Bronx Bomber Ball

A free agent hit the market last week that has sent ripples through the baseball world and will have a long lasting effect once he finds a new home. Obviously I’m not talking about a player but rather executive Dave Dombrowski formerly of the Detroit Tigers. As soon as it was announced that he would be pursuing other ventures almost every team that has been underachieving or is in front office turmoil has been mentioned as a potential destination. The Angels, Blue Jays, Orioles, Mariners and Red Sox are the teams that are immediately in contention for his services. The majority of teams will be interested in hiring Dombrowski as a team president. His departure also has cast the future of Tigers Manager Brad Ausmus in doubt especially after the Jose Iglesias-James McCann scuffle from a few days ago. The changes the Tigers are undergoing has got me thinking about the general manager-manager duo of the Yankees Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi.

The Yankees offense is scuttling.   Michael Kay described the Yankees recent run as an “offensive orgy” after blowouts in Texas, Chicago and home against Boston. However in what was the biggest series this season to date the Yankees scored 1 run in 3 games and got shut out in consecutive games for the first time since 1999. They absolutely blew an opportunity to put some space in the standings between them and the rejuvenated Blue Jays.

With the trade deadline coming and going, one of the most exciting times of the baseball season has passed. Obviously, there are differing opinions on the Yankees trade deadline activity (or lack thereof), and that is also evident internally within the Bronx Bomber Blogger writers. So, we decided we’d share a few opinions that some of our writers here have. You’ll see a paragraph or more opinionated evaluation with whose opinion it was below the paragraph. Enjoy!

Dear Major League Baseball, As a passionate lifelong fan I feel confident in talking to you about an issue that has bothered me for a while, the All-Star game. You are big fans of tinkering with the game to make it more appealing, sometimes it’s good and sometimes it is bad but how the All-Star games work is broken and must be fixed.

I’ve been to 14 Yankees games as of this writing and I’ve seen a lot of milestones from Alex Rodriguez this year including home run 661 and hits 2,998-3,001. But the biggest milestone, the most important milestone is how A-Rod has been embraced by fans. When I was at opening day he received a mixed chorus and when he put Justin Verlander’s first pitch into right field there was not one person booing in the stadium.

This Yankees season has been an interesting one so far. There have been winning streaks, losing streaks, injuries to key players and triumphant redemptions. Most interesting to me though is what seems to be a fundamental change in the Yankees use of young players, especially prospects.

It may be early but with 2 months of the season already gone teams have an idea of whether they’ll be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline. There is still time for teams to go on a hot or cold streak but teams like the Brewers, Athletics and Phillies are firmly in sell mode.

In the eyes of many Yankees fans including myself it has long been past time to find a new solution at second base. Regular second baseman Stephen Drew has proven that he is no longer a starter. Over the course of his last 131 games he has hit .160 in 424 at-bats. While short of a full season these numbers are not a small sample size and at this point likely reflect what we can expect from future stats rather then the abnormalities we thought the stats once were.

By: Eliot Podgorsky Non-roster invitees serve a variety of roles in spring training such as pitching batting practice and filling out split squad games. Non-roster invitees are often a mix of veteran’s looking for another shot, fringe players who have moved on to another organization and prospects who are being rewarded with a taste of the big leagues.  The Yankees current crop is no different. The Yankees have 27 invitees, grouped into 12 pitchers, five catchers, seven infielders and three outfielders.   Notable top prospects include Jacob Lindgren, Luis Servino, Greg Bird, Rob Refsnyder and Aaron Judge.  Missing from the top prospect group and non-roster invitees in general is Eric Jagielo. With seven infield non-roster invitees plus the eight infielders on the current 40-man roster it could have simply been that there were not enough innings to go around.

By: Eliot Podgorsky Every MLB ballpark has its own unique experience and food is integral to the game day experience.  Through my years of fandom I’ve had the pleasure of trying as much food as I can at Yankee Stadium. While Yankee Stadium might not have the crazy food options such as Primanti Bros. Sandwiches, Rocky Mountain Oysters, The Schmitter, Fish Tacos and Waffle House to name a few there are some tasty options at the Cathedral of Baseball. Here are my opinions on what to get and what to pass when you visit Yankee Stadium.

By: Eliot Podgorsky It is official (or will be once he passes his physical). Stephen Drew has re-signed with the Yankees on a one-year $5 million deal ($7 million if he hits incentives). Most fan reaction was either up in arms calling for Cashman’s head or gave it a general "meh." Let's take a look at some of the pros and cons of his signing. (photo via yanksgoyard,com)

By: Eliot Podgorsky While replacing Derek Jeter may seem like biggest change the Yankees will have in 2015, their rotation has gone under some major revamping. Brandon McCarthy, Hiroki Kuroda, Shane Greene and David Phelps are long gone. Replacing them in the depth chart are a healthy C.C. Sabathia, Nathan Eovaldi, Chris Capuano, Adam Warren, and a rehabbed Ivan Nova (in May). There is a $200 million gorilla in the room, Max Scherzer, the best free agent pitcher to hit the market is still available. To this point many big market teams have steered clear of expressing interest in the starter. While the Yankees top brass have said Scherzer is not in the cards it’s not over until it’s over and let’s think about how adding another bona-fide ace to the Yankees rotation will compare to the rest of the AL East.