AUSTIN'S POWER

Slump? I think not.

Photo: Getty Images

Tyler Austin was magnificent yesterday.  Just what the Yankees and Yankee fans needed.  Especially after Suzie Pinstripe was all over certain broadcasters for their false accusation of Austin slumping hard and insinuating him hurting the Yankees team.  Read YOU KNOW WHAT? TYLER AUSTIN IS BETTER THAN YES SAYS for more, but let's put a slump in perspective...

Slumps happen often. Sometimes they are 0-18... sometimes they are 2-40. But here's the reality.  You can't get out of a slump sitting on a bench.  You can only overcome a slump by working through it, thinking opposite field, just putting the bat on the ball and remembering the world famous phrase... "Don't try to do too much."  It's frustrating for a batter, hard for a team, because automatically, you want to bench a bad player.  But sticking with that player in a slump is good as well, because it again... allows a player to work through it, and eventually... you would hope, get back to hitting.

Photo: Getty Images

The Yankees and Aaron Boone stuck with Tyler Austin for his slow spell.  And Tyler Austin got back to work.  No one knows why slow downs happen.  No one knows why you some days see the ball real good, and other days, don't.  But I do know this... Austin wasn't in a slump... he was merely in a slow down and that's fine.  It's irrelevant now anyway. He's out of it.

Ken Davidoff of the New York Post writes:

Photo: Getty Images

"The Yankees’ fill-in first baseman slammed two homers at spacious Kauffman Stadium and drove home four runs to lead a power-charged, 10-1 rout of the terrible Royals. With a 30-13 record, technical occupancy of the American League East penthouse, a 21-4 record in their last 25 games, and eight straight series wins, their best such run since the record-setting 1998 season, the Yankees are cruising on the remarkable depth of their roster."

And now the big question is... what happens next?  With Greg Bird expected back this week... will Austin be sent down? Sit the bench? We will obviously need to see, although, my thought process is with Clint Frazier going back down after this weekend, maybe that makes room for Bird, and maybe there's a platoon situation between Bird and Austin.  You don't want to take a hot bat like Tyler's out of the lineup, but at the same time, you really want to see what Bird has.

Whatever the case, I loved seeing Wonderboy crush it yesterday.  Atta boy kid.