Thursday, April 30, 2009

Trivia Correction

Sorry guys. I made an error in my last post. There are six active players with 2000 hits and a .300 average, not just four. I'll give you until tomorrow. But I will say that Chipper, Vlad, Manny, and Jeter are correct. Todd Helton is not.

Put That Damn Joba in the Bullpen... He's too Damn Good for the Rotation!

It's hard for me to fathom how anyone could watch Joba Chamberlain throw seven innings of one run baseball and still think he belongs in the bullpen. Isn't this exactly what the Yankees have been missing for the past six years? Haven't we had to suffer through enough starts by the likes of Sidney Ponson, Darrel Rasner or Shawn Chacon to realize that his is what the Yankees have been missing and what fans have been clamoring for for the last half-decade?

Nonetheless his solid start has failed to sway the minds of many in the sports world who believe that one good start by Phil Hughes has effectively shown that the return of Chien-Ming Wang to the rotation should be the harbinger of Joba's return to eighth inning obscurity.

Chamberlain is a starter. He has always been a starter and he has always been great as a starter. When the Yankees drafted him they saw Roger Clemens circa 1990, not Mariano Rivera that is still pitching at an elite level today. Relievers, including great closers, are merely failed starters. They are pitchers with one or two pitches who cannot survive more than once through a batting order. Chamberlain has three plus pitches: fastball (don't listen to that BS regarding his velocity... if he's still throwing 90 when it's warm out then come talk to me), slider and curveball. His change up isn't great but it is serviceable and will get better if he keeps working at it.

It seems like the worst thing the Yanks ever did for Chamberlain was ease him into the bigs and limit his innings by giving him a spot in the bullpen back in '07. The funny thing is that this is a common tactic for teams to give young starters an easy transition period into the rotation.

Case-in-point: Adam Wainwright. No one thought the Cardinals fools when they took Wainwright, a career long starter, and put him back in the rotation after he absolutely dominated as a closer during their 2006 World Series run.

Now Wainwright is a big part of that rotation and one reason why the Cards are a surprise team sitting onto of the NL Central going into May.

There are other examples too. Both Johan Santana and Fransisco Liriano started their big league careers in the pen and another recent example is David Price. I haven't heard any rumblings about the Rays throwing Price back in the closer role even though his performance there was a big reason the Rays edged out the Sox for the pennant and their current closer situation is abysmal.

The point is Chamberlain has to FAIL as a starter before you even consider him as a reliever. And guess what, when your totals in your first 16 big league starts work out to something like say 88.1 IP with 91 Ks and a 2.85 ERA, I'd say you might want to give it a couple more go rounds before you make any idiotic decisions.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

This just in... Brad Penny Sucks

Though he's not allowing the football like totals of Chien-Ming Wang, Brad Penny is trying. The corpulent hurler has only managed 17 2/3 innings in his four starts. His ERA matches his bloated physique at 8.66. And somehow, infuriatingly, he's managed not to record a loss. John Smoltz, where are you?!

Trivia question, as provided by Jason Stark of ESPN. Who are the four (correction six) active players with a .300 lifetime batting average and 2000 career hits? Don't cheat by looking up the stats. I'll post the answer tomorrow.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Phil Hughes Part III

Well Phil Hughes was going to come up to the bigs at some point this season. I'm sure the Yanks would have preferred his season debut come in May instead of mid-April because one of their top starters was a disaster, but such is baseball that these things are never predictable.

Hughes has been good again at Scranton, which has been the case anytime he has been at triple-A during his career. Now it's time for that to translate at the big league level. This isn't his first rodeo with the Yankees. We all remember his near no-hitter almost two years ago in Texas and we all remember his impressive showing in the playoffs against the Indians that same year.

But all those accomplishments seem so distant after his lost 2008 season that saw him fail to record a victory. He finished the season strong against Toronto and A.J. Burnett but now he needs to string together more than just one good start. Hughes needs to show that he can be a consistent contributor at the big league level. He still young. 22 to be exact, but he's had enough time to experience the wrath of major league hitters and begin to understand how he needs to adjust and attack them.

I'm not suggesting that he take Sabathia's title as staff ace this season. Far from that I just want him to show that he can be competitive at this level and that the potential remains for him to be a rotation mainstay.

Tonight will be a difficult test against a team that has some pretty darn good hitters. So here is your chance Phil Hughes. If you want to make a name for youself in Yankeeland then give the people want the want and, in some corners of this desperate fandom, what they need: a win.

Jason Bay Delivers

Last night's pitching duel between Tim Wakefield and Cliff Lee was broken open by Jason Bay in the top of the ninth as he hit a three run shot off an inefficient Kerry Wood. Jonathan Papelbon was equally inefficient, but held on as the Sox won 3-1. I just want to point out that the main question about Bay when he came to Boston was, would he be able to perform under the microscope of baseball obsessed Beantown? Sure he could hit 30 HR's and drive in 100 RBI every year in Pittsburgh where nobody gives a crap anymore. Since his first game in Boston he's been delivering in the clutch. I for one hope he stays around for a while.

As a side note, wasn't it nice to get a game in before the stroke of 10 last night? Yanks-Sox routinely becomes a four hour affair. It was refreshing to see a classic pitcher's duel that moved at a decent pace. I can't remember the last time this old man stayed up to see the conclusion of a Sox game on a weeknight.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Long Weekend Part II

Though the Sox swept this weekend, the nation should not be that excited less than 20 games into the season. To counter Dan's post, here are a couple things I didn't like about the weekend.

#1: Beckett and Ortiz are off to slow starts. Beckett did not pitch well on Saturday. He lacked control and the ability to put batters away. I will not overreact, but Beckett has not looked sharp this season. Hopefully, he will get going as the weather heats up. Ortiz continues to struggle, going 2-13 in the series. It might serve the Sox to drop him in the order, especially with Lowell and Bay playing well. I would like to see Francona's line-up card look like this:
Ellsbury
Pedroia
Bay
Youk
Ortiz
Lowell
Drew
V-Tek
Green

#2: What the hell is Francona doing putting Papelbon in the game up by 5 runs after throwing 30 pitches the night before. Papelbon will face the Yankees upwards of 20 times this season, so by all means, let's have him throw in a meaningless ninth inning.

All in all, the Sox had a great homestand going 9-0 and have crept back up to the top of the AL East. Hopefully, Boston will continue their winning streak on the road this week against the struggling Indians and Rays.

Long Weekend

Sox fans are overjoyed following last weekend's sweep of our hated rivals. I would temper your enthusiasm if I were you. The Sox got some breaks that helped them stymie the Yanks. Combacks like those of game one and two are never regular occurences. A sweep in The Stadium the next time the teams meet is quite likely. All these three games did is confirm what we already know, anything can happen between these teams, and it usually does.

That being said; I'm going to count down my favorite moments from the series.
#3 Jason Veritek's grand slam in game 2. You go, Old Man.
#2 Jason Bay's two run homer off Rivera in game 1. Now Bay has official been initiated into the Yanks-Sox rivalry. As I keep telling my bros, I understand the Sox desire to go left, right, left in the order. But with Papi struggling and J.D. Drew being... himself, you have to move Bay up in the order, don't you?
#1 Jacoby Ellsbury's steal of home in game 3. Say what?!

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Yanks vs. Sox: Round 2

Well yesterday's game was a tough one to watch from both sides. What was promoted as a pitchers dual between two former teammates ended as a slug fest with both pitchers imploding for eight earned runs in five innings. Though both pitchers ended with a similiar line, it is obvious that Burnett is the guy who lost the game.

Handed a 6-0 lead Burnett gave up a grand slam to the geriatric Jason Varitek and a solo shot to light hitting Jacoby Ellsbury. This is more likely what Burnett will be all season long. Having spurts of true dominance before regressing into a walk and home run machine. The hope is that he has more of those 10 k two-hit performances than these eight run debacles.

The one positive that we can take from this series is that the Yanks are still putting up a pretty good fight against the Sox despite having the mass defection of their 25 man roster to the disabled list.

Also, I think we can officially say that Robinson Cano is back. The adjustments he made at the end of last season seem to have had a real effect on him and he is simply destroying the ball. Its also a great sign for Cano to be mashing in April since his early season struggles are well documented.

For his career Cano has managed only a .264/.310/.391 line for April. But after April his numbers jump to .311/.338/.488. Its very possible that last season was the aberration for Cano and not the years prior. The guy can hit the ball, and this year he has been more discerning at the plate. If he develops just a little more patience then he will be the force everyone expected him to be after 2006.

Tonight it's Pettitte vs. Masterson. Pettitte has looked good in his three starts, but Masterson was solid his last time out. My hope for this game is that it ends before midnight, but that's wishful thinking. Get some rest this afternoon... it's probably gonna be a long night.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Yanks vs. Sox: Round 1

Tonight is the night to really start getting excited about baseball. Everything up to this point has simply been prelude to Yanks and Sawks. Boston has been on a roll winning seven in a row albeit against inferior pitching. New York has won four of five with the one blemish a 22-4 lashing at the hands of the Indians.

Both teams are working out what their identities will be this season at this point. The Sox are adjusting to life without Manny in their first full season with out the world class hitter/malcontent. The Yanks are still figuring out how to use their new toys. Both teams are also dealing with confounding cases of stars under performing. David Ortiz has played better of late for Boston, but is still looking for his elusive power stroke (zero home runs). Chien-Ming Wang has been shelled for a ERA of 34.00 in three very brief starts. It will be interesting to see if either one of these stars figure anything out before the all-star break.

I am looking forward to tonight's match up between young pitchers Jon Lester and Joba Chamberlain. The genuine acrimony between Joba and Kevin Youkilis is just what this rivalry needs to get the fans blood boiling. The rivalry is always better when it's the players, not just the fans, who have a real, palatable dislike for each other.

The Saturday matinee will feature former teammates A.J. Burnett and Josh Beckett in the battle of the angry little boys. And we'll finish up on Sunday with the vet vs. the kid in Andy Pettitte and Justin Masterson.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Good News, Bad News

The good news is that the Sox pounded the O's 12-1 yesterday to complete a four game sweep. The heretofore slumping top of the order, Ellsbury, Pedroia, and Ortiz all had multi-hit games. Also Jed Lowrie is out 6-8 weeks. How is this good news? The original prognosis was that he would be out all year.

Now the bad news. Julio Lugo is almost ready to come back up from his rehab assignment. He is the personification of a rally killer. I would rather have Jason Varitek bat lead off than have Lugo's wife beater ass back in the line up. I hope Nick Green does something to convince Francona to leave him in there.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Great Weekend for the Red Sox

Sometimes teams can point to defining moments in their seasons when things turned around for better or worse. Friday night's 10-8 comeback victory over Baltimore could be one of those moments for the Red Sox. Although it was not encouraging to see Brad Penny gone after 3+ innings in which he gave up 8 runs, the Sox showed their mettle and came back to win. The bats came alive and the offense woke from it's season long slumber. Hopefully this is the type of game that galvanizes the team.

A similar situation arose on Saturday only the O's and Sox reversed roles. Josh Beckett, who had been sharp, gave up four runs in the fifth allowing the Orioles to close a 6-0 deficit to 6-4. However, instead of caving as Baltimore did the day before, Boston held on. Again the bullpen came through and saved the starter's behind by shutting out Baltimore for the rest of the game. Papelbon came up with a save for the second straight day.

After extensively using the bullpen two days in a row, the Sox needed Jon Lester to have a solid outing to save their arms. He made amends for a his previous subpar start by pitching seven shut out innings while striking out nine. What is most encouraging is the fact that the Red Sox were able to win three straight tough games under some adverse circumstances against a team whose offense was as hot as anyone's in baseball. The Sox can complete the sweep on Monday.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Bruney = New Joba

Last season when Joba started the year in the bullpen, many were wondering who would step up for the eighth inning and replace young flamethrower when he made his transition to the rotation. Brian Bruney was the early front runner for the job but a Lisfranc injury suffered while he was attempting to cover first base kept him out of the bullpen for 89 games.

This season Bruney is again off to a fast start, striking out 10 batters in only five innings including the last five batters he has faced. Bruney has always had command problems, but it is something he has made constant improvements on since joining the Yankees. It's still early and Bruney could lose this feel for the strike zone, but something tells me that he has started to figure out that staying in shape and pounding the strike zone will allow him to maximize his impressive stuff.

If he can lock down the eighth he may put an end to any Joba back to the pen ideas.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Dice-K, Ortiz Continue to Disappoint

I had been complaining that the season just started and I can't watch Boston due to the 10:05 EST starts on the west coast. Little did I know it would spare me from such woefull performances. Dice-K gave up 5 runs in the first and although the Sox managed to fight back they lost to Oakland in the 12th. I know it's still a small sample, but Dice-K has managed all of 6 1/3 innings with an opponent batting average of .438 in two starts. Thanks for teasing us all in the WBC.

Clearly the Sox won't go 2-160, but it seems like there is legitimate reason for concern in Boston. Specifically, how long can they afford to continue to bat David Ortiz third? There is no injury excuse this season. Sox fans need to brace themselves for the fact that the era of Big Papi, as productive and exciting as it has been, may be over. He had an awesome five year run from 2003 to 2007 including three straight years with an OPS over 1.000, but that may be all he has in the tank. Clearly he was helped with Manny in the lineup, but there was a symbiotic relationship there that Ramirez benefited from as well. The fact is, big sluggers like him tend to fade fast when the time comes, as I've mentioned before.

Burnett stops the bleeding... again.

Well it doesn’t really need to be said, but A.J. Burnett gave the Yankees everything they needed last night. The bullpen was dead after Chien-Ming Wang went out and got pounded by the Rays in the first game of the series. Burnett gave them eight spectacular innings and kept all the arms in the pen on ice and Nick Swisher and his cannon in left field.

It seems interesting to note that both times Burnett took the mound for the Yanks, they needed a big performance. He stepped up after CC and Wang flopped in Baltimore and now he stepped up after the bullpen let down Joba and Wang failed to get out of the second. He is quickly turning into a stopper for the Yanks and he is looking more and more like a pitcher who is on a mission to fix his legacy.

On the other side of the ball – when did Nick Swisher decide to become Albert Pujols? His four homers only trail the Rays Evan Longoria and the same goes for his 11 RBI which leave him one behind Longoria and another young phenom, Adam Lind of Toronto. Swisher may be doing himself a disservice though, lifting Yanks fans expectations for him beyond what his skill level will actually produce.

At least he will have more than enough opportunities to show Yankee fans this quick start is for real. According to Pete Abraham, Xavier Nady had a sharp pain in his elbow as he threw the ball back into the infield during Tuesday’s game. Nady will get an MRI tomorrow and we will find out what this means for the Yanks for the long term.

Good thing Cashman decided to sit on both outfielders despite overtures from other teams looking to pry one or the other from the Bombers. The depth of having both looks like it will allow the team to absorb this setback until A-Rod returns later this month or early next. I would prefer having Nady around though, as it would mean Melky Cabrera gets little to no at bats and that Matsui would be one person further away from every seeing the outfield grass.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Beckett gets 6 games and Early Woes for Sox

Josh Beckett was suspended for 6 games (In the end, the suspension is only for 1 start)  after throwing over the head Bobby Abreu on Sunday. This action caused a bench clearing shouting match. It seems silly that he was suspended for his actions and not ejected from the game on Sunday. This would create a clear-cut no tolerance policy which would discourage this type of behavior in the future.

On the field, the Red Sox have had a rough start. Usually, I wouldn't worry, but the problem is the Sox haven't been putting up runs and their biggest weakness this offseason was replacing the bat of Manny Ramirez. They never addressed this problem. In 7 games they have only scored 24 runs.

I was discussing early season worry with a well-known supporter of this blog last week and he said you should only worry if a team's fatal flaw manifests itself early in the season. I agree with him and that is exactly what is happening with the Sox. Hopefully, Mike Lowell and David Ortiz will start hitting or they can go get someone before the All-Star break. With the Rays and Yankees you can't get too far behind, even in April.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Easter Baseball

I don't know why but Sunday afternoon baseball on Easter was always something that really tickled me. Not quite to the same extent as say, Thanksgiving Day football, but more on the level of having your family around to watch the game. It may not have huge implications, but everyone there is just relaxing and enjoying baseball together for the first time during the new season.

Today the Yanks go for the sweep of the Royals and Joba gets his first start of the year after sitting for a week. That usually isn't good for a pitcher, especially one of his age. I would expect him to be a little slow out of the gate and I will also be waiting to see the ridiculous headlines the papers come up with if he doesn't match the dominance of CC and Pettitte.

The end of the Sox game yesterday was great. The Angels rallying against Papelbon who had to fight through the last inning without his best command. I mean this is why we love baseball right? Bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, down by one and its just the pitcher and the batter going at it for 10 pitches. Great stuff. God I've missed baseball.

Whatever you're up to today, enjoy your Sunday and watch some baseball. It promises to be a good day.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Nick Adenhart

Want to offer condolences to the family of Nick Adenhart. Adenhart was killed with three others in a traffic accident this morning after throwing six scoreless innings for the Angels last night. The 22-year old rookie had been the top prospect in the Angels organization for 2009. What makes it even worse is that he may have died because of drunk driving.

It's just a sad unnecessary end to a promising young life.

Burnett saves season

Well we Yankee fans can all breath easier now. The Great A.J. Burnett put us on his back and carried us to our first victory of the year. Now we can begin our road to 160 straight victories. Anything less it would be a failure.

But seriously, it's good to finally put one in the one column and at least shut up the naysayers until the Yanks drop another one. Burnett was solid but not dominant. At this point that's all the Yanks needed. He struck six which were the first strikeouts for Yankee starters all season. Aside from the good signs from Burnett the Yanks also had some promising results from several other players.

Mark Teixeira started to find his grove a little and jacked one out for the first time as a pinstriper. Robbie Cano continued to show that his new and improved stance is for real and that he intends to be a force in the lineup again. Just an aside on him, he took his third walk of the season this year. He only had 26 all of last year. Now if that is a signal that something will be different for him this year I don't know what is. But the biggest story of all today was the stellar play of Nick Swisher. Swisher had three hits including a double and homer and tied a career high with five RBI.

I have to say that I loved the Swisher pick up this off season by Cashman. He bought low on a guy that the White Sox had no use for and had just had the worst year of his career. All he gave up was Wilson Betemit and a throw away minor leaguer. Yea he'll never come close to hitting .300, but if his OBP is near his career mark of .355 then does it really matter? His versatility will be useful this year off the bench and when 2010 rolls around he will give the Yanks a man to step into one of the corner outfield spots. Girardi is good at getting people in games that have earned time, he's shown that in his bullpen management, hopefully he keeps Swish happy and gets him plenty of at bats.

The Yanks move on to KC now and we get our first looks at Andy Pettitte and Joba Chamberlain while CC Sabathia gets a shot at redemption.

Oh and of note: Carl Pavano still sucks. Couldn't be happier to see him fail. Check that, I'm angrier at the Indians for being dumb enough to give him that much money after what he's done these past four years. Should have read the warning label Shapiro, would have saved you some coin.

Everybody Panic!!!

Well two games in the book and its two in the loss column for the Yankees. What in the world are the Yankees going to do? It seems as though they never will win a game.

This is the one problem with being a Yankee fan: you consistently have to worry about everyone jumping the boat as soon as the team loses a few games in a row. Now, it its important to get that first one on the board, but no one should look at these two losses as a sign of things to come from the Yankees. It just so happens that Sabathia and Wang had back-to-back bad starts. You would hope for more from the top two in the rotation, but sometimes these things happen.

Today it's A.J. Burnett on the mound and the hope that he can show up and give the Yankees the solid start that they need. It could get messy, as even though Burnett holds a 7-1 career record against the O's, he also sports an ERA of 4.97 against the Birds.

Here's hoping that Burnett's debut works out a little better than Sabathia's and that the Yanks might get a strikeout from a starter finally.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Beckett Pitches Gem in Opener

Josh Beckett threw a solid 7 innings yesterday in the Sox delayed season opener at Fenway. The Boston hitters got the better of last year's nemesis, James Sheilds, scoring 5 runs in 5 1/3 innings. Of course, I wish I could have watched the bloody game.

NESN decided to air Bruins hockey instead. During the first part of the season, I have to deal with hockey games interrupting my baseball. I bet Yankee fans don't have to suffer with watching the freakin' Islanders supercede their games on YES. How could you not air opening day? I know it was postponed, but c'mon! Instead, I watched a different homage to Boston, The Depahted... er Departed. I forgot how good that movie is. I think I was hard on it when it first came out because I was expecting another Good Fellas or something.

Anyway. I'll try to watch the game again tonight. Scott Kazmir vs. Jon Lester; lefty vs. lefty. It should be a beauty.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Countdown to gameday

Only one day remaining until the new season is upon us and though some on this blog find it hard to be enticed by April baseball, I just can't resist. I actually get upset that there are so many days off during April and that rain is always pushing games around.

Anyway the Yankees will open up tomorrow in Baltimore after stomping the Cubs again in the new stadium. Its good to see the Yanks hitting on all cylinders heading into the season, but of course there is always the worry that they wont be able to carry the momentum up from Florida to the Bronx.

That's why it was good to see Cano hitting in cold and damp weather and that Teixeira, who is a notoriously slow starter, was also raking in the rain. Both of those players will be important for the Yankees this season. The loss of Matsui and Posada to injury really hurt the Yankee offense last season, but it was Cano's huge step back that made the biggest dent in the lineup.

The Yanks put a lot of faith in Cano and his smooth swing. Four years and $30 million to be exact and so far he hasn't justified that faith. Here's hoping that he starts taking a few more pitches and driving the rest to the gaps this summer.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Yanks break in new digs

Well the New Yankee Stadium is here and it looks ridiculous. The Yankees took on the Cubs in an exhibition game last night and it was the Yankees who prevailed 7-4 in the first competitive baseball on the new diamond across the street. It wasn't a pretty game but thats to be expected when its raining and the game means nothing.
According to Pete Abraham the Yankees have refused to update their in-game entertainment which is a huge disappointment. I can't stand that YMCA crap or the stupid Cotton Eye Joe. I mean with all the money the Yankees spend they can't upgrade the entertainment? It's pretty absurd.

Anyway,test run number two is today at 1 p.m. Pettitte and Burnett will toe the rubber for the Yankees who will take off for Baltimore for their season opener on Monday.

Giants Cut the Cord with Plax

This wasn't that big of a story because everyone figured this was going to happen at some point. The Giants released Plaxico Burress yesterday. Burress will mostly likely service jail time for his gun offense last November. Before this event, Burress was on a short leash. It was only a matter of time before he made a colossal mistake, like bringing a gun to a nightclub in Chelsea and shooting himself in the leg. 

The next question is, how will the Giants  replace Burress? There are a few options in the draft, but these players may take a year or two to develop. I am suggesting, possibly, Percy Harvin from Florida,  if he drops that to the Giants at 29 or the Giants move up in the draft. There are some trade options like Anquan Boldin or Braylon Edwards. I like Boldin much more than Edwards, but both options seem unlikely. 

Internally, Hixon, Moss, Manningham, and Smith will have to step up in 2009 and help Eli Manning continue to improve as a passer. Honestly, I am a little worried.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Steinbrenner has some common sense

It seems that Hal Steinbrenner does acknowledge that the Yankees might be pushing the bounds a bit with their ticket prices. The young Stein does have a slightly valid point that if it wasn't for the economy being so bad the ticket prices might not be looked at in such a disdainful manner.

But it is simply absurd that a team's ticket prices can jump 76.3 percent from one year to the next. That's a lot for anyone to swallow in any economy. You will continue to price out certain fans no matter what, and with all of the new amenities that have been added to the stadium, you begin to wonder what that does for peoples experiences at the stadium. Am I really going to have to contend with people lining up at a martini bar at a baseball game? Not to mention the terribly named NYY Steak restaurant that now serves as the batters eye in center and obscures views of the field for certain unlucky bleacher creatures.

In spite of all the complaints regarding the ticket prices and the pretentiousness of some of the new amenities, the Yankees seem to know what their doing since they have already sold a ton season ticket packages, and their attendance may only fall because the capacity of the new stadium has shrunk by more than 3,000. I, myself, am working on tickets despite all these things. What can you do really? I'm curious to see the new stadium, and I love the Yankees. Begrudgingly, the Yankees will get my money, and the reality is I won't really mind that much. I'll only mind that I don't have more to spend.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

How could Denver screw this up?

I can't think of a bigger (fudge) up than this in recent memory. Perhaps Jay Cutler should be man enough to get over the clandestine trade that Josh McDaniel was trying to orchestrate this off season. But why was McDaniel, boy genius, trying to trade the best young QB in the NFL? The report now is that with their relationship irreconcilable, Denver will be attempting to trade Jay Cutler before the NFL Draft. This comes after weeks of the Broncos publicly stating that no trade would happen.

Way to break up the hottest QB to receiver combo in the NFL, Broncos. If I were Brandon Marshall, I would be seriously pissed off. Denver has spent the better part of a decade attempting to find a replacement for John Elway. They finally find one and then decide it's time to trade him immediately following his break out season.

Again, Cutler has not made things easy. But I'd be upset too after passing for a franchise record 4,526 yards, making the Pro Bowl, and pretty much leading Denver to it's 8 wins single handed in spite of a sieve-like defense. Why did McDaniel even try to trade him in the first place? The world may never know.