Jimmy Sez

Here we are in the dog days of summer and the Yankees find themselves at the bottom of the American League East. Their plan to just roll with a flawed roster that was exposed by the Houston Astros last October has backfired in 2023. They now sit a few games back of the last Wild Card spot in the AL and with the trade deadline upon us, the window of opportunity to improve this disappointing team is closing. Should Brian Cashman strike while he still can? Recently, Hal Steinbrenner reiterated that his goal is still to win a championship every year. Well, if that's actually the case, then Cashman should be extremely busy over the next few days. Back in May, I offered some suggestions to help the struggling offense. All of those options are still available, so let's shift focus to the ice cold pitching staff. Are there any arms out there that can help the Yankees for the stretch run? Starters Despite the rash of injuries that ran through the Yankees' starting rotation to begi...

When writing The New York Yankees All-Time All-Stars , one of the hardest decisions I had to make was who to put in the last outfield spot on the bench. It was so tough that in the end I kept Hall of Famers Rickey Henderson and Dave Winfield as well as Yankee legends Roger Maris and Paul O'Neill on the outside looking in. Ultimately, I chose Reggie Jackson to round out the lineup. A controversial choice to be sure, but then again, controversy was kind of his thing. By the end of his Yankee tenure, Reggie Jackson was all smiles. tradingcarddb.com/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain It's no surprise, then, that earlier this year Jackson was the subject of a documentary covering his brilliant, tumultuous career, even if we're now more than four decades past the prime of it. While Reggie does hit all the familiar notes that you'd expect in a story about Mr. October, it aims to dig deeper into the man behind the big ego and mostly hits the target by letting Jackson tell his own ...

At the conclusion of another disappointing playoff run for the Yankees in 2022, I made some suggestions  on what they could do to avoid another October collapse in 2023. Most of them involved bolstering the lineup at positions that became automatic outs down the stretch last fall. Specifically, the plan called for improving third base and shortstop by saying goodbye to Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, signing an actual starting catcher, and acquiring a left-handed bat to handle left field. These weren't the most creative suggestions. The Yankee lineup had obvious holes and this was a simple, straightforward way to get them filled as soon as possible. No matter what configuration he uses, the Yankees' current roster construction ensures that Aaron Boone's lineup will have holes. All-Pro Reels/Wikimedia Commons The Yankee front office and ownership - creative geniuses that they are - took a much different approach to the problems staring them in the face during the offs...

The first baseball game I ever attended was at Shea Stadium, mostly because I lived only three miles away from it. Shea wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing place in the world, but in the mid-1980's it was a perfect place to get a kid hooked on baseball. There was a palpable buzz in the crowded stadium at all times. As you shuffled through the dimly lit concourse the air was filled with a delightful smell concocted of hot dogs, popcorn, burnt pretzels and stale beer. The distinct aroma of baseball. Once you found your section number within the concourse, you literally saw a light at the end of a tunnel. As you ascended up a ramp towards that light, excitement built with every step until you found the diamond that you came for, under the brightest lights you've ever seen and surrounded by grass that was impossibly green. I remember thinking, "I never wanna leave this place." Millions of baseball fans across the country have likely had similar experiences in place...

Each year just before Spring Training, The Athletic 's Keith Law releases his list of the top 100 prospects in baseball. The amount of thought and research put into the list is impressive enough, but it's also a great way to gauge how strong your favorite team's player pipeline is. For Yankee fans, Law's 2023 rankings offer some obvious reasons to be optimistic about the future. However, it's not all sunshine and roses. There are some glaring weaknesses within the Yankee system and a significant talent gap between the Baby Bombers and some of their divisional rivals. Ultimately, what will matter most in Yankeeland is whether the organization can convert one or more of these prospects into a star player. Amazingly, it's something they've done only once  over the last 20 years or so. So let's dig in and see what's cooking on the farm. Veni, Vidi, Volpe The crown jewel of the Yankee farm system was on full display this spring and he shined brightly. Pr...