3 Up And 3 Down: Who's Hot And Who's Not In New York Sports
By Daniel Friedman
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Taking a look at who's hot and who's not on the local sports landscape:
THREE UP:
1. Red-Hot Yankees
Facing significant pressure from the upstart Toronto Blue Jays, the Bronx Bombers have found a way to reclaim first place in the AL East, albeit by the slightest of margins. They've been dominant. They completed a sweep of the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.
2. Curtis Granderson
The Grandy Man indeed can. He's been hitting homers left and right, and has reached the 20-HR mark for the second consecutive year. (He now has 22 blasts.)
3. Jacob deGrom
He hasn't lost since July 2, and is a surefire Cy Young candidate right now. There's no question in my mind who the best pitcher on the Mets is -- it's deGrom.
THREE DOWN:
1. Bobby Parnell
He hasn't pitched well since the Civil War era, and now he's back on the DL with what the Mets are calling right shoulder tendinitis. No need to rush him back into the bullpen, that's for darn sure.
2. Geno Smith
It's been several days since the locker-room incident that resulted in him breaking his jaw, but there's still a cloud hanging over Jets training camp. There have been questions about which players in that locker room support Geno and which don't, and there have been questions about his future with the franchise. It's just not something you want to have to deal with.
3. Eli Manning
Reports surfaced that he wants to be the highest-paid player in the NFL -- reports that Manning has since denied. I don't necessarily believe Eli, especially since the initial report came from the NFL Network, an outlet that is certainly very careful about what news or inside information it spits out related to the league's teams and/or players. Whatever the case, he should worry about playing football.