Bad Luck Yankees Or Is It More

The good news is that the New York Yankees keep winning. They just completed a sweep of the Boston Red Sox, the erstwhile defending champs who cannot seem to get out of their own way. They are still nine ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays in the loss column despite that the Rays seem to play one awful team after another and keep winning. They are fighting the dang-fangled and brilliant Astros for the best record in the AL. But the injuries just keep coming and coming. Are these injuries just bad luck? Or could they have been more preventable?

I keep going back to a conversation I heard on talk radio. I cannot remember the NBA player who was being interviewed nor the specifics. But I remember the gist of it. The question was posed to him if his team was more successful than this other contending team because they were able to stay healthier. His answer resonated with me. He said there was a reason why the other team was injured more often and that was because this player's team made sure to hire the most brilliant conditioners and the other team did not.

Is that statement made by an athlete in the most demanding physical sport of the top sports relevant to the Yankees? It could be. Some of the Yankee injuries could not be conditioned against. Edwin Encarnacion getting hit by a pitch has nothing to do with conditioning. Miguel Andujar tearing his labrum on a dive back to third could not be prevented with conditioning. CC Sabathia's knee is just wearing out. There is nothing to see there.

But it is all these muscular issues that baffle me. Here is a partial list:

• Aaron Judge with an abdominal strain
• Giancarlo Stanton's original bicep strain.
• Gary Sanchez with a groin injury and another strain before that one.
• Luis Severino who after his shoulder problem experienced a lat strain.
• Dellin Betances who is in the same boat as Severino.
• Gleyber Torres has a core issue
• DJ LeMahieu had a core issue.
• Cameron Maybin had a calf strain
• Domingo German had a hip-flexor strain.

That is a lot of muscle issues and it is just a partial list! Back in April, the blog, Bleeding Yankee Blue posed the question strongly and yet here is is months later and there is total silence on any fallout of what all these injuries mean as far as any team or coach culpability.

Here are the questions I would like to see answered about this issue:

• Do the players buy in to the Strength and Conditioning program?
• If not, why not?  
• Should contracts deal with player's specific training regimens?
• Should players who have their own Strength and Conditioning people be approved by the team's staff?
• How does the amount of money the Yankees spend on Strength and Conditioning compare to other teams?
• How does the Yankees' staff compare on the national or regional market? Are they highly rated?
• Do all these strategic days off given to players help or hinder them in a muscular conditioning way? And how would they know? It does not seem to help any from what I can see.

I think fans have a right to know this kind of information. And it would definitely be something to want to know if the situation is as bad as it seems and costs the Yankees a wonderful chance at a World Championship.

Let's Play Yankees GM - Roster Moves As Players Return

The New York Yankees have missed a major chunk of their expected starting lineup and yet the team is in first place and playing very good baseball. The wounded have been slowly dribbling in and will continue to do so in the weeks ahead. So many of the "fill-in" players have been playing so well that a roster crunch is definitely on its way. So how should the Yankees handle the roster as players return? Let's take a look at how this could (or should) play out.

I should point out ahead of time that these thoughts are contingent on no further injuries and based on expected return times of missing players. Let's first look at the non-pitchers.

Didi Gregorius should be the first one back. Didi is the only one not surprised that he is ready so soon. The caveat here is that the Yankees' infield has been as solid as I have seen it since the 1990s. DJ LeMahieu is so good at second base and he has been hitting so well. You hate to move him. But move him the Yankees will have to do. What is the corresponding roster move?

The easy answer is Thairo Estrada. The kid is ahead of projections and was not supposed to start his career yet. Plus, he is not playing every day to stay sharp. But the 23-year-old has a .380 wOBA and a 140 wRC+ while playing respectable defense. Would he learn just as much at the Major League level and contribute like he has?

My answer is to DFA Kendrys Morales. Morales is a dinosaur who cannot help himself hitting consistently into the shift. He is good for a walk here and there. But otherwise, he offers little value at the plate and no value in the field. And, he clogs up the DH and the base paths. Sending him away makes it easier for LeMahieu to get consistent at bats as either the regular first baseman and a rotate DH with Gleyber Torres, Gregorius (Torres plays short when Didi DHs) and Gio Urshela.

Didi Gregorius becomes your regular shortstop. Gleyber Torres moves to second, which is a shame. Urshela is your fixture at third, Luke Voit is your first baseman / DH and LeMahieu is the rover with Estrada the backup.

The next player back appears to be Troy Tulowitzki. This should be an easy one. Thanks for trying, Tulo. See ya. Any other decision would be stupid. By missing half the season already, he has lived up (or down) to his injury reputation.

Then there is Aaron Judge. I do not know about you, but I sure miss Aaron Judge. This should be an easy decision as well. Cameron Maybin has been good for the Yankees and is a great team guy. But he is the only logical choice. Brett Gardner is part of the furniture. Aaron Hicks is a newly-contracted guy and Clint Frazier is one of your best prospects and is mashing reasonably well in between his strikeouts. The only logic behind keeping Maybin is that he can play all three positions in the outfield. But as long as you have Gardner and Frazier, things are covered.

The last position player back will be Giancarlo Stanton. His long absence this year has been extremely disappointing. Not that the Yankees could not cover his absence, but he makes a ton of money and together with Judge could be hitting moonshots all over the place. Things get really interesting when he returns. What should the roster move be?

The problem is that you cannot trust Stanton in the outfield. I hate a clogged up DH. If he could play LF every day, I would be fine with that with Gardner as the backup and then you have to send Frazier down. But if he is a DH only, then you need Frazier for depth and the move is to send Estrada down. I am okay with four rotating infielders as long as they do not get hurt.

I am not even going to discuss Greg Bird. I am not even going to think about him or Jacoby Ellsbury. In fact, I am fine if I never see them in pinstripes again. And, of course, Miguel Andujar is gone until next season.

Okay, the return of Dellin Betances is long-awaited and hoped for. His roster move will be easy as the Yankees have been carrying a fringe pitcher all season.

As for starters, I do not see any point in bringing in Dallas Keuchel. First, he will be expensive for what, a little more than half the season? If CC Sabathia can hang in there and if Luis Severino comes back in August, the Yankees should be fine. Plus, Jordan Montgomery is somewhere out there in the ether too. The only worry is how many innings you want to put on Domingo German. German could be a bullpen piece in the second half and then a full-time starter next season. I guess I am fine with either signing Keuchel or not signing him.

Personally, I do not think Keuchel is as good as he used to be. His strikeout and ground ball rates have dipped. The only reason, perhaps, to sign him is so that the Rays or Red Sox do not.

I do not think we need to talk about Jonathan Loaisiga or Ben Hiller. Hiller will need to prove himself again in the minors and Loaisiga needs to find some command.

So there it is. The Yankees will have some interesting decisions to make as the wounded come trickling back. How they handle the corresponding roster moves could go a long way toward determining how far they get in the AL East or, if the Yankees get there, the playoffs.

Returning Injured Yankees Can Be A Problem

The New York Yankees projected a powerhouse lineup to begin the 2019 season but all that was derailed by injuries up and down the potent cast. While it is anyone's guess when Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge and Didi Gregorius return, there have begun a slow dribble of returning players such as Gary Sanchez and Miguel Andujar. And perhaps this weekend might see the return of Aaron Hicks. Such returns are not always good things.

Teams get into a sort of rhythm with regular games occurring nearly every day. This group of Yankee scrubs have been playing together for a while and have gelled and have given Yankee fans unexpected thrills along the way.

Suddenly that flow gets interrupted when a player returns. Gary Sanchez is probably an exception to that statement because he is so much better than the alternatives. But others have to shake off the rust, may take a while to get going and could under-perform the scrubs who have been playing regularly.

Miguel Andujar is a strong case in point. Last year, Andujar arrived with a bang. He has come back from the DL with a whimper. He started a couple of games at third forcing Gio Urshela back to the bench. The result might have led to that loss to the Twins. He has started in the field three games and has made three errors, shown limited range and hasn't hit his weight.

How is Aaron Hicks going to start when he rejoins the Yankees? Will he show obvious signs of rust? Will he start slowly at the plate? Those are the risks that occur when you replace a guy who is in the flow of things with a guy with better talent coming back from an injury. Who will the Yankees send down when Hicks returns? Will it be Mike Tauchman who has held his own at the plate (around one bad slump) and has played a terrific outfield? Or will it be Thairo Estrada, who has also shown good leather plus a good bat and is much more versatile than Andujar?

What I am trying to say here is that a return of regulars does not always push immediate buttons and sometimes leads to a bit of a downturn in on-field performance until the returnees get settled in. If you want to read more, Chris Carelli wrote a good perspective on some problems that develop like this in his SNY piece today.


In other thoughts, losing James Paxton for three weeks to a month might be the most damaging of all the injuries the Yankees have suffered thus far. Paxton was developing into the Yankee ace he was expected to be. The slack left by Luis Severino has been picked up by Domingo German. But nobody is going to bring what Paxton brings to the Yankees. Last night's lopsided loss was a testament to how much that loss hurts.

The loss of Dellin Betances has been felt all season as the Yankees seem to be one arm short all the time in the bullpen. If Paxton was to miss more time than a month, the rotation would have an equally harmful hole and necessitate Brian Cashman to lose prospects to bring in another starting pitcher.

The Biggest Cover Up On The Planet - Jacoby Ellsbury

The new norm in American culture is the conspiracy theory. Trump this, Obama that, Hillary this, Attorney General Barr that. But you can forget all about those and the FBI election secrets. Those are all chump change when it comes to the Jacoby Ellsbury / Yankees cover up and conspiracy. Can we get a subpoena for Jacoby Ellsbury to talk to Congress?

As far as I can tell, Jacoby Ellsbury has not talked to anyone in a long, long time. Do a Google search and look for the last time Jacoby Ellsbury was quoted as saying anything. I could not find anything. Can you? Oh wait! I found one here.

The last time that Jacoby Ellsbury suited up for baseball was during the 2017 playoffs. He went zero for 12 with two walks. That was the end. Zip. Nada. Nothing since. His contract was for $168 million spread out over seven years. The contract has this year and next year to go and then a $5 million buyout. So your grand total is $173 million for what has thus far added up to 8 fWAR or 10 rWAR depending on which system you like better.

Here is what we know: Sometime after the 2017 post season and in Spring Training 2018, Ellsbury pulled an oblique muscle during batting practice. According to MLB.com, After that injury, Ellsbury and the Yankees tried a number of avenues to deal with the injury to no avail and he had arthroscopic surgery performed by Dr. Bryan Kelly on his hip (hip?) to repair a torn labrum. Somehow his injury went from his oblique to his sacroiliac and all that led to a hip surgery. Yes, the stomach bone is connected to the hip bone, etc.

The surgery ended his 2018 season that never began and recovery time was pegged for six months. There was talk that he was going to show up for Spring Training on March 5 or 6, but that never happened and the lights went dark other than his name being among the multitude of injured Yankees.

There have been reports that the Yankees have given away his locker. Hmm...interesting. But, what seals the conspiracy aspect of this are the words of Aaron Boone on April 28. Let's look at them from a New York Post story and keep in mind how vague they are:

Before the Yankees’ 6-4 win over the Giants on Saturday at Oracle Park, manager Aaron Boone said Jacoby Ellsbury is “dealing with different things” and that “a number of little things that continue to pop up.’’

Ellsbury is on the IL (DL!) after having hip surgery last year, and Boone said the outfielder is dealing with shoulder and hip problems. Ellsbury hasn’t played in a big league game since 2017 because of a long list of ailments.

“Certainly not in the short term,’’ Boone said when asked about Ellsbury making it back to the team.

Compare the vagueness of that answer to any other time Boone has been asked about an injury. He usually says things like: "The doctor says that the metacarpal is still sore and there is some swelling still that has to be dealt with before he can start baseball activities." I made that up, of course, but those are the types of answers both Boone and Brian Cashman give when questioned. 

But what does Boone say about Ellsbury? "Umm...ahh...he is dealing with different things and a number of little things that continue to pop up." Okay...right. Ellsbury has once again been pushed to the 60-day disabled list.

You would have to assume that the Yankees have insurance on Ellsbury's contract. You would have to assume that they collected on that insurance last year. Another missed year for Ellsbury would mean more insurance payments, right? Wrong? Probably. Is the vagueness some sort of buffer to continue the insurance payments? Ellsbury's not talking. Boone is not talking specifics. It stinks or at least smells badly.

It seems pretty certain that Jacoby Ellsbury will never play for the Yankees again. If they can ever get healthy, the team has Aaron Hicks, Clint Frazier, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Brett Gardner. There is no room on that dance card, especially for a guy who was not very good the last time he played and has since missed two years of baseball.

I have never seen a situation like this one with the Yankees and a bad free agent signing. I've seen teams dump players. I've seen one bad contract traded for another. I've seen a now-terrible player still playing. But I've never seen a bad free agent signing hidden away and buried. Perhaps the conspiracy thing is tongue-in-cheek, but maybe it isn't.

      **********************************************************************

I was listening to a sports radio program. I wish I could remember which one and the guest on the program was a former basketball NBA star. I cannot remember which one of those he was either, especially since I have not followed the NBA since Bill Bradley retired. But something about that interview stuck in my head.

The player was asked why his team never had many injuries and other NBA teams have lots of injuries. The player responded that much depends on the type of fitness people you hire. Some teams make it a super-high priority and others do not. I found that to be interesting.

Then, I thought about the Yankees. If you look at a lot of the injuries they have sustained thus far, many of them have been muscular. Judge had an oblique tear. Stanton had a bicep problem. Hicks has soreness in his back. Clint Frazier sprained an ankle. I believe Sanchez's injury was muscle related. Does that go back to the Yankees' fitness people? Are they not performing the correct exercises for the range of motion of playing baseball? Do they not stretch properly?

The statements by the former NBA player and the injuries to the Yankees, not only this year, but last year, make me wonder. I do not want people to lose good jobs, but I think it warrants further investigation by a team so dominated by metrics.

A Cat Has Nine Lives - A Bird Is Not A Cat

I wrote during Spring Training about the need to resist hope about Greg Bird finally becoming the player Brian Cashman has kept saying he was going to be. Greg Bird had a great spring for the New York Yankees. There was a lot of talk from manager, Aaron Boone, and Cashman about Bird making a significant contribution to the Yankees. After yet another dismal start to Bird's season and his .555 OPS along with his failure to scoop up throws at first base, we now learn that Bird has a left plantar fascia tear and is out indefinitely. I have not been this shocked at either development since the days of Nick Johnson.

And really, that is a solid knock on Nick Johnson. Yes, Johnson had injury after injury and his career was never what it should have been. Johnson's one full season for the Nationals showed what a healthy Johnson could have been like. So, yes, Nick Johnson was a constant disappointment. But at least he produced at times when he was available. Except for Greg Bird's first 178 Plate Appearances for the Yankees in 2015, Greg Bird's production has been a black hole with scorched earth.

Sometimes I feel badly about writing such a piece. Greg Bird seems like a nice guy. He seems earnest and nice and it is not his fault that his legs have been a mine field since that 2015 season. And I am quite sure he was trying his hardest to perform better on the field than he has. Unfortunately, baseball is a business and it is about what you have produced lately and what you can be expected to produce in the future. And four years of history has shown us that he has about as much chance of being a "significant contributor" at some point for the Yankees as Jacoby Ellsbury.

It is time for the Yankees to cut the cord on Greg Bird just like they did with Nick Johnson years ago. The injury is unfortunate. The body of work, though, does not lie. And his spring did not fool any of  the smart folks who put together evaluations and projections. A .710 OPS was the highest projection he received. That is not anywhere close to what you want from a first baseman, especially a first baseman that is not very good at defending that position.

Bird's injury piles on to the Yankees' physical misfortunes thus far. But his injury is the least significant. That says something right there. Ben Heller on the DL hurts more right now than Greg Bird.

So what should the Yankees do when Greg Bird returns? That might not be a question that can even be answered right now. This particular injury is a terrible injury that could possibly end his season. He is listed on the injury report as, "No timetable for recovery."

If I were running the Yankees, I would totally and unequivocally dismiss Greg Bird from any future plans. If he comes back this year, he should either stay in the minors or be traded. Or he could be released. In some ways, Greg Bird has held first base hostage for the Yankees since Mark Teixeira's retirement and that should end immediately.

For the Yankees, it is an addiction that should be quit cold turkey. They have held onto, hoped and wrung hands that Greg Bird would take his sweet swing and become a star with the Yankees. It is not going to happen. Enough is enough and it is time to move on. I am still not convinced that Luke Voit is the answer. We will see how his season goes. Come on down, Mike Ford, whatcha got?

Personally, this Greg Bird addiction led against looking at a guy like Mike Moustakas, who has been killing the ball for the Brewers. For basically chump change, Moustakas could have stepped in at third when Miguel Andujar went down or he could have played first. Maybe Moustakas was not the answer. But something creative has to be done about the future of first base for the Yankees. Heck, Giancarlo Stanton would be a big target over there. I still think Stanton is a better player when he is not the designated hitter.

Nice guy or no, earnest or not, a Bird is not a cat. There is not nine lives and Greg Bird's Yankee lives are burned up. It is time to move on or at least let him try to move on someplace else.

The Yankees Best Laid Schemes...Go Awry

The title of this series of thoughts paraphrases the great poet, Robert Burns, whose words of 1785 still ring true today. Yankee fans had salivating thoughts coming into this season. The team was loaded with talent. The lineup was stacked. The pitching was led by an ace and a free agent brought in with the stuff of an ace. The rest of the rotation seemed solid. Many pundits and predictors positioned the Yankees as the team to beat. This was going to be fun! Wee! But then it started crumbling.

And it started fast. First there was the pitching ace, Luis Severino, who felt something pop in his shoulder before his first spring start. Then there was Aaron Hicks with a funky back. We should have all seen that coming. Hicks has had problems staying on the field his entire career. Is he another Jacoby Ellsbury?

Then the team lost Dellin Betances and that boom-boom-boom-boom bullpen lost a boom. CC Sabathia was always going to be a late start, so that was no surprise. Then the season started and the losses have mounted. Giancarlo Stanton and Miguel Andujar went on the disabled list on the same day! The latter might be looking at a season-ending surgery.

Combine it with the TJ surgery for Didi Gregorius and top-pitching prospect, Jordan Montgomery, and the Yankees currently have nine players on the disabled list. And no, I will never call it the Injured List. It has been the Disabled List for generations and Disabled List is what I will write. Sheesh.

So here we are four games into the season and a lot of the wind has already left the sails. One wonders about training in Florida in the warmth and then having to play in the bitter cold of New York City. Would Stanton and Andujar's injuries happen if this scenario had not happened? It is hard playing baseball in the cold. It is akin to playing golf in the cold. The swing is not free and easy. You are wearing layers instead of having free motion. Maybe the season IS too long and expecting teams to play in 36 degree weather is asking too much.

All these players could return and play a significant factor this season. But what if some do not? What if Severino never gets right without surgery? What if Andujar needs surgery and needs to miss the season? Nobody is going to weep for the Yankees or the team's fans. But, man, this is not how we all envisioned it.

If you look back to the most recent championship seasons for the Yankees (2009, 2000, 1999, 1998), you see teams with limited injury situations. Particularly with the starting pitching, the Yankees received 29 or more starts from at least four of its starters in every one of those seasons. The most a position player was lost to the team was typically for 20-25 games. But there were no major losses of talent that drained its fans of all color.

Did you watch the game last night? When Gleyber Torres came up flexing his thumb after whiffing on Gary Sanchez's throw, did you not expect the worse? I know I did. How much do you want to bet that he will be "resting" in tonight's game? By the way, that should have been his error and not Sanchez's. The throw was there and the runner should have been out. Sanchez has made some errant throws but that was not one of them and Sanchez looks MUCH improved on blocking balls in the dirt.

Well...our dreams of a dream season with a homer record and All-Stars at nearly every position have pretty much been dampened. But this team is not done. The Red Sox look considerably weaker as a team and Tampa Bay is not this good. If a couple of the replacements for injured players play well, the team can get through this early part of the season. It is too early to lose all hope.

It is just sad when things do not work out as hoped and players do not get the chance to shine as expected. Warm weather will come and some of the wounded will come staggering back. We will all just have to see how it goes.

             ***************************************************************

I should not be as negative about Greg Bird as I am. So I apologize right up front. But I remember watching the first game against the Tigers and Brett Gardner was on first and Bird was at the plate. Gardner stole second and I remember thinking, "That was a mistake," because it put Gardner in scoring position with Bird at the plate. It also freed the pitcher from really having to worry about what Gardner was going to do. The predictable happened and Bird looked awful striking out to end the inning.  Bird is simply useless with runners in scoring position. Just a small observation in three hours of baseball action.