A New York Yankees Diary – Day Ten to Thirteen – September 20th to 23rd, 2024

So, having finished a successful series in Seattle, the Yankees moved on their road trip to Oakland to face the Athletics.

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A New York Yankees Diary – Day Six to Nine – September 16th to 19th, 2024

With nobody willing to sponsor me to travel on the roadtrip, I get to follow the Yankees’ away games from sunny New York. I exchange Yankee Stadium for Ground Central Coffee Company on 45th street where I report on the series against the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics.

And so to Seattle in my mind…

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A New York Yankees Diary – Day Five – September 15th, 2024

A sunny Sunday Autumn afternoon in New York. My favourite version of the song “Autumn in New York” is by Carolyn Leonhart, who is one of Donald Fagen‘s “Danettes“. Great song, great singer, and this promises to be a great game. Final game of four against the great rivals, Boston Red Sox with the New York Yankees needing to win to take the series and Boston able to achieve a tie if they can take a win. so, why it’s not quite all to play for, it is enough to keep it interesting. Let’s have a shilling on the side.

Pitching for the Yankees is Carlos Rodon. For Boston it is Kutter Crawford.

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A New York Yankees Diary – Day Four – September 14th, 2024

So, the New York Yankees started the game with a 2-0 lead over the Boston Red Sox in this Bronx series. In recent days, they had edged the games, with extra innings and a remarkable comeback playing their part on different days. These Yankees were not going to lie down.

Game 3 then with Brayan Bello on the mound for Boston, and Yankees ace, Gerrit Cole heightening his teams chances of moving towards a sweep in the series.

… but then there have been many twists in this tale.

And there is room for more.

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A New York Yankees Diary – Day Two – September 12th, 2024

Well, Kansas City have left town, but Boston have arrived. The Red Sox bring with them a strong rivalry which means the Yankees’ fans both love having them here and hate them at the same time. Fun as long as nobody takes it too far, and makes it ugly.

Nestor Cortes is starting pitcher today. It is not too long since he was undeservedly demoted to the bullpen, but a strong performance in long relief means that he is back in the starting rotation, with Marcus Stroman now working out of the bullpen.

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The New York Yankees in August – Part One – The Batters (2024)

The New York Yankees are not the team they were in the first months of the season, but they have improved from the form that they were showing in June and July.

In August, they went 14-12. They managed to return to 1st position in the American League – and opened up a 1 1/2 game lead over the Baltimore Orioles. It could be better, but not what’s not to like right?

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The New York Yankees in May – Part One – The Batters (2024)

The New York Yankees had a sensational month in May. They went 21-7 and dominated the league and their division.

Aaron Judge, who had struggled in April, bounced back with strength. Juan Soto continued at the high level he set in April. Their starting pitchers exceeded expectations. The bullpen had as much depth as anticipated.

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The New York Yankees in March / April – Part One – The Batters (2024)

The Yankees settled into their groove right from the beginning of the season this time out. By the end of March, they were 4-0 and in first place in the American League East.

By the end of April, they had slipped back to 2nd in the division, but only by one game behind the Baltimore Orioles.

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The New York Yankees in September / October – Part One – The Batters (2023)

At the end of August, Brian Cashman (Yankees’ General Manager) said “It’s been a disaster of a season. We’re embarassed by it”.

This came, of course, with the Yankees’ usual gift for hyperbole. It was what the less thoughtful fans wanted to hear, and it just built things towards the inevitable firestorm.

For Hal Steinbrenner, and those at the financial helm of the Yankees, it had of course been disastrous. They looked like they were going to miss the post-season (they still had an outside chance when the statement was made – and that would be a tremendous financial loss. They had cut Aaron Hicks, and Josh Donaldson was about to go down the same route. They would carry the can for those poorly chosen signings and their contracts.

But they have finished the season over .500, and were just about to pull themselves up by their bootstraps with a 17-11 last month plus of the season, and move above the old enemy, Boston Red Sox into 4th place in the American League East.

So, really not good, but not a disaster. It gave them a chance to look at some developing young players (not everything went smoothly as we shall see), and to re-examine their priorities. Some fans will still spit and cuss, but that’s a given. Here’s the batting stats for September and October.

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New York Yankees Diary – September 30th, 2023

So, my month at the Stadium is over.

What can I tell you? It didn’t work out quite the way I had anticipated it when I accepted the commission at the beginning of the season.

Then the Yankees looked like one of the strongest, if not the strongest team in Major League Baseball. I would have ranked them alongside the Atlanta Braves as the strongest team in the majors

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