Around the Empire: Yankees news - 8/5/23

Wall Street Journal | Lindsey Adler: A must-read for anyone who has WSJ access. Adler, who left The Athletic as the Yankees’ beat writer for this gig, details the violent clubhouse outburst that precipitated Domingo Germán’s treatment for alcohol abuse. This is scary stuff and I really hope Germán gets whatever help he needs.

SB Nation | James Dator: How did it take so long to diagnose Anthony Rizzo, after the May 28th collision that, in real time, looked to have seriously shaken him up? This piece, from someone outside the usual Yankee sphere, is a nice critique that complements the excellent editorial Josh did on Friday.

FanGraphs | Jay Jaffe: This has been a brutal season for the Yankees. There’s no sugar coating that. And the past few days have made it readily apparent that, as Jaffe puts it, “leadership’s slump is as dire as those of their offense and rotation.” Go ahead and peruse this tour de force of how dire the State of the Yankees is. And just in case you’re not already stunned and furious at how the Rizzo saga has played out, consider this from Jaffe:

“For a team that was once well ahead of the curve when it came to concussions (recall their decision to end Jorge Posada’s career as a catcher after evaluating the effect of his multiple concussions in 2010), this is shocking.”

Sports Illustrated | Patrick McAvoy: The Oakland Athletics have parted ways with former Yankee Tyler Wade, designating him for assignment. McAvoy wonders if Wade could be headed back to the Bronx for a third stint with the Yankee organization. I’m personally unconvinced, however, that yet another light-hitting infielder is the missing piece that could put this offense over the top.

RotoWire: Triple-A pitcher Tanner Tully has left the Yankees organization. A 28-year-old minor league veteran who had a cup of coffee with Cleveland last year, Tully had a 5.64 ERA and 1.615 WHIP in 19 starts for Scranton in 2023 and was released to allow him to sign with the KBO’s NC Dinos.

SB Nation | Seth Rosenthal: For anyone who’d prefer some past sadness to distract themselves from the current iteration of the Yankees seemingly imploding, how about a deep dive into Game 4 of the 2003 World Series? Nearly 20 years ago, the Florida Marlins knocked the 101-win Yankees off in six games, breaking hearts a little over a week after Aaron Boone’s ALCS homer against Boston gave New York one of its greatest highlights of this century. It’s also the second-most recent time the club has reached the Fall Classic.

Now I’m even more sad. Anyway. It’s really good, though depressing. Enjoy the 15-minute video.

The last note is that the Yankees demoted lefty Nick Ramirez after Friday night’s game. He threw 2.1 innings and was expendable since he had options but he had survived on the roster from June 3rd onward. New York needed a free spot on the 26-man roster with Nestor Cortes due back to start today.