NYCFC Starts Off on Right Foot; Defeat Chicago Fire 4-3 in Thriller

New York City FC, a year removed from a 10-7-17 performance in their debut season as an expansion team and the MLS’ 20th team, looked to get off on the right foot against the Chicago Fire in their second season.

They did just that when Thomas McNamara scored the first goal of the 2016 MLS Season in just the 10th minute. May I remind you, this was the Fire’s first game with Matt Lampson in net, but he didn’t fare too well in the team’s season opener against the Bronx natives, allowing four goals.

But Saunders didn’t exactly shine either, as he conceded his first goal of the year to Razvan Cocis just nine minutes later. And when looking back at last year, he was very inconsistent either producing a clean sheet, maybe allowing one goal, or conceding three or more times in a game. And with the scoring problems of the squad in blue last year, the 24 times they either drew or lost came in games like that.

This year, on the other hand, they went off to the races on the Fire, when just ten minutes later, Tony Taylor scored on a great shot, where he pulled a great pause-and-shoot play. Then, in the 36th minute, Khiry Shelton scored to give the Gotham Blues a 3-1 lead. Just like that, City had taken control of the game and had great confidence that they would win their first season opener in just their second year as a team.

Not much would occur from then to Halftime, and the BlueBirds went into the break still up 3-1. Not long after the 2nd Half began, though, Kennedy Igboananike knocked one in to cut the deficit to one.

Ironically, back at the MLS SuperDraft, the Fire and NYC FC swapped picks to give the Gotham Blues the No. 1 pick, which would turn out to be Jack Harrison out of Wake Forest University. Harrison, a young footballer who had been playing at the Manchester United academy since the age of 7 until he moved to the states at 14. Sadly, he would not be able to play against the team that dealt his rights, not because of him being a rookie and the Blues not wanting to play him, but because of a Pelvic injury that held him out of Pre-Season training just a few weeks back. Luckily, he has not been ruled out for the season, so the 19-year-old from Stoke-On-Trent, England could make an appearance later in the season, and hopefully, if all goes right for the team, in a fight for the MLS Cup in the fall.

Mix Diskerud would answer in the 63rd minute to extend City’s lead back to two goals, but once again, Saunders would concede, this time in the 72nd minute on a PK by David Accam. And although the deficit was once again back at one goal and although the boys from the Windy City put some immense pressure in the final minutes, NYC FC held on for the 4-3 win in Chicago, and will have a tough one ahead of them, as they face the reigning MLS MVP Sebastian Giovinco, in a game that will be broadcasted on ESPN2 a week from today. Last year, these teams had an intense 4-4 draw when they had an ESPN2 Sunday Showdown.

A Deeper Look: Aroldis Chapman Traded to New York Yankees

 

Just a month ago, Aroldis Chapman was living the dream. He was known as one the best closers in the league, had a new 1-year contract with the Cincinnati Reds, and was headed into the offseason ready for another season closing games for Cincinnati. In 6 seasons in the MLB for the Reds, he went 19-20, with 146 saves in 164 opportunities (89% Save Percentage) and a 2.17 ERA. He was also a 4-time All-Star and in 2012 came in the Top-15 in the MVP and Cy Young voting. His career was on the right track and it looked like he had a bright future with the Reds. Circumstances put that to a halt just as trades talks began between the Reds and the Los Angeles Dodgers to send Chapman to LA for two prospects.

On the evening of December 7th, news broke that on October 30th, 2015 Chapman allegedly choked his girlfriend and fired eight gunshots in his home in Davie, Florida. No charges were filed by the police and his attorney denied the allegations but the damage had been done.

While MLB investigated the allegations, the trade with Los Angeles was put on hold. It was also discovered the Boston Red Sox were after Chapman. After hearing about the allegations, the Red Sox zoned in on getting Craig Kimbrel from the Padres. All trade talks eventually stopped as the Dodgers backed out of the deal. The Reds found themselves in an interesting position until the New York Yankees came knocking on the door.

The Yankees offered RHPs Caleb Cotham (1-0, 6.52 ERA in 9.2 IP in MLB) and Rookie Davis (2-1, 4.32 ERA in 33.1 IP in AA), and IFs Eric Jagielo (.284 BA, 9 HRs, 35 RBIs, 0 SB in AA) and Tony Renda (.269 BA, 3 HRs, 44 RBIs, 23 SBs in AA) to the Reds for Chapman, which w became official at about 4:30 in the afternoon of December 28th.

WHY THIS TRADE BENEFITS THE CINCINNATI REDS:

The Reds receive four prospects in this trade that may not be high-level prospects, but could be interesting to see what impact they can make for Cincinnati in the long run. IFs Jagielo and Renda had promising years in Double-A ball and in a year or two get an opportunity in the MLB. RHP Davis definitely has time to improve at 22 years old and already in Double-A Ball. And although at 28 years old, RHP Cotham may have struggled last year as relief for the Yankees, but it may have been because he got thrown in with the sharks, due to the Yankees suffering through an injury bug with many of their pitchers, when he obviously was not ready to be pitching with the big leaguers. Plus, they are getting rid of Chapman like they were planning to, even after the Domestic Violence allegations were released, which made some believe would kill any chance of Chapman leaving Cincy via trade. But, they were wrong. And in good time too, as it seems they were going towards the rebuilding route, as they had been collecting prospects since Winter Meetings began.

WHY THIS TRADE DOES NOT BENEFIT THE CINCINNATI REDS:
All four of these prospects were obviously to no value of the New York Yankees, as if they were, they would still be in Yankee/Thunder uniforms, which was proven when they refused to trade OF Aaron Judge, IFs Greg Bird and Jorge Mateo, RHP Luis Severino, C Gary Sanchez, etc. Cotham is already 28 Years Old, and although going into what is only his 2nd year, it seems like his career is not going anywhere. He may improve slightly, but not enough to make a huge impact for the Reds. Jagielo and Renda seem like they could be in the show in a year or two, but do not seem to be the missing pieces to the Reds crazy, confusing, oddly-shaped puzzle. Davis had a decent year relieving in Double-A for the Thunder last year, and has the talent to make the MLB roster, but doesn’t have the talent to be the next big thing in the bullpen. Rookie Davis is no Aroldis Chapman, a man who will definitely be hard to replace. Losing Aroldis Chapman will hurt a Reds team who has already sent Todd Frazier to the Chicago White Sox, and is also looking to send out Brandon Phillips. It’s obvious this team is going under an immense rebuilding process.

WHY THIS TRADE BENEFITS THE NEW YORK YANKEES:

They are receiving one of the best Closing Pitchers in the MLB, if not the best. And his stat line proves his worth. Through 6 seasons, he has asserted his dominance on the MLB, only having 18 blown saves in that span, which is a pretty phenomenal stat. They also dump some prospects they obviously did not see themselves having a future with, and with the prospects they currently have, these four probably would not see the field that much. Jagielo and Renda would be stuck behind Headley/Mateo and Refsnyder, respectively. And with a pretty dominant bullpen, Cotham and Davis would be pushed to the back end of the bullpen, barely making any strong appearances as Yankee relievers. This move gives the Yankees the opportunity to do what the 2011 Royals and 1990 Reds did and use three great closers to give themselves one of the greatest bullpens in the league. Cashman made a big move here, and Yankees fans are excited to see Chapman coming to pinstripes.

WHY THIS TRADE DOES NOT BENEFIT THE NEW YORK YANKEES:

There’s a really good chance Chapman could be handed a suspension. And due to the new MLB Domestic Violence policy, he could be sitting out the whole 2016 season, which really makes this trade look like four prospects for a player who could miss his only year on his contract with your team. So, the Yankees would have to re-sign him, even if he is getting paid to sit out a year, but it seems the Yankees are used to that (A-Rod). So there’s a chance he might not even suit up in pinstripes, as crazy as it sounds. Gaining Chapman also hurts their already tarnished reputation, which was caused by A-Rod’s use of steroids, and then the Yankees continuing the play him. So, instead of getting one of the best relievers in the game, they could be receiving a bad man who has a tarnished track record and gets paid a good amount of money for a year that he may not even step foot on a MLB field. Nice move, Yankees. Chapman will probably gonna leave after the year is up, after declining the arbitration, and move on to another team. Round of applause to Brian Cashman.

CONCLUSION:

Aroldis Chapman is in pinstripes. He will either be spending a year playing as closer/receiver for the Yankees and racking up a lot of saves and putting up great numbers for them, or sitting in the locker room all season, due to the suspension, and most likely leaving the Yankees, even though the possibility of Chapman coming back is there. And while it benefits both teams, it also does not benefit these teams in certain ways.

Featured Image Credit: TheSource.com