BOONE HAS NO IDEA WHAT HE'S DOING

When is Dead Day for this loser manager? When will Boone get fired?

If there were ever a neon sign flashing “Do Not Pitch Devin Williams Right Now”, tonight was it. The man looked like confidence had packed its bags and skipped town days ago. And yet, there he was in the 10th inning, taking the mound like a lamb being led to slaughter — all courtesy of Aaron Boone, the Yankees’ resident Feelings-Over-Baseball strategist.

Taylor Trammell’s homer off Williams was just the exclamation point. Williams wore the frustration on his face, but the real show came when the camera panned to Boone. Watch the video. His expression screamed, “Why did I do this again?” If only we could bottle that guilt and play it for Hal Steinbrenner on loop. Boone didn’t need to read the stats, feel the vibes, or consult the Baseball Gods to know Williams shouldn’t have been there. Us fans knew it.  Even the stadium is much less crowded than it would have been if the Yankees didn't suck.  Boone's only friend tonight should have been common sense — which apparently never showed up... again.

This was Williams’ third appearance in the ninth inning or later in just four games. And guess what? He didn’t get the job done. Again. With the game tied 2–2 in the 10th, Altuve started as the automatic runner at second. A wild pitch sent him to third. Carlos Correa drove him in with a single through a drawn-in infield. Three batters later, Trammell launched a two-run blast. That’s now four homers in Williams’ last eight outings. Yes, Williams is a big leaguer. Yes, he should be able to bounce back. 

But clearly, he’s in a funk, and putting him in this spot wasn’t just bad managing — it was sabotage by sentimentality. Boone’s bullpen philosophy seems to be: “I believe in you, champ” instead of “Let’s win this baseball game.”

And yet… silence from Hal Steinbrenner. Not a peep. Not even a corporate-sounding, “We’re monitoring the situation.” Another loss that didn’t have to happen, another night in which Boone’s decision-making drove this team deeper into the ditch.

Hal, if you’re out there: this manager is a walking L. Pull the plug. Fire Boone. And do it before the only thing left to manage is how empty Yankee Stadium will be in September... 

So freaking sad.

THE YANKEES JUST MADE ANOTHER MOVE

Yup, the Yanks are still making moves.  Some are not big ones, but some are. This one is small, but significant. You know Taylor Trammell? Yea, we got him.

Newsweek writes:

"Yankees have claimed outfielder Taylor Trammell off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, the team announced. To make room on the 40-man roster for Trammell, infielder Kevin Smith was designated for assignment...

Trammell has tons of talent, but just hasn't been able to put it together at the big league level.

Fortunately, he won't have much pressure to contribute, as the Yankees' starting outfield consists of Alex Verdugo, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, who is off to one of the best starts in franchise history in his first season in the Bronx. Behind them as the fourth outfielder is Trent Grisham, whom the team acquired in the Soto trade with the Padres.... Trammell will likely start in Triple-A, and will hope to earn himself a call-up to show what he can do in New York."

And that's that. Happy Friday to you.

SONNY GRAY'S FATE MAY DEPEND ON CC'S HEALTH

The Yankees are trading Sonny Gray....soon.....eventually.....when the time is right.

We've heard that for months now. That time might not be right until Spring Training or after the regular season starts once they are more confident in CC Sabathia's recovery. The good news is CC was cleared to resume baseball activities and is expected to be ready to report on time to spring training, read more HERE.

Rumor has it eleven teams called and inquired about Gray. Nothing enticed the Yankees enough to move him yet, and maybe that's not a bad thing. It sounds like CC is recovering well, thank goodness. But if this hadn't been the case and Cashman was quick to move him for just an "okay" trade package then it could've lead the Yankees to making additional moves that could've been avoided or worse unprepared for the season. I'm glad Brian Cashman waited to see how this was going to play out.

So now we sit and wait. CC does have a five game suspension he will have to serve once the regular season starts for throwing at Rays catcher Jesus Sucre, but it will only be a matter of time until we see how CC pitches. If he struggles, then at least Gray is there to fill in.

Or maybe we get the best case scenario here and CC has no issues and we take Gray into Spring Training and he pitches well. In a dark and twisted way CC's heart condition gives the Yankees more leverage because keeping Gray is now more valuable to them.

The Yankees built their rotation and traded for James Paxton without even considering Gray as a part of their future. He was expendable before, but now he is protection for CC. Why would teams come forward before with good trade offers? The Yankees didn't have a good reason to keep him, so there wasn't a reason for teams to part with better players. Now the Yankees can be even more selective.

But not too selective. The longer they wait, the harder it is to get the value they want out of this trade. The Yankees have already looked at offers for Gray including a three team trade with the Braves and the Rangers but that didn't get far. The Yankees targeted several of the Reds top prospects including Taylor Trammell but both sides have stopped their talks and the Reds acquired Tanner Roark and Alex Wood instead, so they are no longer a trade partner. Recently the Brewers and the Padres have shown a lot of interest but on paper the Padres and Yankees just don't match up well unless the Yankees want prospects. Their major league talent isn't enticing and it doesn't sound like the Padres will give up their better prospects for one year of Gray.

As much as I would like to see the Yankees end their experiment with Gray, I know Cashman is being smart with this. Baseball is so unpredictable. I never would've guessed that Sonny Gray's fate could be determined by CC....but it definitely looks like it could.

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

SONNY'S PERGATORY

Sonny Gray is still a New York Yankee.

But you know Cashman,,, he's trying to make the right deal for the Yanks.  The Reds have some nice pieces that the Yankees should try to snag for Gray. But the Reds are weary as to if Gray can actually still pitch. We all know he can. We all know that he clearly couldn't hack it in a big market like the Bronx. So maybe if he goes to Cincy, he'll be able to blossom with no pressure. After all... no one's watching the Reds these days.

Sports Illustrated has this:

"The Yankees and Reds are still trying to work out a Sonny Gray deal. The hold up is in the return that New York would get from Cincinnati. The Yankees don’t seek very top prospects, but the ones just below, Double-A and Triple-A pitchers, are players that the Reds prefer not to trade."

I'm not sure this statement is 100% accurate as I've heard different things. By the way, that originally was sourced to Jon Heyman... what else is knew. But there are a few names that keep popping up when it comes to the Reds and Sonny Gray.

Photo of Scooter Gennett

Taylor Trammell... which is not happening. Jeter Downs, who was recently sent to the Dodgers.  The other one that you hear from time to time is Scooter Gennett… a second baseman, a baseball veteran that's been with the Reds since 2013.  Look, I have no idea who or if the Yankees can make a deal.  Ideally it would make sense for the Yankees to try and grab a young pitcher, but we'll just need to see.

Hey, it's the rumor season... and we're in it.  Gotta roll with it.

SONNY GRAY FOR TAYLOR TRAMMELL?

Photo: Newsday

We've talked about the fact that the Reds like Sonny Gray and that's good.  After all, the Yankees want to get rid of him.  But that rumor happened a few weeks ago and then it was quiet.  Well, the New York Post has this nugget on who the Yankees would like in exchange of Gray. I just wonder if the Reds will make that deal. From the looks of it... nope!

The Post writes:

Photo: Red Reporter

"The Yankees asked the Reds for outfielder Taylor Trammell, whom MLB.com has ranked as the 17th-best prospect in the majors. As you would expect, Cincinnati was not interested in that conversation."

Trammel is a stud. But clearly talks have broken down and I'm sure the conversation was something like...

Nick Krall: "Are you kidding me Brian? Do you think I'm stupid?"

Brian Cashman: "No... I think that Gray is good for you guys."

Nick Krall: "Buh-Bye A-hole"

Brian Cashman: "Oh come on..."

So now we wait.  The reports are there are 11 teams interested in Gray. The question is, how hard is Cashman going to push to try to get a top prospect for the guy? Hey, he has to try, but sooner or later a bag of balls would make more sense.