RUMOR MILL HEATING UP WITH SOME GUYS YOU KNOW

 As the trade deadline inches closer, one thing is practically guaranteed: the New York Yankees will be in the market for pitching. Yes, the starting rotation has been solid for most of the season. But if history is any indication, the front office will still poke around for upgrades — because that’s what contenders do. Depth wins championships, and there’s always that underlying pressure to improve, even if the rotation isn’t currently broken.

That brings us to a name that might trigger a few eye-rolls from Yankee fans: Andrew Heaney.

Yes, that Andrew Heaney — the same one who flopped in his first stint with the Yankees back in 2021. It didn’t go well then, and nobody’s pretending otherwise. But this season? Heaney’s quietly putting together a solid campaign with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and if the Yankees are looking to pad the back end of their rotation without gutting the farm system, he might be worth a second look.

Before you slam your laptop shut in protest, hear this out.

R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports recently highlighted the Pirates as a team likely to be sellers at the deadline. Pittsburgh is still deep in a rebuild, and while speculation swirls around rookie sensation Paul Skenes, Anderson doesn’t expect the Pirates to move him — even if fans of other teams (yes, including the Yankees) would love to see it happen.

Let’s be honest: it feels like Skenes is wasting away in Pittsburgh. He’s a generational arm, and unless the Pirates turn things around quickly, his prime might be spent fighting uphill battles. From a Yankees fan’s perspective, the idea of Skenes in pinstripes is the dream. But it’s just that — a dream, for now.

Instead, Anderson points to more realistic trade chips on Pittsburgh’s roster:

“Impending free agents Andrew Heaney and shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa are logical candidates to go, and it would only make sense to explore the market for relievers David Bednar and Dennis Santana,” he writes. “If the Pirates really want to get bold, how about shopping catcher Joey Bart?”

It’s a practical take. Heaney, now 33, is on a one-year, $5.25 million deal — the kind of contract that makes midseason trades painless. In 11 starts this season, he owns a 3.41 ERA — a noticeable improvement over his career 4.40 mark. He started hot, posting a 1.72 ERA through his first five outings, before leveling out a bit. Still, those are serviceable numbers for a team looking to fortify the back end of the rotation for the stretch run.

Do the Yankees actually revisit the Heaney experiment? Probably not. They’re not typically in the business of retreads that didn't pan out the first time. But stranger things have happened. And if they view him as a low-cost insurance policy, there’s at least a kernel of logic in the idea.

In the grander picture, this conversation isn’t just about Heaney. It’s about the Yankees’ inevitable deadline posture. The team will explore arms, and depending on how the market shakes out, someone like Heaney — or perhaps a more tantalizing piece like Bednar or even Skenes in some wildly aggressive scenario — could end up in the mix.

So file this away under "Interesting but Unlikely." Keep an eye on Pittsburgh. Whether it’s a former Yankee like Heaney or a big swing for someone like Skenes (pipe dream or not), the Pirates could end up playing a role in the Yankees’ trade deadline story.

Stay tuned.

CASHMAN HAS NO CHOICE, HE HAS TO DO BETTER

Frankie Montas. Joey Gallo. Carlos Rodon. Just 3 names that make you want to pull your hair out.  Cashman made those moves, and those players did nothing for us.  The worst in my estimation has to be Montas who went through a physical and was still hurt because he was apparently hiding and injury. But that comes down to his integrity and the medical staff's lack of awareness when it comes to the human body.  But all of them were greenlit by Cashman who is walking around high and mighty over his Yankee career with literally nothing to show for it. In fact 4 guys he gave up were champs with the Rangers.  4 guys... Chapman, Montgomery, Heaney and Eovaldi.  How in the world is this guy wrong all the time?

The Yanks needs to do something bigly for the 2024 season.  Something that would resemble the 2009 season when George made him go out and get Swisher, Teixeira, Sabathia and Burnett.  But what? Is it Juan Soto and Cody Bellinger?  No one really knows. But Clutchpoints has this:

"Cashman asserted the Yankees would be in the conversation to pursue a host of players:

“We’re knocking on those doors, we’re having those conservations. Hal Steinbrenner and his family have always run it the way that if there’s some opportunity worth pushing on, they’re always there to allow that to happen,” the Yankees GM said, per Bryan Hoch."

Well... that sounds like more of the same to me. The only difference is George is dead, and if he were alive Cashman would be out of a job and George would personally invite these guys up to his box and get a handshake agreement quickly.

Look, the state of the Yankees is in shambles. I don't really think they plan on improving this team, their front office or even take a "deep dive" into fixing anything. I absolutely believe they want us all to forget about it.  

But we're fans... we don't forget.  We need to bring a championship back to the Bronx.  That's the bottom line.

A MUST READ ON THE STATE OF THE NEW YORK YANKEES

Time to discuss what went wrong and what needs to be fixed. The Yankees frustrated me this year, just like everybody. Well, I've been thinking about it long and hard as you will see.

When the goal is to win the World Series, this will now make 5 consecutive failed post-seasons. 2017 was a great success, yet we were so close to beating the Astros and going to the Series. Had the Astros not cheated, I believe Yanks would have won that championship. 

2018 was just a magical year by Boston and they outplayed us. 2019 again with the loss to Houston with Altuve using a buzzer and cheating his way to a walk-off homer off Chapman. After those seasons, it was clear we needed an ace to win the big games for us in October, so Cole was signed. 

2020 was all screwed up from COVID, but Yanks still made it past Cleveland and to the ALDS game 5 vs. Tampa. Cole was lined up and pitched well, but couldn’t go deep. Yanks had a 2-1 lead into the 8th and then Chapman gave up the 2-run HR and the season was over. Devastating. 

So 2021 was supposed to be a year where the Yanks and Cole finally got things right. What went wrong? A lot. Let’s review.

Yanks Must Fire Boone

Before I discuss players, I want to make my pitch that Yanks need to get a new Manager. Seems like they are going to bring Boone back however. I am not so sure I would. Everyone says that it’s the players, not the Manager, but that implies that Manager of a team is irrelevant. No doubt, the players deserve a lot of the blame in 2021, but that doesn’t mean the Manager is irrelevant. As bad as Yankees hit this season (not Boone’s fault), Boone made terrible in-game decisions all season long. 

I am telling you that his managerial decisions in the bullpen alone, probably cost the Yankees 5 to 10 games in the standings. Yes, as bad as they hit, I truly believe with the right Manager, this team would have won 100 games this year. At some point, I may go back and give you a list of the games and his bad decisions. There were a stretch of games in July when he continued to leave Chapman in games where the Yanks had leads long after it was obvious that Chapman was going to blow the save. We had other options available in the bullpen to win those games, but Boone stubbornly allowed Chapman to fully blow these games, as if to try to force him to recover from his pitching slump. Every game is valuable. With 1 more win, Yanks would have had homefield in that Wild Card game, so wasting these games proves immensely costly. One example is below, but trust me, there were 5 to 10 of these:

--June 30th vs. Angels: 

Yanks led 8-4 in the 9th after scoring 7 in the first inning off Ohtani. Chapman walks the lead off batter, then after a forceout, walks the next 2 batters to load the bases. Boone leaves Chapman in. Anyone in the world watching knew what was going to happen. Chapman proceeds to give up a game tying Grand Slam to Jared Walsh. Chapman is pulled (too late) and Luetge replaced him and he walked the first batter, then gave up a single sending the go ahead run to 3B. After a strikeout for the 2nd out, he gives up a 2-run single to Luis Rengifo and Angels take a 10-8 lead and win 11-8.

--July 4th vs Mets: Yanks led 5-4 going to the 7th of a 7-inning game. Despite Chapman’s meltdown vs. the Angels 4 days earlier, he comes in for the save and immediately gives up the game-tying HR to Pete Alonso, then puts the go ahead run on base by hitting Conforto. After a walk to McNeil, Chapman is pulled and replaced by Luetge, who promptly allows a single and (after a strikeout) a go-ahead double to Jose Peraza to essentially win the game (Yanks didn’t score in the bottom of the 7th). Mets win 11-5 with 7 runs in the 7th inning.

--Andrew Heaney: 

There were a series of games where Andrew Heaney was amazingly bad, yet Boone kept going to him. Even when he was pulled as a starter, there were close games where Heaney was relied upon for big outs (and, of course, he failed). This led to several losses that I pin directly on Boone. He didn’t trade for Heaney, but he did decide to use him in big spots when we had other options. That’s on him.

Cashman did a Terrible Job this Year

I am not sure I am ready to fire Brian Cashman, but if he were fired, I would not be able to say he did not deserve it. He really screwed up in constructing this team in 2021. While Cole was great in 2020 and did his job in the 2020 postseason, Yanks needed to improve the other starters and their offense. Let’s look at what Cashman did, none of which worked:

Starters: 

Cashman staked his entire offseason attempt to improve our starters by signing Cory Kluber and Jameson Taillon. I won’t quibble over Taillon because it was low risk an he was not being counted on as a #2 starter, but relying upon Kluber was a very bad decision. It was too unlikely that he would stay healthy and he did not. He had a good start (and a no-hitter), but got injured and was a shell of himself upon return from the injury. So, while other top starters moved all around the league in the offseason and trade deadline (Blake Snell, Joe Musgrove, Charlie Morton, Jose Berrios, Max Scherzer, Yu Darvish to name a few).

Mike Ford: 

This might seem trivial, but I really believe that Cashman’s refusal to give up on this guy, cost us 4 or 5 games at least. When Voit was injured at the start of the season, Yanks had to decide how to fill 1B. It was my feeling that they should let Tyler Wade play 2B and use DJ at 1B. Instead, Yanks kept DJ at 2B and tried to fill in with shitty 1B. First, it was Jay Bruce who got 10 games of .118 hitting before he gave up, but then Ford continued to get AB despite it being clear that all he could do is strike out. There were a lot of 1-run games in April and early May where Ford was 0 for 4 with 3 K’s. 1 good AB from Wade in those games could have been the difference. The Ford experiment went on for WAY TOO long. This was Cashman’s doing. He is responsible for that. For hit .133 in his 22 games before being cut.

Yanks Offense: In a year where Yanks were finally relatively healthy for the first time in a long time, the offense was terrible. Look at the drop off in 2021 in offense:

2017 858 runs 2nd in MLB 5.30 runs per game

2018 851 runs 2nd in MLB 5.25 runs per game

2019 943 runs 1st in MLB 5.82 runs per game

2020 315 runs 4th in MLB 5.25 runs per game

2021 711 runs 19th in MLB 4.38 runs per game

This can only be described as pathetic, which is what the offense was for most of the season. Judge and Stanton were healthy and both had very good seasons. But everyone else underperformed. Gleyber and DJ had very poor years and Urshela never looked like the player that his .314 in 2019 and .298 in 2020. Strikeouts are a major problem for this team. They struck out 28% of their AB. So when we needed reinforcements at the trade deadline, we needed to get players that put the ball in play. Oakland, for example, traded for Starling Marte, who hit .305 for Miami, then hit .308 after being traded to Oakland. He puts the ball in play. Plays good defense in CF. Has speed (43 SB this season).

Gallo and Rizzo: The trade for Gallo, particular, was HORRIBLE. Gallo was exactly what Yanks did not need. Another guy that strikes out a lot. Gallo had a few big hits for us, but essentially struck out almost 50% of his AB. Now, we are stuck with him for next season, although I would non-tender him and not pay him $10M.

So with the offense broken and with no moves to really fix it (I suppose Rizzo helped a little bit… I am less concerned about the Rizzo trade because he is a free agent and it does not impact us for 2022… although I still don’t think it was worth giving away the prospects), Cashman failed Yankee fans in 2021. Nobody can try to argue he did a good job.

And so you're wondering, "Hey Douglas, how do we fix this in 2022?" Glad you asked.

One of Cashman’s problems, in his defense, is that Yanks were trying to stay under the luxury tax. When you stay under the tax for one year, you reset and then pay a lower tax in future years. Hopefully, this means that now that the Yanks have reset, they will be back to spending this offseason. While I am reluctant to use spending on free agents as a means of trying to win a championship, I don’t think the Yanks have a choice now. They have Cole for big money and Judge and Stanton in their primes, so they are a win-now team. Trying to build for the future is not an option for them and we all know that. But the team has major flaws, mainly on offense, that need to be fixed. Here is what I would do? I warn you, it’s expensive:

Sign Corey Seager to play Shortstop: Seager is young (27) and plays good SS. He is lefty, which is crucial. Its clear Yanks will add a SS and Carlos Correa hopefully is not an option. Seager looks like the guy. Seager hit .306 this year with a .394 OBP. Only strikes out about 20% of the time, which is pretty good these days in MLB. He is a clutch player with many big hits for LAD in their 2020 WS run. He is a winner. Get him.

Sign Freddie Freeman to play 1B: If Yanks added Freeman and Seager, the offense would take an immediate and dramatic upturn. 2 lefties and positions that we have basically open, no offense to Luke Voit. I love Voit, but he is injured too much, he is a righty, and he strikes out too much. Freeman stays on the field. He has barely missed a game the past 4 years. He hits .300 and 30 HR every year. He will be very hard to pry away from the Braves, but with money, anything is possible.

Sign Starling Marte to play CF: The third and final portion of my plan is Marte. Yanks need this type of athleticism and speed. We cannot rely upon Hicks coming back and being healthy and cannot keep going to Gardner to bail us out in CF. Marte is a real CF. He is a perfect fit for the Yanks.

These three signing will come at a high price, but we all know Yanks can afford it. They pay a lower tax now that they were under the threshold this year. So spend the money and fix the team.... read this Cashman... READ IT!  This would immediately take Yanks from 19th in Runs to likely into the Top 3 if not 1st. If you add these 3 guys to Judge and Stanton, and get DJ back to his 2019-2020 self, it will be a world of difference.

I will have more thoughts on the Yankees in the next coming days to help bring some stability and strategy to this team. Look for it here at Bleeding Yankee Blue!

--Douglas Solomon
BYB Guest Writer

IT'S TIME TO STICK IT TO CASHMAN: 2022 IS "MAKE IT, OR BREAK IT!"

It's October, and we aren't watching the Yankees in the playoffs. That shouldn't be acceptable for this team or this fan base. It has been very easy to sit back and blame Aaron Boone for everything that went wrong this season because there was a lot. I still believe THE YANKEES NEED TO SAY BYE TO BOONE THE BONEHEAD! but he's not the only one who should be held accountable.

Boone managed with what he was given. I still believe he didn't know how to get the best out of the flawed roster he was given and that is his job....but what about that flawed roster? Brian Cashman shouldn't get a pass for that. He needs a reality check.

Honestly, Hal Steinbrenner needs to have an uncomfortable meeting with Cashman and give him a hard dose of reality. This is the last year on his contract, and he needs to figure it out is he wants to stay employed by the Yankees. For the past 12 seasons the Yankees have not made it to the World Series despite having the best resources available to him. He's had the highest or second highest payroll and STILL can't assemble the right team? Money has never been a restriction for this team, but the right baseball minds have been.

In recent years the Tampa Bay Rays have made it deep into the postseason with a payroll roughly 1/3 the size of the Yankees and still managed to assemble a competitive team. They have done a better job scouting and developing players with a miniscule payroll with the better baseball brains. There's no reason that Cashman can't overhaul his player development team, he just hasn't been forced to.

If he had been forced to long ago we never would've had to deal with trade acquisition duds this season like Joey Gallo or Andrew Heaney. Before that maybe someone smart enough would've told him not to extend Aaron Hicks who can't stay healthy and is nothing more than an outfield paperweight. The payroll he is fortunate to have cripples him.

So this needs to be a put up or shut up year for Cashman. He needs to make groundbreaking changes that improve this team. If not, Hal needs to find a new GM for 2023 and beyond. The Yankees window to win with their promising young kids from 2017 has closed and now it is time for Cashman to prove that he can compose a winning team....or he needs to go.

It's that simple. To hell with loyalty. Put up or shut up, Cashman! You shouldn't be allowed to stay if you can't do the job, we need someone who can. Free agents have a lot of pressure to deal with in their pending free agent years and Cashman's situation should be no different. You are in the hot seat, Cash. Nothing personal, it's just business and you gotta produce or you gotta go!

  --Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

     BYB Senior Managing Editor

    Twitter: @nyprincessj

WAS THE YANKEES BIG WINNING STREAK AN ANOMALY?

I miss the thirteen game win streak. It forced Aaron Boone and the analytic junkies to stop relying on their failed system. I wish all of the injuries didn't come with all of that, but it still proved an important point.

The win streak came when some of the regulars were not in the lineup. The Yankees had to get creative and patch together a lineup in the worst of circumstances that actually worked. It's a reminder to stick with what works. Don't be afraid to shake things up. Before the win streak things weren't working and the trade deadline got some pieces for us that were a band=aid but while the 13 win streak was fun to watch, was it an anomaly?

What we saw from April-July was representative of what the "regular" team really is....ineffective. The addition of the lefty bats was welcome because it added balance but it wasn't the solution. So IS ANYONE EXCITED THAT JOEY GALLO IS A YANKEE? I'd say NO now.

I still like the Anthony Rizzo addition, he adds consistency in the infield and some additional leadership....which the Yankees need. I never liked the Andrew Heaney move. I've watched him long before he ever put pinstripes on and honestly, Brian Cashman added a weakness there. The Angels are the winners in that trade and they are very happy about losing his 7.71 ERA. These were band-aids, not fixes and some of them didn't even pan out.

I'm not the biggest Tyler Wade fan these days but he gave the Yankees the energy and speed on the bases that has been missing. That snapped as soon as Gio Urshela was brought back and Andrew Velazquez is definitely superior at shortstop than Gleyber Torres. The Yankees have handicapped themselves because while the "regulars" are back, there's no room for the guys that were productive and getting the job done. The same goes for Rougned Odor who is now back on the bench. I believe Torres can be developed the Yankees shouldn't give up on him BUT leaving him at shortstop is not the answer.

So the Yankees went back to their tired lineup because they are the regulars and the guys who were getting the results are not playing. The analytics are back, it's managing with a formula that hasn't produced results instead of rolling with the lineup that was producing. That's the only explanation that makes sense. The sad thing is, the season is on the line and a Wild Card spot is once again in jeopardy. October isn't even a guarantee. The Yankees are in real danger of missing the postseason.

The win streak showed us what is possible, but not with Cashman's current approach to building rosters or with Boone's management skills. I believe the Yankees are capable of a lot more, but we wont see the full potential with this ideology. The streak may have been an anomaly, but if the Yankees changed their thought process and played real baseball it doesn't have to be.

  --Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

     BYB Managing Editor

    Twitter: @nyprincessj

THE BIG YANKEE MELTDOWN!

The Yankees have proven one thing: if they don't hit home runs, they don't score runs.  And guess what, that's been happening a lot as the Yankees continue to melt down after an incredible stretch in August. And in August, the Yankees mixed it up with small ball, quick feet and a feverish sense of urgency that seems to have disappeared lately. Fans, we are witnessing the big Yankee meltdown and it is ugly to watch.

“We’ve been the streakiest team in the league,” said infielder DJ LeMahieu. “One good game and the tides can turn in a hurry, like we’ve seen all year. We’ve either been playing really bad or we’ve been playing unbelievable, and not a whole lot in between,” reported Bryan Hoch via MLB.com.

Streaky is an interesting word, considering that Aaron Boone controls who "rests" and who he puts into games in sometimes the most unlikeliest situations. Exhibit A: Andrew Heaney. Exhibit B: Boone does not play Giancarlo Stanton three days in the row in the field.  Interesting. Aaron Boone is the guy behind this streakiness that is personifying this Yankee team, don't kid yourself.

Source: NJ.com

“We’re trying to do the best,” Urshela said. “Errors are going to happen. We have to control what we can control. If we make an error, just keep going and stay focused for the next play,” reported MLB.com. It is difficult to wrap your head around the number of errors committed by this team. The absolute worst error of them all was Gary Sanchez missing the tag at home plate in Friday night's loss against the Mets. Joey Gallo's terrific throw beat Jonathan Villar by more than 20 feet, but Sanchez was so nonchalant in his reach for Villar that he completely missed him. Embarrassing. 

The Yankees need more than a pep talk. They need more than the Mets kicking them in the butt. They need to play smart and they need a coaching staff that can read the game, not play the game by numbers. If a player is hot, you play that player every night. You don't give up important ball games or rest players because you are waiting for the "stretch." The stretch, Aaron Boone, is now. And the lack of urgency or perhaps confusion I see in your eyes night after night as the Angels, the Orioles, the Blue Jays and the Mets beat the Yankees up, is just unacceptable. The Big Yankee Meltdown is happening because the sense of urgency went away. 

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

FIRE BOONE! HE BROKE HIS YANKEE TOY!

 

Aaron, you might be the worst manager in New York Yankee history. You make bad lineups, you rest better players too often and play the wrong guys all the time. And when it comes to the bullpen, you have managed to dismantle it, hurt it and put in guys that don't belong there.  You have ZERO urgency, are more concerned about how you look than how to win and are truly unqualified to lead any major league team.  Just because Ray Boone, Bob Boone and Bret Boone all played the game and were praised for years during their time doesn't make you a good manager. You're a Beta. You wanna be an Alpha. You wanna be part of that elite Boone liniage, but you just fall short, in the family tree... and in Yankee history. In short, you've fooled no one. You're awful.

Gary Sanchez should never play the field! I don't care how much money we're paying him. He has no grit. He can't catch, he can't block and he cannot call a game. 

You've managed to strip Andrew Heaney of any confidence he's ever had on the mound because you're trowing him into roles he's not accustomed to and not prepared for. If you want quality, you need to build this dude up because you've happened to ruin everyone else out there in the pen.

You can't rest guys like DJ LeMahieu and play Tyler Wade who's been hanging on to the Yankees for way, WAY too long. He's just not good.

What the hell are you doing?  We're supposed to win games, especially down the stretch, but your moves have jeapordized that.  You can come back at me and say "Hey, what about that 13 game winning streak?" I can say, I only care about the next game, and last time I checked... we're losing alot.

Hey Boone... You need to be gone when the season concludes. You have no command of respect... it's clear these players don't wanna play for you. You don't have that THING.  The thing that players look up to. You're a pal, not a leader and that's a major problem. We were supposed to beat the Mets last night, not look like them.  You are embarassing.

I have to tell you Boone, you're soft. Not only that, you know that you're protected by your friend Brian Cashman, but I have news for you... if this was the 80's, you'd be gone. The Yankees have fired people for less in previous decades. Your problem is you cannot command respect from these players and you continually make the wrong moves.  

Phil Nevin's an Alpha. Phil Nevin knows how to win. If I'm Phil Nevin right now, one of the only truly seasoned coaches on your staff, I'm finding a way to off you. The dude has the heart of a lion and wants to win! But he's looking around and he recognized that he's the most qualified on your inexperienced staff... and that includes you. I mean think about this... you have no true veteran except Nevin and Harkey and if you think for a second that these guys and you can come up with a solid, strong winning strategy, you are sadly mistaken.  

Hitting is a major problem these days for the Yankees and all Marcus Thames ever did was hit a few dramatic home runs for us when he was in pinstripes.

P.J. Pilittere? He's a career minor league player. What the hell does he know? Reggie Willits played as a part time player for the Angels for 6 years and he's a first base coach. Why? He's got some experience, find a better role.And this about Tanner Swanson's job. He's quality control and catching coordinator. QUALITY CONTROL!!! 

Did anyone see Gary Sanchez last night? There was ZERO quality and no control. WHAT ARE YOU AND YOUR STAFF DOING TO HELP BETTER THIS TEAM? Did you surround yourself with young bucks so you could look like a prophet or something? Cause you're failing.

My advice? Take a walk. Leave... don't do this gig anymore, you're bad at it. 

We need a manager who's more in tune with playing the best and winning than worrying about feelings and giving bad players chances.  If I see Joey Gallo in that damn lineup again I'm going to scream. He cannot hit a god damn thing. I said it before we got him, I'll say it again... he's not a hitter. He's what I call ONE FOR 15. That one he might hit a homer... or not, but that's about it. If he didn't play good defense he'd be in AAA. 

Work harder or leave, Boone. 

Be dedicated to winning and stop making stupid decisions and setting this team up for failure. You're the worst manager I have ever seen. Even if we make the playoffs, we have no drive to get to the finish. Hey... maybe that's a good thing... maybe then they'll fire you and that incredible inexperienced staff. 

My god!

DON'T BLAME HEANEY. IT'S NOT EASY TO BE A STARTER IN A RELIEVER ROLE

The best starter to dominate in a reliever role in recent Yankee history that I can remember was Mike Mussina against the Boston Red Sox in the 2003 ALCS. 3 scoreless innings of pure dominance... and the Yankees won that game. 

After that? Plenty have done it... none have dazzled quite as great.  

Why? Well, because it's not that easy. There's a mindset involved with starting pitchers and it's the same as for a reliever much like when a closer comes in to a tie game. It's hard... you feel differently, you pitch alittle differently. The pressure is different... it's just the way it is. You can sit in your stadium seat or on your couch and scream at these guys like "Come on! This is what you work toward! You need to crush the competition!" It's not as easy as turning it on and dominating. It's a mindset. Believe me.

Andrew Heaney is a 5th starter on a Yankee pitching rotation that has struggled most of the year.  He laid an egg today and I would suggest he did because he was put in a spot wearing the most storied franchise's uniform in front of judgy group of Yankee fans that was expecting automatic dominance against a shitty Orioles team.  But you know just as well as I do that Heaney is not a reliever, and the Orioles are not shitty against the Yankees.  So... who you wanna blame? Honestly... who's to blame in that situation?  Heaney? Sure... go for it.  He's a class act, he'll own it because he's a stand up guy. But you can't blame him entirely. Sorry.

I chalk this up to a Yankee coaching staff that just doesn't react as quickly as the underdog.  Did you watch the game today? I mean did you REALLY WATCH IT?  The Orioles knew when there was trouble they needed to stop the bleeding fast.  When a pitcher was getting pounded, they quickly make a change. When things were going well... they kept it the same. Now think about the Yankees. When Andrew Heaney was struggling pretty quickly, nothing was being done. It was a "Wait and let's see what happens." We saw what happened... you waited too long. EVERYONE SAW IT. Everyone.  

We knew what was going to happen and many times you know when you watch a pitcher that doesn't feel comfortable that you need to make a move fast. They didn't. The Yankees were "working through it." The Orioles played today like they were playing for something.  That was the difference with the entire series. Orioles played for something. Yankees played to survive. Duct tape and spit doesn't make a championship team folks, and if this is the way it could be in the playoffs with the Yankees, I can guarantee you we will be timid, slow, run out of pitching options fast and be gone after the Division Series.  We can't play to get by... we need to play for something. We need to play to win like the Orioles did today.

I don't blame Andrew Heaney today. I blame an ejected Aaron Boone, sitting in the clubhouse still making moves on what pitcher should come in next. The Yankees were slow, not dedicated to winning and all about trying to balance a bad weekend against a team 41 games back. Boone and his crew seriously have to learn to manage in tight sitations with the right personnel and stop guessing.  

Heaney coming in in a relief role was a miserable and stupid guess, much like Aroldis Chapman coming into a 3-3 NON-save situation the day before. The mindset is different, pitchers like these are NOT automatic and it's just not that easy to switch it on and off. Boone's never been a pitcher. He's never been a catcher. He does not see this and that is the problem. You wonder why catchers make better managers? The last 2 days is a perfect example of why they are better. Pitchers are wired differently. Catchers know this.

Now Heaney is not well liked in New York these days. And I am not one of those people. I think Heaney was a last minute pick up who's not used to a big market and the pressure of New York City. But he's not a loser either and he certainly is not a reliever. Today was hard on the guy... but I don't fault him. Once again I fault the Yankee manager.  In the game or ejected and out of it, Boone needs makes the decisions.  

Tody on Twitter some dude asked me how I knew Boone was still running the show after he was ejected.  I mean, I thought everyone knew this, but I guess it's worth repeating...

Managers that get ejected are thrown out of the game. It is true that they have to get out of the dugout and go in the clubhouse and be out of site.  But do not think for a second that these guys aren't still pulling the strings.  You think Carlos Mendoza knew what to do today? No... he checked with the manager... Aaron Boone.  Boone sets the day, he sets the strategy or lack there of... and he knows what he wants for his team.  And trust me when I tell you... Boone blew it.

You can wish to DFA Andrew Heaney all you want Bob Klapisch. Kind of irresponsible for a sports writer to root, but whatever.  How about instead the haters give him a few more shots as a starter and see how he does. 

Hell, we gave Corey Kluber a shot today and he laid an egg... but that's OK?  Heaney laid an egg too... IN A ROLE HE'S NOT TYPICALLY UTILIZED IN. Meanwhile NJ.com Boone glosses over Kluber and instead throws Heaney under the bus after the game:

"...In the end, just couldn’t get out of the inning. It’s an important role down there and he’s going to have to share some of that role. He’s going to have to step up."

I mean, of course Heaney is going to have to step it up... but your boy Kluber just replaced him as a starter and he sucked today! Where's that mention? Let me guess, "Kluber's working through things?" The point is those decisions aren't made by a bunch of players in the clubhouse by flipping a coin.

Boone makes them... these are his mistakes. But somehow Heaney has a bad day and ya'll want him gone? Whatever Klapisch... whatever guys.  Give me a break. How about Aaron Boone...  can we DFA him?

YANKEES 9, HENRI 1

Source: Robert Sabo, NY Post

The only thing stopping the 2021 Yankees right now is Hurricane Henri. After winning nine in a row, including a sweep to the Boston Red Sox, the streak stops with the impending storm headed to the New York Tri-State expected overnight.

Source: NY Yankees Twitter

"Sunday’s Yankees-Twins game has been postponed due to the forecast of inclement weather and will be made up on Monday, September 13, at 2:05pm at Yankee Stadium," reported the New York Yankees. So the Yankees get a little break, and rightfully earned given their streak of just incredible baseball.

Source: NY Post

"Entering Friday's game against the Twins, there were only 40 games left. The Yankees are on their way to a number of wins in the 90s, just as we expected. As grim as it may have seemed in June, when they were swept by the Red Sox twice, or in early July, when the catastrophe against the Mets happened, there's a reason we prefer six-month seasons," reported MLB.com. The Yankees pitching, winning in tight games, speed on the basepaths and new acquisitions are the key reasons for the Yankees incredible 360. 

Has this season been the most topsy turvy you've ever season? Perhaps. I don't think I have ever seen so much turmoil amidst pandemic IL, regular IL and just players needing to reinvent themselves in my nearly 50 years watching this franchise. I have seen the Bombers come back and win the World Series in grand style in 1977 and 1978, despite so much loss to the team during those years and being behind the eight ball in July, climbing themselves back into contention in August. 

1977 record: 100-62; 1978 record: 100-63 (yes that 63rd win was the infamous Bucky Dent Green Monster Home Run in the one-day playoff game to decide the division against Boston). This year, the Yankees could fall around 93 wins for the season, and given the tumultuous season just described, it is incredible the 2021 Yankees could get that far. 

Source: NY Post

Guys like energetic Luke Voit, veteran Brett Gardner,  newbie Andrew Velazquez, relief man Jonathan Loaisiga and stud pitcher Gerrit Cole have stepped up and have contributed to the unstoppable Yankees. The newest acquisitions including Andrew Heaney, Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo have found a home in the Bronx, very quickly assimilating to big market baseball and adding tremendous depth to this Yankee clubhouse. 

So, yeah, there's a weather delay to the Yankee win streak, but that may only fuel this team's fire and guption for a pennant that was virtually unthinkable a few weeks ago. Only one AL team can enter the fall classic in mid-October and if the Yankees can beat up on Tampa, who is the likeliest contender, they may well be the one team standing to face whoever the NL puts in the ring against them. Perhaps I am the forever optimist, but the Yankees have earned it over the last couple of weeks. Stay safe in the storm Northeasterners. And rest up Yankees- there is more grind ahead!

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof