By Tim Kabel
June 10, 2023
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The Yankees opened a three-game series against the Red Sox last night, which was their first meeting of the season. The Yankees are 37-28 after 65 games this season. They have less than 100 games to go and right now, they are in 3rd place in the American League East and only one game ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays. They are in the third wild card position. There is still a lot of baseball left to be played this year but, the team looks as if it is trying to swim in Jello. They are inconsistent and are not making a lot of progress. They can look great and win a big game or a series but a few days later, they can look awful and lose to teams they should beat.
Quick Stats -
Gerrit Cole lost the game last night, which was the first game he lost all season. He has kept the team in every game he has pitched.
Rafael Devers hit his seventh career home run off Gerrit Cole, which is the most of any batter.
Josh Donaldson has 5 home runs this season. Unfortunately, he only has 6 hits.
On June 9th, 1927, Babe Ruth hit a triple and then stole home in the 7th inning in an 8-3 Yankees' victory over the White Sox.
On June 9, 1973, 50 years ago, Secretariat won the Belmont and the Triple Crown in one of the most amazing performances in the history of sports. I know it wasn't baseball, but true greatness deserves recognition.
The Big Story -
The Yankees continue to wade through a swamp of mediocrity and complacency. This is not a great team right now and they are not playing well consistently. This team does not inspire confidence or enthusiasm. I understand the Yankees are missing some key players and until they return, the team is not at full strength. However, injuries are part of the game. Some folks are getting excited because Josh Donaldson is back and has hit four home runs since his return from the IL. Unfortunately, those are his only four hits since returning from the IL.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa has been on a tremendous tear lately. With that being said, he is still batting .231 for the season. Yet, he has become a cornerstone of the lineup. DJ LeMahieu, the former two-time batting champion, is batting .234 for the season. Albert Abreu continues to occupy a position of great importance in the bullpen despite the fact that he is just not very good.
Unless something changes dramatically, I do not see this team doing anything significant this season.
Player of the Game -
Gerrit Cole pitched well enough to win most games.
Notable Performances -
IKF had two hits and Josh Donaldson hit a home run
Better to Forget-
Albert Abreu pitched 1/3 of an inning and gave up two hits and one run.
My Take -
Have you ever seen one of those movies where the middle-aged father tries to be the “cool dad”? They are usually very awkward and frequently you as the viewer cringe while you are watching it. It is not a pleasant experience. You are usually embarrassed, not only for the actor but for yourself for watching the nonsense.
Watching Aaron Boone in his postgame press conferences or interviews, is a lot like watching one of those movies that I mentioned above. He tries to be the "cool manager". He gives players odd nicknames and uses jargon that he thinks makes him sound like an expert. For example, tonight when asked about Gerrit Cole's performance, he responded, “He had a good heater."
Aaron Boone reminds me of an actor playing the role of a father. He is playing the role of a baseball manager. He is not doing it very well. I know he has his loyalists and defenders but it's as if he is leading us through the jungle, except we are going in circles. We never get anywhere. There is no growth. There is no improvement. There is no change. All we have is a man blowing bubbles and saying inane things after the game. How long do we need to see this movie?
Aaron Judge will return at some point this season. So will Harrison Bader and Nestor Cortes. It is expected that Jonathan Loaisiga will return, and that Carlos Rodon will pitch for the Yankees this season.
Oswald Peraza, Ben Rortvedt, and Estevan Florial are tearing up AAA. Yet, there is no room at the Inn for them on the Yankees' roster. The Yankees are content to rotate retreads and players who have never proven anything like Billy McKinney, Willie Calhoun, and Jake Bauers rather than bringing up some of their young talent.
There are many people who say that Estevan Florial can't hit in the Major Leagues. Perhaps he can't but, has he ever really been given a chance? Over four seasons, he has played in 30 games, with 54 at bats. That is not an adequate sample size, especially spread out over four years.
Do we have any reason to believe that Ben Rortvedt could not be better than Kyle Higashioka? No, we do not. Higashioka is not the second coming of Thurman Munson. He is a career backup, who is 8 years older than Rortvedt.
Oswald Peraza should be on the Major League team. I understand that Josh Donaldson has hit a few home runs since he returned from the IL and has played well defensively but, he is not the future for the Yankees. It makes more sense to bring up Oswald Peraza and play him at third base every day.
Yes, Anthony Volpe is struggling. One of the good things that is happening this season is that the Yankees are sticking with him. They need to. He will be fine. He is just finding his way.
I have written many times that I do not believe Aaron Boone is a very good manager and he has certainly not demonstrated an ability to develop young players. He mishandled Oswald Peraza at the end of last season. He is doing the same thing with Oswaldo Cabrera this season. He did not give Ben Rortvedt an opportunity to play very much when he was up a few weeks ago. Boone did not let Matt Krook pitch at all when he was here earlier this season. Krook is back now. Let's see what Boone does with him.
The Yankees are trudging along, going nowhere, and Boone continues to trot out his tired "cool manager" act. It is not working. It hasn't worked in a long time. It's like watching a tired, old Jerry Lewis movie. Perhaps Boone could go to France. Jerry Lewis was big over there.
Next Up -
Tonight, the Yankees play the second game of a three-game series against the Red Sox at 7:35 PM at Yankee Stadium. Domingo German (3-3 3.69 ERA) will face Boston's Tanner Houck (3-5 5.46 ERA).
