Yankees Playing Well Enough to Lose...

Aaron Judge / Photo Credit: David Carson, St Louis Post-Dispatch

Yankees loss third consecutive game…

Remember when the Yankees were seemingly winning every day, drawing comparisons to the 1998 Yankees and the 2001 Seattle Mariners? Times have changed. Look, I get the Yankees have managed to hold on to a double-digit lead in the AL East since they became a .500 club. Well, that is being generous. They have been less than a .500 club since they lost to the Houston Astros, 2-1, on June 30^th. Since that game, the Yankees are 14-17. Yet, the second-place Toronto Blue Jays, perhaps the biggest threat in the AL East, remain 10 ½ games behind. The Yankees no longer have the best record in baseball and the Astros are within a half-game of leaping over the Yankees for best record in the American League.

The Yankees controlled last night’s game in St Louis until Clay Holmes, brought into the game in the eighth inning to face the heart of the Cardinals order, blew the save which allowed the Cardinals to squeak by the Yankees, 4-3. 

Clay Holmes / Photo Credit: AP

I am concerned. Everyone seems to be looking ahead to October as if it is a given right. I have no doubt the Yankees will make the playoffs, but this team, if they cannot shake the current inconsistent play, does not have the chance going against the AL’s best when the post-season competition begins. I want to win the World Series this year. The window is open, and we do not know the future. We are not even sure if Aaron Judge will be a Yankee next season. I think and hope he will be, but until he signs the dotted line, there are no guarantees. The Dodgers hit a bumpy path earlier this summer, but now they have won six consecutive games and nine of their last ten to grab the best record in MLB (73-33). To assert their dominance, they crushed their division rival last night, the San Diego Padres, 8-1, despite San Diego’s anointment as the Trading Deadline Champions for their acquisitions of baseball’s best closer and a 23-year-old mega-superstar outfielder. Things are going so well for the Dodgers; new Dodger Joey Gallo has had a hit in both games he has played for them. The Yankees (70-37) need to go on one of those type of runs to right the ship.

I get that the weight of the Pinstripes can be heavy. Too often, new players struggle until the breakout game arrives…if it arrives. Andrew Benintendi had a .320 batting average when he was acquired from the Kansas City Royals and has seen it drop to .305. He did not get his first extra-base hit until last night.  Meanwhile, new Astro Trey Mancini three home runs and seven RBIs in four games for Houston. Even former Yankee Brandon Drury made a huge first impression with his new club, the Padres, by hitting a grand slam in his first game.  Matt Carpenter has been great, but I wish the other newcomers could assert their presence sooner than later. 

I am not sure what to think about closer Clay Holmes. He no longer has that sense of invincibility. It seems like when he has an off night, he is awful like last night. He shows us why Pirates fans laughed at the Yankees when they acquired him last year. He can do better; we have seen it. He needs to find it again and become the dominant reliever he was earlier in the season.  I never thought I would want to see a return of Aroldis Chapman to closing duties, but those thoughts are starting to seep into my mind. Chapman has looked better lately. Not sure I fully trust him yet, but with each Holmes implosion, Chapman crosses your mind. Zack Britton cannot get back soon enough. We know with certainty that Wandy Peralta is not built for closing duties.  Lou Trivino was Oakland’s closer this year, but he did not exactly inspire confidence in the role. The Yankees will continue struggle until the bullpen can figure things out. The reliance for comeback wins, which worked in the season’s first half, is not a sustainable strategy.   

I was happy to see Giancarlo Stanton win MVP for this year’s All-Star Game in his hometown of Los Angeles but given that we have not seen him play since then makes you question why he went to the All-Star Game. In retrospect, it feels selfish. I know the Yankees are overly conservative with injuries and there has not been much discussion about Stanton, but there is no question, his absence is contributing to the team’s current lackluster play. Maybe the injury unexpectedly worsened which was probably the case but still, he should have just taken the time off to recover from the season’s bumps and bruises rather than play in the meaningless All-Star Game. He is too valuable to the team.

I wish I knew the answer to the team’s current malaise. Manager Aaron Boone must find a way to inspire the team to more wins than losses. They need a “slumpbuster”. The term always reminds me of when former Chicago Cub/Arizona Diamondback first baseman Mark Grace went on Jim Rome’s show in 2003 and proclaimed, “A slumpbuster is when you have to take one for the team. It’s finding the biggest, nastiest, fattest broad, and you put the wood to her to come out of your slump. Also known as ‘jumping on a grenade for the team’”. Not sure who needs to take one for the team. The most obvious choices, Gerrit Cole and Aaron Judge are married, so maybe the burden of responsibility falls on the lofty shoulders of bachelor Giancarlo Stanton. I mean, you must leave no stone unturned. End the slump and get back to your winning ways, Yankees. 

The Trade Deadline. I was pleased when the Yankees acquired left fielder Andrew Benintendi (even if he has yet to find his stroke as a Yankee). It may have been better to get Ian Happ of the Chicago Cubs, but the Cubs ended up keeping their outfielder. Benintendi is going to need to hit, but if he does, he will be an improvement over Joey Gallo. I am sad about Gallo. I really liked the guy, and felt he was a great teammate and clubhouse factor. His performance at the plate was abysmal and there is no question he needed a change of scenery. New York is not for everybody. Now, I just need Benintendi to start hitting like that pest he was in Yankee Stadium as a Red Sock. 

Andrew Benintendi / Photo Credit: Mike Stobe, Getty Images

Gallo, with the start of a heavy beard upon his arrival in Los Angeles this week, gets a fresh start with the Dodgers. I thought Gallo would do better in a less-pressurized environment, but then again, the pressure of a Los Angeles crowd is not as intense as a New York crowd. Maybe the Southern California lifestyle will help Gallo relax and hit bombs. I thought the Yankees did well to recoup a decent prospect in pitcher Clayton Beeter, who immediately became the tenth best Yankees prospect according to MLB.com. After dealing away pitching prospects at the deadline, the Yankees needed a solid arm in return.  Beeter may be headed for a future in the bullpen but for those who demanded the immediate release of Gallo over the past few weeks, this is the reason you do not simply cut a guy who still has some value.  Sucks that we will have to face Glen Otto, Ezequiel Duran, Trevor Hauver, and Josh Smith in Texas, but “nothing ventured, nothing gained”. Hopefully the trade works out well for both the Yankees and Dodgers.

Joey Gallo

It was disappointing to miss out on Cincinnati Reds starter Luis Castillo who went to Seattle. I thought Castillo would be a perfect fit for the Yankees. The Mariners paid a high price. There was no way the Yankees were going to part with Anthony Volpe, nor should they. Oh well, life sucks and you move on. The Yankees did well to pivot to Frankie Montas of the Oakland A’s.  I already watch James Kaprielian perform for the A’s and now we must watch Ken Waldichuk. Liked both of those guys as prospects. BUT, getting Montas was needed. No complaints with doing what it took to bring him to the Bronx. I look forward to his Yankees debut on Sunday against the Cardinals.  With the Yankees’ interest in Montas rumored for so long, it felt like it would never happen. Would have preferred Castillo but I will certainly not complain about Montas. I am glad he is in the Yankees rotation.

The Yankees acquired a reliever from the Chicago Cubs. After much speculation about whether another reunion with Cubs reliever David Robertson was in the cards, the Yankees grabbed promising reliever Scott Effross, complete with his funky underhanded delivery. D-Rob ended up with another reunion, returning to the Joe Girardi-less, Rob Thomson-managed Philadelphia Phillies. I kind of hoped for a D-Rob reunion, but I get the controversy about his role in denying playoff shares to certain members of the team a few years ago. Effross was a nice addition for a team that needed bullpen help after losing Michael King for the season.

But the trade that caught most of us by surprise was the stunning trade of LHP Jordan Montgomery to the St Louis Cardinals. I understand the need to get a quality center fielder, but Harrison Bader is on the Injured List with plantar fasciitis and will not be able to help until September at the earliest.

Matt Carpenter & Harrison Bader / Photo Credit: Ron Schwane, Getty Images

Montgomery never seemed to get run support, but he was always a consistent performer in the rotation, so his loss neutralizes the addition of Montas somewhat. Montas is the better pitcher, no doubt, but the staff is weaker without Monty. Especially since the top pitching prospects in the organization (Ken Waldichuk and Hayden Wesneski were traded away in deadline deals). I am not a fan of Domingo German. I could not care less that there are no proven facts. Character matters and he fails the test for me. The only sunlight for me is stretching out Clarke Schmidt in Triple A for future Major League starts.  Schmidt over German. The sooner the better. After Schmidt, the rotation insurance becomes cloudier.  The opener strategy would probably reinsert its ugly head. 

I am not sure that I understand the Montgomery trade. If it is about October and the belief that Montgomery would not be part of the playoff roster and the need for a superior center fielder was greater, I get it. But we need to win the division first. For me, it is a little hard to think about October since there is a milestone that must be reached before we can get there. There are reports the Yankees had tried to acquire Pablo Lopez of the Miam Marlins. I doubt Cashman made the Montgomery deal thinking he had Lopez in hand. Cash has been doing this too long to take anything for granted. Still, the trade was puzzling to the less informed like me. I am sure Cashman has his plan and he is sticking to it. He is better at this than you or I.  I look forward to Bader’s first appearance in Pinstripes and hope the New York native can show us why the Cardinals fans loved him so dearly.  I like the idea of keeping Aaron Judge in right and Aaron Hicks out of centerfield so no qualms about a quality centerfielder if he can get healthy enough to play effectively. 

As for Monty, I am sorry it ended. I appreciated his time as a Yankee. He never had any of those overly dominant games like Hiroki Kuroda could occasionally provide but for the most part, he was consistent and consistency counts. I think he will do well in St Louis, and he should prosper.  Time will tell if it was the right move. As for today’s game, Monty’s first post-Yankee start, I hope the Yankees can finally score runs when Montgomery is on the mound. I wish Monty much success…just not today.

Jordan Montgomery / Photo Credit: Getty Images

Meet Me in St Louis. I would love to be in St Louis for this weekend’s series against the Cardinals. St Louis, from a Major League baseball standpoint, has huge significance for me even though I’ve been a Yankee fan since I was a kid. I grew up in the Midwest…in Iowa, not far from the Field of Dreams. Years ago, I lived in Dallas and one of the afternoon Sports Radio hosts always said if you lived in a state with no Major League team, you were a free agent and could choose your favorite team anywhere. I am not sure why I never became a Cardinals fan. Reading books about Lou Gehrig as a little kid and worshiping Jim “Catfish” Hunter led me to the Yankees.  Once a Yankee fan, Thurman Munson quickly became my favorite player and I have been forever hooked. 

As a kid growing up in Iowa, there were three MLB teams that had a heavy influence in my area of southeastern Iowa. The Cardinals, the Chicago Cubs, and the Minnesota Twins. During my teenage years, there were times that the only baseball games on the radio I could get were Twins games (during Rod Carew’s heyday). My stepfather was a die-hard Cardinals fan which probably accounts for why I could not embrace the Cardinals. Still, my first Major League Baseball game was in the old Busch Stadium in St Louis. My stepfather took me on a road trip to see the game (St Louis was about three hours from my home).

May 29, 1974. Los Angeles Dodgers versus the St Louis Cardinals at the old Busch Stadium. Just a baseball game to me at the time. Looking back, it was a game that featured future Yankee great Tommy John pitching for the Dodgers against the legendary Bob Gibson. Holy crap! What that matchup would mean to me today if I had only known. Joe Torre was the Cardinals’ first baseman that day. As a kid with a weak bladder, I had to make a pit stop at the bathroom when I heard the radio call of Ron Cey’s home run for the Dodgers, the only home run of the game and I did not get to witness it “live”.

On the way back to my seat and my stepfather, I saw a few people crowded around an older gentleman and decided to check it out. Much to my surprise, it was Hall of Famer Stan “The Man” Musial. I was able to shake his hand and get his autograph. He was such a genuinely nice man to meet, at least from my perception as a young child. I can only equate meeting Don Mattingly as a celebrity who was “down to earth” and incredibly personable as Musial was that day. I am not sure I fully understood and appreciated the magnitude of meeting Stan “The Man” at the time, but I am forever grateful I had the opportunity to meet him.

Stan "The Man" Musial / Photo Credit: AP

The Dodgers won the game, 5-2. I see so many people who say you can only love one team, but I have always had an “NL Team” despite my love for the Yankees. Rest assured; Yankees are above all. Always and forever. The Cardinals were my first favorite NL Team through my childhood experiences and despite my stepfather’s affection for them. Later, living in the Bay Area, I changed to the San Francisco Giants, but when Joe Torre took over as the Dodgers manager and brought Don Mattingly with him, I switched my allegiance to the Dodgers, and they remain my NL team and most likely will through the duration of my life. I live in the greater Los Angeles area, so I feel pretty locked in with the Dodgers at this point. Well, at least when they are not playing the Yankees.

Back to the 1974 Cardinals-Dodgers game, it is funny with so many legendary names on the field, the one player that stood out to me, and someone who I loved during his Cardinals career, was the Mad Hungarian, Al Hrabosky. In his prime, I do not think I have ever been as fired up to see a reliever than Hrabosky after his antics on the mound. Mariano Rivera is the greatest closer ever. Undisputed fact. But the adrenaline and energy that Hrabosky could invoke when he was on the mound was far greater than anything I have ever experienced in life. 

Al "The Mad Hungarian" Hrabosky

In May 1974, I was not a Yankee fan yet. At the time, I was an Oakland A’s fan due to my love of Catfish Hunter. The end of the year would bring change. Catfish signed with the Yankees on December 31, 1974. I had affection for the Yankees through the books I had read about Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth so when Catfish signed his Yankees contract, I went with him. My stepfather hated the Yankees so that was probably added motivation. In all due respect, my stepfather was a good man. He treated my mom right, and it was a sad day when we lost him a few years ago. But as a kid, he was replacing a man that I worshiped (my dad) who had died much too young a few years earlier so the deck was stacked against him.

Kind of a roundabout way to explain the meaning watching the Yankees play in St Louis. I think if circumstances had played out differently, it is very possible that I would be a St Louis Cardinals fan today. No offense to Cardinal fans, but I prefer the Yankees path I took. 

As always, Go Yankees!

Weird Win is a Win, I'll Take It...

Photo Credit: AP (Ron Schwane)

Yankees survive Tribe on odd play and stellar bullpen…

If it takes a little league homer to beat the Cleveland Indians, so be it. A day after a Yankees rally fell short by one run against the Tribe, I had no issue with the deciding run in yesterday’s tilt being decided on Austin Romine’s lead-off double in the seventh inning that resulted in a run thanks to a couple of errors. Romine’s hit to the gap in the right center was bobbled by Brandon Guyer for the first error as Romine slid safely into third. The relay throw ended up bouncing past Jose Ramirez at third and Mike Clevinger back up the play into the dugout and the umpiring crew awarded Romine home plate for the go-ahead and eventual winning run.   

Photo Credit: Getty Images (David Maxwell)

For two teams with great hitters and defenders, it was an odd way for a game to be decided. The win allowed the Yankees to go up two games to one in the current series, putting them in position to take the series today before most of the players head for their homes and families for a few days of rest and relaxation.  

It wasn’t the greatest outing for CC Sabathia, giving up four runs on four hits over 5 2/3 innings against his original team but credit him for keeping it close. Didi Gregorius had staked CC to an early lead with his three-run homer in the first inning. It was Didi’s 17th home run of the year.  

The Indians chipped away at the Yankees’ lead, tying the game at four in the bottom of the sixth when Brandon Guyer, who entered the game with a .162 batting average, hit a two-out infield single to third to score runners at second and third. Miguel Andujar's wide throw pulled Greg Bird off the bag at first to allow Guyer to reach base safely and Bird’s subsequent throw home glanced off the glove of Austin Romine, allowing the second and tying run to score. The hit chased Sabathia, but David Robertson came in to restore order. He walked the first batter he faced but then struck out Yan Gomes to end the inning.  

D-Rob pitched a clean seventh inning and Dellin Betances did the same in the eighth.  

The ninth inning was filled with a bit of drama. It started when Brandon Guyer led off the bottom of the inning with a pop up in foul territory. Austin Romine went back for the ball and Miguel Andujar came charging in and neither player came up with the ball, with an error charged on Andujar. It looked like it should have been Romine’s ball but the ball drifted toward Andjuar who couldn't get out of the way.

Photo Credit: NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

It didn’t matter when Guyer grounded out to short, but then Aroldis Chapman walked Cleveland’s top prospect Francisco Mejia, who represented the tying run. Mejia had just been recalled earlier in the day to make his 2018 MLB season debut.  After striking out Yan Gomes, it set up a rematch of the 2016 World Series with Chapman facing Rajai Davis. As the announcing crew reminded us again and again, Davis had homered off Chapman to tie that game, the seventh and deciding game, although the Chicago Cubs eventually won it and the series with Chappy picking up the win. There would be no Davis home run this time around. His fly out to right field ended the game, giving the save to Chapman, his 26th of the season, and the win to David Robertson (7-3). With seven wins, D-Rob has as many wins as Masahiro Tanaka and more than any other Yankees pitcher not named Luis Severino.  

Greg Bird continued his recent hot hitting with a sixth inning solo blast off Indians starter Mike Clevinger that had briefly given the Yankees and Sabathia a two-run cushion. It was Bird’s eighth home run of the year.  

The game also featured the ejection of Manager Aaron Boone who showed some fire in the top of the sixth inning. After Giancarlo took a called third strike on a ball that hit his hands as he swung, Boone argued that the ball should have been ruled foul but to no avail. The umps were right but it was fun to see Boone fired up. It was Boonie’s second ejection of the season. 

Photo Credit: AP (Ron Schwane)

There was some good defensive play by second baseman Tyler Wade in the game (can we DFA Neil Walker already?) although he was unable to make a difficult play in the bottom of the sixth that led to the first baserunner who would eventually score on Brandon Guyer’s two-run single.  

The Yankees (62-32) remained 3 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL East. The Toronto Blue Jays took the Red Sox into extra innings before losing the game in the 10th on a walk-off grand slam home run by Xander Bogaerts.  

With the Manny Machado rumors subsiding, it appears most likely that he’ll be traded to a National League team which, all things considered, is probably for the best. The rumors involving the Philadelphia Phillies seem the most fervent at the moment, but the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers remain in the chase. It does seem odd to me that some teams would be willing to part with top prospects for a player they may have no chance to re-sign in the off-season. But then again, if you think you have a chance for the World Series, it might be worth it if you feel that Machado is the difference-maker. I am sure the Dodgers would hate to see Machado end up in Philly. My biggest fear is Machado being traded to the Red Sox so I am anxious for the O’s to send their star shortstop to the NL as soon as possible. Given how much Orioles owner Peter Angelos hates the Yankees, I could see him sending Machado to Boston just to spite the Yankees even if the return for their team was less.  

We may soon see Joe Girardi back in a dugout. The St Louis Cardinals surprisingly fired their manager, Mike Matheny, yesterday. Matheny was expected to be dismissed in the off-season but apparently the Cardinals organization became impatient (an uncharacteristic trait for them) as Matheny seemingly lost control of his clubhouse. Joe Girardi has emerged as a favorite to replace Matheny. The Cardinals are currently 47-46 and 7 1/2 games behind the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central and six games behind the second-place Milwaukee Brewers. they are just four games out in the Wild Card hunt. The last time the Cardinals fired a manager during the season was Joe Torre in 1995. I’ve seen the names of Jose Oquendo, Carlos Beltran, and even Jason Giambi mentioned, but Girardi would seem to make the most sense for a team trying to rebound from first half turbulence. Mike Shildt, the Cardinals bench coach, has been named interim manager. Girardi has some connection to the team as he finished his playing career in 2003 with the Cards.  

While I realize the sexy names like Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Madison Bumgarner, and Blake Snell are beyond reach for the Yankees, the most likely names that are available just plain scare me (not in a good way). Michael Fulmer, a name that has been connected to the Yankees for months, has been awful this year. I’ve tried to rationalize his performance by the fact that he plays for a bad team, but he was hit hard by the Houston Astros yesterday.  He failed to complete five innings, giving up ten hits and seven runs, as his season record fell to 3-9. There’s no way that I’d want to see the Yankees give up Clint Frazier and/or other top prospects for Fulmer despite his youth, potential and cost-controlled status. Cole Hamels and J.A. Happ have been awful. TGP’s Daniel Burch cites Zack Wheeler as a possibility but that one doesn’t excite me. Tyler Skaggs and Andrew Heaney of the Los Angeles Angels are the most recent names mentioned. There is a very real possibility that the Yankees are unable to find a match for a top starter or two. Other teams are willing to overpay but the Yankees are not. I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I want to see Frazier, Justus Sheffield and Estevan Florial thrive as Yankees, but on the other hand, something needs to give if the Yankees intend to catch the Red Sox in the second half. Boston shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.  

Hopefully the Yankees can win today to send us into the All-Star Break on a positive note. Masahiro Tanaka (7-2, 4.68 ERA) makes the start against Trevor Bauer (8-6, 2.23 ERA). It should be a good game and a great day for a victory.  

Go Yankees!

Judge & Stanton Gladly Pay the Power Bill…

Photo Credit: The Canadian Press via AP (Frank Gunn)

Yanks use the Big Bats to finish Road Trip on winning note…

It’s been a very eventful week in the Yankees Universe.  The Yankees completed a two-game sweep of the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario and finished the latest road trip with a 5-1 record. Tommy Kahnle now plays for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, Jordan Montgomery undergoes the knife today for his Tommy John surgery, and a number of young, talented prospects potentially begin their journeys to Pinstripes.

Seriously, MLB should option the Baltimore Orioles (19-41) to the International League and call up the RailRiders to replace them in the AL East. The RailRiders are loaded with Major League talent.

It’s been a great road trip (outside of the loss in the second game of Monday’s double-header in Detroit) and last night’s game was incredible. Sonny Gray, wow!  THIS is clearly the guy we’ve been looking for and NEED for an extended October run.  Sonny may not have gotten the win but he was as critical to the win as he has ever been while representing the Yankees. If he had given up just one run last night, the Yankees lose. I am so glad that Masahiro Tanaka was not on the mound as he would have given up at least his obligatory home run to send the Yankees home with a loss. Sonny’s final line was better than any starting pitcher who picked up a win on Wednesday. Eight innings, 99 pitches, two hits, no runs, a couple of walks, and eight strikeouts. The closest winning pitcher was Baltimore’s Dylan Bundy who blanked the New York Mets on three hits over seven innings, but c’mon, he was pitching to the Mets. Nice job, Sonny. Now if you can repeat this performance in Yankee Stadium, life will be good.

I am grateful for Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton for their game-winning home runs in the 13^th inning, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that the Sucks! Award goes to Gary Sanchez. He looked pitiful at the plate.  I was so mad when he swung at a pitch well below the strike zone to end the 11^th inning with Giancarlo Stanton stranded at third. All we needed was a measly single and Gary chases a stupid pitch.  For the game, El Gary was 1-for-6 with two strikeouts. The ground rule double he hit in the top of the 4^th inning allowed him to barely keep his batting average above .200. Aaron Boone keeps saying that Sanchez is close. I hope so because I sure didn’t see that guy last night. 

As for Judge, his two-run homer in the 13^th inning off Blue Jays reliever Joe Biagini made me about as happy as the kid prominently featured in the TV telecast, dancing in the upper deck of Rogers Centre while holding a handwritten “All Rise” sign. 

There was no doubt Judge’s shot was gone, but Stanton’s homer surprised me. He walloped the ball like only Aaron Judge can do and it looked like a line drive to left that might drop in for a single except the ball never dropped. It was a laser shot into the left field stands. It goes to show you that when Stanton does get hot, American League pitchers will be running for cover. 

Unfortunately, despite the win, the Yankees were unable to make up any ground on the Boston Red Sox. The Sox, winners of four-in-a-row, cruised past the Detroit Tigers, 7-1. Boston (43-19) maintained their one game advantage on the Yankees (40-18). It’s amazing the Red Sox and Yankees are the only teams in Major League Baseball with at least 40 wins. As many have said, the Yankees are on a path to 111 wins but if Boston continues its current winning percentage, the Yankees would have to settle for a one-game Wild Card play-off. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Indians hold a relatively comfortable 4.5 game lead in the AL Central and project out to 86 wins and would enter as a division champ.  That’s sick. 

The Yankees have the day off today in preparation for their weekend series with the crosstown Mets. It will be good to see old friend Todd Frazier but I am glad Yankees pitchers have to throw to the Toddfather and not some guy like Miguel Andujar in this series. Friday night’s game will be tough with Masahiro Tanaka scheduled to face Jacob deGrom. Hopefully the Yanks can hold it close to get into the Mets bullpen. I fully expect deGrom to bring his “A” game as there is nothing better than to beat NYC’s best team in New York.  Hopefully Masa was watching Sonny Gray and taking notes.

I haven’t had a chance to gather my thoughts about the Yankees picks in this year’s MLB Draft. I am anxious to read the Meet A Prospect segments by TGP’s Daniel Burch. The Yankees took six catchers including two for their first picks in the first and second rounds (Anthony Seigler and Josh Breaux). Within their first 16 picks, the Yankees took two 6’8” right-handed pitchers (Daniel Bies, 8^th Round, and Derek Craft, 16^th Round). The 11^th round pick, Tanner Myatt, also RHP, is no slouch at 6’7”. The shortest guy in the draft was LHP Dan Metzdorf (5’9”) who was taken in the 38^th round.  Go short people!

I was kind of hoping the Yankees would have selected 3B Triston Casas of American Heritage School in Florida. He had shown up as an option for the Yankees on a few mock draft boards. The Red Sox ended up taking him with the 26^th pick in the first round. I probably would have liked to have seen him go anywhere except Boston. I was also disappointed when the Atlanta Braves chose Stanford’s Tristan Beck, RHP, in the fourth round. Beck had been a late, back-end of the draft selection for the Yankees last year but did not sign. For as much as I’ve been down on former Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens, I was also disappointed when the Detroit Tigers got Roger’s son, Kody, a second baseman, in the third round. 

Lastly, I have to pay my respects to the late St Louis Cardinals great Red Schoendienst who passed away yesterday at age 95. While I am a Yankees fan, I grew up with St Louis as the nearest Major League city and it is where I experienced my first Major League game. While I liked baseball up to that point, I think my first game developed the love I have for the game. 

Wednesday, May 29, 1974…

 

The Los Angeles Dodgers, with future Yankee Tommy John on the mound, were facing the St Louis Cardinals at the old Busch Stadium in St Louis. Bob Gibson was on the hill for the Cards, but more importantly (at least for this post), the manager of the Cardinals was Red Schoendienst. I should have recognized the greatness of the manager in the other dugout (the legendary Walter Alston of the Dodgers) but it was Schoendienst that captured my attention on that day. I can’t even tell you why he was so memorable to me that day. Maybe it was his name. Maybe it was the aura of the Cardinals, a very proud franchise that is second only to the Yankees in history, tradition and World Series wins.

The Dodgers won that game, 5-2, and John was the winning pitcher but I went away from the game with a great appreciation and respect for the Schoendienst-led Cardinals. It probably helped that I got to meet and shake hands with Cardinals Hall of Famer Stan “The Man” Musial but I clearly associated the Cardinals with their manager. 

Schoendienst, a second baseman, played in the Majors for 19 years.  While he spent most of his time with the Cardinals, he also played for the New York Giants and Milwaukee Braves. Red was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. During the course his career in baseball as a player, coach or manager, he wore a Cardinals uniform for 67 out of 74 consecutive years in the game. To this day, I still can’t think of the Cardinals without thinking of Red. 

Farewell to a great St Louis Cardinal and to one of the game’s greatest guys. 

Photo Credit: St Louis Post-Dispatch (Robert Cohen)

The Red Sox have played four more games than the Yankees, thanks to the rainouts, and the Sox play again today. Here’s hoping for a Red Sox loss (finally) against the Tigers. I’d love to end this day with the Yankees only trailing the Sox by a half-game. The Tigers have a decent pitcher on the mound (Matthew Boyd, 3-4, 3.23 ERA) while the Red Sox counter with Jar-Jar Binks, excuse me, I mean Jalen Beeks. 

So, Go Tigers, and as always, Go Yankees!

P.S.  A special wish for a safe and successful surgery for Jordan Montgomery, and the all best for his post-surgery recovery and rehabilitation!

Free As A Bird…

The slump is over.

On a night the Yankees completed their seventh consecutive win (sixth straight at home for the first time since 1998), thanks largely to another good pitching performance by Michael Pineda, the star of the game, for me, was first baseman Greg Bird.

After Aaron Judge’s apparent home run in the second inning was ruled a triple due to fan interference, Bird smashed a 'no-doubt-about-it' 444 foot homer to right, scoring Judge.  The Baseball Gods smiled.  Mystique and Aura were alive and well, and dancing throughout the Stadium.  

Bird was 3-for-3 for the game with two runs scored and the two RBI’s courtesy of the long homer.  He raised his batting average by 100 points (from .038 to .138).  It was a beautiful sight to see.  Bird’s bat is instrumental to the long term success for the team so it was great to see the strong offensive explosion.  Maybe he did take my slump-busting advice after all (reference to Mark Grace's infamous slump buster quote).   

A week ago Saturday, when the Yankees stood at 1-4, it was hard to be optimistic.  Now, at 8-4 and just a half-game behind the AL East leading Baltimore Orioles, the glass is half full once again.  If not for the Orioles (8-3 in one less game), the Yankees would be tied for the best record in all of Baseball.  

Michael Pineda delivered a very solid pitching performance, allowing only two runs in seven innings of work.  He did allow six hits (including Yadier Molina’s home run in the seventh) but he walked only one and struck out six.  I was thinking to myself that the Yankees pitchers, excluding Masahiro Tanaka (so far), seem to be playing a game of ‘one-up-manship’.  But then I came across a Jordan Montgomery quote.  “Yeah, well every staff I’ve been a part of, (when we) get rolling like this, we’re all just trying to beat the last guy that were out there.  Kind of one-up him, and one-up and then one-up.”  Yep, he one-upped me.  Now, if Masahiro Tanaka could join the One-Up Party.

Hats off to Ronald Torreyes.  He was not my choice for starting shortstop when Didi Gregorius but the so-called “Toe” has been a great fill-in.  He drove in two with a ground rule double in the eighth inning to push his team-leading season RBI total to ten (two more than the Aarons who both have eight).  I am looking forward to the return of Gregorius, but Torreyes has impressed.  He’s doing his best to ensure that Ruben Tejada never puts on the Yankee pinstripes at Yankee Stadium.  

I hate to say that I was nervous with a 9-2 lead in the top of the ninth inning but I gotta admit that Bryan Mitchell had me a little worried.  The inning did not start well with a double by Eric Fryer.  A wild pitch advanced Fryer to third, and Mitchell ended up walking the next batter (Jedd Gyorko) on four pitches.  Randal Grichuk then hit a ball toward third which Torreyes made a great stop but then hurriedly threw the ball to second baseman Starlin Castro for a force out attempt.  The throw was too low and Castro couldn’t come up with it, and Torreyes was charged with the throwing error.  Fryer scored on the play. A home run at that point could have brought the score to 9-6 (too close for comfort).  Fortunately, Mitchell settled down and got the next three batters out by strikeout and two fly balls, and it was game over.

I felt bad for Matt Holliday as he missed his second game with the lower back stiffness.  So it wasn’t much of a reunion for Holliday with his old mates, and he finished the series with his Friday night performance (0-for-4, three strikeouts).  Per Manager Joe Girardi, he was available to pinch-hit so hopefully that means he’ll be back in the saddle tonight against the Chicago White Sox.  Of all the things I want to see with the Yankees, Jacoby Ellsbury as the clean-up hitter has not been one of them.  Hopefully, Girardi is able to pencil in #17 for the clean-up spot tonight.    

Playing the Chicago White Sox brings a few former Yankees back to the Bronx.  Starting pitcher Jose Quintana, Closer David Robertson, relievers Tommy Kahnle and Anthony Swarzak, and outfielder Melky Cabrera.  Friday night, in a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Twins, the White Sox made “Garcia” history when every starting outfielder was named Garcia.  Willy in left, Leury in center, and Avisail in right.  Quintana pitched on Saturday in a 6-0 loss to the Twins and will not be available this series.  I’ve already read a few ‘trade for Quintana’ articles this morning.  Stop it.  Forget Quintana and move on with life.  You're going to upset Bryan Van Dusen.

Have an awesome Monday!  Eight would be great!

O Say Can You CC…

Credit:  Julie Jacobson/AP

I have to admit that I wasn’t a believer.  I did not think that CC Sabathia could make the transformation from a young dominant power pitcher to a crafty veteran at the top end of a starting rotation.  Weight issues, age, injuries, alcoholism…whatever the cause…I didn’t think he could do it.  He has proved me wrong.  

After Saturday’s 3-2 win over the St Louis Cardinals, Sabathia leads the team with a 2-0 mark, compiling a 1.47 ERA in 18 1/3 innings with 11 strikeouts.  While the most dominant single game belongs to Michael Pineda, Sabathia has been the most dominant overall.  

I had gotten to the point where I thought of Sabathia as a five inning starter.  Yet, here he was on the mound on April 15, 2017 at 36 years of age, throwing 7 1/3 innings, allowing only three hits and one run with just one walk.  He punched out six.  THAT was not the Sabathia that we had come to expect in recent years.  

I am so glad that he has been able to make the transformation.  I don’t know if it is the time he has spent with Yankees legend Andy Pettitte but we tend to hear Pettitte’s name come up a lot in interviews with not only Sabathia but other pitchers when they talk about success.  Pettitte’s annual visits to training camp for a few days always seem to have such a tremendous impact.  I think Pettitte is an assistant on a high school coaching staff these days, but I would love for his return to New York as an eventual successor to Larry Rothschild.  

At the beginning of the year, I felt it was obvious this would be Sabathia’s final year in Pinstripes.  With the youth movement in full bloom, I didn’t see a future for Sabathia or a veteran’s salary in Team Hal’s budget for 2018.  If Sabathia expects to make his 2017 salary ($25 million) next year, I still think it’s unlikely he returns.  He’ll have to take a pay cut to stay and perhaps he will.  But for now, I am just enjoying the ride.  I love watching Sabathia’s accomplishments this year, and I know that he is a huge influence on the younger pitchers.  If Sabathia, Pineda and Severino can continue pitching like their most recent starts, this is definitely a team that can outperform expectations in 2017.  Of course, Greg Bird does need to start mixing in a hit or two.

I was reading an interview with Jordan Montgomery this morning.  Or should I call him “Gumby”?  I had to laugh when I saw him refer to the famous Serendipity 3 on 60th Street as “some dessert place”.  Give him time.  He’ll figure the City out.   If he keeps pitching like we know he can, he’ll be here for a very long time.  

With the inability of Matt Holliday to play on Saturday due to lower back stiffness, I hope this is not a sign of things to come.  His final years with the Cardinals, while he was still playing in the field, came with significant DL stints. I had hoped the ‘DH-only’ role would help preserve his health.  Hopefully, this is just an aberration and he’ll back with bat in hand shortly.  The loss of Holliday did show the significance of having Chris Carter on the roster as Carter provided what proved to be the winning run in Saturday’s game with a run-scoring single in the sixth inning.  

As for Greg Bird, he needs to figure this out soon.  His 1-for-26 start is dreadful.  I remain hopeful that he’ll work through the challenge and will start to hit like he did in Spring Training.  He is too much of a professional hitter for the current sample to be representative of his ability going forward. No offense to Chris Carter, but I strongly prefer Bird at first in any scenario.  I wish that Tyler Austin was closer to returning but he’s not an option for now and there’s no one else in the organization that would be superior to the current duo of Bird and Carter.  Rob Refsnyder is only hitting .192 in AAA and Ji-Man Choi is not on the 40-man roster.  Choi is batting .280 but he has only 2 RBI’s and no home runs.  

I hate to be politically-incorrect, but the words of former Arizona Diamondback Mark Grace resonate in my ears when I think of Bird’s slump.  "A slumpbuster is if a team's in a slump, or if you personally are in a slump, you gotta find the fatest, gnarliest, grossest chick and you just gotta lay the wood to her. And when you do that, you're just gonna have instant success. And it could also be called jumping on a grenade for the team.”  Bird, just do it…take one for the team.

Have a great Sunday!  Hopefully, it will be a sweeping success for the Yankees!

I Guess It Was In The Cards...

Credit:  Elsa/Getty Images

The World certainly looks better when the Yankees are winning.  We have our  own problems but somehow they seem more manageable when the Yankees win.

While it was technically a quality start by definition, Masahiro Tanaka didn’t have his best stuff on Friday night.  He got off to an ominous start when he gave up a two-run first inning home run to Matt Carpenter of the St Louis Cardinals.  Carpenter, by the way, makes a strong point for the Yankees Facial Hair policy as he proves not everyone looks good with a beard.  Fortunately, the Yankees answered Carpenter’s homer very quickly when Starlin Castro, no stranger to the Cards from his days with the Chicago Cubs, launched a two-run bomb of his own to tie the game.  

An Austin Romine solo homer and a run courtesy of a throwing error by Cardinals second baseman Kolton Wong were the only additional runs the Yankees needed to hold off St Louis for their fifth consecutive win.  Tanaka was strong after the shaky first inning until he got into trouble in the seventh.  He finished the game with 6 2/3 innings, five hits, three runs, two walks and five strikeouts to pick up his first win of the year.

The game was in doubt in each of the seventh, eighth and ninth innings as the dynamic trio of Tyler Clippard, Dellin Betances, and Aroldis Chapman succeeded Tanaka.  Clippard, replacing Tanaka with runners at second and third and only one out, got both Wong and Dexter Fowler on fly outs with a great play by Aaron Judge on the latter as it looked like it could have been an extra base hit.  Betances was solid as he recorded all three outs in the eighth by strikeout, but he did have  brief trouble throwing strikes as he nearly walked Matt Carpenter and then did walk the next batter, Stephen Piscotty, on four consecutive balls.  In the ninth inning, Aroldis Chapman, pitching for the third consecutive day, walked Randal Grichuk after easily getting the first two outs of the inning.  The next batter, pinch hitter Jose Martinez, hit a solid double to left, which Brett Gardner got back to the infield quickly keeping Grichuk from scoring.  The Cardinals third base coach initially wanted to send Grichuk but quickly changed his mind when the ball was returned by Gardner so quickly.  That brought Chapman’s former Cubs teammate Dexter Fowler to the plate in a match-up of World Series Champions.  Chapman won the battle as Fowler grounded out to Starlin Castro, and the baseball safely made it to first base before the speedy Fowler did.  

It was an intense game but with Yankees-Cardinals, you wouldn’t expect anything less.

I watched Matt Holliday with great interest as this was the first time he had played against the Cardinals since May 8, 2008 when he was a member of the Colorado Rockies.  For the game, Holliday did nothing as he was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.  I am sure that it was an emotional night for Holliday, being reunited with his former Cardinals teammates.  It would be hard to spend eight years with a team and not have emotional attachments.  Holliday’s last game against the Cardinals in 2008 was a much greater success.  He was 4-for-5, with three runs scored, in Colorado’s 9-3 victory over St Louis.  On that same night (to put into perspective how long it has been), Mike Mussina was beating the Cleveland Indians, 6-3, with a save by Mariano Rivera.  Hopefully, Holliday will have greater success against his former team today and tomorrow.

I know that Greg Bird has struggled with the foot injury and the flu, but I am concerned about his 1-for-23 start.  He hasn’t indicated any signs of the hitter he was during Spring Training.  I had hoped the days of Mark Teixeira and his ice-cold starts were a thing of the past with the new first baseman but so far that’s not been the case.  Hopefully, Bird will get untracked soon and start hitting like we know he can.  I prefer Bird at first over Chris Carter, but if Bird continues on this path, we’ll be seeing more of Carter.  

The Yankees are currently 2nd in the AL East Standings behind the Baltimore Orioles.  The biggest surprise to me isn’t that the Boston Red Sox are in the 4th place with a .500 record (they’ll catch fire sooner rather later), but rather the last place Toronto Blue Jays with only one win on the year (1-9).  I think I heard a stat that no team that has lost 9 of its first 10 games has ever made the playoffs.  The Blue Jays were predicted to battle the Red Sox at the top of the division.  

I have to comment on two incidents that occurred with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens and two of their former tight ends in the last 24 hours.  One was a very heartwarming story (no pun intended) and the other was one of life’s most devastating moments.  In December, former Ravens tight end Konrad Reuland died of a brain aneurysm.  On Friday, it was revealed that the recipient of his heart and kidney was none other than legendary Hall of Famer Rod Carew.  Ironically, Reuland’s age (29) matched Carew’s playing number for the Minnesota Twins.  Also, on Friday, former Ravens tight end Todd Heap accidentally struck and killed his three-year-old daughter while moving his truck in his driveway in Mesa, Arizona.  This was such devastating news to hear and I cannot possibly imagine how Heap will be able to deal with this tragedy.  I am so very saddened by this news, and my thoughts and prayers go out to Heap and his family.  

It’s kind of hard to say ‘have a great day’ after that news, so I’ll only say hug your loved ones and be thankful they are in your life.