OPENING DAY IS HERE!

Finally! It's been a crazy long winter. It's a long time to miss baseball and think about how close we've come the last two seasons. Now, it's time to finish the job. The third time is the charm and the Yankees have the team to get the job done.

It's not easy accepting that after a 100 win season it's not enough to win the division. That's crazy, actually. That was good for second place and a wild card spot. Aaron Hicks had it right when he said he's tired of losing and Aaron Judge is already thinking beyond Opening Day. He's thinking about winning the division and then the World Series, read more HERE. I like the hunger and determination.

So here we are, Opening Day and the start of winning that division title. I hope Judge hits the ground running with that intensity and desire to get back on top right away. Sure, it is early and you don't win a World Series in April but if you fall behind early you can lose it. The Yankees have a good team, but what does the rest of the division look like?

Toronto Blue Jays

The most interesting thing about the Blue Jays are some of their young guys that will contribute throughout the season. They aren't built to "win now" and they lost their star power now that Marco Estrada and Russell Martin are gone. They don't have great hitters, defenders or pitchers. On paper they look boring. The only exciting names here are Vladimir Guerrero Jr. who will be up at some point  after he recovers from an oblique injury and Elvis Luciano. The Blue Jays got Luciano in the rule 5 draft this winter, he just turned 19 years old, never pitched above rookie ball but made it on to the Opening Day roster!

Tampa Bay Rays

It will be interesting to see what happens to the Rays this season. After winning 90 games last season you would think they would look to make some moves, add some payroll and be more competitive but they didn't do that. They added Charlie Morton to their rotation and he gives the Rays a strong top three in the rotation now, but they still don't have the bullpen or bats that the Yankees and Red Sox do. The Rays will be pesky as always, but it would take a perfect storm for them to take the division at this point.

Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles lost 115 games last season with big names like Manny Machado, Zack Britton, Jonathan Schoop and Adam Jones. All of those guys are gone now. The Orioles are just starting a long term rebuild that started this offseason with a brand new manager and GM because after 115 season loss you definitely cant keep them around. It's going to take some time to rebuild. The Orioles are starting with changes to organizational leadership, not the players. There's really nothing exciting to watch here, except maybe some easy wins when they play the Yankees.

Boston Red Sox

Its weird that the defending World Series Champions didn't have much of an offseason. All they did was re-sign Nathan Eovaldi and Steve Pearce which is boring. They should have re-signed Craig Kimbrel and Joe Kelly. They still could but to be starting the season without them is a bold decision and makes it seem unlikely. The bullpen is the biggest weakness this team has and Kimbrel is an elite closer so it seems dumb on Boston's part. They will still score a ton of runs with their potent offense and they still have a very competitive starting rotation. They will eventually make improvements to that bullpen, but until then the key is to keep the games close and knock the starters out as soon as possible. The defending World Champs can't be crazy enough to have the highest payroll in the game and a weak bullpen, right? I mean....we wouldn't do that but if the Red Sox want to gamble let them! They may have an advantage with their starters, but our offenses are both definitely stacked but anyone can see our bullpen is far superior. I don't think the Red Sox win 108 games again this season but they are still going to be a thorn in our side.

I think the Yankees have what it takes to take the division this year and get back to the World Series. We're also hungry. Now we just have to be hungrier than everyone else and win series to get there. It's going to be a LONG season, but let's start it off right with a series win over the Orioles! Thank goodness baseball is back.

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

YANKEE BRASS CAN BUILD A WINNING TEAM, BUT NOT A PROFIT

Credit Elsa/Getty Images        

The New York Times dropped a big story last week HERE and it shows just how clueless some of the brains in the Yankees front office really are. This isn't rocket science.

The Yankees have a young, exciting and winning team. It should be a new economic boom for an organization that is finally getting younger and getting some big expensive contracts off of the books. It should be bringing in a ton of fans to watch this new Yankee team win. The Yankees are undeniably better than last year. They win and they are fun to watch so that should have people running to the ballpark.....but they aren't. So, what's the problem?

Well, there seems to be more than one, actually and the Yankees think they have the answers, but they don't.

1) Since the end of 2009, Yankee suite and ticket revenues have decreased by more than $166 million.
The Yankees open their new ball park, and win a World Series championship but have since lost out on profits. Despite the Yankees winning and successful season so far, they have brought in LESS money than the same time last year. Even with a dreadful start to the season, the Yankees were making more in ticket sales. Fans paid more to see a losing team then a team leading the way with superstars like Aaron Judge.

2) The Yankees’ per-game decline of 3,793 over the same number of games last season is the third-sharpest in baseball, according to BaseballReference.com, trailing just Kansas City and the Mets.

The Yankees have the third sharpest decline in attendance after recent World Series winners Kansas City and the circus side show New York Mets? That's sad. The Yankees have a young and dynamic team that even Yankee haters pay attention to. Fans finally have that younger team they have wanted for YEARS, but aren't paying money to go see them. The Yankees just can't put butts in the seats even with a winning lineup....and that's a big problem.

3) A recent May game in the Bronx against the Toronto Blue Jays drew an announced crowd of 25,556 -- the smallest for a Yankees home game in 13 years.

A winning team playing a division rival with some big names on it should draw in a crowd. Fans still remember the days of Russell Martin and want to watch a talented hitter like Jose Bautista. Sure, the Blue Jays may be an underachieving team in last place but to get the lowest attendance in 13 years? That is an ugly stat.

Those are the three major problems. Instead of looking at the one thing that all three scenarios have in common the Yankees are making some CRAZY statements.

"Baseball, I think, has somewhat struggled with the millennial problem. We recognized in looking at our fan base, we recognized in looking at our viewers on YES, that that age group is not what it could be and not what it should be" according to Hal Steinbrenner.

The fact of the matter is that as much as society may like to blame millennials for a lot of things....the Yankees decrease in ticket revenue is not one of them.

Or how about the Yankees pricing strategy with their premium seats? The Yankees set high pricing in their seats behind home plate to keep the available to the rich, and out of reach for those of us who can't spend that kind of money, and Yankees Chief Operating Officer Lonn Trost was quick to justify that HERE.

“The problem below market at a certain point is that if you buy a ticket in a very premium location and pay a substantial amount of money,” Trost said. “It’s not that we don’t want that fan to sell it, but that fan is sitting there having paid a substantial amount of money for a ticket and (another) fan picks it up for a buck-and-a-half and sits there, and it’s frustrating to the purchaser of the full amount. And quite frankly, the fan may be someone who has never sat in a premium location. So that’s a frustration to our existing fan base.”

I think Trost is extremely out of touch. There is definitely a pricing issue here, but it's not the one that he is describing.

And what about Randy Levine? He's already been under fire recently with Dellin Betances, but Randy seems to think that the players are a big reason why fans spend money on the games.

"Right now, there’s no LeBron in baseball, there’s no Tom Brady. Derek Jeter was, maybe David Ortiz. But I think these young guys on our team and some of the other ones have the breakout ability, and I think that’s what’s exciting and what our fans are looking at.”

Ummmm NO Randy! What your fans are looking at is the insane prices of your tickets right HERE. Clearly you already have a LeBron or a Brady....if you didn't you wouldn't have taken out seats to accommodate your "Judge's Chambers" section at Yankee stadium.

Sure, you can get some cheap seats at Yankee stadium. Some fans may be okay with a "Pinstripe Pass" and stand in a "fan gathering" section for a few hours with a drink included and just stand....but that's not most of us. What about mom and dad that want to take their kids to a game? They are going to want a memorable game with decent seats. Ones that they don't have to squint to see or sit on dad's shoulders just to see Gary Sanchez off in the distance. Try taking a family four to a game and pay $40 for parking and $15 for a beer and $12 each for a few hot dogs after spending money on those expensive seats. It's not affordable!

Yankees ownership is just clueless at this point. They have a winning team on the field but can't figure out how to get people to come and watch them play. A winning product isn't good enough if people don't actually come to see them. They just don't get it...they have priced fans right out of their ballpark and kept them at home....watching the game on TV for a lot less money. It's not rocket science, just stupidity.

--Jeana Bellezza
BYB Managing Editor
Follow me on Twitter: @NYPrincessJ

SEVERINO, CONFIDENCE & A NEW CHANGE-UP

Photo: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports

Leave it to Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record.  He's got a nice nugget about Luis Severino you'll love.  Sevy's got a new change-up, and he's showing some confidence throwing it.  That's a good sign.

"During his 2.1 innings on Friday afternoon, Severino threw the change-up with conviction against a representative Blue Jays lineup.

"'Confidence is going to be a big thing with him. And I think today we built some confidence in his change-up,’ Romine said after Toronto’s 3-2 win at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium...

Photo: Times Union

'I thought it was progress,’ manager Joe Girardi said after Severino yielded two runs on four hits and a walk, with four strikeouts. 'Because we’ve got to get him comfortable with (the change-up).’

A reliable third pitch is essential to Severino’s quest to earn one of the Yankees’ two vacant rotation spots. And in a 47-pitch outing, the right-hander said he threw 'maybe 9-10’ change-ups against the likes of Kevin Pillar, Russell Martin, Kendrys Morales, Melvin Upton and Bautista."

Photo: Newsday

Now you don't think about this stuff, because many of us just assume that Severino deserves a starting role on this club, but it's very true... it's about command, and if you have control of the pitches you throw... CONFIDENCE will be gained.  I mean, how many times did we see Sevy frustrated with himself last season.  He's gotta get over it... he's in the major leagues now!

It's incredible to think about major leaguers who still aren't confident on what they throw.  I mean, in our society today, even with youth baseball... we are constantly dealing with motivating and trying to keep the kids confident in what they do. It's just amazing that it still happens, even when you make it.

Anyway, I thought I'd share. Nice work again, Caldera.

GUILT & REMINISCING

I have hit a new low and it sucks. On Tuesday night I watched most of the Angels and Tigers game (worth noting: it was against my will). As I watched I saw so many plays that reminded me of what was the Yankees past but not lately. I saw hits that the Yankees used to make and energy that we used to have. Now, it's a memory. I was watching another team make magic happen and I was jealous.

We all have moments of weakness and this one was mine. As I was making a late dinner the game started out pretty boring. My other half was enjoying everything he was seeing. in fact, he compared it to the first game in the Diamondbacks and Yankees series where we got our asses handed to us. It was THAT kind of game. The Angels were dominating with a 9-2 lead and I was salivating.

The Tigers made it interesting and at one point tied the game but I just kept thinking back on the Angels offense last night. Sure, they don't do this every night. In fact, they are just as bad as we are but.....they have done something that we haven't been able to do. It sucks watching another team show signs of life as we drown.

I wish I could remember what a 17 hit game looked like. Tuesday night, I had to listen to the other half run around celebrating as Mike Trout hit a three run homer. It sucked. He does nothing but talk about how he idolizes this guy and I had to watch and hear him celebrate.

Watching C.J. Cron hit not one but two home runs made me violently ill. He is a young 26 year old kid who is a freaking infant in the big leagues and he is hitting bombs. Meanwhile, our power hitters can't even get an infield single. Yeah, and for once I am calling you out Mark Teixeira! 

I know you have an "owie" right now but that doesn't matter. You may not be playing much lately but you can't even hit your weight and it disgusts me. If there is anyone here who can give you that dose of tough love right now, it is ME.

I wanted to throw up my dinner after Ian Kinsler hit his grand slam. I wasn't sure how to feel. I was sick thinking about how he just hit his very first grand slam while of course our Bronx Bombers look like Bronx Bummers. At the same time, he hit a grand slam against the Angels and made the game interesting again and I wanted to see them lose! It was nice to watch the Angels bullpen melt down even if it was short lived.

All of these home runs the other night and all I can think about is August 25, 2011 when the Yankees made history by hitting three grand slams in one game thanks to Curtis Granderson, Russell Martin and Robinson Cano.....all guys that are gone. It's sad that I am sitting her missing players that are no longer here while I can't even reflect on anything good for this season right now.

There's still a long way to go his season, but the Yankees are giving games away. On paper this team is better than last year and we shouldn't be 8.5 games out of first place. We are digging a hole that is getting too deep. We can't expect this team to make a dent and climb back up when they don't hit, the starters can't pitch deep into games and we burn out our bullpen. I don't want to see the Yankees become sellers, but if things don't change we are going to start a garage sale and give away some prized pieces.....like a good bullpen arm.

The last thing I want to think about is teams approaching us to pick apart our team because they know we are too far out of it or think that we have given up. Maybe I am too prideful, but I don't want to give other teams that satisfaction but they aren't blind. They know we are open to trade ideas even if we aren't advertising them, like trading Nathan Eovaldi for example. They also know that the Yankees are scrambling to get a backup for glass man Tex now that Dustin Ackley is out for the season. So far our answer seems to be throwing Rob Refsnyder at first, read that HERE where hopefully he won't suck and maybe he will give us some offense. Way to be reactive, Yankees.

The Yankees wasted yet another good start by Masahiro Tanaka last night. There is a troublesome pattern here that cannot be ignored. In six of his last 11 starts, the Yankees have scored three or fewer runs for him. The Yankees just can't score. A combined five runs in the last four games just isn't going to cut it. Tanaka deserved better last night. He wasn't at his best but one earned run on seven hits and one walk in six innings is still a winnable game if your offense shows up.....which ours never does anymore. My grandmother could probably do better. Wake me up when we get a new hitting coach!

It would be nice to wake up one day and write about something other than the under-performing Yankees. I am still looking but right now the Yankees keep digging a a crater sized hole. I really hope this is rock bottom.....but I am not seeing a light at the end of the tunnel here yet.


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





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MAN CANDY MONDAY!

This one goes out to the ladies! Sure, baseball is male dominated, and Bleeding Yankee Blue shows a lot of what men out there like; baseball, the Yankees and... sometimes beautiful women. Yes, they are all over the page, in posts, in ads and sometimes we get emails about it.  Ladies, considering this site has a good representation of women contributing here, we wanted to tell you that we hear you loud and clear! You want some eye candy and we are going to give it to you!

So... boss man Casey has some photos, ads on the site including some women in their underwear and even Fredrick's of Hollywood stuff. We get it, but now it is our turn to have some fun! I can't think about anything more fun right now than this picture. Helllllllooooooo there!  Look at those abs!  Don't be shy, Brett Gardner, at least that is who we think it is. We wouldn't mind seeing some more of these leaked out into cyberspace.

Remember this face below? Or....those tattoos? I know I certainly haven't forgotten. It's OK Russell Martin, you may play for the Blue Jays now and I won't be able to overlook that for long, but I can for as long as I sit and stare at this picture.  

We can't have a post about a guy showing it all off for us without throwing Alex Rodriguez in the mix! I mean, right??? Hello....this "mirror shot" will never get old.  He doesn't need to be shirtless to peak our interest. Look at those arms! This picture of him is what I always think of right away. At first because I thought it was ridiculous, but then I admittedly did a double take. Don't judge me!

OK, so he isn't a Yankee or even a baseball player for that matter but Colin Kaepernick is one sexy piece of man meat. The tattoos....the chest....the abs....we love all of it. Baseball is always my first passion, but I will be happy to  watch this man on the football field. I know he has a crush on Beyonce, but we would be happy to fill her shoes.

We haven't forgotten about Robinson Cano either. Yea, I know. We're not supposed to like him cause of Seattle and the contract... Yea, don't care. We can definitely still appreciate a little Cano, don't ya know!

Okay, maybe one more of Cano?

Why'd you have to go, Cano?

And can we talk for a second about Giancarlo Stanton? Those abs are absolutely drool-worthy. Talk about the perfect washboard. He certainly keeps it muy Caliente en Miami!

And since one of us here (*cough Jeana*cough) has an unwavering loyalty to Mark Teixeira it goes without saying that he is going to be included in this right? Come on, that is a given. He cleans up really nice!

Now, there is another player that plays out in Queens. I know, I know....we don't talk about the Mets here but come on David Wright is some serious eye candy! I will just look at the picture and ignore the uniform.

And stepping out of the scope of sports altogether, we give you Idris Elba. There is something undeniably attractive about a man in a well-tailored suit. Kind of makes you sit up and take notice, don't you think?

Speaking of Hollywood and well-tailored suits, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, anyone?

What about Theo James? Suddenly I want to want Divergent and Insurgent OVER and OVER again. Maybe I can be cast as the female lead for the next movie instead. No? OK, you can't blame a girl for dreaming.

If you follow the NBA, then you are no stranger to Dwyane Wade. Sharp dresser, and excellent ball player. We see you, darling!

And to not be out-done, Henrik Lundqvist. To be honest, I only just started watching hockey, and hardly understand it. But I will watch every single Rangers game if it means I get to see Lundqvist.

Sports is a male dominated world. It's hard for us sports savvy ladies to be taken seriously and to be given the respect that we deserve. No, we're not groupies, and no it's not about who has the nicest butt. A lot of women I know can run laps around their male counterparts with their sports knowledge. But, we're also human. So yea, sometimes we want to appreciate an attractive man and not be judged for it. We hear you, ladies.

Casey, you can keep your beautiful ladies and your sexy female ads. No biggie! Just know that we're watching, and we're looking out for our lady readers. This one's for you gals!

(In photo: Brock O'Hurn) 

Your move Casey!


   

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

--Erica Morales BYB Senior Writer 

Twitter: @e_morales1804

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 IMPACT OF THE YANKEES-BLUE JAYS SERIES

It's September baseball, and the AL East is running a tight race. There is no room for mistakes. And this Yankees - Blue Jays series is huge for the Yankees. Coming in on Monday, the goal is to take the series, and hopefully, jump back into the lead in the AL East. If we don't? Well, let's hope we can get the wild card spot.

This series was an excellent display of all our problems. To make a viable run for the post season, there are kinks we need to work out. Our pitching and bullpen have been phenomenal for the most part. They've been able to come through in tight spots. Our hitting is an entirely different story. All season we've either hit really well or not at all. Many games our line-up is scoring in the double digits. Then we'll go two or three games barely getting runs, if at all.

Tuesday we were on. Well mostly, I guess. Luis Severino was our starting pitcher for the night. He managed to get through 6, only giving up 2 runs. Yankees held an uncomfortable 1 run lead until the bottom of the 9th. Andrew Miller gave up a solo home run to Dioner Navarro to tie the game. Greg Bird became our hero in extra innings, hitting a 3 run homer. We won 6 - 4 Tuesday.

Monday and Wednesday, not so much. Adam Warren on Monday, and Ivan Nova on Wednesday, both gave good starts. Neither pitcher had any run support.

We were 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position on Monday. We failed to capitalize on the few opportunities we were given. And we were given very few by David Price.

The Yankees just do not seem to be hitting well against him since his move to Toronto. I suspect it has to do with working with Russell Martin. Price throwing more cutters is in part due to Martin, who does well with framing pitches. The combination of Martin at catcher and Price on the mound has not been kind to our hitters. Although the Yankees bullpen did well in keeping us in the game, the fact that the Yankees simply could not score until the 8th inning was our ultimate undoing. We lost that game 4 - 2.

Wednesday was much worse. We were completely shut out. Nova, who hasn't been very reliable, actually did incredibly well. He went 5 innings without giving up a single run. Our bullpen faltered a bit, with Andrew Bailey giving up a 3 run homer to Martin late in the game. But honestly, you cannot win games if you aren't scoring any runs. The Yankees were shut out 4 - 0.

I'll repeat, this series was incredibly important for the Yankees. Even winning 2 out of 3 would have been great. Now we are 3.5 games back in the division. If we are going to make a serious run at it, they need to figure out what the problem is with our bats. When we are hitting, we're fantastic. But those days are far and few in-between. We cannot continue playing games the way we did this series, and expect to be real contenders for the World Series. It's not going to happen. Basic little league... move the runners! It's completely unnecessary to swing for the fences every single time. Just get guys on, and bring guys home. Play some damn small ball! We continue to struggle with runners in scoring position.

And I know, there is always the Wild Card. Look, if we have the chance at the division, we need to play for it. The one game elimination game for the Wild Card does not sound appealing. It'll be our luck that the team that shows up that night is the one that forgot how to hit. We really cannot rely on the Wild Card slot to take us into the post season.

Yea, this is a little bit of a rant. I know some of you may be saying "Have faith in the team." Let me be clear, I believe they can make it. THAT is why I am so frustrated. They have the ability to perform better. So why the hell aren't they?

Blue Jays take the series, and a bigger lead in the division, 2 - 1.

-Erica Morales BYB Senior Writer 
Twitter: @e_morales1804



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!