Keefe To The City Podcast

David Quinn finally put Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad together for an entire game and put the Alexis Lafrenière with them and the result was a second straight Rangers win, a 4-1 win in Washington. The Rangers have momentarily saved their season with back-to-back wins over the Flyers and Capitals, proving when they play a complete game, they can beat anyone.

After losing four straight for the second time in just 14 games, the Rangers picked up a 3-2 shootout win in Philadelphia, which they desperately needed. It wasn't pretty, it was most ugly, but the Rangers earned two points they had to have.

The Yankees had a chance to use their financial power as the team that makes more than any other team in baseball to make sure they would be the clear favorite in the American League in 2021. They chose not to and instead cut by payroll by about $50 million. Because of this, the Yankees will have to deal with the Rays and Blue Jays in the AL East, and the White Sox when it comes to the entire AL.White Sox Dave of Barstool Sports joined me to talk about the state of the White Sox as spring training begins, the team's trade for Lance Lynn, signings of Liam Hendriks and Adam Eaton, firing or Rick Renteria, hiring of Tony La Russa, and expectations for White Sox fans in 2021.

The Rangers have lost 10 of 14 games and have the third-worst winning percentage in the NHL, ahead of only Detroit and Ottawa. The Rangers have put together two four-game losing streaks in only 14 games, and their season is now 25 percent over.

The Yankees' 2021 officially begins next Wednesday in Tampa, and the health of the team will be the focal point of the season. The Yankees will need a lot to go right with this roster to win a championship, and it all centers around avoiding injuries.

The Rangers blew another lead, missed an abundance of high-quality scoring chances, including breakaways and open nets, and they lost. They have now lost eight of 12 games this season, nearly all the same way.

The Rangers have played the Islanders three times this season and in all three games there was a shutout. The Rangers have been on the wrong end of the shutout in two of three games and they were on Monday night in a 2-0 loss. Once again, the Rangers' top two lines were unable to produce any offense.

The Yankees have one move left to make this offseason and that’s to bring Brett Gardner back. In order to stay under the luxury-tax threshold, it’s the only remaining move they “can” make. It’s now just a waiting game until pitchers and catchers report next week.

After an abysmal start to the season, the Rangers have won three of their last four games, earning seven of a possible eight points to climb the East standings. Their latest two points came in an impressive 4-2 win over the Capitals in advance of an important upcoming week against the Islanders and Bruins.

The Major League Baseball Players Association rejected the proposal from the owners to delay the start of the season and implement the universal designated hitter and the expanded postseason for a second straight year. That's bad for the Yankees who will never not be in the top eight teams in the American League, but it's good for baseball.  

The Rangers finally broke through and won against in the Penguins in their fourth try this season. Rather than blow a lead to the Penguins like they had in the first three games against them, the Rangers overcame a deficit to win 3-1 on Monday. The Rangers are now undefeated with Tony DeAngelo no longer part of the team.

Scott Reinen of Bronx Pinstripes joined me to talk about the state of the Yankees as spring training approaches, including the Yankees' decision to stay under the luxury-tax threshold, saying goodbye to Adam Ottavino and Masahiro Tanaka, bringing back the same exact lineup and why an expanded postseason field will ruin the regular season.

The Rangers have played the Penguins three times this season. They have held a third-period lead in all three games. They have lost all three games. The Rangers have blown every lead they have had since the second game of the season.

The Rangers had to win on Thursday night in Buffalo. At 1-4-1 and in the midst of a four-game losing streak, they desperately needed to salvage the fourth and final game of their road trip and get two points. And they did just that. After blowing another two leads in the game, Alexis Lafreniere scored the overtime game-winner for the first goal of his career.

The Red Sox were happy to take Adam Ottavino in the Yankees' salary dump of the right-hander. Why wouldn't they be? He makes the Red Sox better and his removal from the Yankees makes them worse.Sure, the Yankees then went and signed Darren O'Day, but why couldn't they have both? Why couldn't they have five elite relievers? For 2019, on paper, they had six. Now they have four.For the second time in three years, the Yankees have cut payroll by $50 million in the middle of a championship window.

The Rangers lost to the Sabres 3-2 on Tuesday and have now lost four straight games, all by one goal. To make matters worse, it was their third straight lost in which they had a lead in the game. They blew three leads in two games in Pittsburgh and blew another two leads in Buffalo. The Rangers' postseason chances are declining by the day, and they need to turn their season around before they no longer can.

Two games in Pittsburgh and two losses for the Rangers. The Rangers blew two one-goal leads and have now lost three straight and four of five to begin the season. The Rangers sit alone in eighth and last place in the East tied with Ottawa for the worst winning percentage in the league. Things need to change and change quickly if the Rangers want to think about the postseason.

The Yankees added another starting pitcher to their rotation by trading for the Pirates' Jameson Taillon. The right-hander hasn't pitched since 2019 after undergoing a second Tommy John surgery, and he joins a Yankees staff that is full of starters who returning from injuries and who haven't pitched much, if at all, over the last few seasons. The trade was a no-brainer for the Yankees considering Taillon's salary ($2.25 million) and what they had to give up. If healthy, the Yankees would have a very good rotation. But "if healthy" is asking a lot.

The Rangers had a two-goal lead in Pittsburgh and they blew it, losing 4-3 in a shootout. Yes, the young Rangers played well, but it was a bad loss. The Rangers have now lost three of four this season, and in their first loss they didn't show up, in their second lost they dominated play and couldn't score, and on Friday in Pittsburgh, they blew a 3-1 lead. At some point, moral victories in these games can't be enough.

The Yankees can no longer only worry about the Rays in the AL East. Coming off an unexpected postseason berth, the Blue Jays have decided to surround their young, very good and inexpensive core with established major leaguers. The Blue Jays added former Yankee Kirby Yates to the back end of their bullpen and then went and gave George Springer a six-year, $150 million contract.