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.