By Eddie Castro
If you have not heard by now, there is a new NBA champion and for the first time in 53 years, the Larry O’Brien Trophy has returned to the city of New York. Except the New York Liberty, who won their first title in franchise history back in 2024, a New York team has not raised a championship banner in some time. As we approach the end of the first half of the Major League Baseball season, there is one team that has many New York fans wondering if there is a possibility of two parades in the city in the same year. That team could very well be the New York Yankees.
New York sports will now shift to baseball. The Mets are still trying to figure things out in what has been a disappointing first half which has the team currently in last place and will be conducting another manager search as the team fired Carlos Mendoza over the weekend. For the Yankees, it’s been quite the roller coaster season with the team currently trying to stay afloat with key injuries to Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Trent Grisham and Max Fried to name a few.
Still, the team is currently in second place in the American League East division at 48-35, a full game behind the Tampa Bay Rays as we go to press. Manager Aaron Boone has done his best to hit all the right buttons until those key players return from injury, however, for some reason, it always seems like the Yankees find themselves in this annual “June Swoon”. For the first time in 2018, the Yankees were swept four straight games against the rival Boston Red Sox over the weekend (June 25-28). When asked by reporters about this past weekend, Boone had a very bizarre reaction.
“That’s what we do baby,” “You’ve got to love this stuff. You’ve got to eat this stuff up. That’s what the grind is. We’ve got a really good freaking team, but we played crappy on this trip. We’ll dig ourselves out of it in short order.” Not the kind of sound bite you would normally hear from Boone after a four-game skid. The Yankees return home in hopes of recapturing first place (June 29th) to begin a three-game set against the Detroit Tigers.
Although it may not be happy times for the moment if you are a Yankee fan, it is important to think of the bright side of things. One: we are in July and something tells me General Manager Brian Cashman will have the Yankees active in trade talks for there are a few holes the team must address if they intend to have a strong October run. Eventually, you would hope the team can return to full health. Grisham is expected back during the homestead; Stanton is beginning a running program the same with Fried when it comes to throwing.
Gerrit Cole will most likely be a different pitcher than we have seen in his first six starts as he stretches to mid-season form. Cam Schlittler has not only been the team’s Ace all year, but also a top-five pitcher all year long. In fact, it would not surprise me if he gets the nod to start this year’s All-Star Game for the American League at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
It is one of the most stressful and annoying sayings a New York sports fan can hear, but time is on the team’s side for now and patience is indeed a virtue. The judge will most likely return in late summer from his fractured rib injury. If all goes to plan, maybe just maybe, New Yorkers can start thinking about another parade in the fall. The Knicks got their ring, and the Yankees hope to end a 17-year championship drought of their own.
SPORTS Notes: (WNBA): following the team’s loss to the Golden State Valkyries, marking their fourth lost in five games, Liberty star Brianna Stewart challenges the team to play with heart. We’ll see if her message is felt in the locker room as the team returns to the Barclays Center to play the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday, June 30th.
NBA basketball: BREAKING NEWS! The Knicks will be bringing back two key players from their championship team. Brooklynite, Jose Alvarado is returning to the team on a 3-year/$14 million deal as well as sharpshooter Landry Shamet on a 4-year/$24 million deal.