I was gonna title this post "LIFE LESSONS TAUGHT TO US BY THE '25 YANKEES." I would Photoshop a ballcap onto Baby Yoda, maybe add Stephen Hawking and Yogi Berra. Hilarious, right?
For example, this chestnut, courtesy of Austin Wells, from the 8th inning with the bases full:
When the opposing pitcher can't throw strikes, swing at his first pitch.
Or this word to the wise from Anthony Volpe.
If you're striking out too often, lunge harder.
Well, I ran out of gas. Couldn't close. Can't write. Last night, I watched nine horror show innings, each a taser to the ball sac. Felt like Malcolm McDowell in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, forced to watch porn while puking into a bucket. Kept thinking, as the prophet K said, "the Yankees had a rally in their bones." Nope. You know what the Yankees had in their bones? Formaldehyde.
Kept thinking we'd come too far to end up being booed, while Frank Sinatra sang, "That's Life." Was wrong.
A solo home run is more exciting than three consecutive singles.
Didn't think the Yankees could waste a glorious series by Aaron Judge, that they'd collapse like CBS, or ABC, or any other corporate clown show. Kept thinking Giancarlo would heat up, or Goldy, or Belli, or Grish, or somebody.
Turns out, they only barely beat Boston - a truly mediocre team - and if the Redsocks had Roman Anthony, it might have not happened.
Nope. It's over. OVER.
When a hot grounder comes your way, put a shoe on it.
We were always going to kick that game away. I wonder how Jazz Chisholm will deal with an entire winter of being asked WTF? I entered last night thinking he was born to play in NYC. I exited wondering how he'll do in KC. I do know this: The Yankees don't need 30 more HRs and a clanking glove. What they need is an Ernie Clemens.
For starting pitchers, five innings is a complete game.
Yep. Cam Schlittler deserved better. He was supposed to be the next Yankee star. He gave us a winnable game. Better than Rodon. Better than Fried. And he didn't end up, like Cole, pointing to first base. He deserved better.
And so didn't you all.
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42 comments:
One would think that after the first 3 games of Vlad getting 10 hits and three HR, with a runner on second and first base open, BaBoone would do what every other manager would do--walk him. You know, give him the Aaron Judge treatment. But no. That boneheaded choice put the Yankees behind the 8-ball after only a few batters. Then I wished I had my own personal 8-ball and a straw.
With this ownership and management, I feel like Dennis Weaver in that Twilight Zone episode where he wakes up every day in his jail cell, about to be put in front of the same judge and condemned to death by the electric chair. For all of eternity. "It is the sentence of this court, that for the brutal and despicable crime of murder in the first degree, you shall be put to death by means of electrocution". Too bad it isn't the same for the Bloated Front Office, Hal, and BaBoone.
Sometimes, there is no lesson, perhaps. What is the lesson here? Maybe that, when a moron drives the bus, we end up lost every time. I don't know. I am a Yankee fan, but it's a difficult time to be a Yankee fan. If there were financial consequences for losing. it might be different. Hal doesn't need more money, though, so this is just some weird asset for him that does pay very well. The Yankees are just a spreadsheet cell to him and we are gnats on a donkey's ass in the grand scheme of things.
There will be public contrition and a vow to do better, a la Vinegar Joe Stilwell after he got "run out of Burma." There will be no "the buck stops here" sentiment. There will be no vows to improve because, when you're a toxic narcissist, as is Brian, you're already the smartest guy in the room and you blame it on luck or bad breaks or something. You never take responsibility. And, if you can't do that, then you cannot change anything. Catch 22.
The Yankees have 1 ring in the last 25 years.
Same number as the Angels, Royals, Marlins, White Sox, and Nationals. It's good to be in the same company as those legendary franchises.
I think the worst part about this postseason is that we finally got the Aaron Judge performance (.500/.581/.692) we’ve been dreaming about for years. And it didn’t matter.
The roster is just filled to the brim with playoff losers. And I don't see any way to fix it. I reckon we'll see at least 21/26 of these guys on the 2026 roster. And we'll be in the same spot 12 months from now.
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Would it be so easy to remove the "brain" trust of the team.
Forgive me as I am clearly no expert but it seems to me the Yankees unless they are totally incompetent are almost certs every single year to make the playoffs due to the expanded rounds and the fact at any one time double figures of teams are rebuilding/in decline and are going to have losing records
The ownership seem to think this is enough and are gambling the team gets hot in the playoffs
Regular season battering ordinary teams with lots of home runs is all well and good but that style of play I would think has clearly shown in the last 25 years not to work in the playoffs against good pitching it appears to me you also need good situational hitting good base running very good fielding strong starting pitching and reliable bullpen and you just cant afford to give teams extra outs and quality managerial decision making.
The Yankees do nothing of the above every year can lead the league in HR and this seems to make most people happy but at the end of the day is totally meaningless.
I would have thought the above is pretty obvious but again it appears the owner and management seem to be happy making the playoffs and making more money in tv and ticket revenue than last season and consider that a success?
Again I will ask does nobody in print and television media every call out the Ownership General Manager and Manger about this?
If a rookie fan from Scotland that has seen 1 real game of baseball in his life can see this why do they not?
The same conversation I fear will be playing out on here this time next season as we get to the playoffs beating up a lot of bum teams but get found out yet again when we play a good one
I may well be talking utter mince and I apologise if I am.
You are not talking mince. Everything you wrote is absolutely true. And, as you say, if a fan from Scotland who has seen one real game in his life can see it, why don't the clowns running the show?
Because they don't care. I'm of a mind that every time Cashman or Hal get in front of a camera, it's the worst day of their week, because they have to pretend that they do care and that they are really trying very hard.
Then they can get back to counting money and figuring out how to placate the fans for the start of next season.
Now comes the worst part of the season, the autopsy. The river of bullshit that flows all season becomes a raging floodwater. The same leadership will be back next year. Oh, there’ll be a few new faces among the players, but it seems the core of the team is set. The lousy at bats, the frightened pitchers, the indefensible decisions…but with half the league making the playoffs we’ll be right back here next October, except we’ll be staring into the abyss of an owner’s lockout lockout in the 2027 season.
Fast Times at Skidmark High.
Oh well, always a bridesmaid, never a bride. Or at least, always in the bridal party, never a bride.
I'm sure the Cashman postmortem is being copy/pasted right this minute. Crapshoot/injuries/a play or two away/all the tools are there - whatever horseshit he's been slinging since 2010 he'll be slinging again.
I think I'm tired. Baseball ended as I knew it would, with the last game a loss. I never expected anything different. My football team shitted the bed last week in a huge way, ruined the sheets really, but that was expected too. I'm tired of the hope that this year will be different, while knowing it won't be. I sometimes wish I had been born a fan of one of those poverty-stricken franchises that never win anything. Hopeless disappointment might be better than hopeful disappointment.
Whatever. I'm happy I stumbled across this blog whenever it was I stumbled across it. The shared hatred is somehow soothing.
Next season we'll run it all back again, same Bat-time, same Bat-channel. Hopefully next year will be different!
As BRT999 mentioned, the same leadership will return next year. It reminded me again—what’s the definition of insanity?
The New York Yankees at the trade deadline addressed a need to bolster the bullpen. Brian Cashman determined that this was necessary to qualify for the post-season. So he made these deals...
Acquired RP Jake Bird from Colorado for IF prospect Roc Riggio and SP prospect Ben Shields
Acquired RP David Bednar from Pittsburgh for C prospect Rafael Flores, C prospect Edgleen Perez and OF prospect Brian Sanchez
Acquired RP Camilo Doval from San Francisco for C/3B prospect Jesus Rodriguez, SP prospect Trystan Vrieling, 1B/3B prospect Parks Harber and SP prospect Carlos De La Rosa.
Yahoo Sports graded the Yankee Trade Deadline as an A-.
On paper, one could have inferred that the Yankees now have the "Bullpen of the Century". That anyone of these newly acquired relievers could pitch the 8th and 9th innings and could get a Yankee win. What a scary thought for an opponent.
So how could a perfect Trade Deadline turn into the nightmare we are seeing?
Maybe it's this?
"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call "The Twilight Zone"."
No, it's not that but maybe it's this...
Mercury retrograde.
Huh you say? Isn't Astrology the fifth dimension?
No, it isn't.
So let's discuss Mercury retrograde. It happens three to four times a year for a roughly three week period of time. It affects all of us regardless of which sign we were born under. For example, I was born under the sign "No Parking".
The definition:
Mercury retrograde is an astrological concept where Mercury appears to move backward in the sky from our perspective on Earth. While it's an optical illusion caused by the relative speeds of Earth and Mercury's orbits, it's believed to influence communication, travel, and technology. This period, which happens a few times a year, is often associated with miscommunications, delays, and technological glitches.
You all have experienced these manifestations at certain times of the year. Your flight is delayed. Your computer glitches. The refrigerator breaks down. You argue more with your partner because of communication issues. You have problems getting back to someone. All tenets of a Mercury retrograde.
So what you shouldn't do during a Mercury retrograde? Not make a major purchase like a car or a house. If you planned a trip, it's not going to work out as you thought it would. You also shouldn't sign a contract for the same reason. Not a good idea to upgrade software as glitches might occur. People from your past reappear. What was planned didn't manifest as expected.
Mercury retrograde is not all bad. The universe forces us to do all the "re's"...review, reflect, repeat, repair. And once we do this, we can move forward with our lives.
So I pay attention to this. It actually has helped my life out to some degree.
So what does this have to do with the Yankees?
Mercury retrograde started July 17th and will end August 11th.
Brian Cashman made those trades during a Mercury retrograde.
Have to find if the Devin trade happened during one of these periods...
Cam Schlittler, despite his most unfortunate surname, will always be a True Yankee star to me.
As the owner of the Pequod told Ishmael in "Moby Dick", Schlittler did not name himself.
I thought Schlittler pitched very well. Hell, he was their best starter by far in this series. They finally got a good start. Too effing bad the offense didn't show up.
So the Devin trade happened during Mercury Retrograde November 25–December 15, 2024. Yup
Trade happened on December 13th last year.
If ya'll think about it, it was absolutely predictable that the offense wouldn't show up in a Blue Jays bullpen game. After all, Tampa has been doing this to us for many years. Opener + pitching change every 1 to 1 1/3 innings = Yankees getting shut down, two hit.
I'ze expectin' Volpe to take his customary last chance at-bat strikeout in the 9th, when, for some inexplicable reason that only exists in the heads of Yankee management, they put a bat in the hands of Jasson Dominguez. I couldn't believe it. Seems like some kind of cruel joke. Boone sends up a kid who hasn't seen live pitching in a month when they only have three outs to live in 2025.
Jasson Dominguez delivered a double and even scored on Judge's hit later. Makes you wonder "what if" they hadn't benched him in August/September. What if he had proper coaching throughout the year. Instead, he was in the exact same situation as at the end of 2024. Sitting on the bench. Except for one solitary at-bat in the postseason, right at the tail end of 2025, 9th inning of an elimination game. Wow, at this rate, maybe he'll get two at-bats in next postseason, in the elimination game? Maybe Boone'll put him in the game in the 7th inning?
Some mind boggling ALDS stats:
Trent Grisham:
2-17
Anthony Volpe:
1-15, 11 K's
Ben Rice:
2-11, 5 K's
Jazz:
2-14
Bellinger:
3-16
That's a combined 10-73. For reference, Vladdy had 9 hits this series.
Grisham, Volpe, Rice, Jazz, Bellinger had a singular more hit than Vladdy by himself.
The player culprits most responsible for this whitewashing: Grisham, Bellinger, Chisholm, Wells, Volpe. All went "0 for" with never ending parade of strikeouts. Chisholm might even qualify as game MVP - for the Blue Jays. Because it was his error that destroyed any real chance of a comeback in this game. Wells, it looked got a hittable pitch, but he did with it what he usually did this year, which is a pop fly to left field with the bags jammed.
Yeah, when one guy outhits half your team, tis hard to win. Hell, Ernie Clement outhit half the Yankees.
Whoo-hoo, what a shit show! Should've known the hitting wouldn't show up in an opponent's bullpen game.
All year long, and especially at the start, I talked about how they'd better develop Jasson Dominguez and not play Trent Grisham over him. Was expecting Grisham to come back down to earth. Took 'til the playoffs, but his balloon lost its hot air and came down like Keith Moon's lead zeppelin. Now they lost another year of development for Dominguez, and for what? Another shit show elimination, this time before they could even get to the ALCS.
Yankee managing, coaching, scouting, analytics, all of it obviously is like kindergarten bullshit compared to the Blue Jays. They should clean house, starting with Boone & the entire coaching staff. Hire a real baseball pro like Bruce Bochy. But they won't; they'll hire another BaBoone yes man. Because that's they way they do things here.
Blue Jays - practically their whole lineup full of Yankee killers. Gotta be just good coaching, good scouting, good managing. I don't think it's a coincidence or a statistical blip. Cashman will now say his usual bull shit mantra: "playoffs are a crap shoot". But we know different.
I agree. I was just listening to the Locked on Yankees podcast and they mentioned that it is not the fact that they rely so heavily on analytics, because other teams that are still alive also do that. It is that they don't blend the analytics with good old fashioned horse sense. I would love to see a front office with both an analytics department and a baseball guy department that went back and forth with each other and each had a say, and then a smart enough GM to know how to ingest all that information and make an informed decision. I would also like to see a manager who blends that together as well and can feel the game rather than rely on a script provided by the front office. I would also like to go back in time and get a pony for my 8th birthday, but enough wishful thinking for the day.
Anthony Volpe:
1-15, 11 K's (ty ranger)
We have plenty of time to hypothesize about next year, but the team cannot simply anoint Volpe again as SS without some REAL competition at the very least.
You guys are killin' it. Just wish I could've joined in with the immediate post mortem, but these kids won't teach themselves, damn them. Or, they probably would, and better than I could, but we can't let them know that...
...Anyway, Publius and Bitty on fire in the last email, too. Spot on about the travesty of Volpe remaining the unchallenged shortstop. Spot on about the abandonment of The Martian—the implicit excuse for letting Soto walk. And yes—VERY good that Judge finally had a great postseason, because that rips the cover off that particular Cashman excuse...
...HAL, I think we have figured out. The guy was raised by a sociopath from a long line of sociopaths, which probably accounts for his lack of interest in winning a championship. Okay, we get it—and how grateful is everyone here that that wasn't OUR childhoods?...
...Brian Cashman, though, is a despicable, arrogant little thug. Brought up in a different time and place, he would be knifing drunks along the waterfront. As Talleyrand said about the Bourbons, he learns nothing and forgets nothing. He still is not over Derek Jeter saving him from what would have been a colossal mistake—even for him—in letting Jeets walk in favor of Troy Tulowitski.
I've written this before, but I'll reiterate it now: the older I get, the more and more impressed I am by the stuff most people do. Hey, you think digging ditches is easy? I'm sure I'd put my back out in an hour.
But I am convinced—still—that EVERYONE on this site could run the New York Yankees better than Brian Cashman can.
Oh, one more thing: Cam Schlittler pitched incredibly well last night, without his best stuff, and against a team that has hit him hard. He ADJUSTED. Chances are, the Yankees' infamous "gas station" will make sure that some terrible thing happens to his arm. But right now, he is mentally more of an old pro than anyone on that staff.
Also, I have rarely seen more buffoonish play in a big game than that which Jazz Chisholm perpetrated upon him. His staring at his glove at the end was the worst of it. It is a pity that he will be back next season.
I like what Copelius said, and I actually like what every last one of you said. And what we have all been saying in the whole year. Half of the team could not hit, historically or recently. I hate to say this, but even Ray Charles could see that. We had guys on the bench who actually could hit and yet we did not play them. Why is this so? Probably Brian’s ego, but it doesn’t really matter anymore. They played the same fucking record every year. It’s got a bunch of scratches in it and it skips and I’m getting tired of hearing that same fucking record. And it goes back to Brian. And who is the one who lets Brian do his thing? Hal. End of story. Same every year. Hal doesn’t give a shit. Brian doesn’t know shit. Boone is just a shit puppet. I intend to hang out on this blog and I intend to keep tuning in, God willing until I die, because one day things will change, but it will be in spite of Brian and not because of him
I think we all deserve a chance to go back in time and get a pony for our eight birthday.
Hal doesn't give a shit. That's a given. Cashman is an office politician who feeds Hal his sleeping pills. Not a GM. He's a rich tourist in the baseball bazzar. He may as well be wearing an "I am a sucker" t-shirt when goes to market.
Boone is a sock puppet, fronting for an AI program masquerading as an analytics department. Nobody in the entire system teaches baseball fundamentals, because they are all sucking up to Cashman instead. Not sure anyone even understands the concept, except the odd, middling ball player traded from another organization, that Cashman will dump if they ask for a raise. Probably in exchange for an overpriced, broken ballplayer, because nobody in the Yankee front office can read a medical report.
The big brains - Cashman, Boone, Levine & Trost - have more job security than tenured college faculty. But without the performance reviews. Cashman and Boone will dole out the bogus excuses and promises. Levine and Trost will do nothing (as usual), except to crash free agent interviews and say alienating, obnoxious stuff.
All of them will get raises. Nothing will change. The Lucy and the football scam will return in the spring and it will end - as always - in post-season defeat.
"The shared hatred is somehow soothing"
warms the cockles of my heart, it does.
they were shut down in a bullpen game! another case of pumping up the stats against Baltimore and shutting down when it counts.
Consider this, Yankees' defensive weak spots:
Shortstop, Anthony Volpe.
Second base, Jazz Chisholm
First base, Ben Rice
Centerfield, Trent Grisham/Clay Bellinger (Grisham and to a lesser extent Bellinger are too slow)
THIS TEAM, YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT ALLOWS TOO MANY RUNS TO BLEED THROUGH AROUND THE EDGES. Besides the obvious runs lost errors and mis-plays are demoralizing, taxes the pitchers, and forces extra pressure on the hitters.
Jason Dominguez isn't a MLB outfielder, yet, at least. Actually, after watching him play a ball off the wall in Houston a few weeks back, getting too close then watching the ball bounce back through his legs (or was it very close to him?), and then chasing the ball back towards the infield makes believe that he will NEVER be a passable outfielder.
And is it just me, or does the team have way too many men who are more concerned with their "swag" than their jobs? One more comment from an announcer about a fucking "bat flip" just might make me show up and show them a real bat flip. Maybe I'm just too old to appreciate the finer points in Today's Sports?
The Brain, er Brian Cashman, seemingly underestimates the importance of defense, especially up the middle defense. He needs to get creative and swap out his talented but flawed players who I mentioned (but sign Bellinger, if possible) for players who can excel in the up the middle positions. A budding hitter like Rice who is cheap as well should be kept. And hopefully he can rebuild the bullpen.
We should stop and consider that Rodon and Freid were gassed. I have no doubt that because of that miserable bullpen they pushed to stay in games knowing that they had too.
I've saved the Top Dogs for last. First I can't really find fault with Hal as an owner. Yes, he's been too nice regarding The Brain. But he basically grew up with the man, IMO he just can't give him the Fredo kiss-off. It makes no difference to me how he became wealthy, what I care about is that he hasn't been a Pohland type of owner. And it was a damned good thing that he didn't overspend for Soto. So I'll save my displeasure for The Brain. Now there is a man who has let his ego totally consume him. He was once accused of not being "analytical enough" so his bruised ego led him to over-compensate. I think that he did a really good job of going to Plan B (not to be confused with Plan Nine, he's already tried THAT a number of times. He can learn. But as I noted above, he hasn't show the ability to fully appreciate defense and baseball IQ. Going back to a point made above, he MUST get rid of the guys who are only athletes but not BASEBALL PLAYERS. The Martian, Jazz, (maybe keep Volpe as a utility infielder, but if value could be collected in a trade.... gone! Let Grisham go. Try and sign Bellinger without breaking the bank. They must acquire a top-tiered center fielder and shortstop either by paying market price (I don't think that FA offers either), or by shrewdly package players to acquire the talent. Can The Brain pull it off though...
Finally, Deputy Dawg Boone. He can't, just can't be as fucking dumb and keep his job if he wasn't "just following orders". He said as much at an early presser when asked if he expected to be back. His reply was telling, "I'm under contract..." Hey, for the money he's being paid most of us would wear a clown outfit after every game to keep to keep up the facade. But for my sanity, I won't read or listen to anything that he says. "I haven't the time for the pain". Yeah.
Anyway, sorry for the lengthy ramble. I kinda typed stuff out bit by bit over the past few days, and it shows. As always, I really appreciate the creators and participants on this blog. I appreciate the baseball insight and the vitriol, it both enlightens me and makes be know that I'm not the only one... HA! Till the next rant, stay healthy, wealthy, wise, and spicey!
K
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