Pitchers Duel

This was a very good pitchers duel (Tanaka and Zimmerman), while each pitcher did make some mistakes, the majority of their pitches were on the black or just off the plate.  It was not a coincidence the score was 1-1 into the 9^th and only after a sac fly and a very bad break where the ball hit the bag and caused a double on what would have been an out. 

There were a lot of important and interesting AB’s, but I want to credit Frazier for laying off some good sliders and getting the ball to the OF and getting the sac fly.

Tanaka had a lot left in the tank as you could see he was starting to use his fastball more as the game went on and hit 94 (highest of the night) in the 7th as he started to let it loose, but I did feel it was good to bring in Ottavino to face the righties.  Ottavino looked great as he got a strikeout to end the 7th and then struck out their 2and 3 hitters, but with a lefty up I thought Britton would be used.  This goes against some of my thoughts of sticking with someone when they are hot, but it was just a feeling.  Their lefty hit one up the middle that got deflected and we barely got the out so it worked out to leave him in, but I would have handled it differently.  By handling it differently, Chapman would not have pitched the 9th in my scenario, but that is not really Boone's fault that Chapman had some control issues and after a walk, he threw a 95 MPH pitch down where a guy got his first major league hit.  This was Chapman's fault!   Chapman is really good, but he has the same issue as Betances sometimes where they just can't locate at all; very frustrating watching those struggles.

The lineup lacked juice with Wade at 2^nd base, Tauchman in LF, Romine behind the dish.  Frazier was the DH.  Further, Voit hasn’t been lining up the ball that well so we really didn’t have much juice.  I stated that Voit showed to be a real hitter and I didn’t think last year was a fluke, but he hasn’t been that sharp so far this year.  He did get hit on the hand so he may need a day or 2 to rest, but we need him with Stanton out.    Gardner is off to a bad start as well and he has to play with Hicks out.  Gleyber isn’t hitting much either, but a lot of the issues can be the cold as well; this is not really baseball weather.  This is why I hate having home games early, I would much rather them be on the road against the toughest opponents; these games early in the year in the cold are not good indications of how good or bad teams are so I would rather play the toughest out of division games on the schedule and be on the road.

I neglected to write about the excellent catch Judge made Monday night that might have saved the game.  His defense is really good when you combine his solid ability to get to the ball, his height and his great arm.

At least Boston lost 1-0

The Injuries Are Mounting

First, a word from the last two games against Baltimore:

                Ugh!

We play Baltimore 19 games this year and we want to win at least 14 of them.  We now have to go 13-3 for the remaining 16.

Game 2 – Paxton pitched very well.  He showed his live fastball and walked only one batter in 5.2 innings.  I like that we can ensure he doesn’t overextend himself but he should give us quality starts (5 or 6 innings of 2-3 ER types).  Tulo hit his 1^st homer by going the opposite way, but his swing still concerns me as it is a loopy uppercut.  He knows how to center a ball, but I think as he is aging it is harder to do.  Hopefully, he can continue being productive for us.  Sloppy game from the team with 3 throwing errors.  One of those early season games.

Game 3 – Happ simply couldn’t spot his fastball early and left his avg fastball in the middle of the plate and Baltimore took advantage of it.  Leaving 14 guys on base doesn’t help 2-12 with RISP).  I would not have brought in Tarpley with the game 5-4 in the 8^th; this was a time for one of our better pitchers.  This was a mistake as we have this great bullpen and we should take advantage of it.  Down 4-0 we had been scratching back and against a weaker team, we could have come back.  Unfortunately, Tarpley didn’t get the job done as he came in with 1 out and 1 on and allowed 2 runs to score.  We did mount a comeback scoring a run and having 2 guys on but Tulo struck out pinch-hitting for Gardner, waving at a slider that was well outside the strike zone.

Last night against Detroit:  I thought I was getting some April Fools jokes when I heard that Andujar may be out for the year and Stanton was out for a month, unfortunately, it was not a joke.  Hopefully, Andujar can rest for a month and be OK, but his throwing is already an issue and even if he didn’t deserve his throwing error that Bird should have caught, he still has an extra movement in his throw that stops him from having a crisp release; this injury could make it worse. 

Having LeMahieu now is very important and fortunately, you can see he can play defense.  He is not as comfortable at 3^rd base, but I think he will get there.

German, has very good stuff and I stated that I liked him last year, but it is frustrating when he can’t control his fastball well enough.  I don’t like 5 walks in 5 innings, but when you allow only 1 hit it is easier to swallow, even if hard to watch at times.

The bullpen took care of the last 4 innings.  Britton wasn’t sharp but his stuff can be so good that guys struggle to square up his sinker.  Chapman worked an easy 9^th and while he hasn’t hit even 99 in the cold, he located well. 

We will get to see what Wade can do; this is his chance to show what he is capable of.  He was mad he got sent down and now he must take advantage of his chances.

Some notes:

Sanchez has 2 HR’s and the one in the 2^nd inning showed off his power to straightaway center.  He took a slider out over the plate and extended with great power.  He still can’t receive well (the act of catching pitches softly and smoothly without jerking), but he has been much more active blocking.  His throwing has been off so far, but he will get it and honestly I thought two of his errors were on Torres as the ball faded toward 2^nd but Gleyber just didn’t move on two of them and the one last night would have been an out as it was an easy play for Torres.  That being said, Sanchez hasn’t thrown as well as he can.  Overall, I am happy to see what he has done and the effort behind home plate…He has not been lazy.

Glad to see Frazier up; he is very important to this team.  When you think about not getting Harper Frazier was one of the reasons (a lot of investment was obviously important as well) just like having Andujar was one of the reasons not to get Machado…time for Frazier to step up.

We have to fight through the injuries:

50% of our starting players: (Didi, Hicks, Stanton, Andujar) and the pitchers: (Severino, CC and Betances).  Shoot, even our top prospect, Estevan Florial broke his wrist.

2-2 and Boston is 1-4 (there one win was a comeback)

161 More To Go!

OK, it was the Orioles and their lineup was more of a AAA team, but a win is a win.

Most of the action was around our first baseman.  Luke started things off after both Judge and Stanton went through the right side for hits.  After taking a strike from a fastball and then taking a fastball, change and a slider for balls, he saw a low slider over the middle of the plate that Voit launched into CF for a 3 run HR that we never looked back from.  The plate discipline set that up and as I mentioned in my post yesterday, I think he is a really good hitter and a great find from Cashman.

Bird was visible yesterday as well as he struck out 3 times (the 3rd was a ball outside) and also contributed to an error on a long throw by Andujar that I thought was Bird's fault.  Bird didn't stretch to the ball (he does that too often) and the ball ticked off his glove on a fly; I think that was Bird's error.  Later, Bird got a break on a terrible 0-2 pitch by a lefty where a hanging slider was put into the crowd for a HR.

Every Yankee got on base via a hit or a walk so that was good to see and 8 of the 9 starters got hits (Gardner didn't)

I liked the Yankees pitchers only walking one guy all game

Ottavino impressed me with his fastball.  His slider is excellent, but I was surprised to a 95 MPH fastball that had great tail to it.  This gives him two pitches at different speeds that move in opposite directions.  I can see why he is deadly on righties.

Tulo has kind of a sweeping uppercut when he swings; it is a little strange

1-0 and we have a 1 game lead on the Red Sox as they got crushed 12-4 by Seattle (Sale took the loss)

On to Saturday!

OPENING DAY!

I hope everyone is ready for opening day!

I want to get right into some of my thoughts on the offseason moves:

Overall, I like the way the Yankees have approached most situations since Cashman got deep into his role.  The one I was very outspoken against was the signing of Ellsbury and that was just because we gave elite money for just a good player (the fact he hasn’t been good is not really Cashman’s fault, but paying elite money after a career year was a mistake.

This was an interesting offseason with Harper and Manny out there.  I was OK with either one, but I think they both got more than they should have (too long for so much money).  That being said, I am not a big fan of signing ok to decent guys for middle dollars (6-12 mil).    This is not a rule, but a general concept and here is why.  I have been a huge supporter of Gardner over the years and he is still valuable, but the value at 7.5 mil (the 2 mil was his no matter what) isn’t great.  The value of Ottavino at 9 mil isn’t great, the value of LeMahieu (I know I will misspell his name most of the time) isn’t great.  I actually like the Paxton signing for 8.6 mil as I think he was a clear need and worthy.  Any combination of these guys may end up being great value or poor value (nothing is exact), and to be fair, none of the signings was a head-scratcher like the Ellsbury signing (although LeMahieu/Ottavino was a slight head turner) – and I will go through each one, but here is my thought process.  Are the Yankees a better team with Gardner, Ottavino, and LeMahieu or Bryce Harper, “Jonathan Loaisiga” and “Tyler Wade”?   The answer is Harper for similar money.  Now the longevity of the commitment matters, but the concept still holds.

The Yankees traded Sonny Gray for Josh Stowers a fast OF with a minor league .790 OPS.  He was the 10 best prospect with Seattle and is 22.  We need some OF help and hopefully, he can bring that in a year or two.

Gardner: Coming off a 690 OPS which was the worst of his career is a concern.  I actually think he may do a little better this year (700+ ops?) and still play a top-notch LF for us, but he should not play against any lefties (when we are at full strength.  Gardy works hard and I have been a huge supporter of him but this is it for him and he is getting a little more than he is probably worth, but with a lack of depth and injuries, along with waiting for Frazier to get healthy and shake off the rust (he had a terrible spring), this is a needed and reasonable move.

CC: 5.28 IP per start is too low, but his 3.65 ERA was really good.  At 8 mil that is not a bad price for only a one-year commitment.  Still much better against lefties and can be used as a LOOGY if needed.  I would be happy with a 4 ERA from CC, but as a #5 that is pretty good!

Ottavino: 33 years old – 3 years at 9 each seemed on the high side for me.  He has a whiffle ball wicked slider and coming from Colorado is a plus for a pitcher as that is a tougher place to pitch (even is somehow he was better at home).  He was not good in the postseason getting a loss and a blown save in 3 appearances.  He will be good out of the pen, but I didn’t think this is where I would spend 9 mil – (Update: with Betances banged up this helps)

DJ Lemahieu – 30 years old -  2 years at 24 mil barely more than the 11.75 Didi makes.  In reverse of having a Colorado pitcher, DJ may be a product of “playing on the moon” in Colorado as his OPS is about 80 points higher in CO.  That is not a crazy split though, what he has a larger split is against lefties and righties where his OPS is almost 250 points higher against lefties over the past 2 years.  He is a stellar defender and he is probably about a .725 OPS guy with the upside to do more, but also has a downside.  If Didi wasn’t hurt this signing would never have happened, but I also wonder what happens after Didi comes back?  I would not surprised if DJ plays every game against lefties and a few against righties as we see Tulo start to tire a little at SS.  I would rather keep Torres at 2^nd base all the time (with some rest) rather than jumping him back and forth and letting DJ play some SS and be a defensive replacement for Andujar (who I would let play a lot defensively so he gets some confidence and doesn’t feel that he will be replaced).  I don’t expect great defense from Andujar, but guys can get better and let’s support that process in the early part of the season (and his career).

James Paxton – 30 yrs old – We have to be cautious here as his highest inning total was last year at 160 IP, but if you step back and look at his innings he has increased from 67–121-136-160 and that is a nice progression.  Of course, we have to be smart not to overwork him as the postseason is what matters.  He has a real live arm and I thought this was a great signing. 

No Brainers:

Gio Gonzalez: 33 years old, signed only a minor league deal and 3 mil if he makes the 25 man roster (which he didn’t out of spring training) and I believe 300k a start on top of it.  He may be better to use as a lefty out of the pen as well based on an OPS against of only about .550 over the last 2 years (appx. 722 OPS against righties), but worth a shot if needed and if not you dump him

Tulowitzki – 34 years old, but getting some possible SS help for the league minimum is a great move.  I don’t expect greatness here, but I expect play that if it were a rookie would be exciting.  We should get adequate production while Didi is out, but make no mistake that Didi needs to come back and produce for us.  Tulo had an OPS of around .720 over the past 3 years away from Colorado and at 34 it is hard to expect great defense or a huge turnaround.  He did have a great spring training, but as the new shiny cheap toy, I think the .970 OPS is out of reach.  We should be happy with a mid .700 OPS and decent defense.

Andujar – I already spoke about his defense, but the stick is great and he is the reason we don’t have Manny.  If you don’t trade Andujar you can’t get Manny.  People talk about Manny at SS, but he is simply not a good defensive SS, but he is an elite defensive 3^rd baseman.  I think Andujar could hit with Manny, but the defense is a big difference.  That being said the value of Andujar over Manny is tremendous and allows us to sign a Paxton, Ottavino and LeMahieu for the same money.  Just so you don’t confuse what I said earlier, the difference here is that Andujar is incredibly valuable at his current salary.

First Base – Bird is having a good spring and while he was behind the fastball and ahead of the curve last year, he does have a plan at the plate.  His swing is a little slow so he has to cheat when he swings, but he was able to hit a HR off of a very tough lefty (Andrew Miller) in the postseason.  He has a swing for Yankee stadium and in such a right-handed lineup he is an important player for us to be productive.  That being said, I think we found a really good hitter in Voit.  He is 27 so he isn’t so young, but he has been a hitter at every level and he should continue to rake for us.  I don’t expect a .1.095 OPS like he had for us, but I think he is our best hitting first baseman and my hope is that he will DH with Bird playing well at 1B.  He will also play some 1b, especially against some lefties (we probably won’t see that many) and we can give Judge and Stanton some rest.  When Hicks comes back we will see what happens with Bird, but I don’t think Voit is a Shane Spencer and we won’t hear from him again; I think he will remain a productive major league hitter.

Other additions – Mike Tauchman made the roster instead of Tyler Wade (who had a very good spring).  Tauchman is an OF who from the stats doesn’t belong on our team.  My expectation is he won’t be for long and I don’t understand why a minor leaguer wouldn’t be a better choice (other than waiting on arbitration) 

Tarpley – Sinkerballing lefty who is 26 – He was part of what we got in the Ivan Nova trade and with us last year

Injuries:

Didi: - We really need him back, but hopefully Tulo can help us.  I have no idea what we will do when Didi comes back, but trades will happen.

Betances is out and this does make the Ottavino signing better, but we do have a lot of arms and we need to hope Kahnle can get going again and don’t forget we have Green…Our bullpen is still excellent without Betances and thus why I thought the Ottavino signing was a little overkill.  I would expect we deal some of the bullpen arms at some point.

Hicks – Back issues are a concern, but the hope is he will be back in 2-3 weeks

Severino is key for us as we need to get him back and he needs to be an ace.  We won’t have him until mid-May probably

Montgomery – He should be back at the end of the year but hard to expect anything this year

Ellsbury – Not counting on anything, BUT, if he is healthy, he could help us in our OF right now.  Maybe we get him for the 2^nd half and he has a resurgence?  Can always hope

I keep getting asked what I think of this team?  Outside of the injuries, this is a very good team.  I think Boone is very competent and showed the ability to adapt.  He made some mistakes, but he is at least as good as Girardi and he has more upside.  The starters, when healthy are better than people give us credit for even if not a top 5+ rotation, but our bullpen is the best in the majors.  Our offense is really good and our defense is decent (hard to know what we get out of Tulo).  This is a team that will get to the playoffs barring a lot of injuries and can win the World Series.  We are one of the best 4 teams in the majors and that is what you want going in.

One quick note, baseball changed the trade deadline and move it closer to the start of the season to stop teams from buying a one-year championship.  I actually like that rule, but something to keep in mind later in the year/

Let’s have a great year!

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GENIUS MAKER!

The last man to wear #42 was the first unanimous choice to enter the HOF!

I am not one to get into too many HOF discussions, because they tend to go the lowest common denominator.  My opinion is that the HOF has too many people (Harold Baines...really?)  I am just waiting for the next person to say, well Harold Baines got in so shouldn't so and so get in?  Anyway, that is the other spectrum and Rivera deserves to be in.  I do get the argument about a reliever not making as much impact as a starter or an everyday player, however, a closer gets in during high leverage situations and never faces a crappy hitter.  Facing the better teams in the postseason, Rivera was spectacular with an 8-1 record to go along with a 0.70 ERA in 96 appearances and 141 innings.  That is insane, especially when you think about if he came into a postseason game and allowed 20 straight runs without getting an out, his ERA would still be below 2!   Coincidentally, Rivera has 42 postseason saves!  BTW, 14 of those were 2 inning saves and that is more saves than all other relievers combined in the postseason while he was active.

There are so many great stats and I am sure if you are reading this you probably have many of your own favorites.  The Genius Maker deserves his name and his unanimous vote!  Hats off to you Mo!

The Most Frustrating 6-2 Playoff Win!

You would think that a 6-2 win in Fenway in the playoffs would be pretty uplifting.  Overall, it is/was, but I was very annoyed watching the game.  I don't want to get too negative so I will make only two comments that bothered me.

• Stanton - After the previous game where he was up with bases loaded and nobody out and took 3 straight strikes without swinging the bat, he was awful again with 1st and 2nd nobody out with the score 3-1.  Embree couldn't locate pitches and Stanton got clean swings at 4 fastballs that were very hittable and fouled or missed them.  Then, when Embree was just trying to throw strikes, he hit a soft chopper to 3rd where Nunez continued his Steve Sax impersonation and threw high to 2nd...This leads me to my 2nd frustration...
• I watched the play on video many times and it is very close, but if I had to choose, I would say he was safe at 2nd.  I think the foot left the bag when the ball hit the leather of the glove, but it was extremely close.  That being said, YOU CAN'T OVERTURN THAT CALL! That was an absolutely terrible call and whoever made that decision should be fired immediately because they are on the take.  The announcers felt the same way and that could have been huge.  The horrible call is a 1.2 run difference probability wise.  Bases loaded with nobody out, the run probability is 2.37 runs and 1st and 3rd  and 1 out, it is 1.17

Fortunately, Sanchez came through in a huge way with a 3 run blast that was 2nd farthest HR in the Postseason since stat cost started tracking them.  479 feel out of the stadium in Left Center.  Sanchez is poor defensively with eth exception of his arm, but he can b a difference maker with his bat and we saw this last night.

Judge got us going again and it is evident why he is our best player.

Chapman walking the leadoff hitter in the 9th is one of those frustrating moments (I promise, the last one I will comment on), but Chapman pitched great the very next AB to Nunez throwing two fastballs on the outer corner after mixing in some good curves.  If I heard it correct, they said it was his first double play induced all year.

Losing Hicks hurts us but hopefully, he can play Monday.  If he can hit, but can't field, it is possible that Stanton could give way to Hicks as a DH.  I am not ready to do that yet, but if the matchup makes sense, I could understand it.  Gardner had a subtle yet productive AB when he made Kelly throw 8 pitches before he grounded out.  If Gardner would have jumped on the first pitch for an out, I think Kelly would have started the 5th inning (after 2.1 innings of pitching) because he would have had only 18 pitches to get through 7 outs.  But, the 8 pitches was enough to not push past 25 pitches and 2.1 innings.  The next inning we did get 1st and 2nd with one out but Stanton and Sanchez struck out.

Nice job by Tanaka.  He didn't have his great sinker, but he pitched like a veteran and didn't leave too many pitches in very hittable spots.  It was questionable whether he would come out or not, but I thought it was the right move to take him out as he was not as sharp in the 4th and 5th (allowing the HR and walk in the 4th and allowing a very hard hit ball to Betts that went to Gardner.

Betances threw strikes but did not have sharp bite on his curve.  He did get through the 6th with some decently struck balls and then allowed the double to Kinsler that is an out in most parks.  Not his best stuff, but did ok.  

Britton and Chapman each walked a guy but did their job!  

A couple of points on game 1.

•  So much for Happ being the Red Sox killer.  He simply didn't control his change well and after a very bad change he decided to come up and in to JD with a fastball (which is where he gets jammed a lot), but he got the pitch down which allowed Martinez to drop the barrel on it and the 3-0 lead, we never recovered from.
• We fought back, but just could not get a big hit, leaving 1st and 2nd twice and had bases loaded with nobody out and only scored 1 run. 

Overall, a split in Fenway was a good thing and we are now in a best of 3 where we have two games at home.  Game 4 I would not be surprised to see Happ pitch (Not sure if the Yankees announced anything?)

Bring On Boston!

It was great to hang outside with 15-20 friends and watch a playoff win!  The air smells better, the food tastes better and the body hurts a little less today!  Sure it was just one win and won’t be nearly as satisfying as beating the Red Sox, but losing that game would have made the season seem hollow and we would have questioned everything (which we may do if we don’t win it all J )

Let’s get to a few points.  I will try and write more before Friday’s game but have a full schedule.

Boone started Severino and while he was my 3^rd choice, he did pretty well.  NO runs were the best thing, followed by his slider which was sharp with great bite downward.  When you go only 4 innings and leave with 1^st and 2^nd with nobody out it is hard to say it was a good outing, but it was reasonably good.  I thought he went away from throwing his fastball more than he should have in the 2^nd- 5^th innings and I didn’t understand the changeup so often especially when he had thrown all sliders prior (That was not smart as it is easier to lay off of it when you are looking slider).  Four walks in 4 innings is bad though.

Great job by Betances; he was the star.  Coming in with 2 guys on and nobody and in the 5^th inning (early for him) he gave us 2 great innings!  Honestly, his breaking ball was not as good as normal, but he didn’t walk anyone and did a fantastic job.

Was not happy to see Britton get hit, but I was happy to see Chapman look pretty solid.

When is Sanchez going to go back to an approach where he tries to go the other way?  He used to do that well and needs to have an approach to hit it to right.  Naturally, he will still pull some pitches, but he needs to not be afraid to get beat inside on a fastball and this will allow him to hit so many more pitches better.

Voits’ “triple” was an amazing AB.  This guy may have a hole up and in and is probably not as good as his OPS indicates, but he is a very professional hitter.  I didn’t like his celebrating a ball that honestly should have been caught as the RF did not run full speed the entire way (unless he is very slow), but at the worst, it was a key sac fly and it turned out much better!  He has been huge for us.

Andujar needs to learn how to stop patting his glove and stop winding up so much, this is a major flaw in his game.  He made a nice play with his glove, but he does not throw accurately or quickly and that is a bad combo.  Great job by Boone to replace him with Hechavarria, who made an outstanding play to help Robertson.   I like having Hech on the team.  Later Boone put Walker in to replace Voit who is not that skilled at 1B.

I am content today; Boston will be a very tough task.

Just Win One Game!

The end of a successful year.  100 wins and the implementation of Torres and Andujar into our infield.  Andujar’s defense is still weak (when a defensive substitution is Neil Walker at 3^rd you know you have some issues), but his offense has been excellent.  We also overcame numerous injuries and didn’t mortgage our minor leagues to get here.  We are in excellent position for the future…but the future starts this Wednesday!

Let’s get right to the decisions and the good and bad.

The big question is who should we start?  This is part of “the bad.”  The answer should be Severino without hesitation.  However, he has not been very sharp for some time.  His OPS against was .580 in the first half (2.31 ERA) and .821 OPS against with an ERA of 5.43 in the 2^nd half.   Severino had an ERA of 3.56 against Boston in 5 starts and 6.23 in 2 starts against Oakland.  I don’t think starting Severino is the best solution.   I know some people have talked about Happ being able to pitch twice against Boston as we will need him to win that series.  This may be true, but you do have to get there.  Happ has pitched once against Oakland going 6 innings allowing 2 hits and one walk.  Not a huge sample size, but he pitched well.  Happ has an ERA of 1.99 against Boston in 4 starts. He did allow 6 unearned runs in 22 innings though (which is a huge amount).  His OPS against is an excellent .564 (.478 against Oakland for that one start).  Tanaka is an option as well and has not pitched against Oakland this year.  I actually like that because not knowing what a guy actually looks like is a plus.  Tanaka has been awful against Boston in his 4 games; having an ERA of 7.58 and an OPS against of over 1.  Tanaka’s last 5 starts have been good and I have confidence in him.   I think our best chance to win the game is Happ and followed by Tanaka.  Based on the goal of winning the World Series, our best overall chance is to roll the dice with Tanaka so that Happ can pitch twice against Boston.  That being said, you have to get there first and starting Happ can’t be questioned.  I do not think Severino is the right answer.

Bad: I have little confidence in our bullpen.  This was something I did not expect to think or write.  But, who do you trust?  I might have said Britton and then the other day he simply couldn’t throw a strike with anything but his straight fastball.  Overall, he has been our best pitcher down the stretch and the guy I trust the most.  Betances started the year terribly and then since then has been good.  Down the stretch though he wasn’t terrible, but he wasn’t as sharp; remember last year he struggled down the stretch far worse than this year.  He could throw a ball over the backstop or nail a wicked curve on the outside corner, but he is always a risk with runners on base.  Robertson is hard to have any confidence in as he simply is missing spots at an alarming rate and has been awful in the final 2 weeks.  Holder has a 5 ERA in the 2^nd half and I would not pitch him unless very early in the game where you need some innings.  Chapman was having a really good year and then struggled with his injury.  He has pitched 4.1 innings since coming back and has walked 3 batters while only allowing 2 hits and striking out 9.  That is a line that shows what we can expect out of him and guys like Betances and Britton.  They all have great stuff, but can they control their repertoire?  Green has been solid over the last month and is probably the guy to trust the most, but he hasn’t been sharp in his location either.  Overall, a 2.50 ERA is someone you could pitch and feel good about most of the time though.  I thought the pen would be a huge advantage for us, but it just hasn’t been.

Hitting:

We have our team back and that is really good.  The most important part of getting healthier has been Judge.  He changes the lineup substantially.  Unfortunately, since coming back he simply hasn’t been Judge.  His OPS is only .675 since coming back, but he has been getting better of late (.763 over his last 5 games.).  He needs to be a weapon for us!

Didi – He was playing great until he got hurt sliding head first into home plate (this really should not happen unless a critical play in the postseason.).  Same as Judge, he hasn’t been sharp since returning (hand injuries are tough to swing through)

Stanton – Overall, his year was below expectations at .852, but the hope is he can be a force in the playoffs as he tends to be streaky

Sanchez – Someone who can be a difference maker for us.  Unfortunately, he had an awful year at the plate finishing with an OPS of .697.  Like a lot of our team, we finished the year better, but was that because we were facing weaker pitching in non-leveraged situations?  Regardless, confidence is important and he had a good last week and hopefully he can contribute offensively, otherwise, he won’t start every game (hoping we have more than 1 game)

Romine – I would not start him against Oakland, but he is an option in a series to catch a game here and there if Sanchez doesn’t hit.  When playing every day (which is hard for a catcher because of all the little dings and hits you take every game) as well as returning to the mean showed a huge difference as he had an OPS of .825 in the first half and a .597 in the 2^nd half.

Luke Voit – What can you say about this guy.  Bird faltered and this guy stepped up HUGE.  .333/.405/689 for a 1.095 OPS!  This was in 132 AB’s also so not a very small sample size.  He has adjusted very well and while he has a hole up and in, pitchers are not good at throwing there often/consistently.  For perspective, if you took what he has done and gave him the same amount of AB’s as Stanton (617), he would have 65 homers and 154 RBI’s.  This gives you an idea of how good he has been and he has finished the year stronger with an OPS of 1.128 over the last month.

Andujar- This guy is a hitter; his 47^th double tied the rookie major league record!  He has been the most consistent guy for us and finishing at .855 is extremely respectable and promising.

Torres – Struggled after coming back and his OPS dropped to .822 (which is still solid for a slick middle infielder). 

Hicks – Overall has done very well considering he had 220 more AB’s this year than in his entire career.  .833 OPS was very solid playing CF.  He also was pretty consistent by month considering he was always a streaky hitter)

Walker – The guy I predicted would be much better in the 2^nd half, did come through for us.  He had an OPS of .788 (compared to .563 in the 1^st half) and hit righties well.  That still is not a great OPS but respectable.  He will be a guy off the bench and possibly a pinch hitter.

McCutchen – He has played well for us (.892 OPS) and I really liked the pickup as it gives us depth and options.

Even though we have our team back, with so many guys not playing their best down the stretch, we need to turn it up to have a chance to extend the season deep into October.

267 homers is the most ever by a team!  The offense will have to be strong for us to compete and while we have struggled since coming back from all of our injuries, we are a very formidable team.  I hope we beat Oakland and think we have a better than 50% chance, probably closer to 60%.  Then we have a below 50% chance of beating the Red Sox, but one thing at a time.

Rough loss!

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

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

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

Some positives:

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

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

Texas Series

• Taking 3 out of 4 was good against a very hot hitting team that does not pitch well
• Happ, Lynn and CC all pitched very well.  They kept the ball out of the middle of the plate and mixed eye levels, sides of the plate and speeds.  
• On the negative side, Tanaka was awful, allowing 3 HR's in 5 IP while also walking 3 batters. 
• The vaunted bullpen is not performing well of late.  Green has been struggling - in the last month with 12 IP, he has allowed 9 ER.  Chapman has been scary and Britton has not been sharp.  Holder had the nightmare game against Boston but wasn't sharp around that 7 ER without getting an out game, but he did pitch well last night and the previous two outings.
• In general, we are walking too many guys; we walked 20 in the 4 games against Texas.
• Betances, has been great and is the guy I have the most confidence in (and he still throws 1 or 2 to the back screen every game), but take a look at how great he has been over the past 30 games or so.  28 IP, 8 hits, 1 run, 14 free passes (4 HBP and 10 walks) with 49 k's - This is crazy good!
• I am worried about Andujar and his defense.  He was getting away with some of the fundamental play earlier in the year, but his defense has been awful of late.  backing up on way too many balls and getting eaten up.  he also takes a long time to throw the ball winding up so when he takes his time to throw he gives no room for error.  On top of the 2 more errors (12 on the year) last night, Voit saved him a throwing error by making a very good scoop on a bad throw (tougher than the one Bird could have made to win the game on Andjur's game losing play.  The guy has a really good stick, but he needs to have more of a sense of urgency at 3rd base (charge the ball and get rid of it) or he simply will be a DH.  He even fails to turn 2 a lot because of how long he takes to get rid of the ball.  Boone kept Walker in the game and put him at 3rd base for defense in the 9th.  When you are being replaced by Walker at 3rd base, you have to look at what you are doing wrong.
• Speaking of Walker, while he hasn't walked in August, his OPS in July and August (about 100 plate appearances) has been about .825!

• While I was pleased to see Eovaldi have one of his games where he got lit up (just seems to happen to him more than other guys with stuff like his), Sale ran his scoreless streak to 28 innings as he returned for Boston.  
• Boston has a .708 winning %.  
• Realistically, we should be rooting for Seattle and Oakland to lose more than the Red Sox now as we are 9.5 behind Boston and 4.5 and 5 ahead of Oakland and Seattle respectively.  I believe we are better than those two teams and we will host the wild-card game.  Unfortunately, one game can go either way, but why I really like the playoff system now (long time readers remember that I wrote about doing exactly what they did).  If any team can't catch another team after 162 games, they have proven that they are not as good as that team, but giving 2 more teams a chance to get in keeps interest around the league, but also is something you would much rather NOT do.  I remember before the extra Wild Card team, there were times where I would have rathered not won the division because of the matchup; that should never happen and there should be a large reward for winning the division.