THE BEST CALL OF THE YEAR DESTROYS BRIAN CASHMAN!

Look, I love my Yankees and I really think Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone are doing a terrible job with this Yankee team, but for the life of me, I'm certainly not gonna call into a radio show and I have way too much going on in my life to care that much about this team. I said it many times here and I'll say it again; the Front office doesn't know how to run this team and there needs to be a serious change of personnel up there. You don't go firing a guy like bullpen coach Mike Harkey and say "OK, we're fixing things." Mike Harkey sitting in the pen waiting for Boone to call is not the problem. 

And here's the worst part, we know who the problem is, and the front office and analytics department know it's them as well, but they are also in charge and as long as Hal Steinbrenner is not in the red and all you Yankee fans keep spending money on season tickets and merch and their stupid food, nothing will change.  I said after the season, you gotta boycott this team. Not for the players, we love the players. No... it's the front office... it's Cashman, it's Boone. It's them. Get rid of them, make an effort actually win, and then I'll come back. until then, nope.  By the way, read ENOUGH! LET'S BOYCOTT THE YANKEES TO CHANGE THIS TEAM'S FUTURE if you want more on that. I ain't wrong, Unc.

But back to this amazing fan. John from Maspeth. Great for radio, slightly embarrassing and yes, he hit on all the right points. When Trent Grisham happily pocketed the Yankees’ one-year, $22 million qualifying offer on Tuesday, a reward for the season where he suddenly morphed into a 34-homer wrecking ball. Sure, it’s a steep price tag, but the short-term deal... but still, money that should be spend elsewhere. 

But here comes John from Maspeth. The man heard the news about Grisham and immediately transformed into a human air-raid siren. He called up WFAN’s Evan Roberts and Tiki Barber to express his thoughts — or, more accurately, to unleash them — and let’s just say he didn’t hold back on his favorite punching bag, Brian Cashman. Listen to this:

Somebody check on John in Maspeth pic.twitter.com/tixrOzhBh2

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 19, 2025

John from Maspeth is right.  Look, the Yankees players for the most part are a decent team. Plus, if you kick Volpe and Wells to the curb, they are no question better.  But guys like Grisham? Not really needed.  Had a great season, his time is up in my opinion.  We need Bellinger... we need a solid starting pitcher.  The days of Will Warren are over. Nice kid, we need more certainty. I mean, let's get serious. Let's try and win a championship... not duct tape a roster together.  And so, I ask this question, just like John from Maspeth is asking every day, "What the hell is Brian Cashman doing?"

PLAY IT AGAIN, HAL

Are you listening to Brian Cashman’s end of the year presser? WHY?! Why do it again? It’s like the same awful Christmas sweater that you bought in a pinch 10 years ago to make it a friends Holiday Party! Now you keep dusting it off to re wear each year. Throw it away! Donate it to Goodwill! Better yet don’t go the the next “Bad Christmas Sweater” get together…those parties are worse than fruitcake.

The Yankees are now like that Christmas sweater in a way. Sure, they’re still the NEW YORK YANKEES. They are synonymous with big time sports like the Tree at Rock Center is with Christmas. But the magic is gone! It feels like the years after we were told Mom and Dad were Santa (Though I’m still investigating that one).

Who changed it all? Well, it seems to be the 3 UNWISE MEN! Hal isn’t a baseball man or a competitive titan like his father was. He is a silver spooned bank teller who reads from a Steinbrenner script…but he can’t sell it. George NEEDED to win. He believed he owed it to New York. Hal hears about all the subways in the city and probably thinks they just have a lot of low-rate, chain sandwich shops! He isn't NYC.

It's like that movie “Funny Bones” with Oliver Platt and Jerry Lewis. The great comedian and his unfunny son. “There are some that can read funny, and there are those with funny bones…you’re neither.” See it. It’s great and sums up the massive gap between “The Boss” and “The Bust”.

Cashman is a clown. He was the wunderkind under the Stick Michael regime and just a figure head while the Dynasty was playing and winning. Then he took the massive checkbook at his disposal and found a way to get it done in 2009…still with Mo, Jeter and company.

He constructs bad teams! He makes dumb moves. Sure, the sun shines on a dog’s ass now and then but…well hell, I'll just shout Ellsbury and leave it there! He is defiant every year when the press asks why the Yankees are a broken record of broken teams. He needs to go! FOR THE SAKE OF CHANGE!! They canned GI Joe Girardi and he was good! Cashman is like 10-week-old milk at this point. He stinks and you’ll get violently ill if you drink any of his nonsense. Hit the Deegan, Brian. You need to move on.

Then we have Boone. I like Aaron Boone. Had the chance to meet him a few times, He is genuine. He loves the game, and I KNOW he gets that he is the skipper of the greatest franchise in sports. He has been ok. Not great. Not the main reason they fall short. He’s been ok. But this is NEW YORK! Like Colin Quinn once said about New York audiences, “I don’t care if Jack Nicolson gets up on that stage…if he isn’t funny within the first 5 minutes he’s gonna get booed.” 

 

 

Boone is a nice guy…but my Uncle Jack is a nice guy, and he shouldn’t manage the Yanks either. I think Aaron would be better suited skippering the DBacks or Pads. He’s a So Cal guy and they can skate by with the laid back thing. NOT IN THE BRONX.

Sadly, ZERO will change. The great player we have…and we have 1…will be another year older and edging closer to the Pat Ewing, Charles Barkley club. Pitching is touch and go. Max is good, Cam could be great, and Cole is on a new elbow. They are selling a dream, and we haven’t shown interest in buying into it for years now.

Change is the only thing in life that is guaranteed…somehow the New York Yankee Brass is the exception to the rule. They won’t for yet another year. Firing a bullpen coach named Mike Harkey? He was the problem???

Look, I still believe in Santa. I stopped believing in the Yankees…and that is more of a kick in the head to my childhood than fading faith in a jolly elf from the North Pole, gang.

That's the bottom line.

--Mike O'Hara
BYB Contributor
Twitter: @mikeyoh21

THE YANKEES MAKE SOME CHANGES BUT WE NEED MORE!

A week after the Yankees were eliminated in the ALDS by the Blue Jays and some coaching changes are being made. That could be music to any fan's ears but before we all get excited, will they be the "right" changes? 

Of course, we all want those changes to include Aaron Boone because he's a proven loser since 2018. He's a well liked loser though to Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole and others so as much as we want to see him get dumped the Yankees have made no indication that he will be fired. Multiple sources, like the New York Post HERE say Baboonie is expected back for a ninth season, but a couple familiar faces will not be.

The Yankees are rumored to NOT be bringing back first base and infield coach Travis Chapman. That's not a big loss. After watching Anthony Volpe (VolpE6 as I call him) become a liability and the laughing stock of this team I think this is an early Christmas or Hanukkah gift! It's worth mentioning also that there was a public riff between Chapman and Baboonie back in August. Baboonie yelled at Chapman after a baserunning error from Jazz Chisholm and later expressed regret for it and wished that it was handled privately. Funny how Baboonie gets in a tizzy with Chapman and then he isn't invited back, huh?

The bigger name on this list of names not returning is longtime bullpen coach Mike Harkey. He's been around since 2008 and is one of Baboonie closest confidants. He's the only coach on this team that actually knows what it feels like to win a championship. He's not a regular face by any means but it is odd to think about a different guy in this role. Maybe it is time though after the Yankees bullpen finished with a 4.37 ERA and was the eighth highest in the majors.

After two years as the Yankees hitting coach James Rowson may be leaving the Bronx for a promotion. The Yankees have given the Minnesota Twins permission to speak to Rowson about potentially returning to Minnesota as their new manager. He previously was the Twins hitting coach from 2017-2019 and is highly respected there. Now that the Yankees achieved the highest-scoring offense in the majors this season under Rowson's coaching this feels like a no-brainer for the Twins if both sides want to reunite.

This is just the start. According to the Athletic HERE, Pitching coach Matt Blake and catching coordinator Tanner Swanson have club options. I would be surprised if Blake's option wasn't picked up because he has a lot of support with Cole and he didn't completely suck. Bench Coach Brad Ausmus and third-base coach Luis Rojas now have expired contracts. I'd be lying if I said I would miss Ausmus so I am going to spare you.

So the Yankees could look very different from a coaching perspective next year. But does it make a difference if Baboonie is still managing and Brian Cashman is pulling his puppet strings? It's still insanity no matter how you rejig everyone else.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj

MEET THE YANKEES LOSER COACHING STAFF

Eric Chavez didn't even put a Yankee uniform on yet... and he bailed for the Mets. First off I find that kind of messed up that you agree to a gig and then bail, but secondly, I am very curious to if the Yankees actually offered the veteran a job. I wonder if they just threw Chavez in the mix when they announced their coaching staff a few weeks ago as a way to distract from the fact that the Yankees coaching staff has LITERALLY NO EXPERIENCE. I mean what are we doing here?

Dillon Lawson is not the answer. The Yankees hitters can probably teach him a thing or 2 about hitting. Dillon was the Yanks minor league hitting coordinator since 2018. Here is where Dillon's been since 2008:

2008-2009 Assistant coach Lindenwood University
2010-2011 Assistant coach Morehead State University
2012-2015 Assistant coach Southeast Missouri State University
2016 Coach Tri-City ValleyCats
2017 Assistant coach University of Missouri
2018 Coach Quad Cities River Bandits

And any person can make this next suggestion. This is an actual quote from Lawson. Lawson told The Times-Tribune of Scranton, Pa., in July that the organization’s goal was “to square the ball up more, which in turn is going to increase average exit velos.”

I mean, you're not fooling anyone.

Let's talk about Casey Dykes. By the way, Casey Dykes is not the answer. Dykes played for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in 2011 and 2012. I know what you're think... SO??? Right. 

Before that Dykes graduated from Franklin High School in Franklin, Tennessee, in 2008, a year before the Yankees won their last World Series. He bounced around as baseball assistants at a few universities. And then in 2019, the New York Yankees hired Dykes as a minor league hitting coach...September 2019.

2021, Dykes was the hitting coach for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Fail up I guess. Moving on...

Carlos Mendoza is not the answer. Mendoza played in Minor League Baseball for 13 seasons.

After that be bounced around in the minor leagues Yankee farm system as a coach, and after the 2017 season, Mendoza was promoted as an infield coach for the Yanks. Mendoza became the bench coach in November of 2019. And he's done nothing for the Yanks since.

Right, let's put trust in this.

Matt Blake is not the answer. Blake became pitching coach for the Yankees in 2020, succeeding Larry Rothschild. He has never played professionally. He was a high school coach in Massachusetts for Cressey Sports Performance.

In 2010, he became an associate scout for the Yankees, whatever that means and then in 2015, he became a pitching coach in the Cape Cod League. That same year he went to the Indians organization as a minor league pitching coordinator. And that's it folks. 

You feel good right now?

Luis Rojas is not the answer.  Rojas was signed in 1999 as a third baseman by the Baltimore Orioles for $300,000 after graduating from high school. He was in the Marlins and Expos and Nationals farm system trying to make it. He even played in the Gulf Coast League for a hot moment in with the Expos minor league system. But he got hurt, and that was the end. He managed for the Mets in 2020 and 2021. You all know how that turned out.  

But gang, that's it. Nothing more.

Tanner Swanson is not the answer. 

Swanson is the major league quality control coach and catching coordinator for the Yankees and was the Minor and Major League Catching Coordinator for the Minnesota Twins. Before that you ask? He was hired as a full-time assistant coach at Santa Clara University in July 2017. Oh yeah and he played College ball for Green River Community College. Sounds like a winner.

Desi Druschel is not the answer. Desi started coaching in 1996 as an assistant at Vinton-Shellsburg. That went until 2000. He was also an assistant coach for Indiana University from 1999 to 2000 and Mount St. Clare College from 2000 to 2001.

He bounced around and then was hired as director of operations for the University of Iowa's baseball program in 2014. In 2017, he was the pitching coach for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The Yankees promoted him to their major league staff as a pitching coach after the 2021 season. He was brought in by the Yankees in 2019 and worked his way up. No offense... that doesn't sound too promising.

Travis Chapman is not the answer. Chapman had one major league at bat with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2003. His Major League average is .000. 

Before that he played college baseball for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Chapman spent 7 seasons in the minor leagues with the Phillies, Reds, Royals and Pirates and retired in 2006. 

He served as a coach for the Charleston River Dogs for a while, and now he's with the Yankees big team... because I guess lack of experience really catapulted him there.

And this brings me back to that big word...EXPERIENCE.

Mike Harkey has it and while the bullpen coach, he knows these players, understands them, understands what works and what doesn't work. 

He is content being out there. Why? Because he's good at being the Yankees bullpen coach. After all, he grew up as a pitcher in the MLB. 8 years to be exact. He's no slouch.

And Eric Chavez has experience and could have possibly been a nice fit. But the Mets poached him. That alone is fucked up but Steve Cohen wants to be big dog in Queens. Let him. I could care less. I do believe in ethics and morals however and I can't for the life of me understand why he thought going across town and taking coaches was ok. But don't worry, it will bite him in the ass.

CBS Sports writes: "In December, the Yankees announced that former A's slugger Eric Chavez was joining the club as an assistant hitting coach. On Thursday, however, MLB.com reported that Chavez will actually join the other New York team, the Mets, as their hitting coach."

Seems like the Mets want some experience. Why don't the Yankees?

Remember when excellence was a thing Yankee fans? What the hell happened?

WAIT. EXPERIENCE IS NOT NEEDED FOR A BENCH COACH?!

"“Experience is important, but it’s not the be all, end all. I want smart sitting next to me. I want confident sitting next to me.” -Aaron Boone

SAY WHAAAAAT?!

That is an interesting quote that has stuck with me after the Yankees officially announced Aaron Boone as their new manager. The Yankees are going through a lot of changes with the younger players and now a brand new manager and soon to be coaching staff. It's a lot all at once.

Photo: New York Yankees

So when Boone said that and said experience wasn't exactly necessary I had to go back and re-read the quote. I am still getting used to the idea of Boone as our next manager. I said previously that if the Yankees brought on an inexperienced manager that an experienced bench coach and coaching staff would be important and for more than one reason.

To succeed in New York you absolutely need the confidence factor, so that I completely agree with Boone on. However, if he wants "smart sitting next to me" I really think that is an experienced coach here. The idea of the blind leading the blind scares me a little. Boone has a lot of baseball knowledge but calling a game on ESPN and being the guy that makes the moves during the game are two very different things.

John Connolly/NorthJersey.com

The Yankees have a roster of young kids. Some of them got a full year under Joe Girardi and now Aaron Boone is going to introduce his own approach and way of doing things which I am guessing will be extremely different that how Joe did things. The Yankees clearly wanted that difference from the old regime, so much that some of it's key figure heads are gone.

Photo: Getty Images

Some people may not care, but I am going to miss Rob Thomson. I really think he is one of the best bench coaches in baseball. He's got a lot of pride, he cares about his guys and he was the mastermind and organization when it came to being ready for Spring Training. I really wish him luck in his new gig as the bench coach for the Phillies. I just wish he was still here in some capacity to help.

At least the Yankees will have the familiar face of Larry Rothschild still around now that the Yankees have officially announced his return but the Yankees will now need to turn their attention to hiring a bench coach, hitting coach, first-base coach, third-base coach and bullpen coach, and there are indications that Mike Harkey could return as bullpen coach according to the New York Post HERE.

Photo: Getty Images

But what about Tony Pena, Marcus Thames and Alan Cockrell? Who knows. It would be weird to not see Pena anymore but that could be a reality. Rumors are already swirling and so far Reggie Willits (Angels minor league coach), Carlos Mendoza and even Carlos Beltran are being considered for coaching staff positions. Mendoza has been with the Yankees since 2009 in a variety of minor league coaching and managerial roles and is well liked by executives in the front office. Could any of these guy be one of Boone's new managers?

I don't know. Brian Cashman said that choosing the rest of the coaching staff could take a couple of weeks. It will be interesting to see who he picks, and depending on who he does pick the explanations could be even more intriguing.

Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com

I just hope Boone rethinks his whole philosophy to the bench coach. He needs a strong staff around him and so will our young up and coming team. Just like many jobs out there.....the quote here should read "HELP WANTED, EXPERIENCE PREFERRED."

--Jeana Bellezza
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj

"MUST READ FUN" ABOUT OUR YANKEE COACHES

It's one of those things. Many times a coach is in the dugout, working on the team and you realize, "Wait, did he play in the major leagues?"  That's when I click on the old Baseball-Reference.com, and see what I can find.  I gotta tell you, it's amazing.  Thank God for the Internet.  Thank God for Baseball-Reference.com.

I decided to do something cute.  I wanted to share with all of you when and who the Yankees coaching staff played for, share some stats, show a picture and have alittle fun on this Wednesday morning.  I even asked my BYB writers to take this story. No one bit. They're all fired.

Let's start with Joe Girardi:

Obviously he played and now manages for the Yankees, but he also played for the Cubs, the Rockies and 1 year with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2003, his final year in the majors.  Lifetime, the guy batted .267, had 36 homers and 422 RBIs.  I wanted to find a nice old picture of the dude, when he played for the Cubs, his original team in 1989. I came up with this:

Atta boy Joe.

Next comes Larry Rothschild.  This is a dude that had an OK career as a pitcher.  I say OK because he played 2 whole years in the major leagues, 1981 and 1982.  He played with the Detroit Tigers, and compiled an amazing 5.40 ERA in 7 games.  He never recorded a win or loss, but he does have 1 save.  I searched and searched for a photo of the dude. Here's what I found:

Freaking Stud.

Alan Cockrell wasn't a porn star, despite his name.  He was however a ballplayer and what I found was interesting.  In 1996, he played his only season ever in the Majors.  It was with the Colorado Rockies and he had a .250 average, 2 hits, a single and double and 2 RBIs. That's it!

Interesting right? Yet, he's our hitting coach.

Next up is Tony Pena and we all know how successful he was as a catcher for the Pirates and Cardinals. Pena played from 1980 to 1997 and was freaking awesome. A terrific defensive catcher. Agile, smart and just a very good teammate.  My favorite years from him was when he was with the Pirates.  Overall, he played 18 years and had a career average of  .260, having 107 home runs and over 700 RBIs. 

Gotta love Tony.

Joe Espada was a minor leaguer his entire career bouncing from teams like Vancouver to Sacremento to Calgary and Omaha.  He played from 1996 to 2003. He was a second baseman and shortstop and now, amazingly, he's the third base coach for the New York Yankees.

America's a great place, ain't it?

Marcus Thames was alot of fun to watch when he played. He was passionate.  He played with the Yankees, blossomed with the Tigers and returned to New York for a moment and then finished his career in Los Angeles with the Dodgers.  He played a total of  10 years in the Majors.  He batted .246, had 115 homers and 311 RBIs.

Now he's back assisting Cockrell.  Love it.

Bullpen coach Mike Harkey was a beefy pitcher for a while in the majors.  Actually,  he played for several teams from 1988 to 1997 racking up a 36-36 record and a 4.49 ERA.  He played for the Cubs, Rockies, A's, Angels and Dodgers. I remember him most with the Cubs... that's what I'm choosing right here.

 

And there you go. 

Rob Thomson is the Yankees bench coach.  I'm gonna be honest with you, the guy must have worked with the CIA before this because I can't find anything about the guy.  It's strange actually.

What I did find came from Wikipedia. Check this out: " Thomson was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 32nd round of the 1985 draft from the University of Kansas. He played catcher and third base in the Tigers' minor league system until 1988, when he became a minor league coach for the team. "

Obviously now he's bench coach but moved around from first base coach and third base coach and all of that.  But here's the breaking news... he's Canadian! WTF bro.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this piece. Trust me, we at BYB are the only ones to take the time to put together something so mindless, yet, educational about the Yankees coaches. I really hope you liked it.

Hey... the offseason is here. I gotta fill the pages of BYB somehow!

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MIKE HARKEY DARTS FOR ARIZONA

Many of you know Mike Harkey and have enjoyed watching him getting the pitchers up in the pen all these years for the New York Yankees.  Well, no more. 

According to several sources, but we'll go with ArizonaSports.com on this one, Harkey has left the Bronx and is on his way to the Arizona Diamondbacks to take a position as the DBacks pitching coach.  Hey... good for him!

"Arizona Sports 620's John Gambadoro, the Arizona Diamondbacks are expected to move forward with the hiring of New York Yankees bullpen coach Mike Harkey as their next pitching coach...Harkey has spent six seasons as the Yankees' bullpen coach."

I wonder who the new Yankees bullpen coach will be.  Jose Contreras? Eric Plunk? Ron Guidry? Yeah... I know... now I'm just throwing names out.  

Congrats to Mike, and good luck.

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