Jets make huge splash on draft day, land Sanchez

by Mike Trovato

Rex Ryan may be the new head coach of the New York Jets, but Eric Mangini has not finished leaving his mark on the franchise. Numerous rumors swirled around New York all week leading up to draft weekend, regarding both the Jets and Giants. There was some speculation that the Jets would make a bid for Brady Quinn, the Browns' second first round pick in the 2008 draft. Other reports suggested that the Jets were targeting the likes of Jason Campbell, a wide receiver, or to trade up in the draft to snag either a QB or wideout, both glaring needs for Ryan's squad. When the smoke cleared on Saturday afternoon, the New York Jets had its new franchise player.

For the second straight season, Woody Johnson and Mike Tannenbaum pulled the trigger on a trade to land a big-name QB in New York. Last summer it was 39 year-old Brett Favre, whom the Jets acquired from the Packers for what wound up being Gang Green's third round pick. On Saturday the Jets dealt three players and two draft picks for the Cleveland Browns' number 5 overall pick, which they used to select USC's Mark Sanchez.

The pick came at a much higher price than the Jets paid for Favre, a future Hall of Famer. Gang Green sent their first and second round picks (17th, 52nd overall) to Cleveland, along with defensive end Kenyon Coleman, safety Abram Elam, and quarterback Brett Ratliff . Coleman, Elam and Ratliff join C.J. Mosley, Hank Poteat, Eric Barton and David Bowens as the latest ex-Jets to reunite with Eric Mangini in Cleveland.

When the Seattle Seahawks passed on Sanchez to take Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry, Radio City Music Hall began buzzing as Jets fans watched the Browns helmet turn into Gang Green on the clock. Minutes later, the fans erupted as Commissioner Goodell announced Mark Sanchez to be the newest member of the New York Jets.

Obviously, you cannot please everybody, but I found it particularly interesting to see shots of elated Jet fans juxtaposed with other Jet fans who looked less than thrilled. I have to admit, I myself wasn't quite sure how to react. At first, I yelled "they're gonna get Sanchez!!" Then I realized that they must have given up quite a bit to move that far up in the draft, and got worried. When I saw they gave up their first and second round picks, I thought that was all they gave up, and thought they pulled off a steal... Then they listed the three other human pieces to the puzzle.

I had no problem with the picks the Jets gave up to move to number 5. What worried me the most is that they traded three players for the potential of Sanchez, who according to some experts has the highest upside at QB for this draft class. To a lesser degree, I was slightly concerned about Sanchez' limited starts at USC. Yet when all is said and done- which it is- I have come to terms with the trade, and feel that this is without a doubt the right move for the Jets.

Unfortunately for Brett Ratliff, he was slated to compete with Kellen Clemens for the Jets starting quarterback position. Now he will probably compete for a roster spot behind up Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn, should Cleveland choose to keep both of them. I was intrigued by Ratliff, who had a solid preseason in 2008, but people will be surprised if Ratliff pans out; this is hardly the case with Sanchez. The 2009 Rose Bowl MVP, Sanchez has the highest upside of all the quarterbacks in this year's draft class. Yes, there is that slim chance that Ratliff will turn out to be that hidden gem in the mold of Tom Brady. Realistically, he's just another guy with potential- less potential than Mark Sanchez.

If Ratliff develops into a diamond in the rough, so be it, but let's face it- at this point,he was expendable to the Jets. The same goes for Abram Elam, who was likely going to see a significant cut in playing time with the Jets as a result of the signing of Jim Leonhard. That leaves Kenyon Coleman. While I'm not sure that Coleman is expendable, I don't think the Jets will be hard-pressed to replace the 53 tackles and .5 sacks.

I won't cry over Ratliff until he gives me reason to do so. And I'll soon forget about Abram Elam with the first hard hit I see Jim Leonhard make, lined up in the secondary alongside Pro Bowler Kerry Rhodes. Go ahead, Eric, take Coleman and the two picks. Have a blast. The bottom line is this- I'll take Mark Sanchez any day.

The Jets possess the 12th pick (76th overall) of the third round, the 15th pick in the fourth (115th), as well as 6th and 7th round picks. Now that they have addressed the need for a QB, the Jets can focus on finding a WR for Sanchez to throw to, as there are a number of second-tier receivers available.

One player the Jets may want to consider is Dominique Edison. A product of Stephen F. Austin, Edison was highly productive last season, recording 67 receptions for 1,016 yards. What stands out most are his 18 touchdown receptions. At 6'2", 204 pounds, Edison ran a 4.45 in the 40-yard dash, and possesses the size and speed to be a solid compliment to Jerricho Cotchery. Coming from a smaller school, Edison may not receive the same attention as other available prospects, and could wind up being a steal on day two of the draft.

Mets, Murphy stumble, fall below .500

by Mike Trovato

Yadier Molina. He may as well be kryptonite to the New York Mets. That is, if you could draw comparisons between the Mets and Superman. Yet while there is nothing super about the way Mr. Wilpon's boys are struggling on the field, there are early signs that we may be able to compare this year's Mets to the 1976 World Champion Cincinnati Reds.

Equipped with Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Tony Perez, the 1976 Reds dominated the New York Yankees to sweep the World Series. En route to becoming champions, the Big Red Machine left 1,328 men on base that season, a National League record. Though the 2009 season is in its infancy, barely over two weeks young, the Mets were on pace to break that National League record which has stood for 33 years.

Coming into Tuesday night's game with St. Louis, just a dozen games into the 2009 season, the Mets had already reached a statistical century mark: 100 runners left on the base paths. That's 8.3 runners per game left on base, just shy of one every inning. And, if things continue that way, the Mets will have left 1,350 men stranded on base when all is said and done this season. That total would break not only the National League record, but the Major Leage record 1,334 runners stranded in a season, set in 1941 by the St. Louis Browns.

Of course we all remember that team...

Back to Yadier Molina. Yeah, that guy. The man who with one swing of the bat back in 2006, elevated himself several notches closer to Chipper Jones on every Met fans' hit list. On Tuesday night, he was at it again, haunting the New York Mets.

In a twisted way, Molina helped the Mets out in the first inning, at least in terms of the aforementioned left on base record. With the count 2-0 on David Wright, Molina picked off Daniel Murphy, throwing behind him at first base.

Like I said, it's twisted. I know that didn't really help the Mets, though they would score a run later on in the inning. Molina had the Mets' number again, going 3-for-4 with a run scored. Unfortunately, what hurt the Mets more than Molina on Tuesday night was themselves.

It's never a good sign when you give up a leadoff single to the opposing pitcher, which is just what Oliver Perez did. Todd Wellemeyer led off the home half of the 5th, and later scored the first of four Cardinals runs on a double by Albert Pujols. By the end of the inning, Perez was gone, and Molina had crossed the plate when Cardinals 3B Joe Thurston drew a bases loaded walk from Casey Fossum to tie the game at 4-4.

The Mets did have several opportunities throughout the game to put more runs on the board. Fittingly, as has been the theme this season, those opportunities were squandered on the base paths. In the fourth inning, the Mets doubled their lead with RBI by Jose Reyes and Daniel Murphy. With Reyes and Murphy on the corners, David Wright hit a soft ground ball to Thurston at third. Reyes scored on the play, but when the throw sailed wide of Pujols' glove, Murphy attempted to score from first. Rather than stopping at third, Murphy was thrown out by about 30 feet at home, the second time he was removed from the bases. The struggles would continue for Murphy and the Mets in the 8th inning, when everything completely unraveled for New York, beginning in the hands of Yadier Molina.


With 1 out and Carlos Beltran on second, Ryan Church flew out to right. Tagging up, Beltran advanced to third, and attempted to score when Ryan Ludwick's throw could not be handled by Thurston. Had Beltran slid, he likely would have been safe at home. Instead, Thurston's hustle paid off as he recovered the loose ball, firing a strike to Yadier Molina, who easily tagged Beltran to bring the scoring threat to a screeching halt.

It took just 2 pitches from J.J. Putz for things to fall apart for the Mets, as Daniel Murphy added another blunder to his not-top-10's in the field. Brendan Ryan scorched J.J. Putz' first pitch fastball to left. Murphy charged the ball initially, but misplayed the line drive, and in his attempt to recover, fell down. Ryan reached third on the play, scored a triple, and scored on the very next pitch, a double to right center by pitcher-turned-outfielder Rick Ankiel. The Cardinals would get Ankiel home, and Ryan Franklin notched his pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to seal the 6-4 victory for St. Louis.

As much as I like him at the plate, Daniel Murphy needs to get out of his own head. Murphy, a natural third baseman is clearly out of sorts in left. While I hate to say it, his nightmarish adventures on the outfield grass make me wonder just how long will it be before he psyches himself right out of the starting lineup. Jerry Manuel is looking for ways to get Gary Sheffield some at-bats; this may be an opportune time to do so.

At this point, it seems as though a day or two off would benefit the youngster, whose struggles in the field are proving more and more costly. The one thing saving Murphy, aside from the organization's blind faith in the talented but unproven 24-year old, may be the team's overall shortcomings.

Of the Mets eight starting position players, seven have at least 40 at-bats thus far this season. All seven- Reyes, Murphy, Wright, Delgado, Beltran, Church and Castillo- are batting over .300. Before last night, the Mets had a collective on-base percentage of .366- 4th best in the league. Mets pitching ranks 3rd best in Major League Baseball with an ERA of 2.33, and the bullpen has yet to blow a save.

It kills me to watch them struggle the way that they do. They have their revamped bullpen, but only 3 save opportunities. They have the hitting, but lack the slugging, as they have only hit 9 home runs. They have the talent, but their heart is greatly in question. Frankly, whatever the cause, the ways the Mets find to lose baseball games in spite of themselves is completely baffling... or dare I say, amazin'?