GIRARDI STEPS INTO THE BATTER'S BOX TO DEFEND BOONE & STRIKES OUT LOOKING!

File this story under "you just can't make this sh*t up!" Seriously. It's bananas. It's hard to find Aaron Boone defenders (especially on this site), but at least one does exist! It's a unicorn ladies and gentlemen!

Yankee fans are sick of Baboonie. He sucks, there is no sugar-coating this one. He's soft, can't manage a team and is the exact opposite of a leader but Joe Girardi defends him. There's no logical explanation to this but, Girardi says this was this was Baboonie's "best year of managing" and he's serious while the rest of us are laughing our asses off, you can read more HERE.

Maybe it was his best year of managing failure and chaos. I'll give him that. He had a lot of adversity to deal with but you know what....so does every manager! He doesn't get a high five for that. Injuries are a part of the game and they've been an obstacle since the beginning of baseball as we know it. Injuries are not the reason for the Yankees failure.

The lack of fundamentals and playing smart baseball is the reason for the Yankees failures. They do the same thing year after year. We've had nine years of this team living and dying by the long ball. They lack fundamentals. They can't play small ball, and they can't play smart baseball. How many stupid Jazz Chisholm quotes did we have to listen to after he botched a play that little leaguers can do? He was a disaster all season. Did Baboonie fix that? NO. He may have talked to Chisholm about it, but it certainly didn't work. It's a lack of accountability no matter how you slice it.

So this is my problem. Look at the pattern with Chisholm this season, how the hell is that his best year of managing? This failure falls on Baboonie. He's not solving the problem, he's trying to cover it up in hopes it won't show up again. Interestingly enough, Girardi does say that the Yankees have a culture problem, read more HERE. So who exactly is the one that cultivates culture? It's not the bat boy, it's the manager! How can you possibly be a good manager when you have a culture that lacks accountability? You can't! A good manager knows how to help their team thrive. That's not what Baboonie is doing. If he is going to argue the Yankees need a culture change, no one is going to disagree with him there. However, arguing for a culture change that includes keeping Baboonie is the dumbest thing he could ever say.

So basically Girardi is talking out of both sides of his mouth. He stepped up to the plate, tried to make a case for Baboonie and boy did he swing and miss. Epic failure.....just like another Yankees season.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

GIAN-GONE-LO! IT'S TIME FOR THE YANKEES TO SAY GOODBYE TO STANTON

It's time to blow everything up and start from scratch....and I mean everything. Say goodbye to dead weight in the front office, players and coaches on the field and that means some big names. I'm talking about Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman, but not just them. It's time to do it and do it right....

Aaron Judge deserves a legit chance at a championship and he isn't getting any younger. The idea of "running it back" with the same team and giving it another shot is just stupid. The insanity must stop. Some tough decisions need to be made, and one of those is his good friend Giancarlo Stanton. It's time.

Cutting someone isn't easy. The Yankees had to do it with DJ LeMahieu and Alex Rodriguez only to name a couple. It happens. They aren't easy decisions to make and they becomes especially difficult when they are still obligated to pay those players but, sometimes it is what is best for the team and that is the case here.

Stanton has been a Yankee for nine seasons now. Out of a possible 1,356 games he's only played in 764 (the 2020 season was shorted to only 60 games due to the Covid pandemic). He's been plagued by injuries over the years and this year was no exception. When Stanton is on, he's on. He's a force to be reckoned with but like Judge, he's not getting any younger and I am tired of tying up a roster spot with a guy that can't stay healthy. It doesn't get easier as anyone ages but Stanton is too focused on his heavy lifting instead of mobility and stretching. It's a problem the Yankees just can't afford anymore.

It's time to cut our losses and release Stanton. A long lockout is coming, and whenever we come out the other side of this and are ready to play Stanton just doesn't have a place on this team. I've had too many people tell me it makes more sense for the Yankees to keep him and I couldn't disagree more. All I keep hearing about is how Stanton's power is still there and with only one more season the Yankees might as well bring him into whatever Spring Training looks like next season post lockout and see if he can contribute anything, even if it is just as a DH.

But why should that be enough? The only way Stanton contributes is by staying healthy because it takes him for freaking ever to get his timing back when he does return from IL stints and he hits .250 because occasionally he runs into one. He tempts you with power occasionally otherwise he just clogs up the bench and the bases with no ability to run the bases. The whole idea of keeping him to see what he has left in the tank is the exact philosophy that got us into this mess. We have the data, it ain't good and it's not going to change.

A roster is valuable and has limited space. If the only thing Stanton can do is DH and go to the IL, that's not worth $15 million. If he had a proven track record of 500-600 productive at bats a season, it might be different. But he hasn't so he is a waste of a spot on the bench. Stanton can’t even run to first without tweaking something. My grandmother runs faster than him.

Not to mention, I am tired of tying up the DH spot with one person. The Yankees would greatly benefit having that spot more available so they can give guys a partial rest. It would help the Yankees avoid the infinitely long IL list. It's called smarter baseball.

So as much as some people may hate it, it's time to dump Stanton's dead weight. Bench space is too valuable to carry a guy who really lives on the IL. There's no convincing me otherwise!

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

 

ONCE IS A MISTAKE, BUT TWICE AND BEYOND IS A PATTERN

It sucks to suck, and that's exactly what the Yankees have established. It's dejavu all over again and it doesn't have to be. But the Yankees choose it because they like to suck more than they like to win, apparently. I just twitched violently as I typed that.

Year after year this team is plagued by awful fundamentals. The Yankees manage to lose. Keeping Aaron Boone and the front office in place is a losing strategy. The official box score says the Yankees were charged with four errors but let's be real that was six. One of those errors was miraculously called a hit by the official scorer and the other was saved by George Lombard Jr and Jazz Chisholm should bow down and praise him for saving his butt. This organization does not teach good fundamentals, and they certainly don't expect it out on the field. It's an afterthought for the Yankees as long as they can smash homeruns out of the park.

But that's not serving us well at all. We saw it against the Dodgers in the World Series two years ago and we haven't learned anything from it. Here we are two years later still beating ourselves and we did it against a very fundamentally sound team. That's what makes it worse. It's also what gives us another dose of harsh reality.

Good teams don't just ride a hot streak, they literally outplay everyone else and make inferior teams look stupid. That's everything we see with this Rays team. I've always said Kevin Cash is a good manager, and he is smart. The Rays play fundamental baseball and what makes it worse, they know how to create those pressure situations that make bad teams like the Yankees crumble. The Rays have created chaos, and the Yankees haven't overcome it. The Rays have a manager that knows what he is doing, and what other teams are not doing. He is the opposite of Aaron Boone and we are reminded of it yet again.

In MLB postseason history, only 10 out of 91 teams have ever come back to win a best-of-five series after losing the first two games. Coincidentally, the Yankees are the last team to do that back in 2017 but this isn't even a shadow of what that team was. Saying that really makes me miss "the good old days" because at least we weren't THIS tragically pathetic. Anything is possible but it is hard to have faith in this team with no Aaron Judge and weak players like Ryan McMahon, Chisholm and Austin Wells unnecessarily filling in the roster.

The Yankees need to change everything they do and think. It's time to turn things upside down. We've already endured 16 seasons of losses with no championships but Hal Steinbrenner hasn't understood our frustration. I wonder if this is the year it finally clicks and he gets it.....but I'm not going to hold my breath.

Please boys....show us something today. Don't just rollover and get eliminated at home. Please.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

SOME PEOPLE DO STICK UP FOR BOONE! THEY MUST BE STUDIED.

We've spent 9 seasons criticizing Aaron Boone. I think the only way we stop is when he is finally gone. That has to happen sooner or later, right? No one can live forever. That's what science has told us anyway. So since Baboonie isn't immortal and the Yankees aren't smart enough to fire him we can pretty much count on Baboonie doesn't go away because the Yankees finally fire him.

At this point, I can't imagine ever defending Baboonie. If I ever did, someone needs to have me examined because something is wrong with me. There's always at least one that goes against the grain though, right? Well NJ.com is defending Baboonie, you can check it out HERE. The closest I will ever get to defending Baboonie is to say that he did not hand pick Austin Wells to be the catcher of this team. He is stuck with him. Wells definitely screwed up game one, but given his track record it isn't a surprise.

Baboonie even went so far as to admit he screwed up. He gave him some tough criticism in his own Baboonie way so there is that. But why defend him at all? He doesn't need or warrant defending. If he actually won a championship the criticism would at least come with one gleaming moment of accomplishment that matters to all of us.

Instead, we have to listen to him defend dead weight like Wells and then strangely justify decisions not add Aaron Judge to the ALDS roster. I say strangely because he tried to use science to ssound smart and defend the thought process but it just falls flat. NJ.com went as far as to say Judge isn't close to being 100% yet....but one more week not rehabbing could get him there.

Come again? Seriously, am I the only one who thinks one week could be a difference maker? We've seen Giancarlo Stanton battle with an epidemic of strains for years now. One week never brought him close to 100% in the nine seasons he's been here. He's a constant walking strain! Baboonie has an example of the exact opposite thought process but the aging captain is somehow going to be different. It's Baboonie logic.

A Grade 2 strain takes 6 to 8 weeks to fully heal for all other professional baseball players not named Judge. When the ALCS starts on October 12th, Judge's rehab will be on day 26. That's not even four weeks IF the Yankees can even get there. I'm not against wishing for that once in a lifetime miracle....I just don't trust that Baboonie or the Yankees would recognize it happening.

So while anything is possible, I just don't understand defending Baboonie for anything, really. Anyone who does needs to be studied and possibly committed.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

SWEEP DREAMS IN THE BRONX!

The fat lady is singing and it's OVER! Boston can go back home and drink some Samuel Adams and start making their reservations on the golf course. As my boss likes to say, "it sucks to suck" and boy does Boston suck.

Losing is never easy but it hurts even more when the Yankees don't have Aaron Judge on the roster and they still spanked the Red Sox! That could've been an advantage for the Red Sox because we have all seen how different this team can be when there is no Judge but Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger stepped up and took care of business.

But that didn't matter. Even without Judge, the Yankees out scored Boston 18-2 and the starters had a miniscule 0.73 ERA. Cam Schlittler and Max Fried shut Boston down! It's the second year in a row the Yankees stomped Boston in the Bronx. The Yankees outplayed Boston in every aspect of the game. It's one thing to not be at full strength, and both sides arguably had some holes but the Yankees had more holes. The Red Sox had a door to walk through, but they couldn't make it happen. It was shut in their faces! Boston was lifeless and they had plenty of mistakes mixed in that it was their own downfall. Chad Tracey made some interesting decisions this series, and it didn't pay off. Now the Red Sox need to do a lot of self reflection. They didn't look like the same team that was breathing down the Yankees neck the second half of the regular season.

When the Yankees hit and pitch on all cylinders this team CAN beat anyone. If the Yankees continue to play the way they did in this series, they can beat Tampa in the ALDS, but they have to be consistent. They have to carry this into Saturday and they can't get complacent. 

So for now, I am going to enjoy this moment. We've been waiting to see this team click on all cylinders like this. It's a nice victory, but Tampa is next. The work is not done yet but it feels freaking fantastic to beat Boston. How SWEEP it is!

To the Boston fan who heckled me in the breakroom yesterday....I am lookin for ya! Watch out.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

COLE SHOULDER: DID THE YANKEES JUST DEMOTE THEIR ACE?

I'm not gonna lie, I am nervous about this Wild Card series. There are so many question marks with this roster right now. It's playoff time, so any unknowns add another monkey wrench to this season. This is the last thing we need when we are battling the Red Sox again.

We have several players in limbo right now. Everyone is waiting to hear if Aaron Judge is going to play in this series at all. But he's not the only person in limbo. The Yankees have decided to give the ball to Cam Schlittler for Game 1, read more HERE. 

The Cy Young hopeful is getting the ball against his hometown team in a spot that Gerrit Cole has held for six seasons. There's no doubt that Schlittler has earned it with his 14-6 record and 1.95 ERA, he's been the very definition of an ace, especially as Cole has worked his way back this season. Schlittler may have the number one spot not, but Cole didn't slide in behind at number two.

The Game two starter is Max Fried, not Cole. Yup, you read that correctly. Cole will get the ball for Game 3, if necessary. He will be the last chance for the Yankees to move forward. Earlier this month we asked GERRIT COLE-APSE: IS HE STILL AN ACE? after a rough outing. We all knew one day someone else would come up the ranks and change the rotation, especially after Cole missed all of last season.

Now we have Schlittler to set the tone for the series and no Carlos Rodon as a starter, even though he has been reliable and effective lately. It's a good problem to have, when you have a strong rotation that you don't have enough slots for all of your starting options. It's not something we are used to writing about. It's nice to have a strong rotation in a short series. It should be a big advantage for the Yankees, but a weird one when your once ace in Cole, would be pitching as number three. It's not something I would've even thought was a possibility.....but here we are.

This is a big series, and the Red Sox have been chasing us for months now and they want some revenge after we beat them in the Wild Card series last season. There's a lot on the line, and the Yankees look very different this time around.....I don't like different in the postseason. This better work.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

BABOONIE CAUGHT LOOKING SILLY....AGAIN!

There's so much to think about, and hell even worry about as we wrap up the regular season. The Wild Card series is waiting for us where we will probably be playing the Red Sox again and we don't even know who is gonna be able to play!

That's because Aaron Boone is talking crazy again. It happens all the time, I just didn't think we would get an extensive sneak peak into his insanity. The Yankees are preparing their postseason roster, and Baboonie is living in an alternate universe, read more HERE and HERE.

Let's start with Aaron Judge, arguably the heart and soul of the team. He's the guy that is the difference maker for anything and everything. The Yankees suffered without him for three months and now they suffer again because they rushed him back to action without a minor league rehab assignment and now Baboonie has said "we're planning on him not being a part of " the first round. But then it gets dicey.....

The Yankees and Judge are clearly not on the same page. We all know is going to rush back. He's already done that. No one believes that he wouldn't push to be in a wild card series against the Yankees biggest rivals. We know what is on his mind, he's going to "try to get my body ready so I'm ready to go" because we expect no less from Judge. Baboonie says he will not be an option, and Judge tells a different story. "We've done a lot of talks, but I can't control what people say," Judge said. "So you'll have to talk to them about that."

Judge-less against the Red Sox is not the only challenge though. This one is a real head scratcher though because Giancarlo Stanton is "knocking on the door" of a return. Yup, after Stanton has been out since April with not one but three different calf strains. Oh and two of those strains happened while he was running the bases and ramping up for a return to the team. The guy is a rotation of chronic reoccurring calf strains but Baboonie thinks this time it's all gonna work out! Stanton is coming back everyone! He took a few at bats recently and hit a home run so it's a sure fire sign he's ready to come back!

So history be damned, everyone. Baboonie even admitted that he wasn't sure if Stanton returning during the first round was realistic but "anything's possible" so there's hope (I guess). Of course, IF Stanton is ready to play it's "looking more at a pinch-hit scenario. We'll see if that's even a realistic option. I don't know yet," Boone said. It must be exhausting being this stupid.

So there we have it. Let's completely rule out Judge but talk about crazy fantasies about Stanton that just don't make any sense. Logic does cease to exist in Baboonie's world. If we are going to live in an unrealistic world, I'd rather live in the world where Baboonie no longer manages the Yankees!

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

IS PLAYOFF BASEBALL A POSSIBILITY WITHOUT JUDGE?

Nothing hurts more than being kicked when you are down. That's how I feel right now. The Yankees are down, and begging for a postseason miracle as the bad luck just keeps on coming. It's a consistent kick to the gut and the pain just keeps intensifying.

What a weekend. We lost the series to the Diamondbacks which I hate more than anyone here could ever understand. The weekend they celebrate their 2001 World Series against us, we lose again. Luis Gonzalez didn't deliver the crushing blow this time but that spirit still lives on. Of all the times I wanted the Yankees to win, this ranks high up there. We lose again, and it stings.

Then to add insult to injury, we all get to sit and hold our breath about Aaron Judge, who is back on the Injured List. On September 2nd, we wrote AARON JUDGE IS CLOSE TO A RETURN - BUT IS HE READY? I was worried he wasn't going to be ready because a rub injury is no joke and our medical staff IS a joke. Now Judge lasted 7 games before his next problem....a calf strain.

I swear I am so sick about this team and their calf strains. It is ridiculous! Here we are again. Judge has a right calf strain, and we don't know how bad it is. Our plan of attack includes hoping that we can get him back by the last game of the regular season and ready for the postseason. This sounds a little scary....

"They haven't told me yet [grade of muscle strain]. But he did reveal that the strain was to the soleus muscle, which he said "is a little more crucial with running and hitting," said Judge.

"It doesn't matter what grade it is, said Aaron Boone. "We're going to get him back, or we're not. That's what we're going to work to do, and we'll see."

That doesn't make me feel great. For the record, I don't believe that the Yankees don't know what grade strain he has. They absolutely do, they are just trying to keep it under wraps.....which makes it sound really really bad. It also makes the rest of us speculate which is dangerous.

Soleus muscle injuries can be precursors to Achilles tears if they are not treated properly or if someone is rushed back prematurely. Judge is so important to this team, but if they don't rehab this correctly it could cost us the rest of the season. The Yankees are six games behind the Rays with seven games left to go. Odds are the Yankees are going to be playing in the Wild Card spot again....and we need Judge ready to contribute.

A Wild Card berth means the Red Sox would be waiting for us again. The Red Sox are always a pain in the ass, but would be an even bigger one without Judge. That's just something I don't want to think about.

It's been a rough season, and even though the regular season is almost over it certainly isn't getting easier. This is definitely more than I want to stress about right now. It's time for the bleeding to stop. It's time to start praying to baseball gods and asking for a postseason miracle.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

CC SABATHIA COMMENDS VOLPE'S PERSEVERANCE WHILE FANS CONDEMN HIM!

We don't need a reminder about how brutally honest the New York Yankee fan base is, and neither does CC Sabathia. Fans didn't hold back when he was playing, and they still don't. The only difference now might be that there may be more CC's out there to support those underperforming players.

That's what he is doing now, he's supporting Gary Sanchez, Miguel Andujar and last but not least Anthony Volpe, read more HERE. These guys were given "labels" from the fan base, which happens a lot when you don't meet expectations underneath New York's bright lights. For years we have been writing about how the Yankees coddle their players and but now CC wants the Yankees to also help them adapt to this demanding environment.

I agree with that to a point. New York is a tough place to play for established veterans, let alone when you are a young kid like Volpe was making it onto the big stage as an everyday player. There should be some mental preparation there for players, but it should also be prepared with the confidence of pairing that with good fundamentals to help you perform at a high level under those bright lights. If you have that track record of faltering (like Volpe has) that's when the Yankees need to be more hands on. It's exactly what the Yankees haven't done well.

Everyone in life needs feedback. It's what helps us improve and hone in on our craft. The Yankees do need to look for new ways to help guys deal with the pressures in the bright lights but maybe that doesn't look like what CC is suggesting. Maybe it's a more real-world scenario that the rest of us deal with since we don't make the big bucks playing a kid's game for a living.

The Yankees coddle; I call it the Aaron Boone approach. He's warm and fuzzy. The Bronx, however, is not a warm and fuzzy place. It's as real as it gets. Why aren't we giving that fair, but realistic approach to these guys? This isn't a sunshine and rainbows environment. This isn't a "safe space." This is a 'pull your big boy pants up and be tough' environment and get the job done. Figure it out and use your resources. The Yankees have lots of resources and patience. The fans don't have the patience, and we shouldn't be expected to have patience.

You can still give honest feedback that is firm but fair. It builds character. Hugs are not included on the side here. That's what Boone and the Yankees do. They give hugs, but they don't give reality. Give these guys a real environment to adapt in and help them through the bumps and they will perform better, period. If they don't, then they get sent down to the minors like Volpe did or traded. 

Only the strong survive here, and the Yankees need to figure that out. The coddling isn't working. Not everyone is cut out to play here so it's time to be honest about that. 

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

GERRIT COLE-APSE: IS HE STILL AN ACE?

There's two weeks left in the regular season and Gerrit Cole is scheduled to make two more starts in that stretch. If that doesn't make you nervous.....it should. He's set to pitch against the Diamondbacks and the Rays. The last thing I am comfortable with right now is Cole pitching against the Rays in a game that could mean the difference in winning the division or just being a Wild Card.

What the hell is going on with Cole? The guy that was once our ace looks like a shell of himself. It's hard not to ask some tough questions after watching him give up four home runs against the Padres and then three this past weekend against the Mets. This is definitely a problem that Matt Blake and the Yankees need to fix NOW.

The good news is, Cole knows he needs to make those adjustments, read more HERE. The bad news though? We are out of time to tinker with mechanics. Granted, Cole has historically been a quick study and has made adjustments quickly throughout his career but the Rays are around the corner. The Yankees are four games behind them and this four game series against them will be the difference between being a division winner or just securing an invitation to the postseason as a Wild Card. Everything is on the line.

So a short time line and a stumbling ace are not working in our favor. Ordinarily, we might be able to ride something out and exercise some patience but we don't have that luxury. Cole is faltering at the wrong time. Right now, the Yankees best starters are Carlos Rodon, Max Fried and Cam Schlittler and the guy that is supposed to be the ace looks like he is a fourth or fifth starter.

Meanwhile, Schlittler is a favorite for Cy Young (as he should be) and is pulling the weight that a Ace should. It's hard to watch the guy that has been the anchor of your rotation falter. It's a reminder that at some point injuries or just age catch up to you and at a newly 36 years old, could we be seeing the start of his regression?

I hope now is not the time for the regression that comes for every great baseball player. But I have to ask at this point....is Cole still our ace? Is he still the guy that we can count on or is there a new Ace on this team?

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj