Bronx Bomber Ball

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

Don’t look now, but the Yankees might be hitting their first real rough patch of the season.   While it’s hard to complain about a team with a 58-23 record at the midway point of the season, the Yankees have a crucial stretch of games coming up against the second-place Boston Red Sox, and the offensive has gone through a bit of a cold streak that hopefully doesn’t linger through those important games.

  Something special is happening in the Bronx this summer.   I know, I know, it’s only June 17.   We’re only 63 games into a 162-game marathon season. I know I’m not the guy you expected to hear any optimism out of.   But here we are, just under 39% of the way into a season I was sure was destined for a fourth-place finish, with the Yankees holders of the best record in Major League Baseball and the third-best 63 game start in franchise history. Photo Credit: Getty Images Yes, this team. The team that routinely rolls out lineups laden with the likes of Joey Gallo, Aaron Hicks, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Kyle Higashioka. The team that is currently down it’s top-four bullpen weapons from last season (Aroldis Chapman on the IL recovering from achilles tendonitis, Jonathan Loaisiga out with shoulder inflammation, Chad Green out for the year after undergoing Tommy John Surgery, Zack Britton on the mend from 2021 Tommy John Surgery).   But what’s special about thi...

Photo credit: NJ.com

We've finally arrived. Opening Day is upon us.  It's coming a week later than expected. The team doesn't look the way we expected them to when the offseason began six long months ago.  But here we are.  The Yankees chose not to make any of the marquee acquisitions Twitter lost their mind over all Winter, but at the end of the day they plugged some holes, and bring a much more versatile and athletic club into the 2022 season.  Did they do enough to dethrone the likes of Boston or Tampa or keep the quickly ascending Toronto Blue Jays at bay? Only time will tell.  In "The Late Show with David Letterman" fashion, here are our Top 10 factors to the Yankees getting off to a fast start. Photo Credit: Adam Hunger/Associated Press 10.      Playing strong defense It’s no shock that the New York Yankees were a defensive nightmare at times during the 2021 season and they made a point of addressing those issues in the offseason.   According to...

  On Tuesday evening, the New York Yankees agreed to terms with all but one of their arbitration eligible players, the one being star right-fielder Aaron Judge who is seeking a long-term extension with the club.   The Yankees have not gone to an arbitration hearing with any of their players since the 2017 debacle with Dellin Betances.   Aaron Judge has requested a salary of $21 million for the 2022 season and the Yankees have countered with an offer of $17 million.   If the two sides cannot settle in the middle or reach that extension, they’ll head for a hearing, which due to the delays brought on by the lockout, will likely occur in-season.

Photo credit: Washington Post

  The Yankees finally wrapped up their home series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Monday night, evening the season series at two games apiece with a 2-1 victory.   The Yankees continued to struggle at the plate on Monday night, but a two-run first inning home run off the bat of Joey Gallo was all the offense required in this one.

  The Yankees have pulled off their first big move of the 2021 Trade Deadline week, acquiring a much-needed lefty power bat in the form of Texas Rangers’ slugger Joey Gallo.   The trade also nets the Yankees RP  John King Joely Rodriguez .

Javier Baez - Chicago Cubs IF Javier Baez wouldn't necessarily be my first choice in trade target, but in a lot of ways he does make sense for the Yankees to acquire. He's a young, versatile infielder who has seen time at 2B, 3B, and SS the last two years and was hyped as a prospect for his plus power potential. Since breaking into the Bigs, we haven't been disappointed in that power potential, but we have seen it comes at the cost of some pretty high strikeout rates. The young infielder has struck out 137 times in 387 ABs which makes his strikeout percentage an alarming 36%. That seems to be the norm in today's game though. Plus his ability to play multiple positions for the team would be huge. The team currently has Ronald Torreyes serving as their utility man, but after a hot start to the season has largely cooled off and doesn't seem to have a guaranteed future in the Bronx. Baez could fill in at the utility slot while providing plus offensive ability and...