Tuesday was likely another disappointing day for Yankees fans in a year filled with them.
Anyone looking for red meat from Hal Steinbrenner in his Zoom meeting with the media was left disappointed: The Yankees owner mostly pointed to having a different hitting coach and working with an analytics company to figure out what they might be doing wrong as an organization as the major updates after the team’s worst season in decades.
But the mild-mannered Steinbrenner did seem particularly upset about this past Yankees season. He called it “awful” and “a bad year,” adding, “We accomplished nothing.”
He was unimpressed with the team continuing its streak of finishing with a winning record, calling that a “requirement.”
Later, speaking to reporters at the GM Meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz., general manager Brian Cashman adopted a more defensive posture, lashing out at the team’s critics. “I’m proud of our people and proud of our process,” Cashman said. “… I think we’re pretty f–king good, personally.”
So what changes really can be made after Steinbrenner said he had been convinced to let Aaron Boone come back as manager with Cashman still running the show?
Well, if you’re looking for an overhaul in the analytics department, Steinbrenner pointed out it was Mike Fishman, one of Cashman’s top analytical hires, who suggested the team hire Zelus to evaluate its operation for a year.
Steinbrenner also mentioned other top Cashman lieutenants, former longtime GMs Brian Sabean and Omar Minaya, as important voices in the process — something he insisted they would be after they were brought into the front office nearly a year ago.
He also said some of the young players who finished the season in the majors would be on the Opening Day roster next season and cited Anthony Volpe’s success as a rookie this past year.
None of those young players — with the possible exception of Jasson Dominguez, who will miss at least the early part of next season following Tommy John surgery — distinguished themselves in The Bronx.
But Steinbrenner didn’t want to divulge any specifics about what the Yankees and Zelus have found under the hood. He pointed to a lack of run production as perhaps their most obvious concern
The Yankees are on to their third hitting coach of the year after Dillon Lawson was let go midseason and his replacement, Sean Casey, decided to not return in 2024 because of family reasons. The Yankees were close to hiring James Rowson for the job.
Steinbrenner’s displeasure should come as no surprise. They ended up just 25th in the majors in runs scored (673) and 24th in OPS (.701).
Perhaps even more glaring, only one team in the majors had fewer hits and a lower batting average than the Yankees’ 1,207 hits and .227 average — and that was the laughably bad A’s (1,187 and .223). The Yankees also tied with the Mets for last in MLB in doubles with 221.
(More bunting, perhaps? “We’re not teaching the young players to bunt enough,” Steinbrenner said.)
Still, Steinbrenner said there would be “big changes” at some point soon.
How he defines that, only Steinbrenner — and perhaps Aaron Judge, one of the people he pointed to as part of the decision-making process — knows.
“There’s going to be changes some people might not consider significant,’’ Steinbrenner said. “But Judge and I may, because we’re doing this every day.”
Today’s back page
A star is born
By the time LeBron James made his Madison Square Garden debut with the Cavaliers on Feb. 22, 2004, he already had been on the cover of Sports Illustrated, described by the magazine as “The Chosen One.”
And when the Cavs came to town, that same phrase was on a giant billboard near the Garden.
Victor Wembanyama, despite also being a much-hyped No. 1 overall NBA draft pick, doesn’t match the star power James had then, but he will still be a major attraction Wednesday when he visits MSG with the Spurs for the first time to play the Knicks.
Considered the top prospect to enter the league since James two decades ago, how has the 7-foot-4 phenom fared in the early going?
He’ll be coming off arguably the worst performance of his brief NBA career, having gone just 3-for-12 with 13 points and 10 rebounds in a season-low 21 minutes on Monday as the Spurs were routed by the Pacers, 152-111.
He also has dazzled, most notably with a 38-point, 10-rebound showing last Thursday in a win over Kevin Durant and the Suns.
In seven games, the 19-year-old Frenchman is averaging 19.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks.
Such highs and lows are nothing new for even the best rookies — including James.
It’s hard to recall now, but James also had his fair share of clunkers after coming out of St. Vincent/St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio, as a teenager.
After he began his NBA career with back-to-back 20-plus-point nights, James followed them with consecutive duds, scoring eight and seven points, respectively.
The Cavaliers lost their first five games that season and finished just 35-47.
They didn’t make the playoffs until James’ third season in the league, building from a 17-win season before James’ arrival to 35, 42 and then 50 wins to get into the playoffs during the 2005-06 season.
So the road to the playoffs for the Spurs and Wembanyama may take some time, but Wednesday will be the first look at another young star who’s not playing for the Knicks.
The Knicks are coming off one of their best wins of the season, having knocked off the Clippers in James Harden’s first game since his trade from Philadelphia.
RJ Barrett helped lead the way with 26 points.
Barrett is a Knick because Zion Williamson ended up with New Orleans as the top pick in the 2019 draft with Ja Morant going second to Memphis.
An argument can be made that for all Williamson’s hype and Morant’s scoring ability, Barrett’s relative health and consistency has made him just as valuable to the Knicks.
But he’s still not the superstar fans of the Knicks crave — and now they’ll get a chance to see in person whether Wembanyama really is that kind of star.
Jonesing for a new QB
Add this to the uncertainty around Daniel Jones and the quarterback situation for the Giants, who are in Matt Barkley and Jacob Eason territory territory for the duration of this season:
The news that Jones tore the ACL in his right knee puts at least the beginning of next season in doubt for the 26-year-old.
Kyler Murray, who suffered the same injury last December, is just about to return to action for the Cardinals, who said Murray will make his first start of the season on Sunday.
A similar schedule would get Jones back on the field at some point next October.
The Giants owe Jones $35.5 million next season, but still may need a new quarterback, And thoughts of them taking one high in next year’s NFL Draft are becoming increasingly realistic, especially if they continue losing and land a top-three pick.
They could face a dilemma of having to decide between potential stud quarterbacks Caleb Williams and Drake Maye or plugging another hole on their roster, of which there are plenty.
The scoreboard:
St. John’s 90, Stony Brook 74: A successful tipoff for the Rick Pitino era. Joel Soriano had 22 points (including the first two 3-pointers of his career) and 11 rebounds, and Harvard transfer Chris Ledlum went for 16 and 14. It quickly gets more challenging: Michigan comes to the Garden on Monday. But Stony Brook “were a fair first test,” writes The Post’s Mike Vaccaro. “And the Johnnies passed it with flying colors.”
Rangers 5, Red Wings 3: The Rangers won for the seventh time in eight games — they’re tied for the third-best record in the NHL. They used two goals from Vincent Trocheck and a goal and an assist from Artemi Panarin (20 points in 12 games) to take a 5-0 lead after two periods before sputtering a bit in the third.
Wild 4, Islanders 2: As the slumping Islanders fell to 5-3-3 with a third-period swoon, chants of “Lou Must Go!” were heard in pockets at UBS Arena.
What we’re reading 👀
🏈 The Post’s Brian Costello writes that the Jets need to consider making a quarterback change from Zach Wilson to spark a lifeless offense.
⚾ Mets GM David Stearns, after admitting he was blindsided by Craig Counsell’s move to Chicago, talked about he’s approaching the need to add pitching this offseason.
⚾ Let Steve Cohen show you his plans for a casino in the Citi Field parking lot.
🏀 Not a misprint: The Nets’ Cam Thomas is the seventh-leading scorer in the NBA at 28.7 points per game.
⛳ Tiger Woods’ leg is still kinda messed up.
🔎 This profile of Connor Stalions, the man at the center of the Michigan sign-stealing scandal that’s roiling college football.