Bronx Bomber Ball

After a regular season that was marred by injuries, we are down to just the last few games and the playoffs are just over a week away. Despite a comical slew of injuries, the Yankees have punched their ticket to the postseason and have also managed to get back most of their major contributors. While they will head into the ALDS with as close to their “Death Star” lineup as we’ve seen all season, there are a few players that will not make it back for this year’s Yankees and one of the most notable is Dellin Betances.  Credit: Bill Kostroun/AP

Heading into their final five regular season games of the 2019 season, the Yankees have wrapped up most of their business, with just a few loose ends left over.   The Yankees just concluded their final regular season homestand this past week, taking two of three from both the Angels and Blue Jays, wrapping up their first AL East crown in seven years in the process.   The final homestand saw the Yankees hit the 100-win mark for the second consecutive season, the return of Luis Severino (who dominated in his two appearances) and Giancarlo Stanton, as well as the final regular season start for future Hall of Famer Carsten Charles Sabathia.   CC was honored with an emotional ceremony on Sunday afternoon, his last ever regular season game at Yankee Stadium.

Prior to Thursday’s game against the Boston Red Sox, the Yankees placed Brett Gardner on the 10-day IL with left knee inflammation. The move is retro active to Monday July 22 nd and LHP Stephen Tarpley was recalled from Triple A to fill the roster spot. Credit: Elsa/Getty Images

The Yankees 12-1 victory completed the series sweep of the Rays behind an offensive explosion and excellent start from CC Sabathia, who added another milestone to his historic career with his 250th career win. Sabathia is now the 14th pitcher in Major League history to reach 250 wins and 3,000 strikeouts, well on his way to Cooperstown.   Photo Credit: NJ.com

With the Yankees looking forward to some big returns and additions to their lineup this week, Masahiro Tanaka took the mound on Monday night and reminded everyone that the Yankees have some pretty good players at their disposal already. Aided by some early offense, Tanaka was never threatened and turned in the best outing by a Yankees’ starter this season. Although this game saw the Yankee debut of slugger Edwin Encarnacion, Tanaka was the story as he spun a gem and his complete game shutout helped the Yankees to a 3-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Credit: Getty Images/Kyodo News

As June begins, if there is one thing to be said about the 2019 New York Yankees, it is that no matter how much adversity or injuries ravage this team, they are a group who not only accept whatever hardships come their way, but they will continue to thrive. Despite numerous key players spending a significant amount of time on the injured list, this continues to be a team that is not only fun to watch, but one that anybody should be afraid to play, regardless of the lack of superstars on the field. Photo Credit: Paul J. Bereswill

Yankees’ closer Aroldis Chapman has been awarded the American League Reliever of the Month award for May. During the month, Chapman was a perfect 11 for 11 in save opportunities and currently has 17 for the season overall. He is also sporting a 1.52 ERA for the season in 23.2 IP. This the fourth time in his career that Chapman has brought home a Reliever of the Month award and his second time as a Yankee. Chapman and Mariano Rivera are the only two Yankee pitchers to bring home a Reliever of the Month Award. Credit: Michael Owens/AP

After banking a nice, weekend series win against the Minnesota Twins, the Yankees looked to continue their winning ways against longtime nemesis Felix Hernandez. While Felix has dominated the Yankees countless times over the years, the story was quite different in this one. With more healthy reinforcements arriving in the form of Clint Frazier, the Yankees wasted no time jumping on King Felix en route to a 7 – 3 win Credit: Elsa/Getty Images

The Yankees looked to split the two game series in Arizona following a 3-1 loss on C.C.’s historic day. Masahiro Tanaka tried to rebound from his last start in Anaheim where he allowed five earned runs in 5 2/3 innings. He only went four innings today, allowing 3 earned runs and striking out six. The Yankees’ offense was non-existent once again as they were only able to put up two runs, losing 3-2. Credit: Matt York/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

Coming off a very frustrating opening weekend where they dropped two of three games to the Baltimore Orioles, and following the bad injury news the received Monday afternoon, the Yankees sought to get back in the win column Monday night against the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers split their opening series with the Toronto Blue Jays despite scoring just six runs in four games, so Monday night presented an opportunity to get back in the win column against an inferior opponent. The Yankees did just that, securing a 3 – 1 win behind a solid outing from Domingo German and shutdown relief out of the bullpen . Credit: Julie Jacobson/AP Photo

Following a thrilling victory on Opening Day, the Yankees, in disappointing fashion, dropped the final two games of the set to the Baltimore Orioles. The team’s RISP woes that lingered throughout 2018 came back to haunt them, having left 25 runners on base over the course of those two losses. Looking to move forward, the Bombers will welcome the Detroit Tigers to the Bronx for the second series of the young season. The Tigers are coming off of a 4-game split with the division-rival Blue Jays, during which they were outscored 12-6. This is a must-win series for New York, as the Tigers are a team without hopes of contention although they stand in perhaps baseball’s weakest division. The Yanks struggled mightily last season against teams under .500, and that’s something that needs to change in 2019 if they want to claim their first division title in seven years.

The Yankees came into the rubber game determined to come out of the opening series with a win as Aaron Judge expressed how much these games meant in the long run. However, the Yankees were unable to beat the lowly Orioles for the second consecutive day and drop to 1-2 on the season.   Photo Credit: Seth Wenig

After what seemed like a never-ending offseason and a month’s worth of spring training games, the Yankees are finally back in regular season action on Thursday afternoon against one of their division rivals, the Baltimore Orioles. Both teams are going in different directions coming into the 2019 season. The Yankees are fresh off their second straight Wild Card win, but also their second consecutive elimination prior to reaching the Fall Classic. Expectations are high once again in the Bronx, as the Yankees are bringing back a similar squad, along with some key offseason acquisitions, that helped them win 100 games a year ago.  The Orioles are in a blatant rebuilding mode and come in projected to be one of the worst teams in the American League. They have some solid young players, but are not labeled as serious contenders for 2019. Nevertheless, this series should not be assumed to be an easy sweep for the Yankees. They severely struggled against teams below .500 las...

The Yankees open 2019 with one goal in mind, to win a World Series Championship. Anything less would be considered a disappointment. In order to achieve this, New York will need solid production from the entire roster, but a couple players stand out as most important for the Yankees to secure their 28th title. Photo Credit: Kim Klement | USA TODAY Sports

Over the past few seasons, the Yankees’ infield has undergone a significant transformation. The old guard of veterans is gone and has been replaced by confidant young guns, two of which were finalists for the 2018 Rookie of the Year award. While many of the same names from the end of last year are returning, there are some new faces in the fold that are looking to stake their claim for a role. The unfortunate injury that will force Didi Gregorius to miss a significant portion of the season will also play a role in how Aaron Boone deploys his infielders this season. Let’s look at them position by position. Credit; Elsa/Getty Images