1. Storm warning issued on George Lombard Jr. Three errors in three days. Not worried, yet. Let's just say, aware of the situation. Lombard has been a huge defensive presence at SS, nearly Jeter Redux. But he needs an error-free few games, or whispers will turn into a siren.
2. The best thing about beating Toronto (with Vlad Jr. barely bothering to run out a grounder): Watching them flounder against Spencer Jones. Already, he has become the guy you hold your pee for. When Jones comes up, nobody runs to the kitchen to get the cheese curds.
3. The Yankees claim Ryan Weathers might return. Too bad we cannot believe anything they say. Last month, Weathers was ticketed for the bullpen. He's had a tough setback, but he's probably back to that assessment.
4. Jazz Chisholm finally homered yesterday. (He had become the guy who sent you to the kitchen.) But hey, 18 HRs - he could finish around 25 is not chopped liver. Chisholm's problem is the same that attacks most Yankees: Unnecessary hype. And the worst part? He hyped himself.
5. We have reached the point where Gerrit Cole must take over the duties as ace of the staff. Cam Schlittler has carried the rotation all season and remains our best shot for the Cy Young. But the onus is now on Cole. He's the tribal elder, the de facto captain of the staff. If Cole comes through, Cooperstown someday will be calling.
6. In Scranton yesterday: Volpe (at 2B) 0-3; The Martian 2-4 with a HR and 4 RBI; and Oswaldo Cabrera - yes, he of the CarShield commercials - at SS, 3-4 with 2 HRs. He's now hitting .292. Come on, Yankees! This guy deserves another shot. You cannot be serious about going the rest of the year with Ryan McMahon.
7. To catch Tampa and exorcize Boston, it's very simple. All the Yankees must do is get a few hits with runners on base. Yesterday, Ben Rice came through with a huge 2-out single, ending what loomed as a huge lost opportunity. There is nothing scarier across the Yankverse right now than the Yankees with the bases loaded and nobody out. The first guy strikes out. The second guy pops up. And suddenly, the game is on the line.
8. Thus far, Luis Garcia Jr. and Heliot Ramos have fizzled. Both were hitting around .280 when the Yankees traded for them. Both are well below that number. Hopefully, they start hitting... now?
9. They say Judge is near. I'll believe it when I see him. In the meantime, I keep thinking about his return on September 11th - the haunted date - which opens a tough three-game set against the Mets, followed by four against Tampa. That's a date Judge won't want to miss.
10. Prediction: Knicks in five.
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11. Cone.
Sonny Gray - 16 wins, 2 losses, ERA of 2.79
3 losses, sorry. my fingers were twitching
Isn't Judge usually terrible against the Mets and the Rays?
They won't bring up Oswaldo Cabrera. They'd rather have Ryan McMahon play with a broken finger. Cabrera is another one who would be better off getting traded, for his career. He's never going to get much of a chance here.
Chisholm's problem is that he simply does not take professional at-bats. Running into a home run once every week or two doesn't mean he turned the corner. Doing (or trying to do) whatever is necessary, using the right approach for the situation, that's what it's all about. Aside from the occasional home run, he usually strikes out on three giant swings. Terrible. But it's not all on him, either. Good managers would never tolerate that. This is a teenager who must be enticed, cajoled, coddled, benched, threatened, yelled at, whatever, in order to bring out the best in him. Boone doesn't have it in him to get the best out of Chisholm.
They did increase their chances of making the playoffs by winning yesterday. But they're not out of the woods, by any means. And "exorcize" Boston? They've been trying to do that since 2004. They have almost always failed. In a head to head matchup, I cannot see this Yankee team beating Boston. No way. Impossible. Won't happen.
Ryan Weathers is a pretty huge injury. They've relied on the starting rotation all year to hold them in games. That just might be the straw that breaks the camel's back. The wave that breaks the dam.
I can see the Yankees losing most (or all) of their games against the ASS-stros, the Mets, the Rays, the Red Sox. And that's even with Judge back for some of those games.
The huge run Boston had, something like 32-5, ended when the reported MIT guy the Sox hired to break into the communication software between pitcher and catcher was exposed ( so the batters knew what pitch was being thrown). Now that they gave to guess what's being thrown, they are close to or under .500. Of course, MLB will try to bury this cheating like they did 10 years ago
I miss Oswaldo. I think he and Lombard would make a fine left side of the infield. But my God, I don't want to see Volpe at second. There's something wrong there. His head is fucked up or something, and I wouldn't blame him if it is.
The September Song starts next week. Damn few day games for me to watch. But of course, the days grow short when you reach September.
I have a feeling this team will surprise us in a good way before we get there. Call me irresponsible. I'm just a cockeyed optimist. Always look on the bright side of life.
Have to guess*
I hadn't heard about the latest cheating Red Sox scandal that nobody will say anything about, like Bighead Papi and his juice.
Cabrera is a 26th man type. Still, I would prefer him to Rosario, who has no clear role with the team other than he hits right handed .
Two quick things...
1) Interesting opportunity https://yanksgoyard.com/yankees-are-uniquely-positioned-to-land-highly-sought-after-cuban-outfield-prospect
2) Hammer - "They did increase their chances of making the playoffs by winning yesterday. But they're not out of the woods, by any means."
Winning the division - Possible not probable
Being the top Wild Card - Hopefully
Being a Wild Card - The teams that are vying for the final slot are all below .500. The Yankees are 10 games up and 18 games above .500 with 32 games left.
It's mathematically possible that they don't get in to the playoffs but highly unlikely.
That said... they will get bounced. :)
Doug, I just read that YGY article about Raider Sanchez. There is no reason not to sign him. Yes let’s get it done ! The only thing standing in our way is Cashman’s incompetence and ego.
Okay, an update: The PitchComm hacking rumor was just that. Unsubstantiated and likely satire, I saw it in a few social media places and assumed it was real. My mistake.
Read somewhere that the Yanks are now 46-5 when they score 5 runs or more, best in baseball in that situation. If—huge IF—they can Judge/Bellinger/Rice/Garcia producing regularly together, and the pitching holds up (another huge IF), they have a shot to run the AL playoffs. But SO many things can go wrong.
Wow, first I'm hearing about this. But not surprised in the least. ASS-stros, Red Sux, Tampons, I believe are all cheating. Have been doing so for many, many years. If that's what Boston was doing, but they got busted, it won't be long before they find another way to cheat. Human ingenuity has no limits.
That could be an unsubstantiated rumor, however, I'm pretty sure the ASS-stros, Red Sux, and Tampons cheat. Not just in one way, either. They're doing many different things. Some may be completely against the rules. Other things, perhaps only unethical. Other things, possibly neither illegal nor unethical.
Well, already something did go wrong. They've lost Ryan Weathers. That's a big injury. They'd already lost Max Fried. That was a big injury too. BTW, I've never heard of a "bone bruise" in an elbow caused by pitching. Not by a batted ball striking the elbow, but by pitching. His bones are crashing together when he throws. There's a word for that: arthritis. Am I right?
I’m not a a doctor Hammer, but I believe it’s caused by separate bones slamming into each other by the violent pitching motion. Maybe some someone who knows more about this can explain it better.
A "bone bruise" is what happens when Hal removes his penis too violently from Brian's mouth, causing his bone to bruise against Cashman's choppers. This happens often, but we don't usually get reports of it until the healing has already begun. Is that clear?
Whether it's pitching. swinging a bat, or throwing punches, as far as I know, your bones are not supposed to be smashing against each other inside the elbow. When the cartilage has worn away, and there is bone on bone contact, that's arthritis. That can only get worse, not better. He talked of changing his mechanics, but he said it can't be done during the season so he'll do it during the winter. It doesn't bode well. Sounds like his playing days are numbered. At best, if it's just calcification and bone spurs, that can get cleaned up surgically.
In my high school days, I could throw pretty hard. Never had a radar gun to measure my velocity, but I threw as hard as anybody in my school. Never heard of bones crashing together inside somebody's elbow, though. Certainly never inside my elbow. If that had happened to my elbow, I would've said, that's it for me, I'm hanging up my glove for good, no more throwing for me. Fortunately, I can still throw balls, still throw punches. Still never heard of bones crashing together inside an elbow, unless it's arthritis.
A long time ago, I slipped and fell on a downward sloping driveway, on ice covered by a very thin quarter inch layer of snow. (So the ice was hidden.) Fell right on the point of my elbow, and the sound of my elbow hitting the concrete was like a hammer on a 4X4 block of wood. I damn near broke my elbow. All of my weight came down on the point of my elbow. Fortunately, decades of boxing and martial must've helped make my bones stronger, because it was only a bone bruise. Confirmed by x-rays. Doc said my x-rays were clean, no arthritis in the elbow. But, man, a bone bruise can last longer than a fracture, as far as pain. It was about a full year before I felt zero pain in the point of my elbow. It was about 98 better after 6 months, but the last 1 or 2 percent healing took another 6 months. That's my experience with bone bruises. It happened by hard contact with an outside surface, not by throwing or punching.
I am not a medical professional (unlike Bitty who above was able to perfectly diagnose one of the primary diseases currently uhm, like you know - impacting the Yankees but…..I did come across a description of Fried’s injury being somewhat like Paratrooper’s heal of the elbow.
As always you are all encouraged to come to your own conclusions.
From MLB.COM
“… A pitcher typically gets a bone bruise (or bone contusion) in the pitching elbow or shoulder through high-velocity repetitive stress or sudden joint hyperextension, rather than from a direct impact. When throwing at full force, the rapid deceleration and extreme extension cause opposing bones in the joint to slam or grind together, injuring the inner trabecular bone and marrow.”
Makes me cringe thinking about it. Gotta think there's something wrong with the follow through perhaps. Or maybe some kind of weakness somewhere in that joint that allows the unwanted contact between the bones. Max Fried is a pretty skinny guy. Maybe he needs to lift some weights. I would think there must be a physical therapy/strengthening program that would eliminate this problem.
Bring back the knuckleball!
Bring it back MORE
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