As mentioned by long-time subscriber, D. Harmon, these are unusually good times for the NY sports fan who has the Knicks, Nets and Islanders all in the playoffs, and the Yankees and Mets either leading or competing for their division leads. It is funny for the Yankee fans who have been frustrated with the team’s performance in 2021 but there they are within a game and a half of 1st place. The Mets’ entire team is on the Injured List but they hang on in 1st place.

SU says we need to give credit to Brian Cashman for taking a chance on Corey Kluber. His contract is a bargain this year for a starting pitcher (something like $10 million) and he just gets better with each start. Taillon isn’t there yet – his starts are inconsistent – but SU believes he will emerge as the season unfolds. We just need to be patient. German has been excellent and SU trusts that the Yankees will not be stupid and put him in the bullpen when Severino is ready to return later this season. As the old saying goes, “Don’t be an idiot.” Just because German can pitch out of the bullpen, he is clearly a solid starter.

Sorry to hear about Aaron Hicks having surgery which pretty much ends his season but the reality is that he is not what they had hoped for. He is decent as a right-handed hitter but just pulls everything left-handed into the shift. Clearly, they can do better. Florial is in the minors and if he does well at AAA, he should be brought up. I am done with Clint Frazier – just can’t watch that anymore – and Gardner is showing some signs of going on a roll finally. The reality for the Yankees is that they are a team that will rely on their pitching all year to try and win low scoring games as the offense will be challenged. This roster will not win a World Series. But there is time for additions.

SU likes the NBA play-in formula. The Golden State games were very exciting and both came down to the final seconds. Proud of Jordan Poole from Michigan who has made himself into an NBA player the 2nd half of this year and made some big shots down the stretch last night.

Excited to see what the Knicks can do in the playoffs before a 13,000 person strong fan base for the home games. Props to their new management team which has made some moves that were certainly not obvious. Randle has totally changed his game this year and Derrick Rose has accepted his bench role without a word. They play hard defensively on every possession and have a lot of upside in the years to come. Atlanta’s coach is already trying to work the refs by saying that the NBA wants the Knicks to advance and will give them all the calls. Please.

I must admit that it’s hard to root for the Nets. They have a legitimate chance to win it all but too many unlikeable players for SU (Irving, Harden). Irving may be the best 1-on-1 players in the NBA but he needs to stop talking to the media – way too annoying. There are so many great players in the NBA – the Nets don’t need to tolerate his idiocy.

Just read that Aaron Hicks has a “torn tendon sheath in his left wrist.” Aaron Boone says that they will try and treat it with medicine but surgery is a possibility. Er, maybe trading Tauchman was not the smart move? Do you really want to play Brett Gardner and Clint Frazier every day now? They are going to have to roll the Generational One out there in the outfield once in a while. Why not in Baltimore? Left field is a small piece of ground to cover. Just avoid crashing into the wall.

The reality for the Yankees is that even though they are winning now, they cannot hit and score runs. Not much margin for error. Clint Frazier is approaching a negative batting average and Gardner looks like he should have retired last year. Tauchman would have been just the ticket now. Btw, he is starting for the Giants, batting lead-off and plays every day.

And so it goes.

SU looked up the stats this morning. I mean, there is a no hitter pitched every other day now. What is up with that? In the American League, the median team batting average is .237. The Yankees are at .225. The Yankees are 11th in runs scored, and are the only team with no triples. The Mets team average is .236 (NL median is .234) and they are last in runs by a lot although they have played about 4-5 fewer games for various reasons.

The issue for baseball and its fans is that the product is boring. SU read that the average hits per game per team is 7.7 hits. There are so many strikeouts and the games are lasting between 3 and 4 hours. They are using a slightly smaller baseball this year – and SU thought the reason was to cut down on the number of home runs. I don’t know if it has had that effect but for me, I would rather see more offense and I don’t mind the home runs. I get the analytics people who say you can score quicker with a home run vs. 2 – 3 singles/doubles. But for the fan, you have a long time between pitches, a million swings and misses or foul balls, and little action in terms of guys stealing bases, hit and running, bunting and dare I say it, hit to the opposite field (WHAT???? WE NEVER DO THAT. JUST KEEP PULLING IT INTO THE SHIFT).

MLB is experimenting with rule changes in the minor leagues and SU predicts you will see this in the majors quickly. This is a big time problem and younger fans will not hang in there for 3 – 4 hour games with no action. Now, maybe the warmer weather will result in more runs – could be. However, I just see pitchers all throwing in the mid-high 90s and not a lot of action.

Miguel Andujar is finally getting his shot. He needs to produce and fast or else it’s back to the alternate site for him. Mike Ford has been awful – SU feels badly for him as he has blown his chance. Clint Frazier is showing signs of life finally but at some point, Cashman is going to have to find more left-handed bats. The Generational One is carrying the team but those streaks do not last forever. Scherzer going for the Nationals today. SU is on the no-hitter watch. The Yankees are perfect for him. Keep an eye out for today’s game.

Other theories out there for what is going on? Is moving the mound back a couple of feet a game changer? Outlaw the shifts? Fire all the batting coaches? Teach minor leaguers to bunt and hit to the opposite field? Make all games 7 innings? Stay tuned…

SU has been monitoring the number of days off that Giancarlo Stanton has been given in 2021. He is a full-time DH – they never roll him out to play left field. Keep in mind that in all of his years in the National League with the Marlins, the Generational One played right field on a regular basis. Somehow, he has become a bit brittle in the American League.

SU has been running the numbers through its sophisticated models over and over again. Based on our in-depth calculations, it appears that a DH comes to bat either 4 or 5 times a game. Now, the walk from the dugout to home plate varies by stadium. Oakland, for example, has an especially long walk to the plate. However, in baseball there is no clock so you can do that more slowly. We have also factored in the occasions when you might break a bat or need more pine tar which involves walking a few steps back to the dugout. We do not factor in home and away games as those even out over the course of the year. For Stanton, as a right-handed hitter, it’s a longer walk from the first-base dugout vs. the third-base dugout.

Now, when you hit a home run, you jog around the bases. Not too strenuous although the first few steps out of the box may involve a slightly faster pace although the Yankees certainly discourage that for Gary Sanchez. Strike outs involve no running. Walks involve walking.

Bottom line: SU says he needs to play every day. Every day. He is the Yankees’ hottest hitter now and this is not a roster with many of those guys. Most are comfortably below .200 and show no signs of movement up (nor do they worry about being benched as they are right-handed hitters and they know only right-handed hitters are allowed to play). And, when Luke Voit returns, he may need some days as DH with a recuperating knee. Put Stanton in the outfield. SU says this is not like the NBA where you are sprinting up and down the court. Just stand out in left field for minutes on end and then jog after the occasional fly ball. Do not go any further than the warning track – no walls please. And I don’t care if you catch the ball. I mean they roll Clint Frazier out there most games and he is an adventure on his best days. Stanton only has to jog – all the time.

I know you are wondering how Mike Tauchman is doing with the SF Giants since he was traded last week. SU has been monitoring: he has started all 4 games (what? no day off?) and is 5 for 16 with 1 home run and 5 rbis. That is .313 for those scoring at home. Now consider: in 4 games, he has more rbis than Clint Frazier (3) and Gary Sanchez (4) for the entire season. Ahem.