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Hapless Hal

The catalyst for the New York Yankees changing their controversial, 49-year-old hair policy was likely when closer Devin Williams spoke with owner Hal Steinbrenner and general manager Brian Cashman last week.

-from The Athletic, story by Chris Kirschner and Brendan Kuty

You want to know what’s really the story here? It took 10 years - TEN F’ING YEARS!! - for Hal Steinbrenner to realize the policy was “outdated.” That’s what wrong here. We have a clueless owner who takes 10 years to make a decision about a policy like this. That’s why Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone are still here, and that’s why they’ll continue to be here until doomsday. Hapless Hal simply is uninterested, out of touch, and really doesn’t care all that much about the NY Yankees. What a joke.

Amending the facial hair policy had been a topic of internal conversation for around 10 years, Steinbrenner said, but it wasn’t until the last few weeks that the owner realized the policy was “outdated.” Steinbrenner said he spoke with team leaders Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole and Giancarlo Stanton, among others, to gather their thoughts on possibly changing the rule. He also spoke with former Yankees and individuals outside of baseball to get their take on whether the most recognizable rule in American sports should change.

Sad. Just sad.

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Another Yankee bites the dust. TBH Hampton probably was going to spend another year in Scranton, but this surgery really puts him behind the 8-ball in terms of his future. He’s not getting any younger, and he will miss a lot of development time.

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So Yankee players and personnel can now grow well-trimmed beards. Finally! I wonder which free agent(s) didn’t choose to sign with the Yankees because of the grooming policy.

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Another Two-Year Boone-doggle

To no one’s great surprise, the Yankees extended Aaron Boone’s contract for another two years until the end of the 2027 season. Too bad. There continues to be absolutely no accountability in the Yankees FO. The pathetic team of Steinbrenner, Cashman and Boone will continue to preserve the current level of mediocrity for the foreseeable future, and when the team fails and loses, no one in the FO will be held accountable. The Yankees believe that no change is necessary, things are fine, and all they need to do is compete.

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So Giancarlo Stanton has “tennis elbow,” is in a lot of pain, can’t swing a bat, and might not be ready for Opening Day. Surprise, surprise. #playball

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American League East Standings Prediction

I’ve never been one for predictions, but since I’m writing this baseball blog, I decided to do a standings prediction for the AL East. It’s the division I follow most by default, and the one I’m most familiar with. It’s the only one I am going to do. The other two AL divisions I’ve only scant knowledge about (even though I live 2 hours from Cleveland), and I don’t see many NL contests. So without further ado, here we go!

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Would it be a Yankees spring training camp if there weren’t some drama? Marcus Strohman is a starter, DJ is in the best shape of his life, Boone is awaiting his contract extension. Baseball drama at its finest.

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So Michael Kay is pretty ticked off that Shohei Ohtani was declared the best player in baseball, and Judge was ranked second. He asked rhetorically on his show “Which player would you want on your team?” I’d want Ohtani. Sorry, Mike.

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2025 NYY Preview - The Bench

I’ve been thinking about what to write about the Yankee bench as pitchers and catchers report today. I just don’t think there is a lot to say, and of course until spring training is actually over it’s something of a mystery as to who will actually comprise the bench on the 25-man roster. So the best thing to do, I think, is simply to create a small list of potential bench players and give them a little look.

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2025 Yankees Overview - The Bullpen

I know I said I was going to discuss the Yankee bullpen in my next post, but this article does so much better than I ever could, so I am just going to refer you to it. I will just make a few observations here.

Adding Devin Williams is probably the best move of the off-season IMO. Clay Holmes was, statistically, a decent reliever, but his 13 blown saves last season proved to be too much to take. Luke Weaver was effective in the closer role, but apparently the Yankee brain trust seems to believe he slots in better as a set-up guy who can throw multiple late innings. Devin Williams appears to have a genuine closer mentality with great swing-and-miss stuff, so his addition is a positive move all around.

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