Shoulda splurged for a roof, Hal. (Getty)
UPDATE: The Guardians will indeed start Civale in Game 5 on Tuesday, not Bieber on short rest, according to Zack Meisel. Also, I goofed on some of the days rest math in the schedule section below. That's been corrected (though it doesn't...
2022-10-18 03:30:21 +0000 UTC View Post
Better than the last center fielder to wear No. 22. (Getty)
The Yankees live to play another day. Sunday night the Yankees avoided elimination with a Game 4 win that went about as well as we could have hoped. The offense puts points on the board early, Gerrit Cole was great, and the bullpen didn’t make things interesting. Game 5 on Monday night in the Bronx. Winner goes to Houston, loser go...
2022-10-17 05:47:54 +0000 UTC View Post
Look out, he’s managing. (Getty)
Not sure you could script a worse way to lose a postseason game. According to ESPN, the Yankees were 167-0 – 167-0! – when taking a multi-run lead into the ninth inning of a postseason game prior to Game 3 on Saturday. I don’t think this is the kinda hi...
2022-10-16 06:52:53 +0000 UTC View Post
More traffic on the bases, less watching from the dugout. (Getty)
The Yankees were never going to go undefeated in the postseason, but that doesn’t make the losses any easier to swallow. They let a winnable game slip away Friday afternoon and now the ALDS is a best-of-three series with the Guardians having home field advantage. 2022-10-15 03:49:02 +0000 UTC View Post
UPDATE: Game 2 has officially been postponed. Game 2 will be played at 1:07pm ET on Friday. If necessary, Games 2-5 will be played on four consecutive days. The right call. The forecast isn't getting any better and MLB doesn't like to risk it in the postseason. If they don't think they can play an uninterrupted nine innings, they won't play. See you Friday.
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ORIGINAL POST: For television scheduling reasons, the Yankees and Guardians had an of...
2022-10-13 13:16:04 +0000 UTC View Post
One down, 10 to go. (Getty)
I wouldn’t call it a perfect win, but Game 1 went about as well as the Yankees could have hoped Tuesday night. They outslugged the Guardians – Cleveland has scored four runs on three homers in 33 innings this postseason – en route to a 4-1 win in Game 1. Also, CC Sabathia threw out the ceremonial first pitch! 2022-10-12 13:47:20 +0000 UTC View Post
he ALDS begins Tuesday night and Yankee Stadium will host its first postseason game since Game 5 of the 2019 ALCS. The 2020 pandemic postseason took the Yankees to Cleveland and San Diego, and last year they were one-and-done in the Wild Card Game at Fenway Park. It’s been a little bit since the last time we saw postseason baseball in the Bronx.
The Guardians play a very fun, action...
2022-10-11 15:45:44 +0000 UTC View Post
It’s official, it will be Yankees vs. Guardians in the ALDS. Cleveland ousted the Rays in the Wild Card Series over the weekend, and while Game 2 went 15 innings, there was no Game 3. Too bad. The best possible outcome was a long series that tired out both teams. Instead, the Guardians will have two days to rest up before the ALDS begins Tuesday. Here’s the schedule (all games on TBS):
Fittingly, the Yankees won 99 games in the year of No. 99. An objectively great season, but if you would have told me on July 1st the Yankees would not win 100 games, I don’t think I would've believed you. Their +240 run differential was second only to the Dodgers and their insane +334 run differential. That’s the third best ever in the Modern Era (since 1900).
<... 2022-10-07 12:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
No. 62 for No. 99. (Getty)
There is a new American League single-season home run king. Aaron Judge slugged his 62nd home run of the season Tuesday night (video), breaking the tie with Roger Maris. No. 99 hit No. 62 the day the Yankees improved their record to 99-62. This ...
2022-10-05 03:30:12 +0000 UTC View PostReady for the last two days of meaningless baseball? The Yankees wrap up their regular season Wednesday, then will spend a few days working out and watching the Wild Card Series, then all hell breaks loose at Yankee Stadium next Tuesday. Nothing quite like postseason baseball. Let’s get to today’s post.
1. Britton, Holmes, and Marinaccio injured. Poor Zack Britton. He pushed hard with his Tommy John surgery rehab in an effort to rejoin the Yankees in Septem...
2022-10-04 12:03:00 +0000 UTC View PostOnly a week remains in the 2022 regular season, the most eventful Yankees’ regular season in some time. It wasn’t all good, but that’s baseball. You have to take some bad with the good and there was a lot of good this year. Here is Friday morning’s post Thursday afternoon since it’s an off-day, the final off-day of the regular season.
1. Weekday thoughts. I’ve seen enough: Anthony Rizzo for player-manager the rest of the year. Rizzo for manager, Gleyber Torr...
2022-09-29 20:07:23 +0000 UTC View PostIf you care about such things, ZiPS gives the Yankees the third best World Series odds at 15.0%. Only the Mets (17.7%) and Dodgers (15.4%) are better. Those projections include all the latest injury info, dragging the juggernaut Dodgers (+322 run differential!) down a bit. They’re missing several important pitchers (Walker Buehler, Tony Gonsolin, Blake Trei...
2022-09-27 12:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post
Self-promotion: I wrote something at CBS looking at Aaron Judge’s next contract. I landed at nine years and $38M per year, or $342M total. I’m gonna make you click to see how I arrived there, but I didn’t expect the number to be that big. I guess when you have the contract year Judge is having, the number t...
2022-09-23 12:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostAccording to SNY, Sunday was the first time the Yankees, Mets, Jets, and (football) Giants all won on the same day since Sept. 27th, 2009. They all play on the same day what, maybe 4-5 times a year? But still, 13 years is a long time. I'll take a sports thing happening for the first time since 2009 as a good omen. Here is Tuesday morning’s post Monday afternoon since it is yet another off-day.
The Yankees have won four straight, eight of their last 10, and 14 of their last 22. I’m not going to say they’re capital-B Back (they’re too injured for that) but at least they’re piling up wins again so we can all breathe easy for a bit. Things were dicey at this time last week. Anyway, here is Friday morning’s post Thursday afternoon since it’s another off-day.
1. Weekday thoughts. I’m a big fan of the Red Sox kicking the ball around. I’m also a big f...
2022-09-15 20:28:45 +0000 UTC View Post
At long last, the pitch clock is here. (MiLB.com)
As expected, MLB’s competition committee last week approved a series of rule changes set to take effect next season. Specifically, there will now be a pitch clock and a ban on infield shifts, as well as larger bases. There are all sorts of details and restrictions within these rules and I point you to 2022-09-13 20:41:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Only 21 games and 23 days remain in the 2023 regular season. I’m not sure I’d call this the most exciting season in recent Yankees memory, but it has certainly been the most extreme. We’ve gone from one end of the spectrum to the other, and back again. Here is Tuesday morning’s post Monday night since it’s an off-day. I apologize it’s shorter than usual, but I started to work on something looking at how the new rules (pitch clock, infield shift ban, etc.) could impact individual Y...
2022-09-12 22:15:42 +0000 UTC View PostWould you believe the Yankees are 10-7 in their last 17 games? Considering they won only 10 of their previous 30 games, that qualifies as major progress. There’s another huge series on tap with the Rays this weekend. Come Monday morning, the AL East race could be all but over or neck-and-neck. Fun! *barfs* Let’s get to today’s post.
1. Injury updates. Andrew Benintendi had hamate surgery Tuesday and Nestor Cortes rejoined the rotation Thursday. Here are the rest o...
2022-09-09 12:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
The seasons change, the players come and go, and we all get a little older each year, but the one thing remains the same, and that is the Yankees beating the Twins. They are the elixir that cures all ills. Monday’s win improved the Yankees to 112-39 (.742) against Minnesota since the start of the Ron Gardenhire era in 2002, postseason included. That’s a 120-win pace in a 162-game season. The Twins came to town at exactly the right time. Let’s get to today’s post. I apologize it’s sh...
2022-09-06 12:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
First Oswaldo, now Oswald. (Getty)
The September roster expansion period has arrived and the Yankees called up shortstop prospect Oswald Peraza on Thursday. Marwin Gonzalez was activated off the paternity list to fill the second extra roster spot, so the Yankees are rolling with 13 pitchers and 15 position players at the moment. The Yankees have announced the moves, so they’re official. Per...
2022-09-02 15:45:25 +0000 UTC View PostRemember when the Yankees could play .500 ball and still coast to 100 wins? Now they need to win 21 of their final 31 games to get to 100 wins, and seeing how they’ve won only 21 of their last 52 games, I'll go ahead and say it’s not happening. Not sure I’ve ever loved and hated a team so much in a single season. Here are Friday morning’s thoughts Thursday afternoon since it’s an off-day.
1. The collapse continues. There was a time, not more than three months ...
2022-09-01 21:30:41 +0000 UTC View PostAt best, the Yankees will go 11-17 (.393) in August. It will be their worst month since going 8-14 (.364) in April 2016. It looked like the Yankees were turning things around last week, then they no-showed the last three games, which is a harsh reminder they still have a few too many problem areas. Let’s get to today’s post.
1. More pitcher injuries. The Yankees went April and most of May without a player suffering a new injury. Now they seem to lose a pitcher a ser...
2022-08-30 12:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostThe Subway Series was fun this year, no? All four games were close and exciting. The Citi Field series was the first time the Yankees and Mets met while both being in sole possession of first place, and the Yankee Stadium series was the first time they met while each being at least 25 games over .500. I’d be up for a rematch in October. That would rule. Anyway, here is Friday morning’s post Thursday afternoon because the Yankees are out on the West Coast and I’m not waiting out a late n...
2022-08-25 17:45:38 +0000 UTC View PostThe Yankees couldn’t win a game to save their lives the last three weeks or so, then they beat Alek Manoah and Max Scherzer on back-to-back days. This sport is so stupid sometimes. The Yankees are undefeated since the Yankee Stadium crowd showered Hal Steinbrenner with boos during Paul O’Neill’s number retirement ceremony Sunday. Coincidence? I think not. Let’s get to today’s...
2022-08-23 12:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostFriday night the Yankees will play their 120th
2022-08-19 12:01:03 +0000 UTC View PostDoesn’t it feel like the air is slowly being let out of the balloon? The Yankees peaked at 49-16 on June 18th and it’s been a slow – and worsening – slip down the winning percentage slide since. The Yankees are 23-28 since June 18th and that is one game better than the Rockies (22-29). The Rockies! The Rockies are the baseball equivalent of me spending 15 minutes looking for my glasses while wearing them. The Yankees have to go 28-18 to win 100 games and that a) is a very tall order r...
2022-08-16 12:01:03 +0000 UTC View PostSelf-promotion: I was asked to write a thing about why the Yankees are struggling at CBS, so give that a read if you’re so inclined. The Yankees are 1-7 in their last eight games and while we know they aren’t really that bad, this is one of these stretches where you watch them and say "okay, maybe they really are that bad.” Ugly, ugl...
2022-08-11 22:54:44 +0000 UTC View PostThe Yankees are 9-16 in their last 25 games, including 6-15 against teams other than the Royals, and that’s with Aaron Judge playing out of his mind. I’d be less annoyed about this if the Yankees didn’t suddenly look so much like the 2021 Yankees and/or had shown the ability to get off the mat the last few years. When the Aaron Boone era Yankees slump, we tend to hear “we need to get it right and we know we can” until the clock strikes midnight. Anyway, here is Tuesday morning’s p...
2022-08-08 19:31:41 +0000 UTC View PostUPDATE: I misunderstood the third mailbag question. My bad. An updated answer is below.
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The great Vin Scully passed away earlier this week. He was 94 and a New Yorker through and through: Bronx born, Manhattan raised, began his career in Brooklyn. Here’s a transcript of his radio call of the final inning of Sandy Koufax’s perfect game in 1965. It reads like an a...
2022-08-04 23:47:57 +0000 UTC View Post