(Note: I wrote everything up until the awards picks on Tuesday. I suck at finishing/doing blogs)
Okay, so I've been meaning to do a Yankees blog for a while. I was gonna write one when they traded Chapman, then when they traded Miller, then when they traded Beltran, then when Tex announced he was retiring at the end of the year, then when they called up Gary Sanchez, then when they announced A-Rod would play his final game last week and he would be released to become a special advisor, then when they called up Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin, then when they went back to back in their first career at bats. But here I am finally, writing the blog way after all of that shit happened. So here's a blog about everything that has gone on with the Yankees in the last 2+ weeks.
Everyone knows the Yankees were sellers at the trade deadline for the first time basically ever. They unloaded closer Aroldis Chapman, set up man Andrew Miller, and RF Carlos Beltran. Two of their best relief pitchers (and pitchers in general) and their best position player are gone. What they got in return was pretty incredible and the Yankees now have a top tier farm system with guys like Clint Frazier and Gleyber Torres leading the way.
The next big thing was that first baseman Mark Teixeira announced he would be retiring at the end of the season. I'm sure it was a tough move for him but it's the right move. He said at the beginning of the year he would like to retire as a Yankee. Given that his deal runs out after the season and the Yankees have some quality young depth at first base with Greg Bird and Tyler Austin, Tex probably figured out that his .190 batting average would not be good enough to get another deal with the Yanks. Instead he'll just call it a career and save himself from anymore trips to the DL. I love Tex, and I'll always be grateful for his major contributions to the 2009 championship. The walk off laser home run against the Twins in the 09 ALDS was an incredible moment.
Then the Yanks decided to call up catcher Gary Sanchez, who has performed pretty well in 11 games so far. He's been a top prospect for a while and it's nice to see him doing well in his time so far. And as I'm writing this, he's hit his 3rd and 4th homers of the season (he's since hit his 5th as well).
And then A-Rod and the Yanks hit us with the bomb that he would play his final game with the Yankees on Friday August 12th. It was a sad day, but given the way the Yankees are heading, and the way he was playing when he got the time to play, it was the right move. He was taking up a roster spot and the Yanks would rather pay him $20 million a year to be a special advisor than bat .200 and take up a spot on the roster. Since Tex announced retirement on his own, I guess the Yanks are okay with waiting out his .190 average for another couple months. Similar to Tex, I'll forever be grateful to A-Rod for dominating the 2009 playoffs after a career of sucking in the postseason and winning that ring. He was simply unbelievable in the playoffs that year and it was awesome to watch. I'll also be grateful to him for letting Jeter stay at shortstop without being a bitch about it like every moronic sports commentator who thought it shoulda gone the other way around. And I also wanna thank him for some of the most unbelievable seasons I've ever had the pleasure of watching, whether it was with steroids or not. Sure, he's a douche for cheating (if he did, still not convinced he did) but the guy made a hell of a turnaround and became a fan favorite these last couple years. He's such a goofball and if you put aside his douchiness, you can certainly learn to love the guy.
Next big news for the Yanks was calling up Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin once A-Rod was off the roster. Neither took much time to make an impact as they hit back to back home runs in their first career at bats on Saturday. Judge would hit another one on Sunday too, and the youth movement in New York is looking very real. I love it.
So that's what's happening with the New York Yankees. Despite selling at the deadline, they are still very much in contention for not only a wild card spot, but the division too. I've seen crazier things happen than a team make up 5.5 games in the division in a month and a half.
Quick MLB awards predictions update as well:
AL MVP:
1. Jose Altuve
2. Mike Trout
3. Mookie Betts
4. Josh Donaldson
5. David Ortiz
AL Cy Young:
1. Corey Kluber
2. Cole Hamels
3. Jose Quintana
4. Rick Porcello
5. Masahiro Tanaka
NL MVP:
1. Nolan Arenado
2. Kris Bryant
3. Daniel Murphy
4. Anthony Rizzo
5. Carlos Gonzalez
(The NL kinda sucks)
NL Cy Young:
1. Madison Bumgarner
2. Max Scherzer
3. Kyle Hendricks
4. Noah Syndergaard
5. Jose Fernandez
1. Jose Altuve
2. Mike Trout
3. Mookie Betts
4. Josh Donaldson
5. David Ortiz
AL Cy Young:
1. Corey Kluber
2. Cole Hamels
3. Jose Quintana
4. Rick Porcello
5. Masahiro Tanaka
NL MVP:
1. Nolan Arenado
2. Kris Bryant
3. Daniel Murphy
4. Anthony Rizzo
5. Carlos Gonzalez
(The NL kinda sucks)
NL Cy Young:
1. Madison Bumgarner
2. Max Scherzer
3. Kyle Hendricks
4. Noah Syndergaard
5. Jose Fernandez
