James Peacock

It’s been six long months since the New York Yankees stepped onto a baseball diamond in a regular season game. Given the way that the 2023 season ended in a fashion resembling a slow death-march, it has been even longer since they played in a regular season game accompanied by anything resembling hope. That all changes tomorrow at 4:30 EST, in dreaded Houston, Texas.

The start of every baseball season carries the weight of aspiration for all 30 teams and their respective fanbases (well, maybe 26 or so). For the Yanks, much of that aspiration has been created by the acquisition of the transcendent, left-handed, and perpetually-smiling Juan Soto.

Though perhaps only a one year rental, Soto, already a World Series champion at age 25, seems to have the potential to help get the Yankees back to the promised land. The mere idea of him and Aaron Judge hitting back to back in the lineup every day conjures images of a modern day Ruth and Gehrig, or Mantle and Maris, to historically minded fans. If both are able to stay healthy for the entire season, it seems that the offense will have little choice but to vault from the depths of the sport last season, to the cream of the crop in the American League.

Surely this is cause for excitement, but Yankee fans have become accustomed to that dreaded feeling that the other shoe is yet to drop, and it seems that it may have already hit the infield dirt.

Reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole will be on the shelf for the first bit of the season as he recovers from a (nearly) disastrous elbow injury. The good news is that it appears he will be back at some point, as will D.J. Lemahieu, who will also begin the season on the I.L. list, suffering from a bruised foot. Such bad luck unfortunately has become commonplace in recent years, but neither injury feels like it will be insurmountable for a team with championship aspirations.

Given Cole’s absence, much of the early-season focus will be on the remainder of the pitching staff. It is a group that has a track record of solid to stellar performance, yet also littered with question marks. Can Nestor Cortes and Carlos Rodon turn the page on last season? Additionally can they, along with newly-acquired Marcus Stroman, stay healthy for the duration? Can Clarke Schmidt take the positives from last season and continue to improve? There seems to be a contingent of fans that the team will go as its starting rotation goes, especially until Cole returns.

This does not mean that it can be assumed that the Yankee offense, outside of Soto and Judge, can necessarily be penciled in for big production. Giancarlo Stanton faces an inflection point in his career. Alex Verdugo is yet to play, and therefore produce, in pinstripes. Anthony Volpe is still only 22 years old. Anthony Rizzo and Jose Trevino both had debilitating injuries last season. Who knows what Jasson Dominguez will look like when he returns from Tommy John surgery. Gleyber Torres is in a contract year. If all or most goes well for the supporting case in the lineup, then the team numbers will be off the charts. If not…well it’s too scary to even consider right now.

This is where we are, heading into the new season. Expectations are extremely high for this ball club, but the fears seem to be at roughly the same level.

Regardless of how things play out on the field, I will be using this page to chronicle the season as it happens. Whether you care for my thoughts or you don’t, I can say that I will maintain a (largely) objective commentary, through the highs and the lows. Given that I have never before officially documented my thoughts on a Bomber season prior to this one, perhaps my doing so will serve as a good omen for the ’24 season. Boy do I hope that will be the case, but we’ll see how the next 162 play out.

Happy season, everyone. Go Yanks.