Thursday, February 8, 2018

Russell Wilson, a Yankee?

The New York Yankees desperately need a 2nd baseman.

The New York Jets desperately need a quarterback.

The New York Giants aren't yet desperate in their need for a quarterback, but Eli Manning's not getting any younger.

Yesterday, Yankee general manager Brian Cashman brought Russell Wilson in from the Texas Rangers' organization, for that great amorphous term "future considerations."

As for the Yankees:

On the one hand, Wilson is a 2nd baseman, who has played professional baseball.

On the other hand, he hasn't played in a professional game since 2011, and that was in Single-A ball, where he batted .228. In other words, he's even further from being a major league 2nd baseman than Gleyber Torres is. It's been announced that he would play for the Trenton Thunder, the Yankees' Double-A affiliate, in 2018. He's 29, and hasn't picked up a bat in anything besides Spring Training in 6 1/2 years.

As for the Giants and the Jets:

On the one hand, he is a quarterback. And, like 1993 Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward before him, he is now the best quarterback in New York.

On the other hand, like Ward before him, he's not going to be playing quarterback for the Giants or the Jets. Just as Ward was playing basketball for the Knicks, Wilson's NFL rights are still held by the Seattle Seahawks, whom he led to victory in Super Bowl XLVIII -- which, to be fair, was played in the New York Tri-State Area, at Met Life Stadium.

So, why trade for Wilson? I have nothing against him, either personally or professionally, but this trade makes absolutely no sense. It solves nothing.

Except maybe for Wilson's wife. He's married to singer Ciara. Maybe she got bored with Seattle, and wants to live in New York.

And to get Wilson, Cashman traded "future considerations." This gets funnier when you remember that Ciara's ex is Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn, a.k.a. the rapper Future. Who cheated on her after they were engaged and had a child, showing that he didn't consider her an important part of his future, so he became no longer a part of hers.

*

The countdown has been corrected:

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: Unknown. While the women's team has 4 games scheduled between now and April 8 -- including Sunday, March 4 at Red Bull Arena in the "She Believes Cup" -- for the men's team, no further matches have been scheduled. They were supposed to play at the World Cup in June. Alas...

Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Pyeongchang, Korea: 1, tomorrow.

Days until The Arsenal play again: 2, this coming Saturday, at 7:30 AM our time, a North London Derby against arch-rival Tottenham Hotspur, at Wembley Stadium in West London, where "Spurs" are playing their "home games" until the new stadium they're building on the site of White Hart Lane opens the following August.

Days until the next North London Derby (after this one): Unknown, but not until next season.

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 5, next Tuesday night, against the Philadelphia Flyers, at the Prudential Center. They next play the New York Islanders on Saturday, February 24, at home. They won't play the New York Rangers again until the last week of the regular season, on Tuesday, April 3, at the Prudential Center.

Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 30. They open at home against the Portland Timbers on March 10. Just over 4 weeks.

Days until Opening Day of the 2018 Major League Baseball season: 49on Thursday night, March 29, as the Yankees open away to the Toronto Blue Jays. Exactly 7 weeks. The Yankees still don't have a 2nd baseman or a 3rd baseman who can both play those positions and hit major league pitching well, so the only way we Yankee Fans will see the postseason is if we've paid our cable bills.

Days until the Yankees' 2018 home opener: 53, on Monday afternoon, April 2, against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 61, on Tuesday, April 10, at Fenway Park.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 86on Saturday afternoon, May 5, home to New York City FC. Their 1st game against the Philadelphia Union will be on Saturday night, May 26, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison. Their 1st game against the New England Revolution will be on Saturday night, June 2, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. Their 1st game against D.C. United, and their 1st game ever at the new Audi Field, will be on Wednesday night, July 25.

Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia: 126, on June 14. A little over 4 months. But the U.S. team won't be playing. At least now, Donald Trump doesn't have to choose, and can root for his favorite country, the host nation, Russia.

Days until the 2018 trading deadline, after which we won't have to fear Yankee general manager Brian Cashman trading any proven good players for "prospects": 174, on Tuesday, July 31. Under 5 months.

Days until September 2018 roster call-ups, when we can finally start to expect seeing most of these wonderful "prospects" that Yankee general manager Brian Cashman wanted: 206. A little under 5 months.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 206, on Saturday, September 1, home to Texas State University. 

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Unknown. The 2018 schedule hasn't been released yet. But the season opener is usually on the 1st Friday in September. that would be September 7, which is 212 days from now.

Days until the next Congressional election, when we can elect a Democratic Congress that can impeach and remove Donald Trump from the Presidency: 272on November 6. A little under 8 months.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State game: 283, on Saturday, November 17, at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving high school football game: 288, on Thursday, November 22. A little over 8 months.

Days until a Democratic Congress can convene, and the impeachment process can begin: 325, on Thursday, January 3, 2019. Under 11 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 350, on January 23, 2019. A little over 11 months.

Days until the next Women's World Cup kicks off: 485, on June 7, 2019, in France. Under a year and a half, 15 months. The U.S. team, as 3-time and defending Champions, has, as usual, a better chance than the men's team would have had in 2018 anyway.

Days until my 50th Birthday, at which point I can join AARP and get discounts for travel and game tickets: 680, on December 18, 2019. Under 2 years, or a little over 23 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 715on January 22, 2020. A little under 2 years, or a little over 23 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 900on July 24, 2020. Under 2 1/2 years, or a little over 29 months.

Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 1,002on November 3, 2020. Under 3 years, or a little under 32 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 1,080at noon on January 20, 2021. Under 3 years, or a little over 35 months. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just from Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad, mixing theocracy with plutocracy, rather than mixing kleptocracy with plutocracy.

Days until the next World Cup for which the American team will be eligible is scheduled to kick off: 1,752, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. Under 5 years, or about 57 months. The charges of corruption against Qatar may yet mean that they will lose the tournament, in which case it will be moved to a nation where it would not be too hot to play it in June and July.

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