#new-york-yankees

#new-york-yankees

The Knicks entered the 2024-25 season with lofty aspirations after blockbuster trades to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges. But nobody could have envisioned how their second-round playoff series against the defending champion Boston Celtics would play out. The Knicks overcame 20-point second-half deficits to win Games 1 and 2 in Boston, then erased a 14-point second-half deficit to win Game 4 at home. After the Knicks wrapped up the series with a 119-81 win in Game 6, thousands of reveling fans took over 7th Ave. and other streets surrounding Madison Square Garden for a raucous celebration. It marked the Knicks' first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals since 2000.

The Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees have emerged as the main finalists for starting pitcher Tatsuya Imai, with the Philadelphia Phillies also in the mix. His deadline to sign is January 2, which is rapidly approaching. Once Christmas has passed, all eyes will turn to the 27-year-old, who is represented by Scott Boras. Jack Curry of YES Network reported Tuesday evening that he doesn't believe Imai will end up in the Bronx.

Blackburn landed with the Yankees after getting released by the Mets in August. He made eight appearances with the club, recording a 5.28 ERA with more than a strikeout per inning. Blackburn had been a starter for the majority of his career, but worked strictly as a reliever with the Yankees. The now 32-year-old had a miserable debut with the team, allowing seven earned runs in 3 1/3 innings to begin his time in the Bronx.

The former MLB GM has elite closer Edwin Diaz staying in New York, but not with the Mets but joining the Yankees on a five-year, $88 million deal that could potentially be worth $100 million when all is said and done. If that indeed comes to fruition, that would be detrimental news to the Blue Jays in their search for significant bullpen help in the free agent market this offseason.

"It's a priority of our organization to work with our neighbors, network and community based partners to make a difference. That's what we're doing today," Smith said.

It's at least a modest surprise, as Grisham is coming off a breakout year at the plate which saw him club a career-high 34 home runs. He slashed .235/.348/.464, thanks in no small part to a career-best 14.1% walk rate and a 23.6% strikeout rate that stood as the second-lowest in his career. Between that production, the fact that Grisham only just turned 29 earlier this month,

Dan Fiorito, the club's minor league outfield/infield coordinator, will be promoted to the big league staff. It was reported last month that the Yankees would be moving on from a few coaches, including first base and infield coach Travis Chapman. Per Joyce, Fiorito has been hired to replace Chapman at first and is expected to take over the infield coaching duties as well.

The days of George Steinbrenner seem like a distant memory in the Bronx. The New York Yankees last won the World Series in 2009, while he still stood at the helm. But most, if not, all Yankee fans still openly echo his philosophy, believing there is no such thing as a good season; you either win or you lose. If you did not win, then you lost. And if you lost, how can it be a good season?

We start with the wild-card round, where the Cincinnati Reds became the first team eliminated from postseason contention -- on the very first day of October, no less -- with a two-game series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The next day, the Cleveland Guardians lost their series to the Detroit Tigers, the San Diego Padres fell to the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox were knocked out by the New York Yankees in a trio of Game 3s.

I think every year you go to spring training, you think about getting there, right? That's why you keep doing it.