Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Yankees Likely To Lose Bullpen Option


The Yankees could soon lose one of their options for the bullpen, as Ernesto Frieri can opt-out of his contract tomorrow. I'm assuming that the 31 year old isn't interested in remaining in the minor leagues and will opt out. But who knows? Dwight and the rest of the crew at Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch seemed to like the place, so maybe it's grown on Ernesto too.

Some of you may remember Frieri as one of the better relievers in the game. At the same time you'll remember that that was back in 2012. Sure, Ernesto saved 37 games for the Angels in 2013, but he relied on the strikeout while giving up his fair share of home runs leading to a not-so-good closer ERA of 3.80.

The last time we saw Frieri in the Majors was in 2015 with the Rays, and he was far from his 2012 self. His strikeout rate dropped from a career-high 13.4 to 7.3, he was walking more batters, and giving up more home runs. At an age when a lot of players are really hitting their stride, Frieri's career certainly was not looking up.

After Ernesto took 2016 off the Yankees made a "what the hell" decision and signed him to a minor league deal, with an opt-out for June 1st. On the surface Frieri looks pretty good in AAA... 2.25 ERA, 0.950 WHIP, 10.4 K/9. But is it enough that I think the Yankees should demote somebody from the current Active Roster to make room for the guy? I don't think so.

That's not to say Tommy Layne hasn't been bad, however Layne is a lefty unlike Frieri. Bryan Mitchell hasn't done much with his 12.1 innings this season, but he's extremely versatile as he can do everything from pitching to one batter to starting a game. I wouldn't call Jonathan Holder "dominant", but I like what I've seen for the most part from the 24 year old.

With how Ernesto has thrown in AAA I'm sure there's some team in MLB that will give the guy a shot in the big leagues again.


Putting Crooked Numbers on the Board…

Credit:  Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Yankees 8, Orioles 3…

For a moment there, I thought the Yankees were playing a game of Home Run Derby between Brett Gardner and Matt Holliday.  By the fourth inning, both players had two home runs.  After chasing Orioles starter Chris Tillman and roughing up reliever Logan Verrett, the Yankees offense was finished for the night but like the 70’s show, Eight is Enough.  

For both Gardner and Holliday, it was their tenth and eleventh home runs of the season.    After the game, Gardner said, “Offensively we got off to such a great start early in the season, the last week or two we slowed down a bit collectively. It’s nice to put some runs back up, put some crooked numbers on the board and give Sevvy a lead he’s comfortable with.” The Yankees were able to put up crooked numbers in three of those first four innings as they cruised to the victory.

The maturation of Luis Severino continues.  I thought he did an excellent job escaping the bases loaded jam in the second inning when he struck out JJ Hardy with Gary Sanchez completing the out by throwing to first.  Severino (4-2) lasted 6 1/3 innings, limiting the O’s to only one run on seven hits.  He walked a batter and struck out eight.  

Credit:  Ron Sachs/CNP
Aaron Judge didn’t join the Home Run Derby but his bat was just as lethal.  He had a two-run double in the fourth to cap the Yankees’ scoring and was 2-for-4 on the day, raising his season batting average to .323.

Rob Refsnyer got the start at first base.  He was 0-for-3, but had a nice defensive play in the bottom of the third with a diving stop and quick run to first base to erase Seth Smith.  Refsnyder, lifted for Chris Carter in the bottom of the seventh inning, was the only Yankees starter without a hit.

The Yankees bullpen did a great job except for a sloppy eighth inning when Bryan Mitchell  committed a throwing error and subsequently allowed two runs.  Tyler Clippard, overcoming his recent woes, cleanly got the final four outs.  He struck out the dangerous Mark Trumbo to finish the game.

Credit Yankees pitching for the great job they’ve done with the O’s great Manny Machado.  Machado was hitless in five at-bats with four strikeouts.  In the first two games of the series, he is 0-for-9 with six strikeouts.

The Yankees did receive a scare in the ninth when Didi Gregorius was hit on the hand with a pitch from former Yankees pitcher Richard Bleier, but he was able to shake it off and continue playing.  X-rays after the game revealed no fractures.  Whew!

Credit:  Randy Miller/NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
The Boston Red Sox hammered the Chicago White Sox, 13-7, behind former White Sock Chris Sale (who received a standing ovation from the crowd prior to the game).  So, the Yankees  (30-19) maintained their three game lead over the Sox in the AL East.  Baltimore fell 4 1/2 games back.

The series concludes this evening with Masahiro Tanaka seeking to continue his rebound from an earlier slump.  Greg Bird’s Grandview High School (Aurora, CO) teammate, Kevin Gausman, will oppose Tanaka.  

Yankees in the News…

Okay, we may have to fast-forward to 2019 for this one…future Yankees outfielder Bryce Harper has been suspended for four games.  After he was plunked on Monday by Hunter Strickland of the San Francisco Giants, Harper “charged the mound, threw his helmet, and fought”.  Strickland was suspended for six games.  Both players have appealed.  The penalty is harsher for Harper as an every day player.  We’ll have to wait and see if Gerrit Cole plunks a Giant in defense of his future Yankees teammate when San Francisco visits Pittsburgh at the end of June…

Credit:  Ben Margot/Associated Press
Wanted:  Billionaire.  Yankees Legend Derek Jeter is searching for a new investment group after Jeb Bush dropped out of the bidding for the Miami Marlins.  It will be interesting to see if Jeter joins up with the group headed by Tagg Romney, which also includes Tom Glavine and Dave Stewart.  Jeter remains part of the Bush-less group so time will tell if they have the financial resources to top the Romney group.  If not, it’s potentially the old ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em’ situation.  

Jacoby Ellsbury is feeling better (finally) and has been cleared to fly to Toronto with the team on Wednesday.  He is eligible to come off the DL on Thursday but there’s still no timetable when he’ll be ready.  He could be activated this weekend.  Given that I am completely comfortable with Aaron Hicks in center, I really wouldn’t mind if Ellsbury wanted to take another week off.  

Tyler Austin was the starting DH last night for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in a 5-0 loss to the Columbus Clippers.  He had two hits in four at-bats with a single and a double.  

Considering Austin’s multi-position eligibility and much cheaper price tag, it will be interesting to see what the Yankees do with Chris Carter when Greg Bird returns to health.  Carter hasn’t hit enough to warrant future consideration in my mind.  He is a below average hitter and fielder so if he’s not hitting home runs like a Guardians of the Galaxy movie, he’s not worth the roster space.  Maybe Austin should start taking some reps at third to expand his resume.  Seriously, I think there’s more value with Austin than Carter.  So, to Carter, I’d say SEE YA!

After taking a rest day yesterday, Aroldis Chapman will throw again today.  Hopefully, all continues to go well for Chapman as he eyes a mid-June return.  

Have a great Wednesday!  Here’s hoping the Yankees take the series tonight before embarking on their flight to Toronto.  Safe travels to the team and of course, Go Yankees!

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Are the Yankees in for a rough June?

MSN Sports published an article laying out ten bold predictions for MLB as we head into June, and right away I wasn't disappointed.

Even Chuck Norris gave it two thumbs up.

The very first prediction involved the Yankees, where author Michael Dixon said that June would be a rough month for the Yankees. You might be thinking "why does that prediction not disappoint you?" Well, to be completely honest, I'm not disappointed with that prediction because I agree with Mr. Dixon. And if you click that link you'll read his reason why he made that prediction, and that reason falls right in line with why I worry the Yankees' success will not last.

In case you don't want to click that link I'll fill you...

Starting Pitching

  1. While he may not strike out 13 hitters every time he starts a game, Masahiro Tanaka is much closer to the pitcher we saw against the Athletics last Friday night, than the pitcher we saw in his previous two starts. But, at least for now, 'Hiro is the only starter that I believe this team can count on.
  2. Five of Luis Severino's nine starts this season have been really good to downright awesome. Another if his starts (May 19th vs. the Rays) was good... certainly not great, but good. That's six of nine starts where the Yankees had a good to excellent chance of winning. Unfortunately, after just 31 starts in MLB, I'm not ready to lean on this guy to start a game in the postseason. Don't get me wrong, I think he'd do a fine job, but I wouldn't be going into that game feeling all nice and cozy.
  3. Prior to 2017 Michael Pineda's ERA+ as a Yankee, which spanned 72 starts, was 101. That, my friends, is as close "average" as you can get. In his last five starts he's failed to finish the 7th inning, and couldn't get through six innings in the previous two. You know how many times, last September, that Pineda completed six innings? None. You know how many times, after the 2016 All Star break, Michael completed seven innings? Once. Look, a quality start every time your starter takes the mound is nice, as it gives his team a shot at winning. But a mere quality start does not make a fan like myself feel great when the next time he takes the mound... particularly in game two or three in the postseason.
  4. Jordan Montgomery has been a great story. I don't think I heard anyone during the offseason predict that Montgomery would make the starting rotation out of Spring Training. And in nine starts this year Jordan has posted a respectable ERA of 4.11. In fact, if Jordan could gain a little more control, thus keeping his walks down, then he'd be somebody the team could depend on in the home stretch of the season and beyond. But I just don't see it happening. His changeup and slider are good, his curveball is okay, and his fastball stinks. I don't know much about him, but I don't want to see him starting a postseason game.
  5. CC Sabathia? Let's just say that if the Yankees need Sabathia to carry any load, of any size, during the season's home stretch and into the postseason we're in big trouble. 
"Sorry to keep dogging you, but don't be sad. I'll look back fondly on your first four years in pinstripes."

Michael Dixon went on to say that having a rough June could be a good thing for the Yankees, as it would push them to make improvements to the team. If they were to have another really good month, Cashman and Co. may hold off on doing anything to really improve, which could very well hurt their chances down the stretch. And I can't help but agree with him there, too.

I've said it in the past, and I'll say it again...

I don't want the Yankees to deal away good prospects for a rental. I absolutely do not want to sit here a year from now and see somebody we traded for playing elsewhere, while one or more of our good prospects is playing in another organization. Then again, a World Series title would make that okay, but 2016 is about the future as much as anything else.

Man how I salivate thinking of what this team could look like in 2019.

Yeah, yeah... this could be a very good year too.

Two Little, Too Late...

Credit:  Matt Hazlett/Getty Images
Orioles 3, Yankees 2…

Admittedly, I had wished the Baltimore Orioles had won on Sunday (when they lost to the Houston Astros, 8-4).  Coming into the series with the Yankees, the O’s were on a seven-game losing streak but were returning home to Camden Yards for the Memorial Day showdown (a wounded dog ready to bite).  The Orioles were due and unfortunately it came at the expense of the Yankees.

It was a winnable game, but you need offense to win.  Dylan Bundy, who has been Baltimore’s best pitcher so far this year, was good but you can’t say great.  He scattered seven hits over seven innings and held the Yanks to only two runs.  Bundy was the beneficiary of three double-plays.  It was hard to say if it was simply great Bundy pitching or anemic Yankee bats.  Outside of the Aarons, the Yankees couldn’t generate any runs.  Aaron Hicks had an early sac fly, scoring Starlin Castro to tie the game at one in the second inning, and Aaron Judge had a solo homer in the seventh (his 17th of the year).  

Credit:  Randy Miller/NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
The two runs were not enough to overcome Mark Trumbo's run-scoring single in the first and Jonathan Scoop’s two-run double in the third.

Jordan Montgomery (2-4) reopened long term concerns about his spot in the rotation.  He threw 100 pitches just to get into the fifth inning.  After allowing two one-out singles in the fifth, Montgomery was finished.  For 4 1/3 innings of work, he had allowed eight hits and three runs (only one earned, thanks to Starlin Castro’s fielding error in the third).  He walked one and struck out five.  He is pitching well enough to earn his next start, but if the Yankees do make a trade for a starter within the next couple of months, Montgomery could be the odd man out.  

Both Jonathan Holder and Chasen Shreve pitched well in relief of Montgomery as they combined for 3 2/3 innings of hitless, scoreless relief and six strikeouts.  The only blemish was Shreve’s insignificant walk of Mark Trumbo in the seventh.

Aaron Judge had one final shot in the ninth inning to try and tie the game, but he struck out against interim O’s closer Brad Brach.  Brach, hardly a clone of injured O’s elite closer Zach Britton, also struck out Didi Gregorius to end the game.

Credit:  Ulysses Munoz/Baltimore Sun
Chris Carter was miserable.  He had an 0-for-3 day with two strikeouts.  Overall, he is 0-for-12 for his last five games and has been punched out in half of those at-bats.  Carter is batting .188 on the season.  When both Tyler Austin and Greg Bird are healthy, Carter is going to be in a very precarious situation if he doesn’t find the swing that drilled 41 homers last year.  

Chase Headley, after a two game rest, was 1-for-2 with a walk.  It kind of makes me wonder what the pesky Ronald Torreyes could have done against Bundy.  But alas, we’ll never know.  The Orioles won this game, and pulled back to within 3 1/2 games of the Yankees (29-19) in the AL East.  Fortunately, the Chicago White Sox rallied against the Red Sox bullpen to beat Boston 5-4 in a game saved by former Yankee closer David Robertson.  So, the Red Sox remain 3 games behind the Yankees.  

Credit:  Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune
Better luck to the Baby Bombers today.  It is more fun to write about wins than losses.  

Player Updates…

It doesn’t sound like Jacoby Ellsbury will be back anytime soon.  As of Sunday, he still had a headache and continues to deal with the neck sprain so he has not resumed baseball activities.  The presence of Aaron Hicks makes Ellsbury’s absence a non-factor unless Brett Gardner or Aaron Judge get hurt.

Aroldis Chapman was able to throw again prior to yesterday’s game against Baltimore but still no word when he’ll be ready for a rehab assignment.  He’ll take today off before resuming light throwing tomorrow.

Tyler Austin was 1-for-4 (single) in his latest rehab assignment as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders fell to the Toledo Mud Hens, 5-0.

The Yankees will miss Los Angeles Angels slugger Mike Trout in a couple of weeks when they make their West Coast road trip.  Trout had surgery yesterday on a torn ulnar ligament in his left thumb and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.  Trout injured the thumb on Sunday with a head first slide in Miami. 

Have a great Tuesday!  Twelve games left against the AL East in the current stretch…let’s make the most of it.  A win today would be a good start…  

Monday, May 29, 2017

I'd Judge the Weekend a Slamming Success...

Credit:  Paul J Bereswill

Yankees 9, A’s 5…

On the eve of thirteen consecutive games against American League East teams, the Yankees used the Judge to set sentence Sunday on the three game series with the Oakland A’s.  The verdict — the Yankees are guilty of taking the series, two games to one.

With the Yankees trailing 2-1 in the third inning, they loaded the bases (I can’t believe that Matt Joyce dropped that fly ball by Matt Holliday but hey, I’ll take it) with two outs for Aaron Judge.  In the preceding at-bat, Starlin Castro had a chance for the grand salami but he struck out.  A’s pitcher Andrew Triggs, with the count at two balls and a strike, threw a two-seam fastball to Judge.  As Julia Roberts said in the movie 'Pretty Woman', “Big mistake. Big. Huge.”  Judge made the most of his swing as he sent the ball over the center field wall for his 16th home run of the year.  The Yankees were up by three runs at 5-2 with the grand slam, Judge’s first, and a lead that they would not relinquish this day.  

It wasn’t a clean outing for Michael Pineda (6-2) but he did enough to capture the win.  He needs to clean up the mental errors...the three walks (two of the runners eventually scored), a balk and a throwing error.  In the sixth inning, with the Yankees leading 6-2, Pineda walked Jed Lowrie and then, with Khris Davis at the plate, balked to allow Lowrie to advance to second.  Davis subsequently reached first base on a throwing error by Pineda, while Lowrie raced around to home plate to close the gap to 6-3.  As the YES Network's Michael Kay put it, "A walk, a balk, and an E-1". Pineda finished the sixth, thanks to a double play, but that would be it for his day.  He finished with three hits, three runs (two earned although he was the responsible party for the unearned run), and five strikeouts.  

Credit:  Kathy Willens/AP
The Yankees picked up another run in the seventh inning when Gary Sanchez doubled to left with two outs and Ronald Torreyes on first.  The hit scored Torreyes, to push the score to 7-3.  The A’s challenged the call saying that left fielder Khris Davis held the ball long enough before bouncing out of his glove but the call on the field was upheld.  

The A’s responded with two runs in the eighth inning when Khris Davis hit his fifteenth homer of the season, a two-run shot off Yankees reliever Chad Green (with yet another walked batter that scored) to tighten the score, 7-5.  After a one batter appearance by the LOOGY (Tommy Layne, who retired lefty swinging Yonder Alonso on a fly out to right), Adam Warren was brought in for the role of cleaner (Mr Kaplan?)  and he eliminated Ryon Healy with a fly out to end the inning.

In the bottom of the eighth, Brett Gardner gave the Yankees some breathing room with a two-run double to increase the Yankees lead to 9-5.  Warren stayed in the game in the ninth to clean up the bodies with three up, three down for his first save of the season.  Start spreadin’ the news, I’m leavin’ today, I want to be a part of it, New York, New York…

Credit:  Kathy Willens/AP
It was a good day all around for the Yankees (29-18).  The Boston Red Sox finally dropped a game to Robinson Cano and the Seattle Mariners, 5-0, while the Baltimore Orioles, today’s opponent, lost their seventh consecutive game, 8-4 to the Houston Astros.  The losses increased the Yankees’ lead in the AL East to 3 games over the Red Sox and 4 1/2 games over the Orioles.  The Tampa Bay Rays, the only other team to win in the AL East on Sunday, are 5 games back.

Down on the Farm…

Tyler Austin continued his latest rehab assignment in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday.  At DH, he was 1-for-3 with a run scored in the RailRiders’ 3-0 victory over the Toledo Mud Hens.  Gleyber Torres, at short, was 1-for-4 with a single.  

Yankees left-hander Justus Sheffield had a great game for the AA-Trenton Thunder.  He pitched a three-hitter in 6 2/3 innings to beat the Portland Sea Dogs, 6-2.  He only gave up one run (none earned), walked one and struck out six.  With more performances like that, the 21-year-old could very well find himself in Pennsylvania.  The hitting star for the Thunder was third baseman Miguel Andujar.  He was 3-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored.  

The Road Ahead…

The Yankees take to the road today with a trip to Baltimore, Maryland for three games with the Orioles, followed by a trip north of the border to Toronto, Canada for a four-game set with the Blue Jays.  Upon completion of the road trip, the Yankees return home to face the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles in three-game series.  As losers of seven straight, the Orioles will be looking to turn things around in their home park.  It’s not going to be an easy series by any stretch of the imagination.

Here are the pitching matchup’s for the Baltimore series:

TODAY
Yankees:  Jordan Montgomery (2-3, 4.30 ERA)
Orioles:  Dylan Bundy (5-3, 2.92 ERA)

TUESDAY
Yankees:  Luis Severino (3-2, 3.11 ERA)
Orioles:  Chris Tillman (1-1, 4.43 ERA)

WEDNESDAY
Yankees:  Masahiro Tanaka (5-4, 5.86 ERA)
Orioles:  Kevin Gausman (2-4, 6.17 ERA)

Have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day!  Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who has lost family, friends, and loved ones in the defense of our Country.  Our eternal thanks to the men and women who gave all...

Sunday, May 28, 2017

Using 2 Hits to Maximum Advantage...

Credit:  Al Bello/Getty Images

Yankees 3, A’s 2…

The Yankees didn’t get much offense on Saturday, but thanks to the rejuvenated CC Sabathia (5-2), they didn’t need it.

In the first inning, they scratched out a run through a walk, hit by pitch, wild pitch, and sacrifice fly (by Starlin Castro).  By the time Oakland’s Ryon Healy doubled in the sixth inning to tie the score, the Yankees were still searching for their first hit against A’s starter Jharel Cotton.

CC was pitching great but I did have a heart attack in the top of the sixth with two outs when Trevor Plouffe sharply hit a fly to right.  Starlin Castro, on the run, appeared to catch the ball but it bounced out of his glove.  Alertly, a running Aaron Judge was in the right spot at the right time and made the catch to end the inning.  

Credit:  Paul J Bereswill
Cotton, who entered the game with a 5.68 ERA, pitched liked an ace.  Despite a walk to Brett Gardner in the third (subsequently erased when he tried to steal second), Cotton was cruising from the second inning through the fifth, with three up-three down each frame.  It was more of the same to start the sixth as Cotton recorded two quick outs on fly balls.  

Then, the walk raised its ugly head for Cotton again when he gave Gary Sanchez a free pass.  Matt Holliday came to the plate, with two outs and no team hits showing on the scoreboard.  After a first pitch ball (low and inside), Holliday got a hold of Cotton’s second offering and launched a blast to left-center.  “High fly ball, left field…going back Davis.  Track, wall, SEE YA!” (courtesy of Michael Kay of the YES Network).  

After giving up a single to the next batter (Castro), Cotton was done even though he had allowed the only two hits the Yankees would get in this game.  Cotton pitched his heart out in his 13th major league game and recorded a career high 107 pitches, but like Masahiro Tanaka found out the other night, Baseball can be a cruel sport.  

CC tired in the seventh when, with one out, he gave up a homer to Josh Phegley, to bring the score to 3-2 Yanks, and a double by Adam Rosales.  Time to turn to the Yankees bullpen which had ignited an A’s rally the night before.  Fortunately, Adam Warren got Matt Joyce on a groundout and left Rosales stranded at third when he struck out Mark Canha.

The eighth inning brought Tyler Clippard into the game.  With the disaster of the night before fresh on everyone’s mind, Clippard struck out the first batter, Jed Lowrie.  Lowrie, who seems to rise to the occasion against the Yanks, was subsequently ejected for arguing strikes.  At that point, the Friday night version of Clippard reappeared.  A walk to Khris Davis and a double by Ryon Healy put runners at second and third with just one out.  Exit Clippard, and enter Dellin Betances.  Ball, called strike, foul, called strike…inning over.  Hey Randy Levine, stick it where the sun doesn’t shine.

Credit:  Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports
In the ninth inning, it was three up and three down for Betances, with a swinging strikeout by Matt Joyce to end the game.  

Cut to Frank Sinatra singing “New York, New York”…ah, I love that song on winning days.


With the win, the Yankees (28-18) held their two-game lead in the AL East over the Boston Red Sox.  The Sox beat the Seattle Mariners again.  The scary part is that the complete game shut-out was by a rookie pitcher, Brian Johnson, making his first career start at Fenway Park.  Johnson was optioned back to AAA after the game but he’s making the way for the return of David Price who will be activated from the DL this week.  The Baltimore Orioles lost their sixth game in a row to slide 3 1/2 games back.

Player Updates…

Tyler Austin was elevated to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday with his rehab assignment.  On Saturday, he contributed a run-scoring single to help the RailRiders defeat the Toledo Mud Hens, 5-1.  Gleyber Torres was 1-for-5 with a double, driving in a run.  

Greg Bird departs for Tampa today.  He’ll most likely take a few at-bats in extended spring training at the Yankees’ minor-league complex on Tuesday and Wednesday before beginning his rehab assignment.  He spoke of muscle soreness yesterday (typical soreness after not using certain muscles) but otherwise everything seems to be moving forward with his progress.

Also progressing is closer Aroldis Chapman who must have received favorable news from the doctor on Saturday as he was able to make 25 throws from 60 feet.  He’ll continue with playing catch on Sunday as he begins his preparation for hopefully a mid-June return.  

Speaking of Chapman, I am hopeful that he’ll be activated during the Yankees road trip to California when the Yankees travel to Oakland on June 15th.  I really want to see a rematch between Chapman and the A’s Rajai Davis.  Davis had the game-tying home run off Chapman in Game 7 of last year’s World Series. I want to see Chapman punch out Davis to win a game as retribution.  Hey, I am not a vindictive person…just competitive.

Credit:  MLB.com
Have a great Sunday!  Let’s win again while Chase Headley continues to sit…

Saturday, May 27, 2017

Splitter showed up but Clippard did not…

Credit:  Charles Wenzelberg
Friday night was very disappointing...  

The disappointment certainly did not reside with Masahiro Tanaka who was able to put the horrific past couple of weeks in his rearview mirror, but it was the implosion of the bullpen.  Tyler Clippard picked a very bad night to have a bad night and Jonathan Holder didn’t do anything to help.  

Tanaka started the game with three strikeouts although he did give up a double to Oakland’s Jed Lowrie.  It went a long way for me to show that Tanaka was not going to be a punching bag on this evening.  Tanaka pitched into the eighth without allowing any runs, while striking out a season-high 13 batters.  The only problem was that Sean Manaea, moved up a day in the rotation after Kendall Graveman was scratched, was just as good. The Yankees could not muster any offense against Manaea, who only permitted one extra base-hit, a double by Austin Romine in the third inning.


Credit:  Mike Stobe/Getty Images
With the game still deadlocked at 0-0 in eighth inning, Tanaka struck out Mark Canha and was then pulled by manager Joe Girardi after giving up a single to Adam Rosales.  Using ‘ifs and buts’, if Aroldis Chapman had been healthy, the Yankees could have gone to Dellin Betances in that situation but Girardi had no choice but to go to interim setup reliever Tyler Clippard.  

From there, the game fell apart.  Rosales was safe at third following a throwing error by Clippard.  The next batter, Rajai Davis, hit into a fielder’s choice, and Rosales was erased at home.  Davis then stole second, but it didn’t matter because Clippard walked the next batter, Matt Joyce, a .194 hitter.  Jed Lowrie, 3-for-4 on the night, promptly singled to score Davis.  While I understand the rules for why the run was charged to Tanaka, this one was clearly on Clippard.  The next batter, Khris Davis, reached first on an infield single to Gregorius, scoring Joyce.  The Yankees challenged the call at first but lost.  Things could have gotten worse from there as Clippard threw a wild pitch to advance the runners to second and third but Ryan Healy flied out to left to end the inning.

Jonathan Holder replaced Clippard in the top of the ninth inning and was greeted by a single (Trevor Plouffe) and a home run (Stephen Vogt) which put the A’s up 4-0.  He stayed and got the next three outs, but by then the damage had been done.

The Yankees tried to muster a rally in the bottom of the ninth.  They had the bases loaded with just one out for Didi Gregorius.  Didi was unable to get the ball out of the park and the Yankees had to settle for a sac fly to put their first run on the board.  With two outs and the game-tying run still at the plate, Girardi pinch-hit Gary Sanchez for Chase Headley.  Unfortunately, Sanchez delivered the same result that Headley would have, a pop up in the infield to end the game.  

Numerous disappointments with this night.  Obviously, the bullpen.  The Yankees need Aroldis Chapman back.  Since he went on the DL, Betances is the only reliever to step up his game.  The others have regressed from the added work.  Chapman is scheduled to throw catch today if a visit to the doctor goes well so hopefully this is the start of his return.  Matt Holliday was a no-show.  He was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, leaving three runners on base.  Chase Headley is bringing nothing to the table.  He was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, and hasn’t been able to hit for a month as his batting average has fallen to .228.  

I know the calls for Gleyber Torres will soon begin but I think it’s more likely the Yankees would swing a minor trade for a Major League third base replacement at this point.  This is a direct reflection of how poorly the Yankees have drafted for third base.  Miguel Andujar is the organization’s best third baseman and he’s further away than Torres who most likely will be the eventual starter for the Yankees.  In 2011, the year they drafted Greg Bird, the Yankees first pick (51st selection) was Dante Bichette, Jr.  Had Bichette been able to develop, he would have been ready for a job in the Bronx.  As it is, the 24-year-old Bichette is batting .147/.213/.265 for AA-Trenton and is closer to a job outside of Baseball.  I recognize that 2011 was not a strong year for third basemen in general, but with the 292nd pick, the Boston Red Sox chose Travis Shaw who is currently the starting third baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers (9 HR, 34 RBI, .286 BA) .  The Yankees chose a few more third basemen in the 2011 Draft.  Matthew Duran was chosen with the 149th pick (Greg Bird wasn’t chosen until 30 picks later), Zach Wilson was picked 659th, and Connor Mach was the 1409th selection.  All three players are out of baseball.

I think the Yankees are stuck with Headley for the duration of the year.

Credit:  Elsa/Getty Images
The Yankees (27-18) maintained their 2 1/2 game advantage over the Baltimore Orioles, but lost ground with the AL East lead to two games as the hard-charging Boston Red Sox have moved up to second.  Baltimore lost to the very strong Houston Astros, 2-0, while the Red Sox were beating the punchless Seattle Mariners, 3-0.  

Here are the revised pitching match-ups for the remainder of the Oakland series with the scratch of Kendall Graveman yesterday:

SATURDAY
Athletics:  Jharel Cotton (3-4, 5.68 ERA)
Yankees:  CC Sabathia (4-2, 4.62 ERA)

SUNDAY
Athletics:  Andrew Triggs (5-3, 2.77 ERA)
Yankees:  Michael Pineda (5-2, 3.35 ERA)

I would have liked to have seen Sonny Gray this series given the trade rumors but Gray’s turn in the rotation doesn’t come up again until Tuesday in Cleveland.  

Credit:  Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports
The Yankees need to provide some offense today for Sabathia who, hopefully, continues his recent string of quality starts.  This is a series that the Yankees should be winning so if they lose two of three or worse yet, get swept, this will be looked upon as a missed opportunity.  Win the games you are supposed to win.  Apparently, the Red Sox got the memo but the Yankees didn’t.  Turn it around…today. 

Have a great Saturday!  Let’s find ways to beat the A’s!