(Long Island, N.Y.) Very rarely do I write my column in the ‘first person,’ but felt that I needed to make an exception here. It is difficult enough being a fan of the New York Jets as it is and I have done my best to stay the course, but the events of the last few days have put me over the edge, so to speak, and caused me to finally jump ship.

I was born into a household of Jets fans, so I can accurately say that for my entire 45 years on this planet, I have been one myself. For all I know, my first words may have been “Joe Namath” instead of “momma” and “poppa.” Yeah, it’s that bad.

So it pains me to admit that I have taken not only a step back, but a complete retrieval. This organization has proven time and time again that it is clueless, but there were two recent moves that combined made up my ‘last straw.’

The first was the selection of Geno Smith in the second round of the NFL Draft. The West Virginia quarterback, who was originally presumed to be the first signal caller picked and a possible top-10 pick, fell down the board like a piano out of a high rise window.

There were many factors that played into Smith sitting in the green room throughout the entire first evening without hearing his name called. Many of the scouts are not convinced that he has all the tools to be an effective quarterback at the NFL level and that he lacks the intensity and desire to be a quick study. There was also speculation that Smith does not enjoy playing in cold weather, and that seemed to be proven by his second half numbers, which drastically dropped after the first five games.

Another reason why taking a quarterback this year was not advised is that the expected 2014 crop – which should include Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel and Teddy Bridgewater – will be much stronger and it is ill-advised to tab two in back-to-back drafts. If you’re wondering that only the teams with the lousy records will have a shot at either of these players, take a look at the Jets roster and you’ll have the answer for yourself.

So when the Jets grabbed Smith with the 39th overall selection, it became apparent that new general manager John Idzik is looking to put his stamp on the team right away. Mark Sanchez, who has one year remaining on his contract, will cost the Jets $8.5 million in real money and $12 million against the salary cap if he is cut, cannot be happy that he will once again have to look over his shoulder every time that he throws an interception – and judging by his 2012 campaign, that will be quite often.

That’s if he isn’t let go and the Jets eat the money. Don’t forget, they also signed veteran David Garrard and have Greg McElroy and Chris Simms still on the roster.

That’s the segue into my next issue with the Jets, and that has to do with the release of Tim Tebow. When they brought him in, there were grand ideas to make him a one-man army and be a weapon in many facets of the game. They even told Tebow to bulk up more, which actually worked against him when he did get the handful of running plays called for him.

So the former Heisman Trophy winner getting cut is not a surprise at all, but the timing of it was just another knife n the back of the pious Tebow. The Jets did everything they could to trade him during the draft but had no takers. Rival GMs knew that he would be on the open market without much competition, so if he is wanted by any team, they can get him for nothing now.

But once the draft ends, teams scoop up many of the undrafted free agents, quarterbacks included. So the Jets did Tebow absolutely no favors by giving him his walking papers two days later. They treated this very likable young man atrociously since Day One here and this was the a fitting end to a rocky relationship.

So without much regret, I hereby hand back my Jets fan card. It may have many tear stains on it from the heartbreaking losses that mounted over the years, but there shall be no more shed.

(Long Island, N.Y.) When Derek Jeter went down with a fractured ankle in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, it almost seemed like it was destiny that the Yankees were not to move on to the Fall Classic. They lost that game to the Detroit Tigers and ultimately were swept at the hands of the ‘Junior Circuit’ pennant winners.

The team captain underwent surgery and was supposed to be ready to go this season, but things weren’t right even back in Spring Training. He was held out and was still feeling discomfort in the left ankle as the regular season opened. So the team doctors sent him for further tests to ascertain exactly what the situation was.

“They did a new CT scan, which revealed a small crack in the area of the previous injury,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said in a press conference. “We have to back off and let that heal. This is obviously a setback.”

That is putting it kindly, as the Bronx Bombers are already treading water trying to stay competitive with so many other key players out with injuries. First baseman Mark Teixeira and centerfielder Curtis Granderson are also missing from the line-up card, so getting the 38-year-old shortstop back on the field was being anticipated more than usual.

Currently in third place with a 10-8 mark, the Yankees are in good shape and may be able to stick around long enough until reinforcements are called in. They are a mere two-and-a-half games back of the Boston Red Sox in the American League East, but the season is still in its infancy.

The reports are stating that Jeter will be out of action until at least after the All-Star Break in July and Cashman seems content on standing pat and going with what he currently has on the roster in Jeter’s vacated position.

“We’re going to stay as we are,” he said. “Those guys (Eduardo Nunez and Jayson Nix) have done a nice job. I’m happy with Nixy and I’m happy with Nuney, but I would be happier with Derek.”

There is certainly a lot of pressure on both Nunez and Nix to not only hold down the fort, but become contributors, as well. The former has played parts of the previous three seasons with the Yankees and has struggled so far in 2013. His batting average is a paltry .167 and he has only three RBI and nine strikeouts.

Nix has had more experience but has had his own difficulties at the plate, currently also batting under the dreaded Mendoza Line at .194. Like his partner, Nix has also been stagnant with production (four RBI) and active in striking out (14).

So it remains to be seen how long Cashman can stand watching two players stink up the joint while keeping shortstop warm for their most beloved one. A safer bet would be within a month, there is a new body taking grounders there.

 

(Long Island, N.Y.) The 2012-13 NBA playoffs have yet to begin, but the matchup is all but set. Yes, the New York Knicks have to get by two other teams before reaching the Eastern Conference Finals and if things play out the way they should, the Miami Heat will be there waiting for them.

By defeating the Indiana Pacers 90-80 at home, the Knicks clinched the number two seed in the conference, which was the best that they can do with Miami wrapping up the top spot a while ago. It was the team’s 15th win in their last 16 games.

“We have to get some healthy bodies back,” said Knicks head coach Mike Woodson regarding the playoffs. “We’ll see who’s healthy and who can be in the rotation once we start practicing on Thursday (for the playoffs).”

It has been a long season for the Knicks (53-27) and a good portion of their roster has missed time due to various injuries. It is imperative that some of the main cogs (Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler head that list) are ready to go. Currently, Anthony is the league’s leading scorer with 28.7 points per game and has been on fire, even while nursing a sore shoulder.

Chandler (neck) is expected to be set, as well as two power forwards who have been effective when able to stay on the court – Kenyon Martin (ankle) and Rasheed Wallace (foot).

They will face a familiar foe – the Boston Celtics – in the first round of the postseason and should have no problem with that opponent. “It didn’t matter to me who we played,” added Woodson. “What was more important to me and for our franchise was to secure home court to start the playoffs. And we were able to secure the second round, as well.

“First things first,” Woodson continued. “We’re going to have to deal with Boston. They’re well coached. They’ve had their ups and downs with their injuries, as well. It’s going to be a good series.”

Without a doubt, there is an important aspect of the game that Woodson recognizes as being his top priority once the postseason tips off. “(In) playoff basketball, you’re going to have to defend,” he said. “You’re going to have some nights when it opens up for you offensively, you make a lot of shots, but it’s going to come down to defense, offensive possessions, milking clocks and getting the best high percentage shot that you can get.”

The 41-39 Celtics have clinched the seventh seed in the east and are led by Paul Pierce (18.7 ppg) and Kevin Garnett (14.8 ppg). This is a team on its last hurrah as a group and age and durability have certainly caught up with them after a few strong seasons.

When they last met two years ago in the first round, the Celtics swept the Knicks, four games to none. It will be a very different result this time around.

(Long Island, N.Y.) Never rest on your laurels. That is something the Long Island Ducks learned back in 2004 when they won their first Atlantic League championship. Especially in the independent circuit, you never know how your roster will look from one day to the next.

It took the team eight years to taste champagne again and they are not nearly satisfied with that, judging by the aggressive way the front office has been filling the roster as spring training approaches.

In a span of three days, the Ducks have signed a trio of former major leagues that will no doubt make them once again the team to beat. The first to come on board was Vladimir Guerrero, who at 38 is looking to prove that he has something left in the tank, or more appropriately, his bat. A 16-year veteran of the major leagues, the former Montreal Expos and Los Angeles Angels standout has a career batting average of .318 with 449 home runs, 1,496 RBI and 2,590 hits.

“I’m very excited about this opportunity the Long Island Ducks have given me as I try to make it back to the big leagues,” the 2004 American League MVP said. “I have a home on Long Island and look forward to helping the Ducks this season.”

A mere two days later, what may well be the Ducks’ opening day battery joined the nine-time All-Star. Lefthanded starter Dontrelle Willis and catcher Ramon Castro both signed to hopefully use Central Islip as a springboard back to ‘The Show.’

“Dontrelle has had a great deal of success at the major League level,” Ducks president and general manager Michael Pfaff said. “We are eager to add him to our pitching staff and excited to have him join the Atlantic League.”

In 2003 while playing for the then-Florida (now Miami) Marlins, Willis went 14-3 with a 3.30 ERA en route to winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award and being a member of a World Series champion. It appeared that great things were in store for him but his career became derailed a few years later with control problems and injuries.

Pitching for a total of four teams over a nine-year period, Willis, 31, has a combined career mark of 72-69, 4.17 ERA and 896 strikeouts. He also is a two-time National League All-Star.

Castro, 37, played for the New York Mets during a 13-year stretch and was a fan favorite at Shea Stadium during his tenure in the Big Apple. “Ramon is well known for his success in the big leagues among New York baseball fans,” Pfaff commented. “He brings a power bat (67 home runs, 217 RBI) and excellent defense (.990 fielding percentage, 30 percent base stealers thrown out) to our team this season.”

The backstop was a teammate of Willis’s on the 2003 Marlins and was behind the plate in 2009 to call and catch Mark Buehrle’s perfect game when they were members of the Chicago White Sox.

How long the three players stay in the Atlantic League remains to be seen. The better they do, the better the chance that either or all will be plucked by a MLB organization. Such is life in the independent baseball world.

But if the Ducks can even win the first half divisional crown before losing key players, then they will be able to defend their championship in the postseason.

(Long Island, N.Y.) When David Wright was asked to come up with a fitting word for the 2013 New York Mets, he paused and then said, “scrappy,” which is a relatively safe term to use that will make the fans smile and not rely on winning to be the end all.

But for one day, at least, the captain of the team could have picked a description reserved for the other ball club in town – Bombers.

New centerfielder Colin Cowgill hit a liner that just cleared the left field wall at Citi Field for a seventh inning grand slam en route to an 11-2 pasting of the San Diego Padres, who are not exactly going to remind anyone of the 1975 Big Red Machine this year.

But when you’re the Mets, you take what you can get and they need to create a buzz while rebuilding and cutting payroll. Johan Santana may be done for good and is definitely finished as a Met now that he needs to undergo another shoulder surgery in his walk year, so fellow lefthander Jonathan Niese took the mound as the defacto number one starter and promptly delivered six and two thirds of four-hit ball, surrendering two runs and striking out four batters.

As a team, the Mets rapped out 13 hits, with the aforementioned Cowgill accounting for two. Another new outfielder, Marlon Byrd, also pitched in with two base hits, as did John Buck, Daniel Murphy, Ruben Tejada and even Niese. You know that it’s going to be your day when the starting pitcher is currently batting 1.000.

“He (Niese) has stepped into a role now where he kind of leads that rotation,” Mets manager Terry Collins said after the game.

Being able to drive in runs with two outs played a big part in the win for the Mets, something not lost on Collins. “It’s something that we did last year during the first half that made us so competitive,” he said. “You grind out at bats. You don’t give up with two strikes. You don’t give up with two outs – especially with guys in scoring position. (Tejada) has had a tough spring and to have him be the first guy to get us a big hit, I though was really cool.”

One game does not make an entire season, of course, but the Mets were able to play at a high level for the first three months of 2012 when no one gave them a chance at the start of the campaign. So to bet against these guys before they have shown what they may be capable of doing would be unfair.

The cost effective roster that general manager Sandy Alderson has put together has to click and come together in the same fashion that last year’s group did. But then they also need to figure out how to avoid dropping off the way their predecessors did.

But for now, they still have scrappiness to fall back on.

(Long Island, N.Y.) Under the radar amongst all of the big names being bantered about recently with the New York Yankees, the team made a brilliant move that may pay huge dividends sometime later this summer. With all of the talk of the injuries to Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson, general manager Brian Cashman has not even shown a hint of panic mode and went about his business the smart – and winning – way.

“The New York Yankees announced they have signed right-handed pitcher Chien-Ming Wang to a one-year minor league contract,” an official team press release stated. “Wang is scheduled (to) report immediately to minor league spring training at the Yankees’ Player Development Complex in Tampa, Florida.”

While taking a low-risk flyer out on a pitcher coming back from various injuries is not usually that newsworthy (especially with an organization like the Yankees), this one has a little special meaning because of Wang’s history with the team. Between 2005 and 2009, the native of Taiwan complied a 55-26 win-loss record, 4.16 ERA and 310 strikeouts. He won 19 games in consecutive seasons (2006, 2007) and was the Yanks’ opening day starter the following year.

That June, he injured his right foot while running the bases in an interleague match-up versus the Houston Astros and then in July 2009, Wang underwent season-ending shoulder surgery. He was let go in the offseason, signed with the Washington Nationals and sat out the 2010 campaign recovering. In parts of the last two seasons with the Nats, he pitched in 21 games and went 6-6 with a 4.94 ERA. Injury woes continued, as Wang spent chunks of time on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring and right hip soreness.

But he was able to get healthy in time for the recent World Baseball Classic and in two starts for Chinese Tapei, Wang held the opponents scoreless in 12 innings pitched. That gave the Yankees an indication that the soon-to-be 33-year-old may be worth a gamble.

While still young enough to bounce back, and the fact that his arm has not been taxed for some time, makes this a high ceiling move. Wang has always been a big fan favorite and if he does well at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (where he is expected to begin the season), then he is certainly a candidate for promotion and either fills a roll as a spot starter or a long man out of the bullpen.

Currently, the Yankees have a starting rotation of CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, Hiroki Kuroda, David Phelps and Ivan Nova, with Phil Hughes to join them at the ‘four’ or ‘five’ spot once he is healthy. So adding experienced depth is not only a luxury, but also perhaps a necessity in the event of further injury. The season is a very long one and all teams go through much more than five starters before it’s all said and done. If Wang can even be 80 percent of what he once was, then this is a genius move.

Quiet, but genius.

(Long Island, N.Y.) Trying to improve on a disappointing 2012 season, the New York Giants did indeed need to make some changes. But even though they failed to qualify for the playoffs, they were not that far away from being a contender again.

So with that in mind, general manager Jerry Reese set out to clear some cap space and fill a few holes. There were also some improvements that came about via free agency and retaining the players they already felt comfortable with.

Both sides of the line were addressed in re-signing offensive tackle Will Beatty and defensive tackle Shaun Rodgers, solidifying two spots that are essential for a winning formula. Cullen Jenkins, formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles, was inked as a free agent to add some more size to the defensive line, but that still did not replace defensive end Osi Umenyiora, who is expected to depart.

Reese let two of his tight ends (Martellus Bennett, Travis Beckum) walk and replaced them with Brandon Myers, late of the Oakland Raiders, who had a very productive season with 79 receptions, 806 yards and four touchdowns in 16 starts.

At kicker, Lawrence Tynes will be replaced by the younger Josh Brown, which may not have been a popular move (with Tynes being responsible for the game-winning kicks in both NFC Championship Games), but a shrewd business one, nonetheless.

The linebacking corps was already a solid one, but appears even better with the re-signing of Keith Rivers and bringing in Dan Connor. The Penn State product had his best year in 2011 with the Carolina Panthers with 75 total tackles (54 solo) and played last season with the division rival Dallas Cowboys. Chase Blackburn is not expected to be brought back, so adding Connor was a sensible move.

In the secondary, safety Kenny Phillips signed a one-year deal with the Eagles and three cornerbacks (Brian Witherspoon, Bruce Johnson and Justin Tryon) will be allowed to sign elsewhere. Aaron Ross was re-signed and safety Ryan Mundy was brought in.

Free agency aside, perhaps Reese’s strongest talent is evaluating college players and the upcoming NFL Draft will play a big part in the Giants proving that 2012 was an aberration. All six players picked remain on the roster and the first round selection, running back David Wilson, is expected to get an opportunity for a lot of carries as Ahmad Bradshaw was released for cap space.

So with the core of the team basically still intact (with the current question mark in the backfield), it is not a stretch to say that the Giants are the favorite to win the NFC East. The Washington Redskins, last season’s top team, will be crossing their fingers that star quarterback Robert Griffin III can come back from ACL surgery after suffering a devastating injury in the Wild Card round. Dallas has their usual pros and cons and the Eagles are in rebuilding mode. So who’s to say that Big Blue doesn’t make a run at the title?

Reese’s track record gives him the benefit of the doubt that the moves he has made – and will continue to make – are the correct ones.

(Long Island, N.Y.) When the Jets began their offseason, they knew collectively as an organization that they had their work cut out for them. A 6-10 campaign filled with questions mostly surrounding the quarterback position led to the firing of general manager Mike Tannenbaum and the cutting of ties with a number of veteran starters on both sides of the ball.

John Idzik was brought in to oversee the mess that was the Jets’ salary cap and he has done an admirable job so far in trimming off the fat. But the new GM did not improve the roster by tabbing David Garrard as the new quarterback brought in to push incumbent Mark Sanchez.

The 35-year-old is coming off a missed season by way of a knee injury and subsequent surgery and has never been known as a conditioning freak. As a matter of fact, the former Jacksonville Jaguars starter is a little on the plump side.

Born in East Orange, New Jersey, Garrard will enjoy a homecoming of sorts and has publicly stated that he decided to sign with the Jets because he was told that the opportunity to win the starting job was part of the equation.

Sounds eerily similar to what Tim Tebow said about a year ago…

Speaking of Tebow, he is still on the roster and it is hard to make an argument that Garrard brings more to the table than the phenom. None of the free agent quarterbacks jumped off the page and the fact that anyone was brought in is another signal that Tebow’s days in green and white are severely numbered.

That has been the feeling all along, even though the Jets would not come right out and say that they were going to try to trade the former Denver Broncos starting quarterback and cut him if there were no takers.

So now that Garrard is here to stay, will he be able to recapture some of the magic that he enjoyed even as recent as 2009, when the East Carolina product threw 18 touchdowns and only three interceptions while leading the Jags to a 9-3 mark and a playoff win at Pittsburgh and was named to the Pro Bowl? Many Jets fans would even be happy to see the same guy who was originally named the Miami Dolphins starter in 2012 before blowing out his knee in training camp.

Sanchez must improve on his dreadful stats from last year (13 touchdowns, 18 interceptions, 66.9 quarterback rating) and seemed to be a little lost with Tebow’s presence, even though head coach Rex Ryan never started the southpaw or gave him any opportunity whatsoever. But Garrard is not a threat to Sanchez and is more akin to Mark Brunnell, the ageless veteran (and also a former Jaguars starter) who was an emergency backup.

Perhaps Garrard can manage the offense decently in a short-term situation, but if he actually takes over as the starter for an ineffective Sanchez, then the Jets are in more trouble than they appear to be right now.

(Long Island, N.Y.) When the New York Mets shut down Johan Santana late last August, they must have breathed a sigh of relief that their ace starter did not have any acute injury and that all parties involved came to the conclusion that it was best not to risk one at that point and time. The southpaw – who threw the first no-hitter in franchise history on June 1 – was showing signs of fatigue and also had some lower back inflammation, so it was a good strategy to rest him once it became apparent that the Mets were not ready to print playoff tickets.

General manager Sandy Alderson probably looked forward and figured that having a fully rested Santana would be easier to trade during the season once he showed that he was fully healthy and came out like gangbusters at the start of Spring Training. But Santana apparently didn’t hold up his end of the deal.

The 33-year-old with the humongous contract took it real easy the last six months and did more lounging around than he did working out or throwing. He used the offseason as one to rest and do nothing to recharge his batteries, which doesn’t sound like the worst strategy in the world if loosening up your money maker before it’s actually time to report to work is also included in that schedule.

After two unimpressive bullpen sessions, the Mets decided to shut down Santana for the time being to allow him to do what he should have been able to do on his own back home sometime in January. After coming to the conclusion that the lack of velocity is not injury-related, the Mets can only assume that it is because of a lack of stretching his arm out and getting it back to where Santana can get some speed on his pitches.

“It seems to me that it’s self-evident that he wasn’t ready to pitch at the beginning of Spring Training, since he hasn’t pitched at this point” Alderson told reporters at Mets camp in Port St. Lucie, Florida. “Beyond that, characterizing were we surprised or disappointed [or] unhappy, those are reactions I’m not ready to get into. In the case of any pitcher who isn’t ready to go in Spring Training, sure there’s a little disappointment, but that’s true with anybody in any situation.”

But it becomes magnified when that somebody is your number one starter, and one that must also be on top of his game because your number two (R.A. Dickey) was traded away and not replaced with someone of the same talent level. Although he did not come right out and say it, Alderson is not happy whatsoever with Santana and his lack of preparation.

So now instead of getting some grapefruit League starts, Santana will be long tossing (first at 150 feet and then 180) and – when he’s ready to do so – throw live batting practice. These are steps that should have been taken previously and not in March and hopefully not a signal that he will miss Opening Day. Surely, the team would like for him to throw a certain number of pitches before the games count in the standings and depending on how long it takes, Santana may run out of potential starts during the exhibition games and not meet that number.

He will probably not be placed on the Disabled List, but could stay behind in Florida for extended spring training (or get a minor league start or two) before rejoining the big league club up north. Not exactly the best scenario, but far from the worst.

And these are things that can all have been avoided.

(Long Island, N.Y.) When you are going through a total rebuilding phase, there are elements of your team that will surely suffer. Perhaps the pitching will be thin or a part of either the infield or outfield, as well. But it is very difficult to head into spring training with question marks in an entire section of your starting nine, as is the case with the 2013 New York Mets outfield.

General manager Sandy Alderson played it ultra-safe and only added low-priced players and non-roster invitees such as Collin Cowgill, Andrew Brown and Marlon Byrd to go along with incumbents Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Lucas Duda and Mike Baxter. Not exactly names to put fear into the opposing pitcher, but that is the harsh reality while enduring growing pains.

Alderson made an attempt to sign Michael Bourn, but the years and money – plus the uncertainty if he would have cost the Mets a first round draft pick – made it a good non-move.

So as it stands right now, it appears that Duda will get a shot in left field to see if he is a legitimate full-time major league power hitter (he hit 15 home runs in 401 at-bats in 2012) and Nieuwenhuis is the early favorite to start in center. But there is a lot of room for improvement and a few players figure to be in the mix in more than one spot, right field being the main one.

Baxter won over the fans last year at Citi Field with an amazing catch to preserve Johan Santana’s June 1 no-hitter, but that alone may not be enough for him to have his name placed on the lineup card on a regular basis. Byrd, who has had some success at this level, brings more experience to the table and may have a bigger upside if he can rediscover the stroke that he had a few years ago.

A 12-year veteran, Byrd has a career average of .278 and had his most productive campaign as a member of the Texas Rangers in 2009 when he hit .283 with 20 home runs with 89 RBI. Last season with the Chicago Cubs, Byrd batted .276/9/35 in 119 games and also served a 50-game suspension due to testing positive for a banned substance. At 35 years of age, it’s ‘put-up-or-shut-up’ time for the well-traveled outfielder.

Being an exciting player in a down year can do wonders for someone, and that was the case last summer with the man known as ‘Captain Kirk.’ Making some highlight film catches, Nieuwenhuis had his share of followers at Citi Field, but the reality is that he is a light hitting player in a spot that requires major production, especially with so many holes around him. So unless he gets off to a good start, he may find himself as the fourth or fifth outfielder.

Perhaps once teams begin making cuts, there will be one or two names added to the Mets’ outfield mix. But there will be no stars coming here to save the day. Alderson – and manager Terry Collins – will have to make due more or less with what they currently have.