YANKEES CIRCLING SCHERZER?

Max Scherzer is back in the spotlight, and the New York Yankees aren’t missing a beat. According to Pat Ragazzo of Sports Illustrated, the Yankees were among several teams attending Scherzer’s bullpen session earlier this week at Cressey Sports Performance’s pro day. Scouts walked away impressed with the three-time Cy Young winner’s showing. The event also featured former Yankee Lou Trivino, who was another pitcher the Yankees kept an eye on.

Scherzer, who is reportedly eyeing a one-year deal, remains a fascinating option despite questions about his health and durability. Since 2019, he’s only reached the 30-start milestone once, raising concerns about his long-term reliability. But when it comes to starting pitching, demand never wanes, and Scherzer’s résumé speaks for itself.

Even in a limited 2023 season with Texas, the veteran ace showed flashes of brilliance. Over 17 starts, he posted a 3.57 ERA with 93 strikeouts, averaging 88 mph on his fastball and maintaining a solid 22.6% strikeout rate. While his velocity may not be what it once was, Scherzer still has the tools—and the competitive fire—to be a game-changer for a pitching staff in need.

The Yankees, always in search of ways to bolster their rotation, seem to be keeping their options open. Could Scherzer be the next big name to don the pinstripes? Only time will tell.

Stay tuned.

YANKEE MEDICAL SLACKERS ON NOTICE AFTER RIZZO'S "SUSPECTED" CONCUSSION REVEALED

There is no question that a head injury is serious.  What I really don't get in the whole Anthony Rizzo concussion charade is why Yankee doctors did not follow through with any of it after it happened when he was really struggling at the plate, like in June... like in the beginning of July. Why did it take so long if it was serious? Why only after Anthony Rizzo came forward to say that he was a little foggy did actual physicians do anything?  Being a doctor is a pretty important job. You are making or breaking a person's life. Where were they all this time? It was only until Rizzo complained that they ran tests on him to determine his reaction time was off.  Anyone seeing that something's missing here? 

I remember when Frankie Montas comes over to the Yankees.  Of course, a physical was needed to determine if the move would actually take place, but the Yankees apparently got a clean bill of health and Frankie Montas came over to the Yankees only the suck an egg and be hurt.  And here's the kicker... HE WAS HURT WHEN HE CAME OVER TO THE YANKEES! Again... What happened in the time that the trade was verbally agreed on and Frankie putting on pinstripes are we missing here?

And pardon me for NOT believing the Yankees and this whole Rizzo charade at the jump.  As more information comes out today, I am more at ease and feeling for Rizzo, but it does not excuse what the hell our New York Yankee physicians have been doing all this time.

Why isn't there a magnifying class on Yankee medical staff?  I guess I have to ask the question that no one is asking; IS ANYBODY WORKING OVER THERE IN THE BRONX?

Here's what we know about Rizzo. The Sporting News writes (after the tweet):

The #Yankees believe Anthony Rizzo's post-concussion syndrome diagnosis originated from a collision with Fernando Tatis Jr. on May 28th—he passed MLB's concussion protocol at the time and was cleared to play—Rizzo will be evaluated week-to-week... pic.twitter.com/GxvPuBnDY4

— Jennifer X. Williams (@JenXperience) August 4, 2023

"Rizzo hit the IL Thursday with a suspected concussion from a two-month-old injury, per Yankees manager Aaron Boone.

The injury is officially being called post-concussion syndrome stemming from a May 28 collision with Fernando Tatis Jr., and Rizzo will be evaluated weekly to determine his status. According to Boone, Rizzo was "complaining a little bit the last few days of some fogginess."

As a result, the team ran tests that found "cognitive impairment," which led to Rizzo being shelved for the time being.

Boone added Rizzo "went through MLB -- like all the testing -- immediately (after the Tatis collision) and then the days after to rule that stuff out past that."

Now I'm gonna tell you something. If this is that serious, why the hell are we hearing from Aaron Boone about this, because I have to tell you, if you see Boone's quote, they ran the tests and nothing was wrong.  That's why Rizzo was playing. That's why he's not been able to hit and so, I'll ask the question again...

IS ANYBODY WORKING OVER THERE IN THE BRONX?  Every fan could see trouble with Rizzo... in June... in July. No one in the Yankee front office saw it? Someone from the medical staff should be answering these questions to the press, not Boone. 

If I go to work and I don't do my job, it reflects in my review.  Are you telling me that people that have a Yankee ID to get in the building are able to continue to do their jobs even though they don't do them? This Rizzo situation is "serious" and "dangerous".  Like, what world do we live in that we waited this long?

And let's take it further.  Montas, as I mentioned was totally a lemon. Never checked thoroughly.  No one raised the red flag.  But there's more...

Carlos Rodon. Hurt to start the season. Hasn't been exactly right yet.

Lou Trivino, remember this guy? Out for the season. Elbow.

Scott Effross. Out for the season. Elbow.

Luis Gil. Out until at least September. Elbow.

Jonathan Loaisiga. Out until at least September. Elbow.

And Luis Severino. This poor guy's been battling injury for years on and off.  Here's a red alert... He can't pitch to save his life right now.  How about we get real doctors to check this guy out. Maybe he's ACTUALLY HURT.

Look, safety first for Rizzo. That's fine. I honestly don't trust the Yankees front office however when it comes to any diagnosis and relaying actual truth when it comes to our players though, and that's why I was skeptical when it came out that Rizzo suddenly was hurt.  I just assumed it was easier for the Yankee organization to say he was going on the IL, rather than saying they were resting Rizzo. Why? Because the fan base would go crazy. But hey, what do I know... I'm just sharing their entire track record when it comes to medical, their spotty pressers and the Yankees. The whole thing stinks.

By the way... a lot pitchers are hurt with a lot of elbow injuries, huh?  

What are they doing in their training that has that many pitchers out with bum elbows?  Another question I am positive they will never answer.  

It's a valid question though. It needs to be answered.

Get well soon Rizzo!

COULD JHONY BRITO BE THE YANKEES FIFTH STARTER?

When I heard that the Yankee recalled Jhony Brito from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre I was so pumped. I get why they sent him down, to an extent. He has options, they didn't need a fifth starter for a few days and as the Yankees deal with injuries, everyone gets shuffled. But Brito has shown the Yankees that he is the real deal, unlike Clarke Schmidt whose performance over his last two outings were terrible. Schmidt doesn't have it—not just based on this season, but on multiple opportunities to see him in games over the last couple of seasons. Brito is gritty, he showed us he could dig deep with his pitches, and he belongs in the starting rotation.

"Brito delivered five scoreless innings during his MLB debut last Sunday. The 25-year-old spent most of last season at Triple-A and had a 3.31 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 53:24 K:BB across 70.2 innings. Josh Donaldson (hamstring) and Jonathan Loaisiga (elbow) were placed on the injured list," reported CBS Sports. Making room for Brito to make his second debut in Orioles Park on Saturday. 

And in Baltimore, Brito gave the Yankees five quality innings, mixing pitches even when he didn't have his fastball command. The YES commentators had nothing but praise for the Yankee rookie—highlighting his poise, his guts and yes, his grit. 

Almost mirroring his debut outing, Brito remained focused and calm on the mound against batter after batter. He is just the kind of guy this team needs as their fifth starter. “He kept pounding the strike zone,” Boone said. “It was more of what we’ve seen. He was very at ease out there, very comfortable. It’s just a really good performance, and an important performance for us when we needed a little bit of length,” reported MLB.com following his win against the Giants last week. Boone had similar praise for his young pitcher after he picked up his second win, this time a 4-1 win over the Orioles. 

With guys like Luis Severino (15-day IL), Carlos Rodon (15-day IL and is expected to throw a live batting practice session on Monday), Jonathan Loaisiga (15-day IL), Lou Trivino (10-day IL) and Tommy Kahnle (60-day IL) all unavailable, Brito brings hope and possibility back into the pitching staff. 

The Yankees can't only win on days when Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes pitch. They need more from their starting and closing rotations and that more very much might be gritty 25-year-old Jhony Brito. And why not him? If you can have rookie shortstop with no major league regular season experience in your starting lineup, why can't you have a pitcher facing the same new opportunity? If the Yankees are going to compete for a championship in 2023, they have to be able to pivot. This is one such chance to do just that. Let's get gritty and let the kid stay. He is earned his spot. 

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

YANKEES LOSE RELIEVERS AHEAD OF WHAT WILL LIKELY BE A TOUGH POST SEASON

Source: NY Post

Starting pitching just got even more important for the Yankees who will finish up their final home game against the Orioles this afternoon and head out to Arlington for the last regular season series with the Rangers. The Yankees need three reliable starters to get them through six innings before handing things off to an equally consistent bullpen. We saw Luis Severino, Nestor Cortes and even Jameson Taillon pitch some great baseball over the last couple weeks, making them seemingly a critical part of the rotation anchored by Gerrit Cole. Having all four of those pitchers in que will help the Bombers significantly as they will likely not see Clay Holmes or Zack Britton on the hill anytime soon. It is going to be a tough postseason and pitching will be key to the Yankees' success.

Source: CBS Sports

"Boone announced Friday that All-Star closer Clay Holmes is dealing with a shoulder issue and is unlikely to pitch the rest of the regular season. He received a cortisone shot but will not go on the injured list, because it would make him ineligible for the ALDS," reported CBS Sports. Furthermore, the Yankees likely saw the last of Britton who "exited Friday's game against the Baltimore Orioles, his former team, with left arm fatigue, the Yankees announced. He was placed on the 60-day injured list Saturday, ending his season." 

Besides Britton and Holmes there are question marks around whether or not Aroldis Chapman or Wandy Peralta will be part of the roster for the start of the postseason. With all of these guys out or questionable, the Yankees are missing one key ingredient in the bullpen- a consistent reliable closer. 

Now, I am not undermining what Ron Marinaccio, and Lou Trivino have been to this team over the last couple of weeks. They have been stellar—throwing hard strikes and getting key outs for the Yankees. Some are calling Trivino the Yankees' postseason right handed specialist, whatever that means. Bottom line, late in the game, Trivino and rookie Marinaccio have given the Yankees the much needed consistency, showing that likely the bullpen closing role will rotate among them and likely Clarke Schmidt.

Following the Yankees Friday's 2-1 loss to the Orioles, the Houston Astros have clinched the American League No. 1 seed, locking in the Yankees as the No. 2 seed. And after their win on Saturday, New York is 97-60 with just five regular season games remaining. It is going to be a tough postseason for the Yankees, and pitching in the stretch will be key. I hope the current staff can stay healthy and remain consistent both in the starting and closing roles. Otherwise, things will go south very fast for this Yankee team. 

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

YANKEES GET FRANKE MONTAS!

Big news from the man and legend Jack Curry of YES Network.  The Yankees are acquiring Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino from the Athletics.  Here is Jack's Tweet:

The Yankees have acquired Montas and Trivino from Oakland.

— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) August 1, 2022

Now in return, JP Sears, Ken Waldichuk, Luis Medina and Cooper Bowman are going to the A's. As CBS Sports writes:

"Sears is an interesting starting pitching prospect who will get more of an opportunity in Oakland than he would have in New York. "

The Yankees needed to bolster their pitching and they have.  

Bleacher Nation writes:

"Montas, 29, has been excellent this year when healthy, and he comes with an extra year of control. Lou Trevino, a reliever, has terrible results this year, but the peripherals have all mostly been pretty normal. Montas, one of the best starters on the market, is obviously the main attraction here, though."

Nice work getting Montas.  By the way, Joey Gallo? Still a Yankee. Why? Because we can't trade this guy away if we wanted to. And trust me, we want to.