Bronx Bomber Ball

The Yankees will be watching the World Series from their couches for the 13th consecutive season, Aaron Judge is a free agent with no guarantee of his return, the Yankees are the laughingstock of the league this week after playing an embarrassing 2004 Red Sox ALCS comeback montage as motivation from their own 3-0 ALCS deficit.  Oh yeah, and did we mention we lost to Houston AGAIN?  Things are very-bad, no-good in Yankeeland right now as we embark on another offseason of frustrations and questions about where things went so wrong.  The writers of the BBB each weigh in on the state of the team and the franchise as a whole. ICYMI @RealMichaelKay went off on the #Yankees for their tone deaf “motivational” tactics prior to getting swept in the ALCS. pic.twitter.com/LPceBpzwmx — Bronx Bomber Ball (@BronxBomberBall) October 24, 2022

Hello darkness, our old friend. Another failed postseason. Another infuriating defeat at the hands of the Houston Astros. Another offseason of questions that lies ahead .  In our first of a few 2022 recap pieces, the boys of the Bronx Bomber Babble Podcast break down a few burning questions for this team as we head into the offseason and look ahead at the state of the franchise that has lost their way and still hasn’t been able to solve the October riddle.   Photo Credit: MLB.com

The Yankees dropped Game One of the 2022 American League Championship Series last night in predictable fashion - an offensive no show at the mercy of Justin Verlander, but more frustratingly, because of the bullpen mismanagement of manager Aaron Boone.  Thoughts below from some of our writers as we react to the moves Boone made not just last night, but throughout his Yankees tenure. Photo Credit: Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

  Good riddance to the Cuban Missile.   After not showing up for a mandatory team workout last week, the Yankees have announced that Aroldis Chapman will not be on the ALDS roster and, in all likelihood, will never suit up for the team again.   This strange ending to an otherwise fairly successful saga is the cherry on top of a truly terrible year for Chapman, one which saw him struggle through multiple IL stints as well as general ineffectiveness.   He won’t be missed. Photo Credit: Frank Franklin Ii/Associated Press

With the All Star Game upon us tonight, the writers of Bronx Bomber Ball decided to give their input on the state of the Yankees plus look ahead to the second half and improvements that can be made to cement this team as a surefire World Series contender.  Photo Credit: Major League Baseball

Don’t look now, but the Yankees might be hitting their first real rough patch of the season.   While it’s hard to complain about a team with a 58-23 record at the midway point of the season, the Yankees have a crucial stretch of games coming up against the second-place Boston Red Sox, and the offensive has gone through a bit of a cold streak that hopefully doesn’t linger through those important games.

  Something special is happening in the Bronx this summer.   I know, I know, it’s only June 17.   We’re only 63 games into a 162-game marathon season. I know I’m not the guy you expected to hear any optimism out of.   But here we are, just under 39% of the way into a season I was sure was destined for a fourth-place finish, with the Yankees holders of the best record in Major League Baseball and the third-best 63 game start in franchise history. Photo Credit: Getty Images Yes, this team. The team that routinely rolls out lineups laden with the likes of Joey Gallo, Aaron Hicks, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Kyle Higashioka. The team that is currently down it’s top-four bullpen weapons from last season (Aroldis Chapman on the IL recovering from achilles tendonitis, Jonathan Loaisiga out with shoulder inflammation, Chad Green out for the year after undergoing Tommy John Surgery, Zack Britton on the mend from 2021 Tommy John Surgery).   But what’s special about thi...

We've finally arrived. Opening Day is upon us.  It's coming a week later than expected. The team doesn't look the way we expected them to when the offseason began six long months ago.  But here we are.  The Yankees chose not to make any of the marquee acquisitions Twitter lost their mind over all Winter, but at the end of the day they plugged some holes, and bring a much more versatile and athletic club into the 2022 season.  Did they do enough to dethrone the likes of Boston or Tampa or keep the quickly ascending Toronto Blue Jays at bay? Only time will tell.  In "The Late Show with David Letterman" fashion, here are our Top 10 factors to the Yankees getting off to a fast start. Photo Credit: Adam Hunger/Associated Press 10.      Playing strong defense It’s no shock that the New York Yankees were a defensive nightmare at times during the 2021 season and they made a point of addressing those issues in the offseason.   According to...

  With just four days before Opening Day, the Yankees are rounding into regular season form down in Tampa and finalizing their roster they’ll bring up North with them for their Thursday matinee against the Boston Red Sox. Photo Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA TODAY Sports

  On Tuesday evening, the New York Yankees agreed to terms with all but one of their arbitration eligible players, the one being star right-fielder Aaron Judge who is seeking a long-term extension with the club.   The Yankees have not gone to an arbitration hearing with any of their players since the 2017 debacle with Dellin Betances.   Aaron Judge has requested a salary of $21 million for the 2022 season and the Yankees have countered with an offer of $17 million.   If the two sides cannot settle in the middle or reach that extension, they’ll head for a hearing, which due to the delays brought on by the lockout, will likely occur in-season.

  After a week or so of speculation who the team would negotiate with for it’s first base opening for the 2022 season, the Yankees finally have their man.   Late Tuesday evening, the Yankees re-signed free agent Anthony Rizzo to a two-year contract.   Rizzo, who was acquired at last year’s trade deadline, was a fine first baseman for the ballclub in 2021, but with higher end options available this offseason – namely Matt Olson from Oakland via a trade, or Freddie Freeman in free agency – this feels like a disappointment.

  Early Saturday morning, the New York Yankees agreed to terms with the #1 International Prospect , 17-year-old shortstop Roderick Arias. Per sources, the deal will be for $4 million – a huge chunk of the club’s $5.18 million International Signing Bonus Pool – but one necessary to land a prospect as highly touted as Arias.  The Yankees were rumored to be the favorites as early back as last summer, but the deal was reported on the 15th. The Yankees have not formally announced the deal yet. Per MLB Pipeline, using their 20-80 scale, Arias has a 60-hit grade and 55 grade in all other categories (power, run, arm, fielding).   He is a true five-tool player and a dangerous asset for the Yankees to add to the pipeline along with other top prospects Jasson Dominguez and Anthony Volpe.   At just 17 years of age, Arias is not considered a threat to make the Major League club any time soon, so his addition should not block Volpe’s path to the Bronx, or perhaps the additi...

The New York Yankees entered the 2021 season as World Series favorites but struggled through mediocrity and general malaise over the course of the entire season before fizzling out well short of their goal in the American League Wild Card Game at the hands of hated rivals Boston Red Sox.  Two weeks after their playoff elimination, it was announced Manager Aaron Boone's contract would be renewed for three more seasons with a fourth-year option.  Writers of the BBB weigh in on both below:   Photo Credit: Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

  Just ten short days ago, this team looked on death’s door, dropping back-to-back games to the Cleveland Indians at home by a combined score of 22-4.   They had fallen out of a wild card spot by 1.5 games, and trailed Boston for the top spot by 2.5 games.   All of the good vibes and positivity accrued during their 13-game winning streak from August 14-27 was seemingly out the window.   They appeared headed for an early end to their season – one that began with lofty expectations of a World Series title.

  The Yankees finally wrapped up their home series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Monday night, evening the season series at two games apiece with a 2-1 victory.   The Yankees continued to struggle at the plate on Monday night, but a two-run first inning home run off the bat of Joey Gallo was all the offense required in this one.

  After another crushing defeat in the Field of Dreams game last night, the Yankees and White Sox are off on Friday as they travel to Chicago to complete their three-game series.   Let’s use the off-day as an opportunity to check-in on the Yankees’ laundry list of injured and COVID-afflicted players.

  The Yankees have pulled off their first big move of the 2021 Trade Deadline week, acquiring a much-needed lefty power bat in the form of Texas Rangers’ slugger Joey Gallo.   The trade also nets the Yankees RP  John King Joely Rodriguez .

The Yankees aren’t boring anymore! Well, maybe they still are, but not for the same reasons as they were previously.   The Yankees have been in a rut most of the season of bland, vanilla, stale – whatever you want to call it – baseball and were dealt another series of blows this weekend to start the second half, losing Jonathan Loaisiga, Wandy Peralta, Nestor Cortes, Aaron Judge, Gio Urshela and Kyle Higashioka to the COVID IL. Loaisiga is set to return later this week against Boston, however, news broke on Sunday afternoon that Darren O’Day’s hamstring injury will cost him the remainder of the season. Zack Britton returned from the IL, but Tim Locastro tore his ACL on Saturday, and his season is done.   Rougned Odor is showing some signs of life, but Luke Voit is back on the IL.  One step forward, one step back.

  The Yankees wrapped up their nine-game homestand this weekend taking two of three from the Washington Nationals, finishing the homestand 7-2 overall.   Both of the Yankees’ wins came in walk-off fashion, following an ugly loss on Friday night in the series’ first game.  The Yankees will hit the road at 18-16, in second place in the AL East, 3.5 games back of Boston.

  Fresh off a weekend sweep against the lowly Detroit Tigers, the Yankees welcome the Houston Astros to the Bronx in a long-awaited rematch.   This will be the first time since the 2019 ALCS that the two teams have faced off against one another, the first time since the Astros were caught cheating during their 2017 World Championship campaign, and the first time fans will be in attendance to hopefully boo the ever living shit out of them.   Following the three-game set against the Astros, the Yankees will wrap up their homestand with a weekend series against the Washington Nationals.