Rough loss!

I have been watching almost every game, but have not been able to post.  Outside of last night's very tough loss and the questionable decision to have Betances close instead of Britton (which I made the comment to my wife that this was an odd move because the players are in the wrong spot and the  matchups didn't even dictate Britton to Betances?), the team is playing about as well as we could expect with a lot of big players out. 

Our pitchers walk way too many guys and that is frustrating.  In last night's loss, I said we will win as long as Betances doesn't walk anyone and after he did my wife, of course, asked me will we lose?  I responded that his stuff is great and his stats have been amazing, but I wouldn't;t be surprised at all if he walks another guy and allows a HR.  That isn't exactly what happened, but when a guy who has been so great (3 runs in his last 38 innings) still has you very concerned it says a lot about his "head."  I just don't have faith in him as a closer.  he is 30 years old and while I love his stuff, I don't trust him as a closer.  Betances should have pitched the 8th and Britton (who is looking better) in the 9th.  BTW, Chapman's control issues also concern me and this gets back to my main issue; we walk way too many guys.

1. Luke Voit has an OPS of 1.043 with us (45 Plate Appearances (PA).  When looking at the big picture, I think the thought was that Tyler Austin and Luke were similar players.  Interestingly, Austin has done well in his AB's as well in his 59 PA's with an OPS of .974.  I like the way Voit approaches AB's.  He has a hole up and in on a fastball, but pitchers struggle hitting that consistently (and why Rivera was so amazing against lefties getting it there - imagine Mariano being able to pitch with the higher strike being called now?)
2. Part of the above trades got us a back end starter who should be pretty reliable (Lynn) and a 3 type starter in Happ.  I think these are solid moves.  
3. We just traded for McCutchen, giving up minor leaguers.  I don't know if this is saying that Judge may not come back or if he does he may not be 100%, but it is a huge and needed upgrade from Shane Robinson (who simply is not a major leaguer) and it gives us great flexibility to rest guys and create the matchups that work best.  Unfortunately, McCutchen is another righty (a little better against lefties) but a career OPS of .858 and an expected OPS of about .800 is a huge upgrade for us.  He has been a CF'r most of his career but has moved to RF this year and will probably play there.  This will allow us to rest Stanton who has been a horse for us playing through a tender hamstring EVERY day.  McCutchen is a free agent next year.  
4. Speaking of G, congrats on your 300th HR!  He isn't close to last year's production, but I never thought he would repeat his career year (OPS of 1.007).  However, he has been very good for us with an OPS of .876.  I hope we get him some rest now as we do have a chance to catch the Red Sox, but I think we will be a WC and we need to get our guys better.  With Judge, we can beat anyone in a series.  
5. We are playing with a team missing its closer and its best player (Judge) along with our starting catcher and SS.  Think about that for a moment.  
6. Many have said the heck with Sanchez; we are fine with Romine.  While I don't think Romine is bad, he does not have Sanchez upside and as he has played as the starter we are seeing some of the flaws in Romine's game.  Partially because you get beat up as a catcher and the little things injuries (foul tips, catching a ball off the thumb etc...) start to impact your performance.  It is not a coincidence that Romine has an OPS of .649 for June, July and August while sporting an OPS of roughly 1.035 for April and May.  BUT, that isn't the main point, the big issue is that Kyle Higashioka has been playing a decent amount and his OPS has been .583 and his defense is not that good.  Replace Kyle with Sanchez and split time with Romine and Romine is sharper as well as Sanchez. 
7. Right now Voit should be starting but Bird should get some AB's here and there until Voit cools down.  Get G some rest and DH the other, although we may see Sanchez DH some as well.
8. I have been a huge fan of Gardner over the years and his defense is still elite in LF, but at 35, his age is showing up.  He has an OPS of .582 in the 2nd half this year.  That is not good enough and McCutchen may be playing LF when Judge comes back.  Gardner may be a defensive replacement only and he is a free agent so this may be it for him as a Yankee.  He is probably not worth signing unless for a one year deal at not too much money.  We have a team option for 12.5 mil with a 2 mil buyout.  I expect us to payout that 2 mil.  I am a big Gardner fan but his hot streaks are just far too short now.  He has never played for another team and I wouldn't expect him to either sign for an incentive deal for 19 or retire.  BTW, he did have a really good year last year (OPS of .778), so perhaps playing less frequent would allow him to be more productive, but this may be it.
9. I hope Judge can play well again this year, but we have to be careful as the wrists can get reinjured again so we need to be patient.  He is running but not swinging yet.

Some positives:

• Gleyber is swinging the bat well again
• Andujar (.855) and Hicks (.832) continue to hit very well and for Hicks this is the most amount of PA's he has had in a year.  390 was the most and he is at 481 now
• Walker has an OPS of .834 in the 2nd half and has played all over the place for us.
• Adding our injured guys makes us a different team.  Now with McCutchen, we have the depth we need to be a serious threat.

We have flaws and I worry about our pitching, especially our starters, but every team has some flaws and if healthy, we can beat anyone.  Houston and Boston are really good teams, but in a series, good teams can almost be a coin flip (which can come up heads 4 times in a row)