THE YANKEES MAKE A DECISION ON STRUGGLING STROMAN!

The Yankees made a move yesterday. Not the move I'd like to see but, Marcus Stroman won't be making his originally scheduled start. The Yankees hope this will help. I do too, but I am not as convinced.

I hope eight days of rest is what Stroman needs, but history says otherwise. At the beginning of the season, Stroman was a breath of fresh air, but he's been a pitching nightmare since the end of June. His 3.15 ERA through 16 starts looked like he proved to Brian Cashman that he was in fact a "difference maker" after Cashman said previously he wasn't. In his last 6 starts he's had a 7.56 ERA over 25 innings....and proving Cashman may have been right after all. No one likes saying that, it leaves a bitter taste in ones mouth.

So now Aaron Boone is trying to fix him....and we all know how bad he is at that amongst other things. The plan is Stroman will now pitch against the Rangers on Sunday after he's had some time to throw some more bullpens. Boone also hopes that giving him some more rest might help with his drop in velocity, read more HERE. According to Boone, he had a "really good bullpen" session on Tuesday. "I'm not too concerned about the velocity drop," Boone said. "I pay attention to it, but I felt like he's in a pretty good place right now, as far as some of the things he's been working through and some of the video he's looked at, then how his bullpen went [Tuesday]. So no, not too concerned. And physically he feels good."

I'm concerned Gerrit Cole can't do it all and even though Carlos Rodon has looked better lately, he's not what I call reliable. We've heard Boone say many times that someone "is in a really good place right now," it's his played out catch phrase. I'm glad to hear all of this bullpen work has helped with his mechanics and all, because we can't afford his next start to look like the clunker he had against the Blue Jays. At the end of the day, talk is cheap, and we just need to see the results. Again though, I am skeptical. 

I feel like this is no different than any other season. Even with the Mets, he started the season looking strong and reliable and then went downhill. This is his normal. So, I am not sure bullpen work is going to be the magic cure, but I would be happy to be wrong about that. I'm just hoping the drop in the velocity isn't because he is hurt. He says he feels fine physically... but I have no faith that the Yankees medical staff could diagnose the common cold let alone anything really wrong with Stroman.

The Yankees are up by a half game in the AL East. We need everyone to do their part, especially Stroman. I hope the Yankees plan works.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj