About the Off-Day: Meanderings of My Mind

About the Off-Day: Meanderings of My Mind

By Tim Kabel

September 9, 2025

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Yesterday, the Yankees had a day off after winning two of three games against the Toronto Blue Jays. Tonight, they will open a three-game series against the Tigers at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees are 80-63 and in second place in the American League East, 2 games behind the Blue Jays. The Yankees are 1 1/2 games ahead of the Red Sox.

Since there is no game to recap today, I will now dash from topic to topic like a toddler opening his presents on Christmas morning. 

·      The Yankees have been playing much better lately, and it seems very likely that they will make the playoffs. They should be either the first or second Wild Card team. I know many people think the Yankees can still win the division and that is a possibility, but they don't have any games left against the Blue Jays, and because the Blue Jays won the season series, the Yankees would need to be ahead of them by at least a game at the end of the season to win the division. There are 19 games left. Throughout the season, I have been using the figure of 90 wins as what I felt the Yankees would need to win to make the playoffs. That means they would have to go 10-9 the rest of the way. That is certainly a reasonable expectation. However, there have been many times throughout this season when the Yankees were not able to meet reasonable expectations.

·      I took some time off from writing for SSTN because I had cataract surgery on my left eye. Prior to the surgery, everything was a blur when I looked at it with only my left eye. During my vision exams, not only could I not see any letters on the chart, but I also couldn’t even see the chart. The technician held up fingers in front of my face. I guessed. Luckily, I'm a good guesser. At my one-week post-surgery checkup, I was measured at between 20/40 and 20/30 vision in my left eye. I was able to correctly identify 2 letters on the 20/20 line. My vision will only improve. It is amazing to me that my vision was completely restored, and in fact improved, so quickly and permanently. Once my left eye is fully healed, I will have cataract surgery on my right eye, which is not as bad. After that, I will be able to work as an X-ray technician, using only my eyes.

·      Everyone agreed that the biggest challenge for the Yankees at this point in the year would be the 12 games that they had against the Astros, Blue Jays, Tigers, and Red Sox. They are halfway through that stretch and are currently 4-2. Even if they split the remaining six games, they will still have a winning record during that stretch. However, the Yankees have been dismal against the Red Sox this season, winning 2 of 10 games. The Tigers will be tough to tame. If you don't believe me, ask Siegfried and Roy.

·      Now that the cooler weather is upon us, I think I will bake some pumpkin bread this week. My mother used to cut recipes out of the newspaper and save them in cookbooks. I have one of those recipes and I actually have the cookbook from which it was copied into the newspaper. This is a very old recipe, and it suggested baking the loaves in coffee cans. I don't think that will work in K-Cup pods, but I have some very nice loaf pans that I will use. As a treat for my wife this weekend, I might take some of the pumpkin bread and make French toast for her for breakfast. I'm sure she'll enjoy it and it will be a way of earning my keep.

·      There have been a lot of articles written lately about how Anthony Volpe should be benched down the stretch. It's interesting to note that Anthony Volpe has played more games than any other Yankee. He is batting 207. His OPS is .665. He does have 19 home runs and a career high 70 RBI. However, he has stolen the fewest bases in his career this season with 16 and has been caught 7 times. He also leads the American League with 19 errors. Benching him does make sense, but it would be something of a drastic move. Unless he is the starting shortstop, what role would he have? He certainly would not be an effective pinch hitter. There are better options to be a pinch runner. I don't think you would put someone in as a defensive replacement who leads the league in errors. If the Yankees decide to bench Volpe down the stretch and into the playoffs, he might not even be on the postseason roster. Unless he is starting, there is no reason to have him on the team. I suspect that he will continue to start until the last game of the season for the Yankees this year, whenever that is. As far as his role on the team next year, I would not be surprised if the Yankees move on from Volpe. Bo Bichette will be a free agent. Michael Kay was talking about Bichette over the weekend on the broadcasts and repeatedly explained that Bichette is not a particularly good fielder as a shortstop. However, he is batting over 100 points higher than Volpe, and has close to 100 RBI. Perhaps Bichette is not the best fielder in the league at shortstop but when the incumbent shortstop leads the league in errors, I don't think it would make much of a difference.

·      My kitten Clancy will be neutered on Thursday. He just turned 11 months old yesterday. When he went in for his pre-op blood work, he weighed 17 lbs. Everyone who works at the Animal Hospital ran in to kiss him. He is the embodiment of a gentle giant. Because my wife has to work late that day, a friend of mine is picking him up after the surgery. When he brings Clancy home, my plan is to hold the little fellow in my arms and utter one of the great quotes from movie history, “Look how they massacred my boy.”

·      I have read a lot of comments that if the Yankees make the playoffs, it would be an indicator and validation that Aaron Boone had done a very good job as manager. I take issue with that. On May 30th, the Yankees led the American League East by seven games. They are currently two games behind the Blue Jays, in second place. They have a losing record against both the Blue Jays and the Red Sox. If the Yankees make the playoffs as a Wild Card team, after leading the division by seven games at the end of May, I don't think we should have a parade for Aaron Boone. It would be as if he was driving us on a cross country trip and went eight days over schedule, ran out of gas three times, and had us hopelessly lost 40% of the time. While it may be true that he eventually reached his destination, he didn't do it well. 

·      These last 19 games will be very interesting. Do not underestimate the Orioles. It seems that whenever they play the Yankees, they act as if they are in playoff games. We had better hope that the Yankees playoff hopes do not rest on their success in the games against the Orioles.

·      When I write, whether it's for SSTN or my novels and short stories, I try to be very careful not to use offensive language. I have no desire to hurt anyone's feelings or to be insensitive. As part of that process, I occasionally review lists of terms that are offensive. These lists change and are updated on an almost daily basis. I read a list yesterday that stated that the words “brainstorm”, “landlord”, and “journeyman”, as well as the expression, “hold down the fort” are offensive, frowned upon, and should be avoided. Interestingly, the expression, “preferred pronouns”, which is a relatively new expression that was specifically created in an attempt to avoid offending people is now offensive itself. I would say, “Circle of life, Simba”, but I don't know if that's acceptable either.

·      While I, like many fans, am somewhat down on Anthony Volpe, I do not feel the same way about Austin Wells. At least, he is a very good defensive catcher, and his offense has been improving lately. I tend to agree with many comments I have read that Wells may have been injured. We all know how the Yankees handle injuries so, that could certainly be the case. I also think that Jasson Dominguez, although he hasn't played much lately, does contribute when it gets into the lineup. If the Yankees go deep into the playoffs, I expect he will play a significant role, if he is given the opportunity.