Yankee Talk: First of (hopefully) many

Yanks looking for three more celebrations

NEW YORK – It seems like a long time ago when the Yankees were able to pour beer and champagne on each other in a victory celebration.

That came in late September of 2007 when they clinch a playoff berth as a Wild Card entrant, making the celebration somewhat unfulfilling.

This time, the Yankees were able to celebrate on their terms and did not have to consider it as if they were accepting a bronze or silver medal.

When Mariano Rivera’s cutter jammed Jacoby Ellsbury and the slow groundball found the glove of the great Yankee reliever who threw to first end the game, it was their 100th victory of the season and clinched everything that could be clinched.

It was now time to celebrate.

They had earned this title. After last season, there was nothing to celebrate on the field. It was a lost year in the final season of old Yankee Stadium. The only celebration that took place was the final home game of the year when everyone said goodbye to the old cathedral.

Here in 2009, they set out to change course and get back to the playoffs. Anything short would be a failure. They spent $160 million on CC Sabathia, $82 million on AJ Burnett and capped it off by giving Mark Teixeira $170 million.

They struggled early on as they tried to find their identity and battled through injuries. The bullpen bridge was an absolute mess and as they shuffled relievers in and out, you wondered how bad it would get losing games late in a tough division where before the year they were ranked by the (drive by) media as the third best team in their own division.

In June, they didn’t know where they were as a team. Battling back from a slow start, they won 19 of 25 games and then promptly went to Boston and were swept, running the tally in their season series to 0-8 and questions as to whether they could ever beat the Red Sox anymore.

They lost two of three at home to the Nationals and you thought that the season could not get any worse.

In Atlanta, they had already lost the first game and were losing the second game before Joe Girardi lost his top disputing a call where Brett Gardner was called out when he was safe after replay. The Yankees came back to win that night and since that day are 62-24. Translate that over the course of 162 games, and that winning percentage is higher than the 1998 team that won 114, than 11 more in the playoffs that totaled 125.

During the season, the team would celebrate wins with wrestling belts and cream pies when a player won the game with a walk off. Now, as they could count down the outs, they were looking forward to a much better way to rejoice their season accomplishment.

What they are hoping is that this is the first of four celebratory moments where they can break out the goggles, pop the corks and pour beer on each other.

Sunday was the first moment.

The next moment would come after winning the Division Series.

The next would come after winning the American League pennant.

The final one would come after capturing that world championship that has eluded them since 2000.

While this moment was a long time coming, it was also inevitable. Now, they can enjoy what they have done, but realizing that they are playing for a much bigger prize.

Making the playoffs was the minimum, but now they gear up to win 11 more games. Three wins put them in the ALCS. Seven wins put them in the World Series. Eleven wins bring a 27th world title.

Let’s keep the celebrations coming.

Yankee Talk: 2009 beasts of the East

Yanks sweep Sawx; clinch AL East title with 4-2 win


NEW YORK – The winning of the AL East was inevitable from the time the Yankees won the second game in Anaheim against the Angels on Tuesday night matched up with the Rangers losing in Oakland to clinch a playoff spot. Since then, we have been on a countdown until the day when they could pop the corks and celebrate.

That day finally came on Sunday.

With the Red Sox in the house and a chance to celebrate their first AL East title since 2007 with the victory, the Yankees went out and did what they had to do, accomplishing one of their first missions on the road back to the World Series and a potential 27th championship.

Their 4-2 win over Boston gave the Yankees win number 100 for the season and clinch home field advantage throughout the postseason. The road goes through Yankee Stadium.

After a 63-minute rain delay, Andy Pettitte (14-7) took the mound making his second start since having to miss a week with shoulder stiffness. He got into early trouble in the first when he yielded a double to Jason Bay and successive walks to Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz loaded the bases. An infield single by Mike Lowell scored Bay from third to give the Red Sox the games first run.

Boston loaded the bases in the third inning with nobody out, but Pettitte was able to minimize the damage. Lowell grounded into a double play that scored Bay to make it 2-0, and was able to strike out JD Drew looking to end the threat.

The Yankees quickly answered in the bottom half when Melky Cabrera took starter Paul Byrd’s first pitch and launched his 13th homerun of the season to cut the Red Sox lead in half.

Pettitte would settle down after loading the bases in the third inning to retire the next 10 batters he faced and 11 of the next 12. He threw six solid frames, allowing only two runs on seven hits, walking three and striking out four. The ability to keep Boston at bay planted the seeds for a Yankees comeback.

In the bottom of the sixth, they would rally. With two outs and no one on, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez singled. Teixeira would move to third on a wild pitch and with Hideki Matsui up, he took a 1-2 pitch and lofted the ball into right field that dropped in front of a sliding JD Drew, scoring both runs and giving the Yankees a 3-2 lead that brought a roar to the crowd of 47,576.

Not having Phil Hughes available, Manager Joe Girardi entrusted the one run lead into the hands of Brian Bruney to start the seventh that has struggled over the last several months and is battling for a spot on the postseason roster. Bruney delivered for his manager and the team by getting the next five outs. When Girardi went to the mound to remove the right-hander, he left to a deafening ovation as the crowd showed their approval.

Phil Coke came on with two outs in the top of the eighth to pitch to David Ortiz and was able to strike him out on a foul tip to end the inning.

Teixeira would give the Yankees added insurance in the bottom half when he hit a 1-0 pitch into the right field seats to make it a 4-2 game. In his inaugural season, the Yankee first baseman has battled from a slow start the first six weeks of the year to amass potential MVP numbers, with a team leading 38 homeruns and driving in 120 runs.

Needing three outs to seal the AL East crown, Mariano Rivera was brought on slam the door. After Lowell flied out, Drew singled to center and an error by Robinson Cano allowed Victor Martinez to reach safely and brought the go ahead run to the plate.

Rivera was able to get Casey Kotchman to ground out moving the runners to second and third. Jacoby Ellsbury came up and on a 1-1 pitch, a cutter came in on the hands of the Boston leadoff man and hit a slow chopper back to the Yankee great, who threw to first to officially clinch the division and the celebration ensued.

With everything wrapped up, the team can now begin to get their pitching lined up and allow players to recovering from any lingering injuries. Game 1 of the Division Series is slated to begin on the day of their choosing. They can either choose to start on Wednesday and have two off days, or elect for Thursday and go with four pitchers and one off day.

After losing the first eight games of the season series, the Yankees rallied to win nine of the final 10 games to even the year with their blood rivals at 9-9. The next time these two teams could meet would be in the American League Championship Series.

The Yankees would certainly sign up for that.

Giants Talk: A Perfect Game

Giants play best game over in years in Tampa


TAMPA – You hear the old cliché “men against boys”, but in this instance, Sunday’s game proved to be the ultimate indication of what proved to be a scrimmage between the junior varsity and a varsity squad.

Despite missing several defensive starters, others not playing at full strength and having others go down during the game; the Giants played one of their most dominant games in their history in their 24-0 shutout in Tampa.

The final score was actually worse than the 24 points that it ended up being. This game was non-competitive from the outset. After the first quarter and a half, you could have already taken a nap and began to rest up for next Sunday in Kansas City against a 0-3 Chiefs team that was being spanked in Philadelphia despite not having its starting Donovan McNabb or Brian Westbrook and may have already turned on their head coach.

You try to find reasons to nit pick (and there always is something) and it is hard to find something unless you want to get truly technical. Okay, we know Lawrence Tynes’ 20 yard missed field goal before the half, caused many to scream at the TV and throw out a few four-letter words. You could have complained about a few plays here and there. Perhaps you wanted them to win 50-0 and held the Buccaneers without a first down for the game (well, they went 40 minutes without allowing one).
Hey, you can’t get everything.

It obviously was not supposed to be this way. Going into the week, Tampa wasn’t the worst terrible team in the league over the first two weeks and was somewhat competitive in their losses to the Cowboys and Bills.

This wasn’t like the Cleveland Browns or St. Louis Rams were on the schedule. Those teams are legitimately bad, but the Buccaneers performance on Sunday in the way they were dismantled by the Giants vaulted them into a nice seeding for “worst team in the NFL”.

Perhaps they were scared or they were just that bad. The Giants took their opening possession and marched right down the field for a touchdown and it seemed as if whatever energy Tampa may have had going in, zapped.

As the Giants defense forced them in multiple three-and-outs in the half, their offense played a very intelligent game, utilizing the 100-degree heat against the home team. Usually, the team that plays in warm conditions beats down the opposition and wears them down. This time, it was Tampa Bay wearing down and eventually out.

In the first half, that defense was on the field for 21:30. This played two roles. One, it allowed the Giants offense to drain the Buccaneers defense and demoralize them. Two, it allowed their banged up defense to rest and not have to play many snaps. Only for 14 plays did the Giants defense have to be on the field. Compare that to the first opening possession when the offense drove 12 plays before sticking it into the end zone.

Sure, you would have wanted the offense to go for the kill, attack early in the second half, and put up style points. But the coaching staff has slightly more intelligence than we do, knew that the way they were moving the ball efficiently and there was no way in the world that Tampa was going to do anything against the Giants defense unless they screwed up.

The Buccaneers could not run the ball (28 yards rushing) and they could not pass it either (Byron Leftwich – 7 for 16, 22 yards). When you think that the loudest applause of the day from the home fans came when Cadillac Williams gained three yards on second-and-three to gain their only first down of the game to that point, you know it has gotten bad.

73 plays to 37 was the amazing disparity in the Giants favor. When you hold the ball for nearly 44 minutes, you are most likely going to win (except for the Dolphins last Monday). In this case, not only did the Giants win, they stomped them completely.

Made even worse was that for the game the defense limited Tampa Bay to only five first downs and 86 total yards, 51 of those coming in the fourth quarter when the Buccaneers offense was trying to make the final score look respectable only to be shut down on four successive plays from inside the Giants 5.

You saw the continuing emergence of Steve Smith and Mario Manningham. Ahmad Bradshaw was able to break loose. Bruce Johnson continued his outstanding play while Aaron Ross and Kevin Dockery are nursing injuries. It was a total team effort in pitching their first shutout in four years and first on the road since 1983.

Perhaps Coach Tom Coughlin can find something during the week to complain about to his players. When he looks at the tape, he is going to have a difficult time doing so.

That is a good thing.

Giants Talk: Brute force

Giants defense pitches shutout, dominate Bucs


TAMPA – For the first two weeks of the season, the Giants found them themselves with more questions than answers despite being 2-0.

On the road, taking on an inferior opponent in over 100 degree conditions, the road team felt at home and played its most impressive game of the season.

From the outset, the Giants set course to dismantle the Buccaneers, and they were able to do that resoundingly and completely to the tune of a 24-0 victory at Raymond James Stadium.

Going into the game, the team was suffering from an incredible rash of injuries on defense and with the sweltering heat, conventional wisdom had it that the lack of depth would be an issue. This is where the sharpness of General Manager Jerry Reese came in to solidify the back end of the roster, strengthening it and making it a non-factor.

The defense played arguably is greatest game in recent memory, limiting the Buccaneers offense to only 86 total yards (58 passing, 28 running) and just five first downs. Tampa Bay did not gain a first down in the opening half, and did not accomplish what appeared to be a monumental feat until 4:29 was remaining in the third quarter.

On their opening drive, the Giants served notice that this would be long day. Moving down the field in workmanlike fashion, the offense drove 80 yards in 12 plays and finished with Brandon Jacobs powering his way for a six-yard touchdown run. It was the offense’s first conversion in the red zone this season after eight previous attempts. Eli Manning’s new favorite target Steve Smith (seven receptions – 63 yards) had three receptions on the drive for 33 yards.

After two successive three-and-outs, Tampa Bay’s offense would turn the ball over on the first play of their third drive. Quarterback Byron Leftwich went back to the throw and while he had time, Mathias Kiwanuka was able to hit him just before releasing the ball. Terrell Thomas who returned it to Giants 34 intercepted the underthrown pass.

It took only seven plays for the offense to capitalize on the turnover and stick in the zone. 66 yards the Giants moved, highlighted by a 38-yard run by Ahmad Bradshaw (14 carries – 104 yards), breaking through several tackles and staying on his feet. On third down and goal from the Buccaneers 4, Manning would found Smith in the end zone for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

Late in the first half, it appeared as if the Giants were going to go up 21-0. A 12-play drive was halted at the Buccaneers 2, but Lawrence Tynes missed a chip shot 20-yard field goal that resulted in zero points.

The first half stats showed an incredible discrepancy. Tampa had only 19 yards of total offense and zero first downs.

Another 12 play drive in the third quarter led a Tynes field goal (that he made) to up the lead to 17-0. Buccaneers running back Carnell “Cadillac” Williams picked up the teams only first down to that point on a three yard run that was met with a Bronx cheer from the fans on a day where many in the crowd (at least 35%) were wearing blue.

With possession again, the Giants would put the game away going on another long drive. Utilizing the clock and knowing that their defense was hampered by injuries, the methodically moved with Tampa Bay not showing any resistance. On second-and-13, Manning found Sinorice Moss down the right sideline for an 18-yard touchdown catch as they increased their lead to 24 points.

The game was so much in hand that Head Coach Tom Coughlin elected to replace Manning (14 for 24 – 161 yards, two touchdowns) with David Carr for the last 12 minutes of the game and used recently acquired Gatrell Johnson at running back.

It was that type of day.

Tampa Bay attempted to get on the scoreboard late in the fourth quarter, driving all the down to the Giants 5, before being held out of the end zone on four consecutive pass attempts.

The Giants offense controlled the ball for a season high 43:38 and ran for 226 yards. It was their first shutout since October 2005 when they beat the Washington Redskins 36-0 in the first weekend after the passing of Owner Wellington Mara. It was their first road shutout since 1983 when they beat the Philadelphia Eagles at old Veterans Stadium.

Next Sunday is the final game of their early season three game road trip when the Giants head to Kansas City to face the 0-3 Chiefs.

At the rate the team is going, their maybe nothing the Chiefs can do to stop them.

Yankee Talk: CC has been an A plus...so far

Sabathia proving to be the “ace”, but playoffs await


NEW YORK – With each swing and miss, each strikeout, soft groundball out and pop up, Red Sox hitters were coming up to the plate and heading back to bench - most of them looking as if they did not much of a chance.

Inning by inning went by and this familiar refrain continued. You could see the resignation on some Boston players that this would not be their day.

This is what CC Sabathia can do to an opposing team’s lineup.

He has been everything the Yankees could have ever hoped. The numbers he had put up over the last two seasons were gaudy, but no one knew how they would translate to pitching in pinstripes with all of fans and media scrutinizing every pitch he threw.

What you have seen in previous years is that some pitchers were afraid of this light and pitched worse because of it. The pressure became too much and when it would all be on the line, they would fall short of expectations.

So far, Sabathia has been anything but. He is a man who goes about his business as if no one else is around him. He steps on the mound and he is in office, punching his time clock and going to work. His task? To take the opposition down and eventually make them surrender.

It started out a little slow for him in April and part of May. Suddenly, he found his gear. Unlike the last three months when he pitched for Milwaukee, he was not going to put it numbers reminiscent of Bob Gibson in his prime. However, anything slightly above that would be just good enough.

When he gets the ball on his day to pitch, you feel comfortable with him. You feel as if the game is secure in his hands. You feel as if you are going to win because he is one starting that day. He possesses that ability and this season has gone out and showed why he is the pitcher that was given $161 million.

33 times, he has taken the ball. Sabathia has not missed a start this season. After his overpowering seven inning, one hit performance Saturday against the Red Sox, he has now thrown 227 1/3 innings, currently 26 less than last season when the Brewers, desperate for a playoff berth, pitched him on short rest (three days) four consecutive times. He is an innings eater and bullpen saver. Don’t worry about loosening men up in the sixth because he will take the ball all the way through eight (even nine) if needed.

Sabathia is a true ace. He has been a leader since the moment he arrived on the team and brought the pitching staff together. He comes across as genuine, adored by teammates.

If Zach Greinke weren’t pitching the best season from a starter since Pedro Martinez in 1999, Sabathia would be the leading candidate for the CY Young award. At 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA, those numbers are reminiscent of his award-winning season in 2007.

Unfortunately, for him the season did not end the way he wanted.

Sabathia struggled in his Division Series Game 1 start against the Yankees and was on the ropes before his Indians team bailed him out. In the League Championship Series, he was battered in Fenway Park in an opening loss to the Red Sox. Again, his team bailed him out and wound up winning the next three games and he was given a chance to pitch his team into the World Series at Jacobs (now Progressive) Field in Game 5. Again, he struggled and lost the game to Boston’s Josh Beckett, who pitched them back to Fenway and never allowed the Indians back in the series.

The League Championship, fairly or unfairly, will always rest in the hands of Sabathia, who had the opportunity in his hands and let it slip away.

Last year he clearly ran out of physical strength in his Game 2 start in Philadelphia as the Phillies pounded him and he was removed after four innings. These failures have given him the label as a playoff failure.

Now, on a team that has carried him as much as he has carried them this season, they eyes of the Yankee world will fixate on him as he takes the ball in Game 1 of the Division Series and beyond. It is on him to make amends for those prior performances and show that those were non-reflective of the pitcher that he is.

Over his last 11 starts this year, Sabathia is 9-0 with a 2.04 ERA. He has been on fire and has rendered most opponents lineups useless. If you have a good left-handed hitter, you are better off giving him the day off.

He has not been a pitcher who has feasted on bad hitting teams. Four times he has faced the Red Sox and three times he was won (it would have been four had the bullpen held a late inning lead). Pitching in Fenway Park or at Yankee Stadium has not mattered. There has been no such thing as “enemy territory” for him.

While he has aced all of the quizzes and homework assignments in the regular season, this has all been a buildup for this eventual final exam.
The true referendum on him is going to be made at that point; it will be on him to deliver.

If he fails again in the playoffs, he will have wiped away the goodwill he has gained this season.

Yankee Talk: Yanks drop ace on Sawx

Sabathia throws one hitter, reduces magic number to one


NEW YORK – The real final examination on CC Sabathia will not come until the second week of October. However, all indications are that he is ready to pass a test that he has struggled several times.

Continuing his torrid string of starts dating back to August, the Yankees prized left-hander dominated the Red Sox lineup, limiting them to one hit over seven strong innings to help trim the magic number to an inevitable AL East title to one in their 3-0 victory in front of 48,809.

The win was the Yankees 99th and for Sabathia, his 19th. He has one more start to go before starting Game 1 of the Division Series at Yankee Stadium on either Wednesday or Thursday.

If he wins on Friday at Tampa Bay, he will gain win number 20 and be a solid challenger to Zack Greinke of the Royals for the American League CY Young award.

Sabathia has been everything the Yankees could have asked for when they opened up their checkbooks and wrote out the amount of $161 million in the winter. Early on, he was dynamite and showing no signs of wearing down despite being among the league leaders in innings pitched. He set down the first 11 Boston hits, four of his first six by strike out. Victor Martinez became the first Red Sox hitter to reach base in the game when he walked.

The only hit allowed by the Yankee ace was Mike Lowell’s single to center to begin the fifth. This would be erased as Sabathia proceeded to strikeout David Ortiz, Rocco Baldelli and Jed Lowrie swinging to end the frame.

Red Sox starter Daisuke Matzusaka was able to match Sabathia zero for zero for the first five innings. The Yankees had several scoring opportunities in the second, third and fourth innings, but were unable to push across a run with two outs.

In the fifth, the offense had their greatest chance to break the tie. Derek Jeter reached on an infield single to begin the inning, and both Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira walked to load the bases with no one out.

However, the enigmatic Boston righty would battle out of trouble again. He was able to get Alex Rodriguez to hit in to hit into a fielders choice that resulted on Jeter being out at home. Hideki Matsui would foul out to Jason Varitek for the second out, holding the runners. Nick Swisher would foul out to Kevin Youkilis at third to complete the Houdini act and keep the game tied.

After a 1-2-3 inning by Sabathia in the sixth, Robinson Cano would put the Yankees on the board. On a 1-1 pitch, Cano took on off-speed pitch from Matzusaka to the opposite field and homered into the first row of seats to give them a 1-0 lead.

Boston went down quietly in the seventh and that was the end of the big man’s afternoon. Sabathia only needed to throw 96 pitches in his seven spectacular innings of work, giving up just a hit, walking two and striking out eight.

Confident in the bullpen holding the one run lead, Manager Joe Girardi gave the ball to his eighth inning star Phil Hughes, who pitched scoreless inning, striking out two.

In the bottom half, the Yankees would create separation and get some much-needed insurance.

Nick Swisher drew a lead off walk against newly acquired Boston reliever Billy Wagner and Brett Gardner came in to pinch run. Gardner would take second on a wild pitch and eventually steal third with only one out.

Melky Cabrera was hit by a pitch and moved to second when shortstop Chris Woodward dropped a throw at third base when Jose Molina missed a suicide squeeze bunt attempt and Gardner was initially caught in a run down between home and third. Molina would then walk to load the bases as the crowd came to its feet with Jeter coming to the plate. Wagner would strike him out for the second out and making the Yankees 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position.

Johnny Damon would come up and he would work the count to 3-2. Wagner would come inside and Damon was able to slap a single into shallow right field that would drive home both Gardner and Cabrera to increase the Yankees lead to 3-0.

Mariano Rivera came in to get the final three outs. He was able to get the first two on a ground out by Jacoby Ellsbury and striking out Dustin Pedroia. Martinez would extend the game with a single to right, and by hitting Youkilis, it brought the tying run to the plate, but Rivera was able to strike out Mike Lowell swinging to end the ball game.

Sunday afternoon, the Yankees will look to clinch the AL East crown and best record in the American League outright. Andy Pettitte takes the ball for the Bombers and Paul Byrd toes the hill for the Red Sox.

Yankee Talk: Joba makes his case

Chamberlain outing bodes well for Yanks playoff run

NEW YORK – Rarely do you hear this much discussion over a pitcher who will likely not be used until the fourth game of the second playoff series.

For those that keep a very short memory, the Yankees have lost their last three Division Series, rendering any plans moot. However, with a team as strong and as powerful as those late 90’s championship teams, many people have decided to look ahead into the future and spot any possible pitfalls.

Enter Joba Chamberlain.

The man who has been a lightning rod for discussion all year based on how he has pitched. There has been “Good Joba” and there has been “Bad Joba”. Each extreme a cause for overanalyzing to the umpteenth degree, but has at least made for good conversation on TV and talk radio.

Last night, Joba showed you every reason why he should be getting that start in the playoffs. His six inning of three-run ball explained that the upside of what he can give you far exceeds anything that any other alternative you can put out there will give you.

Needing to prove that he had not been “ruined” as some scribes and others have claimed, Chamberlain from the outset came out an immediately established a dominating tone.

Early in his starts, his velocity would be several miles lower and had problems with his control, leading to walks and eventually runs scoring, particularly in the first inning. Tonight, it was three up and three down. Two groundouts a lazy fly-out to end the frame.

In fact, the first 11 Boston hitters did not reach base - all of them going back to the dugout without a positive result to show for it. Victor Martinez then dashed any hopes for a perfect game with a home run to right center for their first hit and run.

Chamberlain had his biggest trouble in the fifth when he allowed a leadoff single to Jason Bay and a double to left center by JD Drew. In previous starts, this is where he would have problems minimizing damage and allowed games to run away from him. At 23, you do not expect him to have the maturity of a veteran yet; these are the growing pains. With a sizeable division lead and the playoffs nearing, this was a good test for him to see if he would be able to battle his way out this self-created hole.

He was able to get Jason Varitek to weakly foul out to third. Then, Chamberlain struck out Alex Gonzalez and got the final out when Jacoby Ellsbury groundout to first base, holding the Red Sox to nothing in the inning when they could have mounted one of their patented rallies.

It was a confidence booster for him and the team. What it showed was that he had the ability to curb the damage and stop the other team cold. The ability to make batters swing and miss and eventually get weak swings for outs is something that is invaluable in the postseason as opposed to the regular season grind.

While he gave up a two-run homer to David Ortiz in the sixth, it did not put a damper on his performance, allowing only three runs and five hits in six innings, striking out five and only walking one. Ten of his 18 outs came on either groundouts or pop ups, while seven times Red Sox hitters swung and missed.

Since his last start against the Red Sox back in August, Chamberlain had gone 0-4 in eight starts with an ERA of 8.42. Those numbers are not just bad, they were bordering on Chien-Ming Wang bad. With the team putting an innings cap (160) and shuffling his starts to different days in order to achieve this number, his performance struggled. It was getting to the point that some in the (drive-by) media slowly began to sing the praise of recently acquired Chad Gaudin to be the Yankees Game 4 starter if they reach the American League Championship Series.

Ask yourself this, would you really want Gaudin starting Game 4 of a series in Fenway Park or Angel Stadium with the Yankees trailing 2-1 and “needing” the game. While Gaudin has pitched well in his starts, he needs more things to go right for him because he does not possess the pitching stuff necessary to win in the playoffs. Too many things have to go right for him in order to be successful. The hitters have to fall for his assortment of breaking stuff and if they are not, he is for lack of a better word, screwed. Chamberlain at least has the ability to stifle a lineup because he has the stuff and if it is working on the night, not many teams are going to hit it.

Such thoughts should have taken as ridiculous anyway, but Chamberlain’s performance had allowed it to be a discussion topic based on his own ineffective and sometime putrid performance. His only real stretch that could have been a bright spot was his first three starts after the All-Star break when he went 3-0 with a 2.03 ERA and made many wonder if had finally turned that elusive corner.

Unfortunately, he had not done that. Now, questions were surrounding him. Manager Joe Girardi called for him to “step up”. The challenge was being thrown out going into his start. Stink the joint out again and you maybe finding yourself on the relegated to long relief instead of being given the honor of starting a playoff game of such magnitude.

On this night, Joba made his case.

The methods may have been unorthodox, but they have been able to get him through the season healthy and over 30 starts. All the Yankees need from him to deliver two solid postseason performances when they give him the ball.

Chamberlain has earned that chance.

Yankee Talk: Good times keep rolling

Joba’s strong for six, Yanks hammer Lester, Sawx


NEW YORK – Both the Yankees and Red Sox are virtual locks to make the postseason, so this series has been devalued into nothing more than a dress rehearsal for October.

In the interim, there were two signs coming out of last night’s performance that serve as good omens for the future in the Yankees 9-5 win over Boston in front of 48,449 at Yankee Stadium.

The offense for the first time this season was able break through against Red Sox starter Jon Lester. Not only break through, but nearly break him as well.

Last thing either of these teams want to have is a serious injury and what in are essentially, meaningless games as both teams are going to clinch playoff berths in the coming days.

The Yankees quickly jumped on top in the bottom of the first inning when Alex Rodriguez singled home Derek Jeter on a base hit to left Lester was able to work out of further trouble by striking out Jorge Posada to conclude a 31 pitch frame.

In third, Rodriguez crushed a 1-1 fastball to the second deck in the left for his 29th home run and a 3-0 lead. They would loaded the bases later in the inning and on a 1-0 pitch, Melky Cabrera hit a liner that banged off the right knee of the Boston left-hander and he collapsed to the ground in pain and laid there in pain for several minutes as Cabrera reached, Matsui scored and the lead extended to four.

Lester was helped up by the training staff, needing help all the way back to the locker room. X-Rays would later show he suffered a bruise to right quad, but expects to make his next start.

With the score 4-1 in the fourth, Boston get its first hit of the night when Victor Martinez hit a 2-0 fastball into the Yankee bullpen. The Yankees got the run back when Jorge Posada’s RBI single scored Rodriguez from third. Chamberlain would work himself into trouble in the fifth inning when the Red Sox got the first two runners on when Jason Bay singled and JD Drew doubled. The enigmatic Yankee right-hander settled down and was able to keep Boston off the scoreboard. Jason Varitek popped out. Alex Gonzalez struck out, and Jacoby Ellsbury grounded to second to end the threat and keep the lead at 5-1.

David Ortiz’s two-run homer in the sixth brought the Red Sox to within 5-3, but nothing more after that. In six innings, Chamberlain allow just three runs and five hits, walking one and striking out five, making a strong statement for his cause to the part of the Yankees postseason rotation.

Prior to tonight, in his last 11 starts Chamberlain was winless with an ERA of 8.42, as the team took measures to restrict his innings by shortening his outings and giving him extra rest leading perhaps to lackluster performance.

Rodriguez would get his third hit and reached for the fourth time with an RBI double to right center that scored Johnny Damon. Jorge Posada would then single home two more runs and the lead grew to 8-3.

Every hitter in the lineup had at least one hit except for Nick Swisher (0 for 4). Rodriguez was 3 for 3 with two walks and four runs batted in.

A combination of five Yankee relievers nailed down the final nine outs. Alfredo Aceves pitched a scoreless seventh. Jonathan Albaladejo started the eighth and eventually allowed an RBI single to Kevin Youkilis. Damaso Marte and Phil Hughes finished the eighth and Phil Coke set down the Red Sox in order in the ninth.

The Yankees magic number is down to four and could clinch the AL East with two more wins over Boston this weekend.

CC Sabathia gets the ball for the Yankees and Daisuke Matzusaka starts for Boston.

Giants Talk: Lethal Weapons

Smith and Manningham proving to be reliable targets


EAST RUTHERFORD - Perhaps Giants General Manager Jerry Reese really is smarter than the rest of us.

If you remember, those of us outside of the inner Giants football circle were out with megaphones screaming and drums banging that it was imperative that the team acquire a legitimate number one receiver (or receivers) by any means necessary.

The conclusion was drawn that the current men on the roster were simply not good enough and that they were the only thing holding this talented roster from making another trip to the Super Bowl.

Through the first two games, those fears have been alleviated.

With teams in fear of the Giants powerful running game (ranked number one in the NFL last season), Eli Manning and the offense have thrown a wrench into the opponent’s plans and have gone to the air in order to move the ball.

The plan has been successful.

The Giants have seen two of their young receivers, Steve Smith and Mario Manningham emerge as the NFL’s best early season tandem and making teams think twice before loading up on the run.

Last year, the moment Plaxico Burress shot himself off the team, the offense never recovered from his loss and did not adjust accordingly because they did not have enough time. The current wide outs that were on the team were not developed as players and did not have any established rapport with Manning. With time to prepare in the off-season to acutely adjust, the results are showing early.

Smith is proving to be more than a dependable third down target and Manningham is showing some of the explosive big-play ability that he displayed when he was at the University of Michigan. Through the first two weeks, the duo is ranked third and fourth in the NFL in receiving yards and is among the top 10 in receptions.

11 of Smith’s 17 receptions have gone for at least 10 yards or more. On Sunday night against the Cowboys, he burned Pro Bowl cornerback Terrance Newman twice on the Giants opening drive, hauling in receptions of 32 and 26 yards. Last in the third quarter, his 22-yard touchdown reception gave the Giants a 27-24 lead. One of the big developments from the early year has been that Smith has shown the ability to get open, downfield and making plays. He followed up his six catch performance on opening day against the Redskins with a 10 catch effort for a career high 134 yards and his second career touchdown.

For Manningham, it has been a revival for a man who experienced a lost season the year before. He was set to contribute as a rookie before a leg injury set him back in camp. When he entered regular season games, he looked tentative and unaware of what he was doing and where he was going. This year, fresh off a strong camp, he was ready to be an impact player and on Sunday night in Dallas in front of a national audience, announced himself to the world.

Utilizing his natural ability, the Giants have found ways to get him the ball and allow him to do the work. In the first game, Manningham used his quick feet and his ability to gain yards after the catch and turned it into a 30-yard touchdown grab. This time in Dallas, he continued make defenders miss with his feet and showed he can get separation from his defenders down the field.

Working on cornerback Orlando Scandrick, Manningham in the second quarter made two very nice plays where he was able to get the ball in space, and used his feet to make him miss and gain yardage. Later in the half, Manningham was able to beat Terrance Newman on a pass down the right sideline and kept his concentration to make the catch after bobbling it give the Giants a 20-14 lead before the half.

On the last play of the third quarter, Manningham showed that he also had a gear to get deep when he hauled in 49 yard reception on a deep post that would late lead to a touchdown on the drive.

What you noticed is that the Dallas defenses was going to load up men at the line of scrimmage, most times with eight men, and are daring the Giants to pass the ball. The running game has not been effective because of all the concentration being placed on stopping it, but it has opened up space in the passing game and the receivers have shown that they can get open.

This is a good situation to have. As long as the offense continues to make teams pay for their insistence on stopping the run, they will back off and play softer coverage as we saw last season when they were gashing teams on the ground for nearly five yards a carry and numerous 200 yard games.

Domenik Hixon, who injured his knee on Sunday, will be back soon along with Hakeem Nicks (foot). That is four receivers that, if utilized properly, will provide matchup problems for the defense that did not appear to be available at the beginning of the year.

You think back to the hot-stove season, and one by one during the, there were different names bandied about on whom the Giants should get:

Braylon Edwards, Anquan Boldin, Brandon Marshall...come on down!

Reese, obviously smarter than us mere mortals (or just a fortuneteller) continued to tell the public to be patient ad have faith. There was a unique sense of confidence that he had that no one with any sense could figure out.

Right now, his faith is being rewarded.

Giants Talk: Been there, done that...again

Final drive by Giants shows team toughness


ARLINGTON – There was 3:40 showing up on the scoreboard inside the new “Stadium That Jerry Built” when Eli Manning and his offense came out on the field.

The score read 31-30 Cowboys in a game that was never supposed to be this close. Going 0 for 5 in the red zone was the only reason this game was remotely competitive. Now, after Felix Jones’ seven-yard touchdown run moments earlier had turned the new palace into the frenzy, it was going to be on the offense to make amends by winning this game.

No need to score a touchdown on this possession. Sticking the ball into the end zone from inside the 20 was problematic all game (they actually scored from 22 and 24 yards). Now, they just needed to drive down the field trailing by a point needing only a field goal to win (and settling for field goals was never a problem).

They were winning the turnover battle four to zero, which in the NFL means you should win 95 percent of the time. Tony Romo had completed less than 50 percent of his passes and thrown three interceptions, one of them returned undrafted rookie Bruce Johnson for a Pick-6 and another that led to touchdown. Incredibly, they found themselves on the wrong end of the score.

Were they going to be rattled by this predicament? After winning a Super Bowl and being the best team in football a season ago, they have been molded and prepared for this moment. They are not rookies at this or wet behind the ears. The Giants do not need an instruction manual when it comes to winning these games late.

It is at these moments when you find the true character of a team. Any group can ride high when they are bullying their opponent up and down the field. But what happens when you find yourself in a "hell game"? When your opponent is hitting you back with blows and you need to summon the "something extra"? It is here when you find out the toughness of yourself and the people you go to battle with.

This was a game that was in their control and they let it slip away. How? Because they allow it to happen.

Losing this game would have been a crusher. They had caused their own problems, and now as the ball laid on their own 25, this was their chance to make things right. Problem was, a Rich Seubert holding penalty was going to back the Giants up 10 yards. First-and 10 was now first-and 20 for Manning on his crew.

After a short pass to Bradshaw gained two year, a 12-yard completion for Derek Hagan set up a key third-and-6. Manning, given great protection from his offensive line (zero sacks allowed) as he had all night was given time and found Steve Smith for an 11-yard pass and a first down.

They had gotten themselves out of their self-inflicted hole. With the clock going under two minutes, Kevin Boss made his first reception of the night, gaining 13 yards into Dallas territory with 1:28 remaining. Now there was a realistic shot they could win this game.

You wondered when they would call timeout as the clock continued to move. However, it is in these situations where Manning is his most calm. It is almost as if all the craziness that is going on around him makes him more comfortable and increases his concentration. Does it make any sense? No. However, for him things are clearer for him than they are for most quarterbacks.

The ball is now at the Dallas 41 with 0:39 left and it is third-and-4. It is obviously four down territory, but here the Giants get some good luck when Manning’s pass is tipped by defensive end Jay Ratliff, but goes just far enough to reach the hands of Mario Manningham for an eight yard gain and a first down.

Time continues to tick down and still no timeout call. Perhaps Manning knows something that we all don’t? The offense gathers to the line and runs another play. They were still not in Lawrence Tynes’ reasonable field goal range. Considering that he had already missed a 29 yarder in the third quarter wide left, so bring him in from any distance was going to be a risky proposition.

Manning takes the snap and finds Smith again for the 10th time on a slant route that gains 12 yards to the 19 with 0:13 remaining. The game was now in their hands to win. A timeout was finally called and the Giants were prepared to be party crashes in the Cowboys new stadium.

They had done everything they could do during this game to give it away. Now, Manning and his band of brothers had moved the ball down the field on a Cowboys defense that they had shredded in the passing game from the outset. On this final drive, Eli Cool was 6 for 8 for 59 yards and showed why the Giants give him $97.5 million a month ago.

A quick quarterback sneak pushed the ball two yards and lined it up in the middle of the field for Tynes to play the role of hero. The last time he was called on to attempt a game-winning kick, he kicked arguably the greatest field goal in the history of the league. He was coming on now to silence the 105,421 found their way into this building.

The snap was good, his kick just barely cleared the uprights, and the referees signaled it was good as the team gathered to celebrate.

Hold everything though…before the snap, Dallas Coach Wade Phillips is three feet from one of the referees and signals for a timeout just before the snap. The made field goal is waved off and it’s in essence, a “do over”.

Tynes gets another chance, this time connects right down the middle, and the Giants can officially celebrate their victory. There was a look of exhilaration and relief. In many ways, they were triumphant, but also knew they had dodged a bullet.

They did not play their best game. It was obviously too close for comfort. The defense had been gashed on the ground all night and was sucking wind in the Texas heat. The offense had made their share of mistakes when it came to not capitalizing on numerous opportunities. If there were any more game filled with agita, this was it.

In the end, here were the Giants, showing their incredible resilience with it all on the line on the road (21 of their last 29 since 2006) and delivering as they usually do.

Giant tough.

Giants Talk: Grand Giants Opening

Big Blue spoils Cowboys new stadium party with last second field goal


ARLINGTON – It was reported over the weekend that Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones wanted the Giants to be the first game on the schedule to open up his brand new $1.12 billion facility yet to secure naming rights known simply as “Dallas Cowboys Stadium”.

He could have chosen other opponents on his home schedule, yet elected to choose the Giants.

You think he would like to reconsider?

In front of 105,121, a record crowd to see a sporting event in the United States, it was the Giants planting themselves into the Cowboys history books as the first team to win a game in the new facility.

Lawrence Tynes’ 37-yard field goal as time expired gave them a 31-30 victory over their rivals. Tynes originally had made what should have been the winner, but Coach Wade Phillips signaled for a timeout just before the snap. That kick just barely cleared the left upright. His second attempt sailed right down the middle.

It was a game that never would have gotten to that point had the Giants for the second straight week converted numerous chances in the “green zone”. Yet in the end, showed unbelievable toughness battling back, and gutted out a tough divisional road game.

The Giants started the game with a field goal, but the Cowboys answered back quickly, moving the ball 62 yards on nine plays capped off by a seven-yard touchdown run by Marion Barber to make it 7-3.

After a three and out, Dallas regained possession at their own 24. On third-and-10, quarterback Tony Romo’s pass to the right was intercepted by rookie free agent Bruce Johnson, who returned it 34 yards for a touchdown. It was the second week in a row in which the defense had produced a touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff, returner Felix Jones would fumble and Bryan Kehl recovered at the Cowboys 27. This would lead to another field goal and a 13-7 lead.

Both times the Giants had the ball in the “green zone”, but each time was not able to stick it for six. The problems from last week against Washington were showing it self once again. This would come back to hurt when the Cowboys quickly marched down 73 yards in eight plays when Romo connected with Jason Witten on a one yard touchdown pass to regain the lead 14-13.

Late in the second quarter, Romo appeared to have thrown an incomplete pass when his pass looked to hit Witten’s foot and fell to the ground. Kenny Phillips picked up the ball and ran into the end zone claiming he had an interception. With the clock under two minutes, the referees checked the replay and saw that the ball had ricocheted off Witten’s foot into Phillips’ hands and counted as an interception. Because the initial call on the field was incomplete, the touchdown would not count. Instead, the Giants would get the ball at the Cowboys 28.

Three players later, Manning pass deep down the right sideline was juggled and held on to by Mario Manningham in the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown to make it 20-14. Dallas answered with a field goal to end the half.

Starting the third quarter, the Giants moved the ball from their own 18 all the day to the Cowboys 11 before being stopped again (at this point 0 for 6 on the season) and ended up having the whole drive negated when Tynes’ 29 yard field goal was hooked to the left.

Two possessions later, Dallas would regain the lead. Felix Jones exploded into the open field for a 56-yard run, and Terrell Thomas prevented a touchdown chasing him from behind. A 15 yard run by Marion Barber placed the ball on the Giants 2. Two plays later, Romo ran a quarterback draw up the middle for a touchdown and a 24-20 lead.

Their defense forced a three and out and when Romo was looking to go for the knockout by going deep for receiver Sam Hurd. However, Phillips was playing the role of center fielder, easily picking off the pass and the Giants took over at their own 27.

On the very next play, Manning play faked a run and his deep bomb on a post route was complete to Manningham for 49 yards. Two plays later on a third-and-eight, Manning had plenty of time in the pocket and fired a 22-yard touchdown strike to Steve Smith to regain the lead. They would later add a field goal to go up 30-24 with 7:42 remaining.

All of the field goals kept the Cowboys in the game and continued the offense’s futility inside the green zone. They were now 0 for 4 in the game and 0 for 7 on the season.

Dallas would continue to gash the Giants defense with their running game with Justin Tuck having the leave the game after he injured his shoulder when he was leg whipped by left tackle Flozell Adams and forced to watch the second half with his arm in a sling. Barber gained 11 yards on first down and Witten came up with a 13-yard reception. Barber exploded into the secondary for a 35-yard run down to the Giants 7 and Jones would give the Cowboys the lead with a seven-yard touchdown run to make it 31-30.

On the night, Dallas ran the ball for 251 yards. Barber ran 18 times for 124 yards and Jones gained 96 yards on only seven carries.

Romo had the biggest problems. With a depleted secondary and several players playing through injuries, he was held to only 13 of 29 passes for 127 yards and three interceptions.

Despite all of this, the Giants were losing.

They would start at the own 25 with 3:34 left, and was pushed back 10 yards due to a holding penalty. Backed up with a first-and-20, Manning completed a key third down pass to Smith for 11 yards up to the 40. Kevin Boss’s 13-yard reception moved the ball to the Dallas 47 with 1:28 remaining.

Manning and Coach Tom Coughlin elected not to call timeout as the time kept ticking away. At the 41 on third-and-8, Manningham (his 10th catch of the night, for 150 yards) hauled in a pass that was initially tipped by defensive end Jay Ratliff at the line of scrimmage, but went far enough for him to haul it in for a first down with 0:39.

The clock continued to tick as the offense rushed to the line. Manning took the snap and found Smith for his 10th catch (134 yards receiving) on a crossing route to move the ball to the Cowboys 21 with 0:13. They were now in field goal range for Tynes who would put the Giants at 2-0 on the season.

Manning was 6 for 8 on the game winning drive for 59 yards. On the night, he was 25 for 38 for 330 and 2 touchdowns. This made up for a lackluster running game that produced only 97 yards for the night after amassing just 12 in the first half. It was their lowest total since December 1, 2002 in a home loss to the Titans.

At 2-0, the Giants now head to Tampa for the second of their three game road swing when they take on the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium at 1:00 EST.

It is a game that they should have won, nearly gave away and we able to walk off the field all smiles.

Giants Talk: Crash this Big D party

Win over ‘Boys would set great tone for coming weeks


EAST RUTHERFORD – One glance at the Giants 2009 schedule showed that the first six games of the season would be very tricky to navigate.

After their opener at home, the team would go on the road for three consecutive games. No matter how much success the team has had on the road the last three seasons (20-7 counting postseason); winning on the road, especially early in the season is difficult.

The Redskins were put in a difficult position attempting to win a divisional road game on Opening Day in the Meadowlands. The result? A loss.

Here, the Giants travel to Dallas to meet their long time rival Cowboys on Sunday night in a nationally televised game with a lot to gain that would go a long way into framing how the first half of the season can shape out.

Beating Dallas Sunday would give the Giants a give 2-0 start in the NFC East and by stealing a road game early in September; it forces the Cowboys to attempt to return the favor in cold December conditions. Percentages are that they will not be to do so.

So while there is all of this pizzazz, glitz and glamour over the new Cowboys Stadium (coming in at a tidy $1.6 billion), none of that will help their offensive line block the Giants front. Jerry Jones may have spent a kings ransom on this facility and did not have enough left over to get an extra defender or lineman to protect his quarterback.

Under normal circumstances, this game would be a one week “hype fest” until Sunday, lathering up on anything to use as dreaded “bulletin board material”. Not this time. Both teams still are looking for their own identity early in the season.

This is a game that has to be considered a “must win” for Dallas. With the current injury problems plaguing the Giants going into the game without Chris Canty and Aaron Ross, and having Kevin Dockery, Michael Johnson and Kenny Phillips all nursing various ailments, this is the Cowboys best shot at getting them before the team gets fully healthy.

As you saw on Sunday against Tampa, Tony Romo and their offense is designed to score in quick strikes. 188 of their yards came on three touchdown passes of 42, 66 and 80 yards to Miles Austin, Roy Williams and Patrick Crayton. The key has usually been to force their offense to use many plays in order to score and allow the underneath passes because they will invariably (Romo in particular) will become impatient and try to force plays that are not there.

For the Giants, two keys going to be to control the clock and the pace of the game and force the Cowboys into taking chances. If you remember the game in December that the Giants lost 20-8, two of the biggest problems the offense had were running the ball (Brandon Jacobs did not play) and the offensive line played its worst game of the season, surrendering eight sacks. There was rarely time to do anything, and when receivers were able to get open, Eli Manning could not see them because he was being driven to the ground.

As impressive as the Cowboys played on offense last week, their defense showed plenty of vulnerabilities. The Tampa Bay offense run and passed on Dallas to the tune of nearly 450 yards by and they do not feature many impact players. This would seem to bode well for the Giants, who can use their powerful running game with Jacobs and breakaway ability with Ahmad Bradshaw to pick up first downs and drain the clock.

What must come out of it though is that, unlike last week when the Giants went 0 for 3 in the red zone, and 2 for 7 in situations where they needed one yard or less, is that they need to convert and score touchdowns. Put Dallas back on its heels and allow the defense to tee off and harass Romo, placing the secondary in an advantageous position instead of wondering when the Cowboys are going to connect on that “big shot”.

One big thing to see is whether the Dallas secondary will push around the receivers as they did last December. Part of the reason why Manning was holding the ball and eventually taking sacks was because the receivers were not getting open on their routes. Terrence Newman played his best game of the 2008 season in the team’s last meeting. He bullied Domenik Hixon, rendering him a non-factor and intercepted a pass by jumping a slant route.

Playing within themselves on offense and converting when given the opportunity in the green zone on offense, along with pressuring Romo and the Cowboys on defense and getting several turnovers is the key.

Accomplish those goals and the Giants will be off to the races at 2-0.

Giants Talk: Not Open and Shut

Giants show all-around strength, but old problems linger


EAST RUTHERFORD – You take the game in its totality and you scratch you wonder exactly how the Giants were not making this a laugher midway through the third quarter.

Eli Manning and the offense was moving the ball on most possessions, shredding up parts of the Redskins defense and making Steve Smith and Mario Manningham look like All-Pro receivers while the offensive line continued to provide a wall and time for him to throw the ball to whichever player was open.

The defense was rendering the Washington offense useless for most of the game. Before Chris Cooley’s touchdown grab with 1:37 remaining as the Giants were using their prevent defense to chew up the clock, they had only managed to score three points. Those points were dubious at best because they came off an interception return by DeAngelo Hall to the 11-yard line and their offense promptly went three-and-out. Their only touchdown of the game when punter Smith caught the special teams unit napping by running eight yards to the end zone on fake field goal.

Yet, even in victory (a 23-17 triumph), there is a slight feeling of emptiness. While the record stands at 1-0 and you will never give back the game, the Giants are playing for a much bigger prize than beating the mediocre Redskins. The vision is to get to Miami and play in the last game, and so you are apt to scrutinize more than normal team with lesser expectations.

This is why, when you take a closer examination of the game, you get the feeling (and if you have two eyes, you would have noticed it) that more could be done and was not. There were several opportunities out there on the field and the Giants were not able to capitalize on it.

As Manning likes to say, “Leaving points out on the field.”

Look at it from this prism, there was very little difference between the way the game was playing out in Giants Stadium on Sunday and the way they played in the first half of the playoff game against the Eagles the last time we saw the Giants play in a game of importance.

The offense was moving the ball into scoring range and the defensive line was controlling the play up front back in January. Once again, the inability to capitalize in the red zone that made the game close, settling for field goals instead of converting touchdowns when given the chance.

Three times the Giants had drives where they moved the ball inside the Redskins 20 yard line (also known the “green zone” to Coach Coughlin while us mere mortals still call it the “red zone”). Two of those times, they got inside the 10. None of those times did they score touchdown.

The result? Three Lawrence Tynes field goals and holding my breath on each one of them.

Thank goodness for Osi Umenyiora scoring on a (ruled) sack, fumble, and recovery of the football for a touchdown that gave the Giants a 10-0 and essentially ended the game right there. This was our version of the Eagles stealing a gift touchdown last year when Asante Samuel picked off Manning’s pass, returned it to the two-yard line where they would score three plays later.

For as many points as the Giants scored last season (427), they had a maddening problem of sticking the ball in the end zone with greater consistency. Moving the ball in between the 20’s has never been a problem over the last five years, but for whatever reason, scoring more touchdowns is a yearly bugaboo. 69 times (the most in the NFL), the Giants had the ball in the red zone, and only 34 times did they score touchdowns. This ranked among the bottom third in the entire league.

This happened even when #17 was on the team, so this is not about having a big, talented receiver. Are they less diversified when they get in the “zone” than other teams? Is Manning making the wrong reads? Or is the play calling bordering on abysmal?

Something has to be up.

Of course, some of the credit has to be given to the defense (hey, they get paid too) and when you are playing in the NFC East, you have three other teams with very strong defenses, so that will always be a factor. Still, not being able to convert on the third-and-one play on the first drive where Ahmad Bradshaw was stopped cold on a toss and Brandon Jacobs unable to get one yard twice inside the five-yard line, leave you a little disheartened.

This may not factor now, but it comes into play later on when the opposing team’s offense ends up converting. When you have chance to step on the opponent’s throat, you do it. By giving them life, you allow them a chance to hit that one big shot that can inspire and get them to change the momentum of the game.

While it is only one week, time will only tell whether this continuously lingering issue will be corrected, or the necessary corrections have been made for this offense to be more efficient in that part of the field.
It is the difference between a 10-win team and a 12 or 13 win team.

It’s also the difference between a team that goes home early and a true Super Bowl contender.

Random Thoughts from the home opener…..

It was the last home opener at Giants Stadium. Next year, the new Meadowlands will open up. For a final opener, it was a good way to go out.

What a nice game by Steve Smith. Six catches for 80 yards and a beautiful catch late in the fourth quarter for 26 yards that set up a field goal.

Can we officially say that DeAngelo Hall is one of the most overrated cornerbacks in the league? Smith beat him on nearly every reception in the game, and the interception he made came when Manning was under pressure, threw on the run and under threw the pass even though Smith had beaten him.

Both the Raiders and Redskins gave him big money and he still stinks.

Nice to see the Big Boss Man get into the action. He needed one block on his 27 yard catch to go into the end zone, but I was hoping he didn’t have plans on hurdling a defender on his way there.

The job done by Shaun O’Hara, Rich Seubert and Chris Snee on Albert Haynesworth was tremendous. By the second quarter, he was down on his back and later on the sideline sucking wind.

How’s that $100 million working out?

Nice to see a good distribution of snaps between the defensive lineman on Sunday. As opposed to last year when Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka were playing 80% of the snaps, this time with all the additions, the number was down to 50%.

Wait until week 12 to see this work itself out.

People sleep on Chase Blackburn when he is in the game, but I don’t. He plays solid football whenever he gets the chance. Is he the fastest player in the world? No. But he will not harm you.

Corey Webster is an incredible defender. So much that he intimidated Santana Moss right out the game….in the first quarter.

Moss decided he was going to use survivor tactics and punched Webster after a second down play and it was amazing the referees did not throw him out of the game. After that, he was a non-factor, only making two catches on the day.

How Webster was not named as an All-Pro last season is still a joke.

Not as much of a joke was Jim Zorn, desperate for points and running a fake field goal with his punter.

Now, good for them that it worked and Hunter Smith ran it in for a touchdown because like me, even the Giants weren’t expecting it.

Just shows you how far the gap is between the two teams.

Giants Talk: Defense carries the day

Dominant D gives Giants 1-0 start to campaign


EAST RUTHERFORD – Twice last season, the Giants saw the Washington Redskins and each time they dominated the games, with the scores a non-reflection of how they were played.

The Redskins sought out to make significant changes to their roster to position themselves to close the gap between the two teams.

If yesterday was any indication, the gap is still just as wide as last year.

Playing just as they did when they sprinted out to 11-1 start last season, the Giants used hellacious defense rendered Washington’s offense useless and showed on offense they may have found a few good receivers in their 23-17 victory to open up the campaign at Giants Stadium.

It was their third consecutive win over their rivals and dated back to 2006, have won six of their last seven meetings.

The game was a tale of two games as the Giants sprinted out in the first half and could have blown Washington out had they capitalized on several opportunities throughout that they will need to do in order to make life easier for them.

Eli Manning and the offense took the games opening drive and moved the team 67 yards for a 28-yard field goal by Lawrence Tynes. The highlight was his pass on third and seven over the middle to second year receiver Mario Manningham for 25 yards. The drive stalled when Ahmad Bradshaw was not able to convert a third-and-one at the Redskins 11.

After forcing a punt, the Giants offense appeared headed for another score. A 17-yard reception by Steve Smith and a 22-yard run by Bradshaw moved the ball to Washington territory. However, after Brandon Jacobs was unable to get the yard needed on third down. Coach Tom Coughlin elected to go for. Jacobs on fourth down would again be marked short and the Redskins took over on downs.

Washington went three and out and with excellent field position, the Giants capitalized. On a third-and-seven, the Redskins blitzed and Manning on a hot route found Manningham on the right sideline, made several moves and raced 30 yards for a touchdown and a 10-0 lead.

Manningham (three catches – 58 yards) is going to be one of the receivers that are being counted on to deliver in the passing game after the loss of Burress and Amani Toomer.

Quarterback Jason Campbell was looking to move Washington into scoring range, but on second down, his pass to sideline was intercepted by Corey Webster, who kept his tiptoes in play for the turnover. Manning though would give the ball back when he was pressured and sacked by Andre Carter, who forced the fumble at the Redskins 37.

With possession, the Giants defense got their first points of the season. At the 48-yard line, Campbell was sacked and had the ball stripped out of his right hand by the returning Osi Umenyiora. With the ball on the ground, Umenyiora saw it, picked it up and raced 37 yards to the end zone for a touchdown and a 17-0 lead.

Late in the second quarter, a broken coverage allowed Redskins receiver Antwan Randle El free in the middle of the field and looked to have a touchdown, but safety CC Brown was able to make the open field tackle at the Giants eight-yard line.

Three straight plays totaled zero yards and on fourth down, a fake field goal was run into the end zone by punter Hunter Smith to trim the deficit to 17-7 at halftime.

Manning would give Washington a gift late in the third quarter. At his own 12-yard line, he was pressured and rolled to his right and his pass over the middle was intercepted by DeAngelo Hall who returned it back to the Giants 11.

Once more, the Giants defense held the fort. After calling a timeout because Campbell was unable to get the play in because of the raucous Meadowland crowd, Justin Tuck sacked the Redskins quarterback on third down to force what would be a made 28-yard field goal by Shaun Suisham to make a seven-point game going into the fourth quarter.

The Giants would get two field goals in the fourth quarter. One, a 45 yarder by Tynes and then another from 28 yards. 24 and 27-yard receptions by Kevin Boss on each drive set up both field goals.

A late 17-yard touchdown pass to Chris Cooley with 1:37 remaining to make it a 23-17 game. However, Steve Smith recovered the ensuing onside kick and the Giants were able to seal the victory.

Prior to that last drive, the defense had limited the Redskins to only 200 yards and 13 first downs while sacking Campbell three times and force numerous other hurried throws as they controlled the game from the outset despite the loss of several starters. Clinton Portis was limited to only 62 yards on 16 carries.

Manning was an efficient 20 of 29 for 256 yards and spread the ball out to seven different receivers, and four of them made at least three receptions.

While Jacobs was slowed down (16 carries – 46 yards), Bradshaw picked up the slack (12 carries – 60 yards). However, the Giants offense did not convert in their three opportunities in the red zone.

Next week the Giants travel for a Sunday night primetime game against the Dallas Cowboys at the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.