Around the Empire
New York Times | Billy Witz: After learning of the trade that sent him to the Cubs, he felt upset and bitter that he would be leaving the only team he knew and the team he made a home with, Adam Warren packed all his Yankees gear in boxes and put it in another part of the house so he wouldn’t have to look at it. Luckily, he didn’t get rid of it, because now he’s back with the team. Warren says he’s happy to be back and he feels like he’s only been gone for a week. He also credits Joe Girardi’s managerial style as a partial reason for his past success with the Yankees vs. his uninspiring season thus far with the Cubs and Joe Maddon.
Newsday | Greg Logan: Don’t look now, but the Yankees have actually been playing well recently (or well a week). Obviously even if the Yankees go into sell mode, Joe Girardi will still continue to try and win games because that’s his job. For that reason, he’d be pretty upset with a Carlos Beltran trade and hopes his “biggest bat” stays with the team.
NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: When the Yankees traded Aroldis Chapman for a stud shortstop prospect, many fans began to wonder what that would mean for Didi Gregorius’ future with the team. Gregorius as endeared himself to fans and the front office with his superb play on both sides of the ball and his A+ twitter game. To his credit, Gregorius says he’s not worried about the future and he’s just focused on playing the game.
FanGraphs | Eric Longenhagen: Taking a look and scouting the prospects the Yankees received in the Chapman deal. Obviously Gleyber Torres is the prize of the trade, but it’s curious to see how far Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford could potentially go. Supposedly the Yankees were high on McKinney pre-draft, so they might have gotten someone they’ve had their eye on for a while.
Sports Illustrated Kids: More of a “fun piece” than we usually see in this section, Brett Gardner gives his tips on laying down the perfect bunt. He says one of his biggest problems when laying a bunt is trying to run out of the box in a hurry, and so he advises to slow things down, but still to try and catch the other team by surprise.
Fun Questions
- Best ‘90s boy band?
- Are you starting to believe in this Yankees team or is it just a random good stretch?
Song of the Day
Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely by Backstreet Boys
It’s Backstreet is Back Week on Pinstripe Alley. After reading Adam Warren’s comments about being traded, I imagine this is the song that was playing when he packed his boxes of Yankees gear. Actually, I’m pretty confident this was the song. As always, please link us your song of the day.
Didi Victory Tweet
#StartSpreadingTheNews Yankees Win great start by #CC and the bullpen to close it overall great game!!
— Sir Didi Gregorius (@DidiG18) July 27, 2016