I SAW THE LINEUP FOR YANKEES VS. METS GAME & I GAVE UP

Can someone share how the heck these lineups come to be? I was discouraged once I got the lineup alert to my phone. Jahmai Jones leading off, JD Davis batting cleanup what in the actual...? Yeah, I saw the lineup for the Yankees-Mets Series and I gave up.

"In the last month, the Yankees have too often been a top-heavy mess. Anthony Volpe and Alex Verdugo particularly cratered and the first and fourth spots in the order now feel like a reality show with anybody capable of landing in those slots. In the Subway Series opener Tuesday night, it was Jahmai Jones and J.D. Davis, who you might have forgotten were even on the roster," reported The New York Post. I certainly forgot about them. 

Source: Corey Sipkin for the NY POST

But everyone knows who is leading this team: Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. Even former Yankee Luis Severino jabbed at his former team by calling the Yankees "a two man team." According to the Post, "The Yankees pretty much must find a righty complement for Verdugo (.196 batting average .556 OPS versus lefties) whether it is Jasson Dominguez or comes from the outside. This is just another area Gleyber Torres (.208 vs. lefties) and DJ LeMahieu (.118) were hurting the Yankees." 

The Yankees will need to be at the table for the trade deadline which is quickly approaching. The Series against Tampa was the best of times, worst of times kind of series. Sure they split but it was so lopsided. And it revealed so many glaring holes in the Yankees lineup. So as much as I hated the starting lineup in Tuesday's bout against the Mets, I see the desperation, which is equally concerning.

"We dominated most of the first half, so I don't think this is only about one or two players," Soto said. "It takes every single guy in the lineup and our relievers in the bullpen and everything, so I think it's not only a two-player team. I think it's a really good team right now," reported ESPN. 

It is a weird part of the season we are experiencing right now. A time of uncertainty and a time for revisions. The Yankees are in the midst of both. If they can find a way to win in New York before they leave for Boston and then to a series against the best in baseball Phillies, they may have the fuel they need to withstand some tough games ahead. But hitters better hit, because the lineup on Tuesday looks like surrender to me. 

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

SMALL BALL HAS FINALLY FOUND ITS WAY INTO BOONE'S STRATEGY BOOK

Source: New York Post

Wow, we actually are witnessing small ball in the Yankee lineup. "Mr. I love a home run", AKA Aaron Boone cracked open a new chapter into his strategy book. And it called for DJ LeMahieu to bunt, the team to execute hit and runs and play single-fest with early scoring. The Yankees demonstrated that they don't actually need the long ball to win games and guess what it was just as exciting to watch.

“Not that I expect us to be a team that’s bunting a lot or stealing bases a lot — it’s not necessarily our personnel,” Boone said after the Yankees reached a season-high-tying 26 games over .500. “But we have guys that can play that game. There are certain times you have to do little things on a diamond to help you win a ballgame,” reported the New York Post.

Source: ESPN

In a Monday night game where Juan Soto was back in the lineup, and Aaron Judge had the night off, the Yankees were fearless on the base paths and mighty with the bunt; bunting three times before the fourth inning, executing two of them flawlessly. To say that you don't expect the Yankees to be a bunting team is just immature. They are ball players; bunting and stealing are fundamental to the game. Let them play that game. Maybe they will have less injuries.

"The bunt show was only just beginning. In the fourth, LeMahieu knocked a one-out single before Trent Grisham attempted to bunt but got plunked on the foot. The next batter, Jahmai Jones, successfully got the bunt down to set the table for Jose Trevino, who came through with a two-run single that helped the Yankees pull away," reported the New York Post. When you keep the opposing team guessing, you are doing your job. And you make the game interesting. How about that?

Source: AP

Carlos Rodon pitched a gem of a game on Monday night and the Yankees found a way to win behind him. That is good baseball. And the way the game needs to be played. Strategy is important but culture is key. As legendary management consultant Peter Drucker said, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." And the Yankees can win with the right attitude, despite some of the blundering strategies Boone typically prescribes. 

Bottom line, small ball belongs in any team's lineup, even ones with big bats. It puts stress on the opposing team's defense, causing them to have to be on their toes or even to make misplays. Small ball is back, and I hope for the team's sake it stays. 

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

THE YANKEES JUST PICKED UP A GEM

If you woke up a day ago and said, "Well, who the hell is Jahmai Jones?" know that today he is on the New York Yankees.  In the move to offer more stability to the team, the Yankees signed the infielder picking him up off waivers. Believe it or not, it's a solid move.

Empire Sports Media wrote:

"The 26-year-old was designated for assignment by the Milwaukee Brewers last week, and the Yankees are taking a flyer on a prospect who has had some success at the Minor League level this past season. Jones hit 12 home runs in 103 games with a .413 OBP and 122 wRC+ in Triple-A for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers at the highest level of Minor League Baseball but has struggled in the big leagues."

And so, what does it mean? It means depth, but more to that, it's just a solid move.  You may look at this guy and think "Well, who is this guy?". I look at him and see a kid with a shot.  When you have a shot, many times you shine... new environment, new team, a team that says, "We think you can help us."  Like a Greg Allen, Jahmai Jones can help.

Small nugget today, but a good one if you're a Yankee fan.

THE SEPTEMBER SKID

Source: New York Post

The Yankees—Sigh. The game at the Stadium on Saturday afternoon was painful to watch. I was predicting the outcomes of at bats throughout the game to the point of calling balls and strikes accurately.  The writing was on the wall. It actually was on the wall Friday too, but somehow the Yankees erased it with a "walkoff" win. But not Saturday. The September Skid seems to be in full swing. And the Orioles are the top offenders.

"Joey Gallo snapped an 0-for-17 skid with a game-tying home run in the eighth, but Chapman loaded the bases and coughed up the go-ahead run in the ninth for a costly 4-3 loss to the last-place Orioles at the Stadium," reported the New York Post.

Source: The Daily News

The real coverage of the game was on Twitter where I saw the word "garbage" being thrown around a lot as fans just were filled with disgust over the Yankees inability to even hit off of a team that has 6.19 ERA for the season. "Twenty-five New York batters were held hitless until Gleyber Torres delivered a pinch-hit, seventh-inning RBI single, one kicked around by second baseman Jahmai Jones. An inning later, DJ LeMahieu reached on a dribbler before Gallo launched a 375-foot drive to right field, the slugger’s 31st homer of the year and his sixth with the Yankees," reported MLB.com.

Yankee Skipper Aaron Boone stated the obvious, “Look, these games are super important,” Boone said. “And we’re trying to win them. We got held down today, so that’s frustrating and unfortunate. We’ve got a big one tomorrow that we’ve got to grab," reported MLB.com. I would say so, Aaron. The Yankees actually needed to win this series and the next one in Baltimore to pick up six wins against a team that is so far out of the hunt for the pennant that in soccer they would be relegated. 

The Yankees are feeling the September Skid but they better get over it quickly because time is running out for these 2021 Bombers. Just a few more weeks and MLB will be ushering in the postseason. This Yankee team needs to ask themselves what side of that they want to be on. 

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof