Good Hitting < Bad Pitching…

Credit:  Frank Gunn-Associated Press

Blue Jays 7, Yankees 5…

Bummer…

I was hoping for better results last night with Big Mike on the mound.  The Yankees tried a valiant comeback with a couple of two-run home runs but it was not enough.  

The Yankees were in an early hole when the Blue Jays scored three runs off Pineda in the first.  Josh Donaldson homered with one out and no one on.  After getting Joey Bats for the second out, Pineda walked Kendrys Morales.  That brought up Justin Smoak, who is having a breakout year at age 30.  Unfortunately, Smoak smoked the ball to right center and I was having visions of Pineda from years past.

The Blue Jays picked up a couple of more runs in the third and fourth innings to lead 5-0 when the Yankees began their comeback in the sixth.  Gary Sanchez led off with a single and Aaron Judge followed with his 18th homer.  It ended Francisco Liriano’s start.  Reliever Danny Barnes walked Matt Holliday on a 3-2 count and the next batter up, Starlin Castro, brought the Yankees to within a run at 5-4 with a homer to right center.  

Credit:  Tom Szczerbowski-Getty Images

The Blue Jays came right back in the bottom of the sixth when Donaldson hit his second homer of the night, a solo shot.  

The Yankees scored a run in the seventh when Matt Holliday doubled to score Aaron Judge who had walked in the previous at-bat.  But again, the Blue Jays answered in the bottom of the frame.  After Justin Smoak reached first on an error charged to Chris Carter (Yankees challenged the play and lost), Troy Tulowitzki doubled to push Smoak to third.  Devon Travis then hit a sac fly to score Smoak, bringing the score to 7-5.  

From there, the Yankees were unable to mount any threats against the Blue Jays bullpen and it was game over.  

It was a disappointing start by Michael Pineda (6-3).  He went five innings, giving up 10 hits and 5 runs.  He walked 3 batters while only striking out one.  He was unable to overcome that first inning breakdown when he allowed the two home runs.  Of course, it didn’t help that neither Jonathan Holder nor Adam Warren were able to deliver clean innings.  

Credit:  Getty Images

The Yankees (31-21) remain in first place in the AL East, but the Baltimore Orioles did pick up a game and leap frogged Boston with a 3-2 win over the Red Sox.  The Orioles are 2 1/2 games back, while the Red Sox remain 3 games behind.  The Blue Jays may be in last place but they are just 5 1/2 games behind the leaders.   The only division that is tighter is the NL Central where the first place Milwaukee Brewers lead the last place Pittsburgh Pirates by only four games.  It must be nice to be a Houston Astros or Washington Nationals fan with double digit leads over their closest competitors.  One day, it will be our time to shine.  

Odds & Ends…

The rumors of Gleyber Torres to the Bronx seem to be picking up steam.  I don’t think he’s ready yet, but reports are indicating that we could see Torres as early as next month.  There’s no doubt the kid has maturity beyond his years and is a special talent, but I feel that he is an asset for opening in Spring 2018.  The lackluster play of Chase Headley, of course, is forcing acceleration of the plan.  At AAA-Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Torres is currently batting .212 (7-for-33).  In last night’s 7-5 win over the Toledo Mud Hens, Torres was 1-for-4 with a single and a run scored.  Two of his outs were by strikeout, and he walked once.  He was charged with a fielding error, his fourth at AAA.  

Credit:  Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports

It appears that ultimately this may come down to a choice between Tyler Austin or Torres.  If Torres is called up, Headley becomes the backup first/third baseman.  If Austin comes up, he backs up Greg Bird at first, with Ronald Torreyes remaining the primary backup at third for Headley.  None of these scenarios bode well for Chris Carter.  We still have the potential problem at first (what if Bird continues to struggle when he returns) but there’s clearly some difficult decisions looming on the horizon.  

Austin was 1-for-4 (single) for the RailRiders yesterday.

All he does is friggin’ win.  The story of Chance Adams is amazing.  In a short time, he’s become a minor league legend.  Since being drafted in the fifth round in 2015, he’s 23-3 with 1.96 ERA in 34 games started covering 220 2/3 innings.  He has struck out 248 batters.  In the 2015 MLB Draft, current Yankees pitching prospect Dillon Tate was the fourth overall selection by the Texas Rangers.  Adams wasn’t chosen until 149 picks later.  2015 was the year the Yankees chose James Kaprielian as their first round choice.  We know the talent that Kaprielian possesses but staying healthy has been another matter.  Before the Yankees took Adams, they chose two other pitchers after Kaprielian…Jeff Degano and Drew Finley.  In a do-over, I think you’d take Adams over any of the three or four if you threw in Tate.  I still have high hopes for Kaprielian, but there is so much to be excited about Adams.   I liked the quote from AA-Trenton Thunder manager Bobby Mitchell, “He is just a big leaguer in the making”.  The finished product is probably not too far away.

Credit:  Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

In AAA transactions on Friday, the RailRiders released LHP Jason Gurka.  Gurka was signed as a minor league free agent in December 2016.  He appeared in a few Spring Training games, but wasn’t going to be an arm for consideration at the big league level.  For the RailRiders, he was 0-0 with 5.40 ERA in 16 2/3 innings.  He did strike out 20 batters so I am sure that he’ll get a look by another organization.  Best of luck to him.

Have a great Saturday!  Go Yankees!

Time to let it go…

Bryan Van Dusen, one of the founders of The Greedy Pinstripes, tackled a very sensitive and controversial topic yesterday with his defense of Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman.  He provides compelling arguments for why he’ll root for Chapman whenever he is on the mound.  I might not be as opinionated on the topic as Bryan, but we are in agreement with our support for Chapman.

I think Chapman learned an invaluable lesson from the alleged domestic violence incident and although not charged for any crimes, he served his penalty for Major League Baseball.  For me, the key is no further reports of domestic violence.  I honestly do not feel that we’ll see Chapman’s name referenced in police blotters again. 

In my eyes, he has proven he is worthy of our support.  This isn’t just because the man knows how to throw a pitch 105 mph.  I’d feel the same if it had happened to Robert Refsnyder, someone who is struggling to even make the roster. 

In the off-season, the Yankees were linked to several free agent closers.  The most notable was Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, who subsequently re-signed with the Dodgers.  I had also heard Mark Melancon, a former Yankee, who ended up signing with the San Francisco Giants.  But in the end, I was most excited when the Yankees announced they had inked Chapman to a new deal for his return to New York. 

I watched on TV when the World Series Champion Chicago Cubs met with former President Barack Obama during his final days at the White House.  Chapman had already signed with the Yankees, but joined his former Cubs teammates for the trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  You could see Chapman standing in the back row and I was proud that he was standing there not only as a Champion but also as a New York Yankee. 

Aroldis, we’re glad you are home.

I have to say that I am quietly impressed with reliever Jason Gurka.  I don’t think there’s any chance he makes the Opening Day roster and I had never heard of him before this spring.  He picked up the save in Sunday’s game against the Houston Astros, his second save of the spring season.  He’s given up a couple of runs in 5 total innings pitched but has 6 strikeouts.  When the Yankees announced he was a non-roster invitee to camp, I had to look up his name.

Although drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 2008, he made it to the Show with the Colorado Rockies in 2015.  Between 2015 and 2016, Gurka only appeared in 15 games and sported a 9.35 ERA.  I asked a friend of mine who is a die-hard Rockies fan what she knew about Gurka, and her response was “Who?”. 

He’s 29 and he may never get another shot at the major leagues but I like the work he’s done this spring.  This could just be an aberration and the guy who has averaged giving up almost two hits per innings pitched at the major league level is the real Jason Gurka. 

Speaking of non-roster invitees, I guess Ruben Tejada ought to be packing his bags.  He’ll be leaving Tampa (unless he signs with the Rays), but he is certainly not going back to New York.  I thought he’d give Ronald Torreyes more competition for the utility role.  Instead, it’s Tyler Wade that is making waves.  Wade is probably not going to beat Torreyes for the Opening Day Roster but the day is coming. 

I keep reading that Chase Headley is disappointed with his performance as a Yankee.  Surely, his disappointment can’t be as great as ours…

In not-so-great news on the WBC-front, Didi Gregorius is off the Dutch roster.  He has what has been described as a hematoma of the subscapularis muscle.  Hopefully, only rest is needed.  I am glad to hear that it is not a tear or something more serious.  

If, for whatever reason Gregorius is not ready for Opening Day, I'd like a better backup plan than Ronald Torreyes.  The best option is perhaps Tyler Wade.  I suppose that sliding Starlin Castro to short and inserting Rob Refsnyder at second is another option, but I’d prefer to keep Castro focused on the continued learning of the nuances of second base.  

Some are calling for the Yankees to play top prospect Gleyber Torres.  Although Torres has impressed during training camp, he is only 20 years old and has never played above A ball.  I don’t feel he should be rushed to the majors regardless of how gifted he is or how desperate the need.  There’s no doubt he’ll advance quickly at this point but it’s not his time…yet. 

It's too bad for Gregorius.  He was playing very well for Team Netherlands. Hopefully this isn’t too serious and he’ll be back on the field soon.

In Grapefruit League play yesterday, the Yankees continued their "march" through the spring schedule with yet another victory.  It was a far from perfect outing by Michael Pineda, unlike his last performance, but in the end, the Pinstripers won 9-3 over the Washington Nationals.  Pineda was pulled with 2 outs in the second inning after throwing 46 pitches.  Immediately after relieving Pineda, JR Graham surrendered a double to Adam Lind, scoring two runners charged to Pineda.  After Lind's hit, the Yankees bullpen held the Nats scoreless for the duration of the game.

The Yankees are now 18-6.  Too bad these games don't count...

Have a great Tuesday!