N.Y. Yankees: Evil Empire Once Again Undone By Rebel Forces

From the desk of: THE SULTANS OF SO WHAT

AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES

Rays defeat Yankees; 3-2

I - NYY 9; TBR 3

II - TBR 7; NYY 5

III - TBR 8; NYY 4

IV - NYY 5; TBR 1

V - TBR 2; NYY 1

A.L. East Champion Tampa Bay Rays Eliminate Bronx Bummers

The Yankees lineup features a keen balance of young talent and veteran leadership, as well as this season's American League batting champion and home run leader.  Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are healthy and in the line-up together.  Kyle Igashioka is batting over .300 and providing a needed upgrade behind the plate in place of beleaguered catcher Gary Sanchez.  On the mound, New York's $300 million dollar man is on the mound while one of baseball's more formidable closers stands at the ready.

Entering Game Five the Yankees have everything perfectly set up.  All is going according to Brian Cashman's plan.

Pitching on only two days rest, Tampa "opener" Tyler Glasnow allows no runs and no hits in 2.1 innings pitched.  In the fourth inning Aaron Judge takes reliever Nick Anderson deep to right for a 1-0 Yankees lead.  Tampa ties the score in the bottom of the fifth when right fielder Austin Meadows connects against Gerrit Cole who is pitching on three days rest.  In the bottom of the sixth Brett Gardner reaches above the left field wall to intercept left fielder Randy Arozarena's potential home run.  Aaron Boone immediately makes a pitching change.  Enter Zach Britton who holds Tampa scoreless for 1.1 innings.  After which Aroldis Chapman is brought into the game with two outs in the seventh.  Rays reliever Peter Fairbanks contributes two scoreless innings and Diego Castillo holds the Yankees scoreless in the top of the eighth.  With one out in the bottom of the eighth Michael Brosseau deposits Aroldis Chapman's tenth offering of the at-bat into the left field seats for a 2-1 Rays lead.  Diego Castillo closes out the game with strikeouts of Giancarlo Stanton and Luke Voit and retiring Gio Urshela on a liner to third.  The A.L. East champs win the series three games against two and advance to the ALCS versus the waiting and defending World Series champion Houston Astros.  

#StayAngry

The Yankees fall short of their mission statement, again, forgoing an opportunity to avenge last year's ALCS loss against the Astros.  With no banging garbage cans anywhere to be heard the Yankees have no excuses.  No Luis Severino?  No, sorry, that's hardly a viable reason why the Yankees lost in five to Tampa.

They couldn't prompt the offensive machine at will when faced with superior post-season pitching.  Home run or nothing loses again.  The Yankees do not string together hits.  That's a difficult task with Aaron Judge batting second and Giancarlo Stanton hitting clean-up.  Despite a .316 average in the series, Stanton's six home runs are largely inconsequential.  Aaron Judge goes 4 for 30 (.133) with three home runs, five runs batted in and ten strikeouts.  Together, Stanton and Judge combine to hit .214 (12 for 56) with nine home runs, 18 runs batted in and 20 strikeouts.  The Yankees strikeout eleven times in Game Five and 18 times in Game Two (accounting for 66% of their allotted outs).  Yet, Yankee analytics say strikeouts be damn; it's better than grounding into a double play.  

Therefore ... the Sultans of So What!

Someone tried getting too cute and completely botched Game Two.  Without knowing who is largely responsible, both Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone are equally to blame.  They tried outsmarting the small market Rays and failed.  This is the organization Chaim Bloom left behind in favor of the Boston Red Sox position.  Cashman the general manager needs to reassess himself and this grand master plan of his.  Some on the outside looking in might say Cashman has done everything perfectly.  But the results do not agree.

Game Two essentially becomes a lesson in upper management meddling and analytical oversight.  You can not script games ... at least not like the Rays.  Aaron Boone was clearly left speechless.  But when Jordan Montgomery saved the Yankees from elimination, Game Two became less of an issue.  Now that the Yankees have bowed out of the playoffs Game Two again becomes a most glaring issue.

Brian Cashman has essentially recruited a bland band of narrowly focused stormtroopers.  Armed with analytics the Yankees have become robotic and stationary.  I'm sure everyone knows what bad shots stormtroopers are - these aren't the pitches you're looking for.  The Yankees ability to tap into the force at the flick of a switch is equally suspect.  Analytics may steer teams during the regular season when the law of averages rule the day.  The playoffs, however, require far more humanism in order to deal with the nuance of short series baseball.

Michael Brosseau avenges an Aroldis Chapman fastball aimed right at his head back in September.  

Tampa outclasses the mighty Bronx Bombers.

The Evil Empire is once again outdone by smaller rebel forces.

N.Y. Yankees: Rays Victory Pushes Bombers to Brink

From the desk of: THE SULTANS OF SO WHAT

AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES
Rays lead Yankees; 2-1

I - NYY 9; TBR 3

II - TBR 7; NYY 5

III - TBR 8; NYY 4

How Does Analytics Department Propose The Yankees Get Out Of This Mess?

After Game Two's analytical misfire with Deivi Garcia and J.A. Happ, Boone in order to prevent a two game skid and being faced with elimination in Game Four needed an effective performance from Masahiro Tanaka.

To Boone's continuing dismay, he gets nothing of the kind.  Tanaka continues trending negatively.  After yielding six runs on five hits in four innings against the Indians, Tanaka surrenders five earned runs on eight hits in a second straight four inning playoff appearance.  He surrenders a three run home run by Kevin Kiermairer and a solo shot by Randy Arozarena, and exits on the losing side of a 5-1 game with no outs in the fifth.  

In four starts this season against the Rays, Tanaka has now yielded 12 runs (5.68 ERA) on 20 hits and two walks with 18 strikeouts in 19 innings pitched.  Boone is now forced into handing the ball in Game Four to Jordan Montgomery and a fully exposed bullpen.  Montgomery made ten regular season starts, allowing 25 runs (5.11 ERA) on 48 hits and nine walks (1.30 WHiP) with 47 strikeouts though 44.0 innings pitched.  He has no playoff experience.

Giancarlo Stanton in the eighth inning hits his sixth home run in three games, a two run blast reducing the Yankees deficit to four.  But the Bombers would manage no more.  Rays starter Charlie Morton yields just two runs, one earned, on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts over five innings pitched.  

Both teams have now scored 18 runs apiece through four games.  The Yankees are 27 for 106 (.254) with seven home runs; Tampa is 27 for 105 (.257) with nine home runs.  

The Rays have already committed to bullpening Game Four.  They will open with rookie Ryan Thompson.  However, they still have starters Trevor Richards and Josh Fleming at their disposal as potential long men.

As it stands the Yankees are ever so slightly being out-slugged, out-pitched, out-managed, analytically out-strategized and organizationally outperformed by the Tampa Bay Rays.

N.Y. Yankees: Game Two Loss Features Many Questions and Loads of Strikeouts

From the desk of: BLAME CARLOS MAY

THE PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW

AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES

Yankees and Rays tied; 1-1

I - NYY 9; TBR 3

II - TBR 7; NYY 5

THE CASHMAN REPORT: FRONT OFFICE FOLLY OR FIELD MANAGER F*@K UP

Aaron Boone tries taking a page out of the Rays playbook.  Three times during their regular season meetings Tampa bullpens the game with regular starter Charlie Morton serving as opener and three times Tampa Bay comes away with victories.

With a win in Game One, Aaron Boone withholds Masahiro Tanaka for Game Three, electing instead to start rookie Deivi Garcia in Game Two.  It appears he is tasked with pitching the first inning.  Or was Boone expecting him to go longer?  Garcia faces six batters, surrenders a two out home run and hits a batter.  Boone then hands off to J.A. Happ.  The Rays jump him for four runs on five hits and three walks in 2.2 innings pitched.  At this point Boone is surely expecting a little more length from Happ, who yields home runs to Manuel Margot and Mike Zunino.  Relievers Adam Ottavino and Jonathan Loaisiga each surrender a run as well.  Jonathan Holder and Nick Nelson each throw a scoreless inning.

Tyler Glasnow makes his fourth start this season against the Yankees.  He allows four runs through 5.0 innings on three hits and three walks with ten strikeouts.  All told, he has allowed ten runs (4.71 ERA) on 13 hits and ten walks with 32 strikeouts in 19.1 innings pitched against the Bombers.  

Tampa then puts a precarious three run lead in the hands of their bullpen.  Diego Castillo and Nick Anderson join for three scoreless innings.  

In the ninth inning Tampa's 7-4 lead is placed in the trust of Peter Fairbanks.  After walking the first two batters, Fairbanks fans Clint Frazier for the first out.  Pinch hitting, Gary Sanchez strikes out swinging.  With two outs D.J. LeMahieu singles back through the middle scoring Gio Urshela.  With runners on the corners Aaron Judge grounds out third to first and the Rays win.

The Rays win...! 

Did Aaron Boone blow Game Two or did Brian Cashman's Bureau of Internal Calculations mastermind this?  As previously noted, the Rays implemented this very plan with success.  The Yankees, not so much.  Someone perhaps over thought this?  

But what of the ineffectiveness of Happ, Ottavino and Loaisiga?

Boone who says he can bring back Deivi Garcia on short rest now hands off to Masahiro Tanaka in a pivotal Game Three.  In his only start of the post-season so far, Tanaka was routed by the Indians, allowing six earned runs on five hits and three walks in only four innings pitched.  He made three regular season starts against the Rays, allowing seven runs (4.20 ERA) on twelve hits and just one walk with 14 strikeouts over 15.0 innings.  In ten regular season starts he posted a 3.56 ERA and a 1.17 WHiP over 48 innings pitched.

THE SULTANS OF SO WHAT!!

The Yankees strikeout 18 times and generate just five hits.  Two of those hits were home runs by Giancarlo Stanton.  Through four playoff games Stanton is now 5 for 15 (.333) with eleven runs batted in.  All five of his hits have been home runs.  He easily leads the team in both categories.  Aaron Judge is now 2 for 19 (.105) with three runs batted in.  Like Stanton, his only two hits have gone for home runs.  Stanton and Judge together are 7 for 34 (.205) with seven home runs, 14 runs batted in and 13 strikeouts.

Tampa Bay answers four home runs in Game One by the Yankees with five home runs of their own in Game Two ... which brings us back to Aaron Boone and his loss for words after Tuesday night's game.

N.Y. Yankees: Mother Nature Throws Aaron Boone a Change-Up

From the desk of: BLAME CARLOS MAY

GAME CALLED

AMERICAN LEAGUE 

CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

GAME FOUR

Houston Astros

vs.

New York Yankees

Brian Cashman, Aaron Boone, and Mother Nature walk into a bar ...

Aaron Boone's (potential) plan to bullpen his way through game four knowing Thursday would be a travel day is compromised by Mother Nature.  Wednesday's rain-out means the remainder of the ALCS must be played out on consecutive days.  While Aaron Boone gets to pitch his starters on normal rest, he now must act with far more prudence when giving them the hook.  With only four chances to win three games, the spotlight is fixed on Aaron Boone and how efficiently and effectively he utilizes his bullpen going forward.

After six games the bullpen already has more innings pitched than Yankees starters.  Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, and Luis Severino, have each made two post-season starts.  They've collectively yielded seven runs through 26.1 innings pitched for a 2.41 ERA, but only average 4.1 innings per start.  Even if you take away Paxton's 2.1 inning effort in game two, the Yankees top three still only average five innings at best.  To date, only Masahiro Tanaka has pitched into the sixth.  Meanwhile the bullpen boasts a 2.23 ERA through 28.2 innings pitched.

Adam Ottavino has appeared in all six playoff games; Zack Britton and Tommy Kahnle are next in with five appearances each.  Meanwhile J.A. Happ has been nothing short of a liability.  It's no wonder Aaron Boone has only called his name twice through six games.  Makes me wonder which left-hander Boone will trust more in a big situation: C.C. Sabathia or J.A. Happ.

On a related front, Brian Cashman's failure to land a pitcher at the trade deadline was just about coming to pass when the rains hit early Wednesday afternoon.  Had Wednesday's game been played and the Yankees lost, Cashman would surely have been brought to task.  He escapes that criticism, for now, with help from Mother Nature.

But, boy, she really did stick it to Aaron Boone.

N.Y. Yankees: Champagne Won't Make Pitching Issues Go Away

From the desk of: BLAME CARLOS MAY

NEW YORK YANKEES

Clinch A.L. East Division Title With 100th Victory of the Season;

Second Straight 100 Win Season

• 19th A.L. East Title Since 1969 Division Play *including '94 strike
• Tenth A.L. East Title of New Millennium
• First A.L. East Title Since 2012

CALM BEFORE THE STORM

Congratulations are in order for a tremendous 40-man effort put forth by the New York Yankees.  They not only set a modern record for incurring the most injuries, but persevere through them en route to their second straight 100 win season.  In the latest example, for every game catcher Gary Sanchez misses Austin Romine steps in and rakes.  Miguel Andujar who?  It's been that kind of season.  Lest we forget only now are Giancarlo Stanton and Luis Severino returning after missing virtually the entire season, respectively.

I know Aaron Boone's naysayers have little to say, if anything at all.  This year's regular season performance douses any lingering suspicion or doubt.  He's proven beyond all question the Yankees are being expertly managed.  In fact, the man is a mental savage both in and out of the dugout.  It's in his blood.  Umpires know to beware.

Unlike the Yankees did last year with Boston there was no team this season capable of similarly trolling them in return.  Boston won the division with 108 victories, and of course went on win the World Series, but the second place Yankees applied sufficient pressure with 100 victories of their own.  Having already clinched, the Yankees presently own an eight game lead over Tampa and a 20 game lead over the third place Red Sox.  This year baseball will crown a new champion.

In the meantime the race for league's best record continues.  The Yankees have 102 victories with five game left, while the Houston Astros have 101 victories with seven games left in their season.  Bronx lost three of seven in their regular season series against the Astros.

Aaron's savages are number one in runs scored; Houston is third.  A 32-run difference is noteworthy.  Look no further than the dreaded solo home run.  The Yankees are third in total bases and slugging but first with 294 home runs.  The Astros are third with 271 home runs, but second in total bases and first in slugging.  The Yankees (.833) are also second to Houston (.849) in OPS.

On the mound Houston (3.71) is third in ERA, while the Yankees (4.31) rank sixth.  The Yankees lead the league with fifty saves; Houston's 43 saves rank fourth.  The Astros lead the league in both strikeouts and average against; the Yankees are fourth in strikeouts and fifth in average against.

Of course this makes no mention of the Twins, Indians, Rays, or Athletics ...

We all know you can never have enough pitching ... unless you're Brian Cashman.  For reasons known to him, he makes no transactions by the trade deadline aimed at bolstering the pitching staff.  Fast-forward: with one week left in the regular season the Yankees are suddenly down a starting pitcher.  Therefore a post-season rotation of Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, and J.A. Happ, is all but confirmed.  Tanaka offers the most length, 5.2 innings per start.  Paxton and Happ average 5.1 innings per start.

• On Saturday James Paxton wins his tenth straight decision.  He strikes out seven through six scoreless innings pitched.  After going 0-3 with two no decisions in July, he has since allowed just 15 earned through 60.1 innings for a 2.24 ERA with 69 strikeouts.  More recently he has allowed just one earned run over his last three starts and 24.2 innings pitched.  His 4.72 ERA back on July 26 has since been shaved down to a 3.73 mark.  In fact, he is presently the only pitcher among the Yankees starters with an ERA below four.

Said another way, the Yankees bullpen begins factoring into the game no later than the sixth.  C.C. Sabathia stands a chance of playing a greater role than originally anticipated.  If the Yankees are in need of left-handed relief in the fifth or sixth innings ... who knows.  But we know short series post-season baseball is made for bullpens to either stand or fall.  And therein lies the Yankees strength.

The rest remains to be determined.

N.Y. Yankees: Trade Deadline Silence is Deafening

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

Nothing Ventured; Nothing Gained

I'm sure Brian Cashman spent the weeks, days, hours, and minutes, leading up to Wednesday's MLB trade deadline negotiating very earnestly.  Cashman has been serving in his present capacity a long time and to coin a recent Aaron Boone quip, he's a savage in his general manager's office.  If Cashman feels teams were being unreasonable in negotiations, he's entitled to that opinion.  After all, the Yankees are dealing from a position of strength.  And so in his view preventing the Yankees from getting ripped off is justified.

Unfortunately, reasonable minded thinking makes fans break out in a rash.  They don't wanna hear that crap when the competition is making deals all around them.  Yankee bugs wanted a starting pitcher or two, if not another relief pitcher.  Coming out of this empty handed was completely out of the question, and at one time considered unfathomable.  Bewildered fans will spend the next few nights talking in their sleep asking themselves what in the name of Col. Jacob Ruppert were they thinking.

LUIS SEVERINO IS NOT WALKING THROUGH THAT DOOR

Cashman leaves Aaron Boone to press forward with starters Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, C.C. Sabathia, J.A. Happ, and Domingo German.  The five account for 95 starts over the Yankees 107 games played to date.  Chad Green accounts for another eight other starts.  Not one of them presently sport an ERA below four.  Domingo German is their best at 4.08 through 17 starts and 97 innings pitched.  He also leads the staff with a 1.11 WHiP.  Here is the Yankees problem: Sabathia, Tanaka, Paxton, and Happ, together combine for a 4.88 ERA.  The Yankees offset that with a +119 run differential.  However, in a short playoff series we know the dynamics of baseball play out very differently.

When the Mets acquired Marcus Stroman they somewhat cornered the market on high end movable starters (if you include Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler).  However, the biggest news to impact the Yankees occurs when Houston acquires pitcher Zack Greinke from Arizona.

Brian Cashman is essentially telling Aaron Boone he had better win with what he has.  Thus the manager's toughest assignment lay dead ahead; negotiating his deep and effective bullpen through the next 55 games of the season and getting them to October all in one piece.  In other words prepare for more Sunny Gray days ahead. 

And don't @ Cashman if someone gets injured.  

Call Scranton.

N.Y. Yankees: Bombers at the Gates

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

Just when you thought the coast was clear, 

here come the Red Sox.

New York Yankees: Bombers Season Starts Now

April of last year I was road tripping in Boston the weekend following the Yankees/Red Sox series - the one featuring the rather un-cordial exchange of pleasantries between Alex Cora and third base coach Phil Nevin.  While there I listened to a pair of WEEI-radio guys say among other things that Aaron Boone had no pulse.  Their comment stuck with me all summer, then into Fall.  After what transpired in the post-season I continued pondering this throughout the off-season still not sure of its merits. 

Now when I compare Aaron Boone's demeanor so far this season versus all of last season, I would agree the Bean Town talkies may have been on point.  But only insofar as last season.  One year later Boone seems far more comfortable in his pinstriped skin.  He's blown his top a few times and received some well deserved ejections.  Call it window dressing, but at least it demonstrates a confidence of character.  At the same time it instills either by design or otherwise a sense urgency into a young group.

In any event, Adversity and Defeatism since day one have been sitting in the Yanks dugout spitting out seeds with hardly a glance from the skipper.  As we know this year's 25-man roster has been decimated by injury after ruinous injury.  To borrow a phrase: it was getting late really early in the season.  Or so everyone imagined when the Yankees opened the season minus Didi Gregorius and Aaron Hicks; or after March 31 when both Giancarlo Stanton and Miguel Andujar went down; or after April 3 when Troy Tulowitzki followed suit; or after April 13 when Greg Bird joined them; or after April 20 when even Aaron Judge got overruled; etc., etc. 

Yet, thanks to their baby Bomber reinforcements, the Yanks own a 14-6 (.700) record since Judge went down 20 games ago.  Moreover, with Sunday's victory over the Rays they closed out the week eight games above .500 and are now within one-half game of first place.  So, yeah, Aaron Boone has a pulse.  In fact, he's very much alive and doing quite well - calm, cool, and delightfully less collected than ever.

But for how long?

The baby Bombers are doing things well, like limiting their strikeouts to sixth least in the American League, rating fourth in average, and sixth in OPS.  But what's going to happen when Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge are reunited in the middle of the lineup with Gary Sanchez?  We're speaking of anywhere from 550 to 600 strikeouts a season between the three.  If you do not believe this poses a potential negative affect to the present dynamic, I'll agree to disagree.

On May 12, 2018, the Yankees owned a 27-12 record.  One year later, they enter Monday's action with a 24-16 record.  It's been a remarkable story to date replete with kids, comebacks, and competitiveness.  There's a case to be made this season is now New York's to lose.  That said, Aaron Boone knows somewhere out there lurks an undetected iceberg ready to slice a huge gash into all this smooth sailing.

Just don't look now because here come the Red Sox whom seem to be over their World Series hangover.  After sleepwalking through a 7-13 start, the Sox have since gone 14-6, improving to 22-19 and creeping back into the mix just three games back of the division lead.  Not until May 8 did they reach the .500 mark for the first time this season.

And by no means are the Rays to be overlooked.  They won 90 games last season.  Make no mistake.  They're a good team and presently in first place for a reason.  They'll continue proving a troublesome Yankee foe just as they've done throughout their existence.  After their upcoming three game against the Orioles, the Yankees host the Rays next weekend.

The Red Sox are due to arrive in town at the end of the month.

Steady as she goes.

N.Y. Yankees: The Curse of Bucky F. Dent

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

Red Sox win ALDS 3-1

I - BOS 5; NYY 4

II - NYY 6; BOS 2

III - BOS 16; NYY 1

IV - BOS 4; NYY 3

New York Yankees: The Curse of Bucky Effin Dent?

• Date: Monday, Oct. 2, 1978.
• Setting: Late afternoon, Fenway Park, Boston.
• Condition: Yankees and Red Sox finish the season tied necessitating regular season game #163 in order to decide the A.L. East title.  The winner moves on to the ALCS against the Kansas City Royals.

The Red Sox take an early lead on Carl Yastrzemski's second inning home off Ron Guidry.  Jim Rice drives home a run with a hit in the sixth giving Boston a 2-0 lead.  Mike Torrez pitches six scoreless innings, but with two outs in the seventh, he surrenders consecutive base hits to Chris Chambliss and Roy White.  Into the batter's box steps shortstop Bucky Dent.  He is 0 for 2 on the day with a fly to right and a pop-up to short.  Dent takes Torrez' first offering for a ball, then fouls the second pitch off his left foot.  The game is delayed as Dent receives attention from trainer Gene Monahan.  Dent also switches bats, then finally steps back in.  With the count at one ball and one strike, Mike Torrez delivers a fastball square over the plate ...

Here is Yankees WPIX announcer Bill White's call:

"Deep to left ... Yastrzemski will not get - It's a home run!  A three run home run for Bucky Dent!  And the Yankees now lead it 3-2!  Bucky Dent has just hit his fifth home run of the year, into the screen!  And look at that Yankees bench, led by Bob Lemon."

Catcher Thurman Munson shortly thereafter doubles home the Yankees fourth run of the inning.  However, it is Reggie Jackson's eighth inning home run to straight away center field which proves most pivotal, as Yastrzemski and Fred Lynn help the Red Sox rally for two runs off Goose Gossage in the bottom half of the frame, but no more.  Gossage closes out Boston in the ninth, and the Yankees clinch the A.L. East title.  They go on to defeat the Kansas City Royals in the ALCS, then for a second successive World Series defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers.

That historic one-game playoff takes place forty years ago.  Twenty-six years later the Yankees invite Bucky Dent to throw a ceremonial first pitch at Yankee Stadium during the 2004 ALCS against the Boston Red Sox.  We all know what happens next.  The Curse of the Bambino if finally and forever broken.  Fourteen years later, the Yankees again invite Bucky Dent to throw out the first pitch prior to the start of Game Four of this year's ALDS. 

I have a saying: Once is an occurrence; twice is a coincidence; three times is a trend.

Just saying ...

Now for the ALDS that was.

Dave Dombrowski is a highly regarded executive.  He develops a reputation towards the latter part of his tenure with Detroit for spending like a drunken sailor and receives criticism for leaving the Tigers in a state of financial crisis.  When in truth he operates according to the mission statement handed him by Mike Illich during the late great owner's latter years of life.  But there's also a case to be made for Dombrowski's continuing fiscal folly with the Red Sox.  Releasing Edgar Renteria ($$$) is merely one example that hardly scratches the surface.  However, owner John Henry appears copacetic with the state of his economy, and his team.

Once the Red Sox are eliminated by the Astros in last season's ALDS, Dombrowski fires manager John Farrell with haste and immediately requests permission to speak with and ultimately interview Houston's bench coach Alex Cora while the Astros are still in the midst of their post-season run.

With regards to modern analytics, the Red Sox recognize its value and embrace baseball's newest evolutionary mutation with three arms.  Like most managers these days, Alex Cora is handed reams of information.  Dombrowski, however, leaves its application in Cora's hands to manage as he sees fit, or deems necessary.

Unlike Dombrowski who very early set his sights on Alex Cora, Brian Cashman informs Joe Girardi his contract will not be renewed, but then remains strangely idle.  Meanwhile, other available, and (to varying degrees) desirable candidates begin finding employment elsewhere.  Aaron Boone's name is presented to Brian Cashman as a late, unexpected, and obviously inexperienced candidate.  But the two are far from being strangers.  According to most reports Boone overwhelms the Yankees general manager and is hired on the spot.  I would argue, though, Aaron Boone isn't signed until December - two months after the World Series ends - when the market for managers had already thinned considerably.

Unlike Alex Cora, Aaron Boone is beholden to a far more restrictive operating procedure.  Brian Cashman is addicted to analytics, and has on numerous occasions appeared on sports radio making no bones about it: he wants his manager(s) adhering with strict compliance to information provided by the front office's expansive analytics department.  For both Joe Girardi and Aaron Boone, deviation was/is not an option.

Despite a most disappointing outcome I still believe this is one of general manager Brian Cashman's finest seasons on record, if not his best.  He put one dynasty to bed, and is in the process of potentially building another.  He's done everything a fan base could ask for: revitalizing the farm system; graduating new major league talent and legitimate stars; making subtle and well received transactions; following through with off-season maneuvering; and procuring reinforcements by the trade-deadline.  Then there are his boss' requirements.  Cashman not only satisfies Hal Steinbrenner's desire for being under the salary tax threshold, but has the Yankees supremely positioned to spend big money again on free agency.

All that being said, the manner in which this team sets their on field priorities and go about the game of baseball - losing this year's ALDS included - fall on the general manager for what I believe is his flawed application of analytics driven baseball.  Additionally, by parting ways with Joe Girardi and his ilk, Cashman shifts away (IMO) from demanding player accountability.

Cashman once mandated that Joe Girardi follow a script set forth by his Ivy League info squad, and presently demands Aaron Boone follows suit.  Outside of Boone being more affable with players and the media, there is no philosophical difference to speak of from one manager to the next.  There's no change with regard to in-game approach.  In fact, what's new is actually old.  I would argue Yankee analytics are just a 21st century cover of Earl Weaver's school of thought: reliance on strong pitching and three run home runs.  Problem is, the Yankees in the ALDS got neither.  Thus, in this results driven business Aaron Boone fails to elevate last year's band of overachievers to the next level.  Despite a 100-win season, they effectively take one step backwards.

Aside from Masahiro Tanaka, the trio of J.A. Happ, Luis Severino, and C.C. Sabathia all struggle mightily.  Boone, however, appears unprepared to negotiate three early exits.  Thus his failure to act in a timely manner ultimately contributes rather considerably in all three Yankees losses.  There's something to be said for all-hands-on-deck.  In Monday's Game Three at Yankees Stadium, Mookie Betts hit Luis Severino's very first offering of the game 405 feet to straight away center.  The bullpen should have began stirring right then.  After all, the Yankees main strength in both quality and depth is their bullpen.  Instead, Boone plays right into Alex Cora's hands.

Otherwise, a general lack of execution should be blamed on players.  After all, Aaron Boone is just doing what he's told.

Alex Cora brings his bench coaching experience and a share of Houston's World Series winning sensibilities to Boston where one of his first acts is to let his new team know just how bad they've been, and exactly what they're going to do in order to change it.  He inaugurates sweeping changes to the extent both Houston and Boston rank top two in most key statistical categories.  Under Cora, the Red Sox win a franchise record 108 games.  He stresses throughout each and every game to play aggressively.  The ALDS proves no less differently.  Many of his positional moves are in conflict with analytical directives.  Not to mention he twice gambles with Rick Porcello and Chris Sale in relief.  And there's the rub.  Alex Cora abandons the book and goes for the kill.  If Chris Sale blows Game Four, he loses him for a decisive Game Five.  Rick Pocello is scheduled to pitch Game Three.  Instead, he becomes one of the heroes of Game One.  His relief appearance necessitates Nathan Eovaldi pitching Game Three, who winds up tossing a gem.  And that's how Alex Cora circumvents his precarious bullpen bridge to Craig Kimbrel.

From bench coach and friends to being opponents and adversaries, Alex Cora now faces A.J.Hinch; Grasshopper versus Sensei.

N.Y. Yankees: Into The Fire They Go

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES

NEW YORK YANKEES

vs.

BOSTON RED SOX

FROM

Fenway Park

BILLY MARTIN vs. DON ZIMMER

JOE TORRE vs. TERRY FRANCONA

AARON BOONE vs. ALEX CORA

This ALDS is as much about these two first-year managers as anyone else.  The respective general managers clearly made off-season moves with the other in mind.  That said, each field manager knows it's out the frying pan and into the fire they go knowing full well a brutal post-series narrative awaits should either of them fall.

Entering the 2017 season, the Yankees are considered still in the midst of rebuilding and upgrading their overall minor league talent.  However, patience and pragmatism pay early dividends.  To the surprise of many, Joe Girardi's new Bombers finish the regular season in second place behind Boston.  Their 91-71 record earns them a Wild Card berth and the right to host Minnesota in the one game playoff.  The Yankees defeat the Twins despite an ineffective start by Luis Severino.

In the ALDS, the Indians win games One and Two, but the Yankees storm back with victories in games Three and Four at the Stadium, then seize the clincher at Cleveland.  After which, they face the Houston Astros in the ALCS and come within one game of reaching the World Series.  It is the Astros who advance, and go on to win their first World Series championship in franchise history.

During the ensuing off-season Brian Cashman decides a change of manager is in order, and informs Joe Girardi his expiring contract will not be renewed.  To the astonishment of many, Cashman hires Aaron Boone, whom has no previous coaching or managerial experience on his resume.

A segment of fans would argue throughout the regular season how certain players get away with things once deemed unacceptable by former manager Joe Girardi.  While visiting Boston back in April, I listen with great amusement as local sports radio accuse the Yankees of (paraphrasing) playing asleep and that Aaron Boone has no pulse.  Truth be told, for much of the regular season the Yankees do little in my opinion to change that narrative.  Yet, Aaron Boone leads his team to its first 100-win season since 2009 - which not coincidentally is the same year Girardi leads the Yankees to their last World Series championship.  This is their fifth 100-win season of the new century.  But once again, the only thing coming between the Yankees and the A.L. East title is the Boston Red Sox.

The Red Sox clinch last year's A.L. East with a 93-69 record, but fall to the Astros in the ALDS.  Boston in turn fires manager John Farrell, and replaces him with first time manager Alex Cora - who in 2007 played for and won a World Series championship with the Red Sox.  Unlike Boone who is tasked with elevating last year's overachieving Yankees to the next level, Cora is charged with leading last year's underachieving Red Sox up the same summit.

Aaron Boone is in the broadcast booth last season when the Yankees ultimately bow to Houston.  Alex Cora on the other hand is A.J. Hinch's right hand man in the Astros dugout.  Having thoroughly scouted both Boston and New York during last year's playoffs, Cora accepts the Red Sox job with an incalculable amount of information on all three clubs.  Knowing his club's weaknesses perhaps better than his own general manager, the Red Sox this season under Alex Cora go on to post the most victories (108) in franchise history.

The Yankees meanwhile set the MLB record for home runs, and in their 163rd game of the season show everyone they're wide awake, and quite well.  Like Alex Cora, Aaron Boone was born into a baseball family.  His pulse is in rhythm with the game.  It's just that up until and through Wednesday's Wild Card game against the A's, he never let you see him sweat.

N.Y. Yankees: Where The Wild Teams Are

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

Road to Boston Goes Through Bronx

AMERICAN LEAGUE WILD CARD

Oakland Athletics

vs.

New York Yankees

FROM

Bronx County Grounds

New York Yankees: Aaron Boone Juices Up His Battery.

You can't get fired for doing what you're told.  At least that's what Joe Girardi thought.

Can it be that Aaron Boone - manager of the team with the most expansive analytics department in all of baseball - is betting the Yankees entire 100-win season on a gut feeling?

I heard the same stupid stats as you - about the A's team batting average against pitches above/below 95-mph, etc.  I don't buy it - not in a one game scenario.  Go ahead and throw the A's a 97-mph fastball over the middle of the plate, and see what happens.  However, I do say Boone is starting Severino because he's the known element here; Happ is Boone's unknown.  So if Boone is indeed acting on a hunch, he is taking an awfully big risk.

Brian Cashman makes no bones about it: he wants his manager utilizing every last bit of information his staff provides.  That's how Joe Girardi earned the moniker Joey Notebook.  I'd argue Girardi's famous blue binder was only somewhat different than George dialing-up Billy Martin on the dugout phone, in the sense that Girardi actually listened.  Billy, not so much.

Be that as it may, Aaron Boone is placing the Yankees hopes of a continuing post-season run on the right arm of Luis Severino and his demonstrated ability to win at home.

In the days leading up to Wednesday evening's showdown against the Oakland A's, strong arguments have been made favoring J.A. Happ starting the Wild Card game.  He's been the better pitcher since his acquisition from Toronto, and traditional wisdom says you want a southpaw pitching at Yankee Stadium.

Happ, 35-years old, is 7-0 since joining the Yankees with a 2.69 ERA, and 1.052 WHiP through eleven starts, and edges Severino with a 7.2 H/9 average.  For the season, Happ is 17-6 with a 3.65 ERA and 1.131 WHiP.

I'm sure Boone is aware of Luis Severino's start in last year's Wild Card game against Minnesota, when he faced just six batters, allowed three earned runs on four hits (two home runs) and a walk, and failed to complete the first inning.  Undeterred, Boone is nevertheless trusting his so-called ace.  Severino started 32 games this season, posting a 19-8 record with a 3.39 ERA and 1.145 WHiP.  He allowed 173 hits through 191.1 innings, with a 2.2 W/9 and 10.3 K/9 average, with 220 strikeouts.

Boone is also overlooking Gary Sanchez's inefficiencies behind the plate in the hopes he impacts the game at the plate.  However, that does not negate the numerous disagreements which took place this season between Severino and Sanchez in the dugout for all to see.  Only hindsight at this point will determine whether Boone should have gone with Austin Romine - the better defensive receiver - behind the plate.

Perhaps someone from MLB ought to test Boone for backbone growth hormones or management enhancing drugs.  If you're familiar with how the Yankees general manager operates, might as well test Boone for other street doping agents, as well.

All eyes are on him.

That said, Boone's mind appears set.  Either Severino and Sanchez perform like Energizer bunnies, or Boone and the Yankees fall victim to a dead battery.

N.Y. Yankees: California Reeling

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

The Red Sox Athletics Are Coming!

New York Yankees: Boston Red Sox Poised to Clinch A.L. East Title on Bronx County Grounds.

"Aaron Boone has no pulse."

Back in April (13-15) I attend the Red Sox/Orioles series at Boston immediately following their brouhaha against the Yankees.  I spent the mornings in part listening to WEEI Sports Radio, and sure enough a pair of hosts accuse the Yankees of (paraphrasing) playing asleep, and that Aaron Boone has no pulse.  I dismiss their comments outright, chalking it up to local hyperbole.  Their comments, however, never truly leave my mind.  So I watch as the Yankees negotiate their way through the rest of Spring and the dog days of Summer, and I wonder.  In truth, the Yankees nor Aaron Boone do anything that, to me, serve to dispel the aforementioned critiques levied against them by Boston radio five months ago.

Then along comes Aug. 31, at Detroit.  The Yankees wake up that morning losers of three of their last four.  Later that night a sense of urgency finally erupts through Aaron Boone's otherwise cool exterior, when the manager earns a well deserved ejection from an otherwise victorious Yankees effort over the Tigers.

Since then, the Yankees have won six and lost eight.

So much for inspiring the troops ...

On Sunday, the Yankees suffer yet another debilitating loss against the Blue Jays.  Moreover, they are now losers of three of their last four series.  Only Sunday's Oakland loss against Tampa keeps the Yankees clinging for another day to their precarious 1.5 game lead for top Wild Card spot over the A's.

• The Yankees are 29-25 since returning from the all-star break (26-22 since Aaron Judge went down); the A's have gone 35-18 over the same span.

And now, here come the Red Sox!  They arrive in Bronx County on Tuesday, but the series itself is an afterthought.  Boston already has their playoff ticket in hand, and are poised to clinch the A.L. East any day now.  That leaves the Yankees battling the Oakland A's for the right to host a one game post-season play-in, with only fourteen games left to play.

In the meantime, Seattle and Tampa represent nothing but trouble.  Just ask the Athletics who drop two of three over the weekend against the Rays.  Tampa and Seattle only trail the A's by seven games. The Yankees still must play the troublesome Rays four times before this Wild Card race is through, while Seattle and Oakland likewise have a four game series looming.

The Yankees enter Tuesday's series opener with a 91-58 record.  On Sunday, the Red Sox defeated the Mets at Fenway Park for their 103rd victory of the season and reduced their magic number to clinch the division to two.  Therefore, the Red Sox will very likely secure the A.L. East crown during this upcoming series on Yankee grounds.

That comes on Aaron Boone's watch, who now must find a way to keep his team from potentially boarding that flight bound for California.

It doesn't get any more wild than that.

N.Y. Yankees: Nathan Eovaldi Who?

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

Red Sox lead series 3-0

I - BOS 15; NYY 7

II - BOS 4; NYY 1

III - BOS 4; NYY 1

GAME FOUR

New York Yankees

vs.

Boston Red Sox

FROM

FENWAY PARK

New York Yankees: Boston Red Sox Proving Stronger, Faster, Smarter, and Just Better.  Bombers Need to Regroup, Move On, and Revisit This in September.

Champ Adams is officially a non-issue.  The rookie making his major league debut against the Red Sox at Fenway Park on Saturday allows three earned runs on just three hits and a walk through five innings pitched.  If you're the Bronx Bombers, you take that every time.

Because in Game Three, the Yankees face Nathan Eovaldi, whom the Red Sox acquire from the Tampa Bay Rays prior to the trade deadline.  As a former Yankee, the organization's highly touted analytics department should know him very well after making 48 starts for them during the 2015 and 2016 regular seasons.  Unfortunately for Eovaldi, he misses all of 2017 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, then misses the first two months of this season after undergoing elbow surgery in March.

In ten starts with Tampa, Eovaldi pitches with mixed results.  Along with an 8.3 K/9 average, he surrenders 48 hits and just eight walks through 57 innings pitched for a respectable 0.982 WHiP.  His 4.26 ERA while with the Rays, however, is a product of surrendering eleven home runs.

On Saturday, Eovaldi makes his second start for the Red Sox.  He faces 26 batters, and throws 93 pitches with 65 (69%) going for strikes, including 18 first pitch strikes.  He surrenders no runs on just three hits and a walk, and strikes out four through eight innings pitched for a clutch well earned victory.

Over his last two starts in a Red Sox uniform, Eovaldi is yet to yield a run through 15 innings pitched, with only seven hits and one walk allowed, and nine strikeouts.

Saturday's game took just 2:33 to play, during which time the Yankees hardly recognized him.

Fans who remember 1978 might argue, but the Yankees picked the worse time possible for losing their bearing.  Eight and a half games now separate the Red Sox from the second place Yankees.  If fans were clinging to hope of winning a division title before this modern Boston Massacre, they can be heard praying for a Wild Card today.

All that's left for this series is to salvage Game Four.  Otherwise, these last three games are not the be all/end all for the Yankees season.  Their goal moving forward should be making those final six games scheduled for late September meaningful again.  I contend Brian Cashman's transactions will not go for naught.  Regroup and continue mission until Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, and J.A. Happ all return to the fold.

That being said, if Aaron Boone isn't the one lighting a fire under his team's feet, at least Phil Nevin tried.  Otherwise, this weekend is largely on Boone.  Alex Cora already made damn sure of that.

In the meantime, I'm led to believe more and more that Aaron Judge will ultimately decide the Yankees fate.

GAME FOUR:

Didi and Stanton, and maybe Andujar, are presently wielding the only productive Yankee bats worth mentioning.  Otherwise, the Yankees generally hit David Price very well.  Tonight just might be their night.  Masahiro Tanaka is a pro's pro.  He'll want to salvage this game for the Yankees with a statement, i.e., eight innings of scoreless two-hit baseball.  And like Alex Cora did Saturday by creating work for Craig Kimbrel, so too does Aaron Boone need to get Aroldis Chapman some much needed work.

The Red Sox do a better job of making contact and strike out far less than the competition.  When on base, they'll continue running like thieves in the night.  Tanaka's split-finger is an ideal pitch to run wild on, and the Red Sox will do just that.  Like Tanaka, David Price should be a motivated camper.  The Red Sox smell sweep, and how sweet it would be.  I belive there's a part of David Price that wants to prove once and for all he belongs in this rivalry.

I'm going with trends.  The Yankees are losers of four straight and falling fast like a pinstriped piano out of the Boston sky.  Make that cloudy skies above, because when it rains, it pours, and therefore I say the Red Sox complete the sweep.

But it won't be easy.

GAME FOUR

Yankess    4

Red Sox   5

10-innings

Red Sox Complete Four Game Sweep of Yankees; Increase A.L. East Lead to 9.5 Games.

Mookie Betts crushes a Masahiro Tanaka fifth inning offering over the Green Monster and completely out of Fenway Park.

The Yankees take a 4-1 lead in the seventh, but the Red Sox came back with three runs in the ninth inning against Aroldis Chapman.  Andrew Benitendi then drives in the winning run in the tenth.

N.Y. Yankees: Competition Getting High and Tight

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

Red Sox lead series 2-0

I - BOS 15; NYY 7

II - BOS 4; NYY 1

GAME THREE

New York Yankees

vs.

Boston Red Sox

FROM

FENWAY PARK

New York Yankees: Look What the Boston Red Sox Did to the Bombers, Again.

If not for Miguel Andujar's lead-off home run in the top of the fifth, Boston starter Rick Porcello throws a no-hitter.  No chance of pitching a perfect game, though, as Porcello plunks the very first batter of the game, coming in high and tight to Brett Gardner whom absorbs an errant 0-2 fastball in the arm.  Gardner glares at Porcello as he begins a deliberately slow stroll towards first base.

The rest of the Yankees seemingly do not take this lightly.

Or do they?

In the bottom half of the frame, Luis Severino with his very first pitch comes in high and tight to Red Sox lead-off batter Mookie Betts.  For a few fleeting seconds things move right along, that is, until neophyte home plate umpire Adam Hamari issues delayed warnings to both clubs.  Alex Cora comes darting out of the Red Sox dugout fuming at Hamari, whom immediately tosses Boston's irate manager from the game.  All the while, Aaron Boone remains docile in the Yankees dugout.

And so begins Game Two at Fenway Park.

When play resumes Andrew Benintendi's double to right brings up Steve Pearce who continues decimating Yankees pitching, this time launching a Severino offering high over the Green Monster for his fourth home run in his last six at-bats.  With two outs, Severino then issues a base on balls to Ian Kinsler.  The Red Sox continue running like thieves in the night, as Kinsler swipes Boston's fifth base of the series.  Eduardo Nunez singles Kinsler home giving the Red Sox an early 3-0 lead.

Miguel Andujar leads-off the third with a home run.  It turns out being the Yankees lone run and only hit of the game.  Rick Porcello retires the next 21 batters in order for a complete game one-hit victory over the American League's top slugging team.  Porcello pounds the strike zone, facing 28 batters; one over the minimum; throwing an incredibly economical 86 pitches with 68 (80%) going for strikes, including an unforgiving 23 first pitch strikes.  He issues no walks and strikes out nine Yankees en route to his fourteenth victory of the season against just four losses.

The Red Sox are presently having their way, not just against the Yankees, but with every team in baseball.  Now with two victories over the Yankees, they seem to have effectively sidestepped Chris Sale's missed start.  As I've eluded to twice over the last two games, perhaps the Yankees are presently too docile, too complacent, and third base coach Phil Nevins sensed this heading into Boston.  With Alex Cora banished to his office Friday evening, cooler heads did prevail.  But perhaps Aaron Boone is being too cool.  It's worth noting that at no time during the entirety of game one or two did the Yankees ever attempt to unsettle Steve Pearce at the plate with a purposeful pitch.

Boone's crew now enters Saturday's game trailing the Red Sox by 7.5 games.  Getting out of Boston with a split might have just turned into a matter of A.L. East survival.  With 54 games left in the regular season, the Yankees have time to recover.  Plus, they still have two more games left to play in this series, and six more games against the Red Sox still to come.  However, they are leaving themselves little margin for error.  The calendar reads dog days of summer, which means that time and wins are of the essence.

They are tasked today with slamming the brakes on a three game skid, and preventing any further damage to their widening second place standing.  Of course, easier said than done.  With Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez missing from the line-up, Giancarlo Stanton is presently a one-man gang.  The rest of the line-up has gone missing.  The Yankees have been doubled up through their last three games by a 13-26 margin against the stripped down Orioles and Red Sox.

They're also facing a sudden lack of pitching, if only for a day, or so the Yankees hope.  Called up from Scranton, Chance Adams will make his major league debut in the heat of a pennant race against the Red Sox.  Between Sunny Gray's ineffectiveness, J.A. Happ landing on the disabled list, Lance Lynn being pressed into action during Friday's debacle, and the overall tax being extracted from the bullpen, the Yankees face little choice.  Adams will oppose veteran Nathan Eovaldi, Boston's trade deadline acquisition from Minnesota.

N.Y. Yankees: Bombers Invade Boston for Pivotal Series Against Sox

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

New York Yankees

vs.

Boston Red Sox

FROM

Fenway Park

New York Yankees: You Talkin' To Me?

If you're a regular rider of the Trolley, perhaps you're familiar with one of my sayings: once is an event; twice is a coincidence; three times is a trend.

Phil Nevin, third base coach of the Yankees, if you remember, calls out Red Sox manager Alex Cora during the first series between them and the Yankees back in April.  This past Wednesday, Nevin rips into select members of his own team which Aaron Boone is made to address during the post-game.

Entering this weekend's four game series, what are the chances Phil Nevin blows his top again over something or at someone?  I'm curious to see just how much power Phil Nevin thinks he wields.  Not before last night did I harbor any conspiracy theories.  But being as Boone is the calm, cool, collected one, I wonder if he and Nevin are employing the old good cop/bad cop routine upon young impressionable players?

I'm not so sure that's a good idea.  Brian Cashman let Joe Girardi go partly because he was too hard on Gary Sanchez, but generally because of his no nonsense, clenched jaw manner.  I have to question whether Brian Cashman agrees with Phil Nevin's tact.  I'm more inclined to think that if Nevin keeps this up, Cashman will suggest Boone seek out an alternative third base coach.

The Rivalry: No Chris Sale; No Xander Bogaerts; No Dustin Pedroia; No Aaron Judge; No Gary Sanchez; No J.A. Happ; No Problem ...

Here we go again.  The two best teams in baseball clash this weekend at Fenway Park.  Despite being thirty games over .500, the Yankees trail the first place Red Sox by 5.5 games.  The Bombers have a more favorable schedule ahead than do the Red Sox, but not if they keep giving away games to the moribund Baltimore Orioles.  The Red Sox, on the other hand, enter this series with the best record in baseball, 41 games above the .500 mark.  Even after their franchise record 17-2 start, the Sox still own a 58-32 record since then.

However, neither team is lacking in compromising issues.  The Yankees enter this series minus the services of Gary Sanchez, Aaron Boone, and newly acquired J.A. Happ.  The Red Sox are without their ace, Chris Sale.  Xander Bogaerts will not play Thursday, and is questionable beyond that.  Meanwhile, Dustin Pedrioa will likely continue missing the rest of the season.

Losing Sale (for any stretch of games) is a particularly painful blow to Boston.  After 22 starts, Sale is 11-4 with a league leading 2.04 ERA.  With only 90 hits allowed in 141 innings pitched, he likewise leads the league with an 0.87 WHiP.  He also leads with 207 strikeouts and a 13.2 K/9 average.

Luis Severino leads the league with 14 wins against just four losses, and owns a 2.94 ERA.  Rick Porcello is right behind him with 13 victories.

Boston features two of the league's top three hitters.  Mookie Betts leads the A.L. with a .338 average, J.D. Martinez is third with a .323 mark, and is tied for the lead with 32 home runs, and leads with 89 RBI.  Mookie Betts is third with a 6.5 WAR.

When the Bombers are at bat, I discussed the other day how all eyes will be on Giancarlo Stanton.

If the Yankees are to make headway, they need to win three games.  Of course, a split doesn't hurt.  But to lose three of four, or worse, is putting themselves in a big pickle.  Starting with Thursday night's game at Fenway, the Yankees and Red Sox have nine games remaining.

N.Y. Yankees: Gary Sanchez Is, As Gary Sanchez Does

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

Look what Tampa did to the Yankees, again.

New York Yankees Fall Six Games Behind Red Sox.

If you want to know why the Yankees find themselves six games back of the Boston Red Sox, look no further than Monday's respective opponents.  The Yankees were in Tampa playing the ever gamely Rays, while the Red Sox were in Baltimore playing the moribund Orioles.

With Monday night's 6-7 loss at Tampa, the Yankees fall to 5-5 against the Rays this season.  The Red Sox are 9-4 against the Tampa Rays.  With Monday's 5-3 victory at Baltimore, the Red Sox improve 10-2 against the Orioles.  Meanwhile, the Yankees are just 5-5 against the Birds.  Add it up, and the Red Sox are 19-5 against Tampa/Baltimore, while the Yankees are just 10-10 against them.

GARY SANCHEZ: LACK OF HUSTLE, NO SENSE OF URGENCY COSTS YANKEES.

The Yankees catcher is, as the Yankees catcher does ... or not.  If asked to single-out one player, I'd say Gary Sanchez is perhaps most responsible for influencing Brian Cashman's decision to move on from former manager Joe Girardi, who would have reprimanded Sanchez for Monday's performance, or lack thereof.  Instead, Cashman wants someone to coddle his young players and therefore settles on Aaron Boone, who doesn't appear too keen on putting his catcher's feet to the fire.

Two plays in particular bookend Monday's Yankee loss.  His lackadaisical retrieval of a passed ball in the opening frame directly leads to Tampa's first run of the game.  In the ninth, his gross lack of hustle running out a ground ball surely cost the Yankees an opportunity at tying the game.  Throw in an unsightly dugout discussion between him and Luis Severino, and the Yankees officially have a situation.

I understand Sanchez is feeling a little tender.  But someone needs to remind that young man he is in the midst of a pennant race, and that his present thought process is unacceptable.  He cost the Yankees a game at a time when they can least afford to lose.  Joe Girardi would have addressed this post-haste, and did so as manager of the Yankees.  But he's not here anymore.  And so Sanchez plods along unchecked.

After the game, Aaron Boone implemented non-committal damage control with the media.

N.Y. Yankees: The Red Sox Are Coming

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

BOSTON RED SOX

vs.

NEW YORK YANKEES

FROM

The House That George Built

BRONX

New York Yankees: One of the American League's top three teams is not like the others.

Back in April, I spent the weekend in Boston just after the Yankees/Red Sox melee at Fenway Park.  The Yankees left town with a 6-7 record, while the Red Sox improved to 10-2, en route to a franchise record 17-2 start.  Local TV and radio seemed to have little to no interest in the weekend series at hand against the visiting Baltimore Orioles.  Instead, gloating was order of the day.  One particular sports radio personality said (paraphrasing) the Yankees were playing asleep and their manager (Aaron Boone) had no pulse.  His on-air partner concurred.

They still have reason for gloating.  Since that series the Red Sox have for the most part held on to first place of the A.L. East, posting a 44-25 (.637) record and a 54-27 (.667) record overall.

However, I thought it ironic the Boston media would accuse Aaron Boone of not having a pulse considering the devastation he once wrought upon Red Sox Nation with his 2003 ALCS Game Seven winning home run off Tim Wakefield.

Yeah, Boone has a pulse.

But is he a good manager?

Without any prior coaching or managerial experience, no one knew what to expect from Boone.  The baseball season is half through and his team is engaged in a fierce battle for first place against the Red Sox.  Whatever his deficiencies, if any, there's nary a critic nor contrarian among the NYC media presently promulgating loud concern.  That's because winning trumps all.  And so for the moment the Yankees style and standing are his narrative.

On that note, the Bronx Bombers are wide awake and kicking, again.  They lead the American League with 127 home runs, and rate third in runs scored and total bases.  They too started playing at their own franchise record setting pace soon after that April series at Fenway, but not before rain poured down upon Detroit, cancelling three straight games against the Tigers.  Since then, they've gone 46-19 (.707), and enter this upcoming series at Bronx County Grounds with an overall record of 52-26 (.667) in four less games played than the Red Sox.

Otherwise, given custody of Brian Cashman's creation Aaron Boone's resume is still a work in progress.

Meanwhile, Alex Cora has no more MLB managerial experience than does Aaron, yet his fingerprints upon the Red Sox are far more distinguishable than those of Boone's upon the Yankees.  Lest we forget Cora last year served as bench coach for the World Series champion Houston Astros, and the numbers suggest he's incorporated much of what they do at the plate into the Red Sox offensive stratagem.

American League 2017 rankings:

• The Houston Astros under manager A.J. Hinch led the American League in team batting average and fewest strikeouts, and finished second in home runs.
• The New York Yankees under manager Joe Girardi led the league in home runs, finished third in team average, but finished with the sixth most strikeouts.
• The Red Sox under manager John Farrell struck out the fifth fewest times, but ranked ninth in team average, and last in home runs. 

American League 2018 rankings: prior to Thursday Boston/Anaheim game

• Red Sox are second to the Yankees in home runs.
• Red Sox and Astros are tied with A.L.'s top team batting average; the Yankees rate sixth. 
• Red Sox are second to the Astros with fewest strikeouts; Yankees 13th.
• Red Sox are second to the Astros in runs scored; Yankees third.  
• Red Sox are tops in total bases; Astros second, Yankees third.

If you torture numbers long enough, you can get them to say anything you want.  At the end of the day, the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Houston Astros are the American League's top three contenders, with the Seattle Mariners a close fourth.

Winning the American League East title this season is all fine and well, but it's safe to say both the Yanks and Sox are on course towards making the playoffs.  After this weekend series, they do not meet again until September.  And so each will be blazing their own paths with little interference from the other.

If the mid-season point of this season is any indication, the Yankees appear to be a (very good) starting pitcher away from overtaking the Red Sox or Astros come October.  I'll assume the Yankees will most likely address this as the trade deadline looms closer.  Even then, a pitcher offers the Yankees little relief for their chronic condition.  They need to cut down on those strikeouts.  It damn near cost them last year's ALDS series against the Cleveland Indians.  In turn, Houston's plate discipline helped earn the Astros a World Series title.

It's still difficult for me deciphering exactly what Aaron Boone brings to the Yankees.  But it has become clearly evident what Alex Cora brings to Boston.  This is precisely why it appears as if this year's Red Sox are in closer competition with the Astros than are the Yankees.


*written prior to Thursday Boston/Anaheim game.

Yankees and Red Sox in Beantown Brawl

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

Series tied 1-1

I- BOS 14; NYY 1

II - NYY 10; BOS 6

GAME THREE

New York Yankees

vs.

Boston Red Sox

FROM

Fenway Park

THE CENTURY OLD RIVALRY IS ALIVE AND WELL

ICYMI: Rivalry Has Two New Managers 

GAME ONE against Boston devolved into your typical blowout - nothing more; nothing less.  Both teams through the decades have taken turns being on each side of those.  No big deal, for the Yankees it was merely their turn.  It just so happened to come during this season's series opener at Fenway Park.

An otherwise great day for Boston locals, the Red Sox unleashed a 14-1 shellacking upon the invading Yankees, highlighted by a nine run barrage in the sixth inning.  They cranked out eleven hits off New York pitchers, eight against starter Luis Severino whom allowed five earned runs through five innings in a losing effort.  Sox starter Chris Sale allowed a run on eight hits and fanned eight through six innings for the win.  Although the Yankees nearly matched the Red Sox with ten hits, they came up an insurmountable thirteen runs short.  Aaron Judge accounted for the only Yankees offense of the night with a long home run to straight-away center field (his third of the season).  However, Mookie Betts was the big man on campus going 4 for 5, with a walk, home run, four RBI, and five runs scored.

GAME TWO The Yankees held on for a 10-6 victory over the Red Sox, but not before a pair of bench clearing incidents defined the night.  The first alarm occurred in the third inning when Yankees Tyler Austin came sliding into second base spikes high and clearly clipped second baseman Joe Kelly in the the right calf whom took immediate exception.  The two closed in on each other while exchanging words.  By then opposing team mates were on scene separating bodies and playing peacemakers.  The seventh inning - not so much.  Boston exacted their revenge in the seventh inning when pitcher Joe Kelly embedded a 98-mph fastball into Tyler Austin's left side.  Austin naturally charged the mound and the royal rumble ensued.  Once the punches stopped flying, manager Alex Cora appeared rather dismissive of his counterpart Aaron Boone and Yankees coach Phil Nevin in particular whom remain on the field engaged in heated exchanges with the various umpires.


GAME THREE  Boston Red Sox take rubber game for series win.