KINGS OF THE DIAMOND

The position that the Yankees are in right now might not be ideal, and the Buffoon of the Bronx Aaron Boone may be making some bone-head decisions, but we should not let this overshadow the fact that Masahiro Tanaka is definitely a diamond in the rough for the Yankees.

Source: NY Post

Tanaka was given the opportunity to start the Yankees on Opening Day and did not disappoint, as we know. Instead of struggling like he’s been known to, he dominated the Orioles and help the team to a 7-2 victory. By doing this, he made the most Opening Day starts of any Japanese-born pitcher.

In his start on April 2, Tanaka continued to show off by only giving one run to the Tigers over 6.2 innings. He struck out 7 and did not walk a single batter. Not only was he efficient, but he was also effective.

Source: NY Post

Then comes April 8, and Tanaka has to go against Justin Verlander, and regardless of how the game went, we have to hand it to Tanaka for the way he pitched. Across six innings, he only allowed one run and three hits. It wasn’t until Boone took out Tanaka that things really started to go downhill.

However, Tanaka was not surprised that he was taken out after only 78 pitches.

“No, it was good timing. They were starting to get the barrel on the ball,’’ he said in an interview with the Post, defending his manager's move. 

Source: The Japan Times

Right now, Tanaka really needs to be this dominant and consistent version of himself. He has been able to gracefully get himself out of some sticky situations, which is what the Yankees need. He is next scheduled to take the mound on Sunday against the White Sox, so keep your fingers crossed he can deliver another successful start. 

Source: Forbes

Jacob deGrom came back down to earth in a crushing start against the Twins on April 9. Up until this game, deGrom had not allowed a run in 26 consecutive innings, going back to last season. 

“We found out he’s human, finally,” Mets Manager Mickey Callaway said. “I didn’t think he was for a while," reported the NY Times. The loss ended his streak of quality starts to 26, tied with Bob Gibson for the longest in MLB history. deGrom racked up six earned runs and eight hits. This being deGrom’s worst start since 2017, it really hurt to watch. You could really see how disappointed he was in himself every time the Twins got a hit. 

Source: NY Post

“I just couldn’t locate anything,” deGrom said. “I was all over the place. Slider wasn’t even a factor tonight. Tonight’s on me, I was bad out there. I’ve been through it before, and hopefully I’m around long enough to have a couple more, I know there are a lot of good pitchers who have had days like this," reported the Times. Let’s just hope it was one of those very, very rare days for ace deGrom and he’ll be able to brush this loss off.  

Source: Elite Sports

deGrom and Tanaka are kings of the diamond this year and will continue to hold onto this status throughout the season.  Will they have tough starts? Yes, but they will endure and anchor their team's success in 2019.

--Missy O'Rourke
BYB Contributor
Twitter: @missy_orourke