When you think of New York sports you think of big teams, big names, and big bucks in one big city, but in a few years we may be about to be in full on rebuilding mode for every team. Could the biggest market in sports, become one of the smaller ones in the space of a few years? Right now the answer is yes…
New York Yankees: The New York Yankees are possibly the most iconic team in the sports world but after 2009 things have not gone the way that the Boss would have liked. The Yankees are about to go into a season of turmoil and it may only get worse. The Yankees have Alex Rodriguez suing baseball and the team doctor and he will most likely sit out next season and potentially even longer than that, there is doubt surrounding Joe Girardi’s return after his deal expired, CC Sabathia no longer looks like the ace the Yankees are paying big bucks too, Andy Pettitte is gone leaving a big whole in the rotation, and with Michael Pineda’s injury looking like a potential career ending one, and Kuroda being a free agent, the rotation is looking a mess not to mention Mariano Rivera is gone and the closer role is up for grabs and no one seems like they can take over, the bullpen is lacking flare, Derek Jeter is facing major injury problems, and the $189 million goal is still the target for owner, Hal Steinbrenner and the front office. The Bronx is burning and the fire is there to stay… If owner, Hal Steinbrenner, doesn’t shell out big bucks this offseason than expect the hunt for World Series #28 to be put on hold for a few seasons and also for the white flag to be up in June for the next two to three years.
New York Mets: The amazing’s era is long over and with current owners, the Wilpons at the helm of the franchise, nothing involving the future is looking bright. The Mets have traded for some of the big name prospects in baseball and that have gotten close to nothing except from them except with two of them. Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler. Travis D’Arnaud has been nothing short of pathetic in his stint last season in the majors and after a bright start, Wilmer Flores fell off the face of the earth and is likely to stay there with the return of captain, David Wright playing the hot corner. With top prospect, Noah Syndegaard posting relatively average numbers in St. Lucie (A) and Binghampton (AA) putting him in triple a to start next season could potentially do more harm than good to his confidence levels and could put a potential MLB career on hold. With top prospect, Cesar Puello, having taken PED’s during his minor league career, we are not sure what his true potential looks like and with Brandon Nimmo being the only big name prospect left, he is still ages away from his big league debut. The Mets current roster is in a crisis as well, they’ve lost their ace, Matt Harvey to Tommy John Surgery and he will miss next season and from then onwards its anyones guess whether or not he will be the Harvey of old or be a whole different pitcher (thats a bad thing). With Johan Santana also showing no signs of life, the Mets will either have to make a big move this offseason or rely on some washed up veterans to save their season which is one thing no one thinks or knows is happening… Expect the early hope to fade as each season moves on until the Mets rid themselves of their frugal ways.
New York Knicks: The New York Knicks are known, and referred to as New York’s basketball team but even as they retain that title, the Isiah years may be about to return in a different form most small market teams call “rebuilding” yes the dreaded word every team hates to hear on Sportscenters season preview, mainly because it usually involves front office mistakes during the process that could potentially derail a franchise *cough Isiah Thomas cough*, but the Knicks are about to enter that stage and fans have to deal with the realization that its near. With Kenyon Martin, Pablo Prigioni, Metta World Peace, and Tyson Chandler all in their last few years in the NBA, and Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire about to go into that stage in a couple of years, the future holds years of mediocrity with the Knicks only prospects being Iman Shumpert (who James Dolan seems to dangle as trade bait every chance he gets) and Tim Hardaway Jr. With the cap situation the way it currently is the Knicks will have to deal with a tight budget and with what seems like underrated moves of getting a player like Beno Udrih this offseason, will seem like a potential franchise changing move in 2-3 years. The Knicks are good now but are not built to last in the future.
Brooklyn Nets: The Brooklyn Nets have the exact same problem as the Knicks. They are built to win now but the fire will be extinguished after next season. While pulling off trades to get Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry to the borough of Brooklyn is great, how long term is that move? one year? two years? half a season? Whatever the length may be it is not long term and with other ageing players such as Joe Johnson, Andrei Kirilenko, Reggie Evans, Alan Anderson, and Deron Williams (approaching), the Nets will also be due for years of mediocrity with their main prospects being Mason Plumlee, Tyshawn Taylor, Tornike Shengelia, and most notably, Brook Lopez. The cap situation isn’t looking bright and the young talent isn’t looking that bright aside from all star center, Brook Lopez. When looking at the cap situation it looks almost identical to the Knicks; Big names who are going to be washed up stars who are being given big bucks and produce close to nothing *cough Amar’e Stoudemire cough*. The Nets will have a lot of players on their books possibly years after their careers are done, The Nets made themselves a regular fixture in the playoffs last season, a contender this season, and potentially a group of pretenders after next season. Jason Kidd will have his work cut out from him after one or two years of success in Brooklyn.
New York Giants: The Eli Manning – Tom Coughlin era has spoiled Giants fans with two Super Bowls but they are showing their real colors this season. With the defense looking like a unranked college team going up against NFL opponents each game, it does not seem as though the Giants have any real chance of doing anything big this season or anytime in the near future. One bright side is that the NFC East is horrible, a team with a losing record could be in the playoffs (or at least the playoff hunt) and luckily for the Giants, if the suck the least of out all the teams in the division then they have a shot at another Super Bowl but don’t count on it. With David Bass, David Diehl, Cullen Jenkins, Brandon Jacobs, Mathias Kiwanuka, Mike Patterson, Shaun Rogers, Antrel Rolle, Aaron Ross, Justin Tuck, Corey Webster, Steve Weatherford, and most notably, Eli Manning all in the twilight years of their NFL careers, it seems as though the core is about to implode with no real foundation to support the blow it seems as though years of five or six win seasons (at best) are approaching the team. Ryan Nassib is nowhere near being an NFL starter and with Victor Cruz being the only receiver who can play on a regular basis, the offense looks like its about to fall apart, and we already know the major defensive problems the Giants are trying to cover up by trading for another injury prone lineman in Jon Beason. Its not going to be a fun five to six years for Giants fans…
New York Jets: The New York Jets are not a team that are in rebuilding mode, nor are they a team that have the assets that are going to put them in contention and that is the problem that they are going to face for the next few years. Geno Smith is a not a quarterback that is going to win a playoff game let alone a Super Bowl. With an average receiving core headlined by the ageing and injury prone Santonio Holmes, and a below average secondary complimented with a coaching staff who look like they don’t know what they’re doing at some points during games, mediocracy is something the Jets are used to and will have to put up with for the next four to five years unless the front office attempts to trade away Mark Sanchez and the other scrubs they have taking up space on their roster for some third to fifth round draft picks (at best). Sorry Gang Green but the next few years are going to be mean…
New York Rangers: The New York Rangers are referred to as the pride of New York hockey but after this season don’t expect that to be the case (well, don’t expect it from the Islanders either). After trading away veteran sharpshooter, Marian Gaborik, at the trade deadline last season to add some much needed depth, the Rangers looked like a revitalised team but much like the team that they share Madison Square Garden with (the Knicks) they took the first round by storm, taking down Washington with a big game seven win before falling to Boston in six games (Knicks beat the Celtics in six, and fell to the Pacers in six). The offseason did not get much better as GM, Glen Sather, made a questionable call bringing back inconsistent center, Brad Richards, and keeping his huge contract instead of unloading him and making him another teams hassle. Now the coaching staff thinks that he can work on the first line… Yeah, that gives a good indication of the future. The team did not add to the depth they acquired at the deadline, instead they chose to add mediocracy in the faces of the unproven Dominic Moore and Aaron Johnson. Taking these risks are not going to pay off and the Rangers will find that in a year or two that instead of challenging for a Stanley Cup, like they are this year, they will instead be challenging for the eighth seed in the East at best and be succumbed to first round exits to teams they were used to beating with ease.
New York Islanders: Much like the Mets, the New York Islanders have a reliance on youth and even though that has paid off for many teams in the NHL and generally all sports, the Islanders did well last season and have to repeat that showing this season to keep the critics quiet and not call this a fluke, but instead they lost a key defenseman in Mark Streit. Streit was the heart and soul of the Isles defense and with him gone, the defense could see a potential crumble with young players not having a veteran presence who’s experienced the playoffs, and someone to look to when in pressure situations. With the goaltending situation also seeming inconsistent, the Islanders will have to assert themselves during next seasons offseason or this seasons trade deadline and bring in some major defenseman who aren’t in their twilight years or are too young. Expect their situation to either improve or they will resort to the form they experienced previous to last seasons surprise. Mediocrity and success hangs on a thread for the Islanders.