About the Off-Season: Meanderings of My Mind

About the Off-Season: Meanderings of My Mind

By Tim Kabel

January 20, 2024

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It is a bitter cold weekend here in the Northeast. Baseball cannot come soon enough. We just have to make it through the rest of this month and the first half of February and Spring Training will be here. I will now sample a wide variety of topics like Dom DeLuise with the box of chocolates in Silent Movie. 

• The Yankees need to acquire a new second baseman, if only to give Jack Reacher a new alias in the novels and TV show. 

• Jasson Dominguez's rehab is underway. He is expected to begin throwing in February and hitting in March. That is very encouraging news, as I expect him to play a big role on this team once he is back from the IL.  

• Winter is the perfect time to make soups and stews. I will soon be making a white bean and lamb stew from the new cookbook my wife gave me for Christmas, Big Heart, Little Stove by Erin French. There is also a recipe for brown buttered pecan cookies that I think I will make soon as well. Unlike soup or stew, cookies are perfect in any season. 

• Giancarlo Stanton will reportedly come to spring training in excellent shape. I would say that overall, his Yankees' career has not lived up to the expectations of the fans. However, you have to admit he does work very hard. Hopefully it will pay off in offensive numbers this season. The Yankees cannot afford to have him bat .190 again. 

• It was very encouraging to hear that Nestor Cortes and Carlos Rodon have already reported to the Yankees' Spring Training facility. I have a feeling they will both have very solid years in 2024. 

• The longer Blake Snell remains unsigned, the more likely it is that he will become a Yankee, in my opinion.  

• Because I am in the middle of moving, I postponed the baking of my fruit cakes until I arrive at my new home. I do not use candied fruit in my fruitcakes. Rather, I use a medley of dried fruit which I macerate in bourbon or rum for about a week. My popularity among my friends and relatives spikes during fruitcake season. 

• I predict the Yankees will make at least two substantial moves before the season starts. I anticipate they will add another arm in the bullpen as well as another pitcher for the starting rotation. 

• When I found out that my wife found Dom DeLuise and John Candy attractive, I knew I would have a happy life, since I fit right in. 

•  Barring any further roster moves, this is my projected starting lineup for 2024, not including Jasson Dominguez. 

1) Gleyber Torres-2B 

2) Alex Verdugo-LF 

3) Aaron Judge-CF 

4) Juan Soto-RF 

5) Giancarlo Stanton-DH 

6) Anthony Rizzo-1B 

7) Anthony Volpe-SS 

8) Austin Wells-C  

9) Oswald Peraza-3B 

• Now that the Astros have signed Josh Hader, look for the Yankees to sign Hector Neris. They could sign Neris and Blake Snell. If there was a pitcher named Deris, they could sign him too, and have Neris and Deris in the bullpen. 

• I have always wanted to try duck confit. Unfortunately, I never saw it on the menu in any of the restaurants I went to. I just found a local restaurant that serves it and I am planning to order some from there soon. I have eaten duck many times, but I have never had duck confit. As a side note, I wonder why cartoon ducks are always so irascible? Both Daffy Duck and Donald Duck seem to have very short fuses. Perhaps being foul-tempered is an unknown characteristic of ducks 

•  Which 22-year-old shortstop would you rather have today, Anthony Volpe, or Wander Franco?

• If the Yankees do not sign Cody Bellinger, it may be because they believe Jasson Dominguez will be back sooner rather than later and because they envision minor leaguer Ben Rice as the future first baseman.

• As a parent, I was always very strict. I ran a tight ship. So, I don't know what happened but one of my new kittens harasses me for cold cuts and samples of my dinner on a daily basis, and I give them to him. He also ripped up a piece of paper towel into tiny little confetti, perhaps preparing for the ticker-tape parade in the Canyon of Heroes in November. I must be getting soft in my old age. 

•  This could be a very exciting year for the Yankees if all their young talent meshes well with the veterans. The team will still require a substantial amount of Boone-proofing. 

• Since I mentioned cartoon characters earlier in this article, I would like to say that one of my favorite Looney Tunes characters is Yosemite Sam. Watching my wife's reaction when the kittens play tricks on her makes me think of him. 

• If Giancarlo Stanton bounces back and has a solid year, I think Yankees' fans will embrace him. Don't forget, he was the All-Star Game MVP in 2022. If he somehow avoids injury and makes adjustments to his swing, he could have a great year. 

• If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound? If you make a grammatical error and my friend Roger isn't around, does it get corrected? 

• Tomorrow marks the 40th anniversary of my father's passing. I have now lived twice as long without him as I did with him. Yet, my memories of him are still vivid and not a day goes by that I don't smile, thinking about something that he said or did.  

“Unable are the loved to die. For love is immortality.”- Emily Dickinson