Yankees were in trouble, before Judge's injury
Baseball's special day. How about Nick Kurtz? NFL injuries mounting already
Good Sunday morning to you!
It is not a good Sunday for the New York Yankees with word their slugger and MVP Aaron Judge has a flexor strain in his right arm. The Yankees, as they are wont to do, are putting the best spin on the injury, saying it could have been worse. It could have been a UCL. Judge is being placed on the 10-day IL and the Yankees are hopeful he will be ready after that stint. And I’m hopeful the smoke filtering down from Canada will stop and I can breathe some fresh air. Figure Judge to be out at least two to three weeks, maybe a month.
As I have written on this platform numerous times, recently, the Yankees were in trouble even before Judge’s injury. This just adds more to their dilemma.
The acquisition of Ryan McMahon is a major upgrade, but even if Judge did not get injured, the Yankees were going to need more than McMahon to right their sinking ship. And make no mistake, the ship is taking on water. The Yankees have gone from seven games in first to 6 1/2 games back of Toronto, after getting demolished by the Phillies for a second straight day. The Phillies are a very good team, but they have looked like the 1927 Yankees against the 1962 Mets in the first two games of this series.
Baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint and I have always felt the Yankees were not built for the long haul. Players break down, injuries occur and teams not built to withstand the inherent nature of a baseball season are the ones that end up on the outside looking in. Injuries are going to happen. Championship caliber teams withstand those bumps in the road. The Yankees are not a championship caliber team.
With the trade deadline looming on Thursday, the Yankees now face their biggest dilemma: deal some of their prospects for a short term fix or stay the course. The Yankees would be idiots if they trade their top prospects, who I named last week: Spencer Jones, Rafael Flores, George Lombard Jr., Roc Riggio and Cam Schlittler (now in the big leagues). I view Ben Rice, J.C. Escarra, Jonathan Loáisiga and yes, Anthony Volpe, as trade possibilties.
Acting impetuous like George Steinbrenner would just compound the organization’s problems without a guarantee of success. Sometimes a franchise has to suck it up and try to improve from within. Calling up slugger Jones, the former first round draft choice who hit 13 home runs in his first 19 games at AAA, would be a smart move. It might save the Yankees from falling out of contention.
Put it this way: at the start of the month, most baseball experts thought the Yankees were a lock to win the A.L. East. Now, they are not even a lock to make the postseason, with their wild card advantage a tenuous 1 1/2 games. How they navigate these next few days could very well determine the club’s future not only for this season, but for years to come.
Here are some other stories that caught my eye for Sunday, July 27, 2025:
How about this Boston Globe paragraph in the game story for the Dodgers 5-2 win over the Red Sox Friday night: “Hernández’s blast turned a one-run deficit into a three-run hole that proved insurmountable (for the Red Sox). And it drew audible cheers, Dodgers fans making up a significant portion of the sellout crowd of 36,369.”
Say that again? Dodgers fans turning out at Fenway to drown out Red Sox fans? Wonders will never cease.
And one more note on the Red Sox. Can they wear their traditional home uniforms more often? Green uniforms on Friday. Yellow uniforms on Saturday. These are the Red Sox for goodness sakes!
A’s manager Mark Kotsay: “I think Nick’s (Kurtz) put himself, in a very short time, in conversation about Rookie of the Year.” Kurtz slugged four home runs, went 6-for-6 with 8 RBI and had 19 total bases in the A’s thrashing of Houston, 15-3, Friday night. He is the first rookie to ever hit four home runs in a game.
Baseball holds its special day today with induction ceremonies at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Congratulations to Cleveland Guardians radio broadcaster Tom Hamilton and Washington Post baseball writer Thomas Boswell for their inductions into the broadcasters and writers wing of the hall on Saturday. Word is, by the way, Ichiro will give his entire induction speech in English.
All is well with the Jets. For now. QB Justin Fields participated in 7-on-7 drills, following his toe injury in camp last week.
Rams QB Matthew Stafford’s back injury maybe more serious than first thought. He remains sideline and coach Sean McVay now says the goal is to have Stafford available for Week 1. Really? That sounds to me like the 37-year-old Stafford won’t be taking any snaps in any exhibition, (Oops!) preseason games.
For you fantasy football fans: Texans RB Joe Mixon remains sidelined with a foot injury and the hope is he will be ready for the start of the season.
Thank you for subscribing and have a terrific rest of your weekend!
DAN