WALKER WALKS OFF TO MIAMI

Another season, another Yankee makes his way to Miami.  According to MLB.com, "the Marlins added a veteran to their infield mix on Tuesday by signing Neil Walker to a one-year contract. MLB Network insider Ken Rosenthal reported the value at $2 million, according to sources."  Good, another dead bat heads down south.  Sorry, I just never saw his value to the team and I am grateful he can go and contribute to some other team outside of the American League East.

"Walker will be hoping to rebound following a difficult '18. A free agent a year ago, Walker didn't sign with the Yankees until March 12 and then struggled to get going. The switch-hitter posted a .402 OPS in the opening month and .563 before the All-Star break," reports MLB.

Source: MLB.com

So with Walker gone, Ronald Torreyes gone, who will be the Yankees go to, all around utility player? The banter is that 21-year-old Thairo Estrada, who the Yankees added back in November 2017 to their farm system, could see playing time in the big leagues in 2019.  "The Yankees valued Estrada’s potential enough to promote him to the 40-man roster at the age of 21, last November. Unless the Yanks acquire a new player, the Venezuelan prospect will have a good chance to fight for a major league roster spot during Spring Training," reports Fansided.

You may recall that Estrada missed Spring Training last year as he recovered from a gunshot wound he suffered when two teens tried to rob him while he was dining in a restaurant with his wife back home.  After that, Estrada played at Scranton-Wilkes Barre until injury plagued him.  He went on the DL with wrist and back issues last year.

Source: NJ.com

On the bright side, Estrada has a lot of similarities to fan favorite Ronald Torreyes and could make an impact on the 2019 Yankee team given an opportunity to do so.  "Like Torreyes, he’s a solid fielder with plus arm strength, and he’s athletic enough to play the outfield. The resemblance between Estrada and Torreyes’ abilities is what likely led recent Toe’s departure," reported Fansided.

Source: ESPN

The Yankees also have Tyler Wade who was virtually ineffective in 2018.  Another possibility is that the Yankees go out and sign a veteran power middle infielder to fill the void left by Didi Gregorius, who is still recovering from Tommy John surgery. Gregorius is expected to miss at least the first half of the 2019 season.

Source: NJ.com

One thing is for certain.  Neil Walker is gonzo and the Yankees have an opportunity to bring in another power player to add some offense and defense to various infield positions and support the days off Aaron Boone seems to give players on a consistent basis.  Good bye, Neil.  Hello, new guy, who ever you are.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

IT'S ALL OR NOTHING

Source: Getty Images North America

The Yankees gave it everything they had...I think.  The 16-1 game on Tuesday night just about killed me.  I saw a manager give up; not thinking there was anything to salvage and placing everything on a good showing at the elimination game last night.  That strategy back fired on the 2018 Yankees and we as fans were disappointed with a 4-3 loss to the Red Sox closing out the American League Division Series and the 2018 Major League Baseball Season for the New York Yankees.

Source: Getty Images

Among the disappointments in this series against our division rival Red Sox are Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres, Gary Sanchez and Luis Severino.  No excuses.  They just were not able to perform.  I can give Torres a pass as a rookie but the others, I am sorry, there are no excuses (including what time is game time in Game 3: Sevy, consult a schedule for God's sake).  According to MLB.com, "While the players disperse for the offseason -- and in the case of the team's nine potential free agents, possibly longer than that -- and the final four teams vie for the World Series crown, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman will hold his organizational meetings to formulate a plan for the offseason."

Source: Getty Images North America

It is very likely that all of the players who disappointed us will be back for more next year, "but guys like Lance Lynn, Adeiny Hechavarria and Neil Walker aren't likely to figure prominently in the offseason plans," reports MLB.com.  Recall the poor management decision to put Lynn into a game three that turned into the biggest nightmare for the Yankees, leading into last night's sense of urgency that wasn't. And that is the kind of style of play we saw the Yankees demonstrate throughout the ALDS Series.  Boone seems to personify this kind of blahsay attitude for the team, which likely rubs off on them on the field.

Source: AP

Here is what leaves me shaking my head:  Why was rookie of the year candidate Miguel Andujar sitting the bench in this Game 4?  Why would you allow Neil Walker come up to the plate with the bases loaded in the 9th inning and not pinch hit the rookie sensation?  "It was more CC and Porcello on the mound,’’ Boone said. “We loved that matchup. It’s probably how we would have done it even a few days ago,” reported the NY Post.  I wish Boone would just pay attention to more than stats and even stand up for himself against Cashman.  Sure, Andujar could be a better third baseman and I think he could be, eventually, but what he did this season, exceeding our expectations was worth the chance of his bat instead of Walker's in the lineup last night.  Or how about this?  Sit Stanton.  Now that is an idea.  And one more thing...just about last night...why didn't Aaron Judge leap for that Christian Vazquez home run like we have seen him do time and time again in that short porch, his short porch in right field?  Not sure I understand what happened there.

Source: Elsa/Getty Images North America

Fans told me to not write a sappy post today about this being a successful year.  Okay, it's not sappy, but we did earn 100 wins, break the regular season home run record and put up a potential rookie of the year for the second year in a row.  Aaron Boone rolled the dice since coming back to NY for a series gone bad.  And his hunches were way off base.  Next steps, regroup, retool and refine.  Could Sevy and Sanchez be gone? Andujar? Gregorius? Clearly, we need to make a change.  Maybe the change is the manager who seems to have no grit or sense of urgency.  We have several months to speculate.

Source: The YES Network

The Winter Meetings are in Las Vegas on December 9th, just under two months from today.  Here's hoping we can fix this thing and by the way, I need to change my lock screen, "Chase for 28" for a while as I get over these horrible two days of Yankee mayhem.  I know it's not the best news of the day, but it's not sappy, it's real, which is what we are about here at BYB.  Looking forward to further discussion and interesting perspectives during a long hard off season.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

DIDI DISASTER! MAY BE DONE FOR THE YEAR.

Photo: Getty Images

It was a bad day in the Bronx. Last home game of the season and the Yankees looked really bad. Not a great feeling for the last game, but at least we know the Yankees are playing in the postseason. Hopefully they get home field advantage too but regardless of where the Yankees may play the wild card game they just might have to do it without Didi Gregorius.

After the Orioles dropped a bombshell on the Yankees yesterday, Aaron Boone broke his own bad news - Didi is hurt again. We just got him back but now he tore cartilage in his wrist on a slide into home plate on Saturday. That injury could sideline him for the remainder of the year. Yeah, what was already bad news just got worse.

Photo: Getty Images

So now what do the Yankees do if they have lost Didi for the rest of the season? The Yankees have two options here:

1. Move Gleyber Torres to shortstop, then move Ronald Torreyes or Neil Walker to second.

It's not unreasonable, the Yankees went with this alignment in August, but that was before the Yankees acquired Adeiny Hechavarria.

2. Use Adeiny Hechavarria at shortstop.

The Yankees may be more likely to go with this option simply because of their move to get him last month. He is an above average fielder, but offers little offensively. He's no worse than what Walker or Torreyes have done offensively, but I have to say I am biased to Torreyes because he's had some great moments for us this season. We'll see how the Yankees decide here.

Photo: Getty Images

Or maybe....just maybe we will get lucky and Didi will recover fast enough to play in the Wild Card game. That would be the best case scenario in an already stressful race for home field advantage. Let's cross our fingers and hope that Didi is back in time. He is a huge part of the team and makes the Yankee lineup stronger.

Rest up Didi, we need ya man.

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

IT'S AN ALL OR NOTHING KIND OF TEAM

Source: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images North America

The Yankees offense is either hot or it's not.  There is no in between for this 2018 Yankee team.  They are either smashing the ball with chart topping exit velocities or they are hitting dribbles or nothing at all.  It's an all or nothing kind of team and we are in the middle of it.

Source: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images North America

Through six and half innings in the Bronx last night, the Yankees had no runs on the board, while the Red Sox chipped away at J.A. Happ.  Sure it's September baseball where the game elevates to new heights and anxiety levels make you jittery.  We as fans have hung in there with this team but it's has been laborious and down right torturous at times; enough to make you crazy. It was that way last night until Neil Walker smashed one to right field giving the team a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the 7th.

Source: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images North America

As WFAN said Tuesday afternoon during the Carlin, Maggie and Bart show, we need the team to "show a little fight." I couldn't agree more.  The performance of this team is simply lackluster, falling to teams that are weaker than them and showing no sense of urgency to score runs or protect against them.  The only way the Yankees know how to do it is through the long ball.  Grateful for that last night but we need more from this team.

Source: Mike Stobe/Getty Images North America

If it's not the offense it's the defense particularly behind the plate with Gary Sanchez the usual suspect. Sanchez continues drop the ball literally, putting the Yankees at a serious disadvantage behind the plate.  His passed ball gave the Red Sox an early lead in the game, a lead that they carried into the late innings last night.  Many say that if you take the bat out of Sanchez's hands and sit him for better defensive catcher Austin Romine, we lose something offensively.  I don't agree.  I don't think Sanchez has earned his spot back behind the plate or in the line up.  He hasn't done much for the Yankees in either position.  He's an all or nothing player and right now, he's nothing.

Source: Mike Stobe/Getty Images North America

I'm grateful for the Yankee win, but truthfully speaking, shallow performances and low energy from this Yankee team brings everyone down, even us here at BYB.  I wish the Yankees had more fight in them, and I am hopeful the Walker home run ignited some, but the errors in the 9th inning say otherwise.  This all or nothing kind of team needs to turn their bus around and go back to the depot to refuel.  The deadline is approaching; it's time to face it head on.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

BOONE'S "FLUID SITUATION" AT FIRST

Photo: AP / Frank Franklin II

Don't call it a platoon, because Aaron Boone won't say it is. He's just as stoic about the complicated situation at first as he is with the complicated situation with.....the entire team. Even if the Yankees won't put a label on it they need to make a decision about the guys rotating in his lineup, especially one of them.

Hard to believe, but the season is winding down. Saturday marks the start of September. The time clock for the regular season is starting to dwindle, and so are Greg Bird's opportunities to solidify himself as the Yankees everyday first baseman.

Photo: Getty Images

Bird isn't doing himself any favors when he has nights like Tuesday when he goes 0-4 and makes an error on a routine play at first base. Bird says he couldn't close his glove on a routine throw to first because he was using a new glove. He called it a "stupid play that shouldn't have happened," read more HERE and then laughed it off....but if he keeps this up soon he won't be laughing.

Once Aaron Judge comes back (whenever that is) the Yankees will have more flexibility with their lineup. With that flexibility comes some hard decisions.

Photo: Getty Images

Luke Voit has been more productive than Bird, which I know isn't saying much but it's true. As the Yankees head down the final stretch they will need the reliable consistent bats in the lineup and at least Voit can hit and not drop routine balls at first.

Photo: Getty Images

But what about Neil Walker? He was just supposed to be that part-time utility guy who was awful at the beginning of the year. He didn't really start hitting until he was forced into an everyday role due to all of the team injuries. Walker has hit .275 in his last 37 games and he's filling in at any position with no questions asked. He's been a major contributing factor for the Yankees lately, unlike Bird.

So you have to wonder how much longer Boone and Yankee brass can remain patient with Bird. Boone's in a tough spot. He says he is trying to keep all of his guys relevant and put them in positions where they can succeed and "it’s a fluid situation and not necessarily a straight platoon."  It sounds more like trying to force puzzle pieces together, but either way Bird isn't making this easy on himself and I hope he figures it out. "You’ve just got to keep going. Keep looking for it, keep finding it. Sometimes, I think we get too wrapped up in trying to find it instead of letting it kind of happen." All of us have been waiting a long time for Bird to "find it" and now is that time to turn it on as we head towards the postseason. We can't just sit back and wait for it anymore.

Photo: Getty Images

Time is running out. Boone is going to have to figure out his "fluid situation" and Bird needs to figure out how to restore faith in his abilities as an everyday player. These aren't good problems to have this late in the season.

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

MIKE PLAYS RIGHT

Source: Getty Images North America

Perhaps forced by the fact that the Yankees are playing in a National League park, Giancarlo "Mike" Stanton took his rightful place in right field last night in Marlins Park.  I have to say this crap about him needing to be at DH because of a strained hamstring is just that, crap.  Once again I have to refer back to Aaron Boone's managing and choices of playing the best team each night.  But for tonight and likely tomorrow, he got it right with Mike in right.

Source: Elsa/Getty Images North America

"It's getting there. We're gonna have some NL games soon, so I have to jump out in right field. It's getting better," Stanton said after homering for the seventh time in 12 games in Saturday's 11-6 win over Toronto. "We're gonna get there. Run around, test it and make sure it's ready to go," reported Newsday.

Source: Elsa/Getty Images North America

The Yankees have elected to play Shane Robinson (BA .114) and Neil Walker (BA .225) in right field in Aaron Judge's absence.  Why?  I really see no advantage to playing either of these two in right field and taking the bat out of the hands of Ronald Torreyes (BA .329) who has spent 60 days in Triple A or Tyler Austin (BA .250) who they elected to trade.  Likely, Clint Frazier would have platooned with Stanton in right if he was well, but he's not so that leaves that option out.  Luckily for the Yankees, Neil Walker has decided to start hitting and Greg Bird hit a grand slam but has gone virtually hitless since, like most of the season.

Source: Getty Images North America

"Stanton has been used only at designated hitter for 11 games in a row due to a tight hamstring and the Yankees would like to keep it that way a while longer, but he’s apparently healthy enough to play the field and he will this week when there is no DH for road inter-league games in Miami.
And if Stanton survives those one or two starts in right feeling OK, he’ll probably be back in right one or two times this weekend when Walker plays second base," reports NJ.com.

Source: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images North America

Boone, Stanton and the Yankees need to just be grittier about the way they approach the game.  Didi Gregorius, before getting injured, played consistently at short stop.  He was never out.  He always showed up and gave his best.  He played banged up.  He stayed focused.  He gave it all.  To see him go down is just heart-breaking.  His reaction to the injury was priceless.

At the end of the day, I am glad to see Mike back in right, where he belongs, every night.  With only a few weeks left of the season and Houston and Seattle breathing down our throats for the Wild Card, we need our best team on the field and that includes Mike in right.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

CELEBRATE THE LITTLE THINGS

Source: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images North America

The leadership literature all say the same thing: Celebrate successes, no matter how small because they give your team the drive to keep going.  Well, that's where I am at folks.  I am encouraging us as fans and the Yankee team as a whole to celebrate the little glimmers of success and use these moments to fuel us for the road ahead.

Source: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images North America

As ESPN stated earlier in the week, "Since there still is time and a mathematical chance for them to roar back and snatch the division -- something they famously did exactly 40 years ago -- the Yankees aren't done believing." And with this weekend celebrating the 1998 Yankees, a team that will live in Yankee and baseball lore, you have to believe the Yankees can catch the division.  But should that be their focus?

AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

Aaron Judge has the answer to that question with his statement here: "We're always hunting for the division. August just started. We've got August and September. A lot of crazy things have happened. For us, our goal has always been the division. It doesn't matter how many games we're back. We're going to keep fighting for that." Fair and with Giancarlo Stanton on track for career home run 300, Miguel Andujar on track for Rookie of the Year honors and guys like Didi Gregorius and Brett Gardner consistently anchoring and focusing this team, we need to celebrate the successes we have had and will continue to realize with many days left in the season.

Source: Al Bello/Getty Images North America

NJ.com says that, "It might be all about maintaining that AL wild card lead now. But the way Boone sees it, “we need to get on another roll where we’re playing like we know we’re capable of. “And right now, I feel like we’re battling through that a little bit.’’ We got on a roll on Friday night, battling back from a terrible first inning by Lance Lynn.  The rain gave us a reprieve of losing it in the late innings, Luis Severino gave us a good outing on Saturday and the Yankees offense backed him up with eight runs, eventually winning 11-6.  But then there's the bullpen issues, or rather mismanagement of the bull pen by rookie manager Aaron Boone, the lack of defense in right field by rookie right fielder Neil Walker and the woes of Gleyber Torres that pull the team down.

Source: Mike Stobe/Getty Images North America

Again I go back to the best practice of celebrating the little successes to fuel the future ones.  Whether it's the division, or the Wild Card, if we are lucky, the Yankees have to give it their all and use the wins, the smaller successes and celebrations to carry them through the tougher times knowing that the best is still left to come. Stay faithful fans!

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @Suzieprof

OH YES, TOE IS BACK WHERE HE BELONGS

Source: Anthony J. Causi

Sad as I was to see CC Sabathia head to the DL, I couldn't be happier to see the friendly face of Ronald Torreyes finally back where he belongs, in the big leagues with his team the Yankees.  With Sabathia on the 10-day DL due to knee inflammation, there is room on the roster for fan favorite Toe, who should have been here months ago because of his flexibility to play various positions across the field.

Source: Adam Hunger/Getty Images North America

"I just feel better that Toe is here," said a fan to me this afternoon after seeing his call up.  I couldn't agree more.  "Torreyes, capable of playing third, short and second and both corner outfield spots, was optioned to Scranton on May 26, the victim of a roster crunch when Greg Bird was activated from the DL," reported Newsday.  We are the victim of Bird, quite frankly, as he has underperformed and not lived up to the expectations set for him, whereas Torreyes has consistently given the Yankees both a defensive and offensive advantage since his presence in the Bronx beginning in 2016.

Source: Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images North America

With Toe back, there is an additional spark in the dugout, as he not only brings flexibility but positive reinforcement to the players, both young and old.  He has been especially close to the injured Aaron Judge.  Perhaps his presence alone will be "healing" to our right fielder.

Source: Elsa/Getty Images North America

It's very simple.  We need Toe.  We need him because of his versatility, because of his maturity despite his young age and because of his ability to lift the team, particularly when they are down.  I look forward to seeing him enter games over the next several days.  You can take Neil Walker, Luke Voit and Shane Robinson.  I will take Toe.  So glad he's back where he belongs.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof