Game 113. Yanks blanked, 4-0.

If the Yanks want to win the division, they better start thinking about sweeping the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium this weekend, because otherwise, the division is slipping away. To do that, the bats have to wake up.

Toronto blanked the Yanks 4-0 Thursday night to drop the Yanks to 60-53, 4 1/2 games behind Boston. The Yanks still have the top wild card spot right now.

Sonny Gray is now 0-2, 3.00 as a Yankee, and in both he games received little to no run support as well as suffered defensive miscues. In this game, the defensive miscue was done by Gray himself.

In the second, a wild throw on a pickoff attempt by Gray, and a fielder’s choice by Gray in which the runner scored and the batter still reached, enabled Toronto to score the only run they’d need. Toronto also nicked Gray for runs in the third and fourth.

Jose Bautista homered in the seventh off of Chasen Shreve to make it 4-0.

Aaron Judge has struck out in 27 consecutive games. I wouldn’t mind so much the swinging strikeouts, but the called ones…. swing the bat, Aaron!

The Yanks were 0 for 9 w/RISP.

Clint Frazier was put on the DL. Aaron Hicks was brought back off the DL.

The Yanks have tried to get help. They inquired about Lucas Duda and Jay Bruce from the Mets but the Mets sent Duda to the Rays, Bruce to the Indians, and both for what it seems are inferior packages to what the Yanks offered. Perhaps the Mets are gun-shy about having one of their players do well for the cross-town team.

It looks like Derek Jeter’s bid to buy the Marlins is picking up some steam.

Gray (L, 6-7, 3.39) 6 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 H, 4 W, 6 K.
Shreve 2 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 3 K. Gave up 1 HR. 2.84

Minor League Report. Hicks continues rehab. Austin starts his.

Very nice news to see. Before the trade deadline, the Yanks were ranked #2 in MLB for the minor league system.

Even after the moves at the trade deadline, the Yanks are still ranked #4. Very nice, Cashman.

AAA: SWB (69-41) lost 4-2. Aaron Hicks DH’d in his second rehab game. He went 1 for 3, double, walk, scored a run. LF Jake Cave 2-run HR. Cave is having a fabulous year (.372-13-31) at AAA and deserves a Sept. callup.  You wonder who will come up when the rosters expand. 1B Tyler Austin came off the DL to begin rehab, going 0 for 2. RF Billy McKinney had 2 hits.

Caleb Smith (L 8-1, 2.35) 5 IP, 4 R, 6 H,  3 W, 2 K.
Lail 1 IP, 0 r, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 5.47
Rumbelow 2 IP, 0 r, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. 0.00.
Gallegos 1 Ip, 0 R, 0 H,  0 W, 1 K. 1.87.

AA: Trenton (73-36) split a DH.

Reg. sched. game: Lost 2-0. They got just 2 hits. CF Jeff Hendrix recently promoted from Tampa to Trenton. Nice average, decent speed, no power (70 games, .275-2-12, 13 SB).

Camarena (L, 1-1, 3.40) 6 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 3 W, 1 K. (5-3, 3.35 AA/AAA)

Makeup of 8/2 rainout: Won 4-1. 2 hits, double, solo HR for Nick Solak, just promoted from Tampa. Hendrix 2 hits. LF Zack Zehner 2 rbi.

Jose Mesa is the son of the former reliever, Jose Mesa, who pitched in the majors for 19 seasons with eight different teams and who saved over 300 games.

Between A+/AA, he is 2-1, 2.56 this year with 4 saves.

Mesa (W, 1-0, 1.80) 5 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 0 W, 7 K.
Carroll (S, 1) 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K. 2.10  (has split year A+/AA)

High A (A+) Tampa: (64-45) lost 6-2. Just promoted CF Estevan Florial 2 hits, RBI.

Widener (L, 5-7, 3.99) 3 IP, 3 r, 4 H, 2 W, 2 K.
Frare 3 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 1 W, 4 K. Gave up 1 HR. 5.74
Reeves 2 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 1 W, 2 K. 2.70.

Low A (A): Charleston (59-50) lost 6-3. LF Isiah Gilliam 3 doubles, rbi. DH Carlos Vidal 2 hits.

Nelson (L, 2-8, 4.81) 5 1/3 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 7 H, 1 W, 3 K. Gave up 1 HR.
Morris 3 2/3 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 1 W, 5 K. 2.97

Quick note: former ND football coach Ara Parseghian died a few days ago at the age of 94. The legendary coach was just 50 when he retired after the 1974 season. He coached the “Fighting Irish” for eleven seasons, 1964-1974, winning two national championships (1966, 1973).

 

Yanks get Gray from A’s for three prospects.

Brian Cashman got the Yanks their ace in Sonny Gray. It went almost down to the wire, but the Yanks got Gray for three prospects.

So let’s reassess what Cashman has done in the past few weeks. He got rid of the struggling Tyler Clippard and a bunch of prospects (but not the top tier ones) for the following: brought back David Robertson. Got Tommy Kahnle. Got Todd Frazier for 3b (if only for two months, rental), enabling Chase Headley to move to 1B to solve the season long 1B problem. Got Jaime Garcia (if only for a 2 month rental) to fill the Pineda spot that was being filled by Mitchell/Cessa and rookie Caleb Smith. Upgrades all around.

Now he got an ace pitcher to top it off. I’d say Cashman definitely earned his money.

Gray is under team control through 2019. He isn’t a two-month rental like Garcia is. He’s 27, in his prime.

Two years ago, Gray was an All-Star who finished third in CYA voting.

He had a rough 2016, missing 1/3 of the year with an injury, but even with that, is 44-36 in his career with an ERA of 3.42, ERA+ 114 (100 is average, so 14% above). His 162 G. average is 13-11, 3.42. With that ERA his record should be better, and with this offense and this bullpen, I expect that to happen.

This year, he has been 6-5, 3.43. Even though he was just 5-11, 5.69 last season, the ERAs for the other seasons were all 3.08 or lower. Great.

He is an ace, and in picking him up, the Yanks gave up three prospects, and two of them are currently on the DL. Who knows how they recover from those injuries?

James Kaprielian. RHP. 23. Considered their #1 pitching prospect, he has been surpassed. He has missed all of the 2017 season due to Tommy John surgery. He missed almost all of 2016. Not counting the Arizona Fall League, he has pitched in only seven minor league games. He basically has hardly pitched in the last two seasons.

Dustin Fowler. OF Lefty hitter. 22. The poor kid who suffered a major injury in his first MLB inning before he got his first MLB at bat. With people like Clint Frazier and Aaron Judge ahead of him, the Yanks deemed him expendable. As I recently wrote, a pecking order. You may have a lot of talent, but if you are blocked by someone better….

2016 AA .281-12-88, 15 triples, 25 SB
2017 AAA .293-13-43, 13 SB, 8 triples, 70 g.

 

Jorge Mateo. 22. Once a top Yankees prospect at SS, he was passed on the pecking order by Gleyber Torres. Not only that, the Yanks have Didi and Castro at SS and 2B right now. The Yanks moved him to CF, and apparently he has been picking it up well, and has been playing well at AA, but the Yanks apparently like 19 year old Estevan Florial (compared to Adam Jones (5x all star, 4x Gold Glove) as far as ability) better. Florial is currently at Low A Charleston. As I mentioned, ….. pecking order. Not only that, who knows what happens with the free agent market in a few years. Could the CF of the future be Bryce Harper or Mike Trout?

Gray fits the now. He is just 27. Under team control for this year and the next two. Team him with the 23 year old Severino and you have a nice young 1-2 punch.

Now let’s say Tanaka regains his old form in 2018. He’d be 29.

CC is 37, and I’m not looking at him right now, nor Garcia who is a two-month rental, but Jordan Montgomery is just 24. And the Yanks still have Chance Adams, Domingo Acevedo and Justus Sheffield in the wings.

A young and hopefully good rotation. And with a bullpen featuring Chapman, Betances, Robertson, Kahnle, Green, Warren…. I am excited.

Severino and Montgomery are young, haven’t gone too many innings in a season and could be hitting a “wall” soon. The additions of Garcia and Gray guard against that.

Montgomery could be bullpen bound.

Cashman also traded prospect Yefri Ramirez to the Orioles for $$$ to be used against international signings.

So the Yanks get an ace. Granted they gave up three prospects. It wasn’t Torres, Frazier, Sheffield, Acevedo or Adams.

Two of those prospects are on the DL with major injuries and won’t be ready until 2018.

Great job, Cashman.

Yanks deal 2 minor league pitchers to Twins for Jaime Garcia.

With the loss of Michael Pineda to Tommy John surgery, the Yanks have been plugging the gap with the likes of Bryan Mitchell, Luis Cessa and lately Caleb Smith.

No disrespect intended to those three, but the Yanks upgraded that spot today by dealing two minor league pitchers to the Twins for Jaime Garcia.

Garcia is a lefty (good for Yankee Stadium) and a rental. He is a free agent at the end of the year, and a solid mid-to end of the rotation piece. Not an ace, but definitely an upgrade over the Mitchell/Cessa/Smith trio.

He just turned 31, and was 3rd in ROY voting in 2010. He’s already had a couple of 13 win seasons. He won a WS ring as a member of the 2011 WS Champion Cardinals, so he has postseason experience.

He went 13-7, 3.56 for St. Louis in that WS Championship season.

Between the Braves and Twins this year, he was 5-7, 4.29, ERA+ 101. Average (an average ERA+ is 100). For his career, he is 67-52, 3.65. His 162 g. average is 13-10, 3.65, ERA+ 108. So a little better than an average pitcher.

He missed large portions of 2013 and 2014.

In seven postseason starts, Garcia is 0-3, 3.94 ERA.

He has been averaging 6 1/3 innings per start this season. That is huge with the Yankees’ bullpen of Warren, Green, Kahnle, Betances, Robertson and Chapman. By contrast, the rookie Smith was knocked out in the fourth inning in both of his MLB starts. As I mentioned, an upgrade.

You can’t have people wearing out the bullpen.

Go six, keep the team in the game.

Going to the Twins are:

Zack Littell. AA.  RHP. 21. Between High A Tampa & AA Trenton, 14-1, 1.87 this year. 35-24, 3.24 in his minor league career. Last year, between low and High A, he was 13-6, 2.66.

Dietrich Enns. AAA. LHP. 26. 2-1, 2.18 between AAA SWB and one rehab relief appearance for the Gulf Coast Rookie League this year. Missed a large portion of this season with an injury. Was 14-4, 1.73 between AA and AAA last season. He is 27-14, 1.87 in his minor league career.

Nice records lately for these two. But you have to give to get.

The thing is, where were they in the pecking order. If you have 10 really solid starting pitchers in your system, who is #1 and who is #10? This is where Cashman, the front office and your scouts come in. Not all 10 come up and start for you. You can’t put everyone on the 40 man roster. You’ll lose someone via the Rule 5 draft (which is how they originally lost Tommy Kahnle, who they just recently reacquired).

You have to pick and choose who to keep and who has to go. You have to have a pecking order, and you hope you are right in assessing that pecking order. You hope you make the right decision of who to keep and who to trade.

But as of now, it seems like a good deal, because even if Garcia, a free agent at the end of the year is a rental, he is still an upgrade over Mitchell, Cessa or Smith for this stretch drive.

This doesn’t take the Yanks out of getting Sonny Gray, an ace. They may still do that deal.

Game 160. Yanks lose, 8-1.

There isn’t much to write about regarding this one. On a lousy weather night for a game, the Yanks only got one run on three hits and lost to Baltimore 8-1.

Michael Pineda was victimized by the HR ball again as Baltimore got 2 in the fourth and 6 in the fifth. The Orioles belted 3 HR in that fifth inning, two off Pineda.

While we root for the Yanks to have success, every year there are players that make you shake your head.

For me, that is Pineda right now. So much talent and potential, so little results.

Sterling and Waldman were mentioning his lack of results on the radio last night.

One thing is for sure, the Yanks need to upgrade their starting pitching for 2017. How, is a good question. The free agent market for starters is weak. It’d have to be via trade, and that will make this off-season very interesting.

The Yanks could go after Chapman on the free agent market. He won’t come cheap. Then they can move Betances to the 8th, and Warren and Clippard can move up, to the sixth and seventh.

But they really need some young pitchers to develop, especially starters.

Green? Cessa? Mitchell? A rookie like Enns, Adams, both high up in the system? How far away are Justus Sheffield and James Kaprielian?

They also need power in the outfield, which is why Gardner or Ellsbury may be dealt. You can’t have three outfielders out there where none can hit 15 HR. The Yanks are finding out that they can have either Gardy or Ells, but not both.

It’ll be an interesting off-season for Brian Cashman.

Pineda (L, 6-12, 4.82) 4 1/3 IP, 5 R, 6 H, 3 walks, 5 K. Gave up 2 HR.
Pazos 2/3 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 1 walk, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR. 13.50
Swarzak 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 walks, 1 K.5.52
Shreve 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 walks, 1 K. 5.18
Heller 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 walk, 1 K. 6.43

Yanks trade Miller, get back Clippard.

I’ll admit, I hate to see Andrew Miller go.

But in the space of a week, the Yanks faced facts—that they were a pretender, not a contender for this year and for the next few years—and decided to look at the future.

And Brian Cashman made it clear that he doesn’t look at the future as a one or two year thing, but wants that future, say, 2020-2034, to be as dominant as say, 1993-2012 was.

The trade with the Cubs brought back the Cubs’ #1 and #7 prospects, Adam Warren, and one other prospect.

The trade of Miller to the Indians brought back their #1 prospect (OF Clint Frazier (YAY! A RIGHTY HITTER to go with Aaron Judge!—they had too many lefties with Williams, Cave, Fowler, Gamel and Rutherford) their #5, and two more.

The Yanks now have one of the best farm systems in the majors. Be patient, this may take a few years, but

Torres, Mateo, Frazier, Sheffield (LHP included in the Miller deal, #5 prospect), Sanchez, Judge, Kaprielian are seven of the top 100 prospects in baseball.

This doesn’t include prospects like:

LHP Dietrich Enns, 11-4 at AA/AAA this year.
RHP Chance Adams, 12-0 between Tampa and Trenton this year.
Pitcher Ian Clarkin, also Jacob Lindgren, Lefty relief pitcher who has had elbow trouble the last two years,
Brian Mitchell, who’s missed this year,
C Luis Torrens ; C Kyle Higashioka (having a great year)
1B Greg Bird; 1B/OF Tyler Austin
INF Tyler Wade
3Bs Miguel Andujar and Mandy Alvarez (Alvarez hit in all of his first 25 minor league games)
OF Blake Rutherford, their 1st round draft pick. .384 in first 24 minor league games.

OF Dustin Fowler. SS Kyle Holder.  SS Wilkerson Garcia.

… and a couple guys they got in the deals, like relief pitcher Ben Heller.

They got Tyler Clippard back for Vincente Campos. Campos was in the Montero for Pineda deal, started out well, but hurt his arm and has been trying to get it back since. Clippard started his MLB career with the Yanks (2007), was traded for Jonathan Albaladejo (bad deal) and became a 2x all-star after the Yanks traded him away. He is 31, was 2-3, 4.30 for Arizona this year, and has a career mark of 44-32, 2.97 with 54 saves. 162 g. average, 6-4, 2.97, 7 saves, ERA+ 135.

And hey, Severino, despite his bad year, is young, just 22.

I don’t know about you, but I’ll give up the next two to three years for 15 years of dominance.

Game 104. Yanks fall back to .500 with 5-3 loss.

I am going to address the deals made today in a separate post.

The Yanks fell back to .500, at 52-52, with a 5-3 loss to Tampa Bay today. A lost weekend, getting swept 3 straight by one of the worst teams in the league. It is the Yanks’ fourth straight loss. To me, it made today’s deals more relevant, and more of a good thing. Getting swept by the Rays made clear the “pretender” and not “contender” label for this year . If there is nothing this year or the next two, build for the future. Build for 2019 and beyond.

All the more reason to follow the minor leagues a lot more closely in the next few years.

And Brian Cashman made clear that he isn’t buiiding a team for a year or two of getting relevant again. He is building to get back an “uberteam”, a team that dominates from say, 2020-2034 like the Yanks dominated from 1993-2012.

In 2034, I’ll be 73 years old. That is what I want before I depart this earth. One more 15-20 year run where the Yanks are top notch. (Of course, if there is another run when I am 80-95 years old, great, but I won’t get greedy).

As for today, Michael Pineda proved why he exasperates us, and why I think he could be trade bait. If he, Nova, and Eovaldi don’t improve on what they are right now, why not trade them? After all, Pineda is now 5-10 with an ERA over 5. As Peggy Lee sang, Is that all there is?

Pineda gave up two in the fourth, one in the fifth on a HR, and after Beltran got the Yanks back in the game with a 2-run HR in the sixth, two more in the sixth.

Beltran’s HR, #22 on the season, was #414 of his career, tying him with Darrell Evans on the all-time list.

Brian McCann got an RBI single in the eighth.

The Yanks struck out 13x. For A-Rod, who PH, it was his fifth consecutive at bat with a strikeout.

I remember when Mike Schmidt retired in the middle of the season, saying he didn’t have it anymore. I remember Willie Mays and Steve Carlton hanging on too long.

Right now, I kind of wish A-Rod would call a press conference and hang it up.

I don’t mean that to be mean.I just don’t want A-Rod embarrassing himself. When it is time, it is time. Four homers short of 700 or not.

Pineda (L, 5-10, 5.13) 6 IP, 5 R, 6 H, 4 walks, 8 K. 1 HR given up.
Severino 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 walks, 2 K. 6.69.