It is crazy to see it, but we are now in the month of September and entering the final stretch of the 2018 MLB regular season and we will soon be seeing the Major League Baseball playoffs. With the New York Yankees likely facing the American League Wild Card game on Wednesday, October 3, I wanted to provide some thoughts of the Yankees, from the aspects of manager, new players acquired prior to 2018 and those who were brought into the pinstripes.
Aaron Boone- Manager #17
I will have to admit, I had heard his name come up several times as a potential successor for Joe Girardi, a decision to let him go after what was supposed to be a rebuilding season, turned into a season that came to Game 7 of the 2017 American League Championship Series.
I thought it was unique, the Yankees taking a page out of the playbook to pick someone who was a good baseball player, great baseball analyst on ESPN and a knowledgeable person of the game. I always give new guys a chance, as I had a feeling the Yankees were going to have a successful season, with the unexpected successes in the 2017 playoffs.
He seemed like a knowledgeable baseball guy, playing a career where he was always remembered for his pinch-hit, walk-off solo home run in Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series, one that sent Yankee Stadium into a night no one there would never forget. Well, you fast forward the clock 15 years later and the Yankees lineup was retooled, with some moves I never saw coming.
I feel like he has done a decent job as manager, which always usually happens when he has the tools to work with, of course still having the players in Brett Gardner, Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Aaron Hicks at the plate, along with starters C.C. Sabathia, Mashario Tanaka and Luis Severino. Although the starting pitching has always been shaky, I believe it’s held up, much to my own personal dismay.
Starters are always going to have starts where they’re great, starts where it’ll be a fluke (easier terms, a close game and great performance, but coming through on the losing end) or one where you just completely get rocked and have a short start.
There have been some goof-ups that I’ve seen this season, notably having Didi Gregorius bunt with two runners on and one out in their game on July 23, 2018 at the Tampa Bay Rays. By doing that, Boone basically took the bat away from a red-hot Giancarlo Stanton, who was intentionally walked to load the bases. Aaron Hicks grounded into a force out (runner out at home) and Gary Sanchez not getting to first base in time cost the Yankees a game they probably could have pulled out.
Another one I feel like he should have acted on sooner, involved Sonny Gray, who the Yankees acquired from the Oakland Athletics at the 2017 Trade Deadline. He has struggled mightily and I personally don’t believe he’s lived up to the expectations the management and coaching staff. According to the statistics on his MLB page, Gray holds a 10-8 record as of Friday, August 31, 2018.
Seeing Aaron Boone go on the tirade against the home plate umpire against the Detroit Tigers on Friday, August 31, 2018 was amazing, watching him step up for his team and sparking the offensive rally that would follow, with the home runs from Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks and Miguel Andujar that turned a 3-0 deficit into a 4-3 lead at the time.
He may be a rookie manager, but it always comes down to if his players will play hard in every single game that is on the schedule and the Yankees have certainly done so.
Another blunder I feel he made was leaving Lance Lynn in for too long in their game on Wednesday, August 22. Lynn was struggling in the bottom of the sixth inning and the tying run was on base and the potential go-ahead run was at the plate. Although there was bullpen activity, I feel like Boone left him in when he was out of god stuff on the mound. That potential game that could have been won turned into a 9-3 loss, with Lynn giving up the go-ahead three run home run that gave the Marlins the lead for good, the home run coming from Miguel Rojas.
I believe they would have a division lead if it wasn’t for the record season the Boston Red Sox have been having. They have been playing out of their minds all-season long. There is still a chance, but I think the reality is that we will be playing on Wednesday, October 3 in the American League Wild Card game. Never say never, but I am sure our chances at the division are unlikely at this point.
One more note, even if Joe Girardi was still the manager, I still believe the Yankees would still be the same record-wise and team-wise as they are with Aaron Boone.
Sonny Gray- #55
That last start he made against Baltimore, which I can remember watching on TV, he did not do well and that to me, would have been a major mistake leaving him in the rotation anymore. I personally believe that start screwed up the pitching rotation before the Red Sox series, with newly-acquired Lance Lynn cleaning up the mess with a solid relief appearance, you could not use him as a starter because you could not wear him out.
As a starter, he saw the struggles, losing games to the Houston Astros on April 30, but despite the 2-1 loss, he kept their high-powered lineup of Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Yuri Gurriel and George Springer to only two runs in a 2-1 loss. That was a start of promise, in my opinion, with the offense off its game.
He was rocked in two starts against American League West opponents, allowing five earned runs in losses on May 11 against the Oakland Athletics and the Los Angeles Angels (on FOX 5), giving me a few flashbacks to how A.J. Burnett, for some odd reason, just could not pitch well, nor live up to the excitement or contract the Yankees gave him in the big offseason in December 2008.
Once again, while the offense may do well, he did not. He allowed a total of ten runs in two losses to the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox, allowing a combined ten runs.
However, he redeemed himself with a great bottom of the 13th inning in a 4-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox and with a dominant start in the second game of a doubleheader, a sweep by the Yankees. He has done good as of late, but he will do better in the bullpen.
Giancarlo Stanton- #27
The move of the offseason that absolutely no one saw coming, the trade to get Giancarlo Stanton to the Bronx in exchange for Starlin Castro and two minor leaguers. I was asleep downstairs at home when the news was officially announced and I could not believe what I was hearing. I thought the Yankees were going to have to surrender a lot just to acquire a hot bat like Stanton.
Only giving up Castro (not including the two minor leaguers) was exciting. I got a Giancarlo Stanton t-shirt prior to the season and couldn’t quite wait. Although he did struggle a bit to start the season, playing in New York, especially for a team like the Yankees, requires a mental toughness, in my opinion. He did struggle during the first few weeks, he did hit two home runs in the season opener win at Toronto on March 29. I always believe in the notion of players will struggle at first, but always find a way to do better as the season rolls along.
I remember on my birthday, at the Blue Ale House in Woodbridge, New Jersey, watching the Yankees battle the Seattle Mariners and were trailing 5-0 before battling back to tie the game. I remember watching the remainder of the game with my dad and he said to me, as Stanton stepped to the plate with the winning run on first base in the bottom of the ninth inning.
My dad said he was going hit a home run and I smiled and watched. He smacked the baseball and the reaction of Mariners pitcher Ryan Cook was an indicator that it was out of the ballpark. I couldn’t believe it. I think my jaw dropped as I looked at my dad.
I feel like he’s done a great job in his first season with the Yankees, recently hitting his 300th career home run, some of those baseballs being the hardest hit on the exit velocity with the statcast, which is pretty cool how all of that is calculated.
His statistics may not be like the 59-home-run season he had in 2017, but he has been the main guy leading the way with Aaron Judge being sidelined since July 26 with a fractured bone in his wrist. I feel like Stanton earned his pinstripes and is a tremendous talent on the New York Yankees lineup throughout the entirety of the season.
Miguel Andujar (#41) and Gleyber Torres (#25)- The Kids
This was a duo I personally did not see coming. We initially had Brandon Drury at third base and Neil Walker at second base to start off the season (Walker still does have his share of 2B at times), but that all changed in an instant. Drury went down at the end of the game on Friday, April 6 with migraines and headaches, something that was not initially known before the three-team trade between the Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Rays that sent Drury to New York and Steven Souza, Jr. to Arizona.
Andujar was called up and made his major league debut in 2017, but was called back up when Drury was dealing with the migranes. He hit his first career major league home run on April 17, 2018 against the Miami Marlins. He has absolutely been relentless at the plate as the months have gone on. He took third base by storm and never looked back. He has been a force in the lineup, definitely a candidate for American League Rookie of the Year.
MLB.com says on his page that he’s been hitting with a .331 batting average in the last 30 games, to go along with 40 hits, ten home runs and 29 RBIs, already adding to his impressive resume, for just his first full major league season. He has been shaky at times on defense at third base, notably with the Yankees putting Neil Walker at 3B as a defensive replacement in crucial game situations. I believe if Andujar is a DH come time for the postseason, hopefully with Stanton and potentially Aaron Judge coming back, that will help the Yankees as the season moves along through the month of September.
Gleyber Torres has been another phenomenal baseball player, who believe or not, we have from the Chicago Cubs. A part of the rental deal where Aroldis Chapman was traded to the Cubs turned out to be a benefit for us. By doing so, we re-signed Chapman and promoted Torres to the big leagues on Sunday, April 22, 2018 and really proved himself in his short time in the Major Leagues.
In his season through Labor Day, his statistics include a .279 batting average, 98 hits, 22 home runs, 66 RBIs and a .350 OBP. I feel like he really earned his pinstripes on Sunday, May 6, 2018, with his walk-off three-run home run completing a comeback, a 4-0 deficit into a 7-4 Yankees win.
Some other major highlights where he’s really done a good job include a game-tying two-run single on May 3 against the defending champion Houston Astros,
J.A. Happ (#34) and Lance Lynn (#36)- The Trade Acquisitions/Rotation Upgrades
It is safe to say these trades for J.A. Happ and Lance Lynn have saved the Yankees a lot of questions and trouble, as the woes were heavy surrounding their pitching rotation, especially with Masahiro Tanaka being on and off at times, C.C. Sabathia’s bulky knee costing him a start and losing Jordan Montgomery to Tommy John surgery, leaving the rotation in shambles.
Happ’s name came up as a target at the deadline, along with Cole Hamels. I had said to myself that getting Hamels would be a mistake, as I felt his best days of pitching were behind him. This was also coupled with the fact that Hamels had a loaded lineup and offense in Philadelphia that could get hot and make starters pay and from 2007-2011, that was the case. As the Phillies hit a snag, Hamels got traded to the Texas Rangers, where he continued to excel, especially in 2015 and 2016, where the Rangers won the American League West Division title. I wasn’t as impressed by Hamels, but giving a look at the Rangers not doing well in 2017 nor 2018.
I did like Happ’s stuff, his ten wins on a slumping Toronto Blue Jays team was good to see. I said to my dad on countless occasions that his record was checkered by the fact the Blue Jays had injuries and certain areas of their game not working at all. Happ is 35 years old and excelled in Philadelphia, a member of the 2008 World Series championship team.
As I was in the barbershop waiting for a haircut, Ken Rosenthal tweeted the Yankees were getting J.A. Happ and I had been wondering who they were sending to the Toronto Blue Jays. Sure enough, Brandon Drury and Billy McKinney were the ones going to Canada. Drury had promise, but he was not a good fit on the team (see above in my mini-column on Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres).
In his first five starts as a Yankee, I was really happy with what I was seeing. He was giving everything the fans and what general manager Brian Cashman were asking for. His first start as a Yankee was on Sunday, July 29 came against the Kansas City Royals and he did not disappoint at all. He went six innings, allowing only one run on three hits and striking out two batters. He looked great and continued to dazzle on the mound, even though he was on the 10-day disabled list with hand, foot and mouth disease.
I was at the game on Thursday, August 9 against the Texas Rangers when he returned from the disabled list. He pitched a gem, going six innings, allowing three runs on four hits and striking out nine batters, proving why he is one one of the great additions to the rotation. He did great in his starts against his former team, the Blue Jays and against the Orioles, but didn’t do well in his start against the Tigers, where he received a no-decision.
As for Lance Lynn, that trade sort of came out of nowhere. It was sad we had to send Tyler Austin away to Minnesota, but we needed the help in the rotation and Lynn instantly made a name for himself in the first few weeks following the trade. In a game which probably messed up the outlook of the Red Sox series in Boston, Lynn tossed four scoreless innings in a loss to the Baltimore Orioles on July 31, which showed Yankees fans what he can really do.
His first start in pinstripes (well, on the road) came on Monday, August 6 against the White Sox, a chance for him to help the Yankees begin to right the ship after the dismal four-game sweep at Fenway Park. Lynn rose to the occasion and gave the Yankees what they needed.
He was able to pitch with all the pressure of a close game, especially in the August 11 game against the Texas Rangers, he was able to keep them off the board, before a Texas rally tied the game against the Yankees bullpen. The Bronx Bombers would score late runs to secure the win, which of course, always has to come in an interesting manner for us fans.
The only real blemish on Lynn was the Miami Marlins game, where I thought he wasn’t pitching all that bad, but he ran into trouble and gave up a three-run home run that pretty much was the difference, his first loss as a Yankee. He is definitely going to come in handy for the team throughout the stretch of September and I hope the Yankees give him a new contract. His experience from postseason runs with the St. Louis Cardinals (winning the World Series in 2011) will help the Yankees beef up their lead and perhaps a minor run at the division, although I believe it will be a Wild Card game coming up on Wednesday, October 3.
Other Thoughts:
Overall, the New York Yankees have had a great run this season. After a 9-9 start, they went off on a tear of 17-1, powering themselves to be the second best team in all of baseball this season, with Stanton heating up after some early-season jitters. I am proud to say I was not one of those fans bashing a big-name player who was having a slump in the regular season.
Masahiro Tanaka has taken strides this season and has gotten to be decent for the most part of the starts that he’s had so far this season. As someone who thought he was toast when he partially tore his UCL of his elbow, I feel like he has done good, just has to do a better job of keeping the ball within the ballpark and not see too many pitches meeting the seats, which seems like happens a decent amount.
This is probably the most complete lineup of all young kids with some rookies mixed into it. That lineup of Brett Gardner, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Gary Sanchez, Aaron Hicks, Didi Gregorius, Neil Walker, along with the additions of Andrew McCutchen, Luke Voit, Austin Romine and everyone else in between made it a promising run. I’ve watched baseball since 2005 and had been a Yankees fan all my life, so this was an exciting summer, aside the injuries to Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez and the slumps from certain players.
I also feel like this would be a six or seven game division lead if it weren’t for the record season by the Red Sox, which you do have to tip your cap to. Also, Brian Cashman deserves a ton of credit for keeping our farm system stacked and refusing to deal away our big-name prospects, which is what other teams appear to move for big-name players at certain trade deadlines of the past.
The additions of J.A. Happ and Lance Lynn were a gamechanger! Not only did we acquire drastic help for our starting rotation, but we only really lost two major league players in Brandon Drury, Tyler Austin and minor leaguers. These two have been a stepping stone towards our success. I feel like the guys need to keep winning to stay paced and allow enough breathing room to get the playoff spot clinched and prepare for the Wild Card game, but first, they need to show that they are a team that is capable of going on a run, but getting healthy is key. Their lineup has a few empty spots with the injuries throughout the year.
One thing though, you can agree or disagree, is that while in years past, lightning-good starts have ended with losses, it is because in 2018, the offense has picked everyone up and at times, overwhelmed opposing starting pitchers and doing so with force. You can never count this team out until the 27th out is being recorded.
This team has the potential to do some good things, but they need to get healthy, get Didi Gregorius back and allow Aaron Judge to take as much time as possible for his wrist to heal. He has made progress and I am hopeful #99 will be back in the Yankees lineup before the last series in Fenway Park.
Want to add anything additional to this post? You guys feel free to join along the conversation or add some other thoughts in the comments section!
