ButlerBulldog

Nico, Jack, and Cele would make an interesting trio of centermen.

Dougie, Luke, Marino, and Nemec are locks to be part of the defense. Smith will be gone, and I think Bahl may be, too, as he’s not shown anything to suggest he’s an NHL player. He’s 6’7” and plays as though he’s my size (5’7”). I don’t really want Siegenthaler back, but he’s coming off a down season and probably wouldn’t fetch much via trade, especially given the length of his contract, so he’s probably part of the top six, with guys like DeSimone, Hatakka, and Collin Miller competing for the seventh spot. That leaves one spot open, which I’m hoping is given to a physical, defensive-minded veteran.

I like Marner, but no. The Devils need players who step up in big games, and to this point, he hasn’t been that guy. Besides, is there anything he brings as a two-way threat that Nico doesn’t?

Howard was never the same after he ruptured his Achilles tendon running out of the batter’s box in the 2011 NLDS versus the Cardinals, so you could make an argument his body betrayed him as well, hastening his decline. What happened to Wright and Mattingly was nothing short of tragic, as both had HOF-caliber peaks but couldn’t sustain their production due to their well-chronicled lower-back problems. Wright also had the disadvantage of playing at Citi Field before the fences were moved in, whereas Mattingly played in a park perfectly suited to his swing.

I’d say I’m getting a Ryan Howard vibe from Alonso, but that wouldn’t be fair to Howard, who was an MVP and helped the Phillies win a World Championship. Perhaps Richie Sexon or Ron Kittle is a better comparison.

Whose name isn’t Travis Green.

I’m growing more and more concerned that Fitz is deliberately dragging things out so that he can say he explored all his options but didn’t like any of them and thus decided to bring back Green.

As am I. Berube is clearly interested, so why hasn’t he been offered the job? Is Fitz really this stupid? He doesn’t owe Green anything, and we’ve sufficient empiric evidence that Travis is not the right man to lead the Devils. If Fitz brings him back, he should be fired immediately, after which Kate Madigan can offer Berube the head coaching position. Gawd, damn, fvck.

The game has been called. In the time it took to make that decision, the game could have been finished.

The stupidity of Major League umpires has reached yet another low. After allowing the Tigers and Yankees to play into the 8th inning despite miserable weather conditions, Allan Porter and his crew decided to halt the game after the rain had temporarily stopped, apparently so that they can wait for more to pass through the area. The Yankees are leading 5-2, so I won’t complain if the game is eventually called, but I don’t understand this at all. The field wasn’t in great shape, but with only an inning or so remaining, why not just finish things up, especially with the Tigers leaving for Cleveland after today’s game is over? Michael Kay and Paul O’Neill were beside themselves.

I know I’ve been harping on umpires’ collective insecurity a lot lately, but these guys really need to have thicker skin. Judge was clearly walking away when he was tossed.

Elsewhere in the National League, the Padres are apparently close to acquiring Luis Arraez from the Marlins.

I stopped taking Valentine seriously after he donned the Charlie Chaplin-esque disguise to work around a 1999 ejection. If I remember correctly, his interpersonal shortcomings indirectly got Gary Thorne fired after 2002, as Mets management was none to happy about the latter disclosing that most of the players on the previous season’s team didn’t like playing for Bobby.

Agreed. 1993 is when the pendulum started to swing back toward the Yankees, as that was the season in which George Steinbrenner was reinstated, and a rejuvenated Bombers squad finished second in the AL East (88-74) after acquiring Wade Boggs, Jimmy Key, Paul O’Neill, Jim Abbott, and Spike Owen during the previous offseason. The Mets, by contrast, finished 59-103 despite big years from Bobby Bonilla and Eddie Murray.

Weren’t we just talking about this, @Colorado Rockies 1976?