Mark it down sports fans. Gary Sanchez’s 2-out, ground ball single to tie the game last night in the 9th inning will be the Yankees’ Minolta Turning Point of the Season. SU did not see the entire game but this was clearly a frustrating night. CC got pissed off when he was taken out but hey, 3rd time through the line up and is not throwing 97 mph anymore. No problem with Girardi making that move. Tyler Wade is just not ready for prime time yet; poor guy kept coming up in key situations. Matt Holliday cannot elevate the ball anymore; he is Mr. Gounder to Short and a sure DP all the time now.
You get to the 9th inning, tying run on 3rd base, no one out and Frazier and Judge don’t get it done. Sanchez’s grounder should have ended the game but no – sneaks through as no one goes for it. The Yankees win in the 11th on a walk-off home run. Judge chips a tooth in the celebration. Big win and write it down. Momentum starts here.
What to expect? Here is what will happen:
- First, Judge will now go on a roll. He needed something to happen. The chipped tooth will create discomfort and knock him out of his funk. SU knew the Home Run Derby was a bad idea – this always happens. But he will now feel differently at the plate and it will help as he is irritated by his tooth.
- Matt Holliday is going to go back on the DL. I can feel it. He will take one for the team as opponents start to field 7 infielders on the left side of the infield for his at bats.
- Jacoby Ellsbury is going to get hot. He just needs the at bats.
- Tyler Wade gets a trip back to Scranton for more seasoning or will be included in the Sonny Gray deal with Oakland. It seems like that trade will be happening this weekend. If he goes back to Scranton, he can share a car with Cessi who is also not ready for prime time.
- The bullpen looks really good now. They can even field the best of the rookies to be the long man and stop with the Scranton shuttle back and forth.
- Aaron Hicks will provide a boost when he returns. It will be interesting if they keep Clint Frazier up or send him down. That’s why Ellsbury is key as he needs to be a contributor even though not an SU fave. Plus they desperately need another left-handed bat in the line-up. The loss of Bird was a killer just for that reason.
Bottom line: the Division is certainly within reach. Boston has under-achieved and may start to feel the pressure of falling short with a big payroll. SU feels the Yankees are still playing with house money this season and should not trade away any top prospects. Stay with the program.
Finally, college football just around the corner. Time to start paying attention.
Sports Update Intergalactic 
I agree with the two moves back to Scranton but I’m not sure if Judge will go on a tear. The slider down and away nibbling on the outside corner is giving him trouble, The fastball which tails back over the outsdie corner does not give him trouble. I’m a big Gary Sanchez fan. Move Didi to the #5 spot and when Castro and Aaron Hicks comes back who will even remember Holiday.and Frazier. Gibe Holiday all the time necessary to right his ship.
Chapman has adjusted his pitching repertoire and looks much more effective. Everyone now seems to be throwing in the high 90’s so hitters are more and more adjusting to that speed. You simply have to mix it up. Chapman has done just that.
Lastly, these Yankees are ready now. Pick up a solid #1 starter… or two and we are as good as anyone including Houston. I don’t know much about the Dodgers. In a 5 game series if you get even 5 decent innings out of a Starter the bullpen will do the rest. They might be the best group in baseball. If Castro and hicks get back in the groove we can literally throw out 9 good hitters in a lineup… and this includes Headley.
Good point about Castro but I wonder if he will come back this season. Hamstrings are tricky and they need to make sure he is fully healed. In the meantime, Torreyes is 24 years old. Put him in every day as he hits leftys and righties just fine. Why force feed Wade when he is totally over-matched? I am not as high on Sanchez; feel he is tiring from the long season as a rookie and playing catcher. Needs a few more days off.
Yankees management is of the belief that young players need to play every day to develop. If Wade isn’t in Scranton then he has to play everyday in NY. This is too bad. Torreyes should be playing every day at second while Castro is out just as he did when Gregorius was out. Wade can watch and learn from the bench and go back to Scranton when Castro returns. These guys get more swings and field more balls during batting practice than they do in the games. The idea that you must be in the lineup to learn is just silly.
Sonny Gray deal doesn’t terribly excite me because it’s kind of fun watching this group do it’s best. As long as they don’t give up too much I’m fine with it. It seems there may be some competition and I hope the Yankees aren’t dragged into a bidding war.
They’ve been shifting on Judge for the past few weeks. I don’t know what the spray chart looks like but anecdotally he seems to hit to all fields. Not sure where the shift is coming from but maybe it’s bothering him.
Mets seem to have gotten a decent prospect back for Duda. I just can’t understand why the Yanks would not have met the asking price for him. If ever there was a trade meant to be between the two teams this was it.