Wait a minute. What happened to that joyous tsunami of praise for the Yankees' trade deadline makeover?

WTF? Where are the balloons, the banners, the floats...? 

It's barely 24 hours since the Yankees were universally christened (by their own house media) - as The Team That Won the 2025 Trade Deadline (TM), prompting happy fans to stakeout our turf on the Canyon of Heroes. 

Where'd everybody go? What happened to the crowds, to the keepsake bobbleheads and whoopie cushions, the fart simulators of hope that come with every deadline deal, year after year, as our time in Purgatory clicks ever onward. What happind? 

Well, I'll tell you: The Death Barge just ejaculated its worst game since - well, not that long ago, actually, I'm thinking of Gerrit "The Pointer Sister" Cole choosing not to cover first. Last night, they bundled six months of hubris into one incredible Barbra-and-Liza-Evening-at Carnegie Hall of unstepped-on, felony-grade hubris.  

Look... let's not recap the game. Life is too short. But I'd like to ponder the chirping voices of Gotham who - year after year, deal after deal - celebrate every Yankee deadline trade with the kind of groveling gush-work that Laura Loomer bestows upon Baby Fingers. Every traded prospect was never part of our long-term plan. And every former all-star we acquired is a steal akin to Peter Minuit's purchase of Manhattan. Every year, August 2 is YANKEE STEAL DAY in America.

Friday morning, the Yankees were printing playoff tickets and celebrating their greatest bullpen since the days of Mariano and Ramiro Mendoza. 

Today, they're staggering from an Olympian loss, christened by a walk-off dribbler from - checks notes - somebody named Augustin Ramirez. 

Wait. That name is sorta familiar. Sherman, set the WayBack to 2024. Yes, now I remember: 

He's the 23-year-old catcher the Yankees traded to Miami last year for Home Run Derby legend Jazz Chisholm. And I'm not trying to muck up the waters here; I suppose most Yank fans would instinctively still make that trade, as Chisholm is one of our all-stars. But let's just say that - maybe - some of the final precincts haven't yet finished voting. 

Ramirez has 15 HRs and is hitting .240; Chisholm sits at has 18 and .244. Ramirez will be paid $657,846 this year, and he's under Marlins contract through 2027. By God, he's a cheap date. Chisholm makes $5.8 million will head to full arbitration this winter, his walk season. So, was it a good trade? Sure, though I wonder: Are we still in love with Austin Wells? I'd never suggest the Yankees lost in the deal, only that the slam dunks aren't always so certain. Maybe we should wait a year or two before judging the great victories of our front office? 

Awww, but that's now how they do things in New York. Right? It's always NOW, right now!  

Two days ago, Yank fans celebrated a great victory, stealing two closers, a bullpen lug nut and the world's greatest base stealer - and all for some no-name prospects (and Oswald Peraza.)  

The great Dinah Washington once sang, "What a difference a day makes?" She musta beena Yankee fan. 

And I wonder: When Cooperstown Cashman eventually goes into the Hall of Fame, should he wear a Marlins cap?

Great philosophical questions of our time

HOW THE FUCK DID WE BLOW A 6-0 LEAD IN THE FIFTH?

HOW THE FUCK DID WE BLOW A 12-10 LEAD IN THE NINTH?

HOW THE FUCK DID WE TRADE FOR EXACTLY THE BULLPEN WE ALREADY HAD?

WHY THE FUCK WASN'T WEAVER CLOSING?

WHY THE FUCK WAS CABALLERO PLAYING RIGHT FUCKING FIELD?

WHY THE FUCK WAS BELLINGER PLAYING FIRST BASE?

WHY THE FUCK IS VOLPE STILL THE SHORTSTOP?

WHY THE FUCK IS BOONE SUCH AN FUCKING IDIOT?

WHY THE FUCK DOES ANYONE IN THIS ORGANIZATION STILL HAVE A JOB?

HOW THE FUCK DO YOU SCORE 12 RUNS AND LOSE?

08–01–25 - it's JUNK vs . . . uh . . . uhm . . . like, you know . . . . . RøDº'N !

( Let's RooT, RooT, RooT for the  Y A N K E E S !) 

A Few Thoughts on Yesterday’s Reboot

Before I get into the details, I find it interesting that, in all the media praise for Cashman's “Yankees A+ Deadline”  no one is pointing out that Cashman had a $300 million dollar roster that was constructed so poorly that he had to bring in seven guys at the deadline and was still a couple short. 

To be fair, he did get rid of a lot of dead wood and now we have a real third baseman. 

So there's that. 

1) Despite the Yankees getting good grades some of what I’m reading is critical. The “What are we going to do with four closers?” crowd. I don’t understand this type of thinking.

This isn’t football where now we have four quarterbacks. Or basketball where the whole team now consists of power forwards. 

We have four guys who can close, (Well I’m still counting Williams – not sure why.) which mean we have four guys who can pitch well enough to close. (Again sorry, I keep including Williams.)

That’s good. Because putting a good pitcher on the mound is a good thing in any inning.

2) BTW… Today Boone said Williams is still the closer! Why? He’s better as a set up guy and is gone next year anyway. 

Bednar hasn’t given up a run since like, May and is here next year. So if there's an ego to assuage it should be Bednar's.

Plus uh… who likes to see Williams in a close game anyway? Not me. I don’t like to see him in any game really. Even with his only two blown saves.  Or is is three now? 

Hoss had a nice explanation in the comments of my last post as to why Williams’ blown saves don't count as blown saves even though we all know they are. Hoss knows gaslighting when he sees it.

4) Jose Caballero is a warning shot aimed at Volpe.  Good. He’s actually a gifted shortstop and maybe the Yankees are finally learning that a bad shortstop who makes errors, even if they get out of the inning with minimal harm, wrecks the pitching staff and can mess up the bullpen for days.  

I hope they use him as a late inning replacement. Or maybe give Volpe the day off a couple of times a week  He plays better rested. 

Better yet, when Volpe does stupid things he can be benched. Will he? Maybe. So I'm telling you is, there's a chance. 

Hey it worked when I said this about Bednar so I thought I'd try it again.  

5)  The only trade that I don’t get is the Roc Riggio and Ben Shields for Jake Bird.  Bird throws hard but by all accounts is a work in progress.  

The comedy duo Riggio and Shields were two guys I thought would eventually make the big club or at a minimum be part of a bigger trade than for a flyer.

6) I’m also not happy about losing Rafael Flores but at least he was part of the Bednar deal. You gotta give to get.  

That said, the Yankees trade a lot of catchers and yet on the big club we have Wells, who frankly is starting to piss me off, and Rice who I thought was our first baseman of the future. 

Does this mean the Yankees are going to pursue Murakami in the off season to play first base? It’s his best position.  

7 and last)  Yeah, Aaron Judge in the outfield might be awhile but the injury will allow him to DH  and Stanton is starting to do that “step in the bucket” thing again and that never bodes well.  

Nine Takeaways from the Day of Chaos

1. Sorry, but I just can't shake the suspicion that Aaron Judge's return from injury will be delayed, now that the trade deadline has passed. Remember 2023, when they constantly Lucy-ed the football, every time he was supposed to return? They do this all the time. Why would we not expect it?  

2. It amazes me how few voices across the Yankiverse seem to care about the farm system, which - there's no fun way to put this - was decimated yesterday. Unless you look closely, you'd think the Yankees gave up nothing, and that these opposing GMs are stupid. People seem to think the 1980s cannot happen again. Maybe this will work; maybe the Yankees will turn it around and make a run. But when you go trading prospects, as the Yankees did yesterday, you run the risk of getting badly torched. Will yesterday go down in history as the day we traded Rafael Flores? Or Roc Riggio? Or - gulp - both?

3. It sure would be nice to have a lock-down bullpen, shortening games to the sixth inning. Three days ago, we had Allan Winans. Now, we're stocked. But a central question remains: Will Boone blow it up?   

4. Speaking of shortened games: Anthony Volpe. With Jose Caballero on the roster, either Volpe gets his shit together, or his games might start ending early. In his recent hostage videos, Boone has said of Volpe's errors - "That can't happen." Well, it's been happening, and people have begun using the "Y" word - yips - to describe Volpe's problem. His MLB-leading number of errors would be far worse, had he not been saved through May and June by a great fielding first-baseman. 

5. Speaking of Caballero, he's the most intriguing pick-up of all. He's tied with O'Neill Cruz for the MLB lead in stolen bases, with 34. I assume he'll be a late-game pinch runner, unleashing pandemonium. Still, the guy gets thrown out 19 percent of the time, not good. By comparison, Jasson Dominguez has 16 SBs and been caught twice (11 percent.) BTW, Jazz is 14-4 (22 percent), and Volpe is 12-7 (too dreadful to calculate). 

6. Speaking of The Martian, it will be hugely depressing if, as a result of these trades, he turns into a platoon player. Look, the guy is just 22. Twenty-two. You don't cap his development by benching him against lefties. Some of us here can remember Ron Blomberg, who was destroyed by a minor league platoon, one of the stupidest moves ever made by the Yankees. You say it can't happen again? Well, once they bench Dominguez against lefties, he'll begin to regress. (Also, in his early years, a struggling Bernie Williams was nearly pitched overboard. Not saying Dominguez is the next Bernie, but the guy needs to play.)

7. Thank you, Lord, for Bryce Harper. Last week, in no uncertain terms, Harper told Commissioner Vader- who wants an MLB payroll cap - to fuck the fuckin' fuck off. Listen: A cap would absolutely kill the Yankees. It would kill us for a decade. Yeah, players are overpaid. But this is a battle between millionaires and trillionaires. And if America doesn't think it should cap spending on Presidential campaigns, why should we think it's good for baseball? As Mustang told me yesterday, "Harper will be into the Hall as a Philly. But he will go into heaven as a Yankee."

8. The Scranton Railriders were postponed yesterday due to massive hits upon the farm system inclement weather. Supposedly, Spencer Jones was in the lineup - he'd been rested three days due to "back spasms," which everybody assumed was just the Yankees protecting him for a trade. Along with George Lombard Jr., he's basically the only thing Cashman didn't peddle.

9. Strange how the outcome of one game can affect your psyche, but I think the Yankees winning yesterday had a deep effect on how MLB rated Cashman's trade tsunami. Had the Yankees blown this series against Tampa, the shouting today would be much louder and angrier. In the public domain, Cashman is skating. 

Many, many closers, and Boone says Williams is still the real one

The insane, delusional, incompetent idiot known as Aaron Boone has stepped up in light of the Yankees' acquisition of Bednar and Doval. Neither one is perfect, but aside from a crap July even Jake Bird is more reliable than Devan Williams. And we still have Luke Weaver, who--when he's not being overused or injured--is still a better closer than Williams.

So, we now have four "closers." Will one eventually become the actual closer? Williams ain't it. Even if Bonehead Boone keeps using him in that role, he's should be muscled out of it by--my guess--Bednar. When things become obvious, it will probably happen. But that's a problem with the Yankees: they wait too long to do anything when things are obvious.

Last winter, the hole at third base was obvious. The fact that we had a shitty bench was obvious. For two season, Volpe has been obvious. This year, it's obvious that the Martian should play practically every day. 

And in the meantime, the losses pile up along with the injuries...for which we have no real replacements, either. So we just wait for guys to recover.

By the way, I can see sending Hamilton down. The poor guy is just a shadow of his once-effective self. But wasn't de los Santos supposed to be good? Well, I guess sacrifices had to be made. Besides, at least we still have them when our crack coaching and strength training experts destroy someone else. 

So what do they do with Yarbrough now? Gil goes into the rotation. Warren? He's doing pretty well, even if he's not quite where he will be next year, maybe. Schlittler? Does he get bounced?

Naturally, we know Stroman should be the one who's knocked out of the rotation. The guy had a 7-0 lead last night and coughed up four runs in the fourth. Unbelievable. He's good for one time through the order, and that's it. Might be okay for the bullpen if he wasn't so underpowering.

At least we got this guy. Caballero might not be the Second Coming, but he's better than Volpe, even if Boone won't replace the bobblehead. He should rest him, though. Boone likes resting guys, and Volpe's offense is showing some signs of life, so Boone should be ready to sit him down. No such thing as a hot hitter, after all, and Volpe is only lukewarm.

We got a few interesting pieces this deadline. Yes, Jake Bird was not worth Riggio. But that was the only glaring mistake by The Brain.

Other mistakes may reveal themselves later on.

The Yankee metamorphosis is here.

 

Add...

Bird.

Duvol.

Bednar.

Caballero.

Subtract...

Peraza.

Pereira.

The farm system.

Disregard...

Rumfield.

Game Thread - Last Day of July – 2025 - YOU'RE OUTTA HERE !

Last Night’s Game and Why It’s So Hard To Forgive

If we hold the attitude that baseball is pure entertainment then last night’s game was one of the most entertaining we’ve seen in quite a while.

It had action. (Belli’s 3 run HR’s,) It had suspense. (Multiple comebacks)  Great catches from unexpected sources. (Dominguez game saver).  New heroes. (McMahon ) Old goats. (Volpe and Williams, a closer whose ERA in is now over five.)  And don’t get me started on Wells.

Too late! At one point the YES broadcast showed a shot of the dugout focused on Volpe and Wells and all I could think of was, “Dumb and Dumber”.

To get back to Williams for a second, there was a graphic on YES that said he’s only blown two saves all year. There is no way that’s true and, if it is, then I don’t know what to believe…

Which takes me to my main point.

In today’s America we are constantly being lied to, gaslit, fed “facts” that have only the slightest resemblance to the truth and then are told that that sliver of truth makes the entirety of the statement true.

I’m pretty sure we’re all sick of it.

So when Aaron Boone says that Volpe is “fucking elite” it goes beyond a manager defending his ballplayer and becomes downright insulting. Because we all know what we see.

I was texting with my cousin during the game and she really likes Volpe. Slowly, very slowly, she is starting to understand that she’s bought into a “set of facts” that while true, (Volpe is 7^th in RBI’s for a shortstop, 6^th in HRs. Stuff like that.) it doesn’t change the real truth. He’s not a good shortstop.

Because here are some other “facts”. His errors cause Yankee pitchers to work much harder and throw additional pitches to get the extra outs.

This shortens their outings and strains the bullpen, and his errors, especially at the points in the game when they come, are morale killers.

Here another one, every time the ball is hit to him we hold our breath

One thing I texted that resonated is that, in addition to all the errors, Volpe almost never makes a, “Wow!” play. 

Good shortstops make, “Wow!” plays. Great shortstops make “Wow!” plays regularly, and elite shortstops have highlight reels that go on for twenty minutes.

When Boone says Volpe is an elite shortstop it pisses us off. David Cone, who I like, thinks we should go the positive reinforcement route with Volpe but I can’t.

I am so tired of being fed bullshit. Of hearing or reading that what we see isn’t true. Of people that lie, and it is a lie, and who lie with impunity. Appalled that no reporter calls out anyone on anything.

And that’s why it’s hard to forgive. 

Look, we all want Volpe to be elite. At this point I’d settle for good, but I find myself digging in because sports is one place that is supposed to be a pure meritocracy.

There is no spin that should be able to hide sixteen errors. There is no spin that hides bad baserunning (I’m looking at you Wells) or a closer that can’t work a clean inning or has an ERA of OVER FIVE!!!!!  

At least there shouldn’t be.

My anger towards Volpe is my anger towards Boone and collective bullshit in general.

My anger toward Boone is my anger toward Brian who refuses to fire a manager that can’t fix fundamental flaws and refuses to enforce consequences.

My anger at Brian is my anger at Hal who will not remove a man who builds three hundred million dollar teams that are riddled with holes. Big obvious holes.

My anger at all of the above is my anger about being gaslit, misdirected, and fed dubious facts as gospel. 

And so, while I can still root, I can not forgive.

The final known unknown? Today, the Yankiverse may finally liberate T.J. Rumfield

Last night, the long-tortured Scranton first-baseman, Tobey Joseph Rumfield - alias T.J. - went 1-for-3 with a walk, lifting his BA - over nearly 400 ABs - to .313. 

That's 7th in the International League, where he also sits 4th in RBIs (69) and 10th in OPS (.896). His 11 HRs puts him in the top tier, and minor league gold glove awards spackle his resume. At age 25, the 6'5" lefty hitter has never seen a MLB pitch. And, at least with the Yankees, he probably never will.

Apparently, Rumfield is one of those Triple A fixtures - the IL leader boards currently include Nick Solak and Bobby Dalbec - who rule Toledo and Rochester until the call comes to play in Japan. But Solak and Dalbec had shots in The Show. Rumfield has never had such a moment.

Today, with the MLB trade deadline ticking, and the Yankees desperate for pitching, pitching, pitching... this could be Rumfield's best shot at a fighting chance. Could he be in a prospects bundle headed toward Vegas, or Milwaukee, or somewhere where non-prospects go to be reborn?

Full disclosure, I've only seen Rumfield once, in Syracuse. From my seat down the right field line, I calculated a 72-degree swing arc which, when coupled with a 51-pound pressure variant handle grip, and a 12-inch butt stride, could impair his ability to give Yankee talent scouts the required oral stimulation.  

That said, I - like Yank fans everywhere - have pondered Rumsfield's numbers and said, WHY THE HELL DIDN'T WE SIGN BRYCE HARPER? WTF? Here's a slick-fielding moose with a lifetime .277 BA, and they're sitting on him like a sun-room recliner from Raymour & Flanigan, while playing the likes of Billy McKinney, Jake Bauers and Franchy Cordero. Seriously, how bad can the guy be? Doesn't he deserve a chance? 

I'm reminded of Brigadoon Refsnyder, who the Yankees kicked around for four years, and who has cobbled together a fine career, often at our expense. Is Rumfield the new Brig? 

Okay, it's worth noting that the Yankees left Rumfield unprotected in last winter's Rule 5 draft - like the previous December - and no team called his name. I don't know why the scouts have nixed him. Does he talk to TVs? Does his mouth move when he reads? Does he use the wrong salad fork? Dunno. 

All of which leaves me wondering: WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T THEY SIGN BRYCE HARPER! THE GUY CAME TO NYC LOOKING FOR A CONTRACT! THEY WENT AND HID.  Today, could a trade send Rumfield somewhere with a future? Could this be his Liberation Day? 

Final note: Just wondering... the way the Yankees have traded for RH hitting in the last two days, you'd almost wonder whether Aaron Judge might be out for a longer period of time than they claim. Or am I crazy to think such a thing.

Game Thread – – – º7-3º-25 – "He's Really, Really Good Out There !"

 "We gotta get over it.  

We gotta, uh, uhm, like, you know... get through it ! "

Dear Hal: Your great-grandson's great-grandson does not need two of these.

Trust me on this. By the 23rd century, if man is still alive, if woman can survive, all of those as rich as the Steinbrenners will be living in luxurious, isolated bowers named for the Wizard of Oz, or possibly in vast underground paradises. 

The seas will be ruled by ocean liners full of ruthless pirates, captained by a drunken Dennis Hopper. If they're not just bubbling cauldrons of sulphur. Nobody will want to take out the luxury yacht.

I have seen the future on our big screens, and it's not pretty.

Nevertheless, Hal goes on playing the long game. Incredibly, even with Aaron Judge out for what will surely be weeks, he refuses to bring up Spencer Jones, who unexpectedly rediscovered his swing and is tearin' up the pea patch in Triple-A.

Why? Because bringing up Jonesy might cost the Yankees a few months of control over him, five years down the road. Just as bringing up The Martian last year might have cost the Yankees a few months of control, if and when he ever became a star.

Brilliant.

Who knows if there will even BE baseball five years down the road, after Hal bands with his brother owners to rip up the basic agreement and go after the players' union yet again?

In the meantime, there went any shot at the World Series last year. There it goes this year.

At the same time, Hal sticks firmly to his Monty Burns rule of never, ever benching or trading or releasing a player if you still have to pay him. Better to pay him to make your team worse.

Thus, the obviously fading Goldschmidt and the obviously flailing Ben Rice cannot be traded or cut or sat, even with a perfectly viable replacement, T. J. Rumfield, fielding and hitting very well down in Scranton. Rumfield, you'll remember, might have been able to move freely around first base in last year's Fall Classic, and thus prevented the Fifth Inning Fiasco. But no could do. Every self-destructive inning had to be squeezed out of a once-proud pro.

Truly, Hal, you're not even going to notice the money you may lose on having to pay Spencer Jones sometime in the Laura Loomer administration (No doubt in crypto, or perhaps wampum.). In the meantime, we don't need another injury-prone mediocrity filling in for one of the greatest stars to ever play the game.

Give us hope. Give us a chance. Give us a !%@# break, you ungodly rich nepo baby!

As his season crashes, nervous Yank fans lament: "Ward, there's something wrong with the Beaver."

Somewhere out there in TV land - or maybe in our darkest hallucinations - there lives a lost episode of the show that defined Baby Boomer adolescence. 

It shall never be seen. It only exists in the realm of our dreams. But for those of us who are old enough - (that is, still alive) - we've imagined it, vividly. 

It's the episode of Leave It to Beaver when the protagonist, our boy, discovers himself. He locks the door to his bedroom. He gets comfortable. He opens the centerfold. And when his mom knocks, he yells for her to go away, barely corking his frenzy. He only wants to be left alone, because - of course - the Yankees lost.

Which leads me to say of the 2025 Yankees...

Ward, there's something wrong with the Beaver. 

Yep. Our team is in the pits. We cannot beat the Dodgers, the Phillies, the Jays or basically any rising, young roster - and that list might include Boston. We lose close games. We cannot move runners. We cannot hold leads. And worst of all, our homegrown shortstop - infield lynchpin for the last three years - is collapsing in front of us.  

Anthony Volpe, the pride of Morristown, is being booed. 

Not by a few malcontents. By crowds. Not on the road. At home. Not in rare moments. On a regular basis. Not just in "off" days, but minutes after banging the longest HR of his life. It happened last night with two outs in the 9th. A routine grounder. A generous hop. The game was over. Volpe snared the ball, plenty of time, then seemed to double-clutch. His throw landed in the dirt, unable to be saved by Paul Goldschmidt, a Gold Glove 1B. 

Boos. Loud boos.

Fortunately, this time, the Yankees won. Volpe's clank didn't cost the game, which ended with the tying run on second, closer Devin Williams dangling from a thread, and the certainty that a loss - perhaps the worst defeat of 2025? - would sit in their guts for a long, long time. 

Volpe heard the boos. Everyone did. You cannot un-ring such a bell. And in his postgame show, Ghislaine Boone could not explain them away. 

The '25 Yankees are facing a serious, existential crisis. 

Ward, there's something wrong with The Beaver.   

Numbers

2 more errors?

 Really?

111 pitches? 

Really?

                                       20 for Cody? 

                                                                  Really!

Does a home run and a little

baserunning make up for 2 more errors?

Not really.

The Thread - Fried in da Bronx - July 29th 2025

BRIAN CASHMAN – GENIUS – INTERN

An Above Average Haiku Tuesday – Sit Back and Enjoy the MAGIC, Edition !

13 4 VOLPE !

NESTOR COULD BE COMING BACK !

DON'T YOU LOVE THIS TEAM !

 

For the sinking Yankees, it's now a wild card race, framed around one unanswerable question

Remember the merry month of May? Trump's daily rants? Catastrophic floods? The famine in Gaza? The war in Ukraine? The - wait a minute - nothing's changed, am I right?

Actually, there is one change...

In May, the Yankees were one of baseball's best teams. At one point, they built a 7-game lead in the AL East.

Ever since, they rank among the worst teams in the game. They are 5 games behind... and fading.

And now - get this: 

As disposable, ragdoll fans - we're supposed to hope that the architects behind this collapse now have 72 hours to save the season?  

Nope. Sorry, folks. I got one thing to say.

They shoulda signed Bryce Harper.  

WHY DIDN'T THEY SIGN BRYCE HARPER!

Look... LOOK at where we are. They lose to teams they must beat, most notably Boston and Toronto. We have no young stars. Jasson Dominguez is now being platooned, Anthony Volpe is getting booed, Ben Rice is fading, and Cam Schlitter is rumored to be on the trading block, even as the team grows ever more desperate for pitching. (Mark these words: Trading Schlittler will be the worst deadline deal since Jordan Montgomery went out the door.) 

With Aaron Judge on the Injured List - and all this happy YES gobbling that he will only miss 10 days, it's mere talk - the Yankees have no offense. They are comically suggesting that Giancarlo Stanton might play the outfield; the guy can barely run to first on a single off the wall. The lone player who could bring a buzz - Spencer Jones - remains in Scranton, because the Yankees don't want him accruing MLB contractual equity: They prefer him under team control... and cheap.

Soon, Luis Gil will return. You'd think he was Quinn the Eskimo. 

Are we supposed to expect this team to do anything but continue to sink? 

Why didn't they sign Bryce Harper? He came to New York. He went to their door. He rang the bell. He wanted to be a Yankee. THEY SHOULDA SIGNED BRYCE HARPER! THEY SHOULDA SIGNED BRYCE HARPER! THEY SHOULDA SIGNED BRYCE HARPER!

Thank God we have the best team in the league and the best offense in baseball

Two runs, both walked in.

As Bing once sang, "Going around in circles, going around in circles. Going nowhere...going nowhere, fast."

Pass the pipe, Bingle. Hope it's some good old-fashioned Hawaiian.

Yanks finally win a game in the "WHY DIDN'T YOU SIGN BRYCE HARPER!" series.

Well, it's over. The Phillies series. It's always fun, in a hurtful way. Every other year, we get to see what might've been. 

In our hearts, we can break into our most unifying cheer, hoping that, somehow, Food Stamps Hal Steinbrenner will hear...   

"WHY DIDN'T YOU SIGN BRYCE HARPER!"

It echoes across the Bronx. 

It relieves the bowels of our souls. 

It defines the Yankees in this millennium. 

"WHY DIDN'T YOU SIGN BRYCE HARPER!"

Since 2019, the year Harper came to us, seeking to fulfil his childhood dreams, it's the difference between zero Yankee world championships and - say - maybe three? Because if you add Harper's Hall of Fame lefty bat to the Yankee lineup - in front of or behind Aaron Judge - well, that's a championship team. That's the Dodgers. 

Add Harper to the Yankees and, over the last six years, the Canyon of Heroes looks like a much more traveled path. There is no Joey Gallo fiasco, no waiting on Luke Voit, no Rougned Odor, no endless stream of intentional passes to Aaron Judge. Imagine Harper as a Yankee in 2021 - adding 35 HRs and a .309 batting average to Judge's 39 and .285, a lefty-righty combo that would make Juan Soto the afterthought he deserves to be. Add one of the great clutch hitters of this era... well... close your eyes. Altogether, now:

'WHY DIDN'T YOU SIGN BRYCE HARPER?"

That winter, remember how Harper came to NYC, pleading for an offer? He grew up wanting to be a Yankee. It was huge in the Sports Illustrated cover article about him. He wanted to play in Yankee Stadium. He wanted to wear pinstripes. So what did Food Stamps do? He hid under his bed, didn't answer the phone, never offered a deal - terrified that if he did, Harper would accept. Then he did the same with Manny Machado, whose wife had grown un in NYC and wanted to return. Nope. Not interested.

Okay, let's note that Hal had just signed Gerrit Cole - another guy who grew up wanting to be a Yankee. But then, Hal just stopped. He had the money. He just chose not to spend it. So he kept the Yankees one star hitter away from greatness, which is where they have been ever since. 

One player away. That's the Yankees. The funny part is that Hal thought he was being frugal. Actually, he was being stupid. Harper will be paid $27 million this year. He's worth every penny. 

The Dodgers have no problem adding extra stars to powerhouse lineups. Think of Freddie Freeman and Shohei Otani. They refuse to accept being one key player away. 

The Yankees? Well, Hal is content to contend. Year after year, the Yankees are in the race - (in an expanded playoff system that rewards middle of the road mediocrity) - and year after year, they fall short. Spoiler alert: They will again this year. 

So, my friends, raise your eyes from this screen, fill your lungs with indignation, lift your voices and cut loose to the universe...

"WHY DIDN'T YOU SIGN BRYCE HARPER!"

Game Thread - 07 º 27 º 25 ≥ Baseball Entertainment at it's Finest ≤