From David Adler:
In a showdown between the two leaders of the American League MVP race, it was Austin Wells — not Aaron Judge or Bobby Witt Jr. — who delivered the biggest swing of the game Monday night.
Wells’ tiebreaking three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted the Yankees to a comeback 10-4 win over the Royals in the series opener at Yankee Stadium. As he watched the ball sail deep into the bleachers in right field, Wells flipped his bat toward the Yankees’ dugout. He was pumped up as he rounded the bases — and so was the entire Yankees team.
“I was jacked. I blacked out,” Wells said — using the same turn of phrase as teammate Luke Weaver when he recorded his first career save a few days ago. “I was pissed off about how the prior at-bats in the game had gone. And so it was just kind of a big release of emotion.”
The win helped the Yankees build their lead atop the American League East. They improved to 83-61, 1 1/2 games up on Baltimore with 18 games to play in the regular season.
Wow, what a win!
After a SLOPPY defensive start that screwed Carlos Rodon out of two runs, the Yankees came back to win the game going away, with Wells’ three-run shot the big difference in the game. The featured image is Wells celebrating with Judge.
Rodon didn’t pitch POORLY, but he remains FAR too home run heavy, giving up two homers tonight. That’s why I’m both A. okay with him starting in the playoff rotation, but B. He shouldn’t be starting earlier than Game 4.
The Orioles got their ass kicked by the Red Sox, so the Yankees are now 1.5 games ahead of the Orioles, which is very surprising, to say the least.
Great to see the Martian debut, but Verdugo hit a home run, so who the heck knows what will happen there. Ian Hamilton also returned tonight, and he looked GREAT. Good enough that I’d be fine with him being the closer soon enough (Jake Cousins could also be the closer).
first
Place
hooray
If the yanks play 500 the rest of the way they’ll finish 92-70.
The need to finish first so they get a bye and avoid Houston until the ALCS where they can lose to them again.
Love Austin Wells. He’s by far the best defensive rookie per FanGraphs and his fWAR is slightly better than Cowser. He just lags a bit in the counting stats, but his exceptional defense at a difficult position might push him over the top. It’s not 1:1, but Adley Rustchman’s defense in his rookie year grades out only slightly better than Wells.
Also, since the first week or so of June when Wells’s bat came around, he’s hitting an approx. 900 OPS at a 30 HR/120 RBI full season pace.
It really looks like he turned himself from an OKish prospect to a potential elite MLB player, pretty much entirely by improving his defense from iffy to very good.
Anti Yankees sentiment is involved, though. If Wells wins ROY, the Yankees get a bonus pick at the end of round1 in 2025. So anti Yankees sentiment should never be discounted in a close race.
SB Nation on Judge’s CF Defense. But what to do about it? Turn Stanton into a strictly platoon DH? Move Judge to left, or Soto to left and Judge to right and sit Verdugo? Or just live with it when Stanton DHs?
https://www.pinstripealley.com/2024/9/10/24240436/yankees-center-field-aaron-judge-defense-statcast-fangraphs-september-grind
This is why there was no lane for Jason
The big problem for them is that left field in Yankee Stadium is basically like a second center field.
So you have Judge being tired out in center, but you also have Soto having, like, zero range in right field. So you can only hide one in right. Judge in left might be even worse, since he doesn’t know the position, so sadly, keeping him in center is probably the most logical alignment.
If Soto resigns, then they probably should get him to move to first base long term, especially with Jones able to play center in the future.
That’s only a problem in home games.
Well, and in a few other significantly asymmetrical parks.
So for about, I imagine, 40%+ of games during the season you have more room for maneuvers.
Yeah, Judge is a RFer. I didn’t think about Soto at 1B but that could be an answer IF they re-sign him. There might not be a lane for Soto at 13/$520. It’ll be a cheaper team with Jasson/Grisham/Judge in the OF and maybe Pete Alonso at 1B (high priced option) or Josh Bell (lower price)
Judge is a great RF.
Judge is a great RF. Yogi played LF.
Stanton played left. You CAN do it, but you probably shouldn’t.
Is Soto bad laterally or just going back?
I think he has problems with all of his range. He’s simply not very fluid period. I was hoping he could play some left field this season, but watching him out there, that’s not really possible at all. He’d be terrible. But fuck, with his talent at the plate, he can MORE than hit his weight at first base, ya know? So if he signs here long term, I think they should pull a Harper with him.
He holds all the cards.
Oh, of course, don’t push it on him NOW, just wait until he re-signs, and THEN tell him, “Oh, by the way, we need you to play first base.”
Judge is hurt
That would account for August 25 being the last time he hit a HR.
In the Village, the quiet Village, Vertigo sits tonight
Gary Phillips Aaron Boone said Aaron Judge will be in CF when he’s in the OF. Jasson Domínguez will man LF when Judge is out there.
Boone also said he talked to Alex Verdugo about having a “fluid” role moving forward, but the manager didn’t want to share more about that convo. #Yankees
If course vertugo isn’t playing. He hit a HR last night. That’s been the rule under Boone for quite some time. Maybe that’s why judge stopped hitting HRs. His next one puts him on the bench!
This may be the best lineup they’ve had all year.
Now watch them get shut out.