Game 124. Tanaka Time! Yanks edge Tribe, 3-2.

After a really rough stretch, the Masahiro Tanaka we have seen the last two times out is the Tanaka that Yankees’ fans are hoping to see in October.

The Yanks assured a winning season with win #82. Their last non-winning season was in 1992. 27 years ago. An impressive stretch, but still a long ways away from the stretch of 1925 to 1965 without a losing season.

Since 1925, the only times the Yankees have had a losing season were 1965-1967, 1969, 1973, 1982, and 1989-1992, with the worst year being 1990.

Only ten losing seasons in 94 years. Not bad.  Not bad at all.

At 82-42, the Yanks now have a 10 1/2 game lead over Tampa Bay in the AL East and the magic # for clinching the division outright (barring any tiebreaker scenario) is down to 29.

The Yanks scored first, getting two in the bottom of the first. With one out, Aaron Judge and Gio Urshela singled. After a force out, putting runners on first and third with two out, Gary Sanchez singled for one run and Gleyber Torres singled for another.

Tanaka gave up a solo HR in the top of the second that cut the Yanks’ lead to 2-1.

In the bottom of the second, Yasier Puig threw out Cameron Maybin at the plate to keep another Yankees’ run from scoring. This would make the Yanks justifiably gun-shy of Puig’s cannon the rest of the game. I’ll get to that in a minute.

With two out in the fifth, Aaron Judge doubled, and Gio Urshela singled. Judge was going to be held at third (Puig’s arm) but Puig bobbled the ball for an error, enabling Judge to score. It turned out to be the decisive play in the game.

Tanaka gave up a solo HR to Puig in the seventh. 3-2 Yanks. Tommy Kahnle came in with a man on second, one out, and got two strikeouts to maintain the Yankees’ lead.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Yanks loaded the bases with no one out but couldn’t score. Two balls were hit to Puig but were too shallow for D.J. LeMahieu to score. Puig’s arm would have been too much.

Having wasted a huge scoring opportunity like that, I feared the worst. But the Yanks held on.

They held on because of Brett Gardner. With a man on second and one out in the top of the eighth, Gardner made a fine running catch to rob Cleveland of a double and the tying run. It saved the game.

Before the game, Chance Adams was sent down and recently acquired Ryan Dull was added.

Judge 2 hits.
Urshela 3 hits, .342. If he qualifies for the batting title, his .342 tops D.J. LeMahieu .337.

Tanaka (W, 9-6, 4.56) 6 1/3 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 0 W, 2 K. Gave up 2 HR.
Kahnle (H, 22) 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K.  2.88
Britton (H, 26) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K.  2.13
Chapman (S, 34) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 2 K.  2.40

 

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Game 119. Yanks blast 4 HR vs. O’s in game 1 of DH, win 8-5.

The Yankees (78-41) made it 13 in a row over the Orioles by winning the day game of a day/night DH vs. Baltimore, 8-5. They are 14-2 against Baltimore this season.

I so doing, they hit 4 HR, making it 56 in 16 games vs. Baltimore this season.

The O’s got a run in the top of the first against James Paxton but the Yanks struck right back on a 3-run HR by Didi Gregorius (9) and a solo HR by Gleyber Torres (24). It’s the eleventh HR Torres has hit against the Orioles this season.

Back-to-back doubles by Brett Gardner and Gio Urshela made it 5-1 in the second inning.

Paxton gave up a HR in the third that cut the Yanks’ lead to 5-2.

In the bottom of the fifth, Urshela hit a 461 Ft. Bomb (18) to make it 6-2 Yanks.

Paxton gave up another HR in the top of the sixth, 6-3, Yanks.

The Yanks came right back in the bottom of the sixth on a HR by Cameron Maybin (8) to make it 7-3.

They scored in the seventh on a walk to Gardner, single by Urshela and SF by Didi. 8-3.

Luis Cessa came in for the eighth, didn’t have it, and gave up two runs. Zack Britton had to bail him out. 8-5.

Aroldis Chapman got the save, with Urshela making a great play to end the game.

Urshela 3 hits, 2 RBI. HR (18) .328
Gregorius 4 RBI, a 3-run HR (9)
Torres solo HR (24)
Maybin solo HR (8)  .319

Paxton (W, 8-6, 4.40) 6 IP, 3 R, 5 H, 2 W, 7 K.  Gave up 2 HR.
Kahnle 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K   2.92
Cessa 1/3 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 2 W, 0 K.  3.99
Britton (H, 24) 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K.  2.22
Chapman (S, 32) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.  2.51

The 2020 Yankees’ schedule has been released. They open in Baltimore (way too early in my opinion) on March 26. Hope it doesn’t snow. They have interleague vs. the NL Central, as well as the home and home vs. the Mets. The Cubs, Pirates and Reds come to the Bronx, and the Yanks go to Pittsburgh, Milwaukee and St. Louis. They also have that Field of Dreams game Aug. 13, 2020 in Iowa vs. the White Sox. The home opener is April 2 vs. Toronto. They close the season with seven against the Astros, and then the Rays.

The Yanks also received good news on the injury front from Luke Voit, Dellin Betances and Luis Severino in their rehab work today.

 

 

Game 117; Bullpen doesn’t hold up as Yanks lose, 5-4.

The Yankees (76-41) lost their second in a row, 5-4, to Toronto Saturday.

A few things.

Before the game, Gary Sanchez brought back, Kyle Higashioka back down.

Also, Jonathan Holder on the IL, Stephen Tarpley back up.

Remember when I wondered why Holder was pitching “as the opener” a third inning a few days ago? Well, that third inning may have come back to bite them.

The Yanks got a run in the top of the Fourth on a solo HR by Gary Sanchez (25).

Chance Adams, who had a couple great minor league years a few years ago, but who hasn’t taken it to the next level but instead has regressed, relieved Tarpley with two on and one out in the fourth and gave up a 3-run HR to the first batter he faced. 3-1 Toronto.

Tarpley and Adams are examples of how difficult the next step is. For Tarpley, he had a great spring training, winning the James P. Dawson Award as best rookie in camp this year, and Adams had great seasons at AA and AAA very recently but as you can see by their ERAs below, they haven’t been able to do it in the majors this season.

The Yanks tied the game in the sixth on a 2-run HR by Gio Urshela (17).

They went ahead in the top of the seventh on a walk to Mike Ford, a double by Mike Tauchman, and a SF by D.J. LeMahieu.

But Adam Ottavino gave up a two-run triple to Vlad Guerrero, Jr. in the bottom of the seventh to put Toronto back on top 5-4, and the Blue Jays held onto that lead for the victory.

The Yanks lead over Tampa Bay in the AL East was trimmed to 8 1/2. The magic # for clinching their first AL East title since 2012 remains at 37.

The Yanks got just five hits in the game. You wish Kahnle might have gone another inning.

Sanchez solo HR (25)
Urshela 2-run HR (17) .320
Tauchman 1 for 1,   3 walks.  .305

Green 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K.   4.82
Tarpley 2 1/3 IP, 2 R, 1 H, 4 W, 4 K.  8.24  K’s nice, walks not.
Adams (BS, 2) 1 2/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 2 K.  6.50   Gave up 1 HR.
Kahnle 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 3 K.   2.98
Ottavino (L, 5-4, 1.73; BS, 5) 1 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 1 W, 2 K.
Britton 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 W, 2 K.   2.25

Game 116. Yanks’ winning streak ends in 8-2 loss.

Before the game, the Yanks made a minor league deal (those are still allowed after the deadline) getting Joe Mantiply from the Reds for cash considerations. Mantiply, 28, LHP, pitched in five games for the Tigers in 2016, going 0-0, 16.88. He actually was in the Yanks’ minor league system in 2017, going 6-5, 2.83 for SWB (6 starts, 29 relief appearances). He was 1-0, 4.15 for the Reds’ AA/AAA teams in 19 relief appearances this year. He’ll be going to AAA.

Good news on Luis Severino. He threw off a mound and felt great. It looks like the Yanks could get him back in September. But would it be for only two or three outings before the postseason? Would that be enough? More on that later after this game report. (Also, in a separate minor league report, good news on Jonathan Loaisiga Friday night).

On Firday, Yanks’ GM Brian Cashman had a scare, being mistaken for a car thief. He was stopped—at gunpoint—by as many as nine officers in CT.

Per ESPN:

Cashman, 52, said in an interview with the New York Post that his white Jeep Wrangler had been stolen and returned to him but that the New York City police had not cleared the vehicle from its stolen-car database.

Luckily, things didn’t escalate or get mistaken into anything tragic.

Now for the game. Good point made by John Flaherty on YES about holding umpires accountable. Players have to face the media after a bad performance and answer questions, not so umpires. Players get suspended and/or fined, umpires should too. Because the umpiring last night was bad.

Brett Gardner got tossed from the game by the home plate umpire who A) didn’t give a warning first, and B) wasn’t even looking in the dugout to see who was getting on him, thus ejecting the wrong person. How do you eject someone without seeing and making sure you are ejecting the right individual? Gardner says he didn’t say anything or do anything to get ejected, and when he came out to vociferously argue, was lied to by that home plate umpire. As a result, Aaron Judge, who was supposed to get the night off, had to play. Of course, after the game there is no media questioning the umpire. HE isn’t held accountable. If Gardner faces a fine or ejection, that would make this even more of a travesty. MLB needs to hold more bad umpires (like Angel Hernandez, even though this time it wasn’t him) accountable by fining or suspending them. They probably won’t though. It’s  a joke how they let some really bad umpiring slide. This wasn’t all. There was a really bad call later in the game.

As far as strike zones, MLB has to tell the umpires off on that. You can’t have “your” strike zone and call it the same way on a 6’7″ player like Aaron Judge the same way you do on a 5’9″ player. How many times do we see strikes called on Judge that are below his knees because he is 6’7″? But the umps don’t adjust to his height as they should. Ridiculous.

Umpires need to face the same criticism and meet the same standards and receive the same penalties as the players. Start cracking down on bad umpiring, MLB.

As for the game, well, those bad decisions didn’t cost the Yanks the game, bad pitching by J.A. Happ did. Unfortunately, Happ, who was so good for the Yanks after the Yanks traded for him last year (until Game 1 of the ALDS), has turned into this season’s “Sonny Gray”. What is worrisome is that he has a contract for next year for another $17MM and a vesting option for 2021 for another $17MM that kicks in with 27 starts or 165 IP in 2020. If Happ, who turns 37 in mid-October, is falling off the cliff per se, then the Yanks have a problem. I don’t know if he has a no-trade clause. But right now, would you trust him on the postseason roster? I wouldn’t. Would you look into dealing him after the season (and probably having to eat a lot of his contract)? I would.

Happ only gave up four hits in 5 IP, but three were HR as he was plagued by the gopher ball again. Those resulted in six runs. We can only hope for improvement, but it looks like a lost season for him. We’ll see if it is the start of the end for his career as well.

He has to improve, that is for sure.

Things got off to a bad start when Happ gave up a 2-run HR in the first and a solo HR in the second. Yanks down 3-0 after two innings, already.

In the top of the fourth, immediately after the fiasco with the umpire that got Gardner ejected, Mike Tauchman homered (12) to cut it to 3-1. Boy, is Tauchman hot.

But Happ gave up a 3-run HR in the bottom of the fourth that made it 6-1 and basically ended the Yanks’ (76-40) chances for a win in this one. Oh well, you can’t win them all and the loss snapped a nine-game winning streak.

Tampa Bay won, so the Yanks’ lead in the AL East was cut to 9 1/2.

Mike Ford homered (3) in the seventh to make it 6-2, but Tommy Kahnle gave up a 2-run HR in the eighth. Final score 8-2 Toronto.

LeMahieu 2 hits,  .340
Maybin 0 for 4, Golden Sombrero 4 strikeouts, should have had a hit. Bad call.
Tauchman 2 hits, solo HR (12)  .301
Ford solo HR (3)

Happ (L, 9-7, 5.48) 5 IP, 6 R, 4 H, 3 W, 4 K.  Gave up 3 HR.
Cortes, Jr.  2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 2 K.  4.18
Kahnle 1 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 1 W, 1 K.  3.04   Gave up 1 HR.

You wonder how much of an “opener” the Yanks could use in the postseason. Could Severino AND Loiasiga be used in such a fashion because of just coming off the IL in September? Could German be (because of an innings limit) used as the guy AFTER the “opener” ? There will be very interesting decisions made in a month because, even with the great record the Yanks have right now, you can’t be comfortable with what you are getting from the starters right now, especially Tanaka, Happ and even CC.

Especially if they are going up against Greinke, Verlander and Cole.

Over the next few weeks, here’s hoping the rotation can step it up and alleviate my concerns.

 

 

Game 112. Yanks win 6th in a row, lead now 9.

The Yanks (73-39) won their sixth game in a row, beating the Orioles 9-6 in a slugfest on Monday night to open up a nine-game lead over Tampa Bay in the AL East.

Austin Romine got it started with a second inning HR, his 5th of the season, to put the Yanks up 1-0.

The Orioles tied it in the third, and had a runner thrown out at the plate (Brett Gardner to Didi Gregorius to Romine) or else they would have taken the lead. They also could have taken the lead in the fourth on a double steal attempt, but Didi’s throw back home to Romine nailed the runner at the plate. So Didi’s arm saved Masahiro Tanaka two runs. Tanaka’s luck would not hold up.

The Yanks got three in the fifth to go up 4-1. Gardner singled, and with one out, the red-hot Mike Tauchman singled Gardner to third. Breyvic Valera tripled in two runs. The 20th hit of Valera’s MLB career was only his 2nd extra base hit—-both triples. D.J. LeMahieu grounded into a fielder’s choice. D.J. was safe at first, and Valera scored when the throw to the plate was bad for an error.

The Yanks make it 6-1 in the sixth on homers by Gardner (16) and Tauchman (8). Tauchman wasn’t finished.

Tanaka fell apart in the sixth. Double, HR made it 6-3. Single, Double and you hardly had time to get the bullpen up. SF makes it 6-4. Out goes Tanaka, in comes Tommy Kahnle. Strikeout. But then Kahnle gave up a two-run HR that tied the game before getting the last out of the inning. 6-6.

Tanaka’s recent efforts are worrisome.

The Yanks won it in the eighth. With one out, Mike Ford hit his 2nd HR of the season to make it 7-6. Gardner singled, then after an out, Tauchman hit his second HR of the game (9) to give the Yanks insurance with a 9-6 lead, which held up as the final score.

Ford solo HR (2)
Gardner 3 hits, solo HR (16)
Romine solo HR (5)
Tauchman 3 hits, 3 RBI, 2 HR (9)
Valera 2 RBI

With all the injuries, a lineup featuring Ford, Romine, Tauchman and Valera seems like a spring training lineup, but they got it done. Next man up.

The Yanks set a record for most HR ever in a season by a team in a visiting park. And they aren’t done yet. 

Tanaka 5 1/3 IP, 5 R, 10 H, 2 W, 4 K.   4.93  Gave up 1 HR
Kahnle (BS, 3) 2/3 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.   2.72     Gave up 1 HR.
Ottavino (W, 5-3, 1.47) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.   1.47
Britton (H, 23) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K.   2.30
Chapman (S, 30) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 3 K.  2.62

The Yanks will use the “opener” tonight as Jonathan Holder is scheduled to get that role.

Gary Sanchez is scheduled for a couple of rehab games Wednesday and Thursday for SWB, then to join the Yankees this weekend in Toronto. He was slumping badly before going on the IL, maybe the stint gets him right.

 

 

Game 110. Yanks win nightcap 6-4 for the DH sweep, but injury bug hits again.

Gleyber Torres hit 2 HR, and Mike Tauchman got the game winning hit as the Yanks (71-39) won the nightcap of the day/night DH yesterday, 6-4.

But the injury bug hit again, and hard.

In the previous post on the first game of the DH, I mentioned that Edwin Encarnacion was HBP, and that it was “scary.” While Encarnacion stayed in the game at the time, tests done after the game revealed a fractured wrist. He’ll be out a while. Remember last year that Aaron Judge missed 48 games because of it. There is just 52 games left this season. Terrible timing.

That timing becomes even worse if Luke Voit requires surgery for his sports hernia.

D.J. LeMahieu now becomes the full-time 1B instead of switching around. Gio Urshela gets more regular time at 3B. Torres and Didi Gregorius are backed up for now by Breyvic Valera. Next man up.

Backing up LeMahieu for now is Mike Ford, called up when Encarnacion’s situation became known. Ford, a lefty hitter, has been up briefly before. He is 6 for 30, 1 HR, 2 RBI with the Yanks this year (OPS+ 101). At SWB, .303-23-60 in just 79 games.

It looks like Ford will be here a while, unless the Yanks want to turn in another direction. That direction could be in the form of ex-Yankee Tyler Austin, who was DFA’d by the Giants yesterday. Austin has power, but doesn’t hit for average, and has a poor walk/strikeout ratio. But he is someone, of course, the Yanks are familiar with.

Ford, a lefty bat, projects as a better fit than Austin, the righty bat. Austin will be 28 next month, and when he was with the Yankees from 2016-2018, hit .230-15-43 in 85 games. (OPS+ 98) with just 19 walks but 106 strikeouts. This season between the Twins and Giants, he has hit .187-8-20, OPS+ 81. 18 walks, 60 strikeouts in 72 games. He can play corner OF as well as 1B.

We’ll see if the Yanks take a flyer on him. One thing that may not help is some uncomplimentary (but maybe correct?) things Austin’s dad said when the Yanks dealt Austin way last summer for the now also-departed Lance Lynn.

As if Encarnacion’s injury didn’t hurt enough, Aaron Hicks hurt his elbow making a throw in from the outfield in last night’s game. Hopefully it is not major, but we remember that Didi Gregorius injured his elbow making a throw in last year’s postseason series against Boston, required TJ surgery and missed half of this season. If Hicks needs that, he’s done for the year. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. But if he has to go on the IL, the Yanks then have Brett Gardner, Mike Tauchman and Cameron Maybin who all could play CF. We will have to see if Clint Frazier or someone else (Tyler Wade?) gets called up. Frazier’s bat may be needed what with the Encarnacion injury, but his defensive problems may mean he replaces Encarnacion at DH (until Giancarlo Stanton is ready, and the word on that is not until September). The Yankees, I think, would be much more comfortable with Tauchman and/or Maybin in the OF alongside Gardner and Judge. Let Frazier DH then.

We will see what the prognosis is on Hicks. But the way this season has gone, I am not expecting good news.

As of now, Sanchez, Voit, Stanton, Encarnacion, Andujar, now Hicks. That’s not even mentioning guys we really can’t count on because we rarely if ever see them, like Bird or Ellsbury, or the pitchers like Severino, Betances, Montgomery, Hale, CC and Loaisiga.

Sheesh.

But the Yanks keep on trucking along. The DH sweep of Boston means that the Yanks (71-39) have an 8 game lead over Tampa Bay in the AL East, and a whopping 13 1/2 game lead over Boston. It sure appears as if Boston’s hopes of winning the division are over, and they have to worry about just making it as a wild card. As of now, the Indians would host the Rays in the wild card game, the A’s are just 1/2 game behind the Rays, and Boston is 5 1/2 behind the Rays just for a playoff spot.

The Yanks could help bury Boston with a win tonight that would sweep the weekend series. J.A. Happ is expected back from paternity leave to start the game for the Yanks.

Time now also, to put more distance between the Yanks and Rays, as well.

Now for the game. Sorry, but the injury report, I felt, took precedence.

The Yanks remained undefeated (9-0) when Chad Green serves as the opener. He pitched a scoreless first inning before passing the baton to Nestor Cortes, Jr., who gave up a massive HR to Rafael Devers in the top of the third inning that put Boston up 2-0.

The Yanks came right back with three runs in the bottom of the third. Gleyber Torres hit a solo HR (22) to cut it to 2-1. Hicks and Gio Urshela singled, then Maybin doubled both home to make it 3-2 Yanks. Maybin pulled a rock later however, in getting doubled off of second because he forgot how many outs there were when Mike Tauchman lined out to CF.

Chance Adams, up for the day as the DH’s 26th man, relieved Cortes and gave up two runs to put Boston up 4-3. Adams, so good in the minors in 2016 and 2017 (a combined record of 28-6, ERA about 2.40) hasn’t taken it further the last two seasons. 2018 and this year have been a struggle.

Torres tied the game at 4 with his second HR of the game. HR #23 of the season meant (per Replacement Level Yankees) that he has joined Joe DiMaggio as the only Yankees with five multi-HR games in one season before turning 23. Some company. I wouldn’t trade Torres for anyone. He could turn out to be our next Jeter. A middle infielder who would be here a long time, a multi-time All-Star, many hits, more power than Jeter, and even though he is not 23 yet, the kid already is a leader. Like Jeter, the kid has icewater in his veins. Cool under pressure. What’s not to love?

In the bottom of the seventh, Torres just missed hitting his THIRD HR of the game by doubling off of the right field wall. Hicks and Urshela each walked to load the bases. Maybin struck out, but Tauchman singled in two runs to put the Yanks up 6-4. Austin Romine walked to reload the bases but the Yanks didn’t score anymore. The 6-4 score turned out to be the final score.

Not without a scare, however. Zack Britton had Boston load the bases on him in the eighth, but he got out of it.

Judge 2 hits
Torres 3 hits, 2 HR (23), 2 RBI.
Hicks 2 hits. We’ll see about that elbow injury.
Maybin 2 RBI
Tauchman 2 hits, 2 RBI. He’s really grown on me the last month or so.

Green 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 2 K.  4.95
Cortes, Jr.  2 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 1 W, 2 K.  4.60     Gave up 1 HR.
Adams (BS, 1) 2 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 1 W, 1 K.  7.07
Ottavino 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K.   1.50
Kahnle (W, 3-0, 2.56) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K.
Britton (H, 22) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 W, 1 K.  2.35
Chapman (S, 29) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 2 K.  2.68

 

 

Game 108. Gleyber slams the Bosox, Yanks win 4-2.

I forget who wrote it, but it was suggested that when James Paxton pitch, that the Yanks use an opener that day because of Paxton’s first inning problems.

He had that again tonight, getting two outs but then giving up a walk and a 2-run HR to Boston’s J.D. Martinez. Paxton’s ERA in the first inning is a ghastly 11.37.

But Paxton settled down after that, and who knew that all the runs in the game would be had in the first inning?

In the bottom of the first, Gleyber Torres hit a grand slam. Torres’ 21st HR of the season made it 4-2 and that was all the scoring in the ballgame.

Both teams combined for just eight hits in the game, a far cry from recent games that the Yanks and Red Sox have played.

The Yanks are now 2/3 of the way through the season and with a record of 69-39, a 103.5 win pace. With the win the Yanks are 7 1/2 up on Tampa Bay and 11 1/2 up on Boston.

LeMahieu 2 hits.
Torres grand slam, HR #21

Paxton (W, 6-6, 4.61) 6 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 3 W, 6 K.
Kahnle (H, 21) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.  2.62
Britton (H, 21) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K.  2.40
Chapman (S, 28) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.  2.74

Didi Gregorius did not play, and hopefully he isn’t bound for the IL with a problem with his hand.

Before the game Brett Gardner was activated, J.A. Happ put on paternity leave. Tyler Wade was sent down and Stephen Tarpley brought up.

Happ on paternity leave creates a problem. With a DH tomorrow, Domingo German will start one game and the other will probably be an opener game with heavy bullpen use. Happ was scheduled to start Sunday night. With him on paternity leave, now what? Remember CC is on the I.L.

MLB.com listed the favorites for AL MVP and Mike Trout was the unanimous pick so far. What upsets me is NO mention of D.J. LeMahieu.

One last mention. Minor League pitching coordinator Danny Borrell will be leaving the Yanks to go to Georgia Tech. Borrell handled the lower levels, and Scott Aldred the higher levels. The Yanks almost lost Aldred last year. I hope they don’t lose Aldred, who has done a great job and is highly regarded. Besides, current pitching coach Larry Rothschild is 65 and I would hope Aldred may be his replacement come due time.