The Yankees look like they’re having fun again for the most part, and playing a little less high-strung. This has led to a return to winning ways and quite a welcome sight for folks who’ve been paying attention to this team since mid-June. Hopefully, they continue trending upwards. The biggest boon for the team has probably been injecting the Trade Deadline acquisition Chisholm into the lineup. Chisholm had a thrilling to start to his pinstriped career with two two-homer games and has played an extremely smooth third base despite never having professionally played that position prior to coming to the Yankees.

On the episode, Andrew and Kunj do a quick recap of the Trade Deadline, again highlighted by Chisholm Jr., talk a bit about the midgame benching of Gleyber Torres, and also discuss how Aaron Judge scares Blue Jays manager John Schneider so much it’s actually comical at this point. In addition to the musings of the latest in Yankeeland, they check in at the Baseball Reference WAR leaderboard, a look ahead at the coming week of baseball, and finally close out the show by handing out the first Yankee and Manfred Awards of the second half. The results will shock you!*

*No, they probably won’t.

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Welcome back to Podument Park! After a short hiatus, our hosts return to discuss the end of the first half of the Yankees’ 2024 season and give their overall thoughts on what happened. The short of it is: almost everyone needs to be better. Judge and Soto continued to prove to be one of the best duos in the majors, but outside of that and a possible emergence from rookie first baseman Ben Rice, there’s not much going right in Yankeeland. They did end the first half by at least winning a series against the Orioles, albeit while also dropping the series finale in awful fashion. Actually, the last play of that game probably recapped the Yankees first half better than anyone could.

Besides just general grumbling about the way the first half ended, this week’s episode looks ahead towards the Trade Deadline and ponders if Brian Cashman has any tricks up his sleeve to right the ship, provides a quick recap of how the Yankees fared at the All-Star Game, and finally concludes with the usual look at the upcoming slate of games, a check-in of where the B-Ref WAR leaderboard stands as they enter the second half -- plus a ceremonial awarding of the Yankee and Manfred of the First Half Awards.

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This week’s edition of Podument Park is here to help remind fans to not fully succumb to the doom and gloom just yet. Andrew and Kunj also spend some time discussing the recent shakeup in the bullpen with both Dennis Santana and Victor González being designated for assignment, the injury to Giancarlo Stanton, acquisition of J.D. Davis, and the long-awaited return of Gerrit Cole. 

As always, the two co-hosts also take some time to preview the upcoming week of baseball as the Yankees go on a long road trip to Queens and hop across the border to Toronto. They also do their regular B-Ref WAR leaderboard check-in, before closing out the show with our weekly Yankee and Manfred of the Week awards.

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In this edition of the podcast, Andrew and Kunj talked about Anthony Rizzo going on the IL with a fractured arm, Ben Rice getting the call to make his MLB debut, Gerrit Cole’s return to the rotation, and Cody Poteet admirably filling in after Clarke Schmidt went down with injury.

We also got our first view into how All-Star voting has gone in the early offing, with Aaron Judge and Juan Soto leading the field in the American League and easily looking like favorites to make the team and start. The Yankees also have some dark horse position player candidates to start the game or at least make the team, but none of those are guaranteed. The podcast then ends with a look at the coming week of games, our usual B-Ref WAR leaderboard check-in, and handing out of the Yankee and Manfred of the Week awards.

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On this edition of Podument Park, Andrew and Kunj review the past week in Yankees baseball while highlighting some fantastic individual performances. Starting with the pitching staff only allowing one run to the Twins over three games, moving on to Luis Gil’s 14-K masterpiece against the White Sox, all while Aaron Judge essentially took just two weeks to resume his rightful place among the MLB leaderboards and Jose Trevino and Giancarlo Stanton turned back the clock, the co-hosts had to dig very hard to find any nits to pick. Even then, they came up short! We'll all take that trade.

In addition to just highlighting everything that went right this past week, Andrew and Kunj previewed the Yankees upcoming slate, which starts with them facing what’s been perhaps the best rotation in baseball so far this season and ends with them beginning their first West Coast trip of the year to visit old friends Michael King and Kyle Higashioka. Outside of that, the podcast ends with a refresher on the B-Ref WAR leaderboard, on top of which sits a new non-Juan Soto. You'll never guess who!

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Podument Park is back this week to discuss all the latest happenings from the past week of Bomber baseball. There was some good power on display this past week, including Aaron Judge launching a ball 473 feet (some might call it a “Judgian blast”), and some very good pitching as Luis Gil easily took care of business against both the Astros and Rays, and perhaps the pitching highlight of the week: Clarke Schmidt pitched into the seventh inning! It was easily the best performance of his MLB career. 

Outside of that, the podcast also discussed what could hopefully be a turning point for Gleyber Torres’ season, some injury updates mixed in with Remembering Some Guys, and the secret to Luke Weaver’s success: locally made orange juice with pulp. And of course, this week’s podcast rounds out with the weekly B-Ref leaderboard check-in, a preview of the upcoming week of baseball, and delivering of the Yankee and Manfred of the Week awards. 

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In a similar pattern to last week, the Yankees started the week dreadfully by losing a four-game set against the Orioles, who are now leading the AL East. They managed to win a game thanks to a lucky Oswaldo Cabrera home run, but the offense was essentially a no-show in Baltimore. Knowing that Podument Park was set to come together on Monday, the Yankees came to life a bit and swept the Tigers, but there were still nits to pick. Besides the general grumbling around the team’s inconsistencies, the co-hosts also discuss the impact of Jon Berti’s return to the ballclub and what might be ailing Anthony Volpe — is he leadoff intolerant*?

*Trademark pending 

This week’s edition of the podcast also includes a preview for the upcoming week of games against the Astros and Rays, plus a discussion around the star of Saturday’s game who everyone came to see, Ryan Blakney. The home-plate umpire gave Aaron Judge his first career ejection. What a guy! As always, Andrew and Kunj round out the podcast with a check-in of the Baseball Reference WAR leaderboard before handing out the Yankee and Manfred of the Week.

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The pod does, however, also has some grumblings for Aaron Boone’s decision to pull Clay Holmes from the game on Friday night, and of course we can’t fully ignore splitting a home series against the 2024 Oakland Athletics. Eek! Tune in for the highs, the lows, the Judge slide talk, Gleyber Torres preparing for another rumble against the color orange the Orioles, the B-Ref Check-in, and the Yankee/Manfred of the Week.

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John Sterling retired from his post as the radio voice of the Yankees on WFAN, effective immediately. This news isn’t entirely surprising considering he’d been reducing his workload in recent years, but the timing of it and facing the reality of it is shocking nonetheless. Since the news broke, many have shared their thoughts on what Sterling meant to them as Yankees fans, or baseball fans, or broadcast fans, so we gathered here at Podument Park to do the same. 

Our hosts talk about what Sterling meant to them, to the organization, and just what a true change it’ll be to no longer have that presence in the radio booth. Still, not to be too put down, and never ones to miss an opportunity for a draft, we end the podcast by doing two drafts of the man’s legendary home run calls (around the 19:30 mark). The first draft has Andrew and Kunj selecting their overall favorite calls and the latter has them selecting their Top Three “what was that” or WTF calls, still good but definitely raising some eyebrows. As always, the podcast ended with the Yankee and Manfred of the Week awards. There was a joint recipient for Yankee of the Week, and you know exactly who it is. 

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This week saw Juan Soto flirt with looking human and Oswaldo Cabrera coming back down to Earth after their scorching starts, but Anthony Volpe’s torrid start to the year has continued and Giancarlo Stanton closed out the weekend by coming to life and being charged with first-degree murder of a baseball. Outside of the offense, the co-hosts talked about the rotation (sans Marcus Stroman) needing to step up and start providing more length, and Nestor Cortes in particular needing some better outings.

The bullpen has been mostly good but they’re only 10 games into the season and they’re already taxed. As legendary YES announcer Joe Girardi would say, it’s not what you want. As always, Andrew and Kunj round out the show by previewing the upcoming week and handing out the weekly Yankee and Manfred awards. This week saw the return of the long-awaited (?) Baseball Reference WAR leaderboard check-in, now we just await the return of Aaron Judge’s face on the leaderboard. Surely, it’s coming.

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With the first series of the 2024 season under our belts, Podument Park is back to recap an exciting opening weekend for the Bombers. The starting rotation was more than commendable considering the absence of Gerrit Cole and the bullpen was mostly lights-out. The Yankees came from behind to win the first three games and didn’t lose their composure after letting the Astros tie it up in the finale. It’s early, but this year’s squad has a whole different feel to them.

While most of the conversation revolved around Soto and the overall series, Oswaldo Cabrera’s great start to the year did not go unrecognized. Andrew and Kunj also discussed the two moves the Yankees made to shore up their pitching depth (welcome to Jake Cousins, actual cousin of Kirk Cousins) and previewed the upcoming week of games before handing out the first actual Yankee and Manfred awards of the 2024 season to close out this week’s episode.

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With that, Andrew and Kunj bring you the Opening Day edition of Podument Park. In today’s episode, they quickly recap the last-minute deal that saw the Yankees acquiring Jon Berti from the Marlins and sending Ben Rortvedt to the Rays. The Berti deal was made necessary due to DJ LeMahieu starting the season on the IL, and Berti’s a better bet to hold down the hot corner than relying solely on Oswaldo Cabrera. The co-hosts also go through and do an Opening Day roster preview, complete with excitement over the offense, hesitation over the starting rotation, and curiosity over the bullpen.

Lastly, Andrew and Kunj end the show as they do every Opening Day, by drafting the top three things that each are most excited for with regards to the coming season. Yes, Juan Soto is mentioned. But the highlight of the draft might come from speculation over the Joe Girardi/Aaron Boone dynamic, now that the former World Series-winning manager is in the YES booth. No Yankee and Manfred Awards were handed out this week to truly honor the spirit of Opening Day, but we’re coming for you next time, prospective Manfred of the Week winners.

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The main focus of the week is obviously around Cole’s injury, what it means for the team who absolutely could not afford a Gerrit Cole injury, and potential options to replace him in the rotation. Cody “Potato Poteet-o” Poteet, Will Warren, Clayton Beeter are all in the mix unless Brian Cashman gets some last minute help from the outside. We know Dylan Cease is off the table as he heads to San Diego. If only there were a two-time Cy Young winner just hanging around and could be had for just money...

In addition to the Cole news, we discuss Aaron Judge’s minor dalliance with being hurt, his potential return to action this coming Saturday, and how “mid-spring beat up” is just not a thing. Lastly we discuss we look at some of the last spots on the bench that are still up for grabs, especially now that we know Oswald Peraza has a hurt shoulder and will miss some time as well. (Is there an opening for Ben Rortvedt?) And as always, we wrap up the show with handing out our weekly Yankee and Manfred of the Week awards.

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Back in the real world, however, Juan Soto is a Yankee. There are a number of new faces in camp for the Bombers this year, including Marcus Stroman, Alex Verdugo, and Trent Grisham. We start our 2024 podcast season by welcoming the new additions to the Yankees and also going through some of the top storylines in camp. Mainly the health of some of last year’s Yankees and hope the likes of Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes, Anthony Rizzo, and Giancarlo Stanton can bounce back.

There are some conversations around Snell and Montgomery as well, even if it's highly unlikely that the Yankees sign either of the two. And lastly, we close out the pod by handing out our season’s initial Yankee and Manfred of the Week awards. Congrats to the recipients; you truly deserved it.

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Alas, the first Podument Park in awhile eulogizes the Yankees and how things likely won’t be much different in 2024 unless significant changes are made. However, reports are indicating that there are going to be no drastic changes made to the front office or coaching staff. Even Sean Casey seems like he’ll be returning as the no-longer-interim hitting coach. 

In addition to just the overall makeup of the organization, the hosts do take some time to celebrate some of the good, such as Gerrit Cole seemingly on his way to his first Cy Young award, Michael King’s emergence in the rotation, and that week of Jasson Domínguez. The show closes out out with the official 2023 Yankees and Manfreds of the Season. Congrats to our lucky recipients. You truly deserved it. 

Lastly, a huge thank you to anyone and everyone who tuned in and listened to us during a dreadful baseball season! 

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Technically this past week of Yankees baseball was slightly more palatable than the previous week. They actually won two whole games this time, which is still an improvement over the eight-game losing streak they took into last week’s podcast. The streak went up to nine games before Aaron Judge had enough and put the team back in the win column, courtesy of a three-homer game.

Still, the Yankees haven’t won a series since they swept the Royals in mid-July, unless Harrison Bader’s moral victory against the Astros counts for something (it counts for nothing). This week’s podcast continues with the usual grumbling about the 2023 Yankees, but the co-hosts do offer some potential things to look forward to for the last month of the season. It's mainly all about Gerrit Cole’s Cy Young chase, debating how many dingers Judge can hit with nine toes, and wondering if there will be a Martian landing in the Bronx.

After checking in on the Baseball Reference WAR leaderboard, the weekly Yankee/Manfred awards were skipped with worthy recipients and a sequel to last week’s 2013 Yankees game presented itself in the form of Kunj guessing how many games players from the 2014 Yankees played that year. Will Suit Lady get revenge for last week’s defeat? There’s only one way to know.

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The co-hosts hopped in the time machine and traveled a decade down memory lane to 2013. Today’s podcast focused on Remembering Some Guys. Andrew named players from the 2013 squad and Kunj had to guess how many games they played for the Yankees that year (the nearly-always voiceless Zoom recorder we call “Suit Lady” was his foe in this exercise). They also added in a bonus element of trying to guess whether the particular player had positive or negative Baseball Reference WAR. 

Prior to the game, the promotions of Oswald Peraza and Everson Pereira were briefly discussed. Along with Anthony Volpe and we suppose Gerrit Cole’s Cy Young bid, they’re the only real reasons to watch this team going forward! So tune in for that anyway.

Once the 2013 game concluded, there was an abbreviated check-in for the WAR leaderboard of the 2023 Yankees before handing out default and unenthusiastic Yankee and Manfred of the Week awards. Join us all in remembering the second-half fun brought by Alfonso Soriano, but stay to remember unquestioned Yankees legends Chris Bootcheck and Brennan Boesch.

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After another mini-hiatus, Andrew and Kunj return here at Podument Park to discuss the continuously annoying season that the Yankees are having. In addition to just general complaints about the team, they discuss the latest injury and roster moves, posit whether or not Aaron Judge should even keep playing, and then possibly narc on Nestor Cortes’ side hustle of selling game tickets. 

In addition to that, they do the usual check-in of Baseball Reference’s WAR leaderboard (where Randy Vásquez firmly sits in ninth place), and squint their way through handing out the usual Yankee and Manfred of the Week awards. Sprinkled into this week’s episode is a look at the upcoming schedule and their baseline for moral victories this coming week, because the Yankees almost certainly won’t have many actual ones.  

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They’ve only won six games since the calendar flipped, and three of those came via a sweep of the second-worst team in baseball, the Royals. And now the trade deadline has passed and the Yankees did...nothing. Technically they acquired relievers Keynan Middleton and Spencer Howard, but those don’t really count as moves. They had the opportunities to be either buyers or sellers, choosing either direction would’ve been better than doing nothing. So, of course, they did nothing (as well-articulated by Sam this morning).

So, the co-hosts vented frustrations at basically everything that’s happened since the All-Star break. If you’re looking for trade deadline-only discussions, jump ahead to around the 16:25 mark (though ads might bump it a minute later). After saying their piece, they wrapped up the podcast with the usual check-in at the dire Baseball Reference WAR leaderboard and wrapped things up with handing out Yankee and Manfred awards of the week/second half to date.

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The struggles of the offense were so profound, it led to general manager Brian Cashman making his first-ever midseason coaching change by relieving hitting coach Dillon Lawson of his duties (and the title today riffing on the old #NextManUp mantra). On today’s podcast, Andrew and Kunj discuss how it’s never good to see someone lose their job, a change was needed just to see if a different mindset can get some of these guys going.

While Lawson was the main topic, they also discussed Carlos Rodón making his much-awaited Yankee debut, the MLB Draft officially being underway and the Yankees making their first-round pick in George Lombard Jr., and then provide the weekly injury updates. After that, they wrap of the podcast with our usual check-in of Baseball Reference’s WAR leaderboard, and then hand out the Yankees and Manfreds of the Week.

Best of luck to Lawson in his future, and even better luck wished to Sean Casey, who will be tasked with making DJ LeMahieu look like a machine again. (As a programming note, Casey’s hire was revealed followed the podcast recording.)

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Unfortunately, as Andrew and Kunj delve into on today's podcast, the highs were pretty much the lone positive developments (the same could be said for the first half as a whole). The Yankees managed to only go 3-3 against the last-place A's and Cardinals, and somehow, the offense found a way to look lifeless at the end of the week despite those 21 runs across two days in Oakland. The problem is that they only scored once in the opener and lost, and then the lineup failed up to show up in two of three games in St. Louis -- punctuated by getting no-hit into the sixth by old friend Jordan Montgomery. New York ended the series loss with a piddling three hits in the finale.

The script is the same and the Yankees remain in a holding pattern until they can get any kind of concrete news on Aaron Judge's return. The veterans who were supposed to keep the team afloat aren't doing the job -- DJ LeMahieu, Giancarlo Stanton, Josh Donaldson ... you name 'em. Even with Carlos Rodón on track to finally debut in pinstripes, it's getting late early out there, as Yogi would say.

There's all that, the B-Ref check-in, and Yankee/Manfred of the Week in our most recent episode of Podument Park.

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Andrew and Kunj talk about how the Yankees desperately need to find ways to win games without Aaron Judge and the offense just needs to look somewhat competent. They offered some praise at least for doing just that with a 4-2 showing against Seattle and Texas. The Yanks “did something” and found ways to win without their captain. If they can put together a more sustainable approach and keep stealing wins, they should be able to stay afloat in the race until Aaron Judge returns.

Unfortunately, as also discussed on the podcast, the latest on No. 99 shows that there’s still no real timetable and he’ll presumably be out longer than anyone initially thought or expected, now that there’s confirmation of a a torn ligament in his toe. Fortunately, we did also have some good injury updates for Ian Hamilton who should rejoin the team in Oakland and Carlos Rodón, whose Yankees debut actually appears to be on the horizon. As always, we end by checking in on Baseball Reference’s WAR leaderboard, before handing out our weekly Yankee and Manfreds of the Week. Hooray for the inexplicable Billy McKinney!

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As Andrew and Kunj discuss on the latest episode of Podument Park, the Yankees have to learn to score runs and win games without Judge. There’s no timeline for his return and if they want to stick around in the playoff race, they have to make do without him. Some reinforcement is at least on the way in the form of Harrison Bader who will return from the injured list tonight against the Mariners. Between him and the Yankees’ ace on the mound, maybe we’ll see some signs of life from the Bombers. 

In addition to the usual musings on the team, the show ends with Andrew and Kunj's weekly check-in of the Baseball Reference WAR leaderboard (which appropriately tells the tale of the Yankees season), hand out Yankee and Manfred honors of the Week, and look to the upcoming schedule and what might be in store for the Yankees. Just for fun, they also roast Rob Manfred himself for his asinine comments about Oakland A's fans and gawk at the topsy-turvy MLB standings -- particularly in the NL West (Dodgers in third?) and NL Central (Reds leading??).

Help us, Obi-Wan Giancarnobi. You’re our only hope.

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In addition to the offensive ineptitude on display this week, Andrew and Kunj discussed the air quality issues New York faced this week, the at least-commendable pitching, and some love was given to Billy McKinney, who has been one of the few to show signs of life this past week. Lastly, of course, there was the obligatory injury updates (please come back soon, Judge and Harrison Bader). 

As always, the podcast ended with a look at the schedule and seemingly abundance of off-days coming up, the weekly check-in of Baseball Reference’s WAR leaderboard, and handing out of the Yankee and Manfred of the Week. Kind of a shocker the schedule-makers didn’t win Yankee of the Week for the sheer amount of off-days the Yankees have been gifted this week while they try to weather the Aaron Judge-less storm. 

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Still, it wasn’t all LA sunshine for the Yankees this week as they also dealt with some Seattle rain in the form of injuries. The absolute revolving door of injuries continued in a very hectic way this week. As discussed on this week’s podcast episode, the Yankees welcomed back Giancarlo Stanton, Josh Donaldson, Tommy Kahnle, and Jose Trevino off of the injured list, but in true soul for a soul fashion, put Harrison Bader, Greg Allen, and Ryan Weber on the shelf, with Nestor Cortes most likely joining them to further deplete the rotation.

Aaron Judge also decided to wage war against a fence, and while he did his damage, we wait await the results of his testing to see if the fence ultimately gets the last laugh. And as always, Andrew and Kunj do their weekly check-in of Baseball Reference’s WAR leaderboard before handing out their Yankee and Manfred of the Week (spoiler: that fence will not be pleased with the latest addition to its trophy shelf).

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Leading the way, of course, has been Aaron Judge, who is firmly back at the heart of the Yankees' offense and now leads the American League with 17 homers, even though he missed those 10 games at the beginning of May. The man is playing at a separate level from the rest of baseball and Andrew & Kunj can't help but be amazed by him. They talk Judge, the latest on the Yankees' injury and rehab front (Giancarlo Stanton may be on his way soon, as well as Josh Donaldson), the B-Ref check-in, Yankee/Manfred of the Week, and whether a demotion for Oswaldo Cabrera might have to be in the cards. 

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While the inspired play was the highlight of the week, it certainly was not the only thing worth discussing. This last week came with some indirect and nonsensical sign-stealing allegations towards Aaron Judge, a sticky substance ejection and suspension for Domingo Germán, and tons of whining with a sprinkle of body-shaming from the Blue Jays. Following that, the Reds series also saw its own controversies with Clarke “Glove Fur” Schmidt, Reds skipper David Bell being ejected twice in the series, and Aaron Boone being ejected before noon during Sunday’s brunchtime affair. 

In addition to all the noise happening during the games, co-hosts Andrew and Kunj also discussed some of the transactional moves from the past week including Jhony Brito being optioned to Triple-A, Jose Trevino and Ian Hamilton hitting the injured list, and most notably Aaron Hicks being designated for assignment after the Yankees acquired Greg Allen in a trade with the Red Sox. 

Of course a podcast about the 2023 Yankees wouldn’t be complete without a good chunk of injury updates, and as always, the show ends with a look at the B-Ref WAR leaderboard and the Yankee/Manfred of the Week. 

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Andrew and Kunj explore the highs and lows brought forth by the likes of Anthony Rizzo, Anthony Volpe, Aaron Judge's homerific Saturday, and more, albeit while also expressing some concerns about Nestor Cortes and Clarke Schmidt. The Yankees have another crucial series with a division rival coming up this week as they head up to Toronto to face the Blue Jays (note that this was recorded prior to Jimmy Cordero being announced as Monday's opener for Jhony Brito). It's time to keep up the better play and fully escape last place, as they're only half a game up on Boston for that ignominious rank.

All that lies ahead, as well as the B-Ref leaderboard check-in, injury updates (#SevySznSoon?), and the Yankee/Manfred of the Week. Let's go Yankees!

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As Andrew and Kunj discuss on the latest episode of Podument Park, what should’ve been a series-clinching win over the Rays at Tropicana Field turning into a Gerrit Cole meltdown and some questionable late-game decision-making (a recurring theme) put a damper on the week as a whole, even if it was marginally better than last week.

Hopefully, a series against the Oakland Athletics is just what this team needs before facing the Rays again, but this time in the Bronx. This is all discussed in addition to the jolt of energy that Bader brought in his first week back in action, the imminent return of captain Aaron Judge, and the possible roster implications of his return. As always, the show ends with a look at Baseball Reference’s WAR leaderboard for the Yankees, before the Yankee and Manfred of the Week recipients are announced. Spoiler alert: More frustration was directed at Yankees management. You can’t say that it’s not earned!

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They're not hitting at all, the back of the rotation is not offering quality starts, and even when someone like Domingo Germán steps up with 8.1 excellent innings last night, the team is apparently still too in love with Clay Holmes to believe that someone else might be a better option in the ninth inning. It feels like the Yankees keep stepping on rakes that they dropped themselves.

As Joe Girardi would say, "It's not what you want," and boy have the Yanks become an ugly watch in a hurry. Andrew and Kunj did our best to unpack the disastrous last week and while they're glad that Harrison Bader will be back tonight, it's hard for them to be overly confident in the May schedule ahead with this very flawed team. Put your hazmat suit on and explore the Yankees with us.

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Losing the weekend series against the Blue Jays wasn’t the big issue, though, as the hosts discuss. The offense looking largely lifeless and problems from years past rearing its ugly head put a damper on the whole week. It’s not all bad though, as the pitching has been a rock and even the weaker spots in the rotation have looked better recently! Also discussed are Oswald Peraza getting a proper look at third base, DJ and The Tonys (Rizzo and Volpe) finding success, and Harrison Bader hopefully returning soon and what that means for Willie Calhoun’s storied Yankees tenure.

As always the pod ends with a look at Baseball Reference’s WAR leaderboard, and handing out of awards for this week’s Yankee and Manfred of the Week. Spoiler: Finding a Yankee of the Week was a bit of a struggle.

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Andrew and Kunj revel in the pitching mastery of Gerrit Cole (and Nestor Cortes, too!) while bemoaning the latest malady to befall Giancarlo Stanton. Despite his hot start, a strained hamstring will keep him out of action for at least a month. Josh Donaldson is supposed to return to the Yankees on Wednesday, but the co-hosts are not exactly not looking forward to the embattled third baseman's return. They talk about a possible general infield platoon situation with the recalled Oswald Peraza, though it feels likely that the Yankees will just demote him instead of cutting ties with the struggling Willie Calhoun.

All that is discussed as well as injury updates, Clay Holmes' topsy-turvy week, Anthony Volpe's kleptomania (and first career homer), the B-Ref Top 12 check-in, and the Yankee/Manfred of the Week.

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Note: Twitter Spaces did not operate smoothly at the end of this episode (or very much at all, frankly), so it ends rather abruptly before a proper goodbye. Blame Elon!

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Also discussed on this week’s pod is the potential makings of a home run race between the Yankees' captain, Aaron Judge, and his big beefy counterpart, Giancarlo Stanton. Both players decided that the Camden Yards wall being pushed back in 2022 is only a problem for mere mortals, like Austin Hays and Ryan Mountcastle. Kunj and Andrew also consider Franchy Cordero’s recent baseball bashing, the numerous roster moves having to be made due to injuries to players like Josh Donaldson and Jonathan Loáisiga, Clay Holmes meeting the moment in the bullpen, and Anthony Volpe’s tough week (albeit one with an encouraging triple).

Of course, they end by bringing back a podcast regular in reviewing the Yankees’ top 12 WAR leaders — oh-so-important in early April — per Baseball Reference, and then both offer their takes on the Yankee and Manfred of the Week.

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Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres, and Aaron Judge have clubbed two homers apiece in the first four games (with one Stanton's sailing 485 feet away), and each of Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, and rookie Jhony Brito have turned in good-to-great starts. In fact, only 4 of the 13 members of the pitching staff have allowed a single run. You love to see it! Add in some Anthony Volpe steals and you've got just the right mix for a fun opening week at Yankee Stadium. Now, they just have to keep it up.

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Note that due to the combination of Opening Day timing and personal schedules, this recording was only lightly edited by Andrew Mearns. Thank you for listening!

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Andrew and Kunj talked about the exciting news of Volpe’s promotion, the less-fun news of Luis Severino’s injury and likely replacement in the rotation by Jhony Brito, and the final roster spots. Jimmy Cordero and Albert Abreu are fully in the bullpen, but there are still a couple small matters to settle with the fringes of the 26-man roster.

The second half of the show is a sequel to what the PSA Podcast did on Opening Day last year: a draft of what we’re most looking forward to during the 2023 season. Sure, there’s the obvious — Volpe, Aaron Judge, and the youth movement writ large — but there’s so much more to be optimistic about (both in terms of the Yankees and MLB in general). So let’s revel in it!

Note: This episode was recorded before the Yankees' final Opening Day roster moves were revealed.

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There's some older business that needs to be covered of course -- Carlos Rodón and Harrison Bader's injuries, just to name a couple -- but there's also the fascinating shortstop question as the Yankees decide what to do with Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe. It's a good problem to have! Of course, the Yanks also need to sort out their pitching staff with the injuries, but that's less fun. Still worth discussing though!

They also got into World Baseball Classic talk as it's hard not to ride the high of the Ohtani/Trout showdown to end it, not to mention the thrilling Japan/Mexico semifinal. What a run. This tournament rules! We'll miss it.

(Note: Kunj had some audio difficulties on this episode that we made some adjustments on, so thank you for bearing with us this week.)

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As we discuss in the show, there will be a change in programming for 2023. Ours was one of many, many podcasts to get axed by SB Nation in their January layoffs. Soon, they will no longer be supporting it, and that’s a giant bummer. (To answer the obvious follow-up: No, there are no changes to the website and all operations are go for the coming season.)

We do have a plan to keep podcasting this year though! We can’t reveal all the specifics just yet, but the show will go on. The only catch with SBN though is that we have to change our name since Pinstripe Alley and SBN will not technically be connected to the podcast anymore. So say hello to Podument Park!

In our final PSAP episode/beta Pod Park episode, we welcome the Yankees back with a look at early spring training storylines, like Frankie Montas needing shoulder surgery, Nestor Cortes being a bit of an Opening Day roster question mark due to his hamstring, the left field and shortstop questions, and our excitement for the World Baseball Classic. There is still baseball to discuss; we’re only a little navel-gazey at the outset! (Skip to around the four-minute mark if you’d rather just hear Yankees talk.)

It’s a little strange to no longer be recording under the PSAP umbrella, but we go onward and upward, and as long as the energy is there to discuss the highs and lows of modern Yankees baseball, we will keep on keeping on. Thank you for tuning in and we hope that you stay with us!

We’re working on getting the RSS feed moved over so that you won’t need to subscribe to anything new.

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If you're solely Yankees-focused, skip ahead to a little past the 14-minute mark for the beginning of Rodón talk! Also note that there's an ad break a little less than half an hour into it. Thanks for following along with us all year long and have a happy holiday!

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Kunj and Andrew assembled for a late-night podcast to discuss the newest Yankees starter and why this is the move that really gives us the most confidence for 2023. Bringing Aaron Judge back was essential but tantamount to a sigh of relief. They had to bring Judge back to keep their lineup in tip-top shape for next year and not fill it with question marks. However, there is a universe where the Yankees could have gotten cute and signed a middle-of-the-road guy at best to fill Taillon’s spot. That is thankfully now not this one. 

Carlos Rodón is a Yankee, and as Andrew wrote earlier, that rules.

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With that, Aaron Judge is a Yankee still and the rest of the offseason becomes a lot easier for GM Brian Cashman and his team. Replacing Judge’s production and presence would not have been an easy task and luckily it’s not one that anyone has to think about. This was a move that absolutely had to be made, and we’re all thankful that it was done. What a wonderful early Christmas present for Yankees fans. 

Andrew and Kunj fire up the ol’ podcast-mobile to share thoughts and stories of relief and near-heartbreak (thanks, Jon Heyman) on the Yankees bringing back the face of their franchise. They also discuss the return of old friend Tommy Kahnle, and the departures of Jameson Taillon and Miguel Castro.

Lastly, the co-hosts end the show with handing out some obvious Yankee- and Manfred-of-the-Week awards but not before discussing some of the rumors swirling around about how the Yankees don’t seem ready to call it an offseason just yet. The team has been linked to Carlos Rodón, Andrew Benintendi, Brandon Nimmo, and Bryan Reynolds, while some of it may just be rumors there seems to be real smoke in some places.*

*Note: This podcast was recorded before news broke of the Red Sox signing Masataka Yoshida.

Until next time: Aaron Judge is a Yankee. Remember that!

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Thankfully, the Yankees avoided all that and locked in their Opening Day first baseman: a lefty power bat who has a reliable glove that will assuage any infielder's concerns about their throws. With all due respect to DJ LeMahieu's versatility and the other free agent first basemen, Rizzo is a pretty darn good option for New York to immediately bring back. And even though it's unlikely to be the deciding factor, having Rizzo in the clubhouse is a nice carrot for top priority/Rizzo pal Aaron Judge.

Andrew and Kunj discuss Rizzo's return at the start of this week's podcast, and then moved on to recent 40-man roster moves, plus the lack of a qualifying offer for Jameson Taillon. They also discussed the positive signs surrounding the Yankees' chatter about Judge and the awkward potential collusion between Hal Steinbrenner and Steve Cohen on No. 99.

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As Josh detailed, the main four characters are free agent GM Brian Cashman, embattled manager Aaron Boone, steady first baseman Anthony Rizzo, and of course, the 62-homer superstar Aaron Judge. Owner Hal Steinbrenner obviously has his own role to play as well, it would be lovely to see them find a way to unload Josh Donaldson, and there are more questions beyond them -- especially if Judge walks -- but these are the main stories. Join us!

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Andrew and Kunj are back on the pod to officially eulogize the 2022 Bombers and discuss, vent, and grumble about what exactly went wrong for the Yankees (a lot) and what little went right. After the ad break (~21:52), they also looked ahead to discuss the uncertain-but-maybe-not-so-uncertain futures of GM Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone, and of course, the biggest elephant in the room: Aaron Judge's impending free agency.

They also took the opportunity to rip into Josh Donaldson, Bringer of Bad Vibes, and generally bantered about the many questions facing the Yankees in the months ahead before wrapping up the pod by making predictions for the World Series (spoiler: they're both rooting for the Phillies' good vibes and hoping for the worst for the Astros), and picking their final Yankees and Manfreds of the 2022 Yankees season.

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The offense has continued its playoff deep freeze. They did just barely enough to get by the Guardians in the Division Series, but four runs in two games is not going to cut it in Houston. There have been some questionable lineup and bullpen decisions for sure, and Kunj and I definitely got into that, but the bottom line is that this team is not going to make this a series again unless more than a couple of these bats wake up. Although there is still hope as the series shifts to Yankee Stadium, they have serious work to do.

The two co-hosts talked about the playoffs at large, plus some NLCS thoughts, and then ruled on the Yankee and Manfred of the Week. Hopefully, there will be another pod before the clock strikes midnight on these Yankees.

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Gerrit Cole allowed just one run on four hits and a walk in 6.1 innings of work while striking out eight, recovering from third-inning shakiness to keep Cleveland quiet. Meanwhile, Harrison Bader had the Yankee Stadium crowd buzzing with a solo shot for his first homer in pinstripes, tying the game in the third. New York took the lead in the fifth and Anthony Rizzo provided insurance with a two-run bomb in the sixth. The bullpen took over from there and held on for the Game 1 victory.

All these themes from the game are discussed, and they also took a peek ahead at Game 2's forthcoming Nestor Cortes/Shane Bieber showdown. One win down and hopefully ten more to go.

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Kunj and Andrew bantered about the fun of Wild Card weekend at the start of the show, but feel free to skip ahead to around the 13-minute mark if you’d rather just go straight into Yankees business. They talked about Aroldis Chapman doing fans a solid and going AWOL in Miami to cost himself a playoff roster spot, and then at about 18:40, they went into a full ALDS preview, discussing everything from rotation matchups to the bullpen, deep roster spots, and Matt Carpenter’s resurgence. At the end, the co-hosts made predictions on both this series and the three other DS showdowns.

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Andrew and Kunj will be back for a full Division Series preview on Monday, but we wanted to take a bit to reflect on the regular season as a whole. After briefly chatting about Aaron Judge reaching No. 62, they drafted their five favorite things from the 2022 campaign -- some of them were players, some of them were moments, and some of them were a bit more extended (part of it involved a brief discussion on the Yankees' looming Gerrit Cole vs. Nestor Cortes Game 1 decision). It was all on the table!

At the end, following one last (confusing) B-Ref leaderboard check-in, the co-hosts picked their Yankee and Manfred of the Season. Here's to one or more of these guys standing out and making a good postseason case as well!

This episode is dedicated to our friend Sarah Langs of MLB.com. We're thinking of you in your fight against ALS!

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Judge even managed to make the post-clinch Wednesday a special one too, as he snapped his seven-game homerless drought with No. 61. That tied Roger Maris for the most in franchise and American League history. Needless to say, Kunj and Andrew had quite a bit to discuss on the most recent pod, from the Yankees cementing their AL East title to Judge and Maris (and the annoying discourse around it), and what to watch for as the Yankees prepare to craft their playoff roster.

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Aaron Judge, of course, played a huge role in these wins, and his own chase for home run history is what the majority of the baseball world cares about. With two bombs in Milwaukee on Sunday and another on Tuesday, he has become just the sixth player in MLB history to join the 60-homer club, and the first in the American League since Roger Maris in 1961. It’s remarkable to see Judge do this while also chasing a Triple Crown, so we obviously spent several minutes in awe of him.

We also talked about the impact of both Harrison Bader’s introduction and Frankie Montas’ IL stint (particularly on how little we trust Montas going forward), as well as Luis Severino and Anthony Rizzo’s own returns, and the murky status of each of DJ LeMahieu, Matt Carpenter, and Andrew Benintendi. There are also some thoughts on the surging Gleyber Torres, home stretch, the Wild Card race, and a Lance Lynn anecdote on the AL Central, as well as the usual B-Ref update and Yankee/Manfred of the Week.

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Judge is incomparable, but as Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani have demonstrated, the Yankees won't be able to win with Judge alone. That's what has made Torres and the offense's resurgence so important to the last week of play. Hopefully, the rest of the cavalry is coming, as Anthony Rizzo and Harrison Bader are working their way back, in addition to the many pitchers on rehab assignments (Luis Severino, Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton, etc.). Also, have we mentioned that we love Wandy Peralta? Because that guy rules.

All of these topics are discussed, as well as the return of the B-Ref Update and the Yankee & Manfred of the Week. Oh, also an Aaron Judge-sized turtle. Something to think about.

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With 55 homers through 137 games, Aaron Judge has still been incredible, but he needs some more support in the lineup with so many teammates rendered injured or ineffective -- think Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu, Anthony Rizzo, etc. Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza rebounded from slumps to help the Yankees sweep yesterday's doubleheader, Isiah Kiner-Falefa has belted a pair of homers, and even Gleyber Torres went deep for just the third time since the beginning of August. That's promising! But the onus will be on them to keep it going because Judge is not getting any pitches to hit, and it doesn't sound like there's much of a cavalry coming to save them. (The pitching will get Nestor Cortes and Luis Severino back soon, but the men on the mound haven't been the problem.)

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Josh Diemert, Peter Brody, and Esteban Rivera had planned to host a Twitter Space on Thursday evening anyway, but that news only made the discussion more interesting. Topics included Peraza (of course), Isiah Kiner-Falefa's highly-debated defense, and how much to trust Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone's words, plus some thoughts on awards season and how the Yankees ended up in a far more tenuous position for October than they every could have anticipated even a month ago.

Note: There was some discussion of whether Anthony Volpe would stay in Double-A or move up to Triple-A that occurred before news broke of his promotion.

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New York salvaged the finale against the Blue Jays to avoid a sweep and then won back-to-back games against a tough foe in the Mets, even beating Max Scherzer in the process. That's definitely something to build off of, but they can't stop there. A long West Coast trip through Oakland and Anaheim lies ahead, and the Yankees can't take any games for granted, even against those struggling ballclubs. They'll have Giancarlo Stanton back in their lineup, and while the bullpen has lost some names in the past week (most notably Scott Effross), Clay Holmes should be on track to return in Anaheim and the long-absent Zack Britton is on the rehab trail as well.

Andrew and Kunj discuss all the ups and downs of the past week while praising the minor league promotions, big hits from Andrew Benintendi, and more monster blasts from the home run crown-seeking Aaron Judge. They also talk about the 2023 schedule, the B-Ref update, and as always, the Yankee and Manfred of the Week.

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Kunj returned to the podcast after a one-week hiatus (read: a break from talking about this team) to join Andrew in talking about how the Yankees have continued their extremely annoying ways. The discussion revolved mainly around how the offense has looked lifeless now that the pitching has settled down and come back to form. Aaron Hicks’ downfall, Isiah Kiner-Falefa actually hitting a home run and single-handedly winning a game against the Red Sox were also notable topics. 

And in some good news, the podcast duo discussed the Yankees finally calling up some help in the form of Oswaldo Cabrera and Estevan Florial, the recall of Ron Marinaccio — who should’ve never been sent down in the first place — and the impending return of Giancarlo Stanton. As always, this was followed by a check-in of Baseball Reference’s WAR leaderboard, and the Yankee and Manfred of the Week. 

The Yankees’ AL East lead is back to double digits and hopefully last night brought this team back to life. If they go back to playing like they did yesterday and get contributions across the board this team will be in good position come October. Let’s hope the Bringer of Rain also brought some balance to the Force. 

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Staff writer and frequent Twitter Space guest Peter Brody joined Andrew on the podcast to talk about all these frustrations, and boy have there been a lot this past week. There was the bafflingly terrible baserunning, particularly in the extra-innings 1-0 loss to Seattle. There was the lineup, rotation, and bullpen playing Hot Potato with the question of "Who's going to embarrass themselves today?" There was the gut-punch, long-term loss of Matt Carpenter to a broken foot on a fluky injury. There was the decision to roster Albert Abreu over Ron Marinaccio. There was was Gleyber Torres' lost approach at the plate. And of course, there's nearly everything Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who clearly has some serious friends in high places within the Yankees' organization.

The bright side is that the Yankees' first-half lead has afforded them the luxury of maintaining a 10-game lead. FanGraphs has them at 94.7-percent likely to hold it and win the AL East. They should win the division. But are they set for October? We can only hope that the team gets its crap together and regains at least a consistent string of quality play soon.

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Andrew and Kunj chatted about both the moves (particularly the Monty/Bader swap) and the Yankees' annoyingly mediocre brand of baseball since the start of July that continued over the past week. They just barely took three of four at home from the selling Royals before dropping a series at Yankee Stadium to the Wild Card-contending Mariners. Gerrit Cole looked bad, Andrew Benintendi continued his post-acquisition slump, Clay Holmes blew another ugly save, and the vibes have just been off, more closely resembling the 2021 team at times.

Thankfully, this Yankees team still has a double-digit division lead, so that's not really in jeopardy, but the play will have to improve sooner rather than later. Again, from a personnel standpoint, the ballclub is better than it was at the All-Star break. The onus is on them to step it up with a grueling road trip ahead through St. Louis, Seattle, and Boston.

As always, the show wraps up with Kunj's B-Ref leaderboard check-in and the Yankee & Manfred of the Week, which didn't require too much critical thinking on the part of either host. (Thank the heavens.)

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Note: The majority of this recording was completed before news came out about Luis Severino hitting the 60-day IL. (This news is learned in real time on the show.)

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Solution: GM Brian Cashman took an important step toward resolving one issue last night by trading for Royals outfielder Andrew Benintendi, who will fully push Joey Gallo to the bench (or off the roster) and lessen the need to play Matt Carpenter out of position. Is he Juan Soto? No, but it's unclear if the superstar will be moved prior to the deadline and even still, it's better to ensure that at least you get *a* solution for the outfield and if the package falls into place, it's not like the Yankees will refuse to add Soto because of Benintendi. The cost was minimal, too.

Andrew and Kunj delve into the Benintendi acquisition, the Soto rumors, the various injuries, bid a likely sad farewell to Gallo, and urge the Yankees to stay vigilant and add a pitcher as well. (Luis Castillo, anyone?) Then they wrap up this compact episode with a quick look at the B-Ref leaderboard and salute the Yankee & Manfred of the Week.

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Before Andrew and Kunj fall too far in the weeds in looking ahead to the future and more extensive trade deadline talk, they want to look back at a truly incredible first half for the Yankees. Despite preseason picks erring toward the Blue Jays and Rays, the Yankees stormed out to a 64-28 first half, which is the all the more impressive when you consider that they were exactly .500 through the first 10 games. They had separate winning streaks of 11 and 9 games each, and they went 22-6 in June, their best month of play in 58 years.

So why not celebrate this first half with a draft? After the ad break (a little over 18 minutes in), we each selected our five favorite things about the remarkable start and then bantered about a few other topics as well (All-Star week, Home Run Derby, Matt Carpenter in God Mode, etc.). As always: go Yankees, go baseball.

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The Yankees did rebound to snap the three-game skid with a walk-off win on Wednesday night against the Reds, but they may have lost Luis Severino for awhile in the process. The right-hander departed with shoulder tightness and even if his MRI comes back clean, the Yankees seem likely to use the All-Star break to their advantage and rest him for a bit with the now-healthy Domingo Germán, JP Sears, and others prepared to fill in.

Other topics include the newest Yankees All-Stars, musings on home-field advantage, Jameson Taillon's struggles, Gerrit Cole's Rafael Devers problem, Aaron Hicks' ugly foul, Aaron Judge battling through a slump, the rival Blue Jays canning manager Charlie Montoyo, the Royals affecting trade talks in an unfortunate way, and Matt Carpenter surging into the Yankees' B-Ref Top 12 (because why not?). Then, they wrap up with the Yankee and Manfred of the Week.

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Andrew and Kunj talk all things Yankees, from those past couple series to the mini-resurgence from Aaron Hicks and and all the lows of Joey Gallo (sigh) and the recently-slumping Jameson Taillon. There's also plenty of discussion on Aaron Judge, homers allowed by the rotation, concerns about Aroldis Chapman's return, Ron Marinaccio's injury, and the regular B-Ref leaderboard update + Yankee/Manfred of the Week. You might be surprised about Kunj's pick!

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There was no way that the Astros series was going to be normal, right? The opener was three-run homer mayhem capped by Aaron Hicks' game-tying homer in the bottom of the ninth and Aaron Judge's walk-off hit. Next came dominance from Houston pitching as Justin Verlander shoved on Friday, Cristian Javier and two relievers combined on the first no-hitter against the Yankees in 19 years, and José Urquidy flirted with a no-no in the finale, too.

But Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu, and that Judge guy again came back to stun the Astros, splitting the series at two victories apiece. As a palate cleanser, the Yankees hosted the last-place A's for three and took care of business with three wins in a row, though a few weird innings made things interesting.

Guest-starring in that A's series was the title character of our podcast episode, JP Sears, who filled in with 5.2 shutout innings. The Yankees' unofficial No. 6 starter has a 0.00 ERA. Again: Normal!

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New York snuck a nine-game winning streak in between the most recent recordings, are 17-3 in June, and after taking a pair of road series against division rivals in Toronto and Tampa Bay, the 51-18 Yanks sit neck-and-neck with the legendary 1998 squad at the best starts in modern franchise history. The Blue Jays and Red Sox would both hold Wild Card spots if the season ended today, but the Yankees are still 12 games ahead of both of them in the AL East.

It’s a ridiculous ballclub, and there’s so much to talk about. There’s Gerrit Cole flirting with a no-hitter for the second time this month. There’s Aaron Judge reaching 27 homers in just 67 games. There’s Jose Trevino somehow maintaining a legitimate case to go to the All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium. This team just has remarkable tenacity, and the most recent series at Tropicana Field really displayed it.

We love these guys and hope it stays like this all year long. All these topics are discussed, as well as the upcoming series against Houston, Albert Abreu’s return, Nestor’s mustache, Ryan Weber’s cameo, the B-Ref Leaderboard check-in, the Yankee & Manfred of the Week, and — quite randomly — Delaware vs. Maryland and the apparent misery of A's infielder Nick Allen.

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Featured guests include Matthew Bramlett, Ken Schultz, and Alex Plinck, and the roundtable really begins at the 15-minute mark. PSA's Madison Pavich and Peter Brody also joined later on, and at the very end of the show, Madison came out and explained her name change from Ryan. Peter had an announcement of his own, as well.

Special thanks to Twitter user Dan for jumping in first to start the conversation with Josh when we were waiting for the guests to work through Twitter's technical difficulties to join in (and for contributing for the duration of the podcast as well).

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Jameson Taillon and Gerrit Cole got the most attention with back-to-back perfect-game bids that lasted deep into the night, but Nestor Cortes, Luis Severino, and Jordan Montgomery each turned in terrific outings as well. As an added bonus, while Taillon faltered in the road trip opener last night in Minnesota, the bullpen picked him up and the Yankees won their seventh game in a row.

Andrew & Kunj talk about all this, Aaron Judge continuing to play on Rookie mode, Manny Bañuelos finally making his Yankees debut, Miguel Andújar's trade request, Zack Britton's rehab, and John Sterling's reduced workload. They also sidebar on Joe Girardi & Joe Maddon's firings, the upcoming schedule, the B-Ref update, and the Yankee & Manfred of the Week. All this is done, of course, with intentionally terrible attempts at transitions. You're welcome!

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Thankfully, as previously stated, the Yankees’ pitching has been tremendous. Nestor Cortes and Jameson Taillon absolutely dominated the Rays on Thursday & Friday, and both Gerrit Cole and Luis Severino turned in outings that would’ve been good enough to win most days on Saturday & Sunday. The offense had different plans though, and the merely adequate bullpen needs someone aside from the otherworldly Clay Holmes to step up.

The show covers all that, Derek Jeter deciding to join Twitter for some reason, a brief B-Ref leaderboard update/tribute to Jamo, the upcoming series against the Angels, Tigers, and Twins, and of course, the Yankee & Manfred of the Week.

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Kunj and Andrew caught up on Josh Donaldson’s dumb comments that hurt the Yankees’ good vibes, an up-and-down homestand against the White Sox & Orioles, and the team’s injured list woes relating to Giancarlo Stanton, Jonathan Loáisiga, Aroldis Chapman, Chad Green, and hey maybe you too!

But not all is lost. Aaron Judge, Jose Trevino, and Clay Holmes have all been doing serious work to keep the Yankees afloat, and the starting rotation has been as steady as ever. Major kudos as always to pitching coach Matt Blake. Now, if only Aaron Hicks could show any signs of life whatsoever... We can dream, right?

All these topics are discussed, as are the Yankees’ schedule ahead (ew Trop), the B-Ref Leaderboard Update, and the Yankee & Manfred of the Week. Also: Kunj’s preferred soda! This is an equally important subject, of course.

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The Yankees took three out of four on the South Side of Chicago and won the first game in Baltimore on Monday night. The homering ways have continued, and Josh Donaldson in particular looks sharp. He's homered three times in the past five games, bringing some serious extra-base pop that -- despite decent numbers through the beginning of May -- had been lacking until recently. Joey Gallo has picked up the pace of late as well, and the one-two punch of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton is still as menacing as ever.

All these topics are in store, plus Nestor Cortes (yay!), Luis Severino (solid!), Jonathan Loáisiga (ehhhh), a familiar B-Ref leaderboard update, and the traditional Yankee and Manfred of the Week.

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Andrew and Kunj talked about that odd Mother’s Day doubleheader and the series win clinch over the Rangers on Monday, and of course they discussed the Yankees’ two wins over the Blue Jays in the past two days (including Aaron Judge’s walk-off heroics), giving them seven consecutive series victories. That will play!

There’s all that, some raving about Clay Holmes entering god mode, Luis Severino showing moxie, a B-Ref leaderboard update, and our Yankee & Manfred of the Week. Also, the co-hosts got a little loopy at the end talking about Aaron Hicks & Gleyber Torres having kids. Hooray for daddy power (on the latter, anyway).

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Aaron Judge has been especially hot (crushing about 437 homers in the past week), Gleyber Torres stole the show against the Blue Jays on Monday, and the pitching staff has been nothing short of spectacular. Led by Michael King in God Mode, the bullpen just doesn't allow runs anymore, and there have been great starts from the likes of Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon to discuss. The staff held the hard-hitting Jays to just five runs in three games. That's how you do it. Also, in the time since the last podcast, Joey Gallo got hurt, but is already back! Hooray.

All this, a B-Ref leaderboard update, a busy May schedule preview, some accidental Reds & Mets Talk, and Yankee/Manfred of the Week are all in store! Enjoy the show, and let's hope that the Yankees remember to not drain all the fun of that winning streak by going on a 2021-esque "bucket of water" follow-up.

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Andrew and Kunj have quite a few positives to discuss, from the MLB home run leader Anthony Rizzo (!) to recent mini-resurgences from Joey Gallo and Gleyber Torres, as well. Giancarlo Stanton got No. 350, Aaron Judge homered on his birthday (and again two days later), and Isiah Kiner-Falefa seems to have hit his stride at shortstop. Behind Nestor Cortes, Gerrit Cole, and the bullpen dominance of Michael King & company, the pitching has had quite a few highlights, too. Smiles all around!

The co-hosts get into all these topics, the B-Ref Leaderboard Update, and our Yankee & Manfred of the Week. Now, for the Yankees to keep these good vibes going on their road trip through Kansas City and Toronto...

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So on the back of that remarkable pitching, the Yankees must be rolling, right? Well unfortunately, the offense has not backed them up and they're almost fully on the other side of the leaderboard in that regard. An ugly series loss in Baltimore capped frustrations before a slightly better showing in Detroit. We're not demanding to see the 2019 Yankees offense out there, but a step up is sorely needed because the pressure can't be on the pitching forever.

Yankees topics this week include the highs of the pitching staff and DJ LeMahieu, and the inconsistency of nearly every other hitter aside from Aaron Hicks -- particularly Gleyber Torres and Joey Gallo. There's also some poking fun at Cole, an far-too-early peak at the Baseball Reference WAR leaderboard, the Yankees' upcoming schedule, and our Yankee & Manfred of the Week.

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But the Yanks also dropped the series finale while squandering several scoring opportunities and then got completely blanked by the Blue Jays in their series opener against the AL East favorites. As Homer Simpson would say, “That’s bad.”

Yes, the Yankees are already a land of contrasts, so we get into it. Positives include Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, and the pitching staff in general (outside of Gerrit Cole’s weird Billy Crystal grumblings). Negatives include Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Kyle Higashioka, and Aaron Hicks (at least pre-Tuesday night). Mystery boxes include Joey Gallo, DJ LeMahieu, and Gleyber Torres.

Since the Aaron Judge extension saga also came to a close (for now) this past week, the duo also returned to the topic a little to critique both how the Yankees’ front office publicly handled the extension, and then to roll eyes at the comments about not making a single offer to Carlos Correa or Freddie Freeman.

Next up: a few more games with Toronto, and road trips to Baltimore and Detroit. Andrew and Kunj look ahead to them and then wrap up with the newly-renamed Yankee and Manfred of the Week.

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They start off with a rundown of the major moves from the offseason, highlighted by the Greg Bird signing trade that brought Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Yankees in exchange for Gary Sánchez and Gio Urshela. There’s also the return of Anthony Rizzo, the late spring swaps to add Miguel Castro to the bullpen and Jose Trevino to the catching corps, and the decisions to bid farewell to Luke Voit, Clint Frazier, Corey Kluber, Joely Rodríguez, and — seemingly — Brett Gardner.

Next up is a review of how the Opening Day roster seems to be lining up, with the Yankees electing to go with a three-man bench in April, thanks to expanded rosters after a shortened spring and a desire to get as many pitching arms in the mix as possible. Marwin Gonzalez made the team as an all-purpose utilityman, and rookies JP Sears, Ron Marinaccio, and Clarke Schmidt will get shots in the bullpen. One looming question remains: Will Aaron Judge be extended before his Opening Day deadline, or is he heading into a contract year and a potential departure next offseason? Ask Freddie Freeman; it could happen.

Finally, they wrap up with a general Yankees season preview, delving into the changes to the hitting staff and their biggest projects for 2022 (Joey Gallo, Gleyber Torres, DJ LeMahieu, Aaron Hicks), whether the team’s defense-first catching approach will work out, and if pitching coach Matt Blake can continue to work his magic with the rotation of Gerrit Cole and His Merry Men. At the very least, the bullpen looks loaded once again.

There is also some brief discussion of the rest of the AL East foes, as the Blue Jays, Rays, and Red Sox are sure to continue being thorns in the Yankees’ side. The podcast ends, as always, with the Yankee and Mitre of the Week/Offseason.

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On this edition, Josh, Peter, and Ryan discussed the Yankees’ bullpen, and mused on Jasson Dominguez, Blake Rutherford, and prospect overvaluation. Later on, they offered a sneak peak into some of PSA's preseason predictions, and Peter revealed his somewhat-alarming palate in a draft of overrated foods. Some did not understand the assignment, but we love 'em anyway.

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Josh hosted a Twitter Space on the night of Wednesday, March 16th, with fellow PSA writers Peter Brody and Esteban Rivera. They chatted about the attention-grabbing Josh Donaldson/Isiah Kiner-Falefa/Ben Rortvedt/Gary Sánchez/Gio Urshela trade with the Twins, Anthony Rizzo's return to pinstripes, the Yankees' hesitance to splurge on big-time free agents, and the tension surrounding New York City's vaccine mandates and a certain superstar right fielder. Toward the end, they also played a game where predicted over/under win totals on every American League team, from the offseason favorite Blue Jays to the clearance sale A's and the hapless Orioles.

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It’s a tradition unlike any other — one as old as time itself. And by time, we mean, uh, 2013, co-opted from a goofy TV thing that aired in 1997, and one that has been dormant for a few years. Maybe call this a soft reboot of the idea, à la “Spider Man: Homecoming.”

Anyway, that doesn’t really matter. The 2021 Yankees sure gave Kunj and I quite a bit to air some grievances about, so in the good ol’ spirit of Frank Costanza, that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Yes, yes, there are some feats of strength as well, and thankfully, nobody has to wrestle their father to salute greatness from the likes of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.

But boy howdy, do we have grievances. To quote Frank, “Now, you’re gonna hear about ‘em.”

On a lighter note, thank you sincerely for tuning into our podcasts throughout this turbulent season. We know the Yankees didn’t always give us the most interesting topics to discuss, but we’re glad that you were out there listening to, well, air our grievances all year long and not just today. Hopefully, baseball’s lockout doesn’t drag on too long and we’ll have some better news to review in the new year. We can hope.

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Kunj and Andrew didn't return to just talk about the Wild Card loss, though. The big news from yesterday was that Aaron Boone would be returning to the Yankees' managerial helm in 2022 on a new three-year contract, albeit without his hitting coaches and Phil Nevin. Regardless of how frustrating the Yankees looked in 2021, this always appeared to be the most likely conclusion. Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman seemed too fond of Boone to let him go.

The hosts work through their thoughts on the non-move & coaching updates, roll eyes at some of Steinbrenner and Cashman's comments, discuss the injury updates (Aaron Hicks comeback szn?), and muse on some of the front office concerns. It does sound like the Yankees will be pursuing a shortstop in free agency, and though the field isn't great, Gary Sánchez's days behind the plate might be numbered. Finally, we wrap things up with a salute to the retiring announcer Ken Singleton and our Yankees & Mitres of the Season.

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With Kunj away, Matt Provenzano filled in again and joined Andrew to both look back on the hectic final week and preview the Wild Card showdown. Gerrit Cole will stare down the Red Sox as the Yankees' offense does its best to mimic its most recent performance against Nathan Eovaldi (and not the previous domination). Will Cole's hamstring cause problems again? Will the offense show up after a tough final series while also being down DJ LeMahieu and Luke Voit?

If there's anything that the 2021 Yankees have proved to be true, it's that anything can happen. All we can do is roll the dice and hope that the season's still alive on Thursday at Tropicana Field. (Oh, and we can also do the Yankee & Mitre of the Week. As always.)

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Of course, for as good as the offense and bullpen look right now, this final week won’t be easy. New York faces a tougher schedule than its Wild Card foes and will be tested by the Blue Jays and Rays as 2021 draws to a close. The days ahead are still daunting, but at least the Fenway sweep made the outlook brighter.

Other topics beyond the zany pennant race include Gleyber Torres’ resurgence, Jameson Taillon and Jonathan Loáisiga’s pending returns, Aaron Judge’s gross pinky dislocation, and Luis Severino just bringing a damn smile to the co-hosts' faces. There’s all that and as always, the Yankee and Mitre of the Week.

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Yeah, this isn't going to be a very happy podcast. There's much to grumble about! The offense again made several pitchers look a lot better than they were, the defense was sloppy, and the pitching absolutely melted down over the weekend. This kind of play at this point in the season against these teams is unacceptable, and there are only so many ways that we can say that. It's an indictment on both Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman as well.

Other topics include the majesty of Néstor Cortes Jr., the Wild Card competition, Luis Severino's return, Miguel Andújar's sudden appearance in Triple-A, and, of course, the Yankee and Mitre of the Week.

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In all seriousness, the Wild Card race has grown much tighter and on Monday morning, the Yankees were out of a playoff spot for the first time in a month. They're back in it now, but remain neck-and-neck-and-neck with the Blue Jays and Red Sox as they trudge on through their run of 20 games in 20 days. The pitching staff still looks tired, Gleyber Torres isn't a shortstop anymore, and we're all just trying to hang in there. But hey, the Yankees have now won three of the last four games. Hope springs eternal!

Other topics discussed aside from the playoff race include Jameson Taillon's injury, Domingo Germán and Luis Severino's possible returns (again), a possible farewell to Clint Fraazier, a glimpse at the up-and-down schedule ahead, and Kunj's post-vacation B-Ref WAR update. Oh, and of course, a not-so-modest Yankee and Mitre of the Week.

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Not content to suffer alone, Andrew roped former Beyond the Box Score editor and PSA scribe Matt Provenzano into discussing the frustrating past week with him. (He's clearly quite kind.) The two talked through the Yankees’ slump, from the suddenly-sputtering bats to the pitching staff that’s just trying to hang in there. The bullpen’s gassed, and that’s not helping matters one bit. A constant theme of the episode touched on the Yankees perhaps facing a crossroads in the near-future with all the names on paper failing to live up the resumes. It’s tough stretch.

In lieu of the “Meet a Baby Bomber” segment though, Andrew and Matt turned to the bright side “Met a Hall of Famer.” Derek Jeter was enshrined in Cooperstown yesterday, so they took the opportunity to talk about the ceremony a bit before playing armchair psychologist on why some fans dig their heels in on the idea that Jeter “wasn’t good, actually.” The hottest takes are rarely correct. At the end, they wrap up with the Yankee and Mitre of the Week, and boy, were there not many candidates for the former.

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Andrew and Kunj try to strike the balance between optimism & realism about the Yankees' most recent stretch (recorded prior to Gerrit Cole's dominance last night), while looking in on some of what went wrong. Corey Kluber's still working out the kinks, Jameson Taillon might be fatigued, and Gio Urshela is getting accustomed to playing again, too. Let's just hope that his latest snafu doesn't look worse, post-MRI. At least Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are still raking.

The co-hosts also took a look at the Yankees' upcoming schedule and the current playoff race, which has New York perhaps too far back of Tampa Bay to worry much about the AL East, and the Red Sox going through a shaky week as well amid Wild Card contention. Time constraints prevented the standard "Meet a Baby Bomber" segment, but don't worry: there was no missing the Yankee and Mitre of the Week.

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The streak's latest highlights are the main discussion points, including *outfielder* Giancarlo Stanton doing spectacular work, hometown hero Andrew Velazquez's moment in the spotlight, and even Andrew Heaney coming up with a big start. Don't worry though, we still have time to wring our hands about Aroldis Chapman's latest struggles and Zack Britton's season perhaps being done. At least Gio Urshela is coming back today in Oakland.

Later on, the co-hosts wrap up the show with "Meet a Baby Bomber" segments on the wonderfully-named Ocean Gabonia and no-hit artist Sean Boyle, and as always, the Yankee and Mitre of the Week.

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It's been a little over a week since Andrew and Kunj's last podcast, so they went long on the wacky Royals series, the Field of Dreams Game and far-more-successful sojourn to Chicago, the make-up victory over the Angels, and of course, the sweep of the Red Sox. There have been some frustrating games here and there and the Yankees haven't made it easy, but it's nice to revel in a winning streak! When even Tyler Wade is on an over-.400 run, then you know things are going quite nicely.

The show does have injury news to go over, though thankfully, it's more on the side of activations than setbacks. Gerrit Cole, Jordan Montgomery, Gary Sánchez, Anthony Rizzo, and Aroldis Chapman. More reinforcements could be soon to follow, though the co-hosts do send their best wishes out to Clint Frazier and Luis Severino, who now don't seem likely to return. Alas.

The "Meet a Baby Bomber" segment stops in with Kyle Holder and Isaiah Pasteur, and Andrew and Kunj wrap up as always with the Yankee and Mitre of the Week.

PS: Someone help Kevin Costner with his wardrobe. Kunj is begging.

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Speaking of those setbacks, the Yankees lost even more players due to COVID positives and injury. Down went Gary Sánchez and Anthony Rizzo, joining Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery on the COVID-IL. Down went Aroldis Chapman and Gleyber Torres to standard baseball nicks and bruises. The episode was recorded when the Yankees still thought that Gio Urshela's return was imminent, but now that's pushed back as well. Joy.

Nonetheless, the Yankees are hanging in there, and while the rehab is understandably slow, there could be help on the horizon. Urshela's delay shouldn't be long and both Luis Severino and Corey Kluber are in the midst of rehab assignments. Fingers crossed that they go well and that those afflicted by COVID recover soon.

As always, the co-hosts end the show with "Meet a Baby Bomber," in which we meet the rookie reliever duo of Stephen Ridings and Brody Koerner, and then wrap up with the Yankee and Mitre of the Week.

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In reality, the Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo trades were of course the focus, and the deals featuring Andrew Heaney, Luis Cessa, Justin Wilson, and Clay Holmes were all discussed. GM Brian Cashman did a pretty good job of keeping the team competitive for the stretch of 2021 while also helping the 2022 club and keeping the most important prospects to the Yankees' future in tow. It's a fine line, and the club got off to a good start post-deadline with a sweep of the Marlins.

But because this is still the 2021 Yankees, there had to be some bad news, and Gerrit Cole's COVID diagnosis was the original focus. Then, the Jordan Montgomery COVID news broke mid-recording and the co-hosts got a little delirious. Gio Urshela and Domingo Germán also landed on the injured list, though on the bright side, Luis Severino and Corey Kluber seem to be making their way back.

In the latter half of the show, Andrew and Kunj "Meet a Baby Bomber" with Everson Pereira and Josh Breaux (hey, a rhyme!), who both happened to earn minor league promotions during the recording. Then, they close out with the Yankee and Mitre of the Week, and salute AL Pitcher of the Month Jameson Taillon.

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There's also the Trade Deadline to discuss this week, as it looms on Friday afternoon. Will the Yankees still choose to buy? Will they pursue a strategic retool? Who could reasonably be put on the market? The co-hosts talk those possibilities before moving on to the regular "Meet a Baby Bomber" and "Yankee/Mitre of the Week" segments, featuring Donny Sands, Dermis Garcia, Gary Sánchez, Gleyber Torres, and some miserable members of the Yankees' bullpen.

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Perhaps the most inexplicable part of this entire development is that after all those losses, the Yankees finally won their first series of the year against the Red Sox. Just the way they planned it, right?

Those topics are the main focus of today's podcast, though Andrew and Kunj also find room to praise the resurgent Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon and attempt to be optimistic about Rougned Odor and Gleyber Torres. Who the hell knows what will happen next at this point, so let's just hope the B-squad Bombers can help the team stay afloat in this critical period before the trade deadline.

The "Meet a Baby Bomber" segments this week focused on ascending prospect Anthony Volpe (the 2019 first-round draft pick) and Tampa first baseman Eric Wagaman. Then, the co-hosts close out with the Yankee and Mitre of the Week.

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The Yankees technically ended the first half on a high note with a 4-2 road trip through Seattle and Houston, but once again in a recurring theme of the 2021 season, they entered the finales with a chance to sweep and failed to do so. The second loss was particularly galling, as the Yankees blew a five-run lead in the ninth behind the bizarrely bad Chad Green, who has been otherwise-excellent. There have been some encouraging signs, as the Yankees' offense has looked a lot better since the start of June and Gerrit Cole looked absolutely filthy in his 1-0 Saturday shutout. But there's a long way to go.

Andrew and Kunj also touched on Yankees injury updates, their first-round draft selection of Trey Sweeney, and used the "Meet a Baby Bomber" segment to meet two new draft picks: second-rounder Brendan Beck and sixth-rounder Richard Fitts. Then they wrap it up with the Yankee/Mitre of the Week and some scattered Home Run Derby thoughts.

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Andrew and Kunj caught up on this dismal 2-7 stretch of Yankees baseball that only further clouded the potential playoff picture. Fenway losses, Chapman meltdowns, and glum press conferences were all too frequent. Now, it’s not just Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman trying to put on a brave face, it’s also Hal Steinbrenner, who addressed the media after Wednesday night’s ninth-inning disaster. Great stuff.

Other topics included Tim Locastro, the All-Star selections (sans Gary Sánchez), the dreadful pitching staff, and — on a better note — the “Meet a Baby Bomber” segment on Luis Medina & Max Burt, and our Yankee/Mitre of the Week.

Here’s hoping that the team rebounds soon on its ...

/checks notes/

... West Coast road trip? Yikes.

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Andrew and Kunj have plenty to discuss from those positive topics alone, plus an update on the now-established “Sticky Stuff” guidelines for pitchers(and why they might be a scare tactic), happy thoughts on come-from-behind wins, Sánchez catching Gerrit Cole, and Luke Voit’s imminent return. Don’t worry though, there is still room for venting, particularly at the perhaps-inevitable “Luis Severino is our trade acquisition” quotes.

Our “Meet a Baby Bomber” segment profiles the red-hot Hoy Jun Park and former-relief-prospect-turned-Scranton-veteran Nick Goody. As always, we wrap up with the Yankee and Mitre of the Week.

As a minor programming note, we’ll both be out of town at different times next week, so there will be no show, but look for us again in early July!

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It’s bad times, and now the pitching is looking as suspect as it appeared to be before the season even began. The Phillies rocked Jameson Taillon and Domingo Germán, Michael King’s start didn’t go well, and the team can only be so confident in mid-rotation arm Jordan Montgomery. The Yankees’ starting pitchers have a 6.16 ERA over the past 14 games. It’s a delight. (Oh, and the offense that briefly surged during the week got blanked by Aaron Nola on Sunday. Will they be over .500 by next week? Who knows?!)

One name absent from that Bronx starter roll call is Gerrit Cole, but he and the rest of the league’s pitchers are embroiled in their own problems too thanks to the Spider Tack/foreign substances controversy. The only question will be how MLB will actually handle the difficult subject. We only have, uh, the utmost confidence in the league doing so.

In a grateful detour from the MLB news, today’s “Meet a Baby Bomber” segment covers pitchers Beck Way (Dan's interview linked here) and Barrett Loseke. Then we wrap it up as always with Yankee & Mitre of the Week.

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A week after podcasting in frustrated fury following the Yankees’ sweep at the hands of the Tigers, we must do essentially the same thing — albeit this time without cursing and more of a deflated exhaustion with this endlessly frustrating group of hitters. The Yankees only managed a four-game split with the Rays and then got pantsed on their own turf by the Red Sox in their first head-to-head of the 2021 season.

The story was more of the same from the offense, which barely homered and mashed into rally-killing double plays at a league-leading rate. (Link to John Griffin’s article that we mentioned here.) It didn’t help that the relief pitching decided to finally take a dive after being so reliable, as even normally good characters were bad: Chad Green, Jonathan Loaisiga, Luis Cessa, and Lucas Luetge. We saved most of our venting for the lineup that gave them no wiggle room, but they earned a special mention as well.

In short, we’re losing our minds. This can’t keep happening, so it’s up to the Yankees to right the ship in Minnesota. If they can’t do it there? Hooboy.

Our “Meet a Baby Bomber” segment spotlights utilityman Matt Pita and the recently-promoted Chris Gittens, and we wrap up as always with the Yankee & Mitre of the Week. Much like last week, there were too few worthy nominees for the former and too many for the latter.

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Since then, Kluber got hurt, Luke Voit returned to the IL, Giancarlo Stanton came back ice cold, and the Yankees' offense continued its horrifying tailspin. The pitching was able to hide these woes during that aforementioned streak, but in the past week, the hitters have looked about as bad as they've been all season. They lost two of three against Toronto, enduring a humiliating sweep in Detroit at the hands of the Tigers, and had dropped the opener of this four-game set against the Rays at the time of recording.

So yeah, the hosts had a lot to vent about. If they had time to record after the walk-off win last night, they might have been less angry, but alas. The lineup has quite a bit to prove anyway, if not only to assure fans that despite the statistics, they do not belong in the same offensive category as the 2021 Pirates. (High bar.) Moreover, Andrew and Kunj wondered aloud if the regressions of DJ LeMahieu, Clint Frazier, Gleyber Torres, and more are enough to at least discuss whether Marcus Thames should still be the hitting coach for the job. A big week lies ahead against the Rays and Red Sox.

At the end of the show, we "Meet a Baby Bomber" with Janson Junk (Dan Kelly article on Junk linked here) and Nick Green, Then of course we wrap up with our Yankee and Mitre of the Week. Hint: There were many more folks contending for the latter than the former.

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The highlight of it all was, of course, Corey Kluber’s no-hitter in Texas, which was the Yankees’ first since 1999 and just the 12th in franchise history. So you’ll forgive the co-hosts if they go on at length about Kluber for his outstanding effort, in which he never looked like he broke a sweat. Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery also earned praise for their dominant outings against Chicago. Thanks mostly to Gleyber Torres and Aaron Judge, the offense was able to make these gems count.

Andrew and Kunj also ask the position players to stop running into outs on the bases, sigh deeply about Aaron Hicks likely being lost for the season (and Miguel Andújar’s defense), and then wrap things up with “Meet a Baby Bomber” — featuring pitching prospect Luis Gil and outfielder Steven Sensley — and the Yankee and Mitre of the Week.

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So yes, it’s been an experience. We talk about the outbreak, the injuries, the Yankees’ depth, possible setups with a healthy Rougned Odor back, Jameson Taillon’s frustrations, the sad realization that even god-kings like Gerrit Cole can bleed, and — of course — the week being mostly good despite some underperformance from the offense.

We wrap up with our “Meet a Baby Bomber” segment on Ken Waldichuk and Carlos Narvaez, award some Yankee and Mitre of the Week honors, and end with a deeply strange and bemused tangent about Aaron Judge’s Twitter handle. It’s very important.

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We discussed the mostly-successful past week, offense being down both in New York and around the rest of the league (hello, inexplicable Wade Miley no-hitter), and salivate about 2020 home run king Luke Voit’s expected 2021 debut today. The team has missed having him — and recently, Gio Urshela — in the heart of its batting order.

The “Meet a Baby Bomber” segment this week spotlights Tampa Tarpons slugging sensation Trevor Hauver (who has a good dog) and Hudson Valley Renegades reliever Nick Ernst. Then, it’s time for “Yankee and Mitre of the Week,” which had some fairly easy choices this time around. May the winning continue.

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This all means that Andrew and Kunj got to have a mostly positive podcast! Isn’t that nice? Giancarlo Stanton has been excelling since being installed as the No. 2 hitter, and Aaron Judge has picked up the pace right behind him, too. The two hosts talked about them, the Yankees’ rest schedules, touch on the Mike Tauchman/Wandy Peralta trade, and then raved about the outstanding recent efforts of Gerrit Cole, Corey Kluber, and the pitching staff, which posted the best ERA and WHIP in the American League for the month of April. Just as we all expected, right?

Andrew and Kunj also introduced a new weekly segment: “Meet a Baby Bomber,” a Yankees-focused riff on the “Meet a Major Leaguer” feature from “Effectively Wild.” This will be an effort to get to know more prospects and minor leaguers in the Yankees’ system a little more than folks already do — this week’s selections were No. 4 prospect Oswald Peraza and the other Justin Wilson (a righty reliever). Don’t worry though, the “Yankee and Mitre of the Week” segment isn’t going anywhere. There were some worthy picks.

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The problem was that they had to record the day after an especially dispiriting loss to 2021 Matt Harvey and the Orioles, which was the team’s second defeat in a row and a return to the previous week’s offensive doldrums. The fact that it came on the heels of Sunday’s Jameson Taillon-led loss didn’t help either.

Other topics of note included the best use of the Gary Sánchez/Kyle Higashioka conundrum, the Deivi García/Michael King swingman shuttle role, the overblown Aaron Judge/Angels rumors, and more Yankees nonsense. Note that this was recorded prior to the news of Higashioka’s bump in playing time, and the Mike Tauchman trade, though I did a short bit on the latter at the top of the episode.

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Andrew and Kunj gradually run through everything going wrong with the team, from the offense (in a nightmarish slump) to the pitching staff (lackluster outside of Gerrit Cole and a couple relievers) and defense (dismal fundamentals and poor play). As they note, a portion of the Yankees' struggles will likely remedy themselves soon, but some are flawed by design. That's concerning.

They also discussed the unfortunate Friday incident where fans threw balls onto the field and Jay Bruce's unceremonious-but-necessary retirement. Yankees fans will always remember you, Jay. (Until they don't.)

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As for the offense? The Higashioka homers were nice, as was the 10th-inning rally on Sunday, but it still has to do better. They were dominated by the Rays’ bullpen and have been hitting into far too many double plays. They're not panicking about whether or not this offense is actually good because the talent is there, but it can easily improve. Minimizing Jay Bruce is part of that.

They also briefly touched on Tyler Wade and Domingo Germán’s demotions, the tone-deaf Mushnick comments on Sánchez using an interpreter, and Aaron Hicks taking a deserved mental health day in memory of Daunte Wright. 

You can listen to the show on the web player below, or on any of your preferred podcast apps — to name a few, we’re on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, PlayerFM, and iHeartRadio. As a reminder, if you were already subscribed to former host Ryan Chichester’s “Bomber Brothers” feed, then you’re good!

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This podcast was recorded prior to Gerrit Cole’s dominant start against Baltimore on Tuesday night, but thanks to his Opening Day outing and other strong efforts from Jordan Montgomery and the middle relievers, there was still plenty of pitching to chat about. Clint Frazier and Gary Sánchez’s hot starts were also points of discussion, as were home run heroics from Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge. The rest of the hitters could stand to wake up a bit, though.

Later, we talked about how Yankee Stadium fans should really cut down on the booing, the alternate site in Scranton starting up again, mid-’80s reliever Mike Armstrong (please view his glorious picture), and Rougned Odor for a hot second because the surprise trade broke minutes prior to recording. Naturally, we ended with the Yankee and Mitre of the Week. As Kunj alluded, it’s good to have baseball back (and to watch a giant lizard fight a giant ape).

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Andrew and Kunj caught up on the latest spring training news, focusing on the unfortunate Luke Voit injury that has led us to “Opening Day first baseman Jay Bruce,” as well as the the pitching situation getting mostly settled with Justin Wilson landing on the injured list and Domingo Germán winning the last rotation spot over Deivi García. Of course, we still anticipate seeing plenty of García in 2021.

After the quick news rundown, Andrew and Kunj did a draft with a very simple premise: “Things We’re Excited About From the 2021 Yankees.” It’s exactly what you think it is, and it was a lot of fun! (Even if Andrew accidentally cheated a bit.) As always, we wrapped up with the Yankee and Mitre of the Week. Also, reserve catcher Max McDowell ended up being mentioned at least five times in this show. It was quite the thing.

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Brett Gardner also re-signed in the time since the last recording, so he is discussed in addition to their shared frustration about non-televised spring training games. The news of Aaron Boone's heart scare broke in the middle of this episode, so he is briefly mentioned as well. Our thoughts are with him as he recovers.

Note: This episode was recorded before Corey Kluber's start on Wednesday; otherwise, he probably would've shared Yankee of the Week honors with Taillon.

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Got all that? Good. Because it's all discussed, in addition to some musing on longtime Yankee Brett Gardner's future, as he is currently on the outside looking in. An old favorite of the show also returned — the Yankee and Mitre of the Week, this time expanded for the full offseason.

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Note: The episode number choice is inspired by the continuation of our original podcast, but those 2012-18 episodes will not be in this feed. If you have some dark desire to revisit them and listen to us lose our minds over the madness of the 2013 Yankees with some crappy audio, you can do so through its old website here.

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We then head to our weekly categories, starting with whether or not Matt would trade Aaron Judge to have a private jet at his disposal for life (22:43), a hot discussion on the Mets being the Mets (26:23), the coveted Big Bastad Award (29:34), and the loser and winner of the week (36:01).

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We then head to the weekly categories, starting with whether Matt would rather trade Aaron Judge or wear a Kid Rock long sleeve tee shirt everywhere he goes for five years (38:03), a beef with Statcast (41:38), Matt's big story about John Brenkus from ESPN's Sport Science (46:03), the coveted Big Bastad Award (47:48), the quote of the week (50:39), and the loser and winner of the week (54:58).

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We then head into the categories of the week, starting with whether Matt would rather trade Judge for a year to get a Game of Thrones movie release (20:17), Masahiro Tanaka, Ron Guidry, and the history of standing with two strikes (24:19), the coveted Big Bastad Award (28:27), checking in on the Yankee organist, Paul Cartier (31:45), the quote of the week (34:06), an in-depth discussion on Yankee Candles (38:02), and the loser and winner of the week (40:02).

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We then jump over to the important stuff like whether Matt would rather trade Judge or only eat Papa Johns until he retires (22:48), how A League of Their Own's Dottie Hinson is actually a supervillain (26:00), Max Muncy with the ultimate Big Bastad move of the year (34:25), and our winners and losers of the week (42:15).

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We then turn it over to Matt's Hot Corner to grumble about people wearing jerseys to games where that team isn't playing (21:06), and finally the awards of the week highlighted by the Big Bastad Award (26:02), and the coveted Shirsey of the Week (41:49).

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