Turbulence at 10,000 Feet but Landing is Perfect...

Credit:  Frank Franklin II-Associated Press

Yankees 3, Rays 2...

The only way to play drama-free baseball with the Yankees bullpen is to insert Chad Green.  Otherwise, it's going to be a bumpy ride. Joe Girardi made a few pitching moves that left a couple of Yankee pitchers with ruffled feathers but in the end, the Yankees came away with the game and series win over the Tampa Bay Rays. It doesn't matter how we get the "W" as long as we successfully get the "W".

The Yankees jumped on Rays starter Chris Archer first.  Starlin Castro led off the top of the 2nd inning with a single to center. He was followed by Jacoby Ellsbury who singled to right, putting runners at first and third. Todd Frazier's single to left center past a diving Adeiny Hechavarria scored Castro while Ellsbury took second. After Clint Frazier struck out, Austin Romine walked to load the bases.  Brett Gardner singled through the hole to left, driving in both Ellsbury and the Toddfather. The Yankees led, 3-0. Chase Headley grounded into a double play at second so the Yanks were unable to push any further runs across. Sadly, it would be the last runs the Yankees would see on the day.

Credit:  Frank Franklin II-Associated Press

The Yanks had the bases loaded with two outs in the top of the 3rd but Archer struck out Clint Frazier to escape the jam.

While I was wishing that the Yankees had anyone on the mound not named  Jaime Garcia, the Rays got a run back in the bottom of the 3rd when Kevin Kiermaier led off with a home run to right field. It was Kiermaier's second home run in as many days. But that's the hazard of having Garcia pitch, you know the opponent is going to score runs. The job is to score more than he allows.   

To the Yankees' credit, they made Chris Archer work. While they only got the three 2nd inning runs off him, Archer was gone after surrendering a lead-off double to Gary Sanchez in the top of the 5th. Four innings of work with 92 pitches thrown.  Sonny Gray's complete game on Tuesday was only 2 more pitches than Archer threw with four more innings. It's unfortunate that the Yankees couldn't do more damage against Archer in light of their extended at-bats.

Credit:  Frank Franklin II-Associated Press

Jaime Garcia got the hook in the bottom of the 5th when he gave up a two-out single to Lucas Duda. With Evan Longoria coming to bat, Joe Girardi didn't want to take any chances. Chad Green came in and got the final out. I was actually amazed that Garcia made it into the 5th inning without allowing more than one run. He didn't last long enough to qualify for a win but I can assure you that I did not shed a tear as he was walking off the mound.

Credit:  Frank Franklin II-Associated Press

As for Chad Green, he's a freakin' rock star. I didn't want the guy to make the opening day roster yet he's been Mr Lights Out for the bullpen. He showed off his magic when he struck out the side in the bottom of the 6th. I can see why  Joe Girardi gets the urge to leave Green in the game, but I was thankful that he only worked 1 1/3 innings despite his stellar work. I'd rather have Green available on Thursday or Friday as opposed to waiting until Saturday at the earliest. Need to keep this guy ready for frequent work.

Tommy Kahnle took over in the 7th. It provoked Rays manager Kevin Cash to start making moves. First up, Mallex Smith pinch-hit for Peter Bourjos and reached on a single to left field. Corey Dickerson, pinch-hitting for Jesus Sucre, hit into a double play, first to second. It was a good thing because Brad Miller followed, pinch-hitting for Danny Espinosa, and singled to left. If the Yankees had not been able to erase Smith at second, it is very possible that he could have scored on Miller's hit. Kevin Kiermaier flied out to left to end the drama, but Kahnle did his job. It wasn't as pretty as Green's performance but the end result was the same...no runs for the Rays.

The Yankees had a great opportunity to tack on some insurance runs in the top of the 8th inning. Starlin Castro singled to left, Jacoby Ellsbury doubled down the right field line and Todd Frazier was intentionally walked to load the bases. Clint Frazier had first crack but he popped out to first baseman Logan Morrison in foul territory. Next up was Austin Romine but he struck out to end the inning.  A huge missed opportunity to get at least a run or two more.

On to the 8th and it was Dellin's turn. Lucas Duda, potentially facing his last at-bat in his former ball park for this series, flied out to center in front of the warning track. I was worried about him and it would not have surprised me to see the man on the field with the most career HR's at Citi Field to have parked one. It was not to be but it didn't stop Evan Longoria, Yankee-killer, from hitting a single up the middle in the next at-bat. Betances always makes me think of former Orioles manager Earl Weaver and his reliever Don Stanhouse, whom Weaver referred to as "Full Pack" in reference to the number of cigarettes he would smoke during Stanhouse's appearances. Betances does that to me even if I don't smoke. Dellin struck out Logan Morrison for the second out, but Joe Girardi wasn't going to take any chances. He made the call to the pen to bring in Aroldis Chapman an inning early. Of course, Chapman walked his first batter (Stephen Souza, Jr) to move Longoria into scoring position at second base.  Adeiny Hechavarria, the latest Yankee-killer, singled to shallow center field, scoring Longoria. Hechavarria and Chapman played together in the Cuban Leagues ten years ago so there's history between the two.  Souza moved to third to put runners at the corners. Chapman finally struck out Wilson Ramos, pinch-hitting for Mallex Smith, on a foul tip, but the Rays had closed the gap to 3-2. Those potential insurance runs in the 8th inning sure would have been nice.  

The Yankees blew another huge opportunity for runs in the 9th. With Brad Boxberger pitching for the Rays, Brett Gardner led off with a single up the middle. With Chase Headley at bat, Gardy appeared to steal second base but he was sent back to first when it was ruled that Headley's bat had hit the catcher's arm for interference. Headley then singled to right, advancing Gardy to third.  Gardy probably would have scored had the steal been successful.  From there, the offense stalled. Gary Sanchez struck out swinging and Didi Gregorius flied out to left (not deep enough to score Gardy). Headley stole second but it didn't really matter when Starlin Castro popped out to center to end the inning.  Ugh!

Chapman had me on the edge in the bottom of the 9th. He walked the first batter, Curt Casali, a career .197 hitter. WTF??!! Fortunately, from there, Chapman struck out Brad Miller and Kevin Kiermaier. Lucas Duda was able to make it to the plate for one final Citi Field "home" appearance with a chance to send the ball out of the park for a walk-off win.  But the Missile rose to the occasion and struck out Duda for the final out. The Yankees win!

The Yankees (79-66) moved back to three games behind Boston with the win.  The Red Sox fell to the Oakland A's, 7-3. The Baltimore Orioles beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 2-1, so they recaptured third place from the Tampa Bay Rays.  The O's trail the Yanks by 7 1/2 games entering play today. The Minnesota Twins held off the San Diego Padres, 3-1, in extra innings to remain three games behind the Yankees in the Wild Card Standings.  

Jaime Garcia was apparently very upset with Joe Girardi about the early hook but I could care less what Garcia thinks. His Yankees career will be over soon. There's no way he is a member of the 2018 Yankees.  

Credit:  Charles Wenzelberg-New York Post

Chad Green (5-0) picked up Garcia's win with his stellar relief effort. Aroldis Chapman captured his 18th save despite the high wire act.  

I was very grateful that those late missed scoring opportunities didn't come back to bite the Yankees. As we saw, they very possibly could have. The Yankees will need to play better at home in the upcoming series if they want to continue to win.

Next Up:  Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York...

Having completed the short stay in Queens, the Yankees return to home sweet home to face the fading Baltimore Orioles for a long four-game set. The O's generally play the Yankees very tough so they'll be looking to play the role of spoiler for this series. If there is anything I've learned over the years it is to never underestimate Orioles manager Buck Showalter.

Here are the scheduled pitching match-ups:

TODAY

Orioles:  Wade Miley (8-12, 4.96 ERA)

Yankees:  Masahiro Tanaka (11-11, 4.82)

FRIDAY

Orioles:  Jeremy Hellickson (2-4, 6.54 ERA)

Yankees:  Luis Severino (12-6, 2.96 ERA)

SATURDAY

Orioles:  Ubaldo Jimenez (5-10, 6.75 ERA)

Yankees:  CC Sabathia (11-5, 3.85 ERA)

SUNDAY

Orioles:  Dylan Bundy (13-9, 4.03 ERA)

Yankees:  Sonny Gray (9-10, 3.17 ERA)

October is coming.  Live it, feel it.  Now is the time for the Yankees to make a charge!

Odds & Ends...

Game 2 of the International League Governor's Cup Finals goes to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. The RailRiders beat the Durham Bulls, 4-0, behind stellar pitching from Domingo German (7 innings, one hit, no runs, three walks and eight K's) and two relievers.  The Bulls featured an inning of relief from former Yankees starter Nathan Eovaldi, who is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Nasty Nate pitched an inning of scoreless relief for the Bulls, giving up two hits and striking out one. The series is tied.  Game 3 will be tonight at PNC Field in Moosic, PA. Chance Adams will be on the mound for the RailRiders, while the Rays top prospect, Brent Honeywell, will pitch for the Bulls.

The news wasn't so good in Trenton, NJ where the Thunder dropped Game 2 of their Eastern League Championship series to the Altoona Curve by a score of 4-2. The losing pitcher was Justus Sheffield who had been part of a no-hitter during his previous outing. The series now shifts to Altoona, PA this evening with the Curve needing to win just one game for the best-of-five championship. Will Carter (3-1, 3.26 ERA) gets the start for the Thunder.

Have a great Thursday!  Not asking for much today...just a win!  Go Yankees!

Why I’m Not Afraid of the Cleveland Indians in the Postseason

The Cleveland Indians are one of, if not the best team in Major League Baseball here in 2017 but you know what? If the New York Yankees and the Indians meet in the playoffs here this season I am not at all worried and here is why.

They call the playoffs baseball’s second season for a reason, what you did in the regular season and $15 will get you a beer at Yankee Stadium. It means little to nothing and I personally, as a fan, refuse to be psyched out or taken off my game because the Indians won their division, won 21 games in a row, etc. etc. etc. I’m not scared. The playoffs are usually won by the hottest team at the time and aren’t always won by necessarily the best team. That’s the great thing about baseball, any team can beat any pitcher and any opposing team on any given night. You can’t predict baseball so you can’t necessarily predict that the Indians will be the hottest team when the calendar changes to October. Hell you can’t predict that the Indians will be the hottest team tonight or this weekend, they could go on a slide much like the Los Angeles Dodgers have of late. You just don’t know and I’m not that scared of them to be honest. None of this is to disrespect the Indians, their team or what they have done this season either. They are a great team and they are playing extremely well, much respect to all, but respect and fear are two entirely different things.

The New York Yankees are built for short series and the postseason. The team is young, energetic and overall healthy at this point in the season when most teams cannot say the same here in September. The pitching has been fantastic, the bullpen has the potential to be absolutely and completely dominant when on and used properly and the offense can hang a crooked number on the scoreboard at any given inning. Again, not to say that the Yankees are better than the Indians or that Cleveland cannot do the same because they can. I am merely saying that I have confidence in this group of Yankees players and the team. Again, I am not saying the Yankees will necessarily reach the ALDS or ALCS (more than likely the ALDS though if New York does not win their division) and meet Cleveland, I am just saying IF they do I am not worried. I think New York can stand and throw punches with the best of teams in baseball this season and at the end of the day, win lose or draw, whoever they are facing will know that they were in a fight for their lives.

How did the 2002 Oakland Athletics fare in the postseason, the last team to win 20 games in a row in a season, you ask? After winning 103 games and after having both the AL MVP (Miguel Tejada) and AL Cy Young Award Winner (Barry Zito) the team lost in five games to the Minnesota Twins in the American League Division Series. 

So it Seems…. Catching Up After Irma

Good morning everyone and welcome back. I hope everyone is doing well this morning. I apologize for the delay in posts here on the site but Hurricane Irma kept me away longer than I expected it to. The damage here in North Georgia was minimal but with the rain and amount of wind we had the power was out for nearly 75% of the state, if not more. Schools were closed. It was just an all-around bad situation but honestly it was a situation that I cannot complain about. Everyone I know, everyone I love and everything I own is okay. Nothing was damaged, no one was hurt. I know not everyone was that fortunate and you have my thoughts, prayers and well wishes.

Now it’s time to get caught back up so let’s get to it. Good morning and I love you all. Except for you, I loves you very, very much. HEY YOU. 

This Day In New York Yankees History 9/14: Red Sox Suck!

whoops.... we posted this yesterday. Better to be a day early than a dollar short I guess.

As everyone knows by now the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox have one of the strongest and most hated rivalries in all of Major League Baseball history. The rivalry was especially hot and in full form in the 2000's as the two teams traded division titles and both teams won multiple World Series championships. On this day in 2007 that rivalry went to a whole new level when Yankees infielder Shelley Duncan signed an autograph for a ten year old Red Sox fan Griffin Whitman. Shelley signed the autograph "RED SOX SUCK" before signing his name.

The Night of 2 Bad Pitches...

Credit:  Paul J Bereswill-NY Post

Rays 2, Yankees 1...

The Yankees picked a bad night to go dry offensively as they fell to the Tampa Bay Rays despite a solid complete game effort from Sonny Gray. In the end, it was two misplaced pitches that were deposited into the outfield seats that helped the Rays overcome the Yankees. If the Yankees fall short of their bid to win the AL East, they'll look back at games like this and wonder what could have been.

Matt Holliday put the Yankees on the board first. Aaron Judge took a one-out walk in the top of the 1st inning, his 110th of the season to extend his own MLB rookie record.  He moved to second on a slow rolling ground out by Gary Sanchez. Matt Holliday laced a double to left when the ball went under the glove of left fielder Corey Dickerson, scoring Judge. But Holliday was left stranded when Starlin Castro followed by striking out.

Credit:  Frank Franklin II-Associated Press

The Rays wasted no time in answering the run. Rays leadoff hitter Kevin Kiermaier jumped on the first pitch by Sonny Gray to send it over the center field wall. As YES Network announcer Al Leiter said, "Welcome to the game, Sonny Gray".  

Gray rebounded and found his groove, shutting the Rays down until the 8th inning. Unfortunately, he left a pitch high and over the middle of the plate for Adeiny Hechavarria and the hitter did not waste the opportunity.  He got all of the Gray pitch to send it over the wall in left center. The Rays had their first lead of the game, 2-1.

Credit:  Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Meanwhile, the Yankees just couldn't get any going. Rare was the inning they sent more than three men to the plate. A 5th inning walk by Todd Frazier, a 6th inning single by Brett Gardner, and a 7th inning single by Chase Headley were the only baserunners that the Yankees could get. Unfortunately, none could get past first base, thanks in large part to ten strikeouts by Rays starter Blake Snell and the bullpen.  

The Yankees bowed out quietly in the 9th against Rays closer Alex Colome who picked up his 44th save.  

The Boston Red Sox beat the punchless Oakland A's, 11-1, so they increased their AL East lead over the Yankees (78-66) to four games. The Minnesota Twins scored two touchdowns and a safety in destroying the San Diego Padres, 16-0 (hey, it's football season, gimme a break!).  So, the lead in the Wild Card Standings shrank to three games. The Rays were able to leap-frog the Baltimore Orioles for third place in the AL East with the win. They are 7 games behind the Yankees. The O's lost a close 3-2 game to the Toronto Blue Jays.  

Sonny Gray's final line was great. He pitched 8 innings and only allowed five hits, two runs, and one walk. He struck out five. But the killer was two home runs out of 94 pitches thrown.  Run support has not been Gray's friend during his short Yankees career. In his five losses as a Yankee, he's been backed by four runs.

Credit:  Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Clint Frazier, making his return from the disabled list, tried. He had a couple of deep balls in his two at-bats, the second of which would have been met with "See ya!" from Michael Kay had the game been played at Yankee Stadium. Instead, it was just a running catch by Rays right fielder Stephen Souza, Jr.

Credit:  Anthony J Causi-NY Post

I wish I had more optimism about today's game but it is hard to get excited about Jaime Garcia, especially when he is going against Chris Archer. On paper, it looks like a mismatch in favor of the Rays.  The Yankees have had a fair amount of success against Archer so hopefully this afternoon will be another one of those times. We need runs. Hopefully the offense decides to bring their bats for the series finale.

Odds & Ends...

It was also a bad night for the Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders as they dropped Game 1 of the International League's Governor's Cup Finals to the Durham Bulls (Rays), 6-0. The losing pitcher for the RailRiders was starter Ronald Herrera.  Not much offense as the RailRiders were only able to pound out three hits (two by Mason Williams). Game 2 is scheduled for this evening in Durham, NC. Domingo German gets the start for the RailRiders.

Credit:  Ben McKeown-for Times Leader

The losing continued with the Double A Trenton Thunder as they dropped Game 1 of the Eastern League Championship Series to the Altoona Curve (Pirates) by a score of 2-1. The losing pitcher for the Thunder was Dillon Tate, who like Sonny Gray pitched a great game. But at the end of the game, the scoreboard showed more runs for the other team. Game 2 will be this evening in Trenton, NJ with Justus Sheffield on the mound for the home team.

Have a great Wednesday! Let's make it a Winning Wednesday for the Pinstripers and their top farm teams! Go Yankees...and RailRiders...and Thunder!

Game Preview: New York Yankees “@” Tampa Bay Rays 9/12

The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays continue to dodge Hurricane Irma and continue their series home away from home inside Citi Field, home of the New York Mets. In this second game of this three-game set the Yankees will send Sonny Gray to the mound looking to take the Yankees one step closer to the postseason while the Rays with their backs against the playoff wall send Blake Snell to the mound looking to prolong the season just a little longer. This is September baseball ladies and gentleman and it’s only going to get better from here.

Gray pitched well in his last time out against the Baltimore Orioles holding the Fighting Showalters scoreless for the first time as a Yankee. This game also marked just the second time in his Yankees tenure that Gray held a team to two runs or less in a start.

Snell on the other hand didn’t pitch as well as he had presumably hoped to against the Minnesota Twins in a no-decision. Snell lasted just four innings in the start snapping a career-long streak of five straight starts of 6 innings pitched or longer. No need to start that streak over again tonight, we won’t mind a bit.

The game will be played at 7:10 pm ET inside Citi Field and can be seen on YES Network, MLB Network and MLB TV. You can also follow along in your cars and on the radio by tuning into the WFAN broadcast with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman. Also, just as a reminder, the Tampa Bay Rays are considered the home team here this week in Queens despite the games being played in New York. It’s uncommon but not unheard of in the history of Major League Baseball, it just sucks because of the circumstances. Either way you should try to enjoy the game because the Yankees need a win, so get a win. Go Yankees!

Plouffe! The Toddfather Has Spoken...

Credit:  Frank Franklin II-Associated Press

Yankees 5, Rays 1...

A fielding error by Rays third baseman Trevor Plouffe in the 4th inning opened the door for an offensive outburst that was capped by a three-run homer by Todd Frazier. The single inning explosion carried the Yankees to victory over the "home" Tampa Bay Rays in Queens, NY.  

Credit:  Steven Ryan-Getty Images

For three innings, the Yankees couldn't muster a hit off Rays starter Jake Odorizzi. Meanwhile, the Rays scratched out a run against the Yanks in the bottom of the 2nd. Lucas Duda, at home at Citi Field and using his old locker, drew a walk to start the inning.  Yankees starter CC Sabathia retired the next two batters and had Adeiny Hechavarria down to two strikes. Hechavarria battled and finally on the 9th pitch of the at-bat tripled to the center field wall, splitting the outfielders, to score Duda with the game's first run.  

Aaron Judge opened the 4th inning with a walk, extending his own MLB record for most walks by a rookie to 108. Gary Sanchez finally got the first hit for the Yankees, a line drive to center. The Yankees had runners at the corners.  Didi Gregorius hit a sacrifice fly to right which scored Judge standing up. The game was tied.  Starlin Castro struck out for the second out. Then the magic happened.  Well, maybe not from Trevor Plouffe's perspective. Matt Holliday hit a grounder to third that Plouffe was unable to field (under his glove). As the ball rolled down the left field line, Sanchez scored to give the Yankees the lead and Holliday moved to second on the play. On a full count, Jacoby Ellsbury reached base on catcher's interference when his bat hit the catcher's mitt. It was the 30th career catcher's interference for Ellsbury which surpassed Pete Rose for the most all-time. Todd Frazier came to the plate and homered to left off the facing in the second deck to make it 5-1.  The Yankees got two more runners on base when Tyler Austin doubled to the left field wall and Brett Gardner walked. It spelled the end for Jake Odorizzi who went from a no-hitter to a four-run deficit despite only allowing one earned run. Rays reliever Chaz Roe came in and struck out Aaron Judge, who had led off the inning, to end the Yankees' rally.

CC Sabathia was allowing baserunners, giving up two singles in both the third and fourth innings, but had been escaping unscathed.  He got into trouble again in the bottom of the 5th. He walked Peter Bourjos to start the inning. After striking out Kevin Kiermaier on three pitches, Trevor Plouffe singled to center over Sabathia's back with Bourjos moving to second. Manager Joe Girardi opted to take no further chances and pulled Sabathia (avoiding a confrontation with Evan Longoria). The move appeared justified when David Robertson came in and struck out both Longoria and Lucas Duda to end the threat. Sabathia probably wasn't too happy with the early hook, but he had thrown 88 pitches and allowed six hits. It was only a matter of time before the Rays broke through but the D-Rob insurance card paid off. 

Credit:  Andrew Savulich-The New York Daily News

The Rays did have a scoring opportunity in the bottom of the 6th with D-Rob still pitching. Adeiny Hechavarria hit a two-out ground-rule double which hit the warning track in left and bounced off the back wall. He took third on a passed ball by Gary Sanchez, but was left stranded when Danny Espinosa grounded out to short.

The Yankees got their final hit of the night in the 7th inning when Brett Gardner led off with a single to left. A failed stolen base attempt, a perfect throw from catcher Wilson Ramos to second baseman Danny Espinosa, sent Gardy to the bench.

D-Rob pitched the bottom of the 7th, making this outing the longest in his career (pitching a total of 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief with 4 K's).  

Credit:  Richard Rodriguez-Getty Images

The bottom of the 8th brought out Dellin Betances and it was time to start drinking heavily. Evan Longoria started off with a single that dropped in right field. Betances struck out Lucas Duda for the first out, but then walked Cesar Puello. Aargh! Logan Morrison was up next, pinch-hitting for Wilson Ramos, and I was seeing images of a three-run home run to make it a one-run game. Fortunately, those visions proved false as Betances struck out Morrison. He got Adeiny Hechavarria to fly out, with Aaron Judge running to the wall, for the final out. Whew! That was a hard inning to sit through...

Aroldis Chapman took over in the 9th. After a brief pause on my part hoping that Chapman has truly righted the ship, he proceeded to retire the side on ten pitches. It wasn't a save opportunity but the result was the same.  The Yankees win!

The Yankees (78-65) picked up a 1/2 game on the idle Boston Red Sox so they now trail by 3 games. The Baltimore Orioles fell to the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-3, so the gap between the Yanks and the third-place O's is now 7 1/2 games. The win also increased the Yankees lead in the Wild Card Standings to 4 games.  

David Robertson (8-2) picked up the vulture win with Sabathia's inability to make it through five full innings. The Yankees were outhit by the Rays, 8 to 4, but they obviously made the most of their hits with Todd Frazier's home run leading the way.

Credit:  Tony Gutierrez-Associated Press

Odds & Ends...

The Yankees activated OF Clint Frazier off of the disabled list on Monday. Red Thunder was somewhat underwhelming in his rehab stint with the Trenton Thunder. In 17 at-bats, he had only 2 hits and 10 strikeouts. Here's hoping that his return to the Pinstripes is little more successful. He should slot back into the fourth outfielder role that has been lacking since Aaron Hicks went on the DL.

When Aaron Judge hit his 40th home run, he joined some lofty company. Prior to Judge's home run, the only Yankees to hit 40 home runs at 25 years or younger were Babe Ruth (54, 1920), Lou Gehrig (47, 1927), Joe DiMaggio (46, 1937), and Mickey Mantle (52, 1956). That's a nice group of names to rub shoulders with...

Have a great Tuesday! Seems like a great day for another win! Go Yankees!

Yankees Sign Ronny Rojas… What it Means for Shohei Otani

The New York Yankees are once again flashing some financial muscle on the international market but this time the team is being creative about it. In years past the Yankees have simply thrown money at their problems and for a long time it worked. Since the league has finally caught up financially the team can no longer do that due to financial and draft pick restrictions thrown down by a new set of collective bargaining agreements so New York has found a new way to get who they want on the IFA market. All large market teams get $4.75 million in IFA cap money to spend but the team can trade for an additional 75% of that $4.75 million from other teams, something the Yankees did many times this summer already. Now New York is using that new-found money to sign young players like the 16-year old shortstop Ronny Rojas they signed over the weekend but what does that mean for Shohei Otani?

First things first, Rojas. Rojas was signed to a $1 million contract and the 16-year old becomes the fourth international prospect to join the Yankees since the 2017-2018 signing period opened on July 2^nd joining Robert Chirinos, Everson Pereira and Anthony Garcia. Rojas was considered to be the 11^th best international prospect in this year’s signing period not including Otani who has yet to enter the fold as a prospect officially. The Yankees announced they would sign Rojas back in July but the team could not officially sign him until recently because Rojas was just 15-years old. The league will not allow an international prospect to sign until his 16^th birthday. What does this mean for the Yankees ability to make a run at Otani though?

In all honestly this has no bearing on the Yankees ability to make a serious run at Otani. The Yankees traded for a ton of international spending money this summer in three different trades including the Yefrey Ramirez trade to the Baltimore Orioles and the Sonny Gray trade with the Oakland Athletics. The Yankees still have somewhere in the neighborhood of $3-4 million left to make a run at Otani without going over their allotted pool of money. The problem for New York is teams like the Boston Red Sox have also traded for close to their 75% allotment as well giving the Yankees some stiff competition for the latest Japanese import.

Having Chirinos, Pereira, Garcia and Rojas is great and it gives the Yankees another wave of future reinforcements to develop and look forward to. Having those four and a shot at Otani though almost seems unfair for the rest of the league so here’s to getting greedy, officially signing Rojas and also getting Japan’s Babe Ruth. 

So it Seems…. We Survived the Storm & Bryan Van Dusen is MARRIED!!

Good morning everyone. I hope everyone reading this on this beautiful morning after the storm is okay. I hope your friends, families and loved ones are okay as well. Houses, cars, outside lawn furniture etc. can all be replaced but the people you love and the people that own your heart cannot be replaced so be thankful that we made it. Things may be slow, I am actually writing this in advance a little because I am not sure how much longer I will have power and internet, here on the blog this week but I will be around when I can be. Stay well and here’s to the Yankees as they continue to keep kicking ass all the way to the postseason.

Also I want to take a second to wish my very good friend and co-owner of the blog Bryan Van Dusen a huge congratulations. Bryan married his lovely fiancé, Heather, over the weekend and I couldn’t be happier for the couple. Bryan, you lucked out man. Don’t screw this up, haha. Stay well and I love you guys. I wish you man years of happiness.

And a special good morning to you. Hey you! I loves you. 

This Day In New York Yankees History 9/12: Bernie Williams Has a Week of a Game

Not much has happened on this day in New York Yankees history surprisingly but Bernie Williams did have a week of it on this day in 1996. Bernie had two home runs and a single as he went on to knock in eight RBI helping the Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers by the score of 12-3.

Other notable happenings on this day in Major League Baseball history was on this day in 1979 the Red Sox Carl Yastrzemski collected his 3,000th hit of his career in a victory over the Yankees in Fenway Park. Also Sammy Sosa became the fourth player in major league history to hit 60 home runs in a single season on this day in 1998 as he joined Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, and Mark McGwire as McGwire and Sosa attacked Maris' single season home run record.