Yankees In Freefall; Larry Grantham, 1938-2017

The Yankees come home from a Pacific Coast roadtrip, having won the 1st game, against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, and having dropped the next 6 straight, 2 to the Angels, and 4 to the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum. The club is now in freefall.

Luis Cessa was started by Joe Girardi, in the slot that would have been CC Sabathia's, had he not gotten hurt. He did not pitch well, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits and a walk over 4 innings. It is possible, givein his background as a reliever, that he was only intended as a 2-to-5-inning starter anyway, but he did not get the job done at any rate.

Actually, he allowed all but 1 hit and the walk of that in the 3rd inning, meaning he really had pitched like Sabathia -- of 2013, '14 and '15, struck by "Onebadinningitis." The other 3 innings, he was fine. Maybe there is hope for him.

The bullpen, which once again had Aroldis Chapman available, was terrific. Chad Green pitched the 5th and 6th innings, allowing 2 hits, but no walks. The much-maligned Tyler Clippard pitched a hitless 7th, albeit with a walk. And Chapman pitched a perfect 8th. So that's 4 scoreless relief innings, a welcome sight -- although it would be better if it were 2 scoreless relief innings one game, 2 more the next, following strong 7-inning starts.

But the bats were, quite literally, hit-and-miss. Matt Holliday, back from the allergies that were bothering him, hit a home run in the 2nd inning, his 14th of the season. Didi Gregorius hit one in the 4th, his 7th. The problem is, they were both solo home runs. Aaron Judge had an RBI single in the 3rd inning.

Other than that, though, the Yankees just didn't hit. Gregorius had an additional single, Brett Gardner had a single and a double, and Chris Carter drew a walk. That was the extent of the Yankees' baserunners yesterday.

A's 4, Yankees 3. WP: Jharel Cotton (4-3). SV: Sean Doolittle (3). LP: Cessa (0-1).

*

My concern that Chapman's injury would have the Yankees "treading water" until he got back proved well-founded:

* On May 14, the Yankees were 22-13.

* Since then, they are 16-16.

* Of those 16 losses, 8 have been by 1 run.

* And yet, the Yankees have lost only half a game: They were half a game up on the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Eastern Division on May 14, and are tied with the Boston Red Sox now.

But now we find out that CC Sabathia will be out for 6 more weeks. And that injury to The Great Prospect, Gleyber Torres? He needs Tommy John surgery, and will be out until next year's Spring Training.

Brian Cashman trading Chapman away last July 25 (before re-signing him for this season) for Torres and 3 other guys was never going to be a good trade unless Torres -- a natural shortstop, when we already had Gregorius, meaning either Gregorius or Torres was going to have to be moved to 3rd base if we wanted to keep both of them -- turned into the next Derek Jeter.

Now, he's turned into the next Brien Taylor. (By the fact of his injury, if not by what was injured, or how.) And he still hasn't faced a major league pitch. He's barely been at Triple-A. He's 20 years old, and his career might well be over.

"Yesterday is a canceled check. Today is cash on hand. Tomorrow is a promissory note." -- Hank Stram

"The future is now." -- George Allen

"You play to win the game." -- Herman Edwards

Yes, I know, those guys were football coaches, not baseball managers. They would all have told Cashman that those trades were stupid.

I did.

I was right.

I wish I had been wrong.

*

Speaking of football, New York football lost a legend over the weekend.

James Larry Grantham, who always used his middle name, was born on September 16, 1938 in Crystal Springs, Mississippi. A linebacker, he was an All-American at the University of Mississippi, when their quarterback was All-American and future Yankee catcher Jake Gibbs. Both are in the Ole Miss Athletic Hall of Fame.

In 1960, the 1st year of the American Football League, he was drafted by the NFL's Baltimore Colts and the AFL's New York Titans. He chose the Titans, who changed their name to the New York Jets in 1963. He played in the All-Star Game in 8 of the AFL's 10 seasons, and was 1 of 20 players to have played in all 10.

Grantham wearing Titans navy and gold, at the Polo Grounds

So much has been made of Joe Namath quarterbacking the Jets that their defense has never gotten enough credit. Wilbur "Weeb" Ewbank was the head coach, and Buddy Ryan was his defensive coordinator. (Like his son Rex turned out to be, Buddy was brilliant as a defensive boss, but not so much as a head coach later.) That defense had a line of Gerry Philbin, Paul Rochester, John "Jumbo" Elliott (no relation to the later Giant Super Bowl winner of the same name and nickname) and Verlon Biggs; a linebacking corps of Ralph Baker, Al Atkinson and Grantham, the defensive Captain; and a backfield of Johnny Sample, Randy Beverly, Jim Hudson and Bill Baird.

"I always saw Larry as the captain and the leader," Philbin said. "His football knowledge, the way he skirted around blockers and made tackles, he just surprised a lot of people. Pound for pound, he was the best player on the Jets."

There were 3 games in which the 1968 Jets allowed 31 or more points, and they went 1-2 in them. In the remaining 11 games, they allowed 21 or fewer points, and they went 10-1 in them. They allowed a combined 53 points in the last 4 regular season games. The AFC Championship Game, against the Oakland Raiders at Shea Stadium, was a struggle, but the Jets won it -- and it was a better game than the one that followed, on January 12, 1969.

I've seen Super Bowl III in full a few times. A great moment is not necessary a great game. This was not a good game at all. But that was because the Jets got the job done. Early in the 3rd quarter, it was still Jets 7, Colts 0. In fact, for all the hype about Namath, his money, his attitude, his hair, his white shoes, his personal style, and his big mouth and the guarantee he made with it, he only led the Jets on 1 touchdown drive the entire 60 minutes, and passed for no touchdowns. He did, however, get the Jets within Jim Turner's field goal range 3 times: 32, 30 and 9 yards.

But it was 16-0 Jets with 3:19 left on the clock, when the Colts finally scored, thanks to an injured Johnny Unitas coming off the bench and working his magic. Had the 2-point conversion been in place at the time -- the AFL used it, the NFL didn't, and since this was during the merger process, the NFL's rules prevailed -- the Colts could have made it 16-8 instead of 16-7, and the Jets might really have been in trouble. But they still needed 2 scores in the last 3 minutes, and even prime Johnny U couldn't do that -- and Johnny U was 35 and shaking off a season-long injury: That TD was his 1st drive of the entire season.

The Colts were not going to get those 2 touchdowns. With Ewbank, Ryan and Grantham running the defense, the Jets held the Colts to 143 rushing yards, 181 passing yards, and 4-for-12 on 3rd down conversions. The Jets intercepted 4 passes and recovered a fumble. Turnovers decided this game: The Jets only lost 1 fumble, and Namath threw no interceptions. (In fact, he only threw the ball 29 times, for 17 completions and a rather ordinary 195 yards. And he got sacked twice; for as good as they were, the Jets got no sacks of Earl Morrall and Unitas.)

That 16-7 score was the final, and the Jets were World Champions. They have not made the Super Bowl since, going 0-4 in AFC Championship Games.

Grantham remained with the Jets through the 1972 season. He came out of retirement in 1974, to play for the Florida Blazers of the World Football League. The Orlando-based club made it to the league title game, the World Bowl, losing to the Birmingham Americans. Grantham then retired, and the league folded in the middle of the next season.

He was a Jets radio broadcaster, and later moved into the business and banking industries in his home State of Mississippi. He was named to the AFL's All-Time Team and, when MetLife Stadium opened, the Jets' Ring of Honor.

"That probably climaxes a career, and doesn't take second place to anything," Grantham said at the time. "I'm not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and, sure, that's a great, big honor. But, to me, this honor with the Jets is unbelievable. Just think of all the players they've had up there from 1960 'til now. It's something I can't put into words."

He died this past Saturday, June 17, 2017, in the State capital of Jackson. He was 78 years old. At the moment, I have no information on survivors.

With his death, there are now 34 surviving members of the 1968-69 World Champion New York Jets:

* On offense: Quarterbacks Joe Namath and Babe Parilli; receivers Don Maynard, Bill Rademacher and Robert "Bake" Turner; tight end Pete Lammons; running backs Mark Smolinski, Bill Mathis, Emerson Boozer, Lee White and Matt Snell; centers John Schmitt and Paul Crane; guards Bob Talamini and Randy Rasmussen; and tackles Dave Herman and Jeff Richardson.

* On defense: Ends Gerry Philbin and Karl Henke; tackles Paul Rochester and Steve Thompson; linebackers Carl McAdams, Ralph Baker, Al Atkinson and John Neidert; cornerbacks Randy Beverly, John Dockery and Earl Christy; and safeties Jim Richards, Michael Stromberg, Bill Baird, Mike D'Amato and Cornell Gordon.

* On special teams: Placekicker Jim Turner.

UPDATE: Grantham was buried at Crystal Springs Cemetery in his hometown of Crystal Springs, Mississippi.

Top 10 Greatest New York Jets

Continuing the series I began, on the Top 10 players of each of the Tri-State Area's major league teams. On to the J, E, T, S, Jets, Jets, Jets!

Honorable Mention to members of the Jets' Ring of Honor at MetLife Stadium who are not otherwise in this Top 10: Winston Hill, Gerry Philbin, Mark Gastineau, Al Toon, and coach Weeb Ewbank. Also to Wayne Chrebet and Dennis Byrd, who are not yet in the Ring of Honor, but have had their numbers removed from circulation, though not officially retired. (UPDATE: In 2012, the Jets officially retired Byrd's Number 90.)

Also to Jim Turner, Art Powell and Bob Talamini, who, like Hill, Philbin, Ewbank, and the men at Numbers 8, 3 and 1 on this list, were named to the American Football League's All-Time Team.

Also to the members of the Jets' "All-Time Four Decade Team" named in 2003, who are neither in this Top 10, nor in the Ring of Honor, nor on the AFL All-Time Team: Matt Snell, Randy Rasmussen, Bill Baird, Bruce Harper, Pat Leahy, Chuck Ramsey, Jim Sweeney,  Mickey Shuler, Greg Buttle, Kyle Clifton, Marvin Powell, Kevin Mawae, Jason Fabini, Mo Lewis, James Hasty, Aaron Glenn, John Abraham and Victor Green.

Also to Richard Todd and Ken O’Brien, and to active Jets Mark Sanchez and Darrell Revis. And to coach Bill Parcells: "You are what your record says you are." And to coach Herman Edwards: "You play to win the game!" And to Ed Anzalone, a.k.a. Fireman Ed, the best-known Jets fan.

And to Sonny Werblin, for building the Super Bowl III Champions; to Leon Hess, part of the Jets' ownership from 1963 until 1984 and sole owner from then until his death in 1999; and to Robert Wood Johnson IV, a.k.a. Woody Johnson: Although he's a major Republican donor, I have to credit him for, along with Giants owners John Mara and Steve Tisch, getting MetLife Stadium built; it is a huge improvement over Giants Stadium, and not just from the Jets' perspective.

I am not, however, awarding an Honorable Mention to coach Rex Ryan -- not unless he finally keeps his promise. (As former Yankee star Jim Bouton would say, "Yeah, surrrre!")

10. John Riggins, Number 44, running back, 1971-75. It's easy to forget, for all his runs behind those Washington Redskin "Hogs," but Riggo played 5 years for the Jets, and until Curtis Martin just got in, he was the only member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame who played at least 3 seasons with the Jets with none of those seasons being the 1968-69 Super Bowl season.

9. Vinny Testaverde, Number 16, quarterback, 1998-2003 & 2005. No, he wasn't Namath's backup in Super Bowl III – he wasn't quite that old. (Babe Parilli, an All-American at Kentucky and an AFL start with the then-Boston Patriots, was Joe’s backup then.) But he did come within a half of doing what only Namath has done, quarterbacking the Jets into a Super Bowl. Like Y.A. Tittle with the early-Sixties Giants, he seemed to do more after age 34 than before it.

8. Larry Grantham, Number 60, linebacker, 1960-72. Along with Gerry Philbin, he led the Jet defense that should be remembered as the real heroes of Super Bowl III. Remember, the Baltimore Colts went 13-1 in the regular season, and went into Cleveland Municipal Stadium (at the time, NFL Championship Game sites were rotated between divisions, not based on record), against the Browns, the only team that had beaten them, and crushed them, 31-0. And the Jets held that offense to 7 points. Which is good, because, despite all the hype, Namath only led them to 1 touchdown (and 3 field goals).

Grantham was there at the beginning, playing as the New York Titans in front of under 5,000 people at the disintegrating old Polo Grounds, and was there at the Orange Bowl when glory was finally achieved.

7. Wesley Walker, Number 85, receiver, 1977-89. How soon we forget: Al Toon, Keyshawn Johnson, Wayne Chrebet, and now Santonio Holmes and Plaxico Burress have gotten bigger headlines, but Walker did more for the Jets than any of them.

He hauled in 15 Richard Todd passes in the Jets' 1982 Playoff wins against the Cincinnati Bengals at Riverfront and the Raiders at the Los Angeles Coliseum. He caught the winning pass from Ken O’Brien in the 51-45 win over the Miami Dolphins at the Meadowlands in 1986. He caught 438 passes for 8,306 yards and 71 touchdowns. He should be in the Hall of Fame.

6. Marty Lyons, Number 93, defensive tackle, 1979-89. An incredibly underrated player, he should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and isn't even in the Jets' Ring of Honor yet. The anchor of the University of Alabama's National Championship defense in 1978, he became the centerpiece of the New York Sack Exchange. He's become the Jets' radio analyst, and runs a charitable foundation.

5. Joe Klecko, Number 73, defensive end, 1977-87. With Gastineau, Lyons and Abdul Salaam, he formed the New York Sack Exchange, which got a lot of headlines but did not achieve what the Giant defenses of 1956-63, 1986-90 and 2007-present did.

A knee injury probably kept him out of Canton, but he is the only defensive player to have his number retired by the Jets. Dwight Stephenson, the Hall of Fame center for the Miami Dolphins (whose career was ended by an alleged cheap shot by Lyons), has called Klecko one of the 2 best interior linemen he ever faced. Anthony Munoz, the Hall of Fame tackle of the Cincinnati Bengals, says he had "perfect technique," and puts him in a group with Mean Fred Dean, Lee Roy Selmon and Bruce "Bad Things" Smith as the best defensive ends he played against. Yet another Hall-of-Famer, Buffalo Bills guard Joe DeLamielleure, puts him on equal footing with Merlin Olsen and Mean Joe Greene – truly high praise.

Joe is the father of Dan Klecko, a defensive tackle won won 2 Super Bowls with the Patriots and another with the Colts.

4. Freeman McNeil, Number 24, running back, 1981-92. With Johnny Hector, he formed "The Two-Headed Monster," and rushed for over 8,000 yards, making him the Jets' all-time leader until Number 2 on this list came along.

3. Don Maynard, Number 13, receiver, 1960-72. For those of us who tend to think of Riggins as a Redskin, for a long time, Maynard was the only Jet besides You Know Who in the Hall of Fame. Somebody had to catch You Know Who's passes, to be Raymond Berry to his Johnny Unitas, Lynn Swan to his Terry Bradshaw, Jerry Rice to his Joe Montana.

Maynard was a rookie with the 1958 Giants, and played in that year's NFL Championship Game, often called "The Greatest Game Ever Played," but the Giants lost to the Baltimore Colts.  As far as I know, the only men to be involved in that game and Super Bowl III 10 years later, often cited as the 2 most important games in NFL history, are Maynard, Johnny Unitas, Colt center/linebacker Dick Szymanski, and Ewbank, who coached the winning team each time.

Lou Michaels played for the Colts in Super Bowl III, and his brother Walt was the Jets' coach when they reached the 1982 AFC Championship Game. Had they won that game to get into Super Bowl XVII, Walt would have gotten an Honorable Mention here.

2. Curtis Martin, Number 28, running back, 1998-2005. Yet another figure in the Jets-Patriots rivalry, Parcells brought him in when he moved from Foxboro to East Rutherford. He is the Jets' only 10,000-yard rusher, and slightly trails Tiki Barber of the Giants as New York football's all-time leading rusher (although he's ahead of Tiki if you count his Patriot years). He was just elected to the Hall of Fame, and deservedly so.

1. Joe Namath, Number 12, quarterback, 1965-76. You were expecting someone else? True, he only reached the Playoffs twice. Statistically speaking, Joe's credentials for the Hall of Fame are actually kind of skimpy.

But, like his contemporaries Muhammad Ali and Walt Frazier, there was a perfect mix of man and moment: The late Sixties, great sports achievement, a change in style, and the growth of mass media and advertising to properly complement them. Just as Johnny U was the perfect quarterback for the preceding era, Broadway Joe was the right man, in the right sport, in the right position, in the right place, in the right time.