Sunday, March 4, 2018

Painful Experience: TV Games Thru NESN-Colored Glasses...


However, the End Result is all that matters…

Despite fielding a team with primarily high numbers (on their jerseys; not their stats), the Yankees accomplished the objective on Saturday. Beat the Red Sox. The Yankees came away from their only visit to JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, FL with a 5-3 victory. I know, it means nothing but as I said yesterday, I wanted to beat the Red Sox regardless of the significance of the game. Hanley Ramirez, who promised the Red Sox Nation that they’d “step on everybody’s neck” when the Sox signed J.D. Martinez, was 0-for-3, with a strikeout.

Since the game was televised by the MLB Network and it was at Boston’s ballpark, we were subjected to the NESN broadcast crew of Dave O’Brien, Tim Wakefield and Steve Lyons. Maybe it was just me, but I found their telecast to be one of the most myopic experiences that I’ve ever witnessed. If you believed what you heard (no worries, I did not), you would come away thinking the Red Sox are an extraordinary team, made more powerful with the presence of J.D. Martinez, while the Yankees have numerous questions and are a “one-dimensional team”. They also took shots at CC Sabathia for no reason, leaving you with the impression that CC is held together by duct tape. I didn’t mind the guests they featured regarding the Red Sox Foundation and other notable causes, but it seemed like they disregarded the game at times and it was as if the NESN broadcasters knew nothing about the Yankees players in the game. As Charles Barkley would say, “That’s turrible”. I am not impressed by NESN or the Red Sox.


Miguel Andujar continued his hot hitting. He didn’t start the game but entered later as a replacement for Brandon Drury. His eighth-inning single scored Jeff Hendrix with an insurance run after the Yankees had taken a one-run lead on the Sox. The day was an enjoyable experience for Andujar who got to meet one of his childhood heroes, former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz. Although Andujar and Ortiz are both from the Dominican Republic, I was not aware they were from the same hometown.  No wonder Andujar emulates Big Papi’s swing.


The Yankees improved to 8-1, best in the Grapefruit League.  Today, they’ll face an old friend in Nathan “Nasty Nate” Eovaldi and the Tampa Bay Rays.  Nick Solak, one of the Yankees prospects involved in the trade for Brandon Drury, will start at second base for the Rays.

Here is the scheduled lineup for the Yankees at home in Tampa against the visiting Rays (sorry, I always find humor in that statement):

Brett Gardner, CF
Aaron Judge, RF
Giancarlo Stanton, LF
Gary Sanchez, C
Brandon Drury, DH
Danny Espinosa, 3B
Billy McKinney, 1B
Ronald Torreyes, 2B
Tyler Wade, SS

Chad Green will be the starting pitcher. Aroldis Chapman is also scheduled to pitch.

Russell Wilson left camp today but gave the players signed NFL footballs before his departure. Even though I am not a Seahawks fan, I knew that Wilson was a great guy. But his time in Training Camp and his words left me with the greater perception that his character exceeds his talent, which is no small task. I remain convinced that his time at Steinbrenner Field was a worthwhile experience although he struck out in his lone at-bat. His winning attitude and desire to be great is infectious. I think the Yankees players learned a great deal from the champion QB.  


Clint Frazier was held out from workouts on Saturday but, fortunately, his MRI on Friday came back clean. He’ll meet with a doctor today. Hopefully this not more serious than it appears to be and he’ll be back on the field in the not-so-distant future. Jacoby Ellsbury remains sidelined with the right oblique strain which is fine. That’s certainly one injury you don’t want to rush given the risk of further setback if you try to come back too soon.  

Recent photos of Chase Headley and Dustin Fowler are the latest evidence the Yankees should revisit their facial hair policy.  I am not a fan of the wild Justin Turner look, but cleanly groomed beards should be acceptable.



Bryan Mitchell, yet another example...

Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports (Matt Kartozian)
Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com has a very nice write up this morning about my favorite Yankees pitching prospect (with no offense to Justus Sheffield or Chance Adams). Albert Abreu, recovering from recent emergency appendectomy surgery, should be able to resume his throwing program soon. It will be fun to watch this very talented right-hander continue his ascent through the Yankees farm system.  I am a huge Abreu fan and I look forward to the day he takes the mound at Yankee Stadium.

Photo Credit: Getty Images (Elsa)
Go Yankees!