In Mike White Jets Trust! White Dazzels in First Career Start vs. Bengals

 JETS 34 - BENGALS 31 

Do the Jets have a quarterback controversy on the horizon? 

If Mike White's performance against the Cincinnati Bengals is any indication, then that answer is a straight up "YES!" 

White was incredible. He made big time throws and plays the Jets hoped they would get from rookie Zach Wilson, but couldn't.  White showed poise, confidence and accuracy all game long.

Even though he was charged with two interceptions, neither of which was his fault, and got his bell rung in the third quarter, White led a spirited Jets comeback victory that left Jets fans jumping for joy -- hoping that maybe, Mike White could be an answer to the Jets quarterback riddle. 

White tossed for 405 yards, and three touchdowns; he even caught a two-point conversion. It was the most yards by a Jets quarterback since Vinny Testaverde in the year 2000. 

With the Jets down 11-points, 31-20, late in the fourth quarter, White led an inspired comeback, taking exactly what the defense gave up; delivering short precise throws to his receivers. He hit Elijah Moore for 14-yards. Then connected with Michael Carter for 23 more yards to the Bengals' 48 yard line. 

Several plays later, White hit Ty Johnson down the sideline, and the running back danced on the edge, tip-toeing his way toward the end zone, before nudging the ball over the pylon for the score to cut the deficit to 31-26. 

On the first play of the Bengals ensuing possession, defensive end Shaq Lawson stuck his hand up in the air and deflected a Joe Burrow pass straight up into the air and picked it off. The Jets now had a chance to steal the game. 

Two plays later, White delivered a strike to Tyler Kroft for the score to give the Jets a 32-31 edge. White then caught a two-point conversion on a sneaky double reverse between Elijah Moore and Jamison Crowder, with Crowder tossing the pass to an open White in the end zone. 

After the Jets forced a Cincy punt, White and the Jets put the game away with a terrific two minute offense focused on pounding the Bengals with Johnson and Carter to eat the clock. 

After the game Head Coach Robert Saleh didn't shut the door on the possibility that White could be apart of the Jets plans moving forward. 

"We'll take it day by day. Anything is possible, right? Anything is possible." 

Anything is possible. It's the NFL. 

And now Zach Wilson, the number 2 pick in this past spring's draft, is now in the midst of a quarterback controversy. 

Could Brewers GM Matt Arnold Be a Fit with the Mets?

 The Mets exhaustive search for a General Manager and/or President of Baseball Operations keeps taking one wild turn after another. 

First the team was rejected by Billy Beane and Theo Epstein; two of the best executives of this generation, because they just deem the Mets as a good fit for them. Beane is comfortable in Oakland, California. He's a part owner for the A's. 

Epstein is working in baseball's front office, and has ownership aspirations. It was never gonna happen with them. 

Then we heard the Mets couldn't interview David Stearns of the Brewers; were rejected by Matt Harris of the Giants, and there was even speculation that ex-Giants executive Brian Sabean was interested in the job. 

However on Tuesday, reports surfaced that Brewers General Manager Matt Arnold could be a candidate for the job. Mike Puma of the New York Post reported that contact was made. Andy Martino of SNY reported the Mets hadn't heard back on a request to speak with Arnold. 

If it doesn't happen with Arnold, the Mets could be forced to look in-house. 

It's all been part of one of the most frustrating searches in Mets history. 

Check out the vlog! 

Jets' Wilson Out 2 to 4 weeks with PCL Sprain; Jets Bring Back Flacco

 Zach Wilson will officially miss at least a month with a sprained posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in his right knee, after suffering the injury in Sunday's 54-13 smackdown at the hands of the New England Patriots. 

Wilson will not require surgery. He will miss two to four weeks with an outside possibility of playing November 14 against Buffalo. 

In order to solidify their issue at quarterback, the Jets sent a conditional sixth round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles to re-acquire Joe Flacco. 

Why the Jets didn't bring back Flacco before the season started is beyond anyone's understanding when they needed a veteran quarterback in the building, but, hey here we are now.

 

Flacco started four games for the Jets last year, lost all four of them, but didn't play badly. He threw six touchdowns to just three interceptions in those starts. He gave the Jets a great shot to win games against New England and the LA Chargers last season. 

The Jets are looking at starting Mike White on Sunday against the Bengals. White has never started a game in his career, and only just played his first NFL game on Sunday. So obviously, the Jets needed a veteran (something they needed all season). 

Jets' Wilson Suffers PCL Injury as Jets Get Demolished by Pats

 PATRIOTS 54 - JETS 13

Talk about insult to injury. 

Not only did the New York Jets suffer one of their worst blowouts in years, they  lost their starting quarterback in the process. Zach Wilson suffered a knee injury in the first half of Sunday's 54-13 loss to the Patriots. It is believed that it could be a PCL injury, and according to ESPN's Rich Cimini, it is not believed to be season ending. Wilson will undergo an MRI on Monday. 

Wilson was involved in two brutal hits during Sunday's game. 

First he landed awkwardly when defensive end Lawrence Guy dove toward Wilson's knees. His knee appeared to buckle and twist the wrong way on the play. There was no roughing the passer called on the play. 

Two plays later, Matt Judan landed on the quarterback's lower half as he heaved a pass downfield for an incompletion. Wilson lay on his back for several minutes before he was helped off the field. 

The Wilson injury exposed a hard truth about this Jets franchise. 1) Joe Douglas never signed a veteran quarterback to back-up Wilson to take pressure off the rookie. Clearly he has been overwhelmed all season, and a veteran presence is direly missed. 

2) This coaching staff has done little to help Wilson. He is a man on an island, working with a novice offensive coordinator and head coach; not to mention the personnel on the offensive line leaves a lot to be desired. 

Hopefully Wilson doesn't miss much time. However should he miss several weeks, it would be a major hit to his progress as a rookie.  

Sam Darnold didn't make it out of his rookie year without suffering an injury; same thing with Geno Smith and Mark Sanchez before him. The Jets have a history of not developing quarterbacks properly, and this latest moment won't change that narrative. 

WATCH INJURY HERE! 

The most disturbing fact about Sunday's 54-13 loss was how poorly the defense played for the Jets. 

The Patriots scored on nine of their 11 possessions, had 32 first downs and rolled the Jets for 551 yards of offense. Understood that C.J. Mosely was not available, but this was the second straight game where the defense didn't come to play. 

The fact that it didn't get better in the second half is a huge hit on Saleh, who prides himself as a defensive coordinator. 

The 54 points the Jets allowed was the most they gave up in a game since 1995 -- that's right the Rich Kotite-led Jets of 1995. 

You can talk about rebuilding all you want, the facts are Sunday's loss was a total embarrassment for Gang Green.

Giants Do Just Enough to Stop Darnold & Panthers

 GIANTS 25 - PANTHERS 3 

It wasn't pretty, but the Giants got the job done against the woeful Carolina Panthers. The score 25-3. And for at least one week, Joe Judge, David Gettleman and company won't have to hear about job security. 

After getting plastered by the Rams 38-11 last week, Judge changed things up. The Giants started practicing in pads again, and the focus turned to getting this season -- that seemed destined to hit the third rail -- back on track. 

It also helped matters that the G-Men were going up against a Panthers team that is now 0-4 since dynamic running back Christian McCaffery left a week 3 match-up against Houston with a hamstring injury. 

Sam Darnold has been terrible since Carolina lost McCaffery. It didn't get any better on Sunday for the former Jets signal caller, who threw for only 111 yards and an interception and was promptly benched by head coach Matt Rhule in the fourth quarter. 

Guess, it wasn't all the Jets fault for Darnold's deficiencies? 

The turning point of the game came early second quarter when ex-Jet Leonard Williams got some pressure on his ex-teammate, Darnold in the end zone, and the quarterback threw the ball into the dirt, generating an intentional grounding penalty for a safety, cutting Carolina's lead to 3-2. 

The Giants would take a 5-3 lead on their ensuing possession on a Graham Gano field goal with 12:57 to play before the half. 

While the Giants were sloppy at times in this game, Daniel Jones was overall solid. He even caught a 16-yard pass from Dante Pettis with 4:53 to go in the third quarter that helped keep the chains moving on an impressive 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, that culminated with Jones hitting Pettis from five yards out to make it 12-3. 

Devontae Booker was equally impressive on the ground for Big Blue. With no Saquon Barkley, Booker ran for 51 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown that put the game firmly away at 25-3. 

The Giants face the Kansas City Chiefs next Monday night. And there is question right now as to whether quarterback Patrick Mahomes will play after sustaining a nasty head injury in the Chiefs 27-3 loss to Tennessee on Sunday.

It will be Braves vs. Astros in 2021 World Series

 The Atlanta Braves are heading back to the World Series for the first time since 1999. The miracle Braves, who were two games under .500 (52-54) and five games behind the New York Mets for first place in the NL East on July 31, find themselves in the Fall Classic against the Houston Astros, who are in their third World Series in five seasons. 

It's been an incredible ride by the Braves. They went 36-19 in the final two months of the regular season to take the NL East, ran right through the postseason, which they capped off on Saturday night by taking down last year's World Series Champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 in Game 6 of the NLCS. 

In fact the Elias Sports Bureau says the Braves didn't climb over the .500 mark until August 6, and that is the "latest-first-day-over-.500 date ever for a team to reach the World Series. 

As he has throughout this series, Eddie Rosario spearheaded Atlanta's offense. Rosario's three-run bomb off Dodgers starter Walker Buehler gave Atlanta a 4-1 lead in the fourth inning. They would never look back. 

The Dodgers best shot to score came when A.J. Pollack both doubled to drive in Chris Taylor to make it 4-2 in the top of the seventh inning. With  two runners aboard and nobody out, the Braves brought in hard-throwing lefty, Tyler Matzek, who blew away the Dodgers over two innings, recording four strikeouts in the process. 

One of those strikeouts was Albert Pujols, who lasted only four pitches before swinging away wildly at a slider in the dirt in the top of that seventh inning. In the past, two runners aboard and nobody out was the prime situation for Pujols; he built his legend on coming up big in the clutch during his heyday with the St. Louis Cardinals. 

But that was a long, long time ago. 

After getting Pujols, Metzek struck out Steven Souza Jr. and Mookie Betts to end the eighth, and all but write a finish to it.

Matzek's heroics set the stage for Will Smith to record to save in the ninth, which he did. Smith struck out both Taylor and Cody Bellinger; then jamed Pollack on a hard grounder to Dansby Swanson at shortstop to end the game. 

 The Braves now head to the World Series for the 10th time in their glorious history. They haven't won it all since 1995; were last in it in 1999, when they were swept by the Yankees. 

This year's Fall Classic will be a tall order for Atlanta to go up against a Houston Astros team that has a number of players who were on the championship team that won it all in 2017, and were there when the Astros lost to the Washington Nationals in 2019 Series.

For Houston they want to quiet the doubters who have pegged them as cheaters the past two-plus years since since the revelations of the sign-stealing scandal came out. It means a lot to them, and the Astros are very tough on opposing pitching staffs at Minute Maid Park. 

The Astros appeared to be in big trouble when the Boston Red Sox beat them soundly in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead. 

But Houston rallied. 

They came from behind to steal Game 4 with a seven run rally in the ninth inning to boot. 

The Astros dominated Boston in Game 5, 9-1, then slipped past them in Game 6 by a score of 2-0. 

Give a lot of credit to Astros manager Dusty Baker, whose veteran leadership settled things down for the Astros during these two tumultuous years.

In addition, how will Rob Manfred be received by both fanbases? Fans in Houston blame him for taking down their beloved 2017 Astros over the scandal; a scandal that cost A.J. Hinch his job, and put a target on the backs of many of Houston's stars like Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman. 

Meanwhile Braves fans are still angry over the fact Major League Baseball took the All-Star game away from the city as a political response to the voting rights law passed in the state of Georgia. 

Let's just say, Manfred won't be received well in either city. 

Should be a fun series.

Aaron Boone Returns as Yankees Manager

 Well this was news that was not met very well by Yankees fans. 

Aaron Boone will be back in the Yankees dugout in 2022, and beyond for that matter. The Yankees and Boone inked a three-year extension that will keep him pinstripes through 2024, with a club option for 2025. 

In four years, Boone is 328-218 as Yankees skipper, has been to the playoffs all four years. Yet, the team has never been to the World Series under his watch. 

This past season, the Yanks struggled to get over .500 for large chunks of the year, and didn't qualify for the postseason until the final day of the  season.  As we all know the season ended a day later in the AL Wild Card game in Boston, a 6-2 loss. 

Yankees fans have been calling for Boone's head for years. They don't like his managerial style, the decisions he makes regarding pitchers or off days for players. But what fans keep glazing over is the obvious, Boone is the right manager for this front office. 

Baseball teams are run differently now. Managers are now extensions of the front office, specifically the general manager and analytics department. 

In short, Brian Cashman loves the guy, because he is not confrontational the way Joe Girardi had been, or would be to front office suggestions. 

"Ultimately, it falls on me," Cashman said of the Yankees' failure to reach a World Series since 2009. "Obviously if [controlling owner] Hal Steinbrenner or anybody wants to decide to make some changes down the line, that's above me.''

Cashman is correct, it's now on him. He must improve this roster. He needs to go out and get some starting pitching to fit behind Gerrit Cole, who ran out of gas and was a totally different pitcher after the Spider Tech scandal. 

Cashman must also figure out the shortstop conundrum. Cashman admitted Tuesday that he thinks Gleyber Torres is better off at second base, meaning the Yankees are looking for a short stop. Carlos Correa, Trevor Story and Javier Baez are just some of the shortstops available in free agency. 

If the Yankees move Torres to second, full time, what does that mean for DJ LeMahieu, who signed a six-year $90 million deal with the Yankees last offseason. Is he going to play first? Third? Trade? 

What about free agent-to-be Anthony Rizzo? 

You could blame Boone for a lot of things, but the facts remain, it is up to Brian Cashman to build a better baseball team than they have right now.

Rams Embarrass Giants as Jones Tosses 3 INTs in Return

 RAMS 38 - GIANTS 11 

It was a contrast of two different franchises in two completely different directions. 

The New York Giants  (1-5) were totally outclassed by the Los Angeles Rams (5-1), who rolled over the Giants 38-11 in a game that was over by the half. 

Daniel Jones, who made his return to Big Blue after suffering a concussion last week in Dallas was putrid, tossing three interceptions, and getting sacked four times. Jones was even stripped twice, losing one fumble. 

For an organization that honored the 2011 Giants' team that won the Super Bowl that year against New England, Sunday's smackdown at the hands of the Rams was a harsh reminder of how far the Giants have fallen. 

With the defeat, Big Blue is a league worst 19-51 since 2017. The only reason they are alone in that category is because the Jets had a bye week. 

On the flip side, the Rams looked like a juggernaut.  Matthew Stafford was pinpoint accurate, completing 22 of 29 passes for 251 yards and four touchdowns. Three of those four scores came in the second quarter, including a 25-yard bomb to Darrell Henderson Jr. that made it 28-3. 

Things were so bad for Big Blue that fans were leaving in droves at the half. 

One has to wonder how much worse it could get for the Giants. Change is definitely on the horizon again for this franchise. Fans have been calling for the job of David Gettleman for years; another abysmal season, and Gettlman could be joined by head coach Joe Judge on the proverbial hot seat. It doesn't help matters that the Giants put up two stinkers while honoring its past. Three ago they blew a game to Atlanta on the day Eli Manning had his number retired.

Giants Lose Jones, Barkley, Golladay as Cowboys Romp

 COWBOYS 44 - GIANTS 20 

The Giants have bigger problems now on their hands beyond just getting blown out by the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday. 

Big Blue suffered three huge injuries that could impact the way this team performs in the coming weeks. Saquon Barkley, Daniel Jones and Kenny Golladay all left Sunday's action with injuries, and there is serious questions about when they will return. 

Barkley suffered a sprained ankle, he suffered early in the game when he got his foot rolled up on with a Dallas corner Jourdan Lewis. He was seen in a boot and crutches after the game according to ESPN; he will undergo further tests on Monday. There is a chance he could be sidelined for a "couple weeks."

Golladay suffered the knee injury while trying to go up for a catch with corner Trevon Diggs draped over him; his status for Week 6 is uncertain.

The scariest injury belongs to Jones, who suffered a concussion while trying to scramble for the end zone in the second quarter. He looked woozy upon getting up, and didn't return. Mike Glennon played under center for the rest of the afternoon. 

Jones will have to go through concussion protocol this week before his status is determined.  Once that trio left the Giants really had no shot against Dallas. Dak Prescott ripped the G-Men to shreds, tossing for 302 yards and three touchdowns. 

At 1-4,  and a cloud of uncertainty hovering over the Giants stars on offense, it won't get any easier next week against the LA Rams.

Jets Look Completely Overmatched vs. Falcons in London

 FALCONS 27 - JETS 20 

Let's just say the Jets had a case of jet-lag, because there is no other way to describe New York's performance against the Falcons in the United Kingdom on Sunday morning. 

The Jets were completely and totally over-matched against Atlanta. Defensively, the Jets couldn't get a hand on Matt Ryan, after sacking Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill seven times a week ago. The Falcons did a tremendous job in blitz pickup on the Jets, and the veteran Ryan picked apart the middle of the Jets defense. 

For an Atlanta team that was missing Calvin Ridley and Russell Gage, they sure didn't seem to miss a beat against Gang Green. Not with Cordarrelle Paterson chewing up huge chunks of yards in the first half, and Ryan finding tight end Kyle Pitts in single-to-no- coverage all afternoon. 

Pitts, who was an unheralded first top draft pick out of Florida in last April's draft, had his coming out party against the Jets. Nine catches for 119 yards and a touchdown catch. The score culminated a 10-play, 92-yard drive by the Falcons that pushed Atlanta's lead to 10-0. 

In fact in two possessions against the Jets, the Falcons rolled up 154 yards of offense to the lowly eight years for the Jets. And that was with 1:42 to go in the first quarter. 

Ryan keep the party going for Atlanta in the second quarter, engineering a 77-yard drive on eight plays, that ended in a 17-yard reception by Hayden Hurst for a touchdown to make it 17-0. For all intents and purposes this game was over. 

Zach Wilson was erratic and inaccurate for much of the day. It didn't help matters that the Jets were in a 17-0 hole before most people were fully awake back in New York, Sunday morning. 

While many have pegged the offensive line, and drops by wide receivers for the Jets troubles in the early season, this was all on Wilson, who just couldn't ignite this offense. When he finally did get something going, it came late in the game, when the coaches finally (FINALLY) decided to insert Denzel Mims into the game, who caught hauled in a 27-yard completion that helped lead to a Michael Carter touchdown that gave the Jets a slight chance to comeback in this game. 

In fact it is becoming quiet bizarre how both Mims and rookie wide out Elijah Moore are not involved in this offense at all. Moore once again went without a catch, but was involved in two huge plays. One play where he caught the ball on sideline -- after stepping out of bounds and coming back in play -- that was whipped away with a flag. The other coming on pass interference on Atlanta. 

Other than that we didn't see a whole lot from Moore or Mims. That has to be a huge concern for a Jets team that expected those two to be explosive weapons on this offense. 

It is remarkable the Jets had a chance to win this game. They were down 20-17 late in the fourth quarter, but the defense couldn't slow down Atlanta's offense as they rolled down the field for 75-yards on nine plays, before Mike Davis put a nail in the Jets coffin with a three-yard plunge to make it 27-17.

Epstein Says 'No' To Mets President of Baseball Ops Job, Search Continues

 According to multiple reports, Mets owner Steve Cohen met with former Red Sox and Cubs General Manager Theo Epstein about the team's President of Baseball Operations job, and the two sides agreed that Epstein would not take the job. 

New York Post reporter Mike Puma reported in his piece, "Epstein's contentment working to improve baseball's on-field product for the league, plus a desire for his next team job to involve an ownership stake, building an organization from the ground up may have made his candidacy for the Mets job a long shot."  

Considering the Mets are keeping Sandy Alderson around in high executive capacity, even though it is expected it will be more on the business side of baseball, coupled with the fact that Cohen just bought the team, and the number of off-field and on-field distractions that took place the past year for the Mets, it probably wasn't the right move for Epstein to come to New York.  

It's a shame, because Epstein had built a reputation as a "curse-buster" having won World Series titles both in Boston and Chicago, while ending the Curse of the Bambino in 2004, and the Curse of the Billy Goat in 2016. 

Instead the Mets may turn to the man who invented the "Moneyball" formula that Epstein used to build the Red Sox: Billy Beane. However that might be easier said than done. Beane has a comfortable job in Oakland, and has a ownership stake that is worth a reported $40 million, according to Puma. 

It will take a lot to get Beane away from Oakland. Keep in mind he is still under contract there. Some say a Mets-Beane union is a possibility since Beane and Alderson worked together in Oakland, and reportedly remain "tight," however one has to wonder if Beane would want to work under Alderson again. Plus, he's never dealt with an owner like Cohen, who not only has deep pockets, but has shown a proclivity to be very gregarious in the social media world.

Some also believe that Milwaukee's David Stearns, who is under contract with the Brewers, and has helped turn that franchise around into a World Series contender could also be an option. 

Bottom line is, the Mets would like to have an established guy run the baseball side of things, but that is easier said than done.

Obviously, nobody wants a repeat of last off-season, when the Mets tried and failed to lure a President of Baseball Operations. Instead Alderson took that post over, in addition to being president, and wound up hiring Jared Porter as GM. Porter was fired weeks later when he was accused of sexual harassment. Alderson then gave the GM job to Zach Scott, who was placed on administrative leave in August after he was arrested for drunk driving. 

Alderson has stated he would like to take a back seat in baseball moves, but wouldn't rule out having a say. Certainly he has Cohen's ear, and Cohen relies heavily on Alderson's advice. 

In addition to looking for a President of Baseball Ops, the Mtes need a General Manager and Manager.

Yankees Season Comes to End in Wild Card Game

RED SOX 6 - YANKEES 2 

And just like that the season is over. 

The 2021 Yankees limped into the night, and into an uncertain future for many of its star players and manager, after suffering a 6-2 defeat at the hands of the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday in the AL Wild Card game. 

It will be remembered as a night of missed opportunities. A night where Gerrit Cole, the Yankees' $324 million man, spit the bit and couldn't get out of the third inning. A night where bad base-running became an epidemic -- just ask Giancarlo Stanton who didn't run out of the box when he though his hit off the facade of the green monster was good enough for a home run, or just ask third base coach Phil Nevin who never put up a stop sign on Aaron Judge as the slugger rounded third and into the waiting arms of catcher Christian Vasquez. 

Tuesday's loss was a total nightmare for the Yankees. A reminder of how far this franchise has fallen when compared to the Red Sox or even the Tampa Bay Rays in their own division.  It was season of ups and downs, and it was fitting that it would end it such a downward spiral. 

Cole just never had it. He served a mammoth two-run homer to Xander Bogaerts in the bottom of the first inning that set the stage for Boston with a 2-0 lead. Two innings later, Kyle Schwarber took Cole deep some 435 feet into the right field stands for a solo shot that made it 3-0 Red Sox. 

That was really all Aaron Boone needed to see. After 50 pitches of not-so-stellar command, Cole was out of the game. There was no injury. Just a guy who continues to struggle on the hill since the whole spider tack incident from earlier this year. 

In fact since May, Cole's ERA has been on the rise. It was 4.65 in June; 4.71 in July and 5.13 in September. He was not good in his last outing of the regular season up in Toronto a week ago. He was worse here.

For a guy who is making over $30 million a year, the Yankees needed Cole to be an ace, and he came up snake-eyes. No excuse for that. 

However, the most painful moment of the night had to come when the Yankees were actually showing signs of rallying in the sixth inning. A home run by Anthony Rizzo was followed by a single by Aaron Judge. Stanton came up, and for the second time on the night, crushed a pitch that caromed off the Green Monster. Keke Herenandez made a terrific relay throw to Xander Bogearts, who spun and threw out Judge at the plate. 

Upon further review, Judge never got a stop sign from third base coach Phil Nevin. In retrospect, he should have stopped Judge at third, and set up a situation with second and third and one out.  Instead, the gaff took the Yankees right out of the inning. 

The Yankees would never get closer, as Alex Verdugo would drive in the final three runs for Boston on a double in the seventh inning, and a two-run single in the eighth to make it 6-1. 

Stanton, for as frustrating a night as he had at the dish, was 3-for-4 with a solo home run in defeat. 

The Yankees now limp into the off-season with plenty of questions. One of which will be the status of manager Aaron Boone, who has drawn the ire of Yankees fans all season. Will Boone, who is not under contract for 2022, return? It remains to be seen.

Mets Fire Luis Rojas After Nightmare Finish to Season

 Someone was going to take the fall for the Mets epic 2021 collapse. 

It was not going to be Sandy Alderson, who last week indicated that he is going to remain a key cog in Mets decision making moving forward - despite a checkered history running the Mets, especially this past season. 

It was going to be Luis Rojas. It was always going to be him. The man who had to endure so much chaos over his two years at manager, he never stood a chance in Queens, and one has to wonder if he isn't ecstatic to get away from Steve Cohen and his mercurial Mets. 

In his two years managing the Mets, Rojas saw it all. He was hired on whim by then-General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen after Carlos Beltran was dismissed from the job just weeks after his hiring when it was revealed that Beltran played a significant role in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal. 

From there he had to manage a team through the COVID-19 pandemic and a 60-game season in 2020. Then he had to get through an ownership change from the reluctant, penny pinching Wilpon's to the maverick Steve Cohen. Rojas got a lukewarm endorsement from management last November when Cohen settled in, and Alderson was brought back to run the front office. 

You knew if things didn't go well, Rojas would be out. Cohen and Alderson would want their own guy. 

Of course things started out great. Despite poor efforts from the likes of Francisco Lindor, who had inked a $340 million contract before opening day this year, and Michael Conforto, who never got going with the bat at all in 2021, somehow Rojas guided the Mets to first place and kept them there for 103 days. 

Then the bottom fell out. 

The injury to Jacob deGrom, which the Mets tried to dust under the rug as quickly as possible, blew up in the team's face when it was revealed -- casually I might add -- by Alderson that the Mets ace had a slight tear of his UCL. Surgery was never considered, but deGrom missed the rest of the year anyway. 

In the meantime, Alderson and acting GM Zach Scott, who got the job because of Jared Porter's own alleged sexual deviancy -- made little effort to give this club what it needed by the trade deadline: pitching. Instead they opted to acquire firebrand short stop Javier Baez, who's claim to fame as a Met will always be his bizarre thumbs down theatrics directed at the fans. 

It didn't help Rojas when he denied any knowledge of what his players were doing during the crisis, which came off the heels of the Mets season coming totally apart when they lost 11 of 13 games to the Dodgers and Giants over a two week span in mid August. 

Oh, and did I mention that Scott was put on leave after he was pulled over and arrested for drunk driving hours after attending a charity benefit at Cohen's place? Yeah, there is that as well. 

So it comes as no surprise that the Mets hit the reset button on the manager. They had no choice. They couldn't run it back with Rojas. 

This is a franchise that needs a total house cleaning. But even with Rojas taking the fall for all of the misgivings and missteps made during Cohen's inaugural year as owner, it doesn't excuse those facts either.

Alderson has stated that the team plans to hire a President of Baseball Operations. That effort didn't work out too well last time around with Alderson assuming those responsibilities, and hiring the ill-fated Porter -- and, later, Scott -- to serve as GM.  

Fans have been clamoring for the team to hire Theo Epstein, but one has to wonder if he would want to work under Alderson, who is going to retain a significant clout within the organization, and Cohen who tried to put a virtual bounty on the head of a New York Post reporter, by asking his Twitter followers to find the anonymous source in an article critical of his ownership, and if they did, three fans would get a chance to sit the owners suite. 

Billy Beane is another name being floated, but he is under contract in Oakland, and even has a 1% stake ownership in the Oakland A's. Unless Cohen and Alderson are willing to trade a lot to the A's, and throw in a bunch of case Beane's way, don't bet on it. 

And what happens if the Mets hire a manager before hiring a president of baseball operations? It would be such a Mets thing for them to do if it happens. 

And already the rumor-mill is flying. Even Beltran's name is being floated out there as a potential managerial candidate, as unlikely as it is. Buck Schowalter's name has been bantered about, as per usual around this time of the year. Joe McEwing, a former Met, who is an assistant on Tony LaRusa's staff in Chicago, is another popular name being thrown out there too. 

We shall see, but one things is certain. If Cohen and Alderson want to reshape the Mets, they need to look in the mirror first.

Yankees Head to Postseason Thanks to Judge's Heroics

 YANKEES 1 - RAYS 0 

The Yankees punched their ticket to the postseason with a thrilling, bottom of the ninth RBI single by Aaron Judge. 

How else would one expect this season to go for the Yankees? It has been a roller coaster of a season all year for the Bronx Bombers, so it made sense that the Yankees playoff fates would go to the last day. And with the Red Sox and Blue Jays winning their games, the Yankees were deadlocked in a scoreless tie with Tampa Bay. 

It wasn't easy. The Yankees spent the entire day watching their pitching staff bend, but never break. 

Starter Jameson Tallion gave up only a pair of hits over 3.1 innings of work before getting lifted for Wandy Peralta, who put himself in a precarious position when he gave up a double to Austin Meadows, and walked Ji-Man Choi with one out. 

However, he was able to get a fielders choice out against Mike Zunino, and a ground out by Joey Wendle to get out of the jam. 

 

After that the only real threat by Tampa Bay came when Randy Arozarena led off the eighth with a double and advanced to third with one out. But, Jonathan Loasiga struck out Nelson Cruz, and got Meadows to fly out to get out of the jam. 

Finally in the bottom of the ninth, singles by Rougned Odor and Anthony Rizzo set up shop for Judge, who slapped a single to right-center to give the Yankees a thrilling walk-off win. 

The Yankees season continues, and they will head back up to Boston on Tuesday for a one-game wild card playoff. The winner advances to the division series against ... you guessed it ... the Rays.

Jets Win OT Thriller vs. Titans in Game of the Day

 JETS 27 - TITANS 24 

For Jets fans it was the kind of game they have been waiting for. Years in fact. 

It's been a long time since Jets fans had a reason to cheer for anything for that matter, but on Sunday it was different. It felt like Jets fans finally were seeing the team they hoped they would see when the team invested the second overall pick in Zach Wilson last spring. 

It wasn't pretty early. Like he had the first three weeks, Wilson was inaccurate. His receivers were dropping passes. He threw a costly pick. Yet, the Jets were only down 9-0. Then the light switch went on. Give credit to Mike LaFleur for this, his simplified the playbook a bit, and Wilson started to get the ball out of his hand faster. He engineered a brilliant 11-play 75-yard drive that culminated in the Jets first touchdown since Week 1 that cut into the Titans lead at 9-7. 

By the second half, things started to really open up for New York. Perhaps it was the 54-yard completion Wilson had to Keenlan Cole that helped set up a field goal that made it 10-9 Jets, because all of sudden Wilson looked relax. 

Keep in mind this wouldn't have been possible without a stellar effort by the Jets defense. Granted it was against a hobbled Titans team that was missing A.J. Brown and Julio Jones, but in this league, no one is going to feel sorry for anyone. 

The Jets got tremendous pressure on Ryan Tannehill, hitting him more than 20 times, and sacking him seven times. Even Quinnen Williams had a huge day recording two sacks. 

Still the Titans would take the lead when they fed monster running back Derrick Henry the football. Henry gauged the Jets for 40-yards before plowing into the endzone from one yard out to give Tennessee a 17-10 lead. 

How would the Jets respond? They answered with another touchdown drive. A huge pass interference penalty, plus a 29-yarder from Wilson to Jamison Crowder moved the ball deep into Titans territory. Two plays later, Wilson rolled to his right and found Crowder in the corner of the end zone for the tying score. 

After Tennessee went three and out on their next drive. Wilson showed off his arm talent when he dropped a dime from 53-yards out into the hands of Corey Davis to give the Jets a 24-17 lead. 

Of course with a young team, dumb things happen. Case in point, Wilson overshooting Corey Davis on a critical third and 10 with two minutes to go that would have iced it. Of course the Titans get the ball back, and score, tying the game at 24 and forcing OT. 

 

Then in the OT, the Jets put together a terrific drive, are on the precipice of walking it off when LaFluer calls in a bizarre play where Wilson rolls out at the one yard line and is sacked. The Jets settled for the field goal. 

So there Jets fans sat, gritting their teeth as Tannehill ripped up chunks of yards through the air only to see the Titans offense stall at the Jets 40, setting up a long 49-yard field goal by Randy Bullock that would have ended the game in a 27-27 tie. And wouldn't you know it, Bullock missed. 

The Jets escaped with a thrilling first win!

Giants Stun Saints, Jones and Barkley Lead Comeback Win

 GIANTS 27 - SAINTS 21

There has been a lot of heat on the Giants this season. Entering Sunday's game in New Orleans at 0-3, the pressure was beginning to mount on the coaching staff to get something done. Many have been questioning whether it was time for Joe Judge to demote, if not fire, Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett for his lackluster play-calling. 

And for the most part, it looked like Sunday was just more of the same. The Giants trailed 21-10 with a little over 12 minutes left in the game after Taysom Hill scored his second touchdown of the day. 

At this point the Giants had managed only one scoring drive, a field goal in the second half. That was it. 

Then suddenly the light went on. 

On one play with 6:52 to go, Daniel Jones found Saquon Barkley streaking down the sideline, hitting him in stride. Barkley cut back, and averted a couple of defenders and was gone to paydirt. 54-yards to be exact. Just like that the Giants had cut into the deficit 21-16. Jones capped the drive off, scampering into the end zone for the two-point conversion to make it a three-point game, 21-18. 

After New Orleans failed to do anything with their ensuing possession, Jones engineered a brilliant 11-play 59-yard drive, highlighted by a huge 28-yard completion to Kenny Golladay to set things up for Graham Gano, who nailed a 48-yard field goal to send the game into overtime. 

In the OT, the Giants wasted no time. Jones hit John Ross for a 17-yard gain on first down to spot the ball at the Giants 42. Two plays later, Jones would hit Ross again for eight yards to get into New Orleans territory at the 48. 

Later on a third and five at the Saints', Jones connected with Golladay once more for 23-yards to get inside the 10-yard line. On the next play, Barkley plowed through the middle for the game winning score. 

Finally, folks. Finally a victory Sunday for Big Blue. 

Yankees Season On the Brink Heading into Final Day

RAYS 12 - YANKEES 2 

Needing to win just one game and get a little help around the league, the Yankees have been waiting for two days for both. Neither has happened. And now, after losing two straight to the Tampa Bay Rays, who clearly are taking pleasure in the idea of knocking the Yankees out of the playoffs via the regular season, the Yankees must win tomorrow just to get into the playoffs. 

How the playoff will look in 24 hours is still anyone's guess. 

What we do know is that either the Yankees (91-70) or the Red Sox (91-70) will host the wild card game on Tuesday night. Who the visiting team will be is anyone's guess. The Blue Jays (90-71) and Mariners (90-71) are still very much in the mix. There is even the chance of a four-way tie for the wild card, meaning the Yankees, Red Sox, Jays and Mariners will all have to play an elimination round on Monday just to settle the Wild Card match-up for Tuesday. 

What else would one expect from a Yankees team that has given their fans so much heartache and joy in one season.  For a team that has rode the roller coaster all year, this is the perfect ending: the final day of the season with everything at stake. 

"We've got to win, it's as simple as that," veteran outfielder Brett Gardner said on Saturday night about Sunday's game against Tampa. 

The Yankees turn to Jameson Tallion to get them to the postseason the sure way. However Tallion is coming off an outing in Toronto where he left the game after aggravating an ankle injury. He will go up against Michael Wacha, who has a five ERA this year, but has pitched well against the Yankees. (Of course he has!) 

The Yankees had no answer for Tampa's deep and powerful lineup on Saturday. Brandon Lowe led the Rays with seven RBI, and three homer runs. In fact he had two - separate - three-run homers in the game that helped build a 6-1 lead for Tampa. 

Randy Arozarena, Wander Franco and Mike Zunino also had three hits a piece on Saturday, as Jordan Montgomery was lit up for the Yankees. Montgomery was charged with seven runs in 2.2 innings for the Bronx Bombers before being lifted for Lucas Luetge. 

Don't expect the 100-win Rays to go quietly tomorrow. They would love nothing more than to make life very difficult for the Yankees, and their other rivals in the division by forcing a play-in-wild card game for Monday.