Bronx Bomber Ball

It is almost as though fans aren’t phased by it anymore. Over the course of the past month that baseball has been “in session,” the Yankees have accrued enough players on the Injured List to add up to $87 million worth of payroll as of April 7th.  They have also led MLB in the category of… most injured players.   The injury woes didn’t start with the season opener, either; we can’t forget that prior to the start of the 2019 season, Didi Gregorius underwent Tommy John surgery.   Dellin Betances has his shoulder issue, which started during Spring Training.   Aaron Hicks had, and continues to have, back problems.   Jacoby Ellsbury… we won’t even go there (or discuss the astronomical numbers he has cost the Yankees at this point).   Luis Severino, devastatingly, suffered a shoulder injury during Spring Training, which changed the outlook for the starting rotation that already had to regroup -- thanks to the previously-accounted for absence of C.C. Sabathi...

On July 29, 2018, the Yankees sent struggling reliever Chasen Shreve, along with Giovanny Gallegos, to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for a little-known first baseman: Luke Voit, a career .240 hitter. You know what happened next. In 64 games as a Yankee to this point, Voit is sitting on a .301/.390/.611 slash with 21 home runs. Fleecing teams has become almost routine for Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman during his 22 seasons at the helm. Nick Swisher for Wilson Betemit in 2008, Didi Gregorius for Shane Greene in 2012, Aaron Hicks for John Ryan Murphy in 2015; the list goes on and on. The next member of the club could be here already and we just don’t know it yet - literally. Photo Credit: New York Post In a last-minute deal before the start of the regular season, the Yankees acquired outfielder Mike Tauchman from the Rockies for minor-league pitcher Philip Diehl. Tauchman had proven to be a modest hitter at Triple-A who hadn’t been able to put it together in the...

Once again, the New York Yankees put a tally in the win column, something they have done eight of the last nine times they have taken the field.  It was a beautiful day for matinee baseball in San Francisco and the Yanks played an all-around solid game, beating the Giants 6-4 while securing a series win ahead of Sunday’s matchup.

The Yankees piled on 15 hits tonight in San Francisco to take game one of this three-game set against the Giants by a score of 7-3. In a lineup stacked with right-handed batters, Luke Voit and D.J. LeMahieu led the pack with three hits each. 

The Yankees are on to the next leg of their first bleary-eyed (at least for those of us on the East Coast), Pacific road trip: a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants.   And in spite of the fact that the Bombers have nearly a full squad worth of offensive players on the Injured List (with Clint Frazier being the most recent unfortunate addition), and even with disappointing outings from Chad Green that resulted in him being sent back down to AAA, they should -- against all odds -- be entering the series with some degree of confidence.  While the bullpen couldn't hold it together on Thursday night to stop the Los Angeles Angels from scoring 11 unanswered runs, the Yankees' offense did not quit and tried to rally all the way into the 9th inning.  Not to mention: they collectively stole five bases in one game.  Luke Voit is currently proving that he’s not a fluke.   Gary Sanchez has finally returned to the lineup.   Mike Ford, whil...

Carrying a six-game winning streak into the series finale in Anaheim, the Yankees looked poised to sweep the Angels after jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the fifth. Then, the wheels came off, as New York allowed the Halos to score 11 unanswered runs over a three-inning span, en route to an 11-5 drubbing in Southern California. The lone bright spot was Luke Voit, who went 3-5 on the night, and   7-18 (.389) with two home runs in the series. Photo Credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo

With a plethora of outfielders on the IL, the Yankees struck a move Thursday morning to improve their outfield depth by trading for veteran outfielder Cameron Maybin from the Cleveland Indians. The move was first reported by Jack Curry of YES.   Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports

It took the better part of nine innings, but the banged-up Yankees did just enough to secure a win in Anaheim. They were on the back foot almost immediately thanks to a solo shot from Andrelton Simmons in the first inning, given up by CC Sabathia. Carsten Charles would not reach the famed 3,000 strikeout mark in this game, but he would draw ever closer. His career total now sits at 2,997 after five innings of work. However, he would surrender another Simmons solo homer and a bigger blow, a Kole Calhoun three-run blast that gave Los Angeles a five-run lead in the fourth inning.    Photo courtesy of AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez

Right-hander Chad Green and backup catcher Kyle Higashioka have been optioned to Triple-A. In the corresponding moves, left-hander Stephen Tarpley has been called up and Gary Sanchez has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. Jomboy of Talkin’ Yanks was first on the Green demotion and the moves were later confirmed by Yankees PR. Photo Credit: Chris Carlson/AP

The Yankees came into the game last night looking to win their fifth straight game and guarantee at least a series tie against the Angels. It wasn’t pretty at the end, but they were able to do exactly that behind a solid offensive performance and a great start by Domingo Germán.   Photo Credit: Chris Carlson | AP Photo

After a strong week at home where they went 5-1, the Yankees headed west to open a four-game set against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim. Coming off his best start of the season, the Yankees sent JA Happ to the hill to face old foe Matt Harvey. With the Yankees still struggling mightily with injuries, runs were hard to come by in this one but in the end, it was Gio Urshela that delivered an RBI single in the top of the 14th and sent the Yankees to a 4 – 3 victory . Credit: AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

On the heels of a nerve-wracking Easter Sunday victory, the Yankees head to the west coast to open up a three-series road trip - the first being a four-game set against the Los Angeles Angels. Winners of five of their last six and two straight series, the beaten down Yanks will look to ride their momentum forward as the returns of lineup stalwarts Gary Sanchez and Giancarlo Stanton inch closer.

It wasn’t supposed to be this difficult. James Paxton, who is off to a historic start in his young Yankees career, exited after the sixth with a 5-0 lead thanks in part to another home run from Clint Frazier. Tommy  Kahnle  pitched a scoreless seventh inning, and then Aaron Boone handed the ball to Chad Green for the eighth . Things did not go as planned from that moment on.    Photo courtesy of AP/Adam Hunger

Coming off an impressive two-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox, the Yankees were flat yesterday as they dropped game one of the four-game series versus the lowly Royals. However, the bats woke up today and backed CC Sabathia’s second consecutive start in which he allowed zero earned runs.   Photo Credit: Frank Franklin II | AP

Riding high after last night’s dramatic win over Boston, the Yankees failed to carry that momentum into tonight’s series opener with the Royals, falling 6-1 to Kansas City. With the loss, New York is now a combined 3-7 at home against projected American League cellar dwellers Baltimore, Detroit, Chicago and Kansas City.  Photo Credit: Julio Cortez/AP Photo

The New York Yankees and the Kansas City Royals will be meeting for the first time this season for a weekend four-game set in the Bronx.  The Yankees have dominated the Royals in recent memory with a 19-8 record against the AL Central foe over the last four seasons, via  baseball-reference .  Both teams come into this series with below .500 records as the Yanks sit at 8-9 and the Royals at 6-12.

Death, taxes, and injured Yankees, w ell, at least that’s what it feels like.   The latest to succumb to the 2019 injury bug is first baseman Greg Bird with a plantar fascia tear.   At the break of the news, Bird was placed on the 10-day IL, but after some review it seems the injury is more severe than originally expected.   An injury of this nature will likely sideline Bird for at least a couple months, if not more.   Although past injuries that Bird has suffered are not related, it’s worth mentioning that Bird has played just 140 major league games since 2015.   Photo Credit: NY Post

The Yankees and the Red Sox have both had rough starts to the season, yet the Yanks were the team in this series that found themselves getting back to their winning ways over this two game set. The Yanks blew out the Sox on Tuesday night, and on Wednesday night they had to come from behind to win it, which they did, fueled by a late Brett Gardner grand slam as the Yanks completed the two game sweep with a 5-3 victory. Photo Credit:: AP Kathy Willens   JA Happ had the ball for the Yankees in this one and early on it looked like yet another horrible start for the lefty. J.D Martinez took Happ deep in the first for a solo shot, and Christian Vazquez sent a two-run shot over the right field wall to give the Red Sox a 3-0 advantage in the second. Happ would settle down however and not allow another run, going six and a third and most importantly keeping his team in the game. Photo Credit: AP Kathy Willens The Yankee lineup had some trouble figuring out former Yanke...

James Paxton pitched a gem in his first start against the Red Sox in pinstripes.  The Big Maple threw eight shutout innings with 12 strikeouts against only two hits and one walk.  Six of his strikeouts came in-a-row between the sixth and eighth innings.  His counterpart for the day, however, did not fare as well.  Chris Sale lasted five innings, giving up four runs on seven hits.  The outing actually improved his ERA, as he came into the day with an ERA of 9.00.  After Sale’s first time through the Yankees’ lineup, the Bombers dominated the Red Sox pitching, scoring eight runs on 11 hits. Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images The scoring got started off in the bottom of the third inning.  After a Brett Gardner leadoff double, Austin Romine moved Gardy over to third base with a sac-fly to right.  A Mike Tauchman strikeout brought up DJ LeMahieu who hit a single to the opposite field against the shift to ...

The Rivalry is back, and the 2019 edition begins with both teams in different positions than they had hoped for. The Yankees and Red Sox have both struggled so far this season, but it is still likely the AL East will come down to these two at the end of the year making these two games extremely important. The Yankees come into this series losing five of their last six after dropping a series to the lowly Chicago White Sox. This team desperately needs a spark that the dramatics of this great rivalry might provide.   Photo Credit: CBS

After one-hitting the White Sox the day prior, the Yankees looked to win their second in a row and win the series during Sunday’s rubber game. Unfortunately for the Yanks, the home run ball came back to bite them, leading to a 5-2 loss. Masahiro Tanaka toed the rubber for the Yanks to start this game and he came out firing. After striking out four of the first five batters he faced, Tanaka looked poised to continue his dominant start to the season. Unfortunately for the Yankees, he just couldn’t get it done. Photo Credit: AP Photo/Seth Wenig

They’re bruised.   They’re battered.   They’re dinged up, but nevertheless, the show must go on.   The Yankees looked to bounce back after an ugly three game sweep at the hands of the Houston Astros.   The middling Chicago White Sox are in town, and the Yankees unfortunately kicked the series off with a 9-6 loss. Photo Credit: Michael Owens | AP Photo

By all appearances on paper, the the 2019 New York Yankees are doing well.  They are second in the American League East and are stacked with talent.  However, they are very much facing an uphill battle, a battle that’s more apparent when looking at their frankly unacceptable 5-6 record.  Their position in the standings is a reflection of the ineffectiveness of the other teams in the division, rather than the effectiveness of the Yankees so far this season. Of course, a large part of the blame for such a battle can be placed on the fact that the Yanks, currently, have 11 players on the Injured List (if, of course, you count one Jacoby Ellsbury), in positions ranging from the infield, outfield, bullpen, and starting rotation.  The once-hopeful 2019 season is growing more and more difficult to be optimistic about, considering how many players will not return until May, or even June. However, that’s not the only uphill battle the Yanks are facing....

The Yankees looked to avoid the sweep following abysmal performances by the bullpen in the first two games. The Yanks fell flat in the last game of the series, with a final score of 8-6. Paxton was unable to control the Astros’ offense, as he allowed five earned runs over four innings. The offense looked completely overmatched by Astros starter Collin McHugh, who struck out nine through six innings. The Yankees’ rally late in the game was not enough to complete the comeback. Photo Credit: Michael Wyke | AP Photo

The Yankees looked to rebound from their ugly loss in game one of their series against the Astros. Even though they did lead two different times, but weren’t able to hold on to it. The bullpen wasn’t good enough yet again, the defense wasn’t sound, and they only managed to get five hits. At the end of the day there was a very similar feel to the first game.  Photo Credit: AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith

The Yankees looked to ride the offensive wave they started in Baltimore in game one of a three game set against Justin Verlander and the Astros in Houston. The offense was not the problem as the Yanks were able to force Verlander out of the game in the seventh with a 3-1 lead, but Zack Britton and Adam Ottavino coughed up the lead, with Houston eventually coming away with the victor in this one by the count of 4-3. Photo Credit: Eric Christian Smith/AP Photo

The Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, earning their first series win of 2019. Domingo German pitched six solid innings allowing only two hits. However, it was the Yankees’ offensive outburst with seven home runs, including three from slugger Gary Sanchez, that led to a win on this sunny afternoon, with a final score of 15-3.  Photo Credit: Rob Carr/Getty Images