Gleyber Torres turns a double play in the ninth inning.

Chisolm is not a big name.

I mean, when I heard the first name with the last name, I was able to identify who he was. "That guy." 

But when I first heard the Yankees got "Chisolm," I wasn't sure who they were talking about.

 

It's kind of the inevitable result of the trade deadline deals every year.

"Once again" going after a big name, he says. Because the Yankees are constantly landing superstars at the trade deadline. Because Benintendi is also a big name, or something?

I mean, it's been a while. Cone in 1995, Justice in 2000 ... anybody else in the past 24 years who is worth mentioning?

Glenallen Hill? That's like a Chisolm-level "big name." A guy whose jersey is ranked in the top 200 at MLB.com.

I'm probably missing somebody. I know a lot of relievers come and go. Armando Benitez that one time and maybe a few others I don't remember.

But the trade deadline overall is a bunch of hype with minimal impact.

Some people lack self-awareness.

Thirteen errors and a defensive WAR of -0.1 ... which seems like a generous defensive WAR to my eyes.

Sure. Why not? He is probably better than Holmes.

I'll admit this guy was under my radar. 

Just be wary of a player who has a dominating half a season; A guy who walks five players per nine innings.

I know Yankee fans are envisioning a five-K bailout performance in Fenway last night, but you might get a walk, walk, HBP, wild pitch Dellin Betances Special. Throw in a Volpe error and a Gleyber botched double play you've got my vision of a Yankee playoff game.

Also, it's quite a hilarious situation when an average old bullpen guy finds a dominant stretch for 40 innings and millions of sports radio callers around the nation assume he's going to join their team and save their team:

"According to Jon Heyman, several teams are in pursuit of Scott: The New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Mariners." 

You know what?

I'm not even being cynical.

Go ahead and get this guy and make him the new closer.

If Holmes is really a horrible pitcher, then the Yankees will still be vulnerable in the 7th and 8th innings.

There simply is no formula for success in the playoffs. If the Marlins want our entire starting infield for a reliever rental, I'd make that trade today.

But why would the Marlins want to buy anything the Yankees are selling?

It's noticeable at the plate and in the field.

Volpe is cut a lot of slack because he's young and likable.

His career stats:

• RISP: .198.
• Two outs RISP: .153.

If he's not a choker, he'll do until the choker gets here.

Because he's young, there is a lot of room for improvement and it's likely he will improve.

But if you look around this touted infield, it's total garbage. The Yankees would probably be better off with some of their castoffs. IKF, Refsnyder, Voit, and Urshela come to mind.

It's only shocking if you don't know how baseball works.

The wild card kind of ruins everything, if you ask me.

If you made me choose right now, I'd pick the Guardians and the Dodgers in the World Series.

These analyses don't even mean anything: "Can the Mets beat the Phillies in a short series?"

Of course they can. The Rockies beat the Red Sox by 13 runs last night. The A's could beat the Phillies in a short series.

The Mets will probably make the playoffs. That's all you need. The Padres might knock off the Phillies and the Mets won't need to.

Put it this way, and this should be obvious: It's easier to win the World Series than it is to catch the Phillies. 

I'd be impressed if they caught the Phillies.

MLB should get rid of the wild card and force the Mets to get serious and make some aggressive moves.

It has gone on long enough, that is true.

I would never say anything has hit "rock bottom," because you probably haven't seen it yet.

It was the two-out, two-strike game-tying home run by Masataka Yoshida.

Then it was the back-to-back errors with two outs in the ninth in Baltimore with first place on the line. Ridiculous. I've watched a lot of baseball, and I'm not sure if I've ever seen a more embarrassing display.

Now it's the embarrassing finale vs. the Mets.

Crosstown rivals? I really don't care about that part. Neither team is going anywhere in the playoffs in my opinion. Either could prove me wrong in October. Both could prove me wrong in October. Next thing you know, it's Cole vs. Manaea in Game One of the World Series with Benny Agbayani leading off for the Mets.

The whole thing about outlooks and "on pace to win" and "if they go .500 from this point forward" is that you just don't know when a team is going to go on a streak or a slump.

One of the most overlooked aspects of the Yankees' slump is that the Big Bad Orioles haven't been much better.

I guess the narrative isn't really "Big Bad Orioles."

It's more "Up and Coming Orioles."

"Fresh Faced Orioles."

A cool drink of water in a division dominated by the Yankees for decades (though the division has not actually been dominated by the Yankees for decades).

I'm also not dismissing 30 bad games. A .700 team has fallen to .600. If they really keep up the .333 winning percentage, they'll fall completely out of the playoff picture. 

This probably won't happen.

They're the 90-win team we always thought they were. They just have a roller coaster way of getting to 90 wins.

So what are we really talking about? 

What are we really concerned about? 

It's the attitude. The entertainment value. The team that rests on its laurels and reputation and sleepwalks its way through the regular season.

It's not even the final score of last night's game. It's the fact that when the Yankees fell behind by three runs in the fifth inning, you knew the game was over. You knew that Volpe was not going to come through with bases loaded. You knew that Gleyber was going to strike out with runners on base. Watching the Yankees is just changing the channel and checking in every forty minutes to see if it's time for Soto and Judge to get up again.

The Yankees have a better overall record. That's how you know.

The first seventy games count as much as the next seventy.

 

Are you saying which team is better tonight? The Mets for sure.

Are you saying which team is going to be better in the remaining sixty games? Probably the Mets. It's not easy to say.

Players and teams go through streaks and slumps. We see it every year and yet we always act oh-so surprised.

 

The argument for the Yankees being a better team is simple enough:

1. They have a better overall record.
2. They did it with Cole on the DL most of the season.
3. They expect to get Stanton and Schmidt back.

So then the way you decide is that each team plays 162 and you add up the wins. 

 

Also: Who really cares?

The Subway Series has no juice, both teams are mediocre, and mediocre may be less entertaining than truly awful.

 

Odds are both teams will make the playoffs as a wild card. 

I don't expect the Yankees to get far in the playoffs, but you never know. Maybe they'll get hot again at just the right time. Same goes for the Mets, I suppose. So if that's your criteria, then wait until then to decide who's "better."

I will say for sure that, similar to most Yankee teams of the past decade or so, this team seems to have no guts, no ability to perform in the clutch, and no ability to win big games.

 

 

 

Everyone agrees with Severino.

It's very mild trash talk anyway. A bit of a shame he isn't pitching in the series. On the other hand, he has had a very successful season with the Mets.

"Costly error."

He should get that phrase on the back of his jersey.

It is more than the number of errors. He makes a lot of misplays that don't count as errors.

But it's also his lack of athleticism. The ball hits off the heel of his glove and he can't adjust and pick it up. This is a 27-year-old, supposedly at the peak of his athletic performance.

Team All or Nothing.

"Brandon Lowe homered in the sixth for the Rays, who went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position. Tampa Bay is 1 for 41 with runners in scoring position in its last four games."

Someone has to point out that the Orioles' closer if Craig Kimbrel.

"Clay Holmes heard some blame and criticism for his role in Sunday’s ninth-inning disaster, allowing two walks to set up two crippling defensive blunders by Anthony Volpe and Alex Verdugo in an eventual walk-off win for the Orioles."

In the top of the ninth inning, Kimbrel walked the #8 batter, then walked the #9 batter, then allowed a go-ahead three-run home run to the leadoff batter.

Kimbrel has two blown saves in his last two save opportunities vs. the Yankees.

“I can’t look at Clay Holmes and say ‘He is the lockdown closer that wins a championship for this team,’” Evan said.

Why not?

Who would you rather have as a closer on your team? Who is a lockdown closer that wins a championship for your team?

I'd prefer Hader and Clase for sure, off the top of my head. It wouldn't shock me if Clase is a difference-maker in the playoffs who propels the Guardians to the World Series. Same goes for Hader and the Astros, who first have to worry about getting into the playoffs in the first place.

Some guy named Helsley leads the majors in saves and it turns out he's pretty darn good.

Helsley is sort of a low strikeout guy, similar to Holmes. Clase is a low strikeout guy as well, for what it's worth.

Maybe the professional baseball players on the Cardinals and the Guardians know how to field baseballs that are hit directly at them, thereby assisting their closers in their attempts to get the final outs of baseball games.

The Dodgers just blew a five-run lead in the ninth inning.

They should give up on the season and trade Ohtani for prospects.

It's World Series or bust for the Mets.

Because I'm a reasonably intelligent person, at no point during the 2024 season did I think the Mets were out of the playoff race.

By the way, the Wild Card Mets, with their recent surge to a .516 winning percentage, have the highest payroll in baseball.

I guess $306 million just doesn't buy what it used to.

The best way to beat the Yankees' bullpen is to stand at home plate and not swing the bat.

Is this a thing?

To me, it's a thing.

Not hitting batters in the head, but just hitting batters. The Yankees hit a lot of batters. Also, at inopportune times.

The Mets should buy. The Yankees should give up.

The Mets are two games over .500. 

Because they started off so poorly (written off by many fans and WFAN hosts), they have "momentum."

Imagine the narrative if the Yankees had started 6-17 before surging to 17 games over .500 and a .600 winning percentage.

Would the pundits suggest giving up on the season?

If you take the emotion out of it, you realize the Yankees have a good team.

Like every other good team (including the Orioles, if you have been paying attention), they've hit a slump.

I'm quite sure Sal Licata said the same thing about the Mets three weeks ago. The magical fairytale players that are abundantly available to any GM willing to give up on the season in the pursuit of future benefits:

“They’re not gonna do it, but they’d be better off doing it…this team has failed year after year. It’s the same thing. The smarter move to me would be to sell Juan Soto. That’s the piece, because there’s really nothing else.”

"Sell Juan Soto," he says.

Many have questioned the wisdom of "renting" Soto for one year. How much do you expect the Yankees to get back for Soto? From a team who's renting him for half a season?

Unless you know for sure that the Yankees will  sign Soto in the off season, what's the point?

The best thing to do is make the playoffs and then get hot at the right time.

Even if the Yankees lose Soto after the 2024 season, you've got to be some sort of demented Higashioka-phile to think the Soto trade was a bad trade for the Yankees.

The better strategy would be to sell off the over-hyped AA players while they're potentially still worth something.

But the best strategy is to stick with this team. More or less. If you can trade Rizzo and Gleyber for a few fungo bats, be my guest. If you can add a starter who can get into the sixth inning, let's do it. 

If you take the emotion out of it ... if you forget the "Home of Champions" branding and ignore the endless comparisons to the Yankee dynasties ... you'd see the Yankees are one of the best teams in baseball in 2024.

That does not mean 125 wins and a World Series sweep. It means 90 wins and maybe a first-round bye.

 

MVP of the Mets maybe.

You can't mean MVP of the National League.

Stroman is a clown.

Today's game just seems like a typical pattern of twenty pitches per inning and a miracle if he can get through six innings.

Also, what's up with all the walks? By relief pitchers? Can you make the opponent swing the bat once in a while?

There just seems to be a lack of awareness. Runner on first base with two outs. You walk the #9 hitter and now you face the leadoff hitter with a runner in scoring position. This is in the bottom of the eighth with a one-run lead.

Challenge the #9 hitter and take your chances.

It's always a good look when the players who aren't hustling are also batting under .200.

Holmes blew the save.

Volpe blew it with his baserunning

LeMahieu and Grisham (again) didn't hustle.

 

The play that bothered me the most was Grisham leading off the bottom of the ninth. Let's recover from this shock and win this game! Show some guts!

He struck out looking on three pitches. Not just taking the third pitch, but taking all three pitches. After botching a play in CF on Thursday and botching a play in CF on Friday.

Is he employed by another team? Is he secretly trying to lose?

Stupid.

The Yankees are in a slump. Their ridiculous 30-something games over .500 and .700 wining percentage was obviously a mirage. They put those wins in the bank so they can withstand a slump or two.

But unless Marcus Stroman was intimidated, I don't see how any of this means anything. Ian Hamilton and Cody Poteet didn't even play.

Between Stroman's endless walks, hit batsmen, and home runs, it's hard to tell when he's intimidated. 

That should be a new combined stat: 45 walks + 15 home runs + 7 HBP.

Marcus Stroman's Combined Stroman Count is 67. Probably leads the league.

Then you can index all the other players to Stroman's Stroman Count. 

So 67 is a Stroman of 100.

For example, George Kirby has a Stroman Count of 24, which is .36 Stromans.

Carlos Rodon's Stroman Count is 55, which is a pretty terrible .82 Stromans.

Bullpens "R" Us.

Without fail, the solution to (almost) every team's problems (almost) every year is to improve the bullpen.

The Yankees and the Mets need to improve their bullpens.

Where do you find all the great bullpen pitchers, anyway?

Maybe the Giants and Jets can shop there for offensive linemen.

Bury the lede.

"With the veteran struggling to get through the fifth inning -- having allowed the Blue Jays to load the bases with no outs -- he got Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to hit a groundball to the shortstop that could have been a much-needed double play.

Instead, Guerrero beat out the throw to first by Gleyber Torres. Shortly after the safe call, Stroman was shown on the broadcast yelling into his glove. It looked as if Stroman was upset with Torres being unable to complete the double play.

Stroman would continue to show his frustrations in the dugout after he was pulled from the game."

I don't trust Stroman and I also don't like his attitude. Some of this is based on performance and a lot of it is based on style.

Still, not a game goes by where Gleyber doesn't screw up in the field or on the basepaths.

Turning double plays should be mastered by the time you're in high school. 

I don't trust Rodon.

 I also don't like his attitude.

Gleyber is benched today. J.D. Davis is batting cleanup. Oswaldo Cabrera is playing second base.

How could they be worse than Gleyber?

If J.D. Davis stands at home plate and never swings, he might get HBP or a walk.

If Oswaldo Cabrera plays blindfolded with his back to home plate, he would be approximately as good at fielding ground balls.

Jerk.

In that case, the poor guy apparently has been fighting a groin injury for about six years.

He is working really hard in the same way that Gary Sanchez worked really hard on his defense.

Gleyber has 12 errors this year, but that doesn't tell the story of his defensive ineptitude. Bad decisions or an inability to turn a DP occur every other game. He doesn't even seem to be ready to go when the pitch comes in. He doesn't seem to think about which base to throw to. Or he hasn't learned to catch the ball first and then look up and then throw it to the base. You ought to figure that out in little league. Keep your eye on the ball.

It's World Series or bust for the team with the best record in baseball.

 The, ummm ... the Cleveland Guardians.

In between two extremes.

“The Yankees, to me, are on the brink of spiraling out of control,” BT said. “The Yankees have zero depth. The Yankees have a C-level lineup.”

...

“Everything that was up for grabs two weeks ago - 100 wins, run away with the division - I’m not even worried about that right now,” BT said.

At no point in this season did I think the Yankees were going to win the division or win 100 games.

They played over their heads for half a season. The same thing happened two years ago.

I'm not sure what he means by "spiraling out of control," but I take it to mean "miss the playoffs." Which I definitely don't think is going to happen.

Probably win about 90 games and then lose in the playoffs.

 

That's a prime play.

Most people who comment on the Yankees are stuck in 1998.

“Boston and Baltimore just slapped around the Yankees in these last two series,” Boomer said. “This is a little bit of a wake-up call. Right around game 80, right around halfway through the season here.

“They are not intimidated in the least by the Yankees and their lineup or their pitching staff.”

No one has been "intimidated" by the Yankees in the past 20 years at least.

"And if I’m the Baltimore manager or any Orioles player, I’m thinking ‘Man, we got them. We’re just as good if not better.’”

The Orioles were 19 games better than the Yankees last season. The Orioles have also defeated the Yankees in 2023. In 2024, the Yankees added Soto and have gotten surprisingly great pitching, but the Orioles have been the favorites since day one.

As for the notion of a wake up call, I suppose it's true. You go through streaks and slumps. Yesterday was a true beatdown in a big game. I'm not sure, however, that the Yankees were delusional about their success prior to the Orioles series.

Mariano Rivera isn't walking through that door.

Baltimore's closer is Craig Kimbrel. Would you rather have Kimbrel closing in the playoffs? I wouldn't. Not that I know what's going to happen in the playoffs.

I think Holmes has had one bad game this year. Maybe two. Four blown saves. One of them because of unearned runs and then the other night with a blooper and an infield single. Meh.

Who is a dominant closer nowadays Josh Hader? Sure, I suppose. 

Hader has had some hiccups in the playoffs, but let's replace Clay Holmes with Josh Hader somehow so Yankee fans can feel like they have exorcised the Ghost of Aroldis Chapman.

By the way, the Yankees won a World Series with John Wetteland as a closer. He even won the World Series MVP.

The aforementioned Kimbrel recently closed out a championship for the Red Sox. So did Jonathan Papelbon, Keith Foulke, and the immortal Koji Uehara.

I mean, Holmes seems to have the proper mental makeup. He doesn't get the high number of strikeouts of a typical modern day closer, but he usually wriggles out of trouble.

Also, he has allowed zero home runs this year and only 16 in his career. Sixteen home runs allowed in 300 innings.

Holmes has 19 saves and a 1.80 ERA. Other than Clase, probably the best closer in MLB this year. There is no reason to disparage the accomplishments of Holmes.

It's a thin line.

 " 'You gotta be perfect, there,' Mendoza said. 'I thought the bullpen, obviously, did a helluva job piecing it together all the way to the ninth inning when we couldn’t get the last three outs.'

About Diekman, the skipper added, 'Two pitches pretty much cost him the game.'

...

The lefty continued: 'I just don’t think I'm executing well enough in certain situations. The homer, if it’s two more inches in, it might be a swing [and] miss, it might be a double down the line, but they only score one so, it’s different…  I liked how everything moved today, it’s probably more of execution.' "

Right.

Almost winning the game because you almost got the opposing batters out.

The home run could have been a double or it could have been a strikeout.

Reggie Jackson's three home runs in Game Six of the 1977 World Series. If he had missed them by two inches, they would have been strikeouts instead.

Many Mets fans are confident the Mets will sign Soto to a long-term contract after the 2024 season.

I heard a WFAN caller say the Mets should spend at least one billion dollars on a Soto contract if they have to. "An offer he can't refuse."

It could happen ... not the billion-dollar part ... but Soto could sign with the Mets. Money talks. 

But a .400 team does not have the upper hand over a .700 team.

When you're going to a tough stretch, you're going to see emotion from players.

Which is good.

It's better to have a team full of bad players who are angry about being on the worst team in baseball than to have a team full of bad players who are not angry about being on the worst team in baseball.

 

"'I'm ready to come back tomorrow if they want me here,' López said.

The Mets apparently do not want López around, as SNY's Andy Martino reported shortly after the reliever's rant Wednesday that the 31-year-old López will be designated for assignment."

What happened to free speech in America. anyway?

A surprising number of pundits thought Judge's slump was permanent.

He had earned the benefit of the doubt long ago, but I can understand those who were worried about his foot injury.

Now look at him.

A 1.000+ OPS and on pace for about 50 HRs and 125 RBIs.

Money talks.

No one wants to hear the owner say stupid things.

I think the Yankees have a good chance to sign Soto long-term, but why don't we first get through this season? See what happens.

"Future payroll."

Steinbrenner has quite the keen sense of marketing, doesn't he?

"Don't get your hope too high, Yankee fans. I've got my eye on marginal ROI, and I may have to move some financial levers in an undesirable direction."

Real American Heroes.

"The Atlanta Braves were one out away from ending their 30-year no-hitter drought Saturday at Citi Field. Then J.D. Martinez stepped to the plate.

The New York Mets' designated hitter spoiled the Braves' bid with a first-pitch solo home run off closer Raisel Iglesias with two outs in the ninth inning. The heroics marked the veteran Martinez's first home run as a Met. New York, however, lost 4-1."

When is the ticker tape parade?

I did this many times in wiffle ball, for what it's worth.

It's even better if the left-fielder throws down his glove in anger.

A five-out save. Zero earned runs so far this season.

Of course, Soto is the team's MVP.

Also, Holmes is kind of the team's MVP.

Baseball is really an individual sport.

Gleyber had a sac fly in game number three and there were some early instances of the Yankees taking a lot of pitches and then getting to the bullpen.

It was a mirage.

Soto is Soto. He is responsible for the at-bats of Soto. If he could really influence all the other players on his team, then there would be many more Sotos.

The Ks are down for the most part, and that just seems to mean the GIDPs are up.

As for the playoffs, just make the playoffs first. Then hope for the best.

I just watched an NBA playoff game on TV. The game has a total of 43 personal fouls. Based on the reaction of the players, zero of the fouls were actual fouls.

"It appeared the lack of an interference call wouldn't make much of a difference in Sunday's outcome after Abner Uribe retired Giancarlo Stanton on a pop fly for the second out of the inning. But everything fell apart for the Brewers from that point on.

Verdugo advanced on Anthony Rizzo's walk and scored the go-ahead run on Gleyber Torres' single to center. Oswaldo Cabrera walked to load the bases before Jose Trevino singled home two runs. Elvis Peguero replaced Uribe and threw a wild pitch that brought home Cabrera. After Anthony Volpe walked, Juan Soto hit an RBI single.

Volpe and Soto executed a double steal while Judge was at the plate receiving a chorus of boos from the American Family Field crowd. Judge capped the seven-run outburst with a two-run single that extended the Yankees' lead to 11-4.

The Brewers never recovered from the missed call."

Just being honest about it, one bad umpire call is not worth ten runs. Get the third out and then score more runs than your opponent.

"Star."

I'm not sure what's the worst offensive stat for Gleyber:

• Two RBIs for the season.
• Zero RBIs since April 6th.
• .150 BA with RISP.
• .000 BA with two outs and RISP.
• Two extra-base hits this season.
• Zero home runs this season.
  
• A .212 slugging percentage

Also, he's a bad fielder.

Also, he's a bad baserunner.
 

I must admit Jahmai Jones isn't exactly Rogers Hornsby ...

I was still hoping Gleyber would be benched two games in a row.

At some point this season, Gleyber will hit a home run ... have a multi-hit game ... make a clutch fielding play.

But I'm also convinced that this early season slump is more signal than noise.

I don't even think a benching would necessarily send a message, resulting in an attitude turnaround. I just legitimately think Jahmai Jones gives the Yankees a better chance to win a Sunday afternoon game vs. a division rival. Maybe he could turn a 6-4-3 DP once in a while.

Yankee Highlight Reel

Soto sends Yankee Stadium into hysteria with 3-run shot.

All Star second baseman sends Yankee Stadium into hysteria with a .224 slugging percentage.

I understand the sentiment and I also think the pendulum will swing back a bit.

But if the solution is "pitch like Greg Maddux," you may as well tell all the batters to "hit like Ted Williams."

The year when he batted .400.

Do the Yankee infielders practice double plays?

I can cut (fraudulent) Gold Glover Volpe some slack for botching the GIDP ... but is anyone going to take action when we're putting the worst-fielding second baseman in the league out there every night?

"Just bobbled it" Girardi says.

"Torres said that his first instinct was to try to look Naylor back to third, which contributed to the bobble.

'I missed it for a couple seconds, and when I got the ball, it was too late,' Torres said."

Quite the history of clutch defense, am I right? 

Instinct is not an actual thing. Practice is a thing. When people seem to have a "natural" ability, it's because they practice a lot. When people seem to have instinctual abilities to make the correct decision, it's because they have the poise which is a result of preparation. A lot of preparation.

Gleyber was a bad-fielding shortstop. He hit 38 home runs one season, so it was a worthwhile tradeoff. When he moved to second base, the idea was that he would be more comfortable in the field (I see no evidence of this) and also more comfortable at the plate (I see no evidence of this).

The errors he makes aren't just physical errors. He throws the ball wildly on double plays because he's rushing when he doesn't have to rush. On this game-changing play where he was trying to look Naylor back to third base prior to fielding the ball, a good professional ballplayer would have cut his losses and gotten the out at first base.

I'm serious.

The Yankees might still win this game if Gleyber just allows the run to score and gets the sure out at first base. It's a tough pill to swallow, allowing the tying run to score. Then you'd have to play an eleventh inning. We want to win right now. But playing an eleventh inning is better than losing in ten.

 

Also, my man has zero home runs this season.

Hitting home runs is the only thing he's good for.

So what's his function on this team?

Defending DJ LeMahieu seems like an odd thing to do, doesn't it?

Oswaldo has obviously been fantastic and fun in the first two weeks of 2024. It is encouraging that he may be a keeper.

But Yankee fans are worried if there's a spot for DJ LeMahieu?

I know!

How about second base?

Maybe put a player out there who can turn a double play once in a while.

It's crazy to constantly hear all the wishcast theories about why Gleyber is going to get his act together. He's moving to second base instead of shortstop. It's a contract year. Proximity to Juan Soto. Inspiration from his teammates at the World Baseball Classic. A new approach to hit the ball to the opposite field rather than endless warning track fly balls.

It isn't happening.

He isn't very good.

2019 was a mirage.

DJ LeMahieu is better.

Lots of players are better.

Mike Lupica is behind a firewall nowadays.

So I can't (won't pay money) to read this article.

But I know it's the same article he has written for 40 years.

Mookie Wilson, Mookie Wilson, Mookie Wilson.

The Mets run the city (how is that working out, by the way?), Alex Rodriguez is a steroid fraud but Robinson Cano is a great guy, Jason Giambi is a steroid fraud but Josh Hamilton's home run derby at Yankee Stadium was a greater moment than Lou Gehrig's speech, and the Yankees' GM is a perennial stupid dum dum head.

 

There's not much to add about Gooden at this point.

The Mets' ownership disowned him for a long time because he was a drug addict.

Uniform numbers mean something to players and fans, and the Mets gave #16 to some real slobs in the post-Gooden era.

I'm happy for him to get his number retired. He deserves it.

Which reminds me: The Yankees should do the same for Winfield, so this doesn't happen. Look at the record, simple as that.

 

Against the slumping Marlins.

"On Tuesday against the Marlins, in his first home start of the season, the 31-year-old hurler showed the Yankees what they paid for. For six innings, Rodón breezed through Miami’s overmatched lineup, punching out six without allowing an earned run. He commanded his trademark, high-spin heater to the arm-side part of the plate, back-footed the slider to right-handed hitters, mixed in his changeup to tally whiffs and induced early-count weak contact with his new cutter."

Against the slumping Marlins.

 

"But perhaps more important than the final line was how Rodón looked atop the hill: loose, easy, free. A year ago, pitching looked like a laborious chore. He rarely appeared comfortable in his new surroundings, the pitching version of trying to sleep on a bad hotel mattress. His starts were a struggle to endure, not an opportunity to shine.

It’s early days, but that dynamic feels different now. On Tuesday, Rodón was floating, flowing. Granted, not every start will be this easy — the worst-record-in-baseball 2024 Marlins are a pitcher’s best friend — but six scoreless is far better than eight runs and no outs."

I agree.

It is better than eight runs with no outs.

I also think his body language might slip the next time he gets slammed.

Not "dope."

The Mets taught him how to stop tipping his pitches.

Severino's first inning ERA last year was an impossibly bad 11.50.

So far in 2024, his first inning ERA is 27.00.

Reactions to one game.

I agree that Stanton is shot.

I don't agree that Holmes needs to be replaced as the closer.

Not against the Yankees. Against the "Yankees."

I disagree with the take in general, but I also don't have confidence that Bauer would be a particularly successful major league pitcher in 2024. I could be wrong about that.

What I know for sure is that three shutout innings in a split squad Spring Training game is not a big deal.

Most observers have "big concerns" about the Yankee rotation. Yet Rodon threw half a no-hitter last week and Schmidt blew away the Mets yesterday.

Why would the Mets even need to sign Bauer when they already have Sean Manaea?

I never considered myself a pessimist ...

... but the bar for "good news" is quite low when "avoiding Tommy John surgery" is considered good news.

Save him for October.

The conundrum is that the Yankees may not even make the wild card without him. It's a conundrum, I tell you. Such a conundrum.

I don't usually pay attention to Spring Training games ...

... but Rodon has not earned the benefit of the doubt.

Please don't call him "Doogy."

The more I hear about Stroman's optimism ...

 ... the more I'm convinced he's going to be a bust.

I like Girardi well enough.

I think he got a raw deal when he was dismissed. I also think he was largely proven correct. In the sense that Boone's supposed ability to manage the young players was proven incorrect. Notable exception, of course, being Judge.

I think the Mets will have one of the worst bullpens.

That's all I've got for you.

Never heard of him.

Most would agree that Alex Verdugo is not a premium player.

That's why he isn't paid as if he were a premium player.

Net Present Value.

Literally, you can't even put an accurate value on Ohtani's contract.

We know it's a lot either way. Ohtani won't starve on $2 million per year.

It's just not a $700 million contract. Because a 2023 USD is worth a lot more than a 2043 (!) USD.

Name a player who played for the Chicago Bulls.

You thought of Michael Jordan. He hasn't played an NBA game in twenty years. The Bulls are still cashing in.

Celtics? Larry Bird.

Lakers? Magic Johnson.

LA Dodgers? Probably Jackie Robinson first. Koufax; Drysdale; Gibson with the home run; a few others come to mind.

Why is Ohtani worth $700 million? It's branding.

Ohtani is worth $700 million because the Dodgers expect to cash in on an international level until the end of time.

"I'd rather have two $35 million players than one $70 million players." As if this is about runs batted in, OPS, wins and losses. 

Of course it will help if he wins some rings, hits some iconic home runs, plays great baseball, etc. The expectations are that he will accomplish these things. Even more important is his ability to increase the value of the Dodgers franchise over time. The expectation is that he will accomplish this for a lot longer than ten years.

 

Fox signed Tom Brady to a $375 million contract to be an NFL analyst. Who knows if he will be a charismatic on-air analyst? Fox just wants to associate themselves with Brady. That is worth $375 million to them.

Perhaps the Dodgers were bidding against themselves and didn't have to go that high? It's fine. They've got the long game in mind.

This does not guarantee that the Dodgers will win a World Series title and it negatively affects their draft capital.

Also, the Dodgers still need pitching depth.

Just repeating some of the standard objections.

Juan Soto is such a drag.

"Short of watching every inning of all 162 games, it’s foolish to assign specific blame to an aggravating 82-80 season. Surely there might have been times Soto lost sight of a bigger picture for individual gain, but that could be said of any player, in any year and besides, by year’s end, his numbers spoke loudly.

Yet somehow, the formula was off."

The 2023 Yankees were also a disappointing 82-80 last season.

Maybe it was because Michael King and Kyle Higashioka lost sight of a bigger picture for individual gain.

Ever think of that?

Soto already has a ring. Soto batted about 1.000 in the World Series if you give credence to small sample sizes. Soto batted .299 with RISP last season and .304 with two outs and RISP.

Anthony Rizzo had one hit with two outs and RISP last season. Anthony Rizzo: The #3 hitter that you forgot was even on the roster when you heard the Yankees signed Soto.

This is just a typical lazy analysis.

"Since the acquisition of Soto doesn't guarantee a World Series title, the acquisition of Soto is a risk."

It's true!

"Wednesday, the Yankees threw Soto at the problem. A Yamamoto signing would give them a half-dozen players making at least $27 million. It is not quite a superteam, but that is the approach they are taking. To which the Padres say, good luck. They will try a different approach, and they don’t seem too broken up about it."

Good luck to the Padres as well.

The Padres, whose unerring approach has resulted in precisely zero World Series titles.

If the Yankees get Soto ...

 ... where is Verdugo going to get ABs?

Do you want a link to a statement by the Yankees on the passing of Henry Kissinger?

 If so, here is a link to a statement by the Yankees on the passing of Henry Kissinger.

Baseball salaries.

$13 million for one of the worst players in baseball. 

I can't say Passan is wrong, exactly: "... the free agent market has set the price of veteran starting pitchers at $10 million-plus a year -- and Severino's past success bought him slightly more ..." 

... but I'd take a 30% raise, and I wouldn't consider it "slightly more"; and

... where is the demand for Luis Severino that would command a premium, however slight?

Funny way to put it.

“When I was with the Orioles, you were intimidated to play them,” Britton told Ghroli. “They had so much talent. The way they carried themselves, you didn’t want to go to New York because they were so imposing, and I feel like we lost a little of that when I was there."

The Yankees were less imposing once they signed me.

Britton isn't incorrect. It's an obvious observation. He also isn't the proper messenger.

Volpe gets one third-place ROTY vote.

Also got a gold glove. The defensive metrics seem to back it up. I didn't really notice anything extraordinary defensively. I also don't keep track of the shortstops throughout the AL, so what do I know?

Not all Perfect Games acquire Baseball Immortality.

An unlikable player, late night when no one was watching, in a forgettable season vs. Oakland.

I want him.

A lot of the big salary teams missed the playoffs this year.

"The failure to install a salary cap system, though, has assured football at all levels continues to rule over the sport that once called itself the national pastime."

The NFL passed MLB a long time ago.

I don't even understand the purpose of making the comparison.

A salary cap will not allow MLB to catch the NFL. Nothing will.

 

"As MLB displays its version of the final four – the National League Championship Series and American League Championship Series – the teams still alive again represent exclusively plus-sized markets."

I thought the Final Four were Houston, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Phoenix.

 

"Houston, Dallas, Philadelphia and Phoenix are the cities still alive in the baseball postseason, and it should surprise no one they all represent top-10 metropolitan areas. Because that is how it has been in baseball under the current regime, where small-market clubs content themselves with making money while hoping to get lucky and big-market teams embrace how it all tilts in their favor."

Six teams in the top three markets were shut out.

 

"The fan base of every team in the NFL perceives itself to have an opportunity because the results show they do, so long as their team’s management takes appropriate advantage. And the success of the smaller-market teams has not merely been the product of failing and then drafting an elite quarterback with the first or second pick in the draft. Kansas City got Patrick Mahomes by trading up from the 27^th overall pick to select him at No. 10. Green Bay was sharp enough to select Aaron Rodgers after 23 other players were chosen in 2005. The Bills got Josh Allen with the seventh pick in 2018."

The Kansas City Royals won the World Series in 2015.

The Oakland A's had a movie made about them.

The Detroit Lions may perceive they have a chance to win the Super Bowl every year, but that perception has always been wrong.

 

I mean, if you don't like baseball, then you don't like baseball.

Most people in American prefer football.

The deciding factor is not really the percentage of Final Four participants outside the top 20 markets.

I also can't believe this is still being discussed. I suppose some things never change.

 

 

Mr. 4 2/3 Innings had a better playoff game than I expected ... and a better year than I expected.

This whole exercise is always stupid and always used as a way to ridicule the Yankees.

Players move around all the time.

Sonny Gray, Aaron Hicks, Joey Gallo, Josh Donaldson, and many other ex-Yankees are in the playoffs.

Oh, and Nathan Eovaldi.

Who has also previously played for the Red Sox, the Rays, the Marlins, and the Dodgers.

Who cares?

Tell me that Jordan Montgomery would have somehow saved the Yankees vs. the Astros in last year's ALCS, then I would concede it was a horrible trade.

Bader had a 1.271 OPS in that series. The Yankees were still swept, so it was good for nothing.

The Cardinals missed the playoffs in 2023, traded Bader for Montgomery in 2022, and then dumped Montgomery for nothing.

No one in St. Louis is giving it a second thought.

That went south quick.

I don't subscribe to the Daily News and I don't have a twitter account, but it would be interesting to see if Lupica ate some humble pie on this one.

Very nice.

"After handing the ball over to Boone, Rodón brushed shoulders with the skipper, trudging off the mound. He was bombarded with boos from Yankees fans in the crowd at Kauffman Stadium as he walked slowly back to the dugout with his head down."

Volpe has a 3.2 WAR and his batting average is .207.

Last year, IKF had a 3.0 WAR and Yankee fans wanted him off the team.

Happy for Cole and an appropriate way to finish his Cy Young season.

My personal observation is that the pitch clock helped Cole because he didn't have a chance for his typical mental meltdowns.

He also seemed to pitch even better after the pressure was off.

But this is nitpicking for a well-deserved Cy Young season.

At least Dominguez can say he's a real Yankee now.

At this point, I think Aaron Boone just might speak a different language than the standard English we are used to hearing.

"Burnes was excellent," New York manager Aaron Boone said. "He maybe made a couple of mistakes where I thought we got some pitches to do some things with, but for the most part he was living on the edges."

If you read this quote without any knowledge of what happened, you'd think Burnes allowed four or five runs in six innings.

He threw a no-hitter for eight innings.

Boone is just lost in some sort of press conference corporate lingo.

I think I am the only Yankee fan who likes Harrison Bader.

So maybe they mean "fan" favorite quite literally.

Damn.

Where's the lie?:

"Count Rays' second baseman Brandon Lowe among those not buying the Yankee pitchers' explanations.

'Looking at it, it’s a last-place team against a team that’s in contention,' Lowe said. 'They’re just trying to ignite something over there. Whatever. Not worth our time at this moment. We’re focused on bigger things right now than worrying about a little on-field scuffle.

We need each game. They're not really in each game.'

He added: 'We need to focus up on what we need to do down the stretch. But if they lose a guy, it's not going to be quite as big of a deal as when we lose one of our guys.' "

The Rays have been embarrassing the Yankees for a while.

NYY hope for 2024.

The path to success is basically staying healthy, of course. I just think the starting rotation could be quite good if Cortes, Montas, and Rodon get healthy and perform up to expectations.

I was ready to give up on LeMahieu, but he may still have something left in the tank.

I don't know what's up with all the strikeouts this year, but he has been productive in the second half of the season, commensurate with less strikeouts.

This optimism also could be small-sample-size wishful thinking.

Nostalgia is a distortion.

Agreeing completely with C-Mac.

Jeter was a bad owner/GM for the Marlins.

Mattingly has never won a World Series as a player, manager, or coach. I don't think he has. But he was the answer for one of my cells in today's Immaculate Grid.

This has been a bad and disappointing season for the Yankees. Not the "worst" season of your lifetime, really, unless you're seven years old. 

It's accurate and appropriate, albeit tedious, to rhapsodize about the Jeter era.

It's also easy to forget about the Jayson Nix era and the Mike Gallego era. "Those teams never gave up and they had character!"

Sure. 

Mel Hall and Lenn Sakata were both highly regarded for their leadership skills and never-say-die attitude that permeated the clubhouse and inspired Joel Skinner to hit a home run every couple of months.

The fans want to start over. The fans want acknowledgement that something is very wrong. But I see no reason to think that the Old Timer's Day crew and a bunch of prospects is the best way out.

Play the kids!

Easy enough to dig up this gem from the past; ARod comparing Greg Bird to Don Mattingly; etc.

Yankee pitchers should practice fielding. I still haven't gotten over Mariano's throw into center field in 2001.

A google of "Clay Holmes fielding error" shouldn't have multiple entries for 2023.

Also, please drop this goofy idea that it's "instinct" to not get out of the way of a ground ball and let your second baseman field the ball for an easy double play. It's a matter of training. It's a matter of practice.

28 LOB in two games?

The buzz is that the "hit strikes hard" approach wasn't working and the Yankees are now getting back to the "work the count" approach. Wear out the pitchers, get more walks, stop swinging for the fences, stop worrying about launch angles.

Small sample sizes don't reveal too much, but the Astros beat the Yankees with nine runs on six hits. Launch angles worked for them.

Sure, the Yankees walked 20 times in two games, but then they can't hit with RISP ... and they can't hit sac flies with RISP, either.

Judge can't save this team and neither can Sean Casey.

The part that bugs me, frankly, is that every player should be 100% responsible for each of his at-bats. These entire team seems to be engaged in an alarming amount of blame-shifting.

Don't blame the umpire or the hitting coach or "analytics." 

If you don't know how to play baseball in the majors ... if you can't make adjustments after the league has adjusted to you ... then you're simply not an effective professional baseball player.

I knew it.

It may even be a plausible reason for his descent.

But if you get a debilitating concussion on May 28, then go on the IL on May 29.

The players have to play better.

"Despite having baseball’s second-highest payroll, the Yankees entered the season without upgrading their offense and with holes in left field and at third base. Those glaring deficiencies would have ultimately hurt this team even if the likes of Anthony Rizzo, Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu were playing to their standards.

And it’s not like the injuries are a surprise.

The Yankees are extremely reliant on players who are known to get hurt, in addition to ones who have shown signs of decline. The depth required to survive their absences has been inadequate, with the club often turning to career fringe major leaguers and playing people at less than comfortable positions."

Cashman is ultimately responsible for putting good players on the field. He naturally shoulders a lot of the blame for a bad season.

But the problem isn't depth.

Forgotten Jake Bauers is the second-best hitter on the team.

Forgotten Clarke Schmidt has as man wins as Severino and German combined.

The bullpen is really good.

Most people doubted Hicks and Donaldson before the season started. The doubters were proven correct. The Yankees can absorb two failures ... they can't absorb seven.

I will list the remaining problem players in order, which is not a strenuous task at all:

• German
  
• Stanton
• LeMahieu
• Severino, the worst pitcher in baseball.
• Rizzo, the worst position player in baseball.

The biggest problem is not the bottom of the lineup or the outfield depth. The bigger problem is the veterans who are being paid a lot of money batting right in the middle of the lineup.

Like, I see no circumstance where the Yankees would be in last place if, in fact, LeMahieu, Stanton, and Rizzo were playing up to their standards.

Using baseball-reference's WAR: Stanton is 0.1; LeMahieu is 0.2; Rizzo is 0.6.

Rizzo's elevated 0.6 is extremely top-heavy; all April and May. Didn't exactly step it up when Judge got injured. Also, Rizzo's WAR might be elevated if he is given credit for knowing precisely when to visit the mound to calm down the pitcher.

 

Seven runs, thirteen hits, a steal of home.

1. Keep Rizzo on the bench.
2. There seems to be an unusually high number of steals of home this year in MLB. I couldn't find the stats to verify this. First thought is that the pitch clock has something to do with it.

Where were you?

When Rizzo got his first hit with two outs and RISP?

No RBI, but it still counts.

1-for-31; and 1 for his last 1.

Outside of the 18 strikeouts, the Yankees had good at-bats

Get it?

I jest. 

Ba dum bum.

Also, the Yankees manager said the same thing:

“We’re behind the eight ball early, and that makes it tough,” Boone said. “Outside of the strikeouts, I thought the at-bats were building off of last night. I thought we grinded it out really well. We made it really tough on Kremer; we couldn’t finish it off.”

Judge walks three times, Rizzo makes the Orioles pay.

Just kidding.

Rizzo is now 0-for-29 with two outs and RISP for the season.

But he did get a single. His first hit since his breakout 4-for-4 game vs. the juggernaut Royals.

Prior to that game vs. the Royals, Rizzo felt different. Then, he hit his first home run in two months and this lifted a weight from his shoulders.

Since then, Happy Anthony has one hit in 13 at-bats.

If you count GIDPs as two outs, it's minus-one hits in 13 at-bats. That really ought to be a thing ... counting GIDPs as minus-one for one.

Rizzo batting cleanup this afternoon.

Not defending Boone. I always liked Girardi.

This isn't a big mystery.

Four players got old quick.

Donaldson wasn't a shock and he was a bad signing. Stanton has always been a one-trick pony, and now he's more like a pinch-hitter than an MVP candidate. The sudden declines of LeMahieu and Rizzo are devastating and shocking.

I like how Peraza goes in to pinch run for Rizzo and gets an RBI hit with two outs and RISP. For the season, Peraza is 1-for-4 with two outs and RISP.

For the season, Rizzo is 0-for-26 with two outs and RISP.

Halfway through July.

Rizzo's July is worse than his June.

He hasn't homered in two months.

He is 0-for-25 with two outs and RISP this season.

He apparently hurt himself a bit a couple of months ago ... strained his neck or whatever.

Without researching the situation with any rigor, I think he might be the worst starting first baseman in the major leagues. His WAR for the year is 1.1.

(I was wrong, by the way. I researched the worst teams in MLB and quickly found Nick Pratto of the Royals with his WAR of -0.3.)

So Rizzo is not the 30th-worst. He's the 29th-worst. Yeah, yeah, and some teams may have platoons, so ... whatever.

Rizzo is garbage this year, he has been garbage since Judge went on the IL, and if Rizzo dare to use an injury as an excuse for this performance, it will be an unforgivable sin in Baseball According to Felz. 

If you're injured, go on the Injured List.

This nugget dropped at the end of an article about the new hitting coach:

"The Yankees headed into the break with Giancarlo Stanton hitting .203 and Anthony Rizzo hitting .168 with no homers and seven RBIs since hurting his neck in a collision May 28. Josh Donaldson is batting .152, while DJ LeMahieu is hitting .220 after slumping last September because of a toe injury and then missing the playoffs."

I don't wan to hear about the Rizzo's injury or LeMahieu's injury.

Just hear me out ...

I think it's true that perhaps Ohtani's June 2023 was the most remarkable month in MLB history. 

But I'd also like to make a case for New York's own Anthony Rizzo, whose June 2023 flew a bit under the radar, but was also quite remarkable:

AB: 75

R: 9

H: 13

RBI: 5

2B: 4

3B: 0

HR: 0

BA: .173

OB%: .311

SLG%: .227