Donaldson will receive more scrutiny.

A different triple crown for Judge.

 HR, RBIs, and Runs.

Anyone is better than Gallo.

Benintendi is a good fit for this team.

My gripe is with the prevailing sigh of relief. The notion that the Yankees acquired a "professional hitter" and "professional hitters" will steamroll through the Astros in the playoffs while dunderheaded sluggers will strike out on three pitches every time.

Great pitchers are great pitchers.

So I'm rooting for the Playoff Moment where Benintendi slaps a game-winner to left field. In a spot where Hicks would have swung for the fences and come up with a patented big whiff. Maybe Benintendi will even yank one into the bleachers for a walk off. There are many examples of this.

It's just as likely Benintendi goes 0-for-4 in a small sample size playoff game vs. a top notch pitcher.

In terms of winning the World Series? I just don't think this really moves the needle.

Predictable result, sure.

I am not sure why Boone is getting criticized for this decision. Yes, his explanation is convoluted and contradictory. He's an MLB manager, after all.

But this is the only thing Gallo is good for. A pinch hit hail mary home run when you need a home run. The guy he was batting for has zero home runs this year. There were already two outs in the eighth inning.

I suppose the shocking revelation in this article is that Gallo has the second-highest strikeout rate in the majors.

Who the heck is first?

This gets tedious for sure, but viruses are contagious.

You want the vaccine so you don't spread the virus to other people who aren't world-class professional athletes:

" 'I’ve tried to talk to as many doctors, medical professionals as I could and figure out as much as I could, and for me just decided that the potential risks outweigh the potential benefits of doing it,' Goldschmidt said after Sunday's loss in Cincinnati. 'It stinks that I can’t play in Toronto and can’t play these next couple games. I hate that part of it, but that’s unfortunately a consequence.' "

Doctors and medical professionals did not tell you that the risks outweigh the benefits.

" 'I just feel healthy. I don’t feel like I needed to get it,' Arenado said. 'I’m not trying to do a political stand here like I’m a spokesperson for this stuff. I’m not. I’m just choosing to do what’s best for me and my family. And I mean no harm, but it’s unfortunate I’ve got to miss two games.' " 

No harm, dude.

As long as you feel healthy.

She deserves this.

Quite a few of her vocal tics and "mother hen" tendencies drive me nuts. But those kinds of complaints are unavoidable if you listen to too many Yankee games on the radio. She is definitely a trailblazer and her genuine love of baseball crackles through the radio.

Humble pie sounds about right.

Long-forgotten if these teams meet in October, but there is no doubt the Astros deserve the benefit of the doubt.

I don't think home field advantage is a big deal, but you might as well try to get it. What more can you accomplish in the regular season?

My observation is this.

Let's say the Yankees can't hit Cristian Javier. This is a real thing. It's a legit problem.

He's the guy who is going to beat the Yankees in the ALCS and keep them from getting a ring. This assumes quite a bit, but let's just say for the sake of argument.

Then the remedy is to trade multiple prospects for the guy who will pound Javier in the playoffs, thus avoiding catastrophe, and leading the way for Giancarlo Stanton to hit a triumphant eight home runs in the World Series vs. Los Angeles.

So my question is: Who's the guy?

Because a lot of people are foolishly convinced it's Benintendi.

Now this scenario requires so many assumptions, it enters the realm of imagination.

But my point is that there's no reason to think Benintendi or Happ or even Soto are going to get three hits and two home runs in this Most Important Game vs. the Astros.

Of course anyone is better than Gallo.

Of course any of the players mentioned would improve the team and therefore improve the chances of winning.

But there is simply no specific player that is likely to solve this particular problem.

Because Javier is good.

Sorry, but that's how it works. The Yankees will have to beat good teams if they are going to win the World Series.

Jeter with all the cuss words.

 I always knew he had an edge, baby.

Viruses are contagious.

I know most kids and healthy people are not going to die from Covid. You don't want it, but you probably won't die.

The point of the vaccine is to stop the spread so you don't kill grandpa.

From a pure baseball standpoint ... if the Orioles can win ten in a row ... if the Reds can play .500 since a 3-23 start ... why can't the Royals get back in the wild card race?

It's not likely, I'd agree with that, but you're truly supposed to try. It's the basis of professional sports.

Don't look now ...

The Orioles are two games out of a wild card spot.

Also, one of the few teams to beat the Yankees in a series this year.

The logic collapses.

A baseball team absolutely regulates what a baseball player can do with their body, just in case you hadn't paid attention to the collective bargaining agreement.

Realmuto is probably prohibited from skydiving and karate, amongst many other physical activities.

Not against the law, but against his contract.

Countries also put many restrictions and requirements on visitors. In fact, I'll bet my bottom dollar Realmuto already has his Tdap vaccine. Canada can't tell him what to do with his body!

So you think it's not worth it for you personally? Do what you want. I wouldn't expect an entire country to change its rules just for you.

You'll survive without a three-game road trip to Canada; and the country of Canada will continue to get along quite nicely without a visit from J.T. Realmuto.

 

Funny how the lineup rules have changed.

 " 'He’s reserved, quiet. Jeter’s been blessed with great talent around him. So he’s never had to lead,' Rodriguez said in the interview. 'He doesn’t have to, he can just go and play and have fun, and hit second. I mean, you know, hitting second is totally different than hitting third or fourth in a lineup because you go into New York trying to stop Bernie [Williams] and [Paul] O’Neill and everybody. You never say, "Don’t let Derek beat you." That’s never your concern.' "

Obviously, these comments didn't age well. 

Also, it's not breaking news that this interview strained the relationship.

Why does ARod have a reputation for being well-spoken and intelligent?

Flavor of the Month.

Not a bad player by any means. It's just interesting how the pendulum has swung back a bit to favor players with high batting averages and no power.

Yeah, .279 is a high batting average nowadays ... and 16 home runs per year is not a lot nowadays.

LeMahieu's good stats.

Because of his ability to hit with RISP, I wanted LeMahieu to bat fifth. I think I was wrong about this.

LeMahieu's slugging percentage is very low (.398), but his on-base percentage is high (.355).

He has 34 walks and 35 strikeouts.

I still definitely trust him with RISP, but it was the right decision have him bat leadoff.

When he was a prospect, I thought Refsnyder was a sure thing.

I was thinking of all the players who would be better than Gallo.

In fact, I'm willing to bet Ryan McBroom would be better than Gallo.

Gallo splits.

• RISP: .152/.264/.283.
• Two outs RISP: .105/.320/.316.
• Late & close: .035/.222/.138.
• Vs. LHP: .118/.224/.196 with an impossibly bad 30 Ks in 51 at-bats. You can just send up a bullpen pitcher and get these results. An athletic player from the minors who can play the outfield.
  

The Field

Such a typical con game by Lupica.

Pretending the Yankees as so invincible that only six teams could possibly beat them in the playoffs.

Twelve teams make the playoffs. Eleven of these teams can beat the Yankees. We don't yet know who these teams will be (though I'm quite confident at this point that the Yankees will make the playoffs).

Now fast forward to October and consider the various scenarios:

1. Yankees win the World Series. "I told you the Yankees were invincible."
2. Yankees are beaten by one of the six challengers. "I told you [insert team name] could beat the Yankees."
3. Yankees are beaten by a different team. My favorite. "NO ONE THOUGHT the Yankees could be beaten by [insert team name]."

I find it consistently irritating and cowardly to tell me who will not win the Championship if you're unwilling to take as stand and tell me who will.

In response, I will now list six teams who I predict will not beat the Yankees in the playoffs:

1. The A's.
2. The Reds.
3. The Pirates.
4. The Rockies.
5. The Cubs.
6. The Nationals.

The current state of the AL East

•  If the playoffs started today, four AL East teams would make the playoffs.
• The Orioles have a better record than the Angels.

Yankee Stadium is Rockin'.

Four three-run home runs between both teams.

The Earl Weaver Game.

Trying too hard.

"There is always the same, mythical, two-team division in baseball. Call it the 'New York Division,' one that only includes the Yankees and the Mets. It means, especially in a year like this one when the two teams have the two best records in baseball, that they are always fighting for the mythical city championship."

It's a weary, mythical two-team division of my own creation. I'm so tired of talking about it for the past forty years, that I'm going to have to talk about it again.

 

"For now, the Yankees look to be running away with it. But it is fair to wonder, even at this point in the season, what the respective records of the two teams would be if, say, Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes, the Yankees’ two best starters, had combined for just eight starts the way Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer have. And how things might look between the two teams, and not just when they get around to playing each other, when deGrom and Scherzer are back at the top of Buck Showalter’s rotation."

Yeah. It's a fair point. The Mets might be better than the Yankees if deGrom and Scherzer return to form.

But it's fair to wonder, even at this point in the season, if the Yankees had kept Dellin Betances and he had regained his dominance; and if Clint Frazier was their everyday left fielder and hitting 45 home runs per year; and if Greg Bird had stayed healthy and won a couple of batting titles; and if Rob Refsnyder had a slash line of .300/.400/.500 and was their everyday second baseman. That team would be even better than the current team. 

"Which New York slugger is going to end up being the MVP of New York this season, Aaron Judge or Pete Alonso?

And, by the way, I ask the question knowing that come September, as we’re coming down the stretch, Francisco Lindor (who came out of the weekend with more RBIs than Judge) might want a word.

All Rise or the Polar Bear?"

I don't know what the future will bring, either.

Right now, Judge is by far the most valuable of these three.