The Yankees probably score more runs per inning when they are not gifted a runner on second base.

"The Yankees' bullpen wasted Carlos Rodon's efforts, and the team's extra-inning woes continued, as New York fell 5-4 in the 11th inning.

New York entered the 11th batting .770 with a .270 OPS while driving in one run in extras all year. So, of course, the Yankees would push across a run, but it happened without a hit. After Cody Bellinger moved Aaron Judge -- the ghost runner -- to third on a sharp groundout, Judge scampered home on a wild pitch.

But it wasn't enough as the Yankees allowed two runs as the Reds clinched the three-game series."

I'll presume a misprint with the .770 batting average. It should be .170.

The Yankees are lacking in fundamentals and they don't care.

They can still win a lot of these games, maybe even in October. Judge comes through with a bases-clearing double and everyone is happy.

But they will have to do it the hard way. They refuse to do the easy things.

I did not read this Mike Lupica article.

It is probably behind a firewall, anyway.

The headline must be clickbait: "Are this year's Yankees better than last year's team?"

No.

Last year's team had superstar Juan Soto and made the World Series. Also, the Yankees just got shut out three games in a row. So your timing is bad.

I laughed when I saw the headline because it reminded me of a Lupica article from one week ago where he compared the 2025 Mets to the 1986 Mets.

Aside from the fact that Lupica compares everything to the 1986 Mets, it's funny because the Mets haven't won a game since then.

So do me a favor, pal: Don't talk about the Yankees. Ignore them. You're the one who claimed the Mets had taken over as Kings of the City, so the Yankees are just a boring afterthought for true baseball fans. The Yankees are unworthy of your attention, so it would be perfectly appropriate for you to stop paying attention instead of making up nonsense articles about nothing.

Baseball accomplishes nothing.

"Two things can be true. Anthony Volpe is only 24 years old and still has room to grow as a player. Anthony Volpe was also an overhyped prospect who has major flaws in his game and might need to be accepted for who he is."

Point one is Volpe is bad. "Still has room to grow" is an interesting way to put it, but he's just, you know, mostly bad at playing baseball at a major league level.

Point two is Volpe is bad.

"He isn't bad."

He's bad.

"But he also isn't good."

Correct. He isn't good. Which means he is bad.

"Here's the thing, though. Flipping out over Anthony Volpe accomplishes absolutely nothing."

Of course it accomplishes nothing.

Neither does staying calm about Volpe's inabilities to play major league baseball.

Neither does watching baseball or commenting about baseball or scanning the box scores or predicting the future outcomes of baseball games or reminiscing about Jeter and Mariano and Willie and Mickey and the Duke or collecting Aaron Judge Superman bobble head dolls.

It's up to the players to figure out how to play baseball competently.

The fans can do whatever they want.

I wish I had influence on Anthony Volpe's ability to play baseball.

What shall I do? Flip out? Stay calm? Put a Volpe jersey in the freezer? Pray? Maintain a ridiculous blog? 

"If fans and media members are still out there complaining about how he hasn't fulfilled his top prospect pedigree, then they're either in denial or haven't watched enough baseball."

You aren't saying he's fulfilled his top prospect pedigree, are you?

"Newsflash! So many prospects do not pan out. It's the unfortunate reality of the sport. It's not Anthony Volpe's fault the Yankees anointed him the shortstop of the future after just a handful of games at Triple-A. They put a ton of pressure on him. At times he's lived up to the billing. Most times he's been a disappointment."

Sure.

Of course most prospects do not pan out.

So ... that's it? The fans should just have low expectations and then they won't be disappointed?

I can agree with that, if that's your point.

But that's also not what fans generally choose to do. 

"The sooner fans realize Volpe is a solid defender and bottom of the order bat that can do damage in spurts, the better off everybody will be. We've written him off as a future cornerstone piece of the organization long ago. That's not a knock on him, either. He has value on this team. He's not going to turn into what everybody thought he would be just because you keep yelling about it."

Fan is short for fanatic. You may regulate your emotions as you wish. Others choose to vent. 

Also, I WISH Volpe was (a) a solid defender, and (b) THE YANKEES WOULD BAT HIM AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ORDER.

FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, PLEASE STOP BATTING HIM FIFTH. HOW MANY TIMES ARE YOU GOING TO BAT HIM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ORDER?

Phew.

That felt good.

Another counterpoint: Who is "better off" if the Yankee fans lower their expectations for Volpe?

The fans are better off? Volpe is better off? The Yankees are better off?

Because, while ranting and raving accomplishes nothing in terms of on-field results, blithely accepting incompetence and amateurism from major league baseball players also accomplishes nothing.

"He might become the one everybody envisioned. But chances are he won't. And that's fine."

It's fine if the Yankee put bad baseball players on the field. Gee. Maybe you just haven't watched enough baseball.

"The Yankees don't need him to be a superstar. They just need to keep him out of the spotlight and let him find those promising rhythms, which we've seen plenty of this year."

I have not noticed too many "promising rhythms," but I also wasn't paying attention to his walk up music. Is it Sly and the Family Stone?

It's also a bogus argument: "Volpe doesn't need to be a superstar." 

As if that's the problem. 

As if he's dazzling us with clutch performances and fundamentally sound play and racking up a nice 30/30 season, but we're just so spoiled that we demand 40 home runs and 100 RBIs.

Volpe has been cut far more slack than any other player I can think of. If the Yankees had sent out Jayson Nix for two-and-a-half years, the fans would be loud and restless.

I agree with keeping Volpe out of the spotlight, I'll grant that much.

The bench is out of the spotlight. Somerset is out of the spotlight. Running errands for Francisco Lindor is out of the spotlight.

"Plus, this entire offense hasn't scored in week. It's not just on Volpe."

Judge was booed, if that makes you feel better. 

The booing didn't accomplish anything, but it's just fans doing what they do. 

 

1-for-18 with RISP isn't going to cut it.

Especially when the one hit doesn't score a run.

"Scoring position," huh?

 I know, I know. It's an infield single and therefore an abomination to the fundamental meaning of this particular stat.

 We all see the same thing.

1-5 in extra inning games and a truly amateurish inability to get the ghost runner home. MLB is giving you a run. Why won't you take the run? 

Which tracks with a new batch of young players who just don't know how to play the game. All these fundamental errors add up. They can do the tough stuff reasonably well, but they can't do the easy stuff.

I also don't think this is the game to slag on Volpe. It wasn't his fault. He had a sac bunt (hooray!) and, you know, put the ball in play at least. Stole a base in a clutch spot.

But when he grounded out to end the game, he looked like he was going to cry.

This isn't working, kid.

You're two-and-a-half years into the majors and the Yankees have given you a lot of slack. They've given you the starting shortstop job for two-and-a-half years, including the playoffs.

Stop squeezing the bat so tight.

In clutch situations, you're obviously getting in your own way.  

You need to chill out and start playing like a bored veteran.

 

 

I think it will be tedious and lame to complain about Giancarlo Stanton for the next 100 games.

He will hit some home runs, more than most, and do little else.

But there is just no way he should be batting fifth vs. righties. I think he should be platooning with Rice and reduced to a pinch-hitting role vs. righties.

I guess Goldschmidt got the day off today, so maybe it's not going to be a typical lineup for the rest of the year. 

Lots of gaffes, mistakes, bad cutoff throws, not hustling, not covering first base in the fifth inning of Game Five of the World Series ...

The Yankees are in first place and they are playing well overall.

There's also this unsettling feeling that they haven't learned their lesson.

Volpe bad throw, Goldschmidt doesn't keep the ball in front of him, Dominguez bad throw, LeMahieu can't catch the cutoff throw (no advance), Grisham lazy play on a Red Sox single, Volpe caught off guard on the non-tag at second base, Volpe with a horrible cutoff throw home on a play where the runner was going to be safe anyway, but still ... if the guy is going to be safe, don't throw it; and if you're going to throw it, don't throw it 15 feet away from home plate; this is the major leagues ... Dominguez with a baserunning "gaffe."

Lose the game by one run.

Let's check in on Gary Sanchez.

Not too good.

Three hits in 30 at-bats, all singles.

A slash line of .100/200/.100. 

 

I prefer closer by committee for 4-6 weeks.

"The Yankees are expected to place Weaver on the injured list Tuesday with Fernando Cruz slated to be activated. Williams figures to slide back in the closer role. The two-time All-Star hasn't given up a run in 11 of his past 13 appearances, lowering his ERA from 11.25 to 6.23 over the span."

I'm not sure it even matters. A great player will be replaced by an inferior player.

I just personally still don't trust Williams ... and while it's contrary to my general belief that roles don't matter much, I think the recent successes listed above are not proof that Williams is ready to close ... rather, they're proof that he can excel in the setup role.

Franciso Lindor has his Mets Moment.

Just a reminder that I was a sportswriter in New York during Dwight Gooden's heyday in 1984.

I don't think it's completely crazy to put deGrom in the Hall of Fame, but Mike Lupica doesn't make the case:

"What Yankees fans saw with deGrom back in the big city on Wednesday night is what Mets fans saw across town at Citi Field when his starts were known as deGrom Day and you didn’t want to miss one of them; when they were as much a pitching event as Dwight Gooden’s starts once were at Shea Stadium when he was young, and he was the Mets ace who looked like the best pitcher in the world."

DeGrom wasn't that good vs. the Yankees last week, by the way. It wasn't must-see TV.

As for aces that energized Mets fans, let's put Matt Harvey and R.A. Dickey in the Hall of Fame.

"Jacob deGrom pitched seven innings against the Yankees and looked as if he were on his way to a win before Cody Bellinger took him out of the park in the seventh and made the game 2-2. But while he was out there, he looked like everything he ever was as a Met: Nine strikeouts, one walk, three hits. He was the same dazzling presence on the mound that he has always been when blessed with good health, something that hasn’t happened nearly often enough."

He looked like he was on his way to a win until he gave up a home run.

In that case, he really does remind me of Dwight Gooden.

"But look at what deGrom has been able to do when he has been injury-free, the laundry list of achievements that nearly give off a beam of light: Two Cy Young Awards, a season when he finished with an ERA of 1.70, the all-time leader in K/BB at 5.40. He’s twice led the world in strikeouts, led once in bWAR. He has 1,728 strikeouts (in 1,425 innings) for his career against just 320 walks. With everything that has happened to him already, his lifetime ERA stands, and proudly, at 2.51."

There's a HOF case for deGrom. His career WAR is quite high. His K:BB ratio is the best of all-time. Lupica listed deGrom's achievements and didn't even mention Rookie of the Year.

The problem is, the voters don't care too much about those particular stats.

K:BB ratio is a funny one. The Top Twenty is commingled with HOFers and mediocre pitchers.

It's a ratio. Which is the point, isn't it? The HOF is for accumulators.

 

The bigger problem is the whole "when he has been injury-free" argument. Because then you're just speculating. 

Don Gullet, Tony Conigliaro, and Mark Fidrych might have made the Hall of Fame.

 

My other gripe goes something like this.

1. Lupica is just infatuated with the Mets. He'd never write such an article about two-time CYA winner Corey Kluber (116-77, 3.44) or Hyun Jin Ryu (78-48, 3.27 ERA).

This article is for MLB, not SNY.

I'll gladly concede that deGrom had a better career than Kluber or Ryu. But did he have a better career than Tommy John? Curt Schilling?

2. While deGrom was good the other night, he allowed two runs in seven innings. Carlos Rodon pitched better the next day. So did Nathan Eovaldi. Nathan Eovaldi's return to the Bronx!

DeGrom's start was, like, the 10th-best start in the majors that day, yet Lupica was going to praise it to high heaven no matter what actually happened in the game.

"Looked like he was headed for a win until he blew it in the seventh inning."

Using that logic, Gerrit Cole won Game Five of the World Series last year.

My favorite MLB 2025 statistic.

Anthony Volpe has more strikeouts than Aaron Judge.

Volpe is batting .204 with RISP and .167 with two outs and RISP. His strikeout percentages in these situations are preposterous.

With RISP, he has struck out 20 times in 54 at-bats (37% of the time) and with two outs and RISP, he has struck out 12 times in 30 at-bats (40% of the time).

These horrible numbers more or less hold true for his career. When observed over 2 1/3 seasons and 1,400 major league at-bats, it no longer can be dismissed as small-sample-size noise.

Also, why hasn't he learned how to bunt?

Do you know how many sac bunts Volpe has in his career?

Three.

THREE!

Which brings me to my overall observation about his status on the team. His role on the team. The overall strategy. The acknowledgement and utilization of his skill set.

I suppose his defense is good enough, though I think it's overrated.

He has decent power and speed for a middle infielder, though not quite the 30/30 projections and, if I'm extending the general theme, most of his stolen bases/home runs/RBIs hits seem to be in "low leverage" situations.

But why is Volpe batting fifth? Ever?

It's like the Yankees refuse to acknowledge who he is.

"If we bat him leadoff, he'll be a good leadoff hitter."

"If we bat him fifth, he'll be a reliable RBI hitter."

I think he should bat ninth. Maybe eighth in games where Peraza, Escarra, or Vivas are playing. But even then, I'm not sure.

Volpe can steal a base, and batting ninth could conceivably allow the Yankees to steal a run on occasion with the top of the lineup coming up.

Also, I just see no reason whatsoever to maximize the occasions of Volpe batting with RISP.

Noooooo ....

"Was the tiebreaking double his True Met Moment (trademark pending)? Who knows. Maybe he doesn’t even need one. Soto may not be off to the kind of start that prompts odes in his first year as a Met, but perhaps he’s getting there."

Oh.

So you agree.

Fans don't like it when their team loses.

This did happen, but the comments section on a fan discussion board is low hanging fruit.

"He doesn't want to play here" and "bench him" are not reasonable reactions.

As for the Subway Series, I feel the same way I always feel. The Yankees have nothing to gain from these games.

The 2025 Mets are (probably) better than the 2025 Yankees.

Some analyses suggest otherwise, but in my opinion, the Mets have a better record in a better division/league.

Not much better, but the point is, if the Kings of New York was an actual thing, then the Mets already wear the crown.

It isn't an actual thing.

Mets fans root for the Mets, Yankee fans root for the Yankees, Knicks fans root for the Knicks, Nets fans root for the Nets.

If young fans or stubborn fans really buy into the Yankee Entitlement and Mets Redheaded Stepchild narratives, then they're just being played.

Baseball should be enough, but for most so-called fans, it isn't enough.

Only one team in the AL East is over .500.

The Orioles are 15-29 and 10.5 games out of first place.

What's going on with the Orioles?

I'm sure his first at-bat will raise a ruckus.

There will also be plenty of Mets fans in attendance ... it's the Subway Series!

They won't boo Soto; quite the contrary. They will be wearing #22 jerseys trying to bait Yankee fans.

I don't detect any major animus towards Soto, or sense of betrayal. It's just the typical, "You are a prominent player who plays for the other team and I know who you are. Boo!"

"Soto knows how to hit at Yankee Stadium, delivering a career-high 41 home runs last year with New York. Now facing them as the enemy, he’ll have the chance to put those skills to good use with his new team."

He sure will have the chance to do that.

Put his baseball-playing skills to good use with his new team while playing baseball against his former team.

Wait ... was I duped by a chatbot article?

 

 

If you're not plugged into the Yankee fanbase, you probably think Juan Soto is a big story.

Juan Soto's Bronx story began over a year ago. Opening Day 2024. So even the headline is wrong.

"It’s always a good show, and big fun, when the Mets and Yankees play for the city championship in another Subway Series -- the first of which is at Yankee Stadium this weekend."

Is it, though?

"It will be even a better show than usual this time because both teams are in first place."

"Usually," the Yankees and Mets are both good teams. The 2025 Subway Series is more less the exact same thing as it always is.

A long time ago, it was interesting. "Dave Mlicki" and all that. 

I remember Mariano Rivera walked with the bases loaded one time. Here you go. How ridiculous was that?

A Korean pitcher who insisted being called Mr. Koo got a couple of hits off Randy Johnson. 

Shawn Estes saying he was going to plunk Clemens, but he didn't, but he won the game ... and he hit a home run off Clemens. Crazy! It was "the one where Estes hit a home run off Clemens." The Mets took over the city that day in 2002, they surely did, but now they'll have to try again to take it over this weekend.

I totally remember a garbage umpire call setting up Matt Franco for a garbage game-winning hit off Mariano Rivera. They don't show the whole at-bat, so you can't see the umpire blow the two-strike call which would have ended the game. The Mets won! They won! Put it in the books!

There is no need to hype the 2025 Subway Series. You're forcing it. It is as tired as the fifth ining YMCA dance.

"When 'Friends' was one of the biggest hits on network television, the episode titles always began this way: 'The one where ...' For the Mets and Yankees this weekend, the episode title could be this: 'The One Where Juan Soto Comes back to the Stadium as a Met.' "

I mean ... it's self-parody. It's a "Friends" reference.

I was right about the Soto signing the whole time. It made waves when it happened and now no one cares. Soto played one season for the Yankees and had a great season and an unforgettable moment in the playoffs. He then signed with another team. He's more Chris Chambliss than Reggie Jackson in Yankee lore.

"It just isn’t likely to be a lot of laughs for Soto when he starts hearing it from his old friends in the Bronx".

The anger directed towards Soto will be insincere and muted.

It's going to be from people wearing Jeter jerseys who couldn't name one player in the Yankees' starting rotation other than Cole.

I hope they enjoy the game. Boo Soto all you want if you really want to. Leave after Judge's third at-bat to beat traffic. I'm not judging. You're living your best life. In fact, I admire fans who can't name one player in the Yankees' starting rotation. It is I who needs to get a life.

"The games this weekend are going to be saltier than usual -- and that is saying plenty -- because of the flashpoint that Soto has become for Yankees fans since he went with the other guys."

This is made up.

I'm always put in the position of diminishing the Subway Series because it's not that big of a deal. It's two good teams playing each other. Anyone paying attention to the recent series vs. the first-place Mariners saw an intense three-game series between two teams who have dreams of making it to the World Series.

If the Mets fans crave bragging rights, they already have bragging rights. They keep beating the Yankees head to head in the regular season and no one cares.

 

 

 

 

 

Clutch fielding is a thing.

I am just repeating myself.

It seems as if I'm the only one who is noticing this.

For one thing, I don't see how Volpe won a gold glove and I don't really buy the defensive WAR stats which had him as the highest defensive WAR in MLB the last time I checked.

More importantly, he makes defensive misplays at the worst times.

For this particular sequence, I don't really think it made a difference. The leadoff single was a single. The run-scoring fielder's choice was probably not going to be a GIDP anyway.

Paired with his atrocious offensive clutch stats and I have to conclude this guy is a legit choker.

 

"We all know how good Judge is."

I got a laugh when I checked out baseball-reference.com this morning and Fried was listed as #4 in the Yankees' 2025 WAR ratings. Just shows that WAR is not always reliable, as if you didn't know that already.

At this early stage of his Yankee career, I can give Fried one of the highest compliments I can pay a starting pitcher. He's a stopper.

The "pleasant surprise" factor of Fried and the relative state of the Yankees' starting staff isn't nearly enough to elevate him above Aaron Judge.

Just to casually dismiss Judge's first 100 at-bats because we knew already doesn't really account for a staggering .406 batting average and 1.217 OPS.

He might just be a choker.

The sample sizes are short with the Yankees and in the postseason, but his ERA with the Yankees is 11.25 and his ERA in the postseason is 23.14.

Volpe is still a choker and no one seems to notice.

RISP: 29 AB, .172 BA and 14 Ks.

Two outs RISP: 19 AB, .158, 10 Ks.

It's also, like, the fan base ran Clay Holmes out of town and I remember that.

I think a demotion is coming soon enough and the question in October will not be whether or not Williams is the closer, it will be be whether or not Williams is on the playoff roster.

I like this guy.

Just hit better in the playoffs.

When a pitcher is mediocre, it's alway "one pitch."

“ 'But then the walk ahead of the homer, it’s that small of a separator between him being in a dominant position right now to — the reality is he’s throwing the ball incredibly well. It’s that next level of avoiding that ball that today is one ball.' ”

The walk ahead of the homer, though.

That batter didn't walk himself.

"Rodón has given up 51 homers in 50 total starts for the Yankees. That figure leads the majors since his Yankees debut on July 7, 2023."

That's a lot of "one pitches," huh?

Sounds disgusting.

Is it difficult to play left field?

It comes with the territory.

I mean, I understand the story line.

It's opening day and that's what happened in his Mets debut.

I also think that this type of scrutiny just doesn't comport with baseball.

What happened in this particular at-bat? I swung and missed on a 99 MPH slider. I had 1/100th of a second to make up my mind. It looked like a strike for the first 1/1,000th of a second, so I started to swing.

Babe Ruth, Shohei Ohtani, and this guy.

He will soon realize that it's difficult to get major league batters out. To be more specific, major league batters who aren't himself.

I propose a Presidential executive order to elect Lou Whitaker to the MLB Hall of Fame.

Bonus: As far as I know, Whitaker has never been accused of statutory rape.

That's the thing with Pete Rose. You have to be more specific when granting him a pardon.

While we're at it, maybe Congress should get over the whole "you're gambling with World War III" thing and discuss Tommy John's HOF credentials.

Why not take this to the next level?

At the next general assembly of the UN, all the world's delegates should be presented with a dossier explaining that the mostly forgotten Bobby Grich has one of the highest non-steroid career WARs amongst those not elected to the HOF.

Grich has a higher career WAR than Andruw Jones.

That's surprising, right?

Right?

Hello?

Are the translators working today?

 

The Orioles must not exist.

The article is behind a firewall, so I can't say for sure if Madden is ignoring the Orioles. But the headline is funny either way.

Each fly ball represents a learning opportunity.

Heck, I could be the best student the Yankees ever had. I can strike out every time and drop every fly ball to the outfield. Embrace the stink.

I don't know where this guy's career is headed, but he just strikes me as another player who never bothered to learn the craft and take care of the easy parts.

Quick! Name one thing Roger Clemens is infamous for.

No, not that.

Or that.

No. I had forgotten about that, but that's not it.

I mean his five o'clock shadow:

"In 1991, club legend Don Mattingly, frustrated with ownership’s lackadaisical attitude toward improving the roster, grew his curls out to his shoulders. He was punished with a one-game benching before he agreed to a haircut. Hall of Famer CC Sabathia and seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens, both of whom were in Tampa with beards as guest instructors on Friday, were infamous for showing a good deal of 5 o’clock shadow.

 ...

Steinbrenner’s willingness to adapt to the shifting sands is a recognition of reality. Times have changed. The Yankees can no longer rely on their aura, their tradition of excellence and their bottomless caches of cash to nab top free agents. Every advantage — and disadvantage — matters.

In other words: Players care about tradition, but they care about winning more, much more."

I mean, sure.

Times have changed.

I'd go even further and say players don't care one bit about tradition. 

The Yankees don't rely on tradition or aura, they rely on big bucks. In certain circumstances, they can appeal to a free agent who wants access to a big market, but that's not going to matter to Devin Williams, much less the catcher Austin What's-His-Name.

The Yankees have lost their intimidation factor and aura because they have just one championship since 2000.

The Yankees' lack of world championships in recent years has much more to do with the expanded playoffs than anything else.

No one likes it when Cashman correctly points out it's a crap shoot, but it's a crap shoot.

Players like money and they also like winning. The two things are correlated somewhat, but not too much. One thing that is not correlated to either of these things is facial hair. There are quite a few mediocre free agents with beards who signed with mediocre teams.

 

 

 

That's fun and exciting.

Alex Rodriguez is very tan in February.

Alex Rodriguez can also find $10k in between his couch cushions if he really feels the need to give money to college students.

Money Talks

I am not saying Williams is lying.

I also think the facial hair policy was outdated.

Yankees have an uptight corporate image before, during, and after this particular policy.

In some instances, it's conceivable that a corporate culture or clubhouse cohesion could influence a player's decision. They're in for a rude awakening if they sign long-term with a team because they enjoy the Spring Training camaraderie, just to find that all of their best bid whist partners were traded to Oakland before the season even begins.

As for Williams's free agency, let's play one regular season game first.

He might win the Cy Young Award and World Series MVP and ask for a lot of money.

That would be a high-demand scenario.

Or the opposite may occur.

In any case, the size and grooming of his beard will be about 100th on his priority list.

Dodgers are great, but ...

I saw the headline at MLB.com and knew it was Lupica.

The following is Mike Lupica praising the 2025 Yankees.

Which is something he will never do in the Daily News:

"The Yankees have reigning MVP Aaron Judge, who hit 58 home runs last season and came that close to being the first New York slugger in history to hit 60 homers in a season twice. They have Gerrit Cole, who finally won a Cy Young Award the season before last, and has been one of the true aces in the sport for a long time. They just signed free [sic] Max Fried to the biggest free-agent contract any left-handed pitcher has ever signed.

In addition, the Yankees now have one of the game’s star closers in Devin Williams -- Williams now getting the chance to bring that Airbenddre pitch of his from Milwaukee to Yankee Stadium, and perhaps give the Yankees their best 9^th-inning option since Mariano Rivera.

The Yankees also will have two other former MVPs in their regular lineup in addition to Judge with Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt, both veterans showing up at The Stadium with much to prove. They have lost a lot in losing Soto, of course, but may come out of that an even more complete team. And maybe this is the season when The Martian, Jasson Domínguez, becomes the hot kid people have been expecting him to be for a while, even though he is still just 22."

This isn't difficult to figure out.

To the New York audience, he's trolling Yankee fans.

To the national audience, he's trolling Dodgers fans:

"The Dodgers are loaded again, absolutely, having now added former Cy Young winner Blake Snell to a world championship team, and Japanese star Roki Sasaki to a team that at some point will get Shohei Ohtani back as a starter. It still won’t make LA any more of a star town in baseball than New York. Sound the trumpets and play the season. The Yankees and Mets will worry about the Dodgers later."

The whole premise is weird.

It's a shot across the bow to all the people who are saying ... ummm ... what are they saying?

They're saying that the LA is more of a star town in baseball than New York! They're wrong! LA is not more of a star town in baseball than New York!

C'mon, man.

 We're talking about Joe Kelly.

 A poor man's Adam Ottavino.

I think Judge is right.

I actually thinks he says the right thing at all times:

"Judge dropped Tommy Edman's routine fly to center in World Series Game 5 for his first error of the year as the Yankees blew a 5-0 lead and were eliminated with a 7-6 loss. Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly said his team had anticipated defensive mistakes by the Yankees.

'We heard that, but there's nothing you can do besides you have to beat them,' Judge said. 'They won. They can say whatever they want. So if you don't like it, you got to play better.' "

Juan Soto got paid a lot because he's a great player.

A young player in his prime.

The Yankees tried to match the Mets' offer, so it's disingenuous to act like the Yankees dodged a bullet.

I don't even think this is that complicated.

 Of course the Yankees can thrive without Juan Soto. Their Plan B has been pretty good, actually.

But it's still Plan B.

Plan A was signing Juan Soto long-term, a decade of Judge/Soto probably drawing comparisons to the greatest MLB duos of all time, and cashing in with multiple rings.

I guess this makes sense if you never heard of Hideo Nomo.

Ichiro Suzuki, Kazuhiro Sasaki, Yu Darvish, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Kodai Senga, and how can we forget about the immortal Ken Takahashi? None of whom picked the Yankees:

“Since Ohtani...these are three major players that basically had no interest in New York, or the Yankees specifically.”

Sal doesn’t see it as a knock on the Yanks, but it does show that the days of Hideki Matsui and Masahiro Tanaka are over, as the Bombers are now underdogs with the best players from Japan, as many modern players are choosing the Pacific coast.

“It’s the world famous New York Yankees,” Sal said. “They’re still that, even with not winning the World Series since 2009. It’s still the biggest brand in sports. Have the Dodgers eclipsed that now?”

This is not a story.

The Yankees can't lose their pre-eminence among Japanese players because they never had it.

Four prominent Japanese players signed with the Yankees: Matsui, Tanaka, Irabu, and Igawa. Two were good.

Kuroda was a good free agent signing, but he is overlooked because the Yankee teams he played for aren't legendary.

That's it.

That's all I can think of.

Those are the only Japanese players who played for the Yankees.

Oh, wait. Ichiro stopped by on his way to the Hall of Fame, but that's only interesting if you are using that information to fill out a cell in the Immaculate Grid.

It's an answer to a Yankee trivia question, joining the ranks of Kenny Lofton, Andruw Jones, Jose Canseco, Ivan Rodriguez, Lee Smith, and many others you don't associate with the Yankees.

"Oh, yeah!" if you're a big fan, and "they did?" if you're not a big fan. 

There is one other Japanese player who played for the Yankees and I have no recollection of him. His name is Ryota Igarashi. He pitched three innings for the Yankees.

If Sal Licata is so worried about the Yankees' waning influence in Japan, I'll bet Ryota Igarashi would agree to a $100 million contract from the Yankees right now.

It's a troubling trend for the Red Sox.

The Red Sox haven't signed a prominent Japanese player since Koji Uehara and the Red Sox only won 81 games last year.

It's a troubling trend for the Rays, who haven't signed a prominent Japanese player since Akinori Iwamura and have never won a World Series.

It's a troubling trend for the Chicago White Sox who need all the help they can get.

 

The Yankees are not going to sign every free agent.

The Yankees are not going to sign every available player from every country in the world.

For every Ichiro Suzuki there is a Kei Igawa, so chill out.

"Not signing a player" is not troubling and it also isn't a "trend." Three teams are on the table for this guy, which means 29 are not.

"Sasaki continuing the trend of rejection is troublesome moving forward, especially next season. Slugging corner infielder Munetaka Murakami is expected to make the jump to MLB next offseason and he would fit the Bombers like a glove. The left-handed hitter has a career .938 OPS in NPB with 241 homers in seven seasons.

The 24-year-old will be a normal free agent, so he will be able to earn a legitimate contract unlike Sasaki who came over as an International Free Agent and is only limited to signing bonus money and a standard rookie-scale contract. Not to mention, the Yankees will have a clear hole at first base as Paul Goldschmidt was signed as a stop-gap on a one-year deal for whatever long-term plans they have for first.

Murakami’s swing in Yankee Stadium is what dreams are made of for Brian Cashman and company. However, they will have to buck the trend of rejection and pony up the most cash.

If Juan Soto taught the Bombers one thing, it’s few people truly care about the allure of pinstripes and the legacy of the Yankees. It’s merely become a soundbite for players at press conferences who decided to sign the dotted lines with the Bombers because they were the highest bidder.

Sasaki confirmed that sentiment when he became the latest to reject the Bronx."

"Confirmed."

I mean, of course this is true, and it has always been true.

It's also bad news for the Mets and "confirms" that no one wants to sign there unless they are paid $765 million.

I also like the way this guy is not even talking about this player, he's talking about the next player, one year from now, who is expected to come to America, but because Ohtani and Sasaki didn't consider the East Coast, then that means Murakami will not consider the East Coast.

It's a lot to worry about.

Maybe the Yankees will pay Murakami $2 billion and move the team to Hawaii so Murakami is closer to home.

Alonso had a bad year in 2024.

I was going to remind Sal Licata, but then he remembered:

"With that said, Sal does acknowledge that Alonso lost a lot of negotiating power after having arguably the worst season of his career when it was time to secure a payday.

'Pete had a chance to prove himself in a walk year...and he didn’t,' Sal said. 'He wilted like a little flower until the postseason.

'This is part Pete’s fault for not producing the last couple years.' "

I think the Red Sox have a potential superstar in CF who is underappreciated and overlooked.

Does anyone care about my opinion about the CFer in Boston?

Is anyone in Yankee Universe even paying attention to the Red Sox?

Rivalries ebb and flow and the Yankees rivalry with the Red Sox is in a trough.

Except, of course, in Lupica Land.

Where he dusts off one of his favorite go-tos: Pick a player for the Red Sox (81-win team, third place in AL East, 13 games behind the Yankees, missed the playoffs for the fifth time in the past six seasons) and then compare that player to a Yankee player:

"The Red Sox getting Garrett Crochet could turn out to be as big a pitching move in the AL East as the Yankees getting Max Fried.

And the Sox are spending a lot less money to do it."

And?

Lots of things could turn out lots of ways.

If the Red Sox don't win the World Series, does it matter? Just using the Lupica tried-and-true criteria for success.

So it's a "big pitching move." 

Which means what? 

Which means the Red Sox win 100 games? 120? Or just hang around and go for a wild card?

The baseball analysis isn't even why I am fascinated by this blurb.

It feels like turning on the radio and hearing Electric Avenue by Eddy Grant or some blast from the past you hadn't thought of in a while.

Coco Crisp is better than Jacoby Ellsbury ... and the Red Sox are spending A LOT LESS MONEY.

Sandy Leon is better than Brian McCann ... and the Red Sox are spending A LOT LESS MONEY.

Jonathan Papelbon is better than Mariano Rivera ... and the Red Sox are spending A LOT LESS MONEY. (He probably never said that, but I remember some big Papelbon worship period. I think I remember.)

Babe Dahlgren had half the production of Lou Gehrig ... and the Red Sox spent A LOT LESS MONEY.

Who cares?

I mean, the Red Sox are not irrelevant, but they're not top of mind ... and no one expected the Red Sox to field a team in 2025 without a pitching staff.

Yet every move the Red Sox makes is a Reverse Babe Ruth.

The Garret Crochet signing is an epochal shift.