I know I know, I've promised a preview of the AL and NL Central and have yet to deliver. It's coming, I promise. But as I sit here curled up on my couch, coughing up a lung with a headache that is worthy of epic poetry I just can't get up for writing about the Pittsburgh Pirates.

For those of you outside the New York City area, the ESPN affiliate 1050, has a show right now with Don LaGreca and Buster Olney talking New York baseball and one of the things Buster brought up is the different energy in Yankee Camp under Joe Girardi. For the record, I was of the opinion that, while I respect the heck out of Torre, his time had run its course here in NY and he was perhaps a little overrated as a manager, especially an in game manager. Hey, I don't care how comfortable your favorite pair of jeans are, you still have to change them from time to time, managers and coaches are the same way.  

Torre's strength was not what went on between the white lines, but instead what he did in the clubhouse, managing egos, convincing a former star to accept the role of a supporting player, and shielding his guys from the media and the boss. For his in game strategy he relied heavily, in my opinion, on Don Zimmer's ability to see everything and he was willing to listen to Zimmer because Zim had no aspirations of managing. Yes, I'm saying I think Joe Torre might have been a little paranoid and less willing to take advice from guys he thought might be angling for his job.

Now let me preface this by saying I don't believe a manager is ever as good as he looks when his team is winning or as stupid as he appears when his team is losing, but what you could see, towards the end, was that Torre wasn't going to try to strategize ways to win games, he was going to let the talent of the players he put on the field dictate the performance of the club - not a bad plan when you have the talent the Yankees have had over the years, but, to me, a manager has to do more than just fill out the lineup card. In addition he just had no feel for the pitchers, yanking out some guys the minute they got in trouble and abusing other guys - on that note I would like to send condolences to Scott Proctor's shoulder. Here's a guy who showed some promise with the Yankees, was completely abused by Torre, finally given a repreive by being sent to the Dodgers for Wilson Betemit, and now Torre is his manager again. I kinda wish I could bet on how long it takes for us to hear that he is paying a visit to Dr. James Andrews. I mean there is no safer bet than that a pitcher under Torre is going to suffer arm trouble.

In addition, Torre ran a very loose ship at spring training, allowing veterans to do their own thing to get ready for the season while he sat back and let his coaches run the camp. Well if the first week is any indication, Joe Girardi is going to be a completely different cup of Joe.

Girardi is stressing the need for players to be in shape. A startling number of players admitted that they weren't in any condition to play baseball coming out of camp last year (Damon, Abreu, Giambi, Mussina, Wang). That certainly won't be the case this time around. Girardi has his players running, drilling, and he is doing it all with an eye towards taking the Yankees back to a team that will take chances on the bases and focus on the little things. What's more shocking, none of the star players have complained. Of course that probably has to do with the fact that Derek Jeter has bought into his system and if you want to be a Yankee it is strongly suggested you follow Jeter's lead and do so with a smile on your face.

In addition, since he's coming to the team fresh, Girardi doesn't have any favorites to play.  See Torre had seen Kyle Farnsworth blow a bunch of games and thus he had it in his head that Kyle Farnsworth was likely to blow games and so when Farnsworth would walk a batter Torre saw it as an indication that a game was about to be blown and so he yanked him out of the game, which in turn made Farnsworth press thinking that he had to be perfect - just a bad cycle. Not that I'm saying Kyle Farnsworth is anything other than a really hard throwing nut job, but the example holds water. Everyone starts the season with a clean slate as far as Girardi is concerned.

Now, Dave Eiland was on the radio briefly and he has said that Joba Chamberlain will prepare this spring as if he is going to be a starter. The conventional wisdom is that, assuming the health of Mussina, Andy, Wang, Hughes, and Kennedy, Chamberlain will open the season in the pen and then, if other relievers perform well to start the season, he'll be sent to the minors in June and recalled to pitch as a starter around the All-Star break. Buster Olney seems to believe that necessity will demand he stay in the pen for at least this season, which I guess I can't argue with. Look, beyond the starting five, the Yankees have Al Horne, Jeff Marquez, and yes even Kei Igawa (who I'm told is looking really good, I don't know if that means he is pitching well or just dumped those stupid sun glasses). The bottom line will be for Girardi and Eiland (who I really like as the pick for pitching coach) will be able to avoid what Torre could not over the last few years and that is coming into the stretch run with a burnt out bullpen.

Which brings me to another point, the stretch run. I'm very high on the future of the Yankees, they have finally started reaping the benefits of the draft strategies of Brian Cashman and  Damon Oppenheimer, they are grabbing up a lot of good young international players, and after this season a lot of dead weight will be off the team, and with the impending departures of Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, Carl Pavano (the aforementioned dead weight), Jason Giambi, Kyle Farnsworth and others, the Yankees will be clearing about $75 million off their payroll (which I expect will be spread between offers to Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia). With that said, I picked the Yankees to finish 2nd in the AL East and take the Wild Card, but with the rebuilt Tigers, the Indians, Angels, and a revamped pitching staff in Seattle, there's every chance that the Yankees will not make the playoffs. So, as Yankee fans, or others, would you accept a season in which the Yankees did not make the playoffs or would you call for blood?

The Sporting News, citing a report in the Newark Star Ledger, is reporting that the Giants are working on a deal to acquire Atlanta cornerback DeAngelo Hall in exchange for the 31st pick in April's draft. If the team were to trade for Hall they would sign him to a long term deal that would improve his cap number.

As a Giants fan, I love this potential trade. The team plans to release Sam Madison and RW McQuarters (which makes a great deal of sense) and while Corey Webster seemed to come alive in the Buffalo game and carried that into the playoffs, not since the days of Mark Collins have the Giants had a shut down corner. Hall does have some attitude problems, but the Giants have strong veteran leadership on both sides of the ball who would quickly quash any real issues his attitude might create. As for what the Giants would be giving up, many sources predict that the Giants would take Penn State Linebacker Dan Morgan with the 31st pick. Morgan is a nice player who would fill a need at the position, but he is not someone who should stand in the way of this pick up.

The addition of Hall could be doubly important as I fully expect the Washington Redskins to make a strong play for Randy Moss should he reach free agency (he was not franchised by the Patriots but there is a feeling that on 2/29 he will announce a new deal with New England). Should Moss wind up with Washington, the NFC East would be home to Owens, Randy and Sinorice Moss; as well as Donte Stallworth who could return to Philly for a second tour of duty after having his option in New England declined.

For the Falcons, their motivation to do this deal is simple. They stink, and they are going to stink for a while now. With the release of Alge Crumpler (who the Jets should absolutely sign) they have made it clear that they are cleaning house and starting over. They already have the 3rd pick in the draft as a result of today's coin flip, and while conventional wisdom has them taking QB Matt Ryan, I would suggest that they take OT Jake Long instead. Ryan might be a franchise type QB down the road, but unless they can keep him upright, or keep him on the bench until they build an offensive line,  he's going to be as ineffective as David Carr was in Houston. Two first round picks and a high second round pick could go a long way towards helping the Falcons improve quicker.

A report out of New York has the Rangers leading the pack in the persuit of Tampa's Dan Boyle. Tampa Bay and Boyle had been discussing a new contract, but those talks have seemed to hit a wall. Boyle has a no-trade clause but it is believed that he would waive it for a chance to play Broadway. The catch may be whether or not Tampa Bay tries to use Boyle to move Brad Richards and the 3 years $7.8 million per remaining on his contract.

It is thought that the Rangers would be ok with taking Richards back but they would have to clear some cap room to do it, and also would insist that Tampa Bay choose from lesser prospects. The most likely way to clear cap space would be to include Marek Malik and Paul Mara in a deal, but that may not be enough.

Just a few other quick-hit NHL trade rumors that I've seen that might interest you:

San Jose gets: Marcell Hossa, Bobby Holik
Atlanta gets: Matt Carle, Patrick Marleau
On its face this seems like a pretty good swap and also an indication that San Jose is going for broke this season since Hossa and Holik will be tough to keep at season's end.

San Jose is also offering Matt Carle in deals for Dan Boyle and Buffalo's Brian Campbell.

Rangers get: Martin Rucinsky (for the fourth time)
St. Louis gets: Marek Malik - Blues team president John Davidson is said to be a fan of Malik - Lord only knows why.
I don't see a role for Rucinsky on this team of Rangers. Clearly he got along well with Jagr, so maybe bringing him back is strictly a little bit of therapy for the captain's ego. And while dealing Malik is almost addition by subtraction for the Rangers at this point, Sather wants to get a blueliner back before moving him. I don't get why, would promoting Andrew Hutchinson be THAT much of a disaster?

CORRECTION: Originally I posted that the Red Wings, looking to get a fill in for the injured Nick Lidstrom were interested in getting Karel Rachunek from NJ for Robert Lang. This was obviously an error on my part since Lang is with Chicago. I accidentally combined two rumors into one. Both Chicago and the Red Wings are interested in Rachunek.

The Islanders are trying to work out a deal with the Maple Leafs to bring Bryan McCabe back to Nassau. McCabe has a full no-trade clause.

Toronto GM Cliff Fletcher is trying to figure out if several of his players, including McCabe, will waive their no-trade clauses. If they are willing, expect the trade market to explode if Mats Sundin, Darcy Tucker, Tomas Kaberle, Pavel Kubina, and McCabe are made available.

One Toronto player who has no say in his future with the team is Nik Antropov, whose sheer size intrigues the Rangers, as a physical presence on a line with Jagr. Their first choice to fill that role however is still Bobby Holik.

Montreal and Calgary are toying with the idea of a Michael Ryder for Alex Tanguay deal - though Tanguay would have to waive his no-trade clause for Calgary to move him.

Ever stubborn, the Flyers are still trying to get Rob Blake.

UPDATE:
The Islanders locked up Trent Hunter. As a Rangers fan I'm disappointed. While the two teams obviously were not going to make a trade in season I was hoping the Rangers would have a shot at Hunter as a UFA this summer. He's exactly the type of powerful winger the Rangers need given the soft nature of their team.

At the moment I loathe the city of Montreal. In fact right now I'm considering running for President of the United States just so I can send the 101st Airborne into Canada and take it over. I figure they've got cops who ride horses, we've got tanks and planes, it should go smoothly. Why am I anti-Montreal right now? Because the Montreal Canadians are on the verge of delivering a Stomach Punch Game (all credit to Mr. Bill Simmons for the phrase) to the 2007/2008 New York Rangers. Right now there are just over 8 minutes left in a 5-4 game with the Rangers in front. At one time the Rangers had a 5-0 lead and the game wasn't even that close. The Rangers were scoring at will, Montreal had to pull their goaltender just a little over half way through the first period. Montreal fans were booing their team, the refs, the entire country of the United States. Rangers' rookie center Brandon Dubinsky had even managed the Gordie Howe Hat Trick (1 Goal, 1 Assist, 1 Fight). I figured the game was well in hand, I was even contemplating putting on the Knicks' game...then it all changed.

Goals by fan favorite Michael Ryder, big hits by the Habs sandpaper guys and all of a sudden the Rangers were running around like - well I want to say like they were on ice but they're suppsoed to be good on ice, but I think you get my point. They've started taking dumb penalties, appearing a step slower than the Canadians, and giving the puck away. More than the game, at this point, the fans are starting to get on my nerves. Everytime a Montreal player gets touched they roar that a penalty should be called. And when it isn't (because there was no penalty to be called) ....GRRRRR....5-5.....damn Alex Kovelev, whether he's with the Rangers or against them he constantly kills the Rangers, I believe he's the only Russian hockey player not to date Anna Kournikova.

Anyway, back to Montreal fans for a second, and if you're a Montreal fan please understand that I mean this with all the respect in the world, but the only fans who annoy me more are Eagles/Flyers and Red Sox/Celtics/Patriots fans. The difference is that the Montreal fan is irritating in that they have a combination of Yankee fan entitlement combined with the "no one respects us" theme, which I guess is par for the course if you live in Canada and you're playing against a team from the States. I'm sure up there it is a playoff type atmosphere, and that's very cool. Just irritating when you are watching your team fall apart to them. Mind you, if the Rangers win this game, all will be forgiven.

What won't be forgiven is that the Rangers have seemed to get away from any sort of physical play. Between now and the trade deadline it is imperative that the Rangers get themselves a physical presence who can go out on the ice, without putting his own net in danger, and lay out a hit or two to swing the momentum back in favor of the Rangers at times like these.

In a big picture type of view, the second half of this game has been as good as it gets (unless you are a fan of the Rangers). The action has been nonstop, there have been big hits, lots of shots, and very few whistles. And now we've even got a shoot out.

Shanahan - MISS
Markov - MISS
Drury - MISS
Koviu - GOAL - and someone needs to hand Lundqvist his jock because he got faked out of it
Jagr - MISS

6-5 Montreal and the annoying "Ole Ole" song starts blaring - ugh I hate Montreal right now. And I hate soccer for making that song popular. And I hate Tobey Maguire for being such a bad Spider Man - but that's getting off topic.

I will call it now, either the Rangers will shake things up or this game will start a tailspin with Lundqvist giving up some soft goals as questions about his confidence creep up while at the same time I fully expect this win to propel Montreal for the rest of the season. Oh well, it could be worse, I could have been born an Islander fan.