YANKS ACQUIRE McCUTCHEN... BUT NOT "OFFICIALLY" TONIGHT

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Remember that time we put that item up about how it would be cool if the Yankees could somehow snag Andrew McCutchen and all these moron fans told me I'm an idiot and "How many people actually read this BYB garbage anyway?"  Well...

We may very, very, very soon have Andrew McCutchen... interesting.

The baseball insiders are all over it, but I like this tweet because Bob Nightengale does the right thing and gives props to the ones that broke it first. I like that. I do caution, neither team has called this a done deal yet:

The #Yankees acquire #SFGiants OF Andrew McCutchen per @Buster_ESPN. The Giants get 2 prospects per @Joelsherman1

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 31, 2018

That was followed by this tweet by me:

Yanks got McCutchen? Looks that way. Now I feel bad for Shane Robinson 😀

— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) August 31, 2018

And then of course some dude told me to not feel bad for Robinson but instead Brett Gardner to which I responded...

well, if you follow me you know I've been giving Robinson a Hard time.

— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) August 31, 2018

And that's all I have on this other than the tell you that Nightengale just put this out just to keep us on our toes:

The #Yankees and #SFGiants say they have not finalized the McCutchen trade at this moment, and don’t anticipate an announcement tonight. But obviously deep in talks.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 31, 2018

There will be no McCutchen deal tonight the two sides caution, at least not officially

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 31, 2018

Oh... and if you wanted a rehash on how we may have nailed the McCutchen prediction and we're acting like the "called it" guy... here you go.

Photo: Getty Images

THAT ANDREW MCCUTCHEN RUMOR...

October, 2016.  I like this line: "I have a hunch that this is going to happen. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think so."

Welcome to the Bronx, Andrew McCutchen...maybe.

THE EXTREMES OF THE YANKEES

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The Yankees are doing better than we all expected with a bunch of injured players.  They have been playing great baseball for nice streaks or a series, but then they fall apart with error and strikeouts the next series.  Makes no sense.  Inconsistency could be their downfall, despite how well they have been playing.  It's just the way it is.  It's just the way it's been.

The White Sox are beatable, and with the Red Sox off last night, it was a perfect opportunity for this Yankee team to gain alittle more ground.  But sloppiness killed the Yankees last night.  They did not look good.  Not to mention, the worst part of the night had to come in that third inning when Ronald Torreyes tripled to start off the inning, and then, not a single Yankee hitter could get him home.  With Shane Robinson coming to the plate next, he had one job, ONE SINGLE JOB. Hit a sac fly.  Just hit it to the outfield.  Torreyes is quick, he could get home on that.  But it didn't happen. Instead... nothing... and then eventually Torreyes is sent home and of course... he was nailed out at the plate.  Yuk.

Photo: Getty Images

There were glimpses of hope. Gleyber Torres continues to help with production at the plate and hit a 2 run home run.  But that would be all the Yankees would score.  Last night was a stale Yankee game with them losing 6-2.  They didn't show much life... they didn't show much of anything.

Photo: Getty Images

And let's talk about Voit for a moment.  Is the experiment over? He's on a hot streak, and if I'm Boone, I'm doing what he did throwing Voit into the lineup in the clean up spot and hoped the streak continued.  But last night we got ugotz.  And Bird sat the bench again.  What will be of Bird? Will it change today? Will Bird play?

Boone: Voit. You’re clean up tonight. Bird: Darn it.

— Robert Casey (@BleednYankeeBlu) August 28, 2018

Look... these are my Yankees.  This is my team.  We had a gorgeous start to the season, but we've slowed.  Injury and what looks like complacency from Boone are taking their toll on this Yankee team.  No, I'm not hanging it up.  No, I'm not blaming Boone here.

Photo: Getty Images

He's been dealt a very different lineup than he started with. But now he needs to manage. At some point he needs to be a manager, and not a friend and that is what I feel like he's been lately.  I could be wrong, but it's what I see.

He said it best last night about the Yankees play... "crappy".  But now we have to fix that.  Will he? Will we collectively? Let's hope so.  The Chicago White Sox are a very beatable team.  Let's take advantage of that.  Let's do damage. Let's stay consistent with wins... after all... with just over 30 games left, there is no question we can catch the Bosox.

Let's go.

MIKE PLAYS RIGHT

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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.

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"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

STOP BLAMING EVERYTHING ON INJURIES!

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What a difference a year makes. This time last year there was a lot of hope and excitement. Some say our postseason was a miracle and we should not have eliminated the Cleveland Indians and managed to get just one game away from the World Series again.

Last year we were WAY ahead of schedule. So we are supposed to be closer now, right?

We should....but every week it feels like something happens that puts us further and further away. We are a much better team than this, but  THIS Yankees team just doesn't know how to overcome challenges. There are too many obstacles and missed opportunities. Yesterday didn't get any better either.

For many reasons, it doesn't look like the run we had last year is not LIKELY to happen this year. I hope it does, but the Yankees have a lot of fundamental problems and they haven't been able to figure them out.

Photo: New York Post

One big problem would be the injuries. This team is completely different without Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez's bats and gloves in the game. Sanchez was in a major free fall before going on the shelf but his bat still makes the lineup longer. Not having both of these guys sucks but it may be even worse than we realize.

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If you missed yesterday's game Didi Gregorius collided with Kendrys Morales in the first inning while trying to beat out an infield single. He remained in the game after being examined on the field but was later pulled at the top of the third inning. He was taken to Columbia-Presbyterian for tests that came back clear but Aaron Boone said due to the bad bruise on his heel that he could still go to the disabled list, read more HERE.

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The Yankees are crippled right now. With Judge out, the Yankees have turned to Shane Robinson in the outfield who has been ineffective. The Yankees have been trying to find someone to fill Judge's shoes and don't have many options but surely there has to be someone better than Robinson? The Yankees already have Neil Walker doing his own fill-in duty in right field. The Yankees need some serious help right now and it doesn't look like it is coming.

Photo: Getty Images

It's frustrating for us as fans, but I am sure all of this is even more frustrating for Brian Cashman. He has made all of the necessary moves to fix the weak spots on this team but it hasn't paid off like it should. Cashman can't control the injuries but he made moves to make this team better. The results just don't show that.

The Yankees are historically a good and exciting August team but the Yankees seem to be lacking the same passion as we have seen from years before. It was hard for me to watch Thursday's game against the Rays. The Rays had two runners picked off, botched a routine inning ending double play and had to pull ace Blake Snell early.

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The Yankees had their opportunities and couldn't capitalize against another bad team. Snell was pulled early thanks to an injury he still hasn't recovered from, he isn't stretched out and can't pitch deep into games. They gave the Yankees every opportunity to win and they just couldn't do it.

Photo: Getty Images

Injuries are one thing but the lack of leadership with this team is astounding. I really want to believe in Aaron Boone, but I just can't. The fire and spark are gone. I think his press conferences are a joke. He's calm and collected, nonchalant and looks like he is not phased by anything. Mediocrity is okay for him. I don't get it. He doesn't have that winning Yankee persona. He behaves like the Wild Card is okay for him. Everything will be okay as long as they get there somehow. This is the attitude of the 2018 New York Yankees and it's not okay.

Injuries do suck and they make the game harder. But good teams have winning attitudes and there is always someone there to pick up the slack.....and we don't have any of that right now. We have flat answers, lackluster results and no passion. This team has all of the talent to replicate last year, but not the leadership or culture. The Yankees need to figure this out before it is too late....and we are running out of time.

Stop giving it away and WAKE UP!

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

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.

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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

BOONE NEEDS A LITTLE MORE TRANSPARENCY

I am reading a book right now entitled Culture By Design by David J. Friedman.  The author describes a protocol for driving "better individual and organizational performance" through the development of a series of fundamentals, which help organizations take their desired behaviors and put them in action.  A few of the common fundamentals include "Take Ownership" "Practice Blameless Problem-Solving" and "Speak Straight."  With these in mind, watching Aaron Boone in his pre and post game press conferences lately have been especially painful.  Truth be told, since I am speaking straight, I have never really understood his riddling soundbites that seem to go on about nothing both in the context of his press conferences live or quoted in sports columns.  But, lately, they have been particularly cloudy and for someone who was hired for his articulation and relationship building qualities, I think Boone needs a little more transparency with fans and the media.

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"Manager Aaron Boone said Saturday that Stanton's hamstring tightness has not subsided since he began feeling it a week ago, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports. This issue has forced Boone to play Stanton primarily in the DH spot, which is where he's spent five of the past seven games," reported CBS Sports.  But it wasn't until this weekend that we even knew officially that Giancarlo Stanton had a hamstring issue.  He just kept playing him at DH despite many of us scratching our heads in confusion.  I mean they played Neil Walker in right field, who has had little to no experience in the outfield and who is barely hitting .227 (just started to "get hot").  Why not tell us why Stanton keeps playing DH?  Why not be upfront?

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So the first Fundamental for Boone to get under wraps in his journey towards transparency is Take Ownership.  He needs to take ownership for not playing his best team every night.  He needs to take ownership for his words or the words he chooses to either confuse us or keep things from us.  The New Haven Register calls him out for his choices of late. "Aaron Boone is beginning to overthink things. On Friday night he sat red-hot Neil Walker a day after belting two homers in favor of minor league-caliber bats Luke Voit and Shane Robinson. And slumping Gleyber Torres continues to move higher and higher in the lineup."  

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The next Fundamental Boone needs to be concerned about is Practice Blameless Problem-Solving.  We have been told that we have the best bullpen in baseball.  Has anyone taught Boone how to use them effectively?  As NJ.com points out following the massacre in Fenway, perhaps not.  "Did Boone take CC Sabathia out too soon (three innings) on Thursday? Why did he keep Jonathan Holder in so long Friday? Why not go to Chad Green over Holder in the first place? Why go to A.J. Cole with his team down, 3-0, in the seventh inning vs. the Red Sox on Saturday rather than, say, Dellin Betances? (The game was close enough, and it’s Boston, after all.) It was only one or two times early, perhaps partially Yankees were bashing around teams, but Boone’s bullpen usage has deserved scrutiny lately." Why not own this Boone instead of placing much of the blame on Miguel Andujar for his error late in the game instead of just owning the poor bullpen choices.  Boone instead said this:

"We have to do a better job of playing a cleaner brand of baseball. Especially when things are hard and you're up against a real good opponent, you've got to play clean," Boone said as reported by ESPN. Cleaner brand of baseball? Real good opponent?  The words, the struggle, be real, Boone.  How about this, "We made some fundamental mistakes as a team and that includes myself as manager."  

Source: David Maxwell/Getty Images North America

The final fundamental Boone needs to put into practice is Speak Straight.  As I mentioned earlier, listening to Boone talk about the game the Yankees are about to play or the one they just finished is difficult.  He speaks in riddles and he uses a lot of phrases and clauses that are not linked to any substance.  "I see [this] as a bump," Boone said. "I see it as we didn't play great these last two days, but I have a lot of belief in those guys and the approach those guys have going into the day.
This is a long, arduous season. You're going to hit these little bumps in the road where it's difficult, where you're trying to preserve pitching a little bit, where you're up against it a little bit a lot of days in a row," Boone said after the loss to the Red Sox last Thursday.  I would rather him say that we blew it.  I would rather him own the loss and say that we just have to play better baseball.  Make no mistake, Boone, this is NOT a little bump in the road.  This is a gigantic pot hole and we are stuck.

Source: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images North America

Bottom line, this late in the season, we need a little more transparency in our Yankee administration, and it starts with Boone.  Giancarlo Stanton speaks straight, so does Brett Gardner and CC Sabathia, owning their bad outings or injuries.  Jonathan Holder owned his poor game play.  Why can't Aaron Boone be more upfront with us as fans?  That's the message today- be a transparent leader, Boone.  Be honest with us.  Be honest with yourself and own your deficiencies.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

THE YANKEES NEED A REBOOT

Source: Adam Glanzman | Getty Images

Life is just not good in Yankeeland.  Not good at all.  This is not where we were supposed to be.  But when you consistently drop games to poor performing clubs, make Little League-type errors and don't put your best team on the field, you get what you get and Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman are reaping what they are sowing.  And our record shows it.

Source: Mike Stobe/Getty Images North America

Randy Miller of NJ.com really hit the nail on the head when he cited "12 biggest reasons Yankees' division title hopes all but over | Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, Gary Sanchez, more," in his article on Tuesday.  As I watch the Yankees get bullied by the Chicago White Sox the same day as this article dropped, I can't help but agree completely with his assessment.  Let's add Shane Robinson running out of the baseline to the list.  Wait, why is Shane Robinson even playing?

Source: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images North America

Miller spotlights some fatal flaws in the current Yankee game play, which include senseless errors, nonexistent clutch hitting and the ridiculous number of chances the Yankees gave Sonny Gray to turn things around.  He also points out the missed opportunities management made by not prioritizing starting pitching last year or during the off season.

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"The best thing that’s happened to the Yankees in the last week was Sonny Gray getting roughed up again last Wednesday by Orioles and Lance Lynn following with 4 1/3 shutout innings of relief in his team debut.These outings led to Gray FINALLY being demoted to the bullpen and Lynn being inserted into the rotation," states Miller.  And as far as starting pitching, Miller accurately points the finger at the source of these woes.

Source: Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images North America

"The Yankees’ rotation isn’t close to Houston’s, it’s not on par with Cleveland’s or Boston’s, and this is what could do in the Yankees come October. GM Brian Cashman did the best that he could before the July 31 trade deadline this year trading for J.A. Happ, a 2018 All-Star lefty, and Lynn, a 2012 All-Star righty, but he didn’t get Gerrit Cole from Pittsburgh last winter or Justin Verlander from Detroit last August."

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Boone sits Giancarlo Stanton on the bench instead of inserting him into right field, he plays Shane Robinson instead of calling back Ronald Torreyes and he keeps playing Neil Walker.  He has mismanaged one of the best bullpen's in baseball and he can't seem to teach baseball fundamentals to his rookies, leading to mental mistakes and costly errors.  It is painful to watch.

Source: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images North America

As the headline of this piece suggests, the Yankees need a reboot.  This team as is, can't seem to close the deal with sub-par teams never mind elite teams like Boston.  Boston deserves to be a the top of the American League East.  They play great baseball.  They hit to all parts of the field, perform well in all stadiums, not just at Fenway Park and their pitching is stellar.  As for the Yankees, they need a get back to playing fundamental baseball and use the talent they have to win games.  They need their best players on the field every night.  The Yankees need a reboot and that includes the manager.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

NO VACATION DAYS DURING THE SUMMER

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When I was a graduate student studying journalism at Boston University, I worked at the Souvenir Store across the street from Fenway Park on Yawkey Way.  During baseball season, it was all hands on deck.  I worked every home stand.  There were no days off.  There was no vacation time.  It was long hours, long days and long nights.  It was fun, it fed my passion for the game but at the same time it was work.  So my question is this: "Why does Aaron Boone consistently give starters days off particularly when each series, even when the team they are playing is not in contention, is critical?  There are no vacation days during the summer; we need all hands on deck.

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Aaron Boone needs to put his best team on the field, every night.  This includes having Giancarlo Stanton playing in the outfield, not non-outfielder, barely breaking .200 Neil Walker. These guys get paid a ridiculous amount of money to be taking days off when they're in the midst of chasing the league leading Red Sox.  Sure the days are long, so are the days you work and I work.  We earn vacation time, but during the key parts of our year, we don't take that time.  We take the time off during our off season.  So why is Aaron Boone sitting potential Rookie of the Year 21-year-old Gleyber Torres to play Tyler Wade or Neil Walker?

 Source: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images North America

"Torres collected two hits, including a double and an RBI, during the first game of the day, but he'll get a breather after playing in just his third game since coming off the disabled list. Tyler Wade draws the start at second base and will bat eighth," reported CBS Sports.  I share fellow blogger Yanks Go Yard's sentiment in this comment, "What in blazes is Brett Gardner and Miguel Andujar doing on the bench in favor of Tyler Wade and Shane Robinson?"  Yes, why in the blazes?

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And then there's practice and workouts canceled to give guys more rest, this one coming a week or so before the All Star Break.  "I think it's just the late night last night and the heat. Normally, you play a weekend series, and that Sunday is a day game ... and especially nowadays. The facilities -- and especially our facilities -- are so good that guys, we've got a couple guys out there doing their infield work right now with (infield coordinator Carlos Mendoza). Guys get the prep they need. We just thought it was a good day to, instead of having it where guys sometimes feel like they need to go to it, not even make it an option. Just we're off the field today with the heat and the late night last night,"reported NJ.com.

Source: Mike Stobe/Getty Images North America

We need to look long term.  We need to win not just against Boston, but against everyone, including the Orioles, the Rays, the Royals and any other team that comes our way between now and the end of season.  It is all hands on deck. No more vacation days, Aaron Boone.  We simply can't afford it.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof