Yankee fans say good bye to the Gary Sanchez Era. It started off great and has been in a steady decline for several years. A great hitter who showed power to all fields and then, for whatever reason and despite you have to assume prodding from coaches and his managers, he became a pull-only hitter. The result was a declining batting average, poorer stats and a tendency to not run hard to first base. Combined with many trips to the backstop to retrieve passed balls, well, it was time to move on. SU wishes him well in Minnesota where he will no doubt rejuvenate his career – at least offensively. SU is sure that his ranking among catchers for the past several years was actually high but he was so frustrating to watch. Best of luck.

Bringing in Josh Donaldson is curious to SU. He is everything the Yankees do not need: right-handed; aging; high strikeouts; high swing and miss; and plays about half a season at this point in his career due to injury. Plus he hates Gerrit Cole and the feeling is apparently mutual. OK, the last point can be overcome – it always is. SU surmises that the Twins insisted that the Yankees take Donaldson in order to acquire the shortstop who, full disclosure, I never heard of: Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Rest assured I will mis-spell his name weekly. But he, apparently, is a gold glove caliber infielder at shortstop and third base, and he will be the stopgap until the Yankees’ top prospect at shortstop is ready in a couple of years. Gio Urshela was a nice story but he has a ceiling and he hit that and is now past his peak (so they say). They also acquired a rookie catcher, also excellent defensively, who will platoon with Higashioka. That’s fine – you get better defensively.

SU has never liked Donaldson – swing and miss with a home run here and there. Donaldson will be the right-handed version of Joey Gallo – no doubt Boone will bat them back-to-back to ensure at least 4 innings a game have no chance for scoring. But you figure he will be injured at least half the season and it’s not my money. Rumor has it that the Yankees are the leaders in the trade market for Olsen on the A’s to play first base or they will re-sign Rizzo to play first. Luke Voit’s days have to be numbered. They would like to be in the market for Freddy Freeman but that seems unlikely. Btw, the trade with Oakland could actually be a blockbuster featuring other younger pieces and what would no doubt include Gleyber Torres going from the Yankees to the A’s along with other top prospects. Rizzo seems like the cheaper – and safer – move.

Keep an eye on Cashman. If he says the Yankees are done now, there will definitely be another move coming.

March Madness is starting this week and SU will be announcing its Final Four shortly. But sneak preview: Arizona will win it all. That team is freakishly athletic.

Naomi Osaka had another meltdown in Indian Wells over the weekend. Apparently, there was one fan heckling her and she could not cope with it. She is a great talent and fun to watch but she’s not in a good place right now emotionally and really needs an extended break to clear her head and decide what she wants. In sports, you are paid a lot of money to perform – it’s an entertainment business. The fans are fanatics, and they pay a lot of money to watch. Some are more passionate than others. Some are drunker than others. When Giancarlo Stanton strikes out at Yankee Stadium, he hears it from the crowd walking back to the dugout. When Djokovic plays Federer at Wimbledon, he hears it. You can fight it and find a way or you can let it get to you. SU sympathizes with Osaka but she is not experiencing anything worse than what these top athletes endure in tennis and other sports. She will have to decide what she wants and find her way. The world is not getting any kinder and gentler – that is for sure. You can see her walking away.