Mike McCann's Field of Fotos

From my collection, the Yankees program and scorecard from 1965, the year the Berra/Ford/Mantle dynasty collapsed. The Yankees starting rotation is pictured clockwise from the top left: Whitey Ford, Mel Stottlemyre, Jim Bouton and Al Downing. In his first full year with the Yankees, Mel became the Yankees ace, winning 20 with 18 complete games. (Run that last number through your mind, again.) While Whitey, who turned 36, went 16 & 13. Downing fell below .500, and Bouton fell off the table, losing 15 of 19 decisions. Age and injury caught up with the everyday lineup -- with Mantle, Howard, Pepitone and Maris less productive, the team fell far behind the pennnt winning Twins. Maybe it was the curse of Yogi? The legendary catcher, after winning the pennant the year before, was fired as manager and moved across town to join Casey Stengel's coaching staff with the Mets. And Johnny Keane, who managed the World Champion Cardinals, took his place in the dugout only to be at the h...

  Carlos Beltran gets his meeting with Brian Cashman today (Wednesday) after the veteran outfielder reached out to the Yankees. The last remaining club searching for a manager, the Yankees parted ways with Joe Girardi a month ago. But there doesn't seem to be an urgency to fill the vacancy. Sure, baseball's winter meetings are coming up the week after next. And the optics would be better if the Yankees had a manager in line when they meet with number-one free agent target Shohei Ohtani -- especially since the new skipper would be interacting with Ohtani and the rest of his prosective teammates daily, Beltran will be the third former Yankee to be interviewed -- following Hensley Meulens and Aaron Boone. They're trying to follow in the footsteps of Billy Martin, Ralph Houk, Yogi Berra, Lou Piniella, Bucky Dent -- and yes, Joe Girardi -- as former Yankee players who later managed the club. ( This image of Beltran is from a Yankees/Rangers game in June 2016 .)

After hitting just under .200 with nine homers in the final two months of the season, Dominic Smith isn't guar anteed a regular job for 2018. Already shaky, with the Mets considering free agents such as Adam Lind and Jay Bruce for 1st base, Smith's status grew even more shaky after comments from Sandy Alderson. Noting how Smith has  appeared overweight at times, the GM said he'd  "to be careful about his conditioning, certainly in the next few years, if not throughout his career." Not exactly the kind of reassuring words that Smith hoped to hear.

Jorge Alfaro 's bat is still more advanced than his glove, but he's given strong signs of being ready to take over as the Phillies' everyday catcher. In a 29-game late season trial, he hit .318 with five home runs. One of five prospects the Phils received for Cole Hamels in 2015, had more than his fair share of injuries while working his way through the minors. Combine that productivity with good health and the 24 year old from Colombia could be getting his mail -- and signing autographs -- at Citizens Bank Park for years to come.

Jorge Mateo was one of three highly rated prospects the Yankees sent to Oakland for Sonny Gray. The 22 year old shortstop did well in Double A ball this past year, hitting .300 at Trenton (where I saw him play on July 26th) and then .292 for the A's club in Midland, Texas after the deal. He also stole a combined 51 bases between three stops in the minors. The Yankees number-one prospect before the arrival of Gleyber Torres and Clint Frazier -- Mateo should have an easier path to the majors as he prepares for "senior year' in the A's system.

On an extremely slow news day around baseball, reports continue to surface about the Phillies considering Chase Utley as their next bench coach. During the Phils glory days of 2007-2011, he was a strong leader -- and kept that same m.o. after moving into a reserve role with the Dodgers. He certainly brings a post-season pedigree -- he's been on playoff teams in eight of his 13 seasons, with three trips to the World Series, including this year with L.A. Less than a month shy of turning 39, Utley's days as a regular are over, and with the Dodgers brimming with impressive young players, he may not have a spot on the 2018 roster. And maybe not another big league club as a player. Having maintained ties to the Philadelphia area even after being traded to the Dodgers, Utley could be the kind of positive influence a young and rebuilding club needs -- especially with several young and promising Phillies considered underachievers. We all know you can't stop time. But you can a...

...you share it with the mystery player pictured above. Don't worry, I'll identify him at the end of this post. But first, some names you'll recognize: Ben McDonald , a first-overall draft pick who pitched well for the Orioles during the '90s, but never quite became a star. His career was cut short early by shoulder problems. Dave Hansen , the backup infielder who spent parts of 16 seasons in the majors, mainly with the Dodgers. Randy Velarde , who had a career similar to Hansen's, but had several stretches as a regular with the Yankees, A's and Angels. For those who like nice round numbers, he finished his 16 years in the majors with exactly 100 home runs. Steve Yeager spent 15 years in the majors, all but one with the Dodgers. He's a familiar face from the team's winning era of the late '70s and early '80s -- highlighted by sharing MVP honors with Ron Cey and Pedro Guerreo in the 1981 World Series. Yet to many -- especially non-base...