The Jets are involved in two Qb dilemmas that could have embarrassing consequences for two teams: First the Packers. On the FOX pregame show Terry Bradshaw played front runner and ripped the Pack for getting rid of Brett and going with Aaron Rodgers. This comes off of Brett's great showing against NEP and the Pack having an under .500 record. And after Brett took the Pack to the NFC finals last year. But on Sunday Aaron and the Pack had a great game and they're still in playoff contention. Obviously if the Jets make the playoffs or even the SB (which means that we would have to happily give up our No. 1 draft pick next season) and GB does not heads will roll in Wisconsin. Now to get Brett Favre the Jets had to release their long time starter Chad Pennington. Chad signed with no compensation with our AFC East rival Miami and is having a very good year and his team, 1-15 last season is now 6-4 and contending for a playoff spot. If they beat NEP next Sunday and we lose to Tennessee we will be tied for 1st place with the Fins. So if the Fins make the playoffs and we do not, the Jets will look bad.

This has to be a stalemate of the worst kind in pro sports. Marbury who
operates as his own agent refuses to settle with the Knicks and take a
buyout. He says he will not negotiate down one penny and demands to get
full compensation on his $22 million contract. The coach does not want
him on the team. Word is that the players also do not want him around.
Knicks management refuses to give in to Stefan and release him and be
liable for full payment of his contract. So Stefan has to attend every
game in street clothes and keep quiet to fulfill his contract. Last I heard he had wanted
to work out with his old high school team and was refused permission
from the Knicks. So it's getting pretty nasty. I don't know how much
longer Marbury will be able to take the kind of disrespect the Knicks
are dishing out. The Dolans are stubborn and will keep it up until he
backs down. He has filed a grievance with the union but to the best of
my knowledge a team has the right to not dress any player or not play them
as long as they give him his salary. Knicks claim they are keeping him
around just in case there are injuries and then they would activate
him. Unless he has been destructive behind the scenes (D'Antoni claims
he isn't) then why not activate him and use him as a spot player. He
has the talent to be a part of the Knicks rotation. They're paying him
anyways and if he refuses to negotiate a buy out they could win more
games in 2008-09 with him then without him.

I don't feel too bad about the Cubs getting swept by the Dodgers in the playoffs. I didn't like the way Lou handled things down the stretch after he clinched, not always playing his best players esp. after he played us tough but eased up on the Brewers. I think it came back to bite him because the Cubs obviously lost their edge. Or like any team they just went into a hitting slump at the wrong time. Today we have the same situation with the Angels who dominated the Red Sox during the regular season but could be swept today. As a Mets fan it doesn't make me feel any better that good teams are also experiencing losing in clutch situations. We saw the Mets didn't hit in their last two games against Florida. But the main reason for the Mets was their bullpen. Guys who over a period of time showed they could not get the job done on a major league level. It broke the team down psychologically two years in a row and I believe affected the hitting. When your team loses big leads consistently even when the team is hitting it kills your confidence. You could tell by the look on the faces of the players and manager  down the stretch even after close wins after their bullpen gave up multiple runs and couldn't hold leads. 

Recently one of the announcers mentioned that Jerry Manuel had made a comment about not knowing what to do about the Mets ineffective bullpen. As we all know this was the main reason the team went down last Sept. And there hasn't been much change or improvement in 2008. Jerry's been dealt a bad hand but he's at least trying to do the best with what he has. I like his aggressive moves with the bullpen and his quick hook of pitchers courting disaster. He is sometimes using 6 or 7 pitchers per game. Trying to go with a guy's strength and pull him out after just a batter or two. Hopefully some of the Sept. call ups can help and give him a few innings, or at least an out or two. The Mets do not match up well going into Sept. against the Phillies because they have one of the best bullpens in the league and the Mets have one of the worst. I doubt that Willie would be doing the same thing. He would be more loyal to his players and taking the consequences. Losing. Whereas Jerry only cares about surviving and doing whatever it takes no matter what to win games. I'll take that any day.

Even if he did take steroids you can't deny that he is one of the all time great players in MLB. Steroids maybe gave him additional power and increased his HR total and maybe even gave him more hits (balls hit harder, etc.). But steroids did not improve his hand-eye coordination or even probably his bat speed, more important than power. Even though Barry was walked more than any player in the league and pitched around he still had unbelievable success as a hitter. Now even though he still wants to play he has no job. Is it blackballing. If so there are two reasons: Federal investigations and possible indictment and his own bitter, unfriendly persona. He is poison on any baseball team. Many teams including the Mets with all of their injuries could use him badly. There is no real good excuse for the Mets to not consider him. He is coming off of a not too bad season (340 AB-.276 BA-.480 OBP-28HR-66 RBI---that's right, .480 OBP). During the offseason Tony LaRussa told the press he would like to sign Barry but later after he heard about Bond's salary demands retracted his statement. Apparently Bonds is not willing to go at a discount rate. I would sign him if he is willing to take under $10 million per season. I'm surprised Billy Beane and the A's haven't gone for it if he were available at that price. Since he's always looking for a bargain and loves OBP. And that is a discount rate for him. It would seem a perfect match for Barry since he could stay at home. But maybe the A's just know too much about him.