As J.A. Happ progresses, the question becomes, "Is it him or the ball?"

With half of spring training in the books, the mighty Yankees have stroked 12 home runs. Twelve. Leading this sluggers' barrage is Kyle Higashioka, with  - gulp - two. Yes, Higgy has a pair.

It's worth noting that last spring, the Yankees team hit... let's see now, adding them up, carry the two, um... 49. Forty-nine. 

Aaron Judge hit six. Troy Tulowitski, Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres and Luke Voit each hit four. Greg Bird and Brett Gardner contributed three apiece, and Higgy - bless his heart - whacked a pair. When the regular season began, the onslaught continued, with home run records shattered across the game. The Yankees hit so many that a 20-HR season became a meh, and part-time utility players regularly contributed 10. If you didn't hit 10, you didn't matter.

And last season nearly destroyed J.A. Happ. 

Happ finished 2019 with a 4.91 ERA, leaving him shunned in the playoffs rotation and in the center of trade rumors throughout the winter. The problem: home runs. He gave up 34, the most by far in his career. In a typical start, he'd coast through a few innings, then give up a pair of three-run shots, exiting with six runs on the board and Hal Steinbrenner flogging Cooperstown Cashman with his checkbook.

But as the season progressed, and veteran banjo players like Gardy closed in on 30-homer totals, questions shifted from whether the problem was Happ or the super-balls being used by MLB, which transformed the game into a tedium of strikeouts, walks and moon shots. By the end of the season, both Happ and Masahiro Tanaka showed signs of adjusting to the new baseball reality. But in Happ's case, it was too late.

But maybe not too late for 2020. 

Yesterday, Happ showed another nice outing against the Phillies. Over four innings, he gave up one run - of course, a HR. The Yankees have been touting his resurgence, and if he were to return to 2018 form - 175 innings with a 3.65 ERA - it would do wonders for the rotation. 

Happ is clearly a cagey vet. He's twice rejiggered his career - in 2010 with Philadelphia and 2015 with Pittsburgh. At 37, heading into both his twilight and his contract year, he has one last shot at a decent payoff. But the question might not be whether he's redone his curve. Everything might hinge on the balls in play. They can be warning track outs, or they can be soul-crushing, three-run shots. Thus far, we're not seeing the HR explosion of 2019. And maybe we're seeing the Happ we wanted.

And maybe we'll see a vast difference in our own offense. Only 12 home runs this spring. Are the baseballs made of lead?

A Couple of Things....

1.  I don't think King is a pitching prospect.  He only seems to have a fastball, which is not of an overwhelming nature ( 92-94).  If he places it perfectly he can get people out.  But no one can do that.   So he has no out pitch.  And he gets hammered. 

2.  The Yankees will be hard to watch, due to their innate inability to make contact with the baseball.  Strike outs will be overwhelming this year.  And boredom will be the result.

3.  There is not going to be some great discovery this season ( as Gio was last year ). 

4.  Red Thunder will be the worst defensive outfielder in the game ( that's not so bad;  each year, someone has to be the worst ).

5.  The world has now discovered that Gary Sanchez is a lousy defensive catcher, who hits monster homers every once in a while.  Otherwise, he mostly strikes out.  We should heave dealt this guy when there was a chance.

6.  The Yankees are developing a consistent reputation for lying about everything and making really poor decisions with respect to Health Care.  

7.  This is, likely, a third place team.  If everything comes together at some point, they will compete for a wild-card play-in game on the road. 

8.  This season has already not evolved the way we anticipated.

And it hasn't yet begun.

You DID hear it here first.

Here is an excerpt from Kevin Kernan's column in the Post yesterday:

https://nypost.com/2020/03/08/how-jacob-degrom-is-giving-hope-to-yankees-luis-severino/

Judge went through a battery of tests before it was discovered he has that stress fracture. Severino also went through several major tests before the extent of his injury was finally realized.

After two MRI exams and a CT scan during the offseason didn’t uncover a torn ulnar collateral ligament, Severino underwent a nerve-conductor test, which was negative, and another CT scan, which also was negative. However, a dye contrast MRI, otherwise known as a MRI arthrogram, discovered a partially torn UCL.

Uh-huh.  Just as a certain person who shall remain, well, me called it in this space the day before:  it was all about not springing for the special, color MRI.

A terrific, and potentially great young Yankees pitcher has been ruined by the penny ante cheapness of Hal & Coops, while similar tactics have all but guaranteed us a bad first half of the season.

Way to go, guys.

Don't be deceived by Clarke Schmidt's dismal line score yesterday; I was there, and the box score numbers lie

Obviously, being a big-time blogger means getting
close-up access to the players. Here's Clarke Schmidt.

Yesterday's box score on the somewhat-ballyhooed Yank starter, Clarke Schmidt, won't champion his cause for a rotation spot: He pitched two innings, surrendered four hits and three runs. Had I not been there, I'd today be listing prospective apartments in muddy Moosic. In fact, Schmidt was undercut by a sluggish defense that, without improvements, could be a bigger problem than a weak No. 5.

Let's redo the first inning, bit by bit, because - frankly - Schmidt deserved better.

The first Oriole batter, Austin Hays, fans on three pitches - bing-bing-bing - but catcher Kyle Higashioka muffs strike three (in the dirt), the ball rolls to the backstop, and Higgy looks constipated, trying to chase it. Hays easily beats the throw. So, from the git-go, Schmidt is in a hole.

On the next pitch, Hays charges for second. Higgy's throw sails over everybody's head, so far that Tommy Milone - our CF - snags it on a bounce and holds the runner at second. Put a star next to Milone's name. But WTF, Higgy? He's supposed to be our defensive catcher.  

Next man - somebody named Anthony Santander - grounds out to Luke Voit at first. If not for the stolen base, this might have been a DP, erasing the first mistake. (By the way, Luke seems to have slimmed down; he's avoiding carbs.)

Next, Chris Davis - yes, he's still around - whacks a hard single to center, scoring the run. This was Schmidt's screw-up, surrendering a single to a guy who hasn't hit his weight since Trump took office. (This is not hyperbole, either. He literally hasn't hit more than .221.)

Next batter hits a slow roller to SS. Gleyber Torres charges, but the runner beats the throw. Not an E-6, but it goes down as a "Didi-woulda-got'm." Bad sign. Two men on, one run in, only one out. 

Next man, who cares what his name is?, hits a lazy pop fly to right. LeMahieu chases. Luke chases. The RF, Trey Amburgey chases. It lands just inside the foul line. Another run scores, and aside from Davis, nobody has even hit the ball hard.

That changes when a kid named Pedro Severino lashes a ball to deep right-center. Milone chases it down, a one-handed snag, but the runner on third scores. 

The final batter grounds out to LeMahieu at 2B.

Three runs in. None should have happened.

In the second, Schmidt rips through Baltimore on five pitches. A fly out, a three-pitch K, and a ground out. 

In the third, he walks the lead-off batter, Davis, and is pulled.

Frankly, I dunno what to make of Schmidt's outing. He had chances to pitch out of a jam, and he failed. But defense let him down, and the O's didn't touch him. 

Other quick observations:

Milone not only looked Paul Blair-like in CF, but he belted a low rocket that left the park before the RF could turn around, and before wind could blow it back. He went 3-for-3. I wonder if the Yankees will keep a defensive SS (Kyle Holder?) or CF (Milone or Zack Granite?) If the latter, Milone sure helped his chances yesterday.

Chris Gittens, the DH/1B who homered in an early exhibition games, looked over-matched. He went 0-3, with a K, and his small sample average fell below .200. He needs the apartment listings for Moosic.

Finally, Albert Abreu looked solid in relief of Schmidt. He got a DP grounder and a strikeout, then tore through the O's in the next inning, (though they got a single.) Abreu's time in the prospect spotlight came two years ago, when he was everybody's favorite fire-baller. He's been a disappointment ever since. Who knows, this might be his year?

Pooh-pooher Boone on Sanchez: “I am not that concerned about it, normal wear and tear and first back-to-back. I don’t think it will be that much of a concern.’’

Latest from the front: Gary Sanchez - currently 1-for 17 with seven whiffs - has a bad back. 

Last year, Sanchez twice went on the Injury List. For the last three seasons, he's been a regular. 

The Death Star says Sanchez will miss a day or two, that there is no cause for alarm, that we should go about business as usual, just wash our hands and stop scratching our faces. Sanchez will be fine. Go home, everybody, there's nothing to see. 

Does anybody buy this? And, if so, please explain...

By now, Yank fans have become numb to the infield chatter that constantly assures us that nothing is wrong, that a player will miss a day or two, that if it were the regular season, he'd be out there - that he'll take a pill and be fine in the morning. 

But if you have to keep telling yourself something, over and over, it's probably not so. 

Besides, we've seen movie many times. A Yankee misses a game. The pooh-poohers pooh-pooh it. After several games, the player still feels discomfort. After a week, the team sends him for tests. A new diagnosis comes down. The pooh-poohers say he might miss opening day. That's all we are told. 

Yesterday, we learned that Giancarlo Stanton is hitting off a tee. What that means, who knows? There is no public timetable for his return, in part because Stanton has proven himself capable of hurting himself while recovering from another injury. It's a rare talent, at least on other teams. On the Yankees, it's almost normalcy.

All we know is that Stanton will miss opening day. As for April? May? June? The pooh-poohers pooh-pooh such matters. He's hitting off a tee. 

Over the years, happy talk, silence and pooh-poohs have anchored the Yankee public policy on the matter of injuries. The fans don't need to know. 

And I do get it: When a player goes down, nobody can be 100 percent sure about the extent of his injury. The juju gods are pricks, and every player heals at his own rate. I suppose the theory is that, by staying silent, Cooperstown Cashman might buy himself time to swing a deal or sign a player.

But the policy of pooh-poohing the seriousness of injuries seems to be getting us nowhere. Nobody believes pooh. And it might even may be dangerously trickling down to the players themselves. 

The Yankees seems to have been caught flat-footed by revelations that James Paxton, Luis Severino and Aaron Judge all reported to camp with injuries that could have been dealt with last November. The team sat on its hands. It's also possible that team policy worked against the idea of openness: The Yankees this winter launched a lawsuit against Jacoby Ellsbury, claiming that his albatross contract should be voided because he sought medical advise from a non-team-approved doctor. Could this have caused players to STFU about tweaks they might have been feeling? Just asking.

Either way, Gary Sanchez has a bad back. The Yankees are pooh-poohing it. Here we go again? 

Another little issue is soon to surface.....

I'm not at liberty to disclose anything.

Not at this very moment. 

But we may rue the trade, release, or whatever the "F" it was that resulted in Romine heading to Detroit.

I'm just hearing quacks around the pond.

You would call them rumors. 

All the same to me. 

The real problem.

Many of you have wondered how it is that your New York Yankees seem to have such trouble even detecting injuries, much less healing or avoiding them in the first place.  Here is the answer:



No, this is not Brian Cashman's brain, and Brian Cashman's brain with the Core of Four.  This is non-color MRI imaging, and color imaging.  The color imaging—surprise, surprise—shows a lot more.

I experienced this firsthand about 13 years ago, when it looked like I might have a brain tumor.  Don't worry, it just turned out to be some loose change rattling about.  Boy, was I relieved—thought I'd lost it in the couch.

Anyway, when they weren't certain with the black-and-white, they went to the color, which I'm sure costs some ungodly amount more.  That is, about the equivalent of ten minutes of Rat Dog sales at the Stadium.

Whattaya wanna bet that the team that took "Penny wise, pound foolish" to an art form insists on going repeatedly to the black-and-white imaging first, in order to save money?  (Below, incidentally, is a picture of what our beloved owner and his GM were doing during this spring's latest plague of injuries.)



Chances are, this didn't make much difference when it came to Aaron Judge, who was diagnosed within a couple weeks of reporting his injury, and without playing in any games.

But it may well have annihilated the career of Luis Severino—with all due respect to Aaron, a much more important piece in the Yankee pennant puzzle—once and for all, by letting him pitch for a year-and-a-half, on-and-off, after what we can see now was obviously a very serious injury.

So, a few bucks saved on MRIs, and a few hundred million lost by forgoing another couple championships.  Hey, maybe Coops will get lucky again.  Maybe the coronavirus will cancel the first half of the season.

Our Finest Hour

I had a meeting this week in Manhattan with a potential new client.

I shined my shoes, put on my blue suit, white shirt, and striped red tie and looked in the mirror to make sure nothing unsightly was sticking up or poking out.

I went to their offices which are in a tower a block or two above Wall Street, right on the East River.  I was led by a polite receptionist to a conference room on the 25th floor where she left me to wait alone.  Before me was a stunning sunrise view of the Brooklyn Bridge, the Manhattan Bridge, FDR Drive, and all of Brooklyn.

As I stood and waited for the meeting to begin, I wanted to take out my cell phone and take a picture but I was afraid I'd get caught.  It was a first meeting and I was trying to be on my best behavior.

I was joined by the CFO of the company and the head of HR and the meeting began.  As time moved on, we were joined by the CIO and some other VP whose role I never quite caught.  After about an hour, the CEO himself joined us.

The CEO was a serious but low-key guy.  He surprised me with a question I've never been asked before in an initial client meeting.  He asked:

What is the thing you've done of which you're the most proud?

It's an excellent question because it's open ended and encourages the person giving the answer to think.  It's also a question that has the potential to reveal quite a bit.

I thought carefully before answering.  While rummaging around the dim recesses of my mind looking for some accomplishment suitable enough to showcase, I found I had to try VERY hard NOT to refer to an event described in a video I came across recently.  I somehow hadn't seen this video when it was first released three and a half years ago:

By some miracle of self control, I was able to give a stock answer about helping another firm exactly like theirs launch a new business exactly like the one they want to launch.  You betcha, sir, THAT's what I and my company are most proud of!

If we win the client and I get to know them better, I'll give them the real answer.

In the meantime, check out the video.  It's pure fun and always will be.

Right before our eyes, the Yankees seem to be disintegrating

Gerrit Cole surrenders four homers in two innings. Jordan Montgomery follows,  does no better. Gary Sanchez, hitting .059, gives up four passed balls in an outing. At SS, Gleyber Torres commits four errors in eight games. Aroldis Chapman, in his delayed debut, gives up a rope double. Hitting below .200 are the names Gardner, Ford and Wade. Giancarlo Stanton is on Ellsbury Island, where he'll soon welcome Aaron Judge, who has a broken rib that should have healed by now. All this, in a span of barely three weeks.

I know, I know... we must never put stock in exhibition performances. (Last spring, DJ LeMahieu batted .205, while Kyle Higashioka hit .368.) Still, I cannot remember a stretch in Tampa more defined by lapses and setbacks, and we're only halfway through the python. The Death Star's inability to assess ailments makes the Coronavirus Keystone Cops look good. By waiting on James Paxton, Luis Severino and Judge, the Yankees squandered months of potential playing time - an entire winter of rehabilitation, lost. 

In mid-February, the self-congratulatory, giggling Yankees opened camp as the best team in baseball. It lasted about 48 hours. Today, they look like a wild card contender, struggling to keep pace with the Rays, who have unveiled a veteran Japanese slugger and their usual, next Cy Young. And that Yankee mantra, the one that goes, "Everyone back by July..." - it's perched on the notion that no more key players go down, a naive fantasy that fans no longer entertain. 

The dice are loaded. The juju gods have declared war. The 2020 Yankees - the team we thought would launch a great decade - seem to be coming apart at the seams. Injuries are killing us, opening weaknesses we otherwise could ignore, and there is no end in sight. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

So The Power Focus Now Moves To......

Let me see....

GARY SANCHEZ.

And he is absolutely tearing up the grapefruit league.

He is " raking " in the neighborhood of .059 with enormous power just wide of the field of play.

So, we have plenty of time to wait for Judge and Stanton.  Surgery or no surgery.

WE HAVE GARY.

Red Alert

Aaron Boone first said it was nothing.

We had plenty of time to get him ready.

All he needs is 30-60 at bats.

Now the truth has surfaced :  Aaron Judge has a stress fracture in rib area and surgery is not off the table.

How many at bats is that, Aaron?

Yesterday Was Awful !

Cole got lit up like a rookie from A ball.

Montgomery pitched like he did the day before he had TJ surgery.

Everyone else looked like they were at the movies.

And can we stop with the "first base " experiment for Andujar?



( I Know, this shot is from playing third), but he dropped a throw on his glove from Gio yesterday.

He is a left fielder damn it.
And they need to play him there every day.

How stupid are they?

 If you are going to mess him up, let him pitch for Christ sake!

We have two good first baseman and an excellent one ( playing second ).  We don't need a fourth, particularly when we don't have enough outfielders.

Andujar can ( and will ) become a great outfielder, but the Yankees have to let him play there.

Whose idiotic decision was it to have him waste time at first base.?  That is like letting Mike Pence be in charge of our health care.  Close your eyes and pray, brother.

The Yankees cannot afford to be stupid.

They have too many injuries for that.

I want someone fired !

Gio II? Rosell Herrera continues to hit

Yesterday, in a wind-blasted game that launched 11 HRs, the phantom nobody - "Humble Howard" Rosell Herrera - continued his quest to send Tyler Wade back to Scranton, perhaps permanently. 

Herrera - a 27-year-old, switch-hitting, utility OF-IF - went 2-2 with a walk, three runs scored, and two doubles. Not bad. He's hitting .563 for the spring - 9 for 16 on your Small Sample Size index. Not bad. Only three Ks. (FYI: Wade has eight.) Herrera's four RBIs tie him for second on the team (though it should be noted that Thairo Estrada, another roadblock to a roster spot, is tied for the lead, with five. Gleyber has five. Long live Gleyber!) 

At least in our dreams, Herrera resembles the Second Coming of Gio Urshela, a once-failed prospect who suddenly learns to hit. His past showed little offense - a lifetime .200 - as he reaches what should be peak foliage. If he and Wade continue on their divergent paths - Wade is 2-for-19 - Tyler could once again be jettisoned to Central Pa. (thought it should be noted that Wade has two SBs, leading the team, which might make him a pinch-running specialist.) 

Right now, Herrera may have reached "front-runner" status in the campaign for 26th man. So here are some notes to ponder:

1. Last year, his main position was CF. He played 40 games there. (He also played LF, RF, and middle infield - though only four games at SS - his original position - and one apiece at 3B and 2B. (Yesterday, he played 3B.) Before last year, he shaped up as a CF, RF, 2B. Clearly, Herrera has expanded his options in hopes of sticking on the mother ship.

2. For whatever it's worth, Herrera hits righties better than lefties - last year by about 100 points. (He hit .233 LH and .125, RH.) The sample size kills any real analysis. Also, when you're hitting .125, does it matter? Earlier this week, Aaron Boone touted Herrera in a post-game interview, a feel-good story to take the heat off of injuries. I've seen no reports suggesting that - as Urshela maintained last year - Herrera has changed his batting approach. 

3. Everything hinges on Aaron Judge's mystery ailment - a phrase that conjures fear just typing it. If he cannot make opening day, Clint Frazier probably sticks with the team, leaving Herrera to duke it out with Wade, Estrada and Zack Granite, a defensive CF. 

Years ago, I watched a wind-funneled exhibition game between the O's and Blue Jays, where routine pop flies soared out of the park. I'm hoping that's what happened yesterday, with Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery. In the meantime, it sure would be nice to find another gem in the scrap pile. If there is one in 2020, it looks like Herrera. He's got 20 days to prove himself. Let's see.

Schrodinger's Bird.

Is he in the batter's box?  Or dead?  Two recent posts:

https://www.nj.com/yankees/2020/03/mlb-rumors-ex-yankee-greg-bird-turning-heads-at-rangers-spring-training.htm.

MLB rumors: Ex-Yankee Greg Bird turning heads at Rangers spring training

“He’s an impressive, impressive kid,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said, per Yahoo Sports. “His approach to the plate, he doesn’t swing at balls, which is a good one for me. But also when he gets strikes, he does a lot of damage. And talking to him, that mentality matches obviously the performance on the field.”

https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/rangers-greg-bird-hitless-spring-continues/

Rangers' Greg Bird:  Hitless spring continues

Bird started at first base and went 0-for-3 in Sunday's spring game against the Dodgers.

Bird is competing with Ronald Guzman for the starting first base job, but he still doesn't have a hit in 15 spring plate appearances.

What to store in case of quarantine...

Everyone is getting nervous.

It is even possible that no one will show up at the Knicks game....including the tourists from Latvia who bought Spike Lee's seats for $12.40 ( tax incl)....due to coronavirus fears.

I thought I would prepare a safety list for members of this blog, which will supplement their supplies of hand soap, ibuprofen, and kleenex.... in the event one has to watch sports on tv for up to two weeks, without a break.

1.  Slim Jims - I recommend the " value pack " which provides a clean two dozen, extra long sticks. It is better to go spicy here than not.

2.  Crown Royal - you are going to need four quarts (best price:  Costco ).  Drink it neat.

3.  Lemons and Limes- get a baseball glove full.

4.  Herradura Añejo "gold" tequila ( get the six pack ) --- shots with vitamin C-packed lime wedges will do wonders.

5.  Three cases Coors ( or, your choice ).  Mix liberally with the tequila shots.

6.  4 super packs of pre-rolled joints ( legal states only ) " Lemonade Haze"  is a personal favorite... I think it has vitamin C.

7.  2 Gallon tub of caramel, kettle corn.  Do not share.  Fingers can pass along germs.

8.  1 Gallon tub of bazooka bubble gum ( these are individually wrapped, so sharing is encouraged ).

9.  Chocolate chip mint ice cream & caramel with sea salt ice cream. You may want to supplement this with fudge covered brownies and/or a six layer chocolate cake with toasted marshmallow filling.

10.  Halloween fun pack ( candies for ten nights ).  Freeze them, then eat them.

11.  Frozen meat ball heros.  After heating in the micro-wave, douse with Louisiana hot sauce.  I recommend one hero per day, best consumed in the early morning hours.

If, after two weeks, you still show signs of the virus, take two ibuprofen and order a pizza.

Good luck and good health.

Hints From Dr. Alphonso....

The current scientific and medical technology is not working for Aaron's balky shoulder.

Hell, they don't even know it is his shoulder.

So I propose we use 2000 year old techniques;

Get out the coronavirus-free acupuncture kit and start sticking needles into him.

I had this treatment once...for a alcohol abuse.  They stuck needles in my ears, forehead and elbow.

I felt confident, assuming that my " doctor" would be an old Chinese guy ( or woman ).

Instead, it was a jewish girl from Long Island.  

 I thought the needles were kind of cool, but  then they made me buy herbs ( brew these into tea and soup ) which looked and tasted like horse excrement, sun-dried in an abandoned asparagus field.  

And they were  like $45 an ounce.  

(Yes, I did try using it in a bong).  I got a scratchy throat and had dreams of egg rolls. 

But western medicine is not working for our giant.  So let's look to the east.

Might as well try, right?

The world faces an existential crisis with Aaron Judge

For the last three years, Yank fans have known Aaron Judge as a future Hall of Famer. He'd patrol RF through the Twisted Twenties, win the MVP award (that was stolen from him), tally a shitload of Golden Gloves, hit 500 home runs and retire with a talking gig, a supermodel wife and a plaque in Monument Park. Wait... is Taylor Swift seeing anybody?

That's how we once viewed him... long ago... last week. 

Now, it belches forth in every Yankee discussion: WTF's with Judge? What if he misses the season? What if he's Giancarlo II? What if this is his new normal? What if - gulp - this is the New Maas?

Yes, The Lost Legion of the Maas. We want to whisper their names. Not long ago, we harbored similar expectations for Greg Bird, Miguel Andujar, Luis Severino and Gary Sanchez - framing them as a new "Core Four," (or five, if you add Judge.) And then comes Gleyber. What if something happens to Gley- no, I won't write it! Some things are too terrifying for this pristine and innocent Internet. You don't say "Beetlejuice" three times. You don't look into the mirror and whisper "Candyman." You don't go into a Bernie rally and shout "Elizabeth Warren!" Nobody does this. No, no, no...

Today, that once rosy future looks withered, if not altogether mock-worthy. Trump could give is nicknames. I'm starting to think that Judge picked the wrong sport. If he played football, he'd be a defensive end, and he'd play through shoulder discomfort. (Good grief, Jason Pierre Paul stupidly blew off part of his hand, and still played four years.) If he toiled in the NBA, he'd be a power forward, if not a point guard, and he'd play through the tweaks. But if a batter can't swing with precision, he becomes a liability. Judge does us no good by hitting .190. And today, we have no sense of when he will return or what kind of player he will be.

A "mystery" ailment is baseball's most frightening diagnosis. For pitchers, it almost always means surgery. For hitters, it almost always leads to down seasons. Judge has a barking shoulder that moves down to his chest. And listen: He's not faking. It's not mental. This is real. Judge has earned our trust in believing him. But he's had a winter to rest it. Soon, the clock starts ticking on the regular season. Also, this we know: Sadly, the Yankees never feel compelled to disclose the truth about injuries. Yankee fans have every reason to expect the worst. Considering all that's gone down over the years, why wouldn't we?

Yes, I may be sounding the siren too early. (The media printed Biden's obituary, and now look.) All we need is a clean bill of health, and Judge could be back in right, batting second in the lineup. If it happens soon, he might even make opening day.

But the track record offers little hope:

2017: He plays 155 games and hits 52 HRs. But it's rumored that he hurts his shoulder in the mid-season Home Run Derby, and his average tumbles. Without the post-All Star Game slump, he'd have won the MVP even over Buzzer Boy Jose Altuve.

2018: He plays in 112 games, after suffering a fractured wrist when hit by a pitch in July. Without him, the Yankees aren't the same (though Giancarlo Stanton carries the team for a bit.) He returns for the post-season. A broken wrist on a pitch - it can happen to anybody, right? Not. His. Fault. Just rotten luck. (Note: The juju gods are pricks.)

2019: Down to 102 games, after straining an oblique in April. At first, the Yankees say he'll miss three weeks. He misses six, then returns and doesn't hit home runs. Finally, the power returns, and he duels with - gulp - Brett Gardner, finishing with 27 HR (one behind Gardy.) 

2020: Who knows? He's having his shoulder re-tested. Without a diagnosis, he is lost at sea. The Yankees avoided arbitration by giving him an $8.5 million contract. He's 28. This should be his career year. But now, anything is on the table. But if it leads to surgery... yow! Beetlejuice! Candyman! Liz Warren!

The future: Next winter, he again goes to arbitration. In 2023, he becomes a free agent. By then, the Yankees could have a logjam outfield - though injuries have a tendency to make such statements look ridiculous. That notion that he'll be our RF for the decade? It looks like a fifth grade fantasy. Maybe the Martians will attack. Maybe the dolphins will speak.

Bird is battling for the 26th slot on the Texas Rangers. Severino is gone for 18 months. Andujar, once the future at 3B, is learning LF. Sanchez is going through yet another catching coach. And Judge? Brace yourselves, comrades. We love the guy, but at 6'7" and 290, he might just be the biggest disappointment of all.  

Remember: You heard it here first!

Always a mistake to get involved with those Mets.  Half-a-billion dollars, and he took American Samoa.

Hey, Tony Solaita—one Yankee at-bat, one strikeout—would've been proud.

Reader Poll

Which body part will Stanton injure once his left calf ( grade 1 ) strain is healed?



To help you choose, I have provided a handy visual reference:




Vegas says " right calf strain" odds at 7-1.

Big toe stub: 14-1.

Knee damage: 22-1.

Mysterious shoulder ailment : 2-1 ( contagious amongst large specimens ).

Reproductive failure: 4-1

Brain freeze : 0-0.

Have fun.  Make up your own.

Editors note : Pool will close the day Giancarlo starts jogging in the OF. and has his glove sent
from Tampa to NYC.

Restored over the last two years, the Yankee-Redsock rivalry might be heading for the scrapyard.

Yesterday, believe it or not, the Redsocks had a worse day than Elizabeth Warren.

I'm not even referring to the 9-1 exhibition loss, in which Boston played like the Bad News Bears. (Actually, that's a poor analogy, because the Bears won, behind their workhorse, Tatum O'Neal, now 56.) Games in March are like storage lockers: You fill them with your crap and walk away. Though it brought pleasure to our souls, watching Boston's stumbling nobodies - after Benintendi and Devers, they basically played the Pawtucket Fukkets - offered less relevance than a mailer from Mayor Pete. 

Nevertheless, as sour as spring training has been for Yank fans - (WTF? Aaron Judge?) - Boston is keeping up. 

1. Chris Sale has a mystery pain in his elbow. He's going for tests. Dear God, when does a mystery elbow pain ever turn out to be a thumbtack? Sale, who turns 31 this season, is in the first year of a $30 million-per-season deal (following a $25 million signing bonus.) If he needs Tommy John surgery - Boston's death cult - he'll miss 2020 and half of 2021. He'll return at age 33, probably to a franchise that has tanked or is tanking. Either way, he'll be an overpriced millstone, which in Boston means having a bull's eye on your back. Old Shaugnessy can be harsh, no? 

2. Xander Bogaerts has a bum ankle. He has yet to play an inning. Bogaerts is poo-poohing it, and reports have him soon taking the field. Maybe it's nothing. But with Mookie in LA, Bogaerts is Boston's best position player, the guy they cannot afford to lose. Last year, he put up MVP numbers: 33 HRs and .309, from a SS. Anything that compromises him in 2020 is a big, big deal for Boston. They have no replacement better than Tyler Wade. 

3. We're still waiting on MLB's report on 2018, when known serial criminal/cheater/villain Alex Cora led Boston to a ring. The longer this strange delay continues, the less we should expect MLB to take any meaningful action. The lords of the game were surely stunned by the rage of fans toward Houston's sign-stealing scandal. They don't want another Astros, especially a marquee team in a major market. Still, if evidence is out there, it might be hard to ignore - especially with Houston squawking about being singled out. The longer this goes on, the more you wonder, WTF? Let's do it. What are they going to find out now that would change things?   

4. Boston's system is bare. This week, The Atlantic's Keith Law - for years, ripped by Yankee blogers as a Boston toady - ranked the Redsocks' farm system 25th out of 30 teams. He writes: "Trades, promotions and low draft picks have caught up with the Red Sox (sp?), whose major league need for pitching won't be satisfied by the fruits of their farm system any time soon." (By the way, Law put the Yankees 6th.) This comes after the Betts trade, which brought them two prospects, including Jeter Downs, who climbed to No. 3 on Boston's list. He's a prospect, for sure. But this is the second time he's been traded - the Dodgers got him from Cincinnati - which makes you wonder. Also, even if MLB punts on Cora-gate, it might still dock Boston a draft pick. Right now, the Redsocks cannot afford such a penalty. 

5. Their new general manager, Chaim Bloom, is from Tampa, and he's all about trading stars before they reach a payday. That strategy paid off for the Rays, who get excited if 20,000 show up for a game. But Boston could be a different story. After Sale, JD Martinez is earning $24 million. Bogaerts, $20 million and next comes - drum roll, please - Nathan Eovaldi at $17 million. Will they all go? (By the way, Dustin Pedroia is fifth, at $13 million.) Look at this team, and the only bargain is Benintendi, at $3.4 million. If he has a decent 2020, that number will fly out the roof, and so might Benintendi. Will we see a Bloom tear-down? 

Of course, the Yankees are one major injury away from chasing the Wild Card. If Judge goes on sabbatical, baseball's great "rivalry" could go the way of the Giants-Jets. NYC could be Mets Country.

The Yankees' Zeroes Brigade might be the most promising aspect of Spring Training, and why Redsock fans are bio-terrorists

Before tromping too far into the weeds, let's note the obvious: Spring training stats mean nothing... nada, zilch, moogah, skleeg...yes... seriously unmitigated skleeg.

Case in point: Last spring, when it didn't matter, DJ LeMahieu hit .205. Yep. You can look it up. He did skleeg. Meanwhile, Greg Bird - our annual King of Spring - batted a crisp .333. (Fun fact: This spring, playing for the Texas Rangers, Birdie is 0-13 with 4 strikeouts. Clearly, he's on the verge of a breakout year.) 

Before tackling the chart on the right, let's ponder an amazing, mind-blowing concept, known to big-time mathematicians as "Small Sample Size." It's pretty complicated, so I won't even try to explain. Most of you wouldn't get it. "SSS," as it's known in the biz, is sort of like a cross between string theory and the way they inject peanut butter into those tiny pretzels. Let's just say that, because of "SSS," the above stats are meaningless... unless, that is, they aren't. 

That said, I want to note the most positive development in Tampa since the Dali Museum opened its exhibit of Augmented Reality: The wave of young arms that lists between 15 and forever on the Yankee depth chart. The above list shows all the Yankees who have yet to give up a run this spring. It's a masterworks of pure, unmitigated "SSS," but I've found that it helps me pass gas. 

Some - like Luis Cessa, now 28 - seem to have been around since the dawn of time. (It's worth remembering, at times, that Cessa was the brighter prospect in the 2015 trade that sent Justin Wilson to Detroit for him and Mean Chad Green.) Do we dare hope that the Yankees' insane loyalty to Cessa - if he had options, he'd have spent most of last year in Scranton - will pay off? Baseball is full of pitchers who figure it out around age 30. Is he another J.A. Happ?

Others, like 25-year-old Brian Keller - a 39th round pick in 2016 who busted through three levels last year, finishing in Scranton - might make an impression that warrants a call-up in May or June. 

Then there is Dan Otero, 35-years-old, who would be attempting a comeback, if he ever did enough to come back to. Could he be one of those guys who get by on guile? 

But right now, the battle for the rotation's fourth and fifth slots seems to be between Cessa, Jordan Montgomery and Jonathan Loaisiga, the man of a thousand misspellings. (I'm leaving out Deivi Garcia, because I don't believe the Yankees would subject the 20-year-old to such early season pressures; they'll let him get his bearings in Scranton.) And I am delighted - rejoicing! - to report that none has yet surrendered a run. Loaisiga, in particular, has thrown three perfect innings, striking out five of the nine batters he's faced. Montgomery has struck out seven of his 14 hitters.

Listen, none of this amounts to skleeg. But we have a tendency here to dwell upon the storm clouds - it's been 10 years since the last parade - even when rain is good for the hemp crops. So, today, with the coronavirus hanging over all of us, I want to leave you with these positive thoughts:

1. We have an abundance of young pitchers. It's not a mirage. It's not YES propaganda. It's real.

2. Nobody in our infield has been hurt yet.

3. The Redsocks new best player, Xander Bogaerts, has an ankle injury and might miss opening day. Yes, Virginia, the juju gods are tweaking other teams.

4. We still have the coolest fan base - as always evidenced by your comments -  and by this gem (from Reddit): 

Just Waiting For The Mail.....

Swimming in lazy circles.

Report will come in hard copy, following a phone call to Brian.

Then, the " spin" has to be written and disseminated.

As soon as I hear...I'll honk or quack.

Boston tomorrow.  You going?

HEAR ME, MR. PENCE: PUT THIS YANKEE TEAM UNDER LOCKDOWN QUARANTINE!

And so we sit on the warming griddle, and wait...

Two weeks ago, every Yankee fan in captivity eyed a 2020 version of Murderer's Row, with an outfield framed by MVP candidates, a batting order without an easy out, and a stream of talent backed-up to Scranton, if not Trenton. We foresaw 110 wins and a ride down the Canyon of Heroes. Two weeks ago. 

Today, the Yankees are touting a 27-year-old utility wrench with a career batting average of .225. Last year, in 63 games for the Marlins, Rosell Herrera hit .200 with 2 HRs and 4 stolen bases.  

But but BUT... he went 3-for-3 yesterday, and so our nation turns is lonely eyes to - gulp - Rosell Herrera. He's "opened some eyes," Aaron Boone said yesterday.

Okay, deep breath, everybody. Before this becomes a panic stroke, let's settle down with a hot pad and glass of Mr. Beam. The sky isn't falling. But those angels on horseback look a bit angrier than we want. 

Today, if I ran the CDC, I would put the Yankees under lock-down quarantine - double-secret probation - and not let them come in contact with any other sports team, aside from the Knicks, because - well - the Knicks...

Clearly, the Yankees have contracted the dreaded Ells-Bird flu virus. If allowed to spread, it will go through MLB clubhouses faster than the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. Can you imagine every team losing its stars to mystery pains, even in their man-boobs? This virus is an existential threat to baseball's economy. And thus, we today are contemplating - insert fart here - Rosell Herrera. 

Okay, let's step back from the cliff. Basically, today's write-ups of Rosell Herrera are merely a great Gammonite tradition: The hustling journeyman who came to camp, rarin'-to-go and ready to rumble! This fits last year's Yankee narrative, when the team found gold teeth in the slag furnace (Urshela, Maybin, Tauchman.) Herrera gives hope for another breakout. He is 7-for-14 this spring. Also, he's a switch hitter. Who doesn't love a veteran's resurrection?

But but BUT... Herrera has one path to an opening day slot, and it involves the Ells-Bird flu. 

Without another key Yankee injury, Herrera should spend April in Scranton. (A caveat: If his contract has an opt-out clause, the Yankees might keep him over Tyler Wade and/or Thairo Estrada, who might have options.) But right now, even without Giancarlo Stanton or Aaron Judge, the outfield still looks jammed-up with talent. (For whatever it's worth: neither Clint Frazier nor Miguel Andujar played in yesterday's blowout loss.) 

Today, Judge goes in for the same dye test MRI that disclosed Luis Severino's partial tear, which sidelined him for the year. As with Sevy, previous MRIs didn't show anything. (I'm wondering, why bother with the other tests?) Keep fingers crossed, put the Luger back under the bed, and don't go near the black sinkhole that formed mysteriously last week. Who across the Yankiverse does NOT expect bad news? Considering the last 12 months, who does NOT foresee Cooperstown Cashman announcing tomorrow that Judge needs surgery, and he hopes to be back in August! 

From that moment on, we will be a tweak away from Rosell Herrera. Shades of Shane Robinson. HEAR ME, MR. PENCE, PUT THIS TEAM UNDER QUARANTINE! We've had enough of this flu. 

Should We Be Concerned?

That Tyler Wade (.067 BA ) is having a better spring than Gary Sanchez?

That our first and second string catchers have a combined .045 BA?

That our best hitter is someone named Herrera?

That Mike Tauchman is sporting a .000 BA in his comeback from injury.

More to follow....

Judge Alert

We have several predictable headlines today:

1.  The medical mysteries continue.

2.  Judge's cranky shoulder

3.  Sent for more tests.

4. " He felt something " while swinging that (whiffle ball) bat.

5.  They don't know what the issue is.

5.  Don't know if Judge will be ready for opening day ( C'mon.  Certainly he can sit on the bench and spit pumpkin seeds ).

6.  " timewise, we'll still be fine " ( this is a " Booneyism".....remember it well. ).

7.  First, we have to get through the next ten days ( Excuse me?  And then what ?)

8.  "We are in a holding pattern trying to figure out what is going on." ( Is this the same holding pattern that Severino was in?).

9.  "There was some issue in that shoulder, going back to when he was drafted." ( that is what one calls a " holding pattern.")

10. Saturday, Judge showed up in street clothes for his workout.  Boone, immediately, sensed that something was amiss.

Editor's Note:  It is not true that Mike Pence is in charge of medical health for the Yankees. 

What is the Over-Under on Judge/Stanton in 2020?

Remember the halcyon days of spring, 2018?  Could it really have been just two years ago?

At the time, we were speculating about what the over/under on Judge and Stanton's home run totals should be.  Why just the summer before, the two big guys had compiled 111 home runs between them.

Hitting together, surely the new Twin Towers would exceed that number, even break the all-time, Yankee Duo mark of 115 set by Mantle and Maris in 1961.

Well, we all know how that worked out.  They combined for all of 65 home runs in 2018 and 30 last year.  Given that rate of decline, the over/under should be 14 for this season, which I think is an even-money bet.

I wish both men well, particularly Judge.  But I have to say, looking at our young, agile lineup, sprinkled with lefties and righties headed into this season, I can't honestly say I'm going to miss either one.

Stanton, a guy who has no good idea of the strike zone and that bizarre swing?  Who can't even play the outfield?

Judge, a much better all-around ballplayer, but still a 6-7, 280-pound behemoth ridiculously misplaced in the No. 2 spot in the order, whose strike zone the umps still can't figure out?

Frankly, I can do without another season of the 363 strikeouts they managed to combine on, in the 270 games they did manage to play in 2018.  Five-and-a-half strikeouts, that is, for every home run.
 
(Mantle and Maris, incidentally, had 179 strikeouts to go with those 115 home runs in the 314 games they played in 1961.  Ruth and Gehrig had 173 Ks to go with their 107 homers in 306 games back in 1927.)

I won't miss the weird, baffled look on Stanton's face after he misses another baseball, like a man who's just seen a ghost.  The pained expression on Judge's mien as he walks back to the dugout having just been called out on another pitch around his ankles.

No thanks.  I can do without "Three true outcomes" baseball, and am looking forward to athletes who can actually run, leap, and stretch again.

Today happens to be the 50th anniversary of the day that fabulous invalid, The Mick, hung up his spikes.  Despite a stunning assortment of injuries, he had managed to play 2,401 games, the most as a Yankee by any man, until Derek Jeter finally passed him.

To reach that number of total games in their careers, Stanton, now 30, would have to play seven seasons of a full, 162 games.  Judge, 27, would have to play 12 such seasons.

Neither man is going to come close to that.  Best we move on now.

As it now stands, the Yankee opening day roster still looks strong

Today, the Yankiverse faces a deep sense of unease. This is not a hoax or a witch hunt. It is very real: 

Something is wrong with Aaron Judge's right pectoral muscle. 

Yes... a barking tit. 

He was supposed to miss a few days. Now, it's another week. I don't want to go full Chicken Little, but we've seen this movie before: Until the monster reveals itself, everything just gets scarier. Right now, Judge's bad boob remains a mystery, and Harrison Ford is too old to save us. 

For now, let's assume Judge and Giancarlo Stanton miss several months. (Considering their histories, we'd be naive to expect anything else.) So, barring yet another plateful of injuries, here's the opening day roster, more or less.

The good news - and we should embrace it, but cautiously - is that this team still looks capable of 95-100 wins. Here's the roster:

Batting orderDJ LeMahieu 2B
Gleyber Torres SS
Miguel Andujar LF
Gary Sanchez C
Luke Voit 1B
Mike Ford DH
Clint Frazier RF
Gio Urshela 3B
Brett Gardner CF

Questions: Can Frazier and Andujar play OF? Are Ford and Urshela for real? Do we have enough LH offense? Do we have a RH DH?

Bench
Kyle Higashioka
Tyler Wade
Thairo Estrada
Mike Tauchman

Questions: Who backs up Higgy, when Sanchez goes down? Do we need another full-time OF? Or a veteran bat (this year's Kendrys Morales?)

RotationGerrit Cole
Masahiro Tanaka
J.A. Happ
Jordan Montgomery
Luis Cessa

Questions: Realistically, who fills the final two slots? Should we dare subject Deivi Garcia, at age 20, to MLB pressures? (I say no.) After Cole, is anything certain? (Another nope.)

Bullpen
Aroldis Chapman
Zack Britton
Adam Ottavino
Tommy Kahnle
Chad Green
Jonathan Holder 
Ben Heller (?)

Questions: Will age catch up to Chapman, Britton, Ottavino? Which Kahnle shows up? Will one of the young arms take over? (We could use another lefty; we have none.)

26th Man: 
Unnamed pitcher or outfielder

What's amazing is what's missing: Stanton, Judge, Hicks, Severino and Paxton. Let's wipe off Sevy; he's gone, maybe for good. Let's assume Stanton never plays more than 60 games in a season; moreover, he's a full-time DH. Hicks and Paxton should return by mid-summer. Judge? It's very troubling, the corrupted jug. 

The real concern: The next set of injuries. We've lost our trade chips. If we lose another key player - or more - this looks like an AL East runner-up.