott Gomez and Chris Drury came over.
-Despite Rafael Soriano and his bloated ERA, and then losing him to the DL along with Damaso Marte and the Yanks other free agent signee, Pedro Feliciano, the Yankees have the best bullpen ERA in the majors at 2.88. Pretty amazing when you consider Lance Pendleton, who couldn't stick with the Astros 25-man roster after being selected by them in the Rule 5 Draft, Luis Ayala, Buddy Carlyle, Hector Noesi, and Amaury Sanit have all filled in at one point or another. Not to mention Joba has had his struggles and Boone Logan has looked terrible. Just goes to show you, you never know where bullpen help will emerge from and it doesn't make sense to spend big money on free agent relievers. Didn't work with LaTroy Hawkins, Stave Karsay, Kyle Farnsworth, etc., etc., and probably won't work with Rafael Soriano either.
-Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka will undergo Tommy John surgery. Not sure if that is good news or bad news for the Red Sox.
-The Mavericks tied up the NBA Finals on Thursday night as they came back to beat the Heat a couple of days after the Heat did the same to them. Gotta credit Dirk Nowitzki for not allowing his tendon in his left hand to be an excuse...so far.
-Good riddance to Ohio State head coach, or should I say former Ohio State head coach, Jim Tressel. After calling the Miami Hurricanes program "dirty" a couple of years ago, Tressel has seemingly been on a mission to outdo the 'Canes by racking up NCAA violations. Tressel, in my opinion, should never be allowed to coach in college again. He failed the school, failed the kids he promised to mentor, and failed himself.
-Jason Bay might be one of the worst free agent signings ever made...by any team. He only has 3 extra base hits in his previous 31 games including zero over his last ten games, and on the season only has four doubles and two homers to go with a measly ten RBI's. He is currently hitting .228 this season. As a Met, Bay has 8 homers, 57 RBI's, and only 24 doubles and 6 triples in 129 games. Eddie Whitson, a horrendous signing by the Yankees in 1985 is a close second.
-Nice win by the Mets on Thursday, coming from behind to win 9-8 after being down 7-0. A little side note on that game, not a single Pirates pitcher has an ERA over 3.76 after today's game while the Mets featured three pitchers who sport ERA over 5.00. Those three are, Mike Pelfrey, Tim Byrdak, and Robbie Parnell. The game also featured Chris Capuano being inserted as a pinch hitter in the 8th inning for Nick Evans. However, Terry Collins changed his mind and sent Josh Thole out to hit for Capuano. Thole walked.
-Ivan Nova better start pitching if he wants to keep his spot in the Yankees rotation. Phil Hughes should be off the DL by mid-July and Carlos Silva is waiting in the minors. Nova's days might be numbered right now.
-How long do the Yankees stick with Jorge Posada at DH? He is 0-the year against left-handed pitching, has a batting average that is lower than some pitchers, and cannot play the field too often. Right now, and I hate to say this about one of the best catchers in recent Yankee history, he is just clogging up a roster spot that can be better used on someone else which would give Joe Girardi a little more flexibility when making up the lineup.
-Only three Yankees are not leading in the voting results for their respective positions. Russell Martin leads catchers, Mark Teixeira leads first basemen, Robinson Cano leads second basemen, Derek Jeter leads shortstops, Alex Rodriguez leads third basemen, and Curtis Granderson is second among all outfielders. That leaves Jorge, Nick Swisher, and Brett Gardner the only three Yankees not leading. However, Swisher is 7th among outfielders and Gardner ranks 11th. Cano leads all Yankees with almost 1.2 million votes.
Well, that's all for now. Enjoy whatever it is you enjoy doing.
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