Wow, it has been a while since I have posted a Quick Thoughts, for that I apoligize! A lot has happened in Yankees Universe in the two weeks since my last article on June 12th, where do I even begin? I have a lot to talk about...
Since June 12th, the Yankees are 10-6 (52-25 overall) and still maintain the best record in the MLB, through winning percentage and that gives the Yankees a slight edge, and first place in the division. Because of all the rain-outs this season, Boston has still played three more games than the Yankees. Boston and Houston are tied for the lead the MLB in wins with 53.
Everything seemed to be going well. They continued to NOT lose series and even swept the red-hot Mariners at Yankee Stadium. Then, they had their first real hiccup this season as the team ventured down to Tampa for three games with the Rays. Suffice it to say, the Rays swept the Yankees in what was probably the most frustrating and depressing series so far this season. The Yankees had beat up on Tampa coming into this series, they were 5-1 against the Rays - but for some reason (be it the swirling air inside or hanging speakers inside Tropicana Field) the Yankees could not put together much offense. More on the aforementioned speaker in a minute. The Rays, due to injuries, only have TWO legitimate starting pitchers Chris Archer and Blake Snell - and over the past month or so, Kevin Cash has been piecing together entire games with relievers. Man, that has to get old quick. But, give Cash some credit - the Rays are only one game below .500, and in 3rd place (14.0 games behind the Yankees) in the AL East. Clearly he has figured something out just to keep the Rays afloat. I can imagine the Rays pitching staff petering out at some point this season, but right now this strategy seems to be paying off. Well, it really paid off against the Yankees. In the first games of the series, the Yankees only managed to score ONE run and NINE hits leaving 30 baserunners stranded. The disappointing thing is, CC Sabathia pitched well - but the offense could not push runs across.
Do you think the Yankees rely too much on the long ball? If so, this series in particular makes that pretty evident. Don't get me wrong, I love home runs - they are an exciting part of the game. But, I also enjoy the strategy and sometimes shortening up your swing and keeping the ball in the ball park is just as exciting. Seriously, it seems every player is trying to be the hero and hit the go-ahead or walk-off home run so they can be the hero. Let me just say that ANY walk-off hit is exciting. Any HIT is exciting. And, sure home runs are damaging to a pitcher's psyche - but you know what else is? When a batter is patient, only swinging at strikes, and giving up hit after hit after hit... Sure, giving up a home run with runners on base is damaging too - but is it putting too many eggs in one basket to try for the long ball? I feel like if you don't get your pitch early in the count then "home run" mode should be turned off, and the batter should only be focusing on making solid contact and putting the ball in play - maybe trying to go the opposite way? These are professional athletes, professional hitters - shouldn't they be able to make the necessary adjustments during an at-bat? And, maybe there are a lot of ball players that try to make these adjustments and I just don't see it...
I digress, because either way - in the first two games of this series the Yankees looked BAD against Rays pitching. Then in game 3, the offense seemed to wake up again, as they put up six runs - but the pitching staff couldn't keep the pesky Rays off the scoreboard. This was probably Domingo German's worst outing. He only lasted three innings and gave up the Rays first 6 runs. The Yankees battled back with home runs from Miguel Andujar and Giancarlo Stanton as well as some key doubles from Stanton and Gregorius to tie the score at 6. Then, in the top of the 9th inning, Aaron Boone pinch hit Clint "Red Thunder" Frazier for the struggling Neil Walker. With former Yankee Vidal Nuno pitching, Frazier would crush a 1-1 pitch high into the Tropicana Field dome. The sound off the bat was a loud CRACK, so you know the contact was good. The Rays left fielder, Mallex Smith was tracking the ball back to the wall - this ball had a chance to get out. But all of the sudden, Smith stopped running. The camera darts to Rays shortstop, Adeiny Hechavarria running maybe 20 feet behind third base. Hechavarria reaches out and the ball (from out of nowhere) falls from the "sky" into his glove. Frazier is out. What? That sequence started off so well - WHAT HAPPENED? Well my friends, for some strange reason the Rays thought it would be a good idea to hang their house speakers from the dome structure above IN FAIR TERRITORY. "But, Greg" you might say "if the ball strikes the catwalks or speakers above, preventing the flight of the ball from following its natural path, surely it would be a dead ball or even a Grounds-Rule double - similar to if a fan reaches over the fence and interferes with a fair ball, right?" WRONG. For some odd reason, the Tampa Bay Rays (and they can do this, because it's their grounds rule) have deemed a hit ball that strikes the speakers or the catwalk above is playable, and if caught before the ball hits the ground is considered to be an out. WHAT?!?! That is the most insane rule. Granted, this rarely happens, and Hechavarria just so happened to be in the right place at the right time to make the catch. But, something about this rule is a little upsetting, because the ball had struck an element that is in fair territory, similar to if Frazier had hit the ball off the wall. If Mallex Smith catches the ball after it has struck the wall, the ball is in play - but Frazier would not have been out. No, he likely gets a double on this play. How can the ball striking the speaker or catwalk be treated any differently? Shouldn't Hechavarria, after fielding the ball try to get Frazier out at first? I think, aside from the fact that Statcast had it projected at going 335 feet (Tropicana Field is 315 feet down the left field line) - likely being the go-ahead home run, the part that frustrates me the most is that rule. MLB should consider reviewing this grounds rule. Rant concluded. Besides, the game went 12 innings - so it's not like the Yankees didn't have additional chances... but the big thing that could have been prevented (hindsight, right?) is Gary Sanchez's injury. In the 10th inning, Sanchez tried beating out a double play and came up in pain after being called out at first. Sanchez exited the game, and after an MRI on Monday, it was determined he would miss 3-4 weeks with a Grade 1 Groin Strain. Right as he was starting to hit... figures. In the bottom of the 12th, Boone elected to bring in troubled left-handed specialist Chasen Shreve - and on the very first pitch he throws (right down the middle) Rays first baseman Jake Bauers crushes the walk-off home run to end the game and complete the sweep... seriously, why is Chasen Shreve still a Yankee?
Let's look at his numbers quickly, Shreve (2-2) after this game his ERA jumped to 5.19 and in his last 7 games he has thrown 6.1 innings giving up 9 hits and 5 earned runs, walking 5 and only striking out 5. He has had a disappointing season - but what other options do the Yankees have for a lefty out of the bullpen? Unfortunately, he is the only lefty that is currently on the 40-man roster - and the 3 lefties in AAA are all starters. Sad. But, I would much rather take the recently released Boone Logan back than to stick with Chasen Shreve. But that's just me...
So, after Sunday's game, and prior to the series opener with the Phillies the Yankees made a few roster moves to compensate for the Gary Sanchez injury. They placed Sanchez on the 10-day DL (out 3-4 weeks), optioned Clint Frazier for the 4th or 5th time this season... I am surprised the dude hasn't run out of options yet. They recalled Kyle Higashioka and Giovanny Gallegos. Higashioka slides into the back-up catcher role behind Austin Romine and Gallegos will work out of the bullpen. Poor Clint Frazier - but Cashman has stated that he does not want to trade him, so hopefully he gets his shot soon.
Speaking of shots - when will we see Brandon Drury. Between him and Clint Frazier, this is the toughest part of having so much depth, they have drawn the short straw. Now, I think the team's patience has got to be wearing thin for Neil Walker. Indications of this are that they have had Brandon Drury play first base down in AAA. And they need to find a way to get Drury some big league playing time. Walker is batting a paltry .189 this season, and in his last 7 games played he is riding an 0 for 15 slump with only 3 walks. I would have to imagine they release him soon. Walker is a good MLB player - but I think because of his inconsistent playing time, he has suffered. He needs to play someplace where he can play every day and the Yankees is not that team. Sorry Neil...
But, they already have Tyler Austin to play first base, why do they need Drury there too? Well, Austin has only hit .223 in 8 games in AAA since being sent down. And Drury has consistenly hit in AAA, and when you have a guy that has been hitting, you try and find a way to get him in the lineup. My concern is - what if the Yankees wait too long and Drury stops hitting? Overall, Drury is hitting .311 with 4 homers and 27 RBI in 46 games for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season. But, he has started to slow down just a little, in his last seven games he is 2 for his last 28 - have the Yankees waited to long to call him back up? Think he will snap out of his current funk? What are your thoughts? I have also seen the notion that the Yankees are keeping Drury down in AAA until after a specific date so they can get an extra year of team control out of him. I unfortunately do not know when that cut-off is, I apologize... but that's crazy... they did the same thing with Gleyber Torres before they called him up this year. At least they are winning without him.
After the nightmare at the Trop, the Yankees traveled up to Philadelphia for the first time since they defeated the Phillies in the 2009 World Series. Last time they faced the Philles was in 2015 (Philadelphia took 2 out of 3). It seems the offense has snapped out of its funk as they took the first two games of the series (4-2 and 6-0, respectively). Game three is tonight and the Yankees will send Luis Cessa to the mound for his first start of the season.
In game one, Jonathan Loaisiga made his third start since being called up. His first start (vs. Tampa Bay 6/15) was a fantastic success, as he threw 5.0 shutout innings striking out 6. In start number two (vs. Seattle 6/20) he was roughed up for 3 runs in 3 2/3 innings. Loaisiga would bounce back terrifically only giving up ONE HIT in 5 1/3 innings! This kid has good poise and some good stuff, I really enjoy how aggressive he is and how he attacks the zone. I know his time with the big club may end up being limited, but so far skipping AAA has not phased him. An Aaron Judge home run (20th of the season) and 2 RBI from Giancarlo Stanton helped lead the Yankees to a 4-2 win.
In game two, the Yankees sent Luis Severino to the mound and he continued his dominant season. Severino went 7.0 strong innings, striking out 9 - he also didn't walk anyone! He improved his record to 12-2 and his ERA has now dropped to 2.10... sheesh... he is cementing himself as one of the top pitchers in the game and is making a VERY strong case to win the Cy Young this year. I would also be incredibly surprised if he didn't make the AL All-Star team this year. Aaron Hicks led the game off with his 11th home run of the season off of Jake Arrieta (Arrieta is having a tough season) , and Didi added his 15th homer of the year. Even Greg Bird had an RBI. Yankees shut the Phillies out 6-0.
How about Giancarlo Stanton? He has really improved of late, he is currently on a 4-game hitting streak and his average has crept up to .268! In his last 15 games Big G is 22 for 58 (.379 AVG) with 4 homers and 12 RBI. In this span he's had a 5-hit game, a 4-hit game, a 3-hit game, and three 2-hit games - it was right around this time last season he turned his season around and proceeded to put up MVP numbers.
As I mentioned earlier, tonight is the finale of the three game set with Philadelphia, and after an off-day tomorrow the Yankees will host those bums from Boston for what should be a very exciting three game series. This will be a fun series to watch, in which the Yankees could add some cushion to their incredibly slim division lead (or the other thing where they could fall out of first - but we won't talk about that right now).
With June coming to a close this weekend, it means we are that much closer to the All-Star game... and as of the latest polls - Aaron Judge is the only Yankee that stands to start the game. As of June 26th, Judge has 1,557,109 votes ranking him 3rd in OF votes behind Mookie Betts and Mike Trout. The next closest is George Springer of Houston with 829,579 votes, so barring something crazy happening Judge will likely start. The other Yankees that have shown up in the race are Gleyber Torres, Miguel Andujar, Didi Gregorius, and Gary Sanchez. Torres and Andujar are in 2nd place in voting for their respective positions, but the leaders have built a substantial lead over them. Torres trails Jose Altuve at second base by over 1.5 million votes (Altuve leads all players) - so he likely will not be starting at second base. Andujar (764,032) trails Jose Ramirez (1,319,651) of Cleveland and holds a slim margin over Alex Bregman (718,814) of Houston. Didi is in 3rd place for shortstops with 639,630 votes - he trails Baltimore's Manny Machado (960,628) and Houston's Carlos Correa (793,087) - he too holds a slim lead over Francisco Lindor (619,112) of Cleveland. Now, for some reason Gary Sanchez is in second place for catcher behind Tampa Bay's Wilson Ramos... and when vote totals were initially released - he was leading. Folks, I know you want more Yankees to start the All-Star game, but come on now - does Sanchez really deserve to be there? I mean really? He is having a terrible season... this is what drives me crazy about the All-Star game and allowing the fans to vote. It mostly becomes a popularity contest and there's always at least one or two starters that really shouldn't be there. It happened a lot towards the end of Derek Jeter's career... he would be voted to start the All-Star game, but there were much more deserving players that should have started. With that said, please reconsider voting for Sanchez... his .190 batting average is not All-Star game worthy... not to say there are really many other catchers that are deserving... yikes
Anyways, follow the link below to cast your vote for the MLB All-Star Game... polls close on July 5th (next Thursday) - you can vote 5 times a day up to 35 times total! Go vote now! Actually, finish reading this article, then go vote!
Regardless, there are a number of Yankees that will likely still make the All-Star game, but will not start. I could see Torres, Andujar, and maybe Didi all making the team as reserves - and I could definitely see Severino, CC Sabathia (borderline), Dellin Betances, and Aroldis Chapman all making the team as well.
Speaking of All-Star game, don't expect to see any Yankees in the Home Run Derby. Judge has already stated that he will not participate, and so has Gleyber Torres, stating "I am not a home run hitter." As much as I would love to see Aaron Judge hit bombs all over Nationals park - it will be nice to see other players participate and someone else win this year. The home run derby won't be like the NBA finals...
Wow... this is a long post... I still have so much more to discuss, but I think I will hold off until next time. With the trade deadline rapidly approaching it will be hard to run out of things to discuss. So, in the meantime I would love to hear your thoughts on the following:
Are you worried after the Tampa sweep?
Should the Rays wear those throwback uniforms more often? I actually like them a lot more than their boring and generic blue uniforms.
How do you feel about Speaker-gate? Should the Rays be allowed to make that ball playable?
Is this Giancarlo hot streak for real or a tease?
What will the Yankees do with their rotation? Will they make a move before the trade deadline and add another front-line starter?
What should they do with Chasen Shreve?
How do you feel about All-Star Fan Voting? Should fans be able to vote at all? Or only on players the league puts on the ballot? Am I justified in my rant?
Please share your thoughts!! I would love to hear what you have to say!