8/3/24

Did we witness Boones turn into a leader?

Last night was another horrible loss by the Yankees, but that was not the most important thing that was not the most important thing that happened during the game. Torres thought he had hit a HR, and instead of putting his head down and running, he walked out of the box admiring his hit. The ball didn’t leave the park and Torres was held The play was only magnified in the next couple of bats when Torres could not come around and score and was thrown out of the plate. As we have seen in Boone’s career as a manager, I was completely expecting him to let that go. After completing the next inning on defense, we saw Oswaldo Cabrera come in for Torres as Boone benched him for his lack of hustle. We then saw an exchange between Aaron Boone and Torres in the dugout. I believe I witnessed Boone’s balls finally dropping last night, and he gained a great deal of respect from the fan base, which he has been lacking with that one move. This fan base has been begging for accountability, and we finally started to see it last night. That was a bigger step forward in the right direction than anything else I have witnessed this season from Boone. While we know this team has the talent and the players to go out and win anything, we have always said they would have to win despite Aaron Boone. Last night, by taking Torres out of the game, Boone took a step in the direction that makes me believe that maybe Boone can finally be that manager who can lead this team into the playoffs and in a deep run toward the champions this year.

While it is a step in the right direction, we need to see more of Aaron Bone holding players accountable. If Boone starts actually to manage like a true manager, this team will become even more dangerous than it already is with the improvements they made at the deadline. This is a massive step in a positive direction for the Yankees.

We have been preaching to wait to judge this team till after the deadline. This team still has issues that must be sorted out, especially in the rotation and bullpen. But we still have some apparent solutions for coming back from injury in the next few weeks. We still have several high-leverage relievers on the way back, which should significantly improve this bullpen for this month. We have Burdi, Effross, Trivino, and Hamilton on their way back. I also wouldn’t be surprised if this team didn’t pick up another reliever from the outright waivers market that we have seen develop at the end of august each of the last couple years. No matter what, this bullpen will improve as we build towards the playoffs.

Trouble in the rotation?

Marcus Stroman has not looked good going back into July, Nestor Cortez also has not looked good, especially on the road for most of the year. At some point, you have to wonder if Nester and Stroman will find themselves in the playoff rotation. The good news for us is we have Clark Schmidt, who was arguably our best-starting pitcher before he got injured. Schmidt Looked like he had taken a big step forward in his development this year and was absolutely in the running to be an All-star before the injury. We also know that Schmidt is preparing to start his rehab program and should return in the next few weeks. We also saw a player that I am very high on in Warren make his debut in a spot start against a very tough Philadelphia Phillies lineup last week. While he struggled in the first two innings, Warren bounced back and had a great start, considering it was his first start in the Major League. I would not be surprised if we saw Warren get at least another handful of starts down the stretch so the Yankees can better understand what they have with Warren as they build her postseason run. While I do not believe he is a playoff starter, he could be a solid option to eat some innings down the stretch and impact the playoff roster as a reliever.

Overall, the roster’s pitching should improve over the next month as we get pitchers back from injury. While it is still being determined if this should be a much better rotation, it should be a much better rotation and bullpen when all these players return later this month.

The new look lineup

With The trade deadline acquisition of Jazz Chisholm and getting Stanton back from injury, this lineup looks completely different. We have seen Alex Verdugo put Into the leadoff spot into the leadoff spot, where he should have been hitting all year. This is the spot in the lineup he should stay in till the return of Dominguez later this season; I do believe that Dominguez has to be part of this team if they are going to make a deep run into the playoffs. He is too dynamic of a player not to be in the Yankee’s everyday lineup as they build for the playoffs.
Austin Wells is blossoming into the hitter that the guys who watched him coming up through the farm system knew could be given consistent playing time. He is locked in at the plate in the cleanup spot and has been our best cleanup hitter all year. He is providing Judge protection in this lineup, which we desperately needed.
Stanton’s presence in this lineup must be noticed, and the addition of Jazz hitting 6th is a massive upgrade for this team. The part of the lineup that has looked massively improved is the bottom 1/3rd of the lineup. Torres has looked much better at the play for the last three weeks.. He brings production and some consistency to that lineup in the 7th spot in that lineup. That is the exact spot in the order where you want to see  Torres hit on a championship-caliber team. Ben Rice is struggling a bit right now, but from the 8th spot in the lineup, we can handle that as we build towards the playoffs.

One of the most significant transformations we have seen since the All-star break has been with Volpe, especially hitting 9th. We have seen him struggle for an consistent spot in this lineup all year. His hitting 9th is the perfect spot in the lineup where he can hit without pressure. It’s also like he can be a 2nd leadoff hitter and use that same approach that we saw flashes of him being an elite player in the leadoff position earlier in the year. Volpe can be a spark plug at the bottom of that lineup, and he can use all his tools to help this team become a much better team going forward from the 9th spot.

One thing is obvious: this team still has issues, but they can be sorted out over the next month and a half. None of the improvements we have coming back matter as much as what we saw from Boone last night when he held Torres accountable. What we need for this team to have its best chance to win in the playoffs is strong leadership from the manager. If Boone continues to hold players accountable and be a true leader, this team has a better chance of winning in the playoffs. Boone is growing some balls, which might be the X factor as we move forward into the post season

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8/1/2024

What does this lineup look like after the trade deadline?

The Yankees desperately needed help in the infield, so they went out and got that player in Jazz Chisholm. No matter how you look at the Jazz trade, the Yankees have a better player back than they had coming into the deadline. The problem surrounding Jazz has always been health concerns and attitude. In these first five games of his career as a Yankee, you can see the talent and why the Yankees were willing to give up so much to get him. Initially, coming into this trade deadline, most of us were expecting Torres to be dealt and expecting Jazz to take over second base and become a leadoff hitter. We got that all wrong. I do not believe the Yankees intend to make Jazz the everyday second baseman or leadoff hitter. They see him as likely their everyday third-baseman and middle-of-the-order solid bat. The Yankees went out and got the right guy in Jazz. He adds an energy and flare that the Yankees sorely needed. We can see why CC and Jeter were so excited about him coming to the Yankees.

Let’s look at what this lineup looks like around the time September rolls around. To start with, Alex Verdugo will be on the bench when Jason Dominguez returns. Dominguez is the better player and brings dynamic to this team with his power and speed and an elite approach at the plate from both sides, which we still need to improve throughout the lineup. I believe that they have Dominguez in mind as our future leadoff hitter. He brings incredible bat-to-ball skills and can work his way into deep counts and punish the opposing pitcher’s mistake. His ability to hit from both sides of the plate makes him dynamic at the leadoff position. He also has elite power and elite speed. So everyone knows, hitting leadoff is nothing new to Dominguez because that’s where they penciled in going through the system. If you put Dominguez in front of Soto, who is in front of Judge, that is easily the most dynamic 1-2-3 in baseball

The First 3 

1 Dominguez CF/ LF SH
2  Soto RF ‘LH
3 Aaron Judge LF RH

That has the potential to be the best 1-2-3 in all of baseball.

The middle of the lineup

4 Austin Wells C LH
Over the last two months, we have seen Wells blossom before our eyes since the Yankees started getting him regular playing time. If you look back at Austin Wells’s numbers for the last two months, you will see that he’s arguably been the most valuable catcher in the American League. Concerns were coming through the system about his defense, and he has put all those concerns to bed. He does a great job handling the staff and is a solid defensive catcher. He is their long-term plan behind the plate. The one thing you have always known about Austin Wells is that he can hit. He hits; in college, he hit in the minor leagues, and now, given the regular playing time, Wells is proving he will hit at the MLB level. Hitting him behind Aaron Judge actually will give Judge excellent protection. Wells works counts well and he has sneaky power and a great eye at the plate. I believe he can be a .275 hitter with 25 to 30 home run power as the primary catcher. Hitting Clean up and catcher should be Wells for the foreseeable future.
5 Stanton DH RH
Coming into this year, I wanted Stanton Gone. I have always thought we should pay for that roster spot and move on from Stanton. Was I wrong about that? Absolutely! We saw the difference in the offense without him in the lineup. His presence alone is a decisive point in this lineup. Stanton has looked much better at the plate this year, and I still believe there is something left in that tank that can contribute to this team from now on. I was wrong that Stanton should be gone, and Stanton should stay at least through next year.
 6 Jazz Chisholm 3rd LH
When we made the deal for Jazz, he should hit leadoff and play second base. It’s a good thing Brian Cashman is a lot smarter than I am. Chisholm brings everything that you want as your everyday third baseman. He has the arm and can play the position, which solves a long-term need for this team. There were concerns about Jazz and his attitude while on the Marlins. He’s always been one of the two best players on that team, but he has never had a solid team around him, especially elite veterans like Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. Chisholm has always had a talent that has never been the issue, but his ability to reach the ceiling of a star-caliber player has been questioned for several years. Adding Chisholm to guys like Juan Soto and Aaron Judge and being allowed to go to the playoffs and compete for a World Series every year bring out the best player in Chisholm. He brings power from the left-hand side at the plate and has some opposite field power. Chisholm also can steal bases by batting him in this spot in the lineup. It allows him to use his power-speed combination to drive on runs or, when he gets on base, manufacture runs with his speed. I think this will end up being one of the great trades the Yankees made in the long term

The bottom three

7 Gleyber Torres 2B RH
While most of us are tired of seeing him at second base, this organization must believe in his abilities. They easily could have traded Torres but decided to stick with him at second base, at least for the rest of the season. We all know that when Torres gets hot, he can be a very, very good hitter. In this position in the lineup, he brings power, and when he’s on, he can be an incredible hitter. If Torres is your seventh hitter in the lineup, you have a stacked lineup.
8 Ben Rice 1B LH
When Rice debuted, you could immediately see the ability in the bat. His ability to work counts, take walks, hit for average, and hit for significant power make him a solid young talent. Rice is a player that I have liked since his emergence on the scene last year. Rice is our first baseman of the future and should be the long-term answer there. One thing about Rice already, as you can see, is that he has the clutch gene. We’ve seen the three-home run game early in his career and the ability to get on base and even run. Rice is a good enough hitter to hit anywhere in the lineup. You put this line about with Rice as your eighth hitter, and you have an incredible lineup.
9 Anthony Volpe SS RH
Anthony Volpe is still developing. We’ve seen flashes of the great player he can be. His ability to go the other way and to be a terror on the base path makes him the perfect 9-hole hitter. Hitting him 9th here is actually like a second leadoff hitter. Hitting him here makes him dynamic in the 9th spot. Until he develops more, this is the perfect spot to use his speed and ability to get on base and steal bases. With him 9th, this almost becomes a circular lineup, which is what every team dreams up.

Overall lineup
1 Jasson Dominguez CF SH
2 Juan Soto RF LH
3 Aaron Judge LF RH
4 Austin Well C LH
5 Giancarlo Stanton DH RH
6 Jazz Chisholm 3rd base LH
7 Gleyber Torres 2nd Base RH
8 Ben Rice 1st base  LH
9 Anthony Volpe SS RH

Final Thoughts

We have all been heavily critical of Brian Cashman and, for the most part, deservedly so, but if you look at the construction of that lineup, it now has every piece you need to go the dynasty-like team. You have two players on that roster over the age of 30. You now have speed, athleticism, the ability to hit for power, the ability to score runs, and the ability to win championships. This is currently one of the best young lineups in all of baseball. Cashman has been trying to get younger and more athletic for years and has done it right before our eyes without even thinking about it. There is a core of the future here, and Juan Soto, Jasson Dominguez, Jazz Chisholm, Austin Wells, Ben Rice, and Anthony Volpe can seriously play together for the next ten years.

Our lineup has everything you want, and we still have the pieces in the farm to improve the team however we want. Yes, they gave up some good prospects, but the prospects they gave up were never going to get a shot with the Yankees. I hated losing Agus Ramirez, but they dealt with the position of strength in the system to get a young, dynamic player in Jazz Chisholm that we did not have in our system. Cashman has done an excellent job assembling a lineup that will compete with anybody scoring runs for the foreseeable future. If the pitching is there this lineup can win in October. This team is now one of the best and most talented lineups in all of baseball, and we have to see if they can put it together to win a championship, not only this year but for multiple years in the future.

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This New York Yankee team is completely different from the team that came into Boston last month in June. Going
into their June 14th matchup the New York Yankees had the best record in the major leagues of 50-22. Since then
the New York Yankees have a record of 60-44, which is one of the worst records since the last time these teams
faced off in Fenway.

Nestor Cortes took the bump for game one of this series as he went four and two innings pitched as he allowed nine
hits and gave up four earned runs with five strikeouts and walking two. In the top of the second inning Anthony
Volpe showed his power as he hit a solo home run dead center as he tied the game up 1-1. In the fifth inning Trent
Grisham hit an RBI double scoring Volpe to bring the Yankees to within one of the Red Sox 2-3. Later in the inning
Verdugo hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Grisham to tie the game at 3-3. Cabrera got the rally started in the seventh
inning with an infield single, eventually moving to second on a wild pitch. Aaron Judge hit a monster 470 foot
homer for a three run RBI after Juan Soto walked, giving the Yankees a 6-4 lead. The very next at bat Austin Wells
went back to back as he homered to right to give the Yankees lead 7-4. The Yankees bullpen continued to struggle
as they struggled to hold the 7-4 lead and gave up 5 runs in the seventh and eighth inning dropping the game 7-9 to
the Red Sox.

Marcus Stroman went for the Yankees in the second game of the series as he struggled with his command as he only
went three and one third innings pitched allowing nine hits and giving up 5 runs 3 being earned runs. The Yankees
bats got off to a hot start as in the top of the first inning Alex Verdugo singled to right followed up with back to
back home runs by Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, giving the Yankees a 3-0 lead. In the second inning Oswaldo
Cabrera homered to right, giving the Yankees a 4-3 lead. Alex Verdugo doubled to center in the top of the fifth
inning. Aaron Judge later in that inning singled to left, scoring Verdugo. Top of the seventh after Torres grounded
into a fielder’s choice to second allowing Judge to third, Ben Rice hit a sacrifice fly scoring Judge to tie the game 6-
6. Verdugo continued his hot streak as he singled in the top of the eighth inning. Later in that inning Judge doubled
to center as Verdugo scored and Juan Soto, after walking, was thrown out at home to put the Yankees within one as
the Red Sox lead 7-8. In the ninth inning Ben Rice doubled to center and was pitched ran for by Jones. Trent
Grisham with one strike remaining doubled to center scoring Jones and tying the game 8-8 forcing extra innings. In
extra innings with the ghost runner at second the Yankees had Cabrera at second. Juan Soto would single to center,
moving Cabrera to third.

Carlos Rodon was on the mound as the Yankees looked to win the rubber match. The Yankees needed a great outing
from Rodon and he delivered, he pitched six and one third innings giving up five hits only giving up two earned
runs on two mistakes and striking out seven. In back to back games the Yankees offense put three runs on the board
as Verdugo led off the game with a double to center. Aaron Judge singled to right, scoring Verdugo to give the
Yankees a 1-0 lead. After Wells doubled Judge went to third, Gleyber Torres singled to center scoring both Wells
and Judge. In the fourth inning Wells started the inning off with a single and was safe at second from a fielding
error. Ben Rice hit a sac fly later in the inning scoring Wells giving the Yankees a 4-0 lead. In the top of the seventh
Verdugo continued to hit in Fenway as he hit another double to center. After back to back walks from Soto and
Judge, Wells hit a sacrifice fly scoring Verdugo giving the Yankees a 5-2 lead. The next inning Ben Rice doubled to
center moving Torres to third. Cabrera hit a ground rule double, scoring both Torres and Rice giving the Yankees a
7-2 lead. The newly acquired Jazz Chisholm Jr reached on an infield single giving him his first hit as a Yankee.
After Torres grounded out to third, moving Chisholm to second, Chisholm stole third after colliding with the Red
Sox player as he entered second. DJ Lemahieu hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Chisholm giving the Yankees an 8-2 lead
as they hold off the Red Sox to win the game.

With the addition of Jazz Chisholm it seemed to wake up this team’s bats for a much needed series win in Fenway.
Giancarlo Stanton is scheduled to return as the Yankees head to Philadelphia to face the Phillies in a three game set.
The series probabilities Luis Gil vs Zach Wheeler in game one, Gerrit Cole vs Aaron Nola in game two, and Nestor
Cortes vs Christopher Sanchez in game three.

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7/16/24

Triple A – RailRiders The RailRiders visited The Syracuse Mets the Affiliate of the New York Mets, in a six games series the RailRiders lost the series 4-2, Jose Rojas was the top player of the week batting .318, 5 Runs Score, 6 RBI, 2 HR, 2B, HP, 2 Walks.  With the series lost the Railriders improved to 6-11 in the second half of the season, nine places in the International League East. Other Top players of the week Taylor Trammell 21 at bats 6 Hit, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 Runs, 3 BB, 3 SB. Kevin Smith 14 at bats 6 Hits, 2 RBI, Runs, SB.

Double A – Somerset Somerset visited The Erie Seawolves the affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, in a six games series Somerset lost the series 4-2.  Elijah Dunham was the top player of the week batting .421, 4 Runs Score, 4 RBI, 2 Homerun, 2 2B, 3 Walks, SB.  With the series lost Somerset improved to 11-7 in the second half of the season, third place in the East North of the Eastern League. Benjamin Cowles 23 at bats 6 Hits, 2 Runs, 4 RBI, 2 BB, SB, HP, 2 2B.

J.C. Escarra 23 at bats 6 Hits, 3 Runs, 3 RBI, HR, 2 2B. Grant Richardson 18 at bats 5 Hits, 3 Runs, 2 RBI, HR, BB, 2B.

High A – Hudson Hudson Valley visited The Jersey Shore BlueClaws the affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies in a six games series Hudson lost the series 5-1.  Cole Gabrielson was the top player of the week batting .429 2 Runs, 3 RBI, Walks, 2B, SB. With the series lost Hudson Valley improved in the second half of the season 9-11, fourth place in the South Atlantic North of the South Atlantic League. Trent Sellers 6 1/3 IP, H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. Cam Schlittler 6 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 8 K, W.

Low A – Tampa Tarpons Tarpons visited The Dunedin Blue Jays the affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, in a six games series Tarpons splits the series 3-3.  Rodrick Arias was the top player of the week batting .364, 7 Runs, RBI, 7 walks, 3 SB, 2 2B.

With the series splits the Tarpons improved in the second half 8-11 fifth place in the FSL West of the Florida State League. Jackson Castillo 22 at bats 8 Hits, 6 Runs, 6 RBI, HR, 2B, 5 BB, SB, HP.

Dylan Jackson 24 at bats 8 Hits, 3 Runs, 4 RBI, HR, 2B, 3 BB, SF, HP. Cade Smith 5 2/3 IP, H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 K, W

. Players In Rehab Assignments Single AAA. Scott Effross 3 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 2 K. Low A Chase Hampton 2 1/3 IP, 3 Hits, 3 ER, BB, 2 K, HR.

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7/13/24

Ben Cowles is the Yankees Shortstop or Third Base on most nights in AA.  Cowles was the Yankees 10th Round Pick in the 2021 Draft.  In his first professional season Cowles showed some promise by slashing .250/.350/.804  with 11 Extra-Base Hits and 4 Homeruns in 35 games for Low A Tampa.  He didn’t show much power but did showcase good bat-to-ball skills and solid defense.

The post Which Yankee Prospects Should Be Promoted Next ? appeared first on NYY UNDERGROUND.

7/11/24

The Yankees looked to put an end to their slump after having an abysmal June. After going 2-6 on the
recent road trip, they came back home to face the Cincinnati Reds. Luis Gil was on the bump for game one as in his
last three starts he is 0-3 with a 14.90 ERA, after going 9-1 with 2.03 ERA in his first 14 outings. Reporters have
asked manager Aaron Boone if it is fatigue and he stated “I don’t think this is a fatigue issue. I think it’s just a little
out-of-sorts issue and having a harder time correcting on the fly”. Gil went four innings pitched giving up four runs
on two hits while walking three and two hit batters. The third time through the order continues to give him struggle
to execute his pitches. Gleyber Torres got the Yankees on the board in the sixth inning with a single to center
allowing Judge to score as Verdugo went to third allowing Torres to go to second. Ben Rice would then hit a double
to right scoring both Verdugo and Torres to cut the Reds lead to 5-3. Aaron Judge in the seventh inning continued to
mash the ball as he hit his major league-leading 32nd home run. The Reds would hold off the Yankees comeback
and win 5-4 on Tuesday night.

Carlos Rodon was on the bump for game two as he also was looking to turn things around as he lost his
previous three starts. Rodon went five and one innings pitched only giving up three runs on three hits while striking
out eight and walking two. Unfortunately that wasn’t enough for him to get the win as the Yankees offense
continued to struggle as they were being shutout with only two hits going into the seventh inning. Volpe got the
Yankees on the board as he broke his 0-18 slump with a two run double in the seventh. The next at bat Soto would
walk on a wild pitch putting runners at the corners in a 3-2 game. But the story of the Yankees’ late struggle to get
that clutch hit as Aaron Judge grounded into an inning double play to stop the momentum. In the ninth inning the
Yankees failed to capitalize on a lead off walk as Volpe would ground into another double play to end the inning as
the Reds won 3-2

The Yankees were trying to avoid the sweep as they went to Marcus Stroman who has been one of their
most reliable pitchers recently. Stroman went five innings pitched allowing five earned runs on five hits while
striking out six and walking two. Aaron Boone changed up the lineup by moving Ben Rice to the leadoff spot as
Vople continues to struggle with the bat. The offense was yet again lifeless until the fifth inning where Austin Wells
hit a lead off home run to get the Yankees on the board. Later in the inning Ben Rice would hit his first ever major
league home run to right field in the Judge’s Chambers bringing the score to 5-2. In the seventh inning Soto would
hit a two run home run to bring the Reds lead to 8-4. The Cincinnati Reds completed a three-game sweep of reeling
New York with an 8-4 victory Thursday. New York (54-35) has lost 13 of 17 games and 14 of 19 after a 49-21 start.

After getting swept by the Reds the Yankees started a three game set against the Boston Red Sox. Nasty
Nestor was on the bump for the Yankees and his splits from being home and on the road continued as he pitched six
innings only giving up one run on three hits while striking out eight and walking one batter. The Yankees offense
continued to struggle but the Red Sox defense bailed them out as Wells grounded into a fielder’s choice allowing
Soto to score and for Cabrera to be safe at second on a throwing error to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Volpe would
later walk with the bases loaded to score Judge, giving the Yankees a 2-0 lead. Grisham grounded out to second
allowing Cabrera to score to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead. Anthony Volpe and DJ LeMahieu made a double mental
error that cost the Yankees a run in the third inning, both failing to run hard and allowing the Red Sox to turn an
inning-ending double play. Gleyber Torres left in the fourth after aggravating his right groin while beating out an
infield hit that sparked the fourth-inning rally. Holmes, without a save since June 9, allowed a two-out single in the
ninth allowing Yoshida to hit a two run home run to tie it in the ninth. In extras with the ghost runner on second
Tommy Kahnle allowed a two run home run in the top of the tenth.

Gerrit Cole was on the bump for game two of the series as he went four and one inning pitched allowing
four earned runs on seven hits, striking out eight while walking two. Ben Rice led off the game with a home run in
the top of the first. In the third inning Verdugo hit a two run home run to tie the game 3-3. In the fifth inning Cole
gave up another home run to Rafael Devers which continues to own the Yankees and the Yankees ace. The offense
woke up after Cole got taken out of the game. In the bottom of the fifth Volpe hit a ground rule double to score
Judge. With the bases loaded Wells walked to score Verdugo. Cabrera hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Volpe. DJ
Lemahieu singled to left to score Grisham. Ben Rice hit a three run home run for his second of the day to bring the
score to 10-4. In the seventh inning the offense continued to add on as Lemahieu singled to right to score Grisham.
Ben Rice hit his third home run of the game to give the Yankees a 14-4 win over the Red Sox.

Luis Gil allowed four hits over six and two third innings. He struck out nine and walked none for the first
time in his big career. The Yankees lost another series to an AL East foe, second time to the Boston Red Sox. The

Yankees look to finish the first half on a high note as they go on the road to Tampa for a three game set and a three
game set against Baltimore. As Aaron Boone brought back the famous quote “It is right in front of us”.

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7/9/2024

The Yankees Have a Leadership Issue 

The Yankees have lost 16 of 22 games, their third straight season of a 5-15 losing stretch. A run that only happened three times between 1996 and 2021. 

Like a Rock Band on a stadium tour, Aaron Boone brought out his greatest hits in his postgame. For the third straight season he unleashed the line: “It’s Right There in front of Us,” like a broken record, Yankee fans have heard this before, and like the previous times he said it, it led to no tangible improvements.  

Perception is often reality, and through numerous examples already this year, by Aaron Boone publicly defending indefensible things, it is filtering into the locker room that he’s perfectly okay with a lack of effort. Anyone doubting that, just ask yourselves, is the questionable effort and losing increasing or decreasing lately? 

The perception is Boone runs a lax ship. Boone himself is doing little to dispel that notion with his public defense of players. The reality is, during this losing run, we’ve seen clear examples of questionable effort from individuals. A lack of urgency, which even Jack Curry pointed out, and a lack of attention to detail.  

The one common denominator here is Boone’s leadership.  

Grisham’s play, a microcosm of a culture problem 

During the Cincinnati Reds series, on the 4th of July, Trent Grisham had one of the laziest plays in memory. 

In the grand scheme of things, the play was largely insignificant, it didn’t put any extra runs on the board. However, it’s a microcosm of the culture that exists under Boone. There is no recourse for a lack of effort. Especially, by Boone’s mindless defense of the play in question.  

For instance, down 8-4 late, the Yanks seemingly wanted to go home in time for the fireworks. That was obvious from the team’s body language. Trent Grisham therefore, approached a hit towards him with utter indifference. He casually walked toward the ball taking an age to bend down and grab it, doing neither. Leading to Jeimer Candelario taking the extra bag without breaking a sweat.  

I like Grisham, he’s an excellent fielder and solid role player, but in this instance he was lazy. However, Boone leapt to his defense afterward. 

“Grisham’s relaxed easy nature, would I want him to square up to the ball there? not really….he has an outstanding track record.” First, why wouldn’t he want him to square up to the ball? 

Second, no one questions his track record as a Gold Glove Center Fielder, but that was a lazy play. There is no defending it. By Boone defending the indefensible he’s unknowingly creating a culture that he’s a soft touch with no fear of recourse.  

By communicating it publicly that it wasn’t a problem, he’s indirectly telling the full house of Yankee fans in attendance paying good money, that effort is optional.  

Grisham isn’t even close to the only culprit, but that incident was a microcosm of the larger issues at play. 

We’ve seen numerous examples this season where Gleyber Torres hasn’t run out a groundball or fielded a ball properly. 

The public face of all this is Aaron Boone.  

Now, is he the one making these errors or lax plays? No. But he wears it because he’s managing it. Just like in any walk of life, if employees aren’t working to their maximum effort, the first person looked at is the manager. 

It’s important to dispel the myth that this article is asking for Boone to become someone he isn’t. I understand he’s only doing what is asked from the Front Office. 

I’m not asking him to be Billy Martin grabbing Reggie Jackson in 1977 and escorting him off the field. Heck, he doesn’t have to be Joe Girardi. However, he’d be wise to remember that his allowing it, reflects poorly on his team culture. 

 Boone prides himself as a players’ manager. He doesn’t get too up or down, keeping the locker room relaxed and focused. That’s beneficial when the team is winning and it’s smooth sailing.  

However, the test is when they suffer adversity how can they alter course? As seen by the annual prolonged losing streaks, there does appear to be issues righting the ship.  

Step one in righting the ship is to make clear that effort is the one thing that can be guaranteed. 

More Lazy plays excused 

Gleyber Torres has had numerous questionable effort plays over the years. Too many to count. But this season on a walk year he’s had more than his fair share. For example, he dropped a lazy basket catch attempt on a routine pop-up by Kike Hernandez against the Dodgers in early June. 

Boone once again defended his beleaguered Second Baseman: “Every time he goes to catch one I go, ‘Ahh,’ because it’s not how I’d do it. But he’s really good at doing it…nobody talks about the good plays he makes.”

Torres leads the American League in errors, leads his position in errors, and has a negative WAR defensively. It’s frankly absurd for Boone to expect platitudes for Torres.  

Later that month, Torres allowed a routine grounder to roll under him, then failed to run hard to first base in the same game vs the Mets.  

Boone did sit him the next day, but framed it to the media that it was more respite than a punishment.  

Boone’s soft approach isn’t filtering through to the players. Gleyber was excused last month for the dropped pop-up, and he follows it up by not playing hard against the Mets two weeks later.  

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7/8/24

Triple A – RailRiders The RailRiders hosted The Lehigh Valley IronPigs the Affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, in a six games series the RailRiders lost the series 2-4, Jorbit Vivas was the top player of the week batting .333, 4 Runs Score, 3 RBI, HR,3 2B, HP, 3 Walks, stolen bases.

With the series lost the Railriders improved to 4-7 in the second half of the season, nine places in the International League East. Other Top players of the week Agustin Ramirez 20 at bats 6 Hit, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 5 Runs, 4 BB, SB. (his best week since moved to AAA)

Will Warren 6 IP, 2 H, ER, 11 K HR

Double A – Somerset Somerset visited The Reading Phils the affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, in a six games series Somerset won the series 4-2.  Benjamin Cowles was the top player of the week batting .333, 4 Runs Score, 4 RBI, 2 Homerun, 2 Walks, 2B.

With the series win Somerset improved to 9-3 in the second half of the season, first place in the East North of the Eastern League. Tyler Hardman 22 at bats 8 Hits, 3 Runs, 3 RBI, HR, 3 BB, SB, SF. Elijah Dunham 21 at bats 8 Hits, 3 Runs, 8 RBI, 2 HR, BB, 4 2B. Anthony Seigler 17 at bats 7 Hits, 4 Runs, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 2 SB, 3 2B.

High A – Hudson Hudson Valley hosted The Brooklyn Cyclones the affiliate of the New York Mets in a six games series Hudson split the series 3-3.  Omar Martinez was the top player of the week batting .400, 3 Runs, 6 RBI, Home Run, 5 Walks, 2 2B.

With the series split Hudson Valley start the second half of the season 8-6, second place in the South Atlantic North of the South Atlantic League. Baron Stuart 12 2/3 IP, 9 H, ER, 3 BB, 9 K – two starts.

Low A – Tampa Tarpons Tarpons visited The Lakeland Flying Tigers the affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, in a six games series Tarpons lost the series 2-4.  Hans Montero was the top player of the week batting .278, 2 Runs, 4 RBI, Home Run, 2 walks, 2 3B.

With the series lost the Tarpons started the second half 5-8 fifth place in the FSL West of the Florida State League. George Lombart Jr. 21 at bats 6 Hits, 4 Runs, RBI, HR, 2 BB, 2 SB.

Players In Rehab Assignments Single AAA. Scott Effross 1 IP, BB, K

The post This week in the Minors Leagues – Yankees Affiliate appeared first on NYY UNDERGROUND.

7/6/24

Rice is served

Coming out of college Ben Rice was not a well-known name to scouts. Rice played college baseball in the Ivy League at Dartmouth  and was not heavily scouted by MLB front offices. Because of the lost season due to COVID, Rice’s baseball future was very much in doubt at the conclusion of his college career. This is a kid who drove himself to tryouts around the country to try and get MLB teams to notice him and hopefully get drafted. When the Yankees drafted him in the 12th round, he was basically a lottery ticket since they hoped would turn into a useful piece. Like with any pick from the 12th round expectations were low, but they didn’t count of Rices work ethic or high baseball IQ.

During the 2021 season Rice statistics were very underwhelming to say the least. He batted .197/. 345/ .7O9 OPS in 2021 with only three home runs across two levels. In 2022 in the FCL he batted 267/ .364/ .810 Which were solid members but he was extremely old to the level and was facing much younger competition. Coming into the 2023 season we knew Ben Rice as a player with a great eye at the plate but not much else. He went about changing that in a big way last year. In the offseason he went to work with Aaron Judge’s swing coach and when he came off the injured list  he set the world on fire. In only 275 At bats Rice proceeded to hit .324/ 434/1.049  with 20 home runs and 68 RBI in AA.

If you had been following his progress on NYYU and YankeesFarm,  you will know that Carlos and I questioned if the power was real last season. He had always been an OBP machine, but had never shown the kind of power that he did in those final 275 ABS of 2023. Rice also had the issue of not hitting left hand pitching well, especially breaking balls. We wanted to see him hit well again and show the same level of power over an extended sample size this season.

He again went back to work with Teacher Man to improve his hitting against left hand pitchers and it paid off in a big way. Rice was hitting .292 against left hand pitchers in across 225 ABS this season prior to his MLB callup. He also continued to show that the power that he flashed in 2023 was 100 percent legit  by smashing 12 doubles and 15 HRs during that sample size.

After Rizzo went now with an injury to his arm there was a lot of talk of which first base prospect either, Rice or TJ Rumfield, that the Yankees should call up to fill the hole caused by Rizzo injury.  Rumfield is a Gold Glove caliber 1st baseman that hits for a great average, but ultimately lacks the offensive ceiling Rice had shown to be capable of. The Yankees ultimately chose Rice and made the right decision.  In his very first game he showed that he was not over matched at the plate and looked excellent working counts and making opposing pitchers work to get him out. Even after calling him up the Yankees felt as necessary to bring in JD Davis to platoon with him at first because the Yankees still questioned Rice’s ability to hit left-hand MLB pitching. Rice showed very early on in the series against the Braves that he could hit some of the best left-hand pitching in baseball  after having good games against both Max Freed and Chris Sale, two of the better left-hand pitchers in baseball. Overall in 44 MLB AB Rice is hitting .295/.392/ 971 which is more than solid production at the MLB level.

In today’s game Rice showed the power that we’d all been hoping to see at the MLB level hitting three HRs  and driving in seven. There has been alot of questions about what the Yankees were going to do at first base for the rest of this year and going forward in the future. Many people were advocating trading to get one of Bellinger, Vladdy JR or Christian Walker to fill that hole.  I believe the Yankees have found that answer in Ben Rice. He has the bat and swing that is tailor made for Yankees stadium and the short porch. He has shown to be a more than adequate defensively at first baseman and with his work ethic that will only improve in the future.

Ben Rice should be the Yankees starting first baseman for the rest of this year even when Anthony Rizzo comes returns. Rice has shown to be a very capable leadoff hitter working counts and getting on base in front of Judge and Soto.  Rice will benefit immensely from hitting it in front of them, but he also brings power and ability to drive in runs from the lead off spot. The Yankees need to get more from the bottom of their line up and if they can get guys on base then Rice is more than capable of driving them in with much more frequency than we saw from  Volpe in his sample size at the lead off position. After today’s game there is no question Rice should be playing every day regardless of the pitcher they are facing. I believe then Rice is a big part of the solution to this team’s issues that we have seen in the last month. The Yankees have some serious holes to fill in their lineup and their bullpen, but first base should no longer be an issue this season.

Is Ben Rice the superstar? probably not, but he can be that very consistent very good player that good teams need to help them win. For years we as Yankee fans have doubted every single prospect with good reason that the Yankees have called up. This new group starting with Anthony Volpe, Wells, Dominguez and now Rice that they can develop above average or better MLB players that ca surround Soto and Judge to help this team win. The really good news for us Yankees fans is that the Yankees have even more talent on the verge of contributing to this club start with Agus Ramirez

and Jorbit Vivas

who are both playing very well in AAA.

With Ben Rice emerging as legit long term option at first base, I believe that frees the Yankees up to focus on more pressing needs at the trade deadline. I believe they have to go out and get a third baseman and a left hand reliever with velocity and strike out stuff. I believe the rest of the issues with this team has can be solved in house from our farm system and those options will be better than anything that we can acquire on a very thin trade market this year. Having Ben Rice on this team is a big step in the filling some of the massive holes that we’ve seen from this team over the last month. Be very excited that Ben Rice has emerged as a very solid MLB player and a long-term building piece for our Yankees

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