Congrats to Redsock fans everywhere. Your radio team has finally achieved full-on, bonkers hate.

Dear Redsock Nation,

For 35 years, your blustery fans whined about John Sterling's rampant shows of favoritism during Yankee radio broadcasts, driven by Jeep. 

You never got over Sterling's shtick, the home run calls and Win-Warbles, and how his voice lilted unto heaven when the Yankees had a lead. You prosecuted John and Suzyn Waldman with the vigor of Rand Paul in a Covid hearing. How dare the Yankees employ flagrant home team announcers, befouling the otherwise pristine Harding & Mazzotti Broadcast Booth! (By the way, hurt your body? Call Harding & Mazzotti!)

Well, today, the Righteous Redsocks - Curt Schilling's chosen team - can bathe in its self-sustaning acrimony, thanks to the radio team of Will Flemming and Will Middlebrooks. They did something Sterling wouldn't have touched in his entire career. They called for a Boston pitcher to "drill" a Yankee batter and pick a fight during the late stage of a 16-1 plastering. 

This came about because Jazz Chisholm stole third in the eighth, with the Yankees leading 14-1. The Boston infield wasn't holding him on, and he basically jogged to third. Defensive indifference. Austin Wells was batting against Boston's Jovani Moran, and in the booth, Flemming was seething over the indignity of Chisholm's move. 

"Wouldn't you sort of like to see Moran drill Wells right here?" Flemming asked.

Well, speaking on behalf of the Yankiverse, YEAH! 

I mean, who wouldn't want a full-on, bench-clearing brawl! We haven't had a bonkers, bare-fisted street rumble in waaaaay too many years. I've wondered what Giancarlo Stanton has been doing in the Yankee dugout. Now I know: He's waiting for his chance to grab little Caleb Durbin and fling him like a Frisbee into the upper deck. Come on, everybody, grab the testosterone and let's do some Hegseth! 

Look, I get it that Chisholm didn't need to steal third. But who cared? Certainly not Boston. They had given up, because their 4-year-old center fielder didn't get the call on a trapped line drive, so - hey - let's pick a fight! Maybe Flemming could punch out Suzyn? And if they hurt their body... well, you know who to call.

Folks, isn't that what is happening all across America? 

Something goes wrong, so drill the nearest guy and let's fight.

I already know what Boston will do about Flemming's words. Nothing. Maybe he'll recant, sorta, with a winky-wink. And if the Yanks play Boston in the postseason - right now, they'd be hosting the Redsocks in a three-game wild card series - what are the odds that somebody doesn't drill Chisholm? 

Yep, congrats to all you Fenway Freedom Fighters. You guys are something. See you in October.

Game Thread – August 30th, 202∂

So, are we ready for Anthony Volpe, edition number four?

Not sure what it means - if anything - but Anthony Volpe yesterday went 1-4 with a walk and two Ks for the Scranton Railwhatevers. He played 3B, as he has done for most of the last three weeks. At Triple A, Volpe is hitting .217 - (23 points below his BA for the Yankees this year) - with 6 HRs in 115 ABs.

Volpe is 25, going on 32. He's been with us since 2023. It seems like forever. Last year, he supposedly played half the season with a bum shoulder. But this year, all healed, his game only continued to unravel. A lot of people expected him to disappear at the trade deadline. But here he is, perhaps ready for another go?

Yesterday's Scranton game ended before George Lombard Jr., in NYC, tweaked his knee batting against Boston. Lombard walked it off, singled, played two more innings and then left, whisked to a hospital for voodoo scans. Immediately, the Yankees revved up their Baghdad Bob machine, saying the injury looks minor and listing Lombard as "day-to-day." After all, 21-year-olds heal fast, right? 

Since joining the team Aug. 4, after Volpe was banished, Lombard has lived several of his own lifetimes. He's been compared to Hall of Fame shortstops. He's been mocked for committing six errors in six games, a record among Yankee shortstops that had not been achieved since 1915. Roger Peckinpaugh, remember him? 

Lombard and Volpe have shared a wondrous and terrifying experience. Both were hoisted on a pedestal as the future of the Yankees - and then hung out to dry. In both cases, their stories are incomplete. Today, their fates will merge on the results of a medical scan.  

Dunno what to make of this splintered seesaw of good and terrible luck. In a Ben Affleck movie, Volpe would return, he'd befriend Lombard, they'd make peace with their dads, they'd compete for Zendaya, and they'd lead the ragtag, loveable Yankees to a world series. Unfortunately, Affleck hates us, and were this a movie, it would be directed by Rob Zombie or the guy who did that Melania flick. 

Today, the Yankees play Boston for the last time in this regular season. Jose Caballero will probably play SS. Nobody calls him the future of the Yankees. But Cabby will have to do. (BTW: Playing SS last night in Scranton was everybody's fave, Oswaldo Cabrera, and he went 1-5, lowering his season average to .286. There's a movie in there, and we know Oswaldo can act from his CarShield commercials.) 

Today decides the four-game home series and our season record against Boston. If the Yankees win, they will not only lead the Redsocks by four games, but they'll hold the tie-breaker, a phantom 5th game. (Fun Fact: That's what killed them last year against Toronto.) They would almost surely secure the first AL wild card, with its limited home field advantage. Also, they can go to the West Coast this week for six games to be played after our bedtimes. No anxiety. Just sleep.

We shall have respite. But until then, we wonder: Who's narrative will play out at SS? The wheel keeps grinding.

º8/29/2∂ – Wicked Double Pissah in da Bronx - Game Two

 

º8/29/2∂ – Wicked Double Pissah in da Bronx - Game One

 

Yanks face Judgement Day, without Judge.

 Wellp, here goes nuthing... 

Across the world, millions of innocent people are fleeing floods, wildfires, maelstroms and war - oblivious to what we of the Yankiverse would manically consider "Doomsday Doubleday Judgement Day" - with two games against Boston that will define 2026, at least until next week.

It's nuts to assign cataclysmic significance to the outcome of a sporting gig, a cultural parlor game, but the ship called "Reason" sailed long ago. In our bug jar, where our feelers barely touch the air holes, we today face six to eight hours of grueling, self-imposed anxiety, as we prepare for two games that will change nothing in our lives, aside from the panicky fact that we can think of nothing else.

The twi-night doubleheader - ahh, a vestige from the distant past - begins at 1:05 p.m., with the nightcap set for 7:15 p.m., give or take. By then, either team could be out of bullpen arms, summoning the dregs from their Triple A wastewater ponds. By then, certain Yankees could be headed back to Scranton, (where Anthony Volpe last night reverted to SS.) By then, one fan base will be drunkenly celebrating, and the other will be measuring nearby bridges.  

And here's the joke. 

Probably, nothing will come of it. 

After all the buildup, all the handwringing, the teams will do what happens in most doubleheaders: They will split. (Yank fans would happily accept such an outcome.) Come Monday, the Yankees fly to LA, with a new time zone and lease on life. Swimmin' pools. Movie stars. 

Today, the Babadook. Next week, San Diego. Keep that in mind, as the terrors descend. They can beat us. They can sweep us. But they can't eliminate us. 

OH SCHLITT ! ! ? ! !

The Only remaining Reason To Watch

In July, 1915, a bunch of my friends gathered around the family radio in Yonkers, New York, to listen to another Yankee game.

But this was no ordinary game. 

In the previous five games the Yankee shortstop, Roger Peckinpaugh, had made an error.  On this day he would make his 6th in 6 games, setting a New York Yankee record.  A record which stood until August 27th of 2026, when rookie shortstop George Lombard would duplicate that feat. 

Roger went on to become an all star shortstop,  until he totally wigged out in a seven game 1925 World Series ( playing, by then, for the Washington Senators ) during which he notched 8 errors.   Of interest, Roger was the American League MVP that same season.

So there is reason to watch tonight.  We may see a new Yankee record established by a rookie.  We can call it the " 8 ball game. "   Those of you who play pool will know the implications here. 

What ever happens, someone should take Lombard to a Yankee bar tonight and be a chaperone whilst he gets hammered.  I recommend Crown Royal shots, draft beers and pickled eggs.  

If Roger can become a league MVP after his ignominious achievement, so can Boy George. 

There is always hope. 

"Seventy percent of life is showing up..."

 ...But the Yankees only show up 70 percent of the time.

Last night was, yet again, Not A Good Faith Effort.

Hey, it was raining most of yesterday, and the grass was really wet, and the crowd was only some 41,000, and the Yanks are just in a pennant race and playing a team that has constantly beaten and cheated and humiliated them over the past 10 years.

You can't expect ballplayers who are making tens of millions of dollars to get up for that. Not against the great Hayden Wesneski, who entered the game with a 4.50 ERA.

Once again, the Un-Clutchedness was appalling. 

Many have written here about this Yankees team's continuing inability to hit with men in scoring position (when they hit at all). But it goes the other way, too. Four of the five Houston runs scored with two outs, just as the vast majority of opponents' runs now score with two outs against your New York Yankees. 

The Venerable Keefe established long ago what a terrible field manager Aaron Boone is. But what many have overlooked is just what an awful clubhouse manager he is, too, utterly unable to keep his teams paying attention throughout the long season.

The June Swoon, the July Die, the August Bust...call it what you will, but I have never seen teams take nothing from something the way that they do under Aaron Boone.

A little winning streak, pitching that keeps them in every game, the bats seeming to break out...

Nope.

Nothing means anything.

Back we go, with another non-effort like last night's. 

Five hits, two errors, 11 more strikeouts, 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, two-hours-and-thirty-seven minutes and done, because who wants to risk their luxury car in a flash flood on the way back to Connecticut? 

And now the rookie's errors have become a thing, on the back page of the Post, because apparently neither Aaron Boone nor any of the aged veterans in the clubhouse have the ability or the inclination to settle the kid.

And now comes the big showdown series against the Red Sox, which means something to old folks like us, but nothing at all to this ever-more-annoying zombie team of Yankees, who seemingly can't wait for the season to be over.

Hey, it was overcast this morning, and you know what kind of a mood that puts you in, and Judge will be back soon, and who knows, maybe the playoff match-ups will be favorable...

Still have to show up, though.

Into the most critical series of the year, the Yankees stagger

Well, here we go. The moment we've dreaded since early June may finally come to pass.

The wolf is at our door.  

Sadly, the Yankees are the hamster, scampering in desperation for three brutal months. Since Aaron Judge went out with a fractured rib, our lineup has been a toothless caravan of Ks and botched RBI opportunities. 

Take last night. In the early innings, they twice failed to score a runner on second with no outs - the fundamental low bar for championship teams. The Yankees fail so regularly, so comfortably, that fans expect to fail when a runner reaches 2B. 

Where have you gone, Paul O'Neill? Is there nobody who can smash a water cooler? Have we all just gone out sailing on Lake America?

As we await Boston, and the possibility of a wipeout weekend, the state of the Yankees is cold and bleak.

Catcher: Despite the YES team's dutiful claims of hope, Austin Wells remains the worst hitting catcher in baseball, especially clueless against lefty pitching, which is the new normal. Last night, he went 0-3 with three Ks. The usual...

Infield: Our future is an unraveling ball of twine held together by George Lombardi Jr., who last night made his sixth error in six games. He's on the back cover. Beginning tonight, the spotlight will burn hotter than ever. It killed Anthony Volpe. Is it coming for Lombard?

Outfield: Aaron Judge says he will return without playing a minor league rehab game. He'll go straight to RF, where he will exercise caution on balls that would otherwise demand that he dive. What could go wrong?

Rotation: Our strong point, though the loss of Ryan Weathers might require a regular bullpen start, and Carlos Rodon is still Carlos Rodon. Generally, we can expect six innings and three runs. 

Bullpen: The loss of Francisco Cruz - elbow - really hurts. Brent Headrick is showing strain, and the once-limitless succession of young arms from Scranton is no more. Last night, we used 35-year-old Justin Topa, signed from the scrap heap barely a week ago.   

Everywhere, a meltdown, waiting to happen. 

The wolf is at the door.

º8/27/2∂ - Ass'Tros √s Yunkeez - "Oh Baby its Cole Outside"

 

 

As George Lombard Jr. approaches the maelstrom, every game is a lifetime

Five nights, five errors, including one that arguably cost a game. 

Is this really happening? 

Please, pour water onto my face. Yell into my ear. Wake me from this existential dread.

Suddenly, the Yankiverse is mumbling, grousing, fearing the worst about George Lombard Jr., piling upon him a lifetime of scrutiny, barely three months into his 21st year.

I, for one, hope that he... 

a) does not read social media
b) does not listen to talk radio
c) does not read this blog

I'd add that he needs a competent shrink, who never utters the most terrifying phrase this week in the Yankiverse.

The Yips.

Nope. Aint going there. It's too early to sound the Mandatory Evacuation alarm. But Yank fans know an iceberg when they see one, and the Brace for Impact light is  flashing. 

Lombard arrived on Aug. 4, a century ago?, rousing our most unbridled hopes since The Martian homered thrice in one game, back in May of 2025. He looked like the Second Coming of Jeet, with an extra dab of Ozzie Smith. We penciled him into Monument Park, if not Cooperstown. 

Now, suddenly, every grounder is a Stephen King novel. It's been three weeks. It feels like three lifetimes. And now comes a Twilight Zone weekend against Boston. A mistake or two could drop the Yankees behind the Redsocks with a thunder of boos that could grease a slide back to Scranton. 

Ah, Scranton. Never has the name of a fine, upstanding city conjured such images of existential torture. 

There - down there - Anthony Volpe is playing 2B, demoted from franchise SS to discarded utility lug nut. Last night, he went 1-4 with a HR, his 6th on the brief season. At SS, Oswaldo Cabrera went 1-3 - no errors. I believe Yank fans would love to see Oswaldo again - he's hitting .279 with 17 HRs - but at SS? Nah. He's stuck there for eternity.

Listen: If Lombard continues to struggle defensively, the Yankees might have to blow up their well-hyped future. Another round of Volpe? Or Max Schuemann? I don't see Ryan McMahon shifting to SS, and Amed Rosario is a lost cause. In Scranton, there is ex-prospect Marco Luciano (age 24, with 22 HRs, .297, who mostly plays 2B.) And in Somerset, a formerly hyped prospect, Roderick Arias, is having his best year. (.272, 14 HRs, age 21.) It's a long, steep drop to the next great hope, Dax Kilby, (.280 in 93 ABs at Single A.) Frankly, there's just Volpe. 

This might be the most important weekend of Lombard's career. Damn. Why don't I just heap more pressure on him, eh?

Tonight... a clean game. Okay? 

A gentle query

WHY IS TRENT GRISHAM STILL PLAYING CENTER FIELD?

Game Thread – 08•2∂•2∂ – RIP Tim Curry

 

 

The Yankee bullpen looks Booned. Ten lost observations

Last 7 days

1. For a while last night, I thought the Yankees would honor Dolly Parton by losing 9 to 5. 

2. Boone's Circle of Trust is leaking. Our mainstays - Brent Headrick and Fernando Cruz  (see chart) - desperately need a week of fine weed and Calgon Bath Oil Beads, but that won't happen, not with Boston approaching. The 6th, 7th and 8th innings now belong to Blackburn and Hill. Blare the sirens. This is Def-Con 4.

3. George Lombard Jr. remains the great Jeterian hope. But four errors in four games have raised rip tide warnings. Suddenly, when the ball gets hit his way, the Yankiverse holds its breath. The franchise cannot afford another infield apparition. If this becomes a mental thing... 

4. Like the guy in Obsession, the horror flick about Natalie Harp, I am clutching my trinket and wishing for Aaron Judge to return... NOW! But but BUT... if he's not ready, he could bring an 0-for-15 weekend. 

5. Sonny Gray is 16-3 and Boston's shot for the Cy Young. He pitches tonight against the Marlins and will probably go Sunday. God knows who will oppose him.

6. If there's anything we've come to know about Will Warren, it's that Boone always leaves him in one batter too long. 

7.  Over the last month, Ben Rice is hitting .158 with three HRs. Yes, he's a fan fave. But batting second, he's coming up in huge situations, and he's not getting it done. 

8. In Scranton, Anthony Volpe is hitting: Two for five last night, playing 2B. The Martian, meanwhile, went 0-4 with three Ks, inexplicably playing CF. And Oswaldo, at SS, 0-4 with three Ks. Come Sept 1, when the rosters expand, help is not on the way.

9. Last night for Scranton, the Railriders used five pitchers, a bullpen start, and gave up six runs. Help is not on the way.

10. I know it's not easy, but when Jazz Chisholm is on 1B, and Austin Wells is batting, there should be an immediate command to steal 2B. Wells is a human GIDP, and his DP grounder killed us last night.

Damn, I hate losing to Jose Altuve. 

Willy on the Hilly – (RIP Dolly) – 08/25/2∂

 

 

With 32 games left, the Yankees prepare for the Gauntlet

Let's face it: None of this fan crapola really matters, because the Dodgers will win, anyway. 

They've ignored the financial constraints faced by the rest of baseball, and who cares if their billionaire owner receives a stern talking-to, they'll have three rings, and we will spend the rest of our lives hearing about it. Shoot me now. 

It won't matter that they will write checks to Shohei Ohtani into the next millennium. Baseball Reference won't even show an asterisk. What they'll remember is that every winter, the Dodgers shelled out for star after star, while the Yankees counted pennies and finished second in the auctions. The Yankee brain trust achieved its one objective: 

Contend into September. 

So, here we are. Promises Kept. Mission Accomplished. The Yankees have 32 games left to catch Tampa and/or fend off Boston. Both are doable. Thirty-two games, and if we win half, we reach the postseason. Add another Wild Card flag and prepare for the crapshoot. Here's what's coming:

Three home v Houston. (Need two)
Four home v Boston. (Must win at least two)
Three in LA v Angels. (Sweep?)
Three in San Diego. (Need two.)
Three home v Colorado. (Sweep?)
Three home (so to speak) against Mets. (Just survive. One?)
Three in Minnesota. (Sweep?)
Three in Arizona. (Two)
Three home v Tampa. (Need two, if they matter)
Three home v Baltimore. (Sweep? If they matter.)

 We won't go the parenthetical 23-9. Expect a three-game losing streak, somewhere, probably around the Mets. But to miss the playoffs would require an A.I. Gene Mauch, Philadelphian collapse. With Aaron Judge returning, it's not hard to imagine the Yankees going 20-12. That would put hard heat on Tampa, who is already enduring 105-degree days in front of invisible crowds. Fifteen thousand fans meant sellouts at Steinbrenner Field. They look paltry in the Tropicana Dome.   

The Yankees play 10 against Boston, Tampa and the Mets. That's your season, folks. Get ready. For better or worse, this weekend could define the 2026 Yankees. But the Dodgers will win, anyway.

The Yankees vanquish Toronto. Finally. Ten observations.

The Yankee Death Barge now sits three below unappreciated Tampa - (average home attendance: woeful 17,128) - three above Boston. Jays and O's are afterthoughts. Ten mental musings...

1. Storm warning issued on George Lombard Jr. Three errors in three days. Not worried, yet. Let's just say, aware of the situation. Lombard has been a huge defensive presence at SS, nearly Jeter Redux. But he needs an error-free few games, or whispers will turn into a siren.

2. The best thing about beating Toronto (with Vlad Jr. barely bothering to run out a grounder): Watching them flounder against Spencer Jones. Already, he has become the guy you hold your pee for. When Jones comes up, nobody runs to the kitchen to get the cheese curds.

3. The Yankees claim Ryan Weathers might return. Too bad we cannot believe anything they say. Last month, Weathers was ticketed for the bullpen. He's had a tough setback, but he's probably back to that assessment.

4.  Jazz Chisholm finally homered yesterday. (He had become the guy who sent you to the kitchen.) But hey, 18 HRs - he could finish around 25 is not chopped liver. Chisholm's problem is the same that attacks most Yankees: Unnecessary hype. And the worst part?  He hyped himself. 

5. We have reached the point where Gerrit Cole must take over the duties as ace of the staff. Cam Schlittler has carried the rotation all season and remains our best shot for the Cy Young. But the onus is now on Cole. He's the tribal elder, the de facto captain of the staff. If Cole comes through, Cooperstown someday will be calling.

6. In Scranton yesterday: Volpe (at 2B) 0-3; The Martian 2-4 with a HR and 4 RBI; and Oswaldo Cabrera - yes, he of the CarShield commercials - at SS, 3-4 with 2 HRs. He's now hitting .292. Come on, Yankees! This guy deserves another shot. You cannot be serious about going the rest of the year with Ryan McMahon. 

7. To catch Tampa and exorcize Boston, it's very simple. All the Yankees must do is get a few hits with runners on base. Yesterday, Ben Rice came through with a huge 2-out single, ending what loomed as a huge lost opportunity. There is nothing scarier across the Yankverse right now than the Yankees with the bases loaded and nobody out. The first guy strikes out. The second guy pops up. And suddenly, the game is on the line.

8. Thus far, Luis Garcia Jr. and Heliot Ramos have fizzled. Both were hitting around .280 when the Yankees traded for them. Both are well below that number. Hopefully, they start hitting... now?

9. They say Judge is near. I'll believe it when I see him. In the meantime, I keep thinking about his return on September 11th - the haunted date - which opens a tough three-game set against the Mets, followed by four against Tampa. That's a date Judge won't want to miss.

10. Prediction: Knicks in five.