Post #1 Of The 2022 Year!

 To the Yankee Faithful!

I hope everyone is doing well!  Let's get to it.

Many moving parts in the offseason.  Overall, it is very hard to analyze because of the nuance, but I am "paid" to give you me opinion, so here goes. (this was written before the 1st two games)

The big trade sending Sanchez and Urshela for Donaldson, Falefa and Ben Rortvedt was the main move as it was intended to impact 3 positions.  I am fine with Sanchez going as he was nothing but a DH and an emergency catcher for me.  His offense could be a difference maker behind the plate, but his defense was worse on the negative side.  At 29, it was a good time to get some value for him.  Urshela, is a different story.  I loved his defense.  I am not convinced with the pundits that say that Donaldson is his equal at 3rd base; in fact I think they are wrong.   Predicting who will do better offensively is a hard one because Urshela was a weak hitter (.600 OPS) before two great offensive years with us (.870 OPS) followed by a mediocre .720 OPS last year.  Urshela is the wild card (maybe guess at a .745 OPS?) and Donaldson is 36 years old coming off a .900, .842 and .827 OPS years over the last 3.  While an uptick for a year is very possible for a career .871 OPS guy, an .800 OPS would be great as he is at the age of expected decline.  Paying him 23 mil for that performance is not good use of funds IMO.  But, the deal was also for what others have claimed as our starting SS and what better be our starting catcher.  I am not sold on Falefa as our starting SS.   His defense is much better at 3rd base and he is a pretty weak hitter.  I see him as a stop gap for our younger guys, but while I hope I am wrong, I don't see him being our SS for the year.  The key to this trade IMO is Rortvedt.  A lefty swinging catcher in Yankee Stadium would be a huge plus if he is solid.  He is supposed to be a good defensive catcher and that by itself would be big, but giving us a lefty also is needed in our lineup.  I have never seen him swing or field, but from what I studied, he needs to be a platoon starter at the worst for this trade to make any sense.  I say that because of the 23 mil for Donaldson is about 10 mil more than Sanchez and Gio.  Overall, not a fan of this trade.

I really like Rizzo as a person and the way he plays.  I also believe that at 32 (not too old by todays standards), he could have a solid full year in the pinstripes with that short porch.  That being said, he has had two straight years of avg production (about .775 OPS combined) for a 1B.  Further, I was surprised that his defense did not even come close to living up to the hype.  The contract we ended up signing with him at $32 mil for 2 years (he can opt out after the 1st year) was a reasonable one by today's standards and we have a huge need for lefty in the lineup and what everyone (but me) says will be excellent defense.  Hopefully he can give us a .820 + year with solid D and then he can decide what he wants or we can extend.

I have a lot more to write, but don't have time now.

 

The End Of A Crazy Year

I liked the lineup Boone used.  I think it was the best lineup with what we have and how we are playing.  Rizzo leading off made more sense than Gardy.

Stanton hit a high fly ball in the 1st inning that he didn't hit that well and for some reason he watched it instead of running.  He should have been on 2nd base and even that pressure changes things a lot.  Eovaldi might have pitched around Judge as well?  I don't get not running hard in a game like this, especially when you clearly didn't get all of the hit?  Remember Tito Perez, of the Mets, when he didn't run against the Yankees in the World Series and we threw him out at home?  I thought that was pathetic.  Hard to be critical of Stanton when he is the only one who showed up in a big way, but it is a little head-scratching.

The big blow in the bottom of the inning happened with 2 outs and Cole walked Devers after getting him 1-2 and not throwing his change or his fastball where he wanted it.  Against Bogaerts, he threw a curve that he missed with, a slider for a strike and then missing after missing with the slider, they decided to throw a changeup?  I think this was a bad decision as it is the same speed as his slider, but it was worse as he threw it right down the middle of the plate and Bogaerts drilled it for a 2 run HR and the Yanks were in a big hole considering how poorly we are swinging the bats.

Cole got through the 2nd but did allow a double.

Cole only threw 3 curves, but he didn't throw any for strikes and that is his slowest pitch and an important one.  He missed many spots by a lot and some ended up being centered and the others were way out of the strike zone.  Contrast that to the Red Sox and when their pitchers missed they caught the other corner many times.  The Red Sox seemed to know what was coming and really sat on the fastball as the damage was done on it.  Schwarber hit a 1-2 fastball that was well above the strike zone for a pulled HR.  That happens when that is the pitch you are sitting on, otherwise, it is impossible to catch up to 97 that high.  We didn't have good pitch selection or execution of pitches.

Holmes did a great job.

Louisiga did his job.  The only question I had was sending him out for a 2nd inning after he hasn't done that since his shoulder injury and he wasn't that sharp.

Severino isn't at full strength yet as he usually has a fastball like Cole, but he was throwing 93-95.  I have faith in him, but he is not the same yet.

I was really surprised that they took Eovaldi out too early.  I was thrilled they took him out as he had good stuff (The best breaking ball I have seen from him) and he was hitting corners on 3-2 pitches.  He even hesitated his windup a little (minny Cortes).  We then greeted the weaker Red Sox bullpen with the play of the game.   Stanton hit a bullet out off the Green monster that I think would have been gone in most ballparks (They said 11, but I am not sure that is accurate), and Judge who was on first because he legged out a grounder to SS was waived around 3rd from Nevin and was out at the plate.  Nevin didn't give Judge any indication of what he was going to do until Judge was 3 steps from 3rd and had already slowed up a little and had to chop step and get going again.  What Nevin needed to do is waive Judge home (all the way from 2nd) so he stays at full speed and then hold him up at the last minute or you keep waiving him around, but by doing nothing so late, and remember Judge saw it didn't go out and the wall is close, Judge slowed up as he got close to 3rd.  You don't want to round the base and then get doubled off either.  Nevins indecision was the most important play of the game (Bogaerts 2 run HR was up there) and was simply a critically bad job on a tough call.  However, if he followed my advice, there is a solid chance that Judge would have been safe if he was running full speed the entire time or you just stop him.  

Nevin has been pretty good at 3rd base, but he has had some poor decisions and they might have been after he had Covid.  This was horribly bad though and had me cursing!

Stanton was the only player who really showed up.  

This team has had a ton of injuries, Britton was a key issue for us and all the pitching injuries were really absurd, but our pitching staff and the coaching knows what they are doing.  Turning Clay Holmes around is a good example and getting a lot from unexpected guys has been impressive.  

Our offensive injuries were hard to overcome.  Hicks was an important player for us (even if not a great player) because we didn't have a CF replacement.  Gardner was forced in again and was mediocre, but hard to expect more from a guy who will probably retire (sadly, he struck out all 3 AB's).  Voit had an injury-plagued year after we kind of made it hard for him.  I think the goal-line offense (Judge in CF and Stanton in RF) was needed for this team, but it never developed and Voit got injured again.  His bat was very helpful for us. DJ being hurt is a big deal and Urshela was pretty banged up in this game as well. 

We have Gallo for another year and I don't love his game.  I like that he does everything above avg, but he seems like a guy who feasts off bad pitching.  

We have to deal with Torres now at 2nd base and we have all this money in DJ who had a poor year.  Putting him at 1B is not a great solution.  We should blow up our Catcher position as neither is the answer.  I like Rizzo, but do we want to spend a lot of money on a 32 year old who didn't play well for us?  Surprisingly, his defense was avg and that was one thing we thought would be excellent.  He also had the last 2 years where his OPS 80 points less than his career so he is showing decline.

Coaching and GM?  I think they both know what they are doing, but neither has gotten the job done to extend the year toward the WS.  The grass isn't always greener (Giant fans know that Gettlemen was a horrible choice).  Have to think about this.

Either way, we need to make some overhauls.  I like using minor leaguers and studs.  I am not a fan of the middle-priced guys on the Yankees other than some bandaids.  Judge is a big decision.  He is arbitration-eligible in 22 and at the least, we do that.  He is 29 and will be 30 at the end of next year.   I don't want a long-term deal with him, but overpaying for 3 years could work.  He is our best player, but his injuries are a concern and they probably will get worse.  Maybe he gives us a discount?  No idea, but I do not want to lock him up until he is 35.  

This is a little all over the place, but I wanted to get down some of my thoughts...

Thank you all for reading this year and the feedback/emails!  It is hard for me to write often, but I will keep trying!  Stay healthy everyone!

It Comes Down To One Game

 

I am getting asked what I think of this game against the Red Sox for the right to play Tampa in a 5 game series.

First, I like the playoff system the way it is.  If after 162 games you have not been able to distinguish yourself as the leader of the division, then it is fair that you do not make the playoffs.  However, by allowing teams to get in for the wild card you make it a large penalty of having to play an elimination game first and thus also rewarding the division winners with the “bye.”  It also keeps some teams/fans interested later in the season which is good.  This is the way a playoff system should work as it also does not allow too many teams into the playoffs.

As for the game, as I stated before, this team can’t surprise me.  We could lay an egg, we could lose with terrible defense, we could lose with terrible base running or an odd managerial move.  Hey, Cole could stink as well.  We also could pitch well, hit well and blow them out.  Nothing would surprise me. 

If I had to make a prediction based on an average outcome, I would say the Yankees win 5-3, but I am not betting on this game, mostly because of our inconsistent offense.  Cole is a better pitcher than Eovaldi, but Nathan is solid.  I like the Yankees bullpen and honestly like the Yankees offense better, but they have simply not played up to their expected output.  The Yankees have the worst offense of any team in the AL and are actually worse than every team offensively (based on runs scored) except wild card STL.  The other AL playoff teams averaged 836 runs and the Yankees scored 711.  The NL playoff teams with the pitcher hitting score more than the Yankees and the 5 teams averaged 774 runs (STL scored 706 as the only team worse than the Yanks).  Isn’t that a little shocking that the offense is so poor?

A few quick comments:

1.       While Higgy isn’t very good all around, I am glad he is starting over Sanchez.  The best-case scenario is that Higgy catches the entire game.

2.       With DJ and Voit out, I would go with our defensive team and play Velazquez at SS and have Gio play 3^rd.  Being banged up after that amazing catch will make it even harder for him to play SS at the level we need him to.  Further, I think we are so much better defensively with Gio at 3^rd and Velazquez at SS.  If you need to pinch-hit you can in a key spot.  I doubt the Yankees do that, but I don’t want to give away any runs.  Odor has an OPS of .665 (.625 against righties) and is 1-14 over the last month.  Velazquez is not a good offensive player with a .594 OPS (but .651 against righties) and is 2-8 in the last month.  Offensively, they are close against righties but more importantly, the defense would be much better at 3^rd and SS and one play might tilt the scale.  Of course, Odor could hit a HR and he does have experience, but I would rather give Cole our best defense and I would bet that having much better defense at SS and 3^rd is a larger difference than the bat against a righty.

3.       Having Loaisiga back is huge for us and honestly, he is the guy I trust most in the bullpen and he is just coming back from his injury.  But, Chapman, Holmes and Green are quality arms.  King and Severino give us more help and I wouldn’t have any issue trusting Severino.  German is a solid guy as well, but if he is in that means something went wrong with Cole.  Peralta has been pretty good from the left side and is a little better against lefties and Luetge has been our best guy against lefties (.520 OPS).

4.       In these games I believe we have a 26 man roster.  I have seen people say we should have 13 and 13 pitchers/players.  I don’t think we need 13 pitchers, especially as you can’t mix and match as well as you used to.  So I am in favor of specialists as players in this one game.  I would bring up Florial to get some speed and defense if needed.  I would also look for specialists such as a great bunter or more speed or defense.  But, we surely don’t need 13 pitchers for one game

I hope I get to write more!

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!

Grinding Out Wins!

 For much of this year we grinded out losses as well, but instead of everyone playing poorly, many are "evening" out their year and playing more like we would expect.  Nothing is easy though and everything is a grind.  Sweeping the Red Sox is always rewarding, especially after dominating us earlier in the year.

The game:

I was texting with one of our readers and I spoke about Heaney.  My one comment was "his stuff is OK. He must make quality 2 strike pitches or he doesn't do well."  Later in the evening, I watched the game and in the first inning 0-2 pitch he allows a HR to Bogaerts.  The pitch was probably a ball and Bogaerts went with it well, but it was up (making it much easier).  Bogaerts is an excellent hitter (even better for a SS), but he seems to always be ready for a fastball.  That concerned me, but Heaney's results were an excellent game. It is interesting because I do not think he controlled his pitches very well, but he mixed them up well and threw 4 pitches (FB, CB, Slider and change) keeping them off balance.  Honestly, I don't think Boston has been swinging the bats very well.  Devers had very poor AB's and he is usually a problem for us.

We were up 2-1 in the bottom of the 2nd and runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out and DJ up.  DJ had a 3-1 count on him (remember an open base) after he didn't swing at a slider in the dirt.  He then waived on a slider way outside rather than taking the walk.  He then fouled off two fastballs that were grooved before swinging at 2 sliders that were both balls.  He should have walked but hit a hard one chopper on the 10th pitch (fastball) into the ground in the hole between 3rd and short and Devers made a diving play, got up and threw out DJ.  Sanchez was on 3rd and Valazquez was on 2nd; how did they not move up and get one run in there.  Sanchez isn't fast, but that is a play I think you go on contact as long as it isn't a bullet or back to the pitcher.  Worst case scenario is they make a good play and throw you out and you have 1st and 3rd instead of 2nd and 3rd.  Yes, that isn't as good but they made a good play.  There is zero chance Devers could have thrown out Sanchez if he went after reading the chopper, but again there isn't much downside.  Also, the defense could try and go home and not get him or make a bad throw and then you have a huge inning.  We were fortunate that the next batter was Rizzo and Dalbec didn't glove a ball he should have and 2 runs scored on the generously scored single.

Speaking of Rizzo, and this may be known but I don't listen too much to the announcers, but I was not aware he choked up with two strikes?  I will watch him more, but in the AB against a lefty he choked up a little with 1 strike and then choked up a lot with 2 strikes.  Later in his AB against Ottavino, he didn't choke up at all and had his hand on the knob.  

I like DJ so much more at 2nd base.  He will start to get more comfortable and we are seeing some of the plays he is making there.  Tuesday night, he made an excellent sliding play to his left and threw a strike to Wade that would have been a DP if Wade didn't fumble his exchange and last night he used his height and length to go up and snag a line drive that perhaps only he could have caught as a tall 2nd baseman.  I am not sure DJ is a gold glover there now, but he is solid.

While we are on defense and announcers...Rizzo's defense is a huge upgrade from Voits or anyone else we have there, but let's not praise him for what I think are fairly routine plays for a competent glove at 1B.  The last play of the game, which was an excellent play (maybe game saving) by Valazquez sliding in the hole and dealing with Odor diving in front of him, was not such a tough hop for Rizzo.  The ball skipped from the grass (not the dirt) so it wasn't much of an in between hop, it was a long hop.  Rizzo fielded it so close to his body he almost turned it into a hit.  I think he was ensuring he made the play and doing what he did allowed him to make sure he had it, but even no stretch would have made it a clear out instead of a very close play.  Further, Kay was gushing about how great the play was from Rizzo and it was 99% Valazquez.  

OK, Let me pile on Kay for gushing about what a great read Judge had Tuesday night on the ball that dropped in and Judge scored from 2nd.  Judge made the correct read, but then wasn't sure and slowed up looking back.  If the ball wasn't hit by the CF'r as he tried to grab the ball after he made a good effort on the pop-up, Judge would have been on 3rd only, but if it were caught Judge would have been doubled up.  A good read, or an aggressive chance, would have been that he took off from the beginning and scored on the ball even if the ball was missed and picked up normally.  I thought Judge took off and then sort of panicked.

Oneill also is always bringing up when the shift doesn't work and it drives me crazy.  I also think he misses a lot.  Cone is great on correcting him but not disagreeing with him.  Example:  Oneill was talking about Chapman and how he didn't trust his FB because he was only throwing 97/98 and allowed the HR off the FB and that is a problem for him.  Cone just said something like, "and he may be throwing the slider because it may be the only pitch he feels he can throw for a strike."  This simple exchange is why Cone gets it and O'neill misses a lot because that is exactly why he is throwing so many sliders.

Britton pitched a very clean 8th inning, but he is still struggling with control.  The good thing is that he threw strikes and let his stuff work.  His fastball has absurd sink on it and they either swung over it or grounded out.  He has a good breaking ball, but he is not controlling that either yet.  Also, he was throwing a fastball that tailed into lefties (not as much sink) earlier and I thought that was a great addition for him.  However, I think maybe it is throwing off his release point and did not throw any of them yesterday.  Perhaps he is saying let me control my sinker and breaking ball first?

Minnesota is not a good team, but they are 7-3 in their last 10.

A Boston DH Sweep Brings Back The Genius Maker!

 I am sorry I have not written for the longest stretch since I started this.  There were a variety of reasons, but the main was the passing of my wife’s father suddenly and in our presence.  This has led to a lot of extra time being diverted and along with my normal heavy workload, I just chose to take some time away.  Further, this has been one of the most frustrating teams to watch that I can ever remember.  To the Yankees credit, they keep hanging in there, even in the face of their annual absurd amount of people not available to the team.

 After watching both games of the double header late last night, I wanted to just give a couple comments (and finally write a blog); I won’t go into great detail.

 Some comments:

Boone has had an up and down year.  He does a lot of things well, but seemed to miss a lot in some key spots.  Overall, he has had a very difficult situation to deal with and has done a pretty good job.  At the end of the day with almost every player under-performing (seems like it starting to even out), the blame should go to the players.  What we don’t know is if they were struggling because of the coaching staff or environment?  I blame the players mo

Some blame can go to Cashman as well.  He made some questionable moves in the offseason and most have not worked out well.  The Jay Bruce signing was not one I liked from the beginning and retiring after being awful showed it was a bad move.  It was not a high price to pay, but everyone knew we needed some lefties who could hit righties well.  I was not a fan of getting Odor, but he has hit much better of late because he has been going the other way more in the last week than he had in the entire year.  That can help, but his defense is simply poor everywhere.   His .731 OPS is nothing too exciting, but when you compare to what we were getting from many that is acceptable.  My comment when we got him was that he will hit some big HR’s and not much else still has been pretty accurate.  He is a great cheerleader though.

Higgy has really disappointed me.  A .617 OPS is pretty weak and his defense has really slipped.  His throwing has been bad and he has been letting a lot of balls get by him.  Sanchez is frustrating as anything behind the plate, but he is our best option and his offense can be a huge plus (.771 OPS right now). 

Stanton – He seems like he can’t pick up a slider.  He has swung (more like waived and missed by a foot) at more sliders low and away than anyone I have seen (and Sanchez can rival him at times).  Something is wrong with him as he is just not seeing the ball right.  He is an extremely streaky hitter, but I have never seen him look so bad (hopefully this is what he needs to start ripping the ball)  His .820 OPS isn’t horrible, but we need more from him and he needs to get hot like he did in the playoffs last year.

It is amazing that we had 5 starting pitchers out, including Severino (along with 4 or 5 players depending on if you count Hicks).  The team stepped up well, but at the same time, our closing situation became terrible.  Hard to count on anyone.  Louisiga is the guy I have the most confidence in, but he needs to get his slider more consistent.  That being said his 98-102 MPH running fastball is a great pitch. 

Some shout outs:

·    Gardner and Wade have played really well of late and this has helped our winning ways.

·    How about the 23 year old Gil?  He has started 3 games and while not going deep into games has pitched 15.2 innings and has yet to allow a run!

·     I really liked the pickups we got in Gallo and Rizzo.  I know the Voit thing is an issue, but as we have seen, injuries happen a lot and Covid brings another element into needing depth.  We needed good lefties and they are.  I like that they work counts as well.  This team can wear you out when we have the right lineup.  I also like the upgrade on defense they bring. 

·     While on defense, Velazquez has a very weak stick, but anyone watching can see how quickly he gets to balls with his quickness and great jumps.  It is like night and day compared to the defense we have had there. 

·     Cortes – he has given us 49.1 innings of 2.55 ERA ball.  He is a crafty lefty for sure and his delayed/held windup throws guys off (so does him dropping down). 

·     Judge misses a lot of time, but he is consistently solid everywhere!  His .900 OPS has been the only consistency on offense all year.

As I write this, we are in the WC right now.  A lot can happen, but we have people coming back and imagine this lineup:

DJ – 2B

Judge - CF

Rizzo – 1B

Stanton - RF

Gallo - LF

Luke - DH

Gio – 3B

Sanchez - C

Torres - SS

 

Get a lead and bring in the defense.

 

I hope everyone is well!