Bronx Bomber Ball

After all that controversy, the Yankees made the only decision they could: slotting 21-year-old breakout sensation Anthony Volpe as the youngest Opening Day shortstop since The Captain. 

The Yankees will be watching the World Series from their couches for the 13th consecutive season, Aaron Judge is a free agent with no guarantee of his return, the Yankees are the laughingstock of the league this week after playing an embarrassing 2004 Red Sox ALCS comeback montage as motivation from their own 3-0 ALCS deficit.  Oh yeah, and did we mention we lost to Houston AGAIN?  Things are very-bad, no-good in Yankeeland right now as we embark on another offseason of frustrations and questions about where things went so wrong.  The writers of the BBB each weigh in on the state of the team and the franchise as a whole. ICYMI @RealMichaelKay went off on the #Yankees for their tone deaf “motivational” tactics prior to getting swept in the ALCS. pic.twitter.com/LPceBpzwmx — Bronx Bomber Ball (@BronxBomberBall) October 24, 2022

  Photo credit: USA Today

Photo credit: Washington Post

Photo credit: Rome Sentinel

The Yankees offense looks f***ing dead. Every single one of them. Even DJ LeMahieu, the Yankees’ best hitter by leaps and bounds, is in the middle of an uncanny stretch of bad hitting. Of the Yankees every day starters (Higgy is 4-for-13 for a .308 avg  and also Tyler Wade is 1-for-3 apparently lol ), the three highest batting averages are: DJ (.277), Gio Urshela (.276), and Aaron Judge (.268). The next highest… Gary Sanchez with a .200 average, unless you want to count Brett Gardner as every day, in which case the next highest is a .214 average (which props up the team average of .205). And that isn’t even a knock on Gardy, who still puts up Gardy at-bats whenever he’s in the lineup (plus, of his six hits, two of them are doubles) or Gary, who I think has actually put up some really nice at-bats; and, of the team’s 17 grounders into a double play (tied for 3 rd worst in the league), he has grounded into zero (also Gary has walked 7 times and has a .321 OBP, which is third among ev...

  Don’t let Sunday’s gritty come-from-behind win fool you. This Yankees team is still highly flawed and until they can prove otherwise, should not be counted on to win more games like they did on Sunday.

This feeling is familiar.  Photo credit: ESPN

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

Chad Green has been the Yankees’ best reliever in 2020, and it’s quite possible he has been the best late-inning option in the entire sport. The 29-year-old righty enters play on August 14th with a 0.82 ERA, 0.36 WHIP and 12.27 K/9. Green’s struggles early last season were well-documented, and he never entirely put them behind him in 2019. 18 games into this shortened season and that feels like ancient history. Photo Credit: Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

I’m not typically a fan of small sample size theater, but it’s hard to deny how good Gio Urshela has looked through his first 16 appearances of 2020. Entering the season, there were some questions regarding how Urshela would follow up his stellar 2019 campaign. After all, prior to last year’s breakout, Urshela was a widely unknown 27-year-old with a career batting average of .225, that the Yankees acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays for $25,000 in August of 2018. He was known as a solid defensive player with little to no offensive ability. That narrative changed drastically a year ago. Photo Credit: John Minchillo/AP Photo

That Gary really hasn’t been scary. Photo credit: NJ.com

After landing the biggest fish in Free Agency this past Winter, the Yankees enter 2020 as the clear favorites in the American League East.  That is not meant to suggest that they have no competition, however, as New York was not the only team to improve during the offseason, with the Rays making their usual under-the-radar moves that will help them win and the Blue Jays made a big splash signing with Hyun-Jin Ryu.  Let’s dive into the predictions. Photo Credit: New York Post

Colorado Rockies’ star third baseman Nolan Arenado has not been shy this offseason about his desire to play elsewhere. This time last year, Arenado had just signed an eight year $260 Million extension and the Rockies were coming off back-to-back playoff appearances. This year, the circumstances aren’t nearly as happy for both sides. The Rockies had a disappointing 71-win season and are projected to be one of the worst teams in the league again. This prompted Arenado to request a trade this offseason, with the leverage of an opt-out clause following the 2021 season. Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images                            The Rockies would be scrutinized mightily if their star were to walk out after next season and they lose him for nothing but compensatory picks. This makes a possible trade much more likely, and a trade this offseason would...

Rob Manfred should be relieved of his duties as the Commissioner of the MLB. After seeing his interview on ESPN, it seems clear that the MLB completely mismanaged the Astros’ sign stealing scandal. Should this be the Commissioner’s last straw? Rob Manfred has now been the Commissioner of the MLB for five full years, and throughout his tenure, the league has steadily receded down the power rankings of major US sports leagues. While the NFL, NBA, NHL, and even MLS have grown exponentially over the past few years, MLB attendance has decreased in every year of Manfred’s tenure and World Series viewership has decreased every year since the 2016 World Series pitted two clubs against each other, the Cubs and the Indians, who collectively hadn’t won a title in over 175 years. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images “I understand” is a phrase that was uttered no less than 30 times in the 45-minute interview that Rob Manfred undertook with ESPN’s Karl Ravech, when talking about fans’ unhapp...