Around the Empire: Yankees news - 11/25/18

New York Daily News | Wallace Matthews: New Yankee James Paxton sat down with the Daily News to discuss why he thinks he’s the right man for the job in New York. Paxton is leaning on his former teammate, Robinson Cano, as well as advice from his boyhood idol, Andy Pettitte, on how to best handle the media circus. As he describes the pressure to perform in New York, ”I feel like I can feed off that energy and it’s going to take me to another level, take me in a positive way.” Sounds like the Big Maple is certainly ready for the Big Apple. We approve of this.

New York Post | Joel Sherman: Here’s an opinion piece from a writer with a Hall of Fame ballot emphasizing the inevitable: Mariano Rivera won’t receive a unanimous vote. Yes, Rivera will grace his first ballot in 2019 and will undoubtedly be voted in with as close to 100% as we’ve seen. But, as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, someone will ruin the party. Despite being the best player for his position in the history of the sport, one or two people will find some reason to doubt his merit. That being said, 99% is still pretty good.

NBC Sports Boston | Darren Hartwell: Could the Yankees actually be open to trading Giancarlo Stanton? The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo reports that there are “long-shot rumblings” that Brian Cashman may be dangling the former National League MVP in front of teams who could possibly bite, such as the Dodgers, Giants, and Phillies. IMPORTANT: Before you even think about clicking this link, remember that this story originated in and is mainly being covered by Boston Sports outposts. Trust. No one.

MLB.com | Andrew Simon, David Adler, Matt Kelly: Curious who has the longest home run for each team in the Statcast Era? Wonder no more thanks to MLB.com. Big shocker here: Aaron Judge’s 495-foot blast against Baltimore in June of 2017 set the standard for the Yankees.

The real shame is that Judge’s 6,000-foot home run that broke Statcast on their 2017 road trip to Seattle doesn’t count.