It’s that time again. Time for another brand spanking new edition of my World Famous This and That column. This version of the column is going to be heavily concerned with the New York Yankees and the San Fransisco 49ers. There just happens to be a ton going on with these two teams right now. So without further ado or gilding the lily, lets get into it.
You Never Have Too Much Pitching—The Yankees season has been magnificent so far but they finally had a little bump in the road as starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt strained a lat and will be out 8 to 12 weeks. Clarke was arguably the Yankees second best starter behind Luis Gil. Losing a starter as good as Schmidt hurts but it is one position the Yankees can afford to lose a guy at. The other 4 starters have all been good to great every time out and they have Cody Poteet to step in until Cole or Schmidt is ready to do. Poteet now has 2 starts and 2 wins and had given up 3 runs in his 11 innings. Poteet and the Yankees great start means even with the injury they do not have to rush Gerrit Cole back from injury. Cole is set to start his first rehab game today in Somerset. I am sure the Yankees are going to take it very slow with their Ace so I do not expect to see him in the Bronx until he gets a good 4 or 5 starts under his belt and obviously feels 100%.
Run It Back—The San Francisco 49ers have signed Christian McCaffrey to a new 4-year deal. The versatile running back is now signed through the ’27 season. While he was the highest paid running back in the league, the gap between him and number two has grown. The 49ers will also gain cap space in the deal so it is really a win for both sides. The Niners also signed restricted free agent Jauan Jennings to an extension. I won’t get into the details but 3rd and Jauan received what is basically a 2-year extension worth 15.39 mil but with a cap hit of only 2.77 mil. Again, a win for both sides. The 49ers also signed ex Commanders “Tight End” Logan Thomas. I put tight end in quotes because he is one of those tight ends who always lines up in the slot and never blocks anyone. He had a productive season last year and should be the back up for Kittle that the team has long sort after. Assuming Latu or Willis don’t take big leaps this season.
Mercury in Retrograde—After the hot start, the Phoenix Mercury have fallen back to Earth after a 4-game losing streak. They lost to a meh Dallas Wings team at home giving up a terrible 107 points. Then they went on a three-game road trip where they got blown out in Connecticut scoring a pathetic 47 points, got robbed by the refs in NY, then got blown out again in Minny. They did return home to beat up on a lowly Sparks team. It seems their road games are going to be difficult as their shooting in a foreign arena will be a struggle. Their defense isn’t good enough to make up for it and keep them in games. The hope is that Griner’s return will help greatly on both ends. The Mercury’s center has started participating in layup lines before the games. Hopefully this means she is close to returning to action. And hopefully the Merc can stay within reach of a playoff spot until she does. The good news is Diana Taurasi continues to have throw back season shoot 40.8% from three averaging 17.8 a night.
Do We Have A Match? —Rumor has it the New Jersey Devils are looking to move the 10th overall pick in this years NHL Draft and they are looking for a goaltender. Well, The Bruins just happen to have a goaltender to trade. They also do not have a first-round draft pick. Could this be a destination for Ullmark? While I would rather trade Ullmark for a proven NHL player, preferably a goal scorer, I am not against trading him for cap space, which is what this trade would be for this season as the 10th pick will not be helping the Bruins this year. They could also then use the 10th pick in a trade for a player to fit into that cap space who can help them this season. Maybe package it with a player or two from Providence to a rebuilding team for a goal scoring wing they desperately need.
He’s No Little Green Man—Jasson Dominguez has received an extension in his rehab assignment and will get another 10 days before the Yankees have to figure out what to do with him. The Martian has killed it in single and double A hitting .333 with 4 home runs and 10 RBIs in 14 games. He played the outfield in his last 4 games, which was the last step in his rehab. The Yankees moved him up to triple A to finish out his rehab. The big question is what to do with him after that. There simply is no place for him in the Bronx. They have Soto, Judge and Verdugo all playing great in the outfield and Stanton is having a very good season at DH this year as well. He is currently 8th in the Majors in Home Runs. Two of the guys ahead of him are on the Yankees. And he is hitting right-handed pitching a lot better than he is hitting lefty pitching so platooning doesn’t make sense. Obviously, Dominguez is better than Trent Grisham, who can’t hit, but you do not want a young plyer like the Martian sitting 5 to 6 games a week. With as good as the Yankees are playing, I see no reason to change things up and say go with a 5-player outfield/dh rotation. It’s not like they will ever just sit Judge or Soto. My guess is he will spend the year in Triple A unless there is an injury issue in NY or Stanton’s hitting goes in the tank.
Same ‘Ol Song and Dance—The negotiations between Brandon Aiyuk and the 49ers have not bothered me as this is the exact way every extension negotiation goes with the 49ers. It’s how it went with Kittle. It’s how it went with Deebo, and it is how it went with Warner. I fully expect a deal to be done by the time training camp starts. Here is the thing with this negotiation though. With the Niners doing their usual wait until the last minute to get a deal done, they have allowed other teams to set the standard for a wide receiver contract. Jaylen Waddle, Amon-Ra St. Brown, AJ Brown, and Justin Jefferson have all signed big contracts this offseason. Each big contract raises the value of Aiyuk’s contract. While I can’t imagine he will sign for what Jefferson got in his record setting contract, it is still raising the bar for wide receivers. It may have been better for the 49ers to get a deal done before these big contracts set the higher standard. But then, as I am not apart of the negotiations, maybe Aiyuk was asking for numbers as high or higher than Jefferson’s and now the Niners can use that as a ceiling as Aiyuk, as good as he is, isn’t Justin Jefferson. However, I feel it is the former situation that is closest to reality.
Well, That’s about it for now. Till nest time…
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