Let's Step Back and See Where We Are

After I get into observations of the west coast games, I will discuss "where we are and where we are going." 

I have recorded or watched almost every Yankee game.  I haven't missed 2 games in a row, but I did miss all 3 Oakland games (business travel); which might have been for the best.  It appears poor starting pitching and lackluster hitting brought us down.  But, the team rebounded nicely with 2 out of 3 against LA and a sweep of a weak Seattle team.

In LA, I want to focus on the 9th inning in the 2nd game.  Didi leads off and has a 3-1 count on him.  This is a good pitch to drive, but he decides to bunt down the 3rd base line.  Not sure I would do that on a 3-1 count, but I am 100% good with laying one down when they give you that much room and still am OK with doing it on a 3-1 count.  The problem was that it was ball 4 and he should have let it go (pulled the bat back).  Didi's (lack of) understanding of the strike zone has been his hitting issue all year and why he isn't walking more.  But getting back to the bunt, I think more players need to do that.  However, bunting with 2 strikes, especially on a 3-2 count was idiotic!  I heard that Boone said he didn't have a problem with it and while I know he is protecting his player (who made a bone head move), I don;t want Boone to fall into the Girardi disingenuous comments line of answering.  For Boone, it is OK to say that you like the idea of bunting there with 0 or one strike, but with a 3-2 count the odds are better to swing away (you don't need to use my choice of words (idiotic).

That out was a huge issue as the Yankees loaded up the bases with only that one out.  An important note here was that Gio grounded to 3rd and they tried to get the force out at 2nd base but Gardner barely beat the throw and took out the SS on the play.  While the SS was lying on the ground, Torres started to go home but the ump called time out.  Some people had said the ump should not have called time out on his own, but that was not accurate because the pitcher for LA called time out and at that moment Torres hadn't broken off of 3rd base and the ump called time out just after Torres broke.  I think the ump did the right thing with the player being down, but the issue was that Torres was on the bag and should have been off the bag as the player went down and then took off home immediately; either Torres, the 3rd base coach or both were sleeping over there.  If Torres would have started home the ump should not have granted time and we would have tied up the game.  Regardless, we have bases loaded and one out and should tie the game at least...Unfortunately, Tauchman had a bad AB and struck out on 3 straight pitches and then Sanchez barely does better with a 4 pitch strikeout.  Frustrating game.

After the pitching dual, we had German against Kershaw, both guys let up HR's in the first AB, German's was on the first pitch of the game.  German, went the next 18 outs without allowing a run and we pulled away 5-1.  My comment in this game surrounds Didi getting hit by a pitch.  I am not saying it was intentional, but I do want us to protect our players in a game that isn't a critical game and without putting the game in risk.  Didi was hit in the 1st inning with a fastball and it was on his throwing arm (an issue for him).  After a 1-0 lead, German should have thrown inside to the first batter - maybe hit him but at least one of those that backs him off the plate and if nothing else sends the message that this is your plate and/or you don't hit our players without us protecting them.  Instead he threw a fastball over the plate that was hit for  HR.   I bring this up because I was annoyed Didi got hit and I stated I wanted a very inside fastball as the first pitch of the game.  Plunking him would have been much more desirable.

Overall, 5-4 on the west coast was salvaged winning the last 4.

So let's take a look at where we are now:

We are tied with LA for the best record in baseball, only 1/2 a game ahead of Houston.  Home field matters because the Yankees have been very good at home (49-20); Houston has been great at home (51-16).

Overall, while we have had some performances that were unexpected (Gio, Tauchman, Maybin, Ford and even LeMahieu), our injuries have been absurd, our pitching has been below expectations and we are in a great spot.  The key is that we should be better!

The injured guys are all looking good to contribute this year.  It is more likely than not that we will be adding Voit (tomorrow), Stanton, EE, Hicks, Severino, Betances and even Montgomery has a shot.  I probably missed someone, but think about this for a moment; that is an enormous amount of talent.

It is hard to know whether Severino would be used out of the pen or not, and you don't for sure how quickly everyone will get up to speed, but it is very encouraging.

Think about our lineup against a lefty - order could be adjusted:

Rough Order:
2nd: DJ
RF: Judge
SS: Torres
LF: Stanton
DH: Voit (or EE)
C; Sanchez
1B: EE (or Voit)
3B: Gio
CF: Hicks

That is a sick lineup!

Starters:
German
Big Maple
Severino
Tanaka
5th??? probably not used.  BTW, They were talking about Happ's issues and I disagree with them, I think while he has had fastball command issues, I think everything is off because he simply can't spot his changeup fading away on the lower outside corner.  When he is effective, he is nailing that corner with his changeup and everything else plays off that pitch.   While on pitchers, Green needs to stay on top of the zone with his fastball.  He gets hit when he gets it down.

The bullpen should be lights out with Betances back and CC could be used against a lefty or as a middle relief guy as I don't see him in the rotation for the playoffs.  I also like that Boone has started to use Ottavino more as a righty specialist instead of a full inning guy.  I think that is his best use even if he can give you more than a few batters.  With Betances, Kahnle, Britton and Chapman, we can easily finish the final 4 innings of a game and in a key game if we started Green, I think we could go with all good pitchers the entire way.  I could see Green going 2 and then matching up CC/Cessa/Ottavino to get another 2 and then you could easily get 5 innings out of Betances, Kahnle, Britton and Chapman, by riding the hot hand for 4 or 5 outs.  If it were an elimination game, each of those guys could throw 2 innings if needed

Bottom line - get your playoff plans in order!

Split with Cleveland

The first game was just a disaster.  Cleveland really had some very good AB's and then it just got out of hand.  Green didn't have good control, but he made some pitches a team struggling would have offered at and Cleveland was very disciplined and then crushed the others.  The game might have been different if Torres didn't rip a line drive right at 3rd base with the bases loaded.

The 2nd and 3rd games were thoroughly enjoyable to watch not only because we won, but the pitches were so critical almost every step of the way.  The game really was hanging in the balance on so many pitches and that is what makes it exciting to me.

In the 2nd game, Tanaka threw very well and allowed only the 2 solo HR's.  Leading into the 8th 3-2, every runner mattered and Britton came on and induced a ground ball that Didi threw to 1B and Ford simply didn't catch it.  That is a very rare occurrence but no all of a sudden the leadoff batter is on in a one run game (and it wasn't form our usual leadoff walk which drives me crazy.  After a sac bunt, Britton was able to get the last two outs.  In the 9th, guess what happened?  Chapman made me crazy by walking the first guy on 5 pitches.  After that, Chapman was very sharp getting a pop up and 2 k's for the save.

In the 3rd game, we had some fireworks in the 6th inning.  The umpire had a terrible call on Maybin striking him out.  Maybin had a reasonable reaction and calmly told the ump he didn't agree with the call.  As he was going back to the bench he was still annoyed and the Yankees bench started in.  Eventually, CC, Grander and Boone got tossed.  Boone protected his players so I didn't have an issue with him, I am not sure what CC said, so lets assume that was warranted as well.  My issue is with Gardner and his childish banging the bat on the dugout roof.   Yes, the umpire should not have been looking into teh dugout and yes, Gardner was thrown out the other day when he didn't say anything and teh umpire lied that he saw him talking (which is total BS), BUT, he was banging on teh dugout roof and that should not be allowed in my  opinion.  If a player wants to hit something once when they are mad at themselves that is fine with me, but instead of yelling at the ump they create loud noises, should not be allowed...and it is childish.  Maybe we are getting a reputation, but I will say the calls have been bad at times.  Chapman got his 35th save and was very sharp, hitting 103 for the first time this season (at least from my memory) and having his good breaking ball!

The 4th game was really decided a lot by the home plate umpire.  It was a terrible game for him and is the reason I am all for the digital umpire to make the calls.  I assume they can adjust the strike zone for each player up and down and if so, I would rather have that then this inconsistent garbage we are getting.  Judge took a ball very low that was called a strike then swung through a FB before doing a good job taking a slider that was low AND away.  Strike 3 and he is walking back to the dugout.  In a game where we kept leaving 2 guys on base early on, the terrible calls made a huge impact on the game.  There had to be 8 other calls I was pissed at.  That is unacceptable and I would like to see the umps get suspended or "benched" for poor play.

One last note, as much we have noticed Sanchez has been better behind the plate.  He threw one into CF yesterday and I realized that he has now made 13 errors this season.  Keep in mind the errors are not what we usually have an issue with Sanchez on; usually it is his poor framing or poor blocking of balls or just getting mixed up.  While he has been better there, 14 errors for a guy who has missed a decent amount of games is a lot.  There are two other guys who have 10 errors so he has 40% more errors than the next closest guy.

Ok, really one last note...Ryan Ruocco did a very good job in place of Kay and he brings more to the table than Kay.  Ryan goes to a lot of stats, but he understands the context they need to be used in and also understood most of the nuances of the issues with most some of those stats.  Good job Ryan

Sorry To See Baltimore Go

16 straight wins against Baltimore...and we bludgeoned their pitching.  Torres (13) and Sanchez each hit 10 HR's against them this year; first time since a few guys named Gehrig and Ruth did it.  The team also hit 61 HR's against Baltimore this year; a MLB record. 

Last nights game was pretty close because we didn't hit as well as we could have, Happ continues to struggle more than he should and Boone had the wrong reliever ready in my opinion

Outside of a bullet line drive homer to dead center by Sanchez (who did have 3 hits) the Yankees offense was fairly quiet.  The other huge hit was a 2 out single by Ford to LF.  Ford is not long for the majors as he is more of a minor league player, but he hasn't been awful and has contributed some.  His OPS of .664 leaves a lot to be desired at 1B, but when you have 3 guys down you need some help.  No need to go crazy right now, but our best lineup until Voit comes back is DJ at 1B...it may still be our best when Voit comes back too as Voit can DH.

Happ has to get consistent with his changeup.  he simply has not been able to nail that low outside corner with it this year and it is a huge pitch for him.  If I were the pitching coach, that is what I would be focusing on as last night he spotted his fastball much better but he didn't have a secondary pitch and he needs the changeup as well as working in his curve.

I didn't have a problem with Cessa starting the 7th inning after mowing down Baltimore in the 6th.  After getting the first out he allowed a double and I would have had Kahnle ready with a switch hitter and lefties coming up (one righty).  After walking Mancini I would have taken out Cessa, but Boone had Ottavino up and ready and with a lefty up he stuck with Cessa (not terrible, but I think wrong reliever)...Cessa did get the next batter to fly out but Cessa was not as sharp and got away with some pitches.  Now with the righty Nunez up Ottavino had to come in, but no Boone stuck with Cessa and the hot Nunez doubled scoring 2.  Ottavino was then brought in to face the lefty and Ottavino has a .784 OPS against lefties this year (Kahnle is .589 because if his changeup).  Ottavino allowed a double and we were in a one run game now.  Ottavino is our best pitcher against righties with a .551 OPS against and he should be used more as a righty specialist and not a guy who holds down an inning.  This is one area that I would like to see some movement from Boone.  he is big on Kahnle for the 6th and Ottavino for the 7th, Britton for the 8th and Chapman for the 9th.  I think you need more flexibility based on the situation.  Britton is a little better against lefties and Chapman is outstanding against lefties and we should use that to our advantage.  BTW, when Chapman has his slider break down it is a great strike out pitch.  Britton has also started to use his "slurve" more as it has been very sharp.

A few other notes:

• I was hoping Judge was getting out of his funk on Tuesday as he hit a couple of rockets for outs, but last night he was back not centering pitches and then complained about a strike 3 on the corner (not like him) that was probably the correct call and then watched another strike 3 go by.  Think about this, the Yankees team OPS is .833 and Judge's OPS is now .842.  That is pretty bad for him.
• Sanchez had a good game and hopefully he is starting to heat up as he is an enormous game changer at the catcher position.  I will say that I don;t love his pitch selection at times, but he is a lot better than he was.
• Didi - I have not mentioned him as I was trying to give him some time to get back in the groove, but his .734 OPS is as disappointing as Judges OPS.  What is really concerning is that he is simply not walking at all and he hasn't been able to drive pitches to LF.  I like that he tried to bunt the other day with the shift on, but he needs to be more patient at the plate and drive the ball the other way.  He has hit some very weak balls on the outside corner.  For perspective, he hasn't walked in his 10 games this month and his OBP is a terrible .287.  He has walked 8 times in 200 AB's this year and last year he walked 48 times in 504 AB's.  That is 9.5% in 2018 compared to 4% this year.  NOT GOOD

Cleveland for 4 before we head to the left coast!

It Has Been Too Long

Since my last post!  Busy schedule, I went to the HOF to see the Genius Maker inducted and then had a vacation, but I watched most every game.  I will discuss the yesterday's double header and then go back to some of the notes I took:

Baltimore does not have a good pitching staff, but it is ridiculous what the team has done to Baltimore pitching and even more so (what is more than ridiculous?) what Torres has done to Baltimore!  He has hit 13 HR's against Baltimore this year which is a record since 1969 (divisional play).  He also has 13 homer runs against every other team this year.

This is Torres's stat line against Baltimore (I could be slightly off)

24-54 .414/.492/1.138 for an off the charts OPS of 1.630!

So when Baltimore faced Torres again with 1st and 2nd 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th inning, it made statistical sense to intentionally walk him to load the bases (as absurd as that is).  It did work as Gardner who has been swinging well, grounded out.  It looked even smarter when Baltimore rallied to score 2 runs and have bases loaded with 1 out and the score 11-8 Yankees.  The winning run stepped to the plate, but Ottavino struck out Villar and then got Mancini, and his 29 HR's to fly out to end the game.

Other Notes from over the past week:

• It is amazing that we keep plugging on with so many players still on the IL.  Sanchez is back now and that helps (assuming he will hit better than our backups who stepped up and hit great).  Need Sanchez to hit like he is capable as he is a difference maker.
• While on Sanchez, the other day he took a foul tip off his throwing hand because he had it hanging on his leg rather than behind him.  I have harped on this for all catchers for 20 years as it makes ZERO sense to not have your hand behind your leg/back when there is nobody on base.  There is no excuse to get a foul tip off the hand with nobody on; it is just dumb (with 2 strikes on the batter you may bring the hand out to block a pitch in the dirt).  Many catchers do the same thing and it is mind boggling to me.  Even if he could play afterward, it has an impact as you are not 100% (a catcher is never 100% but you are less than whatever % you are at).  I argue, even with runners on base you keep it behind and you react to move it if the runner is stealing  or if the ball is in the dirt.
• Sanchez has an OPS of .797 which is still a lot better than Romine (.698) but needs to be at least .825 and should be mid .800's
• Judge has been swinging very poorly for a long period of time.  It shows how great a player he is that his OPS is still .860, but his path to the ball has too much of an uppercut and he is just not hitting it is consistently as he should.  He missing very hittable pitches and this has been going on for a long time.  It looks to me that he is dipping his back shoulder too much, but someone needs to compare his swings as he has not been swinging well at all.  In his last 65 plate appearances (15 games) he has a .189/.348/.283 stat line for an OPS of .631.
• Ford is not really a major league player.  He has not been awful, but he is just not able to hit at the major league level, especially for a slow footed 1B.  We need one of our three 1B back soon (it will be Edwin and/or Voit)
• Tauchman - What can you say about this guy?  He has been a huge help to us, supplying very good defense (including making an outstanding leaping catch to steal a HR where his shoulder was above the wall on his leap) and a very surprising OPS of .941, which is 2nd on the team!  Tauchman has about 225 plate appearances as well so it isn't just 50 or 100 AB's.  He has played outstanding and is a large part of why we have been so good.  He has an odd swing that I don;t think plays as well as he has played, however, he does hit to all fields which could keep him in many AB's and is harder to pitch to.  He will come down some as teams adjust, but he has the ability to adjust as well.  He is 28 and a late bloomer as he started to hit well in the minors at the age of 26.   Great pickup!
• The other surprise has been Maybin.  A 32 year old who likes to hug, has been a mediocre at best MLB player, who had around a .695 OPS coming into this year and has an OPS of .917 for us in almost 200 PA's.  His defense is fairly decent, but he is weaker than any of our other OF'rs not named Frazier (who should be better than he played)
• The biggest surprise so far this year has been Urshela.  He has played excellent defense and has our best OPS at .963!  He also stepped in after Andujar went down and has been a fantastic player.  The only question right now is whether he has been the MVP so far or whether it is ...
• LeMahieu - .916 OPS and has been so valuable playing good defense at 3 infield positions.  This flexibility out of he and Torres has been huge to whether our absurd amount of injuries.  Also, while hitting with RISP is not a repeatable skill (stats tell us this), you can perform well in those spots and DJ has been excellent with runners in scoring position (1.078 OPS with a .418 BA in 113 Plate Appearances).  He has an OPS of only .697 in late and close situations (57 PA's), but his avg is .298 which is fine.  Urshela has an OPS of .901 with RISP and an OPS of .835 in late and close, but you can choose either one if you ask me.  Urshela was unexpected so I would say he has performed much better than expected.
• Switching gears, I was Surprised that Houston has the highest OPS of any team at .839, then Minnesota (expected) at .833 and then the Yankees at .832.  In the playoffs, anyone can win a series, but Houston has an excellent team.
• This Yankee team can play better.  Yes, we have had people step up and play better than expected, but we still have our best starting pitcher (Severino), our 2nd/3rd best reliever (Betances) and we have two huge upgrades at 1B waiting to get back into the lineup.  I would rest players as needed, but in the meantime, I would play DJ at 1B most of the time until they come back.  We also have Hicks and Stanton to come back while Sanchez and Judge have room for improvement.  
• The above is why I was 100% fine that we didn't mortgage the future for a pitcher that MAY have been better than what we have, but was no sure thing.  I gave my opinions on going after an ace, but getting another 3rd type of starter didn't make sense to me and clearly not at the price we were being shaken down for.  I think Cashman has done a great job as we have a team that can win the World Series and we are poised to be a playoff team for many years.

Rough Ending Going Into The ASG

I will get into the last two very close games, but I want to first point out why we don’t want our players playing in the All Star Game.  Playing the team in 2^nd place right before what should be three full days off, we rest Torres and LeMahieu and don’t start Sanchez behind the plate???  I find this absurd!   Regardless of whether we have guys going, I would not rest our players in a game against our closest competition, or the Red Sox for that matter.  I could care less about the ASG.  I think it was a mistake to rest our guys.

This was my reaction before Sunday’s game and the fact we swung the bats so poorly confirmed it.

Saturday's game.  

The first inning had me going as DJ got a leadoff single and Snell was paying so much attention to DJ that I took a mental note questioning why Snell was throwing over so often and keeping such close tabs on DJ?  DJ may be a leadoff guy, but he has attempted a SB on only 5% of the times he is on 1B.  After Judge took two very hittable pitches for strikes, he swung at a ball outside of the strike zone (this was the story of the Yankees for the last two games).  Hicks was up next, but DJ got picked off trying to steal 2^nd base!  This was shocking to me as Snell was paying so much attention to DJ (more than I have ever seen him get and more than Gardner gets) and then he tries to steal in that spot when there were so many other opportunities all year to steal?  It was a very odd decision.

We got what appeared to be a huge break by the ump, who was generous with his strike zone, in the 2^nd inning as it was 1^st and 3^rd with 1 out when Adames should have walked but was called out on a clear ball.  Unfortunately, the big break didn’t help (much) as TB singled in the run from 3^rd anyway.

Big moment in the 5^th inning as Judge was up with bases loaded and one out.  The first pitch was a hanging curve that judge took for a strike and then later got a fastball mistake that he fouled off and then another fastball mistake centered and flew weakly to RF and while the throw home was awful, holding Torres at 3^rd was the correct original decision.  Unfortunately, Hicks grounded out.

Chaz Roe had his slurve working great against the Yankees and Sanchez almost fell over with his knees buckling on a breaking ball that broke back into the strike zone.

BTW, Sanchez must have swung through almost 10 pitches.  While many were on the on the upper part of the strike zone as well as above the strike zone, he just kept missing. 

EE came up with the bases loaded and 2 outs and while he has been struggling, this seemed like an opportunity for him to get a huge hit for the Yankees.  Unfortunately, he had an excellent pitch to swing at, but got it slightly off the end of the bat and lined somewhat softly to LF.

The 9^th had drama as Hicks came to the plate trailing 3-2 with 2 outs and had an 0-2 count that he worked to 2-2.  He then lifted a game-tying HR that looked like the Yankees would do it again late.  However, Green came on and after getting the first two outs easily, he grooved a fastball that was hit into RF for a game-winning HR.

Sunday’s Game:

Now after that tough loss, we end up starting a guy at 2^nd base who most have never heard of and resting DH and Torres (back to my original rant).

Morton has been arguably the best pitcher in baseball this year and his stuff was electric again.  However, he left a lot of pitches right over the plate that we didn’t take advantage of.  A lot of that has to do with the speed and movement of his pitches, but when you are swinging well you take advantage of the mistakes and only Gardner was able to do this.

BTW, Brett has 15 HR’s!  That is shocking if you think that the most HR’s he has ever had was 21 (followed by 17) and that was done in 594 AB’s and his 15 HR’s has been done in 285 AB’s in what many thought may be his last year.  Brett has slowed in the field as we have seen him just miss a few he would have caught, but his defense is still really good in LF (mediocre in CF) and his OPS is .798 (the 2^nd highest mark of his career)

Not hitting the mistakes was our theme as our team only got 3 singles outside of Gardner and while we did rest some guys, there were a lot of very hittable pitches we missed in this game, especially from the bullpen. 

We had one real chance and that was in the 3^rd inning.  We had 1^st and 3^rd with nobody out and Hicks swung at 2 breaking balls that were balls and then they threw him a 3^rd breaking ball that was right down the middle and Hicks missed it.  Judge then had two fastballs to hit and fouled them both off before working the count full and taking ball 4 low; unfortunately, the ump called him out and this was a bad break and could have been the game changer.  Judge argued about as much as you will see and Boone could be seen cursing as well.  Terrible call that hurt as Didi flew out to end the threat.

The great stuff caused a lot but we missed strikes and swung at so many 3-2 pitches in the dirt; this is why we only scored 1 run!

Very tough way to go into the AS break, with an opportunity to get Tampa 10.5 games behind us, we end up only 6.5 ahead, but overall, we are doing great and I will get some stats out over the break.

Extra Innings Again

It seems like we can't win a game unless the other team gets the tying run to the plate.

Starting this blog with the 11th inning:

Stanek came on to pitch the 11th for Tampa and Judge met his first pitch which was a 98 MPH fastball directly for a bullet line drive HR to CF/RC.  I knew it was hit hard and I went online this morning to find the exit velocity and it was 116.3 MPH which is the 4th hardest/fastest hit HR this year.  Just so you don't lose a bet, that is on a HR, because the hardest balls hit this year were singles (Stanton had a 120.6 single).  In fact, Stanton holds a lot of the hardest hit balls over the years.  Last year, out of the top 12 balls hit the hardest, Stanton hit 10 of the 12 and the other two were Sanchez 121.1 and Judge at 119.9.  Stanton holds the record at 122.2 and the 2nd fastest at 121.7 and then Stanton is tied with Sanchez and Judge for the 3rd at 121.1.

Back to our one-run lead in teh 11th.  After, 2 outs, Torres singled and then Urshela hit a line drive double off the wall.  Gardner stepped to the plate and it was obvious the Yankees were looking for the fastball by Stanek as all 3 hits were fastballs.  After a mound visit, Stanek threw two splitters for balls and then came in with a fastball (which surprised me with an open base) and Gardner was ready and hit one of his farther HR's as he hit it out to RC (closer to CF).  That 3 run HR was huge as the Yankees made it interesting once again in the bottom of the 11th.

Hale started his 3rd inning of relief and had been pretty good getting us through the 9th and 10th without too much issue.  After getting a strikeout he allowed 2 singles and Boone went with Chapman.  Chapman struck out the first batter but then walked the next to bring the tying run to the plate again.  Chapman was really struggling throwing only about 97 with a high of 98 and his breaking ball wasn't as sharp.  After going 3-0 on Pham it was getting uncomfortable.  Chapman threw a 96 MPH fastball down the middle for the first strike and on a 3-1 count we were lucky that Pham hit a line drive right at DJ at 1B to end the game.

Once again, the game was much closer than the score.

Judge hit another HR in the 1st inning and what was interesting was the pitch was almost on teh back inside and Judge pulled his hands in and inside-outed the HR to RF and it wasn't a cheap Yankee Stadium HR.  His left elbow was behind him when he hit it and his right elbow was right on his body.  Conversely, on his HR bullet in the 11th, he extended his arms (left elbow just in front of his body and his right arm almost fully extended.  He is a special player who is very locked in right now!

Hicks had a huge HR in the 8th inning as he pinch hit for Tauchman and tied the game!

Tanaka did pretty well for 6 allowing 2 solo HR's in 6 innings.  It was questionable if he starts the 7th but I didn't have any issue with it.  He got the first out before allowing a double and then a 3-2 walk.  Boone went to Cortes Jr (I thought correctly as Tanaka had 101 pitches) and a lefty was up.  Unfortunately, after being up 1-2 and then 2-2 in the count, Cortes hit meadows to load up the bases. After a big strikeout, the weak-hitting Kiermaier stepped up and with the count 1-2 with sliders and curves, I was pretty sure, we would see another one, but for some reaosn, they gave him a fastball and he hit a sharp groundball through the infield for a huge 2 run single.  Not sure why they wouldn't stick with the slider there and it almost cost us the game (This was a key play in the game) 

Encarnacion (EE), is now hitting .140 for us and a .620 OPS.  We need him now with Stanton and Voit out.  There is absolutely no reason why he won't get it going, but this is one of the worst slumps of his career.  I believe he will be fine, but would like it to be better soon!

Let's get at least one of these next 2, but sweeping would be great!

July 4th Late Game Fireworks!

The Yankees win 8-4, seems like a solid win!

However, while it was ticketed as such going into the 9th, it was not solid.

Happ struggled with good pitches in the first inning but only allowed one run.  After that, he was pretty good but walked 3 guys.  I don't want to dismiss walks, but his feel was good yesterday and the end stat line was only that one run in 5.1 innings and 3 hits. 

Ottavino came in with one out and walked his first batter, but then got the next 2 guys.  Kahnle got himself going after a few rough outings and pitched an excellent 7th.  Britton allowed a double but left him there and that set up the 9th inning with a 3-1 lead and Chapman coming in with good rest.

Here is where I got aggravated.  I have said this to people I have watched the game with and I might not have written it, but I think Chapman needs to throw more in the bullpen so he comes in sweating and ready.  It appears he gets himself in trouble and then usually pitches his way out of it.  To be fair, he seems to lose it and then get it back quickly; perhaps he is just wildly inconsistent but has electric stuff (probable).

Anyway, he comes in and with a 2 run lead against the team closest to you and walks the first batter.  Not only that, but a lefty batter, and he walks him on 4 pitches.  How can you come into a game and walk the first guy you face on 4 straight pitches to now put the tying run to the plate without them doing anything???

Further, he was throwing 96-97 with his fastball, which is another reason he needs to work up a lather before he gets to the mound so that he can throw 99+

After a strikeout, Chapman allows a double and for some inexplicable reason, Tampa send the runner from 1st home and it is a close play but the runner did beat the throw, however, I am not sure he ever touched the plate with his hand.  It was very close and no replay could make it definitive, but in what was a worthwhile challenge they upheld the safe call (if he were called out for not touching home I don't think you could overturn that either as they never zoomed in enough to see if he caught a piece of the corner.  If anyone else saw that differently, please post a note or send it to me as I was watching from an outdoor TV and didn't have the greatest view.

Now it is 3-2 with the tying run on 2nd base and one out.

Chapman is now in trouble and starts to reach back and throw 99-100 and gets the 2nd out on a fly out.  The next pitch misses Sanchez badly to move the runner to 3rd base with one out (ugh).  Now a sac fly ties the game, but Sanchez makes sure that doesn't matter as he extremely poorly misplays a low fastball into a wild pitch.  I thought this was a passed ball, even if it was 100 MPH.  With the score tied and 2 outs Chapman allowed a broken bat bloop single and then a ground ball single.  Chapman makes us even less comfortable as he walks the next batter on 4 pitches to load the bases and increase the likelihood that a wild pitch, PB, walk, HBP or anything, not an out, loses the game for us.

Chapman struck out Meadows on 6 pitches to give us a chance.

We took advantage of it as Urshela walked on a 3-2 count (those dreaded inning starting walks).  Judge was brought in to pinch hit and had a tremendous 10 pitch AB where he ended up walking as well.  With 1st and 2nd nobody out the play was clearly to bunt Gardner and after fouling one off put down a good bunt in between teh pitcher and 3rd and neither went after it hard so we had a huge break and were in business with the bases juiced and nobody out.  With the bases loaded Tampa had the infield in and DJ was able to ground a ball past the drawn-in infield for two runs.  Gardner went to 3rd and was safe on a close play, but I liked the play because Judge for some reason had a slow start at 2nd base and while he probably would be safe, Gardner drawing the throw as well as probably being safe was not a bad play (usually making the 1st out at 3rd base would be a bad play).  He was safe and we were still in business.  Hicks struck out and then Sanchez absolutely crushed a low and in slider for what they said was a 461-foot shot, but it seems closer to 500 than 461 to me.

Courtesy of MLB; you can judge yourself

https://www.mlb.com/news/yankees-beat-rays-in-10-innings

So with a 5 run lead, we should be good and Chapman gets a win for his terrible outing. 

That was the outcome, but Cessa got two outs in between 2 singles and 2 walks to allow the tying run to come to the plate.  Hale was brought in and came through getting a ground out to end the game (and get his 2nd save).  Hale has been effective for us!

I hope everyone enjoyed the amazing day (at least in NJ)

Split With The Mets

Some of the least important games were sandwiched in between the most important games (Tampa up next for us).

We split against a weaker team because our bats didn't take advantage of many poor pitches in game 1.  I see why Wheeler is very interesting to teams and why his ERA is higher than it should be (4.42) with his stuff.  He throws hard and with some movement and has good secondary pitches, but he has many pitches that are right down the middle.  The Yankees didn't take advantage of those.  The bullpen blew the 2-1 lead in the 8th as Ottavino couldn't get the job done and Britton came on with the score tied and the bases loaded and allowed a double on his first pitch.  The Mets seem  (I don't have stats to back me up on this)  to jump on the first pitch a lot.

The 2nd game saw some outstanding defense mostly by Urshela but also by Torres at 2nd base.  Torres made a great effort on one play but the runner beat the throw, but also made another nice play.  Urshela was the star, making two excellent backhanded plays with quick and accurate throws (one nice scooped by LeMahieu) and the cherry on top which was a diving stop to his left that he used his momentum to turn fully around from the ground and throw a strike to first to easily get the runner.  See the videos, including his HR, courtesy of MLB.com

https://www.mlb.com/gameday/yankees-vs-mets/2019/07/03/566029#game_state=final,game_tab=videos,game=566029

Outside of how great our infield is defensively with Urshela, Didi, Torres and DJ at 1B, the most important outcome of yesterday was German coming back to the rotation.  After allowing a HR on his first pitch back, German only allowed 4 hits, no walks and registered 6 K's in 6 innings.  He did struggle in the first inning as his curve just didn't bite, but then he got into a groove and looked good. 

Just to reiterate my position about pitching.  Severino getting pushed back is very concerning, but the Yankees say they still feel like he will be back.  Of course, I would say that if I was trying to create a trade for a pitcher as I wouldn't want to seem desperate.  However, as I wrote before, who would you remove from the rotation if you got someone?  And is that someone really better?

Let's assume the worst case scenario and that Severino can't help us this year.

The rotation is:

German
Paxton
Tanaka
Haap
CC

with Louisiga, Montgomery and Severino as possible help.  Betances will also help the bullpen a lot.

Do you want to give up some future for a pitcher that may be better?  As I wrote prior, unless it is a guy like a Luis Castillo, I ensure we remain a top team for many years and don't give away talent for a marginal possible increase.  If we can upgrade and trade away one of our guys then that is an option, but unless a young what appears to be a stud like Castillo, I would be OK sitting tight and running with what we have.  I would always listen to what is out there though.  Just getting our guys back reasonably healthy and we are as good as anyone.

Urshela felt some tightness in his glute on his HR and looked like he was coming out of the game, but he stayed in, hopefully, he is OK?

We now go into a 4 game series against the Rays.  The goal is to extend our lead 2 games!

Happy Independence Day everyone!

Here is the Declaration of Independence (which was not actually signed on the 4th of July)  https://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-declaration-of-independence/read-the-declaration/

The Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence

Action of Second Continental Congress,
July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

WHEN in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.

WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness—That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security. Such has been the patient Sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the Necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The History of the present King of Great-Britain is a History of repeated Injuries and Usurpations, all having in direct Object the Establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid World.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public Good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing Importance, unless suspended in their Operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the Accommodation of large Districts of People, unless those People would relinquish the Right of Representation in the Legislature, a Right inestimable to them, and formidable to Tyrants only.

He has called together Legislative Bodies at Places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the Depository of their public Records, for the sole Purpose of fatiguing them into Compliance with his Measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly Firmness his Invasions on the Rights of the People.

He has refused for a long Time, after such Dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the Dangers of Invasion from without, and Convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the Population of these States; for that Purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their Migrations hither, and raising the Conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the Tenure of their Offices, and the Amount and Payment of their Salaries.

He has erected a Multitude of new Offices, and sent hither Swarms of Officers to harrass our People, and eat out their Substance.

He has kept among us, in Times of Peace, Standing Armies, without the consent of our Legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a Jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large Bodies of Armed Troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all Parts of the World:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us, in many Cases, of the Benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pre-tended Offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an arbitrary Government and enlarging its Boundaries, so as to render it at once an Example and fit Instrument for introducing the same absolute Rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with Power to legislate for us in all Cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our Seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our Towns, and destroyed the Lives of our People.

He is, at this Time, transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the Works of Death, Desolation, and Tyranny already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and Perfidy, scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous Ages, and totally unworthy of the Head of a civilized Nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the Executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic Insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the Inhabitants of our Frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known Rule of Warfare, is an undistinguished Destruction, of all Ages, Sexes and Conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions we have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble Terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated Injury. A Prince, whose Character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Ruler of a free People.

Nor have we been wanting in Attentions to our British Brethren. We have warned them from Time to Time of Attempts by their Legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the Circumstances of our Emigration and Settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and Magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the Ties of our common Kindred to disavow these Usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our Connections and Correspondence. They too have been deaf to the Voice of Justice and of Consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the Necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of Mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace, Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly Publish and Declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES, that they are absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political Connection between them and the State of Great-Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which INDEPENDENT STATES may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

Successful Trip!

Kind of surprising there were so many runs scored, it was almost as if they used juiced balls.  The park itself is not small, in fact, the foul territory is so large that I believe it is more than the Yankees and Red Sox home parks combined (not confirmed).  Having such an expansive foul territory should keep the scoring down (think Oakland).  Some have guessed that the lack of wind impacts the break on pitches?  I am not sure, but the offense was on full display as the Red Sox jumped on Tarpley for 3 HR’s and 4 runs in the first inning.  It is hard to say that Tarpley was sharp, but I actually thought he made some good pitches and the Red Sox hit balls that were on the black and even off the plate hard.  He might have been tipping his pitches and one could argue the wrong pitch was called, but you have to give credit when it is due.

Regardless, the combined 50 runs were a two-game record for runs scored between the two teams (previous high was 46).

The Yankees scored 9 runs in the 7^th inning and caught a break on an error through the legs of Chavis at 1B.  I bring this up because the ball trickled away from him but if Chavis threw to the covering pitcher, Sanchez would have been out.  Sanchez probably didn’t run right away (maybe he was tired as it was his 2^nd AB of the inning J), but those are the little things that can be annoying because it might have mattered.  Britton did have to get out of another bases-loaded jam as Boston came back and put the tying run at the plate again in the 8^th.  Of course, Britton did allow a walk and a single before.

It was a rough night for Chavis as he went 0-5 with 3 k’s after hitting two 3-run HR’s the night before.

Other Notes:

The Yankees have averaged just over 8 runs a game in our last 14 games and we have gone 13-1 (I guess getting our key guys back has not disrupted the team)

Didi extended our team HR record to 31 games.

Chapman was added to the ASG so we have 3 guys going, unfortunately.

The Red Sox are 11 games back now.  The Yankees are 6-1 against the Sox and if you think about it, if it was reversed and the RedSox were 6-1 against us, the Red Sox would be only one game behind us! 

Giants Hold On To Beat The Patriots 17-13

It was almost like a football game.  

It would take me too many hours to go through so many AB's the way I like to as there were so many times where the pitcher didn't execute, but also where the batter fouled off good pitches until he got a mistake.  Neither team missed many mistakes and the result was an absurd game that saw both teams score 6 runs in the 1st inning and neither starter making it out of the 1st inning.

You have to give credit to Boston, 9 games back and they were down 6-0 n the 1st inning and they answered with their own 6 run inning.   The Yankees tacked on 2 in the 3rd on a Gardner 2 run HR and then added another 6 spot in the 4th and another 3 in the 5th to take a 17-6 lead!  Boston did not roll over as they put up a run in the 6th and then another 6 in the 7th inning.  At 17-13 Boston loaded the bases off of Ottavino and Britton before Britton got out of it.  In the 9th, Boston got a single but Didi made a very good stop on a bullet and then backhanded the throw to Torres who caught it barehanded and turned a DP to end the game.  Didi's defense is better than Torres' at SS

Tanaka allowed 6 runs in 2/3 of an inning and saw his ERA jump to 3.74 from 3.21.  His splitter was not good and was not controlled well so it was easy to lay off.  His slider was inconsistent in break and control as well.  It was an awful performance.

Green allowed 4 hits in 2 innings but got out of his jams not allowing a run.  Hale pitched an inning with only a hit and looked pretty good.  With 1 man on and 2 outs in the 4th inning (14-6 Yanks) Boone took Hale out for the lefty matchup and brought in Cortes Jr.  With so many innings to go, I would have left Hale out there for another few outs at least, but Cortes did the job.  Cortes also had a perfect 5th inning and then allowed a solo HR in the 6th inning.  In the 7th (17-7 Yanks), Cortes got the first two outs (the 2nd on a very nice backhand diving catch by Tauchman - who rolled on his glove side wrist making the catch).  Then the wheels came off as Cortes allowed 2 singles and a HR with 2 outs, he then allowed a single before being pulled (Boone handled that correctly).  Kahnle was awful.  He walks Betts on 4 pitches (the walks drive me crazy), he then threw a wild pitch, allowed a single and then another walk before being pulled.  Ottavino allowed a double to make it 17-13 before getting the final out of the inning.  Britton came on in the 8th with 2 guys on and 1 out and got Bradley to hit into a FC and just missed a DP.  After walking Betts to load the bases and put the tying run at the plate, Britton got Marco Hernandez to ground weakly to Urshela to end the threat.

Some notes:

• The Yankees used all of their best relievers but all should be available this game.  
• Boston did not use their 2 best arms in the 1st game
• Voit left with what looked like a leg issue, but they said, he had pain in his lower abdomen.  Luke was 4-4 before he left.
• The Yankees extended their MLB record to 30 straight games with a HR (56 during the 30 games)
• The Yankees are 5-1 against the Red Sox 
• This was the 2nd most runs scored in our rivalry (31 were scored in a 2009 20-11 Yanks win)
• Romine helped allow Kahnle have two wild pitches because he had his right leg straight when lining up for the pitch.  While it can help you give a lower target, it does limit your ability to move to your right to block balls and both times that is exactly what happened (they both could/should have been caught if Romine was balanced behind the plate).  With guys on base this is not a good strategy IMO.
• EE started expanding his strike zone for the first time.  He is pressing a little more because everyone else has been hitting well.  He needs to relax and win his AB's but do not expand his strike zone as he might have swung at more bad pitches in this game than all of his previous AB's with the Yanks.  I am not sure if this is a fact, but he swung at about 10 pitches out of the strike zone in this one game.
• There were no errors in the game; pretty shocking in a 30 run game.
• THE GAME IS AT 10 AM THIS MORNING!