Fifteen wins for April? Sign me up…

Credit:  Elsa/Getty Images

All things considered, I'd rather talk about wins than losses...  

After reeling off two wins against the Baltimore Orioles, it felt like the chances were good for a sweep when the Yankees rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie Sunday’s game 4-4.  But unfortunately, luck ran out and the Yankees lost 7-4 as they now await the arrival of the Toronto Blue Jays later today.  

The loss dropped the Yankees to 15-8 and back into a tie for first place with the Orioles.

Although the Yankees had their chances late in the game, I thought the inability to push more runs across early in the game was key.  Had they broken open the game early, there would have been no need for late game heroics.  Through the first three innings, the Yankees left seven men on base.  The Yankees had runners on second and third with no outs in the second inning, but failed to score when O’s starter Wade Miley struck out Kyle Higashioka, Brett Gardner and Aaron Hicks in succession.

For the game, the Yankees left sixteen runners on base.  Still, they had a chance, thanks to a single by Didi Gregorius in the bottom of the ninth that scored Aaron Judge and Chase Headley to tie the game.  After Gregorius took second due to defensive indifference, the Yankees had runners at second and third.  Unfortunately, Chris Carter struck out to end the threat with a weak at-bat.  

From there, things got interesting.  Manager Joe Girardi moved reliever Bryan Mitchell, who had pitched the top of the ninth, to first base, and brought in Aroldis Chapman.  By keeping Mitchell in the game, the Yankees lost the DH spot in the lineup as it was taken by the new pitcher.  Had the Yankees won the game in the bottom of the tenth, it would have been a brilliant move.  Mitchell did commit one error (dropped foul pop) but Chapman prevented any other damage.  Sadly, with no DH, Matt Holliday was out of the game, and the Yankees had to pinch hit Greg Bird with the winning run at third base and only one out.  Bird was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and the next batter, Starlin Castro, hit into a force out that got Austin Romine out at the plate.  With the bases still loaded and two outs, Aaron Judge had a chance to send his team to victory, but it was not meant to be as he struck out.  

The lost chances eliminated the Yankees’ hopes for a win as the Orioles scored three runs in the top of the eleventh against Bryan Mitchell, who had moved back to pitching from first base to replace Chapman at the start of the inning.  

It was a frustrating set of circumstances that led to the lost DH but I do not fault Girardi for trying to get creative.  With a depleted bullpen, the Yankees did not have the men for an extended extra inning affair.  I would have preferred to have seen Holliday batting in the tenth with the winning run 90 feet away but you cannot fault Girardi’s logic.  He was trying to win a game and it could have (coulda, woulda, shoulda) worked out.  

I am not going to worry about a loss on April 30th.  The Yankees are still playing very well, and there’s nothing about yesterday’s loss that can detract from the excitement about the team.  If the Yankee took two games out of three for every series, they’d be in excellent shape.  

Credit:  Elsa/Getty Images

Tonight, the Yankees begin a three game series with the Toronto Blue Jays.  After a horrific start to the season, the Blue Jays are starting to win.  They took two of three from the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend.  This will be a big test for the young Yankees.

The scheduled pitching match-ups are:

MONDAY

Blue Jays:  Marco Estrada (0-1, 2.70 ERA)

Yankees:  Luis Severino (2-1, 3.00 ERA)

TUESDAY

Blue Jays:  Mat Latos (0.00, 3.27 ERA)

Yankees:  Masahiro Tanaka (3-1, 4.20 ERA)

WEDNESDAY

Blue Jays:  Marcus Stroman (2-2, 2.97 ERA)

Yankees:  CC Sabathia (2-1, 4.34 ERA)

The former Yankees in this series are Blue Jays starting catcher Russell Martin and outfielder Steve Pearce.

Speaking of ex-Yankees, infielder Pete Kozma, who had been designated for assignment when Didi Gregorius returned, has been claimed by the Texas Rangers.  To make room for Kozma, the Rangers demoted former top prospect Jurickson Profar to Triple-A.  Best of luck to Kozma and thanks to him for his brief efforts in the Bronx.

As for current Yankees, catcher Gary Sanchez begins a rehab assignment with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre tomorrow with eyes on returning this weekend at Wrigley Field in Chicago.  

Have a great Monday!  Let’s get this machine back in the win column!

As Training Camp Nears The Stretch Run…

We have less than two weeks until Masahiro Tanaka takes the mound at Tropicana Field in St Petersburg, FL to face the Tampa Bay Rays on Opening Day. 

In my opinion, Aaron Judge is still the victor for right field.  The stats between Judge and Hicks have tightened, but even on a level playing field, the nod should still go to the 6’7” #99.  Both players have hit 2 home runs with 3 RBI’s.  Judge is batting .273, while Hicks is at .256.  Judge has struck out 11 times in 44 at-bats, while Hicks has gone down swinging 7 times in 39 at-bats.  When Judge figures it out at this level, there’s no doubt he’ll be the Jury and Executioner too.

Greg Bird has clearly nailed down first base (as if there was ever any doubt).  I keep forgetting that Chris Carter is even on this team.  His spring batting average of .118 and 17 strikeouts are not pretty.  Is it possible that a man who hit 41 home runs last year could be DFA’d when Tyler Austin recovers from his foot injury?  Carter may be capable of hitting monster home runs, but I think I’d prefer the dependability of better at-bats, something that Austin would provide (particularly for a bench role).

For a few weeks, I had been convinced that Luis Severino had done enough to nail down the #4 slot in the starting rotation.  Now, I am not so sure.  Chad Green has pitched much better than either Severino or my favorite for #5, Bryan Mitchell.  You can probably also make an argument that Jordan Montgomery is starting to make a run for the rotation as his performances have gotten better while Severino trends in the other direction. 

There are still other roster fights but these are the primary ones that bear watching over the coming weeks.  With the upcoming roster cuts, the transactions wire should be very active over the course of the next 10 days.  There will probably be a few talented guys become available.  I am just hoping that the Yankees get back some of their Rule 5 losses, such as catcher Luis Torrens, currently with the San Diego Padres (batting .125 in 24 at-bats this spring but still mentioned as a possibility for the Padres if they go with two backup catchers).  I am also hopeful of getting Tyler Webb back from the Pittsburgh Pirates, but he’s a lefty with 3.86 ERA, 2 saves, and 7 strikeouts in seven innings pitched. 

The Yankees received bad news for Didi Gregorius as he has been diagnosed with a shoulder strain.  According to GM Brian Cashman, Didi could be out for up to six weeks.  

I guess Plan B is now fully in force or at least in active development.  I am surprised at the number of people who feel that Gleyber Torres should start at short during Didi’s absence.  Maybe you are one of them.  I just feel that it is important to be patient with a 20-year-old who has never played above A ball. For the creation of the best possible player, I hope Gleyber is given the time to move through AA and AAA, working on all facets of his game, before hitting the big league circuit.  As it is, there’s no doubt he’ll have some major league service time by age 21 or 22.  Baseball is a game of adjustments and the additional minor league service is invaluable to his maturation as a professional baseball player.  

Torres was sent down to minor league camp for re-assignment after last night’s game so hopefully that settles the debate.

Tyler Wade for President…

I feel the best in-house solution is shortstop Tyler Wade.  Ronald Torreyes is a decent backup, but he’d be exposed as a full-timer.  Given the Yankees are faced with up to a month without Didi, there needs to be a better answer than the 5’7” Torreyes.  I think Wade could be that guy.  It would also be an excellent stage for him to endear himself to manager Joe Girardi through performance.  Wade could be the all-purpose guy that we thought and hoped that Rob Refsnyder would be.  This might be the break he needs to make the major league roster, for now and after Didi returns.  

Another option is to move Starlin Castro to short, but I am convinced it would be detrimental to his continued development as a second baseman.  But if the Yankees go that route, it could open the door for Refsnyder at second.

The Yankees could decide to go outside the organization for help, but given the depth at the position, it would have to be very short-time.  

Non-roster invitees Pete Kozma and Ruben Tejada are also available but neither will provide much offense.  Given a choice between the two, I’d probably go with Kozma for his glove.

It’s going to be a long six weeks.  Hopefully, the rest of the team rises to pick up the slack.

Chris Sale continued his dominance over the Yankees yesterday, pitching 6 innings and allowing 2 runs with 10 strikeouts.  The Red Sox won the game 4-2.  Matt Holliday’s 2-run homer off Sale in the sixth accounted for the Yankees’ only runs.  Bryan Mitchell went 4 1/3 innings, giving up 2 runs and striking out 7, but allowed 7 hits.  Aroldis Chapman contributed his usual single inning of no runs, with 2 SO’s.  The subsequent pitchers (Tommy Layne, Luis Cessa and Jon Niese) allowed a total of 6 hits and 2 runs as the Sox departed the victory.

With the loss, the Yankees fell to 18-7.

Have a great Wednesday!