I Would Rather Lose to the Red Sox Than the Astros in the Playoffs

As a fan of the New York Yankees, I have always been told to hate the Boston Red Sox. Although it is virtually impossible for me to tuly hate anything, I still have a strong dislike for the Sox. That being said, to show you how little I can hate, I was actually not livid with the events of the 2004 playoffs. I had an uncle who was a lifelong Boston fan pass away shortly after the 2004 World Series ended. I was happy to know that he could leave this Earth and have seen a championship by his beloved Red Sox. After that is a different story. Boston would go on to capture World Series titles in 2007, 2013 and 2018. That is more prolific than the Yankees’ single championship in 2009 during this stretch. Let’s also not forget playoff defeats absorbed by the Yanks at the hands of the Sox in 2018 and 2021. In short, there is not much to like about our New England neighbors.

I can’t stand the Astros in the playoffs. Credit: UPI

So why do I have that wacky headline?

Let’s start by rewinding one year to last season’s Wild Card round. The Yanks beat the Red Sox in three games, snapping a three series playoff losing streak. That’s one reason. Another is that I have over 40 years of watching this rivalry with much of my formative years witnessing the Yankees coming out on top. A loss to Boston in 2026 would not nearly be stinging as it was in 2018. By my count, I still have 1978, 1999 and 2003 playoff victories to visualize, plus a bunch of World Series titles in my back pocket.

A loss to the Astros? Unacceptable.

The next time the Yankees beat the Astros in a playoff series would be their first time. The Astros have been to three World Series over the last nine years. On each occasion Houston found themselves in the Fall Classic, they ended up beating the Yankees in the ALCS. The Astros of 2026 remind no one of those teams. Yet, here they are leading the American League West after being nine games under .500 at the end of May. Jose Altuve is my age. No one named Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez are throwing strikes. George Springer is not around to swat a big home run. You have Yordan Alvarez mashing all pitchers and Josh Hader throwing darts to close out games. That’s it. How can the Yankees, even without Aaron Judge, lose another ALCS, or even a divisional round to this group?

If last week is any indication, the threat is very real. Houston won two out of three games at Yankee Stadium.

It is time for the New York Yankees to bury the Houston Astros once and for all. Erase all of the postseason demons that we can’t seem to shake. Beat this organization for the first time in five playoff tries. I feel my blood pressure rising at the very thought of having another season ended by those orange uniforms. Losing to the Red Sox is problematic. Losing to the Astros is catastrophic.

End of August Brings Renewed MLB Interest

This has been a strange Major League Baseball season for me. When I say strange, I mean that I hadn’t been as locked in as I had in previous seasons. Sure, I knew how each of our teams were playing from a high level. The Yankees got out to their usual hot start. The Mets were cooked in April. The Phillies turned back to 2022 and fired their manager to save their season. Though I watched our teams play, I just didn’t seem into it. I definitely slacked off in following the rest of the league. For that, there are a number of reasons why I wasn’t my usual, chipper baseball self for much of this season.

Me after realizing how much I love baseball. Credit NY Daily News

Ryan graduated college, and we are currently sprucing up downstairs for his new living quarters. Caitlyn (with me as her instructor) was focused on getting her driver’s license. Matthew had basketball here, there and everywhere. The Knicks had their magical championship run. Optimum took away MLB Network so there were no more mornings with Quick Pitch. I allowed myself to be distracted by Instagram reels and whatever else was competing for my time online. What a waste. I barely had enough time to write (which I didn’t). For a while, the only thing I had going was the Family attending Citi Field with Caitlyn finally getting to see the Phillies win in person. However, as the calendar turned to August, there was something that brought back the old me and I was reminded why I loved consuming the great game of baseball.

We happened to be in Wildwood on vacation on August 3, the day of the trading deadline. It also happened to be the only day we did not go to the beach as it rained most of the most of the morning and into the afternoon. We spent the entire day trying to find the latest trade information and speculating what each of our teams was going to do. I have always been working on trade deadline day and the fact that I was able to focus solely on baseball news made me extremely happy. Since our return from vacation, I have seen more highlights, read more news and have found more ways to be connected to MLB.

I found a way to sync my phone to the TV on the MLB app. This has allowed me to watch games on MLB Network and view condensed games that I otherwise would not see on my phone. While painting, I have used the app to listen to whatever game is on at the moment. MLB Trade Rumors is a great site and is not just for transaction information. In fact, as I write this, I have the Yankees-Astros game on TV and the Mets-Brewers contest on my phone. Later, I will end up watching the Phillies-Mariners condensed game highlights. I am so jacked up, I just might really go full baseball love and buy the latest Topps baseball card set!

As August closes, it’s good to see two of our three teams in playoff contention. The Mets are still fun to watch because the team is playing well and they have a boatload of new faces. The best part about this is the Family (with one exception) is just as amped for baseball to be around as I am. I suppose we should cherish these last six weeks of the season as the game might not be here for much of 2027. That’s too far down the road. Right now, I am going to enjoy the last 35 games or so and deep playoff runs by the Yankees and Phillies.

I’m back, baby!

Finally, A Phillies’ Win For Caitlyn

June 26, 2026 will go down as a momentous day in the Lynch household. For starters, it was Caitlyn’s 17th birthday. In two weeks, she will hopefully get her driver’s license. I managed to leave work early because the family (and Caitlyn’s friend, Grace) had a big night ahead of us. We had tickets to that evening’s contest between the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies. It was Andy Green‘s first game as Mets’ manager after Carlos Mendoza was fired earlier in the day. As 9:20 PM struck, history was indeed made for our home.

About time! Credit: My picture

After six attempts, Caitlyn actually got to see her team victorious.

It nearly started out as a laugher. After three straight hits, the Phillies grabbed a 1-0 lead. Zach Thornton appeared cooked. Pitching coach Justin Willard made a mound visit and Thornton became a new pitcher. He matched Zack Wheeler frame for frame and departed after six innings tied at 1. Unfortunately, Huascar Brazoban had a rare hiccup and the Mets anemic offense did nothing else. Once Jhoan Duran‘s pitch to Jared Young was held up as strike three, a glorious exhale came out of Caitlyn. The third time was indeed the charm for her at Citi Field as her team came out on top by a score of 2-1.

Speaking of Jared Young, Matthew and I believe he should be New York’s first baseman, both now and in the future. He was the team’s best player during the game and is actually heeding David Stearns’ mantra of run prevention. The Mets and their disastrous season will have to wait until the next post (I promise I won’t wait another eight months for the next one). This entry belongs to Caitlyn. She waited entirely too long to see her first Philadelphia victory. Now, if we can only see them win at Citizens Bank Park.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s Exclamation Point on the World Series

The end of the World Series always represents a sad time for us. Winter is coming, and with it, a long four months of the game we all love disappears from our everyday conversation. At least we sat together last night and viewed an epic Game 7. Yes, all of us (minus the wife) managed to stay up into Sunday morning (or was it a continuation of Saturday night) to watch the Los Angeles Dodgers finally claim the mantle of repeat champions. The Toronto Blue Jays made it one heck of a show but in the end, a smorgasboard of missed opportunities will haunt the team and their fans for a long time.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is officially a World Series legend. Credit: MSN

Let’s call this year’s Fall Classic for what it was. It was a solid, bordering on excellent World Series with a thrilling finale. That’s it. There is no need to make comparisons to any series of the past, no breathless analysis of a litany of numbers telling us this was or wasn’t better than say, 1991 (it wasn’t; 1991 is the gold standard of a World Series). However, one person’s performance stands above all else and does deserve to be mentioned with all of the October legends of the past: Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Complete games just don’t happen anymore. Yet, there was Yamamoto out there in Game 2, with his team down a game already. He needed to go deep into the game just to give his beleaguered bullpen a breath. What resulted was one of the finest pitching performances we have ever seen. Yamamoto retired the last 19 batters he faced, surrendering only Alejandro Kirk‘s solo home run and walking no one as the Dodgers evened the series. Again, his team needed a big start in Game 6 to fend off elimination and again, the righty delivered with six innings of one run ball. Finally, on the very next night, he was summoned with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning in a tie game and asked to bring Los Angeles home. You know what happened. He ended up going 2 2/3 innings to finish the job and frankly, probably would have pitched another 5 2/3 innings if necessary. In my opinion, in the 11th inning, he pitched around Addison Barger and walked him, knowing he was needing a double play. He did just that getting Kirk with a jam shot that gave the Dodgers the championship. By the way, I called that entire sequence. The kids will admit to that.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s World Series performance is one that even the most hardened of baseball fans would agree is legendary. Three victories in a single World Series is remarkable and has been done now only 14 times. If you are my age and older and can’t appreciate Yamamoto’s accomplishment, I don’t know what to tell you. Cherish this moment because it might be a long time before we see something like this again.

Win This For Don Mattingly

The World Series is finally here. None of our teams are participating. It’s definitely a different vibe than last year when the New York Yankees were gearing up for their first Fall Classic in 15 years. Now we get the Los Angeles Dodgers looking for a repeat while the Toronto Blue Jays are back after a 33 year absence. On the surface, why would I root for either team? Who outside of Los Angeles wants the Dodgers to win? The Blue Jays eliminated the Yankees. I can’t pull for these teams.

Don MAttingly is why I am rooting for Toronto Credit: Sportsnet

You bet I can. Two words: Don Mattingly

If you are a Yankee fan of a certain age, Don Mattingly was your guy. He is by far the best player in franchise history to never make a World Series. Even as a coach on Joe Torre‘s staff, Mattingly missed out, starting with the 2004 collapse vs. the Boston Red Sox. Now, as the hitting coach of the Blue Jays, he gets to feel the brightest of lights. Though he no longer is a member of the Yankee organization, I want Toronto to win it for Donnie Baseball, the man with rotten luck. He made his big league debut with the Yankees in 1982, the year after the Yankees made the World Series. The playoff drought would last 14 years. In my 50 plus years on Earth, New York finished last one time. The year was 1990 and it was the season Mattingly’s back problems first reared its ugly head. After all the losing and misery, the Yankees made it back to the playoffs in 1995. He hit .417 as the Yanks lost a thrilling five game divisional series to the Seattle Mariners. Retirement beckoned and wouldn’t you know it, the Yankees went on to win four of the next five World Championships. Eventually, he got into coaching the Yankees and managing the Dodgers. You would think that between those teams, Mattingly would have made at least one World Series. You would be wrong.

Don Mattingly’s playing career lands on the doorstep of the Hall of Fame. If his teams made more than one playoff appearance, he would have been enshrined. He was the best player in baseball for a five year stretch. Injuries robbed him of more productive seasons that were to follow. He’s been knocking on the door for the chance at a championship for almost 45 years. I hope the Jays get him to the mountaintop.

Anthony Volpe’s Surgery: What Took So Long?

Today came the news that New York Yankees’ shortstop Anthony Volpe had surgery to repair a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder. The news does not come as a shock as there were rumors of an issue involving his shoulder for most of the 2025 season. However, the question is, why did it take so long for Volpe to have the surgery?

Both Anthony Volpe and the Yankees messed up his season. Credit: Sports Illustrated

The origin of this goes back to May 3rd in which Volpe heard a pop in his shoulder during a game against the Tampa Bay Rays. An MRI and X-rays revealed “good news” and, after sitting out the next contest, he returned to the lineup on May 5. You know what happened after that. Volpe’s production both at bat and in the field suffered dramatically. As the Yanks swooned during the Summer, Volpe became the face of the team’s struggles. He was booed at Yankee Stadium and vilified on sports talk radio. He rallied briefly in September after a second cortisone shot and even homered in the Wild Card round against the Red Sox. But he was miserable in the Blue Jays series, striking out 11 times in 15 at bats. Now we have to wonder, how much of his season struggles do we put on him or on the organization for not sitting him down right after the initial injury?

Perhaps Volpe said in the two weeks or so after the injury that he was fine. Once his struggles continued, the Yankees should have been the ones to make him sit down. Protect the athlete from himself, the saying goes. Instead, Volpe went out there game after game, clearly (we now know) less than 100%. His failings at the plate carried over onto the field where even routine plays became an adventure. I thought that he should have been sent down to the Minors to get a reset. The Mets did that with Francisco Alvarez. However, based on what we know with the severity of the injury, he needed a trip to the Injured List. Instead, the guy suffered every day, probably too prideful to say, “hey, I don’t think I am quite right”. Maybe he was fearful that having surgery during the season would end his season. That’s his fault for not addressing it sooner. But it is also the organization’s fault for not forcing him to take a couple of weeks off.

Sometimes, organizations ruin players. Anthony Volpe having the surgery in June would have saved him the agony of a terrible season. The injury provides a plausible explanation for his struggles. However, do we still think he is capable of being the everyday shortstop? He regressed badly in 2025. Was it the shoulder or was it the player? Thanks to the delay by both player and team, that question is difficult to answer.

Do These 3 Free Agents Re-sign With Their Teams?

The number three factors into many parts of my life. I have three kids. I am one of three siblings. My favorite number since childhood is three. I have three legs (OK that part isn’t true). As we trudge on during this offseason (those of us without playoff teams), there are three free agents, one for each of our respective teams, that made huge impacts in 2025. You know who they are; what I am going is predict the likelihood that they return to their clubs.

Will Cody Bellinger return? Credit: Sports Illustrated

Cody Bellinger: He enjoyed an extremely productive first and, perhaps only, season in the Bronx. Bellinger’s 29 home runs represented his highest output since 2019. He has defensive versatility, having spent time in left field, center field and first base, playing each spot flawlessly. He opted out of the final two years of his contract, a total of $52 million dollars. At 30 years old, Bellinger probably has one last chance to to score a big payday. The Yanks have been linked to Kyle Tucker for a while; he is also a free agent. There are some moving parts that could affect a reunion such as signing Tucker, where to put Jasson Dominguez and the possibility of a Trent Grisham return. If Bellinger opted out of a $25 million dollar deal for 2026, he has to believe he can get more on the open market. I am not sure New York will go much more and add a significant amount of years. 38% chance Cody Bellinger returns to the Yankees.

Pete Alonso: For a long time, I believed the Mets’ first baseman would not be back beyond this year. You know how the contract negations went last offseason. I thought the big celebration for Alonso after he broke Darryl Strawberry‘s club record for home runs was a, “thank you for all you have done for us” type moment. I interpreted that as the team not making a competitive offer to keep Alonso. However, as time has gone on, I have altered my thinking. The Mets have some significant money coming off the books over the next two years with Jeff McNeil due to be a free agent after 2026; Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas are done after 2027. The three young pitchers that debuted in 2025 are club controlled for the next five to six years. After the disastrous ending to the season, I can see Steve Cohen overruling David Stearns and outbidding everyone to keep Alonso. Edwin Diaz is equally as important to resign. Cohen gets it done with his big two stars. 65% chance Pete Alonso returns to the Mets.

Kyle Schwarber: The Phillies’ designated hitter picked the perfect season to hit free agency. His 56 home runs and 132 RBI’s were tops in the National League. All he has done in his four years in Philadelphia is slug 187 homers. He turns 33 prior to the start of the 2026 season and figures to ask for at least a five year deal. Do the Phillies want to pay him upwards of $30 million per season for a guy who does not play the field? The outfield isn’t an option and Bryce Harper seems to be locked into first base. Nick Castellanos is most certainly gone; the same can probably be said for Max Kepler. Philadelphia will need to address their outfield holes. What is a higher priority, right field or DH? Will they spend enough to get quality for both? I can’t picture the organization running it back with this core after two straight divisional round exits. Then again, Schwarber has become such an integral part of the team and the city that it is hard to picture him somewhere else. 53% chance Kyle Schwarber returns to the Phillies.

MLB Final Four: How to Root For One

For the first time since 2021, none of our teams are in the league championship series. It’s not a good feeling for us. While we plan on watching both LCS’s and the World Series, the interest in the rest of the season won’t be as intense without one of our dogs in the mix. Believe it or not, I can make a case to root for any one of the final teams left in these playoffs. However, once I go through my review of the Blue Jays, Brewers, Dodgers and Mariners, it is quite clear that there is only one team that gets my vote (and I venture to say that all of us will be rooting for the same team).

Christian Yelich looks to avenge 2018. Credit: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Seattle Mariners: They are the only team in Major League Baseball to have never made the World Series. It’s a great fanbase that plays in a beautiful ballpark. The Mariners have an outstanding starting rotation including a guy who is local to us, Rye’s George Kirby. They have a catcher who hit 60 home runs, for crying out loud. Who doesn’t love to see the Mariner Moose parade around the top of the dugout? Seattle has been talked about for years as a contender that doesn’t have a good offense. That has changed during this run.

Toronto Blue Jays: Impossible to root for since they eliminated the Yankees? Not so fast. There is an adage that says that if you lose to someone in a playoff round, you’d like it to be against the eventual champion. One of my favorite family vacations was a trip to Niagara Falls two years ago, which is only about an hour from Toronto. The Blue Jays have six players on the roster that came from the Yankees, Mets and Phillies. Their matchup against Seattle represents a meeting between teams that both entered the league in 1977.

Milwaukee Brewers: I actually saw a couple of Brewers’ playoff games in person: Games 3 and 5 of the 1981 divisional series at Yankee Stadium. Milwaukee has made one World series appearance, losing in seven games to the Cardinals in 1982. They were baseball’s best team in 2025, winning an MLB best 97 games. The league’s smallest market has also been one of its most consistent, even if the playoff ledger says otherwise. The Brewers face the Dodgers, hoping to have a different result from 2018 when they lost in seven games in this very round. Christian Yelich was the league MVP that year. He would like to be the NLCS MVP this year.

Los Angeles Dodgers: How can you root for the champs? One word: tradition. It oozes through their 100 plus year history. They are one of the winningest franchises in the sport. Other than the occasional Spanish wearing days, the uniform does not change. Dodger Stadium is still majestic, some 60 years after it was built. Peer pressure from MLB Network will force you to root for Shohei Ohtani so you might as well submit to it. We love winners. Why not cheer for the one going for their third championship in six years?

The verdict: It’s not a debate. The Milwaukee Brewers are the clear favorite in our house. There are a number of reasons why we wouldn’t be pulling for the Blue Jays and Dodgers; the losses by the Yankees and Phillies are the icing on the cake. Seattle is a little trickier, just based on the fact they have never been to a World Series. What tips the balance in favor of the Brewers is that I still remember the Yankees losing to the Mariners in the 1995 playoffs. I could get over it except that is the last time Don Mattingly played baseball. After being a small market team that seemingly has to struggle every season, it’s time for the Brewers to finally claim a championship.

Yankees Autopsy: What Is Next for the Deceased?

There are two things to observe about the debacle we just witnessed. First, the “Aaron Judge can’t perform when it counts narrative” died with every ball smacked into the field of play. Secondly, the New York Yankees were eliminated in a playoff series by an American League East rival for the fourth time in the Aaron Boone era. I don’t want to belabor what we just saw. There will be enough anger over the coming weeks to last us through Spring Training. The goal now is to try to guess what is next for a franchise that is pretty close to matching their longest championship drought.

Does Jason Dominguez fit with the Yankees in 2026? Credit: NY Post

Let’s make one assumption: both Boone and Brian Cashman will be back. That assumption will not please many fans. But rather than wasting time arguing about it (which might come in a future post), let’s figure out what they should do. This is a quick snapshot of what my thoughts are in this moment.

To me, the first order of business is deciding what to do with Jasson Dominguez. Will he get a full time gig or will he be just another Yankee hyped prospect that does nothing with the team? If we assume they are done with Dominguez, then package him to Cleveland for Steven Kwan. I am sick of the strikeouts. Do you know who doesn’t strike out? The Toronto Blue Jays. You know, the team that just sent the Yanks packing. My preference would be to keep Dominguez but trading him for Kwan is a step in the right direction. Kwan is the type of high average, low strikeout player the Yanks desperately need. If that’s the move, then re-signing Cody Bellinger (if he opts out) makes a lot of sense. Trading Jazz Chisholm Jr. and giving second base to Oswaldo Cabrera is something I would entertain. Jazz is good but in keeping with my (which should be their) philosophy, I won’t miss the 148 strikeouts. As for Trent Grisham, I don’t think we will see another season like that from him again. I believe he will want too much money and therefore, will be playing elsewhere in 2026.

The pitching staff is is 90% complete. The rotation is pretty set. Maybe the bullpen gets another arm. Not much more to do.

And so another early offseason begins. Plenty of time to complain about why Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman still have jobs. Don’t waste your time on things you can’t control. The only way moves are made is if we all made an effort to ignore the Yankees next year. That won’t happen.

Phillies Are Down 2-0 and Our Home Is Not Happy

It’s bad enough that New York Mets folded down the stretch and missed the playoffs. The New York Yankees trailing in their best of five series 2-0 is worse. Now, on top of all that, the Philadelphia Phillies have made it the wrong kind of triple play, finding themselves down 2-0 in their Divisional series. Needless to say, our household, both near and far is not doing too well in this postseason. To make matters worse, the Phillies now have to travel to Los Angeles to try and salvage their season, hopefully winning two straight and then trying to complete the comeback by winning a fifth game at Citizens Bank Park.

Rob Thomson’s face says it all. Credit: NY Post

Caitlyn just had her spirits elevated and then crushed within the span of five minutes. At least during the course of the game, she provided us with some funny comments:

“I spend enough time and energy into this team only for them NOT to spend enough time and energy to try and win the World Series”

“They are better off pulling a random fan from the stands and telling them today is your lucky day”-this as she saw the Phillies make a pitching change.

In Saturday’s Game 1 loss, it was a carbon copy of last year’s Game 1 divisional loss. We were at Siena for family weekend. The Phillies had a late lead disintegrate thanks to the bullpen. The game was at home. Matt Strahm was a part of both games. Their starting pitchers threw well enough to win. It’s amazing and painful to see how similar both games were.

Should the Phillies and Yankees lose their respective series this week, it will make the shortest playoff stints for our collective teams in four years. The Phillies would be the most painful. Two straight divisional titles, two straight divisional round exits and one unhappy daughter. The ending to the baseball season doesn’t get more depressing than that.