WHO WILL SNAG CHRIS SALE?

(Oct. 1, 2016 - Source: David Banks/Getty Images North America)

I want Chris Sale on the New York Yankees.  I think I've been pretty clear about that over the past year or so.  Will the Yankees go after him? Who the hell knows, I'm no expert here. I do know this, if there is a way to it and not give away vital pieces of our minor league future, we gotta go for it.

That's because the Atlanta Braves are down there drooling over him and the word on the street is they are in a position to do it... maybe more than any team!

(Aug. 30, 2016 - Source: Duane Burleson/Getty Images North America)

 Hardball Talk writes about the Braves:

"...while they are coming off of a 93-loss season, have a very strong farm system from which to deal and which have already struck quickly this offseason, adding Bartolo Colon and R.A. Dickey to their starting rotation.

It will take a hefty, hefty package of prospects to land Sale, of course, as he is not only one of the best pitchers in baseball, but he comes cheap too: he is owed just $38 million over the next three seasons."

(Aug. 19, 2016 - Source: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images North America)

And so, we wait and see if the Braves will snag him.  I'm kind of crossing my fingers hoping the Yankees have a stash of unwanted minor leaguers ready to go to Chicago and also willing to take some of that $38 million salary of Sales as well.  You know... like old times... Cashman could make the deal in the dead of night shocking not only the Braves, but the Red Sox. Hee hee....

Stay tuned.

FRUSTRATION IN THE BRONX

No lie - this loss is hard to swallow. A weekend series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays, the clear winner of the trade deadline sweepstakes, and the biggest threat in the division. Add to that the fact that they got a brilliant start from their pitcher. This was one game that the Yankees needed to win.

Nathan Eovaldi looked superb. In fact, this outing was his best start of the season. Facing the hottest hitting team in baseball right now, Eovaldi pitched into the 7th inning for only the second time in his last eight starts. His splitter was biting, and there were plenty of weak swings by the Blur Jays hitters. Eovaldi recorded 3 strikeouts and 10 ground outs compared to only 3 flyouts. Dellin Betances came in and held the line. With the bases loaded, he induced an inning-ending grounder from clutch hitter Josh Donaldson.

R.A. Dickey did his part keeping the Yankees bats quiet. Except for a Mark Teixeira home run which required a four-minute replay review, the Yankees were quiet for most of the night. Teixeira's home run was number 30 on the season. It gives Tex his 9th 30-HR season, only the fourth active player to reach that mark.

It was a 1-1 tie going into the 10th inning. Branden Pinder was brought in to face the heart of the Blue Jays order. He retired Josh Donaldson before Jose Bautista came to the plate. He hung a 1-2 off-speed pitch on the outside corner, right in the heart of Joey Bats' hot-hot zone, sending it almost 400 feet over the left field fence. That was the game, and now Toronto is 3.5 games behind the games.

The pressure rises on the Yankees, who send Ivan Nova tomorrow to face David Price tomorrow afternoon.

Final: Blue Jays 2 - Yankees 1

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Senior Staff Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row






You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!  Also, don't forget to check out the BYB Hub!

THE BOSS IS ALIVE! MY DREAM & YOU WON'T BELIEVE IT

....Only in my dreams, but he is. If I had a nickel for how many times I heard "If the Boss was still alive..." or "I miss the Boss," then I would be a very rich woman. We all have our versions of how this would play out. Last night, I had my own as I was catching up on my Z's. It went a little something like this....I warn you, this is weird.

Losing to the Twins before the All-Star break was unacceptable and disgraceful at home. The Yankees have always had the Twins number, so to end the first half with that embarrassing performance made the Boss a little....cranky. Enter team meeting time.

It was time for someone to step up, but who? Derek Jeter was away from the team and Jorge Posada is off enjoying his retirement. His vocal voice is missing in the clubhouse. Someone had to give the Posada team meeting and right the ship. No one other than the Boss could do that. There he was, walking fast and tall down the clubhouse hallway. He was walking with authority and had a stone cold facial expression.

In the clubhouse, he sat everyone down. He reminded everyone how it was an honor to put the pinstripes on everyday and that everyone had high expectations for this team. That the team needed to work harder. They needed to score runs, play good fundamental baseball, support the pitching staff and swing the bat and make things happen. Being at the bottom of the barrel just wasn't acceptable. "How are we ranked 22nd in runs?!" He hollered. The 24th place in on base percentage, 26th place in batting average and 28th in slugging percentage are even worse. These are not stats that the Yankees should have.

The fans deserve more! Injuries are no excuse either because you have to win with who you have on the field and step up. It was a combination of the Billy Beane speach in Moneyball and a Jorge all in one.

Of course, in true boss style when the team doesn't live up to expectations someone has to take the fall. In this case, it was Kevin Long. It was time for a change, and the Boss knew that. Sure, Long has a reputation as one of the best hitting coaches in the game, but reputation will only take you so far. Eventually, it is time to put up or shut up. The Yankees have struggled with scoring runs for a long time now. The hitters have to take some accountability for that, but if the coach can't help identify the issues and help fix them....then it was time to find someone who could.

After a very quick, but loud meeting Kevin Long was sent packing and Jorge stepped in. Sure, it is a little unrealistic at this point to see Jorge in that role since he just retired but....a girl can dream, right?

Next on the agenda was the lack of offense. The Yankees just don't have enough "pop" in the bat. So to fix that, the Boss put an end to the crazy $189 million payroll cap and started bringing the dollar signs back into the Bronx. He finally put some power back into deflated Brian Cashman's hands and told him he expected some major upgrades by the deadline....or else. Of course, Cashman didn't want to be the next victim so he pulled a move similar to the R.A. Dickey move this past offseason.

He sent Phil Hughes packing to the Seattle Mariners who then offered him a lucrative 4 year deal and shipped Raul Ibanez back. Next, the Boss persuaded the Phillies to part ways with Michael Young and gave them Joba Chamberlain. It was a win-win scenario, so it was bound to happen! The story ended with a happily ever after. Hughes continued his fly ball performances in a more expansive, forgiving ballpark, Joba went to that National League and the Yankees got a couple sluggers in return. They all lived happily ever after.

The boss was cleaning house! We need someone to come in and restore order. I usually don't like it when people speculate about what George Steinbrenner would do if he was here. Fact of the matter is he is not. We wouldn't be here if he were. But....since we are going there tell us what you think!

--Jeana Bellezza, BYB Senior Writer and Editor
Twitter: @NyPrincessJ

 


The Bleeding Yankee Blue store is opened! CLICK HERE TO START SHOPPING! Also, follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue (Official) on Facebook, just type it in.

ARE THE YANKEES THE UNDERDOG?

 

With the changes made to the teams in the AL East, the Yankees will have to work on a few things to keep up. Just look at the Blue Jays, for example. They have made a lot of changes since last year and they have a stronger team.  In the last few days, the Jays have signed RA Dickey. Dickey is a knuckleballer that went 20-6 with a 2.73 ERA, and was the NL 2012 Cy Young winner. Add to that Mark Buehrle, Melky Cabrera, and Jose Reyes, and you have a powerful looking team.

In fact, most sports analysts are calling the Blue Jays the team to beat. Of course, that is also what they said about the Red Sox last year and we all know how that turned out. It won’t be an easy win when we face them or any of our AL East rivals. It never is. Our division is nicknamed the AL Beast for a reason. It is arguably the toughest division in the league.

The Yankees will have to work on not relying on the homer. Yes, home runs are great. But home runs alone do not win games. Look at Curtis Granderson... great home run hitter who placed second on the strike out list in 2012. Not exactly something to be proud of. Sure, we led the league in homers, but many of them were solo shots. We have to start getting runners on.

Of course that is not enough. The Yankees have struggled with leaving runners stranded. We need to start playing small ball. Not every at bat needs to be a moon shot. Get on, move guys over, bring guys home, and score runs. Last season, many games had our pitchers doing well and our hitters just not showing up for the party. Our pitchers need the run support. You can’t score runs by leaving guys stranded.

I’m looking at Kevin Long here. I like the guy well enough, but seriously, when every hitter on our team is having a problem, something has to be done. In 2012, it seemed like every hitter on the team was slumping for more than half of the season. It was cringe worthy. This problem needs to be resolved.

The division will be tough to win, but not impossible. The critics have counted the Yankees out many times only to be proved wrong. Our hitting is the biggest issue we have to face. If we can solve that issue, we should be solid.

--Erica Morales, BYB Writer
Twitter: @e_morales1804



Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.

NEWS FROM AROUND MLB; CAIN IS PERFECT, DICKEY CLOSE TO NO-NO, & DROB IS BACK

News from around MLB in last 24 hours had a little bit of everything.  From perfect games to "almost" perfect games, to key Yankee rehab news. So let's get right into it...

(pictured:  Matt Cain celebrates final out of his perfect game last night)

Last night Matt Cain threw the first perfect game in the Giants' history Wednesday night at AT&T Park, striking out 14 and getting great defensive plays from outfielders Melky Cabrera and Gregor Blanco in a 10-0 victory over the Houston Astros.  So congratulations to Matt Cain and the SF Giants' fans.  There have now been five no-hitters through the first two and a half months of this season, including two perfect games.  Speaking of no hitters...

(pictured:  David Wright's 1st inning "error" as R.A. Dickey looks on)

The Mets knuckle ball specialist R.A. Dickey came close to making history himself last night.  Dickey ALMOST threw the second no hitter for that team in just the last 2 weeks.  But, it was not to happen, so we think.  Here's what happened:  The only hit Dickey gave up was in the first inning.  It was a slow grounder to David Wright who tried to bare hand the ball to throw out the speedy B.J. Upton.  Upton was given a hit which turned out to be the only hit the Rays would get in the game.  Now, upon further reflection and after seeing the replay a zillion times, it really appears that Wright should have definitely made the play.  It looked more like an error, and now the Mets are hoping to possibly get the scoring reversed.  Apparently the Mets will ask MLB to look into the play and officially change the hit to an error, which would give Dickey his no hitter.  We will keep you posted if MLB moves on this.

Now some Yankee news....
*David Robertson will officially rejoin the New York Yankees roster, back from his DL stint.  Robertson will be ready and available for the Yanks this weekend against the Washington Nationals.  Just great news for the Yankees!

*Joba Chamberlain appears to recovering and rehabbing nicely.  He spoke to the Daily News yesterday and told the News he anticipates pitching on the Major League roster this season.  Joba believes he is 2-3 weeks away from going on a minor league rehab assignment and envisions himself becoming a valued reliever for the Yankees in the second half of the season. “When I come in, hopefully they’ll (be adding) a big part to the team,” Chamberlain said. “I feel like I can help them... 100%.”

--Mikey Blue, BYB Senior Writer
Email: DonnieBaseball2323@gmail.com
Twitter: @MikeyBlu23


ORDER A BYB SHIRT NOW, DROB WEARS ONE! Also, Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.