Each season, we award to players’ rankings according to outstanding performances during the season. Using this system, here’s how the Batters and Pitchers of the New York Yankees placed:
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The New York Yankees in October – Part Two – The Pitchers (2024)
So, we have seen that the batters with the exception of Giancarlo Stanton and Juan Soto performed largely indifferently in October. This, of course, meant that if the Yankees were to carry on to win the championship then the pitchers would need to produce at a level above and beyond their usual. Let’s just say that, particularly in the case of the starters, this never even looked close to happening.
The bullpen did well, but by the time they came to the mound some games were already lost.
Continue readingThe New York Yankees in October – Part One – The Batters (2024)
So, the Yankees in October were a mixed bunch. Sure, they made it to the World Series, but many of the players they needed to “turn up” in the vital games went AWOL.
Crucially, these included Aaron Judge, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and once more, both catchers. That combination was never going to end happily.
Continue readingThe New York Yankees in September – Part Two – The Pitchers (2024)
The Yankees used 6 starters and 14 relievers in September. Marcus Stroman‘s continuing struggles made him look very much like the 6th starter for the future, which is not an enviable place to be in going into the playoffs.
All-in-all though, the team was looking strong in terms of pitching, and they had more than enough arms to give them confidence going forward.
Continue readingThe New York Yankees in September – Part One – The Batters (2024)
By the beginning of September, the New York Yankees were well on their way to the post-regular season playoffs. They were 79 wins, 57 losses with 26 games to play. The main question seemed to be surrounding the issue of whether they would win the divison or go through by wildcard qualification.
Amongst the regular players, Gleyber Torres was leading the way, by the end of the month, but their were real issues about how much he could be a team player as well as a strong individual performer. Trent Grisham was much improved in the little time he was given at the plate, and of course, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto continued to be masterful.
Continue readingA New York Yankees Diary – Day Nineteen – September 29th, 2024
So, game 162.
And this would prove to be my last game of the season. The news agency had offered me a contract for the post-season, but the need to move house and start a new position in England, was going to mean that there was no way of taking that up.
As in 2023, the last days of the season were visited by blanket rain, which meant delays and just getting generally soaked to the skin. First pitch didn’t come around until 4:36 by my watch.
On the mound? Clarke Schmidt for the New York Yankees who entered the game with a 2.55 ERA and a 5-5 win – loss record which partially concealed that he hadn’t achieved a win since May 16 and had missed a considerable portion of the season through injury. For the Pittsburgh Pirates, it was Bailey Falter who had an 8-9 record. This was his rookie season and other than not playing in the majors for most of July, he had produced a reasonable season pitching to a 4.17 ERA.
Continue readingA New York Yankees Diary – Day Eighteen – September 28th, 2024
So, game 161 and as so often happens at this stage of the season, the team who has least to achieve takes their foot off the accelerator and begins to lose.
Going into this game the Yankees had lost three of four, this afternoon to add to their stresses, the Pittsburgh Pirates had elected that potential National League rookie of the year, Paul Skenes should be on the mound. To this point in the season, Skenes is 3 wins – 1 loss with an earned run average of just under two, and September was his best month of the season so far.
The Yankees’ starter is no slouch either as they went with another potential rookie of the year – American League candidate Luis Gil. Gil is 15-6 with an ERA of 3.27.
With the season coming to an end, and little to play for, the main question is how long the Pirates would allow Skenes to remain in the game – how deep in the innings count, they would allow him to go.
My prediction, before the game, if I am honest, would have been that the Yankees would take this one, clinch top seed and Skenes would go five innings and no more. How wrong can you be!
Continue readingA New York Yankees Diary – Day Seventeen – September 27th, 2024
The Yankees now have a decisive lead over Baltimore, and Baltimore have a wild card qualification. The outcome of the series between the two teams could not really have worked out better for both participants. The Orioles really couldn’t expect to catch the New York team on the season, but just simply to leave town having taken the 3-game set, 2-1 gives them something of a psychological edge should the two meet again in the playoffs.
Really, only one matter remained for the New York Yankees. That was to clinch the top seed spot. This too seems likely to be the outcome, but the Yankees were balancing the need to do that with the need to rest players and keep them fresh. It is a difficult equation because the Yankees were likely to have the rest they needed if they did not play in the wild card series and rested everyone through that “bye” period,
Continue readingA New York Yankees Diary – Day Sixteen – September 26th, 2024
So, 4 games to go and 4 games in front. And to be frank things were not going well for the Yankees as the Orioles were two up in the series already.
Now this evening game had a very tough pitching matchup with Gerrit Cole leading off the pitching for the New York team and Orioles’ ace Corbin Burnes the other guy on the mound. This one was wide open and could have gone either way.
Gunnar Henderson hit a fly out to Aaron Judge in centerfield which was followed by two gentle ground outs – Jordan Westburg out 6-3 and then Anthony Santander hitting directly to Antony Rizzo to finish out the Baltimore time at bat.
Burnes suggested he might have the edge tonight. In 9 pitches, he got the first three Yankees’ batters to strike out swinging (Gleyber Torres, Juan Soto and
Aaron Judge).
A New York Yankees Diary – Day Fifteen – September 25th, 2024
The Yankees went in to the game with their lead cut to five games and playing the team who were five games behind them- the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore were coming off a convincing win. They had Zach Eflin starting. Prior to this game he was 9 wins, 7 losses with a 3.53 ERA. The Yankees had Marcus Stroman on the mound. He went into the game with a 10-8 record and a 4.04 ERA. Recently, Stroman had been dropped from the Yankees starting rotation and made his last appearance on the 17th as a closer against Seattle in Seattle. He was indeed on long rest.
Orioles went into this one clear favourites.
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