Graphic incorrectly says "NL West" It should say NL East*
The 2020 season for Major League Baseball is happening, at least where we stand here today at the end of June. What a year it's been, but the return of baseball (at least to me) means so much more than just a return to normalcy. To me, it's a return to everything. While the entire 2020 schedule has not been released as of yet, we do know that the Yankees will be inside Nationals Park facing off against Max Scherzer and the defending MLB World Series Champions on July 23rd. Once the MLB odds are released, we will be able to see what the point-spread is. The presumed starting pitching matchup on that night will be Gerrit Cole, who will finally be making his Yankees debut after signing a 9-year deal worth $324 million, against Scherzer. What we do know thus far is that the Yankees will play 10 games each against each of their AL East rivals, as well as a total of 20 games against National League East teams as well. In some capacity, the Yankees will play 10 games each against the Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles and the Tampa Bay Rays. New York will also play three games each with the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies, while playing four games against the Washington Nationals and the Miami Marlins. In a bit of a twist, MLB has decided to allow teams to play their "rivals" from their opposing division an extra two times, so the New York Yankees and New York Mets will play a total of six times head-to-head in 2020. Check back in a few days after the full schedule is out.
162 games are in the books, the field is set, and the new
season is upon us. Welcome to October, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the
postseason. If you tuned into the blog yesterday you saw the New York Yankees,
Cleveland Indians and Oakland Athletics win their respective divisions in the
American League while the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros clawed their way to
the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. In the National League the Atlanta Braves,
Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers captured their respective divisions while
the Washington Nationals and the Colorado Rockies will battle it out in the
one-game Wild Card playoff game in the National League. Who will win the pennant?
Keep reading to find out!
American League Wild
Card Game
Boston Red Sox vs.
Houston Astros
Anything can happen in a one-game playoff, which is why the
Houston Astros, despite how much pitching they lost during this offseason, at
least have a chance in this game against the Boston Red Sox. Undoubtedly the
Red Sox will have Chris Sale on the mound against Justin Verlander, so I expect
a low-scoring affair for much of the night. The Astros are a scrappy team, and
the Red Sox have a great offense, but the battle of the bullpens may decide it.
If this were a seven-game series, or even a five-game series, I’d be inclined
to pick the Astros because of the state of the Red Sox bullpen, but it’s not
and I think Boston will be fine. Alex Cora will do whatever it takes to win,
whether that is pitching David Price or Rick Porcello in relief, or simply
running Sale out there until his arm falls off. Cora will do whatever he has to
in order to win, and I think at the end of the day he will.
Winner: Boston Red Sox
National League Wild Card Game
Washington
Nationals vs. Colorado Rockies
You have to wonder who the Nationals will pick to start this
game. Will it be Max Scherzer or will it be Patrick Corbin? If it’s Scherzer
you have to give the clear advantage, in my opinion, to the Nationals, but if
the team uses Scherzer down the stretch to clinch this game at home the Rockies
have a lot more of a fighting chance. At the end of the day I think the
Nationals will win the game regardless, but only because I feel like they are a
more complete team than the Rockies this season.
Winner: Washington
Nationals
American League Division Series
New York Yankees
vs Boston Red Sox
The rematch of the century, but this time the Yankees have
the home field advantage. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention what I
mentioned just a few paragraphs above in the AL Wild Card Game prediction. The
Red Sox and their bullpen can, and in my opinion will, be exposed in a
five-or-seven-game series. The Red Sox will likely have to use a starter in the
AL Wild Card Game that they would prefer to start twice against the Yankees,
but you can’t really plan for that and look past a team like the Astros. This
will all work in the Yankees favor, but I still don’t see how this goes at
least four or five games before we crown the New York Yankees the victor.
Winner: New York
Yankees in five games
American League Division Series
Oakland Athletics
vs. Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians have great pitching, but their bullpen
is suspect, and their offense is not as high-powered as you would like. The
Indians have really benefited from a weak division in the AL Central and that
will never be more obvious than it will be in the ALDS against the Oakland
Athletics. The Athletics have a great, young team that is only getting better,
and I think the team will make easy work of the Indians in four games… and
Billy Beane won’t see a single inning of it.
Winner: Oakland
Athletics in four games
National League Division Series
Los Angeles
Dodgers vs. Washington Nationals
The Los Angeles Dodgers won the most games of any team in the
league in 2019 and that will continue heading into the postseason. The Washington
Nationals will give the Dodger their money’s worth in my opinion, pushing the
series to five-games, but if Clayton Kershaw is healthy, I cannot see a way the
Dodgers go out this early in the postseason. They are too talented and far too
good to lose in an extended series.
Winner: Los Angeles
Dodgers in five games
National League Division Series
Atlanta Braves vs.
Milwaukee Brewers
The Atlanta Braves are the new kids, literally and
figuratively, on the block while the Milwaukee Brewers just grind out victories
and find ways to win. If I were a betting man, I’d guess that we would see more
Atlanta Braves highlights on Top Plays on Sportscenter and such than we will
see the Milwaukee Brewers, yet I think it will be the Brewers that edge the Braves
in four games in this series. Playing in the Midwest means a lot of casual fans
don’t get to watch your games or pay attention to your team much, but the
Brewers have a pretty damn good team that is stacked with talent. I can see
first baseman Eric Thames having a huge 2019 season and an even bigger
postseason, leading Milwaukee at least to the National League Championship
Series.
Winner: Milwaukee Brewers
in four games
American League Championship Series
New York Yankees vs.
Oakland Athletics
In a rematch of the 2018 American League Wild Card Game the
New York Yankees will play host to the Oakland Athletics in the 2019 ALCS. I
think these two teams are more evenly matched than most people would admit or
give Oakland credit for, but I think the Yankees are a much deeper and complete
team. The Athletics may push the Yankees to six games, but I can see New York
clinching their first American League pennant in front of the Bronx faithful
since the 2009 season.
Call me a homer if you want to, but I truly believe in this
team and I TRULY believe this team can be special.
Winner: New York
Yankees in six games
National League Championship Series
Los Angeles
Dodgers vs. Milwaukee Brewers
Classic David vs. Goliath. The Los Angeles Dodgers and their
roughly $209 million payroll vs. the Milwaukee Brewers and their roughly $121
million payroll. The names on the Brewers roster will only pale in comparison
to names like Clayton Kershaw, Kenley Jansen, Corey Seager, and others, but
where the Brewers lack in “names” they more than make up for it in the talent
department. Christian Yelich is the reigning NL MVP, Eric Thames is one or two
injuries away from having a huge breakout season in 2018, guys like Jimmy
Nelson, Corey Knebel, Chase Anderson and others now have Yasmani Grandal to
pitch to, and guys like Ben Gamel, Josh Hader, and others can only get better
in 2019 in my opinion. The Dodgers will presumably want a fight, and a fight
they will get from Milwaukee. Just remember though, LA, sometimes even the most
dominant fighter gets caught leaning, ask Anderson Silva, and I can totally see
that happening again this year.
Winner: Milwaukee
Brewers in six games
Ladies and gentlemen, your 2019 World Series will include
the New York Yankees and the Milwaukee Brewers. May the best team win, and good
luck to both teams. Tune in tomorrow to find out the winner.
Late Monday evening I received a text on my phone from a
person that I trust. This person was a friend of a friend that works within the
Yankees organization that gives us a bone whenever he or she can. They told us
about Johnny Damon coming to the Bronx in 2005 a few days before it happened,
although I was not big on social media or blogging then, and they dropped other
information to us including the New York Mets signing Curtis Granderson (we had
the exact years and dollar amounts, Joel Sherman, so unblock me and give credit
where credit is due) and others. Long story short, when this person talks… we
listen. This person talked again this week and let us know that the Yankees are
already actively talking to opposing GM’s about right-handed pitcher Sonny
Gray, and they state that Cashman has already had discussions regarding Gray
with the Atlanta Braves, the Arizona Diamondbacks and other National League
teams.
The source made it very clear that Cashman’s intention was
to shop Gray to National League team’s first, which makes sense. Gray is a good
pitcher, but he just can’t get out of his own head. Some people aren’t made for
New York, and Gray seems to be one of them. Gray is going to figure this thing
out if and when he is traded this offseason, and the Yankees would rather him
figure it out with a team that would not see the Yankees all that often going
forward.
So, with that said, let the speculation begin. What would
the Yankees potentially get back from either of these teams, and ultimately what
are their needs? It is hard to say, but we will pretend like the trade is imminent
and keep the Yankees current needs in mind. This could obviously change the
deeper into the winter and the hot stove season gets, but we will cross that
bridge when we get there if this trade stuff goes that long. The Yankees don’t
NEED another outfielder, and they don’t NEED a first baseman, and it is unlikely
that they will trade Gray for the starting pitching help that they so
desperately need, leaving just the bullpen and the farm system as potential
areas to upgrade with the trade.
The Braves had pitching woes of their own here in 2018, so
the only pieces of value that Atlanta will be able to offer the Yankees in
return for Gray is a couple players out of their farm system. Pick the names,
it doesn’t really matter at this point to be completely honest. Gray is a lost
trade for Cashman and company and anything that he gets back will help lessen
the hit. The Diamondbacks, on the other hand, could think outside the box with
a trade since their farm system is pretty barren right now. Arizona has already
discussed the possibility of trading first baseman Paul Goldschmidt this
winter, could this be the very early stages of a trade package between New York
and Arizona?
Obviously, the Yankees would have to include a lot more than
just Sonny Gray to pry away Goldschmidt from the Diamondbacks, but with Arizona
presumably losing Patrick Corbin to free agency they may value Gray and his
upside more than the Yankees, or most teams for that matter, do. The window for
winning in Arizona is closing and Gray may give the team one more shot at going
deep into the postseason with this current team. Who else would be in the
package from the Yankees? Again, take your pick. Arizona’s farm system is barren,
and I am sure they would merely take the best available prospects rather than a
specific need, like a shortstop for example. If the Yankees don’t have enough or
are unwilling to part with everything the Diamondbacks would ask for in a
Goldschmidt trade, bring in a third team. The Yankees and Diamondbacks have
done it before with the Tampa Bay Rays just last season, there is no reason
they couldn’t do it again. Maybe even bring in the Braves, who knows? The
specifics are left up to someone a lot smarter than me, but at least on paper
this could potentially be the beginning of a match made in the Bronx.
The Yankees don’t NEED Goldschmidt, but damn it would be
nice to have some stability at first base for once. Get Greedy, Get Goldy? It
has a nice ring to it…
As we learned yesterday in this same series the New York Yankees and the Colorado Rockies became the first ever set of Wild Card winning teams when a fourth playoff team was added to the mix. On this day in 1995 the first American League and National League Division Series were played with the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, and the Atlanta Braves winning the first ever games.
Also on this day in 1947 in Game 4 of the World Series the Yankees pitcher Bill Bevens came within one out of pitching the first no-hitter in World Series history. Cookie Lavagetto of the Dodgers came up with two outs in the ninth to pinch hit for Eddie Stanky and hit a two out double. The Dodgers would miraculously come back to win the game 3-2.
Let me preface this post by saying that John Smoltz is not
my favorite person, nor was he my favorite player while he was with the Boston
Red Sox and the Atlanta Braves. I think he is cocky and arrogant, but he is
also one of the smarter minds in Major League Baseball despite it all. I am
willing to give credit where credit is due, and Smoltz had a pretty damn good
idea to “fix” and revolutionize baseball for the better. Smoltz wants Major
League Baseball to adopt a similar schedule and policy that is already in place
for Minor League Baseball, especially for the postseason.
Smoltz had many ideas actually to fix baseball, but the idea
that most caught my eye was his idea to make September baseball and the
postseason pennant races meaningful again. The way it is now basically every
race for the postseason is all but decided and has been for quite some time
now. The days of going down to the last day of the season to decide a winner
seem to be all but over in Major League Baseball and Smoltz has an idea to
change that by implementing first-half and second-half winners.
Smoltz wants to eliminate interleague play and go back to
every team playing the same schedule, thus in the process dumping rivalry
series with the hopes of bringing back pennant races again. Smoltz hopes that
with this change the fans and the game would see more drama come to the game
while the number of teams tanking for draft picks and such could also go down. This
isn’t a new concept, the whole split-season schedule thing, as MLB did this
back in 1981 after the baseball strike, so the idea is not as out of left field
as you may think. Minor League Baseball is already doing it and it could create
a lot more interest at the Major League level if this was to be implemented.
If MLB adopted this proposal the Oakland Athletics would be
playing the Houston Astros to determine the winner of the American League West
as Houston had the better record in the first half, while the A’s had the
better record in the second half. The Tampa Bay Rays, who aren’t going to make
the playoffs in 2018, would face off with the Boston Red Sox. The St. Louis
Cardinals would face the Chicago Cubs and the Colorado Rockies would face the
Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Los Angeles Dodgers would be sitting at home come
October. What happens if you win both halves? You get a first-round bye. Simple
enough.
This would change the whole dynamic of the game, and not
just the playoff pennant races. Why would teams sell off as heavily at the
trade deadlines if they thought they had a chance to compete in the second
half? Also, why would teams continue to push to win 110 games or more in a
season when there is no advantage to it other than a possible first-round bye?
September call-ups would be all-the-more interesting with most teams still
locked into a potential second half pennant race and the overall number of
games being played would have to be dropped from 162 games to 154 games,
something the MLB Players Association wanted anyway.
The players win, the owners win, the league wins, and the
fans win. So, what’s stopping this from happening?
It does not feel ethical to basically crap on a pitcher that
is scheduled to make the start for your team this week, but I never claimed to
be ethical, or even all that nice. With the well-documented struggles of Sonny
Gray within a Yankees uniform I wanted to think outside the box a bit and come
up with a way for the Yankees to rid themselves of this disaster waiting to
happen, but within reason. You have to remember that to get something you have
to give up something, so with that in mind the New York Yankees should be
looking at a “your reclamation project for ours” when searching for a potential
trading partner for the former Oakland A’s right-hander. Luckily for you, and
for Brian Cashman who clearly reads my work, I have included a few potential
trade partners and targets for everyone to mull over and work through.
Keep in mind that not all of these trade proposals are
necessarily considered to be a one-for-one swap, prospects can be added on
either side to make the deal work as these are just the basics and the
frameworks for a deal. That is especially the case with our first potential
trade partner, the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta is slumping and may not be in first
place in the National League East by the time the All-Star break comes around,
and a lot of that comes down to their starting pitching. It just hasn’t been
great, especially the right-arm that the team expected to be their ace in Julio
Teheran. Teheran has well-documented struggles at home inside either Turner
Field or SunTrust Park and a change of scenery for the young righty may make
sense for a team streaking towards the postseason maybe a year-or-two before
they had planned. Teheran makes sense for the Yankees because Gray has more
than the 2018 season of team control as he is signed through the 2019 season
before hitting free agency in 2020, much like Teheran who is signed through
2019 with a team option for the 2020 season worth $12 million with a $1 million
buyout. Teheran is making $8,166, 667 this season, which the Yankees would be
on the hook for a prorated version of that, while Gray is slated to make $6.5
million this season in arbitration. The production matches for the two pitchers
to be an even swap, the money is close enough for New York to stay under the
luxury tax threshold, and both pitchers could do with a change of scenery. Obviously,
the Yankees would have to add something to sweeten the pot for Atlanta, but
probably not as much as you would think.
Both are different pitchers at home and on the road, which
can be seen below thanks to Baseball Reference:
Teheran’s Home/Away Splits:
Gray’s Home/Away Splits:
What would the Braves need to sweeten the deal? That I am
not sure of, but with the imminent (in my opinion) addition of Justus Sheffield
to the 40-man roster and the big-league club a la Luis Severino in 2015 I could
see the Yankees including Chance Adams or Jonathan Loaisiga (as a player to be
named later since he is injured) to accomplish the deal. I’m no expert on the
needs of the Atlanta Braves despite living here, but I think that’s at least
the start and the framework of a potential deal.
If Teheran’s fly ball rate scares you, which honestly it
does me too… but we are talking about a replacement for Sonny Gray and not
necessarily a second ace to pair with Luis Severino, then what about another
reclamation project in Marcus Stroman? This trade proposal may be really
reaching for the stars, but every deal that Brian Cashman does not ask for is a
certain “no.” Stroman has struggled mightily this season, as have his Blue Jays
who will undoubtedly be sellers at the trade deadline this season, leaving you
to wonder if they would take on Gray for Stroman plus whatever prospects or
players are needed. Stroman is a New York native that has always had a flare
for the dramatics and the big stage, while Gray seems like the polar opposite
of that making a deal make sense at least on paper. Again, the Blue Jays would
potentially have a year-and-a-half of Gray’s services while giving up Stroman
right before he gets expensive via arbitration. Clearly, the Yankees would have
to really sweeten the pot and bank on Stroman turning around his 1-6 record,
his -0.7 WAR, and his 1.574 WHIP, but not by much. Gray has posted a -0.6 WAR,
a 1.571 WHIP and a 5-7 record that matches his “deer in the headlights” look
every time he takes the mound in the Bronx. If the Yankees were to pull this
off they would potentially grab an extra year of team control with Stroman as
opposed to Gray while also saving a few bucks after a down season for the
Toronto right-hander via the arbitration process.
The only hiccup in a Stroman for Gray potential deal would
be if the Blue Jays do not think they can compete in 2019, making the need for
Gray a moot point. The Yankees have made these types of “your trash for ours”
type deals before under Brian Cashman, remember the Esteban Loaiza for Jose
Contreras trade with the Chicago White Sox for an example, and it is not out of
the realm of possibilities for it to happen again here with Sonny Gray. If Gray
struggles again this week with the worst team in Major League Baseball you can
believe that, especially after reading this, Brian Cashman will be on the phone
trying to make a deal with either Atlanta or Toronto.
Oh, and Cashman. Just because I had this idea for you it
doesn’t mean you get to contact Theo Epstein and take Yu Darvish off his hands.
No. Hell no. Thank you in advance.
And just like that it is game time here in the Bronx between
the New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves. In the finale of this three-game
set here in New York this week the Yankees will send CC Sabathia to the mound
to face off with Julio Teheran for the Braves. The game will be played at 1:05 pm
ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network. You can also
follow along with the game on MLB TV, with the MLB At-Bat app and by tuning
into the Yankees radio broadcast with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.
Follow us on Twitter, @GreedyStripes, and “Like” us on
Facebook, The Greedy Pinstripes, to keep up with us and the team all season
long. Enjoy the game, celebrate with some fireworks of our own, and go
Yankees!!
The New York Mets essentially dumped Matt Harvey onto the
Cincinnati Reds after designating him for assignment earlier in the year. The
Mets wanted rid of the headache, and presumably the contract if at all
possible, while the Reds acquired him with the hopes of building his trade
value back up for a meaningful trade before the July 31st trade
deadline. The Mets took on Devin Mesoraco who makes more than twice as much as
Harvey, although the Reds did send cash back to offset the difference, while
the Reds have been successful in establishing some value for Harvey, a value
that will see the former All-Star and Mets product in the Bronx by the end of
the month in my opinion.
Go ahead and laugh, make your jokes about Harvey in New York
and how he won’t be the missing piece to the Yankees World Series puzzle. I’ll
call your sarcastic chuckle and raise you a few stats that may open your eyes
to the possibility just a bit. Since joining the Reds the former Mets
right-hander has pitched to a 4-3 record with a 3.86 ERA including a 3-0 record
with a 1.47 ERA in his last three starts. The command is back, the filthy
pitching is back, and so is the velocity after peaking at 97.2 MPH in his last
start. Harvey is fresh off a start in which he shutdown and shutout the NL
Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers for 5.2 innings, only leaving the game
because of a 54-minute rain delay.
Harvey is a free agent at the end of the season and, fiscally
anyway, he would fit into the Yankees plans for the 2018 season. If he could
pitch like he did back in his hay day with the Mets, then he fits into the
Yankees plans for the 2018 season in so many other ways. Harvey would be and
likely would be much better than Sonny Gray at this point and would give the
Yankees another veteran arm to help their march towards the postseason.
What would the Reds want in exchange for Harvey? What any
young and rebuilding teams wants, pitching. Enter Jonathan Loaisiga who has
been being showcased for the Yankees over the past couple of weeks including
this week inside Yankee Stadium against the Atlanta Braves. Would the Reds be
willing to do a one-for-one swap? I can only presume, but my presumption would
be that they would be willing to make the swap. Loaisiga is a young and
controllable starting pitcher that is MLB ready, obviously, which would check a
lot of boxes for the Reds. This may anger some Yankees fans, myself included,
but we must remember that this is a business and that Brian Cashman is not as
attached to these young guys as we are. He will make the move if the Reds allow
him to pull the trigger for Loaisiga, you can bet on it.
Good morning Yankees family and once again a Happy 4th
of July to you all. There is no better thing that Major League Baseball and the
New York Yankees on Independence Day and the MLB schedule makers didn’t let us
down today as the Yankees play host to the Atlanta Braves in the finale of the
three-game set. In the finale the Yankees will send CC Sabathia to the mound to
face off with Julio Teheran for the Braves. Let’s get to it here in the Bronx.
Sabathia was dominant in his last start against the Boston
Red Sox tossing seven innings allowing just one run on six hits in a victory.
Sabathia has made four career starts against Atlanta and has posted a 3-1 record
with a 3.31 ERA along the way, numbers that he will look to improve this
afternoon in the Bronx.
Teheran was also dominant in his last start where the Braves
right-hander threw six shutout innings allowing just two hits in a victory.
Teheran has a great repertoire of pitches, but he relies on his command and
control to get him through, something this Yankees offense will make him pay
for if he doesn’t have it this afternoon in the Bronx.
The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium
and can be seen on the YES Network. You can also follow along with the game on
MLB TV, with the MLB At-Bat app and by tuning into the Yankees radio broadcast
with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.
Enjoy the game, I always thought Teheran would become a
Yankees player one day and go Yankees!!
Good morning Yankees family and a very happy 4th
of July and Independence Day to everyone here in the states. This day would be
just another day if it were not for the veterans and their families who make
the ultimate sacrifice every single day and for that, I thank you.
I hope everyone has a great day. Enjoy the day but also
remember why we have it.
And just like that it is game time here in the Bronx between
the New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves. In the middle game of this three-game
interleague set the Yankees will send Domingo German out to the mound for his
10th start of the season while the Braves will counter with Sean
Newcomb. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be
seen on the YES Network and MLB Network. You can also follow along with the
game on MLB TV, with the MLB At-Bat app and by tuning into the Yankees radio
broadcast with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.
Follow us on Twitter, @GreedyStripes, and “Like” us on
Facebook, The Greedy Pinstripes, to keep up with us and the team all season
long. Enjoy the game, I am predicting seven runs scored tonight for the Bombers
and go Yankees!!
The name Danny Duffy is not at the top of any team’s
priority list if we are being completely honest, but that doesn’t mean there
won’t be more than a couple teams interested in his services this summer before
the July 31st trading deadline. In my opinion, and I know this will
not be a popular opinion by any stretch of the imagination, I believe that both
of the teams we will watch inside Yankee Stadium this evening will be at least
interested in the Kansas City Royals left-hander, the Yankees and the Braves.
Who will win tonight will be decided in just a few years, but who will win in a
potential Danny Duffy sweepstakes? Well that could take until the end of July
to find out.
Before we get too far into this let’s get one thing out and
in the open, Danny Duffy is not at the top of the Yankees priority list and
Duffy is also not the arm that will put New York over the top when it comes to
the postseason and the World Series. At least not on paper, but he could be a
serviceable addition to the rotation if the Yankees were to run into a few
scenarios. Do either of Domingo German or Jonathan Loaisiga have innings limits
this season? German has never thrown over 123 innings (he has already pitched more
than half as many innings thus far in 2018) in a season and that came back in
2014 while Loaisiga has never pitched more than 68 innings in a season, so it is
conceivable that both could be on innings limits by the end of the season. Do
you trust Sonny Gray pitching Game Four of a playoff series? Because I don’t
either. The other scenario is an injury, it could happen to any pitcher, but it
could especially happen to CC Sabathia with his balky knees and lower extremities.
Duffy isn’t the ideal choice, but he should be looked at nonetheless in my
opinion.
Duffy would come cheap as he has been inconsistent here in
2018, a year before hitting his free agency before the 2019 season. Duffy’s
overall stats are not pretty but if you look at his game logs he shows at least
something to get excited about. Duffy has made 17 starts as of the time of this
writing and has been the model of consistently inconsistent in all of them.
Duffy has allowed three runs or less in nine of them including three games
where he allowed zero earned runs. Where his inflated numbers come in at are in
the games where he allowed five runs (three times), nine runs, six runs
(twice), and seven runs against the Houston Astros.
Duffy seems to be a lot like Sonny Gray in the way that when
he is good, he is great, but when he isn’t… watch out. Could Larry Rothschild
work his magic on him and “fix” him? I can’t say no, he has done it with so
many others before, but for the same reasons the Yankees would want him would
be the same reasons why the Atlanta Braves would need him. The Braves will be
stiff competition, and stiff competition makes the price for everything go up.
If the Yankees decide that they need another starter and a better option doesn’t
present itself first, a better option being a better pitcher who is younger and
with more team control for example, then I could see the Yankees rolling the
dice on Duffy for the cost of a couple low-level prospects. If the price gets too
high, then I’d be content with letting the Braves have him and going with what
we currently have. The Yankees don’t need him, Justus Sheffield should be ready
soon, but in my opinion the Atlanta Braves do if they want to hold off the
Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies.
In the second of the three-game set between the New York
Yankees and the Atlanta Braves we will watch once again as the best team in
both respective leagues go head-to-head. In the middle game of the series the
Yankees will send Domingo German out to the mound to square off with Sean
Newcomb for the Braves. Let’s get to it here in the Bronx.
German will make his 10th start of the season
tonight in place of the injured Jordan Montgomery and will make his first ever
start against the Atlanta Braves. In German’s last start the right-hander
struggled against the Tampa Bay Rays allowing six runs on nine hits in just
three innings of work and will need to be better tonight in the Bronx to escape
with a victory.
Newcomb has made three consecutive quality starts heading
into this start and 11 overall this season. In his age-25 season Newcomb is 1-0
with a 2.25 ERA in three interleague starts this season, but none of those have
come against the New York Yankees inside of Yankee Stadium.
The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium
and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB Network. You can also follow along
with the game on MLB TV, with the MLB At-Bat app and by tuning into the Yankees
radio broadcast with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.
Enjoy the game, show the Braves that the AL reigns supreme,
and go Yankees!!
Good morning everyone and welcome back to the blog. What a
weekend for the Yankees, huh? To not only take two of three from Boston, but in
the way the team did it was so impressive to me, and I truly think it sent a
message to everyone in a Boston uniform. You guys may be good, but we may be
better.
Also, a big middle finger to the MLB schedule makers who
have the Atlanta Braves coming to New York here in 2018, but not vice versa. I
waited three years for this as I live in Atlanta and you took that from me,
thanks.
Anyway, the shift in focus. The calendar has turned to July
and all eyes have been shifted to the trade deadline. No more Meet a Prospect
talk, more finding that final piece that could lead the team to the World
Series talk. Let’s get to it.
Oh, and hey you. I love you. My focus may shift elsewhere,
but you are always at the center of my eye, my focus, my attention and my
heart. I loves you.
As many of you know, or you may not know, I moved to metro Atlanta, Georgia from the Bronx, New York back in 1999 and get to see the Yankees live very few times these days. The Yankees came down to Atlanta in 2009 and of course I attended as many games as I could so I was excited to see them come back down in 2012. I am a very superstitious person in my nature so my line of thinking was “the last time the Yankees came to Atlanta they won the World Series” in 2009 so that made me all the more excited for 2012 trip to Turner Field. We all know the history of that season, Derek Jeter's ankle, the offense going to sleep in October and the eventual loss in the American League Championship Series in 2012 but that's not what this story is about.
I remember a warm and muggy night on this day in 2012 when the Yankees were playing in the second game of a three game set at Turner Field in Atlanta. The Yankees had the bases loaded and Alex Rodriguez was at the plate while I sat in my usual box seats, fourth row Yankee side of the field. The Braves were winning 4-0 and my phone was blowing up with texts and Facebook posts about the Braves whooping the Yankees, the Yankees suck, omg Braves, Braves, Braves while I was there at the stadium and how the streak was ready to come to an end. That streak involves the Yankees win/loss record with me in attendance. I am 29 years old and I have seen tons of Yankees games live in the Bronx, in Tampa and now in Atlanta and the team has never lost a game while I was in attendance. While I have to admit my hopes were low at that point and my phone was one more #RISPFAIL away from being thrown onto the field before a funny thing happened, the Yankees rallied.
The Yankees loaded the bases with Rodriguez coming to the plate while I was wearing my A Rod jersey, something I was reluctant to do after the steroid admission but I was saving my Cano jersey for the next night, which seemed like fate to me. The Braves had shutdown reliever Jonny Venters on the mound which made me far from confident, Venters was awesome, which was only compounded when the count went full. Then something amazing happened, A Rod connected.... pandemonium.
Alex had hit his 23rd career grand slam tying a 74 year old major league record held by the Yankees Lou Gehrig. A Rod tied the game in the 8th inning and the Yankees ended up winning the game 6-4. The Facebook posts stopped, the texts went silent and I witnessed history. While I was at the next game the next night I ended up talking to the camera man at the stadium and he gave me the press release for the game the night before. Truth be told the only reason I think he gave us the release was because my wife was in a low cut dress and he thought she was hot, but hey I'll take it and took it as a compliment. I saw history and now have history in my hands and it all happened on a muggy night in Atlanta on this day in 2012. It was Craig Kimbrel bobblehead night as well which was awesome because my two sons now have a bobblehead of the Braves all-time saves leader.
The New York Yankees fans have been clamoring for a month
now for the team to acquire another starting pitcher for the stretch run. As
silly as that sounds here at the end of May it is simply what we as Yankees
fans have come to expect, and not only expect but demand as well. Yankees fans
demand not only excellence, but borderline dominance and perfection as well
which was never more evident than on Tuesday night when potential trade target
Cole Hamels shut the powerful Yankees offense down in a victory for the
Rangers. The discussions regarding Hamels and his potential acquisition by the
Yankees were running rampant before the start, and since the discussions have
only become more aggressive from the fan base. Unfortunately, I may have some
bad news for everyone reading this as I do not believe it will be the New York
Yankees who acquire the 34-year old veteran left-hander’s services before the
July 31st trade deadline.
The New York Yankees have some wiggle room in terms of
payroll flexibility while still maintaining a payroll that stays below the
luxury tax threshold, but not as much as say a team like the Atlanta Braves.
The Braves are a young and exciting team that are drawing comparisons to the
2017 version of the Baby Bombers. Young and hungry can only take a team so far,
though, and the team has obvious holes and needs in their pitching staff. The
Yankees and the Braves may be preparing to go head-to-head in a bidding war for
Cole’s services, and that is a bidding war that Brian Cashman may not want to
get into.
The Braves have a lot more money to spend this season and
next than the New York Yankees do, and they have a better farm system as well.
The Braves have arguably the best farm system in all of Major League Baseball,
but they have something else that may put them ahead of the Yankees in the potential
Hamels sweepstakes. The Braves have a GM who is not afraid to pull the trigger
on a big deal, top prospects being involved or not. Cashman, and I personally
love him for it, has shown a huge reluctance to deal top prospects and the type
of prospects that the Rangers would likely demand if a bidding war were to
ensue.
It wouldn’t take Gleyber Torres or Justus Sheffield to
acquire Hamels, presumably a true rental for the Yankees unless they fancy
picking up his huge option for the 2019 season, but it would likely require
Clint Frazier, Chance Adams, Estevan Florial, Domingo Acevedo or an equivalent
prospect or two in order to bring the lefty to the Bronx. Would Cashman be
willing to part with any of them? That’s a tricky question and a question that
history would say “no” to, but we know that the Braves would pull the trigger
in a heartbeat including any of their top prospects not named Albies or Acuna.
Also, you have to keep in mind that Hamels is 34-years old,
soon to be 35. Hamels has one-year left on his deal past the 2018 season, a
team option that can be bough out for $6 million. All signs and speculation point
to, assuming he was acquired by New York, the Yankees buying out his deal for
the 2019 season and giving him his $6 million along with his walking papers
next season. The Braves, on the other hand, would likely keep Hamels next
season with the hopes of either competing, or with the hopes of getting some
prospects back in another July 31st trade if the team cannot
replicate their early success from this season to next season. Hamels has a
no-trade clause, albeit limited, and will likely weigh all options when being
asked to waive it. You have to think at his age his security and future are far
more important than chasing a title, especially when he already has a World
Series ring under his belt.
Many believe it is a foregone conclusion that Cole Hamels
will be the 2018 version of Sonny Gray who was acquired by the Yankees at the
2017 deadline, but I am not so sure. Obviously, the Yankees could pick up
Hamels option for the 2019 season and allow him to replace CC Sabathia in the
rotation, but that is a huge “if” for Hamels who controls his destiny. The
allure of pitching in the Bronx may be a big factor for the left-hander, but the
possibility of entering a pitching free agent market beside potential free
agents like Clayton Kershaw and Dallas Keuchel at age 35 may trump that.
Pitching for Atlanta, a National League team with much fewer eyes on the
veteran lefty, may make more sense not only for the Braves, but for the future
of Hamels as well.
There is a lot that can happen between July 31st
and now, and truth be told this is all speculation anyway, but right now I
wouldn’t be surprised if the Braves came in and swooped up Hamels before the
Yankees could make a deal. A more laid-back atmosphere, “easier” lineups to
face, security for the 2019 season, and a young and hungry team with an
aggressive GM may be too much for even Brian Cashman to compete with, but then again,
they don’t call him the “Ninja” for nothing.
To be the best, you have to beat the best. Not many teams
want to be the best lately because not many teams have beaten the Yankees
lately. To be fair the team hardly played last week due to scheduled days off,
slumber parties inside of airports, and Mother Nature, but the team has picked
back up where they left off during last week’s rankings. On top and winning.
The New York Yankees are in the top spot this week followed
by the Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, the Atlanta Braves (not a typo!), and
the Milwaukee Brewers (also not a typo!). Wow, what a Top 5. Who had that Top 5
before the season? Nobody. Not even me, and I go way out there with my
predictions sometimes.
The Philadelphia Phillies rose an impressive eight spots to
the #7 position while the Washington Nationals are in danger of falling out of
the Top 10 after falling five spots this week to tenth. The Cleveland Indians
(16th, down three spots) are behind the New York Mets (14th,
up three spots) in the rankings this week while the Oakland Athletics continue
to defy the odds and climb the rankings. And then we have the Arizona Diamondbacks
who fell eight spots to the #12 position, ouch.
The American League East looks weak right now aside from the
Bronx Bombers and the Boston Red Sox with the Toronto Blue Jays ranked 20th,
the Tampa Bay Rays ranked 21st and the Baltimore Orioles ranked 29th
overall.
Cue the music, “coming for that number one spot.” And the
New York Yankees did just that this week as the USA Today released their newest
set of weekly power rankings over on their site. The Boston Red Sox slipped to
second as the Yankees went from a .500 ball club to the best team in baseball,
according to these rankings, in just three weeks’ time. Imagine what will
happen when the team gets a healthy Brandon Drury and Greg Bird back. The sky
is the limit with this team, I have said that from day one.
The Red Sox slipped to second place while the Houston Astros
(3rd), Arizona Diamondbacks (4th) and Los Angeles Angels
of Anaheim (5th) round out the Top 5. The five worst teams in the
league according to these rankings are the Kansas City Royals (26th),
the Baltimore Orioles (27th), the Cincinnati Reds (28th),
the Miami Marlins (29th) and the Chicago White Sox (30th).
Surprises? The Milwaukee Brewers are back in the Top 10 and
climbing, so are the Atlanta Braves as well with a huge +56 run differential.
Meanwhile the New York Mets and the Toronto Blue Jays are in a free fall out of
contention and off the board. You have to think the biggest surprise though is
the Los Angeles Dodgers who not only got swept by the Cincinnati Reds recently but
have also fallen to 21st overall in the rankings. Will the Dodgers
even make the postseason at this point?
The Cincinnati Reds are 6-0 to start the Matt Harvey era.
Have a great day everyone.
My
brother couldn’t use his tickets, so that was the only reason my wife Kathy and
I were there. Kathy wasn’t sure she wanted to go. She had just endured the
14-inning National League Championship Series nightmare at Shea Stadium ended
by Robin Ventura’s “grand slam single” amid pouring rain and vexatious sinuses
and didn’t want to put up with another freezing and rainy night at the
ballpark. But it was likely our only chance to see a real World Series game.
As
usual on both Yankee game night and Manhattan rush hour, the Lexington Avenue
northbound express was jammed, with a hat trick of Yuppies heading home to the
Upper East Side in chic power suits, working-class Latinos and blacks in jeans
and denim, and Yankee fans in pinstriped shirts and dark blue t-shirts with
that interlocking “NY.” It was a cheerier version of the “Last Train from
Barcelona.”
The
game was a critical moment for the visiting Atlanta Braves and the New York
Yankees alike. The Yankees had burned Atlanta in the first two games there, 4-1
and 7-3, and were now leading the World Series 2-0. The Yankees were fighting
to keep up with the endless and implacable demands of their history. Tonight’s
win would give them a commanding lead in the series. More importantly, it would
set a major league record of 10 consecutive World Series wins, a trail dating
back to 1996. It would also be their 100th World Series game win. As Kathy and
I navigated through the crowd outside Yankee Stadium to get the lanyards for
our tickets, I felt as if the ancient stadium and its ghosts seemed to be
staring down at the present team, arms folded in judgment.
Our
seats were in Yankee Stadium’s upper deck in right field, which made the
contestants appear like miniatures in the distance. We could not see the right
field outfield wall below us and would have to rely on replay screens to tell
us what was going on. Game time temperature was a tolerable 57 degrees but
began to fall in the October cold.
Two of
the teams’ titans were facing off: The Braves’ Tommy Glavine, a future 300-game
winner and Hall of Famer, against the Yankees’ Andy Pettitte, a member of the
“Core Four,” whose Number 46 would ultimately be retired and honored in
Monument Park. Both were control pitchers, with superb location. Pettitte’s
signature was his peering down at the batter with the beak of his cap slightly
covering his eyes, to give an aura of menace.
I had
never really learned to appreciate Andy Pettitte. In 1998, he’d had a tough
year. In 1999, he’d had a dreadful first half. But he bore down in the second
half. Only when he left for a three-year sabbatical in Houston did I realize
his toughness. Andy’s later replacements – mediocrities like Javier Vazquez,
Kevin Brown, and Jon Lieber – never showed the essential ferocity the Yankees
needed in the post-season.
But
this chilly evening, it was the Andy Pettitte I did not appreciate, and as I
began filling in the batting orders on the immense World Series scorebook in my
hands, I feared that the Atlanta offense would finally show up and show the
Yankees up.
Before
the game, the usual ceremonies: Challenger the tame bald eagle flew in from the
visitors’ bullpen beyond left field to home plate, taking his time, in a very
neat parabolic arc to his handler at home plate. United Nations Secretary
General Kofi Annan, wearing an official World Series jacket, threw out the
first pitch, to display New York’s role as an international capital and
baseball as an international game. As a pitcher, he was a great diplomat.
Pettitte
went to work on leadoff hitter Gerald Williams, who lashed a single to right
field. He moved to third on a Bret Boone double. Chipper Jones, universally
loathed by New York baseball fans because he hit Met and Yankee pitching with
equal impunity, dribbled a ground ball to third baseman Scott Brosius. The
normally sure-gloved Brosius intended to throw home to nail Williams at the plate
but could not scoop up the ball on the first try. He had to settle for erasing
Jones at first, and the run scored. So far, Pettitte appeared to be hitting the
inside and outside corners with his tricky stuff with his usual effectiveness.
The
Yankees struck back at Glavine in the first inning when leadoff hitter Chuck
Knoblauch belted a double to right. He moved to third on a sharp Derek Jeter
line out to right and scored when Paul O’Neill smacked a line drive to right
that popped out of Brian Jordan’s glove for an error. A rally was building that
was ended seconds later when Bernie Williams hit another liner, this time
straight at first baseman Brian Hunter, who stepped on first base for the
inning’s final out.
The
score remained tied at 1-1 until the top of the third, but it was clear that
Pettitte did not have his best stuff, putting two runners on in the second
inning, and coughing up a wild pitch. Meanwhile, Glavine, who had missed
starting Game One with a stomach virus, was popping his way through the Yankee
lineup with pinpoint control on his sinking fastball. In my scorecard, I wrote,
“Pettitte is doing his Ron Darling imitation, being tentative…intimidated...
falling behind hitters.”
Pettitte
got into trouble in the third. Second Baseman Bret Boone greeted him with a
double to center and moved to third on a Chipper Jones grounder to short. Right
Fielder Brian Jordan singled Boone home. Center Fielder Andruw Jones singled
Jordan to second, bringing up DH Jose Hernandez, who bashed a double to left
field, scoring both runners. The Braves now led 4-1, with a runner on second
and one out. A line out and fly out ended the rally, but not before Braves fans
near us brandishing elaborate and illuminated Tomahawks did the “Tomahawk chop”
to support their team.
Matters
worsened in the top of the fourth, when Left Fielder Gerald Williams smacked a
one-out triple to center, and Bret Boone bashed another double, this one to
left, scoring Williams. The Braves now led 5-1, the Stadium was a lot quieter,
and I was feeling colder. With a win here and John Smoltz providing another one
tomorrow, the Braves could tie up the Series and go back to Atlanta, no DH, and
a crowd full of “Tomahawk choppers” out for Yankee blood.
After
Boone was caught stealing third, Chipper Jones singled to center, and Yankee
Manager Joe Torre shuffled out to the mound to remove the puzzled Pettitte,
summoning the reliable Jason Grimsley. Torre gave Grimsley his usual simple
brief for these situations: “Hold them here and get yourself a win.”[i] While Torre did
so, Derek Jeter and Chuck Knoblauch, trying to keep warm in the cold, told each
other the same thing.
They were
right. The tide began to turn in the bottom of the sixth. Left fielder Chad
Curtis led off against Glavine, who was still locating his pitches perfectly.
Chad
Curtis had a public reputation as a solid offensive and defensive outfielder.
Like a number of ballplayers, he was openly Christian, giving credit to God for
his successes in postgame interviews. However, he annoyed his less-devout
teammates by constantly trying to aggressively proselytize his narrow brand of
Christianity to them. He pressured team leaders Jeter and David Cone to convert
– both rebuffed him. Curtis threw out the dirty magazines players kept in the
toilets. When Yankee management asked Curtis to keep an eye on Chuck Knoblauch,
fearing that his partying habits were the cause of Chuck’s wild throws, Curtis
took the assignment to an extreme – he would pound on the second baseman’s
hotel room door to make sure he was there. When Curtis played for Cleveland, he
got into a punching match with imposing teammate and former MVP Kevin Mitchell
in the clubhouse, over Mitchell playing a rap song in the clubhouse. Mitchell
threw Curtis over a ping-pong table and Curtis suffered bruises that
necessitated a trip to the 15-day disabled list. When Curtis played in Texas,
he would shut off the “Jerry Springer Show” if it played on the clubhouse TV
before the game.[ii]
Perhaps
most annoying to the Yankee management was that on August 9 of that season, the
Yankees got into a fight with the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field, started by
the usual cause – warning hit batsmen after home runs. The two teams emptied
onto the field, but Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, then still friends, met up,
and pretended to hit each other, laughing and joking. Neither players were
aware that the portly, beloved, and fragile Yankee coach Don Zimmer had been
knocked to the ground and needed help getting on his feet.
Curtis
saw this odd behavior. When the fight ended 15 minutes later, and the Yankees
returned to the dugout, Curtis confronted Jeter, yelling, “You are a good
player, but you don’t know how to play the game.”
Jeter
told Curtis to “get out of my face” several times. The confrontation continued
in the postgame clubhouse, in full view of the media, when Curtis approached
Jeter, and the shortstop, aware of his image and the penalties that could
result for physical violence in such a situation, merely said, “Not now, not
now.”
Curtis
did not listen. With the Yankee beat writers looking on, he tried to explain to
Jeter why he was not playing the right way. He called his actions “a small
piece of mentoring” and believed he was helping the young players understand
the consequences of his on-field behavior.
Privately,
some Yankees agreed with Curtis, including coach Willie Randolph, a walking
paladin of Yankee tradition, but pitcher David Cone noted that if Jeter’s
behavior had been wrong, Curtis had no business chastising the shortstop in
public. Later Curtis apologized, but Jeter would not forget the insult.[iii] Nor would the
Yankees. Tired of Curtis’s irritating behavior, they were making plans to find
him a new home as quickly as possible.
Curtis’s
mere presence in this game was unusual. Yankee Manager Joe Torre had originally
planned to start Ricky Ledee in left field, noting that Curtis was 0-for-13,
lifetime, against Glavine.
Now the
Yankee season fell on this least-wanted member of the team on an increasingly
cold night. With two out in the fifth, he tore a home run into the right field
seats to make the game, 5-2. It was his first post-season home run. An unnerved
Glavine served up a single to catcher Joe Girardi, but a Knoblauch ground ball
back to the box ended the inning.
Jason
Grimsley had done an excellent job all year, posting a 7-2 record, with a 3.60
ERA, in 55 relief appearances. He had not pitched in either playoff series, as
the Yankees had pretty much steamrolled their opposition. Overlooked by the
fans, unsung by the media, he did another excellent job this evening, holding
the ferocious Braves for 2.1 innings, yielding only two hits. Only later would
we learn that his statistics and fine pitching that year were the result of HGH
anabolic steroids, and his name would come up in the famous Mitchell Report.
But as he gave way at the top of the seventh, he was a Yankee hero for the
night, even if he did not get any applause.
Jeff
Nelson, an imposing figure at six feet and eight inches, came on to start the
inning, and he stifled the Braves efficiently. 56,794 fans rose to their feet
between innings to sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” Kathy and I stretched legs
rendered immobile by seven innings of sitting.
Glavine
was still pitching in the bottom of the seventh with one out, when Tino
Martinez, the Yankee first baseman, came to bat. He had achieved the impossible
in his first season: he had successfully replaced Don Mattingly. Tino’s power
hitting, skilled glovework, and leadership made him a beloved figure in Yankee
Stadium. Now he showed the power ability again, smashing a pitch into the right
field second deck, to cut the Braves’ lead down to 5-3. Yankee fans jeered and
taunted the Braves’ fans, doing their own “Tomahawk Chop.”
Nelson
disposed of the Braves handily in the top of the eighth, and Braves manager
Bobby Cox got his eighth-inning pitcher, Mike Remlinger, and his closer, John
Rocker, ready in the bullpen. Glavine had done his job – seven good innings.
But Glavine’s pitch count was low, and the cerebral Massachusetts native
pitcher assured Cox he felt fine. “He was throwing great,” Cox said later. “He
didn’t want to come out of the game. I asked him if he was tired and he said
no.”[iv]
Girardi
led off the inning and lined a single to left. Next up was Knoblauch, the
accused hard-partier himself, whose defensive abilities had collapsed after a
legendary mental blunder in the 1998 American League Championship Series, where
he had stood challenging an umpire’s call on a bunt attempt while the ball
rolled fair behind him and allowed a critical Cleveland run to score. The
spectacle of Knoblauch shouting at the ump, pointing at first base, chewing his
gum, while failing to reach for the ball and fire it home to easily nail
Enrique Wilson proved the failure of multi-tasking and seemed to have
devastated the second baseman.
Years
later, after his baseball career ended, Knoblauch would admit to using HGH
steroids, but point out that after doing so, he suffered the worst offensive
year of his career. And more shockingly (or perhaps less surprisingly because
of steroids), he would plead guilty to misdemeanor assault, trying to choke his
soon-to-be-ex-wife amidst their ugly divorce. He drew a year’s probation. For
these various incidents, the Minnesota Twins chose not to induct him into their
Hall of Fame, despite him winning Rookie of the Year for them in 1996.
But
this evening, Knoblauch faced Glavine, and ripped a powerful drive that sent
Jordan back to the wall. The ball jumped into Jordan’s glove and back out,
landing in the first row of seats on the first deck. I didn’t see the home
run…the ball disappeared below me. I had no idea Knoblauch had homered until I
saw first base umpire Derryl Cousins wiggle his arm for the home-run signal.
The game was tied, 5-5.
“I was
so happy, I wanted to lift him up and carry (Knoblauch),” Yankee center fielder
Bernie Williams said after the game. “But I realized we still had to win the
game.”[v]
Cox
would be bitter in his post-game analysis, remembering how a major factor in
his 1996 World Series loss to these same Yankees was caused by an umpire
preventing one of his outfielders from reaching a crucial pop fly. Now he saw
Knoblauch’s short home run in the same way. “We basically got beat with the
pop-up,” he said. “It was a Yankee home run. We got beat with a 315-foot home
run. You get a 315-fot fly ball and it’s an out in my book.”[vi]
Knoblauch’s
response was simple. If that was good luck, “We’ll take it every time.”[vii]
The
Stadium erupted. All 56,000-odd fans leaped to their feet, stomping and
cheering at the sheer unexpected drama. As Knoblauch ran around the bases, I
could feel the 76-year-old ballpark vibrate beneath me.
Kathy
was less impressed. “Don’t tell me we’re going to be stuck here for 16
innings,” she said.
I was
too busy cheering, but when I was done, I told her, “I hope not.”
That
was all for Glavine. He had done his best, but there was nothing left. Cox
shuffled out to the mound, took the ball, and summoned his closer, John Rocker,
to prevent any further damage.
The
very name “John Rocker” still sends veteran New York baseball fans into anger
and fury. 1999 was the Georgian’s rookie year, and it seemed appropriate that
he pitched for his Atlanta Braves. It also seemed appropriate that he had the
empathy and sensitivity of the generations of Georgians who had preceded him,
like Richard Russell and Eugene Talmadge. He had already irritated New York
with his generic arrogance and impressive pitching.
Now he
would do both in the eighth inning to end the damage, yielding a single to
Derek Jeter, followed by turning a Paul O’Neill bunt into a double play,
followed by a Bernie William fly ball to center.
Nonetheless,
the Yankees were feeling happy, Cone said later.[viii] They were
turning the game over to a young closing pitcher who still had his hair, and
had only just gained his signature entrance music, “Enter Sandman,” by
Metallica. The song was caused by a losing pitcher in the 1998 World Series,
Trevor Hoffmann. When he entered in San Diego, to the sound of “Hell’s Bells,”
Yankee Stadium Operations Director Kirk Randazzo was impressed by both the song
and the reaction among the normally laid-back Southern California fans.
He summoned five employees, not including
Rivera, who “auditioned” six possible selections and chose “Enter Sandman.”
Rivera played no part in the choice, preferring Christian music.
Now the
thumping and steady sound of “Enter Sandman” burst from the Yankee Stadium
speakers, and 54,000 fans leaped to their feet as Rivera jogged in the home
bullpen, head down, intent on his work. This was always my second-favorite
thing at Yankee Stadium. My first is always Old-Timer’s Day.
Rivera’s
appearance was not initially impressive. Boone rapped his fourth hit of the
night, a single to right, to lead off the inning. Gambling on that one run, Cox
sent in Trot Nixon to run for him, and the speedy Nixon proceeded to embarrass
himself on the national stage by being caught stealing second. Rivera disposed
quickly of the next two hitters.
Rocker
matched Rivera’s excellence in the bottom of the ninth with three quick outs,
and Kathy became increasingly irritated at the possibility of enduring another
sea-serpent baseball game, and having to go home at 3 a.m. I hoped such would
not be the case.
Cox
thought the same in the 10th. We were now in the 50th extra-inning game in
World Series history. After Andruw Jones grounded out to second to open the
inning, Cox sent veteran Ozzie Guillen to bat for Hernandez. Rivera was unimpressed
and struck out Guillen. Ryan Klesko punch-hit and singled to right, and Greg
Myers batted for first baseman Brian Hunter, grounding out to Martinez.
Pinch-hitters
Klesko and Myers stayed in the game, at first base and behind the plate
respectively, and Cox, recognizing that he had got two innings out of Rocker,
and needed him tomorrow, summoned Mike Remlinger from the bullpen to face
leadoff hitter and unloved Yankee Chad Curtis.
Curtis’s
plan was small, he said later. To hit the ball up the middle, not do too much
with the pitch, and simply start the inning.
Curtis
fouled off the first pitch and stepped out. In the Yankee clubhouse, pitchers
Jeff Nelson and Jason Grimsley watched the game on television, Nelson’s arm in
an ice pack, Grimsley in the opposite corner.
Curtis
stepped back in to the batter’s box. Remlinger threw a changeup and hit the
ball deep to left field. I watched the ball fly toward the visitors’ bullpen in
left and lost it in the lights, crowd, and distance. However, I saw two things
at once – it was flying in the directly opposite direction that Challenger the
Eagle had taken from the visitors’ pen, but with greater speed. I also saw that
the ball was going to be a game-winning home run, although I couldn’t tell
where it would land.
Nelson
and Grimsley, who had the advantage of the TV view, could – as did the Yankees
in the dugout, and most of all, Curtis himself, watching the drive from the
plate. He flipped his bat and ran around the bases, expressionless. “I don’t
remember anything,”[ix] he said later,
when asked about the ritual trip around the bases to score the run and end the
game. The ball had landed in the visitors’ bullpen. To this day, I have no idea
what happened to it.
He
leaped into a sea of happy teammates at home plate to celebrate the Yankees’
6-5 victory. The Yankees were now one game away from sweeping the Atlanta
Braves and winning their 25th World Championship.
There
was more: it was Torre’s 11th consecutive World Series victory, which broke the
major league record set by his illustrious predecessor, another Joe, Irishman
McCarthy, who won 10 straight World Series games between 1937 and 1941.
Curtis’s game-winning shot was the 11th time a World Series game had ended on a
home run. The last one had been Joe Carter’s legendary 1993 World Championship
blast in 1993. The four Yankee home runs were the most in a World Series game
since the A’s bashed five at the expense of the San Francisco Giants in Game
Three of the 1989 World Series.
And
perhaps most importantly to me, as a man whose family had rooted for the
Yankees since 1912, and had seen all their history, this was the 100th World
Series game the team had won in its long and incredible history.
Beneath
me, the Stadium was vibrating again from cheers and stomping feet. Around me,
fans were roaring in delight, and ridiculing the Atlanta and its irritating
“Tomahawk Chop.” Down on the field, NBC reporter Jim Gray ambushed Curtis for
the usual post-game victory valediction.
Once
again, Curtis failed to rise to the moment. Before Game Two, in Atlanta, a
massive on-field ceremony had honored the “All-Century Team,” which included
controversial hit king Pete Rose. At the ceremony, Gray had asked Rose if this
was an appropriate moment for Rose to address his issues of gambling on
baseball. Rose had refused to answer the questions. Baseball players and fans
were appalled by Gray’s boorish behavior. The Yankee players privately voted to
snub Gray if he tried to interview them.
Facing
Gray and NBC’s cameras, Curtis snarled, “As a team, we kind of decided, because
of what happened with Pete (Rose), we’re not going to talk here on the field.”
With that, Curtis stalked off to accept interviews from other media outlets,
and Gray was left to awkwardly “throw it up” to the main booth.[x] The Yankees were
left to awkwardly explain Curtis’s questionable behavior.
Victory
soon followed. Roger Clemens, finally seeking both a World Series game victory
and a World Championship ring, earned both the following night for the Yankees,
and ran atop the Yankees dugout after the game, high-fiving and shaking hands
with happy fans. Darryl Strawberry broke down in tears at the victory parade in
the Canyon of Heroes.
Disorder
also followed. By December, the night’s hero, Chad Curtis, was traded to the
Texas Rangers for the forgettable pitchers Brandon Knight and Sam Marsonek. A
Yankee official explained the trade by saying, “Chad just couldn’t stay around
any longer because that act gets tired. Once he became comfortable here, he
became a preacher, and it ran its course.”[xi]
Curtis
soon annoyed his new team by being second among American League left fielders
in errors, with five, and telling Jewish teammate Gabe Kapler during stretching
that he would “burn in hell” if Kapler didn’t accept Jesus Christ as his “Lord
and Savior.”[xii] Next year,
Curtis hit a mere .252 and ended his baseball career.
He
began a new one as an athletic director and coach at Christian high schools in
Michigan, eventually at Lakewood High School, a public school. In 2012, he was
charged with six counts of criminally sexually touching four 15- and
16-year-old girls in his schools. Curtis resigned his position, stood trial in
2013, and was convicted.
Facing
Barry County Court Circuit Judge Amy McDowell with the same stone face and
tight crew-cut he wore as a Yankee (only a little grayer), Curtis spoke for an
hour at his sentencing. In his peroration, Curtis blamed the victims for his
plight, saying he had rebuffed their advances, called himself a servant of God and
hoped he could write a book with the victims about the case. Three of his
victims left the courtroom in disgust.
The
prosecutor, Julie Nakfoor Pratt, was astounded by Curtis’s statement at the
sentencing, calling it “the most selfish, self-serving, victim-blaming
statement I’ve heard in my career as a prosecutor. It speaks volumes about his
character, or lack thereof.” [xiii]
The
judge was also unimpressed. She sentenced Curtis to the top of the range, seven
to 15 years in prison. Curtis’s earliest release date is 2020. Meanwhile, his
victims filed suit against him. Three settled and one case went to trial,
winning the victim $1.8 million from Curtis.
Kapler
had a comment, too: “I’m floored that I misjudged the character of a man so
horribly. Perhaps I was blinded with the mantle of righteous moral authority he
always tried to wear and never looked deeper.”[xiv]
Sic transit Gloria mundi.
On the
opposing team, John Rocker also faced disaster. In December, he would grant an
interview to Sports Illustrated writer Jeff Pearlman, denouncing New York, the
Number 7 train, and all of its manifold riders, by ethnicity, sexual
preference, and family organization, comparing Queens neighborhoods to Beirut.
Being ignorant, Rocker was unaware that the No. 7 train had that year been
designated one of America’s “National Millennium Trails,” along with 15 other
iconic routes, including those taken by Lewis and Clark, the Underground
Railroad, the Iditarod, and routes created to honor the Civil War, the American
Revolution, and even the Hatfield-McCoy feud. The five miles of the No. 7 train
are known as the “International Express” for the line’s role in redistributing
vast numbers of immigrants to America in general and New York in particular after
it was built, a role it plays to this day.
Rocker’s
interview had the usual impact. New York was enraged, the Commissioner’s Office
was furious, Rocker’s teammates were shocked, and the press questioned his
sanity. Rocker drew a suspension, was required to apologize to his teammates,
and spouted self-serving apologies, claiming he had merely intended to respond
to the abuse New York fans gave him.
In
2000, Rocker grandly announced that he would take the No. 7 train to Shea
Stadium when the Braves came into town. The New York Police Department talked
him out of it. The security measures at Shea were immense, but, oddly, most of
the booing went to former Met Bobby Bonilla, now an Atlanta Brave. Rocker had merely disrespected New York. Bonilla had spent
the final innings of the critical final game of the 1999 NLCS playing cards in
the Met clubhouse with equally lethargic teammate Rickey Henderson. Bonilla had
disrespected his team, his city (and birthplace), and the entire game of
baseball. New Yorkers had no use for all three violations of the code. Perhaps
more annoyingly to Met fans, Bonilla’s contract called for deferred payments on
unique scale – every July 1, from 2011 to 2035, Bonilla is paid $1.19 million,
for his ability to breathe. Compared to that, Rocker was small beer.
Oddly enough, the deal was negotiated by Bonilla’s wife, his
high school sweetheart. In 2009, the pair divorced, and now Madiglia “Millie”
Bonilla pockets most of the $1.19 million in that settlement. There’s irony –
and more reason for New Yorkers to dislike a Bronx native.
But when Pearlman materialized in the Braves’ clubhouse
later that 2000 season, the pitcher exploded and threatened the writer with
physical violence. That, combined with Rocker’s poor pitching, was enough for
Atlanta…they shipped him to Cleveland, and the once-bright star fizzled out
quickly. He did a sorry term with the minor-league Long Island Ducks, insulting
fans who insulted his mediocre pitching, and gave up the game for the
presumably more enjoyable life of writing for conspiracy theory websites.
All
that remained for the future, though. For that one brief moment, shining under
the immensely powerful lights of Yankee Stadium, Chad Curtis was the glittering
hero for the Yankees. The Yankees had set all kinds of victorious records. My
boys stood within inches of yet another World Series. Being a Yankee fan is
harder in some ways than rooting for other teams – you are required to meet
impossible standards and expectations, to maintain and uphold traditions of excellence
set nearly a century ago. You have to measure up to the achievements of players
long-dead, visible only on grainy black-and-white newsreel or harsh color
videotape, and failure to do so means that an entire nation jumps on you for
failing to do so.
The
flip side is that when your boys win, the rest of the country is angrier – you
are expected to win. With all that money, you should win. New Yorkers are seen
as arrogant, omnipotent, and endlessly successful. New York Yankee haters
forget that the Yankees still have to play and win their games under the same
rules as every other team, and New York-haters should try living here. New York
invented stress.
But it
didn’t change the equation for this night. Once again, as Shakespeare wrote,
“We sit on England’s royal throne, purchased with the blood of our enemies.”
And
perhaps most importantly, Kathy was relieved. The game was over. We would get
home at a reasonable hour.
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