Anthony Volpe is a Brian Cashman favorite – going back many years now. He was very good in his rookie year but has taken a step back – at least in 2025 when he was dealing with a sore shoulder. Caballero has been very good in his place and the team is winning.
Can a player lose his starting position due to injury? Many say no. Keep in mind that Volpe is very good friends Aaron Judge. SU says it makes sense to give him more at bats in AAA to be able to hit the ground running when he does come back. The complicating factor is that the Yankees’ top prospect, Lomabard, is a shortstop and was just promoted to AAA. He is being moved around the infield to get experience.
Stanton is on the IL but won’t be there forever. They already cut Grichuk. Goldschmidt could be expendable but he is the back up first baseman – can anyone else play there? Maybe Rosario? Caballero can play multiple positions. Dominguez is now up and he is playing well.
There are no obvious solutions here. They could trade Volpe but he is young and on a low salary. SU says not going to happen. A good problem to have for sure. Maybe someone is traded for a top reliever? That is the major need for this team.
The one interesting observation here is that Stanton is an afterthought now. They will need him in October but he is not critical during the regular season.
RIP John Sterling. A true Yankee legend. SU always enjoyed his calls and it did not bother me that he was a “homer” announcer. Towards the end of his announcing career, he had trouble seeing the ball and that was a bit annoying to be honest (“it is high, it is far, it is caught in front of the warning track”). But hey, we all get old and it was fair that he had the chance to decide when to stop calling his games. Dave Sims is a far cry as a replacement. Sterling had a good run. Good man and we will miss him greatly.
The Knicks are looking good! Really pushing the ball up the court and playing at a fast pace. Smart. Embid is a load but he is not going to be sprinting up and down the court. The Sixers have no bench: that is a huge advantage for the Knicks in this series. More players who can come in and influence the game. Brunson was great last night but they don’t need him to be great to win. He needs to watch his shots volume. SU notes that Embid is hardly jumping on his shots. Defenders should not go for the fakes. Just play straight up. They need KAT and Robinson to avoid the silly fouls.
A long way to go of course and we all know about game 2 at home.
Sports Update Intergalactic 
Volpe wouldn’t be losing the job due to injury. He’d be losing it due to a couple seasons of lackluster performance, offensively and defensively. I’m not a huge fan of his but we’ve all seen that there remains potential there. To me, there is one guy on this roster whose perceived value far exceeds what he does on the field and that’s Jazz Chisolm. I would love to see him get hot, hit a few more HRs and then trade him. The guy has his moments but he’s also very frustrating at times. More importantly, he’s a clown and a distraction, on and off the field. Some people enjoy that. But it doesn’t make the team better. (I thought they should have traded him after last season when he probably appeared to be even more valuable.) Volpe could come back to SS and Cabalero could move to 2B.
Sterling was a legend. But his gifts were never about accuracy. (“It is high, it is far” isn’t even an accurate description of many balls that do clear the fence.) But he was entertaining. He loved the game. He was full of stories. He appreciated the game’s history but also every moment as it unfolded. Most importantly he never tried to make you think he was smarter than you or had more experience or a deeper understanding. He wanted you to know that he was amazed by what he was describing and made you want to be amazed too. And as you describe it, Sims and the current broadcast are a shadow of what it was for the 3 decades prior. Waldman is fine but was never great and really leaned on Sterling to energize the broadcast. Sims cannot do this and the result is really hard to listen to.
Seth! Long time. Always with the thoughtful comments. I have to say that the Yankees are so corporate, Jazz does not irritate me that much but I understand how his actions and behaviors might do that for some. He has speed, power and can get hot but you are right that he is either hot or cold. He has a good swing for Yankee Stadium. I am not sure when he is a free agent but he might be someone that they look to move to free up space for Volpe and Lombard next year. Agree with your comments on Sterling. A genuinely good guy and not looking to embarrass anyone or put someone down. I am not a Suzyn Waldman fan (she really excels in the clubhouse interviews in my opinion). I do feel the Yankees, for a change, are not looking to fill a million holes at the trade deadline. They are clearly the best team in the AL this year if they can stay healthy. Enjoy this season as there may be a lockout in 2027.