Take a Hike Plax

That’s it, I’m done.  Plaxico Burress has to go.

I’m fed up with his “shenanigans” and his off the field attitude that makes him think he’s above the team.  I have a small piece of advice for him: he’s not.  I like what Tom Coughlin has done with the team, having each player put what’s good for the team above what’s good for him.  The players have responded to that.  Mathias Kiwanuka moved to linebacker last year from his natural position of defensive end and didn’t complain at all.  Tiki Barber, as much as I liked him as a player, couldn’t shut up last year from the booth and he was likely a clubhouse poison.

With a team-first attitude, the Giants won the Super Bowl and came back in 2008 as a more cohesive unit.  Their dominance continued even without Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora as other players picked up the pieces.  In 2007, Plaxico Burress had a phenomenal season last year with 70 receptions, over 1000 yards receiving, and 12 touchdowns.

As soon as the Super Bowl ended, however, so did Burress’ fairytale.  As soon as the team left the White House, Burress complained about his contract and indicated that he would skip minicamp and training camp as a holdout.  Not really the act of a team player.  The Giants gave him a new contract and all was well, until the bye week.  Burress missed a team meeting and didn’t answer his phone when the team was trying to track him down.  He was suspended for two weeks (one game) and fined.  Nice.  (It should be noted that Plax was suspended for a similar violation during his Steeler days.)  Upon reporting back to practice, Burress didn’t feel the need to apologize.  He was suspended for the first quarter of the Pittsburgh game for further insubordination.  Several weeks later, he was fined again for unsportsmanlike conduct, comments toward officials, and throwin the ball in the stands.  He’s also been in the news with alleged domestic disputes.  This morning it was reported that Burress would be out indefinitely for “accidentally shooting himself in the leg” at a club last night.  That’s just what Burress needs, to be carrying a gun.  Didn’t he learn anything from the Tank Johnson weapons incident?  Sure, I feel bad that he got hurt and I was worried when I heard the story, but that’s what you get for being stupid.

So that’s it.  Especially with the way the players have backed Coughlin’s suspension of Burress before, I think Burress needs to be cut in the off-season.  I’m tired of his selfish antics and the Giants have enough receivers in order to take care of business.  Don’t believe me, ask the Seahawks.  Big Blue is not shy about getting rid of distractions (see: Jeremy Shockey) and I think they pull the trigger (get it?!) and release Burress in the off-season.

Yankees Fall/Winter League Update

Ok, even if they don’t get CC Sabathia, who continues to delay his decision by waiting for more offers, I’ve tried to follow some of the young Yanks as they play in various fall/winter leagues.

First, however, speaking of Sabathia I’m getting pretty tired sitting here waiting for him to sign with someone.  Every free agent, in my opinion, is waiting for Sabathia to make some decision so they can see where the market is going to be set.  Until then, however, the hot stove is going to be lukewarm.

Back to the young Yanks.  According to a recent article on Yankees.com, here are some youngsters that have done well in their respective fall/winter league and should merit some consideration for a roster spot:

• Phil Hughes – I’ve always been high on Hughes and I think he showed his potential when he was tossing that no-no against Texas back in 2007.  Then, he was injured a couple times and he hasn’t been the same since.  People worry he’ll be the next Mark Prior or Kerry Wood, but I think it’s just growing pains.  Front offices everywhere are so careful with these young guys, it’s almost a fault.  Nevertheless, in an Arizona Fall League campaign that started off a bit rough, Hughes settled down and did not allow more than two runs in six of seven starts.  Not bad.  More importantly, his heat was clocked at 95 mph, where it had been when he was healthy, and he struck out 38 and walked 13 in 30 innings.  I’d like to see him cut those walks in half (or more), but I have full faith he’ll be at least a #2 guy for the Bombers.
• Juan Miranda – I got to see his major league debut, believe it or not, but he was only up with the Yanks for a couple weeks at the end of the season, so who knows what to expect.  He’s a first baseman that put up a .301 average with 14 extra base hits (7 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs) in 19 games and went without an error at first base.  Give him a shot.
• Melky Cabrera – Realistically, this guy is a fourth outfielder AT BEST.  In his first 26 at-bats in the Dominican Winter League, though, he picked up 9 hits (.345), but only had one extra base hit.  Fourth outfielder … at best … remember that.
• Kevin Whelan – I have no idea who this guy is (tsk tsk, I know), but in 17.1 innings in the Arizona Fall League, he only allowed 11 hits and four earned runs (2.08 ERA, 1-0 record).  Batting average against is .175.  He was in AA Trenton last year and will probably start the year there this season.  I mention him because he’s one of the many young pitchers the Yanks should dangle in a trade or two to upgrade either the rotation or the outfield.
• Justin Christian – We saw him for a bit in the Bronx and here’s what he’s doing in Liga Mexicana del Pacifico: .290 (35-for-121), 3 home runs, 11 walks, 15 RBI, 21 strikeouts, 9 stolen bases with one caught stealing.  See, that’s what I’m talking about.  Time to dump Melky.
• Francisco Cervelli - I saw his major league debut this season too (same game as Miranda, I think) and he’s the potential heir-apparent to Jorge Posada behind the plate, unless they go out and get someone.  He’s hitting .258 with a home run in 15 games in the Venezuelan Winter League.  It’s unfair to expect the offensive production that Posada puts up, but if this guy can get that average to .280 and 12 home runs a season with a bunch of doubles, that would work for me.  I’m a bit more forgiving when it comes to catchers – defense and handling the pitchers are the top priorities.
• Robinson Cano – He worked with Yankee Hitting Coach Kevin Long for about a week, so he hasn’t gotten to play much in the Dominican Winter League, going 3-for-12 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored so far.  Look, Cano has the most talent of any young position player that the Yankees have.  He just needs to learn to harness his talent and not slack off.  Hopefully that benching at the end of last year helps him learn that lesson.  He still could be a .320/25/115 guy in my opinion so although I was not happy with his 2008 season, let’s hope it’s just an off-year.

Stick a Fork in Charlie Weis

I like Charlie Weis and I even like Notre Dame, but if there is one example as to why schools/teams should not give coaches ridiculous contracts, he is the one.

Weis took over for Ty Willingham, another guy I liked, who was fired as coach of the Irish after a 6-5 2004 campaign.  Weis, then an assistant with the Patriots, jumped aboard as Head Coach of the Irish at 6 years and $2 million per year.  In his first season, Weis led the Irish to a 9-3 record and a loss in the Fiesta Bowl a pretty decent upgrade from the year before.  In 2006, the Irish went lost in the Sugar Bowl, finishing with a 10-3 record.

Before I continue, let me explain something about collegiate athletics.  The only thing you need to know about college athletics is this: It’s all about recruiting.  Weis came in and took Willingham’s recruits and made them better.  He was a Super Bowl winning NFL assistant coach, he better have.  Quarterback Brady Quinn (now of the Cleveland Browns) and wide receiver Jeff Samardzija (gave up football and now is a reliever for the Chicago Cubs) both elevated their games to new heights under Weis, after having been brought to Notre Dame by his predecessor.

Now then.  After the Sugar Bowl loss, both players departed Notre Dame for the pros.  With most of Willingham’s recruits gone, now it was time to see what Weis’ recruits could do.  According to people following this stuff, Notre Dame had top 10 recruiting classes so the Irish shouldn’t worry.  New quarterback Jimmy Clausen was the top recruit in the nation.  The kids were coming, blinded by Weis’ Super Bowl rings from his days with New England, no doubt.

In 2007, the Irish finished 3-9, the first nine loss season in program history.  This season, they’re 6-5 and bound to be 6-6 after their upcoming showdown with USC.  Improvement?  Maybe, but not much.  That would leave Weis at 28-21 in four years with Notre Dame, not far off from Willingham’s 21-16 in three seasons.  What’s the difference here?  Willingham was canned after his third season and Weis, coaching with Willingham’s kids, was rewarded halfway through his second season with a contract extension: 10 years $30-40 million.  Read it and weep, Irish fans.

This contract has effectively handcuffed any possible action by Notre Dame to remove Weis as coach.  Especially in this economy, no boosters are going to want to foot the bill to buy Weis out and pay for a new, high profile coach.  The one thing that may give the Irish leverage would be their loss to Syracuse this past Saturday.  The Orange had only two wins this season entering that game and had just fired their head coach.  Notre Dame should have skated through ‘Cuse, but were embarassed by a 24-23 loss.

It will be interesting to see what happens at Notre Dame going forward.  Weis should be fired, but are the Irish going to eat his contract?  One thing is for sure: no way this ever happens again at Notre Dame.