The Final Score

This is a reprise of our June 9 debate with some updating because of Osi's injury.

JIM: Strahan will return

In sports we always talk about how great it must be to leave on top. But we also tend to forget these guys wouldn't have accomplished everything they have if they weren't ultra-competitive. That's why Michael Jordan couldn't walk away after that game-winning basket against Utah. He needed to try it again, one more try to see if he could recapture that magic.

Sure, Strahan must feel great to walk away having finally won the Super Bowl. And no doubt he was confident he made the right decision when training camp came and his ex-teammates went through two-a-days. But what happens when the first game is played? When Week 2 and 3 and 4 pass and he's watching on television, getting that itch.

UPDATE: He'll be commenting on FOX, not watching on TV

Every retired player gets that itch. I don't believe Strahan will be able to ignore it.

He'll be back by October.

UPDATE: Make that September.

ANTHONY: He mentally checked out after they won

At least that's what someone who knows Strahan pretty well told me.

Strahan is likely to remain retired because he just doesn't want to go through the rigors of another NFL season. Mucho money would have brought him back, but the Giants would only go so far. In the salary-cap world, that's smart.

I think we're going to see more of this, Jim, meaning players walking away earlier than they might have in the past. Once you've won and once you've made all the money anyone could ever spend, why push yourself if you don't want to anymore?

Life is too short.

Strahan will make a good living as a TV personality. Heck, he'll probably do better than Tiki Barber in that arena.

UPDATE: At least Strahan won't (allegedly) call his TV partner a very bad word on live TV.

Could he come back? Sure. But I don't think he will. Say goodbye, Jim.

UPDATE: I still think he stays retired. Someone told me he's lost about 30 pounds from his playing days. No way he can get in game shape in time to really help this season.
***
Your thoughts?

Jim wrote a column on this topic yesterday. We'll use pieces of that column as the jumping-off point for our debate.

JIM: Division is now Phillies' to lose

The challenge is figuring out how exactly the Mets can win the NL East with their bullpen of shaky, inconsistent middle relievers.

The interim manager's strategy is to not name an interim closer. He prefers to let the situation each game dictate which pitcher he brings in to pitch the ninth. Manuel admitted he would ideally prefer one of his relievers step up and make his decision easy, but who is that guy?

He doesn't know. No one does.

There are less than six weeks remaining in the regular season, 36 games standing in the way of a second division title in three years. Sure, it can still happen. Why not? The best thing the Mets have going for them is that their division is putrid. But the moment the Mets announced the severity of Wagner's injury yesterday, the division became the Phillies' to lose.

Of course that sentence stings, Mets fans, but let's hear you make the case that what happened last night can take place over and over? Do you trust Heilman in a big spot? How about Duaner Sanchez, Pedro Feliciano, Schoeneweis or Joe Smith?

For one more night, the Mets and their closer-less bullpen survived. But the question remains: Just how long can this continue?

ANTHONY: How long can this continue? How about all the way to the playoffs!

Jim, you seem to gloss over this fact: The Mets have won seven of their last eight games without Wagner. If he had been healthy, want to bet he would have blown one or two of those games?

Wagner is a good closer, not a great closer, and the closer position is overrated anyway. Yes, the eighth and ninth innings will be an adventure with him out, but I say the Mets will still win the division. Just maybe not as easily.

Look at the Phillies. They are capable of going on a long losing binge at any time. The Mets have a clear advantage in starting pitching. That's what's going to win you games -- the starting pitcher, not the finishing.

Plus, the Mets have a little Manuel Magic going for them. I don't think Jerry Manuel is the greatest skipper ever, but he has established a positive attitude around the Mets, a sort of "we should win this thing" vibe. That should carry them through the times when their bullpen does blow a game or two. It's much better than Willie Randolph's "we better win so everyone will think I'm a good manager."

So to answer your final question: How long can this continue ....

Right to the first round of the playoffs.

And then the Mets will be crushed by the Brewers. But that's a topic for another day.

JIM: Yes, Omar blew this one.

All you have to do is objectively answer one question, and this debate is moot. Are the Mets built to win this year, or are they more concerned about building for the future?

To me, it's easy. The Mets are built to win this year. Delgado, Wagner, Martinez are all on the back ends of their career. Perez is a goner after the year. Beltran might just be past his prime.

Yes, the Mets have more than enough valuable assets (Wright, Reyes, Santana, Pelfrey) to win while rebuilding on the fly. But that process starts next year. This year marks the end of the window for this current group of players, most of whom experienced the high of '06 and the low of '06. So because this year is about winning, the Mets should have gone all in.

That doesn't mean they had to trade Fernando Martinez or Jon Niese, although I wouldn't have been against it. It just means the Mets should have done everything they could to fix the biggest weakness on their team - the bullpen. The fact they did nothing is a decision that will hurt them in the end.

ANTHONY: Let's everyone all calm down here, OK?

First, Jim, don't start with "this debate is moot". We're trying to get people to read these darn things! How about, "This debate is hot hot hot."

Second, we're not the only people talking about this issue on the Newsday yakosphere (Neil Best's term).

Here's Lennon's take.

Here's Davidoff's take.

Here's Ronis' take.

Here's a video of a cat playing ping-pong.

What can I add?

Just this: everybody calm down. Yes, the Mets' bullpen is a disaster area. Yes, they are in trouble until Wagner returns.

But there's no reason to press the panic button and start turning Maine or Perez or Pedro into your closer.

(Pedro the closer . . .now there's a truly stupid idea.)

To address the original question: Did Minaya blow it? No. Look at the relievers who have been traded. Scott Eyre. Chad Bradford. Damaso Marte. Jon Rauch.

No difference-makers.

Minaya did the right thing. Try to piece it together with Wagner's troublesome arm and even more troublesome history of blowing big games. Once he's back, everyone slides back to their familiar roles and maybe, just maybe, the Mets will get their act together over the final six weeks of the season and win the East.

OK. Enough of that. Here's a video of a dog skateboarding.

My point? Everyone lighten up. It's going to be a bumpy ride, no matter what the Mets did or didn't do at the deadline.

Now that Brett Favre mania has died down a little, we can get back to talkin' football!

So, did the trade make the Jets a playoff team? 'Cause that's really all that matters once the smoke clears, right?

JIM: Jets will win AFC East

When I try to predict the outcome of the Jets-Favre marriage, I see no middle ground. Either Favre will have yet another monster season and the Jets will be among the league's best, or Favre will get hurt in Week 1 and the Jets stumble to a 5-win season.

I've actually gone back and forth on this one. I admit indecision. But as of today - day five of the Favre era in New York - I'm siding with success.

The bolstered offensive line will protect Favre, whose deep-ball ability will invigorate the offense and keep defenses honest. That, in turn, will help Thomas Jones to a comeback season. Those are three big positive differences from last year's offensive unit that just always seemed stuck in neutral.

The Favre-Jets season, in my mind, will go so well that the Jets will topple the Patriots, who will have a subpar year as they can't get over the Super Bowl loss. (Think Yankees in '05 after the collapse to Boston in '04.) So the timing seems perfect for the Jets and Favre to capitalize.

ANTHONY: Sorry, the AFC is just too tough

The Jets absolutely had to make the trade. Not only are they a better team, they are now relevant, as more than one person pointed out over the weekend.

But a playoff team? And better than the Pats? Is it all the fresh air you're breathing upstate, Jim, that has you seeing things? You need to get back soon before you predict a 20-win 2009 for Ian Kennedy.

The Jets are going to be better, and it's not unheard of for a 4-12 team one year to make the playoffs the next. But the conference is tough and the Jets still have holes. The Browns won 10 games and missed the playoffs last season. Are the Jets really going to win 10?

Let's say they lose two to New England, lose on the road to San Diego and Seattle and Tennessee, lose at home to Denver -- that's six losses right there and I don't think anyone could argue the Jets would be favored in any of those games at this point, except maybe Denver.

So the Jets would have to go 10-0 in their other games. No missteps. And that might not even get them in!

Looking at their schedule, I'd say 7-9 B.B. (Before Brett). Now I say 9-7 W.B (With Brett).

A good year, and one to build on. Isn't that enough for Jets fans?

*******

So what do you think? Playoffs, Super Bowl, or bust? (Maybe if we're really lucky, Newsday Jets beat writer Erik Boland, pictured above, will grace us with a comment. Yo, Erik, who wins more this season: your beloved Browns or the team you cover?)

Note: After the usual debate from Anthony and Jim, we have a THIRD OPINION from another Newsday writer who doesn't even know his opinion is being used here. Let us know what you think.

ANTHONY: STAY WITH THE COMMITTEE

There are two things I want to let you know about from Jerry Manuel’s postgame talk after Aaron Heilman tried to ruin a 6-5 win over the Padres:

Asked who his closer would be today, Manuel said, “I don’t know.”

Asked about Eddie Kunz, Manuel said: “"He might be the guy," Manuel said. "I might have the guy staring me in the face and not even doing anything about it. He could be the guy."

Before you get all excited, I don’t think Manuel really meant he was going to make Kunz the interim closer today. That would be a mistake.

Wagner is (hopefully for the Mets) only going to be out two weeks. There’s no reason not to continue doing “closer by committee” – except for Heilman, who has proven over and over he doesn’t have the stomach for the ninth inning.

Manuel should use all of the other guys as specialists until Wagner comes back. Smith and Sanchez and Kunz against righties, Feliciano and Schoeneweis vs. lefties. In the best-case scenario, Kunz gets some key outs and gets enough confidence that he can be the eighth-inning guy when Wagner comes back.

But the downside of putting Kunz in is too great. If he fails, you’ve then shattered the confidence of a guy you’re obviously going to need next year and beyond. There’s no reason to take that risk for such a short period of time.

JIM: WHY NOT KUNZ?

There are more than enough reasons to argue against using Eddie Kunz as your closer.

A) He's so young he was six months old when the Mets last won the World Series in '86.

B) He's making the jump from Double-A Binghamton.

C) His numbers there were good, not great. (You'd like your closer to have a better WHIP than 1.333 and a better strikeout to innings ratio than 43/48.1)

But here's the reason why the Mets SHOULD go with Kunz: there's no better option.

We saw Heilman fail yet again last night, so no reason to go back to that well. Duaner Sanchez's struggles against the Phillies in the ninth two weeks ago are way too fresh in everyone's memories to try him. Scott Schoeneweis has been adequate this season, but why push it with him? Joe Smith's sinker is way too susceptible against lefthanded hitters. And Pedro Feliciano is a specialist, and just a specialist.

Don't expect Kunz to be the Mets version of Joba from last year, but at the same time maybe he can simply hold his own until Wagner returns. He is the hot hand, riding a 17-inning scoreless streak in Binghamton. And he has pitched in pressure situations before, having experienced the College World Series.

So, seriously, it comes down to two simple words.

Why not?

Bonus debater from today's live chat on the Mets blog:

DAVID LENNON: WHAT THE HEIL? GIVE AARON ANOTHER CHANCE
Smith is not a bad idea, but I'd stll give Heilman one more shot. I don't trust Schoeneweis and Kunz is still a little too green to put in that pressure situation.

*************

So there you go. One question, three different opinions. Now you are Jerry Manuel…what would you do?

ANTHONY: MY FEAR IS DONNIE'S GONNA BLOW IT

Like most execs, Donnie Walsh has a mixed draft record. Here are his first-round picks for Indiana. Thanks to www.knicksonline.com.

1987 Reggie Miller
1988 Rik Smits
1989 George McCloud
1990 None
1991 Dale Davis
1992 Malik Sealy
1993 Scott Haskin
1994 Eric Piakowski
1995 Travis Best
1996 Erick Dampier
1997 Austin Croshere
1998 Al Harrington
1999 Vonteego Cummings
2000 Primoz Brezec
2001 None
2002 Fred Jones
2003 None
2004 David Harrison
2005 Danny Granger

Miller and Smits are a pretty good start to a drafting record. But how many All-Stars since then? The Knicks need impact players, not role guys.

It’s important to note Walsh picked Jones in 2002 over Tayshaun Prince. Isiah Thomas usually gets blamed for that, but Walsh was the man who made the final call.

The Pacers were usually in the middle to the end of the pack of the draft, so finding a star player was hard.

But…

Walsh hasn’t drafted an impact player since Al Harrington a decade ago. And Harrington took a long time to develop.

Can the Knicks afford for Walsh to swing and miss here? No. And of all of the trade proposals I’ve read today on Alan Hahn’s Knicks Fix blog – yes, I’m a Fixer – the only one that makes the Knicks better is the one that lands them O.J. Mayo.

And Alan says that one probably ain’t happening.

The Knicks are 3-for-3 in their last three decisions: dumping Isiah, hiring Walsh, hiring D’Antoni.

Sorry, but it’s hard to imagine them going 4-for-4.

JIM: WALSH WILL MAKE RIGHT CHOICE

Donnie Walsh's draft history is not encouraging, and that certainly should worry Knicks fans. But, rest assured, when it's the Knicks' turn on the clock for the sixth pick, I think the choice will be an obvious one. And that's Danilo Gallinari.

From everything I've read about the draft, this guy is the most intriguing player after the can't-miss stars. And the fact that he has a relationship with the new Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni and is a big man who can run the floor and score, score, score also are positives.

Now the last thing I want to hear from Knicks fans who disagree is that Gallinari doesn't fit the Knicks' needs. So, tell me, what are the Knicks' needs? They need talent. Forget about how he fits. The Knicks are rebuilding, and when you rebuild you take the best player on the board and then make everyone else fit around him.

So, for tonight, I have faith in Donnie Walsh that he won't take another Fred Jones like he did in 2002 or Primoz Brezec like he did in 2000. He'll go for Gallinari, and history will soon prove it was hands-down the right call.

Baumbach is in video training at Newsday all day today, so I was going to ask Chicago Norm if he wanted to debate something.

But then I saw a post by Newsday's esteemed baseball columnist Ken Davidoff about Joba Chamberlain, so I just figured, what the heck, I'll debate him even though he doesn't know he's being debated. This is like one of those "Law and Order" and "Homicide" crossover episodes. Or "Murder She Wrote" and "Magnum, P.I."

Read Davidoff's piece and then click back here.

Done? OK.

ANTHONY: Ken, you are wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong!

First of all, you shouldn't waste any brain cells watching those sports debate shows. I'm sure all of the people involved are very nice, but you're better off watching a cooking show on The Food Network (Hey, so that's how you make gazpacho! Who knew?)

Second, why can't Joba save the Yankees season? If by saving the season you mean he goes 12-0 with a 0.12 ERA, well, no, he's not going to do that.

But can't he go, say, 7-5 with a 3.64 and get stronger in August and September? Can't he stabilize the staff and provide energy and fun? Can't his absence in the eighth inning force the Yankees to deal with their setup relief problem by either finding the answer from within or dealing for someone from without?

And can't the Yankees, realizing they have a good shot to make the playoffs as a wild card, ride Joba's back down the stretch? And can't Joba start Games 1 and 5 of a playoff series and at least get the Yankees to the second round?

Yes, I know it's unlikely any of that will happen. But young pitchers burst onto the scene all the time to save teams' seasons. The problem with us is we already know so much about Joba that he can't burst onto our scene.

****
What do you think, Final Score and Davidoff readers? Can Joba save the Yankees season?

Here at Final Score HQ, where we like debates, we have one going on about whether Chicago Norm should become a permanent fixture of TFS or a regular guest-host, like Jay Leno used to be on The Tonight Show.

What do you think, TFS loyalists, should Chicago Norm get his picture in the upper left hand corner and his name in big lights? Please vote in the comments section.

We know that thousands of people read TFS but don't comment. Please, if you only comment once in your life, make it this one.

The picture above is the one I think Chicago Norm should use for his logo --if he gets one.

ANTHONY: Yes, they should have put Willie out of his misery

This isn’t about whether Willie is a good manager. He is. Not a great manager, but a good enough one.

This is about how the team is playing and whether Willie can turn it around. The answers: like garbage and no.

The best clue came Sunday in Denver. The Mets were coming off a 9-2 win that seemed to lift the mood of the team. Then they throw up another stinker on Sunday and lose 4-1 to a Rockies squad that was missing most of its hitters.

If the Mets wanted to save Willie, they would have won Sunday. When they didn’t, that told me all I needed to know about the players’ views. No matter what they say, the players know Willie is a dead man walking. They are ready to move on with a new skipper.

The meeting on Monday with the Wilpons wasn’t even necessary. Minaya could have axed Randolph right there on the tarmac in Denver and spared us the drama. Then Jerry Manuel could have been sitting in the manager’s office on Monday and everyone could get on with their lives.

When a manager or coach’s time with a team is over, it’s over. Joe Torre stayed about three years too long with the Yankees. Isiah Thomas should have been fired the minute he botched the Stephon Marbury benching and lost whatever hope he had of a competitive season.

The Mets can still win the World Series in 2008. But not with Willie Randolph at the helm. Sorry.

CHICAGO NORM: No, Omar was right in not throwing in the towel

Firing Willie and bringing in an interim manager at this point of the season is tantamount to giving up. The Mets are only six and a half games out, not a huge number by any means. The fact that three strong teams are ahead of them is a significant concern, but all the Mets can do right now is take care of their own business and not worry about any other teams than the one they’re playing today.

I’m sure that one of the reasons that Willie is still around is that there’s no genius out there who could do the job any better.

The Mets have too much at stake to turn this troubled team to an unproven manager before midseason. It also makes no sense to think that one of the many castoffs now coaching in the majors would magically metamorphosize into Earl Weaver.

Who you gonna call, Ghostbusters? Jerry Manuel’s certainly not the answer. I doubt he’d have more magical powers as manager than he does as bench coach and if his Zen was actually working, we wouldn’t be having this debate in the first place.

Is Willie the best guy available? Probably, or Omar Minaya wouldn’t have kept him around.

There is a lot of talent on this team, and if it can get out of circus mode and play baseball, there’s still two-thirds of a season in which to turn this thing around.

Can the Mets rally under this manager? That’s why they play the games.

If Omar was going to fire Randolph, he should have done it after last season’s choke. Now’s the time to live or die with that decision.

So, what do you think? Should the Mets have fired Willie Randolph?

Let me get this straight, Anthony. You want me to defend Chicago’s cute little El/subway system against the world’s largest underground urinal.

OK, you win. New York’s subways smell worse. You have better trannies and winos and a better quality of DNA on the seats.

The CTA is better in a couple of ways, though. The El takes you right into O’Hare Airport. The El takes you right into Midway Airport. Incoming visitors can take the train from either airport to the Shrine of the Chicago Cubs and/or U.S. Cellular Field.

Sure, it’s a roaring, boring ride and somewhat scary because of some hairpin turns on the elevated tracks north of Wrigleyville and near Chinatown.

As kid, the ride from the far North Side to Wrigley Field used to scare the hell out me as the train slowed to navigate that turn. To your right, below, is a cemetery presumably filled with all the victims of trains that didn’t make the turn.

I was just 10 or 11 when I started riding the El to Cubs games alone or with Jill, my younger sister who I never have forgiven for freezing when a foul ball landed at her feet. It was just laying there until someone else ran over and picked it up while I was trying to put down the Frosty Malt that I had in one hand and the scorecard in the other. By the way, the Phillies lost their 22nd game in a row that day. It’s hard to believe that in those days and 11 year old and and and 8 year old would ride the train alone.

Anyway, back to the “debate.” The El has much better scenery on the overhead lines around the Loop.

My biggest problem with the MTA is that only natives can figure it out. Once, about 10 p.m., I entered the subway at Times Square and had to walk about a mile underground to get to whatever train goes to Kew Gardens. Only when we arrived did we see a sign that the line was out of service. And my wife and I were not the only people fooled.

Now comes the real difference between New Yorkers and Chicagoans: As people who were similarly fooled by the closed line were walking back to another station, not a single one ahead of us warned people coming in the other direction.

So who wins the Great El/Subway debate? I vote for Montreal.

Chicago Norm

in "The Movie" episode on Seinfeld.

This is for Larry or anyone else jonesing for Papaya King.

JIM: Hey, Nelson, worry about your pitching

Seriously, Anthony, this has to be my easiest debate argument yet.

So let me get this straight -- Nelson Figueroa, a guy who hasn’t pitched in the majors before this season since 2004, just stunk it up against the lowly Nationals last night and then he chooses to rip them?!?!?!

Nelson, you have to look at yourself in the mirror and be accountable.

I know, Mets fans, he wasn’t blaming them for his troubles. Blah, blah, blah.

Here’s what you need to take from this: when Figueroa was on the mound last night, he allowed himself to get distracted by the Nationals. They were in his head, and there is no debating that. If they weren't in his head, he wouldn't have cared if they were doing jumping jacks, making fart sounds or dancing the macarena in the dugout.

All that should have mattered to Figueroa was who was at the plate and the pitch he was going to throw. So they were chanting, “Let’s Go Austin!” Yes, a little sophomoric. But big whoop! Must we go talk to high school pitchers and see how they deal with that!?!??

Lack of professionalism? Lack of class? Offensive?

Pfffft.

You need to worry about one person: yourself.

ANTHONY: Nelson showed them Brooklyn

Nelson Figueroa is my kind of guy, and not just because we’re both from Brooklyn.

Figueroa was asked a question on Monday night about the Nationals’ juvenile clapping and cheering in the third inning and he answered honestly. That’s what Brooklynites do: We say what’s on our mind. We get in your face.

Figueroa didn’t bring it up. He was asked, he answered. He wasn’t ranting, he wasn’t raving. He threw in a few insults, basically calling the Nationals girlie men and pointing out that they are a last-place team. Nice.

Some people have said “who is Nelson Figueroa” to be talking about professionalism. Well, Figueroa is a guy who has been eeking out a living in baseball since he first appeared in the majors in 2000. He had to play in Taiwan before landing with the Mets this spring. He appreciates everything he has and knows it could be taken away at any time. He respects the game and how hard it is to play it at this level.

If the Nationals want to act like bush leaguers, there’s nothing wrong with calling them on it.

Nationals have a problem with that? They know where to find him. And now they know where Nelson Figueroa is from. Brooklyn.

****
Who do you agree with?

ANTHONY: Let the players take care of it

Personally, I don't care whether Joba celebrates or not. Many people in sports celebrate on the field -- every sport, in fact. It's only in baseball that it becomes "showing up your opponent."

If it bothers you, David Dellucci, here's what you do:

Next time Joba does a twirl & fist pump, tell your pitcher to drill Derek Jeter with a pitch in the next inning. Then, when Jeter gets to first, your first baseman says, 'Oops. That pitch must have gotten away. Of course, you might want to have your reliever calm down on his celebrations or someone might get hurt."

So then it will be up to the Yankees batters if they want to continue to get plunked because Joba feels the need to express himself after a strikeout.

Now don't get me wrong -- this doesn't mean Joba shouldn't celebrate if he wants. Heck, he can do a moonwalk from the mound to the dugout if he wants.

People should do whatever they want in life. As long as they are ready to accept the consequences.

JIM: Keep up the enthusiasm, Joba

Is Joba showing up his opponent with his celebrations? Yes!

Is it wrong? No!

What happened to sports that we get mad at people if they DON'T celebrate and then we get mad at others when they DO celebrate?!?!

The bottom line is this is a game. Of course Joba's celebrations can offend the opponents. But you know? His celebrations are a part of who he is. It fires himself up. It fires his teammates up. And it fires up the fans. He's not playing for the sake of the opponents.

If they have such a problem with it, then don't let him celebrate. Get hits. Knock him out of the game. Then, when he is sulking in the dugout with his towel over his head, do a dance around the bases. Have fun. It's just a game!

When did everyone forget that?

Jim is feeling pretty unhappy about pubilcly declaring his support for Kei Igawa. I say stay with it. Heh heh.

ANTHONY: NO WAY!

You know how I know Kei Igawa will never be an effective starting pitcher in the big leagues?

Big Papi told me.

Actually, David Ortiz told a lot of reporters this after Igawa's proudest moment as a Yankee. It was last April 28, when Igawa came in against the Red Sox in long relief and pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings in a 3-1 Yankees win. Igawa got the victory -- his second and final one of the season.

After the game, Big Papi was asked what he thought of Igawa.

"He was all right," he said. "Nothing special."

I don't think that was the usual ballplayer bravado. Big Papi was saying what we can all see with our own eyes: Igawa doesn't have the stuff to make it here. Just because the Yankees wasted $46 million on him doesn't change that fact.

JIM: DON'T GO BY BIG PAPI

I need to get Anthony one of those Magic Eight Balls and rig it so it will give him a Big Papi answer. This way, whenever we do a debate, he can shake the Magic Eight Ball and ask, "Big Papi, tell me how I should answer this Final Score debate."

Here's the thing about Igawa: forget about the money the Yankees paid. It's completely irrelevant at this point. If he allows three runs in six innings tonight, Yankees fans are not going to yell at the screen, "Yeah, but we didn't pay $46 million for just that!"

But the question here is, will Igawa be a successful major league pitcher, and I think he will be. There is reason to believe it. He posted strong minor-league numbers last season and he has done well so far this season. And while he wasn't Daisuke Matsuzaka in Japan, he did constantly lead the league in strikeouts.

Yes, he stunk last year. But there is undoubtedly an adjustment period when coming from Japan to the United States. That's by no means the reason for his struggles last year, but it has to be part of the discussion.

Tonight, Year 2 of Igawa begins. Prepared to be surprised.

Barry Bonds has asked the Players Association to consider filing a grievance on his behalf because he has been unable to sign a contract, according to MLB.com. So, we ask, has there been collusion among baseball owners to keep Bonds out of baseball?

ANTHONY: Yes. It's Bud's world and we're just all living in it

Bud Selig runs a tight ship in the baseball world. Any owner / GM who even thought about signing Bonds for 2008 probably got a call from one of Selig's henchmen, or was taken aside by Selig at an owners' meeting, or woke up to find a horse's head in his bed.

The message: Don't do it.

Selig doesn't want Bonds is his game and would do anything in his power to prevent that. You think teams couldn't use Bonds? Padres? Cubs? Rays? Cardinals?

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa has a long history of ignoring steroid use by his players (allegedly). If Bonds showed up in St. Louis with his big bat and oversized head, La Russa would hold open the clubhouse door. St. Louis fans would probably cheer.

But even the Cardinals know it's not worth risking the wrath of Bud.

Will the union be able to prove this? Don't bet against it. All it takes is one leaked memo, one honcho with an axe to grind, one e-mail that ends up in the wrong hands. So Bonds could be sitting in prison and also be the winner of a big collusion judgment.

Only in America!

JIM: Collusion? No way! Bonds did this to himself

Certainly several teams sat down last winter and weighed the pros and cons of signing Bonds, and decided in minutes he wasn't worth it. Let's do the same thing, and I bet it won't even take 20 seconds...

Pros:
*Still a great slugger at 43 years old - 28 homers in 340 ABs in '07.
*Had a .480 on-base percentage last season.

Cons:
*Can't play the field.
*Can't run because of bad knee. Needs days off often.
*Was indicted on perjury and obstruction of justice charges.
*Tons of evidence say he took performance-enhancing drugs.
*Well known poor presence in the clubhouse.
*Will bring unwanted attention every day.
*Surely wants a lot of money.

So basically the only team that would even have room for him would be an American League team without a designated hitter. That limits the field, don't you think? And, really, if you're a contender, would you want to bring this jerk on your team? There's too much of a risk, the reward of a .480 OBP and 20 homers isn't worth it.

Ken Davidoff, on his blog, said, "It's so ridiculously simple why Bonds is unemployed. Teams are reluctant to bring aboard an aging, selfish jerk who could face a federal trial at some point down the line. It is nothing of laughable for people to hint about collusion. Bonds colluded with his own demons to bring this fate upon himself."

Well said, Ken.

Collusion? Fat chance.

You did this to yourself, Barry.

**********

What do you think?

Prediction time: Celtics vs. Cavs

Anthony: LeBrons in 6

Jim?

UPDATE, 6:04 p.m.:

Jim says Celtics in 5.

ANTHONY: Time to say goodbye

The Jaromir Jagr Era ended, appropriately, in Pittsburgh yesterday. The final tally on the era: good for Jagr, not so good for the Rangers.

Stars like Jagr are supposed to deliver Stanley Cups, not playoff-less seasons and second-round ousters. He did all he could as a player. But not as a leader.

Jagr is a diva. That’s OK if he’s leading the league in scoring and the team is going deep into the playoffs. It’s not OK if his skills are diminishing – not a lot, but a little – and the team is spinning its wheels in terms of becoming a true championship contender.

Jagr demands attention from opposing teams. He also demands attention from his own organization, just like any diva. How can we keep him happy? Who is going to play with him? One year, the Rangers added a ton of Czechs. That didn’t work. Then they signed Drury and Gomez. No Cup on Seventh Avenue.

Is it Jagr’s fault? Of course not. But to sign him to a long-term deal means you have to pay him top dollar while he really starts to decline. Not a good idea. A one-year deal means you have to do this all again next offseason.

Move on, Rangers. Let the Jagr Era come to a quiet end.

JIM: Do what you can to keep Jagr

We saw over the past month what Jaromir Jagr is still capable of. Yes, frustrated Rangers fans, it sure would have been helpful had he played like that all season, instead of just the last month. But let's not lose sight of the fact that Jagr is not 28 anymore. What this past month showed us is that at 36 he still has it, that he can be the type of player who can change a game.

The difficult part here is the salary. The Rangers can't pay him the roughly $8 million he took in this year. Will he accept lower? He'll have to. But would he consider an incentive-laden contract? Based on his comments after yesterday's game, he seemed very wishy-washy at best about staying a Ranger.

That's too bad, because I do think the Rangers need him, even if it's for one more year. Maybe he envisions his career ending with a team that plays a more up-tempo style, one in which he can score more and be more productive.

But the Rangers have to stress to him that with their youth movement, he can be to the Rangers players what Mario Lemiuex was to him. He wants to do it. And they've come this far. The team has turned a corner the last three seasons. Give it one more chance.

The other day Anthony and I debated whether the Rangers had a chance to win the series down three games to none. I said absolutely not. Anthony gave them a chance.

Just because the Rangers won one game doesn't change a thing. Rangers fans, enjoy the victory, but don't get confident. I've already seen too many message board posts this morning in which Rangers fans are talking about a comeback as if it already happened. No shot. This one's over, and the Rangers 2007-08 season remains a disappointment.

BTW, if you think I'm a overly giddy, you're right. I picked Pens in five.

JIM: No.

The Rangers are done. D-O-N-E. Done. My only regret is that the Rangers will get swept and not lose in five games as I predicted. Too bad.

What a majorly disappointing series for the Rangers. They looked so good against the Devils, and they've outplayed the Penguins more often than not in these three games. But what do they have to show for it? Nada.

You could have seen this happening when the Rangers blew a three-goal lead in the first game. No good team does that in the postseason.

The party line for the Rangers fans today - at least for the ones courageous enough to show their faces - is that the Rangers could have won all three of those games. So why can't then win the next four?

Pfffttttt. Stop right there. This series is over. You know it. And the Rangers have only themselves to blame.

ANTHONY: A chance? Yes.

If I sat here and said the Rangers will definitely come back, it would undercut the vast amount of hockey knowledge I obviously have. But to say it's impossible? No way.

Jim says they can't. More importantly, our Newsday colleague Steve Zipay, who covers the team, says they won't.

I say there's a small chance they might.

Look, no one can making a living betting on a team to come back from 0-3 down. But it happens. It happened for our beloved Islanders once, it happened for the Red Sox against the Yankees in '04.

Could it happen for our beloved Rangers? All you have to do is go back to the first part of the first game of the series, when the Rangers took a 3-0 lead. A most learned colleague of mine who is a true hockey expert told me, "The Rangers are going to win the Cup. I just have a feeling about them."

Oops. Well, that guy had a feeling because of how the team was playing. Can they play that way again for four games, the last two on the road. It's unlikely. But impossible? No.

And don't forget that the NHL wants the Rangers to continue in the playoffs. I'm not saying the refs will throw the entire series the Rangers' way, but would it shock us if a few calls went in the Rangers' favor so the series can be extended? And once the Rangers get their confidence back. It's not like the Penguins are can't-miss Cup favorite locks. Any team can be rattled.

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? No. And it's not over now.

             Just kidding.

Padres closer Trevor Hoffman blew his second save in six chances last night, denying Greg Maddux his 350th win. Hoffman is baseball's all-time saves leader.

ANTHONY: THE HALL OF FAME STANDARDS NEED TO BE HIGHER

Trevor Hoffman in the Hall of Fame? I say no way. On most of these HOF debates, I’m going to come down on the “no” side. I think there are two many people in the HOF as it is. Our standards have eroded year after year after year and now we have many, many very-good-but-not-great players in the Hall.

Who gets in the Hall? Glad you asked. Immortals. The greats. Not the very goods. Not the compilers. Longevity doesn’t do it for me.

Hoffman, the all-time saves leader, is very good at a very specialized job. For the most part. But he’s fallen apart almost every time he’s been in the postseason, or the All-Star Game, or the regular season when the Padres are three outs away from making the playoffs on the day after the regular season (2007).

If Hoffman had pitched in the American League, he probably wouldn’t be the all-time saves leader. But he is. So be it. Lee Smith didn’t get in when he was the all-time saves leader. The writers got that one right.

Vote no on Hoffman, brethren!

JIM: EAST COAST BIAS!

I'm always surprised when I hear people vehemently fall on the side of Not A Hall of Famer for Hoffman. Listen, I get it. The save is a bogus stat. You won't get an argument from me there. But that doesn't mean it's easy to, ah hem, compile 528 of those saves.

If it was easy, then Mel Rojas would have done it.

But, hey, I agree with you on longevity. The Hall of Fame should be about immortals, not the guys who hung around to have a great career. Even before the positive drug test, I didn't think Rafael Palmeiro was a Hall of Famer. And he's the perfect example of a number compiler.

But Hoffman is the real deal. We're spoiled here with Mariano Rivera. Yes, no one compares to Rivera. But Hoffman is one small notch before him, maybe the third best reliever of all-time if you put Eck in that category. And Hoffman definitely deserves major props for doing it this long.

A career 2.77 ERA... a 1.05 WHIP... 1,017 strikeouts all coming as a reliever. And spare me the 'he came up weak in big spots.' Yes, he did. But so did Alex Rodriguez. Try that argument when A-Rod's on the ballot. Bottom line: Hoffman still does have a 3.20 ERA postseason ERA. So we're not talking 10.43 here.

This will be an interesting vote. I bet the writers will surprise you, Anthony.

Who do you agree with?

Lincoln and Douglas who? In case you missed them, here are the topics Jim and Anthony have debated in the first three-plus weeks of the two-man Final Score. If you click on "April archives" over to the right, you can scroll down and read all of them.

--Should Islanders fire Ted Nolan?

--Did Sean Avery cross the line with his waving?

--Should the Yankees retire Paul O’Neill’s No. 21?

--Should Mark Jackson be the next Knicks coach?

--Should Joba Chamberlain become a starter now?

--Who hurts him team more: Delgado or Giambi?

What Jim and I are wondering is: Who's winning?

Maybe some of our regulars (Brooks Simpson, Chicago Norm, Mushinghead, Jim A.) can give us a scorecard.

Because I've been known to not let things go...

Jim definitely won our Carlos Delgado/Jason Giambi debate yesterday -- for one day. Delgado has another awful day and the Mets lose and Giambi hits a HR and the Yankees win. So a tip o' the cap to you, Jimmy.

One point to all of the people who want to dump Delgado: The Mets have no one else who can play first. Stop with the Moises Alou or Angel Pagan or Ryan Church to first base ideas. Alou, Pagan, Beltran and Church are going to be a very nice four-man outfield rotation.

(One aside: Willie did a nice job getting Pagan to cool off, didn't he? This guy's really hot. Let me sit him for a few days to play Endy Chavez and Brady Clark.)

If the Mets were to eat Delgado's money -- which they are not -- then they would have to go out and get a new first baseman. And that's not going to happen either since the Mets have nothing of value left to trade.

The Yankees/Giambi situation is different because, in my opinion, the Yankees already have better first base options on their roster in Morgan Ensberg, Wilson Betemit, Jorge Posada and Shelley Duncan.

I'm not saying they will release Giambi, just that they should. The Yankees can afford to eat $21 million. They have to pay him anyway. And they would get better production from first base and have a more flexible roster w/o Giambi.