New York New York
By John Jastremski
Last week, I looked back on the year in New York Sports for 2025, a year unfulfilled for a majority of our teams in town. The calendar is over and done with and now 2026 awaits.
Look, we all may have some resolutions we want to tackle for 2026. Some of them may be more realistic than others, but in the spirit of the new year, I figured I would offer some advice to our teams.
David Stearns must change approach when it comes to handling starting pitchers.
Mets GM David Stearns hit the lottery in 2024 with the way he built his pitching staff. His buy low guys panned out brilliantly. A year later, Stearns did not come anywhere close to the same success.
The Mets collapse in 2025 in many ways was triggered by atrocious starting pitching. Yes, Stearns is right to be confident in youngster Nolan McLean as a major part of the puzzle.
However, he needs to be aggressive in targeting a legitimate front of the line arm to help McLean.
Will Stearns properly pivot?
Will Yankees Adjust Approach For October success?
The Yankees properly pivoted last offseason after losing Juan Soto to the Mets.
Max Fried & Cody Bellinger were a big part of the success of the 2025 regular season.
However, in the postseason, the result remained the same. Another year without a World Series title.
Will Brian Cashman acknowledge the need for balance and an a contact approach up and down the lineup? Or will it be a lineup with automatic outs at the bottom like we saw a year ago in the ALDS?
Will Giants ownership learn from past mistakes in Head Coach Hiring Process?
The Giants once again will be in the market for a head coach in January.
It’s a franchise that hasn’t gotten it right with their head man since the days of Tom Coughlin.
Can they find the proper leader equipped to handle the battleground that is New York?
Don’t make the same mistake of years past. Try to find a leader with experience as a head coach who can go and hit the ground running.
Will Aaron Glenn learn from his mistakes from his nightmarish first season?
It’s tough to have a more miserable first season than Jets Head Coach Aaron Glenn.
From non competitive football to dust ups with the media, it’s been as bad as it gets.
Will Glenn acknowledge the mistakes of year 1 on and off the field and grow from them?
Or will he join a long list of failed Jets head coaches…
Hopefully 2025 will bring a lot of reflection and learning for the power brokers of NY Sports and 2026 will be a year of upward mobility!
You can listen to my podcast New York, New York on The Ringer Podcast Network every Sunday/Thursday on Spotify/Apple Podcasts. You can watch me nightly on Honda Sportsnite at 11 PM on SNY.
