I've tried to stave off the prevalent cynicism, but I really am coming around to the feeling that the organization has become a culture of "a playoff game or three? Plus dump trucks of revenue? That's fine by us."

The teams that have bedeviled the Yankees over the generations have been pesky. Your Joey Coras and David Ecksteins, not to mention your Bretts and Carews.

The essence of baseball is:

Be a tough out
Take what they give ya
Hit 'em where they ain't
Make things happen out there

...and I don't see any of that from this offense. This team is sitting on its hands and waiting for five-o'clock lightning, and I don't like it.

"Home runs are more reliable than stringing three base hits together" is a self-fulfilling prophecy if you never try to string three base hits together.

The bullpen is very good. I’m giving an incomplete to the starters because of the short ST.

Hitting is atrocious.

2997

[1] Remember that inning (2002, I think it was) when California strung together like five hits in a row? Maybe against David Wells?

I don't remember exactly but that's what comes to mind when you invoke peskiness.

You’re 39 Miggy.

And a caught stealing. Good to see he other team with bad baserunning.

Nice job getting out of that inning.

That was nice hitting by IKF.

I predict a monster inning here.

Damn.
He hit hard.
Damn.

Tied!

Yay!
Judge!

Untied!

I'm so tired of Rizzo.

2998

Rizzo!

Nice, Rizzo.

Crap.

2999

Well that was wacky.

That was the worst bunt I've ever seen.

Bravo!

Nice hitting.

That's the way.

Two fat shots for a two-run single...

Nice bunt by Higgy. Great pick by the 1st baseman who saved a run or 2.

IKF is an OPS machine!
.733 IKF
.641 Stanton
.538 Donaldson
.505 Torres
.377 Gallo
.262 Higgy

Why is Judge swinging so big? Just a fucking single will do.

Off to walk the terrorists. Would hate to miss a big inning

It feels like everyone else in the inning was swinging for contact and suddenly Hicks and Judge decided to swing for the fences.

Damn!

Nice fucking play! 5-3!

Rizzo manufactures a run all by himself. Nice job.

Chappie coming in to close. What could go wrong?

Did Cameron miss any cliches... or did he get them all?

Noice win.

I'm over to the Mets now, even when they are losing they're a lot more fun to watch.

Afternoon game tomorrow, and with Miggy at 2999, should be on MLBN.

[1] Okay, who sent Boone my comment? :)

Stealing, bunting, hitting… that was very satisfying.

[25] Thas whaadim talkin about.

I want 0-2 swings to be different from 3-1 swings.

Wasted scoring opportunity

rizzo's who i want up here

never mind :)

yikes

Crud

bad in every way. boone made right decision but oof

Booo!

Looking back on the image Alex used to illustrate this thread, I can't tell whether it's a reference...

...to the bullpen? ("Who ya gonna call?")

...or to the offense? ("It tolls for thee.")

Ah, Carlos is in the booth

Nice D Trevino

All rise

I don't understand, why the Yankees, already having too many 'Big Bats/Low Average' guys, signed Gallo.

RIP Guy LeFleur. Only 70.

Congrats, Miggy!

I love these line drives.

Bravo, IKF.

I’ll take it

Josh!

Rats

Falafel!

Gleyber Day!

Exciting finish. I felt pretty good with Gleyber batting there. Of course, it was already tied so that always helps.

Does Cole shit the bed today or not?

Missed the homer, busy walking the terrorists.

More runs!

DJ! A beautiful day at the plate indeed.

Double digits

Just stopping in to celebrate the first double-digits of the season! Uh, I mean, for us. The Cubs put up jaw-dropping numbers yesterday, didja see?

[57] I was wondering too. Asked: answered.

Boo, shutout gone

So who's the next player to knock on the door of 3000? Is it Robbie Cano?

Only 5 active players have over 2000 hits.

I was just looking at Albert Pujols' stats. He really fell off a cliff when he went to the Angels in 2012. He didn't have a single season below 900 OPS for the Cards and didn't have a single season above 900 OPS for the Angels (and only one even above 800 OPS). Maybe he is really 5 years older than he says he is.

Radar doesn’t look good for tonight, at least for on time.

Miggy Jr., recalled because Aaron Hicks is placed on the . . . drum roll please:
paternity leave. Congrats to the couple.

[65] Well, or maybe two years older.

[66] Oh cool! Congrats to Yankee Aaron 3 & fam!

Woohoo!

Yikes. That was close. 3 run job!

Nice job, Rizzo!

Evening, Team!

Finally, Gallo!

Now *that* is a home run.

Holy fuck!

I can't believe that went out!

Such a lazy swing. God.

I once saw Jim Thome do that at the Stadium.

He made this lazy swing and the ball miraculously just kept going and going.

Out to left-center, I mean. With Thome. He was a strong man.

God, that was scary. That motherfucker almost fell in.

Darn.

sigh

Darn, indeed.

Wow!!!!!
Dang. Beautiful dive.

Bravo!

What a play!

As So Often Happens...

Nice hit.

[80] laughing

As so often does.

A lot of very hard hit balls pulled foul to left tonight.

Nice, Rizzo!

Whoa.
He's really got that measured out huh?

Huzzah!

Damn.

What a shot.

It’s homer night, Josh, not doubles. Yeesh.

That actually looked a little like a Giambi swing.

Dammit, a hit. But Boone can now take Sevy out at some point

Oh well.

Good. Now they can take out Luis sooner than later and avoid all the bullshit.

Shite!

Hmph.

Fucking Bollocks!

Fuck.

I don't like what's happening.

Wow!
What range!
I think we'll keep this felafel guy.

Nice play, IKF.

Big play.

(I can't believe we're still doing this militarism stuff more than twenty years after 911.)

What happened?

Sevy's on cruise control, gave up one hit. I stepped away to talk to the wife and....

Way to ruin a pitching line.

[101] Three run shot to left. Not a bad pitch, really. Good hitting.

Rizzo's about to hit another one...

I can feel it.

Unless of course he draws a base on balls.

Stanton with a .542 OPS..............

Hot DAMN!

God, that was beautiful.

Double digits, again!

[102] Thanks for the context.

I like this dog pile on the rabbit.

Man. I'm joining the ranks of those who don't see the end of a Yankees game unless it ends before 10 p.m. or it's Summer. Go Yankees!

Gleyber has more RBI in this game than Gallo has for the year.
Just sayin'.

[101] It was 10-4 and I was ready to call it a night, went in to clean the kitchen, and suddenly it's 10-8.

What a load of horse shit.

Nice drive by Judge.

(But I abhor a slugfest.)

Jesus.

NUMBER THREE!

Wow! I don't know if Rizzo'z 3 HRs add up to 1000 feet.

I don't like this whole talking ump business.
This ain't football, people.

"After official review, the home run is confirmed--first down!"

Dang!

All rise!

Boston gives the BJ's 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th. All tied 5-5.

Play ball!

What, I'm the only one watching???
Everyone else missed the first Stantonian blast?

350 for Stanton!

[122] I saw. Stanton is a must-see AB.

But man, I'm getting tired of Coney talking about exit velo.

Joey Gallo is not a good hitter.

I wonder where everyone has gone.
There are very few Yankee Blogs now for following live games.
I confess that I was on 'River Ave Blues' for a few years, but they are gone now.
Where is everyone?

I don't understand. They must realize they can't possibly pick off the Fastest Man Alive. Doh!

Hm.
Settle down, Monty.

What??? The Fastest Man Alive doesn't advance to third on the fly ball???

Bad baserunning!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the Fastest Man Alive.
Speed kills.

I don't want to root against Judge, but if he has a good year, he will become a FA and will therefore be gone. It will be a 'Cano situation' all over again. Frankly, I thought what the Yanks offered him was very reasonable... more the 'I offered' him. I just don't think he will age well. The Yanks offer took him through his age 38 year, at the second highest AAV for a position player. More than fair?

Small ball!
I love small ball.
When the other team is doing it, I mean.

Hm.
Well, I'd love to see Judge stay. And I'm in favor of Hal spending gigantic quantities of money, so it doesn't concern me personally how much the big guy asks for.
But it's true that given a fixed amount of money, it could very likely be better spent elsewhere. He should age pretty well -- power hitters do -- but it's just about certain that he'll have played his best years already when he signs his next contract.

[132] maybe up the amount by $1.5 mil per year, as he’s now the face of the franchise, plus help him on endorsement deals.

But yeah, anything past 38 is risky. Tigers still have to pay Miggy next year.

I've been watching. Good on Stanton. Hopefully he hits #400 sometime in September. : )

Santander took that one to the bank. He really cashed in.

Fucking Bollocks. I hate the o's.

Grumble

I guess I accept that sac fly.

Woo hoo

Funny. I googled Clint Frazier the moment Gallo homered. He's off to a 3 for 21 start.

That was a well-struck baseball.

The little IKF that could!

Nick Johnson. (That's who he Trevino looks like.)

I don't get this proposed rule limiting throws-to-first. Has anyone read anything about it? I mean, what happens if you throw to first twice, and then you aren't allowed to throw again... and then the runner just strolls down to second?
Do you have to pitch out instantly, as soon as you've registered your second throw??

Big-ass insurance run!

More Falafel, please

[146] Yeah, good question. It just sounds like yet another horse shit change. But maybe even less practicable.

I guess they could have some line past which if the runner extends his lead the pitcher can throw over? I mean, you're right, how can you limit throws without also limiting leads?

[148] Yeah. I'm into him.

Yeah I don't like the idea of lines at all.
I don't like the rules to stifle all the shifting, either -- they'd better not put more lines on the field for that. But I bet they will.
I don't love all the shifting, but I don't like the new rules to stop it, is what I'm saying.
Same with this other rule -- it would be fun to put base stealing back in the game, but not if the rule to do it is bad.

Michael King can stay.

[146]

"This rule will limit pitchers to just two “step offs” or pickoff attempts per plate appearance. On the third attempt, if the runner is not thrown out, the move is ruled a balk and any runners are automatically awarded the next base."

https://www.mlb.com/news/baseball-rule-changes-tested-in-minor-leagues-in-2021#:~:text=It%20can%20become%20monotonous%20when,pickoff%20attempts%20per%20plate%20appearance.

[151] Agreed 100%. I want to see shifting stopped by hitters making adjustments rather than rigging the game from without.

Is that true???

Ralph Kiner and Elizabeth Taylor?

[154] I think some team is going to figure it out. That Rizzo third base line bunt was a good start -- it was an absolutely terrible bunt, one of the worst executed bunts I've ever seen, and it was *easily* a hit.
If Rizzo could bat .450 with bunts like that, even though he'd have zero power, I think probably it's worth it. (Maybe not with two on and one out, but you know, with nobody on base, say.)

Of course, if Gallo could bat .195 with bunts, that would also be worth it.

Darn.
Hm, well, cough up three runs so LeMahieu can get another chance to extend his hitting streak?

Winning is better than losing.

[156] laughing

[151] hit against the shift, put a couple guys on so defense can’t employ the shift. If tactics have changed, adjust, and take advantage. Same as in war.

Not that any sport is the same as a war.

Afternoon baseball.

Nice D

No harm

Sigh

Good thing I didn’t miss a rally while walking the terrorists

Yay, a run!

Amazing that he scored from first on that hit.

Vaunted Orioles defense. Vaunted.

Tied up

And un

Vaunted!!

All rise! Double digits

Happy Double Digits to all.

Phinally

Apple+ game tonight.

Two year suspension for Bauer, with no credit for time served on paid leave. Doesn’t end until his contract is up.

I am fine with all 30 teams independently concluding he is not a good fit for their team.

[174] It took me fifteen minutes to find. This is outrageous.

(I only just put it on but these broadcasters sound awful.)

Fuck. Nice catch.

It's gone!

Yayyy!

Stanton!

Omg.

How do you fuck up a rundown!

That was AWFUL!

All right. Nestor's got this. He's going to settle down and sail smooth from here on out.

These Kansas Cities sure look like a good club.

Rizzo making up for his short porch dingers the other night.
Stanton murdering one.
Got lucky on the rundown.
Cortes looking decent overall with a few bad (sharply hit) pitches mixed in. Time to settle down for a few innings.

I hope we never see hide nor hair of Bauer again.

Oh, motherfucker!

This is some sloppy fucking baseball.

My God.

PS- I like the new/alternate KC logo. Seems a little toward the side of Southwest Native American or Aztec but creative nonetheless.

Good work, Nestor.

Hang in there.

Nice job, Nestor.

Friday night baseball on AppleTV. The picture is better than MLB Network.

Nice run right there.

Yaaayyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Small ball for the insurance run is much appreciated.

Nice big phat cushion.

[191] So much.

Two outs away from a perfecto at Shea? Is that what's going on?

Nah. Apparently not. Just a no-hitter by committee?

Free for limited time. Nope. Not going to encourage that garbage.

Whoa, that's really only the second one in Mets history?

How weird. And by committee is just kind of lame.

Still and all, Mazel Tov, Metsies!

What are the merits of a five pitcher no hitter versus losing one 4-0? Asking for a friend.

Gleyber!!

Yaay!

[198] laughing