Forty percent of MLB teams make the playoffs.

"There’s still a month left in the regular season, but we don’t need to wait that long to declare this to be true: the 2026 American League playoff race is the worst in MLB history."

MLB has been around a long time, kind sir.

"Specifically, the AL West and final wild-card spot form the crux of what’s been a yearlong sojourn to infamy. There are perhaps no five words in the sports lexicon more irrelevant than 'If the season ended today.' However, applying that moniker at present would leave us with a .500 division winner (the Astros) and two AL playoff teams with negative run differentials (Houston and the Guardians).

... 

Playoff expansion was always going to lead to subpar teams making the field. But what we’ve seen so far has taken things to a new low. To fully grasp just how unusually incompetent the AL playoff race has been this year, let’s take a look at seasons past to give 2026 the abysmal context it’s earned so far."

OK.

It's obvious why this is happening, and at least you explained it. I guess I don't have much of an objection to the overall point. It's kind of an obvious observation.

Also, when the playoffs start, everyone's record is 0-0. The Astros have the AL MVP and a dominant closer. MLB asked for this, and this is what they got. 

 

Solipsism

It's the same thing every year, but this article is basically eight hometown reporters explaining that their team has an easy schedule for the remainder of the season.

In never dawns on anyone that they're the soft spot in their opponent's schedule. 

I did this in Little League one time.

Good news about Rodon, but ...

"Rodon will rejoin a strong Yankees rotation that also includes Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers."

Did something happen to Max Fried?

In fact, something did happen to Max Fried. 

Where do the Yankees find these people?

He somehow loses his mitt while trying to scoop a throw on a double play?

Then he throws the ball to an empty base?

I mean, is he throwing the ball to the third base umpire?

The Yankees lose a lot of games by making horrible plays that no one has ever seen before. Not like, "oh, I've never seen a first baseman make an error before." But I've ever seen ridiculous stuff like this. It's just inning five of Game Five of the World Series over and over again.

Not Anthony Rizzo

The path to a championship is unlikely, right? Of course it is. The big bats have to get healthy and get hot at the right time.

But the pitching and defense have drastically improved. McMahon, Lombard, Jazz, the new guy at first base. Jones is a surprisingly good outfielder.

Pitching and defense, huh? Let's find out. 

It's like, "let's teach Anthony Volpe how to play second base. It will increase his value in the short-term and the long-term."

So what have you been doing the past four seasons?

Not to mention all the time in the minors? 

528 regular season MLB games plus 21 playoff MLB games is 549 pregame opportunities to take infield practice.

50 ground balls per session. I'll do it myself. Let's grab a fungo and learn how to play baseball together, Mr. Volpe.

If 27,000 practice ground balls isn't enough, then guess what? He isn't good enough.

Which we already know to be the case.

I understand that we ought not to take these proclamations literally. Boone also said Volpe has been playing good defensively at shortstop, which is ridiculous.

Boone is a genuinely nice guy. It's just not in his nature to criticize anyone.

But in this situation, it doesn't do anyone any good to ignore the reality of the situation.

Both Dominguez and Volpe have suffered from a lack of commitment to the craft. These young players perhaps should motivate themselves, but it's also quite clear the Yankees haven't insisted. The Yankees just anointed them and hoped for the best.

Dominguez and his .270 on-base percentage was batting 3rd, 4th, or 5th in the majority of the games in which he played.

I really think the Yankees were just wishcasting with these guys. 

First I have heard of Matt Olson's streak.

The best way to field a ground ball in the outfield is to wait until it stops rolling and then pick it up.

On account of he's a three-time MVP.

He's also the current MVP.

I looked it up on baseball-reference.com.

Mike Lupica is always the go-to journalist for breaking baseball news. 

1-7 in extra innings.

"Sanchez told reporters after the game that he wouldn't take back the decision to try and throw Murakami out, even with the third out at the plate, but that he simply needed to make a better throw. Aaron Boone agreed."

This is a stupid thing to say and a misunderstanding of risk vs. reward.

 Also, watch the play again.

A perfect throw and the runners is easily safe. You didn't trick anyone. You say that you thought the runner was slow getting back to third base. You were obviously wrong.

I don't get it.

Dominguez can't track a fly ball, Dominguez can't hit the cutoff man, Volpe doesn't know how to field ground balls or pop ups, Volpe doesn't know how to turn double plays, Volpe can't catch pop ups.

Nobody seems to be able to judge the speed of opposing baserunners.

Do Yankee minor leaguers practice fielding? Do they practice baseball? 

 

Watching the Yankee catchers is like playing a video game with a glitch.

Just catch the ball and throw it back to the pitcher.

The basics.

The 0-for-whatevers and the strikeouts with RISP and the inability to throw runners out? We're used to it.

How about just catch the ball and throw it back to the pitcher?

No catcher's interferences, no passed balls, no giving away ballgames with two outs in the bottom of the 11th.

Then McMahon is like, "I should have blocked it." Yeah. You should have.

Also, when you endlessly sees this self-sabotage, at some point it reflects poorly on the manager, the coaches, and the culture.

 

I remember when Suzyn Waldman would praise Anthony Rizzo for his well-timed visits to the mound to calm down the pitcher.

“I’m sure in a lot of ways, it weighs on you when you’re capable of more offensively,” Boone said. “But especially at that position, you’ve got to be able to separate. And he’s done a good job of that.”

I mean, sure. I hope an opposite field 430-foot home run gets him started. There is nowhere to go but up.

As for his supposed defensive prowess, the dubious stats back it up. The defensive WAR is high.

Is he throwing out runners trying to steal bases? No. May not be his fault.

Is he calling a good game? I don't know. When the Yankees have good pitchers on the mound, he probably calls a good game. When they have Fernando Cruz on the mound, he suddenly instructs the pitcher to walk a lot of batters.

He doesn't seem to be too good at blocking pitches.

In any case, there is no argument that can possibly be made that his defense compensates for his offense.

The Yankee Manager is an encouraging guy who will never bad mouth his players. "At least he's not as bad defensively as he is offensively" is quite an amazing thing to say. 

Bednar has not allowed a run since May 18th.

I think it's 22 2/3 innings in a row without an earned run.

I don't ever see this streak mentioned in the headlines or in the game recaps.

I suppose it isn't going to get much worse than this.

That's one way to look at it.

I also think "isolated nightmare" is bad enough. But that's just me. 

The Yankee offense scored one run in nine innings. That run was an unearned run.

Cole was great. Two earned runs in six innings.

Sure, the two-run home run was the pivotal play. I think Boone will make that decision 100 times out of 100. No offense to Headrick or the Yankee bullpen.

The offense lost the game for the Yankees. Obviously.

Which brings us to the lingering question: Why is Austin Wells still on this team?

His function is to start the game behind the plate, go 0-for-2, and then be replaced by a pinch hitter as soon as possible? 

For all intents and purposes, the Yankees don't even have a starting catcher. 

It's the New York Yankees we're talking about here. They're just going to keep putting this guy out there and hope he doesn't come to bat at an important juncture in the game? A player whose OPS+ is 41?

High praise indeed.

The Dodgers must be thrilled to learn that Cam Schlittler has concluded that they are one of the top three teams in MLB at this time.

 

In Praise of David Bednar

No earned runs in 17 straight appearances. No earned runs in his last 19 IP. No earned runs since May 18th.

In Praise of Anthony Volpe

His strikeout rate is down to 22.2% and his walk rate is way up to 13.1%.

A .246 batting average isn't bad.

A .346 on-base percentage is excellent.

I can envision usefulness in a player like that. Bat ninth, get on base and steal some bases, improve your approach with RISP somehow ...

On the other hand, he's still a lousy fielder.

But I actually can observe and appreciate an improved approach that makes him a more valuable player.