BOONE'S OBSESSION IS HURTING THE YANKEES

I’ve been screaming this for two damn years, and now the rest of you are finally catching on: Anthony Volpe is not that guy. And the longer the Yankees pretend he is, the worse this mess gets.

But let’s be real—this isn’t just a Volpe problem. This is a Yankees problem. This is an Aaron Boone problem. Because once again, the people in charge of this franchise took a young, unproven kid and shoved him into the furnace, crowned him “the next Jeter,” and watched in confusion when he turned into ash.

Volpe never had a chance.

The kid didn’t really play college ball. He barely sniffed Triple-A. But that didn’t stop the Yankees from slapping a “savior” label on his chest like he was gonna fix everything. And Boone? Oh, Boone couldn’t have been more in love. You’d think Volpe was his biological son the way he refuses to take him out of the lineup. Everyone else gets benched. Everyone else gets held accountable. But not Volpe.

Nope. Volpe is Boone’s golden boy. His golden boy who’s hitting .241 with a swing-and-miss rate that would make Rob Deer cringe.

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This isn’t development. This is delusion. This is a full-blown fantasy that Boone and the Yankees front office are too stubborn—or too stupid—to wake up from. They told us this kid was Derek Jeter. Jeter?! He’s not even Tony Womack in a good year. Womack's like "Why y'all picking on me?" At this point, I’d take a 1995 Pat Kelly over whatever the hell Volpe has become.

But here’s the kicker: I actually feel for Volpe. Just a little. Because this failure isn’t entirely on him. The kid didn’t ask to be the face of the franchise. He didn’t run his own hype train. The Yankees did that. Boone did that. They tossed him to the wolves in the Bronx spotlight and said, “Good luck, kid!” with no cushion, no development plan, and no Plan B if he fell flat.

Guess what? He fell flat.

And now WFAN’s Sal Licata—finally—is saying what I’ve been yelling from the rooftops:

“Volpe has been a bust… I don’t know why everyone is afraid to say it.”

He’s damn right and I'm not afraid. Why has everyone been so afraid to say it? Why has it taken this long for the media to hold the Yankees accountable for ruining this kid’s trajectory before it even had a chance to stabilize?

This is the Yankees' way lately. Overpromise. Undeliver. Stick with their guy until the house burns down. Boone’s sitting Cody Bellinger and other proven veterans, but Anthony Volpe? Front of the line. Every single day. And we’re supposed to be okay with that?

That’s why I call Volpe Boone’s Boy Toy. He’s obsessed. This is him 10 months ago.  Is he watching the same player we're seeing or is he watching with the idea that he hopes it will finally click... cause it's  not.

 

He needs Volpe to be good, he WANTS Volpe to be good, because otherwise the Yankees front office has to admit they blew it. And let’s be honest—Boone doesn’t have the spine to call out a bad decision. He’s a mouthpiece. A walking PR statement. He manages with vibes and hopes, not facts and results.

You want facts?
Volpe has been below average at the plate for most of his major league career.
His OPS is a joke.
His strikeouts are through the roof.
And when the pressure's on, he folds like a beach chair.

He stands in the box with this “let’s go!” energy like he’s about to do damage, but the expression on his face is pure confusion. He looks like someone who wandered onto the field by accident. There’s no edge. No fire. Just wide-eyed panic.

And this idea that he’s “trying hard”? Cool. Try hard in Scranton. Try hard in Miami. This is the Yankees. This is the Bronx. "Trying" is the bare minimum. Succeed or get out of the way.

If the Yankees had any sense of urgency—or dignity—they’d be shopping Volpe for pitching at the deadline. Send him to the Marlins or the Rockies or somewhere else that doesn’t eat you alive for batting .241. Because let’s be honest: the only thing he’s leading the league in is excuses.

 
The bottom line is this: Volpe was set up to fail, and he’s doing exactly that. And instead of adjusting, Boone and the Yankees keep running the same broken play over and over again, praying it turns into magic. But this isn’t a fairytale. This is a team trying to win a World Series. Or at least, pretending to.

So, here’s what I’m saying: Stop the madness. Stop the charade. Admit Volpe’s not the guy. Admit Boone is in way over his head. And for once, just once, make a decision based on results instead of loyalty and bullshit optimism.

Enough already.

THAT TIME 2 YANKEES PARTIED IN NEW YORK CITY WITH LINDSAY LOHAN

Sometimes a story just needs to be told again, if only to remind ourselves that yes, this absolutely did happen. 

Rewind the tape back to 2012, when Lindsay Lohan was still dominating headlines for all the wrong reasons, and toss in two former New York Yankees — Shane Spencer and Pat Kelly — and what you get is a bizarre, boozy, late-night cocktail of pop culture weirdness.

Let’s set the scene. It’s Manhattan. September is approaching, Fashion Week is on the horizon, and Lohan — reportedly preparing to move from L.A. to New York — is reintroducing herself to the NYC nightlife circuit. That alone sounds like trouble with a capital TMZ. But what raised eyebrows and triggered a tidal wave of confused laughter across the sports-and-celebrity blogosphere was where and with whom she was partying: at Dorrian’s Red Hand, the Upper East Side prepster institution, and flanked by none other than former Yankees Pat Kelly and Shane Spencer.

 
Yes, Shane Spencer and Pat Kelly. Obviously.

Why? How? Who organized this crossover episode of “Behind the Music” meets “Yankeeography”? Nobody knows. But it happened, and it was glorious.

Sources from the night reported Lohan was sipping vodka sodas and even jumped on the mic for some karaoke — belting out Lady Gaga’s “You & I,” no less. The very same Gaga who, around this time, had handpicked Lindsay to appear in one of her music videos. Because if there’s one thing missing from late-stage pop stardom, it’s 2000s tabloid energy.

As for the Yankee duo, this wasn’t exactly Old Timers’ Day. These weren’t Reggie and Yogi stopping by. But let’s not pretend Kelly and Spencer didn’t leave their marks in pinstripes.

Pat Kelly was a scrappy, glove-first second baseman drafted in 1988, who played for the Yanks from 1991 to 1997. He wasn’t exactly setting the league on fire — 26 homers over seven seasons — but he had his moments. His speed and defense kept him around, and his occasional clutch hits gave fans something to remember. He was the kind of guy you rooted for, even when he went 1-for-4 with a sac bunt and a diving stop that made Michael Kay scream.

Shane Spencer, on the other hand, was a comet. A roided-up comet? Who knows — it was the ‘90s! But the guy made an impact. In 1998, the very year 12-year-old Lindsay Lohan was probably rehearsing lines for The Parent Trap, Spencer was smashing 10 home runs during a ridiculous September call-up, including three grand slams in ten days. TEN. DAYS. That stretch earned him a 1.321 OPS and eternal Yankee cult hero status, plus a front-row seat to three straight World Series championships. He peaked faster than a Vine star, but man, what a peak.

So back to the story. Why were they out with Lohan? Was it karaoke night for ex-Yankees and ex-child stars? Were they working on a charity album called “Pitchers and Pitch Problems”? We’ll never know. And honestly, we don’t need to. That’s part of the joy.

This whole tale is less about logic and more about the chaotic harmony that only New York City can produce. Only in this town can you walk into a bar and find a fallen teen idol singing Gaga to a crowd of prep school kids, flanked by a light-hitting second baseman and a guy who once hit three grand slams in a week. It was weird, wild, and way too much fun to forget.

So here we are in 2025, digging up this little slice of madness and remembering that for one night in 2012, the Yankees’ forgotten heroes and Hollywood’s most chaotic energy collided — and for some reason, it worked.

Let this be your reminder: New York is undefeated in the weird department.

--Alvin Izzo
BYB Yankee History Contributor

IT'S OUR PARTY & WE'LL DO WHAT WE WANT TO

If you are a New York Yankee fan then you probably have a few of these people in your life.  They usually hail from Boston or the borough we should trade to New Jersey to get the Giants back…yes, I’m looking at you, Queens.  These folks are obsessed with what the Yankees do.  They say the Yanks buy titles, lie, cheat and steal.  They believe that the Bronx Bombers are what’s wrong with baseball.  Some of these people might be friends of yours.  Perhaps they work with you or are even, God forbid, members of your family. Whatever the case they are lost souls.  Just tune them out and go about your business.  They won’t change.  They are set in their misinformed, misguided ways.  It’s sad, but hey, you can’t save everybody.

Lately the moaning from these poor fans of the “Also Ran’s” has been due to the news that 3 former Yankee greats will be having their numbers retired in the Stadium’s Monument Park.  Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte and Bernie Williams will join the ranks of pinstriped legends.

Snarky media types (Heyman) and those outside the Yankee Universe are losing their collective minds! “Oh my lord! How many numbers can you guys actually retire? What’s the deal?”

The answer to this question is simple; WE CAN RETIRE AS MANY DAMN NUMBERS AS WE DAMN WELL PLEASE! What does it matter to other teams, fans and baseball writers? It is the business of the New York Yankees, end of story.

If they feel like it, they can even hang up the numbers of Charlie Hayes, Pat Kelly, Omar Moreno, Matty Nokes, Ruben Sierra and Deion Sanders!  Go for it!

(In Photo: Matt Nokes)

Let me ask you Mets fans, how many awful alternate uniforms can you wear? See what I’m saying? Who cares? Those are issues the Mets can deal with.  It makes absolutely no difference to me.

Why are the Yanks retiring #20, #46 and #51? It’s because of the FACT that these players defined an era in New York Yankee baseball.  Just as the Babe and Lou defined the Yankee way, so did Jorge, Andy and Bernie.  They were champions on baseball’s biggest stage and were an extremely special group of players.  They meant a lot to the fans, the city and the organization.

Just as Whitey, Yogi, the Mick and Joe D. meant so much to the organization’s history, this new crop of recent retirees are no different.

Some day soon Captain Derek Jeter will join his former teammates out beyond the center left field wall.  They will all become the Patron Saints of the Big Ballpark in the Bronx.  As Yankee fans we will pass on the stories and the memories of watching them play the game and win it all.  And to those who feel the Yankees retire too many numbers…well, their opinions didn’t matter then, they don’t matter now and they won’t matter when the new Yankees begin to write their page in history.

** Here’s to the New York Yankees past, present and future. Cheers. **

1, (2), 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,8, 9, 10, 15, 16, (20), 23, 32, 37, 42, 42 44, (46), 49, (51)...

AND THE BEAT GOES ON…




 
--Mike O'Hara
Senior "Features" Writer
Twitter: @mikeyoh21



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A YANKEE WINTER IN NEW YORK

This time of the year has always been a drag for me. As I walk the streets of Manhattan, passing the discarded Christmas trees and seeing the building striped of lights and wreaths to return to their business-like grey stone and steel. The charm of the Holiday Season fades and the doldrums of January and February take its grip on The Big Apple.

I am not one to count down the days until Pitchers and Catchers report. I miss baseball, but the Hot Stove can be a great distraction. Instead I enjoy College Hoops (Go Orange!), watch hockey and select my annual “All-Time Yankee Team”. You don’t do that too?

Every year since…well it’s been a long time…I select a team of Yankee players that I have been lucky enough to watch suit up for the Bronx Bombers.   It’s a game I play with other friends from the old neighborhood, and it’s a lot of fun to see who makes somebody else’s line up card. We go all in selecting rotation, bullpen, bench and starters…even the skipper and coaches get chosen. Almost immediately after the team is selected I think of somebody I left off, but that’s the fun of it. Here is my 2014 club, Imagine, if you will, hearing the late, great Bob Shepard announcing their names:

“Your attention pleases, ladies & gentleman. Here is the starting lineup for the New York Yankees...

Leading off, the shortstop, number 2, Derek Jeter, number 2. Batting second the first baseman, number 23, Don Mattingly, number 23. Batting third, the right fielder, number 21, Paul O’Neill, number 21. Batting fourth the center fielder, number 51, Bernie Williams, number 51. Batting fifth, the designated hitter, number 44, Reggie Jackson, number 44. Batting sixth, the left fielder, number 31, Dave Winfield, number 31. Batting seventh, the catcher, number 15, Thurman Munson, number 15. 

Batting eighth, the third baseman, number 9, Graig Nettles, number 9. And batting ninth, the second baseman, number 30, Willie Randolph, number 30.”

1. Jeter
2. Mattingly
3. O’Neill
4. Williams
5. Jackson
6. Winfield
7. Munson
8. Nettles
9. Randolph

So those are my starters. Robbie Cano would have been a lock over Willie, but…hey, it's a New Year. Let bygones be bygones…until Seattle comes to town.

I have gone back and forth with a few of my guys over the last couple years, but favorites like O’Neill, Jeter and Nettles always seem to get the nod. I think Big Dave makes it because I loved the way Shepard used to say, “Winfield”. I also used to do an impression of The Scooter’s WPIX homerun call, “You know what happens every time a Yankee hits a homerun! Dave Winfield, this Bud’s For You!”

And so it’s on to the starting staff. This is always a tricky one, but here’s the rotation:

Ron “The Gator” Guidry
David Cone
David “The Boomer” Wells
Andy Pettitte
Jimmy Key

You are probably saying Jimmy Key over CC?! Again, this is not a team that will actually play. These are guys I’ve always liked. Sure, CC Sabathia is an ace, but I’ve always been a Jimmy Key fan. Maybe #52 is on your team or maybe he’ll make the 2015 edition. Anyway here’s the pen.

Dave “Rags” Righetti

Joba Chamberlain
Jeff Nelson
Mike Stanton
Goose Gossage
Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez

Mariano Rivera

You’re 100% right! El Duque is not a reliever…but he’ll be my long man. As a kid I tried to mimic Righetti’s leg kick and I would act out the 1983 No-No against Boston in my backyard. Joba? Well, he is one of my favorites. I’ll miss him playing in the Bronx and the kid that burst on the scene in 2007 should have gotten a better run for the Yankees. Anyway, Chamberlain is on the team sans the “Joba Rules”.

The Bench is always a free for all. I usually select guys for an array of reasons. But here you go:

Brett Gardner
Bucky Dent

Pat Kelly
Hideki Matsui
Jorge Posada
Lou Piniella
Mickey Rivers
Robin Ventura

Yeah, there are plenty of names that didn’t pop up on my bench…a few years ago I put Shane Spencer on the team because I was at the game when he went 5 for 5 and had everybody thinking about Roy Hobbs.

I almost put Mike Pagliarulo on this year’s squad, but I love that Pat Kelly travels from “Down Undah” to play at Old Timers Day. And Ventura? Well, I just liked the way he played the game. Plus I felt bad for him when Nolan Ryan tuned him up.

And finally, we come to the skipper and coaches. If you grew up in the 80’s there is only one manager. The always “-colorful” Billy Martin will take the helm of this year’s Yankee club. Billy will need a voice of reason because…well, he’s Billy Martin…so Joe “Mr. T” Torre is the bench coach along with Don Zimmer. Hey, you can’t have Dean Martin without Jerry Lewis. You can’t have Starsky without Hutch. You can’t have Torre without Zim.

My hitting coach is Tino. I think the former Yankee first baseman caught a bad wrap in Miami and…well, it’s Tino. I think the man’s resume’ as a player gets him the job. GI Joe Girardi will handle the pen. Stott comes back as pitching coach and at the corners we’ll have Buck “Chuckles” Showalter and Larry “He’s a riot” Bowa. That’s my staff…probably too many cooks in the kitchen, but again this is pure fiction.

So this is one of the ways I try to cheer myself up during this often-depressing time of the year. And it usually gives my friends and I a few laughs…until St. Patrick’s Day anyway.

Who makes your All-Time Yankee team? Tell us.

And don't forget, BYB did an All-Time Yankee team when Casey started this blog.  Read MY ALL-TIME YANKEES TEAM from February 2011.  Very interesting.

 

--Mike O'Hara, MLB Fan Cave Host, Season 1
   Twitter: @mikeyoh21
"Paulie was always my favorite player."


Thank you to all the Bleeding Yankee Blue readers for continued success.  You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in the history of Yankees fandom.  Thanks for reading, sharing and enjoying. Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue (Official) on Facebook, just type it in.

THE BLEEDING YANKEE BLUE NEWSSTAND XV

A fun newsstand today on this cloudy Sunday in the New York area.  This is popular now, a staple for BYB readers and we appreciate the positive feedback.  Read it, pass it and enjoy it.  Go Yanks!

 

POSTSEASON PROMO IS BOSS! Bruce Springsteen is featured in the New TBS Postseason promo. The Postseason on TBS starts October 5^th.  I love these promos and Kudos to the people that created it, they did a great job!

THREE’S COMPANY: The New York Daily News reports that Lindsay Lohan was out partying with the former New York Yankees’ Pat Kelly and Shane Spencer.  I don’t even get it.  As USA Today writes of the encounter: "LiLo was spotted with former Yankees Pat Kelly and Shane Spencer at Dorrian's Red Hand, a restaurant and bar often frequented by past and present Bronx Bombers, according to the New York Daily News. She even channeled some Lady Gaga on the mic during karaoke hour.

In a more prosperous time, Lohan might have enjoyed some bottle service with Jeter himself.

Instead, she settled for the over-the-hill-gang."

You can read more HERE. Why is Lindsay hanging with those dudes, why are they hanging with her and is it 1997? I’m confused. 

NUNEZ EXCITED TO RETURN: Mike Vorkunov of NJ.com has a good little piece in today's paper about Eduardo Nunez and about just how happy he is to be back as well as being part of that comeback win yesterday in the Bronx (comeback story HERE). Nunez said:  “I almost cried...It was so amazing." You can read Mike's piece HERE.

CLEMENS WILL BE AN ASTRO: Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.com says that Roger Clemens is moving closer to being with the Astros' big team, read HERE. According to Knobler: "Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow told CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman that he plans to have a scout watch Clemens pitch for the independent Sugar Land Skeeters on Sept. 7.

The strong speculation in baseball has been that if all goes reasonably well that night, Clemens will then pitch for the Astros five days later, on Sept. 12 against the Cubs."

We here at BYB believe that this is Clemens way of just pushing back him being considering into the Hall of Fame just 5 more years, especially is he pitches 1 game in the major leagues this season. Read ROGER CLEMENS HOPES YOU FORGET.
 
MORE FROM CONDELL: The guy that brought you that funny New York Yankees video plugging Bleedingyankeeblue.com (HERE) is back! This time he’s talking about his beard and it has nothing to do with baseball…other than he’s a Yankee fan and I like him.  My kids think this guy’s hilarious.  More of his videos can be found on ANDREWCONDELL.COM.

Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

GUESS WHO'S COMING TO OLD TIMERS' DAY?

I wanted to send put this out because it's always fun to see who shows up to Old Timers' Day and who was asked.  For instance, this year there are a few guys that were asked for the very first time.  Those new guys are:

Sterling Hitchcock

Stump Merrill

Gene Monahan

Matt Nokes

Tanyon Sturtze

Believe me, Old Timers' Day is one of the most exciting moments at Yankee Stadium all year.  This year will be the 66th Old Timers' Day and will take place on Sunday, July 1st at 11:15am.

Here the rest of the list in alphabetical order:

Luis Arroyo

Jesse Barfield

Yogi Berra

Ron Blomberg

Dr. Bobby Brown

Homer Bush

Jerry Coleman

David Cone

Bucky Dent

Al Downing

Brian Doyle

Cecil Fielder

Whitey Ford

Oscar Gamble

Jake Gibbs

Joe Girardi

Rich “Goose” Gossage

Ron Guidry

 

Charlie Hayes

Rickey Henderson

Arlene Howard

Helen Hunter

Reggie Jackson

Tommy John

Pat Kelly

Don Larsen

Graeme Lloyd

Hector Lopez

Jill Martin

Tino Martinez

Lee Mazzilli

Diana Munson

Kay Murcer

Paul O’Neill

Joe Pepitone

Lou Piniella

Willie Randolph

Bobby Richardson

Mickey Rivers

Aaron Small

Mel Stottlemyre

Darryl Strawberry

Ralph Terry

Joe Torre

Bob Turley

Roy White

Bernie Williams

There's 1 person missing from this list.  Chuck Knoblauch.  I'm not exactly sure why he wasn't, but Chuck should be asked. This guy's been apart of 3 World Championships and he gave those Yankee teams his blood and guts. Come on Yanks send the invite!

ORDER A BYB SHIRT NOW, DROB WEARS ONE! Also, Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.