Around the Empire: Yankees news - 8/13/21

My Central Jersey | Lauren Knego: Corey Kluber began a rehab assignment last night as he works his way back from a shoulder ailment. Good news! The bad news is that the right-hander looked completely off as he started for Double-A Somerset, recording just four outs. Kluber surrendered five runs, thanks in part to four walks, two HBPs, and a wild pitch. It might be best to just chalk Kluber’s particularly ugly outing to rust after a long three-month layoff.

CBS Sports | Steven Taranto: The players involved seemed to enjoy the novelty of yesterday’s Field of Dreams game, and many showed off their enthusiasm with special shoes. Take a look at Aaron Judge’s kicks from last night:

Nestor Cortes showcased these special Air Force Ones, though I doubt he’ll play much baseball in them:

There were, of course, some very cool shots from the game itself. You can check out some of them here.

Yahoo Sports | Anthony Crupi: The Yankees’ rise in the standings has apparently driven a rise in YES Network TV ratings. While dealing with an unenviable matchup against the Tokyo Olympics, more and more people tuned into to see the Yankees, somewhat understandably. The team has played its best ball over the past month, and saw an active trade deadline inject life to a roster that needed it.