Bronx Bomber Ball

Weekly Preview: NYY @ KC 8/9 - 8/11,  NYY @ CHW 8/12 (Field of Dreams Game), 8/14-8/15   We should have so many reasons to be happy heading into the week of the highly-anticipated (and postponed) Field of Dreams game.   Photo credit: CBS Sports

Photo Credit: 1980s Baseball

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

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 have gotten hot again. They just swept a four game series with the Orioles, and have won eight of their last nine games. The Red Sox on the other hand have lost six of their last eight, and are currently only six games ahead of the Yankees. The Yankees are now back in the Bronx, and will be playing the White Sox, trying to keep some pressure on Boston in the AL East. The White Sox are in fourth place in the AL Central, and are 28 games under .500. The Yankees already swept the White Sox earlier this month, and that should be the goal again against one of the worst teams in baseball.

Coming off the most gut wrenching and frustrating series of the year, the Yankees will travel to the South side of Chicago to take on the White Sox. The Yankees currently sit 9.5 games back of the Red Sox in the AL East and have seen their Wild Card lead diminish to just 2.5 games. It is just a matter of time before this team finds their groove again, and hopefully a series win versus the 41-70 White Sox will put them on the right track.

The Yankees headed into tonight’s game looking to bounce back from a tough 4-1 loss to the White Sox on Tuesday night. They responded by winning 9-1 to take the series against the White Sox. The Yankees won this game easily with huge hits from Aaron Judge, Chase Headley, and Starlin Castro. The Yankees end their nine-game home stand 9-1 heading into the weekend. Photo Credit: Seth Wenig/AP

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

The Yankees run-parade came to an abrupt end on Tuesday evening when the Chicago White Sox pitcher Miguel Gonzalez shut down the offense pitching a strong eight innings while surrendering just one run. Manager Joe Girardi decided to sit key hitters, including the hot-bat Chase Headley and Aaron Hicks. Still, others like Aaron Judge and Starlin Castro did little to provide a spark for the offense. AP Photo

The Yankees enter their 13th  game of the season at 8-4, winners of seven consecutive games.  This week they'll welcome in the Chicago White Sox before hitting the road for games at Pittsburgh and Boston. The trip to New York is the last leg of a nine game road trip for Chicago, having previously played at Cleveland and Minnesota, going 4-2 over that stretch.  Chicago carries a 6-5 record into the series, seeking to hand the Yankees their first loss in over a week.  The Yankees will look to keep things going as they are enjoying one of their better Aprils over the past few seasons.  

The Yankees fell against the White Sox 8-2 in the series opener in Chicago. The game was tied going into the fifth inning when Brett Lawrie hit a sacrifice fly to give the Sox a lead that would not be overcome. Immediately after, Dioner Navarro hit a liner over the left field wall for a two run home run to give the White Sox a 5-2 lead. AP Photo/Jeff Haynes

After losing 7-1 to Chris Sale and the White Sox in the series opener, the Yankees captured Game 2 of this three-game series by a score of 2-1. Ivan Nova pitched brilliantly, throwing 5.2 scoreless innings, before the Yankees bullpen took over. First, Dellin Betances struck out all 4 batters he faced, and then both Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman pitched scoreless outings to give the Yankees their 15th win of the season. Today, the Yankees sent Masahiro Tanaka (1-0, 3.11 ERA) to the hill to face Chicago’s Miguel Gonzalez (0-0, 4.91 ERA). The Yankees are trying to capture their third straight series win and complete the home stand on a high note.  Photo Credit: Associated Press/Kathy Willens

After giving up seven earned runs in 2.2 innings, Luis Severino exited the game early with an injury, and an MRI after the game revealed a right triceps strain. Although the Yankees lost 7-1, the Yankees bullpen that took over after Severino left pitched 6.1 scoreless innings, led by 3.1 innings from Nick Goody. The Yankees sent Ivan Nova to the mound today to face Chicago’s Jose Quintana. Before the game, the Yankees called up Chad Green and Conor Mullee from Triple-A Scranton, sent Gary Sanchez back down to Scranton, and put Severino on the 15-day disabled list. Chase Headley has been hitting well lately, as he had a 5-game hitting streak, 4-game RBI streak, and a 2-game RBI streak entering Saturday’s game.  Photo Credit: Associated Press/Frank Franklin II

The Yankees secured their series win last night with a 7-3 win over the Kansas City Royals. Chase Headley finally hit his first home run of the season while Didi Gregorius and Starlin Castro both homered off of former Yankee Ian Kennedy. Today the Yankees started a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox, who currently lead the American League Central. The White Sox sent Chris Sale (7-0, 1.79 ERA) to the mound while New York countered with the struggling Luis Severino (0-5, 6.12 ERA). Sale has been dominant all season, striking out 47 batters in 50.1 innings, while only allowing 29 hits and 10 earned runs. Photo Credit: Elsa/Getty Images

Last night, the Yankees completed a series win over the defending World Series champions, the Kansas City Royals, by taking three out of four games. The Yankees won 7-3 thanks to a decent outing by Nathan Eovaldi, and then the Yankees bullpen took over, with Kirby Yates, Dellin Betances, and Andrew Miller retiring nine straight batters before the Yankees added two more runs off of Ian Kennedy and Chien-Ming Wang to win the game. Today, the Yankees will begin a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox, who currently lead the American League Central with a 23-12 record. The Yankees will look to use their dominant bullpen and resurgent offense to counter Chicago’s Chris Sale and Jose Quintana, two of the best American League starting pitchers this season. Picture Credit: Mike Stobe/Getty Images