Occasionally, I’ll post a “Quick Thoughts” as a rapid reaction to a game, transaction, etc. This one follows a Yankee loss to Oakland. A game they should have won... but the Yankees seem to have trouble with the A’s. In fact, they always seem to play to the level of their opponents. They were rolling against some of the top teams in the American League, putting together a historic run that gave them a momentary glimpse of first place.
Yet, Yankee fans remained hopeful of another late innings comeback, and things were promising when they crept back within a run in the 5th inning. But for the second straight game, the bullpen gave up a crucial home run at a time when the offense could swing the momentum back into their favor. They fell short in the end, losing 10-5. The bullpen, to me, has been a glaring problem so far this season. Actually, the pitching staff has been quite inconsistent. Some days the bullpen is brilliant, and it has me thinking “Yes! This is what we signed up to watch!” and then the next day it feels all progress was for naught - I’m looking at you Dellin Betances and David Robertson. It will be a gift from the baseball gods to get a healthy and productive Tommy Kahnle and Adam Warren back in the bullpen. I’m sorry, but David Hale is not the answer. They Yankees were quite fortunate on this latest run to have gotten quality starting pitching... even from Sonny Gray. Then last night happened... Gray, who had seemed to turn a corner in his previous start, definitely regressed against his former team. If they’re going to go anywhere, they NEED consistency from him. A big piece they acquired at the trade deadline, I was hoping he would continue his success in New York, but the results have been mixed. To me, it seems he’s at his best when he keeps the tempo up between pitches. As soon as he slows down his pace, he allows opposing hitters to get comfortable in the batters box. I’m still hopeful he can make the appropriate adjustments to help this team make a deep playoff run... but I bet the Yankees will still try to acquire another starter before the season is over. A quick shoutout to Oakland’s Dustin Fowler, who collected his first big league hit last night against his former team. Fowler, in his MLB debut last year with the Yankees, horrifically collided with an unprotected electrical box in Chicago causing him to miss his first MLB at bat and the rest of the season. Fowler was actually a piece involved in the trade that brought Sonny Gray to the Yankees. Good for him, much deserved! Minor highlights from the Yankees, Aaron Judge slugged his 10th home run of the season. Gleyber Torres continued to swing a hot bat, smacking his 3rd home run of his young career. Please feel free to leave a comment below if there is anything else you think can be added to the conversation!