Game 29. Yanks trash Astros, 7-3.

Houston visited Yankee Stadium for the first time since the 2017 cheating scandal, and it’s too bad Covid restrictions limited the number of fans in the Stadium. The Astros still heard their share of boos regarding it, though.

The Yanks went over .500 at 15-14 with a 7-3 win over the Astros Tuesday night. It was their fourth win in a row and sixth in their last seven games.

Houston scored first, in the top of the first, when Yankees’ starter Domingo German gave up a solo HR to Alex Bregman.

The Yanks got three in the bottom of the first off Houston ace Zack Greinke. D.J. LeMahieu led off the inning with a single, then Giancarlo Stanton hit a 2-run HR (7). Aaron Judge then walked, Gio Urshela singled, and Gleyber Torres walked to load the bases with no one out. Judge scored when Clint Frazier GIDP.

German gave up a HR to Michael Brantley leading off the top of the fourth. An out later, he gave up a single and double, and the double tied up the game. He was lucky it was just a double. It hit the top of the fence and bounced back, ruled a double on review.

The Yanks scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth to win the game. Torres led off the inning with a walk, and one out later, Aaron Hicks singled. After Kyle Higashioka grounded into a force out, Rougned Odor walked to load the bases. LeMahieu hit a slow roller for a hit, and when Bregman made an error, all three runners scored, while LeMahieu advanced to second. Odor banged into Houston catcher Martin Maldonado, and both players had to leave the game, Odor with a knee injury. When play resumed, Stanton singled in LeMahieu for what turned out to be the final run of the game.

The Yankees’ bullpen tossed four scoreless innings.

LeMahieu 2 hits, RBI
Stanton 4 hits, 3 RBI, 2-run HR (7)
Torres 3 walks


German 5 IP, 3 R, 4 H, 1 W, 6 K. 4.32. Gave up 2 HR.
Luetge (W, 2-0) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 3.78
Loaisiga 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 1.04
Peralta 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 4.35 (combined SF/NYY)
Green 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K. 1.02

Whew. What could have been… Injuries to Paxton and Tanaka.

So far this season is the opposite of what you expected. After six games, the pitching has a stellar 1.74 ERA (those runners on second in extra innings that score are unearned runs, and the Yanks (3-3) have lost two of their three games that way. As I mentioned numerous times, I hate that rule).

Meanwhile the hitting hasn’t clicked in yet.

But the pitching could have been a disaster, just six games in.

Say the Yanks had kept James Paxton and Masahiro Tanaka. (We won’t discuss Happ, who is healthy with the Twins). If so, the Yankees’ rotation would already be in shambles.

Paxton has pitched just 1 1/3 innings for the Mariners, and is hurt again. Removed in the second inning of the game the other day, TJ surgery is recommended and he wouldn’t be back until late 2022. So in 2020 (Covid, plus back trouble) and 2021 (elbow) combined, Paxton would have pitched a total of 21 2/3 innings, with most of 2022 gone now as well. He’s never pitched 162 innings in a season.

Tanaka, who went back to Japan (more on that in a minute), is on the shelf with a calf injury.

Of course, injuries could hit the Yankees, but if Paxton and Tanaka were still with the team, already the rotation would be hurting.

As for Tanaka, rumors that he went back to Japan not only because of price but because of prejudice are disturbing. There is no place for that.

Yankees news.

As we await Thanksgiving and the Hot Stove League heats up along with the turkey, some Yankees news.

Aroldis Chapman’s suspension was reduced from three games to two and will be served at the beginning of the 2021 season. … whenever it starts. With all going on, who knows?

Yankees’ minor league coach Miguel Cairo has left the organization to become Tony LaRussa’s bench coach with the White Sox. Yes, surprising that 76 year old LaRussa, already in the Hall of Fame, is returning to managing. Look out Connie Mack!

The Yanks put four minor leaguers on the 40 man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft. SS Oswald Peraza and three minor league pitchers: Roansy Contreras, Alexander Vizcaino and Yoendrys Gomez. Vizcaino is 23, the others 20 or 21.

Cano suspended for all of 2021

Ex-Yankee Robbie Cano has been suspended for all of 2021 due to PEDs. It is the second time Cano has been caught. He was suspended for 80 games in 2018.

Cano (Yankees 2005-2013, Mariners 2014-2018, Mets 2019-2020) should have been a Hall of Famer. A .303 career batting average, 8x All-Star, WS champion (2009), over 2600 hits, over 300 HR. A runner-up for ROY. MVP consideration 8x, and 6x top -10 for MVP, 4x top-5 for MVP. OPS+ 126. 162 game average .303-24-94. Two Gold Gloves. Five Silver Sluggers. Baseball-Reference has him ranked the 7th best 2B of all-time.

Put an asterisk next to all those numbers. Forget the Hall of Fame.

Put him in the Hall of Stupid, the Hall of Arrogance, whatever. But not the Hall of Fame.

Dummy.

Exhibition Game 20: Yanks beat Mets, 9-3

MLB.com goes back to spring training when the Yanks were 11-8 in posting their boxscore. Hence the “Exhibition Game 20” headline above, and spring training (summer camp?) in my categories. In any case, the Yanks improved to 12-8 with a 9-3 win over the Mets at Citi Field.

Clint Frazier hit a 2-run HR. Mike Tauchman had 3 hits and an RBI. Gleyber Torres had two hits and an RBI. Miguel Andujar had two hits and an RBI. Erik Kratz, who just turned 40 last month, drove in two runs.

The pitching line:

Michael King (Winner) 4 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 1 W, 3 K.
Britton 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K.
Green 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Kahnle 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Ottavino 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Heller 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K.

The Mets featured ex-Yankees Robbie Cano, Melky Cabrera, Eduardo Nunez and Dellin Betances. Betances made one of the Mets’ four errors.

They’ll play another exhibition game tonight, this time at Yankee Stadium.

In other news, Domingo German took back some words he said the other day that made it seem like he was walking away from baseball. Still, don’t expect him until 2021, what with his suspension.

Ex MLB umpire Rick Reed passed away at the age of 70.

An exhibition game tonight; News on Estrada, Warren, German

We actually get to see a game, rather than an intrasquad game, when the Yanks head over to Queens to take on the Mets tonight. YES Network, 7:10 PM EDT.

Thairo Estrada is making a bid to join the team as a utility man, and it could come at the cost of Tyler Wade. Estrada has hit 3 HR in intrasquad action since the Yanks have resumed business.

Per MLBTR:

The Yankees have released righty Adam Warren, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link). He had been with the team on a minor-league pact.

Warren, who has been working back from Tommy John surgery, was not a participant in Summer Camp. His contract is a two-year arrangement, befitting his rehab status.

It seems that coronavirus-related roster management matters forced the decision. GM Brian Cashman explained that Warren is progressing well, as Jack Curry of YES reports on Twitter. Indeed, the expectation is that the Yanks will work out a new deal with him in the coming offseason.

Has Domingo German, ineligible for this year because of a domestic abuse incident, retired?

From Newsday:

German posted a photo of himself in a Yankees uniform exclaiming in what appears to be a photo of him pitching in a game. The post included Spanish words that translated to: “Everyone makes history on both sides, I think I did mine at Yankee Stadium, if decide not to come back I will proud of my effort during an 11-year career. God bless everyone who has supported me”

He also put online an Instagram story with words that translated to: “I’ve left baseball. Thanks everyone.”

I’ll believe it when I see or hear more, but hope he has or gets his life together.

 

German’s status

Domingo German’s 81 game suspension for domestic violence included eighteen games last year and last year’s postseason, leaving 63 games this year.

Now that the season is reduced to 60 games (and let’s hope they can get through THAT—no guarantee there), how is German affected?

He’ll be out the regular season but WOULD be available for the postseason since he missed last year’s postseason after going 18-4, 4.03.

Who knows what would have happened in the ALCS had German been available to start. Instead in that last game, Game 6 of the ALCS, Chad Green was used as the “opener” and gave up a HR in the first inning. Happ and CC were used out of the bullpen.  The retiring CC had hurt his shoulder before that Game 6 and that ended his career. Severino, who only had a couple of starts in the regular season, was starting in the postseason, and was lined up for Game 7. Later it came out he was having some problems—problems that didn’t go away and continued into spring training of this year where it was discovered that he needed TJ surgery.

So what would have happened if German was available? Who knows.

But I would be shocked if German did pitch in any postseason this year. I mean, who pitches someone in the postseason when they didn’t throw one pitch in competition all year long?

MLB suspension also pushes back German return.

If you are wondering what the suspension of spring training and the postponement and delay of Opening Day means for Domingo German and his return to the Yankees, think no further.

It pushes it back.

German wasn’t suspended for a certain time, but for a certain amount of GAMES. So his suspension resumes whenever the games resume.

Originally considered a candidate for a June return, now, depending on when MLB does kick in, he may not be back until August.

And with the changes to MLB as far as the rosters (no increase from 25 to 40 in September, but only from 26 to 28), if this delay pushes him into September, then there could be a chance he doesn’t come back at all this year.

He’s not eligible until the Yankees’ 64th game of 2020, but who knows now when that 64th game will take place?

That 64th game was originally supposed to be June 5th. Now?

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This pandemic / national emergency does give some players like Judge, Stanton and Paxton time to heal without missing games. So there is that. A silver lining.

But we wish the black cloud never would have appeared.

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As expected the minors followed MLB’s lead. Minor league baseball postponed for the time being as well.

Yankees hold first full squad workout Tuesday, but no BP (shoulder) for Judge.

The position players reported Monday and yesterday saw the Yanks hold their first full-squad workout of spring training.

But Aaron Judge didn’t take BP because of a sore shoulder.

The Yanks don’t think it’s serious, and as long as they take it slow with him and that he is good to go on March 26 (Opening Day in Baltimore) all will be good.

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The Yanks are going slow with Luis Severino, after what happened with his shoulder last year.

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With this cheating scandal, Rob Manfred is really showing himself as a weak commissioner.

Baker pleading for the A*trori*k* to be protected.

Dusty Baker is in a tough situation. He has to protect players he didn’t manage when those players cheated in the past few years. Now he is begging MLB to help protect them.

One thing you learn at an early age. Respect isn’t given, it is earned. And once lost, you have to work two or three times as hard to re-earn it.

I don’t advocate beanballs, but if some pitcher decides to fire a pitch at some Astro hitters’ butt or plunk him in the ribs, I would not mind that at all.

Put it this way. Houston is damned lucky. Imagine if they were facing a lawsuit because of a hitter— knowing what pitch was coming— hitting a line drive that hit a pitcher in the head.

So looking at it THAT way, I have no problem with some pitchers looking for retaliation. But once that pitch is thrown, then warnings have to be given out so that the game doesn’t get out of hand.

But Houston, you asked for it. And some of your comments defending yourselves are flat out ridiculous, like the little kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Meanwhile, a couple of Little League organizations have removed the name Astros from their league because they don’t want kids associated with a name now synonymous with cheating. They want kids doing things the right way.

I do like this, from Mike Vaccaro’s NY Post column:

Dick Schlott: Were the umpires deaf during the Astros games? It is incumbent on the umpire crews to see and hear what is going on, including strange noises coming out of a dugout!
Vac: And to think, all these years, people thought you could only make fun of umpires being blind, not deaf.

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Looking at pictures of Yankees’ C Gary Sanchez in spring training, it looks like he lost a good deal of weight. Looks trim and chiseled and hopefully more mobile behind the plate. Hopefully it helps him stay off the DL more often.

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Another minor signing: Yanks sign Chad Bettis RHP, 31 in April. Bettis went 1-6, 6.08 in 39 games for Colorado in 2019 (3 starts). ERA+ 86. He is 31-31 in his career with an ERA of 5.12 (ERA+ 93). His best years were in 2016 when he went 14-8, 4.79, ERA+ 101 in 32 starts, and the year before when in 20 starts he went 8-6, 4.23, ERA+ 110. His 162 game average is 8-8, 5.12, ERA+ 93, 24 starts, 20 more appearances in relief.

No offense to Bettis, but it appears to be a depth signing. Not much to get excited about. Granted Colorado doesn’t help his numbers, but…