From Jeff Jones:
Yankees general manager and senior vice president Brian Cashman addressed a wide range of topics on the field at Busch Stadium on Friday evening before the club’s opener against the Cardinals. With every answer came a circling back to some of the same themes. No, the Yankees have not been having recent success. Yes, they do believe the roster has improved since the Trade Deadline and will yet display that improvement. No, there are no easy answers to the team’s recurring problems.
“We just need to win,” Cashman said when asked what the team needs to do to start winning. “The obvious answer to that question, to state the obvious, is we’ve got to win tonight’s game and keep it simple, one game at a time, but then string together win after win.”
Step one, check. The rest is to be determined.
The Yankees grinded out a 4-3 win over the Cardinals in the opener of a three-game set, powered by a two-run Jazz Chisholm Jr. home run and 5 1/3 strong innings from Luis Gil in his third start of the season.
How the fuck is THAT their headline for this game?
I don’t even know who Jeff Jones is. He’s not a regular Yankee game recapper. Weird.
In any event, on the one hand, that game was everything that’s awful about this team, the inability to hit with RISP, the iffy relief pitching, but on the other hand, the game was about the team’s strengths. Luis Gil pitched well, and likely COULD have gotten through six innings (it wasn’t like he left the game with the bases loaded and no outs. It was one out and a runner on second). And Weaver and Bednar proved that they’re two guys that you can very much rely on.
This trade deadline, the Yankees picked up three relievers. Two of them they paid very little for. One of them they paid a lot for. The guy they paid a lot for has been a dominant closer for them, the guys they paid very little for have been iffy at best (Doval) and so bad that they’re not even thinking of him as a piece of this year’s team (Bird). I’ve been saying all along that I won’t judge Bird until Blake has had a Spring Training to work with him, as Bird is controlled for the next THREE seasons, so if Blake can fix him (and Bird has such good stuff, it seems like it is a strong possibility that he COULD be fixed), then that’s great. Doval is the weird one. San Fran fans didn’t trust him in the 9th, and that’s why I figured he’d be good here in the 7th, and he’s been OKAY, but he’s also flashed some truly bizarre performances where he looks scared shitless out there, despite being in, like, his sixth year in the big leagues (and being a former All-Star closer). Just a weird, weird guy.
If Aaron Judge is not ready to play the field yet, he should probably get a day. I’ll admit that they probably shouldn’t play Giancarlo Stanton in this outfield. There were three balls hit last night with an expected batting average of over 90%. There were four balls hit with an expected batting average of 80% or higher.
Tops was the Jazz no-doubt-about it home run.
Second was a Pages single.
Third was the Pozo line drive that Bellinger caught to win the game.
Fourth was the Saggese line drive that Caballero caught in right field that Stanton would have had NO chance at catching.
So, yeah, I’m okay with Stanton not playing the field this series. But if Judge can’t play the field, either, give Judge a day today and let Stanton DH.
The featured image is Bellinger’s game-winning catch. His second amazing game-ending catch this season. Maybe they should just re-sign this guy instead of giving Kyle Tucker $500 million. 8 years/$200 million seems reasonable for everyone involved, no? Lower AAV but more years (Belli is probably looking for, and could get, $30 million a year right now, but no one’s giving him 8 years/$240 million, I don’t think).
I expect Fried to come out with a blistering fastball tonight.
Oh fuck, it’s Fried time again already?
Once you’ve read that reaction to Fried pitching, and also assertion that it would be a good thing if Judge sat today, you know all you need to know about what this team has come to.