SOX ON FIRE, YANKEES ON EDGE!

Almost 4 months ago, the Boston Red Sox fired Alex Cora and it looked like Boston was done for. All of Yankee land was laughing as we enjoyed looking down at Boston all the way at the bottom of the AL East. They were deflated, we were in first place and that what we want to see. 

My how times have changed. Since then, the Yankees have lost heavy hitters in Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Cody Bellinger. Add in pitcher Carlos Rodon and it is doomsday. The Yankees have been trying to tread water and the Red Sox literally lit a fire underneath everyone and went on winning streaks of 26-3 and 32-5 while the Yankees continue to stagger and stumble. Now the Yankees are literally feeling the Red Sox breathe down the necks. Suddenly a slip to third is very possible.

And I sit here and hate it all while being in amazement of George Lombard Jr and be pleasantly surprised at times by Spencer Jones. Those bright moments have come too late though because we are now as uncomfortable as it gets. What was once a 15 game lead over the Red Sox is now down to a game and a half.

I always say never underestimate the Red Sox. You never count them out....ever. They just reminded us of this. Months ago it looked like a minimum of a first Wild Card spot was likely. The American League is curiously weak compared to the National League. If the Yankees couldn't catch the Rays, we would at least have the first Wild Card spot. But....that the reality is, that might not be what happens here.

Not unless the Yankees start playing like their hair and asses are on fire! Rodon should be back soon, and Judge is progressing. Hopefully we also have Bellinger back by the time we see Boston again but that's not a guarantee. No doubt our injuries have hurt us, and we are missing our star power but both teams feed off of their starting pitching. The Red Sox have still found a way to win with a lineup that is not exactly loaded with big names or contracts.

The difference between these two teams is heart. The Yankees have shown we have that recently, but we need more of it to get us to the finish line. This is going to be a dog fight to the very end, and it's not going to be easy. 

Just in case you need a reminder.....NEVER underestimate the Red Sox.....EVER!

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

THE RIDICULOUS YANKEES! BEST TEAM ADDITION WAS ALREADY IN HOUSE!

You know, I'm really not happy about how the Yankees botched the trade deadline. They really screwed that up to the point that the Red Sox and the Rays are off in the distance pointing and laughing at us. Our rivals made the upgrades that Brian Cashman claimed weren't possible. There were "limited opportunities" on the market. Limited to who? Only Cashman who can't seem to get the job done.

He has one job, and that is to build a championship caliber team, and find ways to improve upon it. Other teams did it, but he's just not capable. Sure, I know he added Heliot Ramos and Luis Garcia Jr. He added offense which is needed because this lineup is dead without Aaron Judge but, it's a band-aid fix. Neither of these guys play catcher or can come out of the bullpen. They are fine. I want more than fine. I am tired of settling or being complacent while our biggest competitors become more dangerous.

Nothing against Ramos or Garcia. They are just bats the Yankees hope will add some offense to the lineup. Meanwhile, we are still stuck with Austin Wells who can just continue to suck without having an excuse like he's under too much pressure and folding because of it. Now he can just suck because the Yankees will let him because now they have no opportunities instead of "limited opportunities." The only plus to this is Anthony Volpe can suck down in Triple-A and we don't have to watch him night after night screaming the same obscenities when he doesn't hit or screws up defensively. 

So the win for Cashman is we stop bitching about Volpe and now we get to watch George Lombard Jr. finally get his opportunity. He's as untouchable as one could be for a while, but the Yankees stupidly stuck with Volpe for too long. He certainly wasn't holding onto his spot because he earned it, they just wanted Volpe to blossom into something he was never going to be. If the Yankees weren't going to trade Lombard Jr, they needed to give him a chance. It's not like he could be worse. That's almost impossible....

So now you have to wonder if the Yankees best addition was actually a subtraction of Volpe and calling up top prospect Lombard Jr. That was their trade deadline. We got better by sending down a scrub. That's it. Lombard Jr is a talent for sure, we saw it last night there is so much potential there but.....this can't be the big splash for a team with championship aspirations!

We are defined as a team that makes additions by subtraction....that's what we have become. These "decision makers" are a joke. Time will tell, but I hope Lombard Jr. makes the Yankees regret being stupid for so long.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

NO RIGHT TURNS: IS CASHMAN STEERING YANKEES LINEUP INTO A LEFTY DEAD END?

In the latest episode of "what the hell is Brian Cashman doing now?" we focus on the next player that the Yankees acquired that isn't what the Yankees really need. We have a long list of needs so in theory finding something to chase that isn't what we need should be hard, right?

Not unless you are Cashman. He has this knack for dumpster diving for junk. I won't even call it shopping in the clearance section because even the clearance bin would be insulted. The Yankees need better relief pitching, sound outfield depth, a catcher, the balls to dump Anthony Volpe and right handed hitting. None of that has happened....

But what has happened is the Yankees traded for Nationals First baseman Luis Garcia Jr. Who else is scratching their head right now besides me? It's crazy and true and you can read more about it HERE. The Yankees certainly need a boost offensively because they are awful without Aaron Judge so the connection to Garcia Jr makes sense when he has a .283 BA this season. Dig a little deeper and stats show he has a .293 BA against right handed pitchers.

This team certainly needs offense. A guy that hits near 300 is great, but they Yankees need more of that. One guy isn't going to bring the change this team needs without addressing positional needs also. But aside from that, it's insane because this move doesn't make sense. Adding another guy that plays first base is insane. He's not an upgrade over Paul Goldschmidt and what about Ben Rice? That's just another reason to make him more dispensable.

It's just a giant log jam. He can play first base against a righty pitcher and then Rice can DH while Goldy rides the bench. When a lefty is on the mound, Goldy can play first and the Yankees can shuffle DH. That's exactly what happens here. It's a cluster-you-know-what and I say that because Garcia Jr has played second base and shortstop also but he was awful at both positions so it's not like you can sit Jazz Chisholm or Volpe expecting an upgrade. It's just a giant puzzle that Aaron Boone is gonna have to piece together every night and it's one more opportunity for him to screw up. He was already good at that before adding another infielder to the equation so this could get even uglier.

Look am I glad Cashman finally woke up from his nap? Sure. I hate complacency. I wanted to see moves made more than anyone.....this one just doesn't fix any of the Yankees major weaknesses. So without fixing those this accomplishes nothing. We don't need another first baseman and we don't need anymore left handed bats for crying out loud! Sorry, not sorry.....but I call it like I see it.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

BOWDEN FLOATS ANOTHER BLOCKBUSTER & I'M SALIVATING!

We are less than a week away from the trade deadline and the rumor mill is working overtime. Social media is buzzing with juicy leads, some of them so juicy we practically drool thinking about them. It's enough excitement to check every push notification I get on my phone that is about baseball and stop what I am doing.

Some of these rumors are juicy enough to excite you. Then there are others that just don't have any sense of realism to them. One that has caught my eye is the Tarik Skubal storyline that is playing out. Skubal is going to be on the move, everyone is saying it, especially Buster Olney and Jim Bowden read more HERE.

But where is his new home going to be? Everyone wants to know, especially me. Bowden seems to think the Yankees will be in play for Skubal but I think that is another one of his crazy connections or trade ideas that just never pans out. Just because "Brian Cashman is absolutely everywhere looking for everybody and anything to get better" doesn't mean that the Yankees are gonna be the lucky winner in the Skubal sweepstakes. Every GM is calling the Tigers right now, they would be stupid not to. Brian Cashman has way too many holes not to be engaging with all 29 teams!

Look, every team wants Skubal and the Tigers know this. He's a generational talent that is going to hit it big in free agency but until that happens he's going to be the difference maker that could make or break a wild card to almost half of the league right now. The wild card race is tight, the American League has 8 teams within striking distance of a wild card spot, and 7 teams in the National League are in the same spot. Skubal instantly increases any teams chance of getting to the postseason, so teams are ready to pounce.

Detroit is going to command a high price tag because of this - and it's going to happen. Detroit has about a 25% chance to even make the postseason. As their chances dwindle, it makes more sense for Detroit to trade him and get some controllable talent rather than him leaving and getting nothing.

I think Bowden is right, Skubal is going to be on the move I just don't think it will be to the Yankees. We aren't going to include the pieces needed to get him and other teams have more chips to play with. I also think he's right that Cashman is living on his cellphone and calling and texting everyone trying to make a deal.

I just think the Skubal to the Yankees is another one of his wacky predictions that fall flat. I'd like to be wrong though. In the mean time, happy rumor scrolling Yankee family. It's going to be an interesting few days.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

HAMSTRUNG IN THE BRONX!

The goal was to add to the team by the trade deadline - but now the Yankees are dealing with a significant subtraction to an already banged up roster. Cody Bellinger is on the Injured List. When it rains on this team, it freaking torrential downpours.

The Yankees have spent the summer without some of their biggest star power. Now an already patched together outfield without Aaron Judge and DH Giancarlo Stanton gets more complicated. This team is the very definition of complicated but now losing Cody just makes it downright depressing. Although Cody slumped offensively heading to the All-Star break his defense has been unmatched, literally. He is the best defensive left fielder in the league. To date, he leads all left fielders with 19 defensive runs saved, Boston's Jarren Duran is a very distant second with 8 defensive runs saved. Cody's range and arm strength make him an elite defender.

While Cody is out, Spencer Jones gets the call from Triple-A. I really want to see him contribute and grow into a major league player that everyone else believes him to be. I'm just not a big Jones fan. He's 25 and hasn't figured out how to be a consistent, productive hitter. He's all or nothing and I'm tired of watching that every season on this team reincarnated.

The world seems to think he is going to be this guy who hits 30+ home runs, and drives in 100 runs. That's all great in theory but when you have a 40% strikeout rate those odds are increasingly NOT in your favor to make those kinds of stats. Oh and, if he can't achieve those numbers down in Triple-A, how does anyone think it just magically gets better in the majors? You know...where the talent level is higher. Am I the only one who believes it's possible that Jones could be just as likely to be Joey Gallo 2.0?

Okay, I will stop there because I think my frustration of Cody is making me go down a rabbit hole about Jones. My frustration is we seem to have more hamstring issues every stinking year. This time, it's a new experience for Cody, who said, "I've never had a hamstring injury before. It just feels a little tight," read more HERE. So the guy who's never had a hamstring before has no idea what he's dealing with yet and neither do the Yankees.

Side note - how do the Yankees not realize that they can avoid more of these hamstring issues by doing this cool thing called STRETCHING? Yes, it's this not new at all thing that many athletes around the world do. It helps with mobility and agility and my goodness there are many resources out there to help the Yankees with these things. There are classes, and hell I actually jump on this cool thing called YouTube and go through some videos. They are very helpful! If the Yankees added some stretching to their workouts and not just weight lifting, it would do wonders! Yoga and Pilates are not just girly activities, they are game changers!

Okay, rant over. No one knows how long Cody will be out. Hopefully he's back soon because anymore craziness and you could stumble across more of these ramblings. Get well soon, Cody....and add more stretching!

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

PINSTRIPE CLEARANCE, COME & GET IT!

We salvaged one game against the Dodgers we won against the Pirates Monday. It's something I guess. Now we are two games behind the Rays, but the Red Sox are chasing us. We have a lot of work ahead of us, and we need some big winning streaks. As much as I love the Yankees I don't have faith this team has what it takes to go the distance.

This team isn't the same without Aaron Judge. Hell, this team isn't championship caliber when Judge is playing because Aaron Boone runs this clown show. Judge, and our starting pitching staff are the anchors of this team. The rest of them are just remnants of the "run it back" team from last season that collapsed and failed.

This team has been more of the same for years. The last time we made meaningful changes was the great fire sale was ten years ago! It was the great fire sale of the 2016 trade deadline. It was a bitter pill to swallow when it happened. It felt awful, it felt like we were giving up. It felt...."un Yankee like."

But at the time it was the right decision. We even went so far as to praise Brian Cashman for recognizing the tough call but executing it, read KUDOS TO YOU, BRIAN CASHMAN! The Yankees are never looked at as sellers....until we became sellers and we came back stronger the next season with new blood. I will give Cashman credit for that. He recognized the Yankees were unlikely to make a deep postseason run and cashed in on an aggressive seller's market. He traded away several high valued veterans to teams that needed an edge and gained 12 prospects that helped to transform the farm system. He made the right move. Is that really unlike what we have right in front of us now?

If we are honest about this season, there haven't been enough high moments but there have been a lot of free falls. I can't even call it a rollercoaster. So knowing that, at what point should the Yankees have a fire sale again? What do fans need to see to decide to "ride or die" with this current circus show? I honestly can't think of anything, especially with Judge out indefinitely and we have paper weights like Austin Wells and Anthony Volpe taking up roster space.

A Yankees fire sale isn't the worst idea in the world. This team needs new everything. New veteran presence to help Gerrit Cole and Judge and most of all new leadership from actual managers unlike the "decision makers" we have now. Baboonie should be at the top of the cut list! 

It's time for a whole new approach - it's time to rip the band aide off! Who is with me?

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

YANKEES HAVE INTEREST IN ANOTHER CATCHER

Oh to have a new catcher on this roster. What a nice thought, right? Because Austin Wells sucks and his .153 batting average isn't going to help fix anything. I'm just sick of thinking, talking, blogging about or watching him. I'd just like to dump him and be done with it.

The Yankees have this bad habit of falling in love with all of these guys that score well on their crazy evaluations. Then they get excited and dub him the guy for the job, the guy that helps lead the Yankees to the promise land of a championship. Then, it doesn't take long to see him not live up to their great expectations and he falters and the Yankees spend more time defending their screwup rather than fixing the problem.

We've been in the last stage for too long. He sucks, the Yankees defend him and he sucks sucking and we keep losing. Meanwhile, the Yankees are sniffing around for another catcher. The Yankees have been tied to Ryan Jeffers, and he would be a fine upgrade (anyone would honestly), but the Twins are a competitive team. They have a real chance to make the postseason, so the Twins moving Jeffers seems extremely unlikely.

And then there is Hunter Goodman. He's also someone that might be hard to move but for a different reason. The Rockies stink. They are 24 games back in their division and in last place. Keeping Goodman doesn't help them contend but it does allow the Rockies to build around him. He's under team control for the next three seasons. There's no real reason to get rid of him unless another team gives the Rockies something that they just can't refuse.

Which will be hard for the Yankees. They don't exactly have a ton of blue chip prospects to give up and the ones they do have, they don't want to. The Rockies are going to start by asking for George Lombard Jr, Dax Kilby, Elmer Rodriguez, and possibly even Ben Rice. It would be not be an "affordable" move for the Yankees. The Yankees would have quite a challenge to outbid other suitors (because there will be several) and have enough attractive chips to get it done. It certainly wouldn't be easy.

But boy is it necessary. He is everything Wells isn't. He's a tight handed bat and productive offensively and maybe not quite as good defensively but...who cares! He's not bad behind the plate and we need guys that can hit the ball. We need that idea of 'see the ball, hit the ball and put it in play,' and he can do that. Wells can't hit the broad side of a barn with the world's biggest bat. It's time to fix the problem that has been ignored for too long.

Wells needs to go....the Yankees need to pick a replacement. Pick anyone, seriously....choose the "eeny meeny miny moe" method for all I care but it's time to fix this wrong!

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

BRAWLIN IN THE BRONX - WILL THE YANKEES SHOW UP?

I am NOT looking forward to this. The Dodgers are coming into town. That means I am going to hear all of the fake, annoying Dodger fans at work become even more obnoxious. Here come all of the jabs about the next three-peat and dynasty. You won't find a bigger pool of bandwagon Dodger "fans" then where I live. This is their breeding ground.

So here we go. First series back from the All-Star break and it has to be against the damn Dodgers. At least it's on our turf, but then again....it's on OUR turf! I still think about how the Dodgers embarrassed us in the World Series. We have been playing some very uninspiring baseball for too long. This could be a disaster in the making. I hope the time off invigorated the Yankees but this team for years has needed a lot more than time off to help them become real contenders.

At this point, we are at the halfway point. Wildcard standings, division races and trades matter more than ever. October is coming and fast. This series could be a preview of what's to come. Some fans are really serious about it, others aren't and that's a lot of what YES broadcasters discussed HERE. I think if you are the Dodgers this series doesn't matter as much, but the Yankees it matters a lot.

I love Paul O'Neill, he's a legend and I like listening to him call games. I just don't know if I share his same thoughts about this series. "I don't think a weekend series in July tells you how you're gonna play a team in the World Series. Everybody looks at that World Series where the Dodgers on paper look like they beat up the Yankees but the Yankees had a couple of games that they could've coulda won and it could've been a seven-game series. I never feel that the Yankees are truly overmatched by anyone. I would assume that the media will turn it up to be a big, big series, but Aaron Judge is not a part of it, Stanton's not a part of it. Ohtani, who knows? He might not even be a part of it, won't be pitching probably. It's gonna be a different scenario if you meet them again in October."

Coulda, shoulda, woulda won....but didn't. There's too many of these. O'Neill may not feel like the Yankees are truly overmatched by any team but they certainly play like they are sometimes. They lack fundamentals, can't hit the broad side of a barn, have circus ringleader Aaron Boone for a manager and are their own worst enemy. Teams don't fear them whether Judge is playing or not. He's only one guy on the field or in the batting lineup. The rest of the team does not compare and all signs point to Shohei Ohtani playing this weekend just most likely not pitching.

Do I think he's right that it will be a different scenario if we meet again in October? It could be. But first we have to get there and it's hard to have confidence that we will. Both teams slumped heading into the All-Star break, but we slumped a lot longer and harder. The Dodgers kick it up another gear once the postseason hits and we just have a hard time finding one that isn't reverse. 

I hope this weekend goes well for us. Hopefully the Dodgers continue their slump, and we find a spark. I think this series matters. Let's face it they all do but second half of the season against the Dodgers is a real test....and I am not sure that the Yankees are ready.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

GOOD THINGS COME IN PETTITTE PACKAGES!

Andy Pettitte was made for pinstripes, and now maybe his youngest son, Luke Pettitte is too! It's another one of those "like father, like son" cliche moments....or is it?

We don't need to talk about how great Andy was. We all know. Luke could be a great pitcher too, but there's some differences. Honestly, much needed differences so he's not living in the shadow of his dad. I keep seeing on  X everyone is talking about how Andy was a one of a kind, and we shouldn't compare Luke to him.

And we shouldn't. That I agree. Andy was a left handed battle tested pitcher with a pick off move that was unmatched. Luke is right handed so he might not have the same pick off move but he's still talented. He's a two-way player that organizations drool over now that some guy named Shohei Ohtani came in and changed baseball as we know it.

But the Ohtani comparison stops there. They both are two-way players but that's it. Luke started playing at Dallas Baptist College as a pitcher, but Tommy John surgery forced him to step away from the mound. Instead of treating his time away recovering as a lost year in his journey he turned his attention to hitting in his junior year where he hit .337, with 16 home runs and 48 RBIs in 42 games. That's nothing to sneeze at. Hell, he would be an instant upgrade to the current lineup right now considering some guys are hitting .150 right now (here's looking at you Austin Wells), sometimes the truth hurts.

It will be interesting to see what happens going forward. Does Luke even sign? There's no guarantee that he will. No matter what does happen, he already has some bragging rights compared to his old man. Andy was picked in the 22nd round of the 1990 draft, but Luke was picked in the eighth round of this years draft. No matter what happens, he gets that for bragging rights. Honestly, Tommy John or not, scouts have a lot to say about his good command, so I like the pick.

The Yankees need to learn how to evolve and honestly, in more ways than one. Their "run it back" philosophy and overly analytical decisions have not helped this team win anything. There isn't a ton of risk with this draft pick, even with a recovery from Tommy John. Luke has something unique to add and we certainly need something.

We've been saying we are tired of "more of the same" and this isn't it. It's about time! Welcome to the Yankees, Luke!

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

ANEMIC LOSERS!

My parents taught me that it's good to have goals! I think the Yankees have set a goal to to set the single season record for team strikeouts. That's not a goal we should have but we are well on our way. We accumulated 65 strikeouts in the last five games. We are an embarrassment circus of a professional baseball team. Send in the clowns!

Oh wait, we already do that. We have Aaron Boone managing the team. That's the biggest clown in the entire circus. This circus isn't the same one you saw as a kid though. It's boring, you don't get anything back for the high price of your admission and the lineup one through nine is anemic.

I said what I said. Right now our best case scenario is to split a four game series with the Rays. It's what I was afraid of, honestly. Instead of being four games behind the Rays like we were before the start of this series now we have to hope and pray for a miracle to not make that a six game deficit. You know for a $350 million payroll we look like we woke up on the wrong side of the bed because a $95 million team is exposing every flaw and weakness we have. Even deep pockets won't guarantee an offense that can hit over the Mendoza Line.

At this point, the Yankees need to go 40-30 for the rest of the season to win 90 games. Anyone else laughing at that possibility? Honestly, a little league team would have a better chance of achieving that compared to the Yankees. Hell, they would probably school the Yankees at hitting off a tee. That's how pathetic this team is.

Every last one of them not named Aaron Judge. He's the only stability on this team and that's not acceptable. That's not a championship caliber team. It's a bunch of anemic, dead souls vlogging the dugout and outfield that is "led" by a stupid clown that only knows how to get ejected from games. We are at 49 ejections and counting. When is the next one coming? Sooner rather than later.

I remember hearing my grandfather and uncles call this team the Bronx Bombers growing up. Now they are the Bronx bummers. Anemic, dead losers. Everyone needs to be fired. Maybe that will at least wake US up.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj