Good morning, all and happy Tuesday!

It is a busy week in sports coming up. So why is the NFL the dominant subject? I break it down in the above video/podcast.

Here’s my five cents worth on some other subjects:

* The Athletic has a superb story about the splitter, the pitch of the 1980s that is making a comeback. The piece - behind a paywall - also explains why very few left handed pitchers throw the splitter. I can speak from first hand experience that more pitchers in the minor leagues are now throwing the splitter. Who can blame them? It is a nasty pitch that baffles the hitter, as the pitch dives at the last instant, just as it reaches the plate.

* The Preakness Stakes will be this Saturday, and as previously announced, Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo will not compete. There has been talk the Preakness should be held three weeks after the Derby and not two. This is a good idea. More and more, Kentucky Derby winners are not racing in the Preakness because it is so soon after the Derby. I’m in favor of a three-week interval to increase the chances of having a Triple Crown winner. Here’s hoping it happens.

* There was always the prevailing thought one of the reasons Joe Girardi was let go as Yankees manager after the 2017 season, was he looked as if he was about to have a root canal, when dealing with the media. That is a no-no in media-centric New York. So why is he so good as an analyst on Yankees telecasts? It amazes me the number of athletes, managers, etc. - Yes, Michael Strahan, I’m looking at you too - who want nothing to do with the media, until they come over to the other side and collect big money as members of the media. It’s the world in which we live, I guess.

* It would not surprise me if the New York Yankees engineer a trade for a closer and a catcher. David Begnar is not the answer, when the game is on the line, and defensively, catcher Austin Wells is suspect, while his offense has disappeared faster than someone avoiding a bill collector.

* It’s not hyperbole to say this week’s four-game series in Los Angeles between the rival Giants and Dodgers is huge for San Francisco. If the Dodgers sweep or take three-of-four, the Giants could blow the entire thing up early and start trading away what stars they have. Stay tuned.

That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. I have a week of baseball broadcasts coming up, so I may not be as consistant with the newsletter this week. I will try to pump out as much content as time permits. Thank you for your understanding and for being a subscriber!

DAN

Good morning, all and happy Friday!

We have become used to walk-up songs for baseball players, whether you are talking at major league or minor league games. When did this practice start? I give my guess in the video/podcast. Here is the link to that May 8, 1966 game:

Here’s my five cents worth - remember pennies are going away - on some other topics:

* You knew it was going to happen. The powers-that-be have rendered their decision and to no one’s surprise they are expanding the field for March Madness for the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, starting this upcoming season. Why? Well, as we speculated, it’s money, namely $50 million. Cha-Ching!

* The hits keep coming for the floundering Red Sox. Roman Anthony, built up as the second Ted Williams by the fawning Boston sports media, is going on the IL with a wrist injury. Anthony is off to a horrible start, just like his team, who lost the first game of an important four-game series at Fenway last night, 8-4, to the red-hot Tampa Bay Rays.

* Poor Jasson Dominguez of the Yankees, who seemed to be hitting his stride. He was placed on the IL yesterday with a sprained shoulder, after slamming into the fence in left field at Yankee Stadium, making a spectacular catch. He had to be carted off the field. Manager Aaron Boone admitted Dominguez could be on the IL for a while

* This is why I always say things will work out. Yankees fans have been screaming for left hand hitting power hitter Spencer Jones to be called up. Now they will get their wish. Jones was promoted to the big team yesterday. He is a left hand hitting Aaron Judge, who Jones told me, when he played against the Hartford Yard Goats the last two seasons, has had a big influence on him, during spring training.

* Making schedules is not the easiest thing in the world, even with computers. That stated, could someone please tell me how MLB could permit a schedule that has both the Yankees and Mets on the road, during a May weekend? Neither New York club is home this Mother’s Day weekend. The Yankees are at Milwaukee and the Mets at Arizona. That makes no sense.

* I’m beginning to think Mike Vrabel might not be the coach of the New England Patriots, come the kick-off to the 2026 NFL season.

That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Thank you for subscribing and enjoy your Friday!

DAN

Good morning, all! Happy Thursday!

This might be the weirdest I have ever seen the MLB standings at this stage of the season. I explain in the video/podcast and also look into the possibility the Yankees might entertain trade talk for Anthony Volpe.

Here are some other thoughts on this first Thursday in May:

* Current New York Yankees fans believe their favorite team always plays in the postseason, in a clean, beautiful stadium and never has a losing record. Such was not the case on this date sixty years ago. The once, proud Yankees, whose home games were being played in a dilapidated Yankee Stadium, fired manager Johnny Keane on May 7, 1966 and replaced him with GM Ralph Houk, who had managed the Yankees to three straight pennants and two World Series championships from 1961-63. The night before, New York lost to the California Angels, 7-4, tumbling into last place with a 4-16 record. The once mighty Yankees had become baseball’s laughingstock. When the Yankees won that night’s game, Cardinals announcer Harry Caray turned to his partner Jack Buck and stated: “The Yankees won today,” to which the witty Buck replied, “Break up the Yankees!”

* Ratings for the NBA and NHL playoffs are up. In some cases they are way up. Could it be the lousy weather in the northeast and midwest has kept people inside? Could it be the country’s appetite for live programming? Could it be the gambling now permitted on these sports? Who cares? The ratings are up. Period. What we can learn from this, however, is other than diehard fans, people start paying attention to sports - other than the NFL - when the playoffs start. The games are intense, there is no tanking and everything is on the line. We have become a nation where the regular season is relegated to second tier status.

* Disney, the parent company of ESPN, states it has not moved to engage the NFL in reopening negotiations for a new TV contract. Even though its current deals with the TV networks do not expire until later in the decade, the NFL believes its product has become so popular it undersold the rights to its last contract and wants to renegotiate. Disney is claiming, despite increased revenue for ESPN, its sports profits have slipped. Remember, when the NFL succeeds in getting the networks to pony up more money, and it will, those costs will be passed along to us.

* Do not look now, but in beating the AL champion Toronto Blue Jays yesterday, 3-0, the Tampa Bay Rays completed their fifth series sweep of the young season and improved to 24-12. They play the Red Sox tonight in the start of a four-game series at Fenway Park.

That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. As always, thank you so much for being a subscriber!

DAN