THE INJURY TRAIN KEEPS ROLLING....

Is it wrong to say I am not surprised that two more Yankees got hurt? It's become the predictable theme so far this season, and it's still April. Nothing to see here, just more guys getting hurt. Luckily we are still winning....but still, this is unreal.

In case you missed it, yesterday Gio Urshela and DJ LeMahieu both got hurt and had to be taken out of the game. LeMahieu was the first to be pulled in the third inning with right knee inflammation.  LeMahieu fouled a pitch off the knee on Friday night and had the knee wrapped with ice after Friday's and Saturday's games. He did get x-rays after the game which did come back negative, but he will get an MRI and see an orthopedic today according to Aaron Boone. They think it is a deep bone bruise but want to make sure it's not more serious. Hopefully it's not a trip to the injured list for him, let's keep our fingers crossed.

In the fifth inning Urshela took a pitch to the top of the left hand and left the game. He also had x-rays which also came back negative. That's good news. I'm sure that hand is going to be sore and swollen though. Let's hope it just needs a few days rest and he can avoid the injured list. It would be a shame to lose him, he's been such a huge asset to the Yankees since he's been called up. I don't think you could've asked him for more, he's delivered on everything the Yankees have asked.

This definitely isn't the news we wanted especially considering the Yankees just swept the San Francisco Giants. It would be nice to focus on the fact that the Yankees have won 11 of their last 13 games despite having 13 guys on the Injured List and a roster missing almost all of the starting day lineup. The Yankees have found ways to win and are supposed to be getting loser to getting some big name guys back.

If all goes well we could see Troy Tulowitzki, Miguel Andujar and Clint Frazier back all within a couple of weeks of each other, read more HERE. Hopefully Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Hicks aren't far behind also. The Yankees are getting closer, so losing two more would be devastating.

I'm hoping both Urshela and LeMahieu can avoid the Injured List. At his point, the Yankees have limited options. Thairo Estrada is already on the big league roster and the Yankees have Brad Miller in Triple-A as the next call-up candidate. If they need to replace LeMahieu or Urshela, they can
easily do it. But what if they have to replace both? I have no idea what the Yankees would do. I don't even want to think about that. Anyone reading this have a glove? We may need you ASAP.

Thank goodness today is an off-day. Everyone needs a rest, it's been a long road trip. Hopefully the off-day gives them some much needed rest and hopefully brings some good news for both LeMahieu and Urshela.

Stay tuned and cross your fingers...

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj

I'M NOT INTERESTED IN THE SECOND STRING YANKEES

I know the Yankees won last night.  But I'm gonna be honest with you... my heart's not in this season. The stars are gone... hurt... out, and for me, as a life long Yankee fan, I am not so interested in watching and taking it all in. It's a different dynamic for me right this second.  It makes me me uninterested, makes the season for me not watchable. I'm bored, folks. Very, very bored.

Don't get on me about being a traitor or a fake fan. You are all insane. I was there for the years of Bobby Meacham. I remember reading about the dark days starring Horace Clarke.  My feeling is simple; These are not the Yankees we thought we were getting on Opening Day, and for me, with so much going on in my own life, I could honestly care less about finding the time to sit on my couch and watch players like Gio Urshela and Thairo Estrada. No offense to those guys... it's just not the same.

I mean we just signed Brad Miller to a minor league deal.  Brad Miller? Do you even know who Brad Miller is? And is that gonna help us now? Like right now? Nope.

So now you hear it. Now you know what I'm feeling these days. Yes, the Yankees will still be the Yankees, but the stars, the guys my kids look up to... the guys I wanted to see at the stadium are just not there.  Having CC Sabathia on the mound every 5 days is great, but for me, that doesn't cut it anymore. Injury has ruined this team and you gotta wonder if it's gonna turn around. It blows!

Why us? Why are we plagued with injury? Why is there so much injury?  And why is it taking so damn long for them all to recover.

And why does this season blow so badly? What happened that there is this change.  Boone's not giving us answers because he's a puppet. Cashman's silent other than updating us on injury.  I mean... did you see the video clip of Aaron Judge when asked about his injury? That pause will be stuck in my head for years. Go to 37 seconds in...

Vuelve pronto campeón @TheJudge44 pic.twitter.com/zS5Lu6g4LS

— The Cherilanga NY (@sandymanuelbue1) April 22, 2019

There's no way around it... the Yankees are a lost team, and I don't care what anyone says. These are not my Yankees.  These are a bunch of second stringers and a few veterans holding it all together.  And yes, there is still a goal... to win the whole damn thing, but honestly, my heart's not in it.  I'm kind of turned off.

Don't like what I have to say? Don't read it. 

Wanna criticize me for being a bad Yankee fan? You don't get to determine how I root or don't root... that's subjective. I'm annoyed, I'm aggravated and I could care less right this second.  

The real Yankees need to get healthy. That's who I want to watch. Until then... well, you get the idea.

DELLIN BETANCES STEADY AT CLOSER

The Yankees have seen quite a few changes this season. We've got the Baby Bombers- Tyler Austin, Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez. We now know that this will be Mark Teixeira's last season, and we've seen the exit of Alex Rodriguez. Most interesting to me, and honestly the most gratifying, is the rise of Dellin Betances as closer. 

I'm not even going to pretend to be neutral in this. I am a huge Betances fan. It was just over two years ago when I dubbed him THE NEXT HOMETOWN HERO. I have been rooting for him for a long time. He's the boy from Washington Heights, that achieved what many New York City boys, and girls, have only dreamed about. So, yea... The Brooklyn Girl in me, who grew up with the unrealistic dream of playing for the Yankees, is rooting for him extra hard.

This season started with the big three out of the bullpen - Betances, Andrew Miller, and Aroldis Chapman. The trio started the season as the three best closers in the league. But, it left a lot of questions, at least for me. I really enjoyed the set-up man/closer rhythm that Miller and Betances had worked out last season. The addition of Chapman made it undoubtedly more threatening, but really, we had three closers on the roster. Someone, at some point, had to be moved.

To me, it was always obvious that Betances would eventually be our permanent closer. He has more than risen to the occasion since Miller and Chapman were both traded away. In 14 save opportunities, Betances has 10 saves, with a 2.41 era over the entire course of the season, thus far. 

The September 9th game against the Rays is possibly one of my favorite shows of his talent and determination. After a long rain delay, Betances insisted on being given the opportunity to get the last out to win the game. The Yankees were up 7 - 4, with two on, and Brad Miller had a 2 - 2 count. The umps called for the rain delay. 51 mins later, Betances came in to strike out Miller. He gave up one run, before getting the last out to win the game. Of that situation, Betances said "I wasn't coming out of that game. It was going to be pretty hard for me to come out. I got myself into that situation, so I'm trying to do whatever I can to stay loose and make sure that I'm ready to go."

Again, I'm completely bias when it comes to Betances. So it makes me really happy that he is getting a shot to prove his chops as closer. I'd like to think that given the chance at closer for the entire season, his era and saves would be much more impressive. When Mariano Rivera left, we all screamed that there would never be another, and there won't be. Mo was absolutely one of his kind. An icon and a treasure. But, maybe we don't need another Mo.

Betances is phenomenal in his own right. He has the ability, the talent, and the grit to be an incredible closer. If given the chance, I could easily see him pulling 30 or 40 saves a season. I might be underselling him on that estimate, honestly. Betances is that good.

Erica Morales
BYB Senior Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter: @e_morales1804

BLAH! IN THE BRONX

BLAH! That's about the best way to describe this game.

Thursday was the perfect day for a game of baseball in the Bronx. A beautiful 70 degrees out, with just the minimal amount of wind. Really, it was just a beautiful day. Too bad I can't say the same of the game. Okay the game wasn't a complete disaster. It was just one of those games that seems to drag on endlessly.

Seattle wasted no time scoring on us. Starting with our old friend, Robinson Cano. He doubled on a line drive to Carlos Beltran, bringing in Stefen Romero. Jacoby Ellsbury answered back with his first home run as a Yankee in the bottom of the 1st. The tie was short lived though. In the 3rd, Cano grounds into a force out, bringing in Brad Miller to score. Seattle would score twice more in the 4th, before Brian McCann singles in the 6th, to drive in Alfonso Soriano.

Cano was met with another round of boos during his first at bat. I hope this doesn't become the norm when he comes to visit. I mean, it seems like a lot of wasted energy on a guy that is ultimately irrelevant to our success this season.

I don't know what else to say about this game, really. I want to pretend it was a good pitching match up, but it wasn't. Our offense fell asleep again. You've got to get those bats moving. Have to score runs to win games.

Final: Seattle 4 - Yankees 2

--Erica Morales BYB Senior Writer 
Twitter: @e_morales1804

 
 

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