-Mets GM Sandy Alderson is now on Twitter and opened his account with a bit of a joke. It read, "Getting ready for Spring Training-Driving to FL but haven't left yet. Big fundraiser tonight for gas money. Also exploring PAC contribution." Pretty funny guy. Although this account isn't verified by Twitter just yet the Mets organization confirmed that it is Sandy's account. However, given the Mets propensity for misdiagnosing everything from injuries to free agent contracts I wouldn't hold my breath just yet.
-The New York Knicks have their Tim Tebow. Jeremy Lin has exploded in New York, and around the league. He has scored 25, 28, and 23 points in his last three games and has almost single handedly made Knicks fans forget that Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire are out with injury or, as in Stoudemire's case, out grieving a lost brother. It also helped that Lin won the game against Utah on February 6th. Yeah, the Knicks might have found an answer in Lin or they may have created more questions in the long run. Personally, I'll wait and see what happens when Carmelo and Amar'e come back and see how the kid handles the point guard position then. I also wonder if the monetary commitment to Baron Davis will make a difference in Lin's playing time when Davis comes back from injury. For now, it's hard not to like the kid. He went to Harvard and has come from out of nowhere. Of course he is going to be hyped. Time will tell if the kid is as good as these three games says he is. I, however, have liked what I have seen in the bits and pieces that I can stand to watch pro basketball. Here you can see Maurice Evans avoid being posterized by Lin as he goes in for a dynamic dunk. Nice defense Evans.
-The Yankees signed Russell Branyan to a minor league contract yesterday. Branyan is getting up there in age, he is 36 years old, and his production suffered mightily last season. Between the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (can you please change your name back to the California Angels because this name sucks) and Arizona Diamondbacks he hit .197 with 5 homers and 14 RBI's. He has, however, hit two of the longest home runs ever at the new Yankee Stadium, the longest of which travelled 451 feet. He isn't that far removed from hitting 31 homers, which he did in Seattle in 2009 so it might be worth a shot. Branyan will either hit the ball deep or strike out so there won't be much suspense if he makes the team. Joining Branyan with the hopes of keeping their Major League dreams alive are DeWayne Wise (famous for his catch that saved Mark Buerhle's no-hitter), Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima, and Bill Hall.
-Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd admits he was under the influence of cocaine when he pitched sometimes. Somehow, even as a kid, I had that feeling. He blames racism for his not getting another chance like Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, and Steve Howe. He claims that he was a loud and proud black man and he was discriminated against because of this. My question is, when was this guy not on cocaine? He says he pitched "two-thirds" of his games under the influence but he doesn't say when he actually quit the drug, if he did at all. That could have a lot to do with it. If he was stil using and wasn't performing why would ANY team give him a shot? At least in Gooden and Strawberry and Howe's cases, these men had stopped using, had entered treatment facilities and are, in Gooden and Strawberry's case, still dealing with the struggle to stay clean. Boyd needs to stop pointing the finger at a racist MLB and start looking in the mirror. He has nobody to blame but himself.
-Here is an interesting tidbit, Mike Napoli heads into arbitration as being one of only 4 catchers to average 20 homers a season in his first six seasons. The others? Oh, just Mike Piazza, Roy Campanella, and Johnny Bench. Amazing.
-The Yankees and Pirates are talking about a deal for AJ Burnett. According to Buster Olney, the Yankees are asking for Garrett Jones and the Pirates aren't interested in dealing him. I don't know if a deal will happen, in fact I'd be surprised. The Pirates will most likely ask the Yankees to eat most, if not all, of Burnett's contract while not giving up any decent players or prospects. Jones is a nice player who would fit in nicely in the OF/1B/DH rotation and provide some pop.
-After watching the New York Rangers lose a game-tying goal in the closing seconds of their game against the Devils thanks to a blown call by the referee, I think it is time the NHL adopt a review policy like that of the NFL. Simply reviewing that potentially-game altering play would have shown there was no penalty and that goal should have counted, thereby awarding each team one point. Instead, the game was over and the Devils got two points all because a referee got a call wrong. In the last minute of every game if there is a goal it should be reviewed, regardless if there is a penalty or not on the play. If no penalty is seen then the goal should count. Period. Just my two cents.
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