Anthony "The Moneyball" Moniello's New York Knicks fan blog

Yesterday was supposed to be a day of celebration; the Yankees officially clinched the AL East division title, Joe Girardi's has his first ever playoff birth, and the Yankees achieved their 100th victory. While champagne and beer was sprayed about the Yankess clubhouse after their 4-2 victory over division rival, the Boston Red Sox, the Yankees reality did not set in until today. Nothing has been accomplished when your the Yankees and you have made the playoffs.

Just a week ago, I wrote about how the Yanks had huge rotation decisions to be made, and those decisions were made easier after this Yankees sweep of the Sox, as Burnett, Sabathia and Pettite have all looked incredibly good. Super. The Yankees line-up continues to mash, with Hideki Matsui playing his best baseball in years, A-Rod looking healthy and Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Jonny Damon and Mark Texiera all adding exclamation points on some of the best years of their respective careers. Awesome. Jeter and Texeira are both MVP candidates, Rivera and Sabathia both will be in the Cy Young mix. Great. But who cares? 

Continue reading "The Yankees Clinch the AL EAST...and earn nothing yet."

Monday Morning Moneyball: Week 2- Big Apple Stars Are Born!

Welcome to Monday Morning Moneyball! Week 2 provided us with two New York tales of triumph that not only bucked old trends, but also may have unveiled the dawn of a new quarterback era in green and wide receiver tandem in blue. We start with the J-E-T-S, JETS JETS JETS! All week, media outlets all over the country have been replaying Rex Ryan’s message to the Jets season ticket holders. 70 seconds of fanfare and propaganda from Ryan begged for support over and beyond the norm from the Jets faithful, and his message was reiterated by Kerry Rhodes and several other Jets players, and the message was simple: We can beat the Patriots. That they did, 16-9, showing off their Baltimore style dominant defense that Ryan has brought over from the Raven dynasty. While I’ll delve into New England’s deficiencies in my Money Bites below, praise needs to be given to Mark Sanchez for his 2nd consecutive strong performance. While his numbers weren’t gaudy (14 of 22, 163 yards with 1 TD, 0 Int), his 101.1 passer rating is indicative of his efficient performance. Sanchez did everything Ryan and the Jets could ask of him in his rookie season. He stayed away from risky unnecessary throws, threw for a 65% completion percentage in the second half and executed on big plays down the stretch, including the go-ahead touchdown strike to Dustin Keller. Watch out young QB society, Tom Brady, and everyone else in the AFC, if Sanchez keeps up this act, the Jets will be a team to be reckoned with come January.

Continue reading "Monday Morning Moneyball: Week 2- Big Apple Stars Are Born!"

The New York Yankees have cruised through the 2009 baseball regular season, destroying teams with their 9 slugger deep line-up that includes not one player having a bad year. While every hitter is having varying degrees of success, not one man in that line-up is performing below their norms (save for mighty A-Rod, who's injury has slowed him down a bit to the tune of only 26 homers and 80+ RBI's). The bullpen has also been stellar, with Mariano Rivera looking as spry as he did in 1996, and with Phil Hughes redefining his 2009 season in the ilk of that very same roie Rivera held in '96- the gutsy set-up man that becomes a dominating extension of the closer. The defense has improved mightily too, especially around the infield, where Derek Jeter has revived his defensive career by extending his lateral range and improving his arm strength. Robinson Cano has looked interested for the first time in the field since his rookie season and Mark Texeira has done wonders for everyone, displaying why he is considered a defensive elite (you can tell Don Mattingly was his favorite player growing up, his range and glove work are superb). 

Continue reading "Joe Girardi- Let the Force Be With You or Else."

It is the time of the year where we bid adieu to our Sunday trips to the local outlet malls and Bed, Bath and Beyond. Where, as men, we stop our tofu and salad diets in the name of our loved ones who are repulsed by our manly guts, and turn the grill up to happiness. No more flavored waters, playing cards with the in-laws or going to the zoo with your kids- no, my fellow men, it is Football season. It is the dawning of imported German sausage links, cheap-hardcore domestic manly beers (ok, maybe Light beers, let's be honest, we are a little fat), and the most destructive hard hitting American game filling our heads with fantasy stats, eye-popping hits, and hope for a glorious triumph.

We now must switch gears and fight together as a unit to fend off fancy soaps to focus on Tom Brady's leg! Will he march his Patriots back to the promise land and back in to the leagues elite, or will his revamped defense and spotty offensive line be too many set-backs for one mere myth of a man to overcome? Just say no to hummus and no salt crackers, and instead dig into a gooey, loaded, heart attack inducing, plate of nachos while pondering Michael Vick's role with the chic Super Bowl pick Philly Eagles. Will all his prison rust, PITA stress, and obviously distracting presence be too much for the often disrespected Captain Donovan McNabb to overcome. Will McNabb's ribs, the arrival of Jeff Garcia, the forced nature that Vick's wildcat wet dream possibilities be too much to juggle for Andy Reid- who's real concern should be if he can keep Brian Westbrook healthy against an NFC East which boasts three of the best defensive fronts in the game? I need another Nacho...

Continue reading "Fall Springs Eternal- It is once again time to be a man- the NFL is Here!"

It has been a long hiatus, but I make my valiant return to the blog world. Now I could delve into the juicy topics of steroids, the NBA playoffs, Cuban vs. Mama Martin, the TO reality show, the first place Blue Jays or any number of riveting and engaging topics. But today is about ME! My return to the blog waves of sports minutia. You need me on this wall, you want me on this wall! But unlike a Facebook relationship, I'd be lying if I said blogging on this site wasn't better for me than it is for you. So, coming soon will be an invigorating piece of copy that will rattle your brain with mind boggling awesomness that not only makes you debate around the water cooler, but actually makes you drink the whole damn jug due to dehydration by virtue of sports confrontation and rants. That is my thank you for reading once again.

Continue reading "The Moneyball is Back on Blog!"

Jason Taylor walked into his first day of training camp with the Miami Dolphins and was greeted by the teams third rebuilding project in four years, now led by the Big Tuna. Where Cam Cameron and Nick Saban failed, Tuna Time looks to pick up the pieces. Bill Parcell's has a plan that no longer had a need for a 34 year old sack machine who's defensive intensity was not the only thing that made fans adore him. It was his humor, fame and bonafide all-star status that helped him dance his way into the hearts of the Miami faithful. But fans must understand as did Taylor himself, that time had come to move along.

Where he went just happened to be perfect. Dan Snyder, the Washington Redskins owner is easily the Bonny to Taylor Clyde, the Jessica Simpson to Tony Romo, the proverbial Ying to his Yang. Not only does Snyder has a love for the big name splash (as he always looks for the opportunity to flex his testicular fortitude at Division big wig, hot head rival Owner Jerry Jones), not only does he have an entertainment company featuring Scientologist Tom Cruise, but he actually has a need for a devensive end/outside linebacker who can rush the quarterback. That Taylor can do.

Continue reading "Taylor Eases the Loss of Taylor"

Amongst a busy week in the life of The Moneyball- I did have to comment on this topic.

Favre leaving the Packers to me is like Derek Jeter leaving the Yankees, Magic Johnson leaving the Lakers, or Cal Ripken Jr. leaving the Orioles.

But should we be so surprised? Do we forget Joe Montana and the Chiefs, Michael Jordan and the Wizards, Wade Boggs and the Devil Rays and Yankees? Folks, it happens. It is a part of sports where teams want to move on out from the shadows of the legacies that filled their stadiums and franchise record books. From the pressure that strains front offices to put their fate in once great, but now flawed men of unimaginative power over their fans. Brett Favre draws the people, and is great...but he no longer represents the future.

So let's see Favre in purple and gold, or Tampa Bay orange. Let's get a Rodgers-Favre showdown of the Bears in Lambeau. Let's enjoy the awkwardness of an old Brett Favre on his last legs...or maybe a still prime one ready to ride his horse around the championship celebration of Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa Bay.

Continue reading "Brett Favre Leaving Green Bay"

"It's not a game, it's an arms race" - Kanye West and Fallout Boy belt this hook over and over again on a recent hit with that same title. In that context, Kanye and the Fallout Boy guys are referring to the battle of musical artists not only surviving in a competitive worldwide market, but one with hindrances around every music sharing online ripping program. While that's an issue for another day and another blogsite, it's relevance is crucial when talking about the current state of Major League baseball and the National Basketball Association.

It all began on one fateful day in January when the Memphis Grizzlies gift-wrapped a late Christmas Gift for the Los Angeles Lakers in the mold of Pau Gasol, the center that solidified Showtime as the front-runner in the Western Conference. The arms race began! The domino effect led to two desperate acts of self-destruction in Shaquille O'Neal to the Phoenix Suns and Jason Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks. Those moves pushed the usually level-headed Spurs into making a level-headed move in picking up Kurt Thomas... yet the games had just begun. 

Continue reading "From the NBA to MLB, the Arms Race Has Begun"

C.C Sabathia is officially the newest member of the Brew Crew! The Milwaukee Brewers have decided to put there foot down and compete immediately. With the addition of Sabathia the Brewers now have a formidable rotation led buy the lethal one-two punch of Sheets/Sabathia. But, just like a beautiful SL 500 from Hertz- don't get too attached...it's just a rental.

 Now we've seen this before; Randy Johnson to the Houston Astros in 2000 being the best example, but have we ever seen an absolute room rental team? While we've seen two fire sales from the same franchise following emotional World Series victories in the Florida Marlins- neither of those teams was planning or expecting to clear house until the season was over and they looked at their profit margins.

 The Brewers on the other hand KNOW they can't re-sign Ben Sheets or C.C. Sabathia after this season. The Brewers know they have to trade possibly the best young first baseman in the game in Prince Fielder (we're looking at the Bronx and Queens if you want my thoughts) due to their inability to afford him in the long run. So, the Brewers make this deal having already given in to the fact that they have 3 months to make the playoffs and succeed in their goal of a World Series before they fade back into oblivion with the Kansas City's and Seattle's of the world. But hey at least they're trying....

Continue reading "Rent-A-Club is Here!"

 The country's favorite rivalry of all sports is entering Game 4 tonight, with the Red Sox having taken 2 of the 3 first games in Yankee Stadium. What used to be national news is a mere afterthought at the moment, and the question is why?

 Is it the absence of the polarizing moments of Pedro Martinez handling the raging bull Don Zimmer?

The eery silence and lack of physical interference of Alex Rodriguez as he rounds the bases?

Maybe it's the mere fact that Red Sox Nation finally broke through the Evil Empire, therefore dousing the flames of futility and of this heated rivalry..

Or maybe it's the damn Rays of Tampa Bay. You see Boston and New York have done such a good job at making sure Baltimore, Toronto and Tampa Bay were cities of irrelevance, hogging the focus for themselves in a dog eat dog atmosphere...and then they got lazy. The Sox won a second Championship and are no longer cuddly underdogs that everyone loves to root for. The Yankees went green on us, steering away from their Darth Maul days and instead opting for young Skywalkers instead of hired hitmen like Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy over Vader wannabe Johan Santana. The rules of the league were taken for granted and now what's missing from the best rivalry sports has to offer...is...well... 

Continue reading "Yanks-Sox Rivalry...Just missing something."