It's time for the Yankees to try someone else at shortstop

 Yesterday, Anthony Volpe - aka: "Teacher's Pet" - had another one of those games. 

He came up three times. He struck out three times. 

He missed a gettable grounder, wasn't charged with an error, then bounced a throw to first, and was.

He was why the Yankees, in the late innings, replaced 1B Ben Rice - whose HR basically won the game - with Paul Goldschmidt, a superior glove, though hobbled with injury. 

In the AL, Volpe ranks last in almost every offensive category. On defense, he leads the league in errors, with 19.

Of course, you already know this. Everybody does. When Volpe emerges from the dugout, the whispers begin, and a sense of dread diffuses throughout the stadium. This is not a glitch, or a slump, or a gutsy guy toiling through injuries. This is his third crapola season in three long years. This is normalcy. This is a reality the Yankees refuse to accept, and it may cost them the AL East, or another postseason. (Last year's ended, more or less, when Volpe botched a throw to third, extending their Doomsday 5th Inning, which - Fun Fact - is constantly on replay in Yankee Fan Hell.)  

A home town boy, Volpe is getting booed at Yankee Stadium. In pivotal moments, he is being replaced by pinch hitters. More and more, he is being "rested." It does not work. In an era when star shortstops anchor batting orders - Witt, Bichette, Pena, Henderson, et al - Volpe is failing at both ends of the spectrum.  

Full disclosure: I've loved Volpe since spring of 2023 - "Volpening Day," we called it - when he unexpectedly came north with the team as its starting SS, the Jersey boy! the next Jeter! the future of the Yankees! We drank the Kool-Aid: He would settle the infield, grow into a star, become a team leader. 

Well, it hasn't worked. Not since Joe Pepitone has more fan emotion and spirit been painfully poured into a Yankee disappointment. (Of course, Volpe is not Pepi, who squandered his great talent. Volpe is earnest and hard-working; in many respects, that only makes it harder to deal with. It's quite possible that Volpe's best chance to save his career will require a change of address - outside of New York.) 

But but BUT... the Yankees do have a lifeline: Jose Caballero, a base-stealing terror. He's not perfect. No power. It's not certain whether he can play SS over the long haul. 

But this isn't a long haul. It's three weeks - then the playoffs. 

It's time to learn whether Caballero can handle the position. (Actually, the Yankees should have tried Caballero two weeks ago. Trump derisively calls Jerome Powell "Too Late." He should have saved that nickname for Aaron Boone.)

And if Caballero blows it? Well, there might be a flashing light at the end of the Scranton coal tunnel. Andrew Valezsquez - age 31, born in the Bronx and a grad of Fordham Prep - has been the Railriders SS since mid-August. He's a switch-hitter, batting .252 with 5 HRs and 24 stolen bases. He's tiny - 5'8" and 170 pounds. He's been around the block, many times - played for the Yankees back in 2021. That year, he hit .225 - lame, eh?

But it's 17 points higher than Volpe. It's time to see what other options the Yankees have. If everything else fails, maybe it has to be Volpe. But this isn't working, and yesterday, it almost cost the Yankees their most important win of the season. Time's up.

Max Heads Throom Thread Thingy (or something like that. . . . )

 

Today, we will see the reality of the 2025 Yankees

Game time is 1:35 p.m. 

By then, on another channel, the Jersey Giants will be down by 14, and we'll be pondering the Tankathon. By then, the Sunday TV news blather will be done, and we'll be thinking about Canada.

By then, we'll be ready to learn the truth about the '25 Yankees.

I'm not saying they must win today, (though, upon reflection, that would be nice.) 

What the Yankees must do today is show a grit, spirit and competence that, frankly, has evaded this team all year. They have three weeks to change a troubled narrative, and the transformation - if it's to happen - must begin today.

Right now, the '25 Yankees will be remembered for a great April-May, a horrible June-July, and a self-owned media that has gas-lighted their fan base all season. 

Right now, this team will be remembered as Aaron Boone's last managerial fling, with a pile of ejections, bad decisions, and postgame hostage videos that stacks to the moon. 

Right now, this team will be remembered for Oswald Peraza, Marcus Stroman and DJ LeMahieu, and the expectations they could not fulfil. 

Right now, this team will be remembered for embarrassing itself against playoff contenders, most notably Toronto and Boston.

Right now, this team is just another wild card - an aging roster constantly buttressed by lavish spending - doomed to disappear in October, when it faces opponents who do not self-destruct.

Today, the Yankees can win a game and a series - in both cases, their second straight - against an actual power. They can send the baseball world a message: 

They are real. 

Listen, I'm not saying that if the Yankees lose today, the season is over. 

But it sure will feel that way.   

A belated, partial, rain delayed, truncated, alien abducted, binkified Game Thread . . .

 

your results may vary

Yankees Die Yellow. Killers Coward at End!

 And so it goes went...

Three-zip after one. Four-oh after two. Reality checks everywhere. Goodbye, divisional race? 

Yankees with dirty faces. Killers coward at the end! Where was Jimmy Cagney? Where was Pat O'Brien? Damn, where was the fight in anybody? The Yankees walked to the plate, walked to the dugout, walked to the showers, rode home, kissed the wife, watched Kimmel, went to bed... Where was Aaron "Too Late" Boone, kicking and screaming? spitting on Dak Prescott? throwing sandwiches at ICE? revoking Rosie O'Donnell's citizenship, getting hauled to the electric chair? Nope. One-two-three. One-two-three.  Break a fukkin water cooler, okay? 

Ten miserable takeaways...

1. In the first, when he lollypopped a throw from RF, Aaron Judge basically hung a banner in RF saying, "RUN ON ME." Apparently, his plan is to soccer kick balls to Jazz Chisholm. Many years ago, I recall Thurman Munson - another captain - throwing underhand to 2B and getting runners out. Maybe Judge needs to try it. What we saw last night will not work.  

2. At least we can't blame the loss on St, Anthony. Nope, the Volp didn't go "Olp!" His replacement - Jose "The Gay" Caballero - went 0-3. Damn. Shortstop is starting to look like a bottomless pit.

3. So much for Cam Schlittler's magical rookie run. (He had just earned a feature in The Athletic about broadcasters mispronouncing his name.) His ERA shot up to 3.24. In the first inning, he three times came within one pitch of escaping the jam. He couldn't make it. This was always going to happen: He'd get cuffed around by patient hitters. Soon, we'll see what we really have. 

4. Starting to wonder about Ben Rice's defense at catcher. He's still a work in progress, rough around the edges. Lousy framing skills. Would we dare use him in the playoffs, especially against a fast team? Dunno. Not sounding the  alarm. Just starting to wonder if he's a fulltime 1B.

5. Last night, bottom of the lineup - Jazz, Goldie, McMahon, Jose - a combined 0-for-11. Every time the order turned around,  you felt air leaving the stadium. 

6. Lefty Ryan Yarlboro pitched 5.1 and gave up one run. Of course, he benefitted from facing the LH Jays lineup. Will we add a bullpen game to the rotation?  

7.  Redsocks were clobbered 10-5 in Arizona. They were down by five, clawed back heroically to make it a game - then had a bullpen meltdown. Sweet. 

8. I hate it when Vlad Jr. outhits Judge. HATE IT. Last night, he outhit everybody - 4-for-5 with a HR. Aside from his anti-Yankee rants, we all know that, at age 40, when he weighs 300 and smells like a sack of greasy potato chips, we'll get him. 

9. Know what? Changed my mind. I'm still blaming last night on Volpe. Guy was supposed to lead us from darkness. We led the cheers. Now, we're stuck. Next year, sign Bo Bichette? Dear God, no. Meanwhile, do we dare get excited about George Lombard Jr. Or wait for Dax Kilby? (Hitting .354 at High A, only 18! Whoopie!) 

10. Fortunately, no long wait to either avenge last night or sink without a bubble. Game time today, 1:05 p.m. 

The Friday Night G-Thread – ( "wish weez wuz playin' da EXPOS instead" )

 

"Well, I NEVAH!" Astros bristle over ridiculous suggestions that their team would cheat

Today, as the shame settles in for their spurious and inchoate accusations, I sincerely hope the Yankees can summon up the decency to apologize for their slithering misdeeds last night - the worst example of sportsmanship since Philadelphia Eagle Jalen Carter spat on the Cowboys' Dak Prescott, back on the opening play of the 2025 NFL season.  

Why... to accuse a professional baseball club of cheating... dear God! How could the Yankees sink so low? 

What kind of fraudulent misanthrope would even suggest that a Major League team - in this case, the impeccable Houston Astros - would bend the game's rules to gain an advantage? 

The very idea! 

The insincere indignity! 

The unmitigated gall! 

Have the Yankees - and their entire organization - no sense of personal shame? 

I refer you to the 9th inning of last night's game, with the Yankees holding a 5-run lead. Houston's Taylor Trammell had whacked a double off the left-center wall, and stood proudly on second base. Then, out from his devil's den of deceit, stepped mean Aaron Boone -  malevolence dripping from his sulfuric voice, his eyes as purple as the President's hand - demanding to inspect Trammell's bat, as if he's the reincarnation of Billy Martin. 

The umps checked the lumber, ran their tiny fingers across its shaven surface, and decided to continue the game - but not until the Yankees had thoroughly embarrassed not only themselves but the National Pastime itself, by suggesting - in full view of the TV and Internet - that the Astros would allow one of their prized stallions to commit Bromus Secalinus. 

I just hope that today, when the Yankees disembark in NYC from their pillowed plane, somebody in the organization has the good graces to call Houston and deliver a heartfelt apology for the mere implication that something, anything, was done in an ill-gotten manner. 

In this day and age, it's critical for baseball to maintain its sterling reputation as a game where cheaters in any form are not tolerated. I only hope that the U.S. Department of Justice was watching last night. It's time for the Yankees to be held accountable for their complaining. 

Game Thread º9•º4•2º25

 d' u m p.  i r e.

Yes We Need to Say More

I'm a big-time long-time lurker on this blog, but as a five-year former umpire at the high school varsity baseball level, I'm already sick and tired of the bashing Brian Walsh is taking. I had no idea I could publish a post on this blog, but I'm going to take advantage of it until someone stops me or edits me or censors me or takes my lollipop away.

Let's start here:

This is for context, which Mr. DougK failed to offer. Brian Walsh is a pretty good umpire. Not the best, not the worst. That's for the 2025 season. 94% accuracy, 94% consistency, only 0.6 runs in favor for the season. That's context.

And before I even get to defending Mr. Walsh and umpires in general, ask yourself this one simple question - in an at-bat of so great a consequences, what is Jazz Chisolm doing taking a pitch that close? Let's look at the graphic Mr. Seely posted in his morning post again:

That's a pitch Chisolm should be attempting to foul off in that situation and try to get a pitch he can do something with. But maybe he doesn't have the bat skills for that? It's not how he approaches an at-bat? Who knows?

I don't know how many of you keyboard whiners out there have ever stood behind home plate and tried to call balls and strikes. If you have, then you know how difficult that is. If you haven't, then you don't have any inkling whatsoever about how hard it is to do and how much skill and concentration it takes. To begin with, the strike zone is not painted out there in mid-air for you to see. Nobody comes over and chalks in the strike zone. The plate is only 17" wide, a small target. The height of the zone changes based on the height of the batter and their typical stance, and you have to take that into account in the same way that you take into account a particular pitcher's natural delivery to be able to call balks. So you're literally trying to see a ball come through an imaginary box in the air and call either a ball or a strike.

Also, it doesn't seem to be common knowledge that if any part of the ball falls in the strike zone, it's a strike. The 3-D strike zone graphic (ESPN?) shows that much better. Looking at the graphic from Mr. Seely's post, I can't tell if the inside portion of the baseball is touching the outside part of the plate. It is damn close, to be sure.

And the ball moves - god, how it moves! Even high school pitchers can throw in the low 90s, so imagine a ball coming in at 95+ MPH. As much time as a batter has to decide to swing, that's how much time an umpire has to judge a pitch. It ain't much. Apart from sheer velocity, modern pitchers now can make the ball spin and move and break in ungodly ways, and the umpire has to track that movement into the zone and, again, make the call. When you see those Jomboy tunneling overlays that show what a hitter has to track pitch to pitch, the umpire has to track exactly the same thing.

Lastly, umpires simply do not have an ideal, perfect position behind the plate to call every pitch because there's a catcher in the way of their vision. Most umpires choose to set up on the inside part of the plate, as close to the center as possible, which leaves them most vulnerable to missing calls in the outside part of the plate, because their angle of vision is not ideal. Again, take a look at where that Statcast graphic has the pitch, and realize that that's the hardest pitch possible for Mr. Walsh to call correctly if he's set up on the inside, especially when he's seen the previous 5 pitches come in middle-in. It can go either way, and unfortunately it went Houston's way.

Let's also understand why robo umps are needed. It's not because umpires are incompetent. Statistically, they are unbelievably excellent at their job. Robo umps are needed because the quality and style of pitching in modern baseball has simply surpassed a human's ability to call balls and strikes as accurately as everyone - especially fans - demands. Humans are, unfortunately for us all, fallible; but we live in a culture that, despite the fact that we are - all of us - fallible, cannot tolerate the fallibility of others. And it seems that the more trivial the pursuit - such as sports - the more intolerant we are of others' fallibility. Make incredibly huge mistakes in business, the economy, or government and you'll suffer no consequences. Get a call "wrong" in a baseball game, and you're called garbage, and the clickbait internet culture (who profit off your clicks) screams for accountability and investigations. And the Red Sox fan angle is so childish and click-baity it's not even worth discussing here.

Look - if anything, Brian Walsh had a bad day at the wrong time in the wrong game, and now all of a sudden he's some kind of pariah. I am pretty sick of hearing everyone admit that, yes, the bullpen imploded and Boone made some questionable bullpen decisions, but WALSH MISSED THAT LAST CALL IT WAS A BALL! Ridiculous. Brian Walsh is statistically a very good umpire, and ranks 3.96 on the pitcher-/hitter-friendly scale, which is .01 above the highest "neutral" ranking of 3.98, which makes him ever so slightly pitcher-friendly (EV Analytics). The heat he's catching comes from fans who really take this game of baseball - a child's game - far, far too seriously.

Umpires take an awful lot of abuse because the average fan is, well, a fan. The abuse they take from ballplayers and managers has its source in the fierce competition and the high level at which these people play the game (and if you think the average MLB player can be abusive, you haven't umpired in front of parents and grandparents). Feel free to pile on the abuse of Mr. Walsh if you must, but hopefully you'll realize that your reaction is childish and emotionally stunted. I was unhappy with the outcome of last night's game as well, but the loss is squarely on the Yankee players, whose bullpen imploded, whose "fucking elite" SS fanned three times, who went 1-7 with RISP, whose roster construction is fundamentally flawed, and who probably have the worst in-game manager in the game today. If a hitter who has a .300 average (3-10) is a "star player," than surely an ump with even an 85% called strike accuracy (8 wrong out of 52) is pretty damn good.

Play better baseball, NYY. Just play better.

Before I let another 5 years or so go by without commenting, let me apologize for hijacking the blog and inserting myself into this comfortable clique. I enjoy Mr. Seely's writing, and I am a great admirer of Mr. Kevin Baker, whose latest book I devoured and thoroughly enjoyed. It keeps me lurking.

Is this Brian Cashman's worst-ever trade deadline haul for pitchers?

Fans excited over Wil-B!

For weeks, we waited, giggly and gushing, for the annual Yankee holiday known as CASHMAN CHRISTMAS: July 31, the trade deadline. 

Surely, we would solve our bullpen woes. 

True to form, as the deals burst from their tickertapes, the NY courtiers rendered their verdict: 

A completely, unabashed Yankee victory! Just look at the booty! To make things equal, other teams should have imposed tariffs. Best of all, the Yankees built an Olympian bullpen - all for only 11 prospects and Oswald Peraza. 

Look LOOK LOOK at the haul... 

Jake Bird (from Rockies): Gave up four runs in debut, three in third appearance - a 27.00 ERA. Exiled to Scranton, where - in 9 games - sits at 6.75.

David Bednar (from Pirates): Anointed new closer. Has 3 saves out of 5 opportunities. 

Camilo Doval (from Giants): A 4.63 ERA. One save, two blown saves. Melted down against Houston with game-clonking balk and wild pitch.

Amed Rosario (from Nats): Utility player. Missed two weeks with injury. Hasn't been a factor.

Austin Slater (from White Sox): Strained a hammy in first game. M.I.A. since.

Ryan McMahon (from Rockies): Defensive 3B, hitting .200 over last month with 22 Ks. (But had "some nice swings" last night.) 

Jose Caballero (from Rays): Defensive utility player and pinch runner. Not being allowed to replace St. Anthony at SS. 

Wilberson Pena (from Angels): 18 year old, hit .227 in Dominican Summer League. HEY, IF HE TURNS OUT TO BE A SUPERSTAR, A GREAT TRADE DEADLINE!

Need we say more...

 

Note:  1.4 runs in favor of Houston in a one run game.

85% is bad enough but it's actually worse. Don't forget that the vast majority of strike calls, and ball calls for that matter, are no brainers.  So he missed a much, much, larger percentage of the calls where he was using his judgement.  

It get's worse...  He's also a Red Sox Fan! 

https://yanksgoyard.com/umpire-who-screwed-yankees-in-astros-loss-revealed-to-have-controversial-red-sox-past

Have the Astros found a new way to cheat? (Bribe the umps) And does it matter?

 

In life, few experiences turdify a punch bowl like a full-scale, felony-grade, Yankee bullpen meltdown. Some comparisons... 

The GameDay graphic didn't
hide Jazz Chishom's final called
third strike. 

A pulsating toothache on a five-hour bus ride to Plattsburgh... 

Losing your wallet in a foreign country in a crowd that dislikes America... 

Checking your watch to find you've got at least 90 minutes before Disney on Ice will end. 

That was last night: A root canal in Hamilton with the Ice-Capades. We watched a bullpen collapse worthy of Game 5. (The only thing missing was Gerrit Cole pointing to first base.) 

Suddenly, the Gauntlet looks a bit more frightening. Suddenly, it's the morning after D-Day (D for Devin and Doval.) Suddenly, we wonder if we've pissed away six months of life-juice on an obsession destined to crush us. 

Today, every Yank fan in captivity must secretly ask: 

Will I be happier if the wheels just fall off now?

Damn. In the sixth, Will Warren gave a 4-2 lead to Cooperstown Cashman's increasingly porous bullpen: Fernando Cruz. Luke. Devin Williams. The evolving headcase, Camilo Doval. All night, the home plate ump screwed us, ending the game - fittingly - with a ridiculous called-third strike - (see above, even the GameDay graphic didn't hide the pitch) - which was off the plate the length of a Giancarlo erection.  

Bad call. Demoralizing loss. Spoiler alert. Don't drink the punch...

We showcased our demons. Anthony Volpe, fanning thrice, killing three rallies. Doval, inexplicably, balking home one runner and wild pitching another. (In a game where both runs were pivotal.) 

We're now three losses behind Toronto. This weekend, if we sweep the Blue Jays - (which we won't) - they'll still hold first. Boston lost not only their star rookie, Anthony Roman, Roman Anthony (he strained his blinky), but a game. They're one behind us. But seriously, should we care? 

How many miles to Plattsburgh? Are we there yet? 

Hoss is right, and I wasn't entirely serious

Sorry. Yeah, I know Mantle didn't always swing for the fences, but it's a good story. 

The strikeouts were more my main point. Hoss said it a lot better without the obfuscating snark.

Mickey was the strikeout king 60 years ago, but today's hitters are at another level of whiffdom.

Three true outcomes, blah, blah, blah.

As for last night's game, Boone is an idiot. Williams did get screwed by the ump, but still. Doval is not a guy you use in that situation. And Stanton should've been pulled from left field.

Did I mention that Boone is an idiot?

Boone is an idiot.

Welcome to YOUR MOM'S FAVORITE GAME THREAD !

 

what does this man see?

Open Question

I didn't notice this during the game because I was watching with the sound off while talking to a friend. I'm sure the broadcasters did but...

https://nypost.com/2025/09/03/sports/astros-ace-framber-valdez-accused-of-intentionally-crossing-up-catcher/

That's pretty messed up. 

Open Question:  If you were the Astros how would you handle it?

The two lost weeks will cost Aaron Judge the Triple Crown, but he remains the Unicorn, and MVP should be his to lose

Breaking Update: The old-school, newsprint-agate leaderboard to your right is outdated, in even more ways than you thought. 

Last night, Aaron Judge went 2-for-5, lifting his average to .325 - a solid 10 points over banjo-hitter Jacob Wilson of the Anywhere A's. 

That leaves Judge basically alone on the island, as baseball's lone slugger who also hits for average. It's been three months since the world deliriously noticed that Judge was flirting with .400. The corresponding 75-point drop has crimped his chances to rewrite history - and it's been especially noticeable in critical games. 

But no matter what happens over the next month, Judge remains head and shoulders - literally and figuratively - above the rest. 

Of MLB's six qualifying BA leaders, only Judge has belted more than 26 HRs. More concerning, in the NL, only Trea Turner today is hitting above .300. (Last night, Freddie Freeman fell to .299, and Turner dipped to .301.) 

This could be the first year in our lifetimes that nobody in the NL hits .300. 

When we discuss sluggers who also hit for average, there's Judge and the cast of Glee. 

Cal Raleigh, 50 HRs and .242 BA.
Kyle Schwarber, 49, .245. 
Junior Caminero, 40, .262.  
Shohei Ohtani, 46, .279.
Juan Soto, 37, .259.

In September, to seriously challenge for MVP, all Judge needs to do is not crap the bed. He's seven HRs behind Raleigh, his greatest competition. I'd say a 70-point BA difference is hard to ignore, but that assumes the Gammonites will treat Judge fairly: They generally think NYC gets too much attention, and will hold it against Yankees in their votes.  

Still, it's time to ask: WTF happened to our hitters? For several winters now, the fathers of the game have changed the rules to boost offense. Has it worked?  

1) They banned defensive over-shifts (though infielders straddle the lines and have managed to kill the traditional single up the middle.) 

2) They increased the size of the bases. This was supposed to foster an explosion in stolen bases. Well, 10 years ago, Dee Strange-Gordon of the Marlins led MLB with 58 SB. This year, the current leader is our own Jose "The Gay" Caballero, with 42. Can he beat 58? Dunno. But no Maury Wills/Lou Brock/Rickie Henderson has emerged. There is no revolution in running the bases. 

3) They forced managers to use relief pitchers for at least three batters. This works - sorta -  but the three batters go awfully quick. 

Especially when Aaron Judge is coming up with first base open.

uhm - game thread ? yeah....maybe – why not

 

An Above Average Haiku Tuesday – Ground Control to Major Tom, Edition

 

time to reaccess

those storm clouds bring more than rain

Fried things do taste good

 

Dear Yankees: It's time to put up or shut up

 

Dear Yankees (may I call you Yanks?) 

It's September. 

The leaves are turning, the schools are churning, the forests are burning, and Giants fans are yearning. You soon will be replaced every Sunday by the most violent collisions of humanity since the Crusades. It's what America loves, the true national pastime, and as baseball teams plummet out of contention - their fans will happily discard ballcaps and don football jerseys. Come fall and winter, only the Jets and Giants - two uniquely awful sports franchises - can save baseball in NYC.    

For better or worse, it's time for you - that is, the Yanks - to show the world your true colors. Midnight Blue, or Piss Yella.

The Yankees started 2025 on a hot streak. As everyone knows - (history sucks, eh?) - you were 7 games up on May 28. That merry month is now just part of an ugly fossil record, a reckoning that looms ever larger, as daylight hours shrink. It's been a tough summer. That said, here we are - only two losses behind Toronto, and one ahead of Boston - and over the next two weeks, you'll face both. The Yankees can be champions or a laughingstock. They can embrace greatness or mediocrity. They can be the team that rose in the clutch - or that constantly went knock-kneed in the presence of a true contender. 

Throughout the summer, you faded against good pitching and solid defense. Well, summer is almost over. 

Let's acknowledge that whatever happens over the next two weeks - against Houston, Toronto, Boston and Detroit - the Yankees will likely still reach the postseason. That's because of an expanded playoff system, which rewards almost any team that finishes above .500. That's how the Yankees avoid being held accountable: Their also-ran teams qualify for the playoffs, even if under old-time standards, they would have been dropped from October games. 

Well, here we are. 

But over the next two weeks, if the Yankees flop, everyone will know the truth about this team. 

After nearly 140 games, the 2025 Yankees reach the Gauntlet

 

Welp, here it is. 

The Gauntlet. 

It starts Tuesday.

Three games against Houston. 

Three against Toronto. 

Three vs Detroit. 

Three at Fenway. 

They all despise us, their hatreds burning hotter than a billion suns. 

Houston cheats. Everybody knows it. They stole a world series. They used video technology and garbage cans. They'll should be in jail. They have no shame. Next winter, don't be surprised if they invoke a redistricting plan for the NL West. (They'll play Colorado, Washington, White Sox and Toledo.) 

Toronto has L'll Vlad, who vowed to never join the Yankees, never have anything to do with the Yankees, never even smile in the Yankees' direction... until it became financially inconvenient, so he said he was just kidding. Now he hates us again? He's lapped me.

Detroit has Gleyber - seething, angry Gleyber - who still cannot accept that he sleepwalked his way out of a career in NY. He could have been a lifelong Yankee. It was his fault, not ours. 

And then Boston... smug, frat-boy Boston. The Redsocks should ditch 2025 and send their young, superstar lineup directly to Cooperstown. 

Four three-game series, each one a glimpse of October. 

After 137 games, we will finally gauge the destiny of this team.

Yes, it will be followed by two weeks of cupcakes. Yes, as patsy-punchers, the Yankees will still be able to stumble into the playoffs - and quickly disappear. 

But make no mistake: This is the Gauntlet.