Let's Move On From 2018

Writing can be funny.

When I started writing this post I planned on keeping things short and sweet. I wanted to give my thoughts on the 2018 season, but there are or will be dozens... if not hundreds... of articles with people doing that same exact thing. But once I got started looking at the team over the past season I couldn't stop. I don't know if that makes you lucky or not, but I hope you can take at least one thing away from this.

I thought I'd start with what may be the biggest disappointment of the 2018 season... Gary Sanchez.

 

Coming into this season fans and haters alike were penciling in 30+ home runs for Sanchez. Since making his debut in 2016 (I'm not counting his two plate appearances in 2015) Gary had a batting line of .284/.354/.568. But what we got instead was sad... .186/.291/.406. And this isn't a guy that hit in the lower third of the order all season. No, Sanchez came to the plate 316 times in the four to six spots in the lineup. Thinking of the number of times he killed any sort of rally gives me a migraine headache. Hell, those types of numbers don't belong in any lineup spot regularly, let alone that high of one.

Oh, and that doesn't even get into his passed ball issues. I could live with most of those passed balls if he was hitting like in the past two seasons, but not from a guy with an OPS+ of 86. Not to mention how those passed ball issues compounded some of our starter's issues. Which leads me to my next thought...

Did you know that Sonny Gray started 23 games with an ERA of 4.90? Or that Domingo German started 14 games with an ERA of 5.57? Then there were four starts by Jonathan Loaisiga and his 5.11 ERA. And how can we forget Luis Cessa and his five starts with an ERA of 5.24? That's a total of 46 starts by pitchers with a combined ERA above 5.00.

For comparison, the Red Sox only had 15 starts by pitchers with an ERA over 4.90 (actually, outside of those 15 starts, every other start for the Sox came from a pitcher with an ERA of 4.28 or lower). 14 vs. 46. Yeah, that definitely didn't help the Yankees in their chase for the American League East title.

I should note, too, that as awesome as the bullpen was overall, the Yankees had to endure 24 appearances by Tommy Kahnle and his 6.56 ERA, 28 appearances of AJ Cole and his 4.26 ERA, and 40 appearances of Chasen Shreve and his 4.26 ERA. While some of those appearances happened when games were already out of reach, a handful of them came when the Yankees... especially with their great offense... could have come back and won the game.

Rectifying the starting pitcher problem, and doing a better job with bullpen usage, is a must for the Yankees next season and beyond.

While I've bagged on Gary Sanchez quite a bit so far, I must say that I do not agree with removing him from the starting catcher role. Honestly, the very idea of doing so his stupid. If his woes with the bat continue, along with his passed ball issues, heading into July then I'll discuss taking him out of the starting catcher role. But until then he is, and damn well should be, the Yankees' starting catcher.

Oh, and trading him for JT Realmuto, which so many people ("fans" and "experts" alike) think they should do, is silly. For starters, Gary's value is so low right now. Not that I think other teams truly think Sanchez is this bad a hitter and will be from now on, but they're unlikely to value Gary as he should be. Which means a straight Sanchez for Realmuto deal is unlikely, anyway. Plus, how do we know Realmuto would continue to hit as well in New York? It's kind of like the old saying... better to go with the devil you know, than the devil you don't.

One last thing I should mention in regards to Gary Sanchez... I was pleasantly surprised by his defense in the postseason, adding another reason to be optimistic about next season and not move on from him.

Next up is Greg Bird. What else can I say about the guy except for "yuck"? Out of all Yankees hitters that had more than a hundred at bats, Bird was the worst. He actually came to the plate 311 times in 2018, batting .199/.286/.386 with 11 home runs. Those stats are bad enough, but to come from the team's first baseman... a lineup spot that typically comes with nice offense... it's pathetic.

When Greg returned from injury in late August last season he was a solid hitter. Nothing to get head over heels about (.253/.316/.575 with 8 home runs in 98 plate appearances), but enough to be optimistic about his 2019 campaign. Unfortunately, outside of a serviceable month of July, in which he hit .265/.337/.458 (with just 4 homers, mind you), he was a black hole in the lineup.

So for the love of Paul O'Neill, it's time to move on! I'd like to see if Luke Voit can build on his successful run with the team this season, but I have other plans... which I'll share with you another time.

From a man that makes me nauseous to a man I have the utmost respect for... Brett Gardner.

For the record, I am grateful for everything Gardner's done for the Yankees since becoming a regular in the lineup in 2009. But I think it's time to have a better plan for left field in 2019 and beyond. Brett gets on base well against right-handed pitchers, as well as having more power, but his overall average bat should be upgraded. Again... more on that later.

It's time now to move on from the players, and that starts with Brian Cashman. In short, Brian has received way too much hate this season.

Mr. Cashman built a great team heading into this season, and did so while appeasing upper management by staying under the Luxury Tax threshold. Like I have said... nobody predicted Gary Sanchez would be as bad as he was, Greg Bird had a lot of believers both inside of and outside the organization, and the overall production out of left field very well could have been better if it wasn't for Clint Frazier's injuries.

On the pitching side of things, there were some that believed Sonny Gray would be the best pitcher on the staff this season, so Cashman wasn't the only one leaning on Gray. Losing Jordan Montgomery so early in the season was also very tough to overcome. Two more things you can't pin on the general manager.

Hell, we should be incredibly thankful to Cash for building such a great bullpen, without which this team would have missed the postseason entirely.

Frankly, going into this season the Yankees were... on paper... favorited by many to win the whole damn thing. And that's all a general manager can do... build a team on paper. What happens on the field after that is out of their control.

Which brings me to my final point before I wrap this up... the Yankees manager Aaron Boone. Like Cashman, I believe Boone gets more hate than he deserves. Sure, his bullpen decisions were baffling at times, but he's far from the biggest reason the 2018 Yankees season ended earlier than we all wanted. I do think building a better coaching staff, one with more experience, will help take some of the pressure off of Boone. In any industry a manager is important, but it takes good assistants and workers to make a company successful. Boone seems to have a good head on his shoulders, and having grown up around professional baseball (not high school, or collegiate, either), I think he can be a very good manager. And the Yankees have the workers to make a great team, too. They just need better assistants.

The bottom line is the Yankees are not far from being a team that could be World Series favorites year in and year out. I came up with a plan for this offseason, and I can't wait to share it with you. However, I'm trying hard to take my time with it so I don't leave anything out. Not to mention I want to think about my plans to make sure they are indeed what's best. Of course, there are a lot of smart people that read The Greedy Pinstripes (and they should, dammit!), so I fully expect them to find holes.

Finally, before I leave you, I wanted to say something about Daniel's post yesterday. I was all for it.

I posted something similar to Daniel's post earlier this season, and that subject absolutely needed to be expanded on. And Dan did a great job of it.

His point about the game being different than it was ten years ago is spot on. Being able to throw money at any and all problems, like George Steinbrenner was able to do over and over again, is no longer a viable plan. The reason the Yankees were so successful between 1995 and 2003 was their home-grown base of talent, and sprinkling in free agents here and there to complete the roster. And that's exactly what I see happening now. Like how those Yankee teams had Jeter, Posada, Pettitte, Rivera, and Williams, these Yankees have Torres, Sanchez, Severino, Betances, and Judge.

I left a name out of that, didn't I? Hmm...

I have no issue with people throwing out trade ideas, or who they think the Yankees should sign. What I have a problem with is people doing so with such arrogance and ignorance. The fact of the matter is none of us know what's going on in the clubhouse, or in the management offices. We can come up with educated guesses, sometimes based on direct quotes from guys like Boone and Cashman, but 99.9% of the time all we can do is speculate. It's sad, and is plain dumb, when so many act otherwise.

Like I said in my post where I went off on some fans... it's okay to criticize. But I believe true fans criticize their favorite teams and players like you would a loved one such as a wife or mother. Too often this season I've seen "fans" criticize the Yankees and/or their players like they actually hate the Yankees.

With all that said, be on the lookout for my post about what I'd like to see happen in the offseason. I've done a lot of research on it, along with plenty of digging into who I think will be available to the Yankees.

Thanks for reading, and have a nice day.

Yankees Fans Are The Worst

The 2018 season for the New York Yankees is over, and if I learned one thing and one thing only, it is that fans of the Yankees are the worst. I have said it many times this season, maybe not so bluntly, but the fans themselves have left more of a sour taste in my mouth this season than any 16-1 playoff loss or ALDS collapse ever could. Even more so, I am ashamed to even represent my team. The team that I love, and the team I have adored, and the team that I have idolized my entire damn life, because of some of you damn fools and your bandwagon foolish ways.

I have said it all season long, Yankees fans disgust me, but you guys took it to a whole new level here in the postseason. That statement may seem harsh, but it’s nothing short of the truth… and this is coming from, again, a Yankees fan. The 2017 season was fun. There were no expectations. The 2018 season was hell. There was nothing but disappointments. I have read a lot of fans saying that anything short of a World Series is a disappointment. Sure, in the 1990’s. This is 2018. The game has changed. The league has changed. The players have changed. George Steinbrenner can no longer just throw money at a problem without any repercussions, and a lot of you “fans” need to remember that. There is parity in baseball now, as much as their can be anyway, and the player pool is much larger than it has ever been. World Series or bust is the same mantra these fans use when they bring up the fact that the Yankees have 27 World Series championships. Literally, besides you and besides “fans” like you, who gives a shit? Not me. Not anyone I normally associate with on a daily basis. We could win the next nine World Series championships in a row, but that and $15 (well, probably like $25 in ten years) will get you a beer at the stadium. That’s it. It means nothing. It is irrelevant, and the mindset is just ignorant at this point, in my opinion.

I have never seen such a backlash from fans over everything and over nothing. I have never seen so many armchair GM’s, managers and players. I have never seen a fan base over-analyze every single pitch and every single aspect of a game. I mean, I love the enthusiasm and the dedication, but I hate the fact that a lot of you fans just simply don’t know what the fuck is going on anymore. You just talk because you can. Because social media says you can, and because there, again, are no repercussions. For example:

Why in the hell would we (the team cannot, obviously, but let’s just roll with it) trade for Manny Machado AND Patrick Corbin when they will both be free agents a week after the World Series is over? Please, explain. I’ll wait, I have nothing better to do until pitchers and catchers report anyway. Nothing? Oh yeah, no team would… or even could. The same can be said for those “fans” that demand we either send Gary Sanchez down to Triple-A (can’t, MLB rules won’t allow it without his consent), want Giancarlo Stanton traded (the only damn reason he is in the Bronx is because he wants to be here, or did you forget that he has a no-trade clause and he already vetoed two trades this season to teams he did not want to play for), and want to see every coach and manager we have fired. These are the same fans that called Hal Steinbrenner “cheap” all season long for wanting to get under the luxury tax threshold. You say cheap, I say intelligent and willing to adapt to the game and the mechanics that follow it as we stand here today. What’s the opposite of stubborn? Because George, he was just stubborn. He threw money at the problem because at the time he was the only owner that had a major television network dedicated to the team. George was really the only owner that could, even if it meant operating in the red for many, many years. Hal can’t just do that, and he knows he can’t. So, in your mind, why would the “cheap” owner fire Boone and the rest of his coaching staff and agree to pay two managers (because I am sure all these fans know about guaranteed contracts in Major League Baseball), two pitching coaches, two bench coaches, four hitting coaches, two bullpen coaches, etc. etc. etc. Still waiting on that answer, Yankees fans. He wouldn’t.

Oh, and by the way. You cannot trade Ellsbury. He sucks, and no one wants him. Oh, and he has a no-trade clause. Brett Gardner is a free agent and so is Neil Walker. Bryce Harper is not a center fielder. If he was, he would be playing center field in Washington and not right field. Hicks had the second highest WAR of any center fielder in the game not named Mike Trout, but hell… what do I know? I know one thing; Chance Adams, right now, is not an MLB-caliber starting pitcher and neither is Domingo German. I also know that neither will fix the Yankees problems next season.

So, now that we are done blaming Boone and his coaching staff, how about we move onto Brian Cashman and this gem above. Brian Cashman never did his job and could have done more at the trade deadline. Okay, let’s analyze. Cashman needed a starter and went out and got the best available starter at the time for peanuts in terms of prospects and players. Cashman didn’t want the best available bullpen arm to go to either Houston or Boston, so he went out and got him too… again… for peanuts. Zach Britton didn’t work out, sure we all know that, but at the time he was the top reliever available. Sometimes deals don’t work out, it happens. Even for the “good” GM’s. Cashman needed a veteran outfielder when Aaron Judge went down, he added Andrew McCutchen for, again, peanuts. The team doesn’t make the postseason without Luke Voit in my opinion, or they at least are not playing that Wild Card Game at home anyway. Who brought Voit in to address the first base situation left by Greg Bird? That was Cashman, and for the low, low price of a reliever the team will never use and a reliever that consistently shit the bed. Oh, and the team got international money back as well. I could keep going, but I feel like I put this “theory” to bed.

So… let me get this straight… you, and I am speaking generally here, hate our manager because he is a rookie manager with no experience. He is so much worse than Joe Girardi. He is a BaBoone… all that jazz, but then in the same breath… you want the Yankees to hire… another rookie manager with no experience to replace him? What? I have no words. Well, not literally. I just wasted a few, but still. Wow. Again, do you think before you speak?

Speaking of thinking before you speak, here is another gem for you. Any trade proposal that starts, ends or includes the name Aaron Judge is immediately the dumbest suggestion on the planet. Period. Adding Giancarlo Stanton to the list (no-trade clause), Gary Sanchez (some fans call him lazy, a fat ass, etc. but some of us recognize his value with his bat and ability to control the running game from behind the plate), Didi Gregorius (Do I really need to even touch on this one?), Luke Voit (this guy sucks, so let’s trade him… ignoring the fact that he doesn’t suck, and if he did… why would other teams want to trade for him?), two potential Rookie of the Year Award winning players in Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres, Aroldis Chapman, Luis Severino, Aaron Hicks AND Masahiro Tanaka for a third baseman that cannot be traded for and who will be a free agent at the end of the season anyway. And I checked the comments on this post before I screen shot it… this wasn’t a troll post, and this wasn’t a joke. This dude was serious.

You want to hear a good move that Cashman pulled off this season? Bringing in CC Sabathia on a one-year deal worth $10 million was an absolute steal. You may not think so, especially after he didn’t get the win in Game Four of the ALCS, but to make statements like the above is, to quote you, “absolutely nuts.” Sabathia posted a 2.3 WAR this season and was worth, according to Fangraph’s Value stat, $19.9 million. These days to have a guy make 29 starts and pitch to a 3.65 ERA is worth its weight in gold, and a hell of a lot more than $10 million. Especially on a young team, and especially as a fifth starter. Agree, don’t agree, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s true. If you don’t agree he was a steal this season and if you don’t agree that the team would benefit from having him anchoring the rotation next season as well, then you just don’t understand baseball in my opinion. This isn’t MLB The Show 19, this is MLB Real Life 19.

This one, and about a hundred posts just like it, really hit me hard. When fans are giving up on the team before all 27 outs are recorded it literally and figuratively makes me sick. Support your damn team or go support another. The great news about supporting a team from New York is that they have two, sometimes three, teams to choose from in most cases. Don’t want to support the Yankees? Fine, we don’t need you. Go support the Mets. They need all the help that they can get with that franchise. Be mad, be upset, and be emotional. We all are. It’s called being passionate about something. But never, EVER give up on your damn team until the MLB schedule makers tell you that you have to. That should be rule number one, and a rule that I shouldn’t have to go over with you.

I am ashamed to be a fan of the New York Yankees this morning. Not because the team I rooted for that won 100 games this season was bounced by a clearly superior team in the American League Division Series. No. I am ashamed because I have to share my team and fandom with “fans” like this. This post is obviously not directed at ALL Yankees fans. You know who you are, and you are amazing, just like those who made these posts, or similar posts, know who they are and should be damn well ashamed of themselves. You make us all look bad. You make us all look bad when you dump a full beer on an A’s fan sitting in the stands, you make us all look bad when you throw beer cans at Craig Kimbrel, and you make us all look bad when you conduct yourself in a manner that is not suitable for the New York Yankees. Act like you have been here before and root for the team because you love the team and keep up with the team, not because it is the cool bandwagon thing to do.

I apologize for anyone I may have offended in this post, which is more than you will ever do for offending me and fans like me for these asinine and ignorant comments that you have been making all season long. We all have four-and-a-half months to think about it. Do better next season or go ahead and schedule your New York Mets season tickets now while they are still cheap.

ALDS Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox

And just like that it is game time here in the Bronx between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Rivalry renewed. ALDS renewed. Game Four, let’s go. In the start tonight the Yankees will send CC Sabathia to the mound in front of his home crowd to face off with Rick Porcello for the Boston Red Sox. The game will be played at 8:07 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on TBS. You can also follow along with the game on WFAN with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman. As much flak as Sterling and Waldman get from some Yankees fans, at least they aren’t these TBS announcers, right?

Follow us on Twitter, @GreedyStripes, and “Like” us on Facebook, The Greedy Pinstripes, to keep up with us and the New York Yankees all postseason long. Enjoy the game, send Boston home crying with their tails between their legs, and go Yankees!!

The Red Sox Offense vs. CC Sabathia Career

All stats and imagery credit go to ESPN and Baseball Reference. 

This Day in New York Yankees History 10/9: Jeffrey *Bleeping* Maier

Set the stage, the year is 1996 and the New York Yankees are at home playing the Baltimore Orioles in the ALCS. New York was trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the eight inning when Derek Jeter sent a deep fly ball to right field that cleared the fence for a game tying home run according to umpire Rich Garcia. Baltimore outfielder Tony Tarasco and manager Davey Johnson protested that a young fan, Jeffrey Maier, had interfered with the ball. The Yankees went on to win the game and the series and many think the young man changed the game and the series.


Also on this day in 1961 the Yankees would capture their 19th World Series Championship when they beat the Cincinnati Reds in Game 5 by the score of 13-5. Johnny Blanchard, a reserve player, would hit two home runs and bat .400 in the series.


Also on this day in 1958 the Yankees beat the Milwaukee Braves in Game 7 of the World Series for their 18thWorld Series Championship. This was also the Yankees seventh World Series win of the decade capping off an incredible streak.


Also on this day in 1938 the Yankees became the first team to win three consecutive World Series titles when they beat the Chicago Cubs in four games.


Finally on this day in 1928 the Yankees would win their third World Series Championship in the franchise’s history as they completed their second consecutive sweep in the Fall Classic. Babe Ruth hit three home runs in the World Series game and the Yankees as a team hit five in the contest.

The Yankees Offense vs. Rick Porcello Career

All stats and imagery credit go to ESPN and Baseball Reference.

The Remaining 2018 MLB Postseason Schedule

Here is the 2018 MLB Postseason schedule, a little late… but better late than never. I hope.

AL Division Series: Boston vs. N.Y. Yankees

·   Game 4: Tuesday, at N.Y. Yankees, TBS, 8:07

·   Game 5: *Oct. 11, Thursday, at Boston, TBS, 7:40

AL Championship Series 

·   Game 1: Oct. 13, Saturday, TBS

·   Game 2: Oct. 14, Sunday, TBS

·   Game 3: Oct. 16, Tuesday, TBS

·   Game 4: Oct. 17, Wednesday, TBS

·   Game 5: *Oct. 18, Thursday, TBS

·   Game 6: *Oct. 20, Saturday, TBS

·   Game 7: *Oct. 21, Sunday, TBS

NL Championship Series 

·   Game 1: Oct. 12, Friday, TBA vs. Milwaukee, FOX or FS1

·   Game 2: Oct. 13, Saturday, TBA vs. Milwaukee, FOX or FS1

·   Game 3: Oct. 15, Monday, Milwaukee vs. TBA, FOX or FS1

·   Game 4: Oct. 16, Tuesday, Milwaukee vs. TBA, FOX or FS1

·   Game 5: *Oct. 17, Wednesday, Milwaukee vs. TBA, FOX or FS1

·   Game 6: *Oct. 19, Friday, TBA vs. Milwaukee, FOX or FS1

·   Game 7: *Oct. 20, TBA vs. Milwaukee, FOX or FS1

World Series 

·   Game 1: Oct. 23, Tuesday, FOX

·   Game 2: Oct. 24, Wednesday, FOX

·   Game 3: Oct. 26, Friday, FOX

·   Game 4: Oct. 27, Saturday, FOX

·   Game 5: *Oct. 28, Sunday, FOX

·   Game 6: *Oct. 30, Tuesday, FOX

·   Game 7: *Oct. 31, Wednesday, FOX

Schedule courtesy of the USA Today. Thanks to them.

ALDS Game Four Preview: New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox

The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox will continue the 2018 American League Division Series tonight with the fourth game of the best-of-five series. Backs are against the wall, tensions are high, and it is win or go home for one of these teams. Every game is a must-win for the Yankees in the postseason no matter what the scoreboard says, so let’s get it done and let’s get to it here in the Bronx.

Sabathia will make his 23^rd career postseason starts and his first against the Boston Red Sox in the playoffs since October of 2007. Sabathia has not been great against Boston this year during the regular season, but this is the second season and none of that matters now. 162 games for nothing.

Porcello won 17 games for the Red Sox during the regular season and has already seen New York once during this ALDS after pitching out of the bullpen in Game One. Porcello has not pitched well in the postseason for Boston posting a 7.56 ERA in his first two postseason starts for the Red Sox.

The game will be played at 8:07 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on TBS. You can also follow along with the game on WFAN with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman. As much flak as Sterling and Waldman get from some Yankees fans, at least they aren’t these TBS announcers, right?

Enjoy the game, VICTORY, and go Yankees!!

Hello… Game Four

Good morning Yankees family and welcome back to the blog. I predicted before the series started that the New York Yankees would beat the Boston Red Sox in five games. I predicted this because I wanted the Yankees to clinch the series inside Fenway Park after the Red Sox clinched the AL East Division crown inside Yankee Stadium, but also because I knew how closely matched these two teams truly were. Game Four will be played tonight in the Bronx in front of the Yankee Stadium faithful and I truly cannot wait. I expect a zoo inside the Bronx tonight, and will settle for nothing less. Go Yankees!!

And baby, another playoff game we get to watch together. You are my good luck charm, in life and in baseball. I love you so much. I love who you are, I love what you are, and I love that you mean so much to me, my world and to my existence. I am nothing without you. Thank you for being you.

Wow!!!!

Photo Credit: NJ.com 

Been a long while since I had the time to write. Life has been crazy. Turns out I have not to many words to say. Luis Severino showed he is not a big game pitcher and may never be.  How do you show up late for your warmups, for this big of a game? 

Last year he got knocked out of the Al Wild Card Game. This year in what could be the worst loss in the Yankees season, Luis didn’t even bother showing up. I am highly disgusted with the Whole Team.......16-1 in a game 3 playoff game with the series tied at 1-1 is pitiful. The bullpen sucked. The batting order was overmatched by a Yankee castoff.......5-31 in a playoff game! We still have 1, maybe 2 games to play so, I’ll not go Into what the team needs to do in the offseason.  

However I am highly disgusted.  Sorry guys I’m to upset to type anything else tonight. Don’t worry thou fans I’ll be very active during the rest of this season and offseason, as I have some big plans that should be fun. 

Good Night and dare I say Let’s G⚾️ Yankees!! 

James C Palma  JamesCPalma@Yahoo.Com