When the New York Yankees decided, in essence, to run back a very familiar team they had at the end of last season, there was some unease from their passionate fanbase. After all, this was a team that was eliminated by division rival, the Toronto Blue Jays, in the ALDS and didn’t look particularly threatening. Fast forward to this season, and those same fans might be thankful for the strategy, as it has the Bronx Bombers holding the best record in the American League.

On this episode of the Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman take a look at what has made the Yankees so successful this year—outside of another stellar start from Aaron Judge—and why the emergence of Ben Rice and Cam Schlittler has been key to their success. They also wonder if a new strategy is being adopted by the front office following Anthony Volpe’s minor league demotion and whether it could signal a shift in how they’re approaching this season. The guys also discuss the passing of legendary broadcaster John Sterling and what he meant to the team, as well as to baseball.

Later, Jake and Jordan recap the rest of the weekend’s action, including watching the Chicago Cubs from their famous bleachers at Wrigley Field, the Atlanta Braves getting off to their best start since 1892 and which pitcher has been irreplaceable for the Seattle Mariners. They then highlight a few other notable stories from the weekend, including the Miami Marlins calling up an important prospect and the New York Mets getting a much-needed series win in Anaheim against the Los Angeles Angels.

0:57 - Remembering John Sterling
7:41 - The Opener: Yankees standing out
29:48 - How Sweep It Is: Cubs and their home cooking
40:24 - Braves continue their strong play
54:10 - Turbo Mode: Who else won this weekend?

Subscribe to Baseball Bar-B-Cast on your favorite podcast app:

🎧 Apple Podcasts

🎧 Spotify

🖥️ YouTube

📢 Check out the Yahoo Sports podcast network or yahoosports.tv

And check out Jake, Jordan & the show on X or Instagram:

🌤️ @CespedesBBQ: https://bsky.app/profile/cespedesbbq.bsky.social

🐦 @CespedesBBQ: https://x.com/CespedesBBQ

📷 @CespedesBBQ: https://www.instagram.com/cespedesbbq

⚾ @Jake_Mintz: https://x.com/Jake_Mintz

🧢 @J_Shusterman: https://x.com/j_shusterman_

After a little over a month’s worth of baseball games, we’re slowly seeing how the season could potentially shape up based on those who are on top and those disappointing in their respective divisions. While there are some teams leading the way that aren’t entirely shocking—looking at you, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers—there are quite a few surprises as well.

On this episode of the Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman play their annual standings golf draft and try to determine how much stock they’re putting into the current standings. With surprising teams like the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox at the bottom of their divisions, will they actually stay there for the whole season or will things shake up as they normally do over the 162-game grind?

Later, Jake and Jordan talk about the St. Louis Cardinals becoming the first team to get a mop on the road this year, as well as the Philadelphia Phillies sweeping their doubleheader against the struggling San Francisco Giants. The guys then take a look at the mess that was the month of April for the New York Mets, highlight an incredible achievement by Nick Kurtz and make their picks for this week’s edition of The Good, The Bad & The Uggla.

2:21 - The Opener: Division standings draft
37:57 - Around The League: Cardinals doing some mopping
44:41 - Miserable month for Mets
52:43 - Nick Kurtz knows how to walk
54:44 - The Good
1:00:28 - The Bad
1:07:22 - The Uggla

Subscribe to Baseball Bar-B-Cast on your favorite podcast app:

🎧 Apple Podcasts

🎧 Spotify

🖥️ YouTube

📢 Check out the Yahoo Sports podcast network or yahoosports.tv

And check out Jake, Jordan & the show on X or Instagram:

🌤️ @CespedesBBQ: https://bsky.app/profile/cespedesbbq.bsky.social

🐦 @CespedesBBQ: https://x.com/CespedesBBQ

📷 @CespedesBBQ: https://www.instagram.com/cespedesbbq

⚾ @Jake_Mintz: https://x.com/Jake_Mintz

🧢 @J_Shusterman: https://x.com/j_shusterman_

The Philadelphia Phillies became the second team in the first month of the 2026 season to make a change at the manager position, following the Boston Red Sox making that decision over the weekend. Rob Thomson was relieved of his duties after the Phillies got off to a disappointing 9–19 start to the season, with the hope that a change will be able to jumpstart what has been a sluggish campaign.

On this episode of the Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman talk about the Phillies’ decision to fire Topper and name Don Mattingly the interim manager, what the vibe was like at Citizens Bank Park yesterday following the firing and the interesting dynamic now between the manager and GM. They also highlight the rather surprising journey that found Thomson at the helm of the Phillies and what could be next for him.

Later, Jake and Jordan discuss the debut of Cleveland Guardians’ top prospect Travis Bazzana, the impact he’ll have on baseball in Australia and whether the draft class he came out of will be one of the best of all time. The guys close the show by discussing Shohei Ohtani not hitting—at least for now—when he pitches and why this is different from what he was doing when he was with the Los Angeles Angels.

1:07 - The Opener: Phillies fire Thomson
15:12 - What to expect from Mattingly
29:45 - Field Report: Travis Bazzana joins the show
39:40 - 2024 MLB Draft class all-timer
48:29 - Kind of a Big Deal: Ohtani not hitting

Subscribe to Baseball Bar-B-Cast on your favorite podcast app:

🎧 Apple Podcasts

🎧 Spotify

🖥️ YouTube

📢 Check out the Yahoo Sports podcast network or yahoosports.tv

And check out Jake, Jordan & the show on X or Instagram:

🌤️ @CespedesBBQ: https://bsky.app/profile/cespedesbbq.bsky.social

🐦 @CespedesBBQ: https://x.com/CespedesBBQ

📷 @CespedesBBQ: https://www.instagram.com/cespedesbbq

⚾ @Jake_Mintz: https://x.com/Jake_Mintz

🧢 @J_Shusterman: https://x.com/j_shusterman_