Yankee Struggles (putting it mildly)

 The only reason the Yankees didn’t bury themselves, this past week by going 2-5 against the Rays and Red Sox is the AL East teams (Blue Jays, Rays, Red Sox and Yankees) are going to beat up on eachother.  This Yankee team really hasn't hit all season, they have good starting pitching (not the real problem as of now) and that was able to mask their offensive struggles for a while.  This team is last in stolen bases with 12 I believe and I have not seen the hit and run utilized much, but maybe that’s a good thing with their struggles on the base paths, they have close to 30 outs on the bases when the league average is 15.  They have a great propensity to hit into the double play, a rally killer.  They can’t even get a sac fly to get the run in from 3rd, hitting with runners in scoring position.  Situational hitting is not in their DNA, strikeouts and home runs are.  Usually you build your team around it’s home ballpark, well this line up as presently constructed has very few lefties in it, to take aim at that short porch in right.  By not having lefty swingers in your line up, you create lanes where the opposing manager can bring in a right hander for all the righties and he’ll never have to face a left handed batter.  If they had more lefties than just Odor, and Gardner they might be able to take advantage of the new rule where a reliever has to face three batters.  Yes the Injury bug has bitten this team with Stanton (automatic out) not being himself, Voit being out and losing Hicks for the year, but they’re professionals you can’t use that as an excuse.  I don’t like how this team is put together as they’ve stayed with the same core for too long and just tinkered with some pieces in the offseason.  Aaron Boone won’t have been my choice to manage this team, he’s too even keeled and not fiery but this team was put together by Brian Cashman.  Maybe analytics plays into this a bit as well, You can’t script the whole Game from the line up to what bullpen pitchers are going to be used you have to manage in the moment.  I don’t want to rip this team, I love baseball and grew up watching  the Yankees, but this is boring baseball.  This team doesn't win when it doesn't hit homers, and they better start hitting homers soon or the playoffs will be a question mark.  These are adult athletes that are paid to play a kids game, put it together.  I’ll stick with them through thick and thin but I’d like to be watching a winner.                            

MLB preview... Yankee outlook

The Boys of summer are back and this time for a full 162 game season after an illegitimate (for the game of baseball) 60 game sprint last season.  MLB proposed starting a month later and playing 154 games with expanded playoffs like last season, but of course the union balked.  One thing the league and union did agree on is that we would have 7 inning doubleheaders again, (not a fan of, seems like your doing things halfway) they’re keeping the runner on second to start extra innings, (again not a fan but start in the twelfth and I can live with it) also the universal DH is gone. (back to how it used to be for now).  We know that the union and the league have an already frosty relationship and since they don’t want to upset the apple card for the CBA which expires after the season, this season will be played on egg shells with neither side wanting to do anything to upset the other.  Whatever bad blood negotiations are going to go on between these two parties, should be kept behind closed doors.  Know one wants to hear about money struggles in the midst of a pandemic when Fernando Tatis Jr. is singing $340 million extensions with San Diego yet 40+ minor league teams are being cut.

Let’s talk baseball.  The grind of a 162 game season is back, with Covid protocols of course.  Fans are back in a limited capacity this season, games at Yankee stadium will have capacity capped at 25% and I believe most spring training sites will be similar.  Having fans in any capacity is important because players feed off of the fans energy and without the crowd you have to make your own energy, which can be hard.  Crowds just look better too, even on T.V it feels like a real sporting event.          

The Yankees did not make a ton of moves but they did make some. Probably the biggest move of the off season was bringing D.J LeMahieu back.  Other than the pitching staff, this team is going to go to bat with what they had last year.  Behind the plate Gary Sanchez is being given another shot, with the team and it’s fans hoping his struggles are behind him.  Voit/Ford will be back at first, LeMahieu is your second baseman, at short Geyber Torres will be back and hopefully he can return to form after coming into the July summer camp, a little out of shape and at third Gio Urshela has kind of taken the bull by the horns and turned andujar into a utility player.  In the outfield with Stanton playing a lot of DH, you're hoping Judge can stay healthy then you probably have Hicks in center and Clint Frazier in left.  Outfield depth will be a concern but you can choose from Gardner, Jay Bruce, Greg Alen and Tauchman.  As far as the pitching staff goes it’s a crap shoot behind Gerrit Cole.  The back end of this rotation will consist of guys coming off injuries and haven’t pitched much of late such as Jameson Tailon, Corey Kluber, Luis Severino, (middle of the season) Clark Schmidt and Devi Garcia.  Cole and whoever else is on your pitching staff will be tested coming off the 60 game season, not a lot of innings have been thrown and depth will be tested.  I like this team; they just have to stay healthy and rely on their depth.  The Yankees have to be the favorites in the American League, I am not buying Houston, I don’t think the White Sox are there yet, Toronto has made some moves with the signing of George Springer but they don’t have much on the pitching front and the Red Sox are still in shambles.  Over in the National League the favorites probably reside in California, with the Dodgers and Padres.  I am looking forward to the grind of 162 games in 2021, lets get excited for real baseball.                      

 

Super bowl LV

After a strange NFL season which brought us mostly empty stadiums, game postponements and many covid tests we have reached Super Bowl LV.  As strange as this season was, as it was played through a pandemic it is remarkable that we have gotten to the end of the season on time with just a few hiccups and postponements along the way.  A somewhat bigger crowd will be on hand for the big game, I don’t know if that will make a difference either way.  For some teams the offseason has already begun with Matthew Stafford and Jarett Goff switching teams, for the start of a busy offseason where we could see major quarterback movement. 

Super Bowl LV    

On Sunday the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will become the first team ever to host a Super Bowl, as they meet the Kansas City Chiefs.  This is a neutral site game, with limited fans.  Tampa beat a Packer team which had their opportunities but failed to get it done.  Kansas City beat a young Bills team which had their moments this season but got out matched in the Championship Game.  We now have “The Goat” vs “The Kid”, Tom Brady was drafted the year Patrick Mahomes was born.  The Chiefs have a lot of weapons with Mahomes, Kelcie and Hill among others.  The key to this game will be can the Bucs get enough pressure with their front four and be able to drop enough guys into coverage.  Tom Brady has brought magic in the past and if the Bucs can keep it close maybe he can do it again.  Brady is aging and his magic has to come to an end at some point, right. The Chefs are just to good and will go and will go back to back.  I’ll take the Chiefs (-3) to win SBLV, 31-24    

MLB Hall of Fame

 The hall of fame voting came out this week and the results turned up empty.  In July's hall of fame ceremony (covid pending) no living person will get inducted.  The only players inducted from the regular ballot will be Larry Walker and Derek Jeter, who didn't get a ceremony last year due to covid.  You need 75% of the vote to be enshrined in Cooperstown and the only player to come close was Curt Schilling, who got about 71%.  Curt Schilling who is not a slam dunk hall of famer should be in.  There is this "character clause" which has not helped Curt.  Curt who has publicly supported Donald Trump and the Capitol Riots as well as making other political and homophobic statements, has this clause to blame.  The "Character Clause" might go back as far as the segregationists, and it didn't help in keeping guy's like Ty Cobb who was a miserable human being out of the hall.  Hall of fame enshrinement is not based on how you live your post baseball life, it's your baseball career that puts you in, Curt who went to six all-star games and I believe is in the top 50 on the all time strikeout list would be in if it wasn't for this.  Curt (bloody sock) and some of the others (Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire) have artifacts in the building but are not in the hall of plaques.  The Baseball Hall of Fame should be for those who helped make the game great, not based life afterwards.         

Conference Championship Games

 Can you believe we're here, playing the conference championship games on time.  After everyone involved helped us get to this point, we have to crown some conference champions on Sunday.    In the first game of the day the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will travel to lambeau field to play the Green Bay Packers. (-3.5)  Aaron Rodgers and the Packers finally have one of these games at home at a potentially cold and snowy lambeau.  As much as Tom Brady might be on a mission to show the world that he can win without Belichick I believe Rodgers is on a mission to win again in Green Bay before he closes out his Packer career.  The fact that this game is in Green Bay helps, I'll go with the Packers -3.5, 30-21   In the late game the Buffalo Bills will travel to Kansas City to play the Chiefs. (-3)  I'm really looking forward to this one as the Bills and Josh allen go into arrowhead with some potential weather on the way, to play Patrick Mahomes who just cleared concussion protocol but is dealing with a toe injury and andy reid and company.  The Bills are somewhat of an upstart team who may have been aided by the sparse crowd in upstate NY, in beating the Ravens last week.  When Mahomes went out for the Chiefs, Chad Henne came in to almost blow the game and then when the game on a gutsy fourth down call.  I'm falling for the Bills and their Bills Mafia fan base and I'll lean that way as good as Mahomes is and I like Andy Reid, I'm taking the Bills +3 in this one, 34-31     

Picks: Packers, Bills

      

Rip... baseball hall of famers

 In just the last couple of months we have lost a historic number of baseball hall of famers.  We have lost Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Whitey Ford, Al Kaline, Joe morgan, Tom Seaver and Hank Aaron as well as manager Tommy Lasorda.  The baseball hall of fame now has added to their all-star team in heaven.  All of these guys have an argument for being on the mount rushmore of baseball greats.  

Tom Seaver was a member of the 1969 Miracle Mets.  Whitey Ford "the Chairman of the Board" spent his entire career with the Yankees and won 6 World Series titles along the way.  He was the last of the old guard, in terms of the pre 1970 great Yankees.  Hank Aaron had the home run record and in my peoples eyes still does, it took a Barry Bonds on performance enhancing drugs to take down his 755.  Hank was a consistent player, making the all-star team in all but two years of his career and never hitting more than 50 homers in a season.  He was also faced with racism, as a black man who played for the Braves in Atlanta and he took down the record owned by a white man.  Tommy Lasorda didn't amount to much as a player but was one of the greatest and fun loving managers of all time.

MLB free agency

 After an different season, it's been a slow offseason.  With every team having lost money last season and the Yankees reporting major losses.  With teams not knowing how much money they have or will make.  Yesterday the market finally started to heat up, with the Yankees finally singing D.J Lamieu and later in the Day going out and getting a Corey Kluber.  These were very team friendly contracts with D.J getting 6 years and 90 million, an average annual value of 15 million and Kluber is one a 1 year, 11 million dollar deal.  D.J is as close as you get to a five tool player in this day and age when most guys are striking out or swinging for the fences.  Now the Yankees can move ahead with building their team and their pitching staff behind Garrett Cole and now Corey Kluber.  Will Tanaka come back to the bronx now.  Will these signings open up the free agent market enabling guys like George Springer, Didi Gregorius and  JT Realmuto amongst other free agents to sign, the market has been slow to develop for everyone.  These are moves that had to be made by the Yankees after you let, the crosstown Mets steal the front page with the trade for francisco Lindor and carlos carrasco.  

It has been reported that the MLB season will start on time, which is a somewhat interesting turn of events but I guess you don't want to piss your players off with the CBA coming to an end.  I also saw that the MLB wants to keep the 7 inning double headers from last season, this kind of changes strategy and reminds you of high school and college baseball.  They also want to keep the extra inning rule of starting the inning with a runner on second, this did not have the impact I thought it would with the game all of a sudden ending.  If you were going to keep this rule, I would have moved it back to something like the twelfth inning.