Daily Report – 4/15/25
Here is today’s report:
Yankees
The 2025 New York Yankees roster was constructed to be defensive-minded. The starting rotation was crafted to be the best in the American League. But concerningly, it feels like the Yankees are just as offensive-minded as last season.
The Yankees suffered a major loss when Gerrit Cole got injured. Losing Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil made things worse. Aside from Max Fried, who’s been terrific on the mound, the Yankees’ rotation has relied on two of baseball’s oldest active pitchers, a rookie who pitched to a 10.32 ERA last season, and a southpaw who some of the most home runs and walks in baseball.
Therefore, the Yankees must score a lot of runs to win games.
Carlos Rodón’s 28 strikeouts this season are tied for the fifth most in baseball and the third most in the American League, but his 12 walks are the most in the AL. Six of the 12 hitters who have walked against Rodón have come around to score, and it’s often a home run that brings them home.
“Just frustrating,” said Rodón when asked about the walks he gave up on Sunday when the Yankees lost the series to San Francisco. “Falling behind guys. We have the momentum, and I just got to be better.”
The Yankees’ 5-4 loss on Sunday marked their second straight series loss. After Christian Koss singled to begin the sixth inning, Carlos Rodón struck out Heliot Ramos and walked Willy Adames. Jung Hoo Lee then crushed a three-run home run, flipping a 3-1 Yankees lead into a 3-4 deficit.
After the game, Aaron Boone claimed that Rodón’s stuff is “prone to the long ball.” He added, “Not much you can do on the infield single, but then the walk ahead of the homer. It’s that small of a separator between him being in a dominant position right now.”
Rodón’s other issue is his mental approach, and the pressure of New York has affected him poorly throughout his time with the Yankees. He takes his walks very personally, showing disgruntled emotion on the mound. Professional hitters can sense it when Rodón loses his focus, so instead of fixing his mistakes with outs, his walks turn into runs.
Thankfully, the Yankees rebounded yesterday with a 4-1 win over Kansas City. Jazz Chisholm Jr., Trent Grisham, Ben Rice, and Austin Wells each hit a solo home run, and the Yankees’ pitchers held the Royals to one run and two hits.
Carlos Carrasco threw 79 pitches across five innings, striking out four batters, walking two, and giving up one hit (a home run to Bobby Witt Jr.). It was the 38-year-old’s best start as a Yankee. “Just moxie, man,” said Aaron Boone. Cookies for everyone!
Carrasco was intelligent throughout the game, especially with two outs in the third inning when Bobby Witt Jr. ended a 10-pitch at-bat with a solo home run to left field. I would argue that despite the result of this at-bat, Carraso bested Witt because Witt is one of the best hitters in baseball, it was early in the game, Carrasco’s pitch count was increasing, and there were no runners on base.
“I was thinking about that I don’t have [anyone] on base,” Carrasco said. “I just go pitch, one pitch at a time, and that’s what I did.”
Perhaps this Carlos could teach the other about preventing and recovering from walks.
Tonight, at 7:05 PM (6:05 PM CDT), the Yankees will try to win the three-game series against Kansas City (YES, Gotham Sports). LHP Max Fried (2-0, 1.56 ERA) will toe the slab against RHP Michael Wacha (0-2, 4.20 ERA).
Here is tonight’s starting lineup for the New York Yankees:
DH Ben Rice (L)
RF Aaron Judge (C) (R)
CF Cody Bellinger (L)
1B Paul Goldschmidt (R)
2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L)
SS Anthony Volpe (R)
C Austin Wells (L)
LF Jasson Domínguez (S)
3B Oswald Peraza (S)
SP: LHP Max Fried (2-0, 1.56 ERA)
Rangers
Parting is such sweet sorrow. In case you missed it, the New York Rangers were eliminated from playoff contention over the weekend. There will be more on this later this week. Today, I wanted to highlight a story about Calvin de Haan.
There’s a pretty long list of Rangers players this season who have expressed their discontent over lineup decisions, including Kaapo Kakko (who got traded), Jimmy Vesey (who got traded), Jacob Trouba (who got traded), Zac Jones (who didn’t want to be traded), and Calvin de Haan. The Rangers’ locker room issues have been public knowledge all season long. Since October, there have been murmurs (maybe a little louder than that) that players were offended by Barclay Goodrow getting waived and the organization’s attitude toward Jacob Trouba’s refusal to accept a trade.
And then the team followed a 12-4-1 start with a 4-15 skid, and despite a 7-0-3 run in January, they now find themselves eliminated from the playoffs. You know the story by now, which means you also know the Calvin de Haan issue is a microcosm of the Rangers’ internal issues all season.
Let’s rewind to those fateful 12 days between December 6 and 18 when, during a 4-15 stretch, the Rangers traded Jacob Trouba and Kaapo Kakko. Kakko’s trade came immediately after the former second-overall pick expressed frustration over healthy scratches.
When the Rangers were winning games in January, During that stretch, Zac Jones told the media he was “rotting away” after being scratched so frequently. Later in January, the veteran forward Jimmy Vesey mentioned he was “dying” and had “no role or purpose on [the Rangers].”
Six days before the trade deadline, Jimmy Vesey and Ryan Lindgren were traded to Colorado for Calvin de Haan and Juuso Parssinen. Parssinen played in a few games shortly after arriving in New York before facing several weeks of scratches. Similarly, de Haan hasn’t played for 18 straight games.
“It’s f****d,” de Haan told the New York Post on Sunday, but after an “animated conversation” with a public relations member, he didn’t continue the conversation, according to Mollie Walker. The Rangers are encouraging de Haan to wait until the season ends before addressing the media again, although de Haan claimed he decided to wait. I doubt that.
As the Rangers’ head coach, Peter Laviolette is in charge of lineups. He is also responsible for managing the fourth defending President’s Trophy winners in NHL history to miss the playoffs. All signs suggest that Peter Laviolette will be fired within the next week, perhaps as soon as Friday. “I’m not blind to anything,” Laviolette said yesterday. “I love being here with these guys and the New York Rangers. It’s a year where everything went right to a year where things didn’t go right. When things don’t go right, I’m sure everything gets looked at. I’m not naïve. That being said, this is the place I want to be was New York City, the New York Rangers.”
I will discuss Peter Laviolette’s situation in greater detail later this week. For now, it’s important to realize the Rangers’ issues extend further beyond the ice than we thought. These deep-seated issues will take time to solve.
After all, as Jacob Trouba once remarked, “It’s a rite of passage to get fired by MSG.”
de Haan used X to address Sunday’s situation, saying, “I said what I said because I am frustrated, and any competitor who says that they would be happy in this position would be lying to you. After playing three games for the team and going 2-0-1, I thought I maybe would have got an opportunity to jump into the lineup and help win some games. I’m not trying to be the villain or gain attention or throw shade on the organization, I would have preferred a scrum setting to chat about how my time with the Rangers has gone.”
He added, “As a player you have to respect the lineup decisions whether you like them or not, it’s just been frustrating not being able to compete and do what I love to do. I hope everyone understands.”
Knicks
The playoffs are coming!
The playoffs are coming!
The New York Knicks are back in the playoffs, and they will play the Detroit Pistons in the first round on Saturday night. It’s been 17 years since Detroit has won a playoff game, and six Pistons stars will be making their NBA playoff debuts.
The Knicks lost the regular season series to Detroit, who finished their season 44-38 after a 14-68 disaster last season. Much like the 2020-21 New York Knicks, they are seeds eager to blossom. The 2020-21 Knicks had to be gritty to return to the playoffs for the first time in eight years, but with this season’s high expectations, the Knicks haven’t demonstrated enough physicality or willingness to win games. Including games against Detroit.
Their defensive rating fell from the ninth-best in the league last season to the 13th-best this year. Detroit’s rose from 25th to 10th. The Knicks better be careful, because it won’t be easy to beat these pesky Pistons.
And if the Knicks lose in the first round – which feels more possible than the oddsmakers predict – then Tom Thibodeau’s seat should start to boil. Because right now, the Knicks look like second-round exits for a third straight season. Their 51 wins don’t tell the whole story.
The Knicks have gone winless this season against the NBA’s three best teams – Boston, Cleveland, and Oklahoma City – and on Friday night, a fully healthy Knicks lineup blew a 23-point lead to a shorthanded group of Cavaliers.
And whenever the Knicks play the league’s best teams – as has been the case for the last four seasons – they get injured. Every single time. In part because Tom Thibodeau doesn’t use his bench sufficiently.
When Jalen Brunson was absent last month, the Knicks’ bench thrived. Players like Deuce McBride, Cameron Payne, and Precious Achiuwa received increased playing time, and they made the most of it every single night. Landry Shamet is shooting over five three-pointers per game now because of the confidence he found during Brunson’s injury stint. But in the playoffs, when Tom Thibodeau shortens his lineup, I fear he will deny his bench the playing time they deserve.
Last postseason, the Knicks collapsed against the Indiana Pacers because of injuries. Mitchell Robinson, OG Anunoby, and Jalen Brunson all got hurt. The Knicks are tough, and they can play through pain, but without sufficient recovery time, their injuries could sideline them from playoff action.
That recovery time I refer to is the periodic breaks NBA players take during games. In those moments, head coaches rely on their benches. The Knicks’ bench has been unreliable in the last few postseasons because Tom Thibodeau doesn’t use it enough in the regular season.
Knicks fans used to praise Thibodeau for his crafty defense. He is responsible for the resurgence of New York basketball, but if his ineptitude toward defense and player conditioning costs the Knicks a first-round victory, his time in New York will end.
The Detroit Pistons are the 2020-21 New York Knicks. This means they are a threat.
Schedule
7:05 PM (6:05 PM CDT): NYY vs. KC; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: LHP Max Fried (2-0, 1.56 ERA)
That will conclude this report. Enjoy your evening.
