Jackie Robinson Day

New York Yankees News Round-up: All the news in one place

by

After two weeks, where do the New York Yankees stand?

Two weeks into the new baseball season, the Yankees are 3.5 games behind the East-leading Boston Red Sox. They are two games under .500, winning only five of twelve games played. Unless your name is Gerrit Cole, you haven’t pitched well, and if you’re a hitter, you haven’t been hitting. The Yankees certainly aren’t playing well, are making many errors, both throwing and on the base paths, and they seem to have an infinity for hitting into double plays.

Tensions are high for tonight’s Rays game

Tonight the Yankees face their nemesis, Tampa Bay Rays. Tensions have been building up for the two teams during the last few years. It came to a head last season when Yankee closer Aroldis Chapman threw at the head of the Ray’s Mike Brosseau. Chapman was suspended for three games for his part in the incident. So far this year, there have been no bench-clearing events, but watching the games, you can feel the tension in the air. Yankee pitchers have hit several Rays in the first three-game set. Jordan Montgomery hit Austin Meadows twice in the same game, making the umpire warn both teams. Don’t expect the civility to continue.

Yankees to honor Jackie Robinson

Tonight the New York Yankees will celebrate Jackie Robinson Day. Most teams celebrated it on the traditional date of April 15. However, teams that had the day off on Thursday are allowed to celebrate it today. In honor of the baseball great, all the Yankees players and staff will wear his number 42. Robinson was the first black man to break the color barrier and play in the major leagues. His number was officially retired from all of baseball in 1997. The Yankees’ Mariano Rivera was already wearing the number 42 and was the last player to do so when he retired in 2013.

Was Clint Frazier’s 2020 an aberration?

Last year Clint Frazier showed up on the field and changed man. His defense was so approved; he actually was nominated for the Gold Glove award. He hit .267 with 8 home runs and earned a place in the everyday lineup in the short season. At the beginning of the season, he was named the starting left fielder for the New York Yankees.

Now, after just twelve games, the Yankee management is beginning to think twice about their decision. Although he started okay, his production has dropped off, and his defense has not been stellar, leading manager Aaron Boone to replace him in three games with the better hitting and better defender Brett Gardner. Frazier on the season is batting .200 to Gardner’s .286.    Boone recently said about Frazier:

“Clint Frazier is still going to play a ton for us,” Boone said. “He is pretty much the everyday left fielder. We happen to have a fourth outfielder in Brett Gardner who is going to play a lot for us. … Frazier is going to play a ton. He’s going to get to raking and be a big part of this team.”

The Red Sox are now stuck with Ottavino

During the offseason, the New York Yankees unloaded reliever Adam Ottavino to the Boston Red Sox via the trade in a mostly cost-saving move. This season, the Yankees have to be celebrating the move as Ottavino has gotten off to a terrible start with the Red Sox. He has already allowed four earned runs and seven hits in 3²/₃ innings. In five appearances he has an ERA of 9.82. This is the exact reason the Yankees wanted to part ways with him. Last year for the Yankees, he was ineffective.

Judge is Judge, but what about Stanton?

Aaron Judge, after twelve games, is leading the New York Yankees with 4 home runs, that a home run every three games. That may be a bit slanted as he hit two home runs in one game. Judge appears to have found his timing and is operating on all cylinders. His batting average is .308 with a hit per game. Giancarlo Stanton is a different story; he started the season hot and even hit a Grand Slam, but as of today, he has cooled off. That Grand Slam is his only home run, and he is hitting just .175. He holds the record for RBI’s and hit the baseball leading single that left his bat at 120 mph. If both of these sluggers can stay healthy and Stanton can find some consistency, all will be well for the Yankees.

Are these Yankees doomed?

Although the Yankees aren’t playing great baseball, there are those Yankees that stand out that won’t be around for long. Number one on that list is Jay Bruce, who likely will be gone as soon as Luke Voit returns from his knee surgery. He has been just plain horrible in his defense at first base and isn’t hitting either; his batting average is a team-worst .118. In all fairness to Jay by trade, he is an outfielder with only some first base experience.

Lucas Luetge’s future with the Yankees is a bit more dubious. During spring training, he was one of the two best Yankee relievers, but he has not lived up to that performance in the regular season. So far, he has struck out nine in 6.1 innings, right in line with his preseason performance. However, he’s also been tagged for three homers and five earned runs, one in each inning pitched. He may improve, but right now, his future doesn’t look bright. Other than these two, when Clarke Schmidt and Luis Severino return, Albert Abreu and Domingo German may have to keep looking over their shoulders.

New Ways to watch Yankee games

Amazon has announced that it has struck a deal with the YES Network to televise all the games the YES Network produces for  WPIX. The 21 such games this season will be free to watch for Amazon Prime members that live in NY, CT, NJ, and eastern PA. In Connecticut, Fox61 has a multi-year deal to broadcast the WPIX games on their sister station CW20. The YES Network will televise 134 games, and the other seven will be nationally televised, divided by FOX and ESPN.

New York Yankees: Tampa Bay Rays series preview (update)

by
New York Yankees, Nick Nelson

The New York Yankees will meet up with the Tampa Bay Rays tonight at 7:05 pm for their second series between the two teams that really don’t like each other, this time at Yankee Stadium.  The dislike between these two teams has been building for the last few years, and there is no reason to believe that will be going away any time soon. During the last meeting at the Trop, Yankee pitchers hit several Rays without any retaliation in those three games. They may think that our pitchers stink, and it wasn’t on purpose.

If they think our pitchers stink, they have good reason too, if your name isn’t Gerrit Cole or Jordan Montgomery, the moniker applies to you. So far in the young season, Corey Kluber, Jameson Taillon, and Domingo German have fared quite poorly. Luckily the bullpen has been nearly perfect. It is anyone’s guess how long that will last if they continue to be overused.

Going into spring training, the Yankees thought their major competitor this season would be the Toronto Blue Jays as the Tampa Bay Rays seemed to be greatly diminished after trading their Ace Blake Snell to the Padres and letting Charlie Morton walk to the Braves. However, it now appears the Yankees will have their hands full with both teams. Tyler Glasnow has emerged as the new Ray’s ace. This season, in his first three starts, he is pitching better than Snell ever did. He has an ERA of .046.

Game one today:

Tonight a yet-to-be-named New York Yankee pitcher will face the Tampa Bay Rays’ Michael Wacha. That may be good news for the Yankees because he is the only Ray pitcher that did not pitch well against the Yankees. In his first appearance, he gave up three runs in four innings of work.

This week the Yankees optioned Albert Abreu to Scranton without making a corresponding move. It would seem likely that they will bring up Michael King to at least start tonight’s game. King came in relief of Domingo German when he bombed against the Blue Jays and pitched six solid shut-out innings in the Yankee win. However, the Yankees have other options for tonight’s game, including Deivi Garcia.

The Yankees will be celebrating Jackie Robinson Day tonight. The game tonight will be at 7:05 pm and will be broadcast on Bally Sports Sun in Florida and the New York area on the YES Network. The game will also be on MLBN out of market.

UPDATE: In a last-minute move the Yankees are starting Nick Nelson tonight. The start is quite surprising as he has been the worst Yankee reliever giving up 5 earned runs in 3 games and 4 innings pitched.

Game two Saturday:

Game two will feature the Yankees’ Jordan Montgomery against a yet-to-be-announced Rays Pitcher. Montgomery in his first outing against Baltimore was impressive, but in his last outing against the Rays, he did not fare as well; he gave up four runs in 5 innings of work. He also had the distinction of bonking Austin Meadows twice in the same game, causing the umpires to warn both sides.

The likely starter for the Rays is Tyler Glasnow, the Yankee killer. The Yankees did not fare well against him last season, and so far this year, his ERA is .046. He typically throws a 100 mph fastball and a knee-buckling curveball, and that’s not the end of his pitching arsenal. If it is Glasnow, the Yankees will have their hands full, especially if Montgomery is not at his best.

The Saturday matinee will be at 1:05 pm and will be broadcast on Bally Sports Sun in Florida and the New York area on the YES Network. The game will also be on MLBN out of market.

Game three Sunday:

Sunday will be the best chance for a New York Yankee win. Ace Gerrit Cole will be on the mound. He will face another yet-to-be-announced Rays starter. Although not official, it will probably be Ryan Yarbrough who will give the Yankees a totally different look. Yarbrough is a junk baller whose fastball might reach 88 miles per hour. However, he is a premium soft contact pitcher.

Gerrit Cole has been near brilliant in his three starts. He is 2-0 with an ERA of 1.47. Cole is also the only Yankee pitcher that has been friendly to the bullpen by pitching over an average of six innings in his three starts.

The 1:05 pm Sunday game will be televised in Florida on Bally Sports Sun in the New York area on WPIX and in CT on CW20. The game will also be free to Amazon Prime members in CT, NY, NJ, and eastern PA.

Series predictions:

Today’s game between a Yankee opener and the Ray’s Wacha, it’s a toss-up who might win the contest. On Saturday, the Yankee’s hitting better be alive, or they will have no chance against Glasnow. With Cole on the mound on Sunday, the Yankees will have their best of a win. Although the Yankees would like to sweep the Rays, they will likely be thrilled to win 2 out of 3.

All pitchers are probable. EmpireSportsMedia.com’s Columnist William Parlee is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research. Follow me on Twitter @parleewilliam

 

 

New York Yankees: Jackie Robinson paved the way for Yankee Elston Howard (video)

by

The New York Yankees will celebrate Jackie Robinson Day tomorrow when they meet up with the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. All of baseball celebrates the day honoring the major league’s first black Major League player traditionally on April 15; however, for teams that have the day off as the Yankees do, it is celebrated on Friday. All players will wear his number 42 to honor him.

Jackie Robinson paved the way for black players to eventually move from the Negro Leagues to the majors, including the Yankee’s Elston Howard.  On April 15, 74 years ago, Robinson became a Brooklyn Dodger. He was the first African-American in all of baseball to break the color barrier. One day earlier but eight years later, the New York Yankees acquired their first black player in Elston Howard.

Early on, when black players entered the majors, they didn’t have it easy. Some had acceptance problems even from players on their own team. Some could not eat with or stay with their white counterparts. Many eating establishments and hotels at that time still would not allow blacks. When the New York Yankees hired Elston Howard, they made sure that they would only stay in hotels that accepted blacks.

Before the Yankees added a black player to the team, they waited to find the perfect man to add. That man was Elston Howard, a fine gentleman of high moral character. His teammates immediately accepted Elston. He was further endeared to the team and fans alike for his baseball abilities as a catcher and ballplayer.

Elston Howard played for the New York Yankees for 13 years from 1955 to 1967, when he was traded to the Boston Red Sox. During his time with the Yankees, he amassed a .279 batting average with  167 homers and batting in nearly 800 runs. He was a 12-time All-Star, won the Gold Glove Award twice, and was an MVP candidate five times, winning the prestigious award once. In 1982 the New York Yankees retired his number 32 and installed a plaque in Monument Park. Had it not been for a few disastrous seasons late in his career, caused by an elbow ailment, he would surely be in the Hall of Fame.

Jackie Robinson Day has been celebrated every year since 2004.  Robinson’s number 42 was retired by all of MLB in 1997. Every year on his day, every on and off-field personnel of all teams wear his number 42 since 2009, celebrating his legacy. In Robinson’s major league career, 10 years with the Brooklyn Dodgers, he batted .311. He was an All-Star six times and was an MVP nominee eight times, winning the award in 1949.

Robinson’s personality was one of high moral values and non-violence that challenged the stereotypical opinion about black men. He was very popular and influenced the culture of the day. He was also greatly involved in the civil rights movement. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 opened public facilities to all races. But the movement against segregation after World War II really began in 1947 with Jackie Robinson. Robinson, after his playing days, was the first black television baseball analyst. He was also vice president of Chock full o’ Nuts corporation. He helped establish the Freedom National Bank, and in 1972 was awarded the Congressional Medal of Freedom for his achievements on and off the field.

Robinson also established the Jackie Robinson Construction Company to build housing for low-income families. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on  July 23, 1962. On October 15, 1972, in his last public appearance, he threw out the first pitch before Game two of the 1972 World Series; he died nine days later at his home in Stamford, CT. He died from complications arising from both heart disease and diabetes age the age of 53.