Keefe To The City Podcast

The Rangers had two weeks off between their most recent game on Feb. 1 and Tuesday's game against the Bruins, and it showed. The Rangers were held shotless for more than half of the first period, mustered a single goal in regulation and then needed to win a wild nine-round shootout to come away with two points. Once again, the two points earned were a product of the play of Igor Shesterkin, the way it has been all season.Michael Hurley of CBS Boston joined me to talk about the Rangers' 2-1 shootout win, the Bruins' roster build, the recent midseason retirement of Tuukka Rask, the unnecessary suspension for Brad Marchand and the absence of Patrice Bergeron.

There's no Yankees baseball because there's no baseball right now. The lockout is now more than 10 weeks old and there's no end in sight or optimism that the season will begin on time. But there's going to be baseball at some point (I think), and when there is, the Yankees have a lot of work to do to their roster.Andrew Rotondi of Bronx Pinstripes joined me to talk about the offseason and lockout, what the Yankees' plan should be once there is baseball again and who should play shortstop in 2022.

Six weeks ago, Brian Cashman said the Yankees need a shortstop for 2022, and they still don't have one. Their actual options are now down to Carlos Correa or Trevor Story, and if they choose to not sign either, it's going to be a very bad scene.

After having their recent four-game winning streak end, the Rangers have put together a new and current three-game winning streak. The first seven weeks of the season have been full of wins.Brian Monzo joined me to talk about the Rangers' impressive first quarter of the season, noticeable differences between Gerard Gallant and David Quinn, realistic expectations for Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko this season and what to do with Alexander Georgiev.

The Yankees proved they don't care about winning when they announced Aaron Boone's new contract, so now I have to decide if I want to care about the Yankees anymore.

If the Yankees don’t host the wild-card game, they will have one person to thank: their own manager.

When the Yankees began their most recent nine-game stretch against the Rangers, Red Sox and Blue Jays, their postseason odds were slim and it looked like the disappointing 2021 season would end with the biggest disappointment of all: no postseason. But after an 8-1 run against those three teams, the Yankees are only close to clinching a wild-card berth and home-field advantage for the one-game playoff. Winning the one-game playoff is a whole other story.

The Yankees beat the Red Sox on 8-3 on Friday night, and it was the team's best win of the season. DJ LeMahieu led off the game with a single in a seven-pitch, and the rest of the offense followed his lead, scoring three runs in the first and adding four more in the third. A 7-0 lead with Gerrit Cole on the mound is about as well as the Yankees can ever be set up in a game and they were able to coast to a win for the first time in a long time. Given the importance of this series and its impact on the standings and postseason, Friday's game was easily the Yankees' best win of the season.

It didn't feel like football season on Sunday until the Giants lost. A Giants season-opening loss is as "It's football season" as it gets. The Giants lost to the Broncos 27-13, needing a time-expiring touchdown, the ultimate garbage-time touchdown to avoid scoring in single digits.Nick Falato of the Big Blue Banter podcast joined me to break down the Giants' loss to the Broncos and what expectations are going to Washington on a short week.

Giants football is back! I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing, but it's back nonetheless. Relative to the rest of their schedule, the Giants have a comfortable matchup at home against the Broncos, even if the Giants are a home underdog in the season opener.Ian St. Clair of Mile High Report Radio and Play Colorado joined me to talk about the Broncos and their expectations this season and the Giants being a 3-point underdog at home in Week 1.

The Yankee are tied in the loss column with the Blue Jays for the final playoff spot in the American League. The Yankees have lost nine of their last 11 games and six in a row, losing seven games of ground on the Blue Jays in the last 10. Despite this and despite there only being 22 games left in the season, it doesn't seem like Aaron Boone is trying to win.

The Blue Jays are going to the postseason. Sure, they are 1 1/2 games out of a playoff spot right now, but they are going to get there. The Blue Jays had a 4.6 percent chance of reaching the playoffs on August 27, the same day the Yankees had a 97.8 percent chance. Now the Blue Jays have 42.5 percent chance and the Yankees have a 68.6 percent chance. Of the Blue Jays' remaining 24 games, four are against the Yankees, seven against the Orioles and seven against the Twins. The Blue Jays are going to the postseason. Either the Yankees or Red Sox won't be.Cam Lewis of Blue Jays Nation joined me to talk about the Blue Jays' two-week run that has gotten them back in the playoff picture and what the expectations are now for a team that on the verge of elimination at the end of August.

Ten days ago, the Yankees were riding a 13-game winning streak and still had a chance to win the division. Today, they are losers of seven of nine and barely hanging on to a postseason spot. The April 1 through July 4 Yankees are back.

The Yankees got themselves within striking distance of the Rays for the AL East title, but now they have lost the division. After losing four straight, the Yankees are eight games back of the Rays with 30 games left to play. The Yankees will be playing in the one-game playoff once again, and at this point, who knows if they will even hold on to the first wild card and host the game.

The Yankees' 13-game winning streak came to an end on Saturday and now they have started a losing streak after losing to the A's on both Saturday and Sunday. The Yankees' AL East deficit is back up to six games, and the two games they had cut off from the Rays' lead have been given back. The Yankees have to have a big week against the Angels and Orioles or the division will be lost for good.

The Yankees beat the A's 7-6 on Thurdsay night to extend their winning streak to 12 straight for the first time since 1961. They won despite Luke Voit not being in the lineup, despite blowing a six-run lead, despite leaving the bases loaded with one out in the eighth inning and despite Aroldis Chapman allowing the tying run to get into scoring position in the ninth. The Yankees have played the most games decided by one and two runs in the majors and it's having an impact on my health.After the recap, Al Malafronte, host of the Break a Bat! Podcast, joined me to talk about the state of the Yankees during this historic winning streak.

The Yankees have won 11 straight games for the first time in my life and for the time since 1985. They beat the Braves 5-4 on Tuesday night to sweep the two-game series from the hottest team in the National League, but it almost wasn't to be after another rocky performance from Aroldis Chapman. It's time reputation and owed money stopped determining who pitches the ninth inning of close games for the Yankees.

The Yankees won again, this time 7-5 over the Twins for their seventh straight win. In the middle of the Yankees' run since the All-Star break has been a lot of unsung heroes, and Andrew Valezquez is the latest. With two more hits, including a triple, two runs scored and outstanding defensive play, the Bronx native continues to be a perfect fit on this Yankees team.

Before the trade deadline, I thought the Yankees were going to lose eveyr game. Their starting pitching was great, but their bullpen was shaky and the offense was unbalanced and underachieving. Since the trade deadline, I think the Yankees are going to win every game. Their starting pitching has remained great, their bullpen has more depth and their lineup is balanced with actual, major-league-caliber left-handed bats. These Yankees (the post-trade deadline Yankees) have a chance to be special.

The Yankees swept the Red Sox on Tuesday, passing both the Red Sox and A's in the standings to currently hold the first-wild card spot. It's been a long climb back since the beginning of July following three months of wasted baseball from the Yankees, and today is a day to be happy. Happy, but not content, as the Yankees can still accomplish the goal of winning the division.