About the Off-Day: Meanderings of My Mind

About the Off-Day: Meanderings of My Mind

By Tim Kabel

June 27, 2025

***

Yesterday, the Yankees had a day off after losing two of three games against the Cincinnati Reds. Tonight, they will open a three-game series against the A’s at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees are 46-34 and in first place in the American League East, just one measly half-game ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays. Since there is no game to recap today, I will now dash from topic to topic like Niles Crane trying to put out a fire on his ironing board. 

·      The Yankees are 46-34 at this point. They have a  half-game lead in the American League East. Before they began the series against the Dodgers on May 30th, they were 35-20 with a seven-game lead in the American League East. This is the textbook definition of a Boone-Swoon. The Yankees have gone 9-14 since opening the series against the Dodgers. The A’s are not a very good team. Only the White Sox have a worse record in the American League. The Yankees should be able to beat the A's. Should is the key word in that sentence. Lately, the Yankees have not done very much that they should have done. “Could” would probably be the better word at this point. Perhaps, “Might’ is a superior choice.

·      Even though I try to avoid a lot of cooking in the summer, I made a very nice corn chowder the other day. It was a southwest style corn chowder. I used fajita spices and some sliced kielbasa from a local company. It was quite tasty and perfect for a relatively light summer meal. I also baked a strawberry pie recently. I had never baked one before, but I was pleased with the flavor. It was a two-crust pie.  Next time, I will use a crumb topping since I prefer them with fruit pies. The key was to have fresh, homemade whipped cream. I remember making whipped cream for my mother whenever she baked something or made another type of dessert that could benefit from it. Early in my childhood, we had cows so that whipped cream was the most delicious I ever had, since it was completely fresh. Back then, I used a beater that had the wheel that you turned like a bicycle pedal. When I made whipped cream this time, I was using the electric hand mixer that I gave my mother over forty years ago. It still works perfectly. It's amazing how well they made things back then. Here's a little tidbit of information for you. The term “upper crust” to refer to wealthy folks came from pies because only the wealthier people could afford enough ingredients to make a double-crust pie. Bakers who had less available money would make a single-crust pie.

·      Apparently, Aaron Boone is not happy with Jose Trevino, because Boone feels that he contributed to Jazz Chisolm, Jr.’s ejection Tuesday night. Boone and Chisolm believe that Trevino told the home plate umpire, Mark Wegner, that Chisolm was complaining about being called out on strikes in the ninth inning.  When Wegner pursued the matter, it led to Chisholm’s ejection. This is classic Boone logic. While Trevino did draw the attention of the umpire to Chisholm, if Chisholm had not been griping, he would not have been ejected. Chisholm is a very good player who is very passionate about the game. However, he needs to control his temper. Maybe Trevino should not have gotten involved but, it was still Chisholm’s behavior that caused the ejection.

·      Now that we are into summer, there will be plenty of fresh produce available. I can't wait to have my first fresh tomatoes and peaches this year. I love to cook and have made many elaborate recipes but, I always look forward to that first tomato sandwich of the year. With some mayonnaise and a little salt and pepper, it's tough to beat those. When I was a kid, I would have tomatoes fresh out of my dad's garden. I also liked to make cucumber sandwiches, but the tomatoes were my favorite. I also love fresh corn on the cob, which I now roast in the oven. When I was a kid, my family always boiled it, but I realized that when you boil it, a lot of the flavor goes out in the water. I roast it in a big pan covered with foil. I add some spices and of course, butter.

·      We are getting close to the trade deadline again. So naturally, we will read a lot of articles about players the Yankees should acquire. I read one that made me scratch my head. It was suggested that the Yankees trade with the Red Sox for Alex Bregman. The proposed package was made up of several prospects, including George Lombard, Jr. I know the Yankees need to upgrade the infield, but that proposed trade would irritate me if it ever came to fruition. It's not a knock against Bregman. He's a very good player and was having an excellent season until he was temporarily derailed by injury. The issue is that the Yankees could have simply signed him when he was a free agent. To give the Red Sox a boatload of prospects for him would be counterproductive in my opinion. I think there must be other options that would not require the Yankees to surrender as many prospects. More importantly, they would not be giving those prospects to the Red Sox.

·      I wanted to take a minute to clarify something I wrote recently. It seems that I may have left the impression that I was discouraging fans from having hope. That was certainly not my intention. What I said was that in the Boone Era, it is difficult to have hope because it goes against logic, common sense, and experience. I later stated that despite all of that, I would most likely jump on the bandwagon of hope and optimism myself once the current Boone-Swoon comes to an end. As a fan, you can't help it. As I have stated many times, we Yankees’ fans are the real-life version of Charlie Brown and Aaron Boone is Lucy, holding the football, goading us into kicking it. In October while we lie there flat on our backs after a failed attempt to kick the ball, we will wonder how we could have fallen for it again. Guess what, we will all do it again every year as long as Aaron Boone is in charge. 

·      I have not given any Clancy updates in a while. He is now by far the largest cat in the house, although he's not yet nine months old. Having him around is like having twin toddlers. On some days, it is like having triplet toddlers who are all sweet, extremely intelligent, but mischievous. The other day, he stole one of my flat caps and was running around the house with it. Eventually, he used it as a pillow when he took a nap. Recently, he had some digestive issues and had to be isolated so he could recover and rest. When he saw me in the evenings, he acted as if I had been away at war for three years. He would climb up on me and just hug me, purring away. For anyone who ever considered getting a Maine Coon cat, I would endorse it wholeheartedly. I had one many years ago, but Clancy is quite special.

·      I read the comments that were attached to the article I wrote yesterday. There were several comments concerning Jasson Dominguez and his playing time. In fact, there was quite a bit of speculation and some wagering that Dominguez would be likely to be on the bench for Friday's game. Now, if one were to apply logic, common sense, and good baseball strategy, Dominguez would be in the lineup. However, that does not factor in when the manager is Aaron Boone. I would say there is a very strong chance that Dominguez will not be in the starting lineup tonight. I think that's completely absurd, but it has happened often enough that it seems likely.

·      I agree with EJ Fagan and others that Cam Schlittler should be brought up to pitch as opposed to letting Allan Winans take another turn in the rotation. Schlittler is a top prospect and has climbed up steadily through the ranks and is pitching very well at Scranton. It makes sense, which means that it probably won't happen.

·      It's absolutely amazing.  My parents’ generation was able to participate in one of the greatest military undertakings in history by coordinating the efforts of multiple countries and over 150,000 men on D-Day, eighty years ago. They survived the Great Depression and won World War Two. Today, people can't figure out how to successfully deliver a pizza to your door.

·      The worst part about Boone-Swoons is that after they eventually end, the manager is in no way humbled or chagrined. He never seems to think “Wow, that was a close one, maybe I should do things differently.” No, he acts as if he is a conquering hero. Somehow, he emerges emboldened and cocky. It is as if he feels that emerging from the Boone-Swoon proves him to be a superior manager. That would be like Gilligan and the Skipper thinking they were superior sailors because the Minnow landed on the island.