Bronx Bomber Ball

Remain calm. Everything is going to be okay. Well, at least I think they will. The Yankees have undergone an almost comical string of injuries to key players in 2019 and yet have still managed to play at such a competitive level that they find themselves just one-half game back of the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East.   And yet, all I see on fellow blogs, the New York tabloids and Twitter is that this team is a mess and is in urgent need of a top-shelf starting pitcher in order for them to remain in the race over the course of the 2019 season. Photo Credit: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images Let me make this unequivocally clear: such takes are nothing but stark overreactions.

I’ve always been of the opinion that good pitching defeats strong, slugger-level batting, especially in a playoff situation.   I’m not alone in that opinion, either. Of course, it helps in the regular season, too.   Let’s face it -- the starting rotation has been an issue for a while, and by “a while” I mean “prior to the 2019 season”. The bullpen, slated prior to the 2019 season as the best bullpen in MLB, is not the bigger issue here.   Even with the recent (and necessary) departure of Chad Green to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, as well as the injury to Dellin Betances, the bullpen still shouldn’t be the area of focus for improvement on the Yankees’ pitching staff.                              The starting rotation, however, is growing more and more problematic by the day, and I mean that in the most literal sense. ...

The Yankees’ offseason started in October. While that’s only two months ago, to Yankees fans, it feels as though it’s been longer. Why? I can’t speak for all Yankees fans, but based on my own feelings as well as what I’ve read on Yankees Twitter and heard from angry callers on WFAN… it’s safe to say that we’re losing confidence in our front office. And the buck stops with Brian Cashman. Photo Credit: SportingNews

I cannot count the number of times I tweeted about the Yankees and their problem with RISP and situational offense over the course of the 2018 season. Of course, the Yankees won 100 games on the regular season, and that statistic is nothing to sniff at. They also claimed the single-season home run record. And that’s great. Photo Credit: Getty Images

This wasn’t at all how it was supposed to end. As the Red Sox celebrated on their home field the Yankees have to wonder where it went wrong. Last season they were one game away from getting to the World Series. This team was improved, they added the reigning NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton, veteran Neil Walker and talented young infielder Brandon Drury. Obviously Drury didn’t pan out well, but he did bring the team JA Happ. Brian Cashman, the best GM in sports struck gold by acquiring Luke Voit for Giovanny Gallegos and Chasen Shreve mid-season and then in late August a former MVP in Andrew McCutchen.  They were built to win and should have easily won the AL East and had a ALCS rematch against the Astros. But, here we are on October 10th, the guys will report to the Bronx one more time to clear out their lockers and head to their respective home for the winter after losing the ALDS in four games. So this begs the question, where do the Yankees go from here?   Phot...

After one month of BBBetting, we sit with a positive record of 13-10-1. It was a huge turn around, after starting the season 3-8. Today is the first BBBetting of May, and as always, I anticipate we will start off with an easy win.  Photo Credit: Getty Images

Rebuilding isn’t supposed to go like this. Rebuilding teams aren’t supposed to make it to the ALCS in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year. Yet, here the “rebuilding” Yankees are, one year removed from missing the playoffs, in the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2012 where they were swept by the Detroit Tigers. Hoping for a much different outcome this time, the Yankees will have to go through the Houston Astros who are making their first appearance here since 2005. After taking down the reigning AL champion Indians, the Yankees must now take down this Astros team who also won over 100 games and who made somewhat light work of a very solid Boston Red Sox team behind many hot bats, including the hot bat of AL MVP hopeful Jose Altuve. The Astros also beat the Yankees in five of the seven times they played this season, so winning this series will be no easy task, but with an insane amount of momentum and nothing to lose, the Yankees have a legitimate shot...

After being rained out yesterday, the New York Yankees (87-75 in 2015) finally started its 2016 campaign on a cold Tuesday afternoon against the Houston Astros (86-76 in 2015) in the Bronx. The Yankees sent Masahiro Tanaka (12-7, 3.51 ERA in 2015) to face Houston’s Dallas Keuchel (20-8, 2.48 ERA), in what was a rematch of last year’s Wild Card game. The Yankees lost 3-0 in the Wild Card game last year, where Keuchel threw six shutout innings, struck out seven, and allowed only three hits. The Yankees need a fantastic start to the season if the team wants to start the year off with momentum. Aaron Hicks started in left field over Brett Gardner in today’s season opener. Picture by: AP Photo/Kathy Willens

In the eighth episode of the Bronx Bomber Blog Podcast, Chad Raines, Bryan Peng, and Steven Eareckson discuss the trade that brought Aroldis Chapman into the Bronx and its effect on the bullpen as well as the starting rotation. We conclude with answering your questions, which you can send by tweeting them to @bronxbomberblog using the hashtag #BBBMailbag on Twitter. Follow Chad  @chad_rain Follow Steve  @stevethescholar Follow the BBB  @bronxbomberblog

There’s a lot to say about the two teams but it’s a busy week, I’ve got midterms and quizzes, so let’s keep this short. After losing six out of their last seven games, the New York Yankees snuck into the playoffs and captured the first Wild Card position to host the Houston Astros. The Yankees have Paul Goldschmidt to thank, as he hit the tiebreaking 2-run home run to left in the bottom of the 7th that was the difference to sending Houston to New York and not the other way around. Had the Yankees and Astros tied in the Wild Card, New York would have had to travel to Houston for the playoff. Let’s take a look at each team.

Once game 162 is put in the books and your team has made the postseason, wipe the slate clean because anything can happen. Players have been great all year may continue to rise in the postseason, but they may crumble under the pressure. People who have consistently struggled over 162 could catch lightning in a bottle and be key in a deep postseason run. Just a few of the reasons the baseball postseason is the best.