About the Off-Day: Meanderings of My Mind

About the Off-Day: Meanderings of My Mind

By Tim Kabel

June 3, 2025

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Yesterday, the Yankees had a day off, after avoiding a sweep at the hands of the Dodgers with a 7-3 win Sunday night.  The Yankees finished the road trip 6-3. However, the fact that they lost the series to the Dodgers and the way they lost the series to the Dodgers raises concerns about whether the Yankees, as presently constructed, can compete with the Dodgers. Remember, the Dodgers beat the Yankees rather handily in the World Series last season. This was more of the same.

The Yankees are 36-22 and in first place in the American League East, 5.5 games ahead of the Blue Jays. Since there is no game to recap today, I will now dash from topic to topic like a grizzly bear immersed in a salmon-filled river in Alaska. 

·      Jazz Chisholm, Jr. will probably rejoin the Yankees this week.  It seems as if he will be playing third base, at least initially. The fact that Jazz is so flexible and does not seem to care where he is playing is one of the things that makes him a valuable member of this team. I would take him over Rafael Devers any day of the week. Once Jazz returns, the lineup will automatically improve and lengthen.

·      Ryan Yarbrough was a tremendous pick-up for this team. If the Yankees do acquire another starting pitcher, he can easily shift to the bullpen and provide solid long or middle relief. He is another one of those late Spring Training moves by Brian Cashman that has really made a difference on the team.

·      Is it just me or do there really seem to be a lot more prison breaks and escapes nowadays than there used to be. You would think with all the high-tech equipment and secure exits at most prisons, escapes would be unheard of. When I used to make professional visits to the prisons as part of my job, I had to present documentation of my family history going back seven generations and undergo a full body scan. However, it seems like almost every two weeks, someone is breaking out of a prison somewhere. In some cases, several inmates escape. One of them seemed like it was a guided tour out of the prison. Also, these escapes do not seem to be anything like the escape in Shawshank Redemption. The most recent fellow, who escaped in Arkansas, essentially just walked out.  That reminds me of the time when one of my co-workers and I placed a young lady who had just been released from detention in a residential facility at the other end of the state. The people who ran the facility assured me that she would not run away. We left her there at 5:00 PM and on the way home, stopped for a bite to eat. She was back in Stamford before we were. 

·      It was unfortunate that none of the Yankees’ games against the Dodgers were available on the YES network. When the games are on other networks, you lose something because the announcers don't know the teams as well as the regular announcers do. That even applies to David Cone. In Sunday’s game, when Cody Bellinger pinch hit for Jasson Dominguez, it struck me as odd. Dominguez already had one hit, a walk, and a stolen base. He had also driven in a run. Furthermore, the pitcher was right-handed. Dominguez is a switch hitter who is a much better left-handed hitter right now, and Bellinger is a left-handed hitter. It didn't make sense. It would have made more sense to save Bellinger for a different situation. Cone automatically said that it was a good move. Why? It turned out that Dominguez injured his thumb sliding into second base. I'm not sure if the ESPN announcers ever mentioned that but I didn't hear it if they did. By the way, I have advocated that Dominguez steal more bases. Even though he jammed his thumb doing so, I still stand behind my belief that he should steal as often as possible.

·       Whenever I see the policy at Yankee Stadium or other venues that prohibits you from bringing in outside food or drink, I recall a game I went to many years ago at Yankee Stadium. That same policy was in existence then. There was a gentleman in the seat in front of me. I don't know anything about him except that he was not someone I would ever want to tangle with. He had an eye patch, a hook on one arm instead of a hand, and was using crutches because he had an artificial leg. Once he reached his seat, he removed his prosthetic leg and reached inside of it. Soon, he extracted what appeared to be ice cold bottles of Snapple for himself and his companions. I don't remember any other details about that game. His resourcefulness will stick with me forever.

·      I keep reading articles that suggest various players the Yankees could acquire to play either second base or third base. Almost invariably, the players named are either at the tail-end of their career or are having a down year. To me that makes no sense. That would be like trading in a car that needs new brakes for a car that needs new shocks. What's the point? 

·      I'm not sure where everyone stands on this but, I don't agree with the reinstatement of Pete Rose by Commissioner Manfred. It has been clear ever since the Chicago Black Sox scandal that betting on baseball by players, managers or coaches is forbidden. It shouldn't matter how many hits Pete Rose had. He did the one thing that without question gets a permanent ban. I don't know for sure if he will be elected to the Hall of Fame but, he probably will be eventually. His on the field accomplishments speak for themselves but, betting on baseball, and especially his own team, was wrong. He knew what he was doing, and the penalty should have remained in place.

·      It's hard to believe that Clint Eastwood turned 95 years old this weekend. Not only that, but he apparently is also in pre-production to direct another movie. He is still working at 95. That's amazing.

·      It was clear that Aaron Boone was outmanaged during the World Series last year. He made crucial mistakes in games one and five. Well, during this recently completed series, he was outmanaged once again. On Friday night, the Yankees blew a 5-2 lead in the 6th inning. It was obvious that Max Fried was not at his sharpest. Perhaps, five innings would have been enough. Perhaps, the Yankees could have had someone warming up in the bullpen in case he struggled in the sixth. In the 8th inning, with two runners on and two out, Boone used two pinch hitters for the same spot. On Saturday, the Yankees were destroyed 18-2. Why would Boone have brought in Devin Williams and Luke Weaver in that game? There was no point to using two of their back-end relievers. On top of that, Weaver was unavailable Sunday night due to a tight hamstring. It is quite likely that Weaver somehow tweaked that hamstring Saturday night in a game in which he should have not been pitching. Yes, the Yankees had a winning road trip. Yes, they are in first place. However, Boone always finds a way to lose the big games. All of Boone’s apologists will be sitting there at the end of whatever round of playoffs in which the Yankees are eliminated in October and shaking their heads sadly. They will think that next year it will be different. It never will be as long as Aaron Boone is the manager. He was outmanaged in the World Series, and he was outmanaged this weekend. If the Yankees meet the Dodgers again in the World Series this year, he will be outmanaged again.