http://www.yardbarker.com/users/PHILLYMISFIT5 Recent Yardbarker Articles: PHILLYMISFIT5 en-us We're hearing rumblings out of Philly that the team has struck a deal with running back Brian Westbrook. Specifically, we're told that Westbrook is telling others that an agreement has been reached. Westbrook has been angling for a new contract, and contemplated staging a holdout. Not long ago, he fired agent Fletcher Smith and hired Todd France. The terms, which aren't yet known, will go a long way toward proving whether France was successful. If it's true that Westbrook wanted $30 million over the next three years, our guess is that France wasn't. Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:32:33 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302602 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302602 "When the Eagles brought Kris Wilson in as a free agent, the former Kansas City Chiefs player was asked if he expected to compete with L.J. Smith for the starting job at tight end. That day, he demurred, saying he just wanted to "get a chair in the room." At the time, it sounded like humility from Wilson, who spent the first four years of his NFL career backing up potential Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez. Now, with training camp half over, maybe it wasn't humility at all, but realism. A lackluster minicamp dropped him out of Smith's orbit, and he came to Lehigh University battling second-year tight end Brent Celek for the backup spot with the Eagles. As his case of the drops has persisted, so has his slide down the depth chart. "He and [Matt] Schobel are competing," coach Andy Reid said of Wilson. "Schobel is having a good camp, as is Kris. It's good competition at a tough position." Schobel is entering his seventh NFL season and third with the Eagles. He was solid in 2007, even as then-rookie Celek overtook him, catching 11 balls for 108 yards and a touchdown. Wilson's arrival seemed like a ticket out of town for Schobel, but now it seems that unwanted ride has been put on hold. Most players trying to hang on to a place in the NFL insist that they don't worry about the other guy, but Schobel admitted "it's just human nature" to look around at what players like Celek and Wilson are up to. "It's competition. It's there. You can't deny it, but it's not what motivates me," Schobel said. "When we broke at the end of the season last year, [tight ends coach Tom Melvin] told me they were going to bring somebody in. You can't go to camp with three guys. "Competition makes everybody better, and nothing in this league's ever going to be given to you." Wilson was given a chance to make the roster and possibly build himself a future, as Smith is on a one-year contract. But like so many passes over the past two weeks, it may have slipped through his fingers by now. "Obviously, nobody wants tothe ball, but that's part of the game," Wilson said Thursday. "That's something that you constantly work on. Every day, you come out and tell yourself to try to have a perfect day. "You don't want to have any balls on the ground, but from time to time, it happens." With Gonzalez entrenched as the starter in Kansas City, the Chiefs moved Wilson to fullback the past two seasons, and he made 22 starts over 2006 and 2007. In those two seasons, the 6-foot-2, 251-pound Harrisburg, Pa., native caught 39 passes for 312 yards and four touchdowns. It's possible that his dual transition -- back to tight end from fullback, and from the Chiefs offense to the Eagles offense -- has been more difficult than expected." Sat, 02 Aug 2008 00:09:43 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/299679 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/299679 "Here's how Osi Umenyiora would handle the Eagles' contract negotiations with Brian Westbrook if the Giants' Pro Bowl defensive end was in charge of the Birds' purse strings: He would give Westbrook a blank check and tell him to include as many zeroes as he thinks is fair."To be completely honest with you," Umenyiora said, "if Philadelphia really understood his value to that team, they would never even have allowed him to get upset with his contract. You take Westbrook off that team and nobody would fear them. I don't think they truly understand that."You've got to game-plan against him. You've got to know where he is every play. As a defensive end, the things that we do change when he's in the football game. When you've got a player on your team like that, you have to take care of him."He should be one of the highest-paid players in the league. Period. I'm not saying this as a friend of his. I don't even know the guy that well. I'm just saying it because it's the truth."Umenyiora might find this surprising, but the Eagles wholeheartedly agree with his assessment of the running back's value to their offense. Over the last two seasons, the guy has notched 4,020 rushing and receiving yards, which is 34 percent of the team's net yards over that period. A player everybody thought was too small to be an every-down back in the NFL had a league-high 687 touches in 2006 and '07.They also agree that Westbrook has outperformed his current contract. He is entering the third year of a 5-year, $25 million deal he signed in November 2005, which is small potatoes for a guy who is no worse than the second-best running back in the league right now.The dilemma for the Eagles isn't gauging Westbrook's worth to the team today. It's predicting what it will be tomorrow; what it will be 2, 3 and 4 years from now as he gets older and the physical pounding from 300-plus touch seasons begin to take a toll.It might seem like Westbrook hasn't been around all that long, but he is entering his seventh pro season. He will turn 29 in early September, which is young for a doctor or lawyer or stockbroker, but close to retirement age for an NFL running back.No position in football has a more dramatic production drop-off than running back. One minute you're bursting through holes for 8-yard gains, the next minute those holes are closing around you. Case in point: Shaun Alexander. Three years ago, the former Seahawks running back rushed for 1,880 yards and 27 touchdowns and was the league MVP. Now, just a couple of weeks shy of his 31st birthday, he can't find work.Precious few NFL running backs have managed to remain really productive into their 30s. Former Rams" Sat, 02 Aug 2008 00:07:52 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/299676 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/299676 "NFL coaches are hired to be fired. They burn out or get thrown out, and it's rare for a coach to survive a decade in one town. Andy Reid has done it with the Eagles. And it appears he'll continue to do it for as long as he wants. There are just three other coaches in the NFL right now with 10 or more years with the same team -- Denver's Mike Shanahan, Tennessee's Jeff Fisher and Seattle's Mike Holmgren. Since there are 32 teams, it's clear that job security is not one of the perks of their business. An open jar of mayonnaise has a longer shelf life than an NFL coach. But there are exceptions, and Reid is among them. He's entering his 10th season with the Eagles, and that ties him with Hall of Famer Greasy Neale for the longest tenure in team history. Dick Vermeil is next, with seven seasons, but the other 16 men who have coached the Eagles (not counting interim coaches) were on the job for an average of about three years. And Reid is well past Neale for most victories by an Eagles coach -- Reid has 96 and counting, and Neale finished with 66. Of course, Neale also won two NFL championships. On the other hand, he never had to deal with talk radio or face 14 minicams while being asked questions from 25 to 30 reporters. And that's on a slow day. Plus, the NFL was pretty much a mom-and-pop organization when Neale was coaching in the 1940s. Now, it's a billion-dollar industry and the head coach is a CEO of a business that employees hundreds of people, not just some guy who diagrams plays and makes players run wind sprints. Maybe you don't like the way Reid coaches or drafts or deals with the media and public. Maybe you think the Eagles would be better off with a different coach. Maybe you think they would have won a Super Bowl by now if somebody besides Big Red was calling the shots. Maybe you want a change. Well, don't count on it. Reid still loves his job, despite the long hours and the constant criticism from, well, just about everybody. And he isn't going anywhere. "It's a great job, in a great city. That's how I look at it," he said Thursday during a break in training camp at Lehigh University. "People say, 'Hey, you're working in a tough place.' I'm going, 'Yeah, but you know what -- these people care. Everybody cares. They're going to show up for the game, and they're going to cheer.' " Well, not always. Eagles fans have been known to boo on occasion. But Reid said their passion is something you don't find everywhere, and even though it took him a while, he appreciates it and he feeds off it. And it's one of the reasons he's still here. "It's a great city for sports, and I realize that," he said. "Maybe I didn't the first couple of years, but now that I've been around and I've looked around, it's a great situation." John Harbaugh was one of Reid's assistants for nine years before becoming head coach of the Ravens this season, and Harbaugh cheerfully admits he's stolen mu Sat, 02 Aug 2008 00:04:36 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/299675 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/299675 Among the many images reporters were left with during a long afternoon of staking out the Sayre Park section of Lehigh, waiting for Eagles veterans to report to training camp (especially Brian Westbrook and Lito Sheppard), there was this: Offensive tackle Jon Runyan unloading an inversion table from the back of his pickup. That's right, a 6-7, 330-pound man spends part of every day hanging by his ankles. Picture that a moment. Runyan said he has been using the thing for two years, but usually only hangs for 10 or 15 minutes at a time. Any longer than that, he said, and his eyes begin bulging out. Making regular use of the inversion table helps his back as much as anything else. And coincidence or not, he has played in 192 straight games, including playoffs. It's not like he hasn't been hurt, either. He played the last 10 games of 2007 with a broken tailbone, and said it still bothers him when he sits for a long time, as was the case on the long drive to Bethlehem. "I'm fine," he said, "as long as I'm standing up." He will spend a lot of time on his feet over the next couple weeks, though he is one of those who has been granted admission to the "30-Plus Club" by coach Andy Reid, meaning he will get morning practices off every third day. "Can I get my years retroactive?" Runyan asked. "I wouldn't have to practice at all." Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:47:26 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298483 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298483 "The training camp crowds at Lehigh have shrunk with the expectations. Or maybe it's the gas prices - coupled with the creeping public sense that coming off 8-8 means the tank is half-empty. Whatever, the price of Brian Westbrook and his contract expectations are going up, the 15K-a-day meter keeps running on mysteriously missing guard Shawn Andrews, and the secondary - now starring the heftily paid but hamstrung Asante Samuel - is a bit overcrowded for Lito Sheppard's liking. These are three unsettled Pro Bowlers. On most NFL teams such issues are known as distractions, possibly damaging if prolonged. But the Andy Reid Eagles aren't most teams. Big Red's steadiness, strength and sense of ..." Wed, 30 Jul 2008 23:30:32 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298447 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298447 The primary criticism of the manner in which the Packers have handled the current drama regarding quarterback Brett Favre is that the Packers want to have it both ways; they want Favre not to play for them, and they want him not to play for anyone else. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has made it clear that the Packers won't get away with such an approach; if they want to move on without Favre, they need to let him move on to another team. According to WTMJ in Milwaukee, however, the Packers could try to buy such an approach, by paying Favre as much as $20 million over ten years not to play football for anyone. (Is a team-issued cell phone included?) Per the report, team president Mark Murphy "floated the idea" during Wednesday's meeting with Favre and agent Bus Cook. If such an offer was made, it apparently wasn't accepted. "Right now he's interested in going back to the Green Bay Packers," Cook told reporters. This is just lame Packers. Wed, 30 Jul 2008 23:25:53 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298446 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298446 Somebody once said baseball's pennant contenders can officially, indisputably, be determined at the All-Star break. That "somebody," however, never spoke with Tigers manager Jim Leyland. "I don't pay much attention to that stuff," Leyland said as his team prepares for the end of the first half of the season -- well, the "traditional" end of the first half also known as the annual Midsummer Classic. "I read the standings in the paper every day. I know where we're at. Our team knows where we're at. And what I know is, if you wanna stay in there (in contention), you've got to win games." Leyland's point is appreciated nearly three tense and exhaustive months before the start of baseball's 12-team postseason tournament, which spans nearly all of October. The season is long. Contenders in July can look like pretenders in September. The Tigers have worn both hats in 2008. A popular pick at the start of the season as a team that just might find itself in the World Series, the Tigers started as if they were more interested in baseball's first-ever booby prize. There was a marked correction in June, built upon an 18-4 run, that moved the Tigers within shouting distance (seven games heading into Friday's schedule) of the first-place White Sox in the American League Central Division. It seemed to indicate that the midseason barometer was, in fact, valid in labeling a talented, heavily paid Tigers team ($139 million -- the second-largest payroll in the majors) as a genuine threat. "Our pennant race began a month ago, because we were in such a deep hole," Tigers closer Todd Jones said. "It got a good bit longer because of what we did during the first two months. But I can't help but feel that our pieces (personnel) are so good that we can be optimistic more than other teams in the race." Several Central surprises Those scanning the Central have seen a few surprises in 2008 -- apart from the Tigers' horrific start that saw them lose their first seven games and tumble as low as 11 games below .500, at 24-35, on June 4. • The Indians, who were supposed to be the Tigers' nastiest division opponent, have been ripped by injuries and are in last place. • The White Sox were supposed to be a middle-of-the-pack gang, but have been in first place since May. • And then there are the Twins, a supposedly depleted, rebuilding club that has been sticking tight to the White Sox. Last week, the Twins handed the Tigers their first series loss since the first week of June and kept it going Thursday by winning Game 1 of this weekend's four-game series. It's all a bit crazy. But then, so is most of baseball this season, where the American League's former bottom-scraper, Tampa Bay, swept Boston in a three-game series last week and finds itself planted in first place in a division normally owned by Boston and the New York Yankees. "So much is made of the first two months of the season, which doesn't make any sense to me," said Tigers center fielder Curtis Granderson, trying to sort out the upheaval. "It's July -- it's after the All-Star break. That's when it's gonna be tough." Sturdy despite injuries The Tigers tend to like their chances in a down-the-stretch duel with the White Sox, Twins and anyone else who jumps into the fray. Despite losing two starting pitchers -- Jeremy Bonderman to circulatory surgery, Dontrelle Willis to early injures and subsequent pitching breakdowns -- the Tigers remain surprisingly sturdy. They are surviving the loss of their best hitter, Magglio Ordonez, to a strained oblique muscle, just as they endured earlier injuries to Granderson, designated hitter Gary Sheffield and super-sub Brandon Inge, who like Ordonez, was on the disabled list because of an ailing oblique. During the past few weeks, the Tigers have been welcoming back almost as many injured players as they've been sending out. The bullpen, in particular, has gotten a boost from 100-mph right-hander Joel Zumaya, as well as from setup man Fernando Rodney, neither of whom pitched until June because of shoulder surgery and tendonitis, respectively. Injuries, however, are as integral to baseball as hot dogs. Other teams, other contenders, also will be dealing with their share down the stretch. It is why Leyland views injuries as irrelevant. They cannot be stopped. They cannot be helped. They make no difference to a manager whose lineup card must be filled out, with whoever is available and healthy. Leyland is just as pragmatic when he looks at the scoreboard. It makes little difference to him, he says, what other teams are doing in the early days of July. It is what his team does. It is the score of Detroit's game that matters. As he stands in the Comerica Park dugout, Leyland is staring directly at a big auxiliary scoreboard in right-center field that continually displays and updates the day's games. "It's not that big of an issue," he says of those who would suspect that Leyland has one eye on his division rivals as the Tigers fight it out on a particular afternoon or evening. "I think everybody probably watches the scoreboard from the first day on." Focusing on the present For managers, the game is forever about the present. It is their ongoing focus, their daily responsibility, their only sane option, really. To think about the future, about what other teams are doing, is alien to their daily mission to prepare their team as best as possible to win that day's game. The standings? Leyland and his peers acknowledge they know by heart where they and their competition stack up on a given day. They know what's ahead. "As usual, it's gonna be a bunch of head-bashing," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said about the brewing playoff chase between his team, the White Sox, and the Tigers, if not others. "It's going to be good baseball. "We got ahead of the Tigers, but we all know they'll keep coming. Our division is one of those nine-innings-a-night battles. And nobody's going to quit." Sat, 12 Jul 2008 10:51:13 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289483 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289483 Turns out, there is little currency in memories. They don't spend well in a pinch, and you can't cash them in for future considerations. And if you're Brett Favre, they don't buy you much goodwill, even in Green Bay. What a remarkable story it is, this tale of a legend seemingly locked out of his home. Favre has let it be known he might un-retire this month, and the Packers have hinted that they have moved on without him. If that sounds cold, it is nothing compared to the antipathy that has greeted the Favre rumors elsewhere. Radio callers in Wisconsin are not rushing to his support. Message boards seem tilted against his return. Even a good number of out-of-town fans act strangely uninterested in any possible acquisition. All for a Hall of Fame-bound quarterback who took the Packers within a field goal of the Super Bowl last season. It's almost as if people are annoyed that Favre might be changing his mind. That, after his tearful farewell, they have no sympathy for a player who can't stay away from the field. Look at it from the standpoint of the Packers, they say. The team has a lot invested in backup quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and have revamped the game plan to fit his style. Look at it from the standpoint of Rodgers, they say. He has sat quietly behind Favre for three years and has spent the entire offseason under the assumption he is the No. 1 quarterback. Both are excellent points not to be take lightly. But look at it from the standpoint of Favre, I say. An athlete's time is limited. There are only so many games and so many chances in a career and, once lost, they can never be regained. This seems to be what Favre, 38, has been thinking in recent weeks. That if he lets this season pass him by, he will never again step foot on an NFL field as an active player. And that in future years he might regret not squeezing every last moment of joy out of his career. Yet some see sinister motives in his return. That he has purposefully put the Packers in a bad situation. That he has somehow cheated Rodgers out of a job. That he duped everyone with his premature retirement. Can't it just be a guy changing his mind? Look, there's no question Favre could have handled this better. If the Packers were pushing him for a quick decision in March — and they were — he didn't need to make a retirement announcement. He could have told the Packers to proceed without him, and he would make up his mind later in the summer. It is also likely that he orchestrated this latest rash of rumors with well-placed media leaks, when it would have served everyone better if he contacted the Packers in private to gauge their response. Frankly, he could help his cause today if he said he was motivated by nothing more than the love of the game and that he would take a sizable cut in his $13-million salary so the Packers would not have cap concerns. Instead, the Packers and Favre seem to be engaged in a silent dance. Each one drifting in circles, waiting for the other to make the next move. It doesn't need to be this dramatic. If the Packers do not want him back, they need only tell him and then announce they are too far along in their plans to accommodate his return. And if Favre plays in another uniform next season, it is not going to change his legacy in Green Bay. Just as long as the Packers realize what they could be passing up. Even at his age, Favre is one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL and Rodgers, for all his potential at 24, is still a mystery. It has been so long since they have had to worry about a new quarterback in Green Bay, they seem to have forgotten how difficult it is to find one. Once Bart Starr retired in 1970, the Packers went through an assembly line of passers. They tried young hotshots (Don Majkowski) and old retreads (John Hadl). They searched in trades (Lynn Dickey) and near the top of the draft (Jerry Tagge). They wandered for 21 seasons, and had two playoff appearances to show for it. Then, along comes Favre, and Green Bay's reality changes. The Packers reached the playoffs 11 times in the next 16 seasons. Or, here's another way to look at it. Green Bay had two 10-win seasons in the 20 years before Favre. The Packers averaged 10 wins a season during his time there. Maybe those are all just memories today, but that doesn't mean they're not worth something. Sat, 12 Jul 2008 10:47:32 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289480 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/289480 Troubled New England Patriot Willie Andrews is behind bars again after allegedly holding a powerful handgun to his fiancee's head when she accused him of cheating on her. The couple were arguing when the 24-year-old Pats defensive back allegedly pulled a .45-caliber Glock, waved it around and then held it to her temple, the 23-year-old woman told police. She called cops at about 1:40 a.m. yesterday after her alleged ordeal at Andrews' apartment at 10 Connors Ave. in Mansfield. "At some point during the argument, the handgun went up to the area of her temple," Mansfield police said in a statement. Cops said the woman fled to a local hotel with her child after the incident. Andrews was later seen by officers talking to the woman in the hotel parking lot but drove away in his car when he saw police cruisers. He was arrested at his apartment soon afterward, and a .45 Glock was later found near a Dumpster outside his apartment complex, police said. Andrews was arraigned yesterday at Attleboro District Court on charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a high-capacity firearm without a Firearm Identification Card. He was held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing at Attleboro District Court on Thursday. The New England Patriots [team stats] refused comment. Gregg Miliote, spokesman for Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter, confirmed the woman's statement to police that the argument was triggered when she accused Andrews of cheating. The woman told police she and Andrews had been engaged for a month and a half, had been together for three years and have a child together, the Attleboro Sun-Chronicle reported. It is the second time the Patriots defensive back has gone afoul of the law this offseason. In February, just two days after the Patriots' Super Bowl defeat, Andrews was busted in Lowell for driving around with a half-pound of marijuana and $6,800 in cash in his car. That case was continued without a finding. Andrews was also jailed for 30 days in his native Texas after being caught by cops with a .25-caliber pistol in the trunk of his car while on probation for a criminal mischief conviction. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:49:26 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284540 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284540 Usually, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb enters a season fully healthy and, at some point, suffers some type of acute injury that limits his availability in some way. This time around, there's a chronic condition with McNabb that is causing quiet consternation even before training camp opens. McNabb has some type of an issue with his shoulder. Not the Tom Brady "probable" problem, but an apparently real shoulder limitation that is causing the team to limit his work during voluntary offseason sessions. Per Brian Seltzer of ESPN Radio 950 in Philly, McNabb practiced on a "very limited" basis on Monday, not throwing any passes for the last hour of the workout. Apparently, McNabb has been on a "pitch count" since May. Last week, receiver Kevin Curtis opined that McNabb's shoulder is sore. Per Seltzer, McNabb said that he's not concerned about the shoulder, and that he's confident it will improve. Which implies, of course, that there's something wrong with it. Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:16:50 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/276240 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/276240 The struggles of the Yankees' young pitching prospects this season have been well documented. Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes have yet live up to their potential, and Joba Chamberlain's conversion to the rotation is a work in progress. Only Darrell Rasner has provided any consistency this year. But the Yankees' first-round pick in Thursday's amateur draft showed that they were still committed to young pitchers. With their first selection, No. 28 over all, the Yankees selected the right-hander Gerrit Cole, 17, out of Orange Lutheran High School in Southern California. Listed at 6 feet 3 inches and 190 pounds, Cole built a reputation as a power pitcher. During his three years at Orange Lutheran, he never lost a game. "He throws a power fastball with sink in the 94-98 range and has also developed a good changeup," Damon Oppenheimer, the Yankees' vice president for amateur scouting, said in a news release. "He's a competitor every time he takes the mound, and he pitches with a lot of confidence." Cole signed a letter of intent with U.C.L.A. last year. What may prove more important for the Yankees, however, is that he has the agent Scott Boras as an Fri, 06 Jun 2008 07:53:49 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/275228 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/275228 It remains to be seen, of course, just how much momentum such an exhilarating and unexpected walk-off win over one of the teams ahead of them in their own division will have for these very imperfect Yankees. For now, all we say is that one swing of Jason Giambi's bat off Blue Jays closer B.J. Ryan Thursday managed to wipe away a multitude of Yankee sins and bring a merciful end to what had been a game deserving of being buried in the rubble when they start tearing down the grand old Stadium. Certainly, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons would agree after watching his pitchers fritter away the 7-2 lead Toronto had forged against Chien-Ming Wang. It was that kind of game, with 11 walks overall. For the record, the slider Giambi clubbed into the upper deck in right just a few feet inside the foul pole was the 359th pitch of a game that left just about everyone at a loss for words. "I know I can't explain it," Gibbons said. "We had them right at the end of the game. We put a five-spot on Wang and immediately gave two of them back. They got their magic in this place. They got magic. That's why they win every year. But in reality, we did not pitch well enough to win." At the same time, though, Joe Girardi would have to agree that the Yankees didn't play well enough to win either. For starters, Wang's fourth straight poor performance and sixth straight outing without a victory, dating back to May 2, if nothing else placed increased urgency on the Great Joba Experiment. In their arguments against Wang in his salary arbitration hearing last winter, Yankee officials said the righthander, despite his two straight No. 1-type 19-win seasons, did not pitch like a No. 1 in the postseason against the Cleveland Indians. Now he's not pitching like a No. 1 in the regular season, and, despite Girardi's insistence that there's nothing physically wrong with his erstwhile ace, the Yankees have to be concerned. In his last four starts, Wang has given up 27 hits and 23earned runs in 23-2/3 innings. "He's in a little funk that he'll get out of," Girardi said. "With him, I think he's just got to get under the baseball better. I'm not worried because his velocity is there." To be fair, Wang probably deserved a better fate yesterday. If Melky Cabrera had not dropped Alex Rios' hard hit fly ball right at him with one out and runners at first and second in the fifth, Wang would have been out of the inning with a double play as the lead runner, Joe Inglett, had already rounded third. One run scored, and after that, Wang unraveled, hitting Scott Rolen to load the bases and then surrendering a two-run single to Matt Stairs and a two-run double to Lyle Overbay - and the Taiwanese stock market subsequently took a seismic hit. Fri, 06 Jun 2008 07:50:43 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/275226 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/275226 JOE said Thursday that he does not understand claims by Johnny Damon that moving Joba Chamberlain to the starting rotation has weakened the bullpen and cost the Yankees wins. "We're putting a great arm in the rotation that we believe is going to win games," the manager argued in response to the veteran outfielder's comments in yesterday's Daily News. "I want to know the games that we've sacrificed by doing what we did. Everyone is assuming that we would have won that game in Baltimore if we had Joba in the bullpen that night. You're pretty smart if you know that. Everyone is assuming we would have won the game in Minnesota if we had Joba in the bullpen that night. It doesn't always work that way. "I think people make the assumption that if he's in the bullpen, you're going to win every game. That's not the case." Damon had argued that it was more likely the Yankees would have won games decided in the late innings, particularly two on the Yanks' last road trip, if Chamberlain was handing the game over to closer Mariano Rivera - a feeling privately shared by several of Damon's teammates. Damon told The News that similar to the world champion Yankee teams of the last decade, the bullpen coming out of spring training this year had been a team strength, but "now instead, we're trying to find out who's best suited for that eighth-inning role." Damon did not back off his comments yesterday. "It's what we are going to go with, and in the long term I think it will help the team," Damon said. "In the short term we have to find a way to get the ball to Mariano; it's as simple as that. Yeah, we could have used (Chamberlain) on the last road trip. No doubt about it. Would we have won those games? Maybe. Maybe not." Girardi, who claimed he was not aware of Damon's comments until reporters asked him about them yesterday morning, said he did not have a problem with his left fielder speaking out, but said he did not agree with Damon. "I'm never going to tell people what to say or what not to say," Girardi said. "That's not my style. So much has been made through this transition of us losing games because of our bullpen; I don't necessarily agree with that. I think we've lost games because we've had opportunities and haven't taken advantage of them." Chamberlain, who struggled in his abbreviated debut as a starter Tuesday night, tried to downplay the controversy after yesterday's dramatic Yankee win. "It's not that big of a deal," he said. "I don't think it's a big deal." Damon, whose four-year deal with the Yankees runs through next season, said the move should not cost the team a chance at a 14th straight playoff appearance. "We have enough talent here to get back to the playoffs, but we have a little better division this year and have to hang around and stay as close as possible until we figure who's going to bridge the gap to Mariano," Damon said. "I am not one to panic and I am not going to panic now at this." Fri, 06 Jun 2008 07:49:05 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/275224 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/275224 IRVING – For five years, Terrell Owens got to see Jerry Rice up close in San Francisco. Rice, the NFL's all-time leading receiver and considered by many to be the best player, regardless of position, to play in the NFL, was able to play 21 years for three different teams until he was 42. Before the Cowboys signed Owens to a four-year, $34 million deal this week, Rice's name came up. With Owens turning 35 in December, age was (or is) a concern. To Owens, who will be 38 at the end of this contract, age is just a number. To owner and general manager Jerry Owens has played a full 16-game season just twice since 2000, although his 2005 season was ended when Philadelphia suspended him. But Jones said the injuries that sidelined Owens in 2004 (the ankle injury suffered on a Roy Williams' horse-collar tackle) and last season, when a high ankle sprain cost him a game and left him gimpy in the playoffs, were not a result of age but accidents. With a $12.9 million signing bonus, the Cowboys proved they weren't concerned about age, much the same way they dealt with cornerback Terence Newman. He turns 30 before the season and was recently signed to a six-year extension with $22 million guaranteed. Rice's workouts were legendary and Owens joined in a few, but mostly observed Rice's ability to produce even at an older age. Owens' workouts are just as legendary. "I had heard about his work ethic and saw it myself, so anybody that knows me knows I'm a go-getter," Owens said. "I'm very determined and I'm inspired, so it probably was something that went hand in hand watching him and listening to people tell me how hard he took care of himself and how he trains. I'm pretty sure some of that rubbed off." Owens' statistics have been remarkably consistent. He has had at least 13 touchdown catches in six of the last eight seasons. He had six touchdown receptions in seven games for the Eagles in 2005 and has 28 TD catches over the last two years for the Cowboys. Maintaining success for elite receivers is not unheard of. After his 35th birthday, Rice averaged 80 catches for 1,028 yards and seven touchdowns from 1998 to 2002. After his 33rd birthday, Tim Brown averaged 65 catches for 799 yards and five touchdowns from 2000 to '04. In his last three seasons in Minnesota, Cris Carter averaged 86 catches for 1,128 yards and nine touchdowns. More Cowboys Rice and Brown were teammates in 2001 and '02. Carter had Randy Moss on the opposite side. Owens has Pro Bowlers at quarterback (Tony Romo) and tight end (Jason Witten) entering the primes of their careers as well as a Pro Bowl running back in Marion Barber. "He's taken care of himself," Jones said of Owens. "He has the work ethic that is still very much in place. He's working harder now than he was two years ago. And not that he wasn't working two years ago. When you look at where he is physically, he's inordinately healthy. If you've still got that, he's still got his burst. He still has his quickness. Yet, he has that experience. I think it's a real value for the Dallas Cowboys, or we wouldn't be sitting here." Fri, 06 Jun 2008 07:45:13 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/275223 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/275223