Bronx Bomber Ball

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

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

Happy July! As the season nears its halfway point, the Yankees have exceeded even the highest of expectations at 56-21 and I for one am having fun. The Bombers were baseball’s best team in the month of June, cruising through just about everyone in their path en route to a 22-6 record. Even after a head-to-head loss last night, they stand seven games above the Houston Astros for the American League’s best record. Photo Credit: Peter Aiken, USA TODAY Sports Rolling into Cleveland to meet the Guardians for a weekend set, they’ll be joined by none other than Aroldis Chapman, who’s been sidelined with left Achilles tendonitis since May 24. Oh, how we missed him. When asked about the team’s plan for the ninth inning moving forward, Aaron Boone reiterated that Chapman is the closer. Clay Holmes will become the “fireman” – entering as necessary in the highest leverage spots against the toughest parts of the lineup.  Photo Credit: Getty Images It’s hard to find words to describe how good Ho...

Minutes before the Yankees took the field for their first spring training game, Brian Cashman struck a trade that, at this point, became inevitable. Luke Voit is headed to the San Diego Padres in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Justin Lange. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman was first with the news. Photo Credit: AP Voit became expendable after the Yankees re-signed Anthony Rizzo to a two-year, $32 million deal late Tuesday night, so it was only a matter of time before a move came to fruition. This brings an end to Voit’s tenure in the Bronx that few could’ve predicted just a year ago, after he led the league in home runs (22) and finished ninth in AL MVP voting during the shortened 2020 season. 2021, however, was not as kind to the Missouri product, as he battled a multitude of injuries and a loss of playing time down the stretch en route to a .239/.328/.437 slash. With the National League adopting the designated hitter as part of baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement, th...

After Monday’s improbable, come-from-behind walk-off against the Twins, Aaron Judge described the 2021 Yankees’ season as a rollercoaster, a testament most fans would wholeheartedly agree with. The undisputed favorite in the American League just three weeks ago, the Yanks are losers of 12 of their last 17 games; though they are still in possession of the second wild card spot, the surging Blue Jays have overtaken first and the Red Sox, Mariners, and Athletics are inching closer every day. Looking to right the ship, Aaron Boone has recognized one of the major issues that has plagued his club all season: the infield defense. Photo Credit: Mike Stobe/Getty Images Monday marked Gleyber Torres’ first appearance at second base since September 29, 2019, and per Boone, that will be the norm for the remainder of the season. His 18 errors at shortstop this year rank fourth in all of baseball, trailing only Bo Bichette, Javier Baez, and Fernando Tatis Jr. -- with four of those coming in the last ...

After locking in star infielder DJ LeMahieu for the brunt of the decade early in the morning Friday, the Yankees were not finished. Last night, they agreed to terms with right-hander Corey Kluber on a one-year, $11 million deal, pending a physical. Jake Storiale was first to report the news, which was shortly thereafter confirmed by ESPN’s Jeff Passan . Right-hander Corey Kluber and the New York Yankees are finalizing a deal that will bring the two-time AL Cy Young winner to the Bronx, pending a physical, sources familiar with the agreement tell ESPN. — Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 16, 2021 Kluber was one of the premier starters of the 2010s, establishing himself as a true workhorse and achieving great success with the Cleveland Indians. From 2014-18, he pitched to a 2.85 ERA/151 ERA+ over 1091.1 innings, striking out 1228 and amassing 83 wins while averaging an incredible 218 innings pitched per season. The 33-year-old is a two-time Cy Young Award winner, taking home the hono...

What a sad day, I won't be retrieving any @TrentonThunder bats this season. I look out on the empty seats and I miss all the fans & the players. I can't wait until me and Dash can go out there and play baseball again. pic.twitter.com/oTqNcXbe8X — Rookie (@BatdogRookie) June 30, 2020 Heartbreaking. Yesterday, Minor League Baseball President Pat O’Connor announced there will not be a 2020 season. While unsurprising at this stage, it’s an unfortunate development that casts uncertainty upon not only the thousands of hopefuls not included in their respective team’s 60-player pool, but the world of baseball as a whole. With that comes the absolutely devastating realization that Rookie, the beloved bat-retrieving dog of the Yankees’ Double-A affiliate Trenton Thunder, will be out of a job until 2021. Photo Credit: Asbury Park Press For those unfamiliar with Rookie, bat dogs have been a staple of Thunder baseball since 2002. Rookie carried the legacy into its third...

Jim Crane: “Our opinion is this didn’t impact the game. We had a good team. We won the World Series and we’ll leave it at that.” — Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) February 13, 2020 I mean come on. This was never going to be easy to address for anyone in the Houston organization and I get that. The thing is, they looked to be on the right track -- after the league announced repercussions following its probe into their championship season, owner Jim Crane fired Jeff Luhnow and AJ Hinch, disowned their actions, and promised to issue an apology. But here we are one month later, and with a complete reversal of attitude, the Astros have absolutely obliterated themselves from a PR standpoint.  Photo Credit: Getty Images It all starts with Jim Crane. Seriously, how ignorant can you be? To sit and tell everyone this didn’t impact the game when it literally won you a World Series is just mind boggling. He continues by laying blame on people like Luhnow, Hinch, and Carl...

Rejoice. The New York Yankees have signed Gerrit Cole to a nine-year deal worth $324 million. The deal comes with an opt-out clause after the 2024 season, according to Jeff Passan. It’s an obvious record-breaker for a pitcher, shattering the seven-year, $245 million pact signed earlier this week by Stephen Strasburg, who also happens to be a Scott Boras client. Photo Credit: AP Cole shined this past season in just about every way possible. The California native went 20-5 for the Houston Astros, leading the league with a 2.50 ERA (185 ERA+) and a whopping 326 strikeouts in 212.1 innings. He was the runner-up for the AL Cy Young award, finishing behind his former teammate Justin Verlander. He continued his dominance in the postseason, where in five starts (36.2 IP) he went 4-1 with a 1.72 ERA. Cole’s path to pinstripes has been a unique one. He was a 1st round draft pick of the Yankees in 2008, but opted instead to attend UCLA and was selected 1st overall by the Pirates in 20...

The belief around the league is that the Yankees have pushed all other free agents to the back burner during their paramount pursuit of Gerrit Cole. Initial offers have been made within the last 24 hours and a potential deal could come to fruition by the end of the week. While the priority this winter is clear, that isn’t to say there’s no other business Brian Cashman needs to attend to. See here: Blake Treinen became a free agent last Monday, and the Yankees would be foolish to let him pass.

October baseball is finally upon us. On the heels of a 103-win season and an A.L. East division title, the Yankees will host the Minnesota Twins tonight as they embark on the chase for their 28th World Series Championship. In revealing their Division Series roster earlier this afternoon, the Yanks answered one of the bigger questions fans were left with at the end of the season, opting to carry slumping first baseman Luke Voit while omitting the white-hot Mike Ford. Photo Credit: NY Daily News Envisioning an infield rotation that didn’t include Voit would have been ludicrous just a few weeks ago, and to consider leaving him off the roster altogether unfathomable. At the end of August, he carried a .280 batting average with 19 home runs to his name. However, the 26-year-old slugger very nearly wrote himself out of the Bombers’ October plans in the season’s final month. Voit ended the season on a 1-for-32 skid with an alarming 41% strikeout rate over that span.  That bein...

The Yankees continued their efforts to bolster the bullpen Friday afternoon, claiming right-hander Cory Gearrin from the Seattle Mariners. To make room on the 40-man roster, Domingo Acevedo was released. Gearrin becomes the latest addition to the depth chart – the Yankees have added relievers Trevor Rosenthal, David Hernandez, Ryan Dull, and Joe Mantiply this month alone. Photo Credit: Stephen Brashear/AP

The Yankees swung a minor trade with the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday to acquire outfielder/pinch runner Terrance Gore. Gore, who had been designated for assignment Friday, evidently cleared outright waivers and will head to Triple-A. Photo Credit: Reed Hoffman/Getty Images

The Yankees are no strangers to late-season breakouts. Take Gary Sanchez in 2016 and Luke Voit just last year, for example. Now, they may have another candidate on their hands - prized 20-year-old pitcher Deivi Garcia.  Photo Credit: David Richard/USA Today Sports

Prior to tonight’s series opener in Cleveland, the Yankees reinstated shortstop Didi Gregorius from the 60-day IL. Thairo Estrada was optioned to AAA following yesterday’s contest. Gregorius returns after undergoing Tommy John surgery last October; he sustained the injury on a headfirst slide into home during the ALDS. Photo Credit: Elsa/Getty Gregorius is a welcome addition to a Yankees lineup that is slowly but surely beginning to overcome the injury woes it has faced this season. He’s become a stalwart in the heart of the Yankees’ order over the past three campaigns, putting up high averages and solid power numbers while becoming a fan-favorite in the Bronx along the way. In 134 games last season, Sir Didi posted a .268/.335/.494 slash with 27 home runs and 84 RBI. Didi’s insertion back into the lineup will mean more regular days off throughout the infield, a unit that has fared quite well in his absence. While Gio Urshela will stay put at third, Gleyber Torres will slid...

The Rivalry is back on in the Bronx, as the Red Sox come to town to take on the Yankees in a four-game set. The Bombers shut down the San Diego Padres Wednesday en route to their eighth consecutive series win, and they’ll look to ride that momentum into a very important series this weekend. While the Rays enter the day just a game out of first place in the AL East, they have a three-game set with the MLB-best Minnesota Twins on tap - it’s crucial the Yanks put away the Sox and begin to pull away from a surging Tampa team. The defending champions have not had it easy to start the year. They enter play just a game over .500, already 7.5 games back in the division race. Last month the Yankees swept a quick two-game set against the Sox - if the bats can take advantage of an unstable pitching staff (16th ranked 4.43 team ERA), they shouldn’t have an issue putting away their bitter rivals yet again. Photo Credit: FOX Game One, 7:05 PM EST, J.A. Happ (4-3, 5.09 ERA) vs. Chris Sale (...