The Season of "It Is What It Is" Continues...

 

Aaron Judge and Ben Rice (Photo Credit: Pamela Smith/AP Photo)

Missed opportunity for the Division, but let the playoffs begin…

During the season, when the New York Yankees lose a game, people quickly say, ‘It’s just one game; there are many games to be played.’ Yet, in the end, it was literally one game that cost the Yankees a chance to repeat as the American League Eastern Division Champions.

Thanks to an eight-game winning streak to close out the season, the Yankees finished with a record of 94-68—the same record as the Toronto Blue Jays. For the Jays, it means the AL East Championship and the top seed in the American League playoffs. For the Yankees, they fall to the fourth seed and get the pleasure of hosting a bitter rival, the Boston Red Sox, in the Bronx starting on Tuesday night, while the Jays relax and wait for the next round (another round of Canadian beer or playoffs, I am not sure). The Jays took eight of thirteen games from the Yankees this season, delivering them a divisional championship and much-needed rest.

Devin Williams and his blown saves are the poster child for the Yankees falling short in their drive to reclaim the division.  Aaron Boone’s foolish bullpen choices rank up there and so is the decision to go into the regular season without a true third baseman when it was so clear the Yankees needed one last offseason. I am not sure what the Yankees thought DJ LeMahieu would deliver. After a few years of significant time lost to injuries, did the Yankees legitimately think he would revert to the hitting machine he once was? It was not a bet I wanted to make last offseason, and in retrospect, the Yankees should have cut LeMahieu in the offseason. Unfortunately, they tried to continually roll him out there, hoping for lightning in a bottle.  It never came, and the Yankees were finally forced to admit failure when they released LeMahieu on July 10^th. A day late, and a dollar short.

I suppose there is poetic justice because the Yankees finally found an answer for third base in a guy who was once nipping at LeMahieu’s heels in Colorado. Ryan McMahon may not be known for his bat, but his glove was a much-needed presence in the season’s second half. He was a huge upgrade over his former Colorado Rockies teammate.

Ryan McMahon (Photo Credit: Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images)

It is a continual theme that the Yankees make some good offseason moves but always leave the last gaping hole open. They go into the season, struggle because they punted a critical position, and then try to make up for it at the trade deadline. It cost them an easier path to return to the World Series this season. 

Despite Boston winning the season series against the Yankees (9-4), I like the Yankees better. It does not mean they will win, but I like their chances better. The Yankees are not the same team that lost many of those games to Boston. They filled holes at the trade deadline, even if there were still questions in the pen. The Yankees’ top three starting pitchers…Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, and Cam Schlittler…put the Yankees in position to succeed. Will Warren and Luis Gil provide intense long relief.  If the Yankees hit like we know they can, and the pen can step up their game to match the intensity of closer David Bednar, there is light after the Wild Card round.  Assuming Aaron Boone does not botch it up.

I wonder how Juan Soto feels given his view of the playoffs will be watching a TV screen unless he decides to spend some of those millions to buy a ticket to see a game at Yankee Stadium.  I am not sure who had the bigger flameout. The Detroit Tigers, who lost their division after holding a triple-digit lead a couple of months ago (fifteen games + in July) or the Mets coming up short on the last day of the season to end their season. At least the Tigers get another chance in the Wild Card round. For Soto and his teammates, including what sounds like a soon-to-be ex-teammate (Pete Alonso announced he will not be picking up his player option, which will make him a free agent at season’s end), they get to make non-baseball-related plans for October. When Soto signed with the Mets, I turned the page, but there is sweet justice that he misses the playoffs while the Yankees move on.

I know I have been critical of General Manager Brian Cashman, and his trade for Devin Williams was bad, but he hit on multiple players this year. Max Fried, Cody Bellinger, and Trent Grisham (who surprisingly rode the bench last year for one-season Yankee Alex Verdugo, currently out of baseball). Picking up a legitimate closer at the deadline for acquiring former Pittsburgh Pirates closer David Bednar was HUGE.  I know Ryan McMahon has his share of detractors, but I was pleased with McMahon’s presence at third from the day he arrived. The acquisition of Jose Caballero from the Tampa Bay Rays was a surprise, to put it lightly, but a stellar move. 

Jose Cabellero and Friends (Photo Credit: Al Bello/Getty Images)

Sure, Cashman’s moves cost the Yankees a divisional championship, but his moves also put the Yankees back in the playoffs while the Mets sip on their own tears.  It will be hard for me to go into one of those offseason beliefs that Cashman needs to go. Of course, if they get bounced by the Red Sox, all bets are off. 

I am ready to move on from Manager Aaron Boone, but his return to the playoffs buys him more time, even if the Yankees take an early exit.

Next season is exciting to think about with the return of Gerrit Cole, followed by Fried, Rodón, and Schlittler. The fifth spot will be a battle royale between Will Warren and Luis Gil. May the best man win. Either guy has a chance of blossoming in 2026, which could make the 2026 rotation a force from top to bottom.

I hope the Yankees bring back Trent Grisham. It feels like he is a goner, given he will cash in on a career year. Unfortunately, the Yankees waited until his final season to see what he could do. Cody Bellinger is the player that I want back in the worst way. He thrived in pinstripes. He needs to be part of next year’s squad. Paul Goldschmidt is the least one-season-and-done Yankee. A great player for a long time, but his better days are in the rear-view mirror. 

First base and the bullpen need to be addressed in the offseason, but that is for another day. Today, the focus should be on how the Boston Red Sox and the Yankees can reverse the regular season against their bitter foe. 

Despite the frustrations of the regular season, I am proud of how the Yankees finished. Unfortunately, Steinbrenner Field's temporary residents could not win a single game in the final regular-season series against the Blue Jays, but it is what it is. I return to an old saying, “to be the best, you must beat the best.” Bring it on. That mentality leads me to believe I do not care who the opponent is. Face adversity head-on. I am glad we have baseball’s Most Valuable Player in right field, even if they give the hardware to a catcher who had a historic season for a catcher. 

The defending World Series champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, could not win as many games as the Yankees, and they won their division (they “only” won ninety-three games).  In a perfect world, the Yankees face the Dodgers for a repeat performance, with the Yankees emerging as the new World Champions. 

Yankees, this is your time.

As always, Go Yankees!

Cautiously pessimistic about America’s greatest franchise…

 

Ben Rice and Aaron Judge (Photo Credit: Heather Khalifa/AP Photo)

Can the Yankees win when it matters? T.B.D…

Granted, the 2025 MLB Season has had its fair share of great Yankees moments; it has also been littered by uneven and inconsistent play that has turned wins into losses. The poster children for what ails the Yankees are former closer Devin Williams and fraudulent starting second baseman Anthony Volpe. Put a big shit-eating grin on Aaron Boone behind them, and you have the trifecta for what ails the New York Yankees.  

I wanted Volpe to succeed with the Yankees. Who does not wish for a New Jersey kid to grow up to wear the famed Pinstripes of his favorite childhood team? It makes for an incredible story if the player can walk the walk. Unfortunately, with ample time to decide, the jury has seen enough. The Yankees can do better. They can do better this season by benching or inventing a phantom season-ending injury for Volpe and inserting Jose Caballero as the starting shortstop for the duration of the season. Based on potential, Volpe is the better player, but Caballero is the easy play.

I am grateful the Yankees made the deadline deal to acquire former Pittsburgh Pirates closer David Bednar. Given how many games Devin Williams has cost the Yankees this year, they needed to find a different solution. Williams is a one-season Yankee, and I couldn't care less about him. I hope he finds success elsewhere, so long as it is not in the AL East. Williams’ defining moment in Pinstripes will forever be his role in getting the Yankees to drop their prohibition against beards. Everything he has done on the mound is forgettable.

I wish I felt optimistic about the Yankees in the coming weeks (and months?), but they are a one-and-done playoff participant if they make it. Aaron Boone’s decisions are too much to overcome. I know the decisions belong to the Analytics Department, but Boone is the representative who could say no. The Yankees will make poor decisions that will cost them the potential to advance. That is the status quo for the 2025 Yankees.

I write all this hoping the Yankees can prove me wrong. Please.

This has been a weird season. Everyone knew the Yankees needed a true third baseman at the start of the season, yet the Yankees waited until the trade deadline to pick up a good glove, not a great bat, guy. I am not trying to diss on Ryan McMahon. The Yankees have been better at third since his arrival, and he has had a few clutch hits. But waiting for a half-season to address a significant weakness was a failure on the Yankees’ part. A better focus in the off-season could have landed a better option. Again, not trying to diss on McMahon. I appreciate his presence on the roster. Something is better than nothing.

I never dreamed starting the season that I would love Ben Rice as the Yankees’ starting catcher over Austin Wells, but here we are. Rice has proven his worth with the bat, and you must find a way to keep him in the lineup. I wish Wells had blossomed, and maybe he will. Despite his great career, Paul Goldschmidt is another one-season Yankee. Rice is a potential first baseman for next season unless the Yankees can re-sign Cody Bellinger. I hope and pray the Yankees sign Bellinger, but I am not optimistic. I pray his love for the Yankees will be the difference-maker. We shall see. If Belli returns and takes first base, catcher seems to be the spot for Rice, sacrificing Wells, and his potential—tough decisions ahead for Brian Cashman and his cast of analytic idiots.

I am glad that Max Fried has rebounded from his slump. I like Fried and do not regret the Yankees’ signing him. A front three next season featuring Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, and Fried, with support from Luis Gil and Cam Schlittler, is damn good. The Will Warren factor leads to off-season speculation that one may be moved.

There have been times I have missed Gleyber Torres, but second baseman Jazz Chisholm, Jr. has been a more exciting option. Playing Jazz at third to start the season was foolish, but letting the man perform at his natural position has helped offset the loss of Torres. One of Brian Cashman’s better under-the-radar moves in recent years. I wish all of them could fare as nicely.

If the Yankees exit early this season, they must consider making a managerial move. I know there is more that ails the Yankees than Boone, but we have seen enough of this story. It's time for a new bench cheerleader. Steal Kevin Cash from the Rays. As much as I did not want a ‘been there, done that’ return to Joe Girardi, Binder Joe is a better option than Boone. 

The Yankees have made many good decisions in recent years, but they still let foolish choices prevent them from being the best they can be. At some point, GM Brian Cashman needs to be held accountable. If Hal Steinbrenner is not man enough to axe his long-time executive and his father’s hire, I hope Cashman finally decides that it is time to try something new. Nothing changes with the team until the GM seat is refreshed. 

I want the Yankees to succeed in October and win their first World Series since 2009. I wish I were confident, but I am not. Please, Yankees, prove me wrong. I implore you to dig deep and show the World what you are capable of.

As always, Go Yankees!