OH MY GOD, AM I STILL A YANKEES FAN ? – I MUST BE IN H E L L ! H E L L L ! ! ! H E L L L L L L L ! ! ! !

 

Ten thoughts on the upcoming Yankee debacle

As we near spring training, a lightning round on the current state of the Yankees...

1. As always, everything - everything!- will hinge on Aaron Judge. When he hits, the offense comes alive. When he slumps or - God forbid - gets injured, we are dead. 

2. He's been healthy now for the last two years. Are we feeling lucky?

3. No player is more likely to feel the effects of being one year older more than Giancarlo Stanton. He is 36. He will surely miss playing time with injuries. The concern is that he'll produce less, when playing. (In last year's postseason, he went 5-for-26 - .192.)

4. Once upon a time, it was believed that Stanton would eventually finish his career at 1B. Not gonna happen. In fact, he will probably never play another inning in the outfield. 

5. The team still needs a RH-hitting 1B/OF, a bullpen lug nut, and a RH-hitting catcher.

6. Apparently, the Yankees will seek to fill those needs by dumpster diving. There is always a Franchy Cordero out there. 

7. Slowly but steadily, the Yankees have reverted to doing what Brian Cashman, in his early days as GM, vowed to never do: Trade the farm system to stay competitive. That's what led to the drought of the 1980s and early 1990s. He must be feeling the pressure. It's going on 17 years.

8. For the first time in this decade, the AL East looks stacked.  

9. The Yankees will heap a ton of pressure on Gerrit Cole to return before the all-star break and, at age 35, reinvent himself as a pitcher. 

10. The Yankees will enter 2026 as NY's "other" team. It's not clear how that will affect the franchise. But it will definitely have an impact.

The Yankees owe their fans an accounting of what happened in their international scouting program

Something just seems... well... pungent.

In December, the Yankees suddenly fired their longtime international scouting director, a guy named Danny Rowland, and his top assistant. These are the guys who signed 16-year-old Latino prospects such as Jasson Dominguez, Roderick Arias, Brando Mayea, Hans Montero and half the male population of Venezuela. Depending on how you view the Martian - (nobody bothers to ponder the others) - you could argue that the firings were long overdue and should have included goose down and hot tar. 

Over the years, the Yankees have spent a shit-wad on 8th grade, walking fountains of testosterone, and if you watched Dominguez last year defile LF, you'd wonder why? But lately, fallout from the dismissals is raising questions about WTF is going on?

In December, shortly after Rowland was canned, a top-rated SS named Wandy Asigen - #4 on scouting lists - jumped from his $3.9 million deal with the Yankees to sign with the Mets. The stated reason: Rowland's firing. A few weeks later, another highly ranked SS, Yeison Horton, leaped to the Angels. And now we hear that yet another top SS - Marion de la Rosa - is scuttling his $4.3 million deal - for the class of 2027 - to sign with Seattle. 

It's hard to figure these moves from the comfort of a snowdrift in upstate New York. But either way, as Ricky would say to Lucy, the Yankees have some 'splaining to do. Whatever is happening in their international scouting program, it's starting to give off an aroma. (And why hasn't Rowland been interviewed by the Gammonites? Could there be a looming court case or two?)

Is this how Hal Steinbrenner plans to build his bullpen? By cutting bonuses for the farm system? Are the Yankees systematically inept, or is it something worse?

From a distance, MLB's international scouting system, where teams and scouts traffic in 16-year-old boys - (actually, it starts at earlier ages) - has always looked a cabana boy version of Epstein Island. In this age, no industry should be allowed to peddle the futures of boys barely halfway through adolescence. It just smells. If Hal tomorrow announced that the Yankees would never sign another 16-year old, at least he'd show a spine of morality. But he won't, because the Yankees are still out there, measuring the pool boys and signing them up.

But something happened in the Yankees' international scouting program. 

The Yankees owe it to their fans to talk about it. And let's go, you professional Gammonites, if there are any of you left. Give us some answers! Do I have to call Danny Rowland myself? 

Yankee News and Notes

Despite everyone's complaints about the Yankees lack of activity it's actually been a busy couple of weeks...  

NOTE: All of these are real

Kaleb Ort Acquired and Released

At first I thought the Yankees were deluded and let Kaleb Ort cloud their thinking that their pitching was going to be fine but apparently that thought has dissipated.

In his place they signed Dodger discard Michael Siani an outfielder known for his defense and speed. 

So... can't hit? Got it. 

I guess the Dodgers signing the most sought after outfielder for tons of money even though they already won the last two World Series in a row made him disposable.  

Yankees Miss Out On The Venezuelan Juan Soto  

The Yankees fired their long time director of international scouting Donny Rowland, possibly because he sucked. 

Actually he wasn't fired per-se. His contract expired and wasn't renewed. He'd been in that position for fifteen years. Signed a lot of can't miss guys who somehow, missed. 

Or who knows... maybe because a person who doles out millions to impoverished teenagers might have other issues. I'm not saying that's true BTW. I'm just saying that's what occured to me.  

It could just be that he was bad at his job because, you know... he was.  

As a result, the team's agreement with their number one international signing, Mairon De La Rosa, fell apart and he went to the Mets no less. 

There were a bunch of others who cancelled their commitments as well. Because they have no one in charge, the Yankees missed out on a kid billed as the next Juan Soto. 

Thirteen year old Dylan Perez reached agreement with the Seattle Mariners to receive a 3.7 million dollar bonus in 2030 when he turns 16 and is eligible for the international draft. 

THIRTEEN YEARS OLD! 

When I was thirteen the only balls I was worried about dropping were my own. I was mostly interested in watching the Golddiggers (wink) and cadging  unaccompanied drinks off the adult's tables at bar-mitzvahs. 

3.7 million dollars!  On a thirteen year old. Seems risky. Wouldn't it make more sense to just give fifty bucks to every six year old kid in Venezuela who is dominating tee-ball?  One of them is bound to develop. 

The Yankees signed right-hander Adam Kloffenstein 

To be fair, I know this doesn't really matter. I  just liked his name. A deeper dive revealed in his most recent appearances  "Kloffenstein was tagged for 20 homers over 82 innings with Triple-A Buffalo while posting a 6.26 ERA and 11.7% walk rate"

I don't get it. Maybe Cashman liked his name too. 

Dear Hal, I realize that it's warm in Tampa, but your shivering fan base is starting to channel THE SUN ALSO RISES...

Dear Madam or Sir, (no judgements, either way.)

First, I realize that it's winter, and that snow is falling in places like Alabama and Mississippi, which otherwise do not have weather. It's goddam cold outside, and they say Tampa temps this week could plummet into the 50s. Stock up on soup!

But today, I'd like to ponder the Yankee pitching rotation, which is...

Max Fried
Cal Schlittler
Will Warren
Luis Gil
Ryan Weathers

One observation...

This will not win the AL East. Nope. Won't come close. Soon, spring training injuries will start piling up, like chain reaction accidents on the New York State Thruway. They always do. Soon, we'll be down to Ryan Yarbrough and the Rule 5 guy, Cade Winquest. Think about that. We'll be touting a Rule 5 pick in the rotation. In my memory, we have never done that before. And we're basically one or two tweaks away. 

I know what you're thinking: All we gotta do is kill time until June, when Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon return. Then we'll make our move. 

Well, as Jake says to Lady Brett, in Papa Hemmingway's finale: 

"Isn't it pretty to think so." 

The Yankees need at least one more starter - one more workhorse who can eat 100 innings and keep the team relevant through late May.  

Two pitchers meet that criteria. Both are in the final throes of Hall of Fame careers. I'm referring to Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. They are awaiting your call. 

They would 1) Elevate the Yankees over the Mets in the public eye. 2) Give the team a jolt of life. 3) Keep us in the race. 4) Accept incentive-laden contracts. 5) Sell tickets. 

Sir, the Yankees need one, maybe two, veteran arms for the early part of the season. You can wait until somebody's elbow barks in spring training, and then bid on them in desperation. Or you can call them now. Your choice. 

But the Yankee rotation will not hold. If the guys in the office say otherwise, they are bullshitting you. 

Stay warm.

Yanks must hold on until Rodon, Cole and Schmidt return. Why not go in style?

 Here are two free agents who could rally the team through April-May, and who I gotta believe would kill for a chance to pitch for the Yankees in October. 

All it takes is for Hal to want it... 

What would his dad do? (Of course, I'm kidding myself. Right?)

Three weeks until the Yankee chickens come home to roost

Won't be long... 

In about three weeks - a few catastrophic storms, celebrity breakups and ICE atrocities - pitchers and catchers will report to civilization, and the Big Yankee Wheel will begin to grind, anew. 

It would be wonderous to think that, over those three weeks, the Yankees would spend some leftover grist to improve - rather than recreate - last year's first-runner-up contestant. Why kid ourselves?  

The Yankees will decamp to Tampa with the same basic lineup that finished second last year and was blown out by Toronto every time they faced off. This team is weaker, due to the shredded bullpen. Instead of Luke Weaver and Devin Williams, the Yankees will trot out Caleb Ort and a Rule 5 pick named Cade Winquest. (You can't make this up.) Moreover, once they lose a pitcher or two in spring training - (Fun Fact: they always do) - the A.I. system that runs them will start shouting "DANGER WILL ROBINSON!   

The remaining question is not whether Cooperstown Cashman will remake this team, but what he'll do to it by chasing his "great white whale," the starting pitcher who could carry this team into October. Maybe he'll trade The Martian. Maybe Spencer Jones, or one of our four prospects recently named on Baseball America's Top 100: 

George Lombard Jr., (#46) shortstop who will make us forget Anthony Volpe.

Elmer Rodriguez (#59) fireballer who will make us forget Carlos Narvaez (Redsock catcher we traded for him.)

Dax Kilby (#61) last year's 1st round pick, who hit well at Single A, who will make us forget George Lombard Jr.

Carlos Lagrange (#93), who hits 100 mph on the jugs gun, and who will make us forget - um - can't remember.

The list of Cashman's pitching failures spans the eras of Kevin Brown and Javier Vasquez all the way to Sonny Gray and Nathan Eovaldi, with a few Michael Pinedas and Ian Kennedys to thicken the broth. It's an impressive list of failures, a chronicle of our misfortunes. 

He's got three weeks to trade young for old. The Yankee way. We've got three weeks to live in fear. Get low and stay away from windows. Won't be long. 

Bellinger is re-signed, and Yank fans are resigned.

     Last year                     This year 

cf Trent Grisham        cf Trent Grisham
rf Aaron Judge            rf Aaron Judge
lf Cody Bellinger        lf Cody Bellinger
dh Giancarlo Stanton  dh Giancarlo Stanton
1b Ben Rice                 1b Ben Rice
2b Jazz Chisholm        2b Jazz Chisholm
c Austin Wells               c Austin Wells
3b Oswaldo Cabrera   3b Ryan McMahon
ss Anthony Volpe        ss Jose Caballero 

Notes:

1. Stanton will play about 80 games.

2. If he hits a lick, Cabrera could displace McMahon.

3. In mid-May, Volpe will replace Caballero.

4. The Martian will be traded for bullpen help. 

5. The Yankees are done buying free agents.

6. Greenland is ours!

Tip yer cap

 

Maybe Tomorrow the Yanks Will Get Their SECOND 2026 Tabloid Cover!

 

He'll be 35 when the contract ends.  Stanton will be four years a memory.

No, Greenlandia: Aaron Boone is NOT a "generational talent." Pt. Done

 

Golly Gosh Darn It !

We should have hugged this man whilst we all had the chance.

Sure looks as though this could be Seedy's grumpiest season ever.

Batten down the Bubbles !

But wait . . . 

To be honest, I'd sorta be sore too if no one went shopping for my bench this off season.

Watch for Skip to add aspirin to his buffet of in-game munchies in 2026.

He's gunna toss 'em back and grind them down like Jack Torrance did in that Stephen King book  (whatever the heck it wuz called)

That's the only way he'll keep those migraines at bay.

Have a Wonderful Wednesday and thanks Hoss and JM for . . . 

My Inspiration .

My Inspiration . .

My Inspiration . . .

It is High

It is Far

It is . . .

BALLOON !

Whatever Soto is, I'd rather have a two-tone DeSoto with a push-button transmission

A thorough and well-presented defense of Soto, Hoss. One point of clarification: Are the numbers for Ohtani through his age 27 year? That's what I was considering, although his two years since have been noticeably better than those earlier seasons. In fact, further musing has led me to think that maybe thinking "generational" by age 27 is not that great an idea, either for or against. It can change, as it did with Judge and seems to be with Ohtani. So my main argument is, perhaps, moot. These things happen.

edge.

That said, I do not think Soto's defense is very good. The number of putouts and thrown outs are great. Unfortunately, neither Baseball Reference nor any other source doesn't keep stats on misplayed balls and tough plays made or not made. An outfielder seems to have to work to get an error called on him--perhaps I'm wrong, but that's how it seems to me. So watching one play day in and day out trumps the stats, in my humble opinion.

And while Ohtani doesn't play the field, Soto doesn't pitch. Ohtani's "generational" tag really rests largely on the fact that he is very good at the plate and on the mound, both. Pitching is like quarterbacking. It usually determines the course of the game. Playing a corner outfield slot, not so much. So I give the pitching a lot more weight than fielding, even if it's good.

Ohtani doesn't pitch deep into games, true. Nobody pitches deep into games. So I don't see that as a mark against him. Part of his g-g-g-generation.

We can quibble over Ichiro. I see your point there. And I will say that maybe, like Judge, Soto becomes a generational player as time goes on. At the moment, I don't think so. In a few years, it may be obvious, even to me.

For the Yankees, it's all about "affordability."

Alright, everybody, it's time to cut the carping.

It doesn't grow on trees.

Soon, maybe today, Cody Bellinger is going to choose his future team, and - Breaking News: It might not be the Yankees. If so, we must accept the reality that Amed Rosario and Paul DeJong - (not exactly Sabathia and Giambi) - are this winter's big Yankee free agents, and if you don't like it, "Tough-titty" said the kitty with the milk so warm.

Yeah, it woulda been nice to sign a few Kardashians. Michael King seemed like a perfect fit, Alex Bregman would have been a poke in the eye to Boston, and - yeah - we all figured Trent Grisham would leave, and we wouldn't be harpooned to his $22 million qualifying offer. We figured Cody was a generational shoe-in - good grief, his dad's greatest moments came with the Yankees. Worst case scenario: The great fruits of our farm - Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones - would save the team. It would be a great winter, and the Yankees would do whatever it took. Back in the day, they always did. 

Welp, we've been waiting 10 weeks, while Bellinger luxuriates, and all the major free agents are off the board, except for Framber Valdez, who we watched deliberately cross-up his catcher with a fastball to the chest last year, and who in Creation wants that asshole in a clubhouse? He's all yours, Boston. (Unless, of course, the Yankees smell a bargain? Once upon a time, they did with a publicly challenged Aroldis Chapman. How did that turn out?)

So, we wait. Yeah, we'd like the Yankees to be the Yankees. But they're not. That ship sailed. This winter, our byword is "affordability." The Steinbrenners cannot just spend like idiots. Obviously, they don't have the money. 

It's sad, seeing a great family face financial distress. Hopefully, we fans will support them with extra ticket sales and YES subscriptions. Have you purchased your Schlittler jersey? We need to get this family back on its feet. Can we subscribe to their YouTube channel? Wait... does Hal have a podcast? 

Write this down: Hal needs a podcast. He can sell ads to Simply Safe and that drug that combats bulging eyes. Nobody wants bulging eyes. They're scary. We need Hal back in the ring, tipping cabbies an extra two dollars, and taking the family to Applebees now and then. Less than a month a month to pitchers and catchers, people. We're on a shoestring, people. Send what you can!

Yes, Virginia: Juan Soto IS a "generational talent." Pt. II

 

Now, as to the main charge before us from Counselor JM: that Juan Soto is NOT a generational talent.

 

JM tells us the names—and shows us the stats—of several players whohe considers to be generational talents. They are as follows:

 

Mickey Mantle

Willie Mays

Mariano Rivera

Shohei Ohtani

Mike Trout (before he was injured)

Ichiro Suzuki

 

First, we can dismiss Ichiro. I loved to see the guy play, too. He truly was unique, in the modern game. A terrific fielder, a great base stealer—and someone whose very best years, from ages 21-27, we may not even have seen, as he was still in Japan. 

 

Great, great player. But not only did he not hit home runs…he didn’t walk very much. At the plate, he was essentially Mickey Rivers. And we forget how good a hitter Mick the Quick really was. But still.

As for the others…I agree about Mike Trout. A shame what happened to him.

 

As for The Mick, Willie, and The Great One…they are not simply “generational talents.” They are among the greatest ballplayers who have ever roamed the earth, and I prostrate myself before them. 

 

(Something I actually did at Cooperstown, much to the embarrassment of my wife. Though I did notice they had prayer mats next to their plaques. Just sayin’.)

 

Which leaves…Shohei Ohtani. 

I agree that he is a generational talent, too—with one, obvious advantage over Juan Soto…but not so great an advantage as you may think.

 

Let's start with the plate, where the two men are...practically identical. Both have been in the majors for eight years. Both have batted .282 lifetime, both have an OPS+ (on-base-plus-slugging, adjusted for ballparks) of 160.

Ohtani leads in lifetime triples (45-16), homers (280-244), stolen bases (165-95, and 79-78 percent), total bases (2,172-2,049), intentional walks (88-80), fewest grounded into double-plays (49-101), hit-by-pitch (25-19), slugging (.582-.531) and on-base-percentage-plus-slugging (.957-.948).

Soto leads in runs (775-708), hits (1,086-1,050), doubles (199-192), RBI (697-669), walks (896-541), fewer strikeouts (883-1,104), on-base percentage (.417-.374), rOBA [I have no good idea] (.409-.404), Rbat+ [another mysterious hitting stat] (162-159), and sacrifice flies, 26-20.

Some of these differences are explainable by what they’ve been asked to do. Batting first more often, Ohtani drives in fewer runs—but also hits into fewer double-plays. Soto has been asked to steal a lot less often. 

 

Soto has many more plate appearance, 4,803-4,329, which accounts for some of his statistical edge in some categories. But that is because Ohtani has missed many more games with injuries in his major-league career—not exactly a selling point for him. 

 

When it comes to the postseason, both are very good:

Soto: 43 G, 191 PA, 11 HR, 30 RBI, .281/.389/.538/.927.

Ohtani: 33 G, 160 PA, 11 HR, 24 RBI, .248/.390/.550/.940.

 

Ohtani’s teams have won all seven postseason series he has been in; Soto’s have won eight of ten. That’s right: combined, their teams are a remarkable, 15-2 in postseason series. 

So let’s get to the one, outstanding difference between them.  

 

Yes, Ohtani (occasionally) pitches. He is a lifetime, 39-20, with a 3.00 ERA, and 1 shutout.  He almost never goes beyond six innings. (And is 2-1 in October, with a 4.43 ERA.)

 

Soto’s defense, by contrast, is “pretty bad,” as JM tells us—

 

Wait a minute. Squeal the brakes. Full stop. “Pretty bad”?

 

Soto is certainly an erratic fielder, who makes foolish errors. But “pretty bad”?

 

Playing left or right, Soto led his outfield position in putouts for 5 straight seasons, if you exclude the weird, 2020 plague year. For left fielders, he led the NL in putouts in 2019 and 2023; in right field, he led the NL in 2021 and 2022. 

AND…Soto led all AL right fielders not only in putouts but also in assists, with 9, while playing for your New York Yankees in 2024.

 

As for Ohtani…well, apart from when he is pitching, he still has yet to record a chance in a major-league game. Aside from the 12-13 games he pitches every year, on average, he is a DH. So there’s that.

Meanwhile, 2025 was a relatively quiet year for Juan Soto, as he had a slump and the Mets collapsed in the end. He only hit .263. 

 

But he also scored 120 runs, belted 43 homers, drove in 105 runs, and led the NL with 38 stolen bases (in just 42 attempts), 127 walks, and a .396 on-base percentage. All while winning his third straight, and sixth overall, Silver Slugger.

By the end of his career, Soto is likely to have over 500 (and possibly over 600) homers, 200-300 stolen bases, and be in the all-time top ten in walks and maybe runs scored.

 

So yeah: generational talent. The defense rests.

Yes, Virginia: Juan Soto IS a "generational talent." Pt. I

 

First off: what fun! Glad we can generate it ourselves, instead of depending upon the miserly jerks who run our favorite ballteam.

 

All right, so the question before us:  Is Juan Soto a generational talent?

 

The defense rises to make our case.

 

To begin with, yes, it is a vague term. And to dispense with the charge by Doug K., co-counsel for the prosecution, that Soto is indeed all too typical of his generation, I say this is an irrelevant and scurrilous charge.

 

Yes, Soto went for the highest offer on the table. And why not? He didn’t owe us nuthin’. Let's face it: with their usual determination to finish "second" in free-agent hunts, it is not even clear that the Yankees would have LET him re-up.

 

Didn’t we just get through bemoaning that, if he wanted to win a World Series, Aaron Judge should not have re-signed with the Yankees? He will always have a special place in our heart for having done so—but the fact is, the Yanks underbid for him, too.  

Forget the luxury box, and the however many millions extra. Steve Cohen proclaimed that he wanted to build a World Series winner. Hal Steinbrenner proclaimed that he didn’t like paying taxes.

 

Who would you rather play for?

 

Steve’s motives have become rather murky of late. But signing Bo Bichette this off-season is signing one more star than your New York Yankees have. 

 

Ballplayers tend to look at money as respect, which is a bad habit to adopt. But they’re not wrong, when it comes to their sport. The Mets respected Soto. The Yankees scrambled around and did all they could to find a reason NOT to sign him, while insisting that they wanted to…the same as they always do.

 

I move to dismiss this charge as a silly one…With all due respect to Counselor Doug.

So... just wondering... did the Yankees ever solve those infield issues?

As we wait happily on Cody Bellinger, I got to wondering about that blinking Strobe Siren Panic Alarm Button on the left side of our infield. Damn, it's been blinking for about a year now. Must be broken, right? No sweat. The Yankees should unplug the modem, wait 30 seconds, then plug everything back in. That'll fix it. Right? 

In case you forgot - or somehow erased the memory - for the first four months of 2025, the Yankee 3B position was classified as a TOXIC WASTE ZONE. On July 31, we traded for Ryan McMahon, who made the position - well - still a TOXIC WASTE ZONE.

McMahon fields 3B quite well. Let's give him that. But offensively, he ranks 14th out of 24 at his position. 

More concerning: McMahon fanned 189 times last year - 7th highest in all of MLB. Most of those above him - Schwarber, Suarez, Devers, Arozarena - posed enough productivity to justify the strikeouts. McMahon didn't.  

Then there is SS. Rest easy: I won't supply a chart. That's because Anthony Volpe ranks so low at his position - 21st of the top 24 - that the names won't fit on one page. 

There is talk of Jose Caballero and Oswaldo Cabrera saving the day. It would be nice. Both seem destined to be utility players, or fill-ins until - gulp - Volpe returns, sometime in May. Apparently, the Yankees will go with Volpe for another season, or until George Lombard Jr. is ready. If he's ever ready. 

Look, it's probably just a faulty connection, like when the RED engine light goes on in your Dodge Dart. Don't worry. Things will fix themselves. Oh, and then there is that blinking light on pitching... Not to worry. Must be a mistake.

RIP Wilbur Wood, one of the great knucklers

 Pitched for years without his arm falling off or needing Tommy John. There's a lesson here somewhere, but nobody will heed it.

"Generational talent"

In one of his comments yesterday, Hoss mentioned that Soto is a generational talent. That seems to be the general opinion of the baseball world.

Except he isn't.

If Soto was a generational talent, the media would be breathlessly following his exploits, because they would be worth following breathlessly. But the media attention falls mainly on Ohtani, and I have to admit, as a very good power hitter and very good pitcher, he probably deserves it.

Obviously, media attention doesn't make a generational talent. Although I think it's safe to say Ohtani is a generational talent, for whatever nits we can pick about him.

To me, a generational talent is screamingly apparent by the age of 27, which is Soto's age. Here's what he's done so far.

He had a couple of incredible years back with Washington. Good power hitter. And we know his defense is pretty bad. Generational talent?

This, to me, is a generational talent.

Mantle. A generational talent, hands down. Unarguable. Which is generally true of a generational talent.

Say hey. Yeah, pretty well proved by age 27. Here's a tougher one.

Maybe not as easy a call as Mantle, but I'd say Mike Trout was a generational talent. And then the injuries started piling up, like they did with Mattingly. 

A couple of other no-brainer generational talents were Ichiro and Mariano. Ichiro was a singles hitter mostly, but I don't care. That guy could hit. And Mariano...words fail me. Just unmatched.

After this long trip around the barn, I'd like to make one simple statement: Soto is not a generational talent. He's got a flair for the dramatic sometimes, he certainly has power, but after that, what? He's good, no doubt about that, expecially if you can keep him from playing defense. But generational talent? I don't think so. Can we put that phrase to bed where he's concerned?

It just isn't so. Maybe he's a late bloomer. We'll see how the phrase fits in a few years. But I don't think it will change.

One old, expat, addle-brained man's opinion. 

P.S. In a just universe, the Bears win that game, even with all the mistakes. But so it goes.

Remember "the Evil Empire?" What a joke.

Lately, when I rise at 3 a.m. to pee, I experience one thought:

Will this be the day the Yankees crash? 

Face it: They are no longer the Yankees, the Evil Empire, the bombastic franchise that spent the most and signed the biggest stars, (even if it didn't always work.) Nope. They have become the Steinbrenner family's cash cow, and if legacy gets in the way of Hal's new boat house, well, that's capitalism, Suzyn. 

Face it: We follow a team that once symbolized American power and pride, if not greed and gluttony. Baseball, like every form of entertainment, always needed a villain, and the Yankees were that team. People loved them or loathed them. As Yankee fans, we relished both sides.  

These days, it's rare to find anyone who attacks the Yankees; they're too busy chuckling. Some tribal elder might still break a sweat, sort of as muscle memory, but the ranks are thinning. You see it in daily obits, which describe their subject as "a lifelong Yankee fan," part of his or her humanity. They're gone, and nobody is replacing them. 

At 3 a.m., I make peace with my own obit in just that manner. 

Face it: This is the year when the Yankees will become NYC's other team. No cavalry, no free agent, no acquisition, will save us. The Mets have the money, and they're willing to spend it. The Yankees have the money, but no desire to see it go.

The last great Yankee era - the 90s under Joe Torre - was financed in part by the YES Channel, which gave us an advantage over the rest of baseball. That time came and went. The Yankees' organizational goals slowly switched from winning to contending.  

So, while I stand there at 3 a.m., I wonder if today will be the day Cody Bellinger bids farewell? Frankly, I come to hope so. I'd be happy to see Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones, for better or worse. And when the pitching injuries come - they always do - I hope the Yankees face an angry fan base. 

But they won't. Because the fan base is starting not to care. The Yankees simply haven't been the Yankees for a long, long time. And today might be the day... 

Cody Bellinger is a pretty good player. Should he be one of the highest paid in history?

They say the deeper that physicists delve into quantum particle theory, the less sense anything makes. 

So it goes with baseball. 

According to Cot's Baseball contracts, here are the 15 richest players in history.

According to the Internet, the Yankees have offered Cody Bellinger a five-year, $150 million deal, which his agent - Scott Boras - won't even use to wipe his perfumed butt with. 

Unless some other team beats the offer, Bellinger will slot in somewhere around 77th on the all-time Decadent Wealth list. (See below.)

For most of my life, in contract disputes, I always favored players over owners. It's a low ethical bar. Players battle on every pitch, every play from scrimmage, every face-off. No owner ever got carted off with a broken jaw or revived at midfield with a defibrillator, while teammates prayed.

But lately, it's getting hard to make sense of the money in sports. The idea of millionaire quarterbacks pretending to attend college classes, bestriding campuses like Olympian gods... something's gone really wrong. And the money long ago became obscene. 

Soon, Bellinger will land in the all-time rich list. He'll rightfully fall below Hall of Famers like Miguel Cabrera ($152 million) and Derek Jeter ($189 million), but beat Mike Trout ($144 million) and Max Scherzer ($130 million.) And he'll be far behind Wander Franco ($182 million, though I suspect those payments are in limbo.)

Let's disregard quantum physics. It makes no sense, probably never will. 

As John would say, "That's baseball, Suzyn." 

Next year, around now, baseball will be approaching a huge labor lockout. There will probably be no spring training, no opening day - and maybe, no season. 

Right now, it's like a civilization-killing asteroid, visible in the night sky, which we're being told to ignore. 

Sorry. I can't. Don't mean to hang this on Bellinger. It's not his fault. But as the billionaires become trillionaires - (see Musk, Elon) - they are destroying sports in America, (which, by the way, is also to destroy America.)

Mickey Mantle is the center of attraction before undergoing a tonsillectomy at Lenox Hill Hospital on January 17, 1956. The nurses, from left to right, are: Eleanor Hoffman, Catherine Craig, Maureen Kade, Kim Crocker, Ann Koch, and Anita Edwards.

[image or embed]

— Dr Pop Culture USA (@drpopcultureusa.bsky.social) January 17, 2026 at 5:44 PM

C Ø N fidence

With no end in sight, the bleakest winter continues.

Grab the bullhorn. Climb onto the car. Say their names...

Ryan Weathers! 

Amed Rosario! 

Ryan Yarbrough! 

Paul Blackburn! 

Can ya feel it? That's felony grade, uncut, Yankee sarcasm. In six weeks, that's what we'll be spewing along One Steinbrenner Drive in Tampa - our de facto Canyon of Heroes. It's gonna be a long winter, maybe the last regular, regular season in our lifetimes. 

Next October, after the Dodgers win the World Series, Trump can accept the Commissioner's Trophy, to stand beside his Oscar, his Grammy and his Heisman Trophy, all joyfully donated by previous owners, facing DOJ probes. 

It looks rather dense, the long term future? For now, here's where the short term stands.

Let's be honest. The Dodgers have wrapped up the 2026 NL West. Denver better beat the Bills this weekend, because the Colorado Rockies this season will be toast. LA just signed Kyle Tucker for an ungodly amount, not including luxury taxes that pay the Rockies and Diamondbacks to lose. 

We cannot condemn the Dodgers for buying pennants. Owners can only buy pennants because other owners sell them. Let's just lament that it's supposed to be the Yankees doing it. We cannot pretend to be a small market team. As Yank fans, everybody still hates us. What's worse is how they chuckle. I'm seriously fearing that this could be one of those Boston years, when they swoop in and win the division - our worst case scenario.   

Once and for all, the Mets own New York City. They signed Bo Bichette, despite having no position for him (I guess he'll play 3B, even though Brett Baty had finally started to hit. They'll trade him for pitching.) The move is a sucker-punch to Toronto, still spoiling over Trump's derisive talk about Canada being the 52nd state, after Greenland. 

Don't be surprised if, out of spite, Rogers Communications makes Cody Bellinger the offer he can't refuse.

Ah, Cody - an above-average outfielder coming off his best season since 2019 - is now demanding seven years of Aaron Judge money. 

Listen: Yank fans like Bellinger. Firm handshake. Flushes the toilet. But he's not Judge. He's not even Kyle Tucker. If he stays, we've got last year's also-ran team, reconstituted, maybe with our two best prospects leaving in trades, which - like all of Cashman's moves - inspire little hope.

In recent years, as a fan of the New York Football Giants, I've been so disgusted by the product on the field that I've actively rooted for my team to lose. After a certain point, you decide the only way to break out of the malaise is a complete meltdown, a collapse of nuclear proportions, a Cat-5.

This winter, I am starting to feel that vibe with the Yankees. 

The storm is coming. It's gonna bring pain. Let's just hope it washes us clean. 

Mets bestow $42 million a year on Bo Bichette

Sorry, man. THESE prices are insane.

 

It's time to invoke the Yankee Fans Insurrection Act

Yesterday, snow squalls near Syracuse offered us a rare photographic rendering of MLB's current free agent market. 

As seen on the right, the top tractor-trailer is Kyle Tucker, who announced he will become the newest Dodger because - of course - he wants a ring. The second truck is Cody Bellinger, surrounded by suitors - the Mets, Phillies, Jays and several mystery teams - all of whom will likely outbid the Yankees, who are off screen in a ditch.

Onto our fire of hopelessness, toss another log. 

This is the most depressing January since 2005, when Cooperstown Cashman was touting the chops of Richard "Bubba" Crosby in centerfield. While the AL East bulks up, via free agents and trades, the Yankees are struggling to maintain last year's aging, also-ran lineup - now a year older and spackled with injuries. 

Tucker's signing - and, by the way, hats off to the inscrutable Dodgers, who sat for three months like a cobra before striking - suddenly explains why Scott Boras has pursued an outlandish seven-year deal for Bellinger. The three wildest bidders - the Mets, Phillies and Jays - must now chase two remaining major free agents: Bellinger and Bo Bichette. It doesn't matter that Food Stamps Hal has lost his taste for spending. There is plenty of money out there. So, how 'bout that Bubba! 

I say it's time to invoke the Yankee Fan Insurrection Act, which means forgetting the holes at LF, SS, 3B, the rotation and bullpen, and starting to say aloud the most frightening word in the team dictionary: 

Rebuild.

Ouch. What a word. In many ways, it's time to think about 2028, or 2030, or some distant future time line, when a crazy, vulgar trillionaire has taken over the team. By then, if we're still cogent, our brains will be wired into the new singularity, running traffic lights and smart refrigerators.  

As a great yogi once said, It's getting late early. I hate to go Chicken Little on the upcoming season. But let's face it: The Dodgers will win the 2026 world championship, and the Yankees will be lucky to reach the second week of October. 

They're not the Yankees, anymore. The Dodgers are. It's time for an insurrection. It's time for fans to remind the Yankees of who they are. (Or were.)

60 fucking million a year. Judge should have got 100.

No, it is insane.

 

Your Moment of Bøøne . . . . at Noon (ish)

 THIS GUY IS GUNNA NEED A HUG - REALLY, REALLY SOON

Boo-Hoo Boone

Nicest Guy in

Da Room

He's like our own

Looney Tune

and

Ready to Groom

Players Fresh from

Da Womb

In a dark, dark winter, the Yankees are not inspiring hope

First, let's recognize that it's merely mid-January - four weeks to Super Sunday and six until pitchers and catchers - and we must not live and die on relentless trade rumors that herald the Yankees' growing insignificance. 

In this desolate outpost, in the names of Babe & Mickey, of Thurm & Yogi, and of John & Suzyn, we remember what was once the world's greatest sports dynasty - hands down. 

Now, though, halfway through the gloomiest winter in memory, the Yankees look like just another baseball team.

Somewhere within this burgeoning matrix of disappointment, there must be a plan - a strategy, a set of moves that will eventually make sense, like in the final acts of those Knives Out movies, where everything gets explained. 

Somewhere in here, the Yankees must have a plan to lead us from this darkness.

It sure hasn't happened yet. While Boston adds pitchers, and the Mets shovel money on Kyle Tucker, the Yankees are struggling to reconstitute - gulp - last year's team.

Yesterday, they celebrated a farm-system-draining deal for a pitcher who hasn't thrown 100 innings in the last two years, while they continued to romance Cody Bellinger, a free agent outfielder who, frankly, hasn't strung together two solid seasons since 2019.

Somewhere, there must be a plan, right? Because from here, the Yankees are acting as if a) they won the 2025 World Series, b) Trent Grisham is a sure thing, and c) Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon and Clarke Schmidt will all return to former glories. Meanwhile, we're supposed to believe Iran will capitulate, Greenland will happily come aboard, and the city of Minneapolis will magically achieve peace with a brutal, occupying army. 

This winter is starting to give a vibe of 2013, the year of Vernon Wells, Lyle Overbay and Pronk. 

Darkest winter in memory.  

I wonder if baseball is gonna save us. Do the Yankees have a plan?

The Yankees just traded for David Weathers' kid. Ten sorta fun facts about him.

David Weathers' ERA
matched his chins 

Following the lead of Cody Bellinger, son of Clay, the Yankees yesterday traded four prospects to the MAGA State Marlins for LH starter Ryan Weathers, son of Tubby - um, I mean - David, bullpen lug nut for the 1996 world champs. 

FWIW, two of the traded prospects had been listed among the Yankees' Top 20, so let's figure the farm system is tapped out and will be hard pressed to deliver a Freddy Peralta -(though Spencer Jones remains on the table.) 

As for Ryan Weathers, here are 10 sorta fun facts.

1. He's a former 1st round pick. (WTF is it with Cooperstown Cashman and former 1st rounders?) He was selected 7th, by San Diego, in the 2018 draft. (His dad was a 3rd rounder, by Toronto, in 1988.)

2. He turned 26 last month, and he's under contract until 2029. (Another major attraction for Cashman.)

3. His portly dad, David, was listed as 6'3" and 205 (a hallucinatory number.) Ryan is 6'1" and 230. A chunk. 

4. As a high school senior, Ryan was named 2017 Gatorade National Player of the Year. He must have gotten laid all the time. He committed to Vanderbilt. 

5. After being drafted, Ryan signed for $5.2 million and went to Fort Wayne, where he pitched decently (ERA 3.84) in the Midwest dirt league.

6. In 2020, with the Padres, Ryan became the 2nd pitcher in MLB history to make his debut in the fucking postseason, pitching 1.1 innings, walking two. Seriously, he debuted in the playoffs!

7. He made the 2021 Padres roster out of spring training, looked like a future thing, and then pretty much sucked over 30 games that year. (ERA 5.32.)

8. At the 2023 trade deadline, San Diego dealt him to Miami for Garret Cooper and Sean Reynolds. Again, he pretty much sucked. (ERA 7.62.)

9. Weathers started to blossom in 2024, throwing 71 innings (ERA 3.63), but he missed several months with a strained index finger.

10. In 2025, he showed more promise, (ERA 3.99) but missed big chunks of the season with strains of his forearm and lat. 

Good stuff. Can't stay healthy. Ours for three years. Not sure what we gave up, or what this signifies - if anything - for Bellinger and the outfield. But you have to really believe in miracles, if you think the Yankees have solved their pitching issues.