Pinstripe Alley: All Posts by Jon RimmerBig boi dinger enthusiastshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/51961/pinstripe_alley_minimal.png2022-04-28T17:20:54-04:00https://www.pinstripealley.com/authors/jon-rimmer/rss2022-04-28T17:20:54-04:002022-04-28T17:20:54-04:00Yankees 10, Orioles 5: Yanks hit well, get help from O’s defense in sweep
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<p>The Yankees’ bats stayed hot, and Baltimore’s defense was awful — a perfect recipe for the Yankees’ sixth straight win.</p> <p id="FeXTjl">The <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a> beat the Orioles today in the Bronx, 10-5. It was their sixth consecutive win, completing the three-game series sweep of Baltimore and a perfect 6-0 homestand. The Yankees hit well, pitched well, and received a ton of help from the Orioles’ fielders, resulting in a relatively stress-free afternoon.</p>
<p id="6AQRBk">The Orioles did get on the scoreboard first in the top of the second inning, as the Yankees were initially quiet against Bruce Zimmermann. Ryan McKenna hit a one-out double down the left-field line to get into scoring position for Baltimore, but after getting Anthony Bemboom to strikeout, it appeared that Yankees’ starter Jameson Taillon might escape the inning unharmed. However, a seeing-eye bouncer through the hole on the right side by light-hitting Kelvin Gutiérrez got McKenna home to give the O’s a 1-0 lead (although Gutiérrez was thrown out trying to advance to second base to end the inning).</p>
<p id="lwZOze">Again without the benefit of any fireworks, the Orioles scored again in the third. Mullins led off the frame by taking a Taillon pitch off the foot, and then was able to advance to second and third on two wild pitches. A softly hit tapper back to the mound from Trey Mancini was enough to score Mullins, and the O’s had themselves a 2-0 lead after two and a half innings.</p>
<p id="KPhwdX">Taillon left the game with two outs in the fifth inning after allowing a single off the bat of Austin Hays (which also went off the glove of Aaron Judge in right field). Despite exiting with a two-run deficit and a runner on first, Taillon didn’t pitch poorly — some wildness got to him in the third, but he also faced 22 batters on the day and Jorge Mateo’s fourth-inning single up the middle was the only ball struck over 100 mph off an Oriole’s bat. When reliever Miguel Castro was able to strand Hays after confronting a bases-loaded jam himself, Taillon’s final line was a respectable two earned runs in 4.2 innings.</p>
<p id="pL48IV">The hot bats that the Yankees took into the game finally appeared in the fifth inning which, when combined with some less than stellar Baltimore defense, got the Yankees the lead. Errors from the the third baseman Gutiérrez and shortstop Mateo combined with hits from Marwin Gonzalez, Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo, and Giancarlo Stanton to plate four runs for the Yankees, giving them a two-run lead after five complete.</p>
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<p id="aqOn4I">The Yankees tacked on a run in the sixth on a Gonzalez sacrifice fly, and then another in the seventh on a Josh Donaldson RBI single to extend the lead to 6-2. Then in the bottom of the eighth, the Bombers piled on with four more runs, including a three-run shot from Aaron Judge to put the game out of reach.</p>
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<p id="4CI4dC">Meanwhile, the Yankees’ bullpen parade of Wandy Peralta, Jonathan Loáisiga, and Chad Green held Orioles scoreless until the ninth. Each member of that trio of relievers has hit some bumps here and there in the first month of 2022, so it was nice to see them get back on track.</p>
<p id="tAhLkO">Baltimore was able to get to rookie Rob Marinaccio for three runs in the ninth to make the score more respectable, but 10-5 is where it would end. Lucas Luetge relieved Marinaccio and got the final out when Gutiérrez flew out to Judge, clinching the sweep.</p>
<p id="BXm71M">The win is the sixth in a row for the Yankees, their eighth win in their last nine overall, and keeps them in first place in the AL East. Although much of the postgame discussion will surely be about the Orioles' horrid defense that allowed six unearned runs, don’t let that distract anyone from the fact that the Yankees played well today. The batters had 10 hits and drew four walks, while the pitching staff allowed only two runs over eight on predominantly weak contact from O’s hitters, until Marinaccio’s rough ninth. This was a good win on any day, but especially a getaway matinee (which has troubled recent Yankee teams in the past).</p>
<p id="trWHAl">The Yankees will be flying west to the “Show-Me State” to take on the Royals for a three-game weekend series starting tomorrow night in Kansas City. Nestor Cortes will be toeing the slab for the Yankees in their road grays, and the first pitch is scheduled for 8:10 PM EDT. </p>
<p id="3scZY5"><a href="https://www.mlb.com/gameday/orioles-vs-yankees/2022/04/28/661305/final/box">Box Score</a></p>
https://www.pinstripealley.com/2022/4/28/23047013/yankees-mlb-game-score-recap-orioles-sweep-winning-streak-aaron-judge-rizzo-jameson-taillonJon Rimmer2022-04-28T12:45:00-04:002022-04-28T12:45:00-04:00NYY vs. BAL: Jameson Taillon vs. Bruce Zimmermann
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<figcaption>Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>With brooms in hand, the suddenly red-hot Yankees look for a series sweep and sixth consecutive win in a Bronx matinee.</p> <p id="XsojKl">This afternoon in the Bronx, the streaking <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a> are aiming for a three-game series sweep against the <a href="https://www.camdenchat.com/">Baltimore Orioles</a>, and their sixth win in a row. Jameson Taillon gets the ball for the Yanks and will look to keep his team in first place in the AL East in what appears to be a pretty interesting pitching matchup.</p>
<p id="yOJKbO">Taillon will be making his fourth start of 2022, and although he’s been giving up hard contact, the results have been good thus far. His four-seam fastball ranks in the 90th-percentile in MLB in spin rate but has found the middle of the zone a little too often, leading to well below league-average rankings in exit velocity, expected batting average, and xSLG. He’s helped himself by remaining stingy about issuing free passes (94th percentile in walk rate) and he’s been good at limiting damage, as he’s only allowed five earned runs over 14.2 innings in his three starts.</p>
<p id="HMofCu">Taillon will be facing an Orioles lineup that has really struggled to get runners across the plate so far in 2022. Baltimore’s three runs per game is tied for the worst in MLB and they’ve hit with no power, as their abysmal .301 SLG is also dead last in baseball, while their nine-team home runs are the second-fewest. Although to be fair, their xBA, xSLG, and xwOBA are all closer to the middle of the pack league-wide, so Taillon still needs to avoid throwing the middle/middle four-seamers.</p>
<p id="k8bISe">The O’s will be sending 27-year-old lefty Bruce Zimmermann to the mound to counter Taillon this afternoon. Zimmermann’s 2022 so far has been similar to Taillon’s in the respect that he’s allowed plenty of hard contact, and yet the results have been good for him. Over his first three starts, he’s thrown 15 innings with a 2.81 FIP while allowing only two earned runs, and you may remember that he threw five shutout innings against the Yankees back on April 17th.</p>
<p id="L3LVqY">Zimmermann throws three pitches – a four-seam fastball, curve, and change – that make up almost 90 percent of his repertoire, and all of them have shown a tendency to stay up in the zone. Also of note, there’s less than a 10-mph difference between Zimmermann’s hardest offering and his slowest, so we shouldn’t expect Yankees hitters to have too much trouble adjusting to changes in speed.</p>
<p id="dVDVRC">Said Yankees offense has been hot lately, finding the power which had been absent early on, scoring 32 runs over the last 4 games. It wasn’t that long ago that they were with Baltimore near the bottom of the league in R/G, but their current 4.17 average now ranks in the top half of MLB. Of note in today’s lineup, Tim Locastro will make his second start of 2022 and his first in center field, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa gets the day off as Marwin Gonzalez gets the nod at shortstop.</p>
<p id="BDqdMZ"><strong>How to watch:</strong></p>
<p id="yVAECt"><strong>Location:</strong> Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY</p>
<p id="RJ5noV"><strong>First pitch:</strong> 1:05 p.m. EST</p>
<p id="a1jkkb"><strong>TV Broadcast:</strong> YES Network, MASN</p>
<p id="IJAUNN"><strong>Radio Broadcast:</strong> WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280</p>
<p id="COiw7O"><strong>Online Stream:</strong> <a href="https://www.mlb.com/tv?affiliateId=MLBTVREDIRECT">MLB.tv</a></p>
<p id="wzwrFf">For updates, follow us on <a href="https://twitter.com/pinstripealley"><strong>Twitter</strong></a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/pinstripealley/"><strong>Instagram</strong></a>, and like us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pinstripealley"><strong>Facebook</strong></a>.</p>
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https://www.pinstripealley.com/2022/4/28/23046236/yankees-orioles-mlb-how-to-watch-streaming-lineups-jameson-taillon-bruce-zimmermannJon Rimmer2022-04-27T12:00:00-04:002022-04-27T12:00:00-04:00Remembering the firing of Yogi Berra after 16 games
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<p>George Steinbrenner had already established himself as a temperamental owner with unusual hiring and firing practices, but the firing of Yogi Berra on April 28th was next level.</p> <p id="PANQfv">Although they won 91 games, the 1983 <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a> couldn’t do better than third place in the AL East, which led George Steinbrenner to unceremoniously part ways with manager Billy Martin (again) at season’s end. Yankee legend Yogi Berra, who had managed the 1964 Yankees and the 1973 <a href="https://www.amazinavenue.com/">Mets</a> to <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/world-series">World Series</a> appearances, took over the 1984 squad but got off to a disappointing 17-23 start. That may not seem like the end of the world, but the problem was that the Yanks were already 18 games out of first place, as the <a href="https://www.blessyouboys.com/">Detroit Tigers</a> won 35 of their first 40 games. In the Pre-Wild card era, such a start effectively ended the season for every other AL East team, so despite the Yankees outplaying the eventual champions from that point on, the season was considered a disappointment.</p>
<p id="KsCDJA">Yet the team entered 1985 with a good roster and high hopes. Mike Pagliarulo, who’d played well in a part-time role in ’84, would take over third base for Toby Harrah, catcher Ron Hassey and left fielder Billy Sample with their strong platoon splits were added to strengthen those positions, and hard-throwing Brian Fisher was acquired, giving the team a formidable one-two punch with Dave Righetti out of the bullpen. Of course, small improvements matter, but they were overshadowed by the off-season trade acquisition of Rickey Henderson, who at age-26 was already a four-time All-Star who’d averaged 7.0 bWAR per season over the previous five years.</p>
<p id="IR2RQK">With their new star on the IL due to a sprained ankle, the 1985 season began with three consecutive losses in Fenway Park, which is to say the absolute worst possible start for a Steinbrenner-owned team. They rebounded to win six of their next 10, but then lost three in a row to the <a href="https://www.southsidesox.com/">White Sox</a> to drop to 6-10 on the very young season. Then, on Sunday, April 28<sup>th</sup>, after only 16 games, Steinbrenner announced by press release via General Manager Clyde King that Yogi Berra had been relieved of his managerial duties, to be replaced by Billy Martin, effective immediately.</p>
<p id="fqfLrx">Of course, Steinbrenner by that point had already set a pretty high bar for making temperamental and odd decisions. This would be his 12<sup>th</sup> managerial change in 15 years, and it would be the fourth go-around for Martin in pinstripes. George once had fired then-manager Bob Lemon in 1982 after only 14 games despite stating publicly Lemon would be the manager for the whole season – as he did with Berra prior to the ’85 season. Yet even with Steinbrenner’s track record, this move was particularly eyebrow-raising.</p>
<p id="2KgZNF">King noted that Steinbrenner had already made the decision to fire Berra before that Sunday’s game, but wanted to give Yogi the opportunity “to go out a winner.” (Imagine thinking the opportunity that Yogi Berra needed was to show he was a “winner”.) What King’s statement failed to mention is that Martin was already in Texas – the Yankees' next stop on the road trip – as he was the team’s advance scout for the upcoming series with the Rangers. If you’re curious, yes, Martin was also the Yankees’ advance scout for the Chicago series in which the Yankees had just been swept. Steinbrenner was concerned about many things in his time, but the appearance of conflicts of interest and behind-the-scenes scheming certainly weren’t among them.</p>
<p id="IUOWS4">Upon hearing the news of the change in leadership, players in the Yankees’ clubhouse – most of whom played for both Martin in ’83 and Berra in ’84 - didn’t seem to be pleased with the move. Star players Willie Randolph, Dave Winfield, and Don Mattingly declined to comment but the media noted that Mattingly had tears in his eyes. Ken Griffey Sr. and Don Baylor – who both publicly criticized the notion of Martin’s rumored to return in 1984 – declined to comment as well, but Baylor did kick over a trash can in front of the media when he was shown the press release. </p>
<p id="Eq9ZBf">Others, like John Montefusco, didn’t mind vocalizing their frustrations. “Nothing surprises me here anymore,” said the pitcher, who also played under both Martin and Berra. He continued by adding “This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to take. I know everybody still would rather have Yogi here. It’s not Yogi’s fault.”</p>
<p id="4ETHus">Rickey, having played for Martin in Oakland, asked “He’s been here four or five times, why don’t they just leave him here?” Rickey continued by saying, ‘’I played under him for three years and I thought that was enough, too. He’s all right in my book.’’ (Those of us who remembered the Rickey era can confirm that his on-field ability was matched only by his proclivity for making us all ask “Wait…what did he just say?”)</p>
<p id="jFu1sx">Likely in anticipation of public pushback for not only the questionable change, but for the disrespect and mistreatment of Yankee royalty, King attempted to soften the blow by telling everybody that George would “rather fire 25 players than to fire Yogi, but we all know that that would be impossible.” To my knowledge, nobody followed up by asking if Rickey would have been one of the 25 players to get fired, as the team was 5-5 in his absence, then went 1-5 when he returned.</p>
<p id="NshpQ8">Martin, never one to ignore a microphone, offered his take on the change by asking, “If all the guys liked him so much, why didn’t they win for him? If you’re a true Yankee, why are you in last place?” Similar to George wanting Yogi to be a “winner”, questioning whether or not Berra was a “true Yankee” brought matters to a surreal level.</p>
<p id="ktxmiK">You likely remember how the story ends. The absolutely loaded roster went on to win 97 games, which fell just short of a division win. Martin would continue his regular departures from what would be considered normative behavior, including a mid-season drunken brawl with Ed Whitson, and would be fired again at season’s end. (Although he would return in 1988, for a fifth and ultimately final go-around as the Yankees’ manager.)</p>
<p id="cQFkp6">Yogi wouldn’t manage again and would begin a long separation from everything to do with the Yankees and Yankee Stadium as long as “that guy” was in charge. Given the history of both the Yankees and Berra, in an era with old-timers’ games, former players as spring training coaches, and regular returns of former players for nostalgia purposes, this wasn’t an insignificant divorce. Yet 14 years later (in no small part due to a rather large donation from “that guy” to the Yogi Berra Museum), Yogi returned to Yankee Stadium on July 19<sup>th</sup>, 1999 for “Yogi Berra Day.” Yogi would catch the ceremonial first pitch from Don Larsen, the battery of the only perfect game in World Series history. Both would stay and witness David Cone’s perfect game.</p>
<p id="l2quW3">37 years later, all of this is just trivia and nostalgia, but since we’re currently at a similar point in the season as the 1985 group was, let it serve as an important reminder: Games count in April just as much as games in September, and divisions can be won and lost early in the season as well as late. That doesn’t mean the big picture should be ignored when making decisions that could have lasting effects on the players, the coaching staff, and the fans.</p>
https://www.pinstripealley.com/2022/4/27/23042945/yankees-yogi-berra-george-steinbrenner-billy-martin-don-mattingly-rickey-henderson-don-baylorJon Rimmer2022-04-26T12:00:00-04:002022-04-26T12:00:00-04:00Amazon and the Yankees are overlooking an important demographic
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<p>There’s always been talk about integrating the younger and perhaps more casual fans to the game, but let’s not ignore the most loyal ones.</p> <p id="taRMOJ">When the <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a> hosted the Guardians at Yankee Stadium this past Friday, it marked the first time that Amazon’s Prime Video served as the exclusive host for a game broadcast. In case you’re still not one hundred percent clear about the Yankees' new setup with Prime Video (if you aren’t, don’t be embarrassed as you’ve got a lot of company), the Yankees have essentially replaced 21 games that in the past would have been broadcast on a local channel like WPIX and made them available exclusively through Amazon’s online streaming service instead.</p>
<p id="levgaY">I’ve been fortunate enough to have received some great advice in my day that has helped me through many situations, big and small. Perhaps the best advice I’ve ever received is “Things are going to change with or without your consent.” It was given to me in a business context by a former business coach, but I’ve learned that it can be applied to almost every aspect of life. Perhaps with that in mind, I simply shrugged when I initially learned about the Yankees agreement with Prime Video — things of this nature will always change; there’s no need to fixate on it and add more clutter to one’s mind. Yet now that we’ve experienced the new normal, maybe we can look at it with a little more clarity and perhaps skepticism, regardless of the information or “heads-ups” we were initially given.</p>
<p id="rFU1uT">I obviously have no inside information regarding Amazon and the Yankees’ strategic long game, but I think it’s a safe assumption that a move to streaming is at least in part to stay in touch with a younger audience. It certainly seems likely that younger people may be more inclined than folks further up the age spectrum to watch a game on a portable device or through a streaming service rather than cable. Of course, what that doesn’t address is that if the issue is the game itself, where it’s shown won’t really matter, nor will it help to add yet another place where games can be seen, making a game that one may be interested in harder to find.</p>
<p id="iyiKTY">The switch also appears to make it less likely to reel in new or casual fans. Many of us have scrolled through the channel guide while sitting on our couch looking for <em>something</em> to watch, or watched a sporting event in a bar or restaurant that caught our eye (even if that wasn’t the primary reason we were there). In 2014, I was watching Derek Jeter’s final game at Yankee Stadium on big screens in a bar and grill in Louisville, and when Jeter lined his walk-off hit, the bar erupted like none other I’ve ever been in.</p>
<p id="SAYCQP">I think it’s a safe assumption that most people in Kentucky on a Thursday night didn’t go out to eat and drink with much intention of following the Yankee captain’s farewell, but over the last hour or so of that game, pretty much every patron in a packed bar had the Yankees and Derek Jeter on the mind and went home with a good baseball memory (or an all-time great one, in my case). Some bars carry might air streaming services, but it’s not very common, and more often than not, those TVs are going to simply air sports on cable rather than going out of their way to show games on Prime.*</p>
<p id="NppoNu"><em>*The same idea idea applies to any game broadcasts that are restricted to Apple TV+ or NBC’s Peacock.</em></p>
<p id="cdYq4L">Although the above demographics of young people and casual fans are often brought up in this discussion, to me there’s a group that’s vastly overlooked — that would be the oldest members of Yankees Universe. We all have different perspectives on who and what is “old,” and I certainly don’t want to offend anyone, but I’m generally referring to senior citizens and folks who likely refer to themselves as “old” without reservation. Fans whose loyalty goes back to watching games called by Mel Allen and played by Mickey Mantle, and who still make a point to be in front of the TV every night to watch Aaron Judge play and listen to David Cone provide commentary. For many of them, it would take a pretty important life event for them to miss a game, and it’s been that way since before there was color television, let alone cable TV, or online streaming services.</p>
<p id="MMG4En">To a large percentage of these fans, this switch to 21 games exclusive to Prime Video streaming is not an issue of money*, it’s an issue of hassle, and not an insignificant one. Differentiating between regular TV, cable TV, online streaming services and why some channels are available on all the above, while other channels are only available on one, is a foreign language to many in this demographic and that’s before getting into which devices (“smart” TVs vs. older models, newer Apple TV units vs. early models, Amazon Fire, etc.) are capable of streaming live events. In fact, many in this group, may not own these devices at all.</p>
<p id="5FH2OV"><em>*Although replacing WPIX, which is included in most cable TV packages, with a separate services that cost an additional charge shouldn’t be minimized.</em></p>
<p id="gXGn7W">It’s a scenario that simply creates a ton of frustration, likely leading to the point of hands being thrown in the air with a decision to simply watch something else. It’s a less-than-honorable manner in which to treat your longest-tenured and most loyal customers, and that’s me expressing my thoughts as politely as possible. While I’m on my high horse, I’ll also note that even if you’re not in this demographic yet, there will come a time in which advancements come at a pace that exceeds your inclination or patience to keep up with them, and you’ll find it frustrating too. Furthermore, I’m not going to pretend to be as good at business management as Amazon or the Yankees, but the coach with great advice I alluded to earlier also commonly taught that alienating your loyal, long-time customers in an effort to add new ones is always bad business.</p>
<p id="gbKKpR">Again, since the games in question were previously included in the price of one’s local cable subscription and are now an extra charge for Prime Video, the situation is simply just another cash grab by the Yankees, already the most valuable franchise in sports. Most importantly, it’s a cash grab that doesn’t improve the customer’s experience. In fact, one could argue that given the streaming issues that many customers reported – audio going in and out and not synching with the video in my case – it worsens the experience. To circle back to the great advice I received, although it’s very true that things will change without our consent, that doesn’t mean we always have to be happy about it.</p>
https://www.pinstripealley.com/2022/4/26/23041205/yankees-amazon-prime-video-friday-night-baseball-televison-cable-subscription-mel-allenJon Rimmer2022-04-21T16:17:28-04:002022-04-21T16:17:28-04:00Yankees 0, Tigers 3: Pitching stellar, offense terrible; rinse, recycle, repeat
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<p>In an all-too-common theme, Yankees batters wasted another good outing from Jordan Montgomery.</p> <p id="Jn77Ql">It’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep saying “it’s early” about the <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a>’ lineup because 2022 thus far only seems like an unpleasant extension of last season. In an all-too-familiar scenario, New York got a solid pitching performance, and couldn’t do anything with the bats, dropping a very winnable game to the <a href="https://www.blessyouboys.com/">Tigers</a> this afternoon in Detroit. The end was mired in controversy around manager Aaron Boone’s decision to intentionally walk Miguel Cabrera in his last at-bat despite the future Hall of Famer sitting a hit away from 3,000, but for Yankees fans’ focus, the story should remain the sorry excuse for an offense.</p>
<p id="tKmdO9">Both teams were quiet early at the dish, but Detroit opened the scoring in the bottom of the third when Tigers shortstop Willi Castro led off the inning with a bloop single to center field. Victor Reyes bounced to third and reached on a fielder’s choice that erased Castro, but came around to score on a Robbie Grossman double to deep left field, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Joey Gallo, in a case of perhaps bringing his batting woes into the field, didn’t play the ball particularly well in left field; otherwise, Jordan Montgomery’s shutout bid may have stayed intact.</p>
<p id="F8MQnj">Yet through five innings the story of the game was the performance of Detroit starter Michael Pineda. Pineda, coming off an injury-plagued 2021, didn’t join the Tigers until the end of March and threw only 6.1 innings in spring training. Making his first start of the year, he held the Yankees scoreless needing only 60 pitches to get through five innings, allowing only three singles along the way.</p>
<p id="64vcqq">In fact, the only threat Pineda faced from the Yankees came in the bottom of the fifth, when DJ LeMahieu extended his hitting streak to eight games with a ground ball single up the middle. After a pop-out from Gallo, Isiah Kiner-Falefa made plenty of old-school Yankee fans happy by perfectly executing a hit-and-run, singling through the right side with DJ on the move. Yet it was right back to business for Pineda, as he induced easy fly balls from Marwin Gonzalez and Jose Trevino to end the Yankees’ cautious optimism.</p>
<p id="cI8sqo">Thanks in large part to six solid innings from Montgomery, and then a good seventh from reliever Miguel Castro, the Yankees still only trailed 1-0 entering the eighth. Josh Donaldson, pinch-hitting for Gonzalez, led off the frame by doubling hard down the left-field line for the Yankees' first extra-base hit, and only the team’s second hit of the day struck at over 100 mph off the bat. Gleyber Torres followed with a pinch-hit of his own into the shortstop hole, giving the Yankees first and third with nobody out. After an Aaron Hicks pop out, Detroit reliever Alex Lange issued a walk to Aaron Judge, loading the bases and bringing Anthony Rizzo to the plate with one out ... and Tigers manager A.J. Hinch to the mound to bring lefty Gregory Soto in to face Rizzo.</p>
<p id="FheW6n">After a Rizzo tapper back to the mound for a fielder’s choice force out at home, Giancarlo Stanton came to bat and ended all suspense quickly by grounding Soto’s first pitch to first base to end the inning. I won’t speak for anyone else, but the thought crossed my mind that perhaps Pineda pitching well earlier isn’t what made the Yankees look bad — it was the Yankees making the Yankees look bad. The numbers behind Big Mike’s actual pitches certainly seem to back that up:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Pineda's really out here torching the Yankees lineup with his low-velo, low-spin fastball huh <a href="https://t.co/ppTKoft2Rj">pic.twitter.com/ppTKoft2Rj</a></p>— Pinstripe Alley (@pinstripealley) <a href="https://twitter.com/pinstripealley/status/1517202702094192643?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2022</a>
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<p id="ydcS11">Regardless of the offensive ineptitude, it appeared that the Yankees would still have a shot heading into the ninth. With the Tigers batting in the bottom of the eighth with the bases loaded and nobody out after shakiness from Castro, Lucas Luetge induced a 1-2-3 double play from Jeimer Candelario. Then in a move that made him very unpopular in Detroit, Boone chose to intentionally walk Cabrera, who was still looking for hit No. 3,000 after a hitless afternoon. After the free pass and a thunderous round of boos from the Tigers fans, a bloop double from Austin Meadows scored two to give Detroit a 3-0 lead. Given the way the Yankees have been swinging the bat, it may as well have been a touchdown lead instead of a field goal.</p>
<p id="L0kSKB">Despite the moral victory of a Gallo single (only his fifth hit of 2022), the Yankees went down quietly in the ninth, sealing the 3-0 loss. It’s hard to say that taking two out of three on the road is a disappointment, but this series really was. Detroit is not a good team and played like it, giving the Yankees every opportunity for a three-game sweep, and as has been all too common, the Bombers’ bats just couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity. </p>
<p id="dPiKaP">The Yankees will once again try to get back on track tomorrow back in the Bronx when they take on the Cleveland Guardians. Jameson Taillon will be on the hill for the home team and will make the first pitch at 7:05 pm EDT.</p>
<p id="6Wofzs"><a href="https://www.mlb.com/gameday/yankees-vs-tigers/2022/04/21/662850/final/box">Box Score</a></p>
https://www.pinstripealley.com/2022/4/21/23036070/yankees-mlb-game-score-recap-miguel-cabrera-walk-3000th-hit-aaron-boone-tigers-offense-montgomeryJon Rimmer2022-04-21T12:45:00-04:002022-04-21T12:45:00-04:00NYY @ DET: Jordan Montgomery vs. Michael Pineda
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<img alt="New York Yankees v Baltimore Orioles" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/M9Rs4-mlY91Qx07TLDqAPXMmOVg=/0x189:2000x1522/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70776645/1391687031.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The Yankees go for the sweep this afternoon in a Motor City matinee.</p> <p id="GxWjNa">After two unaesthetically pleasing wins that reminded us all that the win column thankfully doesn’t distinguish quality from pure quantity, the <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a> look for their third victory in a row and a series sweep this afternoon in the Motor City when they take on the <a href="https://www.blessyouboys.com/">Detroit Tigers</a>. As far as games in April against non-division opponents go, today’s game carries some weight and there are a few things to keep our eyes on: As John Griffin <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2022/4/20/23031777/yankees-mlb-day-games-struggles-aaron-judge-giancarlo-stanton-gerrit-cole-jordan-montgomery-splits">noted</a> yesterday, there are some legitimate questions about the Yankees' performance in day games, and as I <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2022/4/19/23030371/yankees-postseason-al-east-april-schedule-advantage-red-sox-blue-jays-rays-wild-card">discussed</a> Tuesday, this is an important stretch of the schedule the Yankees are in right now. Today’s game has a more important feel to it than we might normally expect this early in the season.</p>
<p id="5XlkXF">To that end, the Yankees will send Jordan Montgomery to the mound for the matinee. The southpaw has become a remarkably consistent and effective pitcher for the team, posting a 112 ERA+, 3.66 FIP, and 16.3 K-BB percentage over 32 starts since the start of last season. With the ability to consistently get opposing hitters to leave the zone, he’s become a key pitcher on a staff that continues to impress. Monty will be making his third start of 2022 today, having looked a little sluggish against Boston on April 10<sup>th</sup> (in his defense, he did take a rocket comebacker off the knee) before bouncing back with five shutout innings in Baltimore last Friday.</p>
<p id="71Rq0G">Montgomery should enter today’s action with some confidence, as the Tigers have <em>really</em> struggled with the bats so far in 2022. They’ve plated only 33 runs in their 11 games, the fourth-worst R/G average in baseball, and have posted a .207/.302/.308 triple-slash line that makes one wonder “How did they score 11?” Montgomery will also try to avoid being on the wrong end of a historical moment, as Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera enters today’s action needing only one hit to reach the very exclusive 3,000 Hit Club.</p>
<p id="8cKaCB">The Tigers will counter Montgomery with old friend Michael Pineda. The former Yankee has always been consistent in the sense that he throws a lot of four-seam fastballs, he issues very few free passes, and he’s injured frequently. The Tigers signed Pineda as a free agent in March and he threw only 6.1 innings in the spring, so there certainly are questions to be answered by the 33-year-old despite his track record of consistency as he makes his first start of 2022.</p>
<p id="XJouIk">Joey Gallo is back in the lineup today to try to get in a groove against Pineda, and Marwin Gonzalez and Jose Trevino will see action as Josh Donaldson and Kyle Higashioka get the day off.</p>
<p id="JETdKC"><strong>How to watch:</strong></p>
<p id="d5WUzA"><strong>Location:</strong> Comerica Park — Detroit, MI</p>
<p id="tX7Hub"><strong>First pitch:</strong> 1:10 pm EDT</p>
<p id="j7HbuD"><strong>TV broadcast:</strong> YES Network, Bally Sports Detroit, MLB Network</p>
<p id="IKVlma"><strong>Radio Broadcast:</strong> 660 AM/101.9 FM WFAN, 1280 AMWADO, WXYT FM (DET)</p>
<p id="Hrug1d"><strong>Online stream: </strong><a href="https://www.mlb.com/tv?affiliateId=MLBTVREDIRECT">MLB.tv</a></p>
<p id="vtbq0W">For updates, follow us on <a href="https://twitter.com/pinstripealley"><strong>Twitter</strong></a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/pinstripealley/"><strong>Instagram</strong></a>, and like us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pinstripealley"><strong>Facebook</strong></a>. </p>
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https://www.pinstripealley.com/2022/4/21/23035340/yankees-tigers-mlb-how-to-watch-streaming-lineups-preview-jordan-montgomery-michael-pinedaJon Rimmer2022-04-20T15:00:00-04:002022-04-20T15:00:00-04:00Three Yankees World Series winners whose offenses also struggled early
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<img alt="1978 Red Sox-Yankees One-Game Playoff" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qFMS-pxdmm3l8Gxuv1CUFizG8BE=/98x0:2108x1340/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70772749/1235695742.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Frank O’Brien/The Boston Globe via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The 2022 Yankees have been struggling to score runs, but there’s hope. These three Yankee teams also struggled with the bats early, but rebounded to win it all.</p> <p id="PO55Ay">It’s no secret that the 2022 <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a> offense hasn’t gotten off to the start that everyone was hoping for after a less-than-stellar 2021 season. Heading into tonight’s action, the Yankees have averaged only 3.09 runs per game, a scarcity of runs only exceeded by the lowly <a href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks </a>Orioles and Tigers so far this season. From the glass-half-full perspective, the pitching staff has been generally great, which has kept the team competitive. Yet even the most optimistic among us have to admit that any hopes for reaching the postseason and making an extended run are pipe dreams if the position players don’t start crossing the plate with far greater frequency.</p>
<p id="bjxY9O">Yet there are two key reasons for hope. First, it’s very early in the season, so there’s plenty of time to turn things around. Secondly, the Yankees’ franchise has set precedents where some teams have really struggled to score runs coming out of the gate, yet ended up raising the Commissioner’s Trophy at season’s end anyway. With the enormous caveat that this should not be taken as a prophecy and rather simply an interesting topic of discussion, let’s look at some Yankees teams that started the season with major offensive struggles over their first 11 games, but turned things around and ended up winning it all.</p>
<h3 id="0s4KFT"><strong>1978</strong></h3>
<p id="WpBcjO">Coming off their first <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/world-series">World Series</a> win in 15 years the previous season, the Yankees were expecting another return to the Fall Classic in 1978, and it was assumed their powerful and deep lineup would lead them to the promised land again. Yet the start to the season certainly didn’t look like one that would end with a second consecutive World Series win, as the bats averaged only 3.36 R/G over their first eleven. They scored three runs or fewer in 7 of the 11 games, which resulted in a disappointing but tenable 5-6 record thanks in large part to solid pitching.</p>
<p id="wvkVwm">They continued to struggle throughout most of April but led by very good seasons from Graig Nettles, Lou Piniella, and Reggie Jackson, the Bronx Zoo crew <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2022/1/11/22876988/yankees-history-1978-champions-comeback-reggie-jackson-rich-gossage-bucky-dent-ron-guidry">turned the season around</a> when the weather warmed. (As fans likely remember, they needed every bit of the offensive turnaround while completing one of the greatest in-season comebacks in baseball history.) After their stunning come-from-behind win in Game 163 backed by long balls from Jackson and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tl7xW4Oxo0">Bucky Dent</a>, the Yankees would finish third in the AL in OPS+ and fourth in R/G. That, of course, combined with a legendary season from Ron Guidry, led the Yanks to an ALCS win over the Royals and a World Series win over the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a>, for the franchise’s 22<sup>nd</sup> championship.</p>
<h3 id="JFukQk"><strong>1977</strong></h3>
<p id="FphokG">Luke their successors, the 1977 Yankees came into the season with sky-high expectations after having reached the Fall Classic for the first time in 12 years, then adding the aforementioned future Hall of Fame slugger Jackson to an already-formidable lineup. To say things didn’t exactly go according to plan would be a bit of an understatement, as the batters managed to score only 3 runs per game over the team’s first 11 outings — and that’s counting a seven-run explosion in Game 11 against the expansion <a href="https://www.bluebirdbanter.com/">Toronto Blue Jays</a>. Their 3-8 record was the worst in MLB at the time, and with their temperamental owner having recently returned from his first suspension from baseball, many feel that this was the official start of the Bronx Zoo days of the ‘70s.</p>
<p id="IOJyQA">Of course, there was just <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2022/1/10/22874870/yankees-history-1977-world-series-champions-reggie-jackson-billy-martin-ron-guidry-sparky-lyle">too much talent</a> on the team for such an underwhelming performance to last too long. Reggie went on to lead that potent lineup with a 150 OPS+, and the team would end up averaging 5.13 R/G on the season on their way to their first championship in 15 years.</p>
<h3 id="YvPQNF"><strong>1947</strong></h3>
<p id="OEMVcj">Yet no Yankees championship team came out of the gate more slowly than the Joe DiMaggio-led <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2021/12/27/22854462/yankees-history-1947-world-series-champions-bucky-harris-joe-dimaggio-yogi-berra-dodgers-robinson">1947 group</a>. Over the season’s first 11 games, the ballclub was held to three runs or less eight times and twice lost games by a score of 1-0, culminating in an anemic R/G average of 2.91. Fortunately, the Spud Chandler and Allie Reynolds-led staff were even stingier than their opponents’ staffs and led the team to a 7-4 record and a first-place standing in the AL despite the lack of offense. (Dominant pitching carrying a meek offense? That sounds like these Yankees all right.)</p>
<p id="Yk3uGe">Of course, DiMaggio, Tommy Henrich, Charlie Keller, and a 22-year-old utility player named Yogi Berra started swinging the bats better, and when they did, the rest of the AL had little chance against the combination of power offense and great pitching. They’d go on to guide the Yanks to a 97-57 record and a World Series win over their crosstown rivals from Brooklyn that October.</p>
<p id="JAFClH">Whether or not the 2022 iteration of the Bronx Bombers can turn things around remains to be seen. The questions of whether this is indeed a very good lineup, and if the cream will eventually rise to the top to score runs in bunches will be answered over the next five months. Perhaps this offense will just turn out to not be very good. (Somewhat tangentially, another question is “Was there something in the water in the Bronx in the ’70s that led to two consecutive awful starts from two great offenses?”)</p>
<p id="q4EOOQ">Regardless, if safe to say that if things stay on the current path, the 2022 season is likely to be as gratifying as last year’s underwhelming performance. </p>
https://www.pinstripealley.com/2022/4/20/23032179/yankees-history-world-series-offense-slumps-joe-dimaggio-reggie-jackson-yogi-berra-graig-nettlesJon Rimmer2022-04-19T10:30:00-04:002022-04-19T10:30:00-04:00Upcoming schedule presents a big opportunity for the Yankees
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<figcaption>Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The Yankees have a great opportunity to get out in front of the AL East pack over the next few weeks.</p> <p id="po3hYl">One of the aspects of baseball that fans enjoy is that the regular season is a six-month-long, 162-game war of attrition. Luck and randomness will usually balance themselves out, and similar to how water will find its own level, teams’ talent usually does the same over the long haul. That said — and with the very large caveat that there is no such thing as a must-win game or series in April — the <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a> are entering a relatively short stretch of the 2022 season that could turn out to be highly crucial.</p>
<p id="JblXxy">There are exceptions to every rule of course, but generally speaking, teams that are successful over a full season do reasonably well against other good teams and pad their season win totals by consistently outclassing the also-rans and poor teams in the league. In this sense, the Yankees got off to a good start by winning four of their first seven games against Boston and Toronto. That may not seem like much, but a .571 winning percentage against good teams and division rivals is a pace we’ll sign on for any day. As far as dominating poor teams ... well, let’s come back to that in a minute.</p>
<p id="30ik7l">Over the next two-plus weeks, the Yankees have the good fortune of watching their division rivals play a good chunk of games against each other and other competitive teams. This is wonderful timing and a huge opportunity for the Bombers, as their upcoming schedule is one that a contending team would take full advantage of by padding the win total.</p>
<p id="hzvQ8L">Let’s start by looking at the Yankees’ biggest rivals. Starting today, the Sox from Beantown play 10 of their next 12 games against Toronto and Tampa Bay to close out the month of April. Splitting those 10 games with the Jays and Rays would be fine, but even if the Sox do very well or very poorly, by definition they’d either be pushing another rival toward the basement of the AL East, or they’d be inching closer there themselves.</p>
<p id="8vGW9q">Toronto might actually have it harder than Boston over the next two weeks. Starting tonight, the Blue Jays’ next 13 games are against the <a href="https://www.overthemonster.com/">Red Sox</a> and the <a href="https://www.crawfishboxes.com/">Astros</a>. I’m not a Jays fan, but if I were, I’d be ecstatic if my team went 7-6 over that stretch, and I’d shed no tears over a 6-7 mark.</p>
<p id="xi5Sto">As for the Yankees’ AL East rivals from the Sunshine State, the Rays' next 12 games are against the <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a>, Mariners, and Twins, with a weekend set against Boston mixed in next weekend. None of those teams will be confused with the ’98 Yankees, but you wouldn’t expect the Rays to just walk over any of them either (Chicago got off to a good start last night with a 4-2 win over Tampa). As far as their upcoming weekend set with the Red Sox, that’s just another no-lose situation for the Yankees to watch.</p>
<p id="K3g7m8">Herein lies the opportunity for the Yankees: They have (what should be) a significantly less stressful slate over the next few weeks. The Bombers' last 11 games in April are against Detroit, Cleveland, Baltimore, and Kansas City, and then four of the first seven games in May are against the Royals and <a href="https://www.lonestarball.com/">Rangers</a>. Of that group, Detroit and Cleveland have only about a one-in-four chance* of participating in the newly expanded postseason later this year, and those are <em>far</em> better odds than the others have. They’ve all played to form so far in 2022, as that quintet of teams has won only 16 of their first 45 combined games (a .356 pace).</p>
<p id="oEvhTN"><em>(*According to Baseball Reference.)</em></p>
<p id="sMkza8">For a team that is expected to only win 70-something games, this upcoming stretch may not mean a heck of a lot. Even a very good team that is expected to easily win a less competitive division might get away with a middling two or three weeks against inferior teams. Yet quite obviously, neither of those scenarios describes the 2022 Yankees. The Yankees are expected to be a good team in a division that has three other good teams. By September, it is far more likely than not that there are going to be multiple teams bunched together in the standings near the top of the AL East, as well as for Wild Card positions.</p>
<p id="EJIIF5">That’s why when a good opportunity to get out in front of the competition presents itself, it’s crucial that a team that considers itself a contender take advantage of it. A ballclub that ultimately wins its division certainly would, which is why I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that we’re going to learn a lot about the 2022 Yankees as a team over the next few weeks.</p>
<p id="D69BRb">To return to the subject of the Yankees' start so far, one could argue the chance for “dominating poor teams” aspect of this already began this past weekend, with a <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2022/4/15/23027620/yankees-mlb-game-score-recap-orioles-offense-walk-off-walk-aroldis-chapman-jordan-montgomery">resounding</a> <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2022/4/17/23029356/yankees-orioles-mlb-game-score-recap-cortes-loaisiga-luetge-boone-judge-lemahieu-torres">thud</a>. That said, the next two-plus weeks present a good opportunity for the Yanks to give themselves some breathing room and let the other guys stress out a little. I’m not a betting man, but if I were, I’d bet in September that we’ll look back on this upcoming stretch and say it had a big impact on where the Yankees stand in the AL East.</p>
https://www.pinstripealley.com/2022/4/19/23030371/yankees-postseason-al-east-april-schedule-advantage-red-sox-blue-jays-rays-wild-cardJon Rimmer2022-04-15T10:30:00-04:002022-04-15T10:30:00-04:00Best NYY Games of Past 25 Years: Cole’s Masterpiece in Houston
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<figcaption>Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Questions followed Gerrit Cole to the mound, and he answered them resoundingly.</p> <p id="SHAOW0">On July 10<sup>th</sup> of last season, the <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a> entered action in fourth place in the AL East, nine games behind the <a href="https://www.overthemonster.com/">Boston Red Sox</a>. As if being behind three teams within the division wasn’t an unpleasant enough outlook, there were also three teams ahead of them in the chase for the second Wild Card spot. That may be a tenable position for some teams, but not for the team that entered the season as an almost unanimous pick to represent the AL in the <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/world-series">World Series</a>, as the Yankees had been.</p>
<p id="smI7yT">To make matters even gloomier, the Yanks would need to right the ship against the AL West-leading <a href="https://www.crawfishboxes.com">Astros</a>, who were on a 99-win pace, with the former Cy Young award winner Zack Greinke on the hill for them. To further the intrigue, the Yankees would be sending their ace Gerrit Cole to the mound, who as you likely know, spent some memorable seasons in Houston. (You might also remember that the Astros and the Yankees have carried a touch of bad blood between them over the past few years.) </p>
<p id="7sagPV">The stage was set for as much drama as a midseason tilt could have. Fortunately for Yankees fans, as is often the case, the stories that start with the most drama also have the most gratifying endings.</p>
<p id="VUuLXn"><strong>Date of Game: </strong><a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/HOU/HOU202107100.shtml">July 10, 2021</a></p>
<p id="gmkgVz"><strong>Final Score:</strong> Yankees 1, Astros 0</p>
<p id="Q2A827"><strong>Game MVP:</strong> Gerrit Cole</p>
<p id="9LfdEs">There is never a case in which sending Gerrit Cole to the mound for your team is a bad thing, but some considerably large question marks followed the Yankees’ ace to the mound that day. A few weeks prior, MLB began instituting its crackdown on the usage of “sticky stuff” by pitchers, and Cole was under a pretty big microscope. He certainly didn’t assuage anyone’s concerns when he got knocked around by the Red Sox on June 27<sup>th</sup> to the tune of eight hits and five earned runs over five innings. Then on July 4<sup>th</sup>, in a memorable team-wide meltdown, Cole helped blow a 4-1 lead to the <a href="https://www.amazinavenue.com/">Mets,</a> yielding six hits and four earned runs without making it out of the fourth inning.</p>
<p id="29Rpvr">In an almost Dickensian twist, Cole also suffered from an undisclosed illness that required him to be connected to an IV only 36 hours prior to the game. Cole would later say “You don’t want to know what I was going through. It was gross. Leave it at that.” Regardless of information we didn’t need or want to know, we did know that Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone was unsure if Cole would even make the start that Saturday evening.</p>
<p id="O16CVu">Cole not only started, but he started in a big way, retiring the first nine Astros in order, striking out four. He and the Yanks took a 1-0 lead into the fourth thanks to an Aaron Judge home run – a home run on which Judge chose to add to the drama by holding the buttons of his jersey together as he rounded third base, in a not so subtle dig at Houston’s Jose Altuve. Of course, we all know that as much shade as we collectively cast in Altuve’s direction, he has a rather annoying habit of not going away.</p>
<p id="502WYu">Altuve reminded us of this as he led off the Astros' fourth by working a full-count walk off of Cole, representing the first Astro to reach base. Michael Brantley followed with a walk of his own, putting runners at first and second base with no out. The trouble, it would turn out, lasted about as long as it took for Judge’s home run to clear the fence as Cole struck out Yuli Gurriel, then induced an inning-ending double play from Yordan Álvarez to quickly end the inning.</p>
<p id="w2aFSh">There would be no more tension with Cole on the mound over the next four innings, as he made a scary Astros lineup look anything but. From the fifth through the eighth inning, the Yanks “Top Gun” allowed only two singles – one a groundball, one a bloop into shallow center – while striking out five and walking none. The only problem was that other than Judge’s solo shot, the Yankees couldn’t score any more runs against Greinke and three Houston relievers. As a result, Cole would take the mound in the bottom of the ninth with no room for error, against the top of the Houston lineup.</p>
<p id="SHLfpC">Despite the domination, Cole had thrown 112 pitches to that point and as we know, wasn’t 100 percent healthy. With Aroldis Chapman warming up in the bullpen, Aaron Boone certainly had to have felt pangs of doubt as he watched Altuve lead off the bottom of the ninth with a single, putting the tying run on base with no out. Fortunately, Cole induced a fly out from Brantley and struck out Gurriel, but he had to throw 13 combined pitches to get them, bringing his pitch total to 126 on the day.</p>
<p id="WXABo1">With left-handed slugger Álvarez coming to the plate – he of the .303/.371/.544 slash line at the time – and Chapman waiting for the call, Boone went to the mound, leading everyone to believe that we’d soon be giving Cole an ovation from our living rooms while we moved to the edge of our seats to watch Chapman vs. Álvarez with the game on the line.</p>
<p id="47tR0r">Except that’s not how the story was going to end according to Cole, and he not so gently informed his manager of such when Boone reached the mound. “I said the f-word a lot and I kind of just blacked out,” Cole would later say, “I don’t really remember what I told him, to be honest.” With the backdrop of his team in desperate need of a spark, facing his former team, and now bitter rivals, Cole demanded he be the one to finish what had been a masterpiece to this point.</p>
<p id="audMBZ">For a pitcher with a varied arsenal and a thinking man’s approach to pitching, Cole immediately dispensed with the subtle tactics. He started Álvarez off with gas up and away at 98 mph that Álvarez couldn’t catch up to, fouling it off for strike one. The next one came in up and in at 99 mph, and Álvarez had even less of a chance, swinging through it for strike two. Needing one more strike to finish off the gem, Cole went up and away again at 99 mph. When Álvarez swung through it for strike three, Cole pumped his fist and sent Yankee Universe into a frenzy along with him.</p>
<p id="FPGgJ4">When it was over, Cole had thrown a career-high 129 pitches, struck out 12, and allowed only three hits and two walks against one of the best lineups in baseball. His game score of 91 has only been exceeded twice by a Yankees pitcher in the past 14 years (Masahiro Tanaka and Corey Kluber) and was so dominant he even impressed Houston manager Dusty Baker, who as we know has seen a few things in baseball.</p>
<p id="Fikzmn">“That was like Tom Seaver,” Baker said after the game. “At the end, he ditched the rest of his pitches and relied on his fastball, the high fastball.”</p>
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<p id="zw1TPg">Gerrit Cole has pitched some great games for the Yankees and he very likely will pitch many more in pinstripes before his career ends. Yet when we consider the soap opera that is the Yankees and Astros rivalry, and Cole’s circumstances leading up to this game, this will absolutely go down as one of the most memorable, for the right reasons.</p>
https://www.pinstripealley.com/2022/4/15/23025350/yankees-best-games-gerrit-cole-shutout-houston-astros-complete-game-aaron-boone-jose-altuveJon Rimmer2022-04-14T09:00:00-04:002022-04-14T09:00:00-04:00The Yankees are walking the tightrope in center field
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<img alt="Toronto Blue Jays v New York Yankees" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vbm70_LwduFhGW-WzO9zsGWJ7dM=/0x0:4319x2879/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70748046/1391128079.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Without a backup plan, Aaron Hicks’ performance in 2022 may go a long way toward determining the Yankees final place in the standings.</p> <p id="6yi4q5">For a team that won 92 games and earned a Wild Card berth last season, the <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a> somewhat paradoxically had numerous roster construction issues to closely examine this past offseason. Some were addressed (albeit not necessarily in the manner the fans were hoping for), but one of the areas where the team decided to stick with the status quo was with their starting centerfielder.</p>
<p id="KB3LCC">The hope and the plan, of course, is that Aaron Hicks returns to the form he displayed over the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Over that stretch, Hicks produced 8.2 bWAR with a 125 OPS+ in 942 PA. His bWAR was fifth-best among center fielders over the two-year span, and interestingly exceeded George Springer’s despite Hicks appearing in 55 fewer games than the former <a href="https://www.crawfishboxes.com">Astros</a> World Series MVP.</p>
<p id="GTEueo">Yet to address the elephant in the room, even the most ardent Hicks fans among us have to admit that 2018 was a long time ago and things have not gone well since. He missed over 100 games of the 2019 season with multiple injuries, and then after a healthy (but COVID-abbreviated) 2020 season, he missed 144 games in 2021 with a wrist injury that required surgery. To raise eyebrows even further, his play wasn’t as good as it had been previously even when he was on the field. Across 592 PA since the start of 2019, Hicks has produced 1.7 bWAR with a 103 OPS+, which isn’t awful but it is a long way from good. There’s even a <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/2021/5/7/22417752/yankees-aaron-hicks-switch-hitting-splits-plate-discipline-swing-mechanics">good case</a> that he should simply give up switch-hitting at this point.</p>
<p id="9hQfL4">In some instances and on other teams, this may not be an enormous concern, but it is with this ballclub. The 2022 Yankees don’t have the 2019-20 version of Brett Gardner — who produced 4.6 bWAR per 650 PA over those two seasons — to jump into action if Hicks doesn’t play well. As the roster currently stands, the only players who <em>can</em> play center field should Hicks struggle are Aaron Judge, Joey Gallo, and Marwin Gonzalez. The keyword there is “can,” as there’s a good reason that, as talented as they are, all three have played in less than 10 percent of their career games in center field.</p>
<p id="47qZUD">That’s if Hicks simply struggles — if a long-term solution is needed should he be injured again, the picture isn’t any brighter. The organization has center fielders who are highly regarded prospects, but all playing below Triple-A aren’t close to being ready for the show.</p>
<p id="gbyFqg">Meanwhile, Triple-A Scranton center fielder Estevan Florial has been with the organization since 2015, and perhaps tellingly, has never been given an extended look with the big squad, appearing in only 12 games over the 2020 and ’21 seasons with the Yankees. Given the injuries and struggles of Hicks, and the age of Gardner over that span, one can assume if the team thought Florial was the answer, he would have received an extended look by now. Outside of Florial, the only other option is Tim Locastro, who did not make the Opening Day roster and has a career 78 OPS+ in 209 games at the MLB level.</p>
<p id="lPO3ft">This understandably creates considerable tension in the shoulders, as Yankees fans all remember that the team tried an unproven shortstop with no backup plan last season and that didn’t end well. Given that they squeaked into the postseason with only one win to spare in 2021, it’s not an understatement to say the substandard play from that key position almost cost the team dearly (and certainly could’ve at least cost them home-field advantage in the doomed Wild Card Game). Looking forward to how we all expect the AL standings to end up in ‘22, one or two games very well may be the difference between reaching the postseason or going home after Game 162. Poor play from an up-the-middle position might put the team’s chances in serious jeopardy.</p>
<p id="l8q5bP">All that said — and with the large caveat that my crystal ball isn’t any clearer than yours — I think it’s more likely than not the Yankees will get a good season out of Hicks. He’s only 32 years old, which certainly isn’t young by baseball terms but isn’t old enough that we should expect his 2019-21 regression to be due to something other than the effects of injuries. </p>
<p id="Oa1YeX">Yet the entire situation underscores the tightrope the organization chose to walk by not having a backup plan, which has very little to do with Hicks and much to do with the front office and ownership. Similar to how which direction the wind blows will have a huge effect on the fortunes of a tightrope walker, the level of production that the team gets from Hicks will have a huge effect on the fortunes of the team, given how close we expect the AL East standings to be at season’s end.</p>
https://www.pinstripealley.com/2022/4/14/23023815/yankees-center-field-problem-aaron-hicks-judge-brett-gardner-estevan-florial-playoffsJon Rimmer