Yankee fans know what that headline is all about. What used to be a historic season is now a snoozefest. Games have become unwatchable. For SU, what is most frustrating is that guys come up to the plate, look at the shift and then make no adjustments. If you are Aaron Hicks, how are you not bunting down the 3rd base line every single time? He benefited by having Joey Gallo around for the fans to hate for much of the season. Well, Gallo is now gone (and hitting home runs for the Dodgers for those of you keeping score at home but that’s ok, no regrets) and the spotlight is now on Hicks.

But SU would take a different approach with Hicks. He is a switch hitter and one of the precious few left-handed hitters in the lineup. SU says put him in the middle of the order and let him feel important. Batting him 9th ahead of Judge is not working. I know Boone thinks Donaldson is one swing away from finally “locking in” but SU says he is a Dave Kingman redux and 7th is fine for him. Hicks has 3 more years on his contract (can you believe that?) and assuming that Hal will not want to eat $30 million, let’s boost his confidence. Until Bader is healthy enough (early September?), Hicks needs to play every day as this roster is not deep (at all). SU will ask the fans not to boo and to think positive thoughts.

If you listened to Stanton the other night, one did not come away with a confident feeling that he thinks he is over this Achilles strain injury. He is still worried and that is not a good sign. What it means is that he won’t run hard to first base, won’t play the outfield and will probably be afraid to really extend on his swing. SU says you cannot count on him long-term this year. The bigger need is for Carpenter to come back and then pray no foul balls off his back foot.

Andujar is failing to take advantage of chance #27 to stay in the lineup. If I was Boone, I would rethink the lineup. Put IKF at lead-off. He makes contact, always hustles, can steal a base and hits the best on the team with RISP. Boone is limited in what he can do in terms of who he plays right now. SU says a major lineup shuffle is in order just for kicks and fan entertainment. They are wasting great pitching performances from the starters every night and expecting Donaldson to do anything beyond a home run once every 2 weeks is silly. Lou Piniella and Billy Martin, back in the day, picked the lineup out of a hat when things went south. I know the analytics people would faint at that thought but hey, get the players to relax a bit.

The Rays are now down 8 in the loss column with plenty of games left vs. the Yankees this year. A collapse this season would be historic and make fans forget about the Red Sox 14-game blown lead in late July back in 1978.

Until then, feel free to keep the games on Amazon Prime and Apple TV so it’s easier to avoid watching. SU checked in on the Mets but they stopped hitting and scoring in Atlanta so I had better stop doing that. Obviously hurting the karma by tuning in.

SU is not and has never been a Serena Williams fan but she is the GOAT of women’s tennis and deserves her due as she bows out of professional tennis in the upcoming US Open. I watched her last night (not the Yankees) and she is not right physically. As we know, it’s hard to go out on your own terms and her body is clearly telling her it’s time. I am sure the USTA will do things right in a couple of weeks but hard to see her making a sustained run in Flushing.

Finally, finished the last episode of The Captain on ESPN on Derek Jeter. Definitely enjoyed the series and he was so much more forthcoming than he had been throughout his career. Maybe he can DH for the Yankees for 6 weeks?