Also, of mention, is Mets Pitcher Matt Harvey.  Harvey, after rooting the Rangers to victory on Monday, tossed a one hit, nine inning, no walk game against the Chicago White Sox.  Harvey has clearly become the best pitcher in New York, and should continue to grow in that role for a long time to come.  For those of us lucky enough to have seen Seaver and Gooden in our lifetimes, this kid is just as special and hopefully more and more people will make the trip to the ballpark on his days to pitch to see this phenom in action.

Both the Knicks and Rangers return to the road this week just in time to allow the New York Giants to get back to work even if just for a few days.  Rookie Mini Camp start tomorrow May 10th and rune through Sunday.  Although you will see stories about how players looked and performed this is nothing more than orientation at the new job.  The real work begins in August.

Welcome to Chad Jones, 3rd Round pick out of LSU, Jones is the first draft member of the Giants 2010 class to ink his contract, nice to see Jerry Reese on top of his housekeeping items.  Giants fans should not worry too much, under Jerry Reese’s watch, I can not remember a draftee holding out for any significant time into training camp, let’s hope this stands true in 2010 as JPP needs all the reps and time in camp as he can get and 2nd Round pick, Linval “the anvil” Joseph will want to be in camp on time to force his big frame into the rotation at defensive tackle. 

Well, it’s official, after big John Henderson inked a 1 year deal to join the Raider nation in what has been a horrible abyss for veteran players before him (ask Richard Seymour how 2009 went), taking the last reasonably attractive defensive free agent off the board.  The Giants interest in Henderson was just that, interest, but not need with a dedicated and healthy Chris Canty returning, the addition of the “Anvil” in the draft, the return of Jay Alford from I.R. and Barry Cofield’s return on a one year deal as a restricted free agent.  Yes, we will finally put out angst aside and also recognize that Rocky Bernard remains on the roster and appears completely healthy from the shoulder issues that made him a glorified paper weight in 2009.  Bernard had high expectations in 2009 and bombed, but he should be motivated to prove the naysayers wrong (including yours truly) and justify his contract signed as a free agent during the 2009 off-season.

Also, Monday brings us a Mets sweep on the road against the lowly Baltimore Orioles.  Yes, this was against Baltimore, who seem to be waging an ongoing battle with Pittsburgh and Kansas City for futility among major league franchises.  But winning on the road is essential is the Mets are truly going to be contenders and not pretenders.  Nice to see the offense wake up (and yes we hate David Wright’s ever-increasing strike-out totals, but let’s be fair, Wright is the Mets best offensive player and he is an all-star at 3rd base in his prime).  On to Cleveland, which is doing it best “Major League” impression, sans Charlie Sheen.

Stay Blue!

On the Giant front, nice to see Mathias Kiwinuka escape a serious, if not a potential fatal injury while riding motorcycles in Indianapolis with his brother (who was seriously injured but escaped the tragic ending which happens to most when flying 100 feet in the air without a helmet after crashing a motorcycle).  Kiwi has sworn off of riding motorcycles (we approve this decision) and he returned to Giant OTA(s) relatively unscathed.  Now if only Kiwi could work on wrapping up quarterbacks this off-season (am I the only one who doesn’t understand how Kiwi can continually get “oh so close” but not register the sack?). 

And, while the off-season is still going strong and there is plenty of time to go before training camp (and for football to really matter again), it is also nice to see the unbridled enthusiasm surrounding new defensive coordinator Perry Fewell.  Remember, the Giants offense, led by Eli Manning, for the most part, played well enough to return to the playoffs last year (yes, there were a few ugly performances, most notably in Week 8 against the Iggles and the last home game at the Meadowlands against the Panthers), but the Giants defense took a collective early vacation in what was a horrible performance at every level.  So, Perry Fewell’s not so simple task is to not only return Big Blue’s defense to respectability, but return this defense into a quarterback fearing, turnover producing, run-stuffing unit.  The pieces are in place and it sounds like everyone is buying in to Fewell’s aggressive and animated approach.  Nice to see. 

On another front, Justin Tuck continues to lead by example in and out of the locker room, also nice to see.  Recently, David Yurman, along with The New York Giants’ Justin Tuck and wife Lauran, hosted an exclusive evening in support of Tuck’s R.U.S.H for Literacy at the David Yurman Townhouse Flagship boutique. Guests were treated to cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and had the opportunity to view the designer’s newest jewelry, timepiece, eyewear, fragrance, and couture collections.  A portion of the evening’s proceeds benefited Tuck’s R.U.S.H for Literacy program.

Founded by Lauran and Justin Tuck, this program aspires to encourage children to READ, UNDERSTAND, SUCCEED and HOPE as they continue to nurture literacy in their lives.  The initiative is committed to raising funds to donate books and other reading materials to enrich youth in the New York and Central Alabama communities.

Come out and support this great cause and Stay Blue!

From the sound of it, Fewell, a disciple of Lovie Smith and the famed Tampa 2 defense, is going to be mixing it up quite a bit with his coverages in the secondary.  Thank god.  After watching the Giants get decimated week after week in the secondary (not to forget the Giants, at times, were almost as bad playing the run), a shake-up in philosophy and personnel was necessary.  Gone are C.C. Brown and Aaron Rouse (with incumbent safety Michael Johnson clearly sitting on the roster bubble), welcome in Pro Bowl safety Antrell Rolle, veteran free agent Deon Grant, rookie 3rd round pick Chad Jones, and a possible return of Kenny Philips (who was once again running on the side during the OTA activities).  Couple that with young practice squad holdovers Vincent Anderson and Shareff Rashad, and the Giants are deeper, younger and more athletic at safety (with a solid core at cornerback with Webster, Thomas, and Ross).  Not a bad start personnel-wise, especially if the d-line again forms a beast-like pass rush.  Fewell has more talent and weapons to work with than during any of his time in Buffalo, a good start for sure. 

With news that Fewell is going to run a hybrid coverage scheme, making multiple adjustments along the way.  Ahh adjustments, every coordinator has the ability to make them, but not every coordinator does so successfully (Spagnuolo mastered the art, Bill Sheridan, his predecessor, not so much.  Giants safeties coach Bill Merritt had this to say, “I would label Coach Fewell as a multiple-front, multiple-, multiple-coverage defensive coordinator,” Merritt said. “He is the furthest from a Tampa-2 guy.” (thank you to Mike Garafolo of nj.com for this bit of information).  At least Perry Fewell recognizes the need for varied looks not only in the secondary but also on the front line so he can take advantage of multiple pass rushers (Tuck, Osi, Kiwi, JPP, Sintim) while rotating guys in and out to keep them fresh (I can not wait to see a healthy Cofield and Canty team up with the Anvil, Linval Joseph, to plug the middle and give this defense some teeth).

One more interesting piece of news: Jonathan Goff continues to get the majority of reps with the 1st team defense at middle linebacker, but rookie Philip Dillard has also seen time with the 1st team.  It is only June folks, but it looks like Dillard is going to get his shot and the competition is shaping up to be fierce.  Stay Blue!

Giant thoughts on the NFC East this Monday: 

I like where we sit, under the radar, with New York fans buzzing about Rex Ryan’s star studded Jets team (and all of the big name free agents and off-season trade additions like Tomlinson, Jason Taylor, and Santonio Holmes), the clear paper champions of the 2010 off season.  The Cowboys, with little roster turnover, return as NFC East Division favorites, the Eagles youth movement is well-regarded, though time will tell if jettisoning future Hall of Famer Donovan McNabb for the offensive youth movement led by Kevin Kolb, and of course we have the revitalized Redskins, led by Mike Shanahan, and yes, Donovan McNabb.

Where does this leave Tom Coughlin and the G-men?  Under the radar, and Tom Coughlin wouldn’t have it any other way.  Arguments can be made that the Cowboys are far and away the most talented team in the NFC East, a team heading in to the 2010 season with the least amount of questions marks.  But, questions marks do not always lead to their pre-thought conclusions.  Do the Giants have a hole to fill in the middle of their defense, yes.  Can Goff, Dillard, or Wilkinson fill the void left by Antonio Pierce?  Maybe, probably yes because Jerry Reese is banking on a rebuilt defensive line (a healthy Barry Cofield, Chris Canty, Osi, and Tuck with new additions in the draft, Linval “the Anvil” Joseph and JPP, in addition to a return from Jay Alford) to take up blockers and allow the linebackers to roam free and make plays (there is not another second year player with bigger expectations than Clint Sintim, who is assuming the starting spot on the strong side with little competition and Michael Boley is either going to validate his free agent contract or complete a short stint in blue after two years following the 2010 season). 

Without an elite middle linebacker prospect, the Giants have opted to add reinforcements on the defensive line, add players on the back end (Rolle and Grant) and give the young guys a shot to assume starting roles (Goff/Dillard/Sintim).  With new defensive coordinator Perry Fewell and the aforementioned off season additions, the Giants defense can not possibly be as bad as last year, so Stay Blue!

Frankie Rodriguez, another Mets free agent signing that has started to go south.  Really Frankie, Really?  After yet another scoreless gem by Johan Santana, the Mets come away with an extra inning loss after Frankie blows a 1-0 9th inning lead.  Can Mets fans take much more of this?  What does Santana have to do to get a win?  Forget about Santana having another huge outing, where is the offense?  David Wright’s strikeout total continue to rise, Jason Bay is hitting, but I hardly think the Mets are paying him all that dough to be a glorified singles hitter, and the return of Carlos Beltran is no where in sight.  Nice, real nice. 

After Santana and Pelphrey, the rotation is in shreds.  Rookie lefthander Jonathan Niese is almost ready to rejoin the rotation, but no roster spots are available as Ollie Perez continues to refuse an assignment back to AAA, so to bring up Niese, someone else other than the most deserving Ollie, have to be shipped out to Buffalo.  Nice Oliver, you can’t pitch so instead you have found a way to hurt your team without even taking the mound, you should be proud of yourself.  And, for a team desperate to establish some depth and excitement behind Santana and Pelphrey, why are the Mets still refusing to send rookie Jenrry Mejia back to Buffalo and stretch him out to start?  Even if you don’t bring up Mejia until after the All Star break, isn’t he the best rotation option in the immediate future without sacrificing young talent, which is not abundant in the Mets organization? 

Stay Blue!

Voluntary OTA(s) start tomorrow, Tuesday, May 18, 2010 and it looks like Osi Umeniyora will be present with “bells on,” sounds like Osi is ready to come in and compete for the starting job opposite Justin Tuck, instead of complaining that he “wants his starting job back.”  A happy and motivated Osi makes Giants fans smile.  A return of the Giants pass rush is essential is the Giants hope to return to the playoffs in 2010.  The NFC East has the look of an offensive juggernaut with explosive players like Miles Austin, DeSean Jackson, and McNabb wearing a Redskin uniform, the Giants defense has to get better otherwise we are looking at another season of high scoring affairs, not exactly Giant football.

Other good news:  Apparently, after Chris Canty spent more time in the training room in his first year in blue than he did making plays on the field, Canty has been “living at the Giants facility.”  No one knows yet how Canty’s skills are going to translate to the 4-3 defense after what amounts to a redshirt year in his first year, but news that Canty has been a fixture during off season workouts bodes well for the G-men.  Canty is huge, versatile and will have plenty of opportunities playing next to Barry Cofield and rookie Linval Joseph to make an impact, at least a healthy and motivated Canty has a shot to live up to his big contract.   For Jerry Reese’s sake, Canty and Boley (the other big Giant free agency signing in 2009) better show stronger than in 2009.

And, possibly more good news, the Redskins added free agent defensive lineman, veteran Vonnie Holliday to the mix on the defensive line, could big Albert Haynesworth really be on the way out?  Rumors continue to swirl regarding the Titan’s possible interest in bringing back Haynesworth, at the right price, and Minnesota could have renewed interest after the recently announced Williams Wall suspension.  Either way, I doubt Giant eyes will be tearing up with sadness if big Albert is gone, eliminating the automatic double team off the bat.  Couple the Haynesworth news that the Cowboys have a pretty unhappy Patrick Crayton and Sam Hurd, a little locker room unrest in Dallas also makes Giants fans smile.

On to the New York Mets, just for a quick minute.  After 38 games, coming off of a four game sweep at the hands of division rival Florida Marlins, the Mets again find themselves in last place in the NL East, at 18-20, six games back of division leader Philadelphia.  Embarrassing.  Manager Jerry Manuel has finally banished Ollie Perez from the starting rotation (why do I think a bullpen role is not going to help this long-time headcase)?  With news that promising rookie left Jonathan Niese is already back in New York for an examination on his troublesome hamstring, the Mets rotation is thinner than the Giants secondary in 2009.  Not good.  Jerry Manuel’s guys aren’t hitting (you have to love the Mets refusal to even discuss moving in the fences at CitiField), this Mets team is built on pitching and defense, the only problem is that after Santana and Perez (who have both pitched pretty well, albeit a tad inconsistently), the Mets have three no. 5 starters in Perez, Maine, and Niese.  Perez is now in the bullpen, Maine is not much better, and Niese is hurt.  This has the look of a long summer.

Stay Blue!