Jamal Adams calling out Jets fans
Anyone can be empathetic about Jamal Adams’ and his teammates’ frustration. It has not been a fun season for the Jets, and Adams has not experienced this much losing in his career until now. Still, calling out Jets fans for ripping the players and saying he, his coaches and his teammates are hurting with these losses worse than them is asking for a ticket out of town. The worst thing a player can do is call out his fanbase, especially after Jets fanbase endured bad football for decades. The Jets haven’t won’t a championship since 1969, and they will miss the playoffs for the eighth straight season.
It’s not like he had a great season where he can be a spokesman for the players and the team. He is better off shutting up.
Is Pat Shurmur the right guy to coach the Giants?
We are not advocating the Giants to fire their head coach after one season. With that said, does Pat Shurmur strike anyone as the guy that will lead the Giants back to their glory days? His 13-31 overall coaching record doesn’t inspire confidence.
He often gets outcoached almost every game. It’s like he and his staff play checkers while his counterparts play chess every game. A good example came on Sunday when he inexplicably not used Saquon Barkley in the second half after dominating the Philadelphia Eagles in the first half. For Barkley to have only four carries is inexcusable in the second half. The Eagles couldn’t stop the Giants rookie running back, so it’s mind-boggling that the first-year head coach strayed from using him.
To be frank, failed Giants head coach Ben McAdoo did a better coaching job in his tenure than Shurmur has done this season.
This can’t be a good sign for Shurmur’s job security heading to next season.
Yankees acquire James Paxton
It has been well-documented the Yankees needed a bonafide starter who can eat innings and be a difference-maker the way Chris Sale is for the Red Sox. They couldn’t afford to enter next season with this starting rotation in tact. The Yankees were aware of that, and that’s why they acquired James Paxton from the Seattle Mariners last week.
On the surface, it’s a good move. Paxton strikes out hitters and go the distance. He went 11-6 in 28 starts last season with a 3.76 ERA, and his 208 strikeouts ranked ninth in the American League. He is 41-26 overall in his six major league seasons.
But here’s the problem: He was on the disabled list six times in the past five years. He missed nearly four months with a strained left latissimus dorsi muscle in 2014, 3½ months with a strained tendon in his left middle finger in 2015, 10 days with a bruised left elbow in 2016, 3½ weeks with a strained left forearm and a month with a strained left pectoral muscle in 2017, and 2½ weeks with lower back inflammation this year.
When a starter is chronically on the disabled list, it’s never good. There was a reason the Mariners were happy to get rid of him and get value in return. This is why it’s hard to get excited about this acquisition. It did not go unnoticed the Yankees fans were indifferent about this news. It’s doubtful the Boston Red Sox are worried about this move.
The Yankees need to do more than acquire Paxton to show they have cut the gap between them and the Red Sox. They need to acquire either Jacob deGrom or Madison Bumgarner.
Knicks winning bad for the tank?
Prior to the Knicks losing 115-108 to the Detroit Pistons Tuesday night, they won three in a row by beating the Boston Celtics, New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies. This caused consternation for Knicks fans since they want their team to lose, so they can get a high draft pick such as drafting Duke stud Zion Williamson.
Closed-circuit to Knicks fans: There’s no LeBron James in next year’s draft. Also, it’s been two decades of bad basketball. At some point, the Knicks have to start winning. This season has been billed as player development, and part of player development is winning since players such as Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson, Allonzo Trier, Damyean Dotson and Noah Vonleh need to know how to win and come up big in the fourth quarter.
There’s no guarantee the Knicks are going to win the lottery. Go ask the Brooklyn Nets when they tanked to to get John Wall in the 2010 draft. Instead, they had the No. 3 pick and they settled with drafting Derrick Favors, who was traded to the Utah Jazz for failed point guard Deron Williams during the 2010-2011 season. It’s interesting Wall has not been this great player that the Washington Wizards envisioned when they won the 2010 draft lottery, so the point is enjoy the process and stop whining about the Knicks’ draft selection, especially on Nov. 28.
Rangers may have a keeper in David Quinn
Admit it, Rangers fans. You didn’t think the Rangers would be decent when the season started. In a season that is about youth movement, the Rangers have been winning.
Credit first-year head coach to this. He has his players playing well, and the young players on that roster are shining through playing time. He certainly has that it factor to be a head coach from watching his press conferences and his coaching at games. He is what the Rangers wanted out of a head coach when they interviewed head coaching candidates for the job.
