September 7, 2024

183 thoughts on “Yankees (58-39) @ Orioles (57-38) Sunday, July 14, 2024, 11:35 AM EDT”

  1. Rice hitting 087 this last week with a 185 OBP and 11 Ks so Boone moves him back to the leadoff spot. While that’s dumb what’s worse is the suspicion that he’s on a truncated Kevin Maas career path.

  5. Time to release Carlos. The offense is fine. It’s a low offense era because of all the lame-ass strikeouts. But no excuse for the awfulness of Carlos

  8. Rodon went two whole innings not sucking before walking the 9 hitter after having him 0-2 and then giving up another of his many home runs. Rodon can’t finish anybody.

  9. It’s comforting to know that in 2026 we’ll still have Rodon, Stanton and DJ but don’t despair about 2027, Rodon will be here thru 2028. As long as Hal’s paying Hixie maybe Cash can bring him back.

  11. Don’t think you go into the PA thinking about a bunt. But he was so fooled on the first pitch that getting the runner over is fine. Except that Carlos is pitching and would automatically give the Orioles two for every one the Yankees score.

  13. Wow I never would have guessed that Carlos would respond to that bunt by hucking five straight balls out of the zone. He has the mental toughness of a bowl of Jello

    1. I like that Nelson has lots of thoughts on pitch selection and location since he must have thrown 95% sliders in his career

  22. That was the best Tommy has looked that I’ve seen him so far. Apart from that incredibly foolish pitch to Santander. He was getting swings and misses. His fastball seemed a little better than it has been. So of course when he got Santander to two strikes…

    1. Hyde wants to use everyone. But def agree that Perez has looked better than anyone he’s going to bring in.

  34. Why is this total POS 174/482 last 28 days, 125/285!! Last 7 days before today batting 4th?? WTF is Boone thinking (Boone thinking is an oxymoron).
    Why isn’t Wells 250/921 last 28 batting cleanup. As a matter of fact when Stanton’s back Trents should play over him.

  40. The bunt was stupid in front of Volpe, Trent, Waldo and Rice. That was bad luck but Wells is the third best hitter on the team and probably outside of the big 2 the only Yankee who doesn’t suck.

  43. RAB to former boy genius Cashman .224/.264/.353 in close to 300 PA since May 1st, doesn’t run anything out. Stop doing other teams a favor by taking on their problems (Verdugo, Donaldson, etc.).

    1. I hate how they’re using Verdugo, but I think the trade made perfect sense, as a fill-in until The Martian was ready. The Martian just got a fluke injury. Shit happens.

    2. Yeah, the Verdugo trade was fine, it just really sucks that Dominguez injured himself again.

    3. Unless Vertigo was as bad as he’s become, which I didn’t expect, Martian would still be in Scranton.

  47. RAB on phenom: Volpe’s approach these days is “throw the bat at the ball and hope the BABIP gods smile down on me.” I’d rather have last year’s version. Homers > singles

    At least last year he was a power threat. Young players never seem to develop here

    3. It’s especially frustrating because Volpe does have a good eye. So he SHOULD at least be taking walks, but his current put everything in play approach is killing off one of his more consistently demonstrated skills.

  49. Man, if Blake has always developed COUSINS?! They should give the guy a Nobel Prize.

    Now they can cut Caleb Ferguson when they make a trade for a reliever.

    Magic can be sent down when Effross is ready.

    1. But if he can’t stop the Yankee hitters from sucking what does it matter? If Rodon and Stroman suck and Nestor is erratic what does it matter.

  51. Verdugo’s OPS is 75 points lower than his career. Gleyber is having the worst year of his life. DJ is awful. Volpe has regressed. Do Boone and Rowson not deserve some share of the blame?

    1. Don’t even let him back in the dugout, just pile his shit out on the street.

    2. If the bases weren’t loaded for no f*ing reason, those guys wouldn’t even have batted.

    3. Put another way, which is more likely: those screw-ups by Volpe and Verdugo, or Holmes screwing up the 9th? Not really a contest, in my view.

  94. I mean, what the chances are that both Volpe and Verdugo screw up like that I can’t imagine, but you could just NOT load the F**ing bases to start things off

    2. Don’t know but of the 40 or so games I’ve watched I’m pretty sure I’ve seen all of them.

    1. It was basically hit just behind where Verdugo was standing. He fucking fell down.

  102. It took not one but THREE YANKEES Holmes, Volpe and Verdugo to turn a great win in to one of the worst losses of the season.

    Holmes now tied for most blown saves. But he’s the closer.

  103. In all seriousness, two inexplicably terrible defensive plays is a bit easier for me to forget about than had Holmes, like, just gotten crushed.

    This was basically the 2021 blown game heading into the All Star break where the Astros scored, like, 9 in the ninth to walk the Yankees off.

  104. Wow! Just turned in, so for the first time in years I turned on the Yankees post game broadcast, and they are killing Volpe and Verdugo. So, everyone knows but CashBoone. I said a month ago I was fed up with Volpe, hes an arrogant young man, and they should ship his a$$ to AAA tonight.

  105. What’s making Holmes’ blown saves stand out so much more is that the Yankees have been getting EXCELLENT production out of the OTHER dudes in the back of the bullpen, so it’s extra painful when they do their job, only to see Holmes then suck at his job.

    You’re telling me you wouldn’t feel more confident with Tonkin or Cousins closing right now instead of Holmes? Of course you would, and Holmes isn’t even BAD, per se, he just isn’t reliable.

    1. Pull him [Holmes] from the closer role, he’s nothing special right now. Your closer can’t be walking people.

    2. And the key thing is that it wasn’t like Holmes was some hot shit guy before he became the closer, he was basically the Tonkin or Cousins of 2021, ya know?

    3. If anything, the Yankees are stubborn as heck, to the detriment of the team. How many games with lousy hitting has Volpe cost the Yankees since last season? And two weeks ago, when asked about his approach at the plate, he says he’ll wait until the season is over to look into his approach. Send his a$$ to AAA.

    4. Yeah, the stubborness of keeping Verdugo in the top of the order is definitely maddening. As if he is this ten-time All-Star that you just have to wait for him to turn things around, and not a dude who ROUTINELY disappears for months on end in his career. He was a fine guy to have for the #7/8 spot in the lineup, and a hot start made them convince themselves he is something better than that.

  106. Poor Ben Rice. That was such a great moment – until it turned into something hideous.

    But I don’t know, the one Holmes gave up in Boston… I think there have been about 5 losses this year so ridiculous we had no doubt the were Worst Loss of the Year.
    And yet here we are.

    2. Worst loss because they won the first two, had the Rice HR to take the lead, and Holmes walks a couple, and the phenom and Verdugo crush the soul with bad plays. Awful, gut-wrenching loss.

  107. I really dislike the pointless campaign to label a guy arrogant who seems remarkably humble, a good teammate, with a good attitude, and based on one annoying thing he said in one interview, but you can’t play him forever if I doesn’t hit.

    1. Yeah, that was clearly a bad injury for a guy like him. Thank goodness Boone didn’t pinch run for him there.

      Seriously, though, we wanted Wells to play more, and now he will. Narvaez is apparently a good defensive catcher, also, so that’s good.

  111. Kischner: Aaron Boone: “The reality is we’re starting to turn a corner here and compete in a really good way. We just weren’t able to finish one off today.”

    1. Seriously, though, that SHOULD be the takeaway here. They’re a game out of first place. That’s not a bad place right now. Rodon is still a moron, but at least he knows enough to not start off every game trying to establish his fastball, which should help with his results going forward.

      What can you do with Verdugo just making a horrendously unlikely fuckup?

    2. I don’t think winning one series is turning the corner. The rotation is shaky. Infield offense is weak. Holmes is a mess. We’ve been terrible the last ~25/30 games.

    3. Whether it actually IS a turnaround or not, if you’re Boone, that certainly has to be your takeaway. Gil rebounding is the best news they’ve had lately. Wells has been hitting. Rice’s big home run. Stanton will be back in a couple of weeks (to struggle while getting healthy for the next month, but still), and they’ll be adding guys via trades.

      There is reason for optimism with these guys.

    4. And even Holmes is less of a problem when the other back of the bullpen guys have been all pitching really, really well, so if you need to make a move, it isn’t like when Chapman struggled and there was no real alternative to him in 2020.

  112. How much of Volpe’s hitting struggles are mental and will this game affect him going forward. He seems like a sensitive kid. Jeter would feel terrible but get over it. I don’t think this will affect Verdugo going forward. But Volpe?

  114. Katie Sharp
    Clay Holmes last 10 appearances:
    9.2 IP
    12 runs
    3 blown saves
    Yankees 3-7 in the 10 games

    Yankees now have 4 losses when leading by multiple runs in the 9th inning or later.
    That’s the most in MLB

    3. Maybe he “should have had the save,” *IF* he didn’t put the team in a position where nobody else could do anything wrong.
      But you’re not going to say that’s the same as pitching well, are you?
      He most certainly didn’t.

    4. Holmes is not a BAD pitcher, but they should just do a committee approach to the closer position.

      If Weaver is doing well, just let him close it out. They trusted Cousins with a runner on third and one out, but not to let him finish it? Why?

  115. Really, Holmes has something of a rep as a real closer, I’m sure, by this point. All-Star! Seriously, they should trade him. Got to be a reasonable haul if they do. Do it now, I say.

  116. MLB draft upcoming. And who thought it is a good idea to give a bonus pick to the teams that had a Rookie of the Year? Talk about stretching things. Naturally, the O’s are benefitting and get pick #32 in addition to having pick #22.

    1. It was meant to incentivize teams calling up their elite prospects instead of trying to manipulate service time. Too early to know yet if it’s going to be effective.

  117. Following today’s game, the Yankees returned RHP Scott Effross from his rehab assignment, reinstated him from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

    Additionally, the Yankees designated RHP Cody Morris for assignment.

  120. They can’t win anything with Rodon in the rotation so that’s really got to be the order of trade deadline business. Maybe we’ll get lucky and get an ace like Frankie Montas

    1. I think Rodon could be serviceable as a fifth starter, but yes, they should be looking to add a real #3 playoff starter, because it sure ain’t Nestor, Rodon, or Stroman (Cash was right back in 2019 when he said that Stroman wouldn’t even be a playoff starter for the Yankees).

  122. With the 26th pick in the 2024 Draft, the @Yankees select @AlabamaBSB right-handed pitcher Ben Hess, No. 44 on the Top 250 Draft Prospects list.

    First time the Yankees have taken a pitcher in the first round since Clarke Schmidt in 2017. MLB Pipeline says he “has the upside of a No. 2 starter but will need to throw more strikes to reach it.”

  123. Illinois’ top high school prospect in 2021, Hess turned down overtures from pro teams in order to attend Alabama. The Crimson Tide produced just two first-round picks (Joe Vitiello, Taylor Tankersley) in the first 59 Drafts, but Hess has the stuff to become the third. He has stayed healthy this spring after missing time in each of his first two college seasons, though his control has regressed and probably will knock him out of the top 30 picks.

    Hess’ best offering is a four-seam fastball that sits at 92-96 mph and reaches 99 with run and carry up in the strike zone. His mid-80s slider with two-plane depth gives him a second plus offering and he can turn it into a shorter, harder cutter. He also can employ an average mid-70s curveball to give batters a different look but has lost faith in a fading mid-80s changeup that showed flashes of becoming a solid offering in the past.

    Built along the lines of Lance Lynn at 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, Hess posted a 49/8 K/BB ratio in 36 1/3 innings as a sophomore before his walk rate nearly tripled this year. His strong frame and clean delivery should lend themselves to durability, but he repeatedly has had health issues that included a stress fracture in his back in high school and a flexor strain in 2023. He has the upside of a No. 2 starter but will need to throw more strikes to reach it.

    https://www.mlb.com/prospects/draft/ben-hess-696292

  124. #2 Bryce Cunningham Vandy sits in a somewhat low velocity band as a right hander, but he’s able to reach back for as much as 97 mph on occasion. His squarely built 6’5” frame gives evaluators hope that he can bump his sitting velocity up a few notches, which would make it a significantly better weapon in on hitters’ hands. #63 on top 250 list.

  125. Cunningham had sporadic success in his first two years at Vanderbilt, recording a 6.33 ERA as a swingman. He was much more effective as a starter in the Cape Cod League, making two all-star game appearances and winning a pair of championships with Bourne. The summer version of Cunningham has shown up more often this spring as he has taken a step forward with his stuff and command, secured a rotation spot and worked his way into the top two rounds.

    While Cunningham’s mid-90s fastball velocity with a peak of 97 mph is nothing new, he’s doing a better job of locating his heater and keeping it off barrels with carry up in the zone. It plays extremely well with one of the best swing-and-miss changeups in college baseball, a hard upper-80s cambio that plummets at the plate. His sweeping mid-80s slider is an effective third offering.

    Improving his strength and athleticism has helped Cunningham do a better job of repeating his clean delivery. He’s throwing more strikes and maintaining his stuff deeper into games. He exhibits the upside of a No. 2 or 3 starter and unlocking a better slider could help him get there.

    https://www.mlb.com/prospects/draft/bryce-cunningham-701480

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