MLB PLAYOFF SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED!

Source: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Well, if the season ended before last night's win against the Toronto Blue Jays, the New York Yankees would be playing Tampa Bay Rays likely in San Diego. But if they can keep a hold of second place, they could end up at Dodger's Stadium against the Minnesota Twins. All of this is part of the new post season blueprint for 2020 as Major League Baseball confirmed their playoff strategy on Tuesday, which includes bubble cities to help combat the virus and keep traveling to a minimum.

Source: Athletics Nation

"After getting approval from the Players Association, the league announced it would hold the final three rounds of the playoffs -- the Division Series, League Championship Series and World Series -- at neutral-site locations. Players will be housed nearby to set up one-location bubbles for each series," reported CBS Sports.

This year's games will require a different strategy as less travel means less rest days, requiring players and pitchers to be in better shape to compete at their highest level. "As for the day-by-day schedule, one wrinkle to notice is the lack of off-days. Usually the postseason includes ample rest and travel time, even more than in the regular season, but this year each series plays all the way through on consecutive days — except the World Series, which maintains its normal spacing between Games 2/3 and 5/6," reported SB Nation. 

Source: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

With Tuesday night's 20-6 blowout against the Blue Jays, the Yankees put themselves in much better position to ramp up their lineup and get things in order. As Gio Urshela and Giancarlo Stanton entered back into the lineup on Tuesday night, the Yankees will welcome back Aaron Judge on Thursday. This may be in just enough time to pull things together and cohesively thread a championship path. 

But Boone will have to let go of his old bull pen strategy of not using pitchers multiple days, to be willing to put in place, "all hands on deck" in order to actually compete in this year's playoffs. The best team will win in this sprint. Can it be the Yankees? We will have to see if they can stay healthy and continue to be the team that's been on the field over the last six games. 

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

FEELIN' GOOD... BUT THE TOUGHEST CHALLENGE LIES AHEAD

Five straight wins, ladies and gentlemen! It's about time. Wins certainly haven't come easy this season, and they also haven't come often enough. Should we feel good after winning five in a row? Yes. Should we get overly confident now? NO.

There are 13 games left in the regular season. The Yankees are breathing down the Blue Jay's necks (FINALLY!) and the damn Rays are still in first place. Granted, ahead by four games looks a lot better now than what it did. It's still not enough though.

I like the burst of momentum here a lot but....these next 13 games are do or die. In fact, it is GO BIG OR GO HOME as far as I am concerned. We don't see the Rays again during the regular season, but we see the Blue Jays SEVEN more times. This is HUGE. These games are must wins....no sense in sugar coating it.

The Yankees are off today, and I hope they are resting but not getting too comfortable. Tuesday night the Yankees better be ready to pounce. It's time to climb back in the standings. We shouldn't be behind the Blue Jays or even tied with them. The last 13 games decide everything and the Yankees have a big advantage that they need to take advantage of.

BLUE JAYS-RED SOX-BLUE JAYS-MARLINS
Say it again....that is the remainder of the regular season schedule. The Yankees could certainly have a much worse schedule to end the regular season with. The Rays end their season against the Phillies, and I hope the Phillies trample all over them. These are the matchups we need to win and this is where we need to shine.

On top of a more favorable schedule, by next weekend we MIGHT have Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge back, read more HERE. I'm crossing my fingers, but having both of these guys back in the lineup just in time for our last games against the Blue Jays and the Marlins would be a big morale boost. We feel good right now, but the extra pop and depth could be exactly what we need to go out with the biggest bang.

The Yankees will have Deivi Garcia on the mound on Tuesday and I'm ready for that. I'm excited by Garcia, and honestly, I feel good about letting him pitch an important series against the Blue Jays. Wednesday and Thursday will be up to Gerrit Cole and Masahiro Tanaka. I feel good about this next series. The stars are aligned for us....but we have to execute.

There are no words to describe the importance of this next series. A sweep against the Orioles feels good, but a series win against the Blue Jays will feel even better.

It's GO TIME!

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

ARE THE YANKEES FRUSTRATING DAYS BEHIND THEM?

Source: USA Today

The Yankees have been really difficult to watch. Sure, they have won four in a row but these wins didn't seem to come easy, even if the scores have appeared otherwise. Saturday's walk off win against the O's was another one of those tough games to watch. Yet, the team seems to think the frustrating days are behind them. But are they?

“We’re starting to play better,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We didn’t necessarily play the cleanest game today, but the pitching was so good. The guys are starting to feel it a little bit. It was a tough slog there for a couple of weeks, but the guys are starting to gain a little bit of confidence,” reported MLB.com. 

Source: Robert Sabo

Okay, so the manager seems to think the team is on an uptick. And maybe they are but I just think they are wishy washy.  They don't seem invincible.  They don't appear to be strong.  They are certainly not consistent. And I don't think they have what it takes to make it in the post season. 

“You’ve got to be positive and remember to have fun,” Voit said. “We play a little kids’ game. Everybody can make this game a lot harder than it really is," reported MLB.com. Fair, but the Yankees are playing like "little kids" and maybe even acting like them. Besides boneheaded plays and errors, you have their star closer bolting to the clubhouse after the final out "because Mother Nature was calling." They just look ridiculous. 

But somehow they managed to creep up on the Toronto Blue Jays and are tied for second with them in the AL East, five games behind Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay should be their main frustration right now since they don't seem to know how to beat them. Even though they don't face them again during this shortened regular season, if they are going anywhere in the post season, they will see them there. 

Are the Yankees frustrating days behind them? No. Not a lick. And if they don't start playing with confidence and conviction, they will get steamrolled in the post season, if they even make it there at all.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

BIG MAPLE THIS!

You aren't an amazing pitching if you throw one no hitter in your career. All you are is a pitcher who had a good day.

On May 8, 2018, James Paxton threw a no hitter for the Seattle Mariners.  It was great. I remember the highlights. I was happy for him.

Fast forward. The Yankees acquire Paxton for Justus Sheffield. I was disappointed to see Sheffield go. After all, you have a young, moldable pitcher that could become something great in pinstripes, WITH HOWEVER, the understanding that he may not be. But that's what you get with young pitchers. You take chances on what they are projected to become and you work and roll with it and see what happens. 

But the Yankees didn't have time for that and so they made a move to get Paxton in pinstripes. Their thinking was that he'd adjust to the big stage and put up nice numbers and help the Yankees win the whole damn thing.  But while putting up a 15-6 record was nice for Paxton, we didn't win, and so what's that point. Look, I didn't like the move at the time and was pretty vocal. But all I kept hearing was, "It's a great move... Paxton threw a no-hitter."

Paxton threw a no-hitter? That's all you got?  While he may have had a successful win season in 2019 and literally showed up to dominate in like one post season game, I have never seen over all dominance in this dude. 

He's not consistent. He gets hurt too much. He doesn't appear to be a gamer. And while it seems that I'm only picking on Paxton here, I am because it's a post about him... yes it's true, Yankee pitching hasn't done much of anything this year. It's embarrassing.  But when it comes to Paxton, stop trying to put lipstick on a pig... because it's not working, it's never worked.

The Yankees are in a world of hurt.  It probably isn't fair to rip on Paxton for injury and inconsistency, but too bad.  Something needs to be said.  We don't want this guy back. We want a pitcher that can figure out how to pitch in a New York mentality, dominate, adjust and not get injured.

We want a team that looks hungry out there.  The Yankees need to do better because they've been exposed mightily in a short season.

DO THE YANKEES HAVE THE RIGHT COACHING STAFF?

 We all don't like what we are seeing from the Yankees. I am sure that is the understatement of the century at this point, but we've had too much go wrong this season and not enough go right. We ranted about certain players from time to time because those are the easiest targets....but what about the coaches?

The Yankees finally got their ace pitcher with Gerrit Cole, and then dismissed tenured pitching coach Larry Rothschild also. The Yankees made an interesting move and hired analytics driven Matt Blake as their new pitching coach. Blake had no major league experience, but a cutting-edge thought process that intrigued the Yankees but it hasn't translated well on the field yet. Now it has some people asking....was Rothschild really that outdated? Did the Yankees make the wrong choice by hiring Blake instead?

I don't think a short 60 game season is enough to really feel confident on Blake yet. I have some definite concerns with Blake, and I think if he sticks around there's a lot of changes I would like to see made. Jordan Montgomery's start last week comes to mind. He was visibly struggling on the mound and Blake didn't even bother to go out to the mound and talk to him. He's been better as of late but I would like him to be more visible. 

I know he has all of the analytics in his head, but is this data getting to the pitchers? If it is, why aren't they executing? That's another big part for me, it's one thing to identify a problem, but a coach needs to be able to work with the player and FIX the problem. There are definitely problems to fix here. Montgomery is struggling to find the strike zone, and Cole isn't looking like his dominant self either. The bullpen is also another problem. Our high leverage relievers aren't getting the job done and the bullpen gets taxed. 

If Blake has the skill set, knowledge and ability to succeed as a pitching coach we aren't seeing it yet. Unfortunately this is a results based business, so that could be bad news for Blake. It does make me wonder if he should've spent a season as an assistant pitching coach first, but at this point I guess it doesn't matter. Back to Rothschild, I don't think he had an outdated philosophy, I just think the Yankees were looking for a new direction. Besides, Rothschild and the Padres are sitting prettier than the Yankees are right now. They are in second place, while we are greatly underachieving. Oh, and for any of you fWAR fans out there, last season the Yankees were ranked 10th, this season we are 20th under new leadership with a new ace pitcher....so I can't call Rothschild outdated.

But pitching isn't the only problem, right? I'm more likely to be critical of our batting than anything else....so that leads me to Marcus Thames. He's been with the Yankees since 2013 where he started coaching in AAA Scranton / Wilkes-Barre. He was eventually promoted as the Yankees hitting coach following the 2017 season. He's got the knowledge, but again, this is a results based business and we can say the Yankees aren't producing, look HERE. The Yankees have some big bats while the team has been plagued by injuries we are better than a .235BA, which is ranked 21st in the majors and we are 19th for RBIs. This team is capable of much more than this even with injuries. We have depth that a lot of these other teams just don't have, but we still aren't producing.

The Yankees have also struggled with runners in scoring position for a long time now. The Yankees have a lot of the same issues, but somehow Thames is still here. I think the Yankees should be paying more attention to this especially when you have regulars with a .200BA. The Yankees can't afford to have regular players not hitting and just benching them isn't the answer. At some point, we have to look at this and see that while pitching is a concern....the hitting is a major concern. The Yankees series against the Orioles is an example of what CANT happen. The Orioles are rebuilding and have a Triple-A roster. The Yankees shouldn't be losing games like that and also only scoring nine runs in three games isn't acceptable.

I think Thames is a smart guy, I liked him as a Yankee. I just don't think I buy into him as our hitting coach anymore. I think the hitting is a glaring problem, and needs to be corrected moving forward. I can give Blake a pass....for now.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

ENOUGH'S ENOUGH! CASHMAN'S CLUBHOUSE VISIT MUST BRING CONFIDENCE TO FAILING NEW YORK YANKEES!

Source: USA Today

With 18 games left in this shortened season, the Yankees are plummeting.  As one reader said to me last night after the Yankee second loss to Toronto, "the Yankees give a whole new meaning to 'bleeding'." Luke Voit said optimistically in a post game interview, "You can never count us out," but it is hard not to after the Yankees continue to fall in the standings, losing 15 out of their last 20 games.

Yankee GM Brian Cashman paid the team a visit up in Buffalo. He offered some advice, confidence and ultimately told them, it is their season to turn around.

Source: USA Today

“Just remind them, first and foremost, that I believe in them. I put the club together with my staff, and everyone is here for a reason,’’ Cashman said. “Making sure they know where they have to get back to. I have taken the opportunity to do that from time to time and see if it helps. The bottom line is we are on our own, there is no help coming, and the challenge is to find a way to get through this storm,’’said Cashman as reported by the New York Post.

But it was Voit who bluntly admitted that teams are not intimidated by them right now because quite frankly, "we are playing like crap." The confidence on this team is at an all time low.  It is unfamiliar territory for the Yankees as a franchise.

Source: USA Today

"When there is an in-season problem, I do it when it is necessary,’’ Cashman said of addressing the team. “But it is rare that I have to get the whole group together, but the circumstances we find ourselves in right now are clearly rare, too. It is not something we are accustomed to, having a slide like this. We are used to better baseball than this, and our fans deserve better baseball than this. Just try to get a shock to the system to try and get us back on track," reported the Post.

Yet one glimmer of hope in all of this is that another time the Yankee GM paid a visit to his team like this, it was back in 2009. "In 2009, Joe Girardi’s team was struggling and Cashman flew to Atlanta to talk to the players. Whether or not hearing the GM talk helped, the Yankees immediately started to play better," reported the Post.

I tend to hang in there with teams I love, particularly the Yankees. But this time, it feels oddly different. I hope that Cashman talked some sense into this flailing team, otherwise it will be another year, another door shut on championship hopes for the Bronx Bombers and their fans. 

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

FROM SAVAGE TO SUCKAGE!

This is what low feels like, and I don't like it. I don't like it at all....not one bit. This team is unwatchable. This team is looking for an identity and a spark and with 20 games left, I just don't know if they are able or even WANT to find it.

I had high hopes going into this long Labor Day weekend. Seriously, a series at Camden Yards should mean great potential for a winning streak and for their luck to change. It could have happened, but it didn't. It didn't bring the optimism or hope we have been looking for....instead it brought shame.

I still can't believe that we lost three straight to the Orioles. I can't believe we are now 6(!) games back of the Rays. We WERE tied with the Blue Jays for SECOND place. I can't believe the Blue Jays are where they are right now and we are THIRD in the division. That makes me violently ill right now.

We used to be so SAVAGE. Do you remember those days? I do, and I miss them. It's amazing to think about what a difference a season makes and just how bad we have looked in a pandemic shortened season. We were one of the favorites for the World Series months ago. Now it is even hard to imagine a postseason berth let alone a World Series appearance considering how bad we are playing.
But we are better than this. We SHOULD be playing better than this. Last year we were better than this. 

I've never missed Austin Romine more than I do right this minute. I've never been more disgusted with Gary Sanchez than right now. I don't want to talk about him, I don't want to read about him and I don't even want to hear his name....I just want to make him disappear at this point. I don't care that he's only 27 or any of the other arguments at this point. I just don't think he has it. He's not the answer the Yankees are looking for. It's time to move on.

I miss 2019 Gleyber Torres so much. I was hoping moving to shortstop wasn't going to be a tough transition for him, but it has. This season hasn't been easy for him at all and before Torres hit the injured list he led the league in errors at shortstop and had a .231BA with only one home run and 6 RBI's. Where has 2019 Torres gone? I miss the guy with the .278BA, 38 home runs and 90 RBI's. The Yankees need to find a way to get his 2019 version back.

But you know who I miss the most right now? I miss roof bangin Brett Gardner. Yes, I said it. Last year people were calling on Gardy to knock it off, but now I am saying SHOW ME SOMETHING. This team needs a fire lit under them. I called them robots several times in the past when we were not playing to our potential. I wanted to see they were feeling as much emotion and frustration as I was and eventually we saw that from Gardner. THAT was savage and it made a statement. We need a statement right now other than the WE SUCK.

And Aaron Boone's denial and "we've gotta play better" quotes do nothing for me. The season is slipping away fast and he's giving us all robot quotes that just make me want to slap him silly. Remember when he was ejected from a game against the Rays last season for arguing balls and strikes? That epic rant was born, "my guys are f****** savages in that f****** box, right?" was born. Get that angry again! We know the injury riddled Yankees story again.....but what are you gonna do about it?

The Yankees have 10 of their last 20 games of the season against the Blue Jays. If the Yankees want to save the season they need to get their heads out of their BUTTS and show us their savage side again. Time is running out....so is my sanity.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

CAN "PADRE" KRATZ'S EMOTION SPARK THE YANKEES?

        Source: NJ.com

It is hard to find joy in the Yankees these days. The battles among the Rays, Mets and now the Orioles are leaving deep scars, once that may not be erased in time for the post season.  But one glimmer of hope lies in this feel good story of Erik Kratz and his contributions to this Yankee team.

"Ultimately for me, the things that I found satisfaction and incredible gratification in is being able to make connections with players in the minor leagues, in the big leagues, pitchers or position players, whatever it is,” said Kratz, who added that he would like to get into coaching some day. “And hopefully go on to see them have success," reported NJ.com.

Kratz has been deemed "Padre" by rookie sensation and former minor league, now major league teammate Deivi García who pitched his first major league game and win against the Mets a week ago. "Kratz and Garcia became close late last year when Garcia got promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Kratz jokingly calls Garcia his son. Garcia calls Kratz “padre.”

Skipper Aaron Boone called Kratz's contributions immeasurable as he not only stepped in behind the plate but he stepped into a mentoring role, something this team needs. “He’s just a special person, special makeup,” Boone said. “He’s done a great job as a player for us between the lines, but what he’s brought behind the scenes and just the kind of person he is and the kind of impact he has. … it’s been really neat for me to see. He’s beloved in that room," reported NJ.com.

Am I frustrated with this Yankee team? Yes. Did Kratz's emotional interview after Garcia's first win get to me? Yes. In this moment when the Yankees are basically sinking instead of swimming on top of the AL East, a feel good story is something we all need. Here's hoping that this momentum helps turn things around for the Yankees otherwise, it is going to be a long hard winter.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

TOM SEAVER WAS TERRIFIC ALRIGHT

It's sad to see that Tom Seaver had past away. He for sure was a Mets icon. One of the best in their franchise.  But my memory of Seaver wasn't with the Mets at all.  My memories of him was with the White Sox, and as a Yankees broadcaster, and just a fun guy to listen to in the booth.  While I was fully aware of what Tom Seaver did in his life as a New York Met and Cincinnati Red, I was present to see Seaver throw his 300th win at Yankee stadium, a moment I hated at the time, but one that I forever respected. 

I was a kid. I was at Yankee stadium with my family. We sat in the top section behind home plate that game. It was Phil Rizzuto day and as a kid, that was the real reason why we were there.  Obviously you go to watch the Yankees win. Obviously you want to be there to celebrate Yankee icons like Phil Rizzuto. And the day was great. The celebration was awesome. As a kid, watching Phil Rizzuto getting knocked over by a "Holy Cow" was hysterical.

Mantle was there. Billy Martin was there. The place was packed. At the time, Tom Seaver was 40. He was old. And so, as a fan, you want that big Yankee win. After all, it was the pregame that Phil Rizzuto said this:

"I'd like to thank everybody who had a hand in this beautiful day.  I'd even like to thank Tom Seaver. His timing is perfect. Tom saved up today just for me. He knew that it was my day and he'd be going for win number 300... he's gonna have to get it in another city." 

The place went wild. But Tom did what he always did in his career. Win. And that day the Yankees lost 4-1.  As a Yankee fan, I hated every minute of it. As a baseball fan, it was amazing history.

Tom went on to do some time broadcasting with the Yankees and we all learned to forgive him. I was a fan, not gonna lie.

When I heard the news the other day, it all rushed back to me. It's sad for the Seaver family. It's sad for baseball. But what a fond memory of a true competitor.

Rest in Peace Tom Terrific. You were one of the good ones. I'll never forget that day.

KEVIN CASH NEEDS TO PRACTICE WHAT HE PREACHES

I've been having a hard time staying focused on the Yankees this season. I know I'm not alone and I don't know what has caused it but....it hasn't come as easy. The injuries, crazy format and strange rule changes don't help but Tuesday night's brawl between the Yankees and Rays only made it worse.

I'm not going to defend or debate what happened with Masahiro Tanaka's pitch or what happened with Aroldis Chapman, that's done and over with. At this point, both teams have been punished, read more HERE. What's done is done and we should move on from it. I know I want to. I could have easily if it weren't for Rays manager Kevin Cash's comments HERE.

Kevin Cash was pretty upset after he was ejected from the game Tuesday, so I expected he would be upset but I wasn't expecting this:

"It’s poor judgment, poor coaching, poor teaching. … I have a whole damn stable of pitchers that throw 98 miles per hour," Cash said. "Period."

It's one thing to be upset at the Yankees coaching staff or Aaron Boone, but how is he publicly reacting any better than what he is accusing the Yankees of doing? He's not.

This is quite ironic and even hypocritical. What happened to the idea of "being the bigger person" or "taking the high road," Cash? He gets upset because he believes the Yankees intently threw at his team so he decides to fire back with a threat? So he decides to exercise the same "poor coaching, poor teaching" that he accuses Aaron Boone of. 

I did like to see that Boone responded without escalating the issue even further, "that’s a pretty scary comment," Boone said. "I don’t think that’s right at all, but I’m not gonna get into it right now."
I have no issue with Boone calling the comment scary, because Cash's comments were in the same "poor judgement" he accuses the Yankees of.

There's a lot of civil unrest in the world right now, the last thing we need is for sports to contribute to that. All of these people are supposed to be role models whether they accept that responsibility or not. Cash can have bad blood with Boone and the Yankees if he wants....but he has just allowed this problem to get worse because now his own team is feeding into it.

"I’ve said it before, we don’t like them, they don’t like us," Kevin Kiermaier said.

This is a bad look for baseball, it doesn't make one side the villain here. It's time to shut up, play baseball and keep the battles related to the score and division titles. It's also time for Cash to be the good example he clearly thinks the Yankees aren't being.....

Practice what you preach, Cash and please.....just shut up!

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

LEMAHIEU PACKS A POWERFUL PUNCH AGAINST RAYS

Source: NY Post

It is clear that when DJ is in the mix the Yankees play well. And Yankees really needed a win last night.  DJ LeMahieu answered the call as he stepped right back into the lineup following a stint on the IL and served up two home runs to opposite sides of the field.  As Jack Curry, said, "LeMahieu is the stabilizer," as the Yankees beat the Rays 5-3 at the Stadium, breaking the losing streak against their AL nemesis. 

"We really needed this win tonight, we really did," said LeMahieu in his post game interview with Meredith Marakovits.  LeMahieu also called out the contributions of his teammates Luke Voit and Gio Urshela, which added to the Yankees' ability to overcome the Rays.

"The Yankees have been searching for sparks that would reverse their fortunes against the Rays, who have owned the upper hand in most of their head-to-head showdowns. DJ LeMahieu and Gio Urshela may have provided exactly what they needed," reported Brian Hoch.

Urshela's heads up base running and LeMahieu's good piece of hitting made all the difference in the game, that and Tanaka's stellar performance on the mound gave the Yankees just what they needed to take down the Rays. 

"Masahiro Tanaka threw a season-high 88 pitches over six sharp innings, limiting Tampa Bay to Kiermaier’s two-run homer in the fifth inning while scattering three hits. Tanaka walked one and struck out seven," reported Hoch.

Source: AP Photo/Kathy Willens

The drama between these two teams kicked up early when Tanaka sent a message to the Rays in the first inning as he drilled one inside to Joey Wendle.  Later, in the 9th, it was Aroldis Chapman who threw a 100-mph fast ball up and in.  The benches cleared after the final out which set the tone for tonight's final game of the series. Let's hope that the Yankees, led by LeMahieu, can hold down the Rays for another game and inch their way back into first place. 

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof

MY THERAPUTIC RANT TO GET ME THROUGH MY ROUGH PATCH

There's too much going on in the world.  There's this virus, shootings, an election, my kids are getting older and now looking at colleges, that, dare I say are closing down or opened just for a short amount of time before going virtual. Town businesses are boarding up.  Closed. People who take walks will literally cross the street when they see someone coming the other way, to avoid each other.  Not because they don't like each other, but to not make the other feel uncomfortable.  And since George Floyd's death, the unrest is just sad and disturbing.  I was asked the other day why I thought there was so many shootings and death in New York City over the past few months.  

I merely offered perspective. "When the Mayor gets behind Defunding the Police, you almost have to wonder if the police are trying any more."  He wanted an opinion, I gave it. It doesn't mean I like or dislike anyone more or less. Didn't matter. I was quickly hollered at and I haven't talked to that person in 4 days. He doesn't want to. OK then. 

With ALL of this... baseball isn't even an escape for me lately. A 60 game season with a backstop filled with cardboard fans. It's manufactured... it doesn't seem real. None of it does.

I'm not a political person. Never have been, but dare I say I worry about my fellow man. I try to be courteous, kind. I try to make people smile, bring humor to the day to day, but looking around... it's hard. And when I turn the television on, and the Yankees are playing, as much as I love them... as much as I want them to win, it does not feel right.

And then I wonder; will it ever feel right again? 

Thank god for my BYB writing staff.  

They have a much different perspective when they keep BYB alive. They set themselves aside from the day to day tragedy and unraveling and do the right thing... they print Yankee news. They bring Yankee perspective. Thank God they keep this going.  Right now, I'm struggling. Call it writer's block or call it uninterest. I don't know what it is exactly.  What I do know is I'm a true Yankee fan, that can't seem the shake the funk of sadness.

Looking at the standings in the American League, some of it is just strange. The White Sox in first? The Red Sox in last? The A's? First place in the West? Are you kidding? And trust me, in a short season like this, it will be the norm, because of the shortened season. 

In the NL, the San Diego Padres have a real shot! But would they in a full season? I think not. And so what's my point? It feels so artificial. It feels like we're doing it, just to do it.

But then I think, what's the alternative? Nothing? I think I'd feel worse.

I'll tell you something, there was something quite refreshing about seeing a stud like Deivi Garcia on the mound for the Yankees the other night. What would have made it better was if this poor kid didn't have to debut in such a terribly shortened season.  I would have loved to see this kid really shine.  It's unfair, but I guess this is something he will never forget.  The Yankees received a ton of trade requests for the young man, but Cashman did the right thing. While he dangled him out there for the teams to see, when the requests came in and the return was stale, he didn't pull the trigger. In fact, he kept him.  For me personally, I feel like that will prove valuable next season... if the season is full.

And why in the world is Yankee twitter attacking Gerrit Cole? You all wanted him. You got him... and yes, he may be tipping pitches... but he was tipping pitches before he was on the Yankees. Yankee fans are never happy. Cole's a great pitcher. The best part about Cole is he reinvents himself and readjusts when he needs to.  One player does not a team make. Cole is a valuable piece. He'll be fine. If I had to say anything about Cole it's that everyone needs to calm down.

Look, I'm not an unhappy person, but I did bottle up for the past month.  Maybe that's why I didn't write a lot for BYB. Maybe I was feeling depressed, concerned, worried, who knows. I do know this... this post? It was therapeutic. I will tell you this... I feel better right now. I feel rejuvenated. I am getting out of my funk.

I was worried that my emotion for baseball and the New York Yankees was changing. I was worried a few days ago that I wouldn't have the passion to go on with BYB because I was "out of ideas" or "unhappy".  But at the end of the day... with everything falling around all around me, something significant just happened to me.  I came home. I came home to my seconds family... you... and voiced my thoughts so I can work through my funk.

Life isn't always fair. The country isn't always perfect. But one thing for me is certain.... the Yankees will always be there and so will you.

Thank you for letting me rant.  I will power through it again... I appreciate you all.