S.T. Game 21. Yanks win, but rest of S.T. cancelled, Reg. Season Opener delayed.

First the game, then the other MAJOR ramifications.

The Yanks (11-8-2) did beat Washington today, 6-3, to go to 11-8-2 on the spring training schedule.

BUT…. there it will stay for now.

Because of the coronavirus epidemic, the rest of spring training has been cancelled and the regular season has been pushed back two weeks—-AT LEAST. Could be more.

Everything is off right now. The NBA, NHL, XFL… all suspended or cancelled. March Madness for the guys and gals is cancelled.

Schools cancelled. Colleges doing online courses only.

Golf first said that it would go on with no spectators—after all, if there is only two golfers per hole with their caddies, no problem and no one in the next 450 yards, right? But now it looks like that is out, too.

So….nothing.

If you want to look on the bright side of life (cue Monty Python) this actually may help the Yanks regarding injuries/illness like Judge, Sanchez, Stanton and Paxton. But you don’t really want this as the way to help yourselves.

The Yanks did win, 6-3. Tyler Wade had two hits, inc. a 2-run HR. Good. He was struggling.

Diego Castillo had 2 hits.

Loaisiga 3 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 W, 3 K. Gave up HR.  2.70
Tropeano (W, 1-1) 2 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 2 W, 1 K.  5.19
Hale (H, 1) 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.  6.14. Good job, but enough?
Abreu 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K.  5.40

So, there won’t be many updates for a while, not until this virus clears up.

Good news: Aaron Judge feels better.

 

 

S.T. Game 19. Late HR beats Yanks, 4-2. Sanchez has the flu.

First a sore back, now the flu, will keep Gary Sanchez down a while.

Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery both pitched well, but a 2-run HR in the top of the ninth off of Ben Heller beat the Yanks (10-7-2) 4-2.

Concerns: The Yanks really haven’t hit yet. Also, Gleyber Torres made his fifth error of the spring.

Good points: Pitching. Kyle Higashioka hit a HR, his 3rd of spring training.

Cole 3 1/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 6 K.  7.00
Otero 2/3 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 0 W, 0 K.  3.86
Montgomery 4 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 5 K.   4.09
Heller (L, 0-1) 2/3 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 1 W, 1 K.  27.00  Gave up a 2-run HR.
Wivinis 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K.  0.00

 

An Aside: Last I saw, Didi Gregorius was 0 for 22 for the Phils so far this spring.

S.T. Game 18. Yanks fall 3-1 to Phils, make more cuts.

The Yanks made a few more cuts today. From MLB.com:

Right-hander Brooks Kriske was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Right-hander Albert Abreu and outfielder Estevan Florial were optioned to Double-A Trenton. Right-handers Luis Gil and Luis Medina have been optioned to Class A Advanced Tampa. In addition, right-handers Domingo Acevedo and Alexander Vizcaíno were reassigned to Minor League camp.

I think you may see Kriske sometime this year in the Bronx.

Gary Sanchez is expected to catch Friday after being shut down for a few days with a sore back.

As for the game Monday, the Yanks (10-6-2) lost to the Phils, 3-1. J.A. Happ was solid, giving up one run in four innings on a HR. But Mike King gave up a 2-run HR in the bottom of the eighth that lost the game.

So far, it’s an encouraging spring from Happ. If he gets back to 2018 or 2016 form, he helps make up for this year’s loss of Severino.

Happ 4 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 0 W, 5 K.  1.38  Gave up a solo HR.
Chapman 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K.  0.00
King (L, 0-1) 2 2/3 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 1 W, 0 K.  3.86  Gave up 2-run HR.
Holder 1/3 IP 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K.  0.00

Just a hunch. I think Loaisiga gets the #5 starter spot (barring injury) and Garcia, Schmidt and King go to AAA. I have no clue as to what the Yankees do with Tropeano. Once Paxton is back, Loaisiga goes to the bullpen. The Yanks probably won’t push Loaisiga, but hope he gives four or five. Now what happens when German is ready is up in the air. For when Paxton does return, you have Cole, Tanaka, Happ, Montgomery and Paxton. Three lefties in the rotation, especially at Yankee Stadium, is a good thing so there is no guarantee that German gets his starting role back.

Of course, much could change with injuries and/or ineffectiveness.

S.T. Game 15. Late rally leads to 7-4 Yanks win, but Sanchez has sore back.

When will it end? Apparently now Gary Sanchez (1 for 17 in S.T. so far) will be shut down for a few days because of a sore back.

As for today’s game, the Yanks (9-5-1) scored six in the eighth to pull out a 7-4 win.

Brandon Lockridge had a bases-loaded triple.

Mike Ford had 2 doubles.

Kyle Holder, known more for his glove than bat, had 3 hits.

Pitching line:

Loaisiga 2 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 0 W, 2 K. Gave up a 2-run HR.  2.57
Nelson 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 W, 2 K.  0.00
Tropeano 2 IP, 1 R, 2 H 1 W, 2 K.  5.40
J. Holder (W, 1-0) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K.  0.00
Lyons 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K.  0.00   Battle him and Avelan for a spot?
Otero 1 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 0 W, 1 K.  2.25

BTW, my guess, and ONLY a guess, is Mid to late May for a Judge return. Hopefully I am wrong and it’s sooner.

 

S.T. Game 14. Yanks fall, 5-1.

The Yanks (8-5-1) fell to Baltimore, 5-1 in their S.T. game Friday night.

D.J. LeMahieu had 2 hits. Luke Voit homered for the only Yankees’ run.

Concerns: Gleyber Torres made his 4th error of the spring. Gary Sanchez is hitting .059. Tyler Wade .091. I know, just spring training.

Some sloppiness. Deivi Garcia threw a WP. David Hale threw 2 WP. Sanchez had a PB.

Pitching Line:

Garcia (L, 0-1) 2 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 W, 2 K.  6.75   The WP
Chapman 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.  0.00
Hale  2 IP,  2 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 W, 5 K.  10.38 The 2 WP
Ottavino 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K.  0.00
Kahnle 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 0.00
Green 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 2 K.  3.00
Avilan 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 2 K.  3.86′

Three of the five runs given up were unearned. Combined for 14K

 

S.T. Game 10. Minor League Pitchers can’t hold lead, Yanks fall 10-4.

The Yanks (6-3-1) built a 4-2 lead but some pitchers ticketed for the minors could not hold it and the Yanks fell 10-4 on Sunday.

Brett Gardner had an RBI double.

Rosell Herrera went 3 for 3 with 2 RBI and the way he is playing, he could beat out Tyler Wade for the last (utility) spot on the team. Herrera can play all three OF positions as well as 2B, SS and 3B.

Something concerning is that guys like Mike Tauchman and Gary Sanchez don’t have a hit yet and that Tyler Wade is 1 for 16, that hit being a HR. Kyle Higashioka is 1 for 11.

You would like some bats to wake up soon.

Pitching line:

Hale 1 2/3 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 1 W, 1 K.  19.29.  Not a good outing for Hale.
Reeves 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.   Faced one batter and struck him out.  0.00
Otero 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K.  0.00
Avilan 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 0.00.   Don’t sleep on him.
Kriske (H, 2) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 0 K. 2.45  Don’t sleep on him, either.
Yajure (L, 0-1; H, 1)  1 1/3 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 1 W, 4 K.   11.57
Ort (BS, 1) 2/3 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 1 W, 2 K.  Gave up a grand slam.    27.00
Rosa 1 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 2 W, 1 K.  9.00

 

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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