New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author
Since it’s almost Halloween, this time my Yankees vid has a scary theme. I posted it on Facebook yesterday and the Yanks went on to beat Houston last night, so I’m posting it here. May it bring our boys more luck and us more joy. Be sure to watch after the “credits” for one last scary shot.
Enjoy!
Gosh, it’s nice to be able to use the broom image again. And it’s particularly nice to use it against the Rays, with whom we’ve been dueling for first place. There’s no doubt about who’s in first now: the Yankees are — by 3 1/2 games. Not a huge lead, but the best one yet.
Clearly, the Yanks have the Rays’ number at the Stadium. They absolutely dismantled the Rays during the sweep. They’ve been less successful at the Trop, but we’ll see how that goes next month when they come back to town. Also clearly, Blake Snell, the Rays’s ace, did not have a good day, while CC won his 250th game – quite a milestone.
Tanaka had a complete game. Haap was great. Which goes to show that when you have good starting pitching, good things come of it.
On the offensive side, what can I say about yesterday’s Janer, in particular? TWELVE runs. Torres’s first grand slam. Sanchez’s show of power. And LeMahieu continues to impress. I really don’t want to lose either him or Maybin. And by the way, the Yankees’ hitting coaches must be really good this year, because Maybin, for one, was talking about how he got to the Yankees batting, like, .120 and with a few tweaks he’s on a roll.
Now the Yankees take on the Astros, which should be a great test of how the team is gelling. Again, pitching will be key, and Boone hasn’t announced his starter. (Please don’t let it be Cessa.)
Via Jon Heyman:
The New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs have a deal in place revolving around reliever Aroldis Chapman. Sources tell Today’s Knuckleball that Hal Steinbrenner has signed off on the deal that will send Chapman to the Cubs for prospects Gleyber Torres, Billy McKinney, Rashad Crawford and former Yankees pitcher Adam Warren.
Cubs top prospect Gleyber Torres (SS) is the centerpiece of the return for New York. MLB.com rated the 19-year-old as the 28th-best prospect in baseball and top in the Cubs’ talented system. Torres is hitting .275 with nine home runs in 94 games with the High-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans.
Pitcher Adam Warren is also said to be going to New York. After spending the last four seasons with the Yankees, Warren is 3-2 with a 5.91 ERA in 29 appearances with the Cubs this season.
McKinney is the fifth-rated prospect in the Cubs system and 75th overall, per MLB.com. Drafted by the Athletics with the 24th overall pick in 2013 and acquired by the Cubs in the same deal that netted them Addison Russell for pitcher Jeff Samardzija, the 21-year-old is currently hitting .252/.355/.322 in Double-A. Over his three-plus minor league seasons, he is slashing .281/.364/.408 with 22 home runs in 375 games.
Crawford, 22, is hitting .255 with three home runs and 30 RBI in 83 games for the High-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans.
Chapman was originally acquired by the Yankees via trade with the Cincinnati Reds back on December 28. He went on to appear in 31 games while in pinstripes following his 30-game suspension under MLB’s domestic violence policy.
A four-time All-Star, Chapman sports a 2.01 ERA alongside his perfect 3-0 record in 31.1 innings of work. He has 20 saves, one blown save and 44 strikeouts against eight walks this season.
He spent his first six big league campaigns as a member of the Reds. In his final season in Cincinnati in 2015, he posted a 1.63 ERA while converting 33 of his 36 save opportunities.
Obviously, we all knew this was coming – I wrote as much in my last post – but when I take a closer look at the deal, it makes me wonder. Torres sounds like a terrific young shortstop, though only 19 and playing in A-ball. My question is don’t we already have a good shortstop? And if the Yankees plan to move Torres to second base as is rumored, what happens to Castro? McKinney and Crawford look promising too, and it’ll be nice to have Adam Warren back in the pen, if the Yanks can fix whatever problems he’s been having in Chicago.
Maybe Cashman plans another trade or two, spinning off today’s haul. More to come.
Jane Heller is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Her fourteen breezy, witty novels of romantic comedy and suspense are now entertaining millions of readers around the world, along with her two books of nonfiction.