Game 78. Yanks lose 4th in a row, 5-3.

The YES network had a lot of statistics yesterday. For example, the Yankees have scored 3 or less runs in 41 of their 78 games this year. That is more than half. Last night, they scored 3.

About 2/3 of the homers they hit are solo HR. The homers aren’t coming with men on base. Last night the Yanks hit two homers. Yup. Both solo shots.

Yankees’ starter Michael King entered last night with a 14.40 ERA in the first inning. In his previous five starts, he had given up 8 first-inning runs. Make that now a 15.00 ERA and 10 runs in six starts. He put the Yanks into a 2-0 hole right away. The second batter, the incredible Shohei Ohtani, hit a HR off of him, #26 of the season for Ohtani. Ohtani is the scheduled starting PITCHER on Thursday against the Yankees, as he continues to do things not seen since Babe Ruth over 100 years ago. King doesn’t see anything wrong with his pre-game routine. The YES analysts see it differently. The YES analysts (which include some ex-major league players) say the jury is out whether King could be a starter in his MLB career. So far, my answer would be no. The first inning blues for one thing. For another, he doesn’t give you any length as a starter. He doesn’t go more than five innings (last night 4 1/3). Until King can fix those two issues, he can’t be an effective starter. Of course, King is only starting now because Corey Kluber is on the IL.

The Yanks lost their fourth straight game last night, 5-3 to Ohtani and the Angels. The loss drops the Yanks perilously close to .500, at 40-38. They are in 4th place in their 5-team division, the AL East, and are now 7 1/2 games out of first place. The season is slipping away. They better wake up. Call Sr. Mary Elephant to scream at them. Or, as Peggy Lee would sing, “Is That All There Is”? Very disappointing.

A couple of more stats YES gave out before more of a game recap. Going into last night’s game, the Yanks were 29th out of 30 teams with a .216 batting average with runners in scoring position. The Yanks went 0 for 4 w/RISP last night.

And lastly, two more things the YES analysts discussed. Both are instances of bad decision-making. Adam Ottavino had a good 2019 year with the Yankees (1.90 ERA) but a bad postseason that year. That bad postseason carried over to a bad 2020 (5.89 ERA). The Yankees traded him and a minor leaguer to, of all places, Boston for unknown compensation. It looks like just cash. Basically a salary dump. Didn’t even get a player for him. He’s rebounded to a 2.81 ERA for Boston this year. More damning is that Ottavino’s slider, when on, is devastating to righty batters. What do the Yankees have? A lineup full of righty batters. So the Yankees gave away to their arch-rival, a guy who, when on, has just what it takes to shut the Yankees down—which is exactly what Ottavino did to his former team this past weekend.

Another guy that shut the Yankees down this past weekend was Garrett Whitlock. If a player is in the minors for three years and not placed on the 40-man roster, he is subjected to the Rule 5 draft. Another team can claim him for $50,000. That player must stay with that team or be first offered back to the original team for $25,000. Well, the Yankees did not protect Whitlock. Whitlock was snapped up by—-you guessed it—-Boston, and helped beat the Yankees this past weekend. Whitlock, a rookie, is 3-1, 1.42 for Boston so far this season. Who did the Yankees protect instead of Whitlock? Well, Nick Nelson for one (0-2, 9.75 for the Yanks in 8 games this year) and Brooks Kriske (0-0, 12.60 in five games for the Yanks so far this year). Oops.

I know. As Yankees’ fans, those points that YES brought up are depressing. But give YES credit for going deep into things and in explaining some reasons for the Yankees underachieving so far this season.

Ok, to last night’s game. I already mentioned that King gave up 2 runs in the first inning, the first on a HR by Ohtani. So the Yanks are down 2-0 before they even came to bat.

The Yanks did get one run back in the bottom of the first. D.J. LeMahieu singled, Aaron Judge doubled D.J. to third, and Gary Sanchez scored D.J. with a SF. 2-1. But the Yanks couldn’t bring Judge in as well.

The Yanks did tie the game up in the second when Gio Urshela homered (10).

LeMahieu made an error in the fifth, which led to the Angels getting an unearned run to take the lead, 3-2.

Lucas Luetge gave up a HR to ex-Met Juan Lagares in the sixth and the Angels went up 4-2.

Giancarlo Stanton hit his 14th HR of the season in the bottom of the sixth to cut the Angels’ lead to 4-3, but the Yanks would score no more. Meanwhile the Halos got an insurance run in the eighth off of Chad Green. 5-3, the final score.

Stanton solo HR (14)
Urshela 2 hits, solo HR (10)

The Yanks only got six hits in the game. Now, many Yanks are struggling, but one in particular? What’s happened to Gleyber Torres? 2018, .271, 24 HR, All-Star, 3rd in ROY voting. 2019, .278, 38 HR, All-Star, 17th in MVP voting.
Since then, 2020 and 2021 combined, 110 games: .240-6-39. Which all coincides with his move to SS. You wonder.

King (L, 0-4) 4 1/3 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 W, 4 K. Gave up 1 HR. 4.06
Luetge 1 1/3 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 0 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR. 2.52
Green 2 1/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 3 K. 2.48
Cortes 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 1.13

Darren O’Day and Justin Wilson can both come off the IL today. Brooks Kriske is sure to be sent back. It’ll be interesting to see if Abreu or Cortes goes back. Both have done well.

P.S. Back to work next week as I complete my recovery from two major (and one life-saving) surgeries. So future reports won’t be as in depth.

Game 72. Yanks leave too many on base in 6-5 loss. O’Day, Wilson start rehab.

The Yankees had many chances to blow the game open. But they didn’t. They went 0 for 10 with RISP and left 13 men on base, and this came back to bite them in a 6-5 loss to KC last night.

With the loss, the Yankees are now 38-34, 3rd in AL East, 5 1/2 back.

The main culprits were Giancarlo Stanton, 0 for 3 (did walk twice) left six on, Gleyber Torres 0 for 4, all strikeouts (did walk once, left 3 on), and Clint Frazier (0 for 5, 3 strikeouts, left 6 on ). Torres is something like 2 for his last 33, and his batting average has dropped over 30 points. Where Torres’ power has gone is baffling too. I don’t expect 38 HR as in 2019, but we are close to the halfway point of the season, and Torres has just 3 HR. Something close to Torres’ 2018 rookie year when he hit 24 would be enough and expected.

The Yanks scored first, when Luke Voit, just off of rehab, hit the first pitch he saw 423 feet for a two-out HR, Voit’s 2nd HR of the season. The Yankees went on to load the bases, but Frazier grounded out.

In the second, Kyle Higashioka homered for his sixth HR of the season. It put the Yanks up 2-0. But with two on and one out, Voit popped up and Stanton struck out.

Right then I had a bad feeling. Yes, the Yankees were up 2-0 with their ace, Gerrit Cole, on the mound, but when you leave five men on base in the first two innings and don’t break the game wide open, it often comes back to bite you, and it did for the Yankees last night.

A bad break (literally) for Cole in the third when a couple broken bat hits led to a KC run as the Royals cut the Yanks’ lead to 2-1. Cole gave up a game-tying HR in the fourth. 2-2. Those were the only hits Cole gave up.

The Yanks left the bases loaded in the fourth, when Stanton grounded into a force out. Another blown chance to salt the game away.

In the seventh, the Yanks went up 3-2. Luke Voit tripled. A fan tried to catch the ball (kick him out of the park. I hate when fans reach over the wall. They know better and still do it). There was no interference, and it was unclear if the ball would have cleared the fence anyway. Pinch-runner Tyler Wade then scored on a wild pitch.

Jonathan Loaisiga came in for the eighth inning. Cole had once again done a fine job, but the Yanks didn’t support him enough. Cole is 8-3 this season, but the Yankees are 0-4 when Cole gets a no-decision. Loaisiga has been great this season, but didn’t have it last night, giving up four runs.

D.J. LeMahieu got the Yanks back in the game with a two-run HR (6) in the bottom of the eighth to cut the Royals’ lead to 6-5. Aaron Judge then just missed tying the game up, as he doubled. So the Yanks had the tying run on second with one out. Once again, nothing. Rougned Odor popped up, and Stanton grounded out.

The Yanks got two on in the ninth, but Brett Gardner popped up to end the game.

The lack of getting just one clutch hit to break the game open really killed the Yanks last night. What a frustrating loss.

LeMahieu 2 hits, 2 RBI. 2-run HR (6)
Judge 2 hits
Voit 2 hits, triple and a solo HR (2)
Urshela 2 hits
Higashioka solo HR (6)

If only Stanton, Torres or Frazier had come through just once. Sigh.

Cole 7 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 3 W, 6 K. Gave up 1 HR. Two broken bat his and the HR. That was all. 2.33
Loaisiga (L, 7-3; BS, 2) 2/3 IP, 4 R, 5 H, 0 W, 2 K. 2.52
Luetge 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.48


Minor League Notes, and a lot to think about and discuss here:

The 40-man roster creates some problems. Say someone is doing well (see below) but isn’t on the roster? Well, you want to add him, but who does he replace?


AAA: SWB (29-11) crushed Lehigh Valley, 14-5, in a game in which both Darren O’Day and Justin Wilson both started rehab stints. Both pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Hoy Jun Park, a 2B/SS, played CF. Read into that as you wish. He had 3 hits and an RBI, and is hitting .366 for SWB. He hits lefty. Interesting he played CF last night. Meanwhile, the Yanks aren’t getting anything from their lefty hitters. Odor (.193-7-15, OPS+ 78; 100 is average). Gardner .206-2-8, OPS+ 77. Gardner turns 38 in August. But Park isn’t on the 40-man roster. I’ve advocated bringing Park up. But at whose expense, and why did Park play the OF for the first time last night? I do have to wonder. RF Ryan LaMarre 3 hits, RBI. DH Trey Amburgey 3 RBI. Erik Kratz, former big-league catcher, and ex-Yankee, really likes Amburgey, a righty hitter. Amburgey is hitting .360 at SWB. Right now, he may be a better option than Frazier (.187-5-12, OPS+ 77) or Miguel Andujar (.242-5-9, OPS+77). Amburgey, like Park, is not on the 40 man roster, so if you give him a chance, at whose expense? The point is, if someone is raking at AAA, when do they get rewarded with a promotion? And at whose expense? How long do you continue playing someone whose adjusted OPS is 22-23% BELOW league average, as is the case with Odor, Gardner, Frazier and Andujar? These are legitimate questions GM Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone must decide, especially if the Yankees are to improve.

Besides the rehab stints of O’Day and Wilson, and the continued success and questions about Park and Amburgey, some other notes on SWB’s win: 2B Derek Dietrich 3 hits, RBI. 3B Armando Alvarez 2 hits, 2 RBI, solo HR. 1B Rob Brantly 2 RBI. C Max McDowell 2 hits. SS Andrew Velazquez, 2 hits, 4 RBI, a 2-run HR.

AA: Somerset ppd.

High A: Hudson Valley (26-16) won 12-3. SS Josh Smith 2 hits. C Josh Breaux 2 hits. CF Brandon Lockridge 2 hits, 4 RBI, a 3-run HR. 3B James Nelson 2 hits, 2 RBI. 1B Chad Bell 3 hits, 2 RBI. RF Frederick Cuevas 2 hits, RBI, solo HR.

Low A: Tampa was up 2-0 when the game was suspended in the top of the second inning.

Game 69. Ex-Yanks’ prospect beats Yanks, 5-3.

A few years back, James Kaprielian was a top Yankees’ prospect. Then injuries slowed his development, and he was traded to the A’s with others for Sonny Gray. We know how poorly Gray turned out.

Last night, Yankees fans got a taste of what might have been. Kaprielian and the A’s shut down the Yankees (36-33, 3rd in AL East, 6 back) 5-3.

James Taillon started for the Yanks, and gave up a HR on a two-out, 0-2 pitch to put the A’s up 1-0 in the first inning. I feel as if the Yanks need to make a deal for a starter (two, preferably) ASAP. Taillon, in 13 starts this season, has only thrown 58 innings, an average of only 4 1/2 innings per start. Only twice in those 13 starts has he gone more than 5 IP. He has ONE win. The ERA is 5.59. He is coming off two TJ surgeries in his career, as well as overcoming cancer. But he isn’t cutting it. Also, Michael King is better as a reliever and not a starter. He also isn’t providing length (since replacing the injured Corey Kluber in the rotation, King is averaging less than 4 innings/start in his 4 starts). King’s ERA in 13 relief appearances in his career is 3.93 but it is 7.28 in eight career starts.

But the Yanks don’t have replacements handy. Luis Severino’s return has been delayed because of the groin injury. Deivi Garcia has been horrible at AAA. Clarke Schmidt has not thrown a pitch yet. Promising youngsters are at AA, or below, not at AAA.

I don’t believe the Yanks can make up ground with Taillon and/or King in the rotation. GM Brian Cashman needs to make a trade ASAP.

Taillon gave up a run in the top of the third to make it 2-0, Oakland.

The Yanks tied it up in the bottom of the third when with two out, Brett Gardner walked and D.J. LeMahieu followed with a 2-run HR (5). The Yanks only got 4 hits in the game.

The Yanks took a 3-2 lead in the fifth when Rougned Odor homered (7).

But Wandy Peralta gave up a 3-run HR in the top of the sixth that put Oakland up 5-3, and that stayed as the final score.

Looking at Peralta’s ERA (5.28 as a Yankee), I think manager Aaron Boone trusts him too much. The Yanks will get help here. Both Darren O’ Day (who was doing well before getting hurt) and Justin Wilson (who wasn’t) should be back soon.

LeMahieu 2-run HR (5)
Odor solo HR (7)


Taillon 4 2/3 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 1 W, 5 K. Gave up 1 HR. 1 HBP. 5.59
Peralta (L, 3-2; combined SF/NYY record) 1 1/3 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 0 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR 5.32 (combined SF/NYY ERA)
Luetge 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K. 1 HBP; 1 WP 2.91
Cessa 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K. 3.10

Minor League Notes (VOIT ON REHAB):

AAA: SWB (27-11) won 7-5. Nick Nelson 4 1/3 IP, 1 R; Albert Abreu 2 IP, scoreless, 5 K (in his brief time with Yanks, 4 games, Abreu has done well this year). CF Greg Allen 2 hits, 2 RBI, 2 -run HR. Two hits, RBI. LF Trey Amburgey 2 hits, RBI. Amburgey is hitting .372 at SWB. Former Yankees C Erik Kratz likes him. Neither Clint Frazier or Miguel Andujar is lighting it up. Why not give Amburgey a chance? 1B Rob Brantly 2 hits, 3 RBI, solo HR. 3B Derek Dietrich solo HR.

AA: Somerset (26-13) won 8-1. Janson Junk (2-1, 1.03) 6 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 4 K. Gave up 1 HR. 1B Luke Voit on rehab: 3 for 4, scored 3, drove in 3, double, solo HR. DH Oswald Peraza 2 hits, RBI. 2B Oswaldo Cabrera 3 hits, 3 RBI. CF Tom Milone 2 hits, solo HR.

High A: Hudson Valley (23-16) split a DH.

Game 1: lost 6-2. SS Josh Smith solo HR.
Game 2: won 2-0. Smith DH, 2 hits, scored both runs. 2B Ezequiel Duran 2 hits, 2 RBI.

Low A: Tampa (27-13) lost both games of a DH.

Game 1: lost 3-1. All 3 runs unearned. RF Juan De Leon solo HR.
Game 2: lost 8-2. Infielder (2B/SS) Jesus Bastidas 2 hits, RBI.

.

Game 66. Yanks come from behind for a 6-5 win.

Before the game, GM Brian Cashman addressed the media, stating he still believes in manager Aaron Boone and the team and that the Yankees (34-32, 3rd in AL East, 8 back) would be buyers, not sellers, at the trade deadline.

The Yanks then went out and snapped their 3-game losing streak with a 6-5 win in Buffalo over the Toronto Blue Jays.

The night started off shaky. Yankees’ starter Jordan Montgomery walked the bases loaded with no one out in the bottom of the first but got out of the inning giving up only one run.

Gary Sanchez tied the game up in the top of the second with his ninth HR of the season.

Yankee-killer Bo Bichette homered in the third inning to give the Blue Jays a 2-1 lead.

In the top of the fourth, Chris Gittens got his first MLB hit, a HR, to tie the game. Gittens was 0 for 14 before that.

Toronto came back with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, all with two out, and Bichette was the guy again, delivering a two-run single.

The Yanks cut it to 5-3 in the top of the sixth. With one out, Gio Urshela singled, and Sanchez doubled him to third. A groundout by Miguel Andujar scored Urshela.

The Yanks then tied it up it the seventh, thanks to a gift run. Brett Gardner led off the inning with his second HR of the season. D.J. LeMahieu then doubled. Two wild pitches enabled LeMahieu to score and tie up the game.

The game-winning run came in the top of the eighth. Andujar singled, and Tyler Wade pinch-ran for him. One out later, Wade stole second, and pinch-hitter Clint Frazier then doubled home Wade to make it 6-5.

An oddity: Gerrit Cole, who is starting tonight, leads the Yankees with seven wins. Second is Jonathan Loaisiga with six—all in relief.

LeMahieu 2 hits
Sanchez 2 hits, solo HR (9)
Gittens solo HR (1). FIRST MLB HIT.
Gardner solo HR (2)
Frazier pinch-hit GW RBI double.


Montgomery 5 1/3 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 5 H, 4 W, 4 K. Gave up 1 HR. 4.20
Cessa 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 3.33
Loaisiga (W, 6-2) 1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K. 1.78
Britton (H, 1) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 W, 0 K. 0.00
Chapman (S, 13) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 1.85


Minor League Notes: TIme to really get concerned about Deivi Garcia. He only got one man out last night, and gave up five runs. His ERA at AAA SWB is now 8.10 (and in his 2 starts with the Yankees, 6.48). Ugly. Estevan Florial had 2 doubles and a HR, and drove in 3 runs as SWB (21-11) won 12-6. Florial is still hitting just .195. 2B Hoy Jun Park went 4 for 4, 3 RBI, and is hitting .365 for SWB. I, for one, advocate calling him up and replacing Odor.

AA: Luke Voit went 1 for 4 on rehab as Somerset (23-13) won 10-1. Starter Glenn Otto 7 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 2 W, 14 K (3-2, 3.95). SS Oswald Peraza 3 hits, 2B Diego Castillo 3 hits, 4 RBI, 2-run HR. C Donny Sands 3 hits, 3 RBI, 2 HR, a solo shot and a 2-run shot.

High A: Hudson Valley (21-14) won 6-5. C Josh Breaux 2 hits, solo HR. 1B Chad Bell a 3-run HR.

Low A: Tampa (27-10) won 10-5. C Austin Wells 3 hits, RBI. RF Josh Sanford 4 for 4, 2 RBI, solo HR. 2B Trevor Hauver 2 hits, 2 RBI. Two others with 2 hits each.

Game 64. Bad day in many ways as Yanks lose to Phils in 10, 8-7.

Saturday was a bad day for the Yankees in many ways. I will get to that in a moment.

Before the game, some moves. Zack Britton was activated off of rehab and Brooks Kriske was sent back to the minors. Also, Mike Ford, who only hit .133-3-5 (8 for 60) for the Yanks this year, and who was only 2 for 24 (.083) at SWB, was designated for assignment.

Jameson Taillon has been the worst Yankees’ starter this season. He is coming off of two TJ surgeries, and has fought off cancer. But coming into the game, Taillon was 1-4 with an ERA of 5.09.

Taillon could not get out of the first inning, and saw his ERA climb to 5.74. His ERA+ is 71, 29% below league average. Taillon only got one out, and put the Yanks (33-31, Tied for 3rd, 7 1/2 out) into a quick 4-0 hole in a game they would lose in 10 innings, 8-7.

So you think, ok, ride Taillon out until former Yankees’ ace Luis Severino gets back from rehab.

Not so fast.

Severino, in his second rehab game, gave up one run in 1 2/3 IP, but then had to be helped from the field after injuring his groin. Based on the reports I read, he will be out quite some time.

Not only that, with Corey Kluber on the injured list, Michael King has had to join the rotation. One problem with that. In his career, King is 0-4, 7.46 as a starter (7 games) and 1-1, 3.93 as a reliever.

That is not all. Deivi Garcia has started two games for the Yankees this year, and is 0-2, 6.48 ERA. At SWB, Garcia has an ERA of 6.26.

It looks like GM Brian Cashman is going to have to hit the phones and make a deal. You may say, several deals.

The Yanks are barely above .500 at 33-31. They are now 7 1/2 games out of first place in the AL East, and even though they have 98 games left, this does not look like a playoff team at all right now.

Taillon gave up singles to the first four batters of the game, leading to two runs for the Phillies. Then a walk to reload the bases before the only out he recorded—-a sac fly that brought in another run. After a single that made it 4-0, Taillon was relieved by Nestor Cortes, Jr. Cortes gave up a hit that loaded the bases up yet again, but then got two strikeouts to prevent further damage.

Cortes did a good job in trying to keep the Yankees in the game.

The Yanks got two runs in the top of the second inning. With one out, Gary Sanchez homered (8). One out later, Miguel Andujar singled, and Brett Gardner tripled him home. 4-2. But Gardner was left stranded at third because the Yanks were playing in a National League park, no DH, and the pitcher had to hit (I hate seeing pitchers hit, prefer the DH, but that yields to Mcproblems which I will get to in a bit). Cortes grounded out to end the inning, and in case you are wondering, the last Yankees’ pitcher to hit a HR was Lindy McDaniel at the end of the 1972 season (he hit it off of Mickey Lolich at the old Tigers’ Stadium).

Cortes gave up a run in the fourth, and it was 5-2, Phillies.

The Phils got two runs in the fifth off of Luis Cessa, and ex-Yankee Ronald Torreyes drove in one of those runs. It looked like a blowout with the Phillies now up 7-2.

But the Yanks came back. In the sixth, with two out, Rougned Odor homered to make it 7-3.

In the eighth, the Yanks cut it to 7-4. Aaron Judge singled, and one out later, went to second on a groundout. Sanchez then got a two-out hit to score Judge.

The Yanks tied it up in the top of the ninth. with one out, Gardner and Tyler Wade each walked. D.J. LeMahieu then hit a 3-run HR (4) to tie it up.

Gleyber Torres made a great defensive play to save the game in the bottom of the ninth.

I hate the ghost runner extra inning rule where they start extra innings with a man on second base. I also hate seeing pitchers hit and prefer the dh. But both rules do show a flaw with the Yankees, and that is in executing the fundamentals.

The DH has turned some AL teams like the Yankees into glorified beer-league softball teams instead of BASEBALL teams. What I mean by that is that they sit around waiting for the 3-run HR and don’t make things happen. They don’t bunt (4 sac bunts this season, 2 by Gardner). They don’t hit and run. They don’t steal (14 SB, last in AL. Heck, Rickey Henderson would have 14 by himself in a month’s time). They don’t hit behind the runner to advance the runner. They play station to station and don’t run the bases well.

That leads me to extra innings. You are starting the inning with a man on second. The Yanks left him there. And we have seen that too much this year. They don’t bunt him over so he then may be able to score on a sac fly. They don’t even hit the ball to the right side to advance the runner. Part of that fault is the predominance of righty hitters and in not having a lefty hitter to pull the ball. Yesterday, with that man on second, Gio Urshela grounded out, not advancing the runner, then two strikeouts (Sanchez and PH Kyle HIgashioka).

The Phils, an NL team, DID execute the bunt. Not only that, Aroldis Chapman made an error on the play, so the Phils had first and third with no one out. After a pop-up, an infield hit won the game for the Phils, 8-7.

In extra innings, it comes down to the fundamentals. Just because you have the DH, does not mean you forget to steal bases, run the bases poorly, don’t bunt, don’t move the runners over…..but the Yanks don’t do any of that. They need to become a BASEBALL team again, not a station-to-station beer league softball team that does nothing but wait for the HR.

Billy Martin would hate this team. It goes against many of the scappy things he did as manager.

The Yanks need to make some changes.

LeMahieu 2 hits, 3 RBI. 3-run HR (4)
Sanchez 2 hits, 2 RBI. Solo HR (8)
Odor 2 hits, solo HR (6).
Gardner 2 hits, RBI


Taillon 1/3 IP, 4 R, 5 H, 1 W, 0 K. 5.74
Cortes 3 2/3 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 1 W, 6 K. 1 WP. 1.93 Nice job trying to keep it close.
Cessa 1 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 1 W, 0 K. 3.42
Peralta 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 0 K. 4.57 (Combined ERA SF/NYY).
Britton 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 0.00 (Season debut)
Green 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. 2.73
Chapman (L, 4-2) 1/3 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 1.93

Game 13. Boone addresses team after Yanks’ 8-2 loss.

I was about to write that the Yankees need to look in the mirror. That Aaron Boone has to snap at them. That Brian Cashman needs to snap at them.

That Hal Steinbrenner needs to channel his father’s anger and snap at the team right now.

For last night was embarrassing. An 8-2 loss to (once again, Tampa Bay) that dropped the Yankees to 5-8, the worst record in the league. People (I won’t call them fans) were so disgusted they were throwing stuff onto the field.

The team looked like a mess in just about every way. The offense got only three hits. Their only two runs coming on a 2-run Giancarlo Stanton HR in the seventh inning. They don’t string together hits or have rallies.

Starters, (other than Gerrit Cole) need to go deeper into games. More than 3 or 4 innings. Granted, last night the Yanks used Nick Nelson as an opener and that failed, but …

The defense has been lousy, too. Three errors last night, one really costly on what should have been an inning=ending DP that instead allowed two runs to score.

Besides snapping at the team, Boone needs to look at some of his decisions, too. I don’t like the “opener”, and I also didn’t like Hicks (.167 so far) batting third.

This isn’t to rip the team, although they may deserve it. It is an honest assessment. You can’t be a fan of the Yankees right now and like what you are seeing. So far the Yankees are woefully underperforming. It is early. They are 4 games out. 4 games out is nothing only 13 games into a 162 game season.

But worst record in the league. They face Tyler Glasnow (an ace) today. Atlanta (a good team) comes in next. What you don’t want is 5-8 to become 7-15 or so in a few weeks. You fall 10 games or so under .500? That’s hard to make up.

They need to get some passion. They need to snap out of it and now. They need a wakeup call and maybe Boone, in angrily confronting the team last night, woke some of them up. Let’s hope so.

Did any of you think the Yanks’ would be hitting .222 as a team after 13 games? That they would be next to last in the league in runs scored? Last in slugging average? There is a lot of blame to go around. Did you think that after Cole, the next two best performing players right now would be Michael King and Darren O’Day, with Kyle Higashioka fourth?

Here is something amazing to me. In 13 games, do you know how many sacrifice flies the Yankees have hit? NONE.

I’ll take runs any way I can get them.

Things have to change, and change now.

The Yanks struck out 14 times last night. You can’t win by not putting the ball in play.

Stanton 2-run HR.

Nelson (L, 0-2) 1 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 2 W, 2 K. 10.80
King 3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 3 W, 4 K. 0.00 1 HBP. Sent to alt. site after game.
Cessa 1 IP, 4 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 W, 2 K. 1.17
Luetge 4 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 0 W, 3 K. 6.10

Luetge “took one for the team”. The runs he gave up were on bleeders and bloopers. Seems like everything going wrong.

Things have to turn around. And now.

Game 42. Yanks fall to .500 with 2-1 loss.

Let’s face it. It’s been hard and depressing to watch, read or write about.

From 16-6 to 21-21. Five losses in a row. Seven in the last eight games. 15 losses in the last 20 games. All in a 60 game season.

The Yanks haven’t had a losing season since 1992. There are only 18 games left. What are the odds of that streak ending?

The Yankees are clinging to the eighth and final playoff seed by 1/2 a game over…. Baltimore. Unfathomable. Even if they hold on, guess who the Yanks would play in the first round? Tampa Bay, against whom they went 2-8 this season.

And if not for the expanded CCP playoffs of this year, fuhgeddaboutit.

GM Brian Cashman had a pregame meeting with the team, but the Yanks still went out and lost to Toronto, 2-1.

J.A. Happ did his job, making just one mistake in giving up a 2-run HR. I question pitch selection again here. Gameday suggests five straight fastballs with the fifth one being the HR. Mix it up a little? The same with the game before where Chad Green threw nine or ten straight fastballs. It makes me scratch my head.

The YES network, on the postgame show, is criticizing players for mental mistakes. Maybe some of it is pressing, like swinging at the first pitch after the pitcher has thrown X many balls in a row.

That two-run HR given up by Happ came in the second inning and was all the Blue Jays needed. The Yanks only got five hits in the game, two by Miguel Andujar.

With two out in the first inning, the Yanks loaded the bases on three straight walks but Mike Tauchman flied out.

They had first and second, one out in the second and didn’t score. Second and third with two out, same inning.

Two on, two out in the fourth, couldn’t score. The chances were there.

The only run came in the fifth. Luke Voit and Aaron Hicks singled, Clint Frazier walked. Bases loaded, no out. No advance on a flyout by Gleyber Torres. Mike Tauchman hit a SF. But only one run out of it.

The Yanks were 0 for 7 w/RISP and left 10 on.

Andujar 2 hits

Happ (L, 1-2; 4.31) 6 1/3 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 2 W, 10 K. Gave up 1 HR.
King 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 6.14
Britton 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 2.77

Happ is pitching much better after a terrible start to the season. But is it too late?

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Gene Budig, the last AL president before the NL and AL offices were consolidated under the Commissioner in the late 1990’s, has passed away, age 81. 

Game 41. 10-run inning dooms Yanks, 12-7.

Lately, it seems like every move Aaron Boone is making is backfiring on him.

Especially when it comes to the bullpen.

Right now, Brian Cashman is with the team, and after last night’s 12-7 loss, I wouldn’t be surprised if heads roll after this season.

Watching part of the YES postgame show, it seemed like ex-Yankee and current YES broadcaster John Flaherty had a couple of criticisms, and was more critical than normal.

In the line of fire would be pitching coach Matt Blake, bullpen coach Mike Harkey and even manager Boone himself.

Blake had no coaching experience before getting the pitching coach job this year and was a bit of a surprise choice to replace the fired Larry Rothschild (now with SD).

You may argue that maybe going with David Cone, who interviewed for the job, may have been a better choice.

I wonder if the Yankees need to take a good, hard look at how their pitching philosophy has or hasn’t worked lately. One reason they have been coming up short has been their rotation. Just getting Cole may be like putting a band-aid on what seems to be a bigger problem.

When you lose 14 of 19, and have free-falled your way into clinging to the 8th and last playoff spot (and that spot is only there because of the virus of 2020), you can expect fans not to be happy on Twitter. And, it appears, there isn’t much happiness on the YES postgame show or in the front office. I would guess Hal isn’t too happy either.

Injuries are one thing, but bad play is another.

If ever there is a time for a good ripping into a team to wake them up, now is the time.

The Yanks (21-20) took a 6-2 lead into the bottom of the sixth, only to see Chad Green and Adam Ottavino give up 10 runs in what turned out to be a 12-7 loss.

Flaherty, on the postgame show, wondered why Boone stayed with Ottavino (who didn’t record an out, all six batters scoring) so long. He also criticized Boone’s body language during the inning. Just an observation, but Flaherty’s words sounded like someone angling for Boone’s job. They were quite critical, and you may add, harsh.

But this was really bad. It’s one thing to lose 14 of 19 in a 162 game season, but in a 60 game season? We’re talking 1/3 of the season here.

The Yanks got back-to-back HR from Luke Voit (14) and Aaron Hicks (4) in the top of the first to take a 2-0 lead.

But as has been their wont lately, the Yankees’ pitchers, Jordan Montgomery in this instance, gave runs right back, and Montgomery joined the cast of Yankees’ starters not giving any length, thus putting more pressure on a failing bullpen.

Montgomery gave up a run in the first, another in the second, and the game was tied.

The Yanks got a run in the fourth when Miguel Andujar hit his first HR of the season. 3-2 Yanks.

In the fifth, with one out, D.J. LeMahieu and Luke Voit both singled, and with two out, Clint Frazier’s double scored two runs. 5-2, Yanks.

A bases-loaded walk to Hicks in the top of the sixth made it 6-2.

Then the roof fell in, as Green and Ottavino gave up ten runs in the bottom of the sixth. The final indignity came when Ottavino gave up a grand slam. The bottom of the sixth lasted 43 minutes and took up 67 pitches.

I have wondered about pitch selection a lot lately. In checking out the game on MLB’s gameday, I had to shake my head when, during a 9 or 10 pitch at bat (which resulted in Luke Voit making an error), Green threw nothing but fastballs. Really? Eventually the batter will time the fastball, especially after seeing nine or ten in a row.

There is a difference between pitching and throwing. Yes, there was criticism of that in Twitterworld, and I think, on the YES postgame show as well (I’m not too sure about YES, but YES was a bit critical last evening, and rightfully so).

The Yankees’ defense, suspect lately, made two more errors. Nothing is going right.

The Yanks got a run in the top of the ninth on an RBI groundout by Andujar.

But this game signified “just when you think things can’t get worse…”

Something’s gonna happen. It has to. This can’t continue.

Because the Yanks are close to missing out on the playoffs entirely.

Voit 2 hits, solo HR (14)
Hicks solo HR (4), 2 RBI
Frazier 2 hits, 2 RBI
Andujar solo HR (1), 2 RBI

Montgomery 3 1/3 IP, 2 R, 6 H, 2 W, 1 K. 5.72
Holder 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 2 K. 2.25
Green 1/3 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 H, 2 W, 0 K. 4.26
Ottavino (L, 2-3; BS, 3; 7.82) 0 IP, 6 R, 4 H, 2 W, 0 K. Gave up grand slam.
Cessa 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 2.81
Schmidt 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 W, 2 K. 7.71

If there is a Plan B, that may need to be changed.

Things have been quiet, and I don’t want to get into rumors, but if the Yankees’ off-season strategy is go after Gerrit Cole, but have a Plan B in case Cole rejects the Yankees offer, Plan B probably needs some alteration.

The top two targets for the Yankees, pitching-wise, are Cole and Stephen Strasburg. The Yanks have met with both, but it is expected that Strasburg will go back to Washington. Cole is a different story.

The Yanks have wanted Cole for a long time. They drafted him out of high school but Cole decided to go to UCLA instead. Then, when the Pirates were shopping him, the Yanks wouldn’t meet the Pirates’ demands (Miguel Andujar for one) and Pittsburgh traded Cole to Houston instead.

Apparently the Yanks told Cole that the money is there. It’s up to Cole, a Southern Californian, to decide if he wants New York.

But if the Yanks can’t get Cole (and it appears, for now, that all their eggs are being placed in that basket), or Strasburg, who is or was the Yankees Plan B?

If it was Zack Wheeler, forget it now. Wheeler signed a 5-yr., $118MM deal with the Phillies yesterday.

Cole Hamels reached a 1-yr., $18MM deal with Atlanta.

There are other Plan B’s out there, like Madison Bumgarner, Dallas Keuchel, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Gio Gonzalez, but they aren’t the WOW factor Cole or Strasburg are.

And if these Plan B’s are off the market when Cole decides, and he decides against the Yankees, what then?

Besides the pursuit of Cole, the Yanks also have to see about re-signing or letting go some of their own—Brett Gardner (most likely will be back what with Hicks going to miss most of 2020), Didi Gregorius (most likely gone), Austin Romine and Dellin Betances.

Of course, Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner may look to the trade market. If that is the case, Clint Frazier and/or Andujar could be names (among others) dangled.

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.