Lockout, Day 62: Did you know George Steinbrenner tried to take the Yankees on tour? I knew he threatened to move the team to New Jersey, but Manny Randhawa has the story on Steinbrenner...
2022-02-01 13:01:03 +0000 UTC View PostLockout, Day 58: Welcome to the second longest work stoppage in MLB history. The 1994-95 strike takes the cake at 232 days, and a week ago the current lockout passed the 1981 strike (50 days) for the second longest. I’m setting the over/under at 99.5 days. I’m feeling optimistic and will go w...
2022-01-28 13:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post10 years ago today Jorge Posada announced his retirement. Yes, it has really been 10 years. Posada was the second member of the Core Four to retire (Bernie Williams is the fifth member of the Core...
2022-01-25 13:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostMasahiro Tanaka signed with the Yankees eight years ago tomorrow. That was a pretty fun day. I miss that guy. I miss baseball in general. Every year around this time I start getting th...
2022-01-21 13:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostLockout, Day 48: I recommend Dayn Perry’s exhaustive look at the 1972 season, a season that forever changed baseball. Come for...
2022-01-18 13:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostMy current offseason binge watch is The Americans (good show, I give it an 8/10) and an episode I watched the other day gave me the perfect screen grab to describe my lockout mood (not a spoiler, don’t worry):
Lockout, Day 41: I can’t believe I was once optimistic there wouldn’t be a work stoppage. How stupid of me. Congrats on somehow making baseball more boring, guys. Anyway, let's get to today's post.
1. The future at each position: infield. The lockout is a dangerous thin...
2022-01-11 13:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostAt some point soon I’ll begin working on my annual Top 30 Yankees Prospects list, though the lockout is throwing a wrench into things. I’d like to know who gets traded (if anyone), who gets added (if anyone), and when pitchers and catchers are going to report, you know? If the end-of-lockout ...
2022-01-07 13:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostHappy New Year folks. I’m going to start 2022 with a little self-promotion: I wrote about 2022 being a crucial year for MLB’s fu...
2022-01-04 13:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostThe week between Christmas and New Years is the week time forgets. Everything is a little less hectic, and baseball news typically slows to a crawl. This year there is no baseball news at all because the owners locked out the players. So, I’m taking advantage of this week to cover two topics I...
2021-12-31 13:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostThe final week of 2021 has arrived and the owners’ lockout is ongoing with no end in sight. Baseball news is nonexistent, so during this week between Christmas and New Years, I’m going to switch things up a bit and cover two topics I’ve had on my to-do list for a while now. Today we’ll lo...
2021-12-28 13:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostLockout, Day 22: Are we closer to the end of this thing, or the beginning? I’m pretty sure it’s the latter, unfortunately. I hope you’re all staying safe – I got to play my favorite game the other day: do I have a cold or the plague? (it was just a cold, thankfully) – and the holidays t...
2021-12-24 13:01:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Lockout, Day 19: Has it really only been 19 days? I’ll never take those stray “the Yankees have interest in [random player]” rumors for granted again. A slow offseason is better than whatever this is. Anyway, let’s get to today’s post.
1. On a Judge extension. At ...
2021-12-21 13:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostUPDATE: I made two screw ups in the mailbag question about important at-bats and outs. First, the Yankees lost the 1964 World Series to the Cardinals. They didn't win it. That was the end of the Mickey Mantle/Whitey Ford era dynasty. And second, Mariano Rivera got the fo...
2021-12-17 13:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostLockout, Day 13: I looked at independent league stats the other day just to feel alive. Did you know Alberto Callaspo hit .335/.469/.461 with 85 walks and 30 strikeouts for the Charleston Dirty Birds this year? I don’t know what surprised me more: Callaspo still playing or Callaspo somehow bein...
2021-12-14 13:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostSelf-promotion: I was asked to write something about the Yankees offseason at CBS. You will be surprised to learn I...
2021-12-10 13:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostLockout, Day 6: I don’t miss reflexively checking my phone every few minutes to see whether there’s breaking news. I guess that means the lockout isn’t a total loss. I do miss having some baseball news though. Radio silence is pretty boring. Anyway, let’s get to today’s thought...
2021-12-07 13:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostWhat a week. North of a billion dollars spent on free agents and then baseball shut down for who knows how long. I hope the Yankees enjoyed the view from the sidelines. Kind of amazing how little they accomplished before the lockout and how much they’ll have to accomplish in a relatively short ...
2021-12-03 13:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostI skip one post for Thanksgiving and all hot stove hell breaks loose. At least the lockout is coming tomorrow to put a halt to all the fun. Can’t have fans getting too excited now. Nothing better represents the state of Major League Baseball than teams energizing fans with a flurry of hot stove...
2021-11-30 13:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostHappy Thanksgiving Eve Eve, all. Turkey Day is two days away and the lockout is eight days away. “Honestly, I can’t believe there’s a single fan in the world who doesn’t understand that an offseason lockout that moves the process forward is different than a labor dispute that costs games,...
2021-11-23 13:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostReminder: I’m skipping next Friday’s regularly scheduled post. It’s the day after Thanksgiving and I’m going to relax a bit during the holiday weekend. I’ll of course cover any breaking news, but otherwise there will be no post one week from today. Let’s get to today’s thoughts.
... 2021-11-19 13:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Reminder: I am planning to skip the regularly scheduled post on Friday, Nov. 26th. That’s next Friday and it’s the day after Thanksgiving. I will happily cover any breaking news, otherwise I’m going to lay low during the holiday weekend. Now let’s get to today’s post.
1. V...
2021-11-16 13:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostPSA: The Arizona Fall League Fall Stars Game will be on MLB Network at 7pm ET tomorrow. Austin Wells and Elijah Dunham will represent the Yankees, so, if you’re jonesin’ for real ...
2021-11-12 13:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostUPDATE (9:05am ET): Stephen Ridings is not listed on Baseball America's minor league free agent list, so I guess he's not a minor league free age...
2021-11-09 13:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostProgramming note: I’m planning to skip the regularly scheduled post on Friday, Nov. 26th. That’s three weeks from today and it’s the day after Thanksgiving. If there’s breaking news, I’ll happily cover it, otherwise I’m going to lay low during the holiday weekend. Let’s get today’...
2021-11-05 12:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostUPDATE: I screwed up some math on the Gardner and O'Day buyouts in the contract options section. My bad. Doesn't really change anything other than a few numbers, but it's fixed now.
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The Braves are the 2021 World Series champions and you'll have to forgive me for...
2021-11-03 13:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostThe World Series returns to Houston tonight and, as a fan, I hope we get Game 7 tomorrow, because Game 7s are awesome. One way or the other, the offseason will officially begin in no more than 48 hours, meaning contract option decisions are due at the end of the week and qualifying offer decision...
2021-11-02 12:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostThe other day I said I don’t really care who wins the World Series. I was wrong. As soon as Game 1 got underway, I found myself pulling for the Braves. I underrated my vindictiveness. I don’t want th...
2021-10-29 12:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostThe Dodgers were eliminated over the weekend and that means the 1998-2000 Yankees remain baseball’s last repeat champions. Coincidentally, today is the 21st anniversary of Game 5 of the 2000 World Series. The three-peat is legally old enough to drink. I remember 2021-10-26 12:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post