Bronx Bomber Ball

Photo credit: New York Post On the eve of my birthday, and with ten days until Christmas, the Yankees gave us all the gift we've been waiting for: they won the Carlos Rodon sweepstakes on a 6-year, $162M deal after he opted out of a contract with the San Francisco Giants.   The deal also reportedly includes a no-trade clause.   Jon Heyman recovered from the Arson Judge debacle and had it first:  Rodon to Yankees — Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 16, 2022 A starting pitcher was high on the wish list of Yankees fans, as Frankie Montas was a bust in 2022, Luis Severino hasn't pitched a full season in some time due to injuries, Jameson Taillon joined the Chicago Cubs and Nestor Cortes and Gerrit Cole can't do everything.   In the 2022 season, Rodon went 14-8, with a 2.88 ERA and 237 strikeouts over 178 innings pitched.  He allowed 52 walks, and 59 runs on 131 hits -- and just 12 of those runs were home runs.  According to ESPN , in 2021, Rodon "returned to elite form&quo

After an incredibly nerve-wracking few weeks (six months) the Yankees and Aaron Judge have agreed to terms on a contract to keep the big man in pinstripes. The deal was broken by Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi Wednesday morning and the reported terms of the deal are nine years and a whopping $360 million. The eyes of the baseball world have been on Judge this offseason as he was the premier free agent in this year’s market. The Yankees obviously wanted to keep their homegrown star but there were not too many hard reports and facts about Judge’s movements and desires as the offseason wore on. In the face of fierce competition, the Yankees got their man and now the conversation will begin as to when he is made the next captain of the Yankees, something that has been widely assumed but that Ken Rosenthal reported is expected in his article for The Athletic Wednesday morning. Credit: The Associated Press

The Yankees will be watching the World Series from their couches for the 13th consecutive season, Aaron Judge is a free agent with no guarantee of his return, the Yankees are the laughingstock of the league this week after playing an embarrassing 2004 Red Sox ALCS comeback montage as motivation from their own 3-0 ALCS deficit.  Oh yeah, and did we mention we lost to Houston AGAIN?  Things are very-bad, no-good in Yankeeland right now as we embark on another offseason of frustrations and questions about where things went so wrong.  The writers of the BBB each weigh in on the state of the team and the franchise as a whole. ICYMI @RealMichaelKay went off on the #Yankees for their tone deaf “motivational” tactics prior to getting swept in the ALCS. pic.twitter.com/LPceBpzwmx — Bronx Bomber Ball (@BronxBomberBall) October 24, 2022

Hello darkness, our old friend. Another failed postseason. Another infuriating defeat at the hands of the Houston Astros. Another offseason of questions that lies ahead .  In our first of a few 2022 recap pieces, the boys of the Bronx Bomber Babble Podcast break down a few burning questions for this team as we head into the offseason and look ahead at the state of the franchise that has lost their way and still hasn’t been able to solve the October riddle.   Photo Credit: MLB.com

The Yankees dropped Game One of the 2022 American League Championship Series last night in predictable fashion - an offensive no show at the mercy of Justin Verlander, but more frustratingly, because of the bullpen mismanagement of manager Aaron Boone.  Thoughts below from some of our writers as we react to the moves Boone made not just last night, but throughout his Yankees tenure. Photo Credit: Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

It’s the matchup we’ve been waiting for, the matchup we’ve been anticipating all year long. The 3 rd  entry into a so far closely contested but one-sided playoff rivalry. Its Yankees – Astros Part 3 in the 2022 ALCS. The Astros posted the best record in the AL this season and swept through their ALDS series against the Seattle Mariners. The Yankees struggled through much of the second half of their season, squandering their chance at home field advantage in the process, and were pushed to the brink in their ALDS series against the Cleveland Guardians. In spite of the trials they’ve endured so far, the Yankees have made it to where they wanted to be, with a chance to avenge their previous losses and get over the mountain they have not yet been able to scale. The Yankees take the field tonight in game 1, with a chance to beat the Houston Astros and advance to their first World Series since 2009. The Astros will likely be regarded as a comfortable favorite heading into the series, let’s l

  Good riddance to the Cuban Missile.   After not showing up for a mandatory team workout last week, the Yankees have announced that Aroldis Chapman will not be on the ALDS roster and, in all likelihood, will never suit up for the team again.   This strange ending to an otherwise fairly successful saga is the cherry on top of a truly terrible year for Chapman, one which saw him struggle through multiple IL stints as well as general ineffectiveness.   He won’t be missed. Photo Credit: Frank Franklin Ii/Associated Press

Photo credit: @Yankees on Twitter

In the leadup to an otherwise very boring trade deadline (so far), the speculation around Yankee land was where would the help come from. After seeing their top target Luis Castillo head to the Mariners for a steep price, the Yankees needed to shift. They have been in rumors for weeks about seeing help for their starting rotation as well as their bullpen. After weeks of nothing but rumors, the Yankees finally struck Tuesday, agreeing to a deal for Oakland A’s ace Frankie Montas. Also included in the deal is A’s reliever Lou Trivino. The return for Montas and Trivino is not insignificant, the Yankees sent back LHP JP Sears, INF Cooper Bowman, RHP Luis Medina and LHP Ken Waldichuk. Waldichuk would seem to be the headliner in the deal for the A’s, as he’s been a rising star and strikeout machine in the Yankees minor league system; Medina has flashed great potential and has decently high upside as well. The Yankees paying a price like this in a deadline deal represents a change from rece

Photo credit: ESPN In their first 2022 trade deadline move, the Yankees announced on Wednesday evening, immediately following a sweep by the Mets, that they would be acquiring OF Andrew Benintendi from the Kansas City Royals.  YES’ Jack Curry had it first, on the Yankees’ postgame show following the loss to the Mets. Yankees are acquiring Benintendi. — Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) July 28, 2022   ESPN’s Jeff Passan went on to report that three Yankees’ minor-league pitchers would be headed to Kansas City in exchange for Benintendi.  Joel Sherman broke the names of said three minor-league pitchers: Beck Way, Chandler Champain and TJ Sikkeman. The New York Yankees are finalizing a deal to acquire outfielder Andrew Benintendi from Kansas City, sources tell ESPN. Three minor leaguers will be headed back to the Royals. — Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 28, 2022 Yankees sent Beck Way, Chandler CHampain and TJ Sikkeman to the Royals for Benintendi — Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) July 28, 20

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With the All Star Game upon us tonight, the writers of Bronx Bomber Ball decided to give their input on the state of the Yankees plus look ahead to the second half and improvements that can be made to cement this team as a surefire World Series contender.  Photo Credit: Major League Baseball

Don’t look now, but the Yankees might be hitting their first real rough patch of the season.   While it’s hard to complain about a team with a 58-23 record at the midway point of the season, the Yankees have a crucial stretch of games coming up against the second-place Boston Red Sox, and the offensive has gone through a bit of a cold streak that hopefully doesn’t linger through those important games.

Happy July! As the season nears its halfway point, the Yankees have exceeded even the highest of expectations at 56-21 and I for one am having fun. The Bombers were baseball’s best team in the month of June, cruising through just about everyone in their path en route to a 22-6 record. Even after a head-to-head loss last night, they stand seven games above the Houston Astros for the American League’s best record. Photo Credit: Peter Aiken, USA TODAY Sports Rolling into Cleveland to meet the Guardians for a weekend set, they’ll be joined by none other than Aroldis Chapman, who’s been sidelined with left Achilles tendonitis since May 24. Oh, how we missed him. When asked about the team’s plan for the ninth inning moving forward, Aaron Boone reiterated that Chapman is the closer. Clay Holmes will become the “fireman” – entering as necessary in the highest leverage spots against the toughest parts of the lineup.  Photo Credit: Getty Images It’s hard to find words to describe how good Holmes

  Something special is happening in the Bronx this summer.   I know, I know, it’s only June 17.   We’re only 63 games into a 162-game marathon season. I know I’m not the guy you expected to hear any optimism out of.   But here we are, just under 39% of the way into a season I was sure was destined for a fourth-place finish, with the Yankees holders of the best record in Major League Baseball and the third-best 63 game start in franchise history. Photo Credit: Getty Images Yes, this team. The team that routinely rolls out lineups laden with the likes of Joey Gallo, Aaron Hicks, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Kyle Higashioka. The team that is currently down it’s top-four bullpen weapons from last season (Aroldis Chapman on the IL recovering from achilles tendonitis, Jonathan Loaisiga out with shoulder inflammation, Chad Green out for the year after undergoing Tommy John Surgery, Zack Britton on the mend from 2021 Tommy John Surgery).   But what’s special about this team is that anyone can ste

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Photo credit: NJ.com Admit it: Isiah Kiner-Falefa wasn't your pick for starting shortstop for the Yankees while they were making their offseason moves. Trevor Story and Carlos Correa were on the market.  You watched in agony as each of them came off the board in the free agency fever dream after the MLB lockout.  And the Yankees, in Hal-Cashman era fashion, end up with IKF (who was originally traded to the Twins but was literally freed up so that they can go get Correa… AGONY, right?).  And then you realize that you were in for a surprise. While IKF got off to a rough start in Pinstripes, he has more than righted the ship in recent weeks.   According to the New York Post ’s Joel Sherman, IKF “initially struggled on both sides of the ball -- a few bobbles mixed with a 6-for-28, seven-strikeout first 10 games.”  But, as of May 5th, he is hitting .311 (23-for-74), with 15 runs, seven RBIs and five walks.  And unlike a parade of his teammates, he’s done all of that without hitting a si