Bronx Bomber Ball

Through the first seven games of the young season, Aaron Judge has surprisingly not yet left the yard.   Judge reached base four times on opening day (two hits, two walks), but has since gone 5-for-23 (.217) with five walks (one intentional) and 13 punchouts.   Perhaps his ugliest game came just yesterday when he recorded his second 'Golden Sombrero' of the season, albeit due to a questionable strike zone. Photo Credit: Sarah Stier/Getty Images

Aaron Boone was hesitant to make the move at first, and understandably so. The New York Yankees have arguably the best hitting catcher in baseball in Gary Sanchez, so ideally Boone would like to get him into the lineup as much as possible. However, in a game where raw statistics are so important, it is hard to argue with the numbers, and the numbers say that Sonny Gray is a better pitcher when Austin Romine is behind the plate laying down the signs. Even if it means giving Sanchez a few more off days than you would like, there is a strong case for Romine being Gray’s personal catcher. Photo Credit: NJ.com

Chad Green made quite a name for himself out of the Yankee bullpen in 2017. The 26-year-old righty finished the season with a perfect 5-0 record to go along with a dazzling 1.83 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, 1.75 FIP, and 13.4 K/9 rate. In 69 innings, Green picked up 103 strikeouts, walking just 17 and he only allowed 34 hits, holding hitters to a .147 batting average against. With his dominance, Green became one of the most trusted relievers in the Yankee bullpen. Despite that, Brian Cashman and Green made headlines yesterday when Cashman told MLB.com's Bryan Hoch that Green would enter 2018 as a starting pitcher, with pitching out of the bullpen as the fallback option.   Photo Credit: Charles Wenzelberg

Coming into this year’s American League Wild Card Game, the Yankees will be sending their ace Luis Severino to the hill to face Ervin Santana of the Twins. Santana, 34, enjoyed one of the best years of his career in Minnesota this year pitching to a 16-8 record with a 3.28 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and .225 BAA in 211.1 innings. While he is the Minnesota ace, there are plenty of signs that the Yankees can jump all over him in his win or go home playoff. Photo Credit: Christopher Pasatieri | Getty Images

Throughout the course of the regular season the Yankees bullpen went from being the team's biggest strength, to an astonishing weakness, and back to an overpowering strength. With ace right hander Luis Severino taking the mound against the Twins in Tuesday's AL Wild Card game, the Yankees will hope to get a solid outing from their starter. Even if Severino were only to last five innings, the Yankees have enough bullpen depth to feel comfortable about emerging victorious. In the subsequent paragraphs, I will analyze the bullpen hierarchy heading into Tuesday's do-or-die game. Though my analysis begins with the pitchers Joe Girardi will turn to in the later innings, it is twofold in the sense that the discussion will encompass reliability in addition to bullpen role. Photo Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke/ Newsday

Jacoby Ellsbury has been labeled as “the 153-million-dollar bust”, “the most expensive fourth outfielder”, and by many on Yankees Twitter, “The Thief,” due to his lucrative contract and relatively poor play over the course of his Yankee tenure. Putting the monstrous contract aside, Ellsbury has displayed the ability of being an extremely talented player with his ability to put the bat on the ball, play phenomenal outfield defense, and cause chaos on the bases during the course of his career in Major League Baseball. Other than flashes of superb defense and the occasional pinch-run situation, Ellsbury has failed to successfully implement his skillset into the Yankees offense in 2017, until the calendar month flipped to September. Photo Credit: Getty Images

Yankees' number two prospect Clint Frazier was the prized jewel of the 2016 Andrew Miller trade, with a bodacious attitude to go along with fiery red hair, he was instantly popular among the New York faithful. Although he was unmistakably talented, with "legendary bat speed," according to GM Brian Cashman, the young outfielder was unpolished, and that mane was getting more attention in spring training than his play, and he would spend the beginning of the season in the minors. Zack Whittman of The New York Times

Almost immediately after his call-up last summer, Gary Sanchez ignited the youth movement that has come to define the New York Yankees ever since. Sanchez put up otherworldly numbers during his rookie campaign, making a viable case for Rookie of the Year despite having played in only three Major League games prior to August 2016. In 2017, however, Sanchez has provoked the ire of many Yankees fans. Though his offensive numbers are well above average, his play behind the plate has been mediocre at best. It also appears that Sanchez doesn't have the right attitude, as is evidenced by his lack of hustle down the line, for example. Make no mistake about it, Gary Sanchez will be the Yankees' catcher for years to come, but that does not exclude him from some much earned criticism. AP Photo

**all stats prior to last night's game vs. Toronto** Amidst a  two-month  struggle that has seen them drop below the Boston Red Sox in the American League East standings, there has been one glaring weakness with the 2017 New York Yankees: their ability to hit with runners in scoring position.   Following their win over the Los Angeles Angels o n June 12th , the Yankees stood at 38-23, a season high 15 games over .500 and  a full four games ahead of the Red So x.  Since then, The Yankees have combined to go 21-29 and have dropped  eight games in the standings to the Red Sox.    Photo Credit:  Jim McIsaac/Getty Images A quick look at the league leaders show the Yankees fourth in runs scored with 575  runs.  That's great, right? Why go any further. Well, let's examine that stat a bit more.   Over  their first 6 1 games, the team scored a  combined  358  runs, good for a rate of 5.8...

There is no debate that over his past two series, and even in the All-Star Game, Aaron Judge has been scuffling at the plate. Not including the Midsummer Classic, Judge has only four hits in his last 29 at-bats, which is good for a minuscule .138 batting average. He is currently on a six-game homerless streak, which is his longest of the season, and has not driven in a run in the same time span. He has struck out 13 times and seen his average fall by .17 points. While there is no denying that his performance as of late has been subpar, it is undeniably foolish to refer to Judge’s first-half as a fluke or that the Home Run Derby ruined his approach and swing. Aaron Judge has been on a tear for all of 2017 and is now in the midst of his first true slump, since his dramatic hitting overhaul from the 2016-2017 offseason. Photo Credit: USA Today Let’s start with the Home Run Derby nonsense. Many players in baseball decline invites to the All-Star Game festivity, because they feel i...

For years, I have criticized general manager Brian Cashman, often berating him repeatedly in many of my articles here at the BBB. This season, I have come to the realization that Cashman has actually done quite an amazing job over these past few years. Don't get me wrong, Cashman has had his share of mistakes. We need look no further than his decision to give up Martin Prado for Nathan Eovaldi, give Chase Headley a four-year contract, or hand Ellsbury $153 million over seven years. The past three seasons and offseasons, on the other hand, have been a different story. The vast majority of Cashman's moves have been so brilliant that I've decided to reverse course, and praise a man I formerly had nothing but scorn for. Below, I identify and elaborate on Cashman's five best moves these last three years, and explain why these transactions have been essential to the Yankees 2017 success. Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

As I contemplated writing this piece, I knew I would be criticized by those who believe discussing such a topic at this point in time constitutes nothing more than premature conjecture. While it is still only early May, the Yankees' impressive 21-11 start shows that they have what it takes to be a real contender this season. Meanwhile, there are areas where the Bombers can improve. In order to go on a deep playoff run, the Yankees NEED another starting pitcher. CC Sabathia's recent implosions signify that the Yankees may very well have to replace him in the rotation at some point this season. The Yankees have plenty of time to get the wheels rolling on making such an improvement. One name that makes the most sense for this season, and moving forward, is Gerrit Cole. The Pittsburgh Pirates will no doubt have astronomically high demands for their ace. The Yankees have what it takes to make this trade happen. The pressing question, however, is if the Bombers are willing to part wi...

Even since before he came to the Yankees, Michael Pineda has been a tantalizing talent and an equally frustrating one as well. Pineda broke into the big leagues with the Seattle Mariners in 2011 and has always flashed plus stuff but he has also had trouble with consistency and had some untimely run ins with the injury bug as well. This is probably a piece that gets written somewhere early in every season when Big Mike pitches well, but could this finally be the year that Pineda puts it all together and pitches like the ace we continue to see flashes of? Photo Credit: Getty Images

I'm going to try my best to stay grounded here because my better  judg ment  tells me to, but at the risk of jumping the gun a  bit...is  this the year Yankees' second baseman Starlin Castro finally puts it all together?   I would like to begin by reminding  everyone, myself included, that Castro did this to us last year too upon donning the pinstripes for the first time.  In his first month with the team,  Starlin  came out guns blazing, hitting at a .305 clip in April of 2016 with 12 runs batted in.  After two seasons of Brian Roberts, Dean Anna, Jose Pirela, Brendan Ryan and everyone's favorite Stephen Drew, Yankees fans could finally rejoice:  w e had a real, honest-to-goodness second baseman!     Photo Credit: Getty Images

Who would have thought that in 2017 CC Sabathia would reclaim his former title as Yankees ace? That's right, nobody. Granted, it is still only mid-April so things will change as the season progresses, but there is no denying that Sabathia has been the Yankees best starter thus far. With Masahiro Tanaka struggling, Michael Pineda trying to move past the inconsistencies that have plagued his career (though he's had two straight great starts), and Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery establishing themselves as major leaguers, old reliable CC Sabathia has provided the Yankees starting staff with a much needed steady presence. In his three outings this season, Sabathia has gotten better each time. It appears that Sabathia has finally succeeded in his attempt to transform himself as a pitcher with diminishing velocity. If Sabathia can keep this up, Yankees fans might just be begging for him to return next season, albeit at a much lower salary than he's accustomed to earning. ...

In the bottom of the seventh inning of Wednesday’s matinee against the Tampa Bay Rays, Aaron Judge hit his third home run in as many games. Through eight games, Judge is batting .308 with three home runs and seven RBIs. Early on in the campaign, the 6'7" right fielder has shown a propensity for producing clutch hits with exit velocities nearing 120 mph. Photo Credit: Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

Drafted out of Mississippi State University in the sixth round of the 2014 draft, Jonathan Holder ranks in at number 28 on the BBB prospect list. Holder has been impressive throughout his minor league tenure with the Bombers, earning a brief call up last season. Though he struggled a bit during his few games in the majors, Holder has a bright future. With the "Scranton Shuttle" strategy the Yankees have employed for the bullpen over the last couple of seasons expected to be in full swing once again come 2017, it's fair to predict Holder will find himself in the majors sooner rather than later. Photo Credit: L.E. Miller/ New York Daily News

When the Yankees sent then-top prospect Jesus Montero to the Seattle Mariners prior to the 2012 season, they were expecting to receive a top flight starter in return. Michael Pineda, having come off an impressive rookie campaign with the Mariners, appeared to be an ace in the making. Though he went 9-10 in his rookie season, Pineda put up a 3.74 ERA while accumulating 173 strikeouts in 171 innings. Pineda has been anything but an ace since arriving in New York. Lucky for the Yankees, Montero turned out to be a complete bust. With free agency on the horizon for Pineda, 2017 will be a make or break season. We know Pineda has the talent to be a dominant starting pitcher. Most of his problems, however, seem to emanate from mental issues. Barring a Cy Young season, this will likely be Pineda's last ride in pinstripes. Considering the fact that the Yankees are banking on the erratic right hander to help anchor an already shaky rotation, we can only hope Pineda is motivated by his imminen...

The 2016-2017 offseason is underway, and the Yankees have many holes to fill. General Manager Brian Cashman got off to a quick start this past week, making a series of moves. Trading Brian McCann, releasing Dustin Ackley, and designating Nathan Eovaldi for assignment are amongst the most notable. Still, the Yankees have quite a few flaws on their roster, particularly the pitching staff. In this article, we’ve decided to do a position-by-position breakdown of how the Yankees are looking across the diamond. For some positions, the Bombers have a degree of certainty. Conversely, there are many open spaces on this roster that need to be filled by opening day, whether that be via free agency, trades, or even from within. The Yankees have been connected to some big free agents, but have also expressed a desire to get under the luxury tax threshold. The Yankees can approach this offseason in a number of ways. We’ll just have to sit back as usual and watch the process unfold. Photo via NJ....

After an impressive series that saw the New York Yankees (73-65) sweep the rival Toronto Blue Jays, the Bombers will welcome the Tampa Bay Rays to the Bronx as they begin a four game set. As was the case against the Blue Jays, this series will be crucial for the Yankees as they hang on to their slim playoff odds. With the Rays record at 59-79, it’s safe to say they aren’t the best team around. But, the Yankees cannot play down to their level, as they sometimes have a habit of doing so.