Bronx Bomber Ball

Last week we learned that the Yankees have yet again made minor, or as I would argue, insignificant changes to their coaching staff. The firings of hitting coach Jeff Pentland and bullpen coach Gary Tuck this offseason are reminiscent of last year’s dismissal of hitting coach Kevin Long and first base coach Mick Kelleher. As the Yankees are sitting at home playing golf, Kevin Long is back in the World Series with the Mets, and Dave Eiland, the former pitching coach who was fired following the 2010 season, is in the fall classic for the second straight year. I am becoming increasingly frustrated by the inability of the Yankees front office to recognize the true nature of the problem at hand. Continuously changing the coaching staff will have no effect on the play of the team. The issue facing the Yankees is one of systemic proportions, and it starts with the manager: Joe Girardi. As has been evidenced by the fact that the Yankees have not played in a playoff series since 2012, Girardi s...

In Andrew Miller’s first season with the Yankees, he finished with stellar numbers and impressive recognition for his great season. After pitching to a 3-2 record with a 2.04 ERA with 100 strikeouts in 61.2 innings and 36 saves in 38 opportunities, Miller was rewarded with the Mariano Rivera award for the American League’s top reliever.

Here is the first Bronx Bomber Blog Podcast! We look forward to bringing you guys many more in the future. In this episode, our very own Nick Scott, Matt Cote, and Bryan Peng break down Nick's newest article on potential trades for three talented pitchers: Carlos Carrasco, Tyson Ross, and Sonny Gray! Enjoy! Follow Nick on twitter  @TeixeiraFanClub Follow Matt on twitter  @MCote31 Follow Bryan on twitter  @BPeng7

Gary Sanchez, the Triple-A catcher is one of eight Yankees minor leaguers who are playing in the Arizona Fall League along with 3 other position players and four pitchers. In 7 games in Arizona, he has had 14 hits in 23 at bats for a .467 average. He has hit 4 home runs, 2 doubles and has 14 RBIs so far.

Just a few days ago, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced that the franchise and manager Don Mattingly were parting ways. Mattingly still had one year left on his deal, but an extension in LA was not looking very likely. Nonetheless, this is as good of an opportunity as ever to bring Donnie home.

 UPDATE D 11/18/15 We’ve all heard it: The Yankees aren’t likely to be big spenders this offseason. Hearing this makes me chuckle as the Yankees have the dollars to field a $500 million pay roll if they wanted to, but their dedication to winning just hasn’t been there since the passing of good ole’ George. Sure little rumors have serviced here or there about them maybe pursuing Zach Greinke who has recently opted out of his contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but that move reeks of the move CC Sabathia pulled in opting out of his contract with the Yankees a few years back to simply restructure his contract and make a better payday.   However, instances like CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka are why I believe the Yankees aren’t going to shell out big money and a long term contract for a big name starter this year. There are simply too many factors that could explode in the Pinstripes’ face when giving a long contract to a starter as evidenced by Sabathia’s fall from g...

Although some of the words you are about to read may sound like the candy coated rain drops you hear on the YES network, I assure you I am not a paid affiliate. I am just a fan that agrees with the rational things the Yankees have managed to do right.

The Yankees made the playoffs for the first time since 2012 in 2015, yeah I know it shocks me to even write it. But despite injuries to key players the Yankees were able to snag a Wild Card slot and they were awarded home field advantage against the exciting Houston Astros. Sadly lady luck was not on New York’s side as Houston through their ace Dallas Keuchel and he stifled the Bombers bats for the third time this year allowing zero runs and keeping his ERA at 0.00 against the Yanks. Questions lingered after the loss? Why was the $153 million dollar man Jacoby Ellsbury on the bench? Should Masahiro Tanaka have been left in longer or pulled sooner? All of these questions brought up others like should the Yankees of countered the Blue Jays trade deadline moves? (New York blew an 8 game lead in the AL East after Toronto traded for David Price and Troy Tulowtizki.) Why did Stephen Drew and Chris Capuano have roster spots? How come Rob Refsnyder was rotting away in Scranton with Michael ...

Following our pathetic performance in this years AL Wild Card game, I have had some time to reflect on some changes that must be made. It is painfully apparent that the Yankees are in desperate need of a right-handed power bat. During the first half of the season, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira held their own against lefties, however after Teixeira’s injury, Rodriguez began his offensive struggles, and the Yankees offense became anemic against left handers. Down the stretch, the Yankees were dominated by lefties, and this trend only continued when Dallas Keuchel, as he had done all year, shut the Yankees down, this time on three days rest. Girardi’s decision to start Brett Gardner, who couldn’t get a hit off Keuchel if his life depended on it, over Jacoby Ellsbury, was perhaps one of his biggest managerial blunders. I could go on for days ranting about Girardi, but for the purpose of this piece I will avoid the banter. I’d like to preface this by pointing out there are many players I...

In December of 2013 Jacoby Ellsbury and the Yankees agreed on a 7 year, $153 million contract. Yankee fans were ecstatic when they heard the news thinking they got themselves an above .300 hitter with 30 stolen bases a year when really it has been almost completely opposite of that. In 2014, Ellsbury had 575 at bats and could only hit .271 on the year. Maybe it was just a bad year for him? 

So last night plain stunk. I can't honestly say I expected the Yankees to win that game, but it's still a bummer to lose the first playoff game the Yankees have had in two years. To nobody's surprise there was quite a bit of hate and vitriol being thrown about with much of it being thrown at manager Joe Girardi. By no means am I a Joe Girardi fan, but this team's issues are at the higher level that is general management. I just said I didn't expect the Yankees to win - why? The poor excuse for a playoff roster is why. This offseason the Yankees made some shrewd moves that proved me wrong several times, but as the season progressed it became very evident the team needed help in both the lineup and pitching staff (the need for an ace), yet the team just traded for Dustin Ackley and called it a day. That's what was responsible for the mess last night, not Joey Loose-Leafs. In the aftermath of last night's loss every Yankee fan began formulating their own ga...

There’s a lot to say about the two teams but it’s a busy week, I’ve got midterms and quizzes, so let’s keep this short. After losing six out of their last seven games, the New York Yankees snuck into the playoffs and captured the first Wild Card position to host the Houston Astros. The Yankees have Paul Goldschmidt to thank, as he hit the tiebreaking 2-run home run to left in the bottom of the 7th that was the difference to sending Houston to New York and not the other way around. Had the Yankees and Astros tied in the Wild Card, New York would have had to travel to Houston for the playoff. Let’s take a look at each team.

Well, it’s simple, you find somewhere to put him. The rookie Greg Bird has been everything the Yanks could have hoped for and beyond and management cannot justify not finding a spot for him more often than not.

Most Valuable Player 2 nd Half: Carlos Beltran Man has Beltran turns things around once the calendar turned to May. After thinking he was done after an abysmal April, Beltran became one of the key cogs in the Yankees postseason push. His defense certainly didn’t help for his MVP push, but his bat was able to carry this team for most of the season. Honorable Mentions: Masahiro Tanaka, Luis Severino, Arizona Diamondbacks

Once game 162 is put in the books and your team has made the postseason, wipe the slate clean because anything can happen. Players have been great all year may continue to rise in the postseason, but they may crumble under the pressure. People who have consistently struggled over 162 could catch lightning in a bottle and be key in a deep postseason run. Just a few of the reasons the baseball postseason is the best.

Here's a disclaimer: This post isn't all about the Yankees, but rather the scenario that the Yankees have caught themselves in after failing to clinch home field for the Wild Card game earlier. This article is going to be a timeline of the events that unfold on Sunday, October 4, as Texas and Houston fight for the AL West title and those teams plus the Angels and Yankees fight for a favorable Wild Card matchup. If the Yankees win, they will host the Wild Card game in New York on Tuesday with the winner heading to Kansas City for an ALDS matchup with the Royals. All games started at 3:05 or 3:10 PM EDT. New York Yankees @ Baltimore Orioles Los Angeles Angels @ Texas Rangers Houston Astros @ Arizona Diamondbacks According to my understanding, here are the scenarios: NYY win OR HOU loss: New York hosts Wild Card game on Tuesday NYY loss, HOU win, AND TEX win (and therefore LAA loss): New York at Houston for the Wild Card game NYY loss, HOU win, AND LAA...