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. 

My Yankees Report 6/23/22

 

          No win feels sweeter than this one as the Yanks come all the way back to defeat the Houston Astros or as I like to call them, the asterisks. It looked like the game was all but over in the bottom of the 9th, but once again the Yanks had something to say about that as they flipped the switch and took the game into their hands. 

          Whenever the Yankees play the Houston Astros the stakes are much higher and recent history will tell you that. A shaky start and a great finish was how the Yanks came out on top in this one. Jameson Taillon did not look like his normal self after giving up six runs on two pitches. But, the bullpen was once again there to save him and give the Yanks a path to come back.

          It was the game of three run homers as both teams blasted 2 each and 4 combined which is definitely a rarity. The biggest homer came in the bottom of the 9th by who else but the hottest Yankee as of late, Aaron Hicks. Hicks has certainly earned his clutch badge as he has picked up some very big hits for this Yankees squad as of late. 

          The icing on the cake came from Aaron Judge as he picked up his 2nd walk off hit and the Yanks 9th on the year. They now have one of the best records in baseball all time through 70 games. This team is special and something I’ve never seen before. 52-18 sounds pretty nice don’t you think? 

          It is definitely going to be a long and grueling weekend with this Astros team in town, but the Yanks are more than capable of dealing with Houston. They do have to face Justin Verlander who they haven’t seen in multiple years, but he has had their number especially in the postseason. 

My Yankees Report 6/21/22

 

          It seems like whenever the Yanks and Rays match up, the game comes down to the wire and it certainly did it in last nights game. Aaron Judge was about 3 feet away from tying up the ball game, but the difference of 3 feet gave the Rays to win. It was a bit of a weird game nonetheless.

          To start off, Nestor Cortes was pulled early after giving up three home runs early in the ball game. He was then pulled and Clarke Schmidt gave up another homer to give Cortes 4 earned runs. Whenever Cortes gives up more than three earned runs, it’s a pretty weird start because it is a rarity. 

          Schmidt and Cortes gave up 3 home runs to Issac Paredes who is not known as a home run hitter. They were all solo shots, but they were the difference in the ball game. After Schmidt was pulled, Marinaccio and Luetge gave the Yanks three dominant, no-hit innings. It’s not everyday you see Cortes going only 4.1 innings and giving up 4 earned runs.

          The Yankees were in it until their last at bat as Marwin Gonzalez belted a two run homer in the top of the ninth to give the Yankees a chance to pinch-hit Aaron Judge to try and possibly tie up the game. Gonzalez is starting to get some power as he has homered in the last two series.  

          Judge stepped to the plate and the first pitch he saw he flew out to the warning track in left field. If the pitch was just a little more outside than it would’ve been a tie ball game. The Yankee show yet again and that they are never out of any ball game and always fight back.

          The Yanks try to win yet another series today with Jordan Montgomery on the mound in the rubber game of this three-game series. If the Yankees can get a better starting pitching performance from Montgomery then Cortes, then they could easily take this series against the injury-riddled Rays and head home happy. 

My Yankees Report 6/20/22

     The Yanks did not make it easy, but they came away with their 50th win of the season last night against the Rays. So many twists and turns, ups and downs, and everything else was incorporated into this game, but a win is a win and the Yanks did just that. 

    Last night it felt like the Yanks were playing in Yankee Stadium South as I would say at least 75 percent of the fans in attendance were rooting for the Yanks. I don't know if it was because all of the Rays fans were at the Stanley Cup watching the Lightning or just Yanks fans travel well like always. 

    Back to the game, the McClanahan vs Cole matchup was just as advertised as both of these aces pitched like Cy Young candidates. McClanahan again gave up an early mistake when Anthony Rizzo belted a homer in the 1st, but was dominant after that. Gerrit Cole took a no-hitter into the 8th inning and then lost it to Issac Paredes, but only gave up 1 run as well. This is the second time this year that Cole has had a no-hit bid through 6 or more innings. 

    But, the most dramatic part of the game did not involve any starters, for it involved the most unlikely suspect of them all, Clay Holmes. The Yanks brought in Clay Holmes to clean up the small mess that Gerrit Cole left, but for the first time since Opening Day, Holmes allowed 2 runs. Only one of the runs was earned, but it left me in such shock that he actually gave up a run, I forgot he could give up a run with how dominant he has been all season long. The Rays ended up tying up the game at 2 as we headed to the top of the ninth where things got even crazier.

    Rays reliever Jason Adam, who has registered an under 1 ERA similar to Holmes, took the mound to try and get 3 outs and give the Rays a chance to win it in the bottom of the frame. Adam gave up a leadoff single to Donaldson and then a couple batters later, Aaron Hicks came through yet again as he belted an RBI triple to left. It was such an intense moment because Rays outfielder Manuel Margot got hurt while trying to make the play and he had to be stretchered off, and then when Aaron Hicks reached third he was the most fired up I've ever seen him. Also, Yankee Stadium South was rocking as Yankee fans were making a ton of noise overpowering the minuscule amount of Rays fans in the building. 

    Hicks has been the difference maker in the last 2 of 3 games the Yanks have played, so that is a great sign for him. In a game where both offenses were struggling severely, Hicks came through once again and was the difference maker yet again for this Yankee team.

    Onto the bottom of the 9th we went and of course, the Rays had to make things interesting till the final out. The Rays got 2 on with 2 out and a shallow fly ball was hit to center and 3 yankee defenders were in reach of the ball and I was thinking, oh no this is definitely going to drop, and for a second I thought it did, but guess what. Aaron Hicks was there to make the play and win the ballgame! 

    The player of the game for the Yanks was of course Aaron Hicks as he drove in the game-winning run and made the game-winning catch to fend off the Rays. Nestor Cortes takes the mound in game 2 of this series as he will face the Rays for the 3rd time this year. The Yanks now sit at 50-17 and are the first team to reach 50 wins on the campaign this season. 

My Yankees Report 6/19/22

     Well it's confirmed, this team is human after all. The Yanks finally lose a game after they had previously won 9 in a row and won 16 of their last 17 as well. They ended up losing 10-9 because of an ugly pitching performance by the entire pitching staff which has been rare all season.

    The game started off in the Blue Jays favor as Vladdy Guerrero, after struggling the first two games, belted a two-run homer to left to put the Jays on top 2-0. Then the Yanks scored 6 unanswered thanks to a Josh Donaldson two-run homer and a Torres solo shot as well. It looked like the Yanks had the game locked up when they lead 6-2 early, but that was certainly not the case as the game was FAR from over.

    A rare homer from Martin Gonzalez and another one added by Kyle Higashioka made it 8-3. These runs looked like insurance runs at the time, but they only kept the Yanks in the game in the later innings. Lourdes Gurriel quickly answered back with a grand slam and then a Hernandez three-run shot made it 10-8 Toronto just like that. They scored 7 unanswered and did it in bunches. 

    But, the Yanks stayed in it as Anthony Rizzo came into the game and had a pinch-hit homer to make it 10-9 and the Yanks had multiple runners on in the 8th and 9th, but could not get the job done. 

    Wandy Peralta had arguably his worst appearance of the year as he gave up the game-winning runs and Miguel Castro also gave up some runs as well. Luis Severino didn't help them out either as he gave up 5 earned runs as well. Now while saying this, this game was the first time through 66 games the Yanks allowed 10 or more runs. The pitching has been so dominant that we are shocked when they implode sometimes like yesterday's game.

    Besides yesterday's game where the Yanks had multiple chances to win, if you had told me 6 days ago that  in the next 6 games the Yanks would go 5-1, I would be more than satisfied with that. And that's exactly what they did as they head back to Tampa. They face McClanahan tonight and hopefully the Yanks can have the same success as they did the last time these two teams faced off and start yet another winning streak. Gerrit Cole gets the ball for the Yanks as they start off a 3 game set in St. Pete.