Three Dog Night Appreciated

     Some of the big stories in the New York area this week involved sports. Two to be specific--Eli Manning's demotion as the starting quarterback of the New York Giants and the selection of Aaron Boone as manager of the New York Yankees.

     A firestorm of disapproval rained down on Giants' brass when the decision to sit Manning this week when the 2-9 team travels to Oakland to face the Raiders. The Head Coach, Ben Mc Adoo, vilified by the Giants' faithful for this dreadful season, felt obligated to go in a different direction to see if there was a future within the roster--namely backup Geno Smith, formerly a starting QB for the New York Jets, or rookie Davis Webb. Backed up by owner John Mara, this potentially means that Eli's storied career in New York is coming to a unceremonious end.

     Let's face it--the Giants are a mess this year. Injuries keep mounting up, most notable among the injured were All-Pro wide receivers Odell Beckham, Jr. and veteran Brandon Marshall. The depleted receiving corps, a porous offensive line, the lack of a verifiable running game along with a patchwork defense has doomed the team.

     As a result, some blamed Eli Manning for the offensive woes. In reality, a 37 year old QB who is not mobile is not the best fit when improvising might be in order. His decline began in 2016, when he was the 27th rated QB in the National Football League. Without a good offensive line and wide receivers, it only got worse for Manning and the Giants.

     The Giants felt constrained to sit Manning this week to audition its other quarterbacks in the remaining 5 games. This led to the abrupt end to his consecutive game streak at 210. tThe Giants were willing to let Manning start to keep the streak alive. He declined. To put his accomplishment in perspective, the woeful Cleveland Browns have started 24 at QB  during the course of Manning's streak. Division rival Washington has used 8 starters during that span. The list goes on.

     Notwithstanding his durability and the inordinate number of hits he has endured, Giants' fans can savor the great moments of 2 Super Bowl wins for the franchise. But the end comes for all QB's and the streak may have been part of the cause for Manning's demise.

     Lurking in the shadows are three major themes that the Giants must address. First, are the quarterbacks of the future on this team? Will Smith and Webb show enough in their appearances to make management believe that the team can go confidently into the 2018 season with either one as the presumptive starting QB? Or with the Giants horrible record, one which will guarantee a high draft choice, do they seek to find another franchise QB like Manning when they make their selection in April? Do they try to get a Sam Darnold from USC, a Josh Allen from Wyoming or a Josh Rosen from UCLA and attempt to catch lightning in a bottle as the Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Texans and the Los Angles Rams managed to do?

     This is buttressed by Manning's huge salary.  His cap hit for this season is $19.7 million. In 2018 that amount jumps to a staggering $22.2 million--way too much for an aged QB. The Giants will save a ton of money if they release Manning--they will have $12 million of "dead" money that counts against them, but they will have $9.8 million to enter the free agency market. If Manning is a post-June 1 cut, the Giants will save even greater salary cap money which will be split between 2018 and 2019; however, this comes after the 2018 free agency period. If he was cut now, it is unlikely that a team would take his contract on unless he renegotiates his deal. Plus Manning has a no-trade clause, which gives him the right to veto a deal to a team he would not feel comfortable with.

     The outrage in the papers and on the airwaves dealt with the Giants' handling of the situation. There simply is no way to do this correctly if the season is lost. A fairwell tour isn't always mandated. An aged QB may recognize that there comes a time when talent evaluators decide that the QB cannot contribute any longer in the team's system. It happened to Eli's brother, Peyton, who was a star with the Indianapolis Colts and resurfaced with the Denver Broncos after extensive neck surgery, to win a Super Bowl. Joe Montana ended his career in Kansas City because the San Francisco 49'ers went in a different direction with a more mobile Steve Young. Johnny Unitas concluded his career in San Diego, not with the Colts. Joe Namath did not finish his illustrious career in New York with the Jets--he went to the Rams. Both Namath and Unitas were riding the bench when they retired. Speculation abounds where Eli Manning may resurface; he could prove to be valuable, like his brother, or he could become a someday Hall of Fame inductee destined to ride the bench after limited success.

     Two aging stars at QB, Tom Brady with New England and Philip Rivers of the Los Angeles Chargers, both destined for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, complained of the Giants' handling of the situation. For them, the end could come just as swiftly and horribly for both teams' fans bases. Yet if the Giants find their next star QB on the roster or via the draft, the followers of Big Blue will rejoice with the new star. Such is life in the NFL and this week, in New York.

     More recently, the New York Yankees concluded their search for a new manager with the hiring of the unproven Aaron Boone to replace Joe Girardi, himself a victim of his longevity and other internal factors which compelled General Manager Brian Cashman and owner Hal Steinbrenner to move in another direction. Somewhat unrealistically, the Yankees, under the Steinbrenner family's reign, have demanded nothing less than winning the World Series every year.

     Boone leaves the ESPN booth with that mandate to win the World Series in 2018. Girardi had guided a young, talented team to within one game of making it to the Series, having lost to the eventual champions, the Houston Astros, in an exciting seven game series.

     Even with a plethora of unanswered questions as to how the 2018 roster will be filled out, the onus is squarely on Boone to magically overcome the Astros, the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians, all who had better 2017 records than New York. He comes from a family of major leaguers--his grandfather Ray Boone, father Bob Boone and brother Bret Boone were very good players. Aaron had a less distinguished career, which was capped in 2003 with his lone All Star appearance and the momentous homer  for the Yankees in the 2003 playoffs against the arch rival Red Sox. He did marry a Playboy Playmate (Miss October 1998).

     Boone understands the importance of analytics in baseball.  He comes with a communicative presence, which was a knock against Girardi. Boone was tremendously prepared in the TV booth and he will take that preparation with him to the ballpark. Boone thrives on the ball field and he is no stranger to pressure as exhibited by his 11th inning, Game 7 heroics. Still, is this enough to translate into victories and a World Series win? Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner think so, notwithstanding his lack of managerial experience. World Series managers A.J. Hinch of Houston and the Los Angeles Dodgers' Dave Roberts came to their respective teams without having managed previously.

     Joe Torre, a manager fired three times, had to succeed a successful Buck Showalter in 1996. Look at that pressure and then look at his record and that is why Joe Torre, a great communicator with the younger Yankees, is headed to the Hall of Fame. Girardi won Manager of the Year in Florida, then was dumped. He amassed a 988-794 record over 11 years, which included a 2009 World Series title. But just like Showalter and Torre, Girardi too was fired for not winning enough or perhaps clashing too much with the ego and control of Cashman.

     This decision to hire Boone as New York's 35th manager is Cashman's gamble. Boone can either do what is expected--win. Or Boone can fail, which places Cashman in jeopardy, even after all of his success since he became the Yankees' GM in 1998.

     Hiring Boone to manage the Yankees is a gutsy, almost illogical choice. Yankees' fans pray that Cashman once more has struck gold. Boone says he has been preparing for this opportunity for 44 years given his exposure to the big leagues through his family.

     Time will tell if Boone was the right choice to succeed the popular Girardi. However, that time frame for this experiment may be very short. Any blame for Boone's failure resides with Cashman.

     Finally, last night we attended a wedding at the Orange Lawn Tennis Club. Orange Lawn was a prestigious stop on the tennis tour, going back to the early part of the 20th century. The walls are adorned with the names of the past winners--Tilden, Budge, Perry, Riggs, Hoad, Laver, Ashe, Nastase, Mc Enroe. Tournament play moved on from the toney grass court clubs like Orange Lawn, Forest Hills and Newport into the hard court stadiums as tennis popularity grew. Being in a hallowed clubhouse, for a Jewish wedding in a place Jews hardly graced during the halcyon era, brought back great memories to this tennis fan, even with the inherent prejudice of the past-- distant but unforgettable.

     My week ended on a positive and rewarding note. I like weddings. For Eli Manning, he is seeking a second football marriage after a bad divorce. Aaron Boone apparently married well in his private life, so he seeks a new marriage as intoxicating as the first. For both of them, the lyrics from Three Dog Night echo in my brain and are so applicable: "...One is the loneliest number that you'll ever choose.." I hope that Boone and Manning, on their separate journeys, can carry a tune.