Mets should Just Say to 'NO' to Robinson Cano Deal

Should the Mets trade away Noah Sydnergaard and pursue Robinson Cano?

That is the question that faces the New York Mets right now as the Baseball Winter Meetings fast approach. With the MLB Hot Stove heating up, rumors are running wild that the Mets are considering two potential franchise-defining moves, one that would send stud right-hander Noah Syndergaard out of town, with the San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies and Milwaukee Brewers all rumored destinations.

The other deal would bring in Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano and closer Edwin Diaz.

Both moves are curious and would run counter to each other. Are the Mets trying to rebuild? Or are they trying to content?

If the Mets were to acquire Cano and Diaz it would send the message to the fan base that the team is trying to compete for a playoff spot this season. So wouldn’t it make sense then to keep Syndergaard around?

At the same time, if the Mets were to trade Syndergaard, it would signal that the front office is willing to blow up the entire team, even if it means trading its top two starting pitchers.

The rumors are leaving Mets fans adrift, wondering what direction the franchise is going in.

The Cano/Diaz deal doesn’t come without some serious caveats. For starters, the Mariners are desperate to rid themselves of Cano’s albatross contact, which has five-years and $120 million remaining on it. Secondly, the Yankees are also involved. Considering the Yankees have a deeper farm system than the Mets do, the Bronx Bombers would be a more realistic trade partner for a Seattle team looking to rebuild.

But let’s say the Mets are go all in on this trade. The apple of the Mets eye would be Diaz, who led all of Major League Baseball in saves with 57, and a 1.96 ERA. The Mets need a closer desperately, and Diaz would give their bullpen instant credibility. However the cost to get him might be way too much.

Logically, the Mets don’t have the top-flight prospects to offer to Seattle for just its closer, unless they are willing to part ways with Peter Alonso or Michael Conforto.

That is why Cano is involved. The Mariners are dangling the aging 36-year-old infielder in order to make the price on Diaz more appetizing for teams.

 MLB Network even projected that the Mets would ship minor leaguers Andres Gimenez and Justin Dunn along with first baseman Dominic Smith and outfielder Jay Bruce to Seattle in order to get Cano, Diaz, and outfielder Mallex Smith as stocking stuffer.

As much as the Mets want Diaz, they should just flat out say ‘NO’ to Cano.  If that means they lose out on Diaz, so be it.

While I am sure Brodie Van Wagenen has an attachment to Cano since he was his client at CAA, adding Cano would create problems for the Mets.

Cano is at that age where a huge drop-off in production typically happens for veterans, and the Mets have certainly seen their fair share of aging veterans suffer huge drop-offs while wearing the Met uniform. Roberto Alomar, Mo Vaughn and Jason Bay are all examples of former All-Stars who flamed out when they came to Queens.

Cano played in only 80 games last year because of a suspension for PED use. While Cano still hit .303 and drove in 50 runs in 80 games last season, his production from 2016 and 2017 did show a significant dip.

Cano hit .298 with 39 homers and 103 RBI, while playing in 161 games in 2016. The following year, Cano played in only 150 games, hit 23 homers, drove in 97 and hit only .280.

So what player are the Mets getting here? Keep in mind, Cano in Queens would mean he wouldn’t be protected by the Designated Hitter. He will have to play the field ever day for the next four years as he pushes 40. This is a recipe for disaster.

The Mets focus should be on giving young players like Jeff McNeil and Peter Alonso a serious look on the infield. Even if Seattle eats up half of the $24 million Robinson Cano is due each year, this deal is a risk not worth taking.

Not to mention, if the Mets were to make this deal with Seattle, and still trade Syndergaard, ownership would look hypocritical for not paying a 26-year old home grown talent like Thor, while accepting the monster contract that Van Wagenen heaped on the Mariners five years ago.

Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don’t make. Keep Sydnergaard and just so “no” to Cano.

After Fast Start, Giants Slim Playoff Hopes Dashed in Philly

EAGLES 25 - GIANTS 22 

The was once an old saying by the late Dennis Green, "They are who we thought they were."

That is exactly the case with the New York Giants. They are who we thought they were all along. After winning two straight games, New York was going crazy for a very unlikely playoff run in the NFC East, if Big Blue could win out the rest of its games. That fairy tale scenario ended in a dud as the Giants couldn't hold a 16-point lead, and lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 25-22 on Sunday.

Two game winning streak? Playoffs? All a mirage just like the 19-3 lead the Giants built.

The Giants have nobody to blame but themselves for this meltdown. The Giants did seemingly everything right in the first half. Eli Manning was near perfect, and the offense was clicking on all cylinders.

Saquon Barkley was tearing apart the Eagles and Rhett Ellison was having a career game at tight end. It was all there for the Giants, especially when Barkley scored on a 51-yard scamper to give the Giants that now-infamous 19-3 lead.

Then the bottom fell out.

After Philadelphia scored a touchdown and converted on a two-point conversion to cut the Giants' lead to 19-11, Eli Manning had the Giants in position for a late score before intermission. On second and 10 from the Eagles' 27-yard line, all Manning had to do was hit Barkely in the flat for a big gainer to set up an easy field goal attempt. Instead, Manning ripped the ball down field for a heavily covered Odell Beckham Jr. Malcolm Jenkins made the interception in what proved to be the turning point of the game.

The Giants offense went into a complete shell. Saquon Barkley would only touch the football four more times for the rest of the afternoon, and the Giants managed only 51 yards of offense for the entire second half. It was beyond putrid.

All the things that failed the Giants all season from poor offensive line play, to horrible quarterback play reared its ugly head at the most inopportune time.

Instead the Eagles slowly crawled their way back into the game. Trailing 19-14, quarterback Carson Wentz hit Corey Clement for a 23-yard gain to spot the ball in Giants territory. From there running back Josh Adams ate up Big Blue, gashing them for 30-yards on four carries, including a touchdown to put Philly out in front 20-19. The Eagles would convert the two point conversion to give themselves a three-point lead.

Still this tease of a game had one more tease in store for Giants' fans. Manning again had Big Blue moving after hitting Rhett Ellison on a 29-yard pass completion to move the football to the Eagles' 17-yard line. And, again the rug was pulled out right from underneath the Giants when the offense stalled at the Eagle 11-yard line after another Odell Beckham drop.  Instead of a game-winning touchdown, the Giants had to settle for three to tie the game.

With close to six minutes left, Carson Wentz had more than enough time to march the Eagles downfield on a long, time consuming drive as Philly converted on a Jake Elliot field goal to stun the Giants 25-22.

As was mentioned by Fox Sports broadcaster Chris Spielman during the Eagle comeback, the Giants left too many points on the field. Way back in the first quarter, New York inexplicably went for two points after scoring the opening touchdown. That conversion was a complete failure as Manning's pass to Elijhaa Penny fell incomplete. Instead of an 8-0 lead, the Giants had a 6-0 lead. Those two points, and the botched final drive of the first half left points on the board for Big Blue. Points the Giants could have used to stave off a Philadelphia Eagle comeback.

Instead, all the Giants proved Sunday was they are who we thought they were. A 3-8, going nowhere football team.

Bowles Sinks Jets Chances in 27-13 Loss to Patriots

PATRIOTS 27 - JETS 13 

When it rains, it pours. Such is life of the New York Jets in 2018. Another week, another lopsided loss in the division as the Jets dropped their fifth in a row in a 27-13 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday.  

What was most troubling about this loss? It played out the way most people expected.

After a slow start, the Patriots ran all over the Jets with rookie running back Sony Michel gashing Gang Green for 133 yards, while James White added 73 yards of his own on the ground.

Meanwhile, the Jets offense was stuck on neutral for much of the afternoon. While he played better than he did against Buffalo, Josh McCown struggled to spark the Jets offense, as New York managed only two field goals after jumping out to a 7-0 lead.

In fact after that opening touchdown for the Jets, New York managed only two more dives of 50 yards or more for the rest of the game. One of those drives ended in a field goal. The other ended in a turnover on downs when Jermaine Kearse dropped a touchdown pass on fourth down.

When asked about the offensive executive, Sunday, head coach Todd Bowles could only state the facts, the Jets didn’t make enough plays offensively. “We left some plays out there,” Bowles said. “It was up and down, obviously. We didn’t score enough points. I’ll have to see the film to assess it.”

However this game will best be remembered for what Bowles did to sabotage his own football team when he decided to accept an offensive pass interference penalty against the Patriots on third and two. Had Bowles declined the penalty, the Patriots would have faced a fourth down, and would have likely kicked a field goal to cut the Jets lead to 7-3.

But, nooooooo. Not with Todd Bowles. Bowles instead accepted the penalty, and gave New England new life with a third and 12. What happened? Tom Brady happened. Brady hit Rob Gronkowski for a 34-yard touchdown to tie the game.

When asked about the penalty afterwards Bowles said, “Third-and-12 are better odds than fourth-and-two and we knew they were going to go for it because they typically do on fourth-and-two. We had a better chance at third-and-12.”

First of all, how does Bowles know that Belichick is going to go for it on fourth-and-two at the Jets 24? It’s still early enough in the game that kicking the field goal is the higher percentage play for New England. It’s not like the Jets have a dynamic offense at this point in the year, so chasing points wouldn’t make sense for a Patriot team that played the game close to the vest anyway. Giving New England new life on third down made absolutely no sense, and is another reason why Bowles’ in-game management has come under intense criticism this season.

Reporters again asked Bowles abut the play, and again he defended the obvious gaff.

“No, third-and-12 were good odds for us. We’ve been pretty good at third-and-12. We knew they would have gone for it on fourth-and-two. We figured if we backed them up we had a chance (for them) to kick a field goal and it didn’t work out.”

Ummm, it was already fourth down, coach?

The Jets would never again see the lead. Even though the Patriots struggled to produce points themselves, New England grinded the Jets out. By the late stages of the third quarter, the Jets defense, which had been on the field for extended periods of time, was gassed.

The Patriots needed only four plays to take the lead for good when Brady hooked up with Julian Edleman on a 21-yard strike to make it 20-13 with 1:52 to go in the third quater.

After the Jets went three-and-out on their next possession, Brady marched the Patriots 80-yards on 10-plays for a Sony Michel touchdown to put the game out of reach. Of course, the Jets helped out with two huge penalties, including a roughing the passer penalty on Leonard Williams that moved the football to the Jets one-yard line.  

When asked about his team’s effort, Bowles was effusive in his praise for his team.

“Well, we’re going to fight every week. We fought the Buffalo game. We just didn’t play smart. We fought this game and we didn’t execute in the second half, so we’ve got to go back to the drawing board and we’ve got to finish the ball game.”

Did Todd Bowles just say the Jets “fought” in the Buffalo game?

Unfortunately for Bowles, the Jets not only failed to execute in the second half, but they didn’t play their smartest football of the season either. Instead Sunday’s loss was another case of a team that was out-coached and out-played by better competition.  

Saquon Barkley Shines as Giants Slide Past Bucs

GIANTS 38 - BUCCANEERS 35 

For the better part of six months Giants fans have been complaining about how their team missed out on the franchise quarterback after the team selected Saquon Barkley with the second overall pick in the 2018 draft.

While Sam Darnold has both battled rookie mistakes and injuries across town with the Jets, and other rookie QBs like Josh Allen and Josh Rosen have been horribly inconsistent in Buffalo and Arizona, respectively, it has been Barkley who has been the most productive offensive rookie of the year. If the season ended today, Barkley would have 1,288 all purpose yards in his rookie year. With six games left, he has a shot at joining the likes of Eric Dickerson and Edgerin James to have 2,000 all purpose yards his rookie year.

Barkley led the way for the Giants, scoring three times, and rushing for 142 yards as the Giants outlasted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38-35 for the club's second consecutive victory, the Giants first winning streak in 700 days.

Last week quarterback Eli Manning was the story with his heroics late in the fourth quarter in San Francisco. On Sunday it was Saquon all the time.

The tone of the game was set right away, when Barkley touched the football five times in New York's opening drive, sans for a 41-yard completion from Manning to Odell Beckham as Big Blue put some early points on the board on Barkley's six-yard touchdown reception.

After a Tampa Bay three-and-out, the Giants went right back to work with Manning and Barkley combining to pick apart a horrific Bucs defense. The biggest play of the drive came on a second and 14 at the Tampa Bay 46, when Manning hit Will Gallman for a 21-yard catch and run to move deep into Bucs territory. From there it was all Barkley, who carried the rock on three consecutive plays including a five-yard touchdown to give the Giants a 14-0 lead.

The Bucs had really no answer for the Giants, especially early in the game as former Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was truly awful for Tampa. Fitzpatrick was picked off three times, including a pick-six by Alec Olgetree that gave the Giants a 21-7 lead to open the third quarter.

Once Tampa Bay put in Jamies Winston things would get a little more interesting. Winston was 12-of-16 for 199 yards and two touchdowns in relief of the struggling Fitzpatrick. Winston was able to pull the Bucs to within three points at 31-28 with 5:11 to go in the game, before the Giants engineered one last scoring drive to put the game away for good.

A 54-yard completion from Manning to Evan Engram was the key to the drive, setting things up nicely for Barkely who carried the rock three times inside the 10-yard line, including the game winning score on a two-yard plunge on third and two to make it 38-28.

With the 38-35 win, the Giants are now 3-7 on the year. While it is still a disappointing season for the Giants, Big Blue isn't giving in. The Giants face the slumping Eagles in Philadelphia next Sunday before retuning home to face the Bears to open December.

Jacob deGrom Named NL Cy Young Award Winner

Jacob deGrom has officially joined an exclusive club consisting of some of the game’s greatest pitchers. deGrom was named National League Cy Young by the Baseball Writers Association of America, running away with the award with 29 first place votes. 

deGrom becomes the fourth Mets pitcher to win the award, joining Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden and R.A. Dickey. Seaver in fact won the award three times in a Mets uniform (1969, 1973, and 1975).

Washington Nationals starter Max Scherzer came in second with one first place vote and 29-second place votes. Phillies starter Aaron Nola finished third and Rockies starter Kyle Freeland finished fourth in the voting.

The 30-year old deGrom had one of the best seasons by a Mets starting pitcher ever, posting a 1.70 ERA and a WHIP of 0.91, all while posting a win-lose record of 10-9. He was second in the National League in innings with 217 and strikeouts, 269.  His string of 29 consecutive starts allowing three earned runs or less, a streak that began in mid-April and is still active, is the longest in MLB history.

What made deGrom’s 2018 season so special was the fact he was able to pitch so effectively while pitching on a losing baseball team that couldn’t score whenever he pitched. In fact, he received the worst run support in all of baseball at 3.5 runs per game.

There was even a point this season from May 2 through June 30 where the Mets were 2-9 in starts deGrom made, and the righty kept on dealing. In May he pitched to a 0.69 ERA, allowing only two runs for the entire month. In June, his ERA was 2.36, but that hides the fact that he left each of those starts with a chance to win the game.

"I want to thank the baseball writers for this honor," deGrom said. "I'm extremely humbled to win this award along with some other great former Mets such as Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden and R.A. Dickey. I'd especially like to thank my teammates, coaching staff and my family."

deGrom capped off his Cy Young campaign by winning his final two starts of the season against Washington and Atlanta. One could argue he saved his best for last when he blanked the playoff bound Braves over eight innings, allowing only two hits and striking out 10 on 110 pitches. That victory, if he hadn’t already done so, sealed the deal on his first Cy Young award.

deGrom has had an amazing journey to the pinnacle of the sport for a pitcher. He was selected with 272^nd pick in the 2010 draft, making his Major League debut in 2014. Ironically when the Mets called him up, he wasn’t even considered the best of the Mets plethora of young starting pitchers. Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard were considered the “aces” of the Mets rotation.

Heck by the time deGrom came up he was already overshadowed by Harvey who was coming off an All-Star season in 2013. When Syndergaard and 100 mph heater came up in 2015, it was Thor who received all the media attention. deGrom? Well, he remained the steadiest presence of the Mets rotation.

To Mets fans, they knew who the king of the rotation was. It was deGrom. It was always deGrom. During the Mets NL Championship season of 2015, deGrom led the Mets in strikeouts (205), ERA (2.54) and wins (14). He was also the Mets most reliable starter with a 3-1 win-lose record and an ERA of 2.88.

The question will be deGrom’s future with the franchise. When Brodie Van Wagenen represented him, the future Mets General Manager told the Mets to give him a proper contract extension or trade him. Now with Van Wagenen in charge of the Mets front office, it will be interesting to see whether he can get the Wilpons to offer a mega deal to deGrom who will be 31 next year.  deGrom has two more years on his deal.

Todd Bowles Will Not Be Fired ... Yet

Todd Bowles is not going anywhere, at least not right now.

According to multiple reports, the Jets are not planning to drop the axe on their head coach during the team’s bye week and will stick with the embattled coach for the rest of the season.

Once the season ends, the front office will re-evaluate Bowles future with the team. Bowles, who is 23-35 as Jets coach is signed through the 2020 season thanks to an extension he signed at the end of last season. 

After Sunday’s 41-10 meltdown at the hands of Matt Barkley and the Buffalo Bills, it would have made perfect sense for the Jets to ditch Bowles to the side and settle with an interim coach for the rest of the season.

The Jets played unprepared, uninspired football on Sunday, something that has become a trademark of the team all season. The offense failed to move the football with any degree of efficiency, as offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates turned in yet another ultra-conservative game plan for the Jets offense. New York was 1-for-12 on third down, Sunday, and managed only a single yard in the entire first quarter.

Meanwhile, the defense was picked apart by Barkely who was a free agent just 12 days ago. Barkley, a well-traveled journeyman is not going to confuse anyone of Jim Kelly, but on Sunday he looked the part against a clueless and unprepared Jet defense. 

The Bills rolled up 451 yards on Gang Green, and took a 31-3 lead into halftime. In fact fans could have left after the first drive where the Bills needed only two plays to put the ball into the end zone.

The decision to keep Bowles is not going to please the fan-base, but the front office is not going to make decisions based on what the fans want. Many media outlets reported Monday that the Jets don’t feel they have a viable replacement for Bowles on staff, and they don’t want to “disrupt” the development of rookie quarterback Sam Darnold.

The reasoning sounds a little ridiculous, especially the latter.  Two years ago the LA Rams fired Jeff Fisher with three weeks to go in the 2016 season. It had no negative effect on Jared Goff’s development. Goff has become a perennial Pro Bowler under Sean McVay.

Even the Cleveland Browns didn’t think firing of Hue Jackson three weeks ago would negatively impact rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield. In fact, they believed the firing would only help his development. Mayfield threw three touchdowns in a win against the Falcons yesterday.

So it is hard to fathom how keeping Bowles around for six more games is going to positively impact Darnold when the team around him is already playing with little heart and desire to begin with.

By keeping Bowles, the Jets are only delaying the inevitable. With games against the Patriots, Packers, Texans, and the suddenly surging Titans on the schedule, things could get even uglier than they are right now. And the calls for Bowles to be removed are only going to grow louder with each week.

Todd Bowles needs to be fired after 41-10 slashing to Buffalo

BILLS 41 - JETS 10 

Todd Bowles needs to be fired.

Immediately. Today. This second. At Halftime. After the game. As soon as Possible. 

Nobody likes to see anyone lose their job, but Todd Bowles and his entire coaching staff have earned pink slips as the Jets got totally outcoached, outplayed and outsmarted by the Buffalo Bills, who built a 31-0 lead at the half, en route to a 41-10 smackdown by the end of the day. 

How bad was the first half for the Jets? Dion Dawkins, an offensive lineman did his best Rob Gronkowski impression catching a wide open pass from Matt Barkley for a touchdown that blew the doors off MetLife Stadium.

The Jets offense was once again uncreative, managing only one yard through the first quarter, and 68 yards of offense in the entire first half. Compare that to the nearly 300 yards of offense put on display by the Bills, who came out hot as a fire cracker, and you have the results you see at the break.

Josh McCown struggled in his first start in almost an entire calendar, completing only seven of 14 passes for 68 yards and a costly interception in relief of a banged up Sam Darnold. He would throw two picks by the end of the day, and never ignited the Jets offense at all. And to think McCown is getting paid $10 million this season?

What is most troubling about this game is the mistakes and issues that have plagued the Jets all season have plagued them today. The Bills were pulling out all the stops. They played fast and loose, and Bills Head Coach Sean McDermott was willing to let his team play that way with trick plays all afternoon, including a fake punt pass by Logan Thomas.

The Jets? Well, they were the carbon copy of their head coach, Todd Bowles who looks like a disinterested pedestrian waiting for the bus to pick him up at six in the morning. The Jets looked flat, unmotivated and uninspired. That is a huge indictment of Bowles and his coaching staff.  

Moreover the offensive play calling was once again uncreative with bubble screens that went nowhere, and runs into the line scrimmage that accomplished absolutely nothing. This kind of play has become the staple of Jeremy Bates’ play calling, something that cannot be permitted to continue any longer.  If Bowles goes, so should Bates.

The biggest indictment of the day was the fact that the Jets allowed Matt Barkely to do whatever he wanted. The Former USC product was 9 of 15 for 146 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown was his first since 2016 when he was a member of the Bears. This is not the first time that the Jets looked unprepared for an opposing quarterback.

In Week 3 the Jets had no answer for rookie Baker Mayfield who lit a fire under the Browns, who stormed back to beat the Jets. Bowles had no answer for Mayfield that night. He has had no answers for Barkley and the Bills today.

If Sean McDermott can motivate a team that is 2-7 and playing on its fourth quarterback to play inspired football, the Jets could and need to do better than this.  Their fans deserve it. The players who will be here beyond this season deserve it.

Should Bowles be fired this week, the Jets should also put General Manager Mike Maccagnan on notice. Most of the players that comprise this roster are his picks and signings. Are the Johnson brothers willing to give him $100 million in cap space to fix this?

There will be plenty of names out there including Ravens coach John Harbaugh, Vikings offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, Titans offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur and Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub. Anyone of them should be at the top of the Jets Christmas list. The Jets need to begin their Black Friday shopping for a coach now, and bring Black Monday to Florham Park today.