Saturday, February 14, 2026

With all this talk of Cash and Bubbles Boone, we mustn't forget about this man . . .

Posted by AboveAverage at 10:30 AM



 HAROLD ZIEG
S T E I N B R E N N E R

"ZIEG HAL"
(as his college PALS use to say)
 

14 comments:

edb said...

Above Average, we could try. When I fart, I quickly dismiss it, just like the Fart owner of the Yankees.

February 14, 2026 at 11:51 AM
Doctor T said...

They say talent skips a generation. Hal is living proof.

February 14, 2026 at 12:06 PM
The Hammer of God said...

Obviously, just a rich, two legged donkey. Well dressed, sure, but a two legged donkey nonetheless.

February 14, 2026 at 2:08 PM
HoraceClarke66 said...

Wonderful rant earlier, Hammer. Couldn't have said it better myself. This is what I keep saying, too: Hal doesn't even want to develop YOUNG talent! Dominguez has a problem with OF fences? Put him in center, where his speed will make up for a lot of mistakes. Do NOT send him down again!

February 14, 2026 at 5:01 PM
HoraceClarke66 said...

The one player on whom I MIGHT differ is Gary Sanchez. I'm not sure we brought him up too late. I think something else went wrong there, possibly the arm injury the Yanks mentioned then conspicuously stopped talking about.

That's the other mystery section of Cashman's organization: training. Guys such as Andujar and Greg Bird just disappear and implode, after relatively routine injuries. Why? Who knows? Cashman sure as hell isn't telling us.

February 14, 2026 at 5:04 PM
Doctor T said...

Clearly the Yankees can't develop talent. Training and development seems to be driven by the analytics department. Hit strikes harder, more velo. That's why they break ballplayers like breadsticks and why they are often terrible fielders, with no baseball smarts.

Another component that seems to destroy the development - and this one includes Sanchez - is that their publicity department has too large a role in the process. They puff up their egos by comparing them to HOf'ers so badly, that they think they are the reincarnation of all time greats, before they even made a real contribution on the MLB field. That might make cynical sense, if they were planning to trade them, but the Yankees seem to believe their publicity, so they hang on to these increasingly damaged kids until they have no trade value at all and have failed as Yankees.

The third way they destroy players is with Joba rules. Again, the statheads come up with rules based on math, that don't include the development of the player themselves. This messes with their heads a different way.

Yankees also don't know how to turn them into successful major league ballplayers. Either they rot them on the bench, put them in positions they can't field. The only finishing schooling they get is from the publicity department. They set prospect after prospect up for failure.

Playing in Yankee Stadium is no joke. As fans, we are demanding and often unkind. It's easier to start off in KC or Cincinnati. The NYC press are either amplifying PR bullshit, or turning on the kids when they don't perform, sometimes because someone in the front office is playing whispering games. It can be a mind-fuck. One made worse, because they can't develop prospects properly. Again, set up for failure.

When I see a talented kid come up to the show and then struggle, part of me wishes the Yankees would trade them away, before they are completely ruined. Somewhere where fundamentals and defense are taught, the bright lights aren't so bright, where fans actually root for the players - not just parrot media BS - where they properly developed and managed, not systematically ruined by a bunch of incompetent neo-babies and sociopaths.

That's why the Yankees suck. Everyone from trainers and coaches to Hal are incompetent, full of self-deluding hubris and trendy bullshit, a daisy chain of kiss-ass and one-dimensional thinking, that never succeeds, because none them are qualified for their jobs, except by parental pedigree and their success in kissing the ass of the person above them.

February 14, 2026 at 7:35 PM
13bit said...

I'm privileged to hang with you guys. Please wake me up when it's all over.

February 14, 2026 at 9:02 PM
AboveAverage said...

Here a serious question for someone here to answer (Hoss, HoG, etc).

What is it going to take for substantial change to occur for this ball club?

And what are the steps that will lead us there.

And how realistic is it that any of these changes will occur within our lifetimes?

Even the diehards I know that I never thought would have become critical have started to turn against this team and its management. The transition occurred between 2025 and 2026.

Is there a future ?

Should we even care ?



February 14, 2026 at 10:01 PM
AboveAverage said...

Please advise

February 14, 2026 at 10:02 PM
AboveAverage said...

Or not because after all it sure is late

February 15, 2026 at 12:06 AM
JM said...

AA--I don't think we'll live to see it. Sadly. It will take an act of God. Or at least his Hammer.

February 15, 2026 at 7:24 AM
JM said...

This explains the affinity the organization seems to have for the current admin in Washington. "Incompetent, full of self-deluding hubris and trendy bullshit, a daisy chain of kiss-ass and one-dimensional thinking, that never succeeds, because none them are qualified for their jobs, except by parental pedigree and their success in kissing the ass of the person above them."

Birds of a feather.

And you've done a great job at encapsulating why the Yankees fail their kids, over and over and over. They just....suck.

February 15, 2026 at 7:26 AM
13bit said...

I believe that nothing will change as long as Hal is running the show. Others here have stated as much. The party is over. Unless he fires Cash, but Brian either has total immunity or is in possession of the pee pee tapes. We had a good run. Time to start going to museums or watch women's basketball.

February 15, 2026 at 7:34 AM
The Hammer of God said...

AA, sorry I just dragged my ass out of bed this morning.

For substantial change to happen, HAL has to get rid of Cashman. At least relieve him of the GM duties, relegate him to some sinecure position that has nothing to do with baseball decisions. Then HAL has to choose a competent GM, who will fire Boone and get a competent manager and coaching staff. They can purge the analytics team, get guys who really know what they're doing.

How realistic is the hope that this can happen within our lifetimes? It looks like HAL will never fire Cashman. And Cashman looks pretty healthy. I'd be surprised if he checks out within the next twenty years. So, hate to say it, but it doesn't look too good for us.

Should we care? Well now, that is the eternal philosophical question, ain't it? Each of us will have to answer that on his own.

As for moi, why should I care? Whyyyyyyyyy should I care? Out of my brain on the fiiiiivve fif-teen! Out of my brain on the train on the train.... Out of my brain on the train.... Here we go....

February 15, 2026 at 11:29 AM

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