Heartbreak in the Bronx but the Best is Yet to Come

There are no words to make it all better for Yankees fans. After a brutal series loss to the hated rival Boston Red Sox, the offseason came way too early in the Bronx. The Yankees and their fans expected to play a game 5 on Thursday but instead they will have to wait 169 days until their next meaningful game. It seems like the sky is falling right now but in reality, this team is just taking off.

In 2018 we all saw the development of Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar. The two rookies both had incredible seasons but were exposed come October. This devastation should help them in the future as they continue to develop.

The Yankees biggest flaw was exposed by the Red Sox and that was starting pitching. Besides Masahiro Tanaka, the Yankees starting staff was underwhelming to say the least. CC Sabathia, Luis Severino, and J.A. Happ all struggled in the Division Series which was somewhat to be expected against a vaunted Red Sox lineup. The offseason should bring change in the rotation as it is their missing piece in their chase for their 28th championship.

The historically prolific Yankee offense disappeared in the two home games in the Bronx. Pitching was a problem but when you do not score runs you cannot win games. Giancarlo Stanton, Didi Gregorius, Torres, Andujar, Andrew McCutchen, and Brett Gardner all slumped through the series. Baseball is a game of ups and downs and the offense went through a down at the worst possible time in the 2018 campaign.

So what's next for the Yankees? None of us really know what will happen but we all know that the front office will do all that they can in order to improve their roster. I expect for the team to add at least one starting pitcher, whether that is via free agency or by trade. Names like Corbin, Bumgarner, Kershaw, Keuchel, and deGrom have been thrown around and all would fit but will the price be right? I doubt that they will trade Giancarlo Stanton after 1 year in Pinstripes but I do think that they will add Manny Machado via free agency. Adding Machado would give the Yankees another amazing bat in the lineup but it would improve a poor defense. This would make Miguel Andujar expendable or he could move to first base or the outfield. The Yankees have a lot to think about this offseason but before we all know it Yankee baseball will be back in the Bronx and the chase for 28 will restart.

We want to thank all of you for reading our articles and interacting with us on Twitter and Instagram (@Bombers_Beat). Both @Bombersbeat and @bombersbeat2 will be active throughout the offseason and look forward to talking to all of you about every move. Go Yankees!

Yankees Season Ends in ALDS

The Yankees won 9 more games in 2018 than they did in 2017 however they were eliminated in the ALDS this season rather than last year when they went to game 7 of the ALCS. 

What went wrong in the ALDS ? Well a lot, for one the biggest issue was the starting pitching. Yes the offense didn’t do it’s job but in 3 of the 4 games the Yankees starters imploded and couldn’t even allow the bullpen to come in a small deficit. First it was JA Happ who gave up 5 runs in a little over 2 innings. Then In game 3 it was Luis Severino. Severino gave up 6 runs in 4+ innings of work. Some believe Severino didn’t go through his normal warmup routine because he was unsure of what time the game started. Last night it was CC Sabathia who was victimized by soft contact and wasn’t helped out by Brett Gardner but still didn’t perform well. He lasted just 3 innings giving up 3 runs. He was lucky to escape the first inning. 

Aaron Boone managed a brilliant wild card game was out managed in every way against fellow rookie manager Alex Cora. Boone was always a move to late when it came to removing his starters. He didn’t have a feel for the game and letting Severino pitch the 4th inning of game 3 proved that. 

The Yankees offense could have picked up some of these pitchers but they didn’t. In game 1 and 4 the Yankees had chances and did nothing with them. Giancarlo Stanton had two notable strikeouts one in game one with the bases loaded in the 7th and one last night in the 9th inning. He was swinging all over the zone and showed no discipline whatsoever. He wasn’t the only one though as Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres struggled. Aaron Hicks went down with an injury, Didi Gregorius slumped aside from last night and Luke Voit was okay. Aside from Aaron Judge and at times Gary Sanchez the Yankees offense was dead. 

The Yankees biggest weapon is the bullpen and they only pitched with the lead in game 2. Yesterday the bullpen pitched 7 innings of just 1 run ball. They were dominant but the role they played was keeping the score close enough instead of closing out the Red Sox. 

The Yankees will be aggressive this winter and should put together an even better team in 2019 but after the Red Sox clinched on our home turf it will be a long winter. 

Yankees Win in Wild Card head to ALDS

The Yankees defeated the A’s last night in the AL Wild Card game 7-2. Luis Severino threw 4+ innings of shutout baseball. Dellin Betances was the Yankees bullpen hero as he asked Sevy’s fifth inning jam and pitched a scoreless 6th. The Yankees used Robertson-Britton-Chapman to finish the game. 

Offensively Aaron Judge got things started with the two run homer in the first inning. The Yankees later scored again when Judge and Aaron Hicks doubled on back to back at bats. Later on Luke Voit hit a two run triple and Didi Gregorious added a sac fly. Giancarlo Stanton hit a monster home run later on in the game.

Aaron Boone had a great playoff debut as a manager. He went to Betances in the right spot, he replaced Miguel Andujar with Adeiny Hechaverria at the right time. His faith in Luis Severino and Gary Sanchez also payed off. The Yankees now will play the Boston Red Sox starting tomorrow.