MLB Hot Stove Notes
-After a banner year for Colorado pitcher Jason Marquis, it does not appear that he will return to the Rockies, says Tracy Ringolsby. According to the article, Marquis has told former teammates that he prefers to sign with the Mets. That makes sense, since he was born in Staten Island, New York, a Verazano Bridge and BQE trip from Citi Field.
-It’s probably not the best idea to insult the player that could be your most valuable, but that’s what the Angels reportedly did with OF Bobby Abreu. He was offered a two-year extension worth just $16 million, according to Jon Heyman via Twitter. He clearly deserves more and lowballing Abreu at this crucial point could prove costly.
-Heyman also tweeted that former Rangers Hitting Coach Rudy Jaramillo would probably take the same position with the Cubs if offered. The Mets have said that they have no interest in Jaramillo.
-Several executives and scouts told Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald that the Red Sox will likely pursue Rich Harden in the offseason.
Cribbs To Miami?
The rumor started by the Dayton Daily News said that Miami had shown interest in the speedy, elusive and dangerous WR/RB/KR Josh Cribbs, and that a deal was possible before Tuesday’s trade deadline as the Browns apparently are continuing their fire sale.
That led me to the next question on how dangerous Cribbs could be when employed in the Wildcat system that bashed and gashed the Jets defense on Monday. ESPN’s Football Scientist KC Joyner went into what Cribbs can do in the Wildcat if traded there.
“The Browns have run their version of the Wildcat with Cribbs with some success, so it’s not as if he would have much of a learning curve.” Joyner said, but questioned how much Cribbs would actually be used. “My only question here is how much Wildcat will Miami use? They already have Brown and White getting touches in that formation and getting Cribbs would seem to lean more on it. Will that impact Henne’s growth? Not saying they should hold back on getting Cribbs but it doesn’t seem to be a long-term move.”
Joyner later pointed out that Cribbs would drastically improve their return game, giving the ‘Phins better field position, assuming he does his job. The rumors will continue to fly around the league before Tuesday’s deadline.
NHL Week In Preview: A New World Order In Hockey?
The Devils, Bruins, Capitals, Red Wings, Canucks and Sharks won their respective divisions last year. After the season’s first two weeks not a single one of those teams lead their division.
One of those divisons that might see a big change is the Central, where the Red Wings are struggling out of the gate with Chris Osgood showing his age and Johan Franzen’s injury slowing them down. Two teams taking advantage of that now are first place Chicago and the up-and-coming second place Columbus Blue Jackets, who are riding high at 4-1 with top scorer Rick Nash and young goalie Steve Mason.
“Columbus looks pretty legit to me,” said Susan Slusser, who covers the San Jose Sharks for the San Francisco Chronicle and leads the NHL coverage at AOL FanHouse. Her latest article sang the praises of the Blue Jackets and she was nice enough to respond to SprungOnSports via Twitter. “This seems like a potential changing of the guard season in some divisions.”
In the Atlantic Division, the Penguins and Rangers look like they can potentially leave the defending division champion Devils in the dust. Boston looks like it’s going to get a real battle from Buffalo in the Northeast, and the Avalanche, Flames and Oilers seem like real threats to Vancouver’s hopes in the Northwest. As Slusser said, it could be a real changing of the guard in the division and a new world order in the league.
Week In Preview
Thursday
-Neither the Lightning nor the Senators are off to great starts, but the two will meet at 7:30 p.m. on TSN. San Jose at Washington, Detroit at Los Angeles and Colorado at Montreal are other games of note.
Friday
-Of the six games scheduled for Friday, Boston and Dallas and Vancouver at Calgary really stand out. It’ll be really interesting to see if the Bruins and Canucks can get out of their early season funks after such high preseason expectations.
Saturday
-13 games hit the ice on Saturday night. CBC’s Hockey Night In Canada will feature the Wild and Canucks, two teams that have had little success thus far, going at 10 p.m. eastern. Colorado faces Detroit, Carolina will be at New Jersey, the Kings visit the Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh looks to strike the Lightning in the other notable games. No games are scheduled for Sunday.
Monday
-All three games are really good ones, but San Jose visiting the red hot Rangers at 7 p.m. on Versus really takes the cake. Kings-Stars and Canucks-Oilers are the other matches.
Tuesday
-Versus comes back with another interesting one at 7 as the St. Louis Blues visit Crosby, Malkin and the Penguins. On TSN at the same time, Atlanta visits Montreal. Blue Jackets-Flames is the other game.
Wednesday
-There are no nationally televised games, and only two of the six games look good, both out west. Vancouver visits Chicago at 8:30 p.m and Dallas will be at Anaheim at 10:30.
