Cashman runnerup for Exec. of Yr.

From ESPN

Tampa Bay Rays general manager Erik Neander has been voted Major League Baseball’s Executive of the Year.

Yankees’ GM Brian Cashman finished second in the voting.

No Q.O. for Didi. John, Munson, Mattingly on Modern Baseball Era ballot for HOF consideration. Boone up for MOY.

The Yankees did not extend a qualifying offer of $17.8MM to Didi Gregorius. If he leaves as a free agent, the Yanks receive no compensation.

It could be that the Yanks want him back, but at less than that figure. But Didi now can talk to anyone.

Didi made $11.75MM last season, when he missed a significant amount of time recovering from TJ surgery. He played in 82 games, and despite hitting 16 HR and driving in 61 runs, only hit .238 with an OPS+ of 87. It was his worst OPS+ since his first year with the Yanks in 2015.

One other problem is that Didi didn’t walk much. His OBP was just .276.

As such, the Yanks probably didn’t think a raise from $11.75MM to $17.8MM was warranted or deserved. IF the Yanks want him back, it probably would be for less than $17.8MM.

Didi hopes to return. We will see.

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From MLB.com:

Gregorius was one of seven Yankees to hit free agency on Halloween, following right-hander Dellin Betances, outfielder Brett Gardner, right-hander Cory Gearrin (who I don’t expect back), outfielder Cameron Maybin (questionable), catcher Austin Romine (would he come back as a backup or does he want to start elsewhere) and retired left-hander CC Sabathia.

As you know, the Yankees declined a $20 million option on first baseman Edwin Encarnacion, instead paying him a $5 million buyout.

Of that group, the Yankees seem most likely to pursue a reunion with Gardner, who could man center field in the wake of Aaron Hicks’ Tommy John surgery.

The Yankees announced the following roster moves on Monday:

• Reinstated 3B Miguel Andújar, 1B Greg Bird, OF Jacoby Ellsbury and RHP Jonathan Holder from the 60-day injured list.

• Reinstated RHP Jake Barrett from the 60-day IL and outrighted him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

• LHP Tyler Lyons has elected free agency in lieu of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

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BBWAA awards:

Aaron Boone has been named as one of three finalists for AL Mgr. of the Year.

D.J. LeMahieu may get consideration for MVP, but he won’t be in the top 3. The top 3 are Bregman, Trout and Semien but the order won’t be revealed until Nov. 14.

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Also from MLB.com:

The National Baseball Hall of Fame announced 10 candidates under consideration for induction as part of the 2020 Modern Baseball Era ballot: Dwight Evans, Steve Garvey, Tommy John, Don Mattingly, Marvin Miller, Thurman Munson, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Ted Simmons and Lou Whitaker.

Beltran to become Mets manager. Will Chapman opt out?

Carlos Beltran, former Yankee player and until now, a front office special adviser with the Yankees, has been named the new Mets manager.

Beltran hit .279 with 435 HR in a career that spanned from 1998 to 2017 with KC (1998-2004), Houston (2004), the Mets (2005-2011), the Giants (2011), the Cardinals (2012-2013), the Yankees (2014-2016), Texas (2016) and Houston again (2017).  He also stole over 300 bases and had an OPS+ of 119. He is a strong candidate for the HOF.  Twice he finished in the top 10 for MVP consideration.

As a player, Beltran was a 9x All-Star, ROY, 3x Gold Glove winner, 2x Silver Slugger winner, and finally a WS Champ in his last season.

He hit .307 with 16 HR in 65 postseason games, but Mets fans remember him being frozen on strike three to end the 2006 NLCS. Sad memory, because 2006 may have been the best season of Beltran’s career.

Beltran was one of those considered and given an interview for the Yankees managerial job that went to Aaron Boone after the 2017 season.

Beltran is 42. Like Boone, he takes over a NY team with no prior managerial experience.

Per MLB.com, Beltrán will become the ninth person to play for and manage the Mets, joining Gil Hodges, Yogi Berra, Joe Torre, Bud Harrelson, Roy McMillan, Mike Cubbage, Dallas Green, Bobby Valentine and Willie Randolph.

Of course, of those, Yogi, Torre and Green also managed the Yankees.

The Yankees and their fans will miss Beltran, but wish him good luck (unless it’s against the Yanks, of course).

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From MLBtraderumors.com

Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman is pursuing an extension but otherwise plans to utilize the opt-out clause in his five-year contract, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (Twitter link). A decision on that opt-out provision is due today, leaving his representatives at Magnus Sports with a small window to work out a new deal.

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In the event that an extension isn’t reached, the Yankees will surely issue him a $17.8MM qualifying offer, which he’ll reject in order to head into free agency.

 

What happened? How to rectify? Mistakes made?

Ok, for what could be the third year in a row, the Yanks get knocked out by the WS Champs (that is, if Houston beats Washington this year in the World Series). And, it might be said, for the third year in a row, the Yanks could be the second best team in baseball, with the Dodgers of the last two years disagreeing. Maybe the Yanks would have beaten the Dodgers in 2017 and 2018, maybe not. Maybe the Yanks would beat Washington this year, maybe not.

Joel Sherman has a post suggesting moves the Yanks could make. But the one thing he compares the Yanks to could be telling. Are the Yanks in danger of being the Patrick Ewing Knicks to the Michael Jordan Bulls. Good but not good enough to get over that one team (be in 2017/2019 Astros or 2018 Red Sox) standing in their way to a WS Championship?

Let’s take a look at some things that went wrong against the Astros in the ALCS and some things that went wrong prior to that. It’s ok to disagree. I’ve disagreed with some recently about my opinions.

Let’s start with the starting pitching. It would have been nice to have Domingo German, their winning-est pitcher on the Yankees this year (18-4, 4.03), starting a game, maybe especially Game 6 instead of a bullpen game (Chad Green starting), wouldn’t it?

Except that German was forced onto administrative leave by MLB for a domestic abuse incident. That helped hurt the Yanks. Couldn’t have seen that coming. Ouch.

Also hurting was that J.A. Happ didn’t start Game 6 because he had a bad year (12-8, 4.91) and lost the trust of his manager and coaching staff. With CC Sabathia’s condition (we’ll get to CC in a bit) adding onto the loss of German and Happ’s ineffectiveness, that left a rotation of Tanaka, Paxton, Severino—and Severino was just coming off an injury that cost him almost the entire season—and the opener, in this case, Green.

As for Sabathia, I wasn’t in favor of bringing him back. I admire his courage and applaud what he did for the Yanks. But you think with your head, not your heart. Last off-season, did you expect a lot from CC? More than what he gave this year? I didn’t. Bad knee, the stent put in, turned 39 in July. CC’s last win was on June 24. Think about that for a moment. His last winning decision was JUNE 24. His ERA was 4.95. He’s on and off the injured list. You couldn’t rely on him to take the mound. He would if he COULD, but a lot of times he COULD NOT. And in the ALCS, his arm gave out. A more reliable #5 would have helped more. You can’t make decisions on sentiment. It’s a cruel business.

Speaking of injuries, I feel the Yanks made a mistake keeping Stanton on the roster. Yes, if you take him off, he doesn’t play in the WS. But you cannot think about the World Series. You have to think about, and win, the ROUND YOU ARE CURRENTLY IN. He didn’t play in Games 2, 3, and 4 although Manager Aaron Boone said he could pinch-hit, which he didn’t. Nor did he play in Game 6. So for four games, even though Stanton was available, in reality it was like the Yanks were playing a man short.

They could have replaced him with Mike Ford. Replacing him with Ford (.259-12-25 in 143 at bats this year) would have put another lefty bat in the lineup against a team (Houston) that had NO lefty pitchers on its postseason roster. NONE. It also would have enabled Boone to bench Edwin Encarnacion (1 for 18 with 11 strikeouts in the series) for Ford.

Joe Torre said that Don Zimmer told him you can’t be patient in the postseason. True. You can let a guy ride out a slump in the regular season, but there is no time for that in the postseason. You can be a player’s manager in the regular season, but in the postseason who have to be a hard-ass. If a guy goes 1 for 9 in a ALDS sweep, and you win anyway, but that same guy starts the ALCS 0 for 12 and is killing your team, you have to pull the trigger. You have to sit him if you can.

Which leads me to Gary Sanchez. (I will get back to the starting pitching soon). Sanchez was 3 for 23, 12 strikeouts (1 HR, 3 RBI) against the Astros. He didn’t fare well against the Twins in the ALDS either. Later, his defense suffered too. Passed balls in two straight games.

I would have sat him for Austin Romine for at least one game. Romine doesn’t have the power Sanchez has, but maybe Romine would at least make contact instead of striking out half the time? The Yanks have to figure out what they have in Sanchez. He missed about 40 games in 2018 but still hit 18 HR. This year, he missed about 25 games and still hit 34 HR. He’s a 2x All-Star. But despite all those HR, in the past two seasons combined, he’s hit .211 (.186 and .232) and he’s better than that. He should be a .270 hitter with his talent. In that Joel Sherman article, Sherman states that he thinks it is a legitimate question to ask if the Yanks can win a title with Sanchez behind the plate. I think the answer is —-not THIS version of Gary Sanchez. But is there another one? The one he SHOULD be, given his talent? Sanchez has six postseason HR. He also has a .176 postseason batting average and 40 strikeouts in 102 postseason at bats.

Aaron Judge has struck out a lot in the postseason too (41 strikeouts in 101 at bats), but at least Judge is hitting .257 in the postseason with 8 HR. And defensively, Judge in RF is head and shoulders better than Sanchez has been at catcher.

Ok, getting back to the starting pitching, and here is where I’ve had some disagreements with others. I hope you see my point. If not, that’s fine.

But the Yanks, I think, need a stud pitcher. (Think going all out to get Gerrit Cole as a free agent this offseason, or Stephen Strasburg if he opts out). They are top of the line studs. Now others say that we have an ace in Severino. Maybe, maybe not. But here is the problem.

The last time the Yanks had a pitcher with 200 IP in a season was in 2013. (CC and Kuroda. CC 14-13, 4.78 (not a good year) and Kuroda 11-13, 3.31 (deserved a better record)). Meaning more work for the bullpen.

Now let’s take it to the postseason. Since Game 2 of the 2012 ALCS, the Yankees have played in 30 postseason games. In only 7 has their starter gone more than five innings.

Masahiro Tanaka was four of those seven.

In eight postseason starts, Luis Severino has gone over five innings just once. He has pitched just 31 innings in those eight starts. That is less than four innings per start.

I’m sorry. That is not ace-like.That is not a stud.

Remember what middle relievers are. No offense to them, but they are pitchers not good enough for the starting rotation, and not good enough to be your closer.

And, the more you see them in the postseason, the more comfortable the batters are facing them.

Which means you want to try to avoid using them too much. Meaning the starter has to give length, and you see the Yanks’ starters haven’t done that.

It’s not just the Yanks. The game is changing and other teams have this problem too. But for the Yanks to jump the Astros (Verlander, Cole, Greinke) or even last year’s Red Sox (Sale, Price) or maybe even this year’s Nationals (Scherzer, Strasburg, and Corbin—and oh, how I wanted the Yanks to sign Corbin last off-season), they need starters to give more length.

Now, as far as using the relievers too much (and the Yanks have one of the best bullpens in baseball, postseason problems notwithstanding) because the Yanks’ starters didn’t go deep enough, I think Aaron Boone stayed too long with Adam Ottavino. After a while it was apparent the Yanks had a problem. Ottavino couldn’t get anyone out. You got to jettison him. Boone stuck with him.

Remember what I just mentioned about hitters getting too familiar with pitchers if you are using them all the time in a short series? Maybe Boone could have rolled the dice and instead of using Chad Green as the Game 6 starter/opener (a pitcher Houston had seen before in the series), and who gave up a 3-run HR in the first inning of Game 6, maybe Boone could have used Ben Heller as the Game Six starter/opener instead?

Heller missed most of the 2019 season coming back from injury. BUT… Houston didn’t see him all year. No familiarity. You were asking for one inning, that is all. I don’t know how much video or how much of a scouting report Houston had on Heller, but it could not have been much.

It would have been a gamble, but maybe one worth taking. Throw someone Houston hasn’t seen before.

So…summing up.

One point made. Yanks’ starters need to go deeper in postseason games. Which is why I would like that one stud pitcher to complete the rotation.

Point two. If a guy is “day to day” he really isn’t helping. If the guy is going to miss a couple postseason games, replace him. Next round be damned. You got to win THIS round first. Stanton’s “questionable” status hurt. He can or can’t go.

Point three. Pull the plug on slumping players. Give them a day maybe just to clear their head, shake things up. Romine for Sanchez, Ford if placed on roster for Encarnacion.

Maybe even Maybin (1 for 3 vs. Houston, had a HR vs Twins) for Gardner? Granted Gardner hit into some tough luck in Game 6, but in the ALCS he was only 3 for 22 with 10 strikeouts.

Which leads me to Point Four. In one game, against the hottest pitcher on the planet right now, Gerrit Cole, Gardner hit third and came up in the first with both D.J. LeMahieu and Aaron Judge on base in the top of the first. Gardner isn’t your prototypical #3 hitter, like a Ruth, Mantle, Aaron, DiMaggio, etc. He can bunt, and has speed to beat it out. I know they were hoping for the big inning, and that Gardner hit a career high 28 HR this year, but was there any thought to “this is your one chance against Cole and let’s make sure we move the runners?”. Any thought of laying one down?

Littleball is more important in the postseason.

And that leads us to Point Five. Make more contact. Put the ball in play. Too many power or nothing guys like Encarnacion, Stanton, Sanchez. Need more LeMahieu-type guys. It’s one thing to slump and hit into bad luck, another not to hit the ball at all. If making outs, make PRODUCTIVE outs that can move runners over, or, in the case of sacrifice flies, get the run in.

We’ll see who among the free agents stays and who goes. We know CC is retiring. But going or staying are: Betances, Encarnacion (who I think will be bought out and gone), Didi, Romine, Gardner, Gearrin (I think gone), and Maybin.,

Sherman (writer for the NY Post and MLB Network contributor) has a nice article about two players the Yanks should target. I definitely agree with Gerrit Cole. I don’t know if and how they can get Cleveland’s Francisco Lindor. It would take a lot, probably a package including Miguel Andujar, Clint Frazier and maybe even a Jonathan Loaisiga or Deivi Garcia and/or Jasson Dominguez, the 16 year old international phenom they signed this summer. It would take a lot.

But definitely get a Cole or Strasburg. A must, in my opinion. I want to see length from starters in postseason games.

And no openers.

As for hitting, more contact. Less strikeouts. Give yourself more of a chance.

 

ALCS Game 4. Yanks pushed to the brink after 8-3 loss. CC ends career by getting hurt.

It can’t be looking worse. An 8-3 loss to the Astros puts the Yanks down three games to one in the ALCS, and the Yanks are looking at Justin Verlander tonight, and if the series continues, Gerrit Cole later, and the Astros can afford to save Cole for a possible Game 7.

Besides giving up the eight runs, the Yanks’ bats were quiet for the most part again, as they blew a couple of chances. Twice they loaded the bases, only to come away with one run total.

In the bottom of the first, D.J. LeMahieu walked, was forced at second by Aaron Judge, but then Aaron Hicks blooped a single and after Gleyber Torres popped out, and a double steal was executed, both Edwin Encarnacion and Brett Gardner walked, Gardner’s walk forcing in a run. But the struggling Gary Sanchez struck out.

The Yanks really could have dropped the hammer there. They let the Astros off the hook.

Masahiro Tanaka gave up a 3-run HR to George Springer in the third inning, giving the Astros a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

The fifth inning was a killer, as the Yanks loaded the bases with one out. You thought here’s where they get back in the game, but Gleyber Torres and the slumping Edwin Encarnacion both struck out.  Torres has carried the team, but this was one occasion where he couldn’t do it.

Things unraveled in the sixth. Normally sure-handed Gold Glover D.J. LeMahieu made an error, the first of four (2 by LeMahieu, 2 by Torres) by the Yanks on the night. That ended Tanaka’s night and brought in Chad Green. An out later, a single, then a 3-run HR by Carlos Correa made it 6-1 Houston and the game, for all intensive purposes, was over.

Gary Sanchez finally woke up, hitting a 2-run HR in the bottom of the sixth to cut it to 6-3. LeMahieu later doubled with two out, but Aaron Judge struck out to end the inning, so the Yanks could not get closer.

I’ve disagreed with Boone’s decisions to keep going back to the struggling Sanchez and also Adam Ottavino. As Joe Torre said, he was advised by Don Zimmer that you can’t have patience in the offseason. Time is too short. Boone, in this series, basically has chosen to sink or swim with those guys (Encarnacion, too, and I’ll get to that in a bit) and it looks like the answer is sink. Ottavino came in for the eighth, and gave up a double right away. Then things got sloppy. LeMahieu, so good with the glove, made his second error of the game to put runners on first and third with one out. In came CC.

Torres then made an error, making it 7-3. A lineout and HBP loaded the bases. CC got another lineout, runners holding, but then had to leave the game with a sore shoulder. Even if the Yanks can come back in this series, win it, and go to the World Series, CC’s career is over. He’ll be replaced on the roster, perhaps by Stephen Tarpley or Jordan Montgomery. Jonathan Loaisiga got a strikeout to get out of the inning.

More sloppiness in the ninth. Torres made his second error of the night, a 2-base error, then a WP and a single made it 8-3 Astros. There was another WP and a walk, but no further damage.

The “savages” have turned tame. The Yanks only had five hits in the game.

The Yanks (.204) are actually out-hitting Houston (.182) in the series, but Houston is getting key hits and the Yanks are not.

Correa is 3 for 17 with 7 strikeouts, but had the GW HR in Game 2 and a 3-run shot last nght. Springer is just 2 for 17 with seven strikeouts but both are homers, the game-tying HR in Game 2 and a 3-run HR last night.

Meanwhile the Yanks were 0 for 7 w/RISP last night.

The late Bill Gallo of the NY Daily News used to draw cartoons, and in big series like this, had the hero with a halo over his head, and the goat with the goat horns.

Encarnacion, 1 for 15 in this series. It could be his last games as a Yankee, as I expect the Yanks not to p/u the $20MM option but buy him out at $5MM instead.

Brett Gardner is 2 for 15. Didi Gregorius 2 for 16. Gary Sanchez 2 for 17. Gio Urshela 2 for 15.

If Stanton can’t play, and he hasn’t, then I do have to question the Yanks’ decision to keep him on the roster and not replace him. If, as Boone states, he can PH, then why can’t he DH instead of the slumping Encarnacion? If he can’t do that, then why is he on the roster? Replacing Stanton with say, Luke Voit or Mike Ford would enable the Yanks to bench the slumping Encarnacion, and get someone off the roster who can’t play anyway.

Also, the decision to stick with Sanchez and not give Romine a game (he couldn’t be worse than Sanchez’ 2 for 17) may come back to haunt them.

There are some decisions made in this series, like the ones I mentioned above and in the last few days) (Stanton/Encarnacion/Ottavino/Sanchez) that it appears the Yanks will rue all offseason.

One thing also appears evident. The Yanks starters are decent, but not elite. That’s the difference between them and say, Houston or Washington.

As good of a bullpen as the Yanks have, consider this. Your best pitchers generally either start or are your closer. The last pitchers on your team are generally the middle relief guys. John Smoltz made a good point in the telecast. You really would like to have your starter go a long way and just hand the ball to the closer. No middleman. Maybe one. But not a bunch of them. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Of all the teams in the playoffs, Washington is in the WS, and had two guys with 200 IP this year. Houston has three starters who went 200 IP or more.

The Yanks haven’t had a starter give 200 IP in a season since 2013 (CC, who had a bad year that year with a 4.78 ERA, and Kuroda, who pitched well that year but had tough luck and no run support).

The Yanks need their starters to give more length, and especially in the postseason. They could really use an ace. An “A” pitcher to go along with a lot of “B” starters they currently have. That would help put them over the top instead of doing what they have the past few years—win 100 or more but come up short to a team that won 106 or more.

Of course, Domingo German, and what he did, didn’t help the Yanks, but that’s another story.

More clutch hitting would also help. The Yanks had 5 hits, and 7 walks, but …  the Yanks struck out 13x.

LeMahieu 2 hits (of the Yanks’ 5). Of course. But uncharacteristically, 2 errors.
Torres 0 for 5, 2 strikeouts, 2 errors. After carrying them so far, a bad game.

Tanaka (LOSS) 5 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR.
Green 1 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR.
Kahnle 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Ottavino 0 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 W, 0 K. Once again, couldn’t get an out. An error hurt.
Sabathia 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 1 HBP.  Last outing of his career.
Loaisiga 2/3 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K.
Lyons 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K.

The Yanks aren’t done, but they are close, unfortunately. If they can come back from 3-1 down, and in doing so, beat Verlander and Cole, it’ll be one of the great comebacks ever, and maybe it will wash away some of that bad taste still left from 2004.

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Passings: One -time Yankee (briefly, 20 games) Bobby Del Greco. 86. OF. Pittsburgh (1952, 1956), Cardinals (1956), Cubs 1957,  Yankees 1957-1958, Phillies 1960-1961, KC A’s 1961-1963 and Phillies again 1965. Hit .229, 42 career HR, OPS+ 85. 162 game average .229-9-37.

Jackie Hernandez, 79. Platooned at SS for the 1971 WS Champion Pirates. Angels 1965-1966. Twins 1967-1968. KC Royals 1969-1970. Pittsburgh Pirates 1971-1973. Hit .206-3-26 for 1971 Pirates (WS Champs), and .188-1-14 for 1972 Pirates (NL East champs). 162 game average .208=3-32, OPS+ 49. 7 for 31, 2 RBI in 11 postseason games.

 

 

 

 

Game 144. Yanks beat Boston 10-5 behind HRs by Gleyber and Judge. Tauchman also HRs, but gets hurt.

Before the game, the Yanks activated Gio Urshela off the IL and brought up Thairo Estrada (who was on rehab), Kyle Higashioka and Breyvic Valera.

The Yanks then beat Boston 10-5 behind Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres and Mike Tauchman, but Tauchman got hurt during the game.

With the win, the 94-50 Yankees maintain an 8 1/2 game lead over Tampa Bay with 18 games to go. The magic # to reach the playoffs is 8 and the magic # to clinch the division is 10.

They remain tied with Houston for the best record in baseball but Houston has the tiebreaker. Both teams are 1 1/2 games ahead of the Dodgers.

In the second inning, Torres gave the Yanks a 2-0 lead with his 35th HR of the season after Edwin Encarnacion singled in front of him.

In the third, Tauchman singled, and D.J. LeMahieu reached on an infield single. Judge singled in a run, sending LeMahieu to third. After Didi Gregorius popped out, Gary Sanchez’ RBI groundout made it 4-0.

Staked to a four-run lead, Masahiro Tanaka couldn’t go five innings for the win. He gave up a two-run HR to Jackie Bradley in the bottom of the third that cut the Yanks’ lead to 4-2.

In the top of the fourth, Torres singled and scored two outs later on a 2-run HR by Tauchman (13) who had to leave the game later with a calf injury. He’ll be getting an MRI. Ugh. 6-2, Yanks.

With two out in the fourth, Tanaka gave up a single and two doubles and that cut the lead to 6-4. Tanaka didn’t come out for the fifth, so couldn’t get the win.

Chad Green was superb in his three innings of scoreless relief and did pick up the W. His ERA of 4.60 doesn’t look good because of those horrendous first three weeks of the season where his ERA was 16.43 and he had to be sent to the minors. Since returning, the ERA is 2.89.

In the fifth, Judge led off the inning with a HR (21) to make it 7-4, then Didi reached on an error. After a walk, Encarnacion singled Didi to third, and Didi scored on an RBI forceout by Torres. 8-4.

Judge’s HR was the Yanks’ 268th of the season, topping the mark set last year when they set a MLB record. They are eight behind the Twins (who set a new record) this season. Could they (or the Twins) hit 300?

Mookie Betts homered in the bottom of the eighth to make it 8-5.

The Yanks scored two in the ninth when Didi walked, and Rafael Devers made two errors on the same play (one fielding, one throwing) to put runners on second and third. Devers had three errors in the game and was saved from a couple others. Encarnacion singled in one run, then Torres doubled in another to make it 10-5, the final score.

Judge 2 hits, 2 RBI, solo HR (21)
Encarnacion 3 hits, RBI
Torres 3 hits, 4 RBI, 2-run HR (35)
Tauchman 2 hits, 2 RBI. 2-run HR (13). Injured, left game.

Tanaka 4 IP, 4 R, 8 H, 0 W, 2 K. Gave up 1 HR.  4.53
Green (W, 3-4, 4.60) 3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 5 K.
Ottavino 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. Gave up 1 HR.   1.76
Loaisiga 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K.  4.63

In the minors, Trenton (AA) will face Bowie for the Eastern League Championship. The best-of-five series begins in Trenton on Tuesday.

OF/1B Chris Duncan, ex-Cardinal and brother of one-time Yankee Shelley Duncan and son of former MLB catcher and pitching coach Dave Duncan, died of brain cancer
September 6 at the age of 38. He hit 22 HR as a part-time player for the 2006 WS Champion Cardinals and 21 the following year. In 389 MLB games, he hit .257 with 55 HR and an OPS+ of 109. He played for the Cardinals 2005-2009.

Tom Phoebus, RHP, died Sept. 5, age 77. Born in Baltimore, he pitched for his hometown Orioles 1966-1970, and was a part of two WS Champs (1966, 1970) and one AL Pennant winner (1969). He won 14, 15 and 14 games from 1967-1969. His only postseason appearance was in one game during the 1970 WS, where he got the win in Game 2. He pitched for the Padres (1971-1972) and Cubs (1972). His career MLB record was 56-52, 3.33, ERA+ 100.

A DYK: Aaron Boone now has 194 wins (and counting) in his first two seasons as Yankees’ manager. The record? Ralph Houk with 205 (1961 and 1962).

Lastly, a tip of the cap to Brian Cashman’s longevity with the Yankees. Not even a year after winning the World Series, the Red Sox fire Dave Dombrowski.

 

Game 139. Offense and Bullpen waste a Tanaka gem. Yanks lose, 7-0, and are shutout for first time in 220 games.

Transaction news, first. From MLBtraderumors.com:

Edwin Encarnacion will be joining the Yanks tomorrow. See the minor league report for how he did today for SWB.

Also, the Yankees have traded minor league right-hander J.P. Feyereisen to the Brewers  in exchange for minor league infielder Brenny Escanio and international bonus pool space, per announcements from both clubs. Both Feyereisen, 26, and Escanio, 16, were eligible to be traded by virtue of the fact that neither has been on a 40-man roster at any point in 2019.

Feyereisen, like Ryan McBroom who was traded yesterday, needs to be added to the 40-man roster this winter, lest he be eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft, and this trade likely signifies that the Yankees didn’t feel they had room to do so.

That’s not for any lack of performance on the part of Feyereisen; to the contrary, in fact, he’s had a terrific season with the Yankees’ top affiliate in Scranton. Through 61 1/3 innings, the righty has pitched to a 2.49 ERA with 13.8 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, 0.88 HR/9 and a 36.7 percent ground-ball rate. That’s Feyereisen’s third tour in Triple-A, but he’s yet to receive a call to the bigs despite owning a collective 3.12 ERA and 195-to-76 K/BB ratio in 164 2/3 frames at that level.

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The amount of bonus money acquired by the Yankees wasn’t specified, though international allotments must be traded in blocks of at least $250K. The international funds acquired here were the primary get for the Yanks, as Escanio was a relatively low-profile signing just two months ago on July 2 when this year’s international signing period kicked off. The Yankees spent the vast majority of their international pool to sign top outfield prospect Jasson Dominguez, and their lack of additional funds acquired to this point ultimately cost them the opportunity to sign another well-regarded outfield prospect: Jhon Diaz.

While it was reported on July 2 that Diaz had agreed to a roughly $1MM bonus with the Yankees, the organization needed to acquire additional pool allocations in order to make that agreement a reality. Just last week, though, Diaz signed with the Rays for a similar amount. With the Yankees having dedicated roughly $5MM of their $5.398MM pool to Dominguez, today’s deal will help them to further explore the market for remaining talent.

After a rain delay of 2 hours and 45 minutes, the game began and Masahiro Tanaka only gave up two runs in six innings, but a lack of offense and an off performance by Nestor Cortes, Jr. out of the bullpen doomed the Yanks (90-49) to a loss to Texas on Monday, Labor Day, 7-0.

It was the first time the Yanks were shutout in 220 games, second-longest steak all-time. The Yanks from August 1931 to August 1933 had a streak of 308 games.

Tanaka gave up a couple of hits and a SF in the first inning, and a HR in the fifth.

In the eighth, Cortes, who had struck out the side in the seventh, gave up four runs, three on a HR ball. All four runs scored with two out.

Tyler Lyons, a Sept. callup, gave up a HR in the ninth (NYY debut).

Tauchman 2 hits. The Yanks only had six total.

Tanaka (L, 10-8, 4.42) 6 IP, 2 R, 7 H, 2 W, 5 K. Gave up 1 HR.
Cortes, Jr. 2 IP, 4 R, 3 H, 1 W, 3 K. Gave up 1 HR.    5.03
Lyons 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K.  Gave up 1 HR.  10.80.

The magic # remains 15. The AL East lead is now 9. They fell into a tie with Houston (Houston would have the tiebreaker, having gone 4-3 against the Yanks) for best record in the AL.