Top 7 Jets Through 7

I don't want to go into any great detail about the Jets' thrilling, yet disappointing overtime loss in Foxboro. Whether they could've won but should've lost, or played well enough to win and sabotaged themselves are all angles that Mike Francesa will no doubt pick apart at 1 PM ET.

I'm here to assess where the Jets are. While 3-4 is nothing great, they are obviously entrenched in the AFC race, hopefully for the long haul. Even without a number of star players and role players who are now out for the season. But they've shown some resilience and there have been some step-up guys. Here are Backtime's Top Seven Jets in 2012, in progress:

1. Jeremy Kerley - A 5th round pick in 2011, and at only 5'9" he was supposed to be a slot guy and special teamer. Through releases and attrition, Kerley's become the Jets top receiver. He's electric after the catch, and already brought a punt back for a TD this year.

2. Nick Folk - What do you say when your kicker is maybe your best player? You shut up and take the 3 points. After two very productive seasons, the Jets brought in veteran Josh Brown for some preseason competition. Folk won the job and is 11/11 on FGs this year including a 54 and two from 43 yesterday.

3. Antonio Cromartie - Yes he shoots off his mouth and sometimes makes dumb penalties. But he's a shut-down corner, who's had to step up his game with Revis out. Always a threat to pick a ball he looks beaten on, and then take it to the house from there.

4. Robert Malone -  The punter's good too. Robert Malone's got a 47.1 average, and put 11 of his 35 punts inside the 20. The 41.0 net average is very solid. A key field position weapon.

5. Joe McKnight - With the injuries in the secondary, he balked about being moved to corner. And with good reason - because he's the Jets best running back. When will the coaches realize this? Durability is definitely an issue, but he's  proven to be a game-changer. His kick return TD against Houston was the team's most inspired play of the season.

6. LaRon Landry - The Jets' best offseason acquisition hasn't been spectacular, but is a solid run-stopper with 50 tackles on the season. And more than that, his presence (and reputation) makes opposing receivers think twice about going over the middle before they even step on the field.

7. Dustin Keller - He missed 5 of the 7 games and still makes this list, that's how desperate the Jets are for his offense. He was a steady and tough target in the Patriot game, our answer to Gronk.

Please note who is not on the list, neither Mark Sanchez nor Tim Tebow. Sanchez's performance has been uneven to say the least, showing both flashes of brilliance and horror. Tebow could have snuck on the list but clearly hasn't had the opportunities, or done very much when he's had them outside of a few plays.

Also absent from the list, anyone on the Jets' offensive line or defensive front seven. I'm no expert at grading line play, but the O-Line has multiple Pro Bowlers and haven't kept the pass rush off Sanchez. They've plowed the way for a dominant running game in just one out of seven games. And as for the D-Line and Linebackers, nobody is making plays behind the line of scrimmage - and don't tell me about David Harrris's one sack this year!

While the skill guys get the glory, it's the interior guys that mold a team's identity, and the Jets have been pushed around this year.

And four of Backtime's top five are special teamers, which is a silver lining. Special teams are and should be treated as a third unit, and those guys have been good. Now let's talk about the 104-yard kick return TD they allowed to Devin McCourty...

That's the report through Game 7. Oh and by the way, everybody enjoy the big baseball Game 7 tonight. You might want to get out your Bob Carpenter Scorebook for this one!

Sublime in Seattle

This is not a reference to one of the late-great alternative music bands of all-time playing in one of the late-great alternative music cities of all time. But rather artistry of a different kind.

It was just a matter of time before Felix Hernandez did something he'd never done before - a perfect game against Tampa. It was also the 4th CG SHO for King Felix in 2012.

The 26-year old Venezuelan already has 96 career wins and is certainly on the fast track for baseball immortality, had he not written his name in permanent marker yesterday.

But I look at this achievement from a different angle, as a baseball wonk. After the game yesterday, Mariners' play-by-play man Dave Sims posted his scorecard online. I argue that there is no greater piece of memorabilia for a historic achievement than having this page in your Bob Carpenter's Scorebook:

I've known Dave Sims for over 20 years. He was a sports radio host in New York before he got started in play-by-play. I was his spotter and stat guy on the Big East Football game of the week in 1992 & 1993, when he was very new and inexperienced at this.

I was also very new and inexperienced at what I was doing, but it didn't stop me from teasing him about his obsessive-compulsive, color-coated charts. He carried around so many different pencils, pens, markers, and highlighters that I joked he knocked over an Office Depot on the way to the stadium.

But this is where it all pays off. The details are what makes this a work of art as well. The green highlights mark the strikeouts (he whiffed 8 of the last 12 Rays) and the circled red numbers indicating how many retired in a row (that's 27 by the way). And all the zeroes, of course.

Having this much information crammed into a small space is what makes a good play-by-play guy have all the stats and info at his fingertips. But as often is the case, it's the empty space you fill in during the game that paints the most telling picture.

Watching My Yankees Old School

It's rare in a life with kids and flights and work and general responsibilities, that I ever get to plant myself and watch an important Yankee playoff game from start to finish.

But I had a block of time and I dusted off my Bob Carpenter's Scorebook and decided to keep score. It's something I had done hundreds of times in my youth, and occasionally as a professional, but I did it tonight for fun and to take me inside the game.

After an 11-Inning thriller over the Twins, this becomes part of the archives of baseball history. Well at least my baseball history. I have a couple of framed scorecards in my office, that are mounted with my World Series ticket and New York newspaper headline.

Like when I watched Jim Leyritz tag Mark Wohlers in Game 4 of the 1996 World Series. Leyritz had replaced Joe Girardi at catcher, who had been 0-2. Rookie-of-the-Year Derek Jeter was 2-4 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored. I had FOX seats so I sat next to Jerry Glanville, but that's a story for another time.

The scorecard is a historical document. With a good scorecard you can reconstruct any baseball game, and thumb through the pages of history. The previous entry in my third BC Scorebook was from June 11, 2006. Oregon State defeated Stanford 15-0 in Super Regional Game 2 in Corvallis en route to the CWS and the first of two NCAA Championships. Catcher Mitch Canham drove in 5 runs and Pitcher Jonah Nickerson cruised.

So what was the inside dope on just another Yankee walk-off Home Run in the bottom of the 11th?

1) Joe Girardi is still manging very tightly.

Especially his handling of the bullpen. Joe, why on earth do you need 8 pitchers to get through 11 innings? He shouldn't have pulled Joba Chamberlain after getting only 2 outs in the 7th. He shouldn't have pulled Alfredo Aceves after a scoreless 10th. They weren't prepared to fight this out until the 15 or 16th inning. I was wondering at what point Game 1 winner CC Sabathia was going to start warming up.

2) The Yankees were very lucky in this game.

The Twins left 17 men on base, including at least one in all 11 innings. AJ Burnett walked 5 and hit 2 batters in a very erratic 6 innings. But he only gave up one run. The Twins made a brutal baserunning error in the 4th, costing them a run. And Joe Nathan was 3-0 to A-Rod in the 9th, but tried to get him out. Not too effective. It got A-Rod a curtain call and a seat in first class.

3) When the game is on the line, you want Mark Teixeira.

The Yankees' MVP had the leadoff single in the 9th, setting the stage for A-Rod's game-tying HR. Then he made two very strong defensive plays in the top of the 11th to help a very green David Robertson out of a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam. Then there was this:

And that was that. Close the book on that one.

Backtime catches up with Bob Carpenter

You might think witnessing and documenting Blake Griffin’s 40-point, 23-rebound performance would have been the highlight of my Hallmark Holiday away from home. Or maybe sitting a couple of tables from Jerry Springer at O’Hare.

It was actually my afternoon working with Bobby C. He’s the pro’s pro, and we go back over 15 years. Today’s rendezvous on the Big 12 Network is further proof that life is a circle.

Bob is now 55, and he'll be sure to tell you that he’s a “network has-been.” But don’t cry for the TV voice of the Washington Nationals. I asked him how many games he does in a season. He smiled “A hundred and sixty-two.” And he didn’t include spring training. Who needs a network when you’re already in the majors? Bob's partner in 2009 will be Rob Dibble.

He still calls Tulsa home in the baseball off-season, calling Oklahoma men’s and women’s games (both teams are ranked #2 nationally), and hosting Jeff Capel and Sherri Coale Coach’s shows.

Bob is the creator and distributor of “Bob Carpenter’s Scorebook,” the best baseball scorebook in the world for the serious broadcaster/TV producer/fan. He has sent out close to a thousand books, collecting some cash on the side. You can order it at http://www.bcscorebook.com/.

Well, it was nice to connect with a familiar face, and hear the familiar voice featured so many times throughout Mark McGwire’s 1998 run. We keep meaning to collaborate on the definitive baseball cliché book. Until then Bob:

See. You. Later.