Archive for January 26, 2011

Yankees Sign Bartolo Colon to Minor League Deal

Posted in Yankees on January 26, 2011 by EAST SIDE RYNO

(NY Times) From Catfish Hunter to Dwight Gooden, Jack McDowell to Roger Clemens, David Cone to Randy Johnson, the Yankees have a rich history of acquiring Cy Young Award-winning pitchers. They failed this off-season to add Cliff Lee to that stable, but on Wednesday they signed Bartolo Colon, the winner once traded for him. Colon, a 37-year-old right-hander who did not pitch professionally last year, will challenge for a back-end starting spot after agreeing to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. He will receive $900,000 if he makes the team.

Nothing really to talk about here. Just another signing of a guy who would’ve been a stud six years ago. This just reiterates my statement that the Yankees would have the greatest team of all time if it was 2005. Colon will join Mark Prior in past all-stars who have close to a 0% chance of making the Opening Day roster.

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Poulin vs. Fleury…Fleury Wins

Posted in Islanders on January 26, 2011 by EAST SIDE RYNO

In a battle of the two goaltenders, Marc-Andre Fleury and the depleted Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Isles 1-0 last night at the Consol Energy Center. With the game scoreless with ten minutes into the third period, Penguins’ forward Craig Adams scored off a Kevin Poulin rebound to score the only goal of the game. In a game where the Penguins didn’t have their two star players dressed, Marc-Andre Fleury played his best game of the season. Stopping all 29 shots, Fleury made some very impressive saves in the most crucial parts of the game. But let’s not take away the tremendous effort from our 20 year-old goalie Kevin Poulin. Remember, this guy shouldn’t even be in the NHL right now. He’s probably two years away from being NHL-ready. Having stopped 30 of 31 shots, Poulin deserved a win last night.

If the Isles want to show the league that they aren’t the “laughingstock” of the NHL, they must win these kind of games. When Malkin and Crosby aren’t on the ice, the Penguins are easily beatable. The Islanders beat the Pens when Pittsburgh had a healthy Crosby and Malkin back on December 29th. Take nothing away from Fleury’s performance, but the Isles seemed to be skating backwards all game. The only player I saw on the ice playing aggressive hockey was Frans Nielsen. Once the third period came around with no score, it seemed as if the Isles were playing for overtime. The Isles play at home tonight against the Hurricanes. They better win because I don’t want a bad taste in my mouth heading into the All-Star Break.

Here’s a great fight between Travis Hamonic and Tyler Kennedy last night:

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