By Paul Semendinger
January 6, 2025
***
Boy it has been quiet around the Yankees.
This is my fear. It's clear, abundently clear that, although the Yankees made a bunch of great moves, the team is not complete yet. I have been hoping that 2025 was going to be different. I am hoping that the Yankees are going to head to Spring Training next month with their complete team in order, not with gaping holes, as they have done every year for quite a while.
There is still time, and it's been the holiday season, so good things can still happen. And I hope they do. But we've seen this approach far too often - the Yankees make some moves, they promise more, but the "more" never come.
On the other side of the country, the Dodgers continually seek ways to improve. They never seem done. They've also won two World Series this decade.
***
I was watching some football yesterday and absolutely LOVED what I saw in the Buccaneers game.
The Bucs had wrapped up the game, but Mike Evans was five yards short of his 11th consecutive 1,000 receiving yard season. With less than a minute to go, with the game wrapped up, and with the Buccaneers heading to the playoffs, the players went out to the field, not to kneel, but to give their teammate a chance to tie an NFL record.
I believe this is what sports are all about. Yes, these are team sports, but they're also individual. I love it when players go for it. This is what sports are about - being one's best.
I was critical of Aaron Judge in both 2022 and 2024 when he sat out games late in the season while being within reach of milestone numbers. By sitting, Judge denied himself and his fans, the ones paying to go to the games, and the ones watching at home, the chance to see or be part of history.
Mike Evans and the Buccaneers did not back away from the big moment. They went for it. Evans made the catch. He got the yards. He tied the record. This will help him be remembered forever in a special way.
I'll never be a fan of players sitting when the chance for greatness is in front of them.
No fan will ever tell his granchild, "I was there when the star player sat on the bench and did nothing," but very fan who was at the Buccaneers game will remember the excitement of Mike Evans making a catch late in a game to tie a big time record.
***
This isn't to say that everything in the Buccaneers game was great.
Late in the game, the Buccaneers quarterback, standing a few feet behind the center, received the hiked ball and threw a long pass against the fast approaching defense. The wide receiver then made a game changing catch, one that gave his team a huge chance to win and reach the playoffs. In his exuberance, after making the catch, the receiver pointed with two fingers (his pointer finger and his middle finger - and with his thumbs pointing up) ahead toward to goal. That player was flagged for the gesture - a fifteen yard penalty that actually led to a ton of confusion and a four minute delay in the game. But the delay (which was ridiculous because none of the officials seemed to know how to properly assess the penalty) wasn't the point.
The gesture, it was determined by an official, represented a gun. In the NFL, this is a 15-yard penalty.
I understand that the NFL is concerned about violence and trying to project a clean image, but what makes no sense in all of this is...
The quarterback received the ball out of the shotgun - he might have even been in the pistol formation. As the defense blitzed (a World War Ii term for the way Germany advanced her armies) toward the quarterback, he threw the bomb that was caught resulting in the game-changing catch, the hand gesture, and the penalty.
I guess in the NFL some references to weapons and wars are okay, but not others...
***
Going forward, when a quarterback lines up in the shotgun, shouldn't a flag immediately be thrown?
***
Here's some good news for sports...
It seems that Verizon will be showing the Super Bowl live at NFL stadiums on their scoreboards. NFL stars will be at the games. They'll be give-aways. Admission will be FREE.
Wow. This I love! Absolutely. I hope they do the same with the World Series. If they can't do every game, they can certainly do this for Game One to create additional enthusiasm and excitement.
I love ideas like this!
I think I'll stick with my 35th Annual SB Party.
As for the gun salute, that should also be one personal misconduct penalty on the player. Guys just can't make the first down motion anymore?
What the Dodgers are doing is really not in the spirit of the rules. They are circumventing the CBT. I get why the MLBPA is OK with it, but why does MLB give the OK too? Oh yea, it's not the Yankees doing it. I wonder how many of those type of contracts that the Yankees have sent to both the MLBPA & MLB for approval, and promptly got turned down? Let's not forget, since Manfred has been The Commish, the MLB Office has ope…
gaping holes?
I regard not having a full and fully fortified infield as quite a significant absence. and I would like to see it righteously remedied
but where else do you see a gaping hole?
Paul, I agree with all you said. As far as the Yankees are concerned, I think they’re pretty much done with the possible exception of a lefty for the bullpen. The lineup is not complete. If Boston signs Bregman, they would need to be viewed as favorites for the AL East. Yanks are finished for the offseason but shouldn’t be. Also, I truly hope the rumors of strong talks about Arraez are false; he is not a good defender and would likely hurt more than help.
Paul: I agree with you that players should not sit out when great accomplsihments are on the line. I think the greatest example of this was Ted Williams' 1941 season when he went into the last day of the season facing a double header. I believe he had the .400 season in his pocket and his manager asked if he wanted to sit out. Well, we all know the rest. Williams played both ends of the double header, went 6 for 8, and finished the season at .406. Ted was not the most lovable guy but he had guts and desire.