Thursday, October 2, 2014

2014 New York Mets - Season Grades


The Mets did something different this year which gives me hope for next season. Instead of starting off strong and floundering to the end of the season, they actually floundered through much of the schedule and then got better towards the end of the season. In fact, the Mets were five games over .500 in September with a 15-10 record.

It also sounds great to be able to say that the Mets finished in second place, which they did. The truth, however, is that other than the Nationals the division was pretty weak. The Mets' 79-83 record was identical to that of their one time nemesis, the Atlanta Braves. Seeing the Phillies finish in last is also satisfying after years of abuse from Philly fans. Their dynasty sure fell apart real fast.

Despite all this, it was the 6th straight losing season for the Mets and the fans showed their frustration in the form of many, many, many empty seats. The rebuilding plan that Sandy Alderson spoke of is taking a lot longer than initially thought and it's time for the Mets to move forward and start winning. (With the Yankees sliding in to irrelevance, the Mets have the chance to win back the city....but will they capitalize on it?)

Here's a look at the grades for the 2014 New York Mets:


GM Sandy Alderson

Alderson talks a good game, but his moves this past off season were terrible. His free agent signings included Curtis Granderson who finished the season with a .227 batting average and 141 strikeouts. Even worse was the acquisition of outfielder Chris Young. Young was a .235 career hitter and somehow managed to hit even worse than that...he was designated for assignment in August with a measly .205 average.

Alderson made the right call on Lucas Duda over Ike Davis and the Mets' farm system looks like it's full of young players with lots of potential.

Overall Grade C












 Manager Terry Collins

Collins appears to have the respect of the dugout, as well as the news media. Collins, however, can only do so much with the team that he's been given. Of course there were questionable decisions made at points throughout the season, but Collins has handled himself with class all season. It would be great to see how Collins would do if the Mets can start hitting.

Overall Grade B
















 Starting Pitchers

With Matt Harvey lost for the entire season, there were definite worries for the Mets' starting rotation. The Mets signed 41 year old Bartolo Colon and he was a work horse for the team. He threw 202 innings and picked up 15 wins on a team that had difficulty scoring runs.

Jon Niese, Zach Wheeler and Dillon Gee all had decent seasons and gave the Mets plenty of quality starts. The breakout star, however, was Jacob DeGrom. He began the season in Las Vegas and once called up, never left. He is almost certain to win Rookie of the Year after going 9-6 with a 2.69 ERA. He also had 144 strikeouts including 8 in a row versus the Marlins which tied a Major League Record set in 1986. DeGrom also proved that he could hit. He ended the season with a .217 average, which is 10 points higher than what Chris Young hit!!!

The Mets' pitching staff combined for a 3.49 ERA which was the 9th best out of all 30 MLB clubs. They were 8th in strikeouts with 1303.

Overall Grade B+












Bullpen

It's hard to believe that one of the Mets' strongest parts this season was the bullpen. After all those years of blown saves, Armando Benitez, blown saves, Aaron Heilman, blown saves, etc. etc. etc. the Mets' bullpen was solid.

After Bobby Parnell went down at the start of the season, the bullpen situation looked dire. Instead, a bunch of journeymen and no names combined to put up great numbers.
  • Josh Edgin 1.32
  • Buddy Carlyle 1.45
  • Jeurys Familia 2.21
  • Vic Black 2.60
  • Carlos Torres 3.06
  • Jenrry Mejia was given the closer role and flourished. He ended the season with 28 saves and 3.65 ERA
The Mets' bullpen combined for a 3.14 ERA which was the 8th best out of all 30 MLB clubs.

Overall Grade A-



















First Base

I admit it, I was wrong. I blasted the Mets for trading Ike Davis and keeping Lucas Duda. Davis continued to stink with the Pirates, while Duda began to look like a legitimate power hitting first baseman. He still needs to work on increasing his batting average and hitting in clutch situations, but his 30 home runs and 92 RBI's were a bright spot in an otherwise pitiful offensive season.

Overall Grade B-













Second Base

Daniel Murphy began the season being ridiculed for skipping a few games to be with his wife who was having a baby. He got the last laugh as his actions led to him being invited to speak at the White House about parenting and he was the only member of the Mets to be chosen to play at the All Star Game.

Murphy was once again consistent at the plate and finished the season with a .289 average and 172 hits. If not for a spell on the disabled list, Murphy was on pace to reach 200 hits for the season. He had 9 homers, 37 doubles and 13 stolen bases. His only blemish was his team leading 15 errors.

Murphy is one of the most reliable bats in the Mets' batting order.

Overall Grade B














Shortstop

Ruben Tejada proved that the Mets made a mistake in not resigning Jose Reyes a few seasons back. Tejada was terrible at the plate with a .237 average and was jettisoned to the bench. He had a brief emergence in September where he hit .325 with 2 home runs.

Wilmer Flores was better at the plate hitting .251 with 6 home runs. 

Mets' shortstops combined for 13 errors.

Overall Grade D














Third Base

By his usual standards David Wright had a really bad season. He batted .269 with just 8 home runs and 63 RBI's. He also tied Murphy with 15 errors. Mets fans can't be too hard on Wright, however, as he's carried this team throughout most of his career. He was hurt most of the year and played through the pain before missing the last two months of the season.  Hopefully he'll rehab and get back to his usual numbers.

Overall Grade C











Left Field

A major weak spot for the Mets this season. The previously mentioned Chris Young stunk up the joint for half of the season while Eric Young and an assortment of bench players filled in the rest of the year. Eric Young did steal 30 bases, but his .229 average is not worthy of an every day role. This is a spot where the Mets need to get a player with power that can hit for average.

Overall Grade D














Center Field

Juan Lagares was another one of the bright spots for the Mets. His defense alone was top notch, but he also proved that he can handle himself at the plate. He hit .281 in 416 at bats and stole 13 bases. He also came through many times in the clutch. He showed flashes of power with 4 homers and 24 doubles. His season ended early through an injury. 

Lagares was platooned often early in the season, but hopefully will be given the chance to be the everyday center fielder next season. It'll be great to see what he can produce given the chance to play everyday.

Overall Grade B













Right Field

Curtis Granderson came to the Mets with a lot of fanfare. He was a slugger for the Tigers and the Yankees and the hope was that he would be a leader of the offense. While he did hit 20 homers, they seemed to come with no one on base. When the game was on the line, he usually struck out, which he did 141 times. There is a TON of room for improvement here.

Overall Grade C-












Catcher

Travis d'Arnaud came to the Mets in the R.A. Dickey trade with Toronto. He came with a lot of expectations and talk of him being a future star. He had a rough season early on and was sent down to the minors hitting under the Mendoza line at .180. The demotion seemed to have an effect on d'Arnaud. After returning to the club he hit .272 with 10 home runs. In fact, over his last 30 games he was batting a robust .300. d'Arnaud also played through injury and just had surgery on his right elbow.

The fact that he improved so much after his demotion is a good sign that he may yet fulfill his promise. He should get that chance in 2015.

Overall Grade C











In the end, the 2014 Mets were lacking in run production. The team average of .239 was the third worst in all of baseball. They also need help with power as their 125 home runs ranked them 20th out of 30 MLB clubs.

If the Mets can fix their offensive problems and keep their pitchers healthy, the Mets may legitimately have a chance to challenge in 2015

In the end, the Mets won 5 more games in 2014 than they did in 2013 and appear to be heading in the right direction. Hopefully Sandy Alderson and the front office will give fans the opportunity to watch a winning team next season.

New York Mets Overall Team Season Grade C


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Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Arsenal 2014-2015 - October

Wednesday, October 1, 2014 2:45PM EST Arsenal vs. Galatasaray Champions League Match Day 2

 The new month kicks off with Champions League play as Arsenal host Galatasary at the Emirates. Having lost on match day one away to Dortmund, it is pretty much a must win for the Gunners.

Despite sitting 4th in the table and still undefeated in the league, the negative supporters are out in force whining about the manager, the players and whatever else they can complain about. A solid victory would be a good way to shut these idiots up...especially with Chelsea looming on the horizon.










Wow, what a match. The Arsenal team that we saw tonight put on a master class in how to play the game. With speed up front in the form of Sanchez, Chamberlain and Welbeck, the Gunners dismantled Galatasaray. The onslaught began in the 22nd minute when Welbeck put the ball in the back of the net. He did it again eight minutes later for a 2-0 lead. Sanchez added a third before the half and it looked like Arsenal could run up the score.


 Welbeck finished his hat trick in the 52nd minute and the Emirates was rocking. 

 Play was stopped at one point as some Galatasary fans thought it would be a good idea to throw flares and missiles on to the pitch. It took Wesley Sneijder pleading with the fans to stop the interruptions.

Unfortunately,Wojciech Szczesny was reckless once again and was sent off for an unnecessary foul which led to a penalty and a red card. I've always been unconvinced by Szczesny and I'm hoping that this turns out to be a blessing in disguise as Ospina was forced in to action and did very well. I'd love to see Ospina as the number one goalkeeper.

Arsenal defended their lead and the match finished 4-1. In addition to Welbeck and Sanchez, great perormances were put in by the Ox, Chambers, Gibbs, Kos and Cazorla. Hopefully Arsenal can carry this momentum and some confidence in to this weekend's match versus Chelsea.











Sunday, October 4, 2014 9AM EST Arsenal at Chelsea



Fear, trepidation, anxiety....these are just a few of the emotions that Arsenal fans are feeling today as we head to Chelsea. Stamford Bridge was the location of Arsenal's biggest humiliation last season, a 6-0 thrashing. Add to that the fact that Chelsea have looked unstoppable so far this season and that they are lead by the annoying, arrogant and pompous Jose Mourinho and it's an encounter that gives most Arsenal fans nightmares. Of course there's hope that Arsenal can hold their own against Chelsea and can actually win. Just like those days when Arsenal always had Chelsea's number back in those Claudio Ranieri days. Here's hoping.





The times have changed. When I first started following Arsenal, we always had Chelsea's number. No matter what, Arsenal always came out on top. Unfortunately, it appears to be the other way around this time.

 The fact that a positive from the match is that we didn't get hammered 6-0 like last season is a sad statement. Feeling good that we lost by a respectable 2-0 margin is also a sad state of affairs. 



In what seems to be happening way too often, Arsenal had 53% of the possession and out shot Chelsea 10-5. In the past Arsenal would dominate possession and shots and win. Now it seems to be the opposite. It's obvious that Arsenal's defense is not strong enough (bring back Tony Adams, Nigel Winterburn and Lee Dixon). We also need a beast in midfield a la Patrick Vieira.

The highlight of the match for Arsenal fans was Arsene Wenger pushing the "egotistical one" Jose Mourinho as the managers got in to a verbal spat.






Saturday, October 18, 2014 Arsenal vs. Hull 10AM EST



The first match in two weeks after an international break. Having gone in to the break with a painful 2-0 defeat at Chelsea, a visit by Hull should be just what Arsenal need. Arsenal's next run of games are all winnable so let's hope that today is the start of a good run.






The two week break didn't seem to do any good for Arsenal. Most fans and pundits expected Arsenal to roll to victory over Hull at home. Instead, it was another frustrating Arsenal performance where the team looked sluggish and uninspired.

 It all started rather well as Alexis Sanchez's 13th minute goal gave Arsenal an early 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, it went downhill from there.

 Within four minutes Mohaned Diame fouled Mathieu Flamini as he ran in to the box. For whatever reason, the ref didn't seem to see anything wrong and allowed the play to continue. Of course Diame scored and Hull were level on a goal that should not have been allowed to be taken in the first place.


The rest of the match was typical Arsenal frustration. Within one minute of the second half, Hull's Abel Hern
andez was able to get by the Arsenal defense and score a header to give Hull the lead.

 Arsenal dominated the play with 66% of the possession, 25 shots on goal to Hull's 4 and 10 corners to Hull's 0. Despite these overwhelming statistics, Arsenal had to fight until the 90th minute to salvage a point. Danny Welbeck scored in stoppage time and Arsenal kept pushing with 6 extra minutes on the clock. Unfortunately, a winner was not on the cards and Arsenal had to settle for yet another draw....their 5th draw in 8 matches. 

 The frustration continues.







 Wednesday, October 22, 2014 Arsenal at Anderlecht 2:45PM EST Champions League Group Match 3



There's a nervous air around Arsenal fans these days as the team has not looked sharp and list of players out injured seems to be growing day by day. With Sczesny banned, I was very excited to see David Ospina get a start (and hopefully displace the unreliable Scezsny). Unfortunately he joined the list of injured players and Arsenal are left fielding their relative unknown third choice goalkeeper Damian Martinez.

In terms of conidence, this game is a must win. In fact, it's a must win by a comfortable margin game. The real Arsenal need to show up and get the season back on track.

On the positive side, Liverpool are hosting Real Madrid tonight, so there is a lot less attention being paid to the Arsenal at Anderlecht match.

It's Wenger's birthday so let's hope the boss gets a birthday victory.




This was one of the most pathetic, deplorable and embarrassing Arsenal performances in recent memory...yet somehow, they won. There are no words to describe the change in emotion for fans. In the 88th minute I was disgusted, depressed and furious as an embarrassing defeat was in the cards.2 minutes later, joy and shock as an ugly defeat became a lucky victory. Considering how often Arsenal play great and lose, an ugly win might be just what this team needed.


Despite the win, Arsenal's overall play was HORRIBLE. The passing stunk, the defense was weak and the shot taking was non existent. Cazorla, Wilshere and Ramsey are all great players, but collectively they were all atrocious today. The only guy that was a standout for the entire match was the amazing Alexis Sanchez.

Dortmund lead the group by 3 points after 3 matches. Arsenal are really going to have to pull it together to top Group D. Onward and upward! 
















Saturday, October 25, 2014 10AM EST Arsenal at Sunderland


After winning ugly at Anderlecht in mid week, Arsenal travel up north to meet a team that lost ugly last week. Sunderland were humiliated by Southampton 8-0 last time out and hopefully Arsenal can inflict some more pain on Sunderland. 

 To say it's imperative that Arsenal truly show up and put in a solid performance would not be an overstatement. With just 11 points in 8 matches, Arsenal need to truly get their season going and start playing at the level that they are capable of. Sunderland should be easy pickings for the Gunners...but as we've seen so far this season, nothing is coming easy for this team yet.

















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Monday, September 15, 2014

A Reality Check For Manuel Pellegrini


This morning I read an article where Manuel Pellegrini was complaining about Manchester City's group draw in the Champions League versus that of Arsenal. His basic point is that since Manchester City won the EPL last season, they should be rewarded with an easier draw than Arsenal, who finished 4th and qualified through the playoffs.

 Without saying Arsenal by name, Pellegrini alluded to the club when he said, 

"I don´t think it´s good that the teams who play qualification because they finished fourth in their domestic leagues are in pot one (top seeds), where the strongest teams should be.
‘In our group we have three domestic champions, the English champions, the German champions, and the Russian champions (CSKA Moscow). So our group seems a bit unbalanced.
‘Maybe in the future there will be a system for the teams in the pots which goes according to their position in their leagues and the points won in Europe.
‘I think we need to find a modification whereby, for example, all teams who play qualification go into pot four, and all champions of their respective leagues and have a lot of points in Europe (a high coefficient) go into pot one. 
‘There is a need for some modifications to not let something like what happened to us happen again, while the teams that play preliminaries appear to be the most important ones in Europe.

 To be fair, he has a point. Clubs that do the best should be rewarded as such. However, the more I thought about it, the more I completely disagree with Pellegrini. Yes clubs that perform the best should be rewarded, however, when a club simply purchases success that takes away from clubs such as Arsenal and yes even Manchester United, Liverpool and others that have a long history of domestic success, trophies and European experience.
Arsenal team in the Champions League 2006 final
I have been following Arsenal and the EPL since 1998 and I seem to remember Manchester City as a club that bounced around between the EPL and Division 1, including a stop in Division 2. Meanwhile, during this 18 year period Arsenal won three EPL titles and finished no lower than 4th every season. As for Manchester City, until Sheikh Mansour purchased the club and infused it with his oil money in 2008, Manchester City was rather irrelevant and players such as Shaun Goater were their "stars".

Here's a look at the finishes over the past 18 years for Manchester City and Arsenal. Perhaps Pellegrini should take a look at these statistics as they are quite telling.

 1997-98       Manchester City      22nd relegated from Div 1     Top scorer Paul Dickov
                     Arsenal                    1st in EPL                                Top scorer Dennis Bergkamp

1998-99       Manchester City       3rd in Division 2 promoted    Top scorer Shaun Goater
                    Arsenal                      2nd in EPL                              Top scorer Nicolas Anelka              
1999-00       Manchester City       2nd in Division 1 promoted   Top scorer Shaun Goater
                     Arsenal                      2nd in EPL                             Top scorer Thierry Henry

2000-01      Manchester City        18th relegated from EPL       Top scorer Shaun Goater
                    Arsenal                       2nd in EPL                             Top scorer Thierry Henry

2001-02      Manchester City         1st in Division 1 promoted   Top scorer Shaun Goater
                    Arsenal                       1st in EPL                              Top scorer Thierry Henry

 2002-03      Manchester City         9th in EPL                            Top scorer Nicolas Anelka
                   Arsenal                        2nd in EPL                            Top scorer Thierry Henry

2003-04      Manchester City        16th in EPL                            Top scorer Nicolas Anelka
                   Arsenal                        1st in EPL                              Top scorer Thierry Henry

2004-05      Manchester City         8th in EPL                             Top scorers  Robbie Fowler/                                                                                                                    Shaun Wright-Phillips
                   Arsenal                        2nd in EPL                             Top scorer Thierry Henry

2005-06     Manchester City         15th in EPL                             Top scorers Andrew Cole/                                                                                                                         Darius Vassell
                   Arsenal                        4th in EPL                              Top scorer Thierry Henry                                                  
2006-07     Manchester City          14th in EPL                            Top scorer Joey Barton
                   Arsenal                        4th in EPL                              Top scorer Robin van Persie


1997-08    Manchester City           9th in EPL                             Top scorer Elano
                  Arsenal                         4th in EPL                              Top scorer Adebayor

2008-09    Manchester City          10th in EPL                            Top scorer Robinho
Sheikh Mansour purchases club 9/2008
                  Arsenal                        4th in EPL                               Top scorer Robin van Persie

2009-10    Manchester City          5th in EPL                               Top scorer Tevez
                 Arsenal                         3rd in EPL                               Top scorer Cesc Fabregas

 2010-11    Manchester City          3rd in EPL                             Top scorer Tevez
                  Arsenal                          4th in EPL                             Top score Robin van Persie

2011-12   Manchester City            1st in EPL                              Top scorer Aguero
                Arsenal                            3rd in EPL                             Top scorer Robin van Persie

2012-13   Manchester City            2nd in EPL                             Top scorers Carlos Tevez/                                                                                                                       Sergio Aguero
                Arsenal                            4th in EPL                              Top scorer Theo Walcott

2013-14   Manchester City            1st in EPL                               Top scorer Sergio Aguero
                 Arsenal                          4th in EPL                               Top scorer Olivier Giroud


                           Trophies and Champions League Participation      
                       
                          EPL Titles /FA Cup /League Cup/ Comm. Shield             
Manchester City     2                   1                   1            1               

 Champions League History -  3 entries 2011-2014/Group Stages 2x, Round of  16 1x

 Arsenal                    3                    5                  0            5              

 Champions League History - 18 straight entries 1998-2014/Runners Up 1x, Semis 1x, Quarters 4x Round of 16 6x, Europa Cup Runners Up 1x

Yes Manchester City are currently one of the toughest teams in the EPL. However, this is a recent phenomenon that was not truly earned by the organization through recruitment and player development. Instead, they have spent untold billions to buy some of the best players in the world while also purchasing "feeder" clubs in New York and Melbourne. They are basically operating as the New York Yankees did under George Steinbrenner....win at all costs and buy championships. 

 If Manchester City want to be in Pot 1 of the Champions League draw every year, then they should earn that right by creating some history and a legacy both domestic and in Europe. So far all they've done is purchase the right to be in the tournament.
                                                           

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Sunday, September 14, 2014

Arsenal 2014-2015 - September

Saturday, September 13 2014 7:45AM EST Arsenal vs. Manchester City


The international break is finally over and all the transfer window gossip is now officially over (until January that is). Arsenal's new striker Danny Welbeck was the star in England's 2-0 win over Switzerland in the EURO 2016 qualifying match this past week which gives him extra confidence heading in to his Arsenal debut.

 The fact that Arsenal are facing Manchester City makes this match even more significant. As all Arsenal fans know, the clubs' frailties against the top teams last season was a big reason why the club's title run came up short. It is important that Arsenal show they can compete with the big boys and not be pushed around as in the past.




Going in to the match, many Arsenal fans would be lying if they didn't admit they were afraid that we might get beaten badly. Arsenal were the stronger side in the first half, but still found themselves behind 0-1 when Aguero scored in the 28th minute. After we dominated the first half and still went behind 0-1 on an Aguero goal.

 Wilshere scored a beauty to even the score in the 63rd followed by an amazing goal by Alexis Sanchez in the 74th minute. The Emirates was rocking and Sanchez ripped his shirt off in celebration. It was looking like Arsenal were going to pull off the win.

Unfortunately the defense once again proved fragile and City equalized on a corner kick in the 83rd minute.

 A 2-2 draw is truly a good result against last year's champions. However, the fact that Arsenal led with just 16 minutes left and were unable to hold the lead was definitely a disappointment. Of course those negative fans that complain about anything and everything were spewing their anger on Twitter and Arsene Wenger was once again in the path of criticism. 

 The real negative from the game is the fact that Mathieu Debuchy was taken off on a stretcher with what looked like a very serious ankle injury.

 Next up is a trip to Dortmund for round one in the Champions League group stages.







 Tuesday, September 16, 2014 2:45PM EST Arsenal at Borussia Dortmund Champions League Game 1


Arsenal travel to Germany to kick off the group stages of the Champions League. The clubs are familiar with each other, having played several times in the past few years. Unfortunately, Arsenal are without Debuchy, Chambers and Monreal for the match and Hector Bellerin is being promoted from the youth team to fill in. That's like taking a first grader and putting him in high school calculus. Hopefully the team will get off to a good start.







I am one of the most positive Arsenal fans around and get annoyed at all the negative whining and comments on Twitter every time something goes wrong for the club. Today, however, I have to join in.

 This was without a doubt the worst collective team performance from Arsenal that I've ever seen. At times it looked like Dortmund were playing with 25 players as every time an Arsenal player was on the ball, they would be stripped of it by 2 or more Dortmund players. When Dortmund had the ball, we couldn't defend and their players were able to run straight at goal without any of Arsenal's midfielders of defenders causing a problem.


 Arsenal's passing was horrible and at times non existent. Arteta was the worst player on the pitch and seemed completely off the pace. For the first half hour, Sczsney was the hero as he was called on to make save after save. Unfortunately, Sczesney joined in on the bad play with some horrible howlers later on; one in particular where he nonchalantly played the ball and came very close to gifting Dortmund another goal.

 The final score was 2-0, but it truly could have been 10-0. I'm keeping faith with the team, but the players need a good wake up call and to play up to their abilities. Luckily it's only match day one and we have 5 more matches to get things right.







Saturday, September 20, 2014 10AM EST Arsenal at Aston Villa 


 Nervous time for Arsenal fans. The team has been less than impressive thus far and after the humiliating defeat in Dortmund, fans are deservedly a bit nervous. Villa have gotten off to a great start to the season and of course Arsenal fans remember last season's opening day loss at home to Villa. Some goals and a clean sheet would be a welcome outcome.




Wow, within a span of just about three minutes, Arsenal, Mesut Ozil and Danny Welbeck silenced a lot of the critics and restored some much needed confidence to a squad that needed a lift. Welbeck set up Ozil for the first which he took with precision. One minute later and it was Ozil playing provider for Welbeck. Arsenal were rolling and on their next attack, a Kieran Gibbs shot was kicked right in to the Villa net by Villa's Aly Cissokho. The first half ended with Arsenal on top 0-3.






The second half was a lot of Arsenal passing the ball about with little Villa pressure. While it would have been nice to see the Gunners run up the score, the win was the most important thing....followed by a clean sheet. Villa put up very little fight and Arsenal were content to keep possession. The final stats are pretty impressive: Arsenal had 71.4% of possession compared to Villa's 28.6%. Arsenal had a total pass tally of 814, while Villa managed 312.


Hopefully this will be the beginning of a great run from the Arsenal boys.






Adding to the great Arsenal victory and the vindication for Ozil and Welbeck was a weekend that was pure magic for Arsenal fans. Spuds lost to West Brom at home 0-1, Liverpool were owned at West Ham 3-1, Chelsea were denied a victory and settled for a draw with the oil barons as Frank Lampard scored against his old team for a 1-1 draw....but the best result of the entire weekend was at Leicester. After ManU defeated QPR 4-0 the press were declaring United are back and Van Gaal was in the papers saying that they could win the title this season. Well, a reality check was issued today. Up 1-3 at Leicester, ManU's weak defense shone brightly as they were dismantled by newly promoted Leicester and ended up 5-3 losers!!! 

On a side note, despite the Mets having another non winning season, they swept their onetime nemesis, Atlanta Braves, this weekend knocking them out of the playoffs. A great sports weekend it was.








Tuesday, September 23, 2014 2:45PM EST Arsenal vs. Southampton Capital One Cup Third Round

Time for the league cup and Arsene Wenger usually gives the young players the chance to prove themselves in this competition. While not the most glamorous tournament, it does result in a trophy at the end. It's another chance for Arsenal to add to their recent silverware.




 Everything was looking good for Arsenal to win the match and progress in the tournament. An amazing Alexis Sanchez free kick gave the Gunners a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute. Unfortunately, Tomas Rosicky gifted Southampton a goal when he fouled Sadio Mane in the box. From there Arsenal had the bulk of the possession, but were unable to make the breakthrough. 

Nathaniel Clyne gave Southampton the lead in the 40th minute with an exceptional goal. 

 The second half was goalless and Arsenal were out of the Capital One Cup with a 1-2 loss.








Saturday, September 27, 2014 12:30PM EST Arsenal vs. Tottenham

This will be the first Arsenal match that I have not been able to watch live in ages. I'll be visiting my cousins in Atlanta and despite them having hundreds of channels, they do not have NBC Sports.

 Of course the North London Derby is one of the biggest matches of the season as it's another chance to remind Tottenham and their fans that North London is red and that they are forever in our shadow.

 Here's hoping for a victory in front of the home fans.


The good news is that they didn't lose. The bad news is that they didn't win despite dominating the game. Arsenal had 69% of the possession, 16 shots on goal to Spurs' 6 and 15 corners to Spurs' 5. Despite all this, Arsenal had to fight back for a 1-1 draw.

 The first half finished scoreless and Tottenham took advantage of a Flamini mistake to take the lead in the 56th minute on a Chadli goal. The Ox evened the score in the 74th minute and it seemed as if momentum was now on Arsenal's side and that they would go on to a deserved win. Sadly that didn't happen, but the one point leaves Arsenal in 4th place and still undefeated in the league.



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