Bronx Bomber Ball

The Yankees announced their roster for the Wild Card series early on Tuesday, and Miguel Andujar was left off of it. Heading into the postseason, the INF/OF Andujar was the biggest question mark for the team, and whether he would be included on the roster or not. Instead, the Yankees decided in favor of having first baseman Mike Ford and third string catcher Erik Kratz on the bench. The third baseman and outfielder was hoping that a strong finish to the season could earn himself a spot on the roster, as he went 9-for-25 in September with four extra-base hits. However, it seems that the lefty bat of Ford (who went hitless at 0-for-19 in the final month of the season) gave him the advantage, as the team only has three lefty bats plus the switch-hitting Aaron Hicks on the roster, not including Ford.  

I’ve had the pleasure of owning the title of Yankees Fan since age seven, when I stayed up past my bedtime to watch the 1996 World Series with my dad while my mom fell asleep on the couch.   Tino Martinez was one of my first crushes.   Hearing the name Jimmy Key still brings tears to my eyes.   Joe Torre was one of my childhood heroes.   I watched the Don Zimmer brawl in shock while rooting for him the entire time.   I remember why Curt Schilling became known as “Ole’ Ketchup Sock” (you can thank Yankees Facebook for that nickname).   And my dad and I were in attendance at Game Two of the 2009 World Series, where we reminded Pedro who his Daddy is.   In my time as a fan, I’ve certainly experienced my fair share of highs and lows with the Yankees, feeling for them, hurting with them, celebrating with them. Photo credit: Newsday

The Yankees come into this week ice cold and looking for a rebound.  After a week that saw them drop five of seven games on the road against the Phillies and Rays, while seeing their AL East lead shrink to just two games, the Yankees return home for the start of a nine-game homestand looking to get back on track. Game against the Braves and Red Sox are on tap this weekend. Photo Credit: Douglas DeFelice/USA TODAY Sports

The 2020 New York Yankees have officially hit their first rough patch of the season. The Yankees lost three out of four games to the Tampa Bay Rays this weekend to cut their American League East lead to just two games. The problem this weekend was largely on offense, as the Yanks only scored seven runs in their three losses (2.3 runs per game). New York has now lost five of its last seven games, and seven of eight at Tropicana Field dating back to last season. Photo Credit: Chris O'Meara/AP Photo In the series opener on Friday night, the Yankees’ bats fell silent. In one of their worst offensive performances in recent memory, New York managed just two hits and failed to score a run against six different Rays pitchers. The Yanks only real scoring chances came in the seventh and eighth innings when the team went a combined 0-4 with runners in scoring position. One of the defining moments of the game occurred in the eighth when Mike Tauchman led off the frame with a double,...

This weekend in the Bronx, the Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox to bring their record to 7-1 in this unprecedented short season. In game one, Suzyn Waldman serenaded an empty Yankee Stadium with the National Anthem and CC Sabathia returned to throw out the first pitch.  Jordan Montgomery and the bullpen held the Sox to just one run­–a solo shot off the bat of Michael Chavis in the third.  Home runs from Aaron Judge, Gio Urshela, and Brett Gardner propelled the Bombers past the Red Sox to a 5-1 win.  Gardy’s homer ended his hitless start to the 2020 season, where he was previously 0-for-12 with seven Ks. 

What a week it’s been, and we haven’t even played a game yet.   News broke early Monday morning that the Miami Marlins had an outbreak of COVID-19 in their locker room that threatened not only their series against the Baltimore Orioles, but also the Yankees vs. the Phillies as well as, potentially, the entire league.   While games on Monday and Tuesday for the Marlins, Orioles, Phillies and Yankees were all postponed, MLB reconfigured the schedule and the Yankees will now head to OPACY to play the Orioles rather than host the Phillies for the 2020 home opener.   The Yankees will then host the Boston Red Sox this weekend as regularly scheduled. Photo Credit: Alex Brandon/AP Photo

Can you believe we’ve finally made it?   Despite all the animosity and ugliness surrounding the labor negotiations the past few months, the Major League Baseball Players association and MLB owners finally came to terms on the provisions to allow for a 60-game regular season in 2020 in the face of this global COVID-19 pandemic.   The 2020 season will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen before, with a shortened season, new rules, no fans in attendance, and a unique schedule that has teams only play other clubs in their geographic area.   But the important thing is we’re finally going to get real, meaningful baseball back in our lives this week, and I for one could not be happier. Photo Credit: Major League Baseball via Twitter

The criteria used to review first impressions of ace Gerrit Cole, the pitcher that Yankees fans have dreamed of for many a season, are different than I originally thought it would be.   Photo Credit: AP

Look, I get it.   Injuries happen.   There’s no way around that.   But the total shitstorm we are currently experiencing AGAIN has the feel of something much, much worse than just some early Spring Training getting-the-kinks-worked-out nonsense.  The Yankees are once again falling apart in front of us and it's not even March.  I am absolutely worried right now. Photo Credit: Douglas DeFelice/USA TODAY Sports

On Friday afternoon, the New York Yankees agreed to terms with all nine of their arbitration eligible players on one-year contracts for the 2020 season.  This marks the third season in a row the Yankees will have avoided going to arbitration hearings with any of their players.  The team was set to go to a hearing with RHP Luis Severino last winter, but instead agreed to a four-year, $40 million contract before the hearing date.   Photo Credit: Abbie Parr/Getty Images

Ladies and gentlemen, we have finally arrived.   The matchup the baseball world has been patiently awaiting since mid-summer is finally here. Yankees. Astros. The 2019 American League Championship Series. A shot at a World Series title on the line.   How the two teams got here, however, could not be any more dissimilar.

The best news surrounding the American League Division Series, at least for the Yankees, is that they will be heading right out of the metaphorical gate at Yankee Stadium.   Oh, and that if they are forced to head to a Game Five with the Minnesota Twins when vying for a ticket to the American League Championship Series, they will be able to play that important fifth game at home as well.   Out of the 103 wins recorded in the regular season for the Savages, 57 of them came in the Bronx.   What’s more, out of their 59 regular-season losses, they only lost at home 24 times.   That’s it.   Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Just like that, the 2019 New York Yankees regular season has come to an end. The Bombers finished with a 103-59 regular-season record, being one of four teams to end the season with more than 100 wins for the first time in MLB history. Calling this season a rollercoaster would be an understatement. It seemed like another name was hitting the IL at every corner that was turned. The Yankees lead the league in both the number of different players that spent time on the injured list (30) and lead by almost 600 in total days spent on the injured list with 2,614. But, ironically, the Yanks head into the postseason looking about as healthy as they have throughout the duration of the season with just a couple names to keep an eye on. Photo Credit: Noah K. Murray/USA Today Sports

October is here and 11 wins and 297 outs separate the New York Yankees from their 28th World Series title. To get there, Aaron Boone will have to get creative with his pitching staff. Gone are the days of counting on a starter to go more than five innings in a postseason start, and the Yanks just won 103 games despite having a starting rotation that was, at times, shoddy. In last year’s postseason, New York got 27 innings out of the bullpen and just 17 frames from their starters. Ideally, it will be more of a 50/50 split this season, but the team only has three true starters heading into October due to injuries, ineffectiveness and a suspension. Photo Credit: Elsa/Getty Images

Heading into their final five regular season games of the 2019 season, the Yankees have wrapped up most of their business, with just a few loose ends left over.   The Yankees just concluded their final regular season homestand this past week, taking two of three from both the Angels and Blue Jays, wrapping up their first AL East crown in seven years in the process.   The final homestand saw the Yankees hit the 100-win mark for the second consecutive season, the return of Luis Severino (who dominated in his two appearances) and Giancarlo Stanton, as well as the final regular season start for future Hall of Famer Carsten Charles Sabathia.   CC was honored with an emotional ceremony on Sunday afternoon, his last ever regular season game at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees took a trip out to the West Coast this week for two three-game sets against the Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Dodgers. The first series in California led to an embarrassing three-game sweep of the Yankees by Oakland. However, the Bombers took the series in LA, winning two out of three against the Dodgers this Players’ Weekend.  Photo via @Yankees on Twitter

After what can only be described as a difficult series in Oakland last week, the Yankees went on to face the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers and took two out of three games.   While not a sweep, the outcome of Dodgers’ series was exactly the type of outcome that restored fan confidence in the Yankees, especially with the postseason approaching in just over a month.   They are still firmly in first place in the American League East, with a full nine-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays.  

For the first time all season, the Yankees are headed to Fenway Park. This weekend’s four-game series presents an opportunity for the Yankees to put the final nail in the American League East coffin of their long-time rival. Entering play on Thursday 12 games up on the Red Sox in the division, a series win, or possibly even a split, would make it next to impossible for the Red Sox to make a run at the AL East over the season’s final two months. New York comes into the series at 66-35, which is the best record in Major League Baseball. Photo Credit: Billie Weiss/Getty Images

This week, the New York Yankees faced off against the Rays and Rockies at Yankee Stadium in the blistering summer heat. After losing the first game to Tampa, the Bombers rebounded and won five out of their next six games. Following Sunday’s game, the Yankees boast an impressive 64-34 record in 2019.  Photo Credit: @yankees via Twitter 

The Rockies come into this series at Yankee Stadium struggling, going 2-11 over their last 13 games and now sitting dead-last in the NL West. Their struggles have been due in large part to the 5.44 ERA their pitching staff has, second-worst in baseball to the Orioles. The Yankees are certainly not the team you want to face when dealing with issues like they have. The Yanks head into the series with the best record in baseball at 62-33, eight games up on the second-place Rays in the AL East. Photo Credit: Julio Cortez/AP