SU is a long-time Djokovic fan.  The last 2 years have been pretty dismal.  First, the “personal issues” event – we all know what those are typically (see Tiger Woods).  Then, consistent elbow issues and a mysterious “surgical procedure” early this year.  He never took the required time off to recuperate and his road back to top form has been slow.  He fired his entire support team and tried out Andre Agassi for a while but that didn’t take.  He smartly brought back his coach and team and is back on track now.

If you watch him in the post-match interviews with the media, he is a really smart guy.  Very cerebral.  SU watched those interviews for both Nadal and him.  Nadal’s English is not great (even after all these years, his English is pretty choppy) and he struggles to communicate this thoughts.  But it’s clear he is singularly focused on winning.  He doesn’t give that much thought about career legacy, rivalries, etc.  Of course, no one plays more fiercely and he never takes a point off.  Great competitor.  Djokovic looks at things more holistically and SU believes is probably as good an interview for the media as anyone.  He shares a lot about his motivation, life journey, etc.

Andy Murray was doing TV commentary for the BBC at Wimbledon and correctly forecast that Djokovic had a great shot at winning the tournament early on.  SU saw it as well.  It’s impressive that he has won Wimbledon 4 times now on a surface that is not his best.  He is a great player on all surfaces.  If Murray can return, the US Open should be a great event on the men’s side.

The Yankee bullpen failed again on this recent road trip as Boone let Green throw 40 pitches in the 8th inning despite the fact that he had a fairly rested bullpen and the All-Star break coming up.  It was odd that he did not take him out there.  A split vs. Cleveland on the road is fine and if it wasn’t for Boston’s crazy record, you would take that.  They are 4.5 games out now.  They still play Boston 10 times and things happen as we all know.  But SU says the reality is this: even with Torres and Sanchez back, they struggle to score runs not via the home run.  Come playoff time, this is not a formula for success.  SU says that Boone has a half season now to start putting runners in motion, hitting and running and not waiting all the time for the home run.

The latest rumors have the Yankees making a deal with the Angels for a pitcher as their GM was once the Yankees Director of Player Personnel and knows the prospects well in the system.  The Angels should be sellers soon enough – makes sense.

Watch for Joe Girardi to get the Cardinals’ open managerial job.  That would be a great fit for both.  SU says he deserves another shot and that is a stable franchise and he played there after leaving the Yankees so there is some history.