From Bryan Hoch:
Austin Wells said he never thought of himself as a leadoff hitter; the heart of the lineup had always felt like more of a natural fit, going back to his days in Little League. In fact, when the Yankees’ catcher was approached about the assignment this spring, he’d initially thought it was a joke.
It was only after a few beats that Wells realized manager Aaron Boone wasn’t kidding, citing Wells’ ability to get on base against right-handed pitching. Wells agreed to give it a try, and a few short weeks later, the Yankees may have found an unlikely fit at the top of the lineup.
“I didn’t really take it seriously,” said Wells, whose leadoff homer sparked the Yankees to a 4-2 Opening Day victory over the Brewers on Thursday at Yankee Stadium. “I thought maybe he was just messing with me, but then it just continued to happen and I’ve had success, so here we are.”
Sorry, Wellsy, but my rule for featured images is if the Yankee starter pitches well, and they win, then the Yankee pitcher gets the featured image, and Carlos Rodon did just well enough to get the nod. Today seems like a blueprint for the Yankee season overall. Great starting pitching, strong relief pitching, a couple of home runs, and then lots of futility against lefthanded pitching.
Luckily, few other teams have as many lefties in the bullpen as the Brewers do.
Devin Williams looked very nervous, loading the bases with no outs in the ninth, but then he buckled down, and got the save. I’m not too worried, as he was playing against his old team, and nerves seemed to be an issue, and STILL he got the big outs in the end, so I think he’ll be fine. I’ve long noted that the real great ones are the guys you trust even with the bases loaded and no outs, and WIlliams didn’t show today that he wasn’t someone you could trust in that spot. Now, if he keeps loading the bases, then that’s another thing. One good thing about him being on a one year deal is that we don’t have to even get attached to the guy, ya know? One of Williams or Weaver is probably gone after this season, and I could just as easily root for Weaver to be the guy who stays.
This team sure could use another actually good righthanded hitter.
New Prediction: Yankees go 162-0. Wells ends year with 112 HR.
I wanted to say 150 homers, but I wanted to keep it realistic.
368 plus a rounding error sounded so much nicer!
If only Wells could play every day. He’s going to lose, like, 40 home runs just from days where he sits!
132 homers, sometimes he’ll DH.
Third season in AA for Spencer.
https://x.com/chriskirschner/status/1905655568825553312?s=61&t=fhOaqwtc8q2TMSXUDRjPeg
Washed
Folded
I think he still has this year to redeem himself, but yes, if he’s not performing well in AAA by the end of this season, he’s a total dud.
There’s so much I hate about this lineup:
1B P. Goldschmidt R
LF C. Bellinger L
RF Aaron Judge R
2B J. Chisholm L
SS A. Volpe R
C Austin Wells L
3B Pablo Reyes R
DH J. Dominguez S
CF T. Grisham L
Reyes starting suggests that DJ actually WILL get the job when he returns, as it seems like they’re not even interested in TRYING to see if Waldo can improve against lefties. Goldy leading off is weird, and DHing Dominguez is such a weird approach to a young player.
And Wells hits a home run, so you dump him to SIXTH?!
Reyes career 284/333/442 775 against LHPs. He’s only 31.
Nestor lineup All That Meat And No Rice
P Goldschmidt (R) 1B
C Bellinger (L) LF
A Judge (R) RF
J Chisholm Jr. (L) 2B
A Volpe (R) SS
A Wells (L) C
P Reyes (R) 3B
J Domínguez (S) DH
T Grisham (L) CF