Quick hits about the Nets' draft

Having already changed owners and brought in a highly-regarded head coach, the New Jersey Nets had begun their rebuilding process well before last night's NBA Draft. Still, the team's selections of Derrick Favors (3rd overall) and Damion James (24th overall) were significant steps for a franchise desperate to erase the memories of a 12-70 season. Here are three things that struck me about the Nets' Draft haul:

1.) Finally, a power forward
Nenad Krstic has been the Nets' only serviceable power forward since they traded Kenyon Martin in 2004 (no, Yi Jianlian doesn't count,) so there has been a glaring need for a quality 4 for the last six years. But that need became especially urgent as the Nets watched Brook Lopez grow into one of the top centers in the Eastern Conference over his first two seasons. Not surprisingly, new owner Mikhail Prokhorov identified a low-post complement to Lopez as the Nets' No. 1 priority this offseason.

Favors certainly fits the bill. At 6-foot-10, 246 pounds, he has the prototypical power forward frame. For his size, Lopez hasn't rebounded the ball particularly well over his short NBA career, so Favors' apparent abilities on the glass and defensive end make him an ideal complement.

The Nets could have also gone with DeMarcus Cousins, but his supposed weight and attitude issues made Favors was the better fit. Cousins checked in at 289 pounds during his workout with the Nets on Monday, and it's just hard to imagine that body moving quickly enough to guard opposing 4s on the perimeter. Twelve-win teams also can't afford to take the kind of leap of faith drafting Cousins would require. Between the fit and the lack of baggage, Favors was the better choice for the Nets.

2.) Building the right way
By drafting the youngest player in the history of their franchise, the Nets revealed something refreshing about the way they'll approach their rebuilding process. Favors, who will turn just 19 in July, will supposedly need at least a few years to realize his potential, so whichever team drafted him would have to be patient. While Prokhorov is ambitious -- he has stated publicly that he expects the Nets to win an NBA championship in five years -- the Nets' selection of Favors suggests they will nonetheless be methodical and deliberate in resurrecting their franchise.

There was speculation in the days leading up to the draft that Syracuse's Wes Johnson would be the Nets' pick at 3. The 23-year-old Johnson was enticing because he can supposedly help out right away and because he shares an agent with free-agent-to-be Carlos Boozer. Still, Johnson is regarded as a lesser prospect than Favors. Perhaps a starting five of Devin Harris, Terrence Williams, Johnson, Boozer, and Lopez could have competed for the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference next season. But the Nets would have surely regretted the short-term gains of a low playoff seed (which are minimal anyway) if Favors blossoms as he is expected to a few years down the road. No 70-loss team should be so short-sighted. The Favors selection indicates the Nets are looking not for a quick fix, but rather for the chance at being a perennial contender.

3.) The plan for free agency
Despite the high talent level, this year's Draft was still overshadowed by the impending start of free agency, in which the crop of available players will be of a caliber unlike any in the league's history. Still, the Draft is significant because it provided a sense of the direction the Nets will take once the madness begins on July 1.

In addition to selecting Favors, the Nets also nabbed a bulky rebounding forward in Damion James via a trade with Atlanta. In the process, they relinquished the rights to Jordan Crawford, whose knack for scoring would have fit in nicely with the Nets, the league's worst offensive team a year ago. Thus, it will be almost imperative that the Nets add a scoring wing via free agency, or else endure another season with Courtney Lee in the starting lineup. Rudy Gay is a restricted free agent, but Memphis might not retain him after drafting Xavier Henry. Joe Johnson is also available, as is a guy named Dwyane Wade. The fact that the Nets have room for only one max free agent (at the moment), that they're coming off a 12-70 season, and that they're stuck in the perceived purgatory that is New Jersey for at least two more seasons makes Gay and Johnson more realistic targets.

While a wing might be one of the priorities, the Nets may very well go get themselves a big man, as well. The addition of Favors certainly lessens the Nets' glaring need for a 4, but since Favors is regarded as bit of a project, it's still highly likely that the Nets will pursue one of the plethora of power forwards available in this year's free agent class, especially if they can trade Yi. Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire might be out equation, but a cheaper, second-tier guy like Boozer or David Lee, both of whom are nightly double-double threats, could be very solid options. With Favors, Lopez, and a free agent on board, the Nets could very well have a -- cue the eye-roll -- Lakers-lite frontcourt rotation next year.

Crunching some numbers on the Yankees

A few quick stats on the Yankees, who after last night's 5-2 win over the Mariners now stand at a season-best 31 games over .500.

1.) In 2009, the Yankees have had twice as many winning streaks of 7 or greater (4) than they've had losing streaks of 4 or greater (2). They haven't lost more than three games in a row since May 7.

2.) The Yankees have lost just two series against teams currently under .500 this season: their season-opening series against the Orioles from April 6-April 9, and -- amazingly -- an interleague series at home against the Nationals from June 16-June 18.

3.) That three-game set against the Nationals was also the last time the Yankees lost a series at home. They are an astounding 20-4 at Yankee Stadium since then.

4.) In 83 fewer plate appearances, Nick Swisher has just 4 fewer home runs and 8 more RBIs than Tigers All-Star center fielder Curtis Granderson. Swisher's on-base percentage is also 34 points higher and his slugging 3 points better than Granderson. This is not to say that a corner outfielder who bats mostly sixth for maybe the best lineup in baseball and who gets to hit in a bandbox is better than a center fielder who puts up similar production out of the leadoff spot in the cavernous Comerica Park for a team that bats Clete Thomas third -- and who, by the way, also has 20 stolen bases. But it just gives a good sense of the tremendous value the Yankees got for nothing more than Wilson Betemit and two minor leaguers.

5.) For a grand total of $2,874,525, which amounts to less than what the Yankees paid LaTroy Hawkins and less than half of what they paid Kyle Farnsworth last year, this is what they are getting out of the combination of Hughes, Coke, Aceves, Bruney, and Robertson in the bullpen:

• (From a graphic on the 8/15 YESNetwork.com Postgame Plus) Since, June 1, the Yankee bullpen leads the American League in wins (17), saves (28), ERA (3.21), opponent's batting average (.209), and strikeouts (210).
• There were plenty who thought the Yankees would never be able to replace Joba Chamberlain in the bullpen. But Hughes' 33.1 innings as a reliever this year are strikingly similar to Chamberlain's first 33.1 innings in relief between 07 and 08. Hughes' WHIP (0.87) and batting average against (.169) are exactly the same as Chamberlain's were, while his strikeout (11.9 vs. 12.15 K/9) and control (4.89 vs. 5.00 K/BB) numbers are close enough.
• Oh, and that Rivera guy is still pretty good, too. These are his numbers in 187.2 innings since April 23, 2007: 2.01 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 100-for-104 in save chances, 143 hits (including just 35 for extra bases), 8.46 K/BB. Ridiculous.

Time for a change?

By issuing general manager Omar Minaya a vote of confidence Monday, Mets COO Jeff Wilpon put to bed any talk of his fledgling franchise making immediate changes within its front office.

On one hand, it's hard to fault Wilpon for his willingness to stay the course. Expected to be one of the top teams in the National League this season, the Mets have been plagued by a host of crippling injuries, silencing their offense, weakening their bullpen, and landing their team in fourth place. New York hasn't had its top four hitters -- David Wright, Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, and Carlos Beltran -- all in the starting lineup since May 10. It has been without top setup man J.J. Putz and starter John Maine since the beginning of June. And within the last month, outfielder Fernando Martinez and starter Fernando Nieve, two players called upon to fill some of the voids left by all the injuries, also went down.

In his willingness to keep Minaya around even after an extremely disappointing season, Wilpon certainly took Mets' unfortunate injury situation into account. What team could possibly overcome the losses of so many key players? No general manager can be expected to plan for so much bad luck, so it's perhaps unfair to blame Minaya for the Mets' disastrous '09 campaign. Once the team has a chance to get healthy in the offseason, they'll surely be competitive again in 2010, so why should Wilpon bother shaking things up so drastically at this point?

But while it's true that Minaya can't be blamed for the number of injuries the Mets have suffered, he can be blamed for the way he's handled them. While players like Mark DeRosa and Matt Holliday have been dealt and names like Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee have been bandied about the rumor mill, Minaya has largely sat on his hands, making just a minor move to swap right fielders with the division rival Braves. He has done nothing to address the Mets' lack of depth behind Johan Santana in the starting rotation and nothing to replace the free-agent-to-be Delgado's production at first base, both in the short and long term. The only piece they've added via trade is Jeff Francouer, who was so disappointing in the eyes of the Braves front office that it actually dealt him within its division for nothing more than Ryan Church.

What does the Mets' lack of activity on the trade market suggest? Perhaps they simply aren't willing to take on more payroll after the Wilpon family reportedly lost hundreds of millions in the Bernard Madoff scandal. Perhaps they're optimistic that Beltran and Reyes, in particular, can return by August and help the team make a late run at a Wild Card berth. Or, most likely, they simply don't have the goods to get a deal done.

The proof of the latter point is in the way Minaya has responded to the Mets' injuries compared to the way other teams have handled theirs this season. The Phillies, for instance, summoned J.A. Happ from the bullpen to fill a need in the starting rotation. The Yankees have used homegrown products like Phil Hughes and Phil Coke to replace oft-injured relievers Brian Bruney and Damaso Marte. The Red Sox overcame the loss of Mike Lowell by moving Kevin Youkilis to third base and using AAA call-ups like Aaron Bates and Jeff Bailey at first base. All these teams found adequate replacements from within -- either by making adjustments to their major league rosters or finding reinforcements from the minors -- in a display of their organizational depth.

The Mets, on the other hand, have tended to cherry-pick whoever is available off the free agent market or the waiver wire. To plug holes in the outfield, Minaya has looked to Gary Sheffield and Fernando Tatis. To add depth in the infield, Minaya has brought in the likes of Angel Berroa and even took a look at Julio Lugo. To overcome some of the team's pitching deficiencies, Minaya has turned to Tim Redding and Elmer Dessens.

Meanwhile, the few organizational options the Mets have turned to clearly did not belong in the major leagues. Martinez, the Mets' most highly-touted prospect, was the ripe old age of 20 when he was called up in April, struggling to a .242 on-base percentage before getting injured. Among the other youngsters counted on to fill holes on the Mets were Nick Evans (.131 career average in AAA) and Bobby Parnell (18 runs in 25.1 innings last year combined AAA and major leagues).

All of this -- the Mets' inability to make trades, their tendency to give a roster spot to whichever washed up veteran is available, and their lack of suitable replacements at the minor league level -- is indicative a team with absolutely no organizational depth. That is 100 percent on Minaya. In five years as general manager, he has done a great job attracting premier talent to Queens, bringing in the likes of Pedro Martinez, Beltran, Delgado, Johan Santana, and Francisco Rodriguez. But at the same time, he has completely failed when it comes to developing talent within the organization, making the Mets so dependent upon a handful of star players that an injury to any of them would be crippling.

The roof caved in on the Mets' 2009 season when they could do no better than a bunch of aging has-beens to patch the holes on their team, mainly because no one from their AA or AAA affiliates -- a combined 45 games under .500 -- could serve as either an adequate fill-in or a major piece in a blockbuster deal. It's the reason why the Mets are a fading laughingstock, instead of a club that can compete in spite of its injuries. It's also Minaya's single greatest failing as a general manager, one that, perhaps, should cost him his job.

Quit dreaming, Yankee fans

Apparently, all it takes is one innocent comment from J.P. Ricciardi to make an entire legion of Yankee fans absolutely lose their minds.

The Blue Jays general manager set off a media firestorm yesterday, when he insinuated that Roy Halladay, an early-season Cy Young candidate and arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball, could be had for the right price.

As is the case anytime a superstar player is involved, all eyes immediately turned to the Yankees. FOX's Ken Rosenthal mentioned the Bombers first on a list of potential Halladay suitors, saying that the Jays could be intrigued by some highly-touted prospects currently in the lower tiers of the Yanks' minor league system. Meanwhile, YES Network blogger Glen Giangrande wrote in a post entitled "Halladay: A Natural Fit for Pinstripes" that the Yankees should somehow go and get the stud righty without giving up Phil Hughes. Another blogger suggested that Halladay's friendship with former teammate A.J. Burnett might cause him to push for a trade to the Bronx. Yankee fans, of course, ate all of this up, taking to sports talk radio and message boards with dreams of watching a formidable starting rotation led by Halladay and CC Sabathia.

Let's digest this for a second: The Blue Jays are supposed to trade a legitimate ace who won't become a free agent until after the 2010 season -- within their division, mind you -- for a package headlined by some low-minors prospects they hope will pan out -- leaving a 23-year-old pitcher who is already in the majors out of the deal, of course -- all because Halladay apparently has some unsubstantiated desire to be reunited with a former teammate. Dream on, Yankee fans. Believing any of this talk reflects poorly on us as baseball fans, it reeks of big-market arrogance, and really, it's just plain stupid.

First off, recent history says aces rarely get traded within the same league, let alone the same division. Look at the top five pitchers traded in the 2008 calendar year: Johan Santana, Erik Bedard, CC Sabathia, Rich Harden, and Joe Blanton. Bedard was the only one to stay in the American League, but even still, Baltimore made sure it sent the current Seattle Mariner as far away as possible. Look at all the top-flight pitching Billy Beane has packaged out of Oakland in the last five years: Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, Dan Haren, Harden, and Blanton. Not a single one of them stayed in the American League. Look at Florida, who over the years had no problem trading big bats -- Mike Piazza, Carlos Delgado, Paul Lo Duca -- to the division-rival Mets. Yet even they shipped Boston's Josh Beckett out of the NL East back in 2005.

But for argument's sake, let's say the Yankees did want to make a run at Halladay. After all, the Jays and Yanks did pull off an intra-division blockbuster a little over 10 years ago, when Roger Clemens was dealt to the Bronx prior to the 1999 season. Keep in mind what the Yankees gave up in that deal, however: David Wells, coming off an 18-4 season in which he finished third in the Cy Young voting; lefty-specialist Graeme Lloyd; and speedy second baseman Homer Bush. That's three major leaguers, all contributors to a historic 1998 championship winning squad, for the 35-year-old Clemens.

There's no doubt the price would be just as steep for Halladay, who is three years younger than Clemens was at the time of his trade to the Yankees. At the minimum, every young piece on the Yanks' major league roster -- Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera, Brett Gardner, Alfredo Aceves, Phil Coke, David Robertson, Joba Chamberlain, and yes, even Phil Hughes -- would have to be in play. Top prospects in AA and AAA, most notably Austin Jackson and Jesus Montero, would also have to be in the conversation. What incentive do the Blue Jays have to trade a stud of Halladay's caliber to a team they'll see 19 times a year without pillaging the Yankees of their top young talent? Absolutely none.

That's actually what makes a potential Halladay trade so unattractive from the Yankees' perspective. Despite essentially spotting Boston an eight-game lead in the AL East, the Yanks trail the Sox by only one heading into tonight's action. A primary reason is that unlike last year -- when Hughes and Ian Kennedy combined to go 0-8, Cabrera earned a demotion to the minors, and Cano hit a career-low .271 -- the young guys are contributing in a big way this year. Hughes has been dominant in a relief role (16 strikeouts, six hits in 14.2 innings), teaming with Coke, Robertson, and Aceves to stabilize a once-shaky Yankee bullpen. Cabrera has already matched a career high with eight home runs, Cano is back above .300, and Gardner has given a team typically characterized by its plodding veterans an element of speed it hasn't had in recent memory. Why tinker with any of that at this point?

Certainly, there is no team that wouldn't want the services of Roy Halladay. But Yankee fans should expect that he'll just be given away on a silver platter to a division rival. The Yanks would undoubtedly have to give up a ton to get him, including a lot of important pieces on a team that's 15 games over .500, and ultimately, that's just too high a price to pay.

The difference between the Jets and the Giants

Utter ineptitude...

...versus a championship squad.

Same old Jets

You would have thought that when the Jets swung an offseason deal to acquire Brett Favre that they'd finally secured the critical piece that had eluded them since the days of Joe Namath: a difference-making, superstar quarterback.

You would have thought that when the Jets surrounded Favre with $140 million worth of free agents and trade acquisitions that they had given Favre the supports necessary to turn a 4-11 team into a legitimate AFC contender.

You would have thought that when Tom Brady went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 1 that the stars had aligned for the revamped Jets to make a run at the Super Bowl berth that has otherwise been off limits in the Brady-Belichick era.

You would have thought that when the Jets went into Foxborough and beat the Patriots in Week 11 and that when they then went into Nashville and ended the Titans' undefeated season the following weekend that they were indeed taking advantage of their best championship opportunity in recent memory.

Nope.

Four weeks and three disgraceful losses later, the Jets have completed an epic collapse that stands alone even in their putrid history. It culminated in a downright pathetic 13-3 setback to the three-win Seahawks yesterday, a loss that all-but guarantees they'll be home come January.

Just how badly did the Jets play with their season on the line yesterday? Their defense registered zero sacks of Senaca Wallace, stymied by a patchwork Seattle offensive line of 5 (!) backups. Their quarterback, legendary for his cold-weather prowess and his cannon arm, was abysmal in the snowy conditions, underthrowing every pass except a 4th-and-4 heave with 2:21 to play that Laveranues Coles dropped. Their coach, touted as a "genius" just two years ago, showed zero faith in his team of 7 Pro Bowlers, opting for a chip-shot field goal instead of a touchdown try in the first quarter and then a punt instead of a 50-yard field goal try in the fourth.

But then again, what else would you expect but a gutless performance from a team that lost at home to the Patriots in Matt Cassel's first professional start? That fell to both Oakland and San Francisco (combined record: 10-20) this season? That made the freefalling Denver Broncos look dominant three weeks ago? That needed a gift from the football gods just to get by the lowly Bills last week?

Sp put those dreams of an all-Jersey Super Bowl (Jets vs. Giants with Bruce Springsteen performing at halftime) to bed. Start gauging Bill Cowher's interest in coming out of retirement. Don't even wait for Favre to start his annual will-he-or-won't-he retirement drama -- just show him the door.

This once-promising season is now down to a nightmare showdown against Miami in the Meadowlands next weekend. A season-ending loss to Chad Pennington, who the Jets cared so little about after acquiring Favre that they let him sign with a division rival, would be the ultimate slap in the face. Then again, a win would open the door for the hated Patriots to clinch a miraculous postseason berth. Regardless, it'll be one more punch to the gut, as if Jet fans haven't endured enough already.

Jason who?

At the start of the Nets' clash with the Dallas Mavericks last night, the 9,899 fans who braved stormy conditions and journeyed to the Izod Center may have felt a tinge of nostalgia. Triggering those sentiments was the return of Jason Kidd, the man whose 2001 arrival in New Jersey signaled the dawn of the franchise's greatest years since it won a pair of ABA championships in the 70s.

By the end of last night's game, however, as the clock wound down on a 121-97 drubbing of the Mavs, the sparse crowd was singing a different tune. "Thank you, Cuban!" it chanted, a nod to the Dallas owner who took a disgruntled Kidd off the Nets' hands in February and gave them Devin Harris and two first-round picks in return. With those cheers, a night that began as a celebration of the Kidd era ended with fans embracing a new chapter of Nets basketball, the face of which is undoubtedly the 25-year-old Harris.

Mired in the relative obscurity of the Swamp, Harris has flown largely under the radar this season. But thanks to Kidd's much-ballyhooed return to New Jersey, Harris finally had a captive audience before which he could strut his stuff. He didn't disappoint, torching his former club to the tune of 41 points, 13 assists, and 3 steals.

It might be the signature performance in a season that has seen the shoo-in All Star thrive under the total freedom afforded him by coach Lawrence Frank's unorthodox dribble-drive offense. Harris is one of three players -- LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are the others -- to average at least 23 points and 6 assists per game this season. He has developed an uncanny knack for getting to the free-throw line, trailing only Dwight Howard with 10.5 attempts from the charity stripe per game. Most impressively, Harris has been at his best against superior competition. At the tail end of the Nets' West Coast trip in late November, Harris outplayed Deron Williams and Steve Nash on back-to-back nights, totaling a combined 81 points and leading New Jersey to two impressive road wins.

And then there's his flare for the dramatic. In a Nov. 7 game against Detroit, in which all the pregame chatter surrounded Allen Iverson's first game in a Pistons uniform, Harris stole the show, tallying a then-career high 38 points. A week later, nursing a badly sprained left ankle, he dropped 30 and 8 on Atlanta. Most notably, in a Nov. 26 game at Sacramento in which he was held to just 2 first-half points, Harris rebounded to drill a game-tying three-pointer at the end of regulation before nailing a go-ahead 16-footer with 12 seconds left in overtime, leading the Nets to their first win at Arco Arena in over a decade.

There's no question that the Nets' surprising 13-12 start, which has included a 6-4 mark against the vaunted Western Conference, has been a team effort. Contrary to what some prognosticators believed at the beginning of the season, Vince Carter has not sulked his way into a trade to a contender and has in fact strung together arguably his best season in New Jersey (23 PPG, 40.5 3P%). Brook Lopez and Ryan Anderson, the team's two first-round picks in the 2008 Draft, may not be scoring in droves, but they've made contributions on defense and on the glass. The bench, led by Jarvis Hayes and Keyon Dooling, has been solid. But Harris is the engine that makes it all run, something that started becoming apparent when the Nets went 0-3 while he was sidelined with an ankle injury earlier this season and continued through last night's dazzling performance.

If Kidd's legacy was defined by the unprecedented team success the Nets experienced under his stewardship, then Harris has a lot more winning to do before he matches his predecessor. Officially handed the torch last night, Harris proved he's up for the challenge.