New York Yankees; Yankees

New York Yankees News/Rumors: Matt Blake, Will there be baseball, Challenges yet to come and more

by
New York Yankees, Gary Sanchez, Gerrit Cole, Aaron Boone

Matt Blake’s new job not what he thought it would be:

New York Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake is in the second week of his new career getting ready for the home opener at Yankee Stadium, or that is supposed to be the scenario in a season that has gone south and quickly.  Instead, Matt Blake is at his home in Cleveland twiddling his thumbs.

The coronavirus has shut down all baseball operations for the New York Yankee and all of MLB.  Blake was hired in the offseason replacing longtime pitching coach Larry Rothschild was fired.  Blake was previously with the Cleveland Indians as a pitching coordinator.  During the offseason, he got the news that he was selected as the new pitching coach for the Yankees, a dream job, putting him at the top of his profession.  After a month of getting pitchers ready baseball and his dream came to a screeching halt.

Blake, now at home, is trying to keep pitchers ready remotely.  The situation is hardly acceptable as the halt and restart at some point is likely to cause more pitching injuries than if spring training and the start of the season was seamless.  Here’s what Blake had to say about the situation:

“I think there’s definitely a possibility of it,” he said Wednesday on a conference call. “Just like any [sudden] start and stop throughout the season.”  “We were building and felt like we were in a good rhythm in spring training and guys were performing at a high level and we were coming together and then you hit this hard stop. The momentum you were building kind of lapsed. We are doing our best trying to stay connected. Take it one day at a time. This is bigger than baseball. Hopefully we get back to the point where we are talking about mound visits and things of that nature.’’

Yankee pitchers are now spread around the country, trying to stay in pitching form while staying in contact with Matt Blake.  Acquired during the winter meetings, new New York Yankee pitching ace Gerrit Cole is probably in the best situation to keep in shape.  He is at his new home in Greenwich, CT.  He has a large plot of land and can pitch to his athlete wife Amy.

Will there be a baseball season?

With each passing day, a New York Yankee baseball season seems to be further in jeopardy.  The coronavirus has turned the country and the world upsidedown and, of course, all of MLB, the Olympics, and all of the sports.  The baseball 162 game season was supposed to start a week ago.  With each passing week and the spread of the virus, any baseball season keeps being pushed back.

The season was delayed by two weeks when MLB abruptly ended the postseason and announced the delay.  Since then, ever-increasing CDC restrictions have pushed that date further and further back.  First into May, then June, and now any start of the season is not likely before July 4th.  Just days ago, Toronto home of the Blue Jays had banned any city-led public gatherings to June 30th.   If health officials can not control the spread of the virus, the entire baseball season may, at some point, be canceled.

Challenges yet ahead:

In the best-case scenario, the virus will reach its apex in the next two or three weeks, and MLB can start to make some plans for a shortened season.  Once they know that the CDC will lift public gathering restrictions, MLB will have to decide on the length of a mini-spring training that New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone has suggested being three to four weeks.  He cited the need for that to prevent unnecessary injuries once the season starts.  This pushes a start date even further into the summer.

Originally MLB suggested and hoped for a 120 day season once baseball resumed.  With the continuing delay that is starting to look like an 80-100 game season.  The question is if it is shorter than that, will the season be considered legitimate?

If a baseball season resumes that are challenges that must be overcome.  It is expected that the minor league season will eventually start sooner than major league games and, most likely, without fans in the stands.  Whether major league teams can do that is in question.  As it stands now, MLB has said there would be no baseball operations until mid-May.   However, CDC restrictions may keep that from being a reality.

The question of whether MLB games can be played in front of empty stands is still an open one.  Player’s salaries are paid with ticket sales and concessions revenues, without fans there is no revenue.  Further, MLB and MBLPA negotiations are likely.  Playing in empty stadiums, at least at the outset, could provide MLB a way to avoid what could be the embarrassment of small crowds while meeting the obligation to play as many games as feasible.

Many options will have to be decided before the season starts.  One consideration that seems to becoming more necessary is doubleheaders on weekends to get as many games in as possible.  Players indicated that might cause more injuries, to that MLB is looking into having seven-inning doubleheaders to reduce that likelihood.

The biggest challenge ahead for both minor league and major league teams is that there will probably not be an “all clear” bell.  Public gathering restriction will likely be lifted at different times across the country.  The one thing that is for sure is that the coronavirus and the health of the public are bigger than baseball and will end up controlling what MLB does.

The Tampa Bay Yankees:

About a week ago, I suggested that the New York Yankees could become the Tampa Bay Yankees this year in an effort to get a baseball season in if Yankee Stadium becomes unavailable due to the coronavirus and restrictions of public gatherings.  This, of course, could be applied to all of baseball with games played at the Cactus and Grapefuild league locations.

With the aggressive spread of the coronavirus, that suggestion seems more remote as other areas that weren’t infected just a week ago seem to have more significant problems now.  The Miami/Dade and Broward Counties in Florida is quickly becoming a situation that is now prevalent in the NYC area.   Unfortunately, the area around Yankee Stadium has become the epicenter of the virus in the U.S.  The New York Yankees most likely will not be playing regular-season games in Florida.

New York Yankees: Boone shuts down rumors about moving Judge to first base

by
New York Yankees, Aaron Judge

Aaron Judge has a cracked rib and had a collapsed lung (undiagnosed in the first tests) that presumably dates back to a play in the outfield last September. There have been rumors about the New York Yankees wanting to move him to first base.

Apparently, that won’t be the case. Yankees manager Aaron Boone shut down the rumors and dismissed the notion of moving Judge from right field, where he proved to be one of the best in the Major Leagues last season.

Talking at the Michael Kay Show, the Yankees’ skipper said that “he has had a couple of unfortunate injuries the last couple of years, but moving him? Absolutely not… He is an elite defender and one of the game’s great players. Never a discussion to move him.’’

The 2017 Rookie of the Year is still recovering from his cracked rib. A recent CT scan showed slight improvement, and he will be re-evaluated in a couple of weeks. At the moment of suffering the injury, there were doubts regarding his opening day availability, but given that the season isn’t expected to start until June or July (if there is baseball at all) he could be ready from the beginning.

The Yankees have an elite outfielder in Judge

It would preposterous to move Judge from right field at this point while he still has his youth, range and athleticism. According to Fangraphs, he had a 7.6 defensive rating, a very good number that makes him an elite option.

In fact, judging by DRS (Defensive Runs Saved) Judge led not only the American League, but also MLB right fielders with 20, in a tie with Los Angeles Dodgers’ fellow slugger Cody Bellinger.

His phenomenal throwing arm would also be wasted in first base, not to mention that the New York Yankees have plenty of options there as well.

New York Yankees: What Pitcher will make the Biggest Impact in the Playoffs?

by
New York Yankees, Domingo German

The biggest concern for the Aaron Boone and the New York Yankees has to be deciding the three or four starters in the postseason.

Most of the Yankees’ starting pitching has been average at best. It will most certainly be tough building a playoff rotation against the top offenses in the league. The top candidate for getting the nod in game 1 of the American League Division Series is Domingo German. Unless, the former ace, Luis Severino, can come back strong from his injury, German has to be the favorite.

German is leading Major League Baseball with 16 wins. If he continues to get run support, he should continue to dominate in the postseason with his 3.96 earned-run average (MLB At Bat). Being only 27 years old, Yankee fans hope to see German become a superstar for a long time. He started most of his career in the bullpen and had a few spots starts the last couple of years.  No one saw this coming from German, but he has really helped stabilize the rotation this year.

What has been the key to German’s success this year?

German’s ability to expand the strike zone with his curveball has led to a lot of swings and misses this year. This league now demands an upper 90s fastball and a high spin rate on a breaking pitch. Severino is the only one in the rotation that fits those standards. However, German has a fastball ranging from 93 to 95 miles per hour and curveball with a lot of dive. An underrated stat for pitchers: spin rate. German has an average spin rate of 2,565 rotations per minute on his curveball. Masahiro Tanaka tries to accomplish the same with his splitter and slider with an average of 2,387 rotations per minute (MLB At Bat).

Chase rate has also appeared to become an advantage for “finesse” pitchers that do not throw in the upper 90s. Larry Rothschild, the pitching coach of the New York Yankees, has to receive a lot of credit teaching the pitchers to have their breaking pitches “drop off the table.” The Yankees’ pitchers have excelled at making their breaking pitches look like a strike then, with a high spin rate, dropping off the corners of the plate. This formula has seemed to be the key for pitchers with an average or below-average velocity on their fastball. Hopefully, German can continue to use this recipe to his advantage for his starts in the postseason.

New York Yankees’ Adam Ottavino Could Have Best Season Yet In 2019

by

The New York Yankees featured one of the more dominant bullpens in the MLB in 2018, but that didn’t stop them from improving it even further. The Bombers acquired reliever Adam Ottavino on a three-year, $27 million deal, replacing the departed David Robertson.

Last season, Ottavino finished with a 2.43 ERA and six wins (four losses).  With Dellin Betances, Aroldis Chapman, Chad Green, Zack Britton, and Ottavino making up the bullpen, every option seems to have “ace” reliever potential.

Can we trust Ottavino to be an elite option for the Yankees?

Now, it’s important to be cognizant of Ottavino’s past in regard to statistical success. The 33-year-old righty has only had one truly elite season, which was in 2018. Striking out 13 per nine innings, Ottavino raised his game to another level, and the Yankees are hoping he can continue to provide quality performances for the remainder of his contract. They will need him at the top of his game to make a run at a potential World Series.

My biggest concern is his inconsistency by year, as in 2017 he boasted an ERA over five. He averaged over six walks per nine innings and has only two winning seasons in eight years. While that doesn’t necessarily reflect his pitching, it’s certainly bothersome.

How did Ottavino fuel a stellar 2018?

The Yankees’ new reliever actually decreased his velocity and saw improvement after a troubling 2017. According to  Baseball Savant, the velocity on Ottavino’s sinker actually fell, from 94.2 mph in 2017 to 93.8 mph in 2018. His fastball dropped from 94.4 mph to 94.2 mph. While these are incremental drops, they tell a story.

Ottavino managed to improve his pitching by actually reducing his speed and focusing primarily on his slider. It was his No.1 pitch while his sinker was his No.2. With a bullpen stocked full of different skill-sets, I would expect head coach Aaron Boone to utilize his pitchers tactically against specific hitters and teams. Ottavino will likely be a stellar addition for the Yanks and make a significant impact on the season ahead.