So, we are thinking about the Yankees’ performance in August, and obviously based on their record during the month (10 wins – 18 losses), you wouldn’t expect an upswing in the quality of their pitching performances but in reality there were some positive signs.

Indeed, in the bullpen there were as many significant improvements as there were players who made a significant decline.

Let’s see who the strong performers were, and those who buckled under the strain:

* indicates left-handed pitcher. No * indicates right-handed pitcher

Name/Pos	W	L	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	WHIP
Jonathan Loaisiga rp	0	1	0.00	9	0	3	0	0	9.1	2	1	0	1	4	0.32
Keynan Middleton rp	0	0	0.68	11	0	5	0	0	13.1	5	1	1	6	17	0.83
Nick Ramirez rp	0	0	1.69	3	0	2	0	0	5.1	5	1	1	1	2	1.13
Nestor Cortes sp*	0	0	2.25	1	1	0	0	0	4.0	1	1	1	1	8	0.50
Michael King rp/sp	1	1	2.37	8	3	0	0	0	19.0	15	6	5	5	25	1.05
Ian Hamilton rp/sp	1	1	3.38	9	2	1	0	1	18.2	12	7	7	9	23	1.13
Tommy Kahnle rp	0	2	3.38	12	0	2	0	0	10.2	11	5	4	5	17	1.50
Gerrit Cole sp	3	2	4.06	6	6	0	0	0	37.2	29	18	17	9	39	1.01
Greg Weissert rp	0	0	4.50	1	0	1	0	0	2.0	2	1	1	0	2	1.00
Luis Severino sp	2	3	4.56	5	4	0	0	0	23.2	21	14	12	8	21	1.23
Jhony Brito sp/rp	1	1	4.91	5	1	0	0	0	14.2	15	9	8	4	14	1.30
Randy Vasquez sp/rp	1	1	5.14	2	1	0	0	0	7.0	5	4	4	4	5	1.29
Clarke Schmidt sp	1	2	5.16	6	6	0	0	0	29.2	33	19	17	9	34	1.42
Carlos Rodon sp*	0	1	6.23	4	4	0	0	0	17.1	17	12	12	8	18	1.44
Albert Abreu rp	0	0	6.92	9	0	4	0	0	13.0	13	11	10	12	8	1.92
Wandy Peralta rp*	0	1	7.56	9	0	1	0	0	8.1	7	7	7	4	12	1.32
Clay Holmes rp	0	2	7.84	11	0	7	0	2	10.1	16	10	9	3	10	1.84
Name/Pos	W	L	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	WHIP

Starters

One of the strangest stories in Yankees’ history seems finally to have come to an end. Domingo German first made headlines when he underwent a lengthy suspension a few years ago, for matters that included domestic violence. After that, returning the the Yankees’ roster, he seemed to tow the line and get on with business. Personally, I would have been happier if they had cut him then and there. C’est la vie. And then came 2023… And what we might call Mr German’s “sticky stuff” period. First up came the day when he was given a lengthy examination by the crew chief which stopped short of ejection, because of his protestations that the foreign substance was merely the (allowable) rosin mixed with saliva. Next time, when he must have been aware that the umpires were keeping a close eye on him, nobody was buying it. He was ejected from the game, and suspended for 10 games. This left the Yankees with a real problem given their high number of injuries.

When he came back, you’d have thought he would have settled for the quiet life. Instead, he merely pitched a perfect game. Yes, I said a perfect game. Don Larsen (in a World Series), David Wells, David Cone (both as part of the Torre-led dynasty era), and finally in a very low par season, Domingo German. Spot the odd man out. The value of his autograph went through the roof. Special Topps baseball cards were prepared in his honour. His standing on the roster and the rotation went upwards significantly.

What could go wrong for this guy now?

And then came August. The details are still sketchy, but the suggestions are that German turned up at the clubhouse, as expected, on a night when he wasn’t pitching. But it seems he was absolutely loaded. Stewed to the gills. The Yankees locked him in a secluded room, hoping to sober him up. Last heard of, he is in rehab and drying out. Now, this isn’t the first time that this has happened to a Yankee. There are stories of the aforementioned David Wells staying out too late, and getting into fist fights in bars. Whitey Ford, Mickey Mantle, Billy Martin all had their momemts when they broke club policy, and needed to escape arrest. CC Sabathia struggled with addiction. But the Yankees may wish they’d never heard of Domingo German, if it wasn’t for that perfect game. Will he ever pitch in the Majors again? We’ll see. Could it be in the Yankee pinstripes? You’d think not. Will we see him coming back at some future Old Timers’ Day? And what would the announcer say by way of introduction? All very perplexing… Questions, so many questions…

Elsewhere amongst the starters, there was another sad story, but at least this time it was not self-inflicted. Nestor Cortes returned from injury in order to pitch his start on the 5th of August, against the Houston Astros at the Stadium. He did well, pitching four innings for 1 run. The Yankees limited his pitch count in order to let him build up his strength ready for future appearances. However, on the 11th he still wasn’t ready for another start, and the Yankees placed him on the 15 day injured list with a left rotator cuff strain. On the previous occasion, he had pitched his shortest start of the season, but it seems likely to have brought his season to a premature end.

All of this meant that the Yankees had to rely on a collection of “openers”, and players who had spent the season bouncing between Scranton (Triple-A) and the Bronx. Most successful of these openers was Michael King (ERA 2.37 on the month, with one win, one loss, and six no decisions) whom it seems the Yankees are working on his stamina levels in order to make a starter at least until the end of the season. By the 29th of August when the Yankees were playing in Detroit, he pitched his longest appearance of the season (4 innings), and went scoreless.

Also being used as an opener on occasion and delivering quality performances was Ian Hamilton. He was first pitcher on two occasions, and made seven relief appearances. From this, he took one win, one loss and one save. His ERA on the month was 1.38. with a WHIP of 1.13.

Less successful of the spot starters were Randy Vasquez, and Jhony Brito, who delivered ERAs around the 5 mark. It’s difficult to draw conclusions about their long-term futures in the Bronx at the moment.

The strange season of Luis Severino continues apace. In the three starts that fell between August 4 and 15th, he gave up 15 runs (13 earned) in 10 innings, and this mostly led to self-recriminations in post-match press conferences, where his only desire seemed to be to beat up on himself. Somehow or other, he managed to turn it round without warning, pitching into the seventh in his next two appearances without giving up any runs. This meant that on the month, he finished with two wins and three losses – a far cry from where it looked like his month was heading at one stage. His ERA on the season, which at one point rose above 8, fell below seven. His ERA on the month was 4.56. Too soon for soaring confidence, but heading in the right direction.

Whatever we say about anyone else, Gerrit Cole continues to be Mr. Consistency. Despite the Yankees’ losing ways, he still managed to come out with a winning month – 3 wins, 2 losses. He has picked up more no decisions than you might expect, but that has more to do with the lack of hits than his pitching performance. His ERA came in at 4.06 on the month, but more importantly his WHIP was just a whisker above one.

Clarke Schmidt has got stronger as the season has gone along, but August wasn’t his best month. His ERA (5.16), and his WHIP (1.42) were both inflated, leading to a losing record on the month. Carlos Rodon never had any solid form to lose, Both his WHIP and ERA were highest among the starters, leaving him with no wins in August

Relievers

Jonathan Loaisiga was the pick of the relief corps in August. He had been on the 60 day injured list, and returned on the 7th of August to give the Yankees bullpen a significant lift. From then until the end of the month, he appeared in 9 games for a 0.00 ERA. He gave up only 2 hits, 1 unearned run, and his 1 walk contributed to a near immaculate 0.32 WHIP.

Also delivering excellent performances was new guy, Keynan Middleton. He came in at the trade deadline in exchange for prospect Juan Carela, who went in the opposite direction and joined the Chicago White Sox. He appeared in 11 games, for a 0.68 ERA and 0.83 WHIP. All 11 appearances were for no decisions.

Nick Ramirez has had an up-and down season, both in terms of form and also geographical location – he has bounced back-and forth between the majors and Scranton (Triple-A). This month was a good one for him. Although he only appeared in 3 games, he did well when he had the opportunity.

Tommy Kahnle was expected to be one of the bullpen leadersin 2023. It hasn’t always worked out that way. He showed more in August, and that and his buoyant clubhouse presence probably just about make him a good off-season acquisition. He still conceded two losses, but his 3.38 ERA is a step in the right direction.

Albert Abreu is a mystery man. On a good day, he is worth his presence on the roster. When he has a bad day, you are left wondering why the Yankees re-signed him after placing him on waivers in 2022. This month was one of his worse ones. He appeared in 9 games for an ERA that approached 7, and a WHIP that was close to 2. He seemed laboured and disconcerted. Where does his future lie?

Speaking of laboured and disconcerted, we turn our attention to Clay Holmes and Wandy Peralta. As we have mentioned before, Holmes is a confidence player, and not the guy you necessarily want on a losing team. This month, his ERA was 7.84, and his WHIP nearly as bad as Abreu’s. In 7 games that he finished out, he only produced two saves – although this wasn’t mostly his fault. Most of the games in which he was introduced were ones that the Yankees were already losing. They had to find him innings somewhere.

Peralta is usually more consistent, but not in August 2023. A 7.56 ERA, and 7 runs in 8.1 innings didn’t indicate that the Yankees could depend on him. Hopefully, his struggles will pass, and as the team returns to form so will he.