Saturday, August 10, 2019

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 LoĆ”isiga 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!