Bronx Bomber Ball

What a week it’s been, and we haven’t even played a game yet.   News broke early Monday morning that the Miami Marlins had an outbreak of COVID-19 in their locker room that threatened not only their series against the Baltimore Orioles, but also the Yankees vs. the Phillies as well as, potentially, the entire league.   While games on Monday and Tuesday for the Marlins, Orioles, Phillies and Yankees were all postponed, MLB reconfigured the schedule and the Yankees will now head to OPACY to play the Orioles rather than host the Phillies for the 2020 home opener.   The Yankees will then host the Boston Red Sox this weekend as regularly scheduled. Photo Credit: Alex Brandon/AP Photo

New episode of the podcast is live. Listen to the crew react to the Marlins COVID outbreak, the Yanks new schedule, and much more! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bronx-bomber-babble-yankees-podcast/id1357749374?i=1000486459812 Credit: James Lang, USA TODAY Sports

Like a majority of his teammates, Aaron Judge spent a good portion of the 2019 regular season on the Injured List.  An oblique injury early in the season left him on the I.L. from April through the end of June. Photo credit: Shore News Network

Prior to the start of Yankees Summer Camp, the Yanks’ once-faithful backup catcher, Austin Romine, bid the Bronx farewell and signed as a free agent with the Detroit Tigers.   However, the Yankees go into the 60-game 2020 regular season with three catchers: Gary Sanchez, Kyle Higashioka and Chris Iannetta.  Photo credit: Newsday

Can you believe we’ve finally made it?   Despite all the animosity and ugliness surrounding the labor negotiations the past few months, the Major League Baseball Players association and MLB owners finally came to terms on the provisions to allow for a 60-game regular season in 2020 in the face of this global COVID-19 pandemic.   The 2020 season will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen before, with a shortened season, new rules, no fans in attendance, and a unique schedule that has teams only play other clubs in their geographic area.   But the important thing is we’re finally going to get real, meaningful baseball back in our lives this week, and I for one could not be happier. Photo Credit: Major League Baseball via Twitter

After landing the biggest fish in Free Agency this past Winter, the Yankees enter 2020 as the clear favorites in the American League East.  That is not meant to suggest that they have no competition, however, as New York was not the only team to improve during the offseason, with the Rays making their usual under-the-radar moves that will help them win and the Blue Jays made a big splash signing with Hyun-Jin Ryu.  Let’s dive into the predictions. Photo Credit: New York Post

Credit: cbssports.com A shortened season of baseball is better than no baseball at all, right?

What a sad day, I won't be retrieving any @TrentonThunder bats this season. I look out on the empty seats and I miss all the fans & the players. I can't wait until me and Dash can go out there and play baseball again. pic.twitter.com/oTqNcXbe8X — Rookie (@BatdogRookie) June 30, 2020 Heartbreaking. Yesterday, Minor League Baseball President Pat O’Connor announced there will not be a 2020 season. While unsurprising at this stage, it’s an unfortunate development that casts uncertainty upon not only the thousands of hopefuls not included in their respective team’s 60-player pool, but the world of baseball as a whole. With that comes the absolutely devastating realization that Rookie, the beloved bat-retrieving dog of the Yankees’ Double-A affiliate Trenton Thunder, will be out of a job until 2021. Photo Credit: Asbury Park Press For those unfamiliar with Rookie, bat dogs have been a staple of Thunder baseball since 2002. Rookie carried the legacy into its third