PRESSURE FALLS ON CASHMAN IF SEVERINO FAILS

I read a headline that I disagree with 100%.  Lots of Pressure on Luis Severino.  The headline is from a Fansided piece that reads:

"Being a top prospect usually comes with pressure, but in New York, that pressure is always intensified. Many fans were expecting the Yankees to trade for an ace, but when the trade deadline came and went, no deal was done.

Brian Cashman and the Yankees stayed true to their word that they wouldn't be trading any of their top prospects. Now, added pressure will be on them to perform at the major league level."

Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Sure, say the pressure is on these kids all you want, but the reality is, if the Yankees, who have touted these "superstar" prospects as the next big thing, send these kids out there and the kids blow it... the pressure won't be on them.  No, no... pressure will build against Yankee brass.  The reason? Overhype.  Overhype by the Yankees to the media and to the fans.  These players go out there every day and do their job, on the farm, in hopes of making it to the Bigs and staying there.  But it's the Yankee Machine that has famously overhyped and sometimes destroyed these players just by a few phone calls.

(In Photo: A young Phil Hughes)

Joba Chamberlain. Phil Hughes is a good one. Austin Jackson was supposed to be the next "big" centerfielder for the New York Yankees, only to be traded. Ian Kennedy. Nick Johnson. There are others, but you get the point. We fans are many times sold a bill of goods.  Fans don't want to see these kids flop and the kids don't want to flop, but Yankee fans are also smart enough to realize that the Yankees many times tout kids as "truly great" over and over again, only to have fans disappointed if these prospect don't live up to the hype.  And then, fans grow impatient and the Yankees end up flipping them for a veteran, or letting them die in the minor leagues, because "Things just didn't work out."   I've never liked the way they handled it.  But fans are smart, and by fans, I mean you guys.  Yankee brass is on your radar and you'll be ready to crucify Cashman, especially after we did absolutely nothing but trading for Dustin Ackley this trade deadline and especially if Severino shits the bed tomorrow.  You see what I mean?

Enter young Severino.  Look, there's no question he could turn into an ultimate superstar in New York and I'm rooting for it. Lord knows he can be, but I've been reading alot about this guy, and 1 thing that I've found, and it's a brilliant nugget that not many are reporting on, is that maybe Severino is just a bullpen guy, and not a starter at all.  The reason? Too much arms and not enough legs. Seriously. This is fascinating to me...

Keith Law from ESPN who suggests that because of Severino's violent delivery, he could end up in the bullpen for the Yankees. In short, that kind of delivery isn't designed to be a 15 year career starter thing.  Then of course there is Baseball Prospectus' Christopher Crawford, who is great at this stuff:

"There's no question that Severino has the stuff to pitch every fifth day, but there are some reasons to be concerned about the long-term profile. In addition to the less-than-ideal size, Severino has a delivery that is extremely arm-heavy; relying on his impressive arm strength to produce the big velocity and deception. It shouldn't hurt him in the short-term, but because of the stress this can put on the arm, it could have long-term ramifications."

These are important things that as a Yankee fan you need to think about.  Not just because we're excited about Severino, but about how the Yankees are exposing him to the media and the fans as being the next big thing!  Well, maybe he'll only be the next big thing for a few years... then what?

Should we be worried? I say no, not yet at least. But I will caution whether or not this guy is a "superstar" prospect.  Sure, the books say he is, the Yankees say he is, but we don't know if he is, because he hasn't done anything in the Bigs yet.

So, I suggest caution.  I also suggest that if this turns out to be a total disaster, we remember that the pressure shouldn't lean Severino's way at all.  He's just a pitcher trying to get a nut in the Bigs with the New York Yankees.  No, if this turns out to be a flop, we can look Cashman and Co. square in the eyes and wonder once again... what is happening on the farm?

Look, let's hope we are reading piece in the BYB archive in 5 years after 4, 20 win seasons for Severino and laugh.  I would rather the Yankees were right about this, and the critics were wrong... that would make me very ,very happy.

Anyway, an interesting nugget I had to share.

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I HOPE THERE'S A BASEBALL DIAMOND IN HEAVEN

I'm not a particularly religious person. I'm not sure what, if anything happens, after a loved one passes on. But, I'd like to think that, maybe at least for little Kaiser Carlile, there's a little bit of happiness.

Saturday afternoon, nine year old Kaiser was on the field as bat boy for the Liberal Bee Jays; a team participating in the National Baseball Congress World Series Championship. Kaiser was wearing a helmet when he was inadvertently hit by a hitter in the on-deck circle. He passed away Sunday afternoon.

This truly was a freak accident. He was wearing a helmet, like the league rules dictate. The helmets are meant to prevent incidents like this. And I'm sure that the player didn't intentionally harm Kaiser. He was just trying to get ready for his at bat. Kaiser was genuinely loved by the Bee Jays. But now, despite all the precautions, and it being an accident, a family has lost their little boy.

I have a nine year old at home, and he loves to play sports. He just wants to be a part of the team and contribute. Kaiser was no different. His father, Mike Carlile said he was "A kid, small in stature, who just wanted to be one of the guys." And that describes most nine year olds so well. Bat boys, and bat girls just want to help the team. They feel such an immense amount of happiness and pride when they can contribute to the teams success. And they look forward to the day that they can play as part of the team. 

The league has suspended the bat boy program for the remainder of he World Series.The Bee Jays continue to play. They had some initial reservations to playing, after losing their bat boy who was their "Little Spark Plug," but Kaiser's father encouraged them to continue to play in his name. They gave a moment of prayer in his name before their game on Monday.

This is so damn difficult. It really is quite heartbreaking. He was following the rules. He wore his helmet, and it still happened. My heart goes out to Kaiser's family, and the Bee Jays without their bat boy. Like I said, I have a nine year old at home, and I could only imagine what they must be feeling. I sympathize with everyone involved. To the Carlile family, and the Bee Jays organization, my deepest, most sincerest condolences. 

Kaiser, I hope there is a baseball diamond in heaven for you. I hope you get to play with the greats. Rest well, little buddy.  

--Erica Morales BYB Senior Writer 
Twitter: @e_morales1804


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MAYBE JEET DOES TWEET

When I last left the BYB audience with the world famous (not really) #JEETDONTTWEET hashtag, it was back in 2011, if you can believe it.   I wrote a piece about how Derek Jeter is just not on the social networks, and who knows if he'll ever be on them. My opinion was simple... I doubted it.  The piece was called WHY WON'T JEET TWEET? and in it, we wrote:

"Why in the hell would Derek Jeter tweet? I've had this debate with a twitter pal of mine... Nicole...and I am doing my best convincing that there is no way in hell that Derek Jeter will ever tweet...ever. Not only ever, never. I usually will write a note and follow it up with #Jeetdonttweet. I mean, let's face the reality of it, the guy barely gives reporters anything in a post game, what makes you think he'd poor out his dirty laundry on Twitter?"

Since then, it's been a game. Every once in a while either myself or Nicole Hart, (follow her on Twitter @NHartOn10 ) will try and figure out ways to get Jeet to Tweet. I mean, we all know that his sister Sharlee is the Bomb and probably runs the Turn 2 Foundation Twitter handle, but who knows... maybe it's Jeter.

Well... BREAKING NEWS.  I just got a note from Hart. It was kind of hilarious:

"This is as close to my dream as I'll ever get... haha! I may or may not have shrieked when I got this tweet from Jeet..."

@nhartOn10 Sorry! On the bright side, NYC is just a two hour ride from here. You can always report on our next downstate event!

— Turn 2 Foundation (@JeterTurn2) August 4, 2015

My response was simple, because Nicole's awesome:

"OK seriously. You're a nerd but I love it."

That's a close bond. I say that because I have been writing this blog since 2010, and Nicole Hart and I are still breaking chops about Derek Jeter and whether or not he'll ever tweet... SINCE 2011.  Yup... it's 2015... that's amazing to me!

Friends for life? Probably.  That's what we do here at BYB.  It's the bond.  We've met incredible people here over the years, and we just continue to bond year after year.  You know what? I want to still be in touch with Hart when Jeter actually DOES Tweet.  When it actually says Derek Jeter up there, with the handle @TheCaptainNumber2, and he writes something like:

Gotta love that.

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THE YANKEES COULD GRAB JAMES SHIELDS

If there were 2 pitchers that I was convinced the Yankees would try to get at the trade deadline, I was pretty sure it would be David Price or James Shields.  Price disappeared to the Toronto Blue Jays, while James Shields still remains in San Diego.  But, it doesn't mean he'll stay there, at least that's what I think... and so does Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe:

"Shields is a guy the Padres might be able to slip through waivers because of his hefty salary. It’s hard to imagine a team putting a claim in, so Shields could be an August acquisition for a team such as the Yankees, who didn’t solve any pitching needs."

Tough to tell right now, but there is no question to me that the Yanks should at least get 1 starter, or keep an eye on the waiver wire for a strong reliever.   There's no question that alittle pitching help, well, can't hurt.

Stay Tuned...

 


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SOX STOMP!

The Yankee offense was pretty incredible yesterday, just stomping all over the White Sox pitching. 

The Yanks put Ivan Nova on the mound.  The White Sox put Jeff Samardzija out there.  Nova ended up going 6 innings, giving up 5 hits and 1 run.  He struck out 7.  He looked real good.

On the other hand Shark went 4.2 and gave up 9 runs on 8 hits.  Not the ace I'm used to seeing... anyway....

The Yankee hit parade went like this:

In the first, it was Jacoby Ellsbury with a solo shot.  Then in the 4th, Didi Gregorius singled, knocking in 2. Jacoby Ellsbury, up next, then sacrificed home a run.  Brett Gardner then singled in another.  At this point, it was 6-0 Yankees in the 4th.

In the 5th, Mark Teixeira hit a homer, his 29th on the season.  Stephen Drew then doubled in 2. In the 7th, it was Drew again, this time tripling and knocking in 2 more runs. 

Next Jacoby grounded out but in the process... 1 run scored. At that point it was 12-1.   The White Sox would score 2 more off of Chasen Shreve... but we pretty much shut them down after that. 

The Yankees have been solid, and so, you gotta appreciate how they are handling their games of late.  I just hope it continues when we face Boston.

Final: Yankees 12 - White Sox 3




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A MOMENT OF WEAKNESS

That's Cashman and Girardi looking at me... and they can't believe it.

The Trade Deadline was stressful. It was anti-climactic and with so many question marks popping up lately I was expecting something. I have been called a "prospect hugger" by other fans and even some of our readers. I don't deny it but I will be the first one to admit that I wasn't thinking clearly and was not living up to that name.

I have been paranoid the past week. I have this little nagging feeling inside of me that just will not go away. I have been trying to shake it but I can't help but feel like something big and bad is around the corner. The Yankees have been able to dodge a lot of bullets this season unlike the last two seasons that were plagued with injuries. Maybe that is why I lost my sanity, let me explain.

Our current rotation scares me. We have been cruising along this year and everyone has been healthy, for the most part. Suddenly, Michael Pineda hit the disabled list this week, read more HERE. Fine, it's one pitcher right so based on sheer numbers alone I shouldn't be freaking out. However, he has been with us for 4 years now and he has been injured more often then not. Then, I am listening to an interview and he blows it off like it is nothing. In fact, I hear him say "I am not worried, no big deal." Uh, yeah it is! It's August. Pineda, you could be out for a month easy with a forearm strain. The Yankees may have a comfortable lead now in the division but injuries at this point could be a game changer.

To make things more complicated for the Yankees, Ivan Nova left his last start after pitching for 5 innings because he feels fatigued. I know coming off of Tommy John surgery that could happen, but the Yankees have since listed him as "day to day" and it is questionable if he will make his next start. I don't like question marks in August!

This week we also saw Chris Capuano fill in and meltdown. He's gone now. We also saw CC Sabathia have another sub par outing. He is one of the remaining starters and he's not the same pitcher anymore.

I feel like the Yankees are trying to make him be something he isn't anymore. He's not that pitcher and I don't want to watch him struggle like this in the postseason. My heart simply can't take it because I have so much respect and admiration for the guy. This puts too much pressure on Nathan Eovaldi and Masahiro Tanaka. We need stability.

So that leads me to the deadline. Because of the question marks now in the rotation I was expecting an addition of Mike Leake. He made sense and suddenly I am ready to sacrifice....someone on the farm. It hurts me to type that, but it is true. For years I have been the guardian of the prospects. I have literally yelled at Brian Cashman several times throughout the years as if the guy could hear me. Now suddenly I want to ship one off for a short term gain. I am ashamed. I even told this to Casey the other day and I shocked him. I got the old "WOW that's provocative!" He's right. So I sit here, and type that I know I was wrong in the end. I own up to my fleeting moment of madness. I am sorry.

What makes all of this worse....in my fleeting moment of madness I was ready to ship Greg Bird off because in the back of my mind I know he could be the replacement for when Mark Teixeira is no longer a Yankee. Since I have defended the guy to the end of the earth and back several times I guess his resurgent year made me lose sight of the bigger picture here. He is having a good year, but this year means little in the grand scheme of things. The bigger picture here is that when he is gone, Bird does have the talent to make it as a Yankee. I have seen it up close and personal, so that just makes this an even bigger personal failure.

So this is me saying I was wrong. I admit it. I am happy to be wrong when it comes to this. I am a passionate fan and sometimes I let my emotions get the best of me. I am sorry Bird, I really didn't mean to cast you off. I am now off to go find some rehab to make sure that my "prospect hugger" status is never lost and this insane moment never happens again. If you haven't already, read QUIT COMPLAINING! YOU GOT EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANTED! Because it is exactly what I would've said before I lost my sanity.


   

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









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DANKS FOR NOTHING

Sometimes the Yankees just don't have it.  As my buddy Paul Chivari, Chicago guy, BYB reader wrote in our piece TALKING CHISOX VS. YANKEES WITH A CHICAGO GUY,

"John Danks has been better recently but is 2-3 lifetime against the Yankees..." 

Well, he's one better this morning.  Danks beat the Yankees and the Yankees just didn't do much in Chicago last night.  That's fine.  A loss here and there is going to happen. You just don't want to start losing consistently... not now. Not with the stretch coming.

Bryan Mitchell started for the Yankees.  He went 4, giving up 7 hits and 4 runs.  He struck out 5.  I may be the only one on the planet who doesn't care for Mitchell.  Not just for last night, but in general.  He doesn't do it for me. I don't find him exciting, I treat him like an Adam Warren... do the job and get out of there.  

He hasn't earned my trust...maybe that's it.  Anyway, I digress...

He was followed by Diego Moreno who gave up the other 4.  Again, same with this guy.  Now look, I understand youth and growing pains, but there is just something I'm not feeling about these guys.  Maybe it's the fact that we constantly hear about certain youth being touted and then these guys just show up, or maybe it's just guys the Yanks are just trying to figure out themselves... we shall see.  Whatever the case, Yankee pitching gave up 8 runs.

The Yankees run scoring went like this:

In 5.2 innings from John Danks, the Yankees were only able to scratch out 3 hits and score 1 run.    Didi Gregorius sacrificed home John Ryan Murphy in the 3rd.  Then, in the 9th, off Zach Putnam, Brian McCann homered... a solo shot.  That was it.

The Yanks left 7 on base and were 1-6 with runners in scoring position.  Not what I like to see from my Yanks.  Oh well, today we change that.  

Final: White Sox 8 - Yankees 2

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QUIT COMPLAINING! YOU GOT EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANTED!

Yankee fans annoy the crap out of me sometimes!  You complained over and over again about how you "refused to part with Aaron Judge, Greg Bird and Luis Severino."  For weeks leading up to this years trade deadline you were begging the Yankees to bring up the "3 Kings" as BYB Senior Writer Ike Dimitriadis calls them, and you didn't want to see them traded.

Then the day arrives... and YOU'RE BITCHING AND MOANING ABOUT HOW THE YANKEES DIDN'T PULL OFF ANY TRADES.  ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?

Let me make this crystal clear.  While the Yankees have many capable prospects, and some of which we are willing to part with... the Yankees couldn't make a deal because almost every team that had a player available for us actually wanted one of the 3 Kings and NOT one of the other prospects we were willing to part with.

And guess what... Brian Cashman heard you!  He heard all of us and he did exactly what we all wanted! He didn't part with them! 

So be happy. The Yankees are still playing well, we have a strong bullpen and between now and August 31st there will be a few moves, trust me, they do it every year.  They will do it this year as well.

The 3 Kings are still in the Yankees organization, and coming to the Bronx soon... just the way you wanted it!

Stop bitching! You should be kissing Cashman's ass right now.

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IF YOU DON'T KNOW, NOW YOU KNOW

I thought this was interesting and I only say that because it's moments like this that you should be thrilled that you come to Bleeding Yankee Blue to read about the Yankees and family and nuggets like the one I'm about to present to you.

BYB Senior writer Jeana Bellezza wrote a terrific piece for us here yesterday morning.  It was titled CALL IT WHAT YOU WANT, BUT IT AINT 'ROID RAGE!  In it, she wrote this:

"If it's not the generic "Yankees Suck" comment, it's a comment about how we have 26 rings and a pocket watch but we aren't relevant anymore."

Now, I don't think I'm a Yankee historian, but I know quite a bit of unusual facts about the Yankees. Strange things. In fact, when I did my edit on Jeana's piece, I knew that the BYB audience may have stumbled on that statement above and could have been confused by it.  That is exactly why I left it like that for the final draft.

The truth is, the New York Yankees have in fact won 27 championships.  But they only have 26 rings.  They have 1 pocket watch.  Fact.  Here's further evidence of that:

"...Prior to the 1922 World Series, players on the World Series-winning team were given keepsakes, such as a pin or pocketwatch...When the Yankees won the 1923 World Series, players were given a commemorative pocketwatch. The Yankees first gave rings to their players following the 1927 World Series."

Interesting right? Thank you Wikipedia.

Anyway, I just wanted to share that nugget with you.  Yes, today people wear their shirts with 27 rings on them, sure, that represents 27 championships and that's fine and good.

But if you're getting technical about it... it's wrong.

It's actually 26 rings... and a pocket watch.

Well done Jeana.



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RIDICULTEX!

Ridiculous... RidiculTex... get it? Yes? No?  Oh, go scratch... I'm up at 4:30 on a Saturday morning... you're lucky I'm even writing a recap.

I kid... I kid... I love you all.

Yanks went big last night... much of it was because of Mark Teixeira, but let me give you the lowdown of how it all happened in Chicago...

Nathan Eovaldi was on the mound for the Yankees and he's been doing real well for us this year. Last night he went 5.2 innings giving up 7 hits and 3 runs striking out 5.  Adam Warren gave up 2 more runs and then Nick Goody came in to do some work and he gave up 1 more run.  OK, that's good, right? The Yankee pitching only held the Chisox to 6 runs.

The Yankees put on a clinic with hitting and run scoring though.  Check this out:

In the first, Carlos Beltran doubled knocking in 1.  Then ARod singled knocking in John Ryan Murphy.  After that, it was Mark Teixeira's grand slam in the second inning.

That was followed by Tex then hitting a 2 run homer and Brendan Ryan hitting in 1 more on a single.  Didi then sacrificed home another.

In the 6th, Jacoby Ellsbury singled home a run and that would be your 13.

Overall, the Tex hitting clinic was pretty much predicted by Chicago White Sox friend Paul Chivari, who did a guest spot for yes yesterday titled,  TALKING CHISOX VS. YANKEES WITH A CHICAGO GUY. He simply wrote: "John Danks has been better recently but is 2-3 lifetime against the Yankees and has had trouble against Mark Teixeira and Jacoby Ellsbury."

Here's the difference... he should have just written the White Sox have trouble with Tex...Danks didn't pitch last night.

OK... back off, like I said.... it's early.

Final: Yankees 13 - White Sox 6

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