Yankees Dent Angels' Halos

The Yankees really needed a win last night. And with Jameson Taillon as the starting pitcher, I had as much confidence in that as I have in New Jersey Transit to properly manage evening rush hour out of Penn Station.

Indeed, Taillon did not pitch well. He went 5 1/3rd innings, alowing 5 runs on 9 hits, albeit with only 1 walk.

It was the kind of start that would lead you to think, "At least Brian Cashman has assembled a Yankee lineup strong enough to outscore that." Except, usually, it isn't strong enough to do that. 

But a funny thing happened on the way to defeat: The lineup was strong enough this time. Smart enough, too.

Gary Sanchez hit a home run in the 1st inning. Then came the 2nd inning. With 1 out, Gio Urshela drew a walk. Miguel Andujar singled, sending Urshela to 3rd. Brett Gardner hit a drive that hooked foul into the left field seats, where it was caught by Scott Schebler. He should have let it drop into the stands, because Urshela tagged up and scored. Yes, smart baserunning by the Yankees. Ah yes, I remember it well. Then DJ LeMahieu singled home Andujar. Then Aaron Judge hit a home run. 5-2 Yankees.

Shohei Ohtani, the Angels' pitching and slugging star, hit a home run to make it 5-3 in the 3rd. But Andujar led off the 4th with a home run. This was afollowed by a walk by Brett Gardner. After flyouts by LeMahieu and Judge, Sanchez doubled Gardner home. Giancarlo Stanton drew a walk. (Yes, he did.) Luke Voit doubled Sanchez home. Gleyber Torres singled Stanton and Voit home. 10-3 Yankees.

Ohtani hit another homer in the 5th, but an Andujar double capped the scoring in the 6th. Between them, Nestor Cortes and Albert Abreu pitched 2 2/3rds scoreless innings, allowing just 1 hit and 1 walk. Yankees 11, Angels 5. WP: Taillon (3-4). No Save. LP: Andrew Heaney (4-6).

The Yankees had dented the Angels' halos. It was the 1st time the Yankees have scored double digits in a game since April 30. That's too long.

The series continues tonight. Ohtani will be pitching for the Angels this time, while Domingo German toes the rubber for the Pinstripes. Let's show the baseball world what the Yankees can do to Ohtani, this season's golden story so far.

Angels and Dirty Faces

Actor James Cagney was a Yankee Fan. Although he made his name as a song-and-dance man, he is best remembered for his roles in gangster movies. One, made in 1938, was titled Angels With Dirty Faces, and introduced the characters that became known at various times as the Dead End Kids, the East Side Kids and the Bowery Boys.

Last night, the Yankees began a 4-game home series with the Los Angels. The "Dirty Faces" line has been used in connection with them many times. Lately, though, it's the Yankees who have looked dirty. Here's where they rank in Major League Baseball with runners in scoring position this season:

Batting average: .216, 29th out of 30.

On-base percentage: .627, 29th.

Slugging percentage: .304, 30th.

Hits: 115, 30th.

Runs batted in (RBI): 160, 30th.

Double plays: 28, 1st

Home runs: 11, 27th.

Home runs are the category at which you would expect a Brian Cashman-built team to excel. Not with RISP.

One of the big stories of the 2021 season thus far has been the performance of Shohei Ohtani, the Angels' Japanese pitcher and slugger. I saw his 1st performance at Yankee Stadium, on May 27, 2018. He didn't bat, and got outpitched by Masahiro Tanaka.

Tanaka was not available for the Yankees last night. Michael King was the starting pitcher. Letting him start a game against major league competition is never a good idea. He didn't get out of the 5th inning, allowing 3 runs (2 of them earned) on 6 hits and 2 walks. Lucas Luetge and Chad Green weren't a whole lot better, although Nestor Cortes pitched a scoreless 9th inning.

This time, Ohtani didn't pitch, but he did bat. He only got 1 hit, but it was a home run off King in the 1st inning. And that pretty much ended it. Gio Urshela hit a home run for the Yankees in the 2nd, and Giancarlo Stanton hit one in the 6th. But the Yankees wasted a leadoff walk in the 4th, and a single with 1 out in the 7th, and had their side struck out in the 9th, when they were only down by 2 runs: Stanton, Luke Voit and Gleyber Torres.

Angels 5, Yankees 3. WP: Jose Suarez (3-1). SV: Raisel Iglesias (14). LP: King (0-4). The Yankees are now 40-38, 7 1/2 games out of 1st place, 6 games out of a Wild Card berth.

Dirty faces. Ugly results.

The series continues tonight. Jameson Taillon starts against Andrew Heaney. Oy vey.

Yankees Take Walk of Shame Out of Fenway

Unfortunately, I was right: One does not simply walk into Fenway. There is an evil there that does not sleep, and with the men currently wearing Yankee uniforms, we could not do this.

And now, three games later, the New York Yankees are taking a walk of shame out of Fenway Park.

The 1st pitch that alleged ace Gerrit Cole threw yesterday was hit for a home run. Later in the inning, he allowed a 3-run home run. The Yankees were down 4-0, and, given the way they've been hitting, the game was already over. 

The Yankees had men on 1st and 2nd with 1 out in the 3rd, but didn't score. They didn't get another chance until the 6th, by which point it was 6-0 Boston. DJ LeMahieu led off with a single, and Aaron Judge hit a home run.

They loaded the bases with 1 out in the 7th, but the heroes of the 6th flopped: DJLM struck out, and Judge popped up.

Luis Cessa should not be pitching in the major leagues. He pitched a scoreless 6th, but allowed another run in the 7th. Brooks Kriskie should not be pitching in the major leagues. He allowed 2 more runs in the 8th.

With 2 out in the 9th, Clint Frazier drew a walk, and advanced to 2nd on defensive indifference. But Gary Sanchez struck out to end it.

Red Sox 9, Yankees 2. WP: Eduardo Rodriguez (6-4). No save. LP: Cole (8-4).

Over these 3 games, the Yankees were outscored 18-7. Are the Red Sox cheating again? Even if they are, it doesn't matter: The Yankees should be putting up more of a fight than this.

Instead, they are now 40-37, 6 1/2 games (6 in the loss column) behind the 1st place Red Sox in the American League Eastern Division. And 5 games out of the AL's 2nd Wild Card berth in the Playoffs.

They come home to face the Los Angeles Angels -- and then a City Series against the Mets.

As I said earlier in the Boston series: I have seen the Yankees play worse, but I have never seen them play this stupidly. They appear to have the talent. But it isn't working.

The fan base finally seems to be accepting that general manager Brian Cashman bears responsibility for this debacle, as field manager Aaron Boone does. But it looks like operating owner Hal Steinbrenner is committed to both of them, at least through the end of this season.

Oy.

A Terrible Time to Be Playing Stupid Baseball

I have seen the Yankees play badly before, but I have never seen them be this stupid on a regular basis.

I knew they were going to lose the middle game of their series with the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, because the opposing pitcher was Nathan Eovaldi. Whenever Brian Cashman gets rid of a player, and he plays against the Yankees, he shows why the Yankees initially wanted him. He took a shutout into the 8th inning.

Think about that for a moment. Cashman has built a Yankee lineup loaded with righthanded power hitters, apparently with the intention of aiming for those close left field walls at Fenway and Minute Maid Park in Houston, in the Playoffs.

But you have got to get to the Playoffs first, and while the Yankees do play a total 12 games a year in those 2 ballparks, they have to play 81 games a year at Yankee Stadium II, which favors lefthanded hitters and guys who can hit to the opposite field.

Jordan Montgomery started, and allowed only 3 runs in 6 innings. Albert Abreu pitched the next 2, and allowed only 1 run. Seems to me, if you can hold the Sox to 4 runs at the little green pinball machine off Kenmore Square, you should be able to win the damn ballgame.

The Yankees couldn't. Gary Sánchez singled to right with 2 outs in the 1st inning. He was stranded there when Giancarlo Stanton, of course, struck out they didn't get another base runner until Judge led off the 4th with a single. He was stranded there when the next 3 batters couldn't advance him, including, of course, another Stanton strikeout.

With 1 out in the 6th, DJ LeMahieu and Judge both singled, but Sánchez grounded into a double play to erase them. Stanton led off the 7th with a single, but they couldn't advance him. Finally, with 2 out in the 8th, LeMahieu went to the opposite field and hit a homerun, And Eovaldi was taken out.

From that point onward, the Red Sox bullpen seemed to be doing everything in his power to give the game to the Yankees, and they couldn't take it. With the new 3-batter rule -- I like to call it the Boone Logan Rule -- Hirokazu Sawamura either had to pitch to at least 3 batters or get the 3rd out. And he walked Judge, Sánchez and Stanton to load the bases.

Think about that for a moment. Here are 3 of the least walkable guys in the major leagues today, because the umpires always seem to give the Yankees giant strike zones, and these guys will swing it just about anything. And they were batting against the Red Sox, a team the umpires favor, in Boston. And this guy walked them all.

And he was then replaced by Adam Ottavino, another former Yankee pitcher, who was let go because, as he had veen before he was a Yankee, he is terribly inconsistent.

The tying runs were on base. The moment was made for a Yankee hero the batter was Luke Voit, who, when healthy, is a really good right-handed power hitter, and he was aiming at the green monster pretty crowded too short to end the threat.

Top of the 9th. Gio Urshela flies to center. That's 1 out. But Gleyber Torres, dropped to 7th in the order due to a hellacious slump, singled. Rougned Odor grounded into a force play. Man on 1st, 2 out.

Brett Gardner drew a walk. LeMahieu singled Odor home. Again, the tying runs were on base. The batter was Judge. Against Ottavino. At Fenway.

He struck out. Ballgame over. Red Sox 4, Yankees 2. WP: Eovaldi (8-4). SV: Ottavino (5). LP: Montgomery (3-2).

How do you hold the Red Sox to 4 runs at Fenway Park, and lose? How do you get the tying runs on base in the 8th and the 9th Inning, at Fenway Park, and lose?

How do you let Adam Ottavino beat you 2 nights in a row? In any ballpark, but especially Fenway?

I will tell you how you do those things: By playing stupid baseball. And this is a terrible time to be playing that way.

The series concludes this afternoon. Gerrit Cole starts for the Yankees, but, as we've seen, that guarantees nothing. Eduardo Rodriguez starts for The Scum.

Can we please get more than 4 runs today?

One Does Not Simply Walk Into Fenway

Last night, the Yankees began their 1st series of the year at Fenway Park, home of their arch-rivals, the Boston Red Sox.

Where to begin? I could quote Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope: "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."

Or, I could paraphrase Prince Boromir (Sean Bean) from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: "One does not simply walk into Fenway. Its red gates are guarded by more than just ticket takers. There is evil there that does not sleep. The great eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with chowder, beer, and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly."

But I could also quote both Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) from the original Star Trek series and Batman (Adam West) from the superhero TV show that aired at the same time: Each man, on his show, had once used the words, "Risk is our business."

Domingo Germán started, and he was off. He allowed 3 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning. 

The Yankees tied the game in the top of the 2nd, but the Red Sox jumped ahead again in the bottom of the 4th. Germán doomed himself with a walk, a wild pitch, and his own error.

Lucas Luetge pitched the 5th and the 6th, and Jonathan Loáisiga the 7th, and they kept it at 4-3 Boston.

Adam Ottavino, awful during his Yankee tenure, pitched the top of the 8th for the Red Sox. If you can't score runs off Adam Ottavino in Fenway Park, you're not going to win the ball game.

Zack Britton, his season's debut long delayed by injury, started the 8th, but didn't finish it. He injured his hamstring and had to leave the game. He'll probably go back on the Injured List, diminishing the Yankees bullpen again. Aaron Boone had to bring Luis Cessa in, and he, as he so often does, allowed another run.

The Yankees did put up a fight in the top of the 9th. Gio Urshela led off with a single, and Miguel Andújar hit another. The tying runs were on. But Clint Frazier struck out, and DJ LeMahieu grounded into a double play to end it.

Red Sox 5, Yankees 3. WP: Garrett Whitlock (3-1). SV: Matt Barnes (16). LP: Germán (4-5).

The Yankees are now 5 games out of 1st place. They are 0-4 vs. the Sox on the season. The last time that was true was 2009, when they started out 0-8, and then won the last 10 and went on to win the World Series.

But that was a very different Yankee team. It had not just talent, but the guts to back it up. When one guy went into a slump, somebody else made up for it by raising his game. We have seen precious little of that from the Yankees the last few years.

The series continues tonight. Jordan Montgomery starts against former Yankee Nathan Eovaldi. Don't get your hopes up.

Yankees Survive Wild Ride With Royals, Red Sox Next

If the Yankees are going to drive us all crazy, the least they could do was see to it that we enjoyed the trip.

That would not be the case on Tuesday night, as they opened a 3-game home series against the Kansas City Royals. Gerrit Cole started, and went 7 innings, allowing just 2 runs. Sounds like a building block for success.

But that also requires hitting. Once again, the Yankees got runs from solo home runs, rather than homers with men on base, or "small ball." Luke Voit did it in the 1st inning, and Kyle Higashioka did it in the 2nd.

Later came an exception. In the bottom of the 7th, Voit hit a triple, and scores on a wild pitch. So it was just 3-2 Yankees when Jonathan Loaisiga was brought in to pitch the top of the 8th. 

Here's the result of that: Single, double, strikeout, single, fielder's choice resulting in everybody reaching base safely, strikeout, single, single, before Aaron Boone mercifully pulled him for Lucas Luetge, who got a groundout to end it. Four runs.

The Yankees did put up a fight the rest of the way. With 1 out in the bottom of the 8th, Brett Gardner drew a walk, and DJ LeMahieu hit a home run. And Aaron Judge doubled. But they couldn't get him home.

Gio Urshela singled to lead off the 9th. But Gleyber Torres and Clint Frazier both struck out. Gary Sanchez -- catching now that Cole and his personal catcher, Higashioka, were out of the game -- was walked intentionally to set up a force play. It wasn't necessary, as Gardner popped up.

Royals 6, Yankees 5. WP: Jake Brentz (2-0). SV: Greg Holland (5). LP: Loaisiga (7-3).

An awful game. Afterward, Loaisiga faced the media like an adult, and took responsibility for his failure. He said he was ready to do better.

*

The Wednesday night game was started by Michael King, which filled few people with any confidence, unless they were Royals fans. He didn't get out of the 5th inning. In the bottom of the 4th, walks to Miguel Andujar and Giancarlo Stanton were followed by a double by Frazier, and that tied the game at 2-2.

Chad Green bailed King out of a bases-loaded jam in the 5th inning, and pitched a scoreless 6th and 7th. But Zach Britton allowed a home run to lead off the top of the 8th, and even though it was only 3-2, the game felt lost.

Not so fast: In the bottom of the 8th, Frazier drew a walk, and Rougned Odor hit a screaming line drive into the bullpen to make it 4-3 Yankees.

Aroldis Chapman came on to pitch the top of the 9th, and you never know with him. He's had his best season as a Yankee, but that just makes the times when he doesn't get the job done look even more egregious. Loaded the bases, then walk home a run to tie it, then allowed a hit to give the Royals the lead.

After he  got the final out, a YES Network camera caught him throwing his glove in the dugout. Like Paul O'Neill, he took his frustrations out on himself and his equipment, but not anybody else.

Now, it was Chapman's turn to get bailed out. With one out in the bottom of the 9th, Gary Sanchez, suddenly the hottest hitter in baseball, hit a game-tying home run, and the Stadium crowd erupted.

This was followed by Stanton getting a hit, being replaced as a pinch-runner by Tyler Wade, Wade advancing to 2nd on a wild pitch, and Voit nearly hitting one out, missing a home run by about 2 feet, and Wade scoring the winning run.

Yankees 6, Royals 5. WP: Chapman (5-2, though deserving of the win only according to the letter of the rule). No save. LP: Holland (2-3).

This game was a rough ride for Yankee Fans, but at least they arrived at the proper destination.

*

In spite of it being started by the inconsistent Jameson Taillon, the Thursday afternoon game would have considerably less drama. He pitched very well, getting into the 7th inning, allowing only 1 run.

And the Yankee bats backed him up. They got 2 runs in the 1st inning, on a home run by Judge, and an RBI single by Odor. An RBI single by Judge in the 2nd and a home run by Voit in the 3rd pretty much put the game out of reach early.

Another home run by Sanchez, this one for 3 runs in the 6th, dusted K.C. off. Stanton added an RBI single in the 8th. Yankees 8, Royals 1. WP: Taillon (2-4). No save. LP: Brad Keller (6-8).

*

The Yankees are now 40-34, 4 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Eastern Division, 3 games in the All-Important Loss Column. The Boston Red Sox are half a game behind the Rays, even in the loss column. This comes after the race swept the Sox 3 straight in St. Petersburg.

And now, the Yankees head to Fenway Park for a weekend showdown with the Red Sox. Although the Rays will still have a lot to say about how the Division race turns out, the last generation of baseball suggest that it could come down to Yankees vs. Red Sox, so this series could be key to deciding it. Here are the projected pitching matchups:

* Tonight at 7: Domingo German vs. Martin Perez.

* Tomorrow night at 7: Jordan Montgomery vs. former Yankee Nathan Eovaldi.

* Sunday afternoon at 1: Cole vs. Eduardo Rodriguez.

Third Triple Play's the Charm as Yanks Beat A's

Today is the first day of Summer. And the Major League Baseball season is now 44 percent in the books. It looked for a while like the Yankees were sure to make the Playoffs. Then, sure not to.

Now, who knows? But they are certainly making things interesting.

An improved crowd of 27,807 came out to Yankee Stadium II for yesterday's finale of the series with the Oakland Athletics. Jordan Montgomery started, and he pitched very well, getting into the 6th inning, allowing just 1 run on 3 hits and 2 walks, striking out 6. But he would not be the winning pitcher, as the Yankees didn't hit for him. Gary Sanchez in the 1st inning and DJ LeMahieu in the 3rd each hit a 2-out double, but weren't brought home.

Then came the bottom of the 6th, with the Yankees trailing 1-0. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Clint Frazier led off by working Sean Manaea for a walk. LeMahieu struck out, but Judge worked Manaea for another walk. Sanchez hit another double to get Frazier and Judge home. 2-1 Yankees.

Jonathan Loáisiga finished the 6th and the 7th, allowing just 1 baserunner, a walk that didn't kill anybody. Lucas Luetge pitched a scoreless 8th. Of course, Aaron Boone brought Aroldis Chapman on for the 9th. But, once again, he made things more interesting than they had to be. Remember what I said about walks? Chapman started by walking former Red Sox pain in the neck Jed Lowrie, and then walking Tony Kemp. Now, it was tying run on 2nd, potential winning run on 1st, nobody out, and Chapman not throwing enough heat.

The batter was Sean Murphy. He hit a sharp grounder to 3rd. Gio Urshela hauled it in, and stepped on 3rd base. One out. He threw to LeMahieu at 2nd. Two out, LeMahieu threw to Chris Gittens at 1st base. Three out.

It was the Yankees' 3rd triple play of the season, which had never happened before. Cliché Alert: The third time is the charm.

Ballgame over. Yankees win. Theeeeeeee Yankees win! Yankees 2, A's 1. WP: Loáisiga (7-2). SV: Chapman (16). LP: Manaea (6-3).

*

So here we are, at the dawn of Summer, watching "The Summer Game." The Yankees are 38-33, for a winning percentage of .535, which works out to a record of 87-75 for a full season. That will probably be enough to make the Playoffs, but not to win the American League Eastern Division. The Boston Red Sox lead it by half a game over the Tampa Bay Rays, while the Yankees are 4 1/2 games back -- 4 games back in, Cliché Alert, the all-important loss column.

Things are improving. Sanchez has snapped out of a 2-year slump, and is getting key hits. Judge and Stanton are getting more selective at the plate: Walking more, striking out less, and realizing that not every contact made has to result in a home run, that singles are okay, too. Urshela and Brett Gardner are also hitting better.

There are still issues. With Luis Severino out for at least another month, and Corey Kluber out for probably more than that, there are still 2 holes in the starting rotation, and Jameson Taillon and Michael King have not been the answer. Chapman still puts the game at risk nearly every time, even if he gets out of it nearly every time.

LeMahieu, while not bad, hasn't been as productive as he was the preceding 6 years, the last 2 of them with the Yankees. We're going to need him to hit better. Center field is still an issue, with Aaron Hicks out for the season. But Judge is showing that he can play center, and with Frazier showing the ability to play all 3 outfield positions, maybe Judge doesn't have to be the right fielder every game.

This week, the Sox and Rays play each other, so the Yankees will get some help, if not enough help. The Yankees have today off, before beginning a home series with the Kansas City Royals tomorrow night.

Top 5 Reasons You Can’t Blame the Atlanta Thrashers for Moving to Winnipeg

June 21, 2011, 10 years ago: The Atlanta Thrashers announce they are moving, becoming the new Winnipeg Jets.

The Thrashers were an expansion team that began play in the 1999-2000 season. In 2006-07, they won the Southeast Division. But they got swept by the New York Rangers in the 1st Round of the Playoffs, and that was the only time in 12 seasons that they made the Playoffs.

The team was sold to True North Sports & Entertainment, which was trying to bring the NHL back to Winnipeg, after the original Jets were moved in 1996, becoming the team now known as the Arizona Coyotes.

This was the 2nd time Atlanta had lost an NHL team. The Atlanta Flames were an expansion team that began play in 1972, and were moved to Calgary in 1980. Now, the city had lost an NHL team again.

How could that have been allowed to happen -- twice?

Top 5 Reasons You Can’t Blame the Atlanta Thrashers for Moving to Winnipeg

5. Winnipeg. Canadian cities love hockey. Maybe Winnipeg hadn't won the Stanley Cup since 1902, with the Winnipeg Victorias; but the old Jets won the the World Hockey Association title in 1976, 1978 and 1979. And Winnipeg teams had won the Memorial Cup, the championship of Canadian junior hockey, in 1921, 1923, 1935, 1937, 1941, 1943, 1946 and 1959. Winnipeg hosted one of the 1972 Canada-USSR "Summit Series" games, despite not having an NHL team.

One of the reasons the old Jets moved was that the Winnipeg Arena, built in 1954, was considered substandard. But a replacement, now named the Canada Life Centre, opened in 2004, with all the amenities. So if an NHL team was going to move, Winnipeg was a fitting place.

4. The Sun Belt. Southern cities shouldn't have hockey.

3. The Atlanta Flames. They were better than the Thrashers, and they failed. They made the Playoffs in 6 of their 8 seasons, and were above .500 in 5 of the 8, but they never developed a big enough fan base. Since the NHL had already failed there once, maybe it was a bad idea to give it a second chance.

2. Money. The Thrashers lost $130 million in their last 6 seasons. Why? Because hardly anybody cared. Because...

1. Atlanta. It's a rotten sports city. Don't tell me Atlanta United have set MLS attendance records: Once they've had, and seen, 3 years of poor play, Georgians won't be caught dead at a professional soccer game.

VERDICT: Not Guilty.

It Was Good to Be Back, To See Yankees Win

No, I don't know why the image was reversed.

Yesterday, for the 1st time in 529 days -- since January 6, 2020, a period that included the COVID-19 protocols, recovery from my 1st hip replacement surgery, and the most contentious Presidential election (and Presidential election aftermath) in American history -- I set foot in New York City.

And for the 1st time in 729 days -- since June 23, 2019, an Old-Timers Day followed by a nasty loss to the cheating Houston Astros -- I set foot in Yankee Stadium.

Dear God, was it good to be back -- and that was before I saw the game, which turned out to be a doozy. A doozy that a lot of people chose to miss: Despite all restrictions being lifted, only 23,985 fans came out to see it, a few hundred less than the previous night's "Re-Opening Day."

From my seat in Section 213, behind 1st base, I saw Domingo German start for the Yankees against the Oakland Athletics. For the 1st 4 innings, he didn't pitch badly, although he allowed home runs to Tony Kemp in the 1st inning and Matt Chapman in the 4th. But he allowed 2 more runs in the 5th, and it looked like too much for the recently quiet Yankee bats to overcome.

Nestor Cortes finished the 5th, and pitched the 6th and the 7th, without allowing any runs. Chad Green did so in the 8th. Strong efforts.

But the Yankees needed runs. Over the 1st 3 innings, they got none. But Aaron Judge led off the bottom of the 4th with a single, and advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch. Gary Sanchez flew out, but Giancarlo Stanton drew a walk. Gleyber Torres popped up, and it looked like a wasted opportunity. But Gio Urshela singled Judge home, and the Yankees were on the board. Rougned Odor struck out, so the 1 run was all they got.

They wasted a leadoff double by Clint Frazier in the 5th. But Gary Sanchez led off the 6th with a home run, to cut the deficit to 4-2. Again in the 7th, Frazier led off with a double. But a Brett Gardner popup and a DJ LeMahieu groundout made it look like this would be wasted, too. Not this time: Judge singled Frazier home. Sanchez drew a walk, and Stanton singled home Judge to tie it.

Urshela led off the 8th with a no-doubt-about-it home run to center field. Chad Gittens pinch-hit for Odor, and drew a walk. Tyler Wade pinch-ran for him, and took over at 2nd base for Odor in the 9th. Frazier walked. Gardner got a bunt down to advance the runners. And LeMahieu singled them home. 7-4.

Aroldis Chapman did what he usually does: Made the game a little too interesting before getting serious. He struck out Elvis Andrus. Then he threw what should have been a called strike 3 to Mark Canha, but home plate umpire Sean Barber called it ball 4.

Barber's strike zone had been all over the place, all game long. This was after the Yankees had swept the Toronto Blue Jays despite atrocious ball-and-strike calls in all 3 games. Finally, Aaron Boone decided enough was enough. He came out of the dugout, and told Barber what was on his mind. What was on Barber's mind was... not much. Except, "You're outta here!" He threw Boone out of the game.

Aside from the game's final pitch, seeing Boone stand up for his players got the biggest cheer of the game, even more so than the Sanchez and Urshela home runs. 

Jed Lowrie flew out to right. But Matt Olson singled, and Ramon Laureano singled home a run. Now, it was a 2-run game, with the tying and go-ahead runs on base.

The batter was Matt Chapman. No relation to Aroldis, a black Cuban to Matt's white native of the Los Angeles suburbs. Aroldis fanned him on a 103 mile-per-hour pitch, the fastest in the major leagues in 2 years.

Yankees 7, Athletics 5. WP: Green (2-4). SV: Chapman (15). LP: Jesus Luzardo (2-4).

The series concludes this afternoon. Jordan Montgomery starts against Sean Manaea.

"Full Capacity" Not True for Stadium Or Yanks

This past week, Governor Andrew Cuomo removed all COVID restrictions for New York State, allowing full capacity at New York City's sports venues. 

As it turned out, that was just a permitted goal, not a practical reality. Only 24,037 fans came to Yankee Stadium II for the opener of a homestand, with the American League Western Division-leading Oakland Athletics as the opponent. And the team's ability to win didn't reach full capacity, either.

Jameson Taillon once again showed that he should not be starting for the Yankees. He didn't get out of the 5th inning, allowing 2 runs. In contrast, James Kaprielian, whom Brian Cashman traded to the A's for Sonny Gray in 2017, pitched a little longer, allowing 3 runs -- but ended up as the winning pitcher.

DJ LeMahieu hit a home run in the 3rd inning, tying the game at 2-2. And Rougned Odor led off the 5th with a homer, making it 3-2 and taking Taillon off the hook. But in the top of the 6th, Wandy Peralta gave the A's a 2-out rally: Single, single, home run.

After that, the Yankees got Aaron Judge to 2nd with 1 out and 3rd with 2 out in the 6th, wasted a leadoff single by Gio Urshela in the 7th, went down 1-2-3 in the 8th, and ended it with a double play in the 9th.

Athletics 5, Yankees 3. WP: Kaprelian (4-1). SV: Lou Trivino (12). LP: Peralta (3-2).

And only 24,037 came out to see it, when twice that many can fit into the new Yankee Stadium. Give the people what they don't want, and they won't come out to see it.

Maybe more people will show up today, given that it's expected to be a nice Saturday afternoon. Domingo German gets the start against Chris Bassitt. Hopefully Bassitt won't hound the Yankees much today.

Yanks Shuffle Out of Buffalo With Sweep of Pesky Blue Jays

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that the 1st live game I saw, at the old Yankee stadium in 1978, was against the Toronto Blue Jays, and that they beat the Yankees, and that the Jays seemed to beat the Yankees every time I saw them play until the late 1990s Dynasty began,, and that's why I call them "those pesky Blue Jays."

So, while I don't hate them as much as I hate the Boston Red Sox, or perhaps some other teams, I do have a burr under my saddle when it comes to them.

So it's always good to see them lose. And it is  certainly good to see the Yankees sweep them, regardless of whether it's in The Bronx, or Toronto or, as was the case this time, Buffalo.

Buffalo's ballpark, a replacement for the old War Memorial Stadium, opened in 1988, hoping to soon be the home of an expansion team. Since the Buffalo Bisons are Class AAA (or "Triple-A"), a capacity of 19,500 was deemed sufficient for that, but the mezzanine was set up so that it could be expanded into a true upper deck, increasing capacity to a major-league ready 41,530.

In 1991, Major League Baseball decided that the 2 new expansion teams for 1993 would be Denver (the Colorado Rockies) and Miami (the Florida Marlins, renamed the Miami Marlins in 2012). Buffalo got bypassed again in 1995, when Phoenix (the Arizona Diamondbacks) and Tampa (the Tampa Bay Rays) were selected for 1998.

Still, the Bisons kept going, winning International League Pennants in 1997, 1998 and 2004, and vying with Louisville, Kentucky for the attendance leadership in minor-league baseball. The naming rights changed a few times: Pilot Field, for Pilot Air Freight, until 1995; then North AmeriCare Park, for a health care company, until 1999; then Dunn Tire Park, for a tire salon outfit, until 2008; then Coca-Cola Field until 2018; and, since then, Sahlen Field, for a local meat packing company.

Current capacity is listed at 16,600. When COVID restrictions forced the Blue Jays to play there, in the closest big city to Toronto, they paid for some improvements, including to the lighting and the scoreboards, to bring Sahlen Field up to major league sufficiency.

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Last night, the Yankees faced the hole in the starting rotation caused by the injury to Corey Kluber, and started Michael King. He didn't get out of the 5 inning, allowing 2 runs. He was also responsible for a runner in the 5th that Lucas Luetge allowed to score. And Chad Green allowed another run in the 6th. It wasn't looking good for the Bronx Bombers.

They managed to get a run on a fielder's choice in the 2nd inning, and Gio Urshela hit a home run in the 3rd. But it was still 4-3 Jays going to the top of the 7th. It could have been even worse had it not been for some bad hitting by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and some worse baserunning by Marcus Semien and Bo Bichette, in the 1st inning that led to the Yankees' 2nd triple play of the season.

But Rougned Odor led off the 7th inning with a single, and Giancarlo Stanton hit a home run to give the Yankees the lead. One thing led to another, and rookie Chris Gittens singled home 2 more runs. Gittens drove in another run with a sacrifice fly in the 9th.

Green settled down after allowing his run, Jonathan Loaisiga threw some nasty stuff to close the 7th and the 8th, and Zack Britton pitched a hitless 9th to end it. Yankees 8, Blue Jays 4. WP: Green (1-4). No save. LP: Anthony Castro (1-2).

The completion of the sweep, and the completion of the roadtrip, means the Yankees are now 36-32. They are 6 games, 5 in the loss column, behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Eastern Division, as they come home to start a homestand, against the AL Western Division-leading Oakland Athletics.

Scores On This Historic Day: June 17, 2015, The Charleston Church Massacre

June 17, 2015: A Bible study at the Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina is interrupted by a mass shooting. Among the 12 people shot, and the 9 who died, was the senior pastor, Clementa C. Pinckney, who was also a State Senator.

The next day, Dylann Roof, a 21-year-old avowed white supremacist, was arrested in Shelby, North Carolina, outside Charlotte, 230 miles to the northwest. It had been noticed that when a black person commits a crime, even a nonviolent one, white policemen tend to treat him as a guilty and vicious criminal; while Roof was taken to Burger King for lunch after his arrest.

They should have taken him to White Castle. It might have poisoned him, and saved the taxpayers of the State of South Carolina the cost of his prosecution and incarceration.

A year and a half later, he was convicted on 33 separate federal charges, and sentenced to death. As of this writing, he remains, pending whatever appeals to which he is legally entitled, incarcerated at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, the prison were convicts awaiting the federal death penalty are held.

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June 17, 2015 was a Wednesday. The NFL was in its off-season. The NBA Championship was won the day before, by the Golden State Warriors, taking the NBA Finals in 6 games over the Cleveland Cavaliers. This began a run of 5 straight trips to the Finals, winning 3 of them.

The Stanley Cup was won the day before that, by the Chicago Blackhawks, taking the Finals in 6 games over the Tampa Bay Lightning. This concluded a run of 3 Cups in 6 seasons.

A full slate of MLB games was played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Miami Marlins, 2-1 at the new Yankee Stadium. Manager Joe Girardi -- or maybe general manager Brian Cashman -- decided it took 4 pitchers to toss a 3-hit shutout: Michael Pineda (6 2/3rds), Chasen Shreve (1/3rd), Justin Wilson (1/3rd) and Dellin Betances (1 2/3rds). The Marlin run came on a solo home run by Christian Yelich. The Yankee runs scored on an Alex Rodriguez single in the 1st inning, and a Carlos Beltran singe in the 5th.

* The New York Mets lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-0 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. It was only 1-0 Jays going to the bottom of the 6th, and Jon Niese -- born on October 27, 1986, the night the Mets last won the World Series -- was pitching well. It was still only 3-0 Toronto going into the bottom of the 8th, but the Jays scored 5 runs to pull away.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-4 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Washington Nationals, 5-0 at Nationals Park in Washington.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-2 at Turner Field in Atlanta.

* Somebody forgot to tell the Cleveland Indians that you gotta come out of the clubhouse to play the ballgame. At home at Progressive Field, the Chicago Cubs beat them 17-0. This was 15 months before the teams would face each other in the World Series.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Detroit Tigers, 8-4 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. Todd Frazier hit a walkoff grand slam in the 13th inning.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-2 at U.S. Cellular (now Guaranteed Rate) Field in Chicago.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-1 at Target Field in Minneapolis.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 10-2 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Houston Astros beat the Colorado Rockies, 8-4 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Los Angeles Angels, 3-2 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* Like the Indians, the San Diego Padres seemed not to have come out of the clubhouse to play the game. They lost to the Oakland Athletics, 16-2 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. At least they didn't get clobbered at home, like the Indians did.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the San Francisco Giants, 2-0 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.

The Revenge of Gary Sanchez

Steve Carlton was the best lefthanded pitcher I've ever seen. I'm not old enough to have watched Sandy Koufax, but I have watched Ron Guidry, Vida Blue, Fernando Valenzuela, Randy Johnson and Tom Glavine, and I take Carlton over any of them.

One of the things he was known for was that he prefferred having Tim McCarver as his catcher, even though the Philadelphia Phillies had a n All-Star Gold Glover in Bob Boone. When you're as good a pitcher as Steve Carlton, you can get away with demanding a personal catcher.

Gerrit Cole might be the best pitcher in baseball right now (I don't want to hear about anybody who pitches to pitchers in the Natinal League), but he is not, yet, good enough to be entitled to ask for a personal catcher.

Nevertheless, he insists upon pitching to Kyle Higashioka instead of Gary Sanchez. And, for a while now, that's been justified -- not by Cole's pitching, but by Sanchez's struggles, both at the plate and behind it.

But after a year and a half of very nasty criticism from Yankee Fans, it seems as though the revenge of Gary Sanchez is at hand.

At first, it looked like the Yankees might have a lot of fun with the Toronto Blue Jays at Sahlen Field in Buffalo. The game began when DJ LeMahieu reached on an error. Aaron Judge singled. Gleyber Torres drew a walk to load the bases with nobody out. Giancarlo Stanton hit a sacrifice fly to score LeMahieu.

But Gio Urshela and Miguel Andujar both flew out, ending the threat. And then, the 1st batter Cole faces was Marcus Semien, and the result was a game-tying home run. In the 5th inning, Cavan Biggio, Craig's son, hit a home run off Cole, maing it 2-1 Toronto. Given how the Yankees have hit this year, the game already felt lost.

Anduar led off the top of the 7th with a single. Rougned Odor struck out. And Aaron Boone made a strategic decision: He sent Sanchez up to pinch-hit for Higashioka, even though Cole was officially still his pitcher. Sanchez hit one 446 feet, giving the Yankees a 3-2 lead.

Sahlen Field is 98 miles from the Blue Jays' Rogers Centre, and, due to the curve of Lake Ontario, maybe only a little over half that as the crow flies, making Buffalo an easy target for the Jays' TV and radio broadcasts. It's 377 miles from Yankee Stadium. The Cleveland (193) and Pittsburgh (218) ballparks are also closer than the Yankees.

But Buffalo is still in the United States, not Canada. And it's still in the State of New York. There seemed to be a lot more people cheering the Sanchez homer than cheered the Semien and Biggio homers.

Cole pitched to 6 batters with Sanchez as his catcher, and got them all out. He later admitted that Sanchez was the player of the game.

Cole was clearly paying attention during the bottom of the 9th. Aroldis Chapman came in, and, as he so often does, made things more difficult than they had to be. He allowed a leadoff single to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., a double to Teoscar Hernandez that would have scored Guerrero if he had been built like his father (instead of being built like Cecil Fielder and his son Prince), and threw a wild pitch to make it tying run on 3rd and winning run on 2nd with nobody out, and Randal Grichuk, who has hit the Yankees hard these last 2 seasons, at the plate. There might have been more wild pitches had Sanchez not done such a good job of blocking the plate.

With Sanchez's guidance, Chapman struck Grichuk out. Santiago Espinal hit the ball right back to Chapman, who threw home -- forgetting that 1st base was open, so there was no force place at home. Sanchez realized the mistake immediately, and threw to 3rd base, and Urshela caught Guerrero trying to sneak back in. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. -- unlike Vlad, Cavan and Bo Bichette, his father didn't play in MLB -- hit a line shot to center, and Brett Gardner caught it for the last out.

Yankees 3, Blue Jays 2. WP: Cole (8-3). SV: Chapman (14). LP: Ross Stripling (2-4). Two games, two nervy comeback wins for the Yankees.

The series concludes tonight. Michael King starts for the Yankees, so don't get your hopes up. T.J. Zeuch starts for the Jays.

Have the Yankees Finally Turned the Corner?

Yankee general manager Brian Cashman, normally too much of a coward to do so, met the media yesterday afternoon, at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, temporary home of those pesky Toronto Blue Jays, with the Yankees sitting at 33-32, in another injury crisis, and seemingly out of the Playoff hunt already.

He gave an update on Luis Severino: A groin injury will push his return back a month. Now, we'll be lucky to see him in Pinstripes before August.

Then, asked if he is sure Aaron Boone is the right manager for the Yankees, he said, "We made this bed and we are going to sleep in it. We are in this together."

Wow, some vote of confidence, as a series with the Jays began.

Jordan Montgomery started for the Yankees, and he did not pitch well, allowing 5 runs without getting out of the 6th inning. Gary Sanchez hit a home run in the 2nd to make it 1-1, and Chris Gittens hit his 1st major league home run in the 4th, to make it 2-2.

Gittens dedicated the homer to his newborn son. I can see the conversation now:

Son: "Dad, tell me about your first major league home run."

Father: "Well, son, it happened in Buffalo, New York."

Son: "But Buffalo doesn't have a major league team."

Father: "Well son, it was like this... "

Anyway, the Yankees went into the top of the 6th trailing 5-2. But a single by Gio Urshela, a double by the heating-up Sanchez and a groundout by Miguel Andujar made it 5-3. The Yankee announcers were talking about getting past Jays starter Hyn Jin Ryu and to their struggling bullpen. Sure enough, with Anthony Castro coming in to pitch the top of the 7th, Brett Gardner led it off with a home run.

DJ LeMahieu doubled, and advanced to 3rd on a wild pitch. Aaron Judge struck out, but with Gleyber Torres up, Castro threw another wild pitch, and the game was tied. The Yankees have done had too many comebacks this season, so this was a welcome occurrence.

Andujar led off the top of the 8th with a single off Tim Mayza. Gittens struck out. Boone sent Tyler Wade in to pinch-run for Andujar, and Clint Frazier up to pinch-hit for Gardner. A pinch-hitter for the guy who hit a home run in his last at-bat? Boone was replacing a lefty with a righty to face a lefty.

Jays manager Charlie Montoyo responded to these chess moves by bringing in Jordan Romano, a righthander and one of the few Toronto-area natives to play for the Blue Jays (from Markham, Ontario). Wade stole 2nd, and Frazier doubled him home to give the Yankees the lead.

Zack Britton, who came off the Injured List in time to pitch in the awful 7-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, pitched a hitless 8th. And Aroldis Chapman pitched a perfect 9th.

Yankees 6, Blue Jays 5. WP: Jonathan Loaisiga (6-2, he only pitched the 7th and was a little shaky, but he was the Yankee pitcher when the lead was taken, so he's the winning pitcher.) SV: Chapman (13). LP: Mayza (1-1).

Cliche Alert: The Yankees have "turned the corner." Well, maybe, this time, they really have. I hope so.

The series continues tonight. Gerrit Cole starts against Ross Stripling. Now that I think about it, each of these names sounds like a bad law firm.

Top 10 Yankee Trades -- Would Cashman Make Them?

From 1923 to 1985, the Major League Baseball trading deadline was June 15. It was Barney Dreyfuss, owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates and now a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, who suggested it to Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, based on a late-season trade the Yankees made that had helped them win a Pennant.

Since the 1986 Basic Agreement between the players and the team owners, the deadline has been a bit later, July 31, or August 1 if the preceding date falls on a Sunday. The move was recommended because teams have a better idea of what they'll need for the rest of the season after the All-Star Break than they would before.

We've seen Brian Cashman have the official role of general manager of the New York Yankees since the 1998 season. Since the death of George Steinbrenner in 2010, he has had pretty much full control from George's sons Hal and, until his own death in 2020, Hank. And, since the retirement of Derek Jeter in 2014, he has had to operate without players acquired by his predecessors Gene Michael and Bob Watson.

Which of these trades would Cashman have made, given his known preferences? These are listed in chronological order. And remember: These are trades. In some cases, there may have been cash involved, but each team received at least one player. So the 1920 purchase of Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox will not be mentioned. Nor will free agent signings like Reggie Jackson.

Top 10 Yankee Trades

1. July 30, 1919, with the Boston Red Sox.

Yankees get: Pitcher Carl Mays.

Yankees give: Pitchers Bob McGraw and Allen Russell, and $40,000.

Result: Mays wasn't a great teammate, but from 1916 to 1926 -- in Boston, New York and Cincinnati -- he was a great pitcher. In 1921, he went 27-9 to help the Yankees win their 1st Pennant. Had there been a Cy Young Award at the time, he would have won it easily. He was less key for the 1922 Pennant and the 1923 World Series win, and was then traded away -- and then won 20 for the Cincinnati Reds in 1924 and 19 in '26.

People point to the sale of Ruth as where the Red Sox were ruined and the Yankee Dynasty was made. That wasn't it. It was the trading of key pitchers to the Yankees that did it, as you'll see with these next 3. Well, 4, but the last of these was done after Harry Frazee sold the Red Sox in 1923 (and even after he died in 1929).

The consequences of this trade went far beyond the results on the field. This was the trade that split the American League. Every bit as much as the subsequent Black Sox Scandal, this trade helped create the office of the Commissioner of Baseball, and took a lot of power away from the League Presidents, especially AL President and founder Ban Johnson.

Would Cashman make this trade? No. McGraw and Russell were "prospects," and Mays wouldn't have been worth his view of risk.

2. December 15, 1920, with the Boston Red Sox.

Yankees get: Pitchers Waite Hoyt and Harry Harper, catcher Wally Schang and infielder Mike McNally.

Yankees give: 2nd baseman Del Pratt, catcher Herold "Muddy" Ruel, pitcher Hank Thormahlen and right fielder Sammy Vick.

Result: Pratt gave the Sox a .300 season, and Ruel later helped the Washington Senators win their 1st 2 Pennants, including 1924 when they edged the Yankees. But Hoyt became the 1st real Yankee ace since Jack Chesbro in the founding Highlanders era, helping the Yankees win their 1st 6 Pennants. Schang was the catcher on the 1st 3 of those.

McNally was an afterthought. So was Harper, but he went on to have an interesting political career. As a Republican in New Jersey, he ran successfully for Sheriff of Bergen County, and unsuccessfully for the State Assembly and Congress. He also served in the Cabinets of Governors Walter Edge and Alfred E. Driscoll.

Would Cashman make this trade? Yes. Before the trade, Hoyt was a mere 10-12 for his career, with a 3.85 ERA. And I can easily see him giving up on Pratt and Ruel. And Schang was 31 and, by the standards of the time, had some power. But he was a switch-hitter, and Cashman might not have gone for that.

3. December 20, 1921, with the Boston Red Sox.

Yankees get: Pitchers "Bullet" Joe Bush and "Sad" Sam Jones, and shortstop Everett Scott.

Yankees give: Shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh, and pitcher Harry "Rip" Collins, Bill Piercy and Jack Quinn.

Result: Peckinpaugh, like Ruel, helped the Washington Senators win their 1st 2 Pennants. Quinn would pitch until he was 50, helping Connie Mack establish the next Philadelphia Athletics dynasty in the late 1920s. And Collins would be the starting catcher on the St. Louis Cardinals' 1931 World Series winners.

Even with all of that, the Yankees won this trade going away. They got 2 fantastic pitchers to go along with Hoyt and Bob Shawkey, the latter a key purchase from Mack in 1915 rather than a trade acquisition. Bush went 26-7 in 1922, and would have been an easy choice for the Cy Young Award. He went 19-15 in 1923, to help the Yankees win the World Series for the 1st time.

Jones was just 13-13 in 1922, but went 21-8 in 1923, and would have won that year's Cy Young Award. Scott was also key, and should be remembered as a solid fielder and a good contact hitter, not just as the man who held the record for most consecutive games played prior to Lou Gehrig, 1,308.

Would Cashman make this trade? Yes. Bush was 90-94 from 1915 to 1921. Jones was 23-16 in 1921, but 23-36 in the 2 seasons before that. And Scott would have seemed like a throw-in.

4. January 30, 1923, with the Boston Red Sox.

Yankees get: Pitcher Herb Pennock.

Yankees give: Infielder Norm McMillan, pitcher George "Smiler" Murray, outfielder Elisha "Camp" Skinner and $50,000.

Result: The Yankees got 5 Pennants and 4 World Series wins. The Sox probably got more use out of the cash than the players.

Would Cashman make this trade? Yes. He would have given up next to nothing, and he got a lefthanded pitcher who had won a Pennant with Mack's Athletics (where he was a teammate of Schang and Shawkey) and 2 with the Sox, and was 32-21 in 1919 and '20, but was just 23-31 with an ERA over 4 in '21 and '22, and had injuries before. He was comparable then to Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon now.

5. May 6, 1930, with the Boston Red Sox.

Yankees get: Pitcher Charles "Red" Ruffing.

Yankees give: Outfielder Cedric Durst and $50,000.

Result: Durst was retired by the end of the season. Ruffing won 231 games for the Yankees, still the most of any righthanded pitcher. (Only Whitey Ford has more among lefthanders, with 236.) He and Vernon "Lefty" Gomez helped the Yankees win the 1932, '36, '37, '38, '39 and '41 World Series. Ruffing would have won the Cy Young Award in 1938 and '39.

Would Cashman make this trade? Yes. In losing Durst, he would have given up next to nothing. In Ruffing, he would have gained a pitcher who was 39-96 for Boston, but would have had a chance to do great things for a team with hitters like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig behind him.

6. October 11, 1946, with the Cleveland Indians.

Yankees get: Pitcher Allie Reynolds.

Yankees give: 2nd baseman Joe Gordon.

Result: Finally, not one where the Yankees fleeced the Red Sox. This was one of the best trades in baseball history, one that won at least 1 World Series for both teams. Gordon, the 1942 AL Most Valuable Player, secured his (posthumously-elected) Hall of Fame status by helping the Indians win the 1948 World Series. But the Yankees got George "Snuffy" Stirnweiss in a separate trade, and then had Jerry Coleman, Billy Martin and Bobby Richardson at the keystone sack for the next 15 years.

The Indians needed a veteran infield presence like Gordon, and were willing to trade any pitcher except the future Hall-of-Famer Bob Feller. Yankee GM Larry MacPhail asked Joe DiMaggio which one he should take. The Yankee Clipper said, "Take Reynolds. I'm a fastball hitter, but he can buzz his hard one by me any time he has a mind to." In other words, "He's really good, so even if he does nothing for us, at least he won't be doing anything to us."

That fastball, and his Cherokee heritage, got Reynolds a nickname that applied to Native Americans and a famous train of the time: The "Superchief." In a rotation that already included Vic Raschi, the "Sprinfield Rifle," the Yankees won the 1947 World Series. In 1948, the Yankees obtained Eddie Lopat, a lefthander specializing in off-speed pitches, known as "the Junkman."

And with new manager Charles "Casey" Stengel coming in for the 1949 season, and pitching the speedy righthander Reynolds followed by the junkballing lefty Lopat, followed by the speeding righthander Raschi, the Yankees had a very tough combination that won the next 5 World Series: 1949, '50, '51, '52 and '53 -- each time with a different 4th starter. So this trade helped the Yankees get 6 titles.

Reynolds only won 20 games once, in 1952, but that was partly because Stengel also frequently used him as a reliever. Had he come along 30 years later, he might have been a big blazing righthanded closer in the mold of Goose Gossage. He hurt his back in 1954, but still managed to go 13-4 at age 37, then retired: Having invested in oil wells in Oklahoma, he could afford to play for the love of the game, and then walk away.

Would Cashman make this trade? Yes. Trading Gordon would have taken a big salary off the books, and Reynolds was just 51-47 with Cleveland, albeit with a 3.31 ERA. In Cashman's mind, it would have been an easy choice. In MacPhail's mind, and in a baseball historian's mind, it actually was.

7. December 11, 1959, with the Kansas City Athletics.

Yankees get: Right fielder Roger Maris, infielder Joe DeMaestri and 1st baseman Kent Hadley.

Yankees give: Right fielder Hank Bauer, pitcher Don Larsen, outfielder Norm Siebern, and 1st baseman Marv Throneberry. 

Result: This was one of several trades the Yankees made with the A's from their 1955 arrival in Kansas City until 1960, when team owner Arnold Johnson died and the team was bought by Charles O. Finley, who stopped the original Yankee "shuttle." Anytime the A's got a player the Yankees thought was good, the Yankees would send the A's a veteran player they didn't need anymore, and get the prospect. Some players would go back and forth between the teams, including pitcher Ralph Terry and outfielder Bob Cerv.

It got to the point where people, remembering that the Kansas City Blues had been the Yankees' top farm team before the A's left Philadelphia, said that Kansas City was still a Yankee farm team.

Bauer helped the Yankees win 9 Pennants in 11 years, played 2 more years for the A's, and retired. Siebern became an All-Star for the A's, and then again for the Baltimore Orioles, where Bauer was his manager. (Bauer managed the Orioles to their 1st Pennant and World Series win in 1966, but, by then, Siebern was gone.) Larsen, the man who pitched a perfect game in the 1956 World Series got to the San Francisco Giants, and helped them win the 1962 National League Pennant, even pitching against the Yankees in the World Series.

Throneberry was the Yankees' top prospect. But he didn't do much in Kansas City, and then not much in Baltimore. Early in the 1962 season, the Orioles traded him to the New York Mets. While the short right field fence at the Polo Grounds allowed him to hit 17 home runs, showing what used to be known as "oafish clout," his fielding at 1st base was legendarily bad, on the same level (if not as a slugger) with that of Dick "Dr. Strangeglove" Stuart.

Hadley played the 1960 season with the Yankees, got sent down to the minors, and then played a few seasons in Japan. DeMaestri was a decent reserve infielder on the early 1960s Pennant winners. But those 5 Pennants, including the 1961 and '62 World Series, wouldn't have been won without Maris.

He became the AL MVP in 1960. He won the MVP again the next year, setting a new single-season home run record, the famous "61 in '61," despite seemingly everybody hoping that he wouldn't break Ruth's record of 60 in 1927, and that teammate Mickey Mantle would. In addition, Maris might have been the best-fielding right fielder in Yankee history. Perhaps no player in Yankee history was treated worse, by fans, by team management, and by the sportswriters. And few deserved it less. He didn't have Hall of Fame career statistics, but he was a Hall of Fame person.

Would Cashman make this trade? Never in a million years. Maris was a lefty, and Throneberry was the crown jewel of the Yankee farm system, having already made a bit of a contribution to their 1958 World Championship season. Who knew his name would become a byword for baseball ineptitude?

Cashman would have let Throneberry become the successor to Bill "Moose" Skowron at 1st base, and moved Joe Pepitone to the outfield. Or, maybe he would have let Pepitone succeed Skowron, as actually happened, and, seeing how bad Throneberry was at 1st, moved him to the outfield.

8. March 22, 1972, with the Boston Red Sox. Here we go again.

Yankees get: Pitcher Albert "Sparky" Lyle.

Yankees give: 1st baseman Danny Cater and shortstop Mario Guerrero.

Result: Guerrero was a backup, basically a throw-in. The Red Sox' reasoning was that Cater hit well at Fenway Park, so why not let him hit there 81 times a year? They didn't get it: The reason he hit well at Fenway was that the Red Sox had weak pitching. Now, he wasn't facing that pitching. He last played in 1975. Lyle was a rookie on Boston's 1967 "Impossible Dream" Pennant season, but had been inconsistent. He was 27, and it looked to them like he wasn't going to pan out.

In his 1st season with the Yankees, Sparky went 9-5, and set a major league record with 35 saves. (That record was broken by John Hiller of the Detroit Tigers the next season.) Sparky led the AL in saves again in 1976, and in 1977 went 13-5 with 26 saves, becoming the 1st AL reliever to win the Cy Young Award.

Would Cashman make this trade? Not a chance. Giving up Cater, a player who hit well at Fenway, would have been anathema to him.

9. December 11, 1975, with the California Angels.

Yankees get: Center fielder Mickey Rivers and pitcher Ed Figueroa.

Yankees give: Right fielder Bobby Bonds.

Result: The honorable mentions I could give for the early George Steinbrenner years are staggering. On the same day as this trade, the Yankees sent pitcher George "Doc" Medich to the Pittsburgh Pirates for 2nd baseman Willie Randolph and pitchers Ken Brett and Dock Ellis. (Unlike Medich, "Dock" was his actual birth name.)

Early in the 1977 season, the Yankees traded Ellis, outfielder Larry Murray and infielder Marty Perez to the Oakland Athletics for pitcher Mike Torrez. Right before that season, they sent outfielder Oscar Gamble, pitcher LaMarr Hoyt, pitcher Bob Polinsky and $250,000 to the Chicago White Sox for shortstop Russell "Bucky" Dent.

Just before George bought the team, but after he had begun negotiations, so he probably gave his okay to it, the Yankees sent catcher John Ellis, 3rd baseman Jerry Kenney, and outfielders Charlie Spikes and Rusty Torres to Cleveland for 3rd baseman Graig Nettles and catcher Jerry Moses. A year after that, the Yankees sent pitcher Lindy McDaniel to the Kansas City Royals for outfielder Lou Piniella.

While the White Sox got a Cy Young season out of Hoyt, and McDaniel helped make the Royal pitching staff one of the best in baseball (more due to his teaching than to his pitching, as he was near the end of his career), each and every one of these trades was genius for Yankee GM Gabe Paul (especially since he was the Indian GM for the Nettles trade, knowing he was going to the Yankees, in what was clearly a conflict of interest).

Specifically about the Rivers & Figueroa for Bonds trade: With the San Francisco Giants, the team for whom his son Barry would later become a legend, Bobby Bonds was one of the best players in the game, a rare combination of good power and great speed. Steinbrenner couldn't resist, and sent the beloved Bobby Murcer to Candlestick Park to get him. (Murcer would be reacquired in 1979.)

Bonds was a classic Brian Cashman player: Batted righthanded, had a lot of power, struck out too much (at the time, he had seasons of 189 and 187 strikeouts, then MLB records), and took risky chances on the bases that hurt often enough to make people think the times it paid off weren't worth it. He had good stats for the Yankees in 1975, but didn't really fit in. It wasn't a question of should he be traded, but for what.

Figueroa joined a rotation that already had the 1st big free agent signing, Jim "Catfish" Hunter, and Ellis. It would soon have prospect Ron Guidry. Figgy was key for the 1976 Pennant and the 1977 World Series. In 1978, he became the 1st Puerto Rican-born pitcher to win 20 games in a season. He remains the only one.

At the time of the trade, the Yankees were managed by Billy Martin. Rivers was Billy's kind of player: A contact hitter with a little power, great speed, smarter on the bases than Bonds, and a good fielder. He was a little flaky, but he was the ideal leadoff hitter for the late 1970s Yankees.

Would Cashman make this trade? No way! He wouldn't give up a speedy righthanded slugger like Bonds for a lefty contact hitter like Rivers. He might have tried to acquire Figueroa, but not at the cost of Bonds.

10. November 3, 1992, with the Cincinnati Reds.

Yankees get: Right fielder Paul O'Neill.

Yankees give: Center fielder Roberto Kelly.

Result: At first, I thought this was a great trade for both teams. O'Neill had been part of the Reds' 1990 World Series win, managed by former Yankee Piniella. And he reminded me of a lefty version of Sweet Lou: An intense player, good glove, not much speed but a hustler who knew when the extra base could be taken, and had some power. With the short right-field fence at Yankee Stadium, he would hit more home runs. And while he was already 29 years old, the switch from Riverfront Stadium's artificial turf to real grass could only help him.

With the rise of Bernie Williams, the Yankees could afford to give up Kelly, already an All-Star. A righthanded hitter, he would have been better off in the hitting-neutral Riverfront than in Yankee Stadium, with its left and center "Death Valley." And he had good speed, so the turf would help him as both a runner and a fielder.

At first, it looked like my prediction would come true: Kelly was named to the NL All-Star Team in 1993. But injuries struck him, and he was never the same player. Interestingly, he became a coach with the Giants, and, along with former Yankee reliever Dave Righetti, won 3 World Series rings in that capacity.

O'Neill was exactly what the Yankees needed: As Steinbrenner called him, a "warrior."  

Would Cashman make this trade? Fugeddabouddit! Kelly may have been only a year and a half younger than O'Neill, but Cashman would still have seen him as a "prospect," and a strong righthanded-hitting one at that.

There were a few honorable mention trades in the 1990s. During the 1995 season, the Yankees sent pitcher Marty Janzen and 2 minor leaguers who never made it to the Toronto Blue Jays for pitcher David Cone. After the 1995 season, the Yankees sent pitcher Sterling Hitchcock and 3rd baseman Russ Davis to the Seattle Mariners for 1st baseman Tino Martinez and pitchers Jeff Nelson and Jim Mecir.

In 1998, the Yankees sent pitcher Kenny Rogers to the A's for 3rd baseman Scott Brosius. In the middle of the 2000 season, the Yankees sent left fielder Ricky Ledee and pitchers Jake Westbrook and Zach Day to the Indians for outfielder David Justice.

And then, on February 15, 2004, the Yankees sent infielder Alfonso Soriano to the Texas Rangers for shortstop Alex Rodriguez. Turning A-Rod into a 3rd baseman, that trade took until November 4, 2009 to pan out. Clearly, that was not one of the Top 10 trades in Yankee history.

That there hasn't been a trade capable of knocking any of these Top 10 out since 1992 is a black mark on Brian Cashman's record. Indeed, if I made a list of the Top 10 Worst Yankee Trades, at least 2 of his would be on it, maybe more.