A LIST OF AWFUL YANKEE LOSSES

This is a classic post. Our guy Doug Solomon with a breakdown of all the awful Yankee losses this year.  Very, very interesting stuff. take a close look.

I don't always post here at BYB... but when I do, I like to share some glaring concerns I have. The latest is this list of horrible losses by the New York Yankees... and it keeps growing. These are the ones that stand out so far this year, although there were others too. Check it out.

April 7th vs. Baltimore: 

After Baltimore scored the Manfred Man in the 11th, the Yankees got theirs to 3B with 1 out for LeMahieu, who hit a line drive to right. But it was caught by Santander, who threw a strike to home and nailed Gio trying to score the winning run to end the game. Any loss to Baltimore hurts.

April 14th vs. Toronto: 

Bo Bichette hits a walk-off dinger off Chad Green leading off the bottom of the 9th in a 4-4 game to end it.

May 28th vs. Detroit: 

The Yanks took a 2-1 lead in the top of the 10th and somehow were using Justin Wilson to close it out in the 10th. Wilson got the first out and appeared to get the second out on what should have been called strike 3 to Robbie Grossman, but it was called a ball. The next pitch, Grossman hits walk-off homer and the Yanks lose 3-2.

June 10th vs Minnesota: 

The Yanks were going for the sweep of the Twins and took a 5-3 lead to the bottom of the 9th. Chapman entered the game with a 0.39 ERA, but gave up a single and a game-tying HR to Josh Donaldson. Then another single, followed by a walk-off 2-run homer to Nelson Cruz.

June 30th vs. Angels: 

Yanks led 8-4 in the 9th after scoring 7 in the first inning off Ohtani. Chapman walks the leadoff batter, then after a forceout, walks the next 2 batters to load the bases. Boone leaves Chapman in and he 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: 

The Yankees 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.

July 11th vs. Houston: 

New York was going for the sweep in their first series in Houston since the controversial 2019 ALCS. Yanks had a 7-2 lead going to the bottom of the 9th and tried to allow Domingo German to start the inning after 2 innings of relief. After first 2 batters reached on German, Green was brought in and promptly gave up a 2-run double to Chris McCormick to make it 7-4. Then Abraham Toro doubled in McCormick to make it 7-5 and Castro singled to put runners on the corners before Green got the first out. But with 2 on and 1 out, Altuve ended it with a walk-off HR off Chad Green. Houston had scored 6 runs in the bottom of the 9th to win 8-7.

July 22 vs. Boston: 

The Yanks took a 3-1 lead to the 9th and brought in Chad Green. After a strikeout, Verdugo singled and Dalbec singled, but then Plawecki flied out, so the Yanks were 1 out away. But Enrique Hernandez doubled off the wall and both runners scored to tie the game. Yanks were able to score the Manfred Man in the top the 10th to take a 4-3 lead, but Yanks (with Loaisiga out due to COVID), had to turn to rookie Brooks Kriske in the bottom of the 10th and Kriske was terrible. He walked the leadoff batter, then threw 2 wild pitches allowing the tying run to score and the winning run to move to 3B and a Hunter Renfroe SAC Fly ended it.

July 25 vs Boston: 

Yanks had a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the 8th in this one and Domingo German had a no-hitter through 7 innings (including having struck out 4 batters in the 7th). The no-hitter was broken with a leadoff double by Verdugo and Loaisiga came in and promptly allowed a double to Renfroe, scoring Verdugo to make it 4-1. Vazquez singled --- 4-2. Cordero singled and then Enrique Hernandez doubled to make it 4-3. Britton came in to try to save it and got a groundout, but that scored the tying run 4-4. Bogaerts then hit a SAC Fly to make it 5-4 Boston and they held the Yanks in the 9th to win 5-4.

August 12 vs. White Sox: 

The Yanks have an amazing comeback in Iowa after training 7-4 with 2 outs in the 9th. Judge 2-run HR makes it 7-6, and after a walk to Gallo, Stanton hits a dramatic go-ahead HR into the cornfield off Liam Hendricks to make it 8-7. Britton comes in for the save, but after getting the fist out, walk Danny Zavala after starting out ahead 0-2. Tim Anderson then promptly hits a walk-off 2-run HR for a 9-8 White Sox win.

And why are these losses happening? 2 things... bad decisions & a shaky bullpen.  Think about it.

--Douglas Solomon

   BYB Guest Writer

THE YANKEES BLEW IT WITH THE CLAY HOLMES TRADE

Have I mentioned that I hate the Clay Holmes trade? Have I? Can't stand it.  It does nothing but give the Yankees an extra arm to go to, but there are plenty wrong with THIS arm. I guess they couldn't get it done with guys like Brooks Kriske so they went with other no names to fill the void.  Seriously... WHAT THE HELL ARE THE YANKEES DOING THIS YEAR?

Not only did the Yankees get Holmes, they traded away a solid Hoy Park and Diego Castillo.  Whatever man.  I just don't get it.

Fangraphs writes:

"Depending on how one frames Monday’s Yankees and Pirates swap of reliever Clay Holmes for upper-level minor leaguers Hoy Park and Diego Castillo, it can look pretty rough. Holmes, who is out of options, is walking over five per 9 IP and has an ERA just a shade under 5.00 in a middle relief role for one of the worst teams in baseball, while Park and Castillo are annihilating the upper levels of the minors and play valuable defensive positions. But even though my shoot-from-the-hip reaction to this deal was that the Yankees took a bit of a bath because I think Castillo has the most long-term upside of the players exchanged, there are indications that Holmes is better than his superficial stats and really special in a few ways. There are also minor league roster dynamics at play for New York that make parting with these two middle infielders more palatable."

I love Fangraphs, but they didn't need all these words to say "this deal is dumb."

But this they needed to explain... and it's important when it comes to Holmes:

"...Holmes barely threw in 2020 due to a foot fracture and a forearm strain) may be contributing to that poor control. Holmes’ walk rates (15% career, 13% this year) are troubling, though he’s slowly improved in that regard every season of his career. The Yankees are walking a tight rope here. Holmes is out of options and he had forearm trouble last year (he’s about a half decade removed from a 2014 Tommy John). He’s a little wild. "

Feel good about this yet? Me neither.

Time to call the New York Yankees. Here's the number:

(718) 293-4300

I would then ask for Media Relations and/or Tickets and make sure you tell them they need to get it together because if no fans come to the ballpark, they will be forced to make a change. I just did.

We have had a shitty season folks... trades like this make it worse. I feel like we're headed backwards, not forward. Awful.

BOONE SUCKS. WILL THE YANKEES GET HELP WITH TREVOR STORY?

The Yanks lost a game that was winnable last night.  But somehow... they couldn't pull it off. Why? Well... you can't blame Brooks Kriske. You gotta blame Aaron Boone, probably the world's worst manager. 

You play games against the Red Sox as must wins... that's always been the thing. Last night, they will blame it on being short handed and without pitching, but is that really the case? No.  It's bullshit.

CBS Sports writes:

"In the home half, the short-handed Yankees turned to right-hander Brooks Kriske, making just his seventh MLB appearance, for the save opportunity with the runner on second. Here's how his high-leverage frame went:
Wild pitch
Wild pitch, run scores
Walk
Wild pitch
Wild pitch
Strikeout
Sac fly, game-winning run scores

Of Kriske's 12 pitches, just six went for strikes."

Boone picked badly. Blame Boone and move on.  And moving on to the latest rumor Trevor Story we go.

Sports Illustrated, the Spun has this:

"...they’ve acquired about Colorado Rockies star Trevor Story. Story, a three-time All-Star shortstop, is a pending free agent. The Rockies have nothing to play for this year, and since they are not going to be able to sign Story long-term, it makes sense for them to trade the 28-year-old.

According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Yankees are just one of the team that have “checked in” about Story, so there’s not much smoke here just yet. "

Now... word of caution... Buster Olney isn't normally right about trades until after... kind of like Jon Heyman, so take the rumor with a grain of salt. But secondly... do we need Trevor Story? Will he help the team? It's one of those things... you roll the dice. 

The idea of moving Gleyber Torres to second base and putting Story at short helps us defensively. Good idea. He's also 28... a plus.  

So... on paper I like this idea. Will it happen? Who knows.  Will it help Boone make better decisions? I think it gives him another option in tight games with a talent like Story depending on the scenario. We will have to see.

For now... we need to get another winning streak going. And for all my BYB freaks... please keep a close eye out for this Story rumor. It might heat up.

EVEN AARON BOONE "DOESN'T KNOW" ABOUT FRAZIER'S FUTURE

Is Clint Frazier the 31st man on a 30-man roster? Is he even 31? I don't know, and what's scarier here is neither does Aaron Boone.

Even with an expanded roster to start this unusual season, there isn't a clear path for Frazier. It's the same old story that Frazier has faced for years now.....where does he fit in? He was optioned down to their alternate training site after Saturday night's game along with Ben Heller. Aaron Boone's honest answer isn't very encouraging, especially not if you are Frazier and you happen to read it in the news. You can read about it in depth HERE.

Boone was honest and blunt. I admire an honest answer even when it isn't the answer you want to hear. It sucks to be both Frazier and Boone right now.

“I would say he’s great and a pro and I’m really proud of who he is right now and where’s he’s at. Doesn’t make it any less difficult. Again, you’re sending down a player who you know is ready to be an impact player in the big leagues. That’s a hard thing to do. Especially with the work he’s put in and the strides he’s made in every aspect of his game are real. So that’s a difficult one.”

And it must be even harder when you are sending down an impactful, major league ready bat but keep Miguel Andujar in left field for Sunday's game. I mean, I love that Andujar is back but he's never played a game in left field and he gets the call over Frazier. Maybe it wouldn't hurt as bad if Frazier had played in the previous two games, but that didn't happen either.

Then to top it all off, the Yankees plan to bring right-hand rookie relievers Nick Nelson and Brooks Kriske up to the roster who both pitched in Double-A last season. We can thank James Paxton's disappointing performance for that I guess. There's a reason for it....but if you are Frazier right now it probably doesn't make it easier to accept.

So when will we see Frazier? I don't know and neither does Boone. He called this decision "difficult" and believes "Clint's ready to be an impact player in this league. There's no doubt in my mind." He went on to say that Frazier is "just unfortunately, blocked right now with a lot of good outfielders."

He's not wrong, but a short 60 game season makes Frazier's future as a Yankee even cloudier. The Yankees have even less time to find an opportunity for him without a significant injury. We all don't want to see that happen, but unless it happens it is likely a reality.

So does this season really determine what happens to Frazier as a Yankee? Maybe. If the Yankees already acknowledge that he is "blocked" the trade rumors we have already seen for awhile aren't likely to go away. If anything they may intensify.

If the Yankees can't or choose not to use him....some other team will want to. Definitely not a good place to be in if you are Frazier, and it sucks. Guess we wait and see what happens.

--Jeana Bellezza

BYB Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj