Tag: mlb

Ryan Helsley Will Figure It Out

At the trading deadline, all three of our teams strengthened their bullpens. The Yankees led the way with three additions (David Bednar, Camilo Doval and Jake Bird), the Mets brought in Ryan Helsley and Tyler Rogers while the Phillies acquired Jhoan Duran and his interesting game entrance. Not all trades work out; Bird has already been sent to the Minors, hopefully he will be back before the end of the season. Bird’s troubles pale in comparison to those of Helsley. In six games covering five innings, the right-hander has surrendered seven total runs. The latest debacle was giving up two runs to the Braves in Thursday’s 4-3 loss. Things look bleak.

I am here to say Ryan Helsley will be much better from now on.

Ryan Helsley will be better. Credit: Rising Apple

Maybe that very sentence dooms Helsley to a miserable two months in New York. I doubt it. He is too good, too talented to be down for very long. This guy had 49 saves last year and is armed with a 100 MPH fastball. It’s only a matter of time before Helsley realizes he is one of the top relievers in baseball. He has admitted that he is still “trying to figure out” pitching as a setup man in the eighth inning. I have no doubt he will. After all, the thrill of a playoff chase and impending free agency is more than enough motivation for Hensley to revert back to his 2024 form. A brief story from almost 30 years ago also convinces me Helsley will be better.

In 1996, at right around this time, the Yankees made a trade for left handed reliever Graeme Lloyd. You couldn’t have pitched any worse than Lloyd did in the regular season: 13 games, 5 2/3 innings pitched, 11 earned runs. But once the playoffs began, he was a different animal, allowing one hit in eight games. Perhaps the comparison isn’t 100% accurate as the Mets are not guaranteed a playoff spot. However, the idea that Ryan Hensley is an automatic failure as a Met is way too premature.

Living With a Rough Phillies’ Month

The Philadelphia Phillies are in the middle of a pretty bad stretch. They just snapped a five game losing streak, have lost eight of their last ten games and were swept this past weekend by the woeful Pittsburgh Pirates. On May 24, they were up by three games in the National League East; today they trail the New York Mets by four games. Bryce Harper is on the ten day injured list with a wrist injury. June has not been a kind month, to say the least, to the Phillies.

It’s making our house both tense and amusing at the same time thanks to a certain Phillies’ fan.

Bryce Harper’s IL stint is compounding the Phillies’ problem. Credit: Seattle Times

You can only imagine the pain Caitlyn is feeling and the endless one liners delivered by her. However, there is only so many, “My team is so bad” and “We stink” sentences a guy can stand. I will say her quote on Sunday of, “It’s ironic that we have a pride logo because we have nothing to be proud of” was a great zinger. We (yes, it’s more than just me) have to remind her how long the baseball season is. I get it. In a division where the Mets seem to be on an endless loop of playing the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox, to her, Philadelphia is heading for a 100 loss season. She also can’t get out of her head the “regression” her team has made: World Series in 2022, NLCS in 2023, Division Series in 2024. Instead of lamenting her current sorry state, Caitlyn should realize that there 96 games left in the season, plenty of time for her beloved team to capture a second straight division title.

At least there is some good news. The Phillies defeated the Chicago Cubs, 4-3 in 11 innings. Also, the Atlanta Braves are ten games under .500. much to Caitlyn’s delight. I hope tonight’s victory kick starts a winning stretch for the Phillies. If not, maybe I can publish more comedic material courtesy of one of their biggest fans.

I Was Wrong About Carlos Rodon

It’s hard to admit publicly when you are wrong abut a take. It happens all the time in the world of sports, both by fans and members of the media. However, it is kind of a good thing to be wrong about something that turns out to be positive. I’d rather be wrong about underestimating the impact of a bullpen arm than be wrong about overestimating a bat in the middle of the lineup. As it relates to this post, I am happy to say my opinion about a free agent pitcher the New York Yankees signed has turned out to be extremely foolish.

Carlos Rodon has been a great free agent acquisition, proving me wrong. Credit: Sports Illustrated

I was wrong about Carlos Rodon.

This blog started in March 2024 so technically my incorrect take on Rodon was not public. I did tell all of my fellow Yankee friends and other baseball acquaintances that the signing was a mistake. It is true that he was coming off back-to-back All Star seasons before inking a six year deal prior to the 2023 season. I saw a guy that made 30 starts only once, ironically, in his walk year. He was hurt many times earlier in his career. Rodon’s first year with the Yankees seemed to verify my suspicions. He first pitched in July and ended the season with a 6.85 ERA in only 14 starts.

2024 was so different in a number of ways. First, he started a career high 32 games with 175 innings pitched. Though his ERA finished near four, he was a reliable number two starter for much of the year. Any thought of Carlos Rodon being a bust has been squashed with his performance in 2025. He carries a 2.49 ERA and is fifth in strikeouts with 98 through 13 starts. He has stepped up enormously in the absence of Gerrit Cole. Max Fried has assumed the mantle of staff ace and has been nearly untouchable so far this season. However, it has been the performance of Rodon as well as the unexpected rise of Ryan Yarbrough that has helped carry the Yankees to a five game lead in the American League East.

I am ecstatic to have whiffed on my Carlos Rodon opinion. If the Yankees win the World Series this year, he will have been a key player. I will also be sure to be a little more careful when making such a bold prediction in the future.

Reflecting on the Colorado Rockies

I have been paying extra attention to the Colorado Rockies recently. After all, each of the teams we root for will have played this woe-filled team by the end of next weekend. The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees took turns fattening their records in Colorado earlier this week while the New York Mets will be hosting them next weekend. I don’t think we have to get into how bad the Rockies are except for this one fact. They could eclipse the Cleveland Indians’ (now Guardians) 22 game winning streak by a game and still be 11 games under .500. Perhaps I am in the minority but I don’t think it’s really that funny. Actually, it’s quite sad.

Nothing but love for Brenton Doyle and the Rockies. Credit: MSN.com

I often wonder what goes through the minds of players who are on a histroically bad team. Do they come to the ballpark anticipating a loss that day? How upset are they that by the end of April, they realize they won’t be in the playoffs? Are they saying, “Here we go again” after falling behind early? I have been a fan of some pretty bad teams. The 1990 New York Yankees come to mind. I had no illusions the Yanks were going anywhere. Their eventual 67-95 record bore that out. It’s depressing to know that your favorite team will be toast by June 1. It will be a long Summer. The Rockies are so much worse. They could be 30 games behind those Yankees by the end of the season. What do their fans think? Do they see any hope? After all, Colorado is coming off consecutive 100 loss seasons. Those two teams are miles ahead of the 2025 version.

It’s not as though the Rockies are devoid of talent. Brenton Doyle had 23 home runs, 30 steals and a Gold Glove last year. Ezequiel Tovar‘s 45 doubles led the league in a season ago. Zach Agnos looks promising as a closer. However, the fortunes of the franchise could be summarized with the Kris Bryant contract. His seven year, $182 million dollar contract has defined this era of Rockies’ baseball. He has played no more than 80 games in any season so far and there are still three years left on his deal. I don’t have any real insight or opinions on the state of the organization as I don’t follow it religously. However, this article from Sports Illustrated is pretty insightful about we have arrived at this point.

I really hope the Colorado Rockies don’t finish with the worst record in MLB history. We just went through that with the Chicago White Sox. Yes, the players make more money that we will ever see. However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t show sympathy for their losing. The best way they can make us smile is by sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers June 24-26.

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.

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.

The Juan Soto Effect on Pete Alonso

Aaron Judge won his second Most Valuable Player Award in 2024, leading all of Major League Baseball in numerous offensive categories. Some of the credit for his monster season goes to Juan Soto, who would hit in front of Judge for most of the campaign. While there is no doubt that Judge will one day go to the Hall of Fame, there is nothing wrong to have some help, as Soto provided last year. One year later, and in a different borough, Soto is helping out another slugger.

Pete Alonso is embracing the Juan Soto effect. Credit: Sports Illustrated

Pete Alonso is experiencing a rebirth, thanks to Juan Soto.

To be fair, as in Judge’s case, Alonso has had great years prior to Soto arriving. After all, he ranks third on the all time New York Mets’ home run list, potentially being the leader at season’s end. However, there was also a dip in production over the last three years going from 46 home runs in 2022 to 34 in 2024. Solid numbers but the sense was that at age 30, more regression could follow.

Not in 2025.

Alonso is hitting .378 and leads the National League in home runs and slugging. This is the Soto effect of hitting in front of him. Soto puts so much pressure on opposing pitchers that it seems as though they are exhausted when it is time to face the next hitter. When Soto reaches base, the pitcher tries to pitch too carefully to Alonso in order to minimize the chance of a big inning. Take last night’s game against the A’s as an example. In the top of the fifth inning, JP Sears had Soto down in the count 0-2. After a couple of foul balls and pitches out of the strike zone, the count went to 3-2. Soto then laced a single, bringing up Alonso. On the eighth pitch, Alonso cracked a run scoring double. He then provided the difference in the Mets’ 7-6 victory with a solo home run in the eighth inning. Even when Soto does not reach base, Alonso’s at bats seem to be easier.

Pete Alonso may very well opt out of the final year of his contract and try to secure the long term deal he did not get this past offseason. That’s a story for November and beyond. Like his effect on the Yankees last year, Juan Soto is doing his job this year: making the Mets’ lineup more dangerous.

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.

Don Mattingly’s Rotten Baseball Luck

The New York Mets hosted the Toronto Blue Jays for three games this past weekend. Along the way, we got some pictures of the Blue Jays’ bench coach, none other than the great Don Mattingly. Mattingly obtained this position prior to the 2023 season, the latest stop in a post playing career that has seen him manage both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami Marlins. New York swept Toronto, dropping the Jays to .500. With the contract of Bo Bichette set to expire at the end of the season and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. inking a long term extension, the pressure is on the Jays to make the playoffs. If they fail to make it to the postseason, there is the possibility of a regime change. And with that, the rotten baseball luck of Don Mattingly would continue.

Don Mattingly’s bad luck needs to stop. Credit: Englewood Daily Voice

If you are a Yankees’ fan of a certain age like me, Don Mattingly was your favorite player. He was the Man, a bright light in an otherwise dim era of Yankee baseball. He came up to the Majors surrounded by the likes of Dave Winfield, Ron Guidry and Willie Randolph and was on the team in 1990 when they finished last, with George Steinbrenner being kicked out of baseball during the season. Derek Jeter was booed. Mickey Mantle was booed. Mariano Rivera was booed. Mattingly was the only Yankee superstar I can think of who never had a bad word said about him at the Stadium. The fans understood that even in the darkest of days in the late 80’s and early 90’s, Mattingly was the guy we latched onto and for whom we had great sympathy throughout this chaotic period of time. When his back started giving him trouble in 1990 and robbed him of certain Hall of Fame immortality, he became even more of our hero.

Don Mattingly’s rotten baseball luck began when he was called up. He debuted in 1982, the year after the Yankees made the World Series, losing in six games to the Dodgers. Mattingly then became part of the longest playoff drought in franchise history, only reaching October baseball in his last season, 1995. Immediately after he retired, the Yankees put together their latest dynasty, with four World Series championships over the next five seasons. After a five year stretch that saw Mattingly establish himself as one of, if not the best player in the game, he suffered a debilitating back injury which sapped his power. He would never hit 20 home runs in a season again. Mattingly’s bad luck didn’t stop after his retirement. He became a Yankees’ coach in 2004. Care to guess what happened that year? That would be the Boston Red Sox epic comeback from down 0-3 to beat New York in the ALCS. When Joe Torre was let go as the Yankees’ manager after the 2007 season, Mattingly was looked at as a potential replacement. The job went to Joe Girardi. Mattingly then followed Torre to the Dodgers. A year after leaving, what did the Yankees do? They won the 2009 World Series. Mattingly then became the Dodgers’ manager in 2011 under the ownership of Frank McCourt who nearly wrecked the franchise. He left the Dodgers after the 2015 season and are now considered baseball’s best franchise. Mattingly next became the manager of the Marlins in 2016 and after a lot of losing (and a COVID playoff appearance), resigned after the 2022 season. Would you believe the Marlins made the playoffs the following season?

Don Mattingly deserves a World Series appearance. I don’t care how he gets it, what team he is with or if he unretires for a week to play for the Dodgers. No one has dealt with more misfortune in a baseball life than him. If the Toronto Blue Jays win the World Series in 2025, I will be a happy man. It means my guy finally gets a ring.

What If She Didn’t Pick the Phillies?

I was driving home from work on Friday listening to the Yankees play the Pirates. In the fifth inning, Isiah Kiner-Falefa was picked off by Max Fried to record the second out of the frame. As the rest of the inning played out, you could hear the Pittsburgh crowd chanting, “sell the team”, this after a plane flew over the stadium imploring owner Bob Nutting to sell the Pirates. It was right at that point that I wondered aloud about something I never even gave a second thought.

I am thankful Caitlyn became a Phillies fan. Credit: WHYY

What if Caitlyn didn’t pick the Phillies as her team?

I think I have mentioned how Caitlyn became a Phillies fan. Toward the end of the 2016 season, the Mets were beating up Philadelphia as they drove to the Wild Card game. Matthew was becoming a little bit too loud for Caitlyn’s taste so she declared her allegiance to the Phillies on the spot. I thought about this while driving because the Phillies are really good now. If it were the Pirates that happened to be playing the Mets at that time in 2016, would she have picked them? What about the White Sox? The Angels? All three of those franchises are currently lost with little hope in sight. More importantly, would Caitlyn be as much of a baseball fan now if she had rooted for a team that consistently finished under .500? Granted, it took the Phillies another four years to break .500 but her loyalty has resulted in three consecutive playoff appearances, including a World Series berth.

The most fortunate aspect for Caitlyn choosing the Phillies is the ease in which we can go see them play at their ballpark. Can you imagine if she became a Dodgers or Giants fan? I don’t think we would be making many trips to see their home games. Thank goodness the Mets crushed the Phillies nine years ago. Following three good teams throughout the course of the baseball season makes each day so much fun.