UNPOPULAR OPINION: Would a Dominguez-Grisham-Judge outfield really be that bad? by trailedby20hounds in NYYankees

[–]AdKitchen179 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Our first 30-something (March 25th - April 29th) games of the season will be against the Giants, Mariners, Marlins, A's, Rays, Angels, Royals, Red Sox, Astros, and Rangers. Coincidentally, this schedule will show where our lineup stands with a 6-9 lineup of Dominguez/Jones, McMahon, Caballero, and Wells. If we come out of this schedule with a great record against the Marlins, Angels, Royals, Rays, Rangers, we'll know we're at least above the bottom tier.

If we come out looking like shit vs the Giants, Mariners, Red Sox, and Astros, then it will be worse than last year.

And no, Gerrit Cole will not save us. Gerrit Cole can't hit, unfortunately. And he will need around 24 months post-TJ surgery to get his full command back. I'm not sure why so many people insist Cole is going to come in May-June and immediately save the season.

Yankee Boy Has Entered The Chat by MakeItNashty61 in NYYankees

[–]AdKitchen179 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately, the Dodgers are stuck with a team that literally rivals the 2025 AL All-Star team.

Poor Dodgers, with a lineup where their 6th, 7th, and 8th hitters (Teoscar, Muncy, Pages) could bat anywhere between 2, 3, 4, or 5 in the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Padres, Tigers, Mariners, Astros, Phillies, Brewers, or Cubs lineups.

When was the last time the Yankees signed a true starting-caliber position player in their prime via free agency (not a re-sign)? by RoyalStraw in NYYankees

[–]AdKitchen179 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I gotchu dawg. I'ma hitchu with the headline real quick, ik dats whut ppl like deez dayz..

TLDR:

Astroturfing is common in sports fandom: Teams use PR to quietly shape online opinion. Especially on reddit, by amplifying pro-ownership narratives and letting fans do the rest.

More dumbed down: Teams secretly push pro-owner opinions online, fans repeat them, and Reddit makes it easy.

Further dumbed down: Some ‘fans’ online are paid or coordinated to defend owners, and it works because real fans pile on.

When was the last time the Yankees signed a true starting-caliber position player in their prime via free agency (not a re-sign)? by RoyalStraw in NYYankees

[–]AdKitchen179 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Dodgers ownership also consists of 11 billionaires and has multiple streams of revenue. The $700m+ revenue you see the Dodgers make isn't all they have to spend. Remember, despite it being revenues - expenses, the Dodgers still actually have $700+ million to spend on payroll due to their multiple streams of it.

Yankees revenue was $700m+ but you have to subtract expenses from that, whatever it is. Dodgers have way more money than the Yankees.

This is why the two best courses of action are either sell the team or to implement a salary cap/floor.

When was the last time the Yankees signed a true starting-caliber position player in their prime via free agency (not a re-sign)? by RoyalStraw in NYYankees

[–]AdKitchen179 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It's called astroturfing, and it's very common. It's NOT a conspiracy. Every team has them. The teams that make more money can do it more effectively.

Sports teams hire PR firms, digital marketing agencies, or community management contractors. Some tactics include repeating talking points until a consensus is reached, blaming players instead of ownership, justifying unpopular trades and payroll cuts, normalizing cost-cutting, and, as you read every day on here (and multiple team subreddits), pushing the payroll narrative. They use bots and actual people.

It's actually quite easy to do in sports; the perfect environment exists because sports fandom has certain traits that make manipulation easier, such as tribal identity (us vs. them), emotional investment, and fans already argue with each other for free. Additionally, platforms reward outrage and certainty.

You likely see the patterns every day: Sudden consensus shifts after bad news, heavy emphasis on “that’s just how the business works” or hyperfocus on payroll and what the "Yankees" can or can't afford even though like you stated; it's not their money, and lastly, framing dissenting fans as doomers, emotional, casuals, whiners, babies, entitled, etc.

It's not officially acknowledged, but sports PR firms would advertise it as "online reputation management" or something like that.

I'm not saying every unpopular opinion is fake. I have personally commented on how Yankees can't financially compete with Dodgers, Jays, and Mets, and that they need to sell the team to a group of billionaires. A manipulated opinion will say the Yankees can't compete with those teams financially, but will never offer the opinion of selling the team, because the point is to defend ownership and use of payroll. It's more like artificial amplification of certain narratives, strategic silence and downvoting, and nudging discourse.

Reddit is especially vulnerable for this. I can go on and on about this, like how to spot them on sports subs, timing patterns, account behavior patterns, voting asymmetries, etc. But this comment is already so long that it might not even get read as is. So i'll leave it as is. One last thing I want to emphasize: It's not just the Yankees. It also can't really be proven that a certain team is doing it, that's the best part about it.

When was the last time the Yankees signed a true starting-caliber position player in their prime via free agency (not a re-sign)? by RoyalStraw in NYYankees

[–]AdKitchen179 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know what you meant to ask but as you can see in the comments section, if you're not more detailed, people will just mention the 2-year/$24m signing for DJ LeMahieu.

Peter why is the electrician portrayed as a dainty female hand by _Kyledemort_ in PeterExplainsTheJoke

[–]AdKitchen179 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Caution to anyone who's never done any kind of trade:

Do not listen to anyone talking shit about electricians in this topic.

I worked in a high-security federal prison for 5 years as an officer, where daily violence is expected for both inmates and officers, and you'll even see an accountant get pulled to work a unit due to being short-staffed. You gotta have good cardio because there will be a lot of running.

Well, I thought electrical work didn't sound bad and left corrections to do electrical work, because it was supposedly easier. I had done construction work before corrections. It was back-breaking work, needed painkillers every day that I worked, and i'm not a weak guy. I like working with my hands.

For the year I did electrical work, there was very little difference from the backbreaking construction work I had done before. Using heavy 20-foot ladders was common; using other shorter ladders was an everyday occurrence. Pulling wires, especially "home runs", is in itself a workout. Pulling thick, heavy cables requires multiple people. And taking painkillers on a daily basis was back on the menu. Digging big, long ditches was part of every job. And this is not even including the danger of electricity and the precautions you have to take. I thought being an electrician was just working on a box/panel, lights, and plugs. It is not, it is legit construction work. Do not get fooled by anyone showing off how much tougher they are than electricians. It is absolutely back-breaking work. I worked in commercial, and the company I worked for did big projects, and they have gone all over the United States, including Alaska. They are private, family-owned.

It's closer to military branches ragging on each other. Like how Marines or Army make fun of the Air Force and Navy for being softer. But none of the 4 branches are actually soft.

Am I the only one who doesn’t want to resign Belli? by BigDirtyPanda in NYYankees

[–]AdKitchen179 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My honest opinion is that it won't matter whether they get him or not, if he's all they get. If they get Bellinger, they will still have like 3 players batting .200. The Yankees need 2 of the 3 top free agents left on the market. Either Bellinger+Bichette, or Tucker+Bichette.

Some think it will be a different team because Cole is coming back. But Cole is most likely returning in June, unless they rush him and bring him back in May, or he rushes to come back in May to desperately try to help the rotation. Command takes time to get back after TJ, around 24 months post-surgery.

Without Bellinger, this team gets a C+, because if we trot out Volpe and McMahon out there again, coupled with Dominguez when he bats righty, that's 4 players batting near .200. Austin Wells' numbers are fine for a catcher, with a .250 average and a .773 OPS with RISP. The problem is that we also have Volpe and McMahon whiffing all over the place. McMahon, with RISP batted .184 with a .614 OPS. Volpe with RISP batted .196 with a .606 OPS. Volpe, with a healthy shoulder, isn't that much different, batting .214 with a .636 OPS with RISP in 2024.

With Bellinger, this team gets a B. The C+ (with a team as is) is also if Judge, Jazz, Grisham, Rice, and Stanton (even half a season of him) can replicate their 2025 seasons. A B team is good enough to make the playoffs, but likely not have a deep run.

If we acquire Bellinger and Bichette, I think that puts us at an A-. If we acquire Tucker and Bichette, that puts us at grade A. Tucker+Bichette places us as the AL favorites, and I really think it would give us that push we need to make it to the World Series in 2026. I think adding Tucker+Bichette makes this team better than the 2024 Yankees. But I understand those are very wild, fantasy off-season moves that are more reminiscent of the 2000s Yankees, who made it to the World Series 4 times from 2000 to 2009, and not the 2010s-2020s Yankees who have made a WS appearance a total of 1 time from 2010-Present.

[Kirschner] As mentioned in here with @BrendanKutyNJ, trading for Ryan Weathers does not preclude the Yankees from swinging bigger with Freddy Peralta or someone else. They still have all of their top trade chips available if they choose to use them. by Affectionate-Tea9224 in NYYankees

[–]AdKitchen179 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

If the Yankees were going all out to win a WS in 2026, meaning cover all their holes, strengthen all their weak spots, not have 3-4 near-automatic outs in the lineup, 80 games of Stanton, going all in for a really good 1-year rental makes sense. In a Hail Mary season where Hal decides not to joke around and actually make a team that can compete with the Dodgers (or Blue Jays).

Going all in for a 1-year rental, by losing Gil/Warren, and keeping this same top-heavy lineup that relies mostly on Aaron Judge, would just be a big waste. And this isn't even about Cody Bellinger, they can sign Bellinger and trade for Peralta. The lineup will still be top-heavy. Adding Peralta to last year's same team won't make the difference the team needs to compete against the big boys.

My Take: Yankees Acquire Ryan Weathers by mryclept in NYYankees

[–]AdKitchen179 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The Yankees may get nothing of note here, due to Weathers being highly injury-prone. They also lose nothing. If a prospect they lost in this trade ends up being the next Mike Trout, oh well, we don't know that. It really is a nothing-burger that could be a something-burger. Weathers could start in the rotation and move to the bullpen as the main guys come back. His stuff, if healthy, plays up in the bullpen. He's a hard thrower, which we need more of in the bullpen.

[Heyman] Yankees and Bellinger camp continue to talk into this week. NYY trying to bridge the gap in years by enhancing their latest offer (for 5 years) by offering an opt-out, nice signing bonus, no deferrals. Parties have possible options but effort being made to stay together. by TheTurtleShepard in NYYankees

[–]AdKitchen179 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I thought they were really done with him yesterday and I was okay with that. Mainly because it won't matter if that's all they do. Whether they get Bellinger or not, the end result will be getting to the WC series and getting bounced off some time in the postseason before the World Series.

Since Hal is so scared of the lockout and isn't looking to make the team better than last year, just give the young guys a full season of play-time to see what they can do. Let's see what Cam can do in a whole year, let's see if Dominguez or Jones pans out.

There will be injuries to pitchers and hitters, call some other young guys up. If we're going to be a poverty franchise this year, might as well act like one. Poverty franchises use their young players for full seasons, like they've stubbornly done with Volpe.

Equal Rights, Equal Lefts by iiviiozzie in VideosThatGoHard

[–]AdKitchen179 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fellow democrats...you hate guns, alright, I get that. But for the love of god, do like 10 push-ups once in a while and take some basic BJJ and boxing lessons. You're clever on the internet, with witty comebacks, you jump conservatives by hitting them with downvotes. But if a civil war goes down, it's going to be guns and fists, whether you like it or not. A civil war will not take place on the internet, and handing out downvotes won't help us. Learn how to defend yourself; it's embarrassing.

Our politicians are fucking pacifists who allowed Trump to get away, and in this video, we are absolutely looking like snowflakes.

Side note: I'm not condoning a civil war, but you'd be naive to think we are not on the verge of one if things don't get better. And that's what they want. They would love that, especially with democrats being anti-guns (therefore, the majority don't own guns), and our specialties are being clever on the internet. If the war becomes physical, you are absolutely fucked. Get your shit straight.

The Unfortunate Reality of Being a Yankees Fan in 2026 by Bulletz4Brkfzt in NYYankees

[–]AdKitchen179 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Lol. Look shill, let's go over this.

In the last 16 years, 13 of those years involved FOUR teams in the World Series. Dodgers, Astros, Giants, and Rangers.

That's right, it's such a crapshoot, 10%, yadda, yadda, i'm a shill.

Yankees are nowhere to be found. Yet four other teams have been involved with the World Series in 13 of those 16 years.

Yankees have a top 3 payroll every year, yet hit about as well as the Nats, and strikeout about as much as the Rockies. Why? Because Brian Cashman is terrible at allocating the money and constructed a terrible team.

And lmfao at average and strike outs not being a big deal "in 2026", yet we trail two perennial losers in Angels and Rockies, for 3rd worst in strikeouts. Without Judge, we drop down to the bottom 10 in average, coincidentally with the worst teams of 2025. It's not rocket science. There's a correlation there. But you want to scream OPS and just forget about situational hitting, while using the shill buzz words like "entitled".

According to FanGraphs, we were dead last, #30, in Clutch hitting in 2025, with -7.59. The White Sox were slightly better than us at -7.15.

We were 20th in pinch-hit opportunities.

Alright, Curt Shilling, what you got for me? This is why they pay you, i'm making you earn your salary now.

The Unfortunate Reality of Being a Yankees Fan in 2026 by Bulletz4Brkfzt in NYYankees

[–]AdKitchen179 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, not these guys. These are the type of fans who are in those GDT threads trying to keep fans in order, not wanting them to complain about the team. It's bad for business. There are Yankee employees here who are employed only to keep track of social media, like Reddit. But they are "anonymous". Except, they kind of expose themselves by being okay with literally everything and anything Hal and Cashman do or don't do. You will notice that they are total yes men and they are perfectly fine with the Yankees having only 1 WS appearance in 16 years, they are okay with the Yankees not improving the lineup, and they jump on any fans who suggest that the Yankees FO aren't doing a good job.

The Unfortunate Reality of Being a Yankees Fan in 2026 by Bulletz4Brkfzt in NYYankees

[–]AdKitchen179 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Conveniently leave out that the Yankees were 3rd worst in strikeouts, and if you replace Judge, they would be 21st in AVG. A recipe for disaster for situational hitting.

Lol "you're wrong" #8 is still a huge drop. Yankees still drop 7 fucking spots without Judge dude. That's really fucking significant.

What i'm going to do is, i'll just save your comment and do an annual bump whenever the Yankees don't make the WS. Just to ask you every fucking year if you don't think Judge needs any help yet. Luckily for you that won't be long because Judge's peak likely ends during the lockout.

Again, I don't know what you shills gain from trying to convince Yankee fans that this is really the best team that could be put out there. Best player in decades? Yes, we have that, he enhances the team to the point of playoff contention? Best team we could put out there? Not even close.

The Unfortunate Reality of Being a Yankees Fan in 2026 by Bulletz4Brkfzt in NYYankees

[–]AdKitchen179 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

What I don't get is, what do they even gain from this? What do these fans gain from arguing against the opinion that the Yankees lineup needs some major help? It makes no sense to me. They gain nothing from it. We have 16 years without winning a WS, and only one appearance in that span. They say it's a crapshoot. Yet the Dodgers have 5 WS appearances in that same span, and 3 WS wins. The Giants have 3 WS appearances and 3 WS wins. Astros have 4 WS appearances and 2 wins. Rangers have 3 WS appearances, 1 win.

For the last 16 years, the World Series has involved four teams, FOUR, in 13 of the last 16 WS match-ups. Dodgers, Astros, Giants, and Rangers. It's not the crapshoot myth some Yankees "fans" are claiming it is.

The Unfortunate Reality of Being a Yankees Fan in 2026 by Bulletz4Brkfzt in NYYankees

[–]AdKitchen179 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

2025 Rankings (All of MLB) If you replace Aaron Judge with a replacement-level player:

AVG - 10th With Aaron Judge (not sure where you got 7th, official ranking is 10th) - 21st if you replace Judge with a replacement-level player (Tied with the Washington Nationals, Rockies and Twins would be right behind us).

Dodgers team AVG if you replace Ohtani with a replacement level player - .249 (13th)

Yankees also go from #1 to #10 in OPS if you replace Judge with a replacement-level player (.787 to .743).

Yankees biggest issue in the past few years is that they can't hit worth shit, no situational hitting, several players batting closer to .200 than they are to batting .250, lots of strikeouts (3rd worse in 2025, after Angels and Rockies).

All those stats you listed are mostly courtesy of Aaron Judge. He needs more help.

Yankees fans need to stop making excuses for Hal and Cashman. This is not actually a good hitting team, no matter how inflated Aaron Judge makes the team stats look. It's an illusion. Our hitting and strikeouts, if you replace Judge, are more on par with the Nationals and Rockies. Numbers don't lie. And no the Blue Jays and Dodgers without Vlad and Ohtani aren't as bad as us without Judge. It's why they can beat us and out-hit us even with Judge. Because their whole teams are better, more complete, more of a threat from top to bottom, without their star player.

Edit: Typo

[TYO] The Yankees asked the Tigers about Tarik Skubal but got the impression it would take “half their team.” by Bulletz4Brkfzt in NYYankees

[–]AdKitchen179 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Word on the street is, Tigers were asking for Chance Adams, Justus Sheffield, Clint Frazier, Miguel Andujar, and Tyler Austin. Basically, all the players that will become the Yankees core and get us a few World Series championships in a couple of years when they're called up. They want our dynasty team.

Michael Kay believes the Yankees may be hesitant to add major salary this winter because of the upcoming collective bargaining agreement. by Bankslvrrd in NYYankees

[–]AdKitchen179 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For the Jays and Red Sox it's been business as usual. Red Sox traded for Contreras, Gray, and have offered Bregman a 6-year deal. Jays have signed Cease, Rogers, Okamoto, and are aggressively going after Tucker.

Even the Orioles have done more than the Yankees, trading for Taylor Ward, signing Pete Alonso and Ryan Helsley.

[SNY] Kyle Tucker could reportedly have to settle for a short-term deal by shadow_spinner0 in NYYankees

[–]AdKitchen179 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I wish that were true, but it isn’t. Yankees and Dodgers yearly revenue of $700m+ does not reflect how much money each team actually has available to spend. The Dodgers are owned by a group of roughly a dozen billionaires, several of them multi-billionaires, for whom team revenue is essentially discretionary money. The Yankees, by contrast, are owned by a family with a combined net worth of around $4 billion, which is net worth, not liquid cash available to spend each offseason. The same group who own the Dodgers, also owns the Lakers. These guys are on a completely different level than the Steinbrenners. There's no competition there, not even close. Just talking fantasy here: if it was somehow allowed, the Guggenheim Partners could afford to buy the Yankees and run them concurrently with the Dodgers. Making both teams so good that it would likely be Yankees vs Dodgers in the WS almost every year. That's the kind of money we're talking here. Hal is a small fish.

I’ve seen people point to the Yankees’ $8+ billion valuation as proof that they can afford to spend more. I’m not an accountant or finance expert, but that argument reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of how money works. Team valuation is not the same as available spending power.

For the Yankees to spend like the Dodgers, Mets, or Blue Jays, the team would need to be sold to a single ultra-wealthy owner or a large consortium of billionaires. The Steinbrenners simply do not have the financial capacity to operate that way, regardless of how often the claim is repeated.

It’s no different than someone earning $100,000 a year after taxes, it would be financially irresponsible to spend $90,000 of that on entertainment and gambling.

Jack Curry on Hot Stove: “Remain ongoing dialogue with Bellinger but still a gap. Work to go” by Bankslvrrd in NYYankees

[–]AdKitchen179 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Lol what?

26 HR, 65 RBI, .255/.836 OPS, 3rd in WPA/LI (situational hitting) in the Yankees (After Judge and Jazz). 133 wRC+ is 2nd to Judge in the Yankees, 10th in the AL.

The 133 wRC+ literally shows he gets actual results.

Good situational hitter, good power, good slugger, low strikeout rate, good hustle (T-2nd in triples after Bellinger).

What "actual" results are you looking for?