Dwight Smith, an outfielder for the Cubs (1989-1993), Angels (1994), Orioles (1994) and Braves (1995-1996) passed away at the age of 58.
Smith was runner-up for ROY in 1989, hitting .324-9-52, OPS+ 141 as the Cubs won the NL East. He went 3 for 15 in the NLCS as the Cubs lost to the Giants.
He hit .300 in 1993 for the Cubs.
In 1995, he was a backup OF for the WS Champion Braves, hitting .252-3-21, OPS+ 91 (100 is average). He was 2 for 3 against Colorado in the NLCS, 0 for 2 against the Reds in the NLCS, and 1 for 2 against the Indians in the World Series.
He also was a member of the Braves in 1996, when they won the NL pennant. He hit .203-3-16, OPS+ 51 and was not on the postseason roster.
For his career, Smith hit .275 with 46 HR. His 162-game average was .275-9-45, OPS+ 103.
The Yanks (53-48) got crushed by Tampa Bay 14-0, and only got four hits in the game.
Gerrit Cole almost gave up a HR on his first pitch of the game (just foul) but the first four batters he faced were single, walk, single for a run, 3-run HR. Four batters in, down 4-0.
Cole settled down until the sixth, when Tampa Bay got 10 runs off of him and reliever Albert Abreu. Abreu faced six batters, got no one out, gave up 4 hits (3 homers) and 2 walks. Ugh.
Got to worry a bit about Cole. ERA once under 2.00 is now over 3.00. Still good, but he's been slumping lately.
Cole (L, 10-6) 5 1/3 IP, 8 R, 7 ER, 6 H, 2 W, 10 K. Gave up 1 HR. 3.11.
Abreu 0 IP, 6 R, 4 H, 2 W, 0 K. Gave up 3 HR. 5.65
Romano 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 3 K. 4.70 (Combined Cincy/NYY; 2nd Yankee game)
Holmes 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 4.81 (Combined Pitt/NYY; Yankees debut)
The deal for Joey Gallo went through. The Yanks get Gallo (29 y.o) from Texas for 4 minor leaguers.
This year .223-25-55, leads MLB with 74 walks. OPS+ 138. The good: 2x All Star. Gold Glove. 40 or more HR in 2017 and 2018. Much needed lefty bat. Bad news: Strikes out a lot. 207 times in 2018. Low batting average.
162 g. average: .211-41-90; OPS+ 116.
With Judge, Stanton, and Gallo, the Yanks have three guys who have had seasons of 40 or more HR, but also 200 strikeouts. Throw in Rougned Odor, who has topped 30 HR 3x, but struck out 178 times in 2019. You have the potential for a lot of homers, but oy, those strikeouts! Gallo will most likely play LF. He can play all three OF positions, 1B and 3B. He is under contract through 2022. This may mean that once healthy, Clint Frazier and Miguel Andujar could both be trade bait.
Gallo wore #13 in Texas. The last Yankee to wear #13 was A-Rod. It hasn't been retired. Does Gallo get #13?
The Yanks also get LHP Joely Rodriguez in the deal. 1-3, 5.93 (ERA+ 76) this season. 2-5, 5.05 (ERA+ 88) for his career in 81 games.
The Yanks give up:
RHP Glenn Otto RHP, 25. 7-3, 3.33 between AA/AAA this season. Minor league career: 14-7, 3.07
2B/SS Ezequiel Duran, 22. .290-12-48, 12 SB at High A Hudson Valley this season.
LF/2B Trevor Hauver, 22. .288-9-49 for Low A Tampa this year.
INF Josh Smith 24 in a week. .324-9-24, 17 SB between low and High A this season.
You got to give to get. The Yanks did give up 4 promising players. But also these four were in the Yanks top 30 prospects, none were in the top 13. Otto #28, Duran #15, Smith #14 and Hauver #23.
AAA: SWB (36-18) lost 2-1 in 10 innings. A decent outing (finally) for the struggling Deivi Garcia, but he was still wild. 5 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 5 W, 1 HBP, 3 K. Still a 7.45 ERA in AAA. 2B Hoy Jun Park 1 for 2, 2 walks (.355). C Rob Brantly 2 hits. SS Andrew Velazquez 2 hits.
AA: Somerset (37-20) split a doubleheader.
Game 1: Won 9-2. SS Diego Castillo 2 hits. 2B Oswaldo Cabrera, grand slam. CF Michael Beltre 2 hits, 2 RBI. 3B Cristian Perez 2 hits.
Game 2: Lost 4-1, game called in sixth, rain. They only got 3 hits. 1B Dermis Garcia HR.
High A: Hudson Valley (37-19) won 6-4. SS Josh Smith 2 hits, RBI. C Josh Breaux 3 hits, 2 RBI, solo HR. DH Anthony Seigler 2 hits, 2 RBI. CF Brandon Lockridge 2 hits. Starter Jhony Brito (3-3, 3.04) 7 IP, 2 R, 7 H, 0 W, 7 K, 1 WP, 1 HBP.
Low A: Tampa (38-17) won 4-1. DH Trevor Hauver 3-run HR. RF Jake Sanford solo HR. Starter Randy Vazquez (2-3, 2.40) 6 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 5 K, 1 HBP.
Top prospect Jasson Dominguez, 18, who is playing in the Florida complex league, had his first multi-hit game yesterday, and first RBI. So far he is 4 for 20 (.200) all singles, 2 SB, has walked 6x and was HBP once. He’ll be playing in Sunday’s futures game.
Funny how all four teams above all basically close to the same record.
Game 1: won 3-2. CF Estevan Florial 2 RBI. LF Hoy Jun Park 2 hits (.360. What more does he have to do for a callup?) 3B Armando Alvarez 2 hits. C Rob Brantly 2 for 2.
Game 2: lost 5-0, rain-shortened. DH Socrates Brito 2 of SWB’s 3 hits.
AA: Somerset (36-19) split a DH. Both 7-inning games.
Game 1: Won 6-1. Another great outing for LHP starter Ken Waldichuk. 5 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 2 W, 6 K. Gave up 1 HR. 4-0, 1.24 in 11 starts this year, and 4-2, 2.14 in 21 total minor league starts in his career. SS Oswald Peraza 2 hits. 3B Oswaldo Cabrera 2 hits, both HR, 5 RBI (2-run HR & 3-run HR). LF Isiah Gilliam solo HR.
Game 2: Lost 4-3. Janson Junk no-decision, 5 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 1 W, 6 K. Gave up 1 HR. DH Diego Castillo solo HR. SS Peraza 2 hits.
High A: Hudson Valley (36-19) won 3-2 in 10 innings. Barrett Loseke 4 scoreless relief innings, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 6 K. SS Josh Smith solo HR. CF Brandon Lockridge 2 hits. LF Elijah Dunham 3 hits, RBI.
AAA: SWB (35-16) won 8-3. SP Luis Gil 5 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 5 W, 7 K. Gave up 1 HR. 2B Hoy Jun Park 3 hits, (.353, when will Yanks make room for him?). RF Ryan LaMarre 2 RBI. 3B Andrew Velazquez 2 hits, 2 RBI.
AA: Somerset ppd.
High A: Hudson Valley (35-19) won 9-7. SS Josh Smith 2 hits. C Josh Breaux 2 hits, solo HR. RF Brandon Lockridge 2 hits. 2B Chad Bell 2 RBI, solo HR. CF Pablo Olivares 2 for 2, 3 RBI, solo HR.
AAA: Besides Derek Dietrich opting out of his deal, Robinson Chirinos and Nick Goody are out as well.
SWB (34-16) Lost 5-4. 3B Andrew Valazquez 2 for 2, 2 walks, RBI.
AA: Somerset (35-18) won 3-0. Luis Medina (going to Futures Game) 5 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 1 W, 8 K. SS Oswald Peraza 3 hits, RBI. DH Donny Sands 2 hits. RF Michael Beltre solo HR. LF Isiah Gilliam solo HR.
High A: Hudson Valley (34-19) won 7-3. SS Josh Smith 2 hits. 2B Ezequiel Duran 2 hits, 3 RBI. CF Brandon Lockridge 2 hits, 2 RBI, solo HR. LF Elijah Dunham 2 hits, 2 RBI, 2-run HR.
Low A: Tampa swept a DH. Both 7-inning games.
Game 1: Won 2-1. CF Pat DeMarco 2 hits.
Game 2: Won 5-1, all runs scoring in the bottom of the sixth. SS Anthony Volpe (.309-11-46) solo HR, DH Austin Wells (.266-6-40) solo HR (HR were back-to-back). RF Jake Sanford 2 hits, RBI.
AAA: SWB (33-13) scored five in the top of the ninth to take a 9-3 lead, and hung on to win 9-7. LF Ryan LaMarre 2 hits, RBI. C Rob Brantly 2-run HR. RF Socrates Brito 3 hits, 2 RBI. 2B Andrew Velazquez 2 hits.
AA: Somerset (31-17) lost 7-4. 2B Diego Castillo 3 hits, 2 RBI, 2-run HR. CF Thomas Milone solo HR. DH Isiah Gilliam 2 hits.
High A: Hudson Valley (31-17) won 4-1. Starting P Shawn Semple 6 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 W, 11 K. DH Josh Smith 2 hits. SS Ezequiel Duran 2 hits. C Josh Breaux 2 hits, RBI. LF Elijah Dunham solo HR. 3B James Nelson solo HR. 1B Kyle MacDonald 2 hits.
Low A: Tampa PPD.
Top Yankees prospect Jasson Dominguez has begun playing games. In two games, he has had six plate appearances and is 0 for 3 with 3 walks. He’s struck out twice and popped out. He will be playing in the Futures Game. The switch-hitter, nicknamed “El Marciano” or “The Martian”, is just 18 years old.
AAA: SWB (32-13) absolutely destroyed Lehigh Valley, 19-1. They got 10 runs in the third inning, bashed out 23 hits, and only gave up 2 hits. SWB used eight pitchers. Pitching highlights were the rehab guys. Darren O’Day 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. Justin Wilson 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 0 K. Adam Warren 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K.
Now for the hitting highlights. This could take a while.
Florial CF 3 hits, 2 RBI Park SS 4 hits, solo HR. 2 RBI. Hitting .360 at AAA. Wish he would replace Odor. (Park also plays 2B) Gittens 1B 4 hits, 8 RBI. 2 HR, double. Solo shot and a grand slam. Amburgey LF 3 hits, all doubles. 2 RBI. Hitting .356. Wish he’d be replacing Frazier. LaMarre RF 2 hits, 3 RBI, 2-run HR. Allen CF 4 hits, RBI McDowell C 2 hits, RBI
AA: Somerset (31-16) lost 5-1. CF Tom Milone 2 hits
High A: Hudson Valley (30-17) lost 14-8. SS Josh Smith 4 hits. 2B Ezequiel Duran 2 hits. C Saul Torres 2 hits. LF Pablo Olivares 2 hits. 3B Chad Bell 3-run HR. 1B Kyle MacDonald 2 hits, 2 RBI. CF Isaiah Pasteur 3 hits, RBI.
Low A: Tampa (32-15) won in a rout, 15-2.
SS Anthony Volpe 2 hits, RBI 2B Trevor Hauver 2 hits, 3 RBI RF Jake Sanford 3 hits, 2 RBI 3B Andres Chaparro 2 hits, 4 RBI, a 2-run HR C Carlos Narvaez 3 hits 1B Eric Wagaman 2 hits, 4 RBI, a 3-run HR CF Pat DeMarco 3 hits, RBI. Solo HR.
AAA: SWB (31-13) beat Lehigh Valley 10-4. CF Estevan Florial 2 RBI; 1B Chris Gittens solo HR, 2 RBI. DH Derek Dietrich 2 hits, 5 RBI, inc. a 3-run HR; C Rob Brantly 2 hits. 3B Armando Alvarez 2 hits. SS Andrew Velazquez solo HR. SP Matt Krook 4 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 6 K. RP Reggie McClain 2 IP, 0 R, 5 K.
AA: Somerset (31-15) won 3-0. 3B Diego Castillo 2 hits, solo HR. 1B Dermis Garcia 2-run HR. SP Hayden Wesneski 6 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 W, 7 K. Ron Marinaccio the save, 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 4 K.
High A: Hudson Valley (30-16) won 8-4. Nick Ernst win in relief 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 W, 4 K. SS Josh Smith 3 hits, RBI. C Josh Breaux 2 hits, RBI. DH Anthony Seigler game-winning walk-off grand slam. LF Elijah Dunham solo HR. 1B Chad Bell 2 hits, RBI.
Low A: Tampa (31-15) split a DH.
Game 1: Lost 7-5. CF Pat DeMarco 2 hits. 1B Pedro Diaz 2 for 2, walk, RBI.
Game 2: Won 6-5. SS Anthony Volpe 3 hits, RBI, solo HR (9) (.305, 18 SB). 2B Trevor Hauver 2 RBI. 1B Eric Wagaman 2 hits, RBI.
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.
The Sommer Frieze 
