Get Out The Brooms!

If there weren't so many bonehead plays and bad decisions it would be easier to be totally psyched right now.  I am still very excited because we can do so much better and we still swept the Red Sox.

Some Notes:

• ARod did a nice job of predicting a changeup (at first he did say off-speed) after Montgomery missed with a FB high, but outside of that, he was pretty off in the game.  First, I am so tired of everyone saying there was nothing Sanchez could do to block a ball when he failed to turn his body toward home plate on the block and this is why the ball ricocheted to his left and became a wild pitch.  ARod did say that because he is on one knee that causes less movement and he is right. Then, why go down on one knee with someone on base?  His reactions are very slow.  
• ARod also was talking about how Montgomery should come out for the 6th inning because he is a big guy and he needs to learn how to pitch through and develop in times like this???  What?  Times like this, this is basically a playoff series and his stuff was pedestrian, his breaking pitches were non-existent,  he couldn't spot his fastball and he was getting hit very hard.  We were lucky to get out of the 5th inning so taking him out for Clay Holmes was the correct move.
• Clay Holmes was actually dominant.  Throwing a 99 MPH running fastball inside to righties and having an excellent slider he was spotting perfectly.  Sounds like Louisiga doesn't it?   He struck out the side in 11 pitches and it was the meat of the order.  So of course, he would come out for the 7th inning as well in a 2-1 game in Fenway...right?  Well he did, but after announcing a batting change to Shaw a lefty who is a mediocre hitter who is a little better against righties, Boone must have forgotten how great Holmes looked and also that bringing in Joely Rodriguez was for 3 batters.  I was not happy and it got worse after a single and a bunt single where Torres for the 2nd time in the game ran to cover first instead of charging for the ball (he and Rizzo need to talk).  Then, after the wild pitch that there was "nothing Sanchez could have done" Boston had 2nd and 3rd with nobody out and they didn't need to bunt again.  A medium sac fly allowed the run to score but shockingly Verdugo didn't take 3rd on the throw.  
• Green Came in after the 3rd batter Rodriguez faced and he struck out Hernandez.  He then got Schwarber to pop out to end the inning tied up...except DJ dropped the popup, shockingly.  Green got Schwarber to hit a high short fly ball to LF to end the inning in a tie...but Gallo this time dropped it and that gave Boston a 3-2 lead into the 8th.  We did get out of the inning when Schwarber tried to go to 2nd on the Gallo drop and we threw him out.
• So after gifting the Red Sox two runs, Urshela walked and on a 3-1 count wade took off for 2nd and DJ took the pitch and Wade for some reason slowed up and then didn't slide and was just out.  Shaking my head at the idiocy here.  First, I did;t love stealing on a 3-1 count, but sometimes it is OK, but I am not sure if he was deaked or what but you don't slow up and you slide into the base.  Another bonehead move, but DJ walked and Rizzo crushed a single to the wall and was lucky they didn't throw to 2nd base after the cut or he would have been out.  It went as a double, but we were lucky.  With 2nd and 3rd and one out Judge was up and last game he failed in this spot with bases loaded.  This time they brought Ottavino in and he had Judge jammed on the fastball and waving at the slider.  Judge popped to 1B and their first baseman Dalbac was afraid of the fence and never reached the ball - he did the same thing in the previous game and it was surprisingly bad.  Another big break.  Then Judge foul-tipped strike 3 into Vazquez' glove and it barely hung on into the end of his webbing and quickly Vazquez reached for the ball and it popped out.  This should have been strike 3 as it was in the exchange like a middle infielder but it happened fast and catchers usually don't make the exchange with nobody running.  (Pretty sloppy game).  Judge took advantage and got a fastball over the middle of the plate and drilled it to LC scoring 2 runs and giving us a lead.  On the play he slid safely into 2nd and jammed his pinky on his left hand (it looked crooked).  This could have an impact moving forward.
• Stanton then came up and after taking a slider got a hanging one and drilled it another 450 feet out of the stadium for a 3 run lead.  Stanton can look awful waving at pitches not even close, but man, when he connects it is amazing.
• Green worked out of a leadoff double and Chapman only allowed a walk and we got the sweep!!!
• Two other notes:  ERod for Boston pitched a really good game.  He spotted his pitches really well and he was the reason we didn't score early on.  2) Gallo made a bonehead play trying to throw ll the way home on a medium sac fly.  he allowed the runner from 1st to get into scoring position with one out.

This is a hard team to figure out, but we have the talent to beat anyone...and the inconsistency to lose to anyone as well.  Let's enjoy the sweep but right back at it against Toronto!

Who Is Pumped Up?

Is there anyone who didn't get out of their seat or at least have that awesome feeling of euphoria after Stanton squared up the first pitch he saw in the 8th inning???  Those types of swings/moments make all the frustration worth it; and unfortunately, this Yankee team has been full of those moments as well (more on some of that in a bit).  

Top of the 8th inning down 2-1, Odor leading off.  First, I am not sure why he started the game.  I know DJ must have an issue with his groin, but why would Odor play over Wade when you can have much better defense with Wade at SS and Urshela at 3rd?  Should Odor hit better than Wade, yes, but the defense of Urshela at 3rd compared to Odor is a large difference in my opinion.  It looked like my opinion was wrong when Odor hit a long shot to the wall but it was caught (Judge did the same to them "robbing" HR's).  But, in the 8th inning, why have a guy with a .289 OBP lead off the inning, especially when he is a defensive liability?  Why not place Voit up there who is more likely to hit a HR or get on base?  Then if he did get on you put Wade in for defense (which they did anyway).  So Odor strikes out and Urshela gets out and we have 2 outs nobody on down 2-1 in a game we have simply been swinging the bats terribly.  Boston's pitcher, Pivetta, has been lit up recently and while his stuff was solid yesterday, he missed spots all day long and the Yankees missed over a dozen centered pitches and I thought just swing terribly.  Anyway, Gardner worked a walk after being down 1-2 in the count.  On a 1-1 count Gardner stole 2nd on a slider (outside) and then after swinging through a very hittable slider, Judge took two sliders away for another walk.  Here is where the 3 batter rule came into play as well as the advantage of having capable lefties mixed in between the righties.  I don't love the 3 batter rule, but it is easier to watch and it does reward lineups with more diversity.  Regardless, Boston hoped the lefty Hernandez would take care of Rizzo and then they would be setup for the 9th.  But, Hernandez threw 2 balls and then Rizzo might have helped him on a borderline pitch and then threw another ball before hitting Rizzo.  This loaded the bases for Stanton.  Good job by the guy in front to battle; this setup the lefty against Stanton matchup. 

Courtesy of MLB.com

https://www.mlb.com/news/giancarlo-stanton-hits-go-ahead-grand-slam-to-beat-red-sox

Other notes on this game:

• Cortes was not as sharp, but once again did a good job with the exception of not going deep at all.  Getting some of our guys pitchers back is a big deal.  King was hit pretty hard, but the ball went at our guys.  
• Severino has been a huge plus for us, pitching 2 scoreless/hitless innings.  He isn't throwing 98/99 consistently, but he was consistently 96 and did hit 98 once.  His other stuff was good including a 90MPH change that had very good down and side movement.  He also pitches 2 scoreless innings 4 days previously.  He could be a key person for us as I would have as much confidence in him as anyone on our roster now.  
• Green has been excellent with one HUGE issue and that is he has allowed an absurd 14 HR's in 79 innings.  Batting avg against is only .191 and his walks are very low so who WHIP is 0.87, but his OPS against is .620.  (.717 in the 2nd half).  Green is equal against both sides.
• The Alka Seltzer closer is similar to Green but with more wildness and is very tough on lefties (.496 OPS and .749 against righties).  He has been better of late, but he takes years off our lives...the anti Mariano Rivera.
• We need a healthy Louisiga back!

I don't want to go into some of my negative rants (I have watched every game - even if fast), but I want to quickly bring up two things.

1. I am done with Sanchez behind the plate.  I am tired of so many pitches turned into wild pitches, the normal passed balls that lead the league and the matador tag at home plate a few weeks ago was my final straw.  That should never happen to anyone with even the slightest knowledge of the position.  When a ball gets there that early you take one step toward 3rd base to ensure that NEVER happens.  I could fill this page on Sanchez but I want to get to :
2. The issue I brought up in the offseason as to why I was perhaps the only person not in love with signing DJ for so much money IS what has played out.  DJ would not keep his career years going and we were hoping Torres could play SS, which I didn't believe he could.  Now we have our great defensive 3rd baseman playing SS, DJ at 3rd and Torres in his more comfortable 2nd base spot, but at best he is equal to DJ there.  We are weaker at 3rd base and Urshela is not a great defensive SS even if he can make the plays.  When we say Velasquez play SS, it was like night and day the quickness he had.  His arm was not a rocket but he is the best defensive SS we have had since before Jeter (not going back further than that).  He should be on our (hopeful) postseason roster and can be a pinch runner as well.

I am still pumped up, but we still have work to do and this team can lose every game just as easily as win every game!!!  Let's sweep tonight!

Awful Performance Against An Awful Team

 The worst team in baseball came into Yankee stadium and lost a very close first game followed by beating us twice!  How did this happen?

Saturday - In general, we did not swing the bats well at all.  3 hits against a weak pitching team are not going to get it done.  If it wasn't for one of the very times Gallo has gotten a big hit for with a 2 run HR in the bottom of the 8th to tie the score, our offense would have been putrid.  For some reason Chapman was brought into the game in a tie game at home, which surprised me, but here is where the game was officially lost.

On a 1-2 count, Sanchez correctly called for a splitter, but was incredibly not prepared for a splitter that might have been in the dirt and then when it was he acted like he was afraid of the ball by turning his head and instead of smothering it he stayed very high on it and the ball got by him for a wild pitch.  I am sorry, that lack of effort and readiness was embarrassing.  If the ball would have gotten by him but he gave a great effort I would have said it was a bad break, but as I have said numerous times, why be on one knee with nobody on base...and especially with a splitter coming?  I should have taken a screen shot of the play, but I am sick of hearing the announcers say he had no shot at a pitch in the dirt...that is the catchers job to block it and as long as they can get their body around it they should be able to knock it down enough to throw a batter out at first.  Sometimes you can throw them out if you hustle and it gets by you as we say Higgy do the other day.  This play set the entire inning up negatively and the rest was on Chapman, but don't dismiss this misplay by Sanchez.

Sunday - Up 4-1 as Sanchez turned on an inside FB at 93 MPH after inexplicably throwing him 9 straight fastballs???  Seriously, this had to be because he is the 9th place hitter, but it was very odd that Sanchez didn't get anything else or catch up to some of these hittable pitchers sooner.  That being said, it was a huge hit that this offense really needed!

In the 6th inning, Torres stayed back on a ball and then took a few shuffle steps and then flipped the ball to 1B and the runner beat the throw.  That is just not being mentally prepared.  Remember early in the year, he kept taking his time and then when he got a sense of urgency, his defense went from bad to acceptable? First, why is that not an error?  A routine ground ball that you stayed back on and then took an extra step before you flipped a throw to first instead of firing it?  That is an error in my book and it is not a question. I don't know what the % of making that play is but I would say that it is probably in the very high 90's, that is an error!  Abreu then serves up a 2 run HR on an awful pitch selection by Sanchez and him.  Throw the freaking fastball there.  Terrible pitch call!

BTW, earlier in the game, Sanchez got a throwing error that should be changed to Torres as the throw was there and Torres tried to make a quick tag and the ball ticked off his glove.  Torres is actually very quick and good with his tags and he just was s a little early, but that should not have been an error on Sanchez.

Still leading after Sanchez hits another HR, this time a 2 run shot, when their bad pitching was trying to go to the outside of the strike zone and instead threw a FB inside and Gary met the pitch again.  One has to take advantage of bad pitching and Gary gave us a chance to win with his offense and 6 RBI's (The same number of RBI's he had since 7/21) .

Then the Yankees stuck with Heaney way too long.  Up 7-4, Heaney hit Mancini and then allowed a soft hit and a line drive single to load the bases with nobody out.  The balls were not crushed, but why have your weakest (or one of them) pitcher out there with bases loaded and nobody out in the 7th inning of a 7-4 game?  I feel like I have been asking a lot of questions...

Heaney then allowed a well hit ball that Stanton took a bad angle on, but it wasn't an easy play.  This double score 2 runs and one would think that would be the night for Heaney...but no they kept him much to my disgust.  But sometimes the wrong move works and he got the week hitting Severino to pop up on the 1st pitch.  Mateo then had a great AB fouling off pitch after pitch before singling on his 12th pitch.  That finally ended Heaney's night but Peralta allowed a single before getting the final 2 outs and  now we were down by one.

We still had 1/3 of the game to come back against the worst team in baseball, but we did not score.  Judge was 0-9 and Stanton 0-8 with a walk in these last 2 games.

Time to turn the page and get after a solid Toronto team!

Battling With A Bad Team

 To be fair, means is a solid pitcher, but we just did not swing the bats well.  We took so many FB's down the middle of the plate it was surprising.  It looked like we were waiting for a breaking ball that never came.  We also complained on some pitches that were strikes.  This ump was one of the better ones even if he had a strike zone that was a little tight.  Surprisingly, neither team scored much, but the umps main misses were on pitches that were on the black which is fine by me.  The ump rarely called a ball a strike.

I thought Boone had a smart game plan.  This was the game where Baltimore was throwing their best pitcher and it was the first game of the series.  It might have surprised some to see Louisiga come into the game in the 6th, but it made sense that he would man through the 7th and then Green and close with Chapman...assuming the Yankees could beat up on Baltimore's other pitching in the next two games.  Keep in mind this is a team that has been awful.  The logic was there, but the execution wasn't.  Also, Boone and the team made a terrible decision to not walk Mountcastle in the 10th inning.  Peralta got a huge out to get the leadoff guy and then Mountcastle came to the plate as their hottest hitter (1.208 OPS over the last 30 AB's and actually a 1.020 OPS over the last month.   When you have a guy on 2nd and one out this makes sense.  I don't know why you would pitch to their hottest hitter but he did and predictably he lined a single.  

Another good game by Cortes (2.67 ERA) and he would have gotten the win if Sanchez (and Louisiga) didn't make a horrible pitch call for a changeup inside with 2 strikes on the batter.  This HR was simply bad pitch selection (ok, not a great pitch either).  A changeup to a righty inside should only be used to get a strike on the batter earlier in the count IMO.  He threw it at 92 MPH and the only thing you can hope for is he pulls it foul which is why it was a bad pitch with 2 strikes.  You want to try a change outside...maybe, but throw your 100 mph FB or your breaking ball with 2 strikes on a righty.  Cone even called it a slider because I didn't think the change should have been even an option (he immediately corrected himself on review).  BTW, I am not opposed to using a change righty on righty, but when and where is important.

I like Chapman standing up more.  I thought he didn't look comfortable hunched over and said that to my wife a month ago (I probably was really talking to myself as she nodded politely).  I hope it keeps him more consistent in his motion and I am glad to see him get the splitter back.  Not sure why they went away from that?  

I said we needed Stanton to get hot and he has been.  He hits some absolute rockets.  The walk-off single was 121.1 MPH and the hardest walk-off hit ever tracked (since 2015).  I believe this is for all of baseball (not just the Yankees), but Stanton has hit 6 balls over 121 MPH since 2015 and only 2 other players have ever broken 121+ and those are Judge and Sanchez (who won't do it again if he stops using his leg kick).  His OPS is now at .868 and while he is an easy target because of his salary and the fact he didn't play much the past 2 years, he is an excellent hitter.  I think he may hit better when playing the field?  The stats show this .837 as a DH and a 1.081 OPS as a fielder).  He also has not faired well as a PH in his career.  in his 40 Pinch hit appearances, he has an OPS of .344 (not even one XBH).

Boone just passed Buck Showalter for most wins as a Yankee manager (314) which is good for 9th all time on the Yankee list.

Sweep or bust!

No Catchy Title

I have a ton of things to say about the last 13 games since I posted, but if I got into the weeds about an 0-2 pitch that is grooved and then hit for a big HR against us 8 games ago, you guys would rightfully fall asleep (even if grooving 0-2 pitches is what actually keeps me up at night).  

Many people have been pointing to the new acquisitions as the reason why we have been playing so much better of late, but the numbers do not point this out.  Rizzo has a .784 OPS since coming over which is worse than his previous years.  (around a .900 OPS not counting 2020 as this was an aberration year).  Gallo has been pretty bad at the plate with a .634 OPS since coming over and he has a lifetime .822 OPS.  Now, their own offense is not the only thing to look at but, defensively Rizzo has actually been fairly weak so far with us, consistently missing scoops and even botching some plays.  I don't expect that to continue though.  Gallo has played a solid D, he had one ball that he misplayed, but it would have been a really good play.  Overall, while their play has been pretty mediocre, their presence in the lineup and forcing the opposing managers to have some lefties in there have helped other players.  Let us not forget them working the count and making it harder for opposing pitchers.  

Most of our turnaround has been other players playing closer to the back of their baseball card.  

Luke's comments about playing time -  I get him being proud and confident, and I think he was being honest and not trying to cause an issue.  But, I would rather him just say "I am confident in my abilities and know that I can help this team win, just as Rizzo does.  I will do whatever the team wants me to do. "

Luke has had an OPS of over .900 since being a Yankee and needs to play fairly consistently.  I have to say that the lineup I put out there a while ago (The Goal Line Lineup) is pretty awesome.  Stanton in RF, Judge in CF, Gallo in LF with Rizzo at 1B and Luke DHing, should score a lot of runs and with Urshela at 3rd (need him healthy) we could use Velazquez at SS as his D is great!  Add in Sanchez and DJ (who is still having a bad year with a .717 OPS)

Speaking of Sanchez, his OPS on the year is a respectable .753.  I don't understand how the announcers keep saying how much better he is since he stopped his leg kick?  Yes, he has put the bat on the ball more, but the output is not good.  It has sapped him of most of his power.  the other night he hit his first HR in a month.  His OPS over the last 28 days is .542; that is awful.  If I were Gary, I would use the leg kick until I got two strikes and then I would look to make more contact.  Keep in mind that his OPS in the first half of the year was .785.  I honestly don't remember when he stopped using the leg kick, but while he may look better, function before form is important.  Also, while strikeouts tick everyone off, they are way better than DP's and they do make the pitchers work at least for 3 pitches.

 A couple of comments on the games:

Judge made a great throw to 2nd base on the throw beat the runner and for some reason instead of snapping the tag down in front of the bag, he reached for the runner's chest and the ump called him safe.  It was very close and I actually think he might have been out, but it was so close that on review they did not overturn it.  This became huge because a few pitches later the runner stole 3rd and Sanchez threw a pea and nailed the runner by 10 inches, but the ump screwed up and called him safe (terrible call) and we didn't have a challenge to overturn it.

Odor is simply an awful fielder PERIOD!  He also is not good offensively (.692 OPS this year).  While we went through a stretch of hitting where that might have been acceptable, it simply isn't.  Velazquez should be on this roster because he should be a defensive replacement or a pinch-runner.  Wade has been very useful of late.  Being able to play all over the place (and is better defensively than Odor) and while Wade has had only 67 plate appearances in the 2nd half, he actually has an OPS of .850!  So I would keep Velazquez and drop/release Odor.  

I am ready to go to the box and use technology to make the calls behind home plate, as long as they can adjust to every player. The plate umps are simply not good enough and it annoys me.  

Kluber had decent action on his pitches, but he had very little command of where they were going.  he would nail a slider just off the plate and then he would hang the next one.  Before he walked the batter to load the bases, I said that if he walks this guy I would take him out.  I was considering taking him out anyway just because he hadn't pitched in a while.  But after walking the batter, he had to come out.  Grand Slam later and we lose.  Bad job by Boone there.

Just the overall theme in recent games of making such poor 0-2 pitches and hanging so many breaking balls and changeups.  I also had a lot of issues with the pitch selection and they really ended up hurting us.  One example, and it doesn't matter that it cost us, but it is something Sanchez needs to learn and that is when you have a batter on 0-2 or even 1-2 and you have thrown some fastballs and you throw a great breaking ball that well off the plate (almost in the dirt) and the batter still got a piece of it.  Why would you throw that again?  Where would you try to put it?  Of course, we did throw it and got more of the plate and it was hit for a 3 run HR.  Every situation is different and nuanced, but that is fairly routine. 

Rizzo did make an excellent play at 1b when he was even with the bag and it was bases loaded.  A bullet was hit to him and it stayed down and he was able to get the glove down with very little reaction time.

Cole had excellent stuff even to the point where when he made a mistake they couldn't hit him well (other than one hanging slider).  Both his curve and slider were sharp, his change was running and his FB was consistently 99.  15 k's and no walks is awesome.  I think he finished 31 swing and misses I know it was at least 30) which was a career high for him!

Anything less than a sweep of Baltimore will be a failure (even if a failure may still get us into the playoffs).  I would MUCH rather win the division than have to play a one game elimination game.

Enjoy the Labor Day weekend!