THE BEST OF THE BAD, BUT WILL THAT LAST?

Let's face it, the American League is awful this year. As bad as the Yankees are, they shouldn't be playing THIS bad. We just hit an all new low folks, and it's as embarrassing as it gets.

What a way to ruin a holiday weekend. For the first time since 2014, the Minnesota Twins just won a series against the New York Yankees in New York. To make it worse, they scored 17 runs in the final two games. That is just something no one should stomach. I never like to throw a George Steinbrenner reference because let's face it I want the man to rest in peace but his son has completely destroyed his franchise. There is no more "rest in peace" possible for poor George. He's rolling in his grave right now.

And he should be. This team is going no where. At this rate, we all know the National League easily walks through anyone this season. We won't be a factor because the Rays will finish us off and the Rays are no match for a Nation League power house. We have an infinite list of problems to fix. Some of the fixes are obvious, but the "decision makers" as I call them won't make the necessary choices.

There are some obvious moves to make:
1) Fire Aaron Boone, bring in new blood
2) Fire Brian Cashman

3) DFA Camilo Doval and recall Yovanny Cruz
4) Send Austin Wells to Triple-A and recall J.C. Escarra
5) Get rid of Anthony Volpe....FOREVER! 

6) Whenever Jazz Chisholm returns, stop relying on him

7) Bolster catcher, bullpen, right handed bat and starting pitcher depth at the deadline

Ideally, I'd say send Chisholm packing with Volpe but the Yankees have other more pressing needs so I don't see it happening. The Phillies have proven you can fire your manager and come back stronger. There's no logical reason to keep Baboonie as a manager. We aren't winning with him. He's not adding anything valuable and he's not delivering the expectation of WINNING. 

That's what the Yankee legacy was. We had the expectation to compete and win every year. That legacy died a long time ago. Now it's about doing just enough to line Hal Steinbrenner's pockets with cash. To hell with winning. The Yankees don't know how to do that anymore. They don't evolve. They don't surround themselves with actual leaders that know how to win.

So now we continue to lick our wounds. We get to be the best of the bad....but I don't even think that lasts long. We have a four game series coming up against the Rays. As of Sunday we were four games behind the Rays thanks to our freefall of failures. After this series ends on Thursday that could be 8 games if the Yankees don't pull their heads out of their ass. If we go 8 games behind the baseball world as we know it comes to an end.

I've never felt this disgruntled before. I've had my stretches of angst but this is a whole new level. This is a bad team and it's a bad team build by bad "decision makers" that don't know how to right the ship. It's time to clean house so we can stop being one of the best of the bad. Even those days are numbered.

That may be in Hal's DNA.....but it's not in mine!

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

BEN RICE IS THE BEST CATCHER THE YANKEES HAVE

The New York Yankees have a pretty simple problem at catcher this season, and somehow they’re trying to make it complicated. The obvious answer is staring them in the face: Ben Rice should be catching games.

Without him back there, the Yankees are basically running a two-option menu that nobody ordered.

First there’s Austin Wells, who last season hit .219. That’s not exactly the kind of offensive thunder you dream about from a position that already struggles to produce runs. Then there’s J. C. Escarra, who is what he is: a backup catcher. Every team needs one. But the key word there is backup. Not “plan A.”

So naturally the logical move would be to give Rice some time behind the plate and see what happens.

Enter manager Aaron Boone — baseball’s most enthusiastic shrug.

When asked if Rice would catch at all this spring, Boone delivered the kind of decisive leadership Yankees fans have come to expect.

“I don’t know.”

That quote, reported by Brendan Kuty of The Athletic, pretty much sums up the current Yankees decision-making process. The team is apparently planning to use Rice as their everyday first baseman — which would be the first time in his life that he’s primarily focused on the position.

Which raises a tiny, inconvenient question.

Didn’t the Yankees just sign Paul Goldschmidt… a first baseman?

Seriously. Why bring in Goldschmidt if the plan is to convert Rice into a full-time first baseman on the fly? That’s like buying a new car and then deciding to drive the lawn mower to work instead.

Meanwhile, as Conor Liguori of Sports Illustrated pointed out, there’s a perfectly reasonable baseball reason to let Rice catch some games. Injuries happen. Catchers get banged up. If Wells or Escarra ends up missing time, Rice would suddenly be thrown behind the plate cold without recent reps.

Liguori also noted another practical benefit: getting Rice more at-bats against left-handed pitching. With Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger able to handle first base, the Yankees would gain lineup flexibility if Rice occasionally caught.

You know… basic roster management.

But that would require Boone to make an actual baseball decision. And unfortunately, Boone operates in a system where every thought has to be cleared by the spreadsheet department upstairs.

That’s the real problem.

The Yankees don’t run on instincts anymore. They run on charts, algorithms, and whatever glowing spreadsheet the front office prints out that morning. Boone isn’t managing a baseball team so much as he’s reading instructions off a corporate PowerPoint.

And the result is a manager who often looks completely lost — because he is.

The solution here isn’t complicated. Rice should catch sometimes. It protects the roster, gives the team flexibility, and prepares for the inevitable bumps that come during a 162-game season.

Liguori gets it.

Most fans get it.

But until someone in the organization remembers that baseball involves human judgment and not just Excel formulas, the Yankees will keep doing what they’ve been doing for years now: overthinking the obvious while their manager stands there saying, “I don’t know.”

And that, unfortunately, is the Aaron Boone era in a nutshell. An idiot with a lineup card waiting for the spreadsheet to tell him what to do next.

SEPTEMBER CALL UPS. ARE THEY HAPPENING FOR SPENCER JONES?

It's Labor Day and the Yankees are off. So, I guess I don't have to worry about strategically scheduling my grilling time to miss as little as possible. Now that the calendar has flipped to September the Yankees have been doing their own strategic planning for call ups. This year, it feels much less dramatic because the moves the Yankees are likely to make feel more obvious.

I do kind of miss the old days. Before 2020, teams could add anyone on their protected 40-man roster for September call-ups, but that changed after teams started loading up on some pitchers and it became a hot topic. Now teams get to add two more players and expand to a 28-man roster. It certainly isn't quite as exciting but it does force teams to be more strategic.

I feel like the Yankees moves this year are less sexy compared to other teams. One call up is obvious, and that will be Ryan Yarbrough, who finished his rehab assignment recently and returned to the clubhouse on Friday. He will be available for a long relief role against Houston on Tuesday. He will give the Yankees the extra arm that they will want for the last leg of the regular season. Hell, it's an arm we will need to make the last push.

The other call up is not as obvious. The Yankees will need a position player, and I have seen three names floating around social media. The Yankees will either activate outfielder Austin Slater from the injured list or give another call-up to familiar face rookie catcher J.C. Escarra. Slater has been out since August 5th with a hamstring sprain but began a rehab assignment on Friday. He was scheduled for another game yesterday and will likely get a third game on Tuesday before the Yankees make a decision on who gets the call.

Ideally, the Yankees want Slater's right-handed bat for corner outfield starts against left-handed pitching and pinch-hitting, so if Escarra does get the call up it will probably only be temporary until the Yankees feel Slater is ready for the call up. I do like that Slater can rake against lefties, that's always nice to have. Interesting scenario here, the Yankees are looking for outfield help....but the buzz isn't all about Spencer Jones.

So why are the Yankees considering Slater and not Jones? I think there are a lot of factors. One thing that stands out to me though is the Yankees acquired Slater when Aaron Judge was injured. They needed the additional support and he could fill in temporarily. Jones on the other hand was recently promoted to Triple-A. The first three weeks, he went on a tear. Jones had a .402 BA, slugged 13 home runs and dropped his strikeout rate to 25.5 percent. It's a big reason why the Yankees held onto him at the deadline instead of trading him. They saw more upside to keeping him instead of trading for another big name. Since then, in the last month he has struggled a lot at the plate. His batting average has dropped to .178, he has only hit three home runs and his strike out rate has ballooned back up to 35.8 percent. Jones just hasn't been able to be consistent and put it all together. It's been a concern of mine for a while now.

So it doesn't sound like Jones is in the consideration for a September call-up. Some fans probably won't be happy with that but....the Yankees have made some ground in the AL East. They have a lot of work to do still and I think Jones is just too much of a gamble right now. 

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

LOOKS LIKE THE YANKEES HAVE A NEW ROLE FOR BEN RICE?

Blowout games are more enjoyable to watch when your team is on the winning side. Aside from the winning part, I also like it because that means it's an opportunity to watch Ben Rice behind the plate. We got to watch that on Tuesday night, and we might get to see that more often.

The Yankees will welcome Giancarlo Stanton back to the roster soon, if all continues to go well. Adding Stanton's bat back into the lineup creates a logjam because there would be no natural fit for Rice to get regular playing time. To solve that, Aaron Boone is considering giving Rice some occasional starts behind home plate, read more HERE. 

Rice has been a valuable piece to the lineup so far this season so losing him as a regular would be a shame. So now Boone will have to get creative which he said would be a "challenge" but "doable, too." There is speculation that Stanton may not start every game when he returns, so that may make it easier to get Rice's bat in the lineup. The Yankees could give him some reps at DH, give Paul Goldschmidt a day off at first or let Austin Wells sit a game to recharge. The Yankees have options, they've even tested Rice with sound grounders at third base recently.....which is interesting timing with Jazz Chisholm injured again. 

The interesting piece of all this is plugging Rice into catching duties more gives Yankees three catchers to use as needed. It's a nice strategy to have, but it creates the challenge of keeping J.C. Escarra involved in the game, too. Whether Rice would get more of an extended look over Escarra is unknown at this point, but the Yankees are determined to give him regular time, so anything is possible.

Usually when younger, talented players are stuck in their current position without a natural fit, it often leads to trade speculation when the trade deadline approaches. In this case, it seems highly unlikely that the Yankees would consider trading Rice considering Goldschmidt will be a free agent at the end of this season. Rice looks to be a natural choice to take over first base next season. The Yankees are high on Rice....so they are going to keep him and fit him in however they can.

This is one of those good problems to have for once.... I just hope Boone doesn't mismanage the situation.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

COULD BEN RICE BE MOVING POSITIONS?

Look, let’s start with the obvious: Ben Rice is crushing it. The kid’s been everything you’d want in a midseason surprise—a burst of power, steady presence at the plate, and most importantly, someone who took Giancarlo Stanton’s empty DH seat and didn’t just keep it warm, he turned it into a throne.

Through 41 games, Rice has launched nine home runs and is batting .250—not exactly Mickey Mantle reincarnate, but considering he was a depth option a few months ago, the numbers scream one thing: "Keep this guy in the lineup."

And that’s exactly what the Yankees are trying to figure out. Because one day (allegedly) Stanton will rise from the Injured List like a $300 million phoenix, and someone’s got to step aside. But who? The Yankees' offense is humming. Messing with the chemistry now would be like unplugging the toaster while it’s still mid-bagel.

So now there’s chatter—maybe Rice moves to third base? J.C. Escarra, infielder and now apparently part-time rumor mill, hinted that Rice has “the hands” and “the arm strength” to man the hot corner. He told Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News:

“He has the hands, and he definitely has the arm strength to play there. So, you never know.”

Well, we do know this: Ben Rice has never played third base in a big-league game. That’s kind of important. Boone, always the king of cryptic coach-speak, said back on May 19th that Rice had been taking reps at third “for fun,” and warned the press to “not necessarily read anything into it.”

(Translation: Please stop asking about it before we even know what we’re doing.)

Now here’s where things get a little spicy. Because if the goal is to keep Rice’s bat in the lineup—and it absolutely should be—why experiment with moving him to a brand-new position when you already have a gold-glove caliber glove rotting on the bench?

Yes, we’re talking about Oswald Peraza. The Yankees treat Peraza like a USB cable in a drawer full of lightning cords—undeniably useful, but somehow always overlooked. He doesn’t get consistent at-bats, and then gets criticized for not hitting enough. Well, no kidding. The guy gets one shot every 10 days and is expected to produce like Aaron Judge.

And yet—when he does get the chance, he delivers. Case in point: that rocket double against the Rockies that sparked a Bronx-style beatdown.

That’s not nothing. That’s baseball.

So, if we’re drawing up the lineup card—and let's be honest, we’re all better at it than Aaron Boone after a large, iced coffee and three confusing analytics reports—it goes like this:

• Volpe stays at short. We get it. It's written in stone. He's Boone's boy toy.

• Peraza starts at third base and gets regular ABs so he can, you know, actually develop.

• Ben Rice keeps doing what he does best: mash as the DH.

• And Stanton? He can take his sweet time. No one’s rushing him back until his legs are ready to do more than just jog out of the tunnel.

As for J.C. Escarra, hey—we love the enthusiasm. But maybe chalk this one up to rookie chatter. Saying Rice “might” play third is like saying Judge “might” try catching. It’s not technically wrong, but let’s maybe let the coaching staff handle position changes. Boone already gives us enough to scratch our heads over.

In the meantime, let’s not overthink this. The Yankees are winning, the offense is clicking, and Ben Rice is turning heads every time he steps to the plate. Be grateful, be happy, and for the love of the pinstripes—don’t fix what isn’t broken.

RICE TAKING PRACTICE GROUNDERS AT 3RD IS AN INDICATION THEY DON'T WANT PERAZA

Say what you will about Aaron Boone and his never-ending quest to gaslight Yankees fans, but telling us not to “read into” Ben Rice fielding grounders at third base is a special kind of condescending. According to Boone, it was “just for fun.” You know, like when your boss starts training your co-worker on your tasks “just in case” and tells you not to worry about it. Totally normal. Nothing to see here.

Except, of course, there is plenty to see here—starting with the blatant disregard for Oswald Peraza’s place in the Yankees’ future. Which is to say: apparently, there is none.

The scene unfolded over four hours before the finale of the Subway Series yesterday. The infield at Yankee Stadium was quiet, except for one odd sight: Ben Rice and backup catcher J.C. Escarra taking ground balls at third base from infield coach Travis Chapman. Peraza? Nowhere near the hot corner in their practice circle. Not invited to the party I guess. Probably off somewhere wondering what else he has to do to be taken seriously by an organization that treats him like a broken toy.

Let’s be honest here. The Yankees want Peraza to be good—but only in a very specific, highly unreasonable way. He needs to be perfect. There’s no grace period, no real opportunity to get comfortable, no consistent at-bats. And now, instead of developing him, they're rolling out a first baseman/catcher hybrid for reps at third base and spinning it as a goof. A laugh. A quirky little drill. Just “fun.”

It’s insulting.

Peraza is an elite defender. Everyone knows that. His glove should have earned him a spot. But his bat? That’s what the Yankees cling to when they need an excuse. “He’s not hitting enough,” they say. Of course he’s not. He gets jerked around like a yo-yo, never given real runway to grow. If the Yankees were truly invested in Peraza’s development, they would have done it two years ago when they handed Anthony Volpe the shortstop job. Instead, they turned Peraza into Volpe’s competition, then discarded him when Volpe “won.” Since then, Peraza has been treated like a spare part—always good enough to fill a hole, never good enough to be the plan.

Sound familiar? It should. Just ask Gleyber Torres. He had to be perfect too. And when he wasn’t, he got scapegoated, packed off to Detroit, and surprise—he thrived. Maybe it wasn’t Gleyber all along. Maybe it’s just the Yankees and their deeply flawed idea of development.

And now here we are, watching Ben Rice—who, to be clear, has never played third base in a professional game—get surprise reps at the hot corner. Just “for fun,” they tell us. Just “exploring options.” Look, it’s fine to want flexibility on the depth chart, but let’s not pretend we don’t see what’s happening here. The writing is on the wall for Peraza, and it’s written in all caps: YOU’RE NOT PART OF THIS PLAN.

And that’s absolute garbage.

Peraza deserves better. And frankly, it’s hard to take any of this seriously when Aaron Boone—clearly operating as the front office’s ventriloquist dummy—tells us not to read into moves that are obviously, blatantly telegraphing their intentions.

This team doesn’t do subtle well. And it doesn’t do player development well either. So don’t tell us not to question why a catcher is fielding grounders at third base while your best infield defender is collecting dust. Don’t tell us it’s for fun. It’s not fun. It’s stupid. And we’re not stupid enough to buy it.

Stop pretending. Start doing right by the players you’ve failed. Or just be honest and say you’re done with Peraza. At least then we can all stop pretending too.

THE YANKEES PROPPED UP ESCARRA TO DISTRACT FROM THEIR BROKEN-DOWN TEAM

Let’s cut the nonsense. J.C. Escarra making the Yankees is a great personal story, but the Yankees turning it into a full-blown reality show moment? Over it. Done. Move on. The hidden camera stunt? Cringe. Just let the guy have his moment, put on the gear, and play baseball.

But let’s be real here—Dominic Smith clearly didn't have a “sexy” story for the Yankees taste, read HERE. He wasn’t an ex-hairdresser, Uber driver, or grocery bagger. He was an eight-year MLB veteran trying to crack a Yankees roster already clogged with Paul Goldschmidt and Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger. It wasn’t happening no matter how good his spring was. The Yankees were going to make him run in circles before eventually pushing him out. "Logjam", you see.

But Escarra? Now that’s a marketable backstory. Thirty years old, once driving Uber, now backup catcher for the Yankees. Wells is there and Ben Rice is still here too, because apparently, he can be in two places at once. But why did Smith have to go while we welcome Escarra like he’s the second coming? Because the story plays better. The Yankees love a good PR moment to distract us fans.

From Uber driver to substitute teacher to the Yankees in 2025.

J.C. Escarra’s journey continues in the Bronx 💙 pic.twitter.com/9Nk7wbwqlW

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 22, 2025

They’ll set up a “hidden” camera, get a “genuine” reaction, and push it out like it’s some groundbreaking sports documentary.

Here’s a thought—just stop. 

The Yankees treat fans like we’re idiots, constantly tossing us distractions instead of addressing actual problems. And let’s talk about that “hidden camera” angle. Not to be that guy, but recording someone without their permission? Yeah, that can be a third-degree felony in Florida. So, was it even hidden? Or just another staged moment to make us all go, “Aww, look how wholesome the Yankees are.”

The real issue? This team is broken. The rotation is a mess. The injury list is overflowing. 

We need a third baseman, not an Uber driver—no offense to Escarra, who’s obviously put in the work. But the over-the-top narrative? Exhausting. Baseball is tough. Life is tough. Everyone’s grinding. Why are we acting like working multiple jobs while chasing a dream is some unheard-of phenomenon? That’s called being an adult.

Let the guy play baseball. 

Stop making it a spectacle. The Yankees have real issues to fix, and this feel-good fluff piece isn’t covering them up. It was orchestrated by the Yankees and hyped by Joel Sherman, who started building this up a month ago simply tweeting:

"Not long ago J.C. Escarra was an Uber driver, a substitute teacher and a Gastonia Honey Hunter. This spring he just might make the Yankees.”

Now here we are, knee-deep in a manufactured storyline while the team desperately needs actual help.

Happy for Escarra, but enough with the distractions. 

Let’s get back to business.  Now I know ya'll are going to look at this and say that I've lost my mind, are insensitive and are heartless. I'm not.  What I am is honest.  No one is going to say this about this Yankees team... but I am happy to.  

Fix what needs to be fixed. Then let's celebrate the moments.