SPANISH HARLEM – What a great week that was, between all the food and alcohol that was consumed I’m sure there were a ton of people that can’t wait to do this again two more times on Christmas and New Year’s. While we wait I have another column of “The Week That Was”.
The Philadelphia Eagles continued their onslaught on the NFL with another win against the Chicago Bears. The New York Knicks showed the flaws that I knew where there and the New York Yankees still don’t have a manager for the upcoming season, though a new candidate has been named in the search.
The Philadelphia Eagles
I know, I know, the Eagles have the easiest schedule per NFL rankings… but that’s only because the NFC East has been dreadful this season. No one expected the New York Giants to be this bad. The Washington Redskins lost a bunch of good receivers from last year and injuries to key players haven’t helped. The Dallas Cowboys were another Super Bowl favorite but they too have not played up to the media label of “America’s Team”. What this adds up to is a down year for the division but you play the cards your dealt and that’s exactly what this Philadelphia team has done. Win the games your supposed to win… to the tune of a 10-1 record!
The next two games against the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams will determine how special this season can be for the Iggles (and for me). Both teams have winning records and are considered two of the better teams in the league. They both will be away games and should be rocking because these games will determine if the Eagles can keep the 1 seed in the conference. The Minnesota Vikings sit there for ready to pounce, along with the New Orleans Saints and LA Rams. It’s not a stretch to say that these next two weeks are important for Philadelphia so I expect this team to come out ready to play and show the world how good they can really be.
The New York Knicks
What a hellish week that was for the Knicks, losing 3 of 4 will do that to a team. Without Enes Kanter the team depth was asked to take on the load. That didn’t not happen as the team played as if something was missing and it was. Kanter has been a beast on the boards and provides this team with extra possessions. when you miss as many shots as the this team has the last couple games, it becomes that much more important. Jeff Hornacek has played a tight group this season and that helps with continuity but hurts your team when one of them goes down to injury. It’s not the coaches fault because he’s playing the guys he thinks helps this team win. I would rather that then playing a bunch of guys inconsistent minutes.
I still like what I see from this team and they have showed the potential to be a really good team when everything is going right, as we saw last night against the Miami Heat but they are missing a couple pieces before we can anoint them a “Beast In The East.” The Playoffs would be amazing for this city but it may hurt the organization in the long run. I’m not saying you can’t get a great draft pick in the middle of the pack because players have shown time and time again that the draft can be a crap shoot but it would certainly help to get a really good player on a team friendly contract. As most of you know, the Knicks don’t have the cap space to sign a player that can really impact this club so the draft will be important. Don’t worry so much about the wins and losses, enjoy this young team and hope for the best.
The New York Yankees
What many people thought was hearsay has now become fact. The Yankees intended to speak with Carlos Beltran about the team’s managerial opening. Highlighted by Angry Ward in yesterday’s column, this organization has never hired a man of color to be the manager of the team. One of the most coveted jobs in all of America have gone to “White Guys” and there is nothing wrong with that. You pick the guy that you think is the best for the job. Would it be smart to hire a Latino when half of baseball employs players from Latin countries… maybe. Could Beltran be the guy that takes this team to the Promised Land… maybe.
What we do know for sure is that Carlos Beltran has been a great team guy, wherever he has been. He was a role model for every Yankee during his time with the team and that includes every player from every race. Brian Cashman has stated before that managerial experience is not as important as the qualities he is looking for, manly a player’s coach that can relate to the modern athlete, do the analytics stuff they give you and also have the moxie to deal with the media. Beltran covers all those qualities and more, so would I love to see him as manager?… maybe.
That’s it. Leave a comment and come back to tomorrow for something different from… @Different_Matt. Also, feel free to comment below and please follow us on Twitter @BuddyDiaz19, @MeetTheMatts & @Matt_McCarthy00, Instagram @MeetTheMatts and like our Facebook pages, Meet The Matts & Buddy Diaz.
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