It HAPPened One Night...

Photo Credit: Mark Blinch, Getty Images

More often than I would like…

I guess it was inevitable the Yankees would eventually lose, but I like ten-game winning streaks and the team fell one victory short of “my” goal. J.A. Happ, as usual this season, was “happ-less” in Friday night’s 8-2 loss to his former team, the Toronto Blue Jays. Oh well, today is a new day. The Yankees are back at Rogers Centre this afternoon for the third game of a four-game set and the series tied. They’ll send Chad Green, Opener, to the mound, to defend the Yankees’ 9-0 record in games that he opens to hopefully start a new winning streak.

I think my biggest disappointment of the July trading deadline was on display last night. I really wanted the Yankees to replace J.A. Happ in the starting rotation. I know, it was never going to happen and we’re stuck with Happ, good or bad, at least for the duration of this year. With another $17 million owed him next season, and an option that could trigger a third year, the Yankees will have to part with some money if they hope to move Happ in the off-season but they should. At 36, he is not going to get any better. Assuming that Jordan Montgomery is able to come back to be a reliable fifth starter, any pitching upgrade in the off-season should take Happ’s spot. Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino will be back, and Domingo German, with 15 wins, has ensured his place in the rotation. So, with Monty back in the fold and taking the soon-to-be retired CC Sabathia’s spot, the only spot that is potentially open belongs to Happ. I can’t look back and say the Yankees should have signed Lance Lynn instead of Happ since I didn’t feel that way at the time, but in retrospect, it certainly would have been the better move. Or signing Charlie Morton would have made a world of sense at the time and he’s certainly over-performed on the two-year, $30 million deal ($4 million less than Happ) he was given by the Tampa Bay Rays. I am still surprised the Houston Astros made no move to re-sign either him or Dallas Keuchel (regardless of how poorly the latter has pitched in Atlanta so far).

As it stands right now, Happ should not get a sniff of a post-season start. There’s no way I’d trust him when the chips are on the table. Give him long relief or leave him off the playoff roster but I do not want to see his name as a scheduled starting pitcher come October.  

Okay, I’ll let my dislike of Happ go…for now.  

As expected, the Yankees activated catcher Gary Sanchez off the Injured List for today’s game. I thought Austin Romine and Kyle Higashioka did outstanding job s while El Gary was away, but still, I’d rather have Gary on the field and in the lineup. I am not expecting to see his monster home runs right away, but hopefully he’s 100% healthy and can start ramping up his play over the next few games. I am sure his bat is salivating at the prospect of facing Orioles pitching next week. If there was hope the Yankees would re-sign Romine in the off-season (in my mind), it was lost with how well Ro has played in El Gary’s absence. He deserves more than a backup gig and there are plenty of teams that could use someone like him.  I can easily see Romine going home to Southern CA to play for the Los Angeles Angels.  The familiarity is certainly there with Angels GM Billy Eppler. My guess is Kyle Higashioka will be the backup catcher when Spring Training rolls around next year. But this year, with El Gary back on the active roster, Higgy heads back to Pennsylvania.  

The surprise transaction move today was the placement of reliever Jonathan Holder on the Injured List with right shoulder inflammation. LHP Stephen Tarpley was recalled from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre was recalled to take Holder’s place. At this point, I am really hoping that Jonathan Loáisiga is ready soon to take Tarpley’s spot.

There was such mixed reaction this week when it was announced that the Yankees and the Chicago White Sox would play a game in Dyersville, Iowa on August 13, 2020 near the spot of the field from the movie Field of Dreams. Immediately, fans were upset about the dimensions of the existing playing field from the movie without realizing there are plans for a new temporary stadium to be built next to the movie grounds that would provide normalized dimensions for the playing field and seating capacity for 8,000.  

Credit: MLB

I like the idea. As a native Iowan, I never dreamed the Yankees would play on my native soil. It’s not like Des Moines, the largest Iowa city, is ever going to get a professional team. I grew up about 150 miles from Dyersville in a similar rural community. I hate to think about how much those tickets will cost and what a snarled mess Dyersville will be next August. I know Iowans, we all pile into the car to go check things out even if we don’t have tickets.  So Dyersville is not only going to be filled by visitors holding tickets to see the game, the gawkers will be out in full force too. I think I’ll just stick with the FOX telecast. I wonder how much gate revenue the Chicago White Sox will lose by giving up a home game for this attraction and how much MLB is compensating them for the loss. I am sure the Yankees are among the highest revenue attractions at Guaranteed Rate Field. As cool as it would be to see the Yankees wear their famed pinstripes in Iowa, the White Sox are considered the home team and they probably deserve to wear their pinstripes, especially since Field of Dreams featured former Chicago White Sox player Shoeless Joe Jackson. I wouldn’t be a fan of both teams wearing pinstripes. 

Anyway, it should be a fun August day next summer regardless of where you watch the game from. It would be cool if Kevin Costner could throw out the first pitch.  

With no idea when Luke Voit will return (he hasn’t resumed baseball activities and potential surgery remains on the table), I wonder when first baseman/DH Ryan McBroom gets his opportunity. At 27, he is no longer a prospect but has been very strong at Triple A this year. McBroom accounted for the RailRiders’ only runs in yesterday’s 10-2 loss to the Gwinnett Stripers with a two-run double in the eighth inning. On the year, he is batting .320/.398/.559 with .958 OPS. He has 19 home runs, 24 doubles, and 47 RBIs. If he is ever going to get his shot with the Yankees, this is it. There probably comes a time when a minor league player wonders what more he has to do to prove himself and McBroom is probably there. I know I still think of McBroom as simply the guy the Yankees got for Robert Refsnyder, but I’d like to see him get a taste of the Big Leagues. I’d prefer McBroom over a reunion signing of former Giant/Twin/Yankee Tyler Austin.  

There was a part of me that hoped the Yankees would sign free agent second baseman Joe Panik who was recently been cut loose by the Giants, but he took the chance for more playing time with the New York Mets. I know, he’s been dreadful this year and lost his job when the Giants acquired Scooter Gennett from the Cincinnati Reds, but I guess I was optimistic that he’d display some of the promise he once held by returning to his native New York City on a contending team. I guess we’ll see if that happens with the Mets. Robinson Cano will not be returning to the Mets this year with his torn hammy (even if he seems to think so) which created the opportunity for the Mets to push the Panik button (sorry, I had to do it even if that terminology has been overused in recent days).  

Former Yankee (and, ugh, Red Sock) Mark Melancon has been named as the closer for the Atlanta Braves. He was considered one of the top closers when he signed a free agent deal with the San Francisco Giants a couple of years ago, but injuries have derailed him. I thought former Yankee and Tiger Shane Greene would get the job, but he’s been a little underwhelming in Hot-lanta. On the bright side, playing behind Melancon should mean hope since it’s questionable if Melancon can remain healthy. Greene needs to make the necessary adjustments to give the Braves the same confidence the Tigers showed in him. Greene was one of the arms that I had hoped the Yankees would acquire at the trading deadline. Despite his struggles, I’d still prefer him over Stephen Tarpley any day.  

I am trying to contain my enthusiasm but it was a positive to see Luis Severino throw a 23-pitch bullpen session yesterday. He’s still weeks away from a return and any setback could derail him for the season, but I am cautiously optimistic that he’ll be an available arm in September. Regardless of the role he’ll play this year, I want him to be an active part of this year’s team and not just an observer with an awesome dugout view of the game.  

As always, Go Yankees!

Judge & Stanton Gladly Pay the Power Bill…

Photo Credit: The Canadian Press via AP (Frank Gunn)

Yanks use the Big Bats to finish Road Trip on winning note…

It’s been a very eventful week in the Yankees Universe.  The Yankees completed a two-game sweep of the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario and finished the latest road trip with a 5-1 record. Tommy Kahnle now plays for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, Jordan Montgomery undergoes the knife today for his Tommy John surgery, and a number of young, talented prospects potentially begin their journeys to Pinstripes.

Seriously, MLB should option the Baltimore Orioles (19-41) to the International League and call up the RailRiders to replace them in the AL East. The RailRiders are loaded with Major League talent.

It’s been a great road trip (outside of the loss in the second game of Monday’s double-header in Detroit) and last night’s game was incredible. Sonny Gray, wow!  THIS is clearly the guy we’ve been looking for and NEED for an extended October run.  Sonny may not have gotten the win but he was as critical to the win as he has ever been while representing the Yankees. If he had given up just one run last night, the Yankees lose. I am so glad that Masahiro Tanaka was not on the mound as he would have given up at least his obligatory home run to send the Yankees home with a loss. Sonny’s final line was better than any starting pitcher who picked up a win on Wednesday. Eight innings, 99 pitches, two hits, no runs, a couple of walks, and eight strikeouts. The closest winning pitcher was Baltimore’s Dylan Bundy who blanked the New York Mets on three hits over seven innings, but c’mon, he was pitching to the Mets. Nice job, Sonny. Now if you can repeat this performance in Yankee Stadium, life will be good.

I am grateful for Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton for their game-winning home runs in the 13^th inning, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that the Sucks! Award goes to Gary Sanchez. He looked pitiful at the plate.  I was so mad when he swung at a pitch well below the strike zone to end the 11^th inning with Giancarlo Stanton stranded at third. All we needed was a measly single and Gary chases a stupid pitch.  For the game, El Gary was 1-for-6 with two strikeouts. The ground rule double he hit in the top of the 4^th inning allowed him to barely keep his batting average above .200. Aaron Boone keeps saying that Sanchez is close. I hope so because I sure didn’t see that guy last night. 

As for Judge, his two-run homer in the 13^th inning off Blue Jays reliever Joe Biagini made me about as happy as the kid prominently featured in the TV telecast, dancing in the upper deck of Rogers Centre while holding a handwritten “All Rise” sign. 

There was no doubt Judge’s shot was gone, but Stanton’s homer surprised me. He walloped the ball like only Aaron Judge can do and it looked like a line drive to left that might drop in for a single except the ball never dropped. It was a laser shot into the left field stands. It goes to show you that when Stanton does get hot, American League pitchers will be running for cover. 

Unfortunately, despite the win, the Yankees were unable to make up any ground on the Boston Red Sox. The Sox, winners of four-in-a-row, cruised past the Detroit Tigers, 7-1. Boston (43-19) maintained their one game advantage on the Yankees (40-18). It’s amazing the Red Sox and Yankees are the only teams in Major League Baseball with at least 40 wins. As many have said, the Yankees are on a path to 111 wins but if Boston continues its current winning percentage, the Yankees would have to settle for a one-game Wild Card play-off. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Indians hold a relatively comfortable 4.5 game lead in the AL Central and project out to 86 wins and would enter as a division champ.  That’s sick. 

The Yankees have the day off today in preparation for their weekend series with the crosstown Mets. It will be good to see old friend Todd Frazier but I am glad Yankees pitchers have to throw to the Toddfather and not some guy like Miguel Andujar in this series. Friday night’s game will be tough with Masahiro Tanaka scheduled to face Jacob deGrom. Hopefully the Yanks can hold it close to get into the Mets bullpen. I fully expect deGrom to bring his “A” game as there is nothing better than to beat NYC’s best team in New York.  Hopefully Masa was watching Sonny Gray and taking notes.

I haven’t had a chance to gather my thoughts about the Yankees picks in this year’s MLB Draft. I am anxious to read the Meet A Prospect segments by TGP’s Daniel Burch. The Yankees took six catchers including two for their first picks in the first and second rounds (Anthony Seigler and Josh Breaux). Within their first 16 picks, the Yankees took two 6’8” right-handed pitchers (Daniel Bies, 8^th Round, and Derek Craft, 16^th Round). The 11^th round pick, Tanner Myatt, also RHP, is no slouch at 6’7”. The shortest guy in the draft was LHP Dan Metzdorf (5’9”) who was taken in the 38^th round.  Go short people!

I was kind of hoping the Yankees would have selected 3B Triston Casas of American Heritage School in Florida. He had shown up as an option for the Yankees on a few mock draft boards. The Red Sox ended up taking him with the 26^th pick in the first round. I probably would have liked to have seen him go anywhere except Boston. I was also disappointed when the Atlanta Braves chose Stanford’s Tristan Beck, RHP, in the fourth round. Beck had been a late, back-end of the draft selection for the Yankees last year but did not sign. For as much as I’ve been down on former Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens, I was also disappointed when the Detroit Tigers got Roger’s son, Kody, a second baseman, in the third round. 

Lastly, I have to pay my respects to the late St Louis Cardinals great Red Schoendienst who passed away yesterday at age 95. While I am a Yankees fan, I grew up with St Louis as the nearest Major League city and it is where I experienced my first Major League game. While I liked baseball up to that point, I think my first game developed the love I have for the game. 

Wednesday, May 29, 1974…

 

The Los Angeles Dodgers, with future Yankee Tommy John on the mound, were facing the St Louis Cardinals at the old Busch Stadium in St Louis. Bob Gibson was on the hill for the Cards, but more importantly (at least for this post), the manager of the Cardinals was Red Schoendienst. I should have recognized the greatness of the manager in the other dugout (the legendary Walter Alston of the Dodgers) but it was Schoendienst that captured my attention on that day. I can’t even tell you why he was so memorable to me that day. Maybe it was his name. Maybe it was the aura of the Cardinals, a very proud franchise that is second only to the Yankees in history, tradition and World Series wins.

The Dodgers won that game, 5-2, and John was the winning pitcher but I went away from the game with a great appreciation and respect for the Schoendienst-led Cardinals. It probably helped that I got to meet and shake hands with Cardinals Hall of Famer Stan “The Man” Musial but I clearly associated the Cardinals with their manager. 

Schoendienst, a second baseman, played in the Majors for 19 years.  While he spent most of his time with the Cardinals, he also played for the New York Giants and Milwaukee Braves. Red was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. During the course his career in baseball as a player, coach or manager, he wore a Cardinals uniform for 67 out of 74 consecutive years in the game. To this day, I still can’t think of the Cardinals without thinking of Red. 

Farewell to a great St Louis Cardinal and to one of the game’s greatest guys. 

Photo Credit: St Louis Post-Dispatch (Robert Cohen)

The Red Sox have played four more games than the Yankees, thanks to the rainouts, and the Sox play again today. Here’s hoping for a Red Sox loss (finally) against the Tigers. I’d love to end this day with the Yankees only trailing the Sox by a half-game. The Tigers have a decent pitcher on the mound (Matthew Boyd, 3-4, 3.23 ERA) while the Red Sox counter with Jar-Jar Binks, excuse me, I mean Jalen Beeks. 

So, Go Tigers, and as always, Go Yankees!

P.S.  A special wish for a safe and successful surgery for Jordan Montgomery, and the all best for his post-surgery recovery and rehabilitation!

Hello… Giancarlo Gets a Second Home Run Call

Well, he has to actually make contact for us to all hear it, but I digress. When John Sterling revealed his home run call for Giancarlo Stanton in his first at-bat as a Yankee the call was met with a bag of mixed reviews. When I say a bag of mixed reviews, I really mean that everyone hated it. “Giancarlo, non si puo de stoparlo! It is a Stantonian home run” was the call, and while it wasn’t even grammatically correct, it left much to be desired by the Yankees fans, if I may speak for us all.

Have no fear Yankees fans for Sterling has reportedly come up with a second home run call for Giancarlo, according to an interview with the New York Post. Sterling will now sing, saying, “Non dimenticar… that ball sure traveled far.”

WOMP WOMP WOMP

“Non Dimenticar” was written for the 1951 movie, “Anna,” which was later recorded and sang by Nat King Cole in 1958. “Non Dimenticar” means “Do not forget” in Italian. I say again…

WOMP WOMP WOMP

While these home run calls are not great or even “okay” by any stretch of the imagination, we my dear will always be. Ups, downs, highs, lows, and even when things get a little sideways… we will always be okay. I love you, and I hope everyone has a great day.

HELLO…. The Team Will Be Fine!

Good morning everyone. Let’s try this whole home opener in the Bronx thing again, shall we? Also, let’s try this whole “winning games against teams we should beat” thing again, shall we? The Yankees won their first two games this season in impressive fashion. They team pitched, they hit and while the bullpen didn’t have a scoreless game, they pitched well enough to win both games. The same could not be said for the following two games up in Toronto inside the Rogers Centre. The pitching was good, and the hitting did enough to win both games, but it was the bullpen that imploded leading to many frustrated fans and speculation as to whether Aaron Boone can handle a bullpen and a pitching staff.

Let me be clear, the sky is not falling after four games and the New York Yankees will be fine. Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez and others haven’t even begun to really hit yet while half their 40-man roster (slight exaggeration, but it feels like it) is on the disabled list. The team will get healthy, the team will start hitting and the team will start firing on all cylinders. The starters have been good, but they have left plenty of room to get better going forward and the bullpen almost has to be better. The bullpen is too talented not to improve, and some of these frustrating losses will turn into wins as the calendar continues to flip and turn.

It has been four games in a 162-game season. This team will be fine. We as fans will be fine. Relax, take a breath, and let’s beat up on some Tampa Bay Rays this afternoon and tomorrow to make ourselves feel better. We can only go up from here!

Kari, I know I bored you to death by watching the game on Sunday and you didn’t complain or say a word. Thank you. I love you. You are my rock, my heart and my soul, and you are my everything. Without you, nothing is possible. There would be no me without you. Thank you for being you.

Good Friday Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Toronto Blue Jays 3/30

Good evening, and welcome back to Yankees baseball as the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays continue their three-game set with the middle game of their series. In the opener we watched as Luis Severino and JA Happ attempted to keep the opposing offense down from the other team and tonight we are treated with the pitching matchup of Masahiro Tanaka taking the ball for the Yankees against Aaron Sanchez of the Blue Jays. The game will be played at 7:07 pm ET inside the Rogers Centre, eh, and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB Network. You can also follow along with the game by using MLB TV, the MLB.com app or by tuning into the Yankees radio broadcast on WFAN with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.

Follow us on Twitter, @GreedyStripes, and “Like” us on Facebook, The Greedy Pinstripes, to keep up with, interact with and to talk Yankees baseball all season long. Enjoy the game and Go Yankees!!

Good Friday Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Toronto Blue Jays 3/30

You know what possibly the best thing about Major League Baseball is? I personally love the fact that the games are played basically every single day. Sure, I love football and basketball as well from time to time, but watching your team lose on a Sunday only to have to feel that sting for a few days or a week can sometimes just be torture. In baseball if you have a tough loss on Sunday you usually go right back out on the field on Monday and can turn things around. At the same time a big win on Sunday can be erased just as fast the following Monday with a tough loss, it is just one of the many things that make the game great in my opinion. With that said the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays are back at it again tonight inside the Rogers Centre with the second game of their three-game set to open the 2018 season. Yesterday afternoon we all watched as JA Happ and Luis Severino squared off to kick off the season and tonight we are treated with another great pitching matchup. Masahiro Tanaka, who normally starts on Opening Day for New York, will take the mound for the Yankees while the Blue Jays will counter with Aaron Sanchez, who missed almost all of the 2017 season with an injury for Toronto.

Tanaka made his Major League debut pitching in the second game of the season back in 2014 against these same Toronto Blue Jays inside the Rogers Centre and he will do so again tonight after Luis Severino took the Opening Day nod from him here in 2018. Tanaka gave up a home run to the first batter he faced that season and gave up a ton of home runs in 2017, a career-high 35 long balls to be exact, which led the right-hander to focus on his fastball command and control in hopes of lowering that number significantly here in 2018.

Sanchez missed most of the 2017 campaign with Toronto due to lingering blister issues on his throwing hand. Sanchez has put to bed any rumors of this becoming a recurring issue this spring after showing no signs of trouble while in camp with the Blue Jays. In Sanchez’s final tune-up start before the season he allowed just one earned run in 6.1 innings pitched at home against the Atlanta Braves, hopefully a sign of what’s to come if you are a Blue Jays fan.

The game will be played at 7:07 pm ET inside the Rogers Centre in Toronto and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB Network. You can also follow along with the MLB TV and the MLB.com app or you can tune into the WFAN radio broadcast with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman. No matter how you get to follow along enjoy the game and go Yankees!

Opening Day Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Toronto Blue Jays 3/29

Ladies, gentleman and Greedy Pinstripes readers alike, it is FINALLY time for Opening Day, meaningful and real baseball. After a long, cold winter and a slow hot stove season aside from the acquisition of Giancarlo Stanton I think I can confidently speak for all Yankees fans when I say “thank goodness” for today. We made it, now let’s get down to business. To kick off the 2018 campaign the New York Yankees will send Luis Severino to the mound to face off with J.A. Happ for the Blue Jays. The game will be played at 3:37 pm ET inside the Rogers Centre in Toronto and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. You can also follow along with the Yankees radio stream on WFAN.

Follow us on Twitter (@GreedyStripes) and Like us on Facebook (The Greedy Pinstripes) to keep up with us and the New York Yankees all season long. Enjoy today’s game and Go Yankees!

Opening Day Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Toronto Blue Jays 3/29

Good morning Yankees family and welcome, finally, to Opening Day 2018! The grass has been cut, the lines have been painted on, the infield dirt has been saturated with the perfect amount of moisture, and Major League Baseball is now ready to kick this season off. The New York Yankees start the 2018 season inside the Rogers Centre, a dome in Toronto and home of the Toronto Blue Jays, so they will be playing on Astroturf and in 72-degree weather, but Opening Day baseball is Opening Day baseball regardless. Kicking off their respective 2018 campaigns will be the Luis Severino for the Yankees and J.A. Happ for the Blue Jays who both received Opening Day nods from their managers. Both offenses are ready, the pitchers are ready, and so are the fans, so let’s do this thing!

Severino will make his first Opening Day start of his career this afternoon in Toronto after coming off a strong 2017 campaign that saw him place third in the American League Cy Young Award vote. Severino, while successful last season, struggled against the Blue Jays in particular in 2017 posting an 0-1 record with a 4.97 ERA in two starts. Severino will have to do better than that this afternoon, or maybe he won’t with the potential juggernaut of an offense behind him, and will also have to quell his adrenaline as well as to avoid a repeat of the 2017 American League Wild Card Game where he struggled, later admitting he was too pumped up and excited which led to his command and control being a bit off.

Happ earns his first Opening Day nod as well, but for an entirely different set of reasons than Severino. Happ will take the ball for Toronto today due to their ace, Marcus Stroman, injuring his right shoulder early on during Spring Training camp this season. Happ, again like Severino, faced the Yankees twice during the 2017 campaign allowing just two runs in 11.2 innings. Last season Happ didn’t have to face Giancarlo Stanton though, so that may change for the 2018 season. Stay tuned.

The game will be played at 3:37 pm ET inside Rogers Centre in Toronto and can be seen on the YES Network. You can also listen to the game in your cars, on the radio, and when you’re at work like I will be today by tuning into the WFAN broadcast with the legendary John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman. Enjoy the game, hit some homers, and start the 2018 season off right. Go Yankees!!

The Dawn of the New Pinstriped Season...

Life begins on the Northern Shore of Lake Ontario...

The Yankees will be working out at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada today in preparation for tomorrow’s Opener against the Blue Jays. Tuesday was an off-day for the Yanks after they flew into Canada from Atlanta, GA on Monday evening.  Soon, the 2018 Yankees will take the field for the first meaningful game of the year. Luis Severino versus J.A. Happ. It should be a terrific game!

While the Yankees players, coaches and road crew were enjoying the sights and sounds of Toronto yesterday, the Blue Jays were completing their Spring schedule with an exhibition game in Montreal, Quebec against the St Louis Cardinals. In what may have been the greatest meaningless game finish ever, Vladimir Guerrero, Jr, son of Hall of Famer and former Montreal Expos great Vlad the Great, delivered a walk-off home run to beat the Cardinals at Olympic Stadium in front of 25,186 fans. Vlad Jr appropriately wore his father’s #27 as he circled the bases in the bottom of the 9^th. It had to be one of the finest moments of training camp. Fortunately for the Yankees, Little Vlad is still a few years away from the Majors. I am sure that he’ll one day become a thorn in our side but gladly it won’t be this week. It was a very nice moment for the Blue Jays, the Guerreros, and the city of Montreal. 

Photo Credit: The Canadian Press (Paul Chiasson) 

I am not going to try and make any predictions for the upcoming season. Daniel Burch of The Greedy Pinstripes did an excellent job with his predictions over the past week so I’ll leave the season forecasts to him. Nevertheless, I do have one thought about his AL East prediction that has the Yankees winning the division by four games over the Boston Red Sox. I personally think the battle between the Red Sox and Yankees will be closer than four games by season’s end but I guess we’ll find out come October. J.D. Martinez will help the team’s offense and David Price and Rick Porcello will have much better years in the starting rotation. I have no reason to believe Boston will win fewer games than they did last year. 

Speaking of the Red Sox, Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe voiced his displeasure on Twitter about the reference of a single Boston player as a Red Sock. Giancarlo Stanton is a Yankee and J.D. Martinez is a Red Sox? Sorry, that doesn’t work. Martinez is a Red Sock although Red Sux certainly works too.

Former Yankee Robert Refsnyder seems to be on a mission to play for all five AL East teams.  The latest victim for his services are the Tampa Bay Rays who acquired the former Yankees prospect from the Cleveland Indians yesterday for cash considerations. The Yankees had traded Refsnyder to the Blue Jays last summer but he was claimed on waivers by the Tribe during the off-season. It’s only a matter of time until Ref works his way through Baltimore to get to Beantown where I am sure that he’ll have a Hall of Fame career (um, probably not).

Speaking of former Yankees, I don’t think there’s one more beloved than Oakland A’s center fielder Dustin Fowler. Yankees fans everywhere are pulling for the former Pinstriped prospect who blew out his knee last summer in Chicago during his Major League debut for the Yankees against the White Sox. Fowler has been in a battle all Spring with Boog Powell for the A’s starting job in center. A’s manager Bob Melvin has said that the starter will go down to the wire.  We’re at the wire so I assume that we’ll soon find out if Fowler has won the job or if the 23-year-old will take a trip to Triple A to fine tune his offensive skills. An excellent defender, he batted .222/.245/.267 with .512 OPS in Cactus League play for the A’s with no homers and five RBIs. He struck out 13 times in 45 at-bats. Powell’s numbers are not much better but Fowler is younger (by two years) and would benefit more from a demotion to Nashville to play for the Sounds (once a Yankees farm team, by the way). Either way, I will be pulling for Fowler this year and I look forward to his MLB debut for the A’s, hoping for much better results than the last time he took the field during regular season play.

Photo Credit: Getty Images (Christian Petersen)

The guys who cover the Yankees beat for NJ Advance Media (Randy Miller and Brendan Kuty) are fantastic at their jobs. Kuty posted the following prediction today on the NJ.com website which I absolutely love:  “(Brandon) Drury, if healthy, stays the third base starter all year. I’ve said it a billion times but I feel like that trade may end up like the Gregorius trade.” Admittedly, expecting Drury to perform like Didi has in Pinstripes is asking a lot, but I am a firm believer in Drury’s high ceiling and abilities and I think the Yankees will coax great years out of the player. I like his demeanor and his unbreakable focus on baseball. He may not be a comedian like Didi or as fun-loving (at least to the outside observer) as some of his teammates but I appreciate his dedication to becoming the best player he can be.  I am a big fan of Drury regardless of how much I like Miguel Andujar. I think Drury is going to win over many fans in the upcoming days and months. 

Ken Davidoff has long been one of my favorite Yankees beat writers. Due to the crazy reduction of quality personnel in the newspaper business, Davidoff has found himself with The New York Post. He wrote a great article this morning about the inside story on how Aaron Boone became the manager of the New York Yankees. It is a very insightful piece and one that makes me even more excited that Boonie is the leader of Baseball’s greatest team.

Who will hit the first home run for the Yankees this year? My pick is El Gary Sanchez. I think he’ll go yard before the massive bats of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Watch, one of the lighter hitters on the team like Tyler Wade will circle the bases first.

Now that Dellin Betances seems to be rounding back into All-Star form, I am really excited about the potential of the Yankees bullpen. Dellin is the key to success. I think Aroldis Chapman, David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle, Chad Green and the rest of the crew will be perform to their usual superior levels but my biggest concern was Betances given how untrustworthy he had become late last season. I think we’ll see a much stronger and more consistent Chapman but I was fearful that continued control problems by Dellin would be the undoing of the bullpen. But based on his most recent performances, the old Dellin is back and ready for success. This is the single greatest factor in the bullpen, in my opinion.

It is disappointing that Greg Bird will miss 6-8 weeks following ankle surgery yesterday to remove a coin-sized calcium deposit but it is what it is. I am not ready to pull the Nick Johnson card. I remain optimistic Bird will have a memorable 2018 season and will produce his share of home runs. In the interim, I am fine with the first base duo of Tyler Austin and Neil Walker. Austin has never truly been given a chance like this before so it's his moment to shine. I am hopeful he grabs his opportunity to make his mark.  

It’s exciting that the Baseball Season is finally here. How awesome will it be to see Giancarlo Stanton in a Yankees road gray uniform tomorrow? Judgie (Boone’s word, not mine), Sir Didi, El Gary, Gardy, Sevy, and more. Our favorite baseball team is back and ready for action. It is a very exciting time to be a Yankees fan. There’s plenty of room aboard the Bandwagon for those who want to jump on. Let the homers and emoji’s fly! We have a World Series championship to win. Let’s get started…

Go Yankees!

On A Clear Day, I Can See Toronto...

The Dog Days of Spring…

One week to go until the games become “real”. The thought of Toronto, Canada on a day in late March gives me a rather chilly feeling but watching the Yankees play brings the necessary warmth. The current weather forecast calls for cloudy skies with an expected high of 47 degrees and a 20% chance of precipitation. Nevertheless, the temp inside the Rogers Centre should be very comfortable for the away team. Let the homers begin!

Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports (Kim Klement)

It sounds like Manager Aaron Boone intends to have his 25-man roster in place by the weekend. I was surprised to see that first baseman Tyler Austin didn’t make the cut. I assume that places Neil Walker and Austin Romine as the backup first basemen. The speculation is that the Yankees will carry 13 pitchers and 12 position players. We know that Tyler Wade has made the team as the second baseman and Brandon Drury will be the starter at third. So, the bench appears to be Austin Romine, Neil Walker, and Ronald Torreyes as it appears that neither Jacoby Ellsbury nor Clint Frazier will be ready. Under this scenario, the Yankees won’t carry a fifth outfielder with Ellsbury expected to open the season on the disabled list. The outfield rotation would be limited to the four outfielders currently in play (Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton) using the DH slot primarily for Stanton and Judge. This is where multi-position versatility is very helpful. Although Drury has only played third base for the Yankees, he was the starting second baseman for the Arizona Diamondbacks last year and he has also seen time in the outfield for the Snakes. Torreyes as the emergency catcher is funny but it makes sense. Walker will be all over the infield except shortstop and catcher. 

Photo Credit: MLB.com

So it appears the critical decision with be the 13^th pitcher.  Luis Cessa simply no longer has my trust or support. I do not want him as the rotation’s “sixth man” and after a good Spring, I feel much better about Domingo German in that role. I thought this would be the breakout year for Ben Heller but he had a few rough outings recently and has found himself with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. There is still time for him to shine but it won’t be at the start of the season. I really like Jonathan Holder. He blazed through the Yankees farm system until struggling last year. I am convinced he will be much stronger this year. So, for me, I’d like to see either German or Holder get the last spot on the 25-man roster. German would be a true long man, but if the Yankees need an emergency starter, there’s always the Scranton Shuttle. I’d probably go with Holder to start the season but like last year, the final spot on the roster will be very fluid. 

I was surprised to see the return of Rule 5 draftee Anyelo Gomez from the Atlanta Braves.  We know that the Braves will be bad this year. I thought they’d bite the bullet and keep Gomez on the MLB roster all season to keep the talented young pitcher. But Gomez’s performance spiraled downward as the MLB-caliber competition in exhibition games increased and it led to Atlanta’s decision to offer Gomez back to the Yankees. Similarly, Jose Mesa, Jr has struggled with the Baltimore Orioles and he was designated for assignment this week when the O’s signed free agent pitcher Alex Cobb. If Mesa clears waivers, the O’s will have to offer him back to the Yankees. So, this leaves only Nestor Cortes, Jr (Orioles) and Mike Ford (Mariners) as the only Rule 5 draftees still with the teams that selected them from the Yankees in December. I remain convinced Cortes will make the O’s Opening Day Roster despite the three-run homer that he gave up to Aaron Judge in yesterday’s exhibition game. I still expect Ford to be offered back to the Yankees by the Mariners in a numbers crunch at first base. 

Photo Credit: MLB.com

Speaking of the Mariners, I was saddened to learn that former Yankees reliever David Phelps will miss the upcoming season with a torn UCL that requires Tommy John surgery. I thought it was cool that Ichiro Suzuki had followed Phelps to the Yankees, Miami Marlins and then back to Seattle. Now, it appears their reunion on the active regular season roster will be delayed assuming that Ichiro continues to play for the M’s beyond this year. We wish David the very best with his surgery and recovery.  Hope to see him back in the Mariners’ bullpen sometime next year and as good as ever (except when he pitches against the Yankees, of course).

Photo Credit: Seattle Times (Ken Lambert)

If you have a subscription to The Athletic, you should be sure to check out Marc Carig’s piece this morning on Brandon Drury entitled “Brandon Drury brings a serious edge to Yankees clubhouse”. Drury has become one of my favorite players in a short period of time. I love his quiet intensity. Like many believe including Yankees GM Brian Cashman, I feel very strongly that Drury’s best days are ahead. I think he’ll be a force at third base and will make us forget we ever knew Chase Headley or Todd Frazier. I am very pleased to see Carig covering the Yankees again after a few years away on the Mets beat. He’s an excellent writer and very insightful. Solid work, once again, by Carig.

It’s been tough with no televised Yankees games for the last few days. Fortunately, the Yankees will be on ESPN2 this afternoon against Jake Cave and the Minnesota Twins. I haven’t seen the lineups for the game yet but hopefully we’ll see Cave. I haven’t been following the Twins so I assume that Cave is remains in the Major League camp. The scheduled starter for the Twins will be former Yankee Phil Hughes. 

7 Days to Toronto. I’m ready. You’re ready. They’re ready. Let’s Go Yankees!

Pondering Thoughts of Opening Day...

“Did Andujar hit another home run?”…

There’s no doubt it is fun to watch Miguel Andujar hit home runs in nearly every at bat (so it seems). But…c’mon, it is Spring Training. I put as much stock in Andujar’s home runs as I do the fact that neither Aaron Judge nor Giancarlo Stanton have gone yard. It is very early and the hurlers are still working on their pitches and not necessarily using strategy or attacking hitters like they would in the regular season. Plus, many of the Spring pitchers are guys who will never see a MLB roster in 2018 (if ever). In other words, keep expectations in check. When it is 'Show Time', you know Judge, Stanton and Sanchez will be leading the homer parade. 

Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports (Kim Klement)

Since many are starting to project Opening Day lineups (not batting order), I’ll toss in my own.

C-Gary Sanchez

1B-Greg Bird

2B-Tyler Wade (although I could buy into Danny Espinosa for the short term)

SS-Didi Gregorius

3B-Brandon Drury

LF-Brett Gardner

CF-Aaron Hicks

RF-Aaron Judge

DH-Giancarlo Stanton

These are safe choices, I know, but decisions I fully expect Manager Aaron Boone to roll with on March 29th. If Gleyber Torres shows that he is ready by the end of the month, then I think he breaks camp with the Yankees as the starting second baseman. Otherwise, he’ll begin the season in Triple A to fine tune his game. I’ve become convinced that service time will not factor into the decision. The Yankees want to field the team that gives them the best chance for success from the very first game of the season. When Gleyber is ready, he is the man at the second. For me, he’s the most exciting talent at the position since Dontcha Know Robinson Cano.

Photo Credit: Newsday (Thomas A Ferrara)

I feel confident, at this point, that the Opening Day roster will feature 25 guys currently in camp with the Yankees (either on the roster in or in camp as a non-roster invitee). In other words, I do not see any further trade activity or free agent signings before the start of the regular season. The Yankees have a huge advantage over the Boston Red Sox in terms of in-season flexibility. Boston is maxed out on payroll and they have a weak farm system. There will be no major acquisitions by the Red Sox at the trading deadline or at least it will be very difficult for them to maneuver the roster. The Yankees, on the other hand, have the ability to make huge moves dependent upon need, with salary room and the cupboards overflowing with prospects. The Yankees have the talent, today, to hang with the Red Sox, if not potentially creating separation from them in the AL East Standings. Identifying mid-season weaknesses and seeking impact upgrades should allow the Yankees to explode past the Red Sox if all goes according to plan (which, of course, it  almost never does). Nevertheless, with all things considered, I’ll take my chances with the Yankees against the Beantown Bunch.  The Yankees will 'step on their necks' as Hanley Ramirez would say.  

If I was Orioles GM Dan Duquette, I’d be on the phone to Brian Cashman. “Say Brian, I’ve been watching that Andujar kid.  You still interested in Manny?”. I know that Orioles owner Peter Angelos hates the Yankees but a chance to grab a young third baseman with a lethal bat and perhaps a top pitching prospect, among others, for a guy that will wear the Orioles uniform for the final time on Sunday, September 30, 2018 against the Houston Astros at Camden Yards (barring a trade by the deadline) makes good sense to me. 

While I think the Yankees will spend to sign (or if they successfully trade for him, re-sign) Manny Machado, I do not expect a big splash in the 2018-19 free agent market. I’ve seen some suggest that the Yankees will sign both Machado and Bryce Harper. Get real. That’s not happening. The Yankees have a large chunk of the roster comprised of pre-arbitration guys who are still making minimum wage or barely over. This list includes (in alphabetical order):

Miguel Andujar

Tyler Austin

Greg Bird

Luis Cessa

Brandon Drury

Clint Frazier

Giovanny Gallegos

Domingo German

Chad Green

Ben Heller

Aaron Judge

Jordan Montgomery

Gary Sanchez

Luis Severino

Gleyber Torres

Ronald Torreyes

Tyler Wade

You could cut this list down to just Greg Bird, Chad Green, Aaron Judge, Jordan Montgomery, Gary Sanchez, and Luis Severino. That’s six players who will see significant increases in their pay over the coming years as they enter into arbitration. This is on top of the current arbitration players like Didi Gregorius and Sonny Gray who will command top dollars on the open market in the not-so-distant future. If Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner has taught us anything, he is not going to be frivolous with money. I can’t see committing Giancarlo Stanton-like money (or more) to outside free agents when the Yankees will have to pay their own young stars one day. I am more excited about the prospect of Estevan Florial eventually becoming the starting center fielder than the possibility of spending a half-billion dollars to bring Bryce Harper to the Bronx. Don’t get me wrong…I love Harper…but I think he is an excess luxury for a team with so many young talented hitters. I would rather see the dollars invested in upgrading the starting pitching and retaining our young superstars.

I don’t envy Aaron Boone for the decision he’ll have to make at third base. As a Minnesota Vikings fan, I am watching their off-season with interest since the team does not have a quarterback signed beyond the young unproven and untested Kyle Sloter. The big question is whether the Vikings will try to re-sign free agents Sam Bradford, Teddy Bridgewater or Case Keenum, or attempt to go after a big fish like Kirk Cousins. While I’d like Cousins on my team, I recognize the team needs to re-sign its own young stars. This is not unlike the Yankees. Yesterday, Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer, talking about the QB situation, said that the team has to make the right call for its next QB. Otherwise, it could cost him his job. I don’t think the third base competition between Brandon Drury and Miguel Andujar will cost Boonie his job, but Sports is big business. The financial considerations have to make as much sense as the ability of the players. So, my philosophy for free agency is the same in the NFL as it is in the MLB, “take care of your own”. It doesn’t mean that there won’t be new guys or that we shouldn’t get rid of guys who are simply filling a roster space. I just want to see the ‘tried and true’ players get their due.

Photo Credit: MLB.com

One final note: I would like to see more Domingo German and less Luis Cessa, please.

Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports (Kim Klement)

Go Yankees!