Feanor

The results speak for themselves.   We thought the West would be a dog fight.  Aside from the Jazz/Rockets series, this has not been the case.  Instead, some of the more competitive series have been the Pistons/76ers and the Hawks/Celtics.  Just goes to show anything can happen come postseason (if anyone need a reminder of this after the Mavericks' fall to the Warriors last year.)  Like it or not, luck matters.  Sometimes one team is hitting all their jump shots and also getting the favorable calls.  There is really nothing you can do about nights like this.  The key is not to let bad luck cause you to lose 4 of 7. 

You'll be hearing a lot of people changing their predictions with individual wins/losses.  Interesting, most spreads are sticking with their original pick of Celtics/Lakers finals, despite Boston's struggles.  It's important to realize this not because these teams will necessarily make the Finals, but simply to keep things in perspective and not get too obsessed with individual results.  Certainly, it's tough to pick Boston and Detroit as Finalists when the likes of Joe Johnson and Andre Miller are scoring at will against supposedly stingy defenses.  But in the playoffs, it's all about matchups and teams getting hot at the right time.  Things can change very very fast to the surprise of fans and prognosticators everywhere.  It's chaotic and rarely are the experts on point.  Who knows--we could be seeing Atlanta/Cleveland in round 2 with the way the Hawks are shooting right now. 


In any sport, it is really impossible to predict playoff outcomes with accuracy.  People love to bring up the point about certain teams/players "knowing how to win" come playoff time.  I don't really buy that theory because I feel these are all  professionals and they were all good enough to make the playoffs, so it's not like one guy has more knowledge of how to win than another.  In my mind, this saying is little more than a cliche.  Nonetheless, intangibles do come into play.  Momentum, luck, matchups, the list could go on.  Weird things happen come playoff time, despite the best attempts of fans and prognosticators to impose order on the chaos. 

The media, as usual, has criticized the Yankees' performance to start the season.  Girardi has already been described as inferior to Torre, the quality of the young arms are being questioned, and the bats' slow start is being described as indicative of a long term trend instead of a short term anomaly.  These are not surprising views given ESPN and the media's consistent support of New England teams and hostility toward their opponents. 

I, for one, am not upset with this start at all though.  The record doesn't really matter this early.  We are not even 1/10th through the season, after all.  What I am very pleased with is the team's approach.  First off, they are learning how to win the "ugly" way.  Girardi's not afraid to play small ball or small ball defense to win out close ones.  I've also liked how he's mixed up the bullpen, ensuring that each reliever gets his work in but is not overused.  The lineup is being kept fresh through handing out varying off nights and putting greater trust in the bench.  I do these trends continue as the season progresses.  Girardi has taken a preventative approach to injury and is understanding the season is a marathon, not a sprint.  With an older lineup and a bullpen that's been shaky in years past, this is a great approach to take.  It keeps the players in shape and on their toes without wearing them out. 

Finally, I am very pleased with the start of the three veteran pitchers on the staff.  Each has filled his respective role as the 1, 2 and 3 pitcher for the Yankees.  There was a lot of concern over the offseason with how the team would perform with Wang, Pettitte, and Mussina as the top 3 starters.  Skeptics pointed to Wang's awful 2007 postseason, Pettitte's offseason issues, and Mussina's 2007 free fall.  It was important for these three guys to anchor the staff amidst all this skepticism and the presence of youth in the 4 and 5 spots.  Well, two weeks into the season, Wang has been a shut down ace, Pettitte has been the rock solid #2, and Mussina has been the unspectacular but serviceable #3.  It's good to see these guys perform right off the bat because they've shown Girardi and the team they can be counted on as rotation staples while the season progresses.  Hopefully, all three of them stay healthy and can serve as mentors for the high-potential youngsters, who, as youngsters, will have their ups and downs. 

The concern with the bats, meanwhile, is not really such a great concern.  Last year's offense was feast or famine, and the feasts caused the Yankees' run total to balloon.  But frankly, winning 2-1 is just as good as winning 20-0 (unless your closer needs a day off).  One of the problems with the Torre Yankees of recent years was that it needed big bats to produce in order to win.  I believe that the Yankees' chances of success will increase if they learn to rely less on these big bats, though.  There are other ways to win games, through pitching and defense and it's important for the Bombers to understand this so they don't fall flat when the bats are not hot.  Girardi is trying to instill this attitude in the team, and I think it's a good one to instill. 

Good two week approach to begin things. 

It's really sad that we have to discuss steroids and the Mitchell Report after the hype around it seemed to die down, but unfortunately, our friends from the media refuse to let this topic go.  It's pretty sad to see the media cover this topic with an air of moral superiority.  These were the same people who relentlessly hyped up McGuilre and Sosa, but admitted steroid users , in 1998, yes ,the same people who now act like taking steroids is tantamount to murder.  The inconsistencies in their coverage of the matter was rather apparent, as well.  First, they say that the real problem is lying about taking steroids like Clemens allegedly did.  But then you have Andy Pettitte, who told the truth about all his HGH use, in the process straining a close friendship and revealing very private information about his father, and the media, like Jayson Stark at ESPN, Scott Miller here at CBS.sportsline and Ken Rosenthal at Fosxports continue to hound him as though he just committed some horrible act.  Hmm, I guess it really doesn't matter if you tell the truth or not then. 

Then we have the fact that Mitchell was a Director for the Boston Red Sox and is still listed as one of their officers at the team's home page.  So was it coincidence that he mentioned no key contributors to the Red Sox' World Series titles but mentioned several contributors to the Yankees' titles?  This is a topic that has not been examined by the media.  They are prepared to accept Mitchell's word that his report was unbiased.  Furthermore, there has been no speculation as to whether or not those not mentioned by the Report took steroids.  People like the Giles brothers and Kenny Rogers, whose stats indicate a possible steroid use, are not hounded or pressed by the media in any way.  In fact, many persons on the report itself were basically let off free, such as Jack Cust, Miguel Tejada, Eric Gagne, and Paul Lo Duca.  You could make an argument that Clemens and Bonds are in a category of their own, given their incredible success as players.  But why has the media made such a point of badmouthing Andy Pettitte?  Is what he did worse than what Cust or Tejada did?  Does the fact that he sampled HGH twice to heal from an injury, and initially covered up the second usage to protect his ill father, as any decent son would do, make him an evil man?  According to the media and to George Mitchell, the answer is yes.  But can you really take any of this seriously, when Mitchell has a vested interest in seeing his Red Sox succeed and the rival Yankees fail, and ESPN + Co.'s adoption of the same stance is all but official? 

It is a real shame that the media has taken such a biased stance with regard to this matter.  Before taking this holier than thou attitude with regard to several members of the Yankees organization, perhaps the media should step back and examine one of the other culprits in this whole steroid "debacle": itself.