The Athletic just published its roster of Best MLB Players Under Age 25. The Yankees have nobody on it. (But they do have Gerrit Cole.)

All year, sun or clouds, the Yankiverse rains nonstop, felony-grade hype upon its fans. It's a Honey Mustard, Sea Salt & Vinegar, with Barbecue Flavor Crystals and slathered in Secret Sauce. It's Schlittler, Lagrange, the Martian! Throughout the month of March, we drink heartily from the trough and sing, "These little town blues are melting awaaaay..." 

But they don't melt away. They linger. And while we do have hopefuls - Dax Kilby is the latest to be marketed like an Amazon Mystery Box - our farm system ranks 25th (in MLB), behind the Dodgers (2nd), Mets (8th) and every other organization in the AL East. By most accounts, the Yankees are a tired old team, past its sell-bye date, which should be playing canasta rather than baseball.  

Today's Athletic - sports off-ramp for the NY Times - offers a roster of the Best MLB Players Under Age 25. It's a glimpse into the industry's future. These are the Skenes, the Anthonys, the Crow-Armstrongs, players who are already stars, who will likely shape the next decade. 

Not only did no Yankee make this team, but nobody appears on the list of Honorable Mentions. No Martian. No Schlittler. No Jones. Zip. Zero. Nada. Nobody. A full-stop swing and miss.

Meanwhile, Boston and Baltimore both list three players (including Honorable Mentions), the Mets have two, and Toronto and Tampa add one, each. 

Full disclosure: I hate these rankings. The are bogus, crapola click-bait, always laced with caveats such as "if he stays healthy" and "possible breakout." Screw that. Who isn't a possible breakout? The reason we hear about Dax Kilby is that - unlike most Yank prospects - he "broke out" last year. If anybody in our system hits, he'll vault to the top of our shit-pile faster than you can say Zolio Almonte. 

But the Yankees are old and getting older, and - age-wise, at least - closer to a collapse than a breakout. 

On that happy note, yesterday, Gerrit Cole pitched a shutout inning. He gave up two hits and slithered out of a jam. It didn't matter. He was just showing off. My guess is that if a ball were hit to first base, Cole would point to the bag, rather than run to it. (That's a joke.)

He's got a long way back, and one raging question remains: Is he a Justin Verlander, or a Tim Lincecum? That is, can he develop a second career as the wise-old pitcher, powered by guile and bile? Or will his fall be sharp, painful and instant? Once his fastball loses a few mph, will he be done? We donno. But we will soon learn.

Somewhere out there, there exists - in theory - a roster of the Best MLB Players Over 35. The Yankees should dominate it. So, where to, from here?

Yeah, but we got Devin Williams

 

From the article: "Durbin has impressed both with his bat and with his defense during spring training. He is hitting .394 in 33 at-bats through Tuesday and has 7 RBIs and 3 stolen bases."

Well, that's okay. We don't need a third baseman who can both hit and play defense.

Now, where did we put that Williams guy...

In it's dramatic surge toward relevance, the 2026 World Baseball Classic lacked one thing: Owners.

Were he still alive, John Lennon would be 85. And I gotta think he'd have watched the recent World Baseball Championship and felt compelled to re-tweak a lyric... 

Imagine there's no owners,
It's easy if you try, 
No Musk, no tech bro donors,
No Hal, no Stevie Cohen guy.. 

Imagine: We just witnessed a wild, frenzied, global baseball tournament without discussions of contracts and salary dumps - no trade ultimatums, no free agent deadlines. Last night, America lost a close one. Today, nobody will get traded to Panama. 

We got to watch something we might never again experience: A set of games played purely for emotion, with one element of modern sports missing: 

Owners. 

(Note: Also you could say Tarik Skubal was missing; he might have made a difference. Then again, he's a free agent this fall, so... you know...) 

We watched a world series - a real world series - without once flashing upon some luxury skybox, where a scowling billionaire pawed his trophy wife - an Epstein-ian age difference - whose kewpie doll face, bloated from injections, will take 10,000 years to degrade.  

We can talk about Trump, or doofus Democrats, but it's the billionaires who own America - and baseball. These spiritual and intellectual giants of humanity define success with superyachts and sports teams. Over the last two weeks, never once did Redsock fans need to think about John Henry raising their ticket prices. Nor did Marlin fans have to ponder Bruce Sherman, MLB's cheapest owner. Or John Fisher, who tortured the good people of Oakland for three years, before ripping out his team and moving to Vegas. Or Hal - (insert your own diatribe here) - or Stevie Cohen, who transcends everything. Never once...

For two weeks, we got to watch pure passion, and nothing more. No budgets, no salary caps, no Scott Boras, no Juan Soto - (wait, there was one, but he didn't even look the same) - just grown up little leaguers, playing for their neighborhoods, rather than their private jets. 

Well, it's over. Congrats to Venezuela, and thank you, World Baseball Classic, for reminding us of what we're missing. Before this tournament began, I was not a believer in the WBC. But you know what? There are things worth fighting for, beyond money.  

You may say I'm a dreamer,
But I'm not the only one...  

Game Thread: WBC Finals USA vs. Venezuela

 

For all the marbles!

In the spirit of friendly wagering I heard Trump and whomever he left in power have a side bet. 

Winner gets a tanker of oil unless Venezuela wins in which case the game was obviously fixed and the US gets a tanker of oil.

What's on second, but where is it exactly?

MLB says it's not where it should be, and hasn't been for way over a century. Between the bigger bases and repositioning second base to put it fully within the diamond, the basepaths from first to second and second to third will be only 87 feet. (They're trying this out in a minor league this year.) That's a big difference for baserunners and infielders..

Maybe second has been where it really should be all this time, and the half-in, half-out location was chosen to make the paths closer to equal all the way around the diamond (which the bigger bases has fucked up somewhat already).

It always seemed fine up until now. But MLB, you know. Geniuses.

 

“I want to say it’s been bigger than the World Series. I would say the crowd here and the crowd we had when we played against Mexico, it’s bigger and better than the World Series. The passion that these fans have, representing their country, representing some of their favorite players, there’s nothing like it.”

Uh-oh. Sirens! What's happening? Drone attack? Mass shooting? A celebrity down?  

Nope. Be calm. 

Aaron Judge has dropped a truth bomb on America. 

He said aloud what everybody is thinking: 

Suddenly, the World Baseball Classic matters. 

It wasn't always this way. Remember when nobody cared? The WBC was a fart, a bridge to March Madness, a distraction to the critical questions: do we go with Jake Bird or Angel Chivilli? When we talked about the WBC, we discussed our major fears: A tweaked gonad or overworked pitch count. The WBC mattered even less than spring games, which mattered nothing at all. 

And yet... this week, we saw veteran stars dance like teenyboppers. We saw old-timers leap dugout railings, as if the world suddenly encountered the intersection of human nature with pro sports.  

You cannot buy hunger. 

And nobody worth $300 million ever truly sweats a loss, as long as the next bank transfer pings on time. 

Yesterday's words from the Captain of Team America - and, cough, the Yankees - should not affect Judge's standing. Truth is truth. The WBC is more appealing, more genuine, more memorable, than anything we'll see until maybe mid-September, when the pennant race means life and death (in that figurative way.)  There are other reasons... 

1. The WBC lets fans root for players we otherwise miss, or worse, hate. We can close our eyes and imagine Bryce Harper as a Yankee (because he shoulda been one, dammit.) And Roman Anthony. And Gunner Henderson. Fuck, the whole damn team should be Yankees. Oh, well..

2. It raises an undercurrent of geopolitical realities. You felt it in USA v Canada, and USA v Mexico. We would have definitely felt it in a game against Cuba, or the Netherlands (winner takes Greenland!) Now... USA v Venezuela. Yikes. In a strange way, this game does matter. 

3. Soon, MLB and YES will launch their nightly fodder. And with nothing better to do, I will watch. The Yankees have been a thread running throughout my life. No matter how pissed I get at them, there is always a Cam Schlittler or Oswaldo Cabrera. (Wait. Anybody got a bead on Osvaldo Bido?) 

The WBC reminds MLB stars what it's like to be 12-year-olds, to play for family and the universe, and live on the edge. In the WBC, each day is a month, and each month is a lifetime. 

Judge just spake the truth. Good for him. We cannot buy hunger. Why did anybody ever think otherwise? 

And now, for something different...

You may not know this, but for the last nine years, I've moonlighted as CEO/King Cheese at AHOY Comics, the world's most delightful indie publishing house. Along with Mustang - who goes by the name "Peyer" - we have birthed great and totally weird comic books unto humankind, much in the way that Yangervis Solarte hit MLB pitching during the first month of his Yankee career. Until now, I have never mentioned an AHOY book, fearing it might distract us from our core mission: Celebrating the victories of the Yankee front office.   

Well, today... fukkit. I hereby break ranks. It's a graphic novel titled THE FORGOTTEN DIVINE, written by Eisner-award winner Mark Russell, and drawn by Russell Braun, the artist behind the most successful superhero satire in history, The Boys. 

We're breaking it out in a Kickstarter campaign.

Take my word: It's a masterpiece.

Go to the link and try something new. If everybody here joins in - you know, clap your hands and Tinker Bell will be saved! - who knows, maybe Spencer Jones will get the call from Scranton.  

Either way, this is the one. 

Team USA's run in the WBC should make Yank fans thankful... and nervous

Last night, while the gods of Tinsel Town self-pleasured, Team USA eaked out a victory over the mighty Dominican Republic, the most baseball-crazy nation on earth. With Japan eliminated, America's path to the 2026 World Baseball Classic looks to be festooned with group hugs and product endorsements. It's all over but the buying.

Seriously, after toppling Dominica, does anybody fear Venezuela or Italy? 

But but BUT... last night's victory - (by Team America, not Team Leonardo) - should provoke angst across the Yankiverse.

USA won on HRs by Gunner Henderson and Roman Anthony, two young, ascending stars who look to be long-term Yankee migraines. Both hit their second HRs of the tourney - either could be its MVP - and both could enjoy a breakout 2026 regular season. 

Henderson, 24, is returning from a down year, when he hit a mere 17 HRs and batted .274. (His first full seasons, he hit 28 and 37, and he's a career .270.) He'll play SS for Baltimore and, for the first time, be protected in the lineup (by Pete Alonso.)  If Henderson rebounds - a likelihood, based on what we're seeing - the O's will vastly improve. 

Then there is Anthony, age 21, coming off a short season that should terrify Yank fans. In June, shortly after belting a 497-foot grand slam - the longest HR recorded in professional baseball last year -Anthony was unveiled in Fenway, the youngest new Redsock since Rafael Devers. He hit .292 with 8 HRs before tweaking a lat and missing the playoffs. Had he faced the Yankees in that short series, well, I shudder to think about it. 

Both are rising stars, capable of transforming a lineup. (Boston has signed Anthony to a long-term contract that expires in 2034.) And if you hope for the Yankee franchise response - well - good luck with that! We have The Martian and Spencer Jones, both moving in reverse. Either could soon be traded for, well - you've heard of A.I. Slop? Yank fans know of Cashman Slop.

Listen: The problem with the 2026 Yankees is not that they stayed pat with last year's playoff-bound roster. 

The problem with the 2026 Yankees is that they stayed pat with last year's playoff-bound roster... while the rest of the AL East improved. 

So, let's celebrate Team America. But be prepared to look back... and wince. 

USA wins, ump goes back to day job

 

WBC Semi-Final Game Thread: USA vs. DR

 

Luis Severino set to start for the DR. Skenes for the USA. The US team needs to take advantage of that. 

The WBC Final Four is here. In a righteous world, who should Yankee fans root for?

And so, here we are... May I have the envelope please... 

After a year of hype, a month of dicking around, and two weeks of play, four countries - four teams, four narratives - remain in the World Baseball Classic, which remains ex-commissioner Bud Selig's third greatest life legacy. 

For the record, here are Selig's first two: 

1. The perennial, mustard-stained statue of him in Milwaukee, unveiled to a gasping world in 2010. It'd be interesting to stick the Selig monument next to the one of George Steinbrenner in the lobby of Yankee Stadium and see which draws the highest volume of condiments. 

2. The destruction of the Yankees, who stood for a century as the team every American loved or hated. After all, they were New York, a city of rudeness, ethnicity and big money, and the Heartlands rejoiced in Yankee failures. Selig's luxury tax eventually crushed Hal Steinbrenner's willingness to spend for free agents, though it failed to save a plantation structure that allowed owners to - as the ads say - "only pay for what you need." 

The funny part here is that the fall of the Yankees didn't help small market teams at all. The Dodgers simply took over, with a more efficient system of money, Hollywood hype and international stars, mostly from Japan. It's a money machine that Selig must still love, as he spins. (Note: There is also the Mets, who easily became the Yankees of the East.) 

But, but BUT... I got sidetracked. This is about the final four of the WBC. 

Who should Yankee fans support?

For me, here are the teams, in order of our rightful support.... 

1.Italy. This is our team. For starters, manager Francisco Cervelli - still a Yankee in his heart. Note to Cashman: Sign this guy. When the time comes to ditch Boone - I'd say, mid-May? - here's our replacement. Also, there are no Yankee nemeses on this team. The closest we get is Greg Weissert, the de facto closer, who we traded to Boston for "Face Plant" Verdugo. Let him waste his bullets in the WBC. 

Most of all, we owe Italy, big time, for beating Mexico, allowing the USA to make the second round and avoid baseball's biggest botch since Mr. Buckner.  

2. Venezuela. I'm thinking of Gleyber, of course. You barely recognize him with the Klondike beard. To me, he's still a Yankee, always will be. After Gleyber, nobody on this roster bothers me. There's also the geopolitical scene, still unsettled. I suspect this country, overall, could really use a win. 

Not sure how a WBC victory would affect things, but everything in this world is connected. That butterfly flapping its wings in China, it'll arrive in NYC in October.

3. Dominican Republic. It's full of ex-Yanks, shoulda beens and traitors. For starters, Juan "Luxury Box" Soto and Vladimir "I'll Never Be a Yankee/Check that, I'd Be a Yankee If They Paid Me/No, I'll Never Be a Yankee" Guerrero Jr. And Manny Machado, who wanted to play in the Bronx, but Hal wouldn't even make a bid. And Austin Wells (which I don't understand.) 

The only reason to root for this team is the hunger factor. If Soto leads his country to the WBC trophy, he'll be more arrogant than ever - and maybe less hungry - to bring one home to the Mets. 

4. USA. Honestly, after Aaron Judge, who cares? When I watch, I channel hop around the innings when Judge isn't coming to bat. I root for him. I root for the fans who root for him. Judge remains the great incentive to support Team America. (There is also David Bednar and Tim Hill - and either could be called upon in a situation that could define his career - but, overall, meh.)  

But really, it's all about Judge. Over the last two weeks, he has shown himself to be baseball's greatest star. Yank fans should fear the possibility that Team America's win in the WBC might be the only championship in Judge's magnificent career. 

Well, I don't want it. I don't like sharing him with Redsock fans. YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM, AMERICA! JUDGE IS OURS. AND HIS GREATEST MOMENTS NEED TO HAPPEN IN OCTOBER, NOT MARCH. 

So, altogether now, Let's Go Italy. 

NEWSFLASH: THIS JUST IN – HAL LOVES CASH !

 

He also thinks lots and lots of money is kinda nice too!

Yank fans don't need to visit Eastern Island to encounter a silent monolith: Hal Steinbrenner is hiding in plain sight.

The other day, NJ.com scribe Bob Klapisch - formerly of the Post, Times and Daily News, the trifecta of Gotham sports - chanced upon Hal Steinbrenner outside one of the secret wormholes to Hell that spackle the Yankee internment camp known as George M. Steinbrenner Field. 

Smelling a hot scoop, the veteran Gammonite asked Hal for a quickie - one minute's worth of gobble. He'd get the owner's views on the outfield, the bullpen, maybe Leonardo's chance in the Oscars. Whatever Hal said, it'd be copy. Content. Newsprint. Ink. It would chew up 20 inches and spare Klapisch from having to squeeze quotes out of some terrified Somerset-bound prospect.

Well, it didn't happen. Hal backed away, blubbering some excuse, as two elevator doors conveniently closed. 

For the record, two things: 

1. If the 68-year-old Klapisch approached me on the street, asking for a minute of my time, I'd hand him a dollar and sprint for the bus. The guy's a throwback. He doesn't look like the scruddilly, Gen-Z, human glory holes who have infested Camp Tamp. He might even use a cassette recorder. I mean, the guy speaks Portuguese. Who the fuck speaks Portuguese? 

2. If Hal had granted an interview, his words would fly 30,000 feet above anything meaningful. He'd deliver the rah-rah drivel for which Yankee front office humanoids are known. I think Hal is tired of sitting atop the shit pile, weary of the role he has been relegated to play. Every day, he's reminded that the Dodgers are what the Yankees were, and that, for all his family's billions, several owners have far more to spend, and they actually enjoy doing so.  

 What to say? Our top hitters will play in Scranton.

Listen: It could be that Hal is merely waiting for the World Baseball Classic to conclude, before he calls a news conference and says nothing. 

Or maybe there is something here. 

Really, now, how do you say no to the last standing Gammonite, a real deal, tethered to a past that you should be embracing, when he asks for one minute of your fucking precious time?

Maybe Hal has finally achieved separation. He's free to not care. He sets the Yankee budget and then goes shell-hunting, after watching Kelly and Mark. No more concerns about Volpe, no complaining about the rent, no more pretending that all is going according to plan. America is at war, and the Yankees - once a touchstone for success - are now a slightly glamorized version of the KC Royals. 

For the record, I hereby applaud Hal's silence. I hope it continues. Honestly, what can be said about the 2026 Yankees, aside from that they look like the 2025 version. Maybe it will work. The other plans didn't. Hal just sits atop that shit pile, and it's not easy to balance. 

What's to be said about this team? Nothing, really. Except soon, we shall see. 

Quarter Finals Game Day Thread: USA vs. Canada

 

It is very rare in sports that a team gets a second chance to redeem themselves after losing big due to hubris. Tonight the US team gets that chance. Hopefully they've learned their lesson. 

As an aside, the Dominican team has an amazing lineup.

Tatis Jr.

Marte 

Soto

Guerrero Jr.

Machado

Caminero

Rodriguez

Ramirez

Back up catcher is the famous Dominican, Austin Wells (Don't ask).

---

Update: DR advances 10-0 in seven. (Mercy Rule) on a walk off HR by... wait for it... Austin Wells.

Today, Friday the 13th, is 13 days and 13 exhibition games away from opening day.

In American culture, Friday the 13th is the day of "Jason," the hockey-masked killer of teens, most of whom were delightfully skewered, decapitated and/or impaled on movie screens since 1980. Hey, that's entertainment! 

Yesterday, the Yankees feted their own Jasson - Dominguez, aka "The Martian" or "Bruno Mars" - who hit his 3rd HR of this silent spring. Also, his astral twin, Spencer Jones - aka "Along Came" Jones - added a double. 

Beyond metaphor, both events carried the significance of a tree falling in a forest. Nobody cared, beyond the beer vendors and ticket holders of Scranton, where the pair will play in 2026.

Between now and March 25 - a weird 8 p.m. opener in San Francisco - Yank fans will experience a blitz of meaninglessness, far beyond Dominguez and Jones. Coming soon: a hellacious West Coast heat dome, the insufferable Oscars, the increasingly insane war in the Middle East and the World Baseball Classic.   

Tonight, Captain Aaron Judge and a few various Yankees - the newest being situational lefty Tim Hill - will seek redemption in the WBC, where Team USA was embarrassed earlier this week. 

We lost to Team Italy, a pickup team compiled by Francisco Cervelli, a native of Venezuela and former Yank, who twice went to a hospital after being brutalized by home plate collisions. (We'll never forgive Tampa for its horrible cheap shot on Cerveilli, then a rising young catcher, in a meaningless exhibition. He missed 2008 with a broken wrist, and - by the way - Tampa has never won a championship, thanks to the juju curse that remains.)

So, the Martian and Mr. Jones keep hitting, and the propaganda mill keeps churning - (hey, everybody, Ryan McMahon has a new stance!) Tonight, America faces another hateful Canadian team - the Blue Jays aren't enough - for the WBC trophy, or plaque, or belt - whatever the hell they hand out - and, if we win, an incoherent phone call from You Know Who.

So, the Martian homered, and Jones contributed a double. It's Friday the 13th. Our lucky day. 

Italy saves Team America, and the excursion in Tampa continues

As the WBC hits the knockout round, the afterthoughts in Team Tampa are still searching for their all-purpose version of Cory "Does Everything" Lewandowski.

Yesterday, Oswaldo Cabrera took his shot. 

Takeaways from a meaningless win over Toronto...

1. Giancarlo Stanton blasted two, one into a CF light tower. If we could cryogenically freeze him, to be opened March 28, who wouldn't sign the papers? When a guy can't open a bag of chips, we should savor swing, every blast, every sandwich. Nobody, aside from maybe Ed Sheeran, is more fragile.

2. Randall "the Anti-Martian" Grichuk played LF, and went 1-3 with a run and an RBI. No sign of Jasson Dominguez and/or Spencer Jones, who remain team leaders in RBIs (8, the Martian) and HRs (4, Mr. Jones). Since that horror movie reveal moment in December, when Trent Grisham accepted the Yankees' $22 million qualifying offer, neither had a chance. Steal yourselves for the inevitable sense of loss when Cashman trades either or both for his latest white whale. 

3. Oswaldo played RF, went 0-2. (He's 0-4 this spring.) Everyone wants him to succeed and, I suppose, it's good to give him reps in the OF. But... damn: Ryan McMahon is 3-25 this spring, with six strikeouts. The Yankees ditched Spencer Jones because of the Ks, but McMahon is as strikeout prone as they come. I'd love to see Oswaldo get an honest shot at 3B. Last year, before he broke his ankle, he seemed to be taking the position. Guy deserves a chance. 

4. Cam Schlittler pitched into the 4th, giving up a run and fanning five. Of all Yank starters, he's The Great Hope. If Schlit can repeat last September/October, we can survive April/May without Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon. If Schlittler gets hurt, or goes mental, the rotation will collapse, and the bullpen won't be far behind.

5. Bullpen? Oh, yeah. I had put up a block. Right now, it's hard to access the biggest disappointment. We've got Ryan Weathers (ERA 7.94), Jake Bird (4.50), Angel Chivilli (15.43) and Camilo Doval (9.00.) Yikes. This looks like a disaster. At some point, soon, alarms will sound, and Cashman will start making calls. 

6. Jazz Chisholm and Jose "The Gay" Cabellero returned from the WBC. A combined 0-3. No problem. That's our keystone, and I'm fine with it. 

7. Aaron Boone vows to continue screaming at the umps, despite the new robot strike zone. Nothing makes Yank fans happier than knowing that Boonie is back, and planning to yell his heart out. 

8. If anything should scare us, it's Roman Anthony. In the WBC, he's 5-15 with a HR. (Also, Redsock Jaren Durran, for Mexico, has 3 HRs, tied for the lead.) Listen: We should fear Boston. If Anthony becomes the star, as advertised, he could be our Babadook. They will be young and hungry, and we will be a year older, with a manager who howls insults at algorithms.