:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/56029347/usa_today_10016826.0.jpg)
Around the Empire
New York Post | Dan Martin: First base has not gone quite as planned for the New York Yankees this season. Chris Carter, Ji-Man Choi, Tyler Austin, Garrett Cooper, John Sterling, Tanya Bondurant, Jason Cohen, Kunj Shah, Greg Kirkland, Tyler Norton, Caitlin Rogers, and MEARNS are just some of the first baseman the Yankees have used this year. Good news though. Greg Bird is on the mend. On Tuesday, Bird got his stitches removed and hit off of a tee. The better news is that Bird says the discomfort is completely gone. Cashman is hoping he could be back by late August. By then, we’ll probably have gone through another seventeen first baseman.
Newsday | David Lennon: RISPFail. It is not run. RISPSuccess is much much better. Aaron Judge is not having that great of a second half. He is not the only one. Todd Frazier of Tom’s River is disgracing that photo with him and Jeets. Matt Holliday has been abysmal since coming off the DL. Seriously, what did he eat? The run production has not been coming from the middle of the lineup as it should, which could be a problem down the stretch. So, you know, do better.
MLB.com | David Adler: Dellin Betances made history yesterday. After sitting through a three-plus hour rain delay, Betances wasted no time striking out the side. It took him nine pitches to do so. Each pitch was a strikes. There were no balls. That is known as an immaculate inning. It was the 87th immaculate inning in MLB history. Six other pitchers have thrown one this year. When Dellin has full command of the strike zone, it is incredible to watch what he does to batters.
New York Post | Dan Martin and Fred Kerber: The Yankees will take on Cleveland for a four-game series starting tonight. Clint Frazier will make his debut at Progressive Field, but in the Yankees’ road grays instead of his former team’s home uniform. This will be Frazier’s first time back in Cleveland since the trade that brought him over to the Yankees. The trade chip used to get him, former Yankee legend Andrew Miller, was just put on the 10-day DL.
SI.com | Ben Reiter: Finally, a very touching story regarding the complicated life and death of former Yankee pitcher Hideki Irabu. Nothing I can write here will do it justice. Please give this a read.