Bronx Bomber Ball

The Yankees successfully rebounded from a tough loss on Monday night against the defending champions, with a solid, but frustrating to watch, victory. On a night in which the Bombers left 13 men on base, and went a pathetic 2-16 with runners in scoring position, they narrowly defeated the red-hot Royals. This win was HUGE. Losing the first two in Kansas City would have been devastating. This victory allowed the Yankees to keep pace with the Orioles, and remain 3.5 games out of the second wild card spot. Thankfully, Jacoby Ellsbury earned his money tonight, leading the Bombers to a 5-4 victory in 10 innings AP Photo/Orlin Wagner

There is a specific person behind the scenes that, in my mind, does not get enough credit and recognition.   Although, I feel most front office personnel and general managers hide within the depths of their respective stadiums (unless you are Theo Epstein).   Brian Cashman is one of those general managers that quietly pulls the logistical strings in the background as he looks to put a winning product on the field.   Sometimes he pulls the correct strings and sometimes he doesn’t.   The past fiscal year has proven to be a particular combination of good moves and bad moves depending on your opinion.   But I think it is safe to say that moves made in recent weeks have solidified Cashman once again as a top five general manager in Major League Baseball. Photo Credit: Kim Klement | USA TODAY Sports

After taking two of three from Baltimore last weekend, the Yankees look to make a legitimate playoff push as they face the Royals in a three game set that will usher in September. New York (67-62) sits 3.5 games back of the second wild card spot, and only a half game back of Kansas City (68-62). If either team dominates this series, it will likely make it extremely difficult for the other to make the playoffs. The Yankees, 6-4 over their last ten games, put on a show offensively against the Orioles, scoring 27 runs over the first two games of the series (although they were shut out in the finale) behind excellent performances from Starlin Castro, Gary Sanchez, and, essentially, the entire Yankee lineup. The Royals, winners of 12 of their last 14 and 19 of their last 26, haven’t lost a series since getting swept by the Rangers in the end of July. To say that they’ve been hot in August is a woeful understatement, and if the Yankees want to take the series and work their way back into th...

On numerous occasions, I have dismissed any postseason hopes for the 2016 New York Yankees. Surprisingly, the last few weeks have forced me to consider reversing my position. While snagging the second wild card is still a long shot, a viable path does exist at the moment. There is little room for error, but if the Yankees continue to click on all cylinders, as they have done for the last two weeks or so, anything is possible. The Bombers currently sit 3.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for the second wild card spot. While some factors, such as the performance of the five teams they must leapfrog, are out of their control, as long as the Yankees live up to their end of the deal they should be in an optimal position moving forward. Below I will identify, and outline, how the Yankees can build off of their recent success, and remain in the thick of the hunt for the duration of the season. Photo Credit: Kathy Willens/AP

There can be no minimizing the importance of this series finale for the Yankees. Having won the first two games of the series, the Yankees entered Sunday's matchup 2.5 games behind the Orioles for the second wild card spot. A win would have brought them within 1.5 games, while a loss would have pushed the Bombers back to 3.5 games behind. Unfortunately for the Yankees, the latter of these diametrically opposed scenarios occurred. Securing a victory would have made their playoff hopes all the more realistic, however the offense failed to show up. As has been the case for most of the 2016 season, the Yankees came up just short. AP Photo/Kathy Willens

The AL East is entirely up for grabs this year. So far, three teams (the Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, and Toronto Blue Jays) have all held first place at some point this season, and the matter is far from decided, as the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Orioles, and Yankees all still have a shot at a division title. There is no dominant team in this division--the best record of the bunch currently belongs to Toronto, who, at 73-56 (.566), would be a second-place team in any other division aside from the NL West. However, if current standings hold, the AL East will put three teams in the playoffs. Since the revamping of the wild card rules before the 2012 season, there have been two times that one division had three playoff teams (2013 and 2015, both by the NL Central). Photo Credit: Joe Nicholson | USA TODAY Sports

Chad Green, who has dominated opposing batters the last two times on the mound, was looking for another quality start this afternoon against the Baltimore Orioles. He did not pitch well, but the Yankees did plenty with their bats to pull out the 13-5 victory on Saturday, taking the first two games in this huge weekend series with the O’s. They have now won four in a row, and are a season-high six games over .500 at 67-61. (Adam Hunger/Getty Images)

I know I may be getting ahead of myself here, but like many of you, I’m just simply excited for the future. That includes our pitching staff. Now I won’t delve into the bullpen because other than Dellin Betances, Tyler Clippard and Adam Warren, who knows what the rest of it will look like. I would, however, like to take a look at the rotation and how it may shape out and what options the Yankees have. Photo Credit: Anthony Gruppuso, USA TODAY Sports

This weekend in the Bronx, the Yankees, who enter the series at 65-61, will have a perfect opportunity to gain some ground in the wild card race. Having just completed a successful 4-2 road trip, they return home to face the Baltimore Orioles, currently 70-57, a team that is 4.5 games ahead of the Bombers for the pivotal second wild card spot. The Yankees could have easily went a perfect 6-0 on the road trip, however their failure to figure out Jhoulys Chacin, and Michael Pineda's inability to keep the ball in the ballpark prevented such a feat from occurring. That being said, the Yankees still control their own destiny. Led by rookie sensation Gary Sanchez, the Bombers hope to win their biggest series of the year. A poor performance this weekend could bring the team's long shot playoff hopes to an abrupt halt.

The Yankees opened the scoring in the first inning when Gary Sanchez, as predicted,  launched a solo bomb into the second deck for his ninth home run in his first 21 games, marking another Yankee record. In the bottom of the first inning Tanaka had a clean one-two-three inning after Aaron Judge threw out former Yankee Robinson Cano out trying to leg out a double to end the frame. Photo Credit: Getty Images

It's becoming painfully clear that the Yankees lineup is filled with a number of deadweights. As exciting as the youth movement has been, such good vibes have been bogged down by the presence of Brett Gardner, Chase Headley, Mark Teixeira, and Brian McCann. None of these players deserves to be on the roster next season. While Teixeira is retiring at year's end, Headley, Gardner, and McCann have time left on their contracts. The Yankees must deal all of them this offseason to complete the rebuild, and allow more Baby Bombers to make their way to the majors. For this reason, I'm calling on the Yankees to relegate these veterans to bench roles moving forward. Realistically, the Yankees are not good enough to be a wild card team. Their pitching simply is not up to par. The duration of the 2016 season should be dedicated towards building for 2017 and beyond. Below I will outline my recommended approach for handling the aforementioned veterans. Photo Credit: Elsa | Getty Ima...

As we head down the stretch towards the playoffs, these two teams are right in the playoff hunt, each vying for a wild card spot. Seattle heads in with a 66-57 record, just a game behind the Orioles in the Wild Card race. New York’s 63-60 puts them four games back. This is the second series of the season between these two, as Seattle took two out of three in the Bronx back in April. The Mariners have been hot as of late, owning a 14-6 record in August. The Yankees “youth movement” has pushed them three games over .500.

Once again, Chad Green made his case for being a part of the Yankees long-term plan. On an ordinary day, his six innings of one-run ball would have been more than enough to secure a victory. Unfortunately, the Yankees reverted back to their old ways offensively. The Bombers finished the day 1-7 with runners in scoring position, leaving a total of eight runners on base. Perhaps the most exciting highlight of an otherwise boring game, was Jacoby Ellsbury's home run-robbing catch in the bottom of the fifth inning. Needless to say, this was a frustrating one to watch. Seeing the Yankees look completely lost at the plate against a pitcher who entered the game with a 5.92 ERA is truly mind boggling. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

The “Baby Bombers” generation welcomed a new member to the family in their 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. In his first MLB start, RHP Luis Cessa dazzled the Angels line-up through six innings. Cessa notably became the fourth Mexican-native to make a start for the Pinstripers, as he joined countrymen Esteban Loaiza, Alfonso Pulido and Alfredo Aceves. His fastball consistently sat around 95 MPH and heavy-breaking 12-6 curveball devastated the Halo’s hitters. Cessa quickly worked through the Angels offense as he allowed just three singles and one walk. After Tyler Clippard replaced Cessa and inherited a runner at first, it looked as through Angeles slugger C.J. Cron wasn’t going to let Cessa end his first start with a shutout.  Cron belted a shot to left, but Brett Gardner miraculously tracked it perfectly and leapt into the stands to pull a home run back onto the field in what will surely be looked back at as one of the best plays in the 2016 MLB s...

After losing two of three games to the Toronto Blue Jays, the Yankees entered play on Friday six games out of an American League Wild Card spot. The Bronx Bombers were out in full force as they opened a critical six game west coast trip with a dominating 7-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels. The Yankees hit four solo home runs, including three in the fifth inning when they blew the game open against Angels starter Jeff Weaver. AP Photo/Reed Saxon

The Yankees hope to rebound from a tough series against the Toronto Blue Jays, in which they dropped two out of three, as they head to the West Coast to take on the Los Angeles Angels. The last two losses to the Blue Jays were a major setback for the Yankees' playoff hopes. After being propelled to a 1-0 victory on Monday, due in large part to Chad Green's dominance, the Yankees suffered two devastating losses. On Tuesday, following a lengthy rain delay, the bullpen blew a 6-0 lead. On Wednesday, Chase Headley's questionable fielding decisions were likely the determinative factor in the 7-4 loss. The Yankees enter the series at 61-59, good enough for fourth place in the AL East. They currently sit seven and a half games out of first place, and six games behind for the second wild card spot. Three games against the Los Angeles Angels (50-70) figure to be a perfect opportunity for the Yankees to reset themselves. At the very least, we'll continue to see the exciting at ba...

It wasn’t fair for the Yankees to lose 12-6 to the Toronto Blue Jays the other night. It wasn’t fair for a night that saw their 23-year-old catcher smack two home runs. After driving in four RBI’s in six innings, the game was put into a rain delay. And, well, we all know how the rest of the game panned out. Of course, he came right back the next day and put one over the centerfield wall in his first at-bat.

Heading into Wednesday’s game, the Yankees likely didn’t feel too good about themselves after blowing a 6-0 lead just last night. Even after that, the Yankees had a chance to win the series if they got a good start from CC Sabathia and the offense rallied behind him. A series victory would finally end the Blue Jays streak of four straight series wins at Yankee Stadium. Photo Credit: Seth Wenig | AP

In this podcast, BBB writers Steven Eareckson and James Grande discuss a plethora of Yankee-related concerns. Beginning with their takes on the ceremonial sendoff of Alex Rodriguez, and the events leading up to it, and concluding with their opinions on the Yankees recent youth movement, Steven and James touch upon a number of issues on the minds of Yankees fans. Though the two may not have agreed on much in the past when it comes to the Yankees, Steven and James surprisingly found some common ground on the current state of the ball club.

The Yankees came into Tuesday’s bout with the Blue Jays on a bit of a roll, winning five of their last six games. The Yankees unfortunately were facing off against one of the best pitchers in the American League this year in Marco Estrada. In two previous starts against the Yankees this season, Estrada was lights out. He allowed just three runs over 15 innings while striking out eight, which was good enough for a 1.80 ERA. Photo Credit: Kathy Willens | AP

In what turned out to be a frustrating evening for the Yankees with runners in scoring position, Chad Green made a strong case for a spot in the rotation moving forward. For six innings, Green dominated one of the most potent offenses in the league. After his horrendous start yesterday, Luis Severino was demoted to Triple-A. The story couldn't have been more different for Green tonight. He did more than enough to remain in the rotation for the foreseeable future. Although they wasted many opportunities on this humid night, Aaron Judge's RBI double proved to be enough to propel the Yankees to a narrow 1-0 victory. AP Photo/Kathy Willens

Like is often the case, 21 and 22-year old pitchers don’t always see results when they’re first called up to the Major Leagues. Whether it’s lack of secondary stuff or they’re simply nervous, every pitcher goes through a period of time where nothing seems to be working. As us Yankees fans have seen all year, Luis Severino has seemingly lost all confidence in himself and hasn’t put together a complete start during his entire 2016 campaign. That said, we’re not even close to the time we should give up on him as a starting pitcher. Photo Credit: Ray Stubblebine

Heading into this series, the Blue Jays are currently sitting in the first Wild Card spot, while the 60-57 Yankees sit only 3.5 games behind the Red Sox for the second Wild Card spot. Despite being sellers at the deadline, the Yanks have been 8-5 in the month of August thus far without their previously top hitter Carlos Beltran and top relievers Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller. Their transition to youth has provided new excitement in the Bronx. In nine meetings this season between these two, the Blue Jays have dominated to a record of 7-2, winning all three series.

Luis Severino came into today's start desperately needing to prove himself. In a young lineup that featured Didi Gregorius in the three-hole, along with Gary Sanchez catching, Tyler Austin at first, and Aaron Judge in right field, the Yankees were putting their youth on display. Unfortunately, Severino got the Yankees in a hole they couldn't dig themselves out of. Photo Credit: Bill Streicher | AP

After saying goodbye to the Alex Rodriguez era with the New York Yankees, there was actually an aroma of optimism surrounding the New York Yankees. The Yankees announced they were calling up corner outfielder and corner infielder Tyler Austin after his stellar renaissance year in the minor leagues. Then, the Yankees announced they were calling up 6’7” outfielder and household name prospect Aaron Judge. With both penciled in at the seventh and eighth spots in the lineup, they wasted no time stealing the show in their first career plate appearances. Baby Bombers turned Bronx Bombers, Austin and Judge hit back-to-back home runs - the first pair of teammates to hit back-to-back dingers in their first career at-bats in MLB history - as they propelled themselves to fan favorites. Building off that momentum, the Yankees would beat the Tampa Bay Rays 8-4 as the ball was flying out of Yankee Stadium today with five Yankee homers. Photo Credit: Bill Kostroun | AP

Alex Rodriguez's career (at least as a Yankee) has come to an end. Fortunately, he went out in style. On a night that was supposed to be about A-Rod, Starlin Castro stole the show. Castro's four RBIs, all of which came with two outs, propelled the Yankees to a 6-3 victory. Rodriguez's RBI double in the first inning was certainly a bittersweet moment. Seeing him get one last hit before the conclusion of his Yankees career made the night worthwhile. A-Rod received an emotional send off in the ninth inning. With one out, Girardi once again reneged on a promise he made. Contrary to his earlier statements, he rightfully allowed A-Rod to play the field, albeit briefly, so he could have a proper send off. AP Photo/Kathy Willens

Before I begin, I must note that this is probably the most emotional piece I've ever written here at the BBB. Alex Rodriguez's sudden, albeit forced, retirement has been difficult for me to mentally process this past week or so. Regardless of what one may think of his legacy and all the baggage associated with it, there's no denying that A-Rod has been a very consequential Yankee. During his time in pinstripes, A-Rod gave it his all. He may have made a number of mistakes along the way, but as far as I'm concerned, he's righted the ship. Though the retirements of Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, and especially Derek Jeter, were quite emotional for me, A-Rod is truly the last player I can connect to my childhood. Having been born in 1995, Rodriguez has been a Yankee since about as far back as I started following baseball. I've also been in the building for quite a few big A-Rod moments, which I'll elaborate on in the subsequent paragraphs. Taking ...

After taking two of three from the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees (58-56) will head back to the Bronx for a weekend series against the last place Tampa Bay Rays (46-67). The last time these two teams faced off, the Yankees were swept, and ultimately made sellers at the trade deadline. The Yankees will look a bit different this time around, with A-Rod leaving after Friday’s game, and youngsters like Gary Sanchez and either Tyler Austin or Aaron Judge occupying roster spots. Julie Jacobson - AP Photo

It was a night of opposites for the Yankees in tonight’s 4-2 win. As starter Michael Pineda (6-10, 5.07 ERA) delivered a solid performance on the mound, his offense failed him, scoring just one run. However, things got better once they hit the Boston bullpen. Brad Ziegler came in relief for Eduardo Rodriguez and was, well, shaky. After Gary Sanchez, Aaron Hicks and Brett Gardner all singled, Jacoby Ellsbury came to the plate. He roped a line drive to left field that appeared would be the 2nd out, but rookie Andrew Benintendi misplayed it, allowing two runs to score. Alex Rodriguez, playing in his last game at Fenway, came to the plate with the bases loaded. He grounded out, but brought in Gardner, giving the Yankees the 4-2 lead.

In the second game of this rivalry, the Yankees came from behind to win 9-4 at Fenway. The story of this game early on was starter Nathan Eovaldi leaving after just one inning with discomfort in his right elbow, as they had to use seven relievers after his exit. Gary Sanchez also hit his first career bomb in the win. Photo Credit: Jim Rogash | Getty Images

Luis Severino made his MLB debut against the Boston Red Sox on August 5th, 2015. A year and four days later, he made his redemption debut against the Red Sox. Tonight’s 5-2 loss was Severino’s first start since coming back to the big-league rotation, after a few spotless bullpen appearances. The Yankees were hoping that his success in the bullpen, where he retired 25 of 29 batters faced, would translate to the rotation. The righty tossed 4.1 innings, allowing five earned runs and seven hits while punching out three.

The Yankees are finally getting younger, as has been evidenced by the team's moves at the non-waiver trade deadline, along with the recent forced retirement of Alex Rodriguez. We should expect to see more moves along these lines heading into the offseason. There are three veteran players that the Yankees should explore trading as we move forward: Chase Headley, Brett Gardner, and Brian McCann. While I don't believe the Yankees will part ways with the first two players, a McCann trade is very likely. With the emergence of Gary Sanchez, the Yankees have a prime opportunity to see one of their own grow, and succeed at the major league level. McCann, at age 32, simply doesn't fit into the long term plans. If the Yankees can put together a package to ship McCann out of town later this month, they should pull the trigger.  Photo Credit:  Kim Klement | USA TODAY Sports

The Yankees will head to Boston Tuesday night for a three game series with their longtime AL East rivals. The two teams have met nine times this year with the boys from the Bronx victorious in three of those games. New York is coming off an impressive series win against the Cleveland Indians taking two of three games. Since the Yankees decided to sell the team has become so much more exciting to watch. Over the weekend the Yankees had two huge events happen: Mark Teixeira announced he would retire after the 2016 season and on Sunday the team announced that DH Alex Rodriguez would play his last game this Friday and then take on a special advisor role with the team thus effectively ending his playing career. As if times weren’t exciting enough the rivalry is renewed again, the Red Sox are in the thick of the playoff hunt though they have struggled as of late and the Yankees are not quite out of things yet as they could sneak back into contention with a good series against Boston.

In the wake of Alex Rodriguez’s press conference, the Yankees were able to capitalize on key hits and another stellar performance from Masahiro Tanaka. The bullpen was also able to shut things down and the Yankees win the season series over Cleveland 5-2 Photo Credit: Kathy Kmonicek | AP

A night after the Yankee offense exploded for 13 runs, the Indians hit three solo home runs, and got a dominating performance by 2014 Cy Young winner Corey Kluber on their way to a 5-2 win on Saturday afternoon,  Kluber, who’s had a great year overall, pitched eight strong innings, giving up just two runs and five hits, his fifth straight quality start in what has been another strong season. Old friend Andrew Miller [worked around a single by Brett Gardner], for the save in the ninth inning. Photo Credit: Kathy Kmonicek | AP

As has become evidently clear, the Yankees are in the midst of a transition period. After becoming sellers at the trade deadline for the first time in nearly three decades, the team is prioritizing the future. For the record, I have no problem with this. One of the unfortunate consequences of this reality is the marginalization of former-super star Alex Rodriguez. Prior to the deadline, Rodriguez found himself as a frequent bench occupant due to the need of protecting the health of Carlos Beltran, who brought back a significant return last week at the deadline. Before going any further, it would be disingenuous for me not to disclose that I'm a huge A-Rod supporter, and have been for quite some time. That being said, the way the Yankees have ostracized Rodriguez, is not only an insult to the player, but also an illogical approach for the organization to take, regardless of what you may think of the often maligned former-super star. Photo Credit: Howard Simmons/ New York Daily ...

Photo Credit: Seth Wenig | AP A long time ago (today, actually) , in a galaxy far, far away (fine, in the Bronx)...the Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians 13-7 on the night of their first-ever “Star Wars Night” promotion behind a decent outing by Michael Pineda and an offensive outburst by the Yankee lineup.

Photo Via Washington Post The Yankees will hold a press conference at 3:00 PM ET today where they will announce that first baseman Mark Teixeira will be retiring at the age of 36. In the final year of an eight-year, $180 million contract, Teixeira had initially stated that he was seeking an extension and wanted to play baseball for five more years. However, in wake of his recent struggles, and likely observations that the team is making a point to get younger, Teixeira has announced that he will be retiring.

The Yankees came out of the trade deadline fresh off becoming sellers for the first time in years. In spite of unofficially waiving the white flag, the Yankees showed some fight in them in game one of the Subway series rallying back from a 5-3 deficit to tie the game up in the eighth, then win it in extra innings. However, the Yankees were unable to build any momentum off that come-from-behind victory and wound up splitting the Subway Series. The Yankees are now slated to go up against one of the top teams in the American League, and their recent trade partner, the Cleveland Indians, in a three-game weekend series.

Thursday’s game marked the end of the 2016 Subway Series and Nathan Eovaldi took the hill looking for the 3-1 series win. Eovaldi had come into Thursday’s game on a bit of a roll, pitching well in all three of his starts since returning to the rotation. With a win, the Yankees and the Mets would both be 55-53, which is interesting as one team sold at the deadline while the other were considered buyers. However, the Yankees offense struggled mightily to hit with runners in scoring position as they dropped the series finale to spit the Subway Series at two games apiece. Photo Credit: Kathy Willens | AP

With the Yankees accumulating so much high-end talent, “future superstars”, to the system in recent days, it’s easy to forget that they have an emerging one already on the roster, Didi Gregorius. It hasn’t been an easy road for the Dutch native. He was never consistent playing time as a member of the Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks. He struggled mightily in his first few months in pinstripes. Through his first 70 games as a Yankee, he hit just .238 and looked a bit lost defensively, a surprise given his defense-first identity.

Clint Frazier Photo Credit: Cheryl Pursell | Pinstriped Prospects Trade deadline sellers for the first time in over 25 years, the New York Yankees made an abundance of trades in an attempt for a rebuild of some sort. Although the Yankees will remain competitive, the moves made were clearly in the interest of the team in the long term as opposed to this year's team. First, they went out and dealt Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs for four players including Gleyber Torres and Adam Warren. The Yankees next move was trading Andrew Miller to the Indians for four prospects including Clint Frazier. Then, the team acquired Tyler Clippard from the Diamondbacks to fortify the bullpen for the time being. But the Yankees weren't done there. On the day of the trade deadline, the Yankees traded Carlos Beltran to the Rangers for three prospects, and they got rid of Ivan Nova for two players to be named later from the Pirates. Now, hear from our very own writer's with their thoughts on the ...

Chad Green, making his fourth start of the year, labored tonight and was unable to make it through four innings. Luckily for him, he was picked up by the Yankees offense. The Bombers scored three runs in both the first and second innings en route to a 9-5 victory over the Mets on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium. Rich Schultz/Getty Images

Photo Credit: Kathy Willens | AP After winning an entertaining and exciting game in extra innings over the Mets last night, the Yankees faced Jacob deGrom and the newly acquired Jay Bruce to contend for NYC bragging rights.  deGrom and Masahiro Tanaka entered tonight's matchup as the aces for each team.  The Yankees had won five of their last seven games at Citi field dating back to the 2015 season heading into tonight.  Tanaka also entered tonight's game with the fifth best road ERA in the majors at 1.94. Unfortunately, Tanaka’s impressive road ERA skyrocketed tonight.

Ladies and gentlemen, the New York Yankees are officially in rebuilding mode. As a fan who has seen nothing but winning, never in my life did I think I would utter those words. In the days leading up to the deadline the Yankees traded Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, Carlos Beltran, and even Ivan Nova! While seeing the first three players depart saddens me as a fan, they were moves that had to be made. The Yankees brought back a significant return in terms of prospects for Chapman, Miller, and Beltran as they look ahead towards a brighter future. While General Manager Brian Cashman has been lauded as a genius in many circles, I find such praise to be grossly premature. Let's not forget that he's the same man who dug us into this hole. That being said, I'm looking forward to seeing the many talented young players the Yankees acquired develop in the coming years. Photo Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

It was a somber day for the New York Yankees. Guys like Carlos Beltran, Ivan Nova, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman were gone. The locker room wasn’t the same and the game they had to play tonight almost seemed like an afterthought. In tonight's 6-5 win, the Yankees showed that they might still have some energy left in them. Photo Credit: Kathy Willens | AP

Brian Cashman, fully embracing Hal Steinbrenner’s endorsement to sell off on the 2016 Yankees and begin preparing for a Yankee rebuild, while remaining competitive made a two blockbuster deals headlined by top prospects, and he continued his pursuit of young talent during today’s trade deadline. Cashman reached a deal with the Texas Rangers parting ways with the heart and soul of the offense, Carlos Beltran, in return for the Rangers fifth ranked prospect, RHP Dillion Tate, as well as two other right-handers Erik Swanson and Nick Green. Photo Credit: Adam Hunger | USA TODAY Sports

As a New York baseball fan, this is one of the best times of the year, the Subway Series between the Yankees and Mets. Although neither team will probably win their respective divisions, the Mets are still within reaching distance of a Wild Card spot, as they sit just 2.5 games behind the Marlins.  Last season was just the fourth time that both made the playoffs, as the Mets ended up losing in the World Series. This season, the Yankees have entered sell-mode and the Mets have struggled with their offense and key injuries. Entering this series, both teams have really struggled lately. The Yankees have lost four straight, including getting swept against the lowly Rays this past weekend. The four-game skid has dropped them back to a .500 record at 52-52. The Mets were also on a four-game losing streak before yesterday’s comeback victory, as they head in with a 54-50 record.