Right now, they lead the Jets by 148.5-125, with just 17 days left in the waning year. Between the DeVito-mania, some further Knick debacle, and assorted distractions, it seems highly unlikely that Zach's Zephyrs can close that gap.
But that doesn't change the fact that your New York Yankees are still within striking distance of running up their lowest tabloid score since The Dynasty What Never Was began in 2017.
Right now, the low is 152—set during the Covid mini-season. The fact that the Yanks are so close to that low-water mark—in a year when no other New York team did anything of note—should tell management something.
In fact—as anyone consulting El Duque's side column can see for themselves—the backpage totals run like this:
2017—286.5
2018—242
2019—211.5
2020—152
2021—207
2022—210.5
2023—148.5
That's not exactly an indication of growing fan interest. Throughout the Plague Year and the little hiccough from 2021-2022, and it's pretty much a straight line down. The Yankees have never attracted more interest than the year they got within one game of the World Series—their high-water mark ON the field, as well, for The Dynasty That Was Over Before It Began.
Attendance also generally reflects this trend, reaching a high of 3,482,855. In 2023, it was 3,269,016—still good enough for first in the AL. Want to bet it plunges in 2024 if the Yanks don't build a real contender?
Instead of doing any such thing, though, it appears that they are set on making yet another, token fan appeal. Bring in a single new star, and hope ratings and backpages go through the roof!
They won't—and a season spent plodding along with a non-contender before sparse and sullen crowds won't have Soto signing up for the long term. Much more is at stake right now for the Yankees' future than the team's somnolent management seems to realize. Time to wake up and read the backpages.
The Yanks were emotionally out of the pennant race back in August. That's 30 days right there...
ReplyDeleteNo comment until the Admiral is signed . . . .
ReplyDeleteDon't hold your breath, AA. he's not coming to the Bronx. plenty of other real contenders are putting up serious bids for him. they are showing interest that High Lord Hal and Colonel Cash won't even feign.
ReplyDeleteThank you 13bitty - that was 187 minutes without breathing.
ReplyDeleteI wait then until I am asleep to dream
The Yankees have traded outfielder Billy McKinney to the Pirates for cash considerations. McKinney had signed a minor league deal with the Yankees last week.
ReplyDeleteJackCurryYES
ReplyDelete@JackCurryYES
·
1h
Addendum to the McKinney to the Pirates deal: The Yankees received international signing pool money, not simply cash.
Yeah, the Yankees really need more cash.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, though: the Dodgers just traded for Tyler Glasnow, on the condition that he signs a long-term deal. Again, thinking well ahead of our front office, which got no such guarantee from Soto. But that's good for us in two ways. First, it takes a tough pitcher out of the division. Second, it makes LA less likely to sign YY.
But there are still the Mets...
We're fucked.
ReplyDeleteSoto and done.
End of days.
Interesting that the Yanks sign McKinney and turn around and trade him. But they did not feel the need to do that with Domingo German. They just threw German away. A guy who threw a perfect game this year. Maybe he was a clubhouse disaster, but I would've signed him, put him through rehab, and then turned around and traded him. He wasn't the first player ever to have a drinking problem. WTF?
ReplyDelete@ Hoss, Interesting that the Dodgers can put an asterisk on their trade for Glasnow, but the Yankees did not for Soto. But does it make it any less likely that the Dodgers get the Moto Man? I'm thinking that the Dodgers are going to add Yamamoto, which would make them the favorite to win the WS.
ReplyDeleteSuzyn Waldman always says that if the Tampons call, hang up on them. There must be something wrong with Glasnow. Watch his arm fall of halfway through 2024.
Dodgers taking big, big risks. Ohtani - no one knows how he'll come back from surgery. Glasnow - Tampons always seem to trade away their best players just before the clock strikes midnight and they turn into pumpkins. The Moto Man - if the Dodgers get him - never pitched an inning in the majors, so who knows if he's the next Hideki Irabu or the best Japanese pitcher ever to come to the majors.