CHASING #61

Source: The Athletic

Every night YES Broadcaster Michael Kay welcomes in the national audience who are waiting, like the Yankees fans are, for Aaron Judge to launch #61. I am lucky enough to have witnessed all of Judge's home runs this season. Each one of them, special. Each one of them, powerful and purposeful, as Judge, got his team off to a great start, single-handedly carried his team through the toughest days of August and now into the dog days of September. As we all wait for #61, let's take a look at some of his more memorable home runs in 2022.

Source: CBS Sports 

Judge blasted his first home run of the season against the Toronto Blue Jays' José Berríos, ironically the starting pitcher of Tuesday night's game. That home run came on April 13th and went 413 feet. "New York ended the first month of the season on a seven-game winning streak and Judge was a catalyst. Five of his six April home runs came in those seven victories." reported The Athletic. 

Judge started off May with a huge 453 foot home run against the Kansas City Royals and had one of the most impressive home runs in June against Los Angeles Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani, smashing a slider over the left-field wall at Yankee Stadium for No. 19 on the season.

Source: Sports Illustrated 

His longest home run of the season happened in Camden Yards on July 22. Judge drove a pitch from Tyler Wells 465 feet over the left-center-field wall. And how about some walk-off home runs? Judge has had three walk-off home runs this season, most recently on July 28 against the Royals. 

“You feel it pre-pitch, like walking up to the plate and the walk-up song plays and the crowd is gonna get crazy,” Judge said afterward, when asked about handling the pressure of a big moment. “Then once you step into the box and dig in and take a deep breath, it doesn’t go silent, but you just kind of lock it in," said Judge following his walk off home run against Houston on June 26th.

Source: New York Times

His bat went quiet along with his teams for a lot of August, but he picked up as the month rolled on and since September, Judge has been on a tear. He was on fire against the Yankees nemesis The Tampa Bay Rays, and launched some fiery bombers in Fenway, with his "10th multi-HR game of the season, tying him for third-most in a season in MLB history" on September 13th, reported The Athletic. 

Judge hit two against the Brewers (58 and 59) and on September 20th, Judge became the third-fastest player to reach 60 home runs. That electric night, last Tuesday night was against the Pittsburgh Pirates—his home run ignited a ninth-inning Yankee comeback in a must-win game. 

Source: New York Times

Judge is still chasing #61. And although he makes it look easy with what appears to be an effortless swing, his at bats are anything but easy. He is working 3-2 counts, mashing base hits and carrying his team in both batting average and RBIs. He is on the verge of a triple crown season, but he remains one home run short of tying Roger Maris. Judge is chasing history and eventually, he will get there. 

We have waited for a season like this for so long and we got it. The Yankees clinched the AL East in their victory against the Blue Jays on Tuesday. And for Judge, his 61st home run swing will come too—we just have to wait. 

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

THREE GUYS THE MEDIA THINKS THE YANKEES SHOULD GRAB AT THE TRADE DEADLINE

I love the trade rumor season because it's so much fun. But when I look at the Yankees, I don't feel like it's the players as much as I do the leadership when it comes to fixing. Leadership in the Bronx is terrible, the players we have are good. But let's face it, if a group of players cannot play consistently as a team, they're gonna have a tough time winning.  And that's where my heart is. The Yankees suck because their manager thinks baseball is automatic.  I mean sure, these players are getting paid a ton of dough to play well, but without solid leadership... they're just a bunch of players. It means nothing.

So of course the media jumps all over the players like that's the quick fix. Cashman has said he is engaged in a ton of talks about trades as the deadline approaches, and there you have it. For now, here are 3 names being thrown into the "Yankee fix" ring. You tell me what you think.

1. Starling Marte: 

This suggestion comes from Jim Bowden from the Athletic but lifted from Inside the Pinstripes:

"The third-most talented center fielder, in Bowden's eyes, is Starling Marte and the former general manager believes the likelihood of Marte being traded is high.

Could the Yankees be his destination? Here's an excerpt on Marte from Bowden's in-depth piece this week.

Marte would like to sign a long-term contract with the Marlins. However, it doesn’t appear the feeling is mutual because Miami has yet to offer him an extension. The 32-year-old will be among the most pursued “rentals” at the trade deadline, and if the Marlins falter, I expect them to trade the impending free agent. Marte remains an elite major leaguer who plays above-average defense in center and left field. He still has at least 20-home run and 20-stolen base ability. I think he’d be a difference-maker in the lineup for the Yankees or Red Sox.

Marte isn't a left-handed hitter, but a speedy and skillful defender in center field—a player with some serious pop at the plate—would fit right in with New York.

Entering play on Saturday, the Marlins are sitting in last place in the National League East, nine games out of first place. If Miami elects to sell at the Deadline, Marte would be one of their most valuable assets to dangle in front of other teams, seeking to recoup some talent in return."

Next... 

2. Jon Gray:

From NJ.com: "...the Colorado Rockies have activated starter Jon Gray from the injured list, clearing the right-hander to start Friday’s matinee against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Gray wound up missing three weeks due to a flexor strain in his right elbow. The 29-year-old righty holds a pedestrian 4.29 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 50/27 K/BB ratio across 63 innings (12 starts) this season.

The Rockies are set to be prime sellers before the July 30 non-waiver trade deadline, as they sit in fourth place in the National League West, 17.5 games behind the first-place San Francisco Giants.

Gray is in his seventh season in Colorado. He finished sixth in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2016 and won a career-high 12 games in 2018. According to Spotrac, Gray is making $6 million this season and will be a free agent following the 2021 World Series."

Finally... one more...

3. Jose Berrios: 

From Matt Johnson at Sportsnaut: "José Berríos is the answer to the Yankees’ problems. He is under team control through the 2022 season and should be fairly affordable thanks to arbitration. The 27-year-old righty owns a 3.41 ERA this season and an impressive 20.2% K-BB rate. Plug him in as the No. 2 starter behind Gerrit Cole, this rotation improves significantly."

Look, there are plenty more too. These are just 3 names. Bleeding Yankee Blue will be following the names the media throws out the next few weeks. We love dreaming about new athletes in pinstripes, but for me personally... we have the tools, the manager Aaron Boone sadly doesn't know how to use them.

More soon!

DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THE TWINS!

"There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent." -Lao Tzu

History is just that....history. I know we are all excited about postseason baseball. It's nice that we are finally division champs again. It's been a long time. It may be nice to face the very familiar Twins to start the postseason, but some people are too complacent. Confidence is good, but like ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, never underestimate your opponent.

The Yankees have a long successful history against the Twins....but that's all it is, history. It doesn't matter anymore. I've heard a lot of people talk about THESE stats:

2003 ALDS: Yankees win series 3-1
2004 ALDS: Yankees win series 3-1
2009 ALDS: Yankees win series 3-0
2010 ALDS: Yankees win series 3-0

2017 AL Wild Card Game: Yankees win eventually, but the Twins did jump out to an early 3-0 lead.
*The last time the Twins beat the Yankees in a postseason game was 15 years ago on October 5, 2004 and the Yankees have gone 10-0 against Minnesota in October since then.

Those are all nice historical facts, they are nice confidence builders. The Yankees have success against the Twins but they are a good team too. These aren't the same TWINKIES anymore. They hit home runs like the Yankees do, in fact hit one more than we did for the season. The Yankees and Twins match up on paper in many ways. Not only do they hit home runs, they have a good bullpen, they have the same concerns with their starting rotation as we do AND they are banged up just like we are.

This is going to be a battle of two very evenly matched teams, it's not going to be a walk in the park for either team. The Yankees won the regular season series with a 4-2 record and both teams hit a ton of home runs this season, so we shouldn't expect the ALDS to be any different. The Yankees will have to be strategic pitching against Eddie Rosario, Max Kepler, Nelson Cruz, Miguel Sano and Mitch Garver all of these guys hit over 30 home runs whereas the Yankees only had Gleyber Torres and Gary Sanchez hit more than 30.

The pitching is going to be key here. The Yankees have a strategy in mind for the first three games even if we don't know it yet. I wonder if the Twins rely more on an opener after Jose Berrios and Jake Odorizzi. The Yankees need to win games one and two at home, it takes off a little bit of the pressure. This will probably be a tighter series than some think it will be. Tight games will be decided by pitching mistakes, and both teams know how to hit dingers. The Yankees have been hurt this season by home run mistakes, so hopefully we don't make many of them and are able to overcome them.

The start of the postseason isn't going to be easy for the Yankees just because we have a consistent record against the Twins in the past. The Twins are hungry, just like we are. Remember, they are ready to "slay the dragon" so we have to show them what happens when they poke this dragon. We have to be hungrier and live in the present, not the past.

If we are hungrier and play better baseball, then we win. Simple as that. Stay hungry, Yankees.

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