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Yankees' Cody Bellinger Problem Has Become Very Serious
New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger hasn't been good in a long time.
Yankees’ World Series champion pitcher dead at 89
A cause of death has not been reported.
Yankees news: Judge to face live pitching on Monday
Judge set to face live pitching, Grisham may miss the rest of the regular season, Bednar discusses splitter
Yankees Handed Blunt Advice on Aaron Judge’s Injury Rehab
The New York Yankees are nearing the return of Aaron Judge to their lineup. However, the next hurdle in Judge’s return is rehab and getting the slugger’s body ready to hit the ground running in this race to win the AL East. MLB insider Ken Rosenthal noted that Judge isn’t going to the minor leagues […] The post Yankees Handed Blunt Advice on Aaron Judge’s Injury Rehab appeared first on HEAVY.
Welcome to Splitsville: Rangers 8, Rays 6
Globe Life Field has been a house of horrors for the Rays in recent years, so walking away from this four-game road set with a split should be seen as a blessing. The Rays are still four games up on the Yankees in the race for the AL East, and could clinch a postseason berth […]
Padres notes: Michael King all ‘business’ against Yankees; Nick Pivetta returns to rotation on Monday
Right-hander Randy Vasquez available out of the bullpen as the Padres work through what Nick Pivetta can give him in his first availability since April
Yankees Announce Aaron Judge News Before Padres Game
Aaron Judge remains on track to return during the New York Yankees‘ upcoming homestand. The captain has missed more than three months with a stress fracture in his first right rib. Manager Aaron Boone said Judge could return during that homestand, which runs Sept. 8-13 against the Colorado Rockies and New York Mets. The update […] The post Yankees Announce Aaron Judge News Before Padres Game appeared first on HEAVY.
The core anti-Pangram constituency is phony writers
Welcome to The Closing Argument, our verdict on the news, plus everything The Argument published and appeared in this week. The Verdict, by Kelsey Piper A lot of people hate AI for drowning the internet in slop and displacing human creatives. You might think that these people would be thrilled by a program that can identify and flag AI-generated work. But many people who hate AI also hate Pangram, an impressively accurate AI detector that produces very few false positives, according to high-quality independent research. This loathing found its most recent expression in a bizarre Wired article that amplifies a wide range of false arguments from Pangram skeptics: that AI detectors are racist (they’re not) or ableist (they’re not)1 or don’t work (this one does)2. Rather than starting from the premise that it would be really valuable to have a working AI detector and scrutinizing Pangram to make sure it lives up to that promise, the article starts from the premise that Pangram obviously has bad vibes and sets out to discover why. (One answer: The CEO microwaved lunch during an interview!) Why aren’t writers who resent Pangram more eager to distinguish themselves from posters who are having ChatGPT ghostwrite all their work? There are a few different things at play, but I think one key dynamic is this: These are often the same people. A core constituency for arguments like Wired’s is “writers” who are using AI to write their posts but resent this fact being made public. They stand to lose from AI detectors because AI detectors call them out. Share When Substack announced a partnership with Pangram, a sizable fraction of the platform’s authors rose up in outrage. Some people had experience with other AI detectors that didn’t work, and some felt that AI writing ought to be encouraged — both of which are fair enough. But the fury was fueled by authors passionately insisting that Pangram kept wrongly accusing them on almost every post they published. Pangram can be wrong, especially on short passages. But in the overwhelming majority of cases where Pangram looked at a whole blog post rather than a single paragraph, the program correctly detected work as AI. Even if we can’t be 100% sure in any individual case, we can notice the trend in the aggregate. Wired quotes Sam Illingworth, a professor of critical AI literacy at Edinburgh Napier University, who said, “I don’t think [AI detectors] work. … I think that detectors are prejudiced against certain people.” This spring, he said that he used AI for research and editing; this summer he acknowledged that in addition to research and editing, he also uses it “now and then for a turn of phrase I keep.” Pangram informs us that most of his posts are 100% AI-written (some are mixed AI-and-human) and that 100% AI-written posts started appearing last year. The favorable interpretation is that, as someone whose recent work Pangram consistently mistakes for AI, Illingworth sees Pangram’s flaws firsthand. The unfavorable interpretation is that the tool’s credibility trades off against his own, because its account of who writes his posts is not consistent with his. Illingworth is not alone in insisting the detector does not work. “It’s a Monday night in late July, and I’m pasting my own Substack draft into an AI detector for the first time. Not because I’m worried. Because I’m curious. I wrote every word of it myself, the way I write everything, out loud in my head first, in a rhythm that still carries the accent of a language I learned to think in before I learned to write in this one,” begins one Substack post by an author indignant that Pangram flags her writing as AI. “That’s the part I had to sit with before I could write this.” If you, like me, have worked with AIs a lot, you won’t even need Pangram there. The author of that piece is AI. It is obviously AI! I checked 10 other posts on the blog, and they were also obviously AI! “I have spent 22 years as an award-winning author and essayist. And now this bullshit tool that learned from MY writing is going to accuse me of plagiarism,” popular Substack writer Carlyn Beccia wrote in an anti-Pangram post. “For the last and final time, AI DETECTORS DO NOT WORK.” Here’s what her writing sounded like in 2020: “Most success stories revolve around one person who believed enough in you to say — give it a try. We call these people muses, but they are so much more than that. They are the strong man giants whose shoulders we stand on so we can see the horizon. Throughout the editing process, I am sure my editor felt less like a giant of greatness and more like Atlas with the world on her shoulders.” Pangram says it was 100% human-written. (So were other articles of hers in 2020.) And here’s what it sounds like now: “And then there is the reshuffling, which sounds like paperwork until you remember that empires have always loved paperwork. The Trump regime recently moved special education oversight from the Education Department to HHS. That is not a minor bureaucratic transfer. It changes the frame.”3 Pangram says this is mostly AI. I am not convinced that Pangram is wrong. In my own experience, Pangram is very effective on long texts — if it marks a long essay as AI, the essay was either written by AI or deliberately written to sound like AI. On tweet-length or paragraph-length texts, it’s not perfectly reliable. It seems to work just as well for non-native English speakers as for native speakers. While I have seen dozens of claims of pre-2022 text returning a positive result on Pangram, I have tried repeatedly to corroborate those and have never once succeeded. To be clear, I’m absolutely not saying that complaining about Pangram suggests a writer is a cheat. There are plenty of other concerns. Most are mistakenly premised, such as the false claim that Pangram trains on work you put into it, but others are reasonable: It’s unreliable on sufficiently short text segments; it creates an internet witch-hunt mentality when there are defensible uses of AI; people who are open about their AI use are sometimes blamed, when the only people really doing something wrong are the ones who hide it; and it isn’t perfect, so a single positive result shouldn’t be taken as decisive proof of misconduct. I’m happy to concede that Pangram is imperfect and possible to over-rely on. If an author’s posts are mostly non-AI and one scans as partially AI, this could be a mistake. It’s also possible to defeat Pangram with intentional effort. If you think we need something more robust and more reliable, fine! But if you don’t like AI and don’t like Pangram, your attitude really ought to be that it’s a shame that our existing tools for AI detection are imperfect, and it’s important to invent better ones. If your stance is instead that AI is evil and so is looking for AI, then ultimately you’re contributing to the sloppification of the internet. You’re making it harder for people who write their own text to distinguish themselves, and providing cover for authors who are definitely not writing their own text. Subscribe Top stories this week, by Kobe Yank-Jacobs Commentators often worry that the decline of reading could mean the decline of liberal democracy — but deliberative governance actually predated widespread literacy. This week, Maibritt Henkel pointed out that many liberal cultures thrive on a culture of raucous, interactive debate, which can happen in-person as easily, if not more so, than in text. Read on, dear reader, to learn more. It may actually cheer you up: [ ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/reading-wont-save-liberalism) [ Reading won’t save liberalism ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/reading-wont-save-liberalism) Maibritt Henkel · Sep 1 [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/reading-wont-save-liberalism) It used to be bad to downplay climate change (if we mean denying its reality). Today, it’s actually good to downplay climate change (if we mean keeping the issue out of political fights so we can make real progress). This counterintuitive view is called “climate hushing,” and contributor Alex Trembath argued that it’s the key to enacting good policy going forward. Get up to speed on the latest in climate politics: [ ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/we-wont-stop-climate-change-by-talking) [ We won’t stop climate change by talking about it ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/we-wont-stop-climate-change-by-talking) Alex Trembath · Sep 2 [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/we-wont-stop-climate-change-by-talking) Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney is standing up for the forces of liberalism against Donald Trump’s assault on our closest ally. So, why is one prominent left-wing commenter attacking Carney? Columnist Matthew Yglesias explains: [ ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/when-economic-liberty-means-central) [ When "economic liberty" means central planning ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/when-economic-liberty-means-central) Matthew Yglesias · Aug 31 [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/when-economic-liberty-means-central) 🌟Abundance Wins of the Week🌟 Shout out to my home state of California, whose legislature passed two housing bills this week. One requires a housing density minimum in transit-oriented areas of the state’s most transit-rich cities (Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, San Diego, and Long Beach). Another bill closes two common loopholes used by third parties to delay housing projects, including an opportunity to challenge maps of a given lot created by the developer after a project has been approved. Shout out to our big-state rival, Texas, where pro-housing SB 785 took effect this week. The new state law requires municipalities to have at least one district permitted for manufactured housing without a special permit. This will promote zoning changes in 44% of municipalities. The company Fervo Energy signed a deal with Google for what is set to be the world’s largest enhanced geothermal facility, proving a technology can work at a scale that could be crucial to a decarbonized, energy-abundant economy. Share Worth watching… This week, forecasting legend Nate Silver joined Jerusalem, Matt, and Jeremiah on a crowded episode of the pod. It was a party. And speaking of parties, our round table debated the factional lines within the Democratic Party: Is it possible to be center-left and also anti-establishment? Watch or listen to find out: The Rio Grande Valley in Texas is one of the areas that swung hardest toward Trump in 2024, but musician Bobby Pulido is running to flip it back. Right now, The Argument/Split Ticket’s model has him running 1.1 points behind his Republican opponent in a district Trump won by 18 points. Tune in to find out how he differs from national Democrats and what he thinks he can to do win this seat. On Thursday, Bernie Sanders was among the first politicians to call for a ban on superintelligence. My guest this week, Andrea Miotti, has been lobbying to ban superintelligence for several years, most recently in the U.K., U.S., and Canada. I asked him how he gets legislators to take speculative risks seriously, and we dug into what plans might look like to actually pass a ban. Listen to learn more: What’s News with The Argument The Argument recommends, by Kobe Yank-Jacobs If we ever lose track of Justin Zuckerman, I’ll have the team split up and check all the movie theaters in the city. I’m shocked (and a little jealous) at how often he gets out to see good cinema. This week, he brings us It Ends, a “horror-ish movie,” which he described as a “Gen Z Waiting for Godot.” I was intrigued before he added that it was “funny, dark and existential” — at which point I was fully locked in. I guess I also had existential themes on the mind this week. One morning, a single line from a poem I read long ago just came to me: “Is death a stretch of time in which a life is just a flash?” The poem is called “From 20,000 Feet” by Heather McHugh. I suggest the version in The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry, which, by tradition, my best friend and I always bring backpacking, extra weight be damned. We’ll stay thematically dark for just one more rec from senior editor John Robert Thomason, whose upcoming trip to Baltimore reminded him to suggest Michael Clune’s memoir White Out (about being addicted to heroin in Baltimore in the 1990s). Ben Lerner’s blurb called it _“_Disturbing, brilliant, hilarious—it’s as if Proust had written Jesus’ Son.” John told me this “seems accurate, with the caveat that I’ve never read Proust.” I, personally, have also shelved Proust until retirement. At this point, I was a little concerned for the team since all of us tossed out such psychologically grim material — maybe we’re all down about the end of summer — but thankfully, at least a few of us were into more upbeat selections. Milan Singh recommended Made In’s 5-quart stainless clad saucier, suggesting he had some fun in the kitchen. Jeremiah Johnson asked if he could recommend yet more Carly Rae Jepsen. Once denied, he offered up Game Changer instead_,_ calling it “the most wildly creative game show, maybe in the entire history of the genre.” Eli Richman mentioned _Lucky, “_a B-tier show with an A-tier cast and an S-tier theme song.” I suppose he was recommending the song, Horns of a Bull. Still, despite these cheerier recs, I couldn’t help but be concerned that we were subconsciously worried about racing toward summer’s end — the end of swim trunks and splashing around. Then a message landed reminding me of the three-day weekend to come. A whole extra day for sunshine. One more swim in the lake. I was grateful this called to mind yet another line from a poem, one by Mary Oliver, the patron saint of every gorgeous summer day (and about whom a documentary is now out). Speaking to God in the poem “Thirst,” she wrote: grant me, in your mercy,a little more time. Love for the earthand love for you are having such a longconversation in my heart. We have merch! We have quarter-zips, keychains, hats, and stickers. Each one is a great conversation starter in its own way. Buy them here. Subscribe More to read: [ The Opening Argument ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/seeing-like-an-elite)[ Seeing like an elite ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/seeing-like-an-elite) Kobe Yank-Jacobs · Sep 4 What do Americans hear when they watch Sen. Bernie Sanders or Vice President JD Vance rail against the elite? Are they thinking of right-wing tech billionaires? Imperious college professors? Liberal magazine writers? [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/seeing-like-an-elite) [ The Weekly Scroll ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/god-is-back-on-the-timeline)[ God is back on the timeline ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/god-is-back-on-the-timeline) Jeremiah Johnson · Sep 5 This week, we’re talking about Substack’s new religious debates, the continuing MAGA influencer scandal, how to retire from YouTube, and aura battles. [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/god-is-back-on-the-timeline) 1 This was a legitimate thing to worry about, but doesn’t seem to be a problem given the actual technology: Marijke Van Vlasselaer, Filip Van Droogenbroeck, and Bram Spruyt’s 2026 paper looks at whether Pangram is less accurate when evaluating the work of non-native speakers of English. It isn’t. That’s because Pangram isn’t really looking at how “unusual” a piece of writing is but whether it has the characteristic patterns of LLMs. The Wired article makes an odd gesture at a different Pangram-is-racist argument. There were several controversies this summer during which upcoming books were canceled after being discovered to be AI-written: “The three novels mentioned earlier — Shy Girl, Daggermouth, and Call Me, easily publishing’s biggest AI-detection scandals — were all written by writers of color.” But come on! As Zvi Mowshowitz put it: “They were not primarily written by people of color. They were primarily written by AIs.” That’s the whole problem! And as my colleague Jeremiah Johnson recently observed with respect to Cambridge’s Arday scandal, a community being unwilling to call out fraud if it’s perpetuated by people of color is not an anti-racist tendency; it is ultimately quite racist. 2 Many non-Pangram detectors don’t work, but many possible airplane designs also don’t work, and no one considers this a general argument against aviation; the thing that matters is whether any detection works. 3 The phrase “empires have always loved” mysteriously became all the rage in the last few years. See here, here, here, here and here. Before 2025, the only use of that phrase I have been able to find is a single Tweet. The logic of the sentence, too, is incoherent in an AI-characteristic way. “...sounds like paperwork, until you remember that empires have always loved paperwork”? Does remembering that make it sound less like paperwork? It’s a craft-ful sentence, but what is it actually saying??
Yankees facing predicament that could delay Aaron Judge’s return
New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge is nearly back from his rib injury.
Robbie Ray gets roughed up in Padres’ loss to Yankees
News to know about your San Diego Padres and MLB for September 6, 2026.
Yankees Suddenly Have an Expensive David Bednar Problem
The New York Yankees suddenly have a costly problem with David Bednar. Literally.
Yankees news: Aaron Judge continues to get closer to return
Judge keeps getting closer to the Bronx; Yanks’ value goes up; Volpe’s Bambino impression; Grisham update
Yankees Extend Astounding Streak to 34 Years in a Row
The New York Yankees win. For most of their history, that’s been the truth, and it remains true in this era of Yankees baseball. Sure, haters will point out that they haven’t won the World Series since 2009, but it’s also true that they continue to win baseball games year in and year out. That […] The post Yankees Extend Astounding Streak to 34 Years in a Row appeared first on HEAVY.
Early offense, great relief pitching gives Yankees win over Padres
The bullpen’s four innings of nearly-hitless ball iced out the Dads.
New York Yankees’ Jasson Domínguez Drops Bold Anthony Volpe Quote
New York Yankees outfielder dropped a bold quote regarding shortstop Anthony Volpe, who is currently in Triple-A. The post New York Yankees’ Jasson Domínguez Drops Bold Anthony Volpe Quote appeared first on HEAVY.
Yankees Outfielder Hits Injured List; Jasson Domínguez Gets the Call
The New York Yankees announced a significant roster move on Saturday afternoon, sending center fielder Trent Grisham to the 10-day injured list with a hamstring strain. To replace him, the Yankees recalled outfielder Jasson Domínguez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Since going down with a concussion in May, Domínguez's OPS in the minors has dropped 77 points, …
Padres Announce Manny Machado Move During Yankees Series
The San Diego Padres are looking to take the series from the New York Yankees today after a thrilling walk-off win on Friday.San Diego has been battling for playoff positioning this year, now sitting just 0.5 games up on the final wild-card spot in the National League. The Padres have a few weeks left to […] The post Padres Announce Manny Machado Move During Yankees Series appeared first on HEAVY.
Yankees Manager Reveals Major Injury Update on Aaron Judge
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone has dropped a major injury update on Aaron Judge.
Yankees at Risk of Losing Key Pitcher
The New York Yankees have plenty to worry about before considering this offseason’s free agent class. When it arrives, though, the Yanks will be at risk of losing at least one key pitcher from their current roster. It’s a reality that’s at least worth analyzing right now, because free agency will arrive, and it’s always […] The post Yankees at Risk of Losing Key Pitcher appeared first on HEAVY.
Yankees replace outfielder Trent Grisham in latest roster move
The New York Yankees announced the replacement for outfielder Trent Grisham after placing him on the 10-day injured list.
The best errors in Yankees’ history
The brother of a future Yankee great played a hand in a Bombers’ World Series title, not in the way you might think.
Checking in on the Yankees’ August additions, one month later
Luis García Jr., Heliot Ramos, and George Lombard Jr. have been with the Yankees for a month now. How have they fared?
Yankees Birthday of the Day: Al Orth
“The Curveless Wonder” had one especially wonderful season in New York.
Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone updates injury status of outfielder
Boone updated the media following the Yankees loss to the Padres.
Trent Grisham injury creates a major Yankees problem at worst possible time
Trent Grisham’s latest hamstring injury could force the Yankees to reorganize their outfield during the most important weeks of the season.
Yankees Get $12 Billion Update After Record-Setting Purchase Agreement
The New York Yankees have reached a new record valuation following a historic sale update from a billionaire NFL owner.
Yankees news: Spencer Jones’ homecoming
A long-awaited San Diego return; Grisham leaves with injury; Yankees prospect’s slap-happy approach; 9/11 commemoration plans
New York Yankees Announce Trent Grisham Update After Exiting Padres Game
The New York Yankees began a weekend series with the San Diego Padres on Friday night.And right when they finally seemed like they were getting healthy again, with players returning and superstar Aaron Judge on the cusp of making his comeback, they suffered another notable setback during the series opener.Trent Grisham Exits Padres Game With […] The post New York Yankees Announce Trent Grisham Update After Exiting Padres Game appeared first on HEAVY.
Yankees' Trent Grisham leaves game with right hamstring discomfort
Center fielder Trent Grisham left the New York Yankees' game Friday night against San Diego because of discomfort in his right hamstring. Grisham drew a walk from Walker Buehler leading off the second inning and was thrown out trying to steal second base. Rookie Spencer Jones, who is from Encinitas in northern San Diego County, moved from right field to center field, and Heliot Ramos entered in Grisham's spot in the order playing right field.
15 discouraging hours with Onimusha: Way of the Sword, and 10 brilliant ones with He Who Watches
In the last few weeks, while playing some video games that I might review, I emailed two cries for help. I sent the first to a rep for Capcom, confessing that the company’s samurai game Onimusha Way of the Sword (out today for PC and console) was crushing me. “Feels like I’m playing ‘hard’ mode, not ‘normal,’” I wrote. “And I don’t want to have to knock it down to “story”. I’m exploring, trying to level my gear, but these two-phase boss fights with no mid-fight checkpoints are brutal.” I wagered I was only about halfway through the game, if that. I wasn’t sure I could keep up with the steepening difficulty curve. Was I missing something? Then, on Monday, I took some photos of some puzzles that were baffling me in the mind-bending He Who Watches (out now on PC), wrote out lengthy descriptions of how I’d been trying to solve them and asked Bobby Vanden, the game’s solo developer, for a nudge in the right direction. I told Vanden I’d spent hours on these puzzles. “I’m stuck in triplicate,” I told him. Could he tell me if the solutions I was attempting were even on the right track? I didn’t mention that the puzzles—coupled with major time pressures from other work—were stressing me out so much that playing the game was giving me headaches. This double dose of panic was unusual. I’m used to managing a workload full of reporting and reviewing, used to a crowded schedule and the need to stay calm amid the bustle. But I was stressed about these games. No one was forcing me to review them, nor even play them. I’d simply found them interesting enough to start, hoped they’d be interesting enough to write about and I’d sunk hours into them assuming I’d made the right call. Suddenly, however, I felt trapped. I was emailing for a way out. Above: This guy took me about an hour to beat. The feedback I got from Capcom confirmed my fears. They didn’t say it, but I will: Onimusha Way of the Sword is not for me. It’s a brutally hard game in need of a normal difficulty level. It’s a game that spikes so severely during its abundant boss fights—yet offers such flawed ways to improve when outside of them—that it feels like a bait-and-switch. In the new Onimusha, you play as famed samurai Musashi Miyamoto, aided by a magical soul-absorbing gauntlet that is possessed by a lady who offers advice. (Way of the Sword is a continuation of Capcom’s long-dormant Onimusha series, but that set-up had me wondering if the company was cribbing from their ill-fated Bionic Commando reboot; read about “wife-arm” when you get a chance). Way of the Sword is partially set in 17th century Kyoto, an explorable city where Miyamoto can fight demons, help civilians and eventually rescue ghostly dogs. The city evolves over time, with new mini adventures and obtainable loot on offer, all feeding into systems that promise to upgrade your gear and sword-fighting skills. Upgrades, however, are so incremental as to be imperceptible, causing the exploration of Kyoto to feel like inconsequential busywork. From that hub, players can go on linear missions into forests and old temples, where they will encounter many of the game’s tough bosses. Combat in Way of the Sword is akin to many modern melee games. Players are asked to mix attacks with dodges and parries. They’re encouraged to deplete an enemy’s stamina bar in order to do greater damage to its health bar. The old Onimusha games’ signature move was the issen, a counter-attack so sudden it’s all but pre-emptive. You strike just as they begin to strike toward you, beating them to the cut. By definition, the issen is a high risk move, leaving you wide open to pain. It feels risky in the game, especially against bosses, who can maul you in just a few blows. A game might train you to perform an issen well by offering a variety of lesser enemies who are not as tough as the boss but get close. Or it might offer a toehold against bosses by saving or checkpointing the player’s progress when a boss’ first health bar has been destroyed and before the second health bar appears. It might offer the less skilled player a chance to over-level their character, should the player simply commit to playing through its optional sidequests. Way of the Sword does none of this. Fighting its trivially easy grunt enemies and then its ferociously adept bosses is like playing a game of chess where I’ve got a rook, while the opposing side is all pawns and five queens. Bosses simply don’t checkpoint. You may be able to clear a boss’ first phase without taking much damage. Good for you. Do it again, every time you fail the second phase. As for the the central Kyoto hub, I kept pace with all of its added side activities and never felt like I was overpowered. Bosses could still easily buckle me. The new Onimusha, I concluded, is just too discouraging to keep playing. The advice I got from Capcom had been well-intentioned. They reminded me of the game’s various systems. They alerted me to an optional assist that flashes recommended button inputs (basically: counter this move; dodge that move). It was a little helpful. So was dropping down to “story mode,” which I tried last night. Story mode turns on those button prompts by default. It makes countering and dodging way too easy, nearly automatic. I don’t consider myself a master of action games like these, but I’ve cleared the likes of God of War, Stellar Blade, Star Wars Jedi and others of sub-Sekiro difficulty and had a fun time doing so. Not here. Not yet. Unless they patch Onimusha: Way of the Sword and add a middle difficulty or just checkpoint the damn bosses when they’re between health bars, my streak of loving Capcom games released in 2026 will likely end at two. It’s a shame, because I was having a good time finding those ghostly dogs. And then there’s He Who Watches, a phenomenal first person puzzle game with Portal vibes, except instead of a portal gun you’ve got a magical bow that shoots one arrow that can activate switches or be used to drag blocks. The twist is an actual twist: you can also walk on walls and the ceiling, reorienting gravity as you do, thereby placing blocks onto those other surfaces. Walking on walls and ceilings to solve problems is really the best thing. Would that I could in reality. He Who Watches consists of locked-room challenges, each brief enough to only require about a minute to actually solving, though it will take five, 10, eventually 30 minutes to figure out said solutions. They are not obvious! It’s a game of layered mechanics and shocking solutions. For example, see if you can follow this: You can drag a block to a wall. Then you can walk on the wall, which now feels like the floor, and drag that block across the wall. Later, back on the floor, you might realize you can look up. The block is still on the wall, stuck to it. You can shoot your magic arrow to its underside. Doing so creates a tether, so that you can yank the block off the wall and carry it, as if it were a balloon, into the spot where you need it to be to solve the puzzle. Here, watch Vanden explain some of the game’s basics in this launch trailer: As with any great puzzle game, the solutions to He Who Watches’ puzzles elicit relief and amazement. Oh my god, that worked! I didn’t even think that could be possible! Learning to solve the game’s puzzles feels like learning magic. But, oh, does the game get hard. Its Steam reviews, mostly glowing, are full of players remarking how quickly He Who Watches made them sweat. Wrote one: “loving this one already although my brain is hurting!” Wrote another: “As you get further in the game it feels like you need an IQ level of at least 120+.” Vanden has shown some mercy. Each locked room puzzle includes an optional junior version of the puzzle, meant to teach you. Difficulty nevertheless ramps severely. By the time I was emailing Vanden for help, I was struggling to even clear one of the hint puzzles. When I messaged him, my stress was exacerbated by strange things I’d found in the game’s various hubs: suspicious passageways, odd blocks and some intriguing locked doors. These were hints of secrets, I realized, yet I sensed I needed to play further into the game to understand them. I was stuck, but I wanted to see the rest. Vanden offered to give me the exact solutions, to solve those three puzzles for me, but first he gave four nudges. Three were for the specific puzzles, but his best hint was for all and ultimately proved to be a terrific life lesson: go back a bit, he suggested. Do the puzzles right before those. They were teaching you something. Focus on what their lesson was. Don’t rush, in other words. Recognize what you’ve accomplished. Build off of that. I did so. I absorbed the lessons. I saw those three tough puzzles in a new light. I solved one the night after he wrote back, another the morning after. I left a third for another time. I didn’t need it and I wanted to plunge deeper into the game, closer to the moment when I was sure I could start unlocking those secret doors. My head stopped hurting, too. He Who Watches feels special. It’s got more challenges, and I’m undeterred. It’s also nice that its puzzles don’t have a surprise second health bar. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Item 2: In brief… 🎮 Ilari Kuittinen, co-founder of Helsinki-based Housemarque (Super Stardust HD, Resogun, Returnal) has stepped down from his studio, after a 31-year run, saying he’s “ taking a rare and well-deserved breather.” Sony purchased Housemarque in 2021, and the studio released its newest game, Saros, earlier this year. Trend-watch: Sony-owned Insomniac saw its founder Ted Price retire in early 2025, after a 30-year run. Sony-owned Sucker Punch saw its co-founder Brian Fleming step down in late 2025, after a 28-year run. 👀 Savvy Games Group chief Brian Ward is stepping down from the Saudi-government-backed games conglomerate, Bloomberg reports. No word on a long-term successor yet, nor if this augurs any closer integration between Savvy and Electronic Arts. EA was purchased by a consortium led by Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund, in early August. 💿 Square Enix has denied a Japanese media report that the company was planning to go private. In very different Square Enix news, the company revealed that the physical version of Final Fantasy VII: Revelation, the April 2027 finale of its radical remakes of FFVII, will include just one disc in its case, requiring a download for the rest. The first two FFVII remakes in the trilogy shipped on two discs apiece. While Square hasn’t commented on the reason why, a feature here in Game File last month broke down the processes and costs for physical games. The expense of a second disc comes out of the game publisher’s cut of each copy. Square could be saving in excess of a dollar a copy with this move. 🟥 Grand Theft Auto IV’s 26-minute ’‘extended look” gameplay showcase that premiered on Netflix last week—and was exclusive to the platform for six hours—drew 31.1 million views in its first four days, the streamer announced. (Netflix calculates views as total viewed hours divided by runtime; excludes replays). Compared to YouTube: The version that later premiered on Rockstar Games’ YouTube channel is sitting at 22.6 million views after seven days (YouTube’s more liberal counting system tallies anyone who viewed even just the first few second.) Compared to other Netflix mega-events: Last year, Stranger Things season 5’s first four episodes, which debuted together, drew a record 59.6 million views in their first few days on Netflix. For more of a live event type of comparison, in 2024, the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match drew 65 million concurrent streams as it happened; Netflix didn’t release live numbers for the GTA premiere. ☁️ Microsoft is changing the way it charges for cloud gaming, from an all-you-can-play offer for Xbox Game Pass subscribers, to caps for the subscription’s tiers (15 hours per month at the Ultimate tier), with the option to buy more hours in bulk beyond that. The company also said it will sell batches of cloud gaming time to non-Game Pass subscribers, details TBA. Microsoft does not release figures for cloud game usage, but said its changes would impact 4% of Game Pass subscribers. That implies a small portion of its subscribers exceed the 15-hour monthly mark. Cloud gaming offers the promise of playing games without the need for console or PC hardware, as the graphics, sound and controls are all transmitted via a streaming connection. Microsoft notes that its cloud gaming service can be used for a range of things, including Xbox One players using it to play newer-gen Xbox Series games via streaming; and people playing games via streaming, sans any console, “in markets where consoles are less available or affordable.” (That latter use case could even be relevant in Xbox’s home market soon, as console prices keep rising.) Take Two Interactive chairman Strauss Zelnick recently told investors he expects game-streaming tech, which has been only lightly adopted by gamers for over a decade, to be widely used within three years. 🇺🇸 The Trump administration has published multiple agenda-driven web video games to the White House’s website. One called Build The Wall partially clones Tetris as it asks players to build a wall to stop a “zombie border siege.” While actual Tetris involves clearing lines and basically not building a wall, the Trump-backed game omits the line-clearing aspect (and omits the fun as well). On Instagram, Tetris’ official license holders reacted by stating: “At Tetris we believe in the power of connection and bringing people together, not dividing them. To our fans everywhere: we love you, we see you, and we’re grateful to have you in our community. P.S. The Tetris Company was not involved in the creation of ‘Build the Wall.’ P.P.S.: We take copyright infringement very seriously.” Item 3: The week ahead: Tuesday, September 8 Game releases: Mewgenics (consoles; already out on PC) is an engrossing tactical combat game (with cats). It is getting its console port right after the release of a Star Wars tactics game and ahead of the late September launch of a Fire Emblem–a bumper crop for the genre. Wanderburg (PC) is an auto-shooting game like Vampire Survivors, but you’re a castle on wheels Event: Nintendo airs a 30-minute Nintendo Direct (10am ET) focused on The Legend of Zelda’s 40th Anniversary. A full unveiling of the upcoming remake of The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time is expected. Will they also show footage from next year’s live action movie? Tease the next big 3D Zelda? Add Link to Mario Kart World? Shadow-drop a new Tingle game? Wednesday, September 9 Event: Nintendo again! On this day, they’re planning to air a 45-minute Nintendo Direct (10am ET) focused on games heading to Switch 2 this winter. Followed by about an hour of gameplay demoed by the company’s Treehouse team. The September Nintendo Directs are always some of the year’s biggest. The 2025 edition included announcements of several major 2026 Switch/Switch 2 games: Pokémon Pokopia, Mario Tennis Fever, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, Fire Emblem Fortune’s Weave. Plus the return of the Virtual Boy. Friday, September 11 Game release: EA Sports NHL 27 (PlayStation, Xbox) is a hockey game. There are so few that an indie studio that had been making wacky sci-fi first-person shooters just announced that, hey, we’re going to fill a void and make a hockey game for PC.
Yankees’ Aaron Judge Announces Personal News Ahead of Injury Return
Aaron Judge’s New York Yankees closed out another series win over the Los Angeles Angels, taking two of three games in Anaheim. The team capped it with a 6-3 win in Wednesday’s finale. The Yankees now turn to the San Diego Padres. New York arrives at Petco Park with an 80-60 record, while the Padres […] The post Yankees’ Aaron Judge Announces Personal News Ahead of Injury Return appeared first on HEAVY.
Yankees close to adding top pitching prospect
The Yankees would get a major boost to the big league club.
Yankees finally get good news on pitching prospect Carlos Lagrange
This is a positive update for Lagrange and the Yankees.
Yankees Birthday of the Day: Doyle Alexander
Sometimes a long career brings a mixed bag of results.
The Trent Grisham issue Yankees fans should be concerned about
This should concern the Yankees in September.
Yankees' Cut Candidate Emerges Amid Aaron Judge Return
Someone will have to go when Aaron Judge returns to the New York Yankees.
Padres Face A Prove-It Series Against Yankees This Weekend
The San Diego Padres have dropped out of the third wild-card after a rough road trip, and they have a big homestand.
New York Yankees at San Diego Padres: Series Preview
The Yankees continue their road trip as they visit a playoff hopeful.
Yankees' AL East Dream is More Realistic Than You Think
The New York Yankees still have a chance of winning the AL East.
Liverpool target Minteh can still get dream move
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler says Yankuba Minteh can still "fulfil his dream" move in future after the Seagulls turned down Liverpool's offers for the winger.
Yankees news: George Lombard Jr. could return against Padres
Lombard’s return looks imminent; Wells rebounds after nightmarish start to season; Yanks gear up for stretch run.
Yankees’ Max Fried Plan Vs. Padres Comes With Risk
Max Fried is still working himself back to full strength from injury.Because of that, the New York Yankees seem likely to employ a fascinating strategy with him when he takes the mound on Friday against the San Diego Padres.Fried is the scheduled starting pitcher, and that’s not really in question. He should get the ball […] The post Yankees’ Max Fried Plan Vs. Padres Comes With Risk appeared first on HEAVY.
Red Sox Could Catch Yankees, but Health is More Important
The Red Sox have to be smart in multiple ways.
Yankees' George Lombard Jr. Might Be Starting to Feel It
New York Yankees shortstop George Lombard Jr. is getting his first taste of a pennant race.
MLB insider 'expects' Yankees to keep Aaron Boone as manager
This is Boone's ninth season as Yankees manager.
Photographer carted off field after being struck in head by Ben Rice line drive
A scary incident delayed play in the Yankees-Angels game for 10 minutes.
Yankees news: Cole opines on Angels sale
Cole on Angels sale; Scouting notes on several Yankees; Yankees tampons; Remaining strength of schedule for contenders
Colorado’s education paradigm déja-vu
Déja-vu for 10 years. In 2015-2016, state standardized testing was fully integrated into teacher performance evaluation. The tests comprised 50% of teacher “performance.” The idea was to follow the General Electric “rank-and-yank” human resources model. At GE, the model went like this: top 20% of employees got raises and bonuses; the middle 70% got to […]
Yankees Have ‘Most Underrated Reliever in the American League’
The New York Yankees are a franchise filled with big names.The legends of yesteryear need no introductions, and neither do many of this season’s superstars. Think guys like Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole, Max Fried and even Ben Rice. At this point, everyone knows them.That’s not the case for one of the most important pitchers the […] The post Yankees Have ‘Most Underrated Reliever in the American League’ appeared first on HEAVY.
Yankees Manager Gives Honest Spencer Jones Statement Before Angels Game
The New York Yankees have to be feeling good about how Spencer Jones has turned out this season. Yankees manager Aaron Boone spoke about Jones before their series finale against the Los Angeles Angels.“He can impact a game in profound way on both sides of the ball, on the bases, you name it,” Boone told […] The post Yankees Manager Gives Honest Spencer Jones Statement Before Angels Game appeared first on HEAVY.
Yankees' George Lombard: Not in Wednesday's lineup
Yankees' George Lombard: Not in Wednesday's lineup
Yankees' Aaron Boone Drops Major Update On Aaron Judge's Return
The New York Yankees have been without Aaron Judge for most of the season, but he is close to returning
Yankees news: Trent Grisham has become a problem
Grisham a liability in center; Jones comes full circle; Judge optimistic about return; Piggybacking; Yankees keep Topa.
Yankees activate Ryan McMahon, add John Schreiber to active roster
The Yankees have made their September 1st roster additions.
Yankees August Approval Poll: Brian Cashman
Did the Yankees do enough in August to make a push for the division in the home stretch?
Yankees' Elmer Rodriguez Concerns Have Reached New Heights
New York Yankees pitcher Elmer Rodriguez might not be a long-term answer.
Yankees linked to offseason trade for Brewers' 'premier offensive threat'
This would be an upgrade in the infield for the Yankees.
Yankees prospects: Week 23 minor league recap
Not much time left. Time for the playoff sprint.
New York Yankees Announce Aaron Judge Update Before Angels Series
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced a major update on Aaron Boone before Monday night's game against the Angels. The post New York Yankees Announce Aaron Judge Update Before Angels Series appeared first on HEAVY.
Red Sox forced to replace Willson Contreras after Yankees series
The Boston Red Sox replaced first baseman Willson Contreras after an unfortunate update.
Brian Cashman failed Yankees fans & Aaron Boone
The Yankees roster issues have been exposed this season more than ever.
Yankees' Will Warren May Have Just Saved His Job
New York Yankees pitcher Will Warren may have just saved his job with his latest performance.
“1000% A Catch”; “Absolutely Ridiculous” – Red Sox Fans Furious After Ceddanne Rafaela’s No-Catch Call in 16-1 Loss Vs Yankees
Red Sox CF Ceddanne Rafaela was left perplexed after a no-catch call in the outfield during Sunday’s series finale against the Yankees. In the fifth inning, with a runner on base, Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Red Sox news: Ceddanne Rafaela grabs attention with post after controversial no-catch
Boston Red Sox outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela made his frustration clear after a disputed defensive play became a major turning point in a 16-1 loss to the New York Yankees on Sunday . Boston and New York was tied 0-0 in the fifth inning when Jazz Chisholm Jr. sent a 299-foot fly ball toward right-center field. Rafaela adjusted his route, charged […] The post Red Sox news: Ceddanne Rafaela grabs attention with post after controversial no-catch appeared first on ClutchPoints.
Yankees Sign Former Top Five Prospect
The New York Yankees have signed Jarred Kelenic to a minor league deal
Braves Former Slugger Joins Yankees After Sudden Cut
The Atlanta Braves got a surprising update as a former everyday outfielder signed with the New York Yankees.
Yankees Suddenly DFA Recently Signed Pitcher During Red Sox Series
The New York Yankees are preparing for the second game of their Saturday doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox. New York will be hoping to bounce back during it, as they lost the first game of their doubleheader to Boston by a 6-0 final score.Now, ahead of their series finale against the Red Sox, the […] The post Yankees Suddenly DFA Recently Signed Pitcher During Red Sox Series appeared first on HEAVY.
Yankees news: Cody Bellinger's 'tennis' admission will catch fans' attention
New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger is a World Series champion, National League Championship Series MVP, regular season MVP, three-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner. One does not collect all that hardware without becoming a master of preparation. Yes, his career took a nosedive for a couple of years due to prolonged injury problems and […] The post Yankees news: Cody Bellinger's 'tennis' admission will catch fans' attention appeared first on ClutchPoints.
Yankees' Unsuspecting Pitcher Has Become Massive X-Factor
This unsuspecting New York Yankees pitcher has become a huge X-factor down the stretch.
Red Sox Face Daunting Doubleheader Challenge Against Yankees Aces
After being shut out in consecutive games, the Red Sox must find an offensive answer against Carlos Rodón and returning Yankees ace Max Fried.
New York Yankees Still Have a Luis Garcia Jr. Dilemma
Luis Garcia Jr. has been terrific for the New York Yankees, but he is still a dilemma for the club.
Yankees' win against Boston was big in so many ways
Toi start the final regular season meeting between MLB's ancient rivals, the Yankees beat the Red Sox, 1-0, on Friday night in the Bronx.
Yankees news: Max Fried set to return tonight against Red Sox
Fried expected to start Saturday’s nightcap; Yankees checking in on relievers after Cruz injury.
Yankees Announce Max Fried News Before Red Sox Series
The New York Yankees will get Max Fried back in their series against the Red Sox. MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reports that Fried will start one of their two games in their doubleheader vs. Boston. Carlos Rodon will start the other game. Max Fried will return for tomorrow’s doubleheader vs. Boston. Aaron Boone said the Yankees […] The post Yankees Announce Max Fried News Before Red Sox Series appeared first on HEAVY.
Yankees Mailbag: Bullpen fatigue and salary cap concerns
The Yankees have help coming for the ‘pen, but is it too far away to save the current arms?
Spencer Jones is making it happen, one way or another
The Yankees rookie is producing with the bat, and we haven’t even seen all he has to offer.
Weekend series marks reminder of Red Sox-Yankees playoff inevitably
Take this weekend to get ready, because I would be SHOCKED if the American League playoffs don’t open on Sep. 29 with the Red Sox and Yankees matched up in the Wild Card series. Boston and New York square off for the final time this (regular) season this weekend at Yankee Stadium in a pivotal […]
Aaron Boone's Yankees Future Has Already Been Sealed
Aaron Boone's future with the New York Yankees has been sealed this season.
Yankees news: Aaron Boone's strategy brings playoff concerns
Earlier this week, the New York Yankees lost Fernando Cruz for the season , depleting another arm from their bullpen. Because of this, Aaron Boone has had to take special measures with his use of the bullpen. Even though the Yankees’ playoff odds are good, their World Series chances are in danger as they attempt to navigate the bullpen , according […] The post Yankees news: Aaron Boone's strategy brings playoff concerns appeared first on ClutchPoints.
Sports: Yanks win, Pro Bowl no more
The Bronx Bombers lived up to their name Wednesday, while the NFL announced the end of a tradition.
How worried are you about the Yankees’ September bullpen?
The best closer is a blowout victory, at least.
Yankees news: Cruz’s season in jeoprady
Sox deploying southpaws; Cole making a Cooperstown case; top 10 pending FAs; Yankees marauding exec
Yankees Get Devastating Fernando Cruz Injury News During Astros Series
The New York Yankees got a devastating update concerning reliever Fernando Cruz. Yankee manager Aaron Boone told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch that Cruz is seeking second opinions after imaging revealed a partially torn UCL in his right elbow. Fernando Cruz has a partial tear of his right UCL. He is seeking second opinions but surgery is […] The post Yankees Get Devastating Fernando Cruz Injury News During Astros Series appeared first on HEAVY.
Sousa Implodes, Astros Crushed by Yankees 9-3
In the end, Bennett Sousa just wasn’t up to the task. Yankees 9 Astros 3. The Astros would once again get on the board first. Isaac Paredes drew a two out walk and scored on a Jose Altuve double. However, the lead was short-lived as in the bottom of […]
Yankees’ Option Reliever Bradley Hanner To Triple A
As a corresponding move to the Yankees activating Elmer Rodriguez ahead of tonight’s game, in which he will be the starting pitcher, the Yankees have optioned right-handed relief pitcher Bradley Hanner back to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post.Hanner is 29 years old, listed at 6’4 210 lbs. The journeyman […] The post Yankees’ Option Reliever Bradley Hanner To Triple A appeared first on HEAVY.
New York Yankees Announce Max Fried Update During Astros Series
The New York Yankees revealed an update on left-hander Max Fried ahead of Wednesday night's game against the Houston Astros. The post New York Yankees Announce Max Fried Update During Astros Series appeared first on HEAVY.
Astros’ Yordan Alvarez nears record held by Yankees’ Aaron Judge
Yordan Alvarez's dominance is making him historically difficult to pitch to.
Yankees send Fernando Cruz to IL, sign Michael Fulmer
The Yankees see another key arm go down, and add a surprise veteran to the mix.
Yankees sign All-Star reliever amid Fernando Cruz injury news
The Yankees made a few notable roster moves before tonight's game.
Yankees, Dodgers viewed as 'frontrunners' for Japanese pitching prospect
The Yankees and Dodgers could battle it out for the right-hander.
Yankees Birthday of the Day: Jayson Nix
The utility infielder from the 2012-13 Yankees turns 44 today.
What should we expect when Aaron Judge returns?
Can the Yankees expect a return to superstardom from Aaron Judge?
Astros Outslug Yankees in 9-7 Victory
The Astros took their first bite out the big apple on Tuesday Night, and it was a big one. Astros 9 Yankees 7. Game one of the post-Dana Brown era had a different feel with a much-needed result. Call it desperation, call it sharper focus, patience at the plate, or just unwavering […]
New York Yankees Announce Heliot Ramos Decision Before Astros Series
The New York Yankees are coming off a weekend series victory over the Toronto Blue Jays as they enter Tuesday night.They’ll now begin a three-game set against the Houston Astros in the Bronx, and ahead of the matchup, Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed his starting lineup, which turned some heads.Boone decided to make no changes […] The post New York Yankees Announce Heliot Ramos Decision Before Astros Series appeared first on HEAVY.