Category: Teams

MLB Rivalry Weekend: Where Are They?

I love the idea of a Rivalry Weekend in Major League Baseball. It adds a little spice to a regular season that can experience some downtime. With the right matchups, this can be a weekend that baseball fans all over the country can be fired up about just as we get to the start of warmer weather. Because the season is so long, you can actually have two Rivalry Weekends.

The key phrase is “having the right matchups”. This current weekend does not provide them.

Aaron Boone should be leading the Yankees against the Red Sox this weekend. Credit: USA Today

I don’t want to be the guy to pooh-pooh a Yankees-Mets weekend tilt. Anytime they meet during a late Spring or Summer weekend, you are bound for some excitement. However, when I think of a rivalry series the Yankees should be a part of, I’m thinking of the Red Sox. Same goes for the Mets. It’s the Phillies they should be playing this weekend, not the Yankees. Yankees-Red Sox and Mets-Phillies are actually playing for playoff seeding and divisional supremacy. Yankees-Mets, Cubs-White Sox and Dodgers-Angels generate fan excitement for their respective cities but there is not the “hatred” for the Mets for a Yankees fan as there is for the Red Sox. The Dodgers-Giants rivalry is over a century old. Is any Dodgers fan jacked up for three games against the Angels?

That’s the other fault to this particular scheduling of Rivalry Weekend. By having the Mets and Yankees play one another, the Red Sox are facing the Braves while the Phillies are squaring off with the Pirates. Are those really rivals? This weekend would have been perfect for the Dodgers to face either the Giants or the Padres. This could have been the first matchup for the Dodgers and Padres since last year’s playoffs where San Diego almost derailed Los Angeles’s path to a World Championship. How about the Cubs and Cardinals? While the Cubs are hosting their fellow Chicago citizens, the Cardinals are in Kansas City to face the Royals. KC is not a bad substitute but the temperature is much lower for Cardinals’ fans than if they were facing their heated rivals from Chicago’s North Side.

As stated in the beginning of this post, I love the Rivalry Weekend concept. There should be two weekends of these games, one with true divisional rivals and one with the intracity/intrastate state contests. MLB gets an A for effort (most, if not, all games will be free on MLB.TV) but a B for matchups. I advise MLB that in 2026 make one Rivalry Weekend in May at this time and the other in August right before Labor Day. And next time, make the true rivals face one another.

Yankees, Mets and Phillies: Problems Abound?

The Major League Baseball season is seven months of ups and downs. It is important to not get too high or too low, particularly during April. It goes double for a team with high expectations. The first five game losing streak doesn’t necessarily mean a complete re-evaluation. Conversely, winning eight out of ten from April 15 through April 27 doesn’t translate into a parade. I have three fans in the house that I have to periodically remind that we have more than 75% of the season left to play. The New York Yankees, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies have already dealt with some adversity and should still be playoff bound. However, that doesn’t mean that there are situations that bear watching.

Devin Williams will hopefully regain the closer’s role. Credit: NY Post

New York Yankees: It is a month into the season and Devin Williams has already lost his closer’s role. On Friday night, chants of “We Want Weaver” resonated throughout Yankee Stadium as his latest poor outing concluded. Call it an adjustment period, call it a lack of confidence right now. Williams is too talented to go an entire season like this. I don’t think this is going to be a situation where the home run he gave up to Pete Alonso in last year’s playoffs starts the decline of his career. However, if the Yankees are to repeat as American League champions, Williams will need to fix his confidence, his mechanics and whatever else ails him. If not, those chants Friday will be mild compared to what will come later.

New York Mets: Out of the three teams, the Mets seem to have the least amount of worry. Despite a brutal loss on Sunday, they still own the league’s best record. It feels like they need bullpen help after coughing up a six run lead on the day A.J. Minter went on the Injured List. That is merely a coincidence. Until Juan Soto starts hitting more consistently, I feel as though the offense will still go on these wild swings of ten runs in one game and then ten over the next four contests. That seems like a contradiction considering the Mets’ record, however it is something that has happened in the early going.

Philadelphia Phillies: It seems like the Phillies have been searching for a guy to lock down the ninth inning for years. They signed a previous All Star closer, Jordan Romano but so far, the early results have been discouraging. The defection of Jeff Hoffman to the Toronto Blue Jays has made a shaky part of the team even more suspect. Outside of Jose Alvarado, is there anyone to trust to keep a one run lead? Also, Alec Bohm‘s second half slide from 2024 has carried over to this season. He hasn’t homered in 107 at bats and his OPS is .532. Perhaps all of the trade talk surrounding him in the offseason has affected his on field play.

Will Ben Rice Keep Starting in the Summer?

Giancarlo Stanton has yet to appear in a Major League game this year. But you already knew that. The latest word on Stanton, last year’s ALCS MVP, is that he is coming along slowly due to torn tendons in both elbows. He is in New York and continues to hit off of a machine, according to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. Despite the loss of the prodigious slugger in the middle of their lineup, the New York Yankees have learned to win without him over the years given his numerous injuries. However, this time a viable alternative has emerged, providing thump at the designated hitter spot, though mostly from the leadoff spot.

Ben Rice is a legit Major League hitter. Credit: Associated Press

Ben Rice is turning into a bona fide Major League hitter.

Let’s face it, Rice could have 25 home runs by the All Star Break and the minute Stanton returns, the rookie will head to the bench. It’s a matter of economics. There is no way the Yankees will make the $32 million Stanton a part time player when he is ready to rejoin the team. However, will that be the right move? How do you take a guy out of the lineup who will be (presumably, hopefully?) still a force in the lineup? Yankee fans will not be patient should Stanton come back and start with ten strikeouts in his first fifteen plate appearances. Rice has been successful reaching base in 13 of his first 14 games. He has five home runs and his on base percentage is over .400. That does not sound like a player who should be benched for any reason.

Could we be looking at a platoon situation? The Yankees don’t want to relegate Stanton to pinch hitting duty but you also cannot take Rice out the lineup should he keep producing at this clip. It’s a nice problem for the Yankees to have. In fact, they should tell Stanton to take all the time he needs in rehab. This will be a fascinating storyline as the season flips to Summer.

MLB Managers: Safer than NBA Coaches

When it comes to firing head coaches, no one does it better than the NBA. This was borne out earlier in the week when the Denver Nuggets fired their coach, Mike Malone, two years after he led the team to the NBA title. The Nuggets were literally three games from completing the regular season and they decided to overhaul (General Manager Calvin Booth was let go the same day) their most recognizable non-players. In fact, several NBA Championship coaches who won recently were all fired within two years of winning it all (Nick Nurse, Mike Budenholzer, Frank Vogel). Not only was Malone canned recently but Taylor Jenkins, the best coach in Memphis Grizzlies’ history was fired with nine games left in his team’s season.

Rob Thomson took an opportunity and ran with it to the World Series. Credit: Sports Illustrated

There have been plenty of instances in baseball where a change in manager can get a team going all the way to the playoffs and beyond. Just look at the Phillies who fired Joe Girardi in May 2022, promoted Rob Thomson and went to the World Series. However, it just doesn’t happen in baseball when a team is close to the playoffs in say, September and an organization decides to change the manager. The instance I can think of is the 2008 Brewers who fired Ned Yost with 12 games left in the regular season and gave the job to Dale Sveum. The Brewers won the Wild Card but lost to the Phillies in the first round. Most times, when a manager gets fired toward the end of the season, that team is not going to the playoffs. Usually, organizations are not in a hurry to fire successful managers. The one notable exception was, again, Girardi, this time with the Yankees. He won a World Series in 2009 and led the team through a transition in the middle part of the 2010’s. Girardi and the 2017 Yankees made it all the way to Game 7 of the ALCS. His reward? He was asked not to come back.

Sure, there have been a fair share of head scratching managerial changes. Girardi’s case is notable , as is Mike Shildt getting let go by the Cardinals after the 2021 season. However, MLB managers enjoy job security that NBA coaches can only dream about. The stability for NBA coaches is so tenuous, that they should think about forming a union.

Torpedo Bats: Advantage or Myth?

Who knew that the biggest story of the MLB season so far would be a bat? More specifically, the Torpedo bats that the New York Yankees “unveiled” over the weekend against the Milwaukee Brewers. Nine home runs in a single game will bring you lots of attention and since Saturday, most of the baseball world can’t stop talking about the Torpedo. However, they are not new to Major League Baseball, nor limited to the Yankees. Giancarlo Stanton used one last year while Francisco Lindor and Elly De La Cruz have been using them this year. So is this bat a game changer?

Jazz Chisholm, Jr. is one of the Yankees using the Torpedo. Credit: Sports Illustrated

One weekend series is a ridiculously small sample size. Sure the the Yanks clubbed 15 home runs in three games. However, four of them were hit by Aaron Judge who does not use the Torpedo. Also, one day after leaving New York, the Brewers’ pitching staff was torched for 11 runs by the Kansas City Royals, a team not advertising use of the Torpedo. Players are now very interested , with the belief that, they too, can pad their offensive numbers. Having a bigger barrel would most certainly be an advantage, one that I am sure the league does not mind because, you know, offense is what brings attention. Or, as a certain Hall of Fame pitcher said on a commercial a couple of decades ago, “Chicks dig the long ball”.

The bottom line is that though appears the Torpedo is giving hitters a leg up, we won’t know more until at least a month into the season. By that time, I would speculate the majority of hitters will be using them and we can begin to compare numbers to previous seasons. The Phillies’ Matt Strahm had an interesting observation from a pitcher’s point of view, one that has some merit. In fact, if the Torpedo is here to stay, maybe baseball can rethink pitchers using pine tar. That I would love to see.

MLB Schedule Is March Madness

Hand wringing. Sleep walking in the morning. Attention diverted from work. If you think I am talking about the NCAA Tournament, you are correct. All of the above conditions are the feelings felt by sports fans and the rest of the population that believes they will win their office pools. It truly is March Madness. There is another period of time during this month that can also be described as March Madness. However, unlike the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat that comes with the Tournament, this time of March is just………maddening.

Opening Day in Japan is March Madness at its worst. Credit Yahoo Sports

I am referring to the beginning of Major League Baseball’s regular season.

For the second straight year, there is no real Opening Day. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs open the season in Japan on Tuesday, a full nine days before the rest of the league begins playing games that count. Madness. Two teams play regular season games and then don’t participate in another meaningful contest for close to a week and a half. Madness. The first important games of 2025 and they begin at 5:10 AM CST and 3:10 AM PST for the two fanbases they affect. Madness. As you can tell, I am not a fan of this first series being played an ocean away. I’ve long given up on the idea that MLB would restore Cincinnati as the rightful place to play the first game of every regular season. To begin a season where 95% of fans who love a sport (like my family and me) will watch no more than two innings of a game in a country that needs no introduction to baseball is sheer madness.

To be sure, we will be watching Cubs-Dodgers on Tuesday and Wednesday before heading off to school and work. Some baseball is better than no baseball. I get that Major League Baseball is trying to spread its product worldwide. But to do so at the expense of the cherished traditions of Opening Day is………..complete madness.

MLB Offseason: Yankees Play Landlord, Phillies Speculation, Mets Injury News

The Major League Baseball season ended two weeks ago and though it seems Spring Training is years away, in reality, we are under 100 days. By far, the biggest storyline of the offseason is where is Juan Soto going to sign? Given that Scott Boras is his agent and that he will have a handful of big money suitors, I don’t expect his decision until after New Year’s. The business of baseball over these next three months is more than just Juan Soto. There are still awards to hand out, players to be wined and dined and of course, the Winter Meetings in December. Our three teams have been in the news for one reason or another so far. All three have big expectations for the 2025 season. Now is the start of it.

Steinbrenner Field, home of the Rays in 2025. Photo from NBC News

Yankees Hosting a Rival

When Hurricane Milton rolled through southwest Florida in October, one of the casualties was Tropicana Field, home of the Rays. Extensive damage was done to the roof of the Trop, casting doubts on where the Rays would play in 2025. It was revealed that Steinbrenner Field, Spring Training home of the Yankees and the home of their Single A team would be Tampa’s domain for the season. With a capacity of 11,026, Steinbrenner Field is a more viable alternative to the other ballparks in the area. In exchange for their “generosity”, the Yanks will receive $15 million, helping them pay for about 38% of Aaron Judge‘s salary for 2025.

Interesting Phillies’ Rumor

Rumors are everywhere at this time of year. One that caught my eye, and when Caitlyn learned of it was “devastated”, is Alec Bohm being traded, as reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan. In corresponding speculation, Buster Olney of ESPN stated that the Phillies could a be place for Alex Bregman to land. This potential swap of third basemen is curious. Signing Bregman for a position that is not really a need adds another large salary to an already high Phillies payroll. Bohm has another two years of club control and is coming off his first All-Star selection. However, his steep drop in the second half and playoff disaster is giving management pause in making him the long term answer at the hot corner.

Met Injury News

The offseason got off to a painful start for Mets’ outfielder Tyrone Taylor. At the end of October, he underwent an umbilical hernia repair as well as right elbow surgery. Although this sounds troubling, Taylor is expected to start Spring Training on time. With Harrison Bader a free agent, Taylor is currently the only center fielder on the roster. He received a lot of playing time during New York’s playoff run, seeing action in every game and contributing a home run. Ideally, his role would be that of fourth outfielder, getting around 350 at bats between all three spots.

Checking in on the Arizona Fall League

Did you think baseball ended with the conclusion of the World Series? Think again. The Arizona Fall League is in full swing, with 21 games for most teams already in the books. I gave a preview of the players from our three teams that are playing in the AFL that you can read here. The league is structured so that all players can be showcased at least somewhat equally. The goal for these organizations is to get a longer look at players, whether they are top prospects or are intriguing enough to warrant a more in depth look. Listed below are the three players (one each from the Yankees, Mets and Phillies) that are having an impact and could potentially land in the Majors in 2025.

Andrew Painter has a 2.70 ERA in four AFL outings. Photo from Sports Illustrated

Caleb Durbin-New York Yankees

The 24-year old Durbin is a rarity: this is the second straight year he is spending time in Arizona. Originally a 2021 14th round draft pick of the Atlanta Braves, Durbin came to the Yankees as part of the deal that sent Lucas Luetge to the Braves. He is hoping this stint in the AFL solidifies a spot on the Yankees 40 man roster. If not, he will be exposed in the Rule 5 Draft, and most likely, a ticket out of the organization. Durbin has something the Yankees should be interested in: speed. He leads the league in stolen bases with 22 in just 18 games, this after finishing the 2023 AFL season with 21. Playing multiple positions during the Fall, Durbin also has three home runs to go along with a .393 on base percentage. For his efforts, he was named the AFL Player of the Week for the week ending October 26.

Drew Gilbert-New York Mets

Most Met fans know who Gilbert is. As the the organization’s #3 prospect according to MLB.com, he has been on the radar since being acquired from the Houston Astros for Justin Verlander. MLB.com also projects Gilbert to be playing with the big club in 2025. His AFL batting average is a pedestrian .216 but he is tied for sixth in home runs with four. However, he has scored 11 runs in 14 games and has drawn ten walks. The Mets’ outfield does have some room for Gilbert next year. Starling Marte is almost guaranteed to miss time with injury and will be in the final year of his contract. Harrison Bader and Jesse Winker are both free agents. The signs point to Gilbert’s arrival in Queens at some point, perhaps as early as Opening Day.

Andrew Painter-Phillies

Phillies’ fans are salivating at the possibility of the 6-7 right-hander in the rotation in 2025. His performance in the AFL is only ramping up those expectations. In ten innings pitched through four games, the 21-year old Painter has ten strikeouts and a WHIP of .90. His fastball has been close to 100 and he introduced a slider during his last outing. Painter lost the last two seasons because of Tommy John surgery after being taken with the 13th overall pick of the 2021 Draft. Philadelphia’s starting rotation has four locked down spots with Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez. Should the Phillies slide Taijuan Walker back into the fifth spot, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Painter break Spring Training in the bullpen.

MLB World Series: Another Disappointment

Of course the most painful game was the one that ended the latest. It was slightly after midnight when the Los Angeles Dodgers put the finishing touches on a World Series Championship and celebrated in the house of the New York Yankees. The only good news about this outcome is that I actually get to have more than six hours of sleep. The bad news? It will be extremely difficult to get this Series loss out of my head. After all, this is the fourth straight year that the Yankees’ season has ended in embarrassing fashion.

I’m pretty sure Brian Cashman’s job is safe. Photo from the New York Times

Ryan and I were texting throughout the entirety of Game 5, long after everyone else went to sleep. To say Ryan was unhappy is a major understatement. He waited all his life to see his most favorite team play for a championship. The result he got, particularly in the clinching game, was nothing short of disgusting. From the pulling of Gerrit Cole in Game 1, to the final whiff of Alex Verdugo, it felt as though the Yankees were a JV team compared to the Dodgers fielding a varsity squad. As much as he tries to love Aaron Judge, him striking out in nearly half of his playoff at bats gives him pause on judging (no pun intended) how to rate this team since 2017. Despite the payroll, despite the talent, the franchise has consistently come up short when it mattered most. In case you have forgotten, this is how each of the last four years have ended:

2021-Wild card blowout vs. the Red Sox

2022-Swept in the ALCS vs. the Astros (lost the clincher at home)

2023-No playoffs, 82-80 record

2024-Lost the World Series in five games (again, lost the clincher at home)

Some of you reading this might say, “But at least they get to the playoffs almost every year. Most teams would kill for that”. Sorry, that’s not good enough. Talk to fans of the Milwaukee Brewers who have made the playoffs five out of the last six years with nothing to show for it. Ask Caitlyn. Do you think she is thrilled with the Phillies coming up short three straight seasons? Making the World Series in 2022 was great but these last two years have ended in frustration. Do you think those fans feel lucky?

I have my own feelings about what needs to happen to next. I don’t want to say them out loud yet because I could change my mind next week. One thing I do know is that the status quo cannot remain the same. If that means Brian Cashman and/or Aaron Boone are relived of their duties, then so be it. Their pairing as a team was good but ultimately fell short of what every Yankee fan should experience: a World Series championship.

MLB in October: More Than Just the Postseason

I get it, the Major League Baseball playoffs are a big deal. This is what every player dreams of, fighting for the chance to win a World Series. However, there are many more teams whose seasons have concluded and are now focusing on 2025. For those fans who love baseball but just can’t bear to watch the postseason without their favorite team, there is still competitive baseball being played. In fact, even the teams still left in the playoffs have a vested interest in this “other” baseball currently in action.

Austin Wells is one of many guys who have played in the AFL. Photo from Sports Illustrated

The Arizona Fall League was formed in 1992 with the purpose of giving all Major League organizations a chance to take a longer look at a certain group of prospects. The AFL consists of six teams, with MLB clubs sending seven (or more) prospects each to form the league. Play for 2024 began on October 7th and will wrap up the season with a championship game on November 16th. It also features a Home Run Derby on November 8th and an All Star Game on November 9th. The list of players to play in the AFL reads like a laundry list of All-Stars and even some Hall of Famers like Derek Jeter. Prominent current players from our respective teams that have participated include Aaron Judge, Austin Wells, Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, Bryson Stott and Alec Bohm.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the players from each of our teams who are getting extended paying time in Arizona. Team names of the respective AFL squads are in parenthesis.

New York Yankees (Salt River Rafters): Harrison Cohen (RHP), Jackson Fristoe (LHP), Ryan Harvey (RHP), Carlos Lagrange (RHP), Luis Pacheco (RHP), Rafael Flores (C), Caleb Durbin (SS), and Garrett Martin (RF)

Cohen was 5-0 with a 1.35 ERA at three Minor League levels, finishing up by dominating at High Class A Hudson Valley. Fristoe started 12 games at Hudson Valley, pitching to a 3/79 ERA and holding opponents to a .201 batting average. Harvey signed as an undrafted free agent and started 12 games for Class A Tampa. Lagrange is 21 and is 6-7, pitching nine games total at Rookie ball and Tampa. Pacheco pitched at three different levels in 2024, finishing at Double A Somerset. Flores is only 17 and stole 19 bases 49 Rookie ball games. Durbin spent much of the year at Triple A Scranton-Wilkes Barre, posting a .394 on base percentage. Martin slugged 12 home runs at Hudson Valley.

New York Mets (Scottsdale Scorpions) : Noah Hall (RHP), Jonathan Pintaro (RHP), Jawilme Ramirez (RHP), Dylan Ross (RHP), Jett Williams (SS), and Drew Gilbert (CF)

Hall started the season with High Class A Brooklyn but was injured early and did not pitch after April 26. Pintaro, who finished with a 2.68 ERA, worked his way up the ladder in 2024, landing at Triple A Syracuse for his final start of the year. Ramirez also ended up in Syracuse at season’s end, recording a 3.58 ERA. Ross had his season wrecked by injury, pitching in only one game. Williams, the Mets’ #1 pick in 2022, hit .364 in 22 at-bats at Syracuse. Gilbert, the #2 organizational prospect, hit .205 at Syracuse.

PS-Jeff McNeil is also on the AFL roster, presumably to get at bats in anticipation of being added to the NLCS roster.

Philadelphia Phillies (Glendale Desert Dogs): Tristan Garnett (LHP), Griff McGarry (LHP), Christian McGowan (RHP), Wesley Moore (LHP), Andrew Painter (RHP), Wen-Hui Pan (RHP), Jordan Dissin (C), Otto Kemp (3B), Bryan Rincon (SS), and Gabriel Rincones, Jr. (OF)

The 6-6 Garnett climbed the ladder, ending at Triple A Lehigh Valley, and struck out 56 batters in 41 innings. McGary recorded 40 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings at Lehigh Valley. McGowan was injured off and on, pitching in 11 games at Double A Reading. In two Minor League seasons, Moore has posted a 2.33 ERA in 70 games. Painter, the Phillies’ #1 prospect missed all of 2023 and 2024 with Tommy John surgery. Pan registered a 1.29 ERA in 14 games at High Class A Jersey Shore. Dissin registered .354 OBP between Single A and Double A. Kemp played at four different levels in 2024, with 16 home runs and a .392 OBP. Rincon struggled in 2024, spending ten weeks on the injured list. Rincones, Jr has 26 home runs in 188 Minor League games.

I will be periodically checking in on these players until the AFL seasons ends.