Jorge Posada will not go quietly. At 38 years of age, the possible Hall of Famer – given his position as a catcher, he is an interesting case – is eager to continue playing as he closes in on 40. After noting, just a few weeks ago, that he would only relinquish his New York Yankees uniform by force, Posada continued that theme in a piece today by the Bergen Record’s Bob Klapisch. “I’m not going to make it easy on anyone trying to move me out,” noted the fiery backstop, affirming his place as the Yankees’ catcher, despite their abundance of such talent in the minor leagues.
While everyone is quick to discuss Derek Jeter’s approaching free agency given its immediacy (as if he will ever leave, give me a break), Jorge Posada’s situation is much more interesting, even though his FA is still two years away, due at the end of the 2011 season. As Posada has indicated, his approach to free agency, barring a dramatic offensive depression, which can be expected at his age, will be a stubborn one, a hardline display of machismo and pride, amongst other traits. Now, what will the Yankees do if Jesus Montero proves himself as a catcher by that point? What about Austin Romine? If such a scenario unfolds, do you make a “hard” decision or do you make an “easy” one? What if Joe Mauer actually hits the market? What if Posada has a great 2011? If Posada wishes to continue playing at that point in time, the Yankees will be faced with some particularly tough decisions. When one considers the many question marks surrounding this specific matter – these question marks are intimately tied to Posada’s age as well as his position as a catcher – it becomes clear it stands as the central personnel issue for the Yankees in the near future.
So, while many worry – for no reason, really – about the futures of Derek Jeter or even Mariano Rivera, in reality, it is Jorge Posada that is the most interesting free agent case on the Yankees’ ledger (again, even if it is two years away).
Photo by Getty Images
Friend of TYU Joe Pawlikowski (of RAB and Fangraphs) has a new piece up where he looks at Jorge Posada in historical context, comparing him to other Catchers at age 38. Unfortunately for Yankee fans, the results aren’t pretty. He writes:
History provides us with the beginnings of an answer. While nine players caught more than 100 games at age 37, only five did so at age 38* — and only three have done it since 1940. Only one, Benito Santiago in 2003, slugged over .400. Fred Jacklitsch holds the highest OBP in the group, .376, but he did it in 1914. Among the post-1940 players, Santiago’s .329 OBP leads the way. The catchers that did make it to age 38, it appears, were known more for their defensive skills than offensive prowess.
* To be fair, two other age-37 catchers also played that season in 2009, Jason Varitek and Ivan Rodriguez.
On the age-37 list, the only other catcher to post an OPS of .800 or above was Carlton Fisk, who posted a .348 wOBA in 1985. In 1986 he played in 125 games, but started only 65 behind the plate. But even if he had caught 100 games in 1986, his numbers would rank him as the worst among his peers. His OPS sat at a lowly .600 that season, resulting in a -1.5 WAR. Age 38 does not appear to be a catcher-friendly one.
He goes on to add that even if he continues to produce at the plate, his recent injury history (shoulder/hamstring) make you wonder if he’ll be able to get on the field in order to produce. Girardi has said he only plans on starting Jorge at Catcher between 100-120 games, which represents a concession to age by the Yanks. Girardi further adds that he doesn’t plan on DHing Jorge on his off days, preferring to rest him over giving him ABs.
I have my own doubts about his bat. His BB rate and SO rates both went in the wrong direction last year, which is typical of a player whose bat is slowing down. Further, in 2009 his pitch type value on fastballs went down while he destroyed change ups. Posada has destroyed fastballs for most of his career, but even in his down years he never started looking for the change. All of that leads me to believe he’s poised for a drop off, and nobody knows just how steep it will be. Pitchers aren’t stupid, they will notice these trends and start challenging him more. Given his position and all the wear and tear that comes with it, fans would be wise to tread carefully with their expectations for Jorge this year.
Yesterday, Joe Girardi discussed a few things with Mike Francesa (H/T to Steve for this). I’ll briefly run through the points General Joe made and my reactions to them:
1. Nick Johnson will bat second.
This is something with which I whole-heartedly agree (and Moshe does, too). Johnson at the top of the order will give Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez yet another man to drive in. While Johnson may not be the fleetest of foot out there, the important thing is being on base. In fact, in 2009, Johnson scored 11 times from second base when a single was hit. In the same situation, Curtis Granderson scored five times. I wouldn’t worry too much about Johnson “clogging the bases”.
2. Curtis Granderson is going to play center field.
Though I ran the numbers, way back on my second day at TYU, and they came out saying Granderson in left and Gardner in center would be better numerically, I don’t have a problem with this. If Granderson really has issues defensively, he can be moved. No matter what position he’s at, Granderson’s bat will play, and he’s still likely to be a good defender in center. Regardless, Gardner-Granderson-Swisher will be fine offensively and will be one of the best defensively.
3. Cano will hit fifth to avoid “stacking lefties” (5-9: Cano, Posada, Granderson, Swisher, Gardner).
I’m rather surprised by this, actually. I thought for sure Jorge would’ve been the five place hitter. Frankly, though, it doesn’t matter. The reality is that the 5-8 guys listed above could all bat at any of those spots (and some of them could bat higher) and this “problem” just speaks to how strong and “circular” the Yankee lineup is. Cano’s power should play well in the five spot and having a lot of guys on in front of him–from Jeter through A-Rod–should help correct his problems with runners on.
4. Girardi believes Cano’s struggles w/RISP are sample size issues.
I agree. Cano’s eventually going to hit like he normally does when there are runners in scoring position. Perhaps “forcing” the issue by putting him higher in the order will correct this issue. As long as Robbie puts up numbers like he did in ‘05-’07 and ‘09, I’ll be happy.
5. Posada will catch 100-120 games.
He caught 111 games last season, and that was with a hamstring issue, so he could do that again this year. At his age, though, catching that many games may be wishful thinking. If it happens, though, the Yankees are in great, great shape. An additional note, Girardi added that Johnson will primarily DH (see below) and on days that Posada sits, Johnson will still DH. This is clearly aimed at keeping Jorge healthy.
6. Nick Johnson will play 1B 2-3 times a month, spelling Tex, who will DH on those days.
This, too, surprises me. While it’s nice to give Tex a little break, I’m not sure if it’s necessary. Johnson’s generally been a strong fielder, though, so it can’t hurt–unless, of course, Nick gets hurt.
7. Granderson plays every day.
Yes. 100% yes. The only way Curtis can work through his problems against left handers is to face them as much as possible and get as many reps as he can. Obviously, if there isn’t progress by May or June, it’s time to scrap that plan. I have faith, though, in Granderson and Kevin Long to fix the problem and make Curtis even better than he is.
In today’s Daily News (TYU fave) Mark Feinsand discusses the adjustment period Nick Swisher went through last April as a Yankee, and how he and a member of the ‘old guard’ learned how to coexist and move forward. He writes:
Swisher, who had rolled the ball into the dugout to preserve his first career K, was doing what he always does – trying to make the best out of a bad situation.
“I had fun with it,” Swisher said that night. “When am I ever going to have the chance to do that again? Probably never.”
Some of his teammates were irritated by the yuks coming from across the room, none more than Jorge Posada, who told reporters, “Nobody was laughing.”
Instead of letting things fester, Swisher approached the catcher the next day to discuss the situation.
“I think the majority of the guys thought it was a little funny, but more than anything, that loss made us think, ‘We don’t like that feeling,’” Swisher, 29, said. “I know Jorge was upset about it, but he’s an intense competitor, and no one wants to take that intensity away from him. We got thumped 15-5, but why would you want to look at it in a negative light?”
The two players talked it out, and by the time they were finished, the incident was a thing of the past. Crisis averted.
“I told him, ‘Don’t lose respect for yourself and for everybody else. I know you were having fun – and we were having fun with you – but when the game is over, you’ve got to knock it off,’” Posada said. “We got our butts handed to us. He understood. He came over, we talked and that was it. I have no problems with the way he handles everything. I love the guy.”
Both players have a point here. You need to have some fun to get through a 162 game season, but at the same time you don’t want to have guys who don’t care if the team wins or loses, the party rolls on. In the latter Torre years, the Yanks had a reputation for being too buttoned up, too serious, and it was one of the reasons CC Sabathia had hesitation in signing here. Yankee GM Brian Cashman was well aware of this perception, and at the WFAN Breakfast he stated that it was one of the things he set out to change with the acquisitions of Swisher, Sabathia and Burnett. Nice to see these two were able to works things out, in private.
From Mark Feinsand:
Posada said Vazquez has matured as a pitcher since they played together in 2004, giving the Yankees a much stronger rotation than the one that captured the World Series crown last November. While Vazquez was primarily a fastball-curveball pitcher six years ago, Posada now feels that the changeup and slider are on the same level, making it much more difficult for hitters to find a comfortable approach.
“It’s easy for me to call his game,” Posada said. “He has four outstanding pitches, so you can’t go wrong with any of them when you call it.”
A look at the data at Fangraphs confirms that Vazquez has in fact changed his approach since 2004.
The percentage of pitches that Vazquez throws as fastballs has been trending downward for his entire career, and dipped below 50% for the first time in 2009. Being that his fastball got knocked around in his one season in NY (wFB/C, which is fastball runs above average per 100 FB, of -.84), this is a positive development. Vazquez did throw plenty of changeups in 2004, but Jorge is right in suggesting that the pitch improved in 2009, as Javy posted his best wCH/C of his career. Finally, as Jorge noted, Vazquez has added an effective slider, a pitch he barely used in New York and now uses as his primary breaking pitch.
Another area that might be interesting to track is Javy’s pitch selection when runners are on base. As Jay at Fack Youk chronicled earlier in the offseason, Vazquez has a lot of trouble pitching from the stretch, and seems to have innings snowball on him due to his failure to pitch well with runners on. It may be interesting to see whether Vazquez gets fastball-happy once runners are on, thereby becoming more predictable and more hittable. If that was in fact the case, the Yankees could help Javy fix the issue by forcing him to use all of his pitches in all situations.
Jorge Posada is accurate in stating that Javier Vazquez is a more complete pitcher now than he was in 2004. Hopefully he can help Javy utilize his improved repertoire to keep hitters off balance, and Javy can come closer to repeating 2009 than 2004.
I had a number of stories open on my browser that I felt deserved some attention, but could not work into larger posts. Here they are:
Yankees Universe Begins 2010 Campaign
As most of you are aware, this blog was formerly known as The Yankee Universe, until we received a cease and desist from the Yankees requiring us to stop using the name. The Yankees Universe fan club will launch its 2010 program today. While it may seem strange that I am linking to the program that caused us plenty of angst, the fact of the matter is that the proceeds go to a good cause, benefiting pediatric cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Give it a look.
Fack Youk on Rob Neyer’s Yankee Concerns
Rob Neyer wrote a post this morning suggesting that Mark Teixeira is likely to be the Yankees best player in 2010, and that this is a bad development for a club that has typically been about strength up the middle. While I agree with Rob that having talent up the middle is the easiest way to build, Jay at Fack Youk stated succinctly why Yankees fans should not be particularly concerned:
Having a solid core of talent up the middle is a surefire way to build a winning team over the long term, but there are other ways to do it. Having above average talent at basically every position, a solid defense and a top notch pitching staff can certainly work in combination as well.
I just wanted to add that the Yankees, of all clubs, have the resources to build in the way that Jay suggests. Unlike clubs that might need to rely on a handful of great players and therefore need great talent up the middle, the Yankees can afford to spend on having above average players all around the diamond and on the pitching staff.
Is Brett Gardner The Next Nyjer Morgan?
I’m not convinced, but the numbers seem to support the comparison to Morgan (who was worth almost 5 wins in 120 games last season), as this article at Fangraphs suggests:
Assuming average offense from Gardner, over ~150 games, he looks like a 2.5-3.0 WAR player in 2009. You can see why the Yanks felt comfortable not going nuts for Johnny Damon, who probably isn’t any better than that.
But Morgan (whom, incidentally, I also see as about 2.5-3 WAR in 2010) is still the more interesting comparison. I wouldn’t have had him as even a 2.5 WAR player before last season, and I doubt many would have. Yet he put up a 4.9 WAR once he got to show what he could do in the field. Should we expect ~5 WAR from Brett Gardner in 2010? No — that would be insane. But if Nyjer Morgan could do it in 2009, Gardner can in 2010. I suppose the Yankees would even settle for Michael Bourn’s “mere” four win 2009.
As some of you may have noticed, I am not a huge believer in Gardner. I see him as a very useful bench piece, as well as someone who could hold his own if an outfielder got injured. However, I am fully aware that the numbers do not support my assertion, and I hope that my opinion on Gardner turns out to be dead wrong. If Gardner comes close to Nyjer Morgan’s 2009, he should be in the Yankees outfield for the foreseeable future.
From Mark Feinsand:
Vazquez threw his first bullpen session of the spring today, and when he glared in from the mound and saw Posada’s familiar face behind the plate, he felt a sense of comfort.
“I asked him, ‘Do you remember the way I pitch?’” said a smiling Vazquez. “I’ve known Jorge for a while now. It’s good to have him back there.”
Posada was equally pleased to see his former teammate back in pinstripes.
“It’s good to have him back,” Posada said. “He really cares and he really understands how we do things here.”
Why, that’s unpossible!!! I thought everybody hates Jorge!
Seriously, it is good to see that Vazquez and Posada have a good rapport. Hopefully we can avoid some overblown storylines about pitcher-catcher discord the first time Vazquez shakes Jorge off more than once in a game.
Not sure if this was reported as a standalone item anywhere, but Erik Boland of Newsday informs us that manager, Joe Girardi, has announced that Jorge Posada will catch A.J. Burnett this season. A serious amount of ink was devoted to the Burnett-Posada duo a season ago, after the two seemed to have “problems” working with one another, which led Girardi to install Jose Molina as Burnett’s everyday catcher (and which Posada did not like very much).
Result-wise, while there may be some substance to the notion that the two did not gel well as a unit – over 16 games with Posada behind the plate, Burnett held hitters to a .270/.353/.421 line and posted a rather poor K/BB of 1.72 (79/46), and with Molina, Burnett held hitters to .221/.307/.352 line over 11 games while posting a much improved 2.66 K/BB (77/29) – in reality, as stated by a number of articles, much of Burnett’s struggles last season were not actually Posada-related, rather, they were brought on by mechanical problems with the now 33-year old’s delivery. Unfortunately for Posada, he became a newspaper causality of these struggles, as it is much more interesting to discuss a pitcher and a catcher’s seemingly ineffectual relationship instead of mechanical flaws in one’s motion.
Anyway, to Burnett’s credit, he is excited to begin working with Posada this season and wants to disprove last season’s media-driven controversy regarding the two as batterymates. “I was looking forward to it from the first day of camp to be able to put that behind us and start working together,” Burnett said today when asked about throwing to Posada this season. “A lot of stuff was blown out of proportion last year and we’ve talked a handful of times already and we’re just real excited to put that behind us and move on, get better and learn from each other.” He also took fault for last year’s woes, saying that he was not right in the head, at times, and was often questioning himself, not Posada.
Photo by Reuters
John Manuel was asked about Austin Romine in a recent ESPN chat, and this is what he had to say:
David (Atlanta): What kind of bat potential (power and average) does Austin Romine have?
John Manuel (3:11 PM): He should settle in as a .260-.270 hitter with 15-20 homers annually, which is pretty good for a good defensive catcher.
While those numbers seem a bit modest, Manuel is spot on when he says that is pretty strong for a good defensive catcher. I took a look at this past season’s numbers to see how many catchers passed the low end of those two thresholds (I know that batting average is not a perfect metric, but it is the one Manuel used and it is decent for weeding out those who cannot hit at all). 11 catchers hit at least 15 homers, while 13 catchers with more than 300 PA’s batted at least .260. However, just 8 passed both of those thresholds:
Joe Mauer
Victor Martinez
Jorge Posada
Brian McCann
Bengie Molina
Mike Napoli
Miguel Montero
Kurt Suzuki
Of the 8, only Mauer, Molina, Suzuki, and maybe McCann are considered above average defensively, and Molina and Suzuki both had hollow batting averages (neither walked very much: 13 for Molina, 28 for Suzuki). If Romine can come close to Manuel’s offensive projection for him and remains above average defensively, he is likely to be a top 6-7 MLB catcher and would certainly be a suitable replacement for Jorge Posada.
Photo Credit: Scott Jonte
Ben’s afternoon post over at RAB yesterday (BTW-Happy Birthday RAB!) got me thinking. As Jorge ages, there will come a point at some time when the Yanks will have a very difficult decision to make. A decision between sitting an aging, proud core 4 player in decline and giving more of his playing time to a young defensive whiz at a premium defensive position. It’s not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’. So I wanted to walk through this, give my thoughts, solicit yours and see if we can come up with some sort of consensus. Here’s what Ben wrote:
Jorge Posada — .263/.355/.445 VORP: 16.7 WARP: 1.6
The key stat here for Posada is the way PECOTA pegs him as a prime candidate for a collapse. He’ll turn 39 in mid-August, and his collapse rate is an alarming 37 percent. Comfortingly, though, his attrition rate is nearly the same. We’ll probably see something of a decline from Posada, but hopefully, it’s closer to an attrition dip than an all-out collapse. The Yanks are penciling him in for 120 games behind the plate. That might be optimistic, but BP is high on Francisco Cervelli’s defense as a caddy to Jorge.
If Jorge’s still OPSing .800 at age 39, he’s still your everyday Catcher and you’re going to live with his defensive deficiencies. That is still above League average (.777) at the position, though admittedly not as much as his career mark (.859) or last year’s number (.885). But an .800 OPS represents a big decline for Jorge, and given his position and age even that number may be somewhat optimistic. Just falling back to the pack with his bat could cause you to cut back his playing time and pick your spots more often with him, further decline will cause the Yanks to examine who should be the starter altogether.
Let’s assume his bat drops off significantly from there, either this year or next, to somewhere in the mid-700s. Now let’s say Cervelli’s OPS is around .700 (.747 in minors) you get to a point somewhere in which you will value Cervelli’s glove more than Jorge’s bat. I’m just not sure where it is. Catcher has always been one of the most elusive positions to nail down with any sort of defensive metric. If they were BOTH at .700, then I think it’s an easy call. Cervelli would catch most days unless a pitcher (like Andy) prefers Posada or Cervelli needs a day off. But let’s say Jorge’s around .750, it’s July and it’s obvious to everyone that it’s not just a slump. Is that enough to sit Posada? When do you pull the trigger on this? I guess the real question is how much value do you put on a Catcher’s glove? First I’ll weigh in with my own thoughts, then with what I think the Yanks will do.
I’ve already been on the record wondering if Cervelli can hold down the job everyday and if Jorge is poised for a big decline this year based on his Walk rate and SO Rates both going in the wrong direction last year. That often signals that a player’s bat is slowing down. Fangraphs Pitch Type Values tell you how he fared depending on what pitchers threw him, and it was clear his ability to handle fastballs declined while he destroyed change ups last year. That won’t last, pitchers will simply stop throwing him the change and challenge him with more heat. Defensively, Jorge has long been one of the bottom dwellers at his position. The Bill James 2010 Handbook pegged him as the worst catcher at “saving runs” with a mark of -23 over the past 3 seasons. Jorge’s status as an everyday player has always been tied to his bat, so as his bat declines he goes from being a net-plus to a net-minus pretty quickly. You could even argue that if his bat was simply league-average, he’s a net minus to the team due to his defense.
From the Yanks perspective, this is a contingency they have to have been considering for the past few years. Catchers who maintain the ability to start everyday at age 39 are the exception, not the rule. Especially on a winning team like the Yanks. We know that the Yanks aren’t nostalgic, if the were Matsui and Damon would be on the 2010 team. The manager has already sat Jorge in the playoffs and was a defense-first catcher himself, so I think it’s obvious where he stands. The 15 mil Jorge is due for 2010 and 2011 is irrelevant, you have to pay him that whether he plays or not. If anything, having a replacement on the roster in Cervelli making the MLB minimum softens the blow from a payroll standpoint. All totaled, the Yanks will do whatever they believe will help them win, pride, loyalty and contract aside.
We know that there are differences between how Posada and Molina caught Sabathia last year, and in the results, but game calling is still very difficult to nail down. You’d have to normalize for Umpire’s strike zone, Ballpark and Opponent before you can even begin to discuss the Catcher’s impact. As Max Marchi noted in that piece, Cervelli and Posada were very similar in their pitch selection, though Cervelli managed to outperform Jorge and match Molina’s output, albeit in limited action.
That leads us to the starting pitchers, who would have a lot to say with where this would go as well. If the Yanks believe that the pitchers perform better with Cervelli behind the dish, then that could make up for the difference between the two bats. CC has gone on the record raving about Cervelli, and the Yanks will cater to him with the money/years they have committed to Sabathia. AJ’s issues with Posada are well known, though I’ve never believed it was anything personal. I just don’t think Jorge can handle AJ’s electric stuff on a regular basis. Andy loves Jorge and doesn’t have the type of blazing stuff that would give him problems. With Joba, they will probably go with whichever combo works better, and he and Jorge have worked well together in the past. Though Joba’s vicious slider, plus heat and so-so control would lead me to believe they’ll lean toward the more athletic receiver. With Vasquez, I have no idea.
What do you think? When does Jorge’s plus-bat no longer make up for his minus glove?
Yesterday, Moshe posted 25 questions/issues going into Spring Training. Tackling them one-by-one in full posts would take way too long, so I’m going to give some quick hit answers to each one.
1. Jorge’s decline: Steve’s got legit concerns about Jorge declining, and if there’s anyone on the Yankees who’s going to decline, it’s likely to be Jorge. The average projection for Jorge doesn’t seem too ominous, but you never know with older catchers. My guess? Jorge doesn’t fall off a cliff, but he’s not as productive with the bat as he was last year.
2. The back up catcher: barring injury, I think this job is Cervelli’s to lose. His bat is iffy, but it’s okay for a back up catcher and his defense is solid.
3. The Jesus and 2010/catching: If we see El Carpentiero at all in ‘10, it’ll likely be as a September call up. As for whether he can handle catching, I’m cautiously optimistic. Regardless, that bat is downright dreamy and I want it sticking around in the Yankee organization for years to come.
4. Nick Johnson: Like with Hideki Matsui in ‘09, keeping Johnson off the field could be the key to keeping him healthy. If he does stay healthy, I think he could at the very least come close to matching Hideki/Johnny Damon, he’ll just do it in different ways. His power should bounce back by being in YSIII and I’d expect his HR/FB anomaly from 2009 to correct itself as well.
5. Cano’s defense: I think he’ll stay where he is, which is frustrating ’cause he’s brilliant out there at times.
6. Jeter’s contract situation as a potential distraction: I don’t think it will be an issue until after the ASB.
7. A-Rod’s defense: I think we’ll see the second half A-Rod on defense–still below average with the range (but what an arm!), but not as bad as he was immediately after returning.
8. Utility role: I say Pena, unless Russo really wows everyone in ST.
9. Which Swish: It may not be an exact copy, but I’d put good money on the ‘10 Swisher looking a lot like the ‘09 Swisher.
10. Grandy vs. lefties: Hopefully, Kevin Long can work some magic. And, yes, moving to YSIII will definitely help C-Grand.
11. Gardner as an everyday player: I’m cautiously optimistic for Gardner, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on this issue.
12. Randy Winn’s possible decline: 2009 looks like one of two outliers in the last 8 seasons, 2006 was the other. If he can bounce back, great. If not, it’s not a huge sunken cost and he’s replaceable.
13. Gardy or Grandy in CF: I’ll be happy either way, but the numbers point to Gardner in CF.
14. Hoffmann or Thames: I think they’ll go with Hoffmann, just to see what he’s got unless Thames absolutely destroys the Grapefruit League.
15. October hangover for SPs: It’s possible, but they’re veterans who know how to manage their bodies. Hopefully, there are no ill effects.
16. Javy as unclutch: I see good things for Javy this time around.
17. A.J.’s health: Burnett will pitch at least 185 innings in 2010.
18. 5th starter: I’ve written more than once about this. Joba it shall be.
19. BP or SWB: See above.
20. Damaso: He won’t be as lights out in the playoffs, but he’ll be his usual lefty destroying self since he’ll finally be healthy for a full year.
21. Second lefty: I don’t think a second lefty is a must, but I think General Joe likes the idea of having two lefties, so I think they’ll at least start off the year w/2 LHRPs.
22. If not, who gets the job: No thinking, gut reaction, Melancon.
23. Mo and…aging…: I’ll defer to Chris Turk for the answer.
24. Girardi’s lack of job security: The only way it becomes an issue is if Joe really screws up this year, which won’t happen.
25. Room in the budget if needed: They’ll find it.
So, there you have it: 25 quick answers to 25 complex questions. Before you know it, it’ll be November and we’ll be looking back on these (hopefully after a 28th championship) issues and their outcomes. Here’s to hoping they all turn out the way we want them to.
