Dear diary, it was painful to see the Tampa Bay Rays celebrate at Yankee Stadium. This series loss, three games in a row, including the clincher at Yankee Stadium, marked a puzzling low point for the team. This series loss followed a two-game whitewashing of the Boston Red Sox. People in baseball used to fear and respect the Yankees. Not anymore.
The culture around the Yankees has changed, diary. They say they want to win the World Series every year in spring training. However, the product put on the field, it falls short. This has been the case for seventeen years running. A record for this franchise. The leadership of this team: manager Aaron Boone, general manager Brian Cashman, and managing general partner Hal Stiebrenner seem content to make the playoffs. Do you think this pattern will change?
Diary of a Yankee Fan #8
Diary, we saw the Tampa Bay Rays celebrate in the Yankee Stadium locker room. The leadership of the team seems content with these traumatic events. The team famously “Ran it Back” last season, bringing back essentially the same roster. Given the aversion of the leadership of the team to change, they are likely to run it back again next season. This is the Yankee culture, which has recently come under fire. It is not safe to assume things are going to change; expect more unsatisfactory results.
A Shot to the Ego
Diary, we saw the Rays celebrate after clinching their spot in the American League championship series. They played “New York, New York” in their locker room after their victory. This is the song that the Yankees play, loud, the Frank Sinatra version, after home wins. They play the Liza Minnelli version following losses. This sad scene underscored the fact that teams no longer respect the Yankees. This is precisely why they need to spend money to bring in talent and get wins, like the old Yankees used to do. However, they will not.
Run It Back
Last season, the Yankees, famously, ‘ran it back,’ signing only the players that were on the team in 2025. They did not win the World Series in 2025. Did they think they would in 2026? It seems the leadership of the team is satisfied with a team that is a lock to make the playoffs. The thinking must be that the playoff tournament is a crapshoot, and you just have to be in it to win it. Diary, there is a major problem here.
Yankee Culture
The culture of the team has become lackadaisical. Making the playoffs and having a winning record, but getting eliminated without winning the World Series, has become acceptable. Recently, the culture of the team has come under fire. No less a person than CC Sabathia, a former Yankee and member of the Hall of Fame, has criticized the team. He and former Yankee and current broadcaster Anthony Rizzo have gone after Jazz Chisholm Jr., saying the free agent is selfish and a bad teammate.
Will The Results Change?
The American League Championship Series is going on right now without the Yankees. Either the small-market Cleveland Guardians or the small-market Tampa Bay Rays are going to make the World Series. Next season might be lost to a lockout, but when baseball does take place, diary, the Yankees are likely to look the same. Anthony Volpe will play second base, instead of Jazz Chisholm Jr.; Spencer Jones will play center field in place of Trent Grisham. Boone and Cashman will remain in place.
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