Remembering the Last Time the Yankees Had a Pitcher Play in the Field

The last time the Yankees saw a pitcher man a position in the field before Bryan Mitchell did it in 2017 was on July 24, 1983 inside Yankee Stadium against the Kansas City Royals.


If the date didn’t immediately jump out at you then let me explain. This game will forever be known as the great Pine Tar Incident in Major League Baseball. The controversy came in the ninth inning with two outs when George Brett hit a two-run home run to put the Royals ahead of the Yankees, well until Yankees manager Billy Martin came out and argued the call. Martin noticed a large amount of pine tar on Brett’s bat and asked the umpires to rule on the matter. The rule is the amount of pine tar on the bat cannot exceed the width of home plate, Brett’s bat did and he was called out at home thus ending the game and the rally. Brett stormed out of the dugout furiously after the umpires and after pleading his case to no avail. The game was over, the Yankees win.


Now long story short the game was protested and the Royals eventually won the protest. The game was restarted and Brett’s home run was allowed and the Royals hung on to their 5-4 lead for the victory but that’s not the point of this post. The point of the post is who was playing in center field that game. Maybe you have heard of him, Ron Guidry?


Martin was furious about the game being protested and then continued so in an act of protest the Yankees manager moved Guidry to center field. Guidry replaced then center fielder Jerry Mumphrey who has since been traded to the Houston Astros while Martin also moved left-handed throwing Don Mattingly to second base after then second baseman Bert Campaneris was injured. Martin, like Joe Girardi over the weekend, did not want to potentially lose a pinch hitter, runner or pitcher which accounted for the decisions.





And now you know.

Will Mother Nature Sweep the Yankees Today?...

Detroit’s “All Wet”…

It sounds as though it will be a soggy Saturday and, unfortunately, Sunday for the Yankees. Rain is forecasted the entire day with no potential breaks in the weather. The first game of the double-header planned for today has already been postponed but it will most likely be two games lost to Mother Nature.  

Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox keep winning. The Sox lead the AL East by three games over the Toronto Blue Jays after their destruction of the Baltimore Orioles yesterday, 10-3. The Yankees are five games back. For the Red Sox, it is the best start (12-2) in franchise history. They are averaging 6.14 runs per game with team ERA of 3.07. By comparison, the Yankees are scoring an average of 5.5 runs per game with team ERA of 4.78. Pitching, pitching, pitching.

With the postponement of at least one of today’s games, the Yankees will be forced to give up an off-day for the makeup. Depending upon the status of tonight’s schedule game, the Yankees will play at least nine and possibly eighteen innings of work on a day that should have been a day of rest. Mother Nature is not kind. Today’s games in Cleveland, OH and Minneapolis, MN have already been postponed.  

Credit: The late great Charles Schulz

Here are the common days off for the Yankees and Tigers. I have not analyzed the impact on the Tigers, but some of these would be very difficult for the Yankees. Best case would be a flight path near Detroit, however, none are ideal. It’s a bad situation all around for the Yankees.

• Thursday, May 24th: After finishing road game in Arlington, TX on the way home.
• Monday, June 4th: Traveling between Baltimore, MD and Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
• Monday, June 11th: Between games in New York at Citi Field and Yankee Stadium.
• Monday, June 18th: Between two home series at Yankee Stadium.
• Monday, July 30th: Between two home series at Yankee Stadium.
• Monday, August 20th: After finishing home stand, en route to Miami, FL.
• Thursday, September 6th: Between road games in Oakland, CA and Seattle, WA.
• Thursday, September 13th: After finishing another road game in Minneapolis on way home.

I guess it could be worse. The Yankees could be playing like the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were pre-season World Series favorites. The Arizona Diamondbacks, with or without Brandon Drury, have the Dodgers’ number. The D-Back crushed the Dodgers yesterday, 9-1, to drop the Dodger Blue to 4-9 and six and a half games behind in the NL West standings. Arizona’s victory was their eleventh straight regular season win over the Dodgers. The D-Backs still feel the sting of the NLDS sweep by Los Angeles last October, but in the regular season, they own the Dodgers.

Photo Credit: Associated Press (Jae C Hong)

The San Diego Padres added to their collection of former Yankees yesterday. Their latest addition was former Yankees reliever Tyler Webb, claimed off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers. The Yankees traded Webb to Milwaukee last year for first baseman Garrett Cooper (who has since been dealt to the Miami Marlins and is currently on the disabled list). I always liked Webb, a lefty, and I hope that he finds success in San Diego with Chase Headley, Bryan Mitchell and Jose Pirela.  

Nice job by the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders yesterday. They survived a four-run deficit to the Charlotte Knights (White Sox affiliate) and one of the best pitching prospects in baseball, Michael Kopech. In the seventh inning, after Kopech had departed with the Knights leading 5-1, the RailRiders struck for six runs on their way to the 10-5 victory. The RailRiders are 6-3 and share the International League North division lead with the Syracuse Chiefs (Nationals). I don’t want to take away anything from the other RailRiders who keyed the win (newly acquired L.J. Mazzilli had a bases-clearing double) but we’re clearly under a Gleyber Torres Watch right now. Torres was 2-for-5, with a run-scoring double during the six-run seventh inning. He had two doubles after Kopech had left the game and three RBI’s, and scored once. Torres is 14-for-36 with .389/.410/.583 batting line and .994 OPS in nine games. The dude’s on fire and is ready to take his game to the Bronx. We’ll see later this week if the Yankees make the move to bring the future star to Yankee Stadium or continue to wait a few more weeks. I think most Yankee fans are ready to see Gleyber in the Yankees lineup next Thursday.

Photo Credit: MiLB.com (Ken Inness)

Although there’s rain in New York today and tomorrow, Tuesday night looks good for Giancarlo Stanton’s reunion at Yankee Stadium with his former Miami Marlins teammates. 

One of these days we’ll see Yankees baseball again. I am not optimistic about tonight’s game but we’ll see.  

Go Yankees!

Let's Put the Red Sox in the Rearview Mirror...

Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports

Losing to Boston is ALWAYS unacceptable…

It was just a meaningless Spring game but I hate, really despise, losing to the Boston Red Sox. The game proves nothing regarding the American League East or the nineteen games the two teams will play in the regular season. Yet, I do not enjoy watching the Red Sox walking off the field in celebration under any circumstances. TGP’s Daniel Burch, who has been in fine prediction mode lately, feels that the Yankees will win the AL East by four games over the Red Sox. I hope he’s right. I would love nothing better than the Red Sox Nation in full anxiety and dread at the end of the season despite their flashy new toy (J.D. Martinez).

On Friday, the Red Sux (oops, sorry for the typo) blanked the Yankees, 5-0, behind starter Brian Johnson. Johnson, 27, a lefty, pitched 4 2/3 innings and held the Yankees, which featured Aaron Judge batting leadoff for the “Stripers” (Boone’s word, not mine), to only two hits while striking out five. After the game, Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced that Johnson had made the Opening Day Roster and will be in the starting rotation. Johnson has been solid all Spring (and is out of options) but beating the Yankees convincingly certainly helps one’s case.  

The scare of the game occurred when Johnson hit Brandon Drury with a pitch in the fifth inning. The ball came in high and inside, striking the Yankees third baseman above the left elbow. He seemed to shake it off and took first base. But after Neil Walker ripped a ground rule double to left, moving Drury to third, he departed the game for a pinch runner after realizing the arm was swelling. Test results after the game proved negative so hopefully Drury will be back within a few days and will not miss Opening Day.  

Photo Credit: The New York Post (Charles Wenzelberg)

Later in the day, Madison Bumgarner of the San Francisco Giants showed how quickly you can lose one of your star players. MadBum took a liner off the hand which broke the fifth metacarpal of his pitching hand and will miss 4-6 weeks. It reinforced how lucky the Yankees were in not losing Drury for an extended period. No time frame for Drury was given but for now he’s day-to-day. This morning, Drury said that he is feeling better but will take a rest day. His plan, assuming all goes well, is to resume baseball activities tomorrow. His intent is to be ready for Opening Day.  

The Yankees play split squad games today against the Toronto Blue Jays and Atlanta Braves and the scheduled third base starters are Miguel Andujar and Tyler Wade, respectively. Drury had been scheduled for the Blue Jays game but the Yankees pulled Andujar out of Minor League camp to make the start.

The Yankees continued reducing the roster yesterday in the ‘March to 25’. Luis Cessa, who has certainly lost my support (as if that matters to Aaron Boone), was optioned to Triple A and left-handed reliever Wade LeBlanc was provided his release. With the elimination of competition for a bullpen role, Chasen Shreve responded by giving up a two-run homer yesterday to Boston’s Sam Travis and allowed three total runs while on the mound for one inning of work even if one of those runs was charged to Tanaka. Shreve’s fault; not Tanaka which proves the fallacy of ERA. Hopefully Shreve rises to the occasion for the regular season and matches the performance of his stellar bullpen mates and doesn’t become the pitching staff’s weakest link. LeBlanc wasn’t unemployed for long as he was picked up by the Seattle Mariners today, signing a Major League contract. The M’s lost former Yankee David Phelps earlier this week when it was announced that he’d need Tommy John surgery.

In the latest roster move, the Yankees optioned Domingo German to Triple A which probably means RHP Jonathan Holder has made the Opening Day roster as the 13th man. I hope so. I am pulling for Holder to emerge as a key weapon in the pen. With David Robertson due to hit to free agent market after the season (which I absolutely hate to see), young guys like Holder will need to step up. D-Rob presents a dilemma. Do you trade him at the deadline or do you let him walk away at the end of the year for nothing? If the Yankees are in the heart of a pennant race (which we expect them to be), D-Rob is critical for mission success in October.  But conversely, he could bring in quality prospects as a rental for another contending team in need of relief help in July. If other young arms like Holder prove that they can be this year’s Chad Green, Robertson might be expendable (which tortures me to write). I do not envy GM Brian Cashman for the decisions ahead.  

Congratulations to Miguel Andujar! An-DU-jar received the James P Dawson award for the best rookie in camp this year. When the calendar flips to October this season, there’s no doubt that the 2018 Yankees will have been powered, in part, by the young Andujar. In other words, I fully expect him to make a significant contribution for the team this year even if he doesn’t get to travel to Toronto next week for the start of the regular season. 

Photo Credit: Associated Press 

There are some ex-Yankees that I continue to pull for and RHP Bryan Mitchell is no exception.  However, it was very painful to watch last night’s exhibition game between the San Diego Padres and the Texas Rangers. Joey Gallo hammered two home runs off Mitchell, who gave up seven runs over four innings. Mitchell was saved from the loss when the Padres erased the seven-run deficit by scoring nine runs. Not pretty for the former Yankee but he is still expected to be part of the starting rotation for the Padres this year. Hopefully the regular season will be much kinder to him. It was weird watching Chase Headley in Padres gear (and sporting a beard like Mitchell) with his familiar batting swing but there’s no doubt I prefer Brandon Drury and Miguel Andujar at third for the Yankees. Sorry Chase, I appreciate your contributions to Pinstripes but I am glad you are in the land of Sunny and 74 degrees.  

Photo Credit: Getty Images North America (Patrick Smith)

After today, the Yankees have only two Spring games left. Today’s split-squad game against the Blue Jays represents the final game at Steinbrenner Field. Tomorrow, the Yankees travel to Port Charlotte to face the Tampa Bay Rays. On Monday, they go to Atlanta to face the Braves at SunTrust Park and the Spring schedule will be done. The roster of 25 will make their way to Ontario for Thursday afternoon’s opener against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. The road to the World Series begins now. We got this.

Photo Credit: Associated Press (Lynne Sladky)

Go Yankees!

Three Weeks to Opening Day...

First day of Spring is March 20^th but Life Begins Anew on March 29^th…

It’s Jorge Posada Day! 20 more days until the start of the regular season and the Yankees walking up to the plate at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada to begin their quest for the 28^th World Series championship in franchise history. Hip, hip, Hor-hay! 

Photo Credit: Daniel Burch, The Greedy Pinstripes (sorry, I don't know where Daniel got the pic)

I have to admit I feel badly for third baseman Mike Moustakas. A career high 38 home runs and he gets less money this year than Todd Frazier. For his one year “pillow” contract with the Kansas City Royals, he’ll get $5.5 million with the opportunity to earn an additional $2.2 million in incentives. There is a mutual option for 2019 for $15 million which carries a $1 million buyout. Odds are that the Royals either trade Moose Tacos at the trading deadline or they exercise the buyout next off-season. I bet Moustakas does not make it through the season as a Royal. This shows how truly remarkable it was that GM Brian Cashman was able to get the San Diego Padres to absorb Chase Headley’s $13 million contract by simply attaching RHP Bryan Mitchell, who had no clear role with the Yankees. 

Photo Credit: Getty Images (Andy Hayt)

I don’t blame the Yankees for not playing in the Moose Tacos sweepstakes. Actually, it appears that no team wanted to play. I liked the idea of Moustakas taking aim at the right field porch in Yankee Stadium, but once the Yankees acquired Brandon Drury (a player I like) to pair with Miguel Andujar, I didn’t give it another thought. The Yankees were never going to offer Moustakas a long-term deal and it didn’t seem wise to forfeit the draft choices (2^nd and 5^th round picks) and the international bonus pool money for a short-term investment. Last year’s second round draft choice (RHP Matt Sauer) is currently the Yankees’ 12^th best prospect according to MLB.com. Considering how strong the Yankees farm system currently is, that’s no small feat and there is good value with high draft selections. I don’t think draft choices alone would have been reason not to sign Moustakas, but all things considered, I feel comfortable with the players currently at third for the Pinstripers. 

The Yankees made their first cuts yesterday as the team begins paring down for the Opening Day roster. The first camp casualties were Justus Sheffield, Cale Coshow, Raynel Espinal, Trevor Lane, Chace Numata, and Dillon Tate. In light of the rough day that Sheffield had yesterday against the Philadelphia Phillies, I wish he could have departed under better circumstances. Top Sheff gave up three hits and runs in 1 2/3 innings to balloon his Spring ERA to 11.81. But it was a learning experience and there’s no doubt we’ll see Sheffield in the Bronx at some point later in the season. Better, faster, stronger and we won’t need to rebuild him.

I am starting to see more and more writers and bloggers saying that Tyler Wade is the leader for the second base job. I’ve felt all Spring the Yankees would break camp with Wade as the starting second baseman. Without regard to the delay in service time, I felt (and still feel) that Gleyber Torres will benefit from further experience at Triple A as he continues his road back from Tommy John surgery on his non-throwing arm. The guy is so incredibly young although extraordinarily talented.  He’ll make his Major League debut sooner than later in the 2018 season. Once he arrives, I have no doubt he’ll own second base for years to come. In the meantime, I look forward to the opportunity that awaits Tyler Wade.

Photo Credit: Icon Sportswire (Doug Murray)

While I think Ronald Torreyes will make the Opening Day roster (with non-roster invitee Danny Espinosa opting out of his contract at the end of training camp), it would seem that he is an inevitable candidate for DFA at some point during the season. Once both Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar arrive at the Show to join Brandon Drury and Tyler Wade, there’s simply not going to be any room for Toe. He is the weakest of the group despite how valuable he’s been the last couple of years.

I am glad to hear that Aaron Judge has no current plans to participate with this year’s Home Run Derby.The Derby is fun for the fans but I’d prefer to see Judge focus on rest and relaxation regardless of whether or not he makes this year’s All-Star team. Too many are trying to speculate whether his participation last year was the direct cause for his second half slump. I don’t really care. It’s all water under the bridge now. Judge knows and understands his body better than anyone and I know that he’ll make the right decisions going forward. It was a learning experience. He has won the Derby and there is nothing left to prove. Winning a championship is all that matters.  There’s no doubt Judge knows that better than any of us.

Billy McKinney has proven the Yankees have nothing to fear if they include Clint Frazier in a trade for a starting pitcher. I’ve been very impressed with McKinney’s work with the bat and at first base this Spring. While I think it’s possible that Adam Lind could supplant Tyler Austin as the backup first baseman, McKinney, with more experience at first base, could replace both of them and is an heir-apparent for left field if the Yankees do not re-sign Brett Gardner next off-season and if Frazier is included in the inevitable deal for an upper echelon starting pitcher. McKinney could make his presence felt in the Bronx this year if, Heaven-forbid, injuries strike. 

Photo Credit: Getty Images 

We’re moving into the “dog days” of training camp. The point where the excitement of Spring baseball is over and the joy and anticipation of Opening Day is starting to seep in. I’m ready and anxious to see the latest Yankees take the field at Yankee Stadium (by way of Rogers Centre, of course).

Go Yankees!  

Is Jabari Blash a Part of a Bigger Plan/Deal for New York?

When the New York Yankees traded away Chase Headley and Bryan Mitchell to the San Diego Padres for outfielder Jabari Blash I think most thought that this was simply a salary dump for the Bronx Bombers. The Yankees sent $500,000 in cash considerations along with Mitchell, Headley and the former Yankees third baseman’s $13 million in salary but I don’t think this was simply a salary dump. Why would Cashman take on ANOTHER outfielder, especially an outfielder that is 28-years old and hasn’t excelled at the Major League level to date? I think Blash is part of a much bigger plan and deal and I am wondering if that bigger plan and deal has anything to do with the Chicago White Sox and their presumable acquisition of Orioles third baseman Manny Machado.  

George A. King III reported this week that the Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos would never trade Manny Machado to the New York Yankees, but the Chicago White Sox owner and GM would. The White Sox have been one of the most aggressive suitors for Machado’s services despite being in the middle of a total rebuild. This deal doesn’t make sense for the White Sox as Machado is just one year away from free agency unless one of two things happens, Machado signs an extension, or the White Sox ultimately flip Machado either now or in July before the trade deadline for prospects to speed up the rebuild. I am personally leaning towards the latter being more likely than the former, you have to think Machado wants to hit the free agent market at just 26-years old, and with that thought process and the Yankees need for a third baseman the stars may be aligning.  

Why does it make sense for the Yankees? I mean, besides the obvious as Machado is an incredible talent. Machado is still under a team friendly deal that will pay him an estimated $17.3 million in his final year of arbitration according to Baseball Reference and their estimations. Adding Machado, CC Sabathia for $10 - $12 million on a one-year deal, and Gleyber Torres to second base and the Yankees can still get under the luxury tax threshold while calling it an offseason before Christmas. Not bad for a team that couldn’t seemingly find a suitable manager just a few weeks ago.  

Blash would be just one of the many prospects the Yankees could trade to the White Sox if they were to acquire and then flip Machado to the Bronx. Clint Frazier could be another. I am not an expert on the Chicago White Sox and I am not sure of their needs, but you have to think they will at least ask for Frazier, Chance Adams, Justus Sheffield and others. If the White Sox give up some of their elite prospects to acquire Machado, and they would likely have to give up at least one, then the Yankees would have to compensate them for that in the deal. Would Frazier, Blash and Adams be enough? That’s a good question, I would hope so. I know one thing though, Machado won’t come cheap like Giancarlo Stanton did.   

The kicker here? The Yankees could conceivably trade Machado in July for even better prospects then they will theoretically and hypothetically give up to the Chicago White Sox in a deal while sliding Miguel Andujar into the third base position. This screams Aroldis Chapman all over again and if it happens, especially if the Yankees then turned around and signed Machado via free agency next winter, I will be the first person in line to kiss the feet of Yankees GM Brian Cashman. Something is brewing here; the Yankees didn’t just acquire Blash because they liked him. Stay tuned. 

The End of the Winter Meetings...

Lots of Sun in Florida for the Yankees…

The Baseball Winter Meetings are always my favorite time of the off-season and this year did not disappoint.  

I just returned from a trip (hence, my silence on the site for the past few days). As I was departing on Saturday morning, I first read some tweets that the Yankees had been talking aggressively overnight with the Miami Marlins. By the time, I reached the airport, Twitter was exploding with tweets that the Yankees had pulled off the trade that brought the great Giancarlo Stanton to the Bronx. 

Credit:  Willie J Allen, Jr, Associated Press 

I hadn’t really thought about Stanton in pinstripes until recently when Bryan Van Dusen had  raised the possibility on The Greedy Pinstripes website. At first, I dismissed the idea, thinking there was no way to fit Giancarlo into Hal Steinbrenner’s budget for 2018. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Still, I thought either the San Francisco Giants or the St Louis Cardinals, with negotiated trades in place with the Marlins, would be successful in their talks with the slugger to get him to waive his no-trade clause. I also kept thinking the Los Angeles Dodgers were waiting in the weeds to make their strike.  Much to my surprise, Stanton’s representatives announced on Friday that the Cardinals were out, followed later that he would not be going to San Francisco. We didn’t know it at the time, but the Yankees had already been making headway in their talks with Miami and Stanton had rejected St Louis and San Francisco because he had knowledge that he would be headed to one of his original four desired destinations.  

I had a strong feeling that the Yankees were going to trade Starlin Castro this winter based on some reports that I had heard. Perhaps he would have stayed in Pinstripes if Stanton hadn’t fallen into GM Brian Cashman’s lap. But regardless of his faults, I am sorry to see Castro go. There were a lot of jokes about how the Yankees fleeced the Marlins and got Stanton for nothing, but I disagree. The Marlins landed an All-Star second baseman and an all-around good guy in All-Starlin. The two prospects acquired by the Marlins were lower level but we’ve all heard about the 100 mph arm of Jorge Guzman (one half of the return, along with Albert Abreu, for former Yankees catcher Brian McCann from the Houston Astros last winter).  Guzman has a chance to be a quality Major League arm. The other, infielder Jose Devers, is only 18, and is a cousin of Rafael Devers, the young Boston Red Sox third baseman. Granted, the Yankees didn’t relinquish any of their top prospects but they still paid a good price to take Stanton’s contract. If Stanton doesn’t exercise his opt-out in three years (his agent has already said that he will not), the Marlins will send $30 million to the Yankees to help pay down the contract. There’s no doubt this was a trade the Yankees had to make and any of us would have pulled the trigger on it, but it does carry a sense of loss for those players the Yankees sent to South Beach. So, I am tired of hearing that the Yankees acquired Stanton for nothing. 

Credit:  Joseph D Sullivan

From a roster standpoint, I really like that it opened second base for super prospect Gleyber Torres. I’ve felt that second or short would be a much better fit for Torres than the previously projected third base. Shortstop Didi Gregorius is not going anywhere anytime soon so second is the next best spot. There’s no doubt that Torres could have been special at third base but I like him better as the team’s second baseman. I doubt we see Torres at the start of the season as the Yankees will delay his service time for a few weeks to gain an extra year of control. This means we’ll have patchwork at second until Torres arrives…most likely some combination of Ronald Torreyes and Tyler Wade.  

It’s probably too early to speculate how the Yankees will use Stanton and Aaron Judge. At first, I thought Judge would probably be moved to left to make room for Stanton in right, but Judge’s defense is too valuable. There’s the speculation that the outfield will be a rotation with the DH spot which makes sense, but I think we’ll have better clarity in the coming days and weeks.  Both Stanton and Judge are too young to be used exclusively at DH. It would be huge if the Yankees could somehow find a way to move Jacoby Ellsbury’s contract along with oodles of the cash it will take. 

Tuesday’s trade that sent Chase Headley and Bryan Mitchell to the San Diego Padres surprised me. The biggest surprise was San Diego’s willingness to take Headley’s contract. The Yankees paid half the assignment bonus (or $500,000 in this case) but did not have to ship cash to accompany the monies still owed to Headley. I figured that Mitchell’s time was coming to an end. I really like the pitcher but he’s been very inconsistent in his limited opportunities in the Bronx. If he hadn’t been traded, he was probably a candidate to be designated for assignment at some point in the upcoming season to free up room on the 40-man roster. I think Mitchell will thrive in San Diego and will achieve the potential we had projected for him (which is obviously the reason that the Padres were willing to take Headley’s contract). Last night, there were strong reports that the Padres could possibly trade Headley to the Los Angeles Angels. The Angels had acquired second baseman Ian Kinsler from the Detroit Tigers earlier in the evening as they attempt to rebuild the talent around Mike Trout and newly signed two-way Japanese star Shohei Otani. Angels GM Billy Eppler was behind the Yankees’ acquisition of Headley from San Diego a few years ago so he’s a Headley fan.   

Coming to the Yankees organization from San Diego is outfielder Jabari Blash.  Blash hit .213 with 5 HR and 16 RBI in 164 at-bats for the Padres last year.  His numbers at Triple A were much better (.285, 20 HR, 62 RBI in 235 at-bats).  Outfield is a position of redundancy in the Yankees organization so this leads me to believe that some of the congestion will be relieved in a future trade.  

The Yankees now have openings on both sides of Didi Gregorius. I find it unlikely they’d go with rookies at both second and third, but stranger things have happened. Ideally, it would be great if the Yankees and Todd Frazier could come together on a short time deal. However, the Toddfather has earned a multi-year deal opportunity which probably removes the Yankees from the equation.   

The Yankees are expected to make a play for a starting pitcher but I hope that it doesn’t result in the loss of free agent CC Sabathia. There’s room to add a starting pitcher and bring back CC, the team’s leader.  Sabathia’s camp has talked with the Angels and the Toronto Blue Jays. It would be difficult to watch Sabathia go to either of those teams. The longer the Yankees put off Sabathia, the greater the chance he goes elsewhere. If one of the Bay Area teams came calling, it would probably be hard for Sabathia to pass up the chance to go home to play for his final season(s).  

Regardless of Josh Bard’s qualifications, I was disappointed with his selection as the Yankees new bench coach. Last year, the Yankees had a wealth of experience with Rob Thomson sitting next to Joe Girardi. When Thomson left after not getting the manager’s job, I was hoping that the Yankees would find someone with commensurate experience. The toughest part for new Yankees manager Aaron Boone to master will be in-game action and I was hopeful that he’d have someone who has served time on the battle lines to help his learning curve.  Granted, Boone has managerial experience with pitching coach Larry Rothschild and new third base coach Phil Nevin but Bard will be the chief lieutenant on the bench. I hope that ‘smart’ and ‘confident’ help yield the right in-game decisions. As expected, the Yankees promoted minor league coaches Reggie Willets and Carlos Mendoza.  Willets will take first base (replacing long-time Yankees coach Tony Pena), while Mendoza will serve as infield coach/quality control and will be in uniform during games. Marcus Thames (hitting coach) and Mike Harkey (bullpen coach) are expected to return.  

I knew the Rule 5 Draft was going to be difficult in terms of potential losses and it was.  In the first round of the Major League Phase, the Yankees lost RHP Anyelo Gomez (Atlanta Braves), LHP Nestor Cortes (Baltimore Orioles) and 1B Mike Ford (Seattle Mariners). In the third round, the Orioles grabbed RHP Jose Mesa, Jr. I don’t think any of the names are a surprise as  all of them had been cited as potential losses. Of course, they have to stick on their new team’s MLB roster for the entire year or they must be offered back to the Yankees. Last year, the Yankees lost C Luis Torrens to the San Diego Padres when he stuck the entire year on their active MLB roster. I am expecting at least one of this year’s draftees to stick. Nestor Cortes is probably the one that I wanted to keep the most as quality left-handers are hard to find. I thought RHP J.P. Feyereisen would be taken but he was not. In the Minor League Phase, the Yankees lost RHP Yancarlos Baez (Minnesota Twins) and C Sharif Othman (Miami Marlins). These are permanent losses. The Yankees grabbed a Single-A outfielder, Junior Soto, from the Cleveland Indians. In 2017 for Single A-Lake County Captains, Soto hit 9 home runs and 17 RBI’s in 52 games while batting .172.  He struck out 61 times in 174 at-bats, while taking only 6 walks.

  

The Winter Meetings have come to an end but the Yankees still have much work to do. There are rumors that the Orioles have Manny Machado in play but I seriously doubt the O’s would trade him intra-division. To me, it would make sense. The O’s will lose Machado at some point and why not grab top prospects from a key division rival. But O’s owner Peter Angelos is 88 and I am sure that he does not want to spend his final years watching Machado star for the Yankees. All things considered, I’d rather use the prospects to grab another frontline starter and then potentially sign Machado after next season when he is a free agent. But of course, the “greedy” side of me would love to march both Machado and Stanton out onto the field at Yankee Stadium next year for simultaneous debuts along with another quality starter to join the rotation.

I wonder what Joe Girardi thinks about all this?…

Go Yankees!

Article Revisit: 2017 Closes the Door on Another Era

Back almost one year ago to the day I wrote the following article labeled “2017 Closes the Door on Another Era” and the basic premise of the article was “out with the old and in with the new.” In the article I described how Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira would be riding off into the retirement sunset while other veterans such as Andrew Miller, Carlos Beltran, Ivan Nova and (temporarily at least) Aroldis Chapman had said their goodbye’s after being traded away. I opinioned that in their place would come members of the Yankees as a youth movement would finally hit the Bronx and I finished the article with the words” Embrace the change, it’s coming either way.” Who would have thought the change that was coming was going to be this sudden, this extreme and this damn fun? Well besides me of course. Enjoy the article as we look back on it from one year ago.

Saturday, October 1, 2016

2017 Closes the Door on Another Era

The 2016 season has been a huge season for not only the New York Yankees team but for the entire Yankees organization in many ways. Out with the old and in with the new seemed to be the theme as players like Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira either retired or announced their intentions to retire while other players like Andrew Miller, Carlos Beltran, Ivan Nova and Aroldis Chapman said their goodbye’s after being traded to other teams. The door is being shut on the era that began back in 2009 when Brian Cashman unloaded on the free agent market adding any and all top talent that he wanted and that door and era will be completely shut after the 2017 season.

Leftovers from that era are CC Sabathia, Michael Pineda, Nathan Eovaldi and Masahiro Tanaka among others and all four could be free agents after the season. Sabathia, Pineda and Eovaldi’s contracts run out while Tanaka can opt out after the 2017 season while looking for a new deal and assuming his health I find that opt-out a true possibility heading into next season. In their spots may be a combination of Luis Severino, Luis Cessa, Bryan Mitchell, Chad Green, James Kaprielian and others.

Yes, Brett Gardner has a deal that runs through the 2018 season while Jacoby Ellsbury is owed somewhere near $90 million but while Gardner is moveable the Ellsbury contract is probably not. We won’t see a 100% turnover after the 2017 season but the era will be closed nonetheless, especially if Gardner is moved this offseason or next July. Brian McCann may also be moved this offseason back to the Atlanta Braves so they can sell tickets in their new stadium. Either way the only constant is change and a new door is opening for New York beginning in 2017.

That door is labeled “youth” and it’s a beautiful thing. So as we say goodbye to the latest era of bad contracts and veteran presences in the clubhouse we say hello to manageable contracts, youth and possibly a new core. Or maybe a new dynasty. I’m not going to be the one to tell them it won’t happen. Embrace the change, it’s coming either way. 

Judge Overruled by the Blue Jays...

Credit:  Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Blue Jays 9, Yankees 5...

Despite two home runs by Aaron Judge, the Yankees couldn't overcome shoddy pitching and lost the rubber game of the three-game series on Sunday to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Pardon me if I don't get excited when Jaime Garcia is on the mound. I know that he did a decent job last time out, but he's a subpar starter at best and a future ex-Yankee. Unfortunately, he played to form on Sunday. I don't know if it was the hangover from Saturday's celebration or simply the usual dismal performance from Garcia that put the Yanks in a hole early.

I suppose I shouldn't blame Garcia for the home run he allowed Teoscar Hernandez to lead off the game. Hernandez's home run to the second deck of the left field stands on the second pitch of the game was his third against the Yankees in three games. Both Masahiro Tanaka and Sonny Gray felt Garcia's pain. The Jays up early, 1-0.

Credit:  Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

It didn't take the Jays long to add to their lead. Kevin Pillar led off the bottom of the 2nd inning with a double to the left field wall. With Russell Martin batting, Pillar easily stole third. Martin struck out, but Darwin Barney took advantage of the runner in scoring position to loft a sacrifice fly to center when he punched a low Garcia pitch. Pillar scored and it was 2-0.

In the bottom of the 3rd inning, Justin Smoak hit a one-out double to deep center between Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner. Garcia walked the next two batters, Jose Bautista and Kendrys Morales, to load the bases. Manager Joe Girardi had seen enough (of course, I had seen enough of Garcia when he was taking his warmup pitches before the game) and made his way to the mound.

Credit:  Getty Images

Garcia was pulled and replaced with Jonathan Holder. Holder got Pillar to pop up in foul territory (third base side) for the second out, but then Russell Martin hit a double to deep right that Aaron Judge couldn't get to. The double cleared the bases, and the Blue Jays were up 5-0.  

The Yankees finally got to Jays starter Marcus Stroman in the top of the 4th inning. Chase Headley and Aaron Judge both walked to start the inning.  Didi Gregorius singled to center to score Headley. Judge moved to second.  It was a 5-1 game. Starlin Castro hit into a fielder's choice that forced Gregorius out at second, with Judge moving to third. Unfortunately, Judge would stay at third as both Jacoby Ellsbury and Todd Frazier struck out against Stroman to end the potential scoring opportunity.

Bryan Mitchell was brought in to pitch the bottom of the 4th inning. No offense to Mitchell but he's not the guy I would have brought into the game at that point. I like Mitchell but he's been like gasoline poured on fire this season and not in a good way. Ryan Goins singled to left to get things started against Mitchell. After Teoscar Hernandez walked, Josh Donaldson singled up the middle to center field to score Goins, with Hernandez taking second. With Justin Smoak batting, Mitchell threw a wild pitch to advance the runners. It didn't matter as Smoak walked to load the bases. Jose Bautista singled to right, scoring Goins, and the bases were still loaded. Kendrys Morales singled to left, scoring Hernandez and Donaldson. Bautista also tried to score but was nailed at the plate. After Mitchell hit Kevin Pillar with a pitch, Girardi finally pulled the plug on Mitchell. Not quite sure what took him so long to make that decision. Ben Heller came in and got Russell Martin to hit into an inning-ending double play. The Blue Jays held a commanding 9-1 lead over the Bombers.

In the top of the 6th inning, Aaron Judge led off with a home run to left, on a fly just over the wall, off Marcus Stroman. It was Judge's 47th homer of the season.  

Credit:  Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

With two outs, Jacoby Ellsbury hit a ground-rule double to deep center. A walk of Todd Frazier ended Stroman's day. Matt Dermody entered the game to face Greg Bird and exited when Bird doubled to deep right off the wall to score Ellsbury. Frazier moved to third. Ryan Tepera took over for Dermody and got Austin Romine to ground out to third for the final out.  

Chase Headley reached base on a single up the middle with one out in the top of the 7th inning against Tepera. Aaron Judge followed with a two-run blast to left center to cut the Jays' lead to 9-5. It was Judge's second home run of the game and his 48th of the season (one shy of the MLB Rookie Record held by Mark McGwire).  

From there, the Yankees couldn't really mount much offense against Blue Jays bullpen. Jays closer Roberto Osuna took over in the 9th inning. After Osuna struck out Brett Gardner, the Blue Jays sent Ezequiel Carrera to right field to replace Jose Bautista. Joey Bats, perhaps playing his final home game for Toronto, made his way off the field through a series of hugs with the on-the-field players and received congratulations in the dugout. It is a foregone conclusion that Bautista won't be back for the Blue Jays in 2018 given a $20 million mutual option that the team would be foolish to pick up for a player in the twilight of his career. It was a nice moment for the long-time Blue Jay.  

Credit:  Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Credit:  Jon Blacker-The Canadian Press

Osuna struck out the next two batters, Chase Headley and Aaron Judge, to end the game.  

The Yankees (86-69) lost further ground to the Boston Red Sox with their first series loss since being swept by the Cleveland Indians in late August. The Red Sox rallied to defeat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-4, and now hold a commanding five game lead in the AL East with seven games to play. The Minnesota Twins swept the Detroit Tigers with their 10-4 win on Sunday so they closed the gap in the Wild Card standings to 4 1/2 games. This definitely makes me wish that Jaime Garcia had been pitching for the Twins, and the not the Yankees, the last few weeks.  We would have had a much greater lead.

Aaron Judge was clearly the hitting star with the two home runs, but he couldn't do it all himself. God bless him for trying.  

Credit:  Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Dellin Betances looked good. Pitching the 8th inning, he did hit a batter (Justin Smoak) but otherwise retired the batters he faced. He ended the inning with a swinging strikeout of Kendry Morales. The Yankees really need to get this guy back to form and soon. Hopefully this was a step in the right direction.  

I was hoping for better results yesterday but the Yankees need to focus on the task at hand. Time to head back to Yankee Stadium and make a strong home stand to end the season.  

Next Up:  Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York...

The Yankees and Royals play one game which is a makeup for the rainout on May 25th. At the time, the Yankees had taken two of three games from the Royals when the fourth game was postponed. Mathematically, the Royals still have a chance for the second Wild Card spot but their days are numbered (literally and figuratively speaking).  

Here is today's scheduled pitching matchup:

Royals:  Jake Junis (8-2, 4.05 ERA)

Yankees:  CC Sabathia (12-5, 3.81 ERA)

The Yankees currently lead the season series with the Royals, four games to two. At the time of the rainout, the Yankees were 27-17.  

The Tampa Bay Rays will be in town for three games beginning Tuesday night.

Odds & Ends...

The Washington Nationals plan to activate RF Bryce Harper off the disabled list today to begin their series in Philadelphia Phillies. The Nationals, who already look like the best team in the NL with the recent collapse of the Los Angeles Dodgers, will try to get Harper in top form before October.  

Have a great Monday! Hopefully today is a royal success for the home team. Go Yankees!