Why is Joey Gallo Still a Yankee?

 

        Since Joey Gallo has became a New York Yankee, it was not meant to be. The Yankees knew exactly who they were getting. A guy who would half of the time strikeout and another half of the time he would hit long balls. But, they never imagined that it would be so lopsided towards the negative category.

        It wasn't like the Yanks got Joey Gallo for free or signed him for nothing, they gave up a haul for him in return and obviously nowadays it looked like they were totally ripped off, which they were. They gave up 4 prospects which some have already made their marks in the majors and some are at the top of the Rangers farm system. 

        The Yankees obviously are trying to move on from Gallo as he has less total hits than Aaron Judge does have home runs and is on pace to have the worst batting average of all time. They have already traded for his replacement Andrew Benintendi, but it begs the question, who would want to trade for this guy anyway after how bad he has been? 

        A guy who is batting now under .160 is not appealing to any major league team and a former gold glover in the outfield has not made any jaw-dropping plays in the outfield yet this season. There are plenty of other better outfielders on the market right now ahead of Gallo such as superstar Juan Soto, so Gallo is really not anywhere close to the top of some other teams lists that are looking for outfielders.

        One potential answer for his struggles is that he just cannot handle the bright lights and big stage of New York City. But on the other hand, there have been dozens of players who could never handle the bright lights of New York City, but none of them have struggled this bad over this long of a period. If this is the case he needs to find a lower market team like the Texas Rangers, where he thrived, so he can get his groove back which he has been missing since he landed in New York last summer. 

        When the Yankees added Benintendi, they decided to send down Locastro and not DFA Gallo or even think about sending him down. And its not like Locastro doesn't bring anything to the team, he is the fastest and best pinch runner on the team and his bat has not been that bad this season either. He has been much more effective than Gallo has been at any point this season.

        Another question is why haven't the Yanks sent Gallo down to Scranton Wilkes-Barre at any point this season so he can focus on getting his groove back in the minors before returning to the majors. Its not like the Yanks don't have anyone who could fill his shoes for that time being, you have Tim Locastro or even Estevan Florial who has been in the Yanks system for awhile now and has shown some promise in the minors. Now that you have Benintendi there is really no room left for Gallo anymore and it is clear that the Yanks want to move on, but it's not that easy.

    So, as the boos get louder and louder every time Joey Gallo strikes out at Yankee Stadium each and every game, Yankee fans including myself wonder when will Joey Gallo finally be off this Yankee ball club. 

Have the Angels Hit Rock Bottom?

 

          It seems like almost every year in recent history, the Los Angeles Angels have went into the MLB season with high expectations for that year. To be honest, when you have the 2 best players in baseball, Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, you should have high expectations. Yet, the Angels continue to disappoint year after year.

          Coming into this year with the addition of Noah Syndergaard to the pitching staff, and some new bullpen arms, the Angels finally obtained some good, reliable arms that they could rely on. They finally upgraded the position that they needed to upgrade in past years. They had the bats with Trout, Ohtani, Rendon, Walsh, etc. So what could possibly go wrong this year?

          Well surprise surprise, Anthony Rendon got hurt and still has not been able to complete a season with the Angels now in his 3rd year. The Angels signed him to a huge contract and now it sucks to know as an Angel fan that Rendon is never going to be able to stay healthy consistently. One of the best third basemen in the league cannot stay healthy and help his team out either.

          Since a 27-18 start through May 25th, which looked promising, the Angels have gone 11-30 since. Everything has quickly fallen apart. No matter how good Ohtani and Trout play, the rest of the team just cannot piece it together and add to the same support that those two superstars give. On June 21 Shohei Ohtani racked up 2 homers and 8 RBI’s in a game against the Royals which they still lost 12-11! 

          We all know Shohei can do it all as he is a dominant hitter and pitcher, but he can’t pitch everyday for the Halos, he can every 5 days. The Angels need to find another answer that can provide for them between those 5 days. Noah Syndergaard has not looked like his past self and the rest of the rotation has been not far behind him as well. Ohtani can do it all, but he can’t be Superman and save the Angels everyday, multiple others have to step up behind him and Mike Trout. 

          It looked like such a promising start and possibly the year the Angels cracked the playoffs for the first time in numerous years, but yet again the Angels have found a way to play bad baseball. It’s crazy to think that one of the best baseball players we have ever seen, Mike Trout, has yet to win a playoff game yet in his 11 year career. The Angels need to find an answer and soon as they sit now 10 games below .500 and are about to get swept by the Baltimore Orioles. 

Bigger Villain of New York- Altuve or Young?

 

          As a Knicks and Yankees fan, I along with others have been traumatized by these two players shown here. For one, Jose Altuve cheated the Yankees out of 2 World Series appearances because of the stealing signs scandal. And Trae Young quickly became a villain when he not only knocked the Knicks out of the playoffs, but has taunted them ever since. So I thought, who is a bigger villain to New York between these two?

          Altuve is not only a villain to NY, but also many other major league teams as well. His team, the Astros, and him and his teammates especially cheated many teams such as the Dodgers, Yanks, Red Sox, and many more teams out of a potential championship. So many other sports fans share the same hate for Altuve that we do as Yankee fans as well. 

          For Trae Young, after one game in the playoffs last year he was portrayed as the villain, but not for cheating, just by playing great basketball and the Knicks had no answer for him. He didn’t have to cheat his way through the Knicks or the 76ers in the next round.

          Another difference between Young and Altuve is that Trae Young interacted more with the fans than Altuve ever did. He would showboat and celebrate in front of Knick fans and I along with other Knicks fans did not take that situation very well. 

          All in all in my opinion, the bigger villain of NY is definitely Jose Altuve. Altuve along with his teammates cheated in order to win crucial games that could’ve sent the Yanks to a potential World Series. Personally that is where I draw the line, if you cheat in a professional sport to gain an advantage especially in the playoffs.

          Sure Trae Young certainly still is a huge villain to the state of New York, but when you cheat at a game to gain an advantage, that makes you a bigger villain. Many Yankees were robbed of a potential championship that they will never get an opportunity to play for again because they are not with the team anymore or they are retired.