From Bryan Hoch:
On an afternoon dedicated to celebrating the Yankees’ past, Gerrit Cole offered another reminder of what has made him one of the league’s finest pitchers for more than a decade. Under that same spotlight, two of his rookie teammates offered a glimpse of their potential.
Cole struck out nine over seven strong innings, outdueling Chris Sale while becoming the quickest pitcher in franchise history to reach 1,000 strikeouts.
George Lombard Jr. hit his second Major League home run and Spencer Jones drove in two runs, leading the Yankees to a 5-4 victory over the Braves on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.
Yet another great win, and this time, the offense legit DID stuff. Spencer Jones was almost the header image based on him driving in TWO runs against one of the best lefthanded pitchers in baseball, but I realized that Gerrit Cole outdueling Sale, and getting his 1000 strikeout as a Yankee by striking out Matt Olson with two men on in the fifth is probably the better thing to celebrate, so Cole’s 1000 K got the featured image.
In any event, great games from Jones and Lombard Jr. and, of course, Cole.
Bednar gave up another run, but it was one of those bullshit runs that he gives up occasionally, where he has a two run lead and a run scores that doesn’t matter (the runner moved to second on defensive indifference, and then scored on a two-out single).
The problem, though, of course, is that Brent Headrick is slowly losing effectiveness the more he is overused, and now Paul Blackburn is being used every other game, as well. I get that the other relievers suck, but you can’t keep just throwing the same three dudes every fucking game.
I’d loke to see Castro get a bit of a look in late game situations, and I have to wonder if there isn’t anyone in the minors who could help more than Tim Hill.
When Rodon returns soon, what is even the plan? They’re going to piggyback him, but if they piggyback him with Will Warren, then that means that you need to either send Castro down or DFA Yarbs. If you piggyback him with Yarbs, I guess that could work, and then you just send Warren down.
Hopefully Chivilli returns soon, and gets another chance.
The Red Sox somehow lost a game (The Rays are in the middle of an insane hot streak), so they’re back to being 1.5 games behind the Yankees. As I assumed they’d be in third place by the end of Friday night, that’s SOMEthing. The Rays can never lose, either, though, which sucks (The Mariners will suddenly hit against the Yankees, though, don’t worry).
Cam Schlittler goes on Sunday. His Cy Young chances are basically gone, but let’s still hope for a strong last two months from the young star.
About the Author
In the last two weeks the Rays have win 3-2. 3-2. 2-1, 1-0 and 1-0 games. Along with a 9-7. Are they lucky or good?
Meanwhile the Yankees record in extra innings is what’s dooming their season.
those look the same as our wins?
True but they don’t lose games like that
One run games Rays 16-10, Yankees 15-16, Boston 13-13. Yanks and Boston 4.5/5 up on Rays in Pythag.
Thinking about 2B for this offseason and after. Kilby probably isn’t ready for MLB till ’29, so there’s a need for at least 3 years. Volpe and Caballero are both under control till then, though they’ve been offensive liabilities. It doesn’t seem like any great FA options in the years ahead either.
Free agent 2B this year: Arraez, Chisholm, India, Lowe, Lux, Torres. (Also Albies and McNeil if options are declined, i forget whether player or team.)
Do you pursue someone new, or give Jazz a QO, or let Volpe and Caballero compete for the job in ST?
– Frankly I’d just non-tender Volpe because I don’t trust his ability to make/maintain improvements, and I feel Caballero will always be a better option despite his limitations.
– I wouldn’t sign India (recovering from labrum surgery), Lux (60-day IL for shoulder), or Torres (we remember what he was like).
My preference would be:
1) Arraez (max 4/140. Not sure how he’ll age, but his defense seems solid at 2B now, his offensive approach would complement the big boppers in the rest of the lineup and be a good influence on the young’uns. the caveat is that he’s hit terribly at DNYS, 9 hits in 52 at bats, but I imagine he could adjust his approach to favor opposite-field flares.)
2) Jazz (prefer a QO, but if he declines, max offer 4/120)
4) Lowe (max offer 4/100. He’s already 32, his offensive profile is similar to Jazz with better contact but fewer steals)
5) Caballero as everyday 2B
Yastrzemski will not get it, then and yesterday. Nice.
What a beautiful swing Austin.
Do the Yankees ever score in the early innings?
I think Cam’s feeling it this afternoon.
Do the Yankees ever score? Do the Yankees ever get hits? Sadly one baserunner and no runs thru 4 is par.
Fortunately Cruz and Hill are well rested so we should be in good great shape.
Do the Yankees ever score or get hits? Lombard hit that well.
The Yankees hitting makes me sad.
Don’t like holding Wells at third on Grisham’s double. When you can’t score yourself you should make the other team execute.
Do the Yankees ever score. Second and third one out was there an outside chance they’d score? We got 5 yesterday that should be good for a week.
Jazz is such a bonehead.
A continuation of weeks of pathetic hitting. You have to work hard to be this inept for so many weeks. They sit around holding out hope that Judge will return and save the offense.
Months
Do the Yankees ever score? Does Rowson think this is a golf team and now scores win?
Yankees hit 222 in June, 219 in July
Rice’s OPS back under 900.
A run. Boone goes to Castro in the top of the 9th in a one run gamen with a day off tomorrow.
Jazz’s ABs are so ugly
I ran a simulation with any other hitting coach Yankees would have scored many fewer runs this season
Can the Yankees decline starting the inning with a man on second?
Three impressive ABs to lose.
Battling to the end
The offense is so bad. Also Jazz doing the jump from second base means they had a tell on the pitcher so basically the hitter it’s offspeed, and still Jones pops out and McMahon blow away. You’d think knowing the pitch would help… And if I saw it so did the Braves and they didn’t even bother changing the signs.
They shoot horses, don’t they?
Sox lose.
So I got that going for me, which is nice.
They’re off on Monday, so they will generate about the same amount of offense as they do on a game day.
Ramos 2-17 with a double
García 4-21 with a home
They’ve fit right in.
They’re platoon players.
Kinley 7.21era since July handles the Yankees in the 10th like Grant took Richmond.
Lombard slips under 300
Say what you will about Doval and Bird, they spared a lot of extra inning heartbreak.
Yeah, as soon as you become a Yankee, you instantly slump.
Someone noted online that it is kind of absurd that no Yankee has gone on a heater for, like, two months now. Maaaaybe Rice in early July, but that’s it.
That’s very unlikely that just NO one has gotten hot in the entire lineup. The best they have is, like, Wells and McMahon have been less pathetic the last month or so.
Terrible, terrible loss.
I was going to mention that not a single hitter has gone on a prolonged hot streak in some time; everyone sees it. Opposing pitchers are lining up to pitch against this team.
Spencer is hitting 216/691, he’s not an everyday MLB outfielder. Nor is Grisham 213/699. Jazz 216/691 should be a bench player and Mac 214/654 a defensive replacement. Wells175/572 should be a back up catcher.
Lombard is not here to hit 300 but if he does great. In a tiny sample he’s at 294/1047
Can we see more than the SSS from Jones?
Last ten games Yankees 6-68, 088 RISP. My simulation that covers every Yankee hitting coach since 96 proves if we had any other hitting coach we’d be hitting 044 over that span.
https://www.statmuse.com/mlb/ask/ben-rice-stats-last-45-days
Rays up 4-1.
“Lowe (max offer 4/100. He’s already 32, his offensive profile is similar to Jazz with better contact but fewer steals)”
So about 45 steals and 55 home runs?
No thanks.
I see the Yankee offense defeated the Yankee pitching today.
Does this game help Cam’s Cy Young chances?
Unless Cease implodes, this race is over.
Where does this notion of Cease as front-runner come from?
Schlittler has thrown more innings and walked fewer batters, correlating with a lower WHIP. They have a comparable number of total strikeouts.
Cease has a lower FIP and xFIP, and has one complete game while Schlittler has none. Is that it?
Despite having a stint on the injury list this season, Cease still leads in the counting stats fWAR and bWAR by a decent amount (and that’s with Schlittler’s excellent start today being added to both), and more importantly, narrative-wise, he’s been consistently excellent in the second half while Cam has not.
Cease gets the Red Sox this week, though, so if ever he was to implode, it would be then.
it’s possible, from a very specific perspective, that Cease’s stint on the IL can be viewed as he being unreliable and having taken a rest, whereas Cam rode it out the whole season. It’s the “Horse” POV, which may aid (and abet) Cam. Also, I don’t think the race is completely over yet. Cam tends to step up in big games which tends to sway voters as well.
Cam is in a position where he can’t just continue to be really good, he actively needs Cease to have some awful games. Which IS possible, of course, but that’s a lot to ask with less than two months left and with Toronto having nothing else to play for beyond getting Cease a Cy Young.
This season, Cease has allowed five runs once, four runs twice, and three runs twice.
Cam has allowed six runs once, five runs once, four runs twice, and three runs three times. And one of those blowup games happened in the second half, which is very bad timing.
Cam needs Cease to have some more blowup games, as well.
If given the choice between watching a Cam game and a Cease game, I’m fairly certain the voters will watch Cam. Zero-sum in this instance, so to goes the voting. That’s not to say if the f/b War count goes awry that Cease will win, I just think there are many positive factors (like the Yankee propaganda machine) that benefit Schlitt.
Cease’s fielding-independent stats may give him a bit more WAR than Schlittler, but not that much more. Before today’s game there was just 0.4-0.5 WAR difference between the two; after today’s game it’ll be less as Schlittler’s FIP should decrease based on 11 K’s, 0 BB’s, 1HR in 7IP. And, as Jeff noted, you can make the argument that Schlittler’s been the guy for the Yankees all year, while Cole/Fried/Rodon have all missed time, while on the Jays Cease has been the guy when healthy but has missed some time for injury.
I think some amount of narrative is also built around the playoff race. If you subtract Cease’s WAR from the Jays’ performance, as a crude proxy for impact on playoff contention, then Toronto goes from 3.5 out of the playoffs – with five or six teams between them and the third wild card – down to 8.5 out of the playoffs. So from a yet-unsuccessful borderline contender to an utter non-contender. Now, if they eke out a playoff spot then Cease can reasonably be said to have made the difference. But I don’t think that’s super likely – odds are that at least one of those six teams (Texas, Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota, Baltimore, Seattle) will continue to do better than the Jays, even as they’re all .500 or below.
If you subtract Schlittler’s WAR from the Yankees’ performance, they go from the first wild card to the second wild card, and from 7 games up to 2.5 games up on the third wild card team. So, from a playoff lock (though far from division winner) to a marginal playoff team. It’s quite conceivable that the Yankees continue to stink, such that Cam’s performance ends up accounting for the difference between making the playoffs and not.
Yea, Veg, I generally agree that the major awards are rarely pure WAR. Also agree on the points made concerning the relativism re: playoff picture as it relates to each pitcher. To Brian’s point about Toronto going all in to back Cease’s Cy candidacy, i’m curious how bullpen usage will play into game management for both pitchers. I’d imagine the Yankees’s usage will be neutral concerning Cam as every win counts. I wouldn’t be surprised if Toronto continuously throws their best relievers on Cease starts to safeguard his ERA and Win count. I’m sure it also helps Cease’s confidence as well knowing he’ll be backed up with the strongest arms in the pen should this theory play out.
Cam has more wins despite the Yankee offense.
2-9 now in extras. impressive!
The worst record for them since 1933. Aaron Boone is setting all sorts of franchise records with this team.
Rays with 14 hits against a good Mariners team. Will we get 14 hits in our 3 game series against the Mariners?
Woo, Bryce Miller, Logan Gilbert