Around the Empire: Yankees news - 7/11/23

MLB | Bryan Hoch: On the cusp of his first All-Star Game start, Gerrit Cole is feeling good. In his fourth season as a Yankee after signing the mega-deal that brought Brian Cashman’s “white whale” to the Bronx, it is apparent that Cole is becoming more settled. Teammate and fellow superstar Aaron Judge made the observation and Cole concurred without hesitation, remarking that he is more settled, and familiar with stars like Judge and Giancarlo Stanton and with the next wave of stars like Anthony Volpe.

New York Times | Katie Robertson and John Koblin: The New York Times is shutting down its sports department. Do not like this. The paper will still provide sports coverage through The Athletic, but shuttering the sports department at the Gray Lady feels like a seismic shift. The paper that chronicled so much Yankee history is now outsourcing that task. As someone who uses the newspaper’s TimesMachine archive to research for PSA’s 1998 retrospective and as an historian, this feels like a large loss.

SNY | Andy Martino: In the aftermath of the Yankees dismissing hitting coach Dillon Lawson, it’s natural that there might be speculation about the future of skipper Aaron Boone. Martino’s sources, however, say that Boone’s tenure as Yankee manager is secure. There are questions swirling about the organization’s hitting program, both in terms of processes and results, but Boone is apparently safe.

NPR | Dave Davies: Filmmaker Sam Pollard has a new documentary on the Negro Leagues. In the film, Pollard traces the origins of the modern on-field product back 100 years. Specifically, he examines how the Negro Leagues laid the historic groundwork for some of what we’re seeing today stylistically. The article has a summary of an interview with Pollard as well as a link to the full interview with the filmmaker.

MLB | Bryan Hoch: In the aftermath of the Yankees hire of Sean Casey as the club’s hitting coach, through 2023 at least, Casey, manager Aaron Boone, and GM Brian Cashman all chimed in. For his part, Casey is champing at the bit to begin working with the club’s “professional hitters.” Meanwhile, Boone and Cashman are optimistic and confident that the new hire will quickly make an impact.