Friday, July 14, 2017

Back to Work Friday!...


Aw shucks, do we really hafta?...

I have to admit the break was very nice.  I took full advantage of it and enjoyed every minute.  But alas, all good things must end.  Time to get back to baseball and hopefully what will be a very productive second half for the Pinstripers.  

I am glad the Chicago Cubs laid the Jose Quintana rumors to rest.  It was a serious overpay (in my opinion) and I don’t think the cost was worth the top prospects in the organization.  So, congratulations to GM Brian Cashman for his restraint.  There’s no doubt we need pitching but we’ll just have to find another well, and hopefully a less costly one.  The long term view is still the best view in the house.  I am sure teams will now move to other rumored trade targets, ramping up the cost for guys like Yu Darvish or Gerrit Cole (should they be placed on the market).  I’d rather see Chance Adams get a chance at some point rather than his inclusion in a trade for an older, more established pitcher.  

Credit:  Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
With less than three weeks to the trading deadline, Thursday should just be a slight preview of the days ahead as teams jockey for position.

I thought yesterday’s trade for first baseman Garrett Cooper was a chance worth taking.  Why not?…the Yankees do not have anything to lose.  By trading Tyler Webb, it was an indication that he didn’t fit into their long-term plans.  Plus, he tied up a valuable 40-man roster spot which will be a premium in the off-season when the Yankees have to decide whom to protect and whom to potentially expose to the Rule 5 Draft.  Every move made today has ramifications on the off-season so I am sure that Cashman is being both near- and far-sighted at the same time.  Ji-Man Choi has had a couple of nice home runs but I am not sold on him as a Major League first baseman.  If he falters, it is nice to know that Cooper is waiting in the wings.  He probably represents an upgrade over Mike Ford (currently on the DL for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre).  


Stay tuned as I am sure we’re in for a ride.

I honestly did not think Aaron Judge would win the Home Run Derby last Monday.  The win didn’t surprise me and I certainly loved watching the incredible show as much as anyone.  But there was so much hype about him going into the Derby, I felt the weight of expectations would be too much.  Between Judge and Gary Sanchez, I thought Sanchez would be the one to persevere.  So, my apologies to Aaron and congratulations on the tremendous win.  Now, in one of those bottom of the 9th at-bats when the Yankees are trailing and you represent the tying or winning run, please feel free to mix in a tape measure, Statcast-blowing blast instead of the usual strikeout.  I am not trying to be critical of Judge and I am very appreciative of his consistent contributions game by game...but...outside of Clint Frazier’s recent walk-off, the bottom of the 9th at Yankee Stadium has generally meant three outs in recent weeks.

No All-Star Game recap from me, but it was tough to see a “formerly” beloved ex-Yankee hit the home run to win the game and another “probably still” beloved ex-Yankee save the win.  Robinson Cano hurts more than Andrew Miller since the added measure (salt in the wound) was that Cano on the team as an injury replacement for current Yankee Starlin Castro.  The losses of Cano leaving via free agency and the trade of Miller (not his fault) still sting.  If Cano was still a Yankee, we’d probably be talking about the potential future retirement of his number.  Now, Gary Sanchez gets the honors and Cano has a career that you primarily only see through box scores unless you live in Seattle.

Next Up:  Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, Boston, MA…

The Yankees get a very quick and hard test to open the second half.  They’ll travel to Boston to play the first place Red Sox for four games in three days.  The break, outside of Chris Sale, gave the Sox the opportunity to reset their pitching rotation.  With Sale pitching Tuesday’s All-Star Game, he’ll take the mound on Saturday.  But we’ll see the top 4 pitchers in Boston’s rotation for this series.  So no fifth starters this go-around.  The Red Sox are starting to play like everyone expected although they did lose their most recent series when they were beaten by the Tampa Bay Rays, the team currently tied with the Yankees for second place in the AL East.  If Boston finds a solution for their third base problem and perhaps more arms for the pen, they’ll be a formidable team although at this point, I’d have to say the Houston Astros are the likely winners of the ALCS regardless of who they play.

By catching closer Craig Kimbrel in the All-Star Game, I am hopeful that Gary Sanchez picked up a thing or two to use during his at-bats.  I think he was surprised at the movement of Kimbrel’s pitches from the catcher’s point of view.  Very weird to see a Yankee catch a Red Sox pitcher.


The Red Sox can be beaten but not by the Yankees team we saw the last couple of weeks.  They’ll need to rise to the challenge.  I hope that Dellin Betances can right the ship once and for all.  The same goes for Masahiro Tanaka.  I only hope that we are not forced to use Tyler Clippard in a critical situation.

As of this post, the Yankees had not announced their scheduled starters.  Boston's starters will be:

FRIDAY:  Drew Pomeranz (9-4, 3.60 ERA)
SATURDAY:  Chris Sale (11-4, 2.75 ERA)
SUNDAY-GAME 1:  Rick Porcello (4-11, 4.75 ERA)
SUNDAY-GAME 2:  David Price (4-2, 3.91 ERA)

Final Notes…

As expected, the Yankees have sent Starlin Castro to Double-A Trenton on a rehab assignment.  They also released Chris Carter after he cleared waivers so there will be no Carter Experiment III.  

Have a great Friday!  Let’s start the second half off right with a win in Beantown!  Let’s Go Yankees!

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)