So, SU watched a fair amount of the Coco Gauff tennis match at the US Open on Monday night as I was looking forward to the Djokovic match that followed and wanted to make sure I kept tabs on the timing. Now, tennis has a serve clock in place where the server has 25 seconds to serve once the umpire announces the score at the conclusion of the prior point. That gives the server enough time to towel off if necessary and catch their breath after a long point. The towels are in the far corners of the court so there is a bit of a walk involved to get there and back.

The umpires generally don’t announce the score right away to start the clock. Especially after a long point, they may wait even longer. There is definitely discretion involved here. The baseball pitch clock is a bit more clear cut. And baseball umpires just call it plain and simple when the timer goes off.

In the Gauff match, her opponent, Laura Siegemund, who is a veteran and 35 years old, was pushing the limit on the serve clock. She had a very llloooonnnggg service motion, and only had to go into the motion before the clock expired to beat the time – which she did most times. However, there were a number of instances where she didn’t but the umpire just did not call it. As a wily veteran, she saw that and took advantage. It was not until the 3rd set where she finally was assessed a violation. When Gauff was serving, the rule is that the receiver has to play at the server’s pace. She clearly did not do that and was making Gauff wait to serve most of the time.

The bottom line is that the umpire allowed Siegemund to get away with it most of the night in what became a torturously long 3-hour match. She was a good player and played very well – showed some smarts and tactics. SU says it was what it was. However, what was wrong was Siegemund going into her media session and complaining about the NY crowd booing her at the end and getting frustrated with her pace of play during the match. SU says that if you want to employ gamesmanship, then live with the consequences. No whining. No crying. You knew what you were doing.

Djokovic is a serve ball bouncer and he will try and buy time to catch his breath in between points. He often gets the benefit of the clock from the umpires but it is something to watch for as the US Open progresses. The weather forecast for week #2 is going to be hot, and there is no air circulation in Ashe Stadium. As in none – especially if the roof is closed. The A/C is not felt at court level. It will be a factor for Djokovic who does not handle the heat well – at any age – and now especially at 36.

Regarding the time clock, SU would put the clock in effect for the 2nd serve as well. Make it 10 seconds. Pace of play is important and especially in best of 5 set matches. 4-hour matches can be a great thing but not if half the time is players standing around.

SU has spoken.

Josh Donaldson has been released by the Yankees. Finally. Only about 5 months too late. The trade with the Twins a couple of years ago did move Gary Sanchez off the roster but they had to send Gio Urshela as well which was a bad, bad move. Donaldson was just a bad fit with the Yankees. He is the opposite of what the Yankees have looked for over the years.

Cashman is on a run of bad trades now for several years. Frankie Montas may be the worst one ever as they gave up their higher end pitching prospects to Oakland.

SU says someone will pick up Donaldson for September as you never know when a guy gets hot and pushes hit batting average all the way into Stanton territory (.200). At least the Yankees are pushing in the right direction now.

SU did read on X that there is no way that Boone will be fired after the season according to 4 insiders in the team. No way Cashman is going but they may have to offer up someone for the fans who are very unhappy.

SU stumbled across these Yankee stats in today’s article in the New York Times by Tyler Kepner (who will be going away with the NY Times Sports Section in the months to come. A shame as he is excellent):

1. Since the All-Star Break in 2022, Giancarlo Stanton has batted .184 and has struck out in 1/3 of his at bats. For the record, he is owed $25 million a year for luxury tax purposes through 2027 (only 4 more years!).
2. The Yankee farm system is now ranked #21 out of 30 MLB Clubs, with no prospects in the top 75.
3. In 2023, the Yankees On Base Percentage is .305 (#26 among MLB Clubs) and their team batting average is .230 (only Oakland is lower).

You can actually make the case that their 60-64 record has over-achieved given their offense. How the mighty have fallen.

SU watched all of the Djokovic – Alcaraz 4-hour final yesterday in temperatures in the high 90s, and I was struck by the level of effort that these guys put out on the court. Djokovic never plays well in hot and humid conditions, and after going up 4-2 in the 1st set, he was clearly impacted by the heat for the next hour. Down 4-2 in the 2nd set, it looked like he was dead man walking, and this would be over soon. But he found another gear, and pushed the match into a 3rd set.

Alcaraz is only 20 but plays without fear. He saved so many break points and even match points with crazy winners from all over the court in the 3rd set. The rivalry now stands at 2 -2, and every match has gone the distance. SU was happy to see that the Cincinnati crowd actually gave Djokovic his due, and there were a fair number of fans rooting for him. Very unusual in the US but the absence of Nadal and Federer seems to allow more fans to root for him in the twilight of his career. You have to give him props at 36 for hanging in there and going toe-to-toe with Alcaraz who will be one of the all-time greats. He has the all-court game, and can even serve and volley like one of the old pros from years gone by. For tennis fans, these are must-see TV events.

One note for the Tennis Channel: it’s not necessary to zero in on the server tossing the ball and then quickly breaking back to the all-court view to watch the actual serve. The human eye cannot adjust in time. Please make the adjustment.

Now the contrast. The Yankees were swept by the Red Sox and their losing streak is now at 8 games. The season is over. The team plays with no passion, no effort. I know in baseball, it can make it look like you are not trying when you are not hitting, but there is no hustle and every game features errors and head-scratching plays. Fan Graphs gives them a less than 1% chance of making the playoffs as a Wild Card. There are obvious moves to make:

1. You can only bring up the youngsters in the minor leagues who are on the 40-man roster. They need to release some of the guys on the current roster. McKinney and Bauers are nice stories but they are not your keepers for 2024 and beyond. They have minimum salaries – you can let them go and find another home. The Yankees actually have some exciting players ready for a chance to show what they can do for the last 35 games or so. This is a no-brainer.
2. Don’t fire Aaron Boone now. Not his fault. True, he is not a good in-game manager, and the players no longer respond to him but they’re not going anywhere this year. Do what you want in the off-season. Paging Don Mattingly? David Cone?
3. Change the entire mindset for the organization. Stop teaching the upper cut swings in the minor leagues, and go back to hitting for average and getting on base. SU does not understand the upper cut swings when pitchers throw 95 – 100 mph high in the zone. How does that even work? Parading .200 hitters to the plate is not interesting, inspiring or watchable. The transition will take years and will require a rebuild of sorts. You have Judge and Cole in their primes, and that may be a problem. Or it allows you to still be competitive to some degree?
4. SU knows everyone wants to fire Cashman but not going there. If you look back to the July 31st moves last year, they gave up so many minor league players for Frankie Montas (awful) and two other relievers (Trevino and Effross) who have not pitched at all this year. And they traded for Joey Gallo the year before. SU says stop. Just stop. Develop your minor league players. They are cheaper and more fun to watch. Trading for Josh Donaldson is the perfect example of bad decisions. Yes, they did move Gary Sanchez there but Donaldson is the type of high strikeout player no one wants to watch.
5. The Yankees were the last team to have a player get to 50 RBIs. Just happened yesterday I believe. They have had 49 games where the starting pitcher went 6 innings and gave up 2 runs or less. They are 9 – 40 in those games. SU did the math and that is 40% of total games played to date. Giancarlo Stanton is hitting .200 for the year and cannot run full speed. They are stuck with him until he turns 53, and at a salary of $30 million+, he will not go anywhere. SU has come to grips with that. He will miss 60% of the games each year though, so there is still room to slot in someone else for more than half the season. DJ LeMahieu seems to be past his prime and they also have him for another couple of years. For SU, it is clear that the Braves have the right idea: lock up the younger players with long-term contracts at a younger age. Enough of the long-term deals for older players. We will see how Carlos Rodon turns out for the next 5 years but 2023 has not been a good look. Not everyone can play in NY. And btw, shut down Judge for the year. Let him have his toe operation. Also Stanton. He can’t run and it must also be impacting his swing.

Bottom line: the team needs a rebuild and SU can handle that. I have not been to a game this year and have no interest in going. “Nothing to see here; please move along.” (from The Naked Gun movie). Sums up the 2023 Yankees.

The Yankees continue to hit new lows in offensive efficiency and effectiveness this season. The reality is that it’s been this way all season with a lineup of under-achieving hitters, utility infielders playing the outfield (see IKF), outfielders who cannot run at full speed or anything close to it (see Stanton) and veterans not playing up to the numbers on the back of their baseball cards. For SU, it has gotten to the point where you almost root for the ineptitude as it is entertaining in a sad way.

Yankee games are no longer fun to watch. Of late, SU has been binging on The Diplomat on Netflix (very good), and only switching to the Yankees when they are up. I do keep tabs on mlb.com. Btw, it’s easier toggling between Netflix and YES than it is if the game is on Apple TV or Amazon.

The Yankees had successive games with Angel Hernandez and Laz Diaz behind the plate. Those two plus CB Buckner really should not be allowed to do home plate umpiring anymore. There should be some type of penalty for being that bad. The silver lining is that they will accelerate the move to electronic umpiring. SU says bring it on asap. Look how good tennis is, and even FIFA uses it on goal reviews. It’s just not enjoyable to watch the bad calls. For the Yankees, it wasn’t aimed against them – these guys are equal opportunity bad umpires. But it hurts the quality of the game and in a time where hits are at a premium in baseball, it makes it that much harder to get one.

Did you see the Orioles suspended their announcer (or at least pulled him from the air for a week now) for displaying stats on the Orioles’ historic ineptitude vs. the Rays in Tampa? Apparently, ownership did not like seeing that. How dumb is that? On Yankee broadcasts, there would be minutes of silence in between pitches as what else can you talk about? MLB has to fix this and fast. Embarrassing.

The US Women’s team crashed out in the World Cup. They just were not that good this year – plain and simple. No offense. SU even got up 5:30 am on Sunday to watch. So ends my World Cup viewing for this year. Of course, certain politicians felt the need to pile on after they were eliminated. Really?

College sports needs to go fully professional and announce themselves as the 6th major pro sports League. First, we had NILs and now, the major conferences are becoming really major conferences. The Big Ten is going to be the Big Twenty, and the PAC-12 is the PAC-2 and soon to be the PAC-0. That leaves us with the Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and the ACC as the major conferences. Not ideal for the “student – athletes” driving their NIL-fueled SUVs who have to travel cross-country a lot for games. It is just not about education anymore (even a little) but making money. SU is not loving this.

I have to say men’s tennis is quite good these days. So many high quality match-ups on the Tennis Channel. SU has been watching (along with 12 other people worldwide) Tiafoe who is a great entertainer and the next US hope for a major championship. He keeps improving but needs to figure out how to play against the guys that slice it low to him like Dimitrov. He’s been exposed of late. An easy guy to root for and he has quite the following. SU is not sure he can maintain the focus on tennis as he will be in demand more and more.

Last night, SU heard the first “Fire Cashman” chants start at Yankee Stadium. Michael Kay ignored them but even Kay was mildly critical of the absence of Yankee moves at the deadline.

SU was glad that the Yankees basically stayed in place. Almost feels like the trades for the relievers were done to appease the fan base and not leave the Yankees as the only team that didn’t do a trade deadline move. SU’s thinking:

1. While the Yankee prospects are always over-hyped, you need to build with the youngsters and at least give them a chance. They depleted the minor league pitchers last summer in the Frankie Montas trade and they should not trade others now. Montas doesn’t have the right attitude to be successful here and he can go.
2. The Yankee hitters are just bad with the exception of Judge. SU has never been a fan of Stanton (surprise!), and now that he is getting older, he just gets worse. Stanton is a stand-up guy and I admire him for that. But his contract has hamstrung the team for several years now and will continue to do that for a few more. Even Rizzo has regressed. Remember, the Cubs were willing to let him go. SU believes he is dealing with a neck issue that happened right before Judge was injured in early June. It happened on a pick-off play at first base. He’s a good guy and he hits left-handed which is rare for the Yankees (and of course, has been a major problem for years now).
3. Donaldson will leave after this year (horrible trade although they did move Sanchez in that deal) but included Urshela who was a good player and teammate.
4. The Yankees will be in on the Ohtani sweepstakes but they will be out-bid by the Mets. SU says no shot. I think if the team wants to compete in 2024, they trade Gleyber and clear room for the youngsters. He is a good player but certainly not what he once was. SU says he bulked up a few years ago to hit more home runs and never regained his flexiblity.
5. Shut Judge down immediately. He can hardly run the bases. Great guy, has a 10-year contract. He needs to stay healthy. This year’s team has no shot. Let him have his toe operation and be ready in 2024.

Bottom line: Hal needs to eat some salaries this winter and trade players like LeMahieu. Someone will take a shot on him if the Yankees pay most of his salary. As a lifelong Yankee fan, I want to be entertained and inspired by the players. I want to see energy, guys trying. Did you see the 9th inning last night? Bader hits a short fly into shallow left field. Jogs out of the box, it drops in and he has to sprint to 2nd base because he failed to run. Gleyber never runs hard. Stanton can’t run hard. At least the young guys run and hustle. And yet attendance is great this year. Not sure what the fans are expecting to see unless they bought their tickets months ago.

Many want to fire Boone and Cashman. SU will not go there. Both were just extended and if the goal is to save money, no point in eating these salaries. Hal is comfortable with Cashman. Will not happen.

SU agrees with long-time subscriber, J. Rosen, who wrote the following about the Mets:

“Have no fear Mets fans, this is not a rebuild. We have turned an old investment that did not work this year into a portfolio of good potential futures. We will reload with a FA or two and perhaps a trade or two.”

SU agrees as Steve Cohen is not afraid to spend – clearly. If he wants Ohtani, he will not be outbid. It may take a year or two but they will quickly retool. Cohen ate some big dollars now but he is committed to winning. SU says good times ahead for the Mets.

There was talk of a Subway Series this year. Hard to believe.

Justin Verlander is heading back to Houston. Luckily for the Yankees, they can face him this weekend. SU has to give Steve Cohen credit for doing the right thing with this year’s team. He went all in on the expensive veterans and the team under-performed in 2023. He is cutting his losses and moving on with a re-build on the fly. SU is sure he won’t do it on the cheap but the Mets need to get younger and less expensive with the payroll. Right move to make.

Meanwhile, the Yankees are stuck. There is not much out there to trade for at this point. And it’s hard to move veteran players with huge contracts like Stanton (will never happen), LeMahieu. SU says Gleyber Torres has value out there and if you can bring back a youngster or two, that is a great move today. He is one of the few players that would be attractive.

Many Harrison Bader rumors as well because he will be a free agent after this season. Figure someone might take a flyer on Severino whose value has hit rock bottom. The Yankees also have some relievers who would get something in return from the contenders. It’s time to raise the white flag in the Bronx for the fans’ sake. The offense is not fixable, and team is really unwatchable.

Major controversy with the US women’s World Cup team. Recently retired star, Carli Lloyd who is now a Fox Sports analyst for the World Cup had some not nice things to say about the team’s passion. The coach immediately reacted. Good stuff! They were lucky to tie and advance as Portugal hit the post on a shot in the last couple of minutes.