Full disclosure: SU is hoping that the Yankees are swept by the Orioles so that they become sellers at the deadline. Some stats for you:

1. Their record for the past 200 games is 103 – 97. Mediocre and reflects who they are.
2. Anthony Rizzo has been the 2nd worst hitter in MLB the past 2 months, and DJ LeMahieu ranks 7th worst. All since Judge went down. They did not step up and actually headed in the other direction. At this point in their careers, that may be who they are. Guys get old and skills deteriorate.
3. The Yankees are struggling against right-handed hitters. They field an all right-handed lineup. Who would have thought that? See SU posts for the past 3 years. Anyone home?
4. The bullpen is running on fumes. They have to fill so many innings every game as the starters are limited other than Cole. It’s not sustainable for a whole season.
5. Judge may be back this weekend but SU predicts he will be hampered by that toe and will opt for season-ending surgery soon enough.
6. The Yankees have a 33% chance of making the playoffs apparently.

Bottom line: the team is unwatchable. The other night SU turned on the US women’s World Cup game over Yankees – Mets. I am the barometer for Yankee fans. Lifelong fan. I have no favorite player this year and feel no passion for this outfit. Five years of Stanton has worn me down. Ready to rebuild. Count me in.

The Mets traded David Robertson to Miami and that has to signal the start of their selling at the deadline. He has had a great season for the Mets. It’s the right move and rumor has it that Verlander and Tommy Pham will be on the move next. The Mets are a long shot at best to make the playoffs and their batting averages are right there with the Yankees in the low .200s.

The dilemma for the Yankees is that in the American League, there is no dominant team that is unbeatable. Soooo, if you can sneak into the Wild Card and have some pitching, you still have a shot. I don’t think they will be sellers for that reason. In the NL, the Braves are really good and that is probably enough for Steve Cohen to lower his payroll and look to the future.

SU saw an interesting stat that batting averages this year are only slightly higher than last season. Something like .247 this year vs. .242 last year. How can that be with the elimination of the shifts? It’s because the hitters are still trying for home runs. Baseball is much better this year with the shortened games but the focus on launch angle and all that is hurting the game.

There was a great article in the Washington Post last month on Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert and their lifelong friendship by Sally Jenkins. There is probably a pay wall but here is the link. It is a great read: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/interactive/2023/chris-evert-martina-navratilova-cancer/

Djokovic and Alcaraz slugged it out today for nearly 5 hours over 5 sets at Wimbledon. It was truly a heavyweight battle with haymakers all over the place. While the 5th set was close (6-4 for Alcaraz), the stat sheet showed that Alcaraz led in winners 18 – 3. Djokovic fought until the end, total points were 168 – 167 for Alcaraz, but the Spaniard was the better player today.

Djokovic admitted in the post-match media conference that he has never played a player as complete as Alcaraz, and that he saw aspects of Federer, Nadal and himself in his game. Alcaraz is clearly a “generational talent” and at 20 years old, he already has won Grand Slams at the US Open on hardcourts and now Wimbledon on grass. And clay is his best surface! What is inspiring for tennis is that Alcaraz has all of the shots – he can play the net extremely well, has a crazy good drop shot and is super fast around the court. Younger players coming up through the ranks should take notice that you need more than strong ground strokes. If you can play the net, you can separate yourself from the pack.

Will Alcaraz now go out and win every major tournament? It’s not that easy and he has had some health issues. Time will tell. We can only hope to see the top players (Sinner, Djokovic, Rune, Nadal, Medvedev) all be in the mix for the next couple of years. Alcaraz may indeed end up on top in many of these but SU says it’s not a given.

Now, one team starting to separate themselves from the pack is the Yankees – and not in a good way. They fire the hitting coach because you can’t fire the players. It’s the same reason that managers get fired. Brutal loss today as the bullpen imploded. The offense is terrible and that is their problem. However, some signs of hope:

Josh Donaldson went on the IL. SU wishes him well. But they finally brought up Peraza and he should be in there every day. That is the problem with the Yankees. They stick with the veterans too long. Let’s play the youngsters and see what you have. They are in last place – tied with Boston – and currently out of the playoffs. Losing 2 out of 3 to the awful Rockies is unacceptable. Next up are the Angels where the Yankees always play poorly no matter how bad they are. The team is borderline unwatchable at the moment.

And so are the Mets. Will both teams be sellers at the trade deadline in a couple of weeks?

This week has been an eye opener for Yankee fans. It started with 2 rousing wins over the Orioles which prompted thoughts of a big 2nd half of the season run towards the playoffs. It was followed by a rare bullpen implosion on Wednesday and then the latest Severino disaster last night. IKF will soon have the lowest ERA on the team as he seems to be pressed into service to pitch the 8th inning fairly regularly now in blowout losses.

For the Yankee fans, it’s really just numbing and reaffirming. This is a slightly better than .500 team now – SU can accept that. Great bullpen, a few good starting pitchers and an uneven offense that is frankly unenjoyable to watch day in and day out. Great stat on Josh Donaldson: they are 1 – 7 in games that he hits a home run. Sums it up: he hits meaningless home runs in losing games. Judge is showing no signs of a possible return and SU believes he will need to opt for surgery some time in July. He covered up for the non-performance of his teammates in 2022 and the first half of 2023 but now they are exposed. This team plays sloppily, runs infielders out there in the outfield and has so many overpaid veterans who are in the downsides of their careers now. SU does not see any trading deadline solutions as no one wants any of these guys and their long-term, expensive contracts.

SU says time to blow it up. Sell at the deadline or just DFA players and eat their contracts. It’s not a championship caliber roster – not even close.

Now, the Mets on the other hand have won 5 in a row including 3 over a good Arizona team. They may have finally turned the corner and can start feeling better about themselves. Atlanta is a far superior team but the goal is to get into the playoffs and rely on your stud starting pitchers. SU says they will be the NY team of interest for the next 3 months.

I have to say the bar for making an All-Star team is a lot lower than other years. Batting .250 puts you right in there now. How did that happen? And how is a projected 70 RBI total now a reasonably good outcome? SU has been reading Jack Curry’s book on the 1998 Yankees team. Only 25 years ago but feels like a different era of baseball when players hit .300, 100 RBIs was not that unusual and lineups valued on base percentages. Today? Mediocrity rules.

SU is enjoying the Wimbledon action this week. The rain really throws the scheduling off but the men’s draw should have some great match ups next week. While Djokovic is still the betting favorite, SU says that will be a big lift for him. Sinner and Alcaraz are ready now, and even a match with Wawrinka later today will not be easy. Nice to see Andy Murray competing and he is a factor on grass given his experience and home court advantage.

SU likes the Knicks’ signing of Donte DiVincenzo. I watched a lot of him on Golden State last year. He is a first rate defender and can shoot. A fun guy to root for. It’s not clear how the minutes get spread around next year but the Villanova pedigree on this roster is a definite plus. Keep an eye on Jordan Poole in Washington – he will have a huge year in a high paced offense. I will not be rooting for the Warriors anymore out West – that ship has sailed for me.

College football is less than 2 months away! Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald just got suspended for 2 weeks over a hazing incident. Whoa – that is the last school where you would think that is happening.