What’s Happening in Baseball – July 6, 2021

Posted on by Charlie Ricker

I’m going to try something different here at The Titanium Spine. I thought I would do a handful of game recaps from the previous day, with highlights and analysis. For too long, I have leaned heavily on Yankees coverage, and I want to involve other teams. I want to expand my audience to fans of all teams, even minor league affiliates.

Let’s get started!

  • Red Sox at Angels – Clearly, the Shohei Ohtani show was in full swing in Anaheim in a 5-3 Angels victory. The All Star pitcher and hitter was on display, with seven innings of two-run ball on the mound. In addition, Ohtani smoked an RBI double off Nathan Eovaldi (9-5). The Angels scored three runs in the bottom of the first. Undoubtedly, the early lead set up Ohtani (4-1) and he settled in. David Fletcher went 4-4, while C Max Stassi added three hits. Raisel Iglesias locked down his 17th save for the Angels.

  • Phillies at Cubs – The wind was blowing out at Wrigley Field last night, and that usually makes for some wild contests. In 1979, these two teams had a game for the ages that resulted in a 23-22 Phillies win. Likewise, the Phillies won 15-10 last night, battering Chicago starter Jake Arrieta (5-9) to the tune of 7 runs over 1.2 innings. Arrieta left the ball up a lot in . As a consequence, Andrew McCutchen got Philly started with a grand slam in the top of the first inning. Bryce Harper had a five hit night, while Jean Segura added four hits of his own. In true Phillies fashion, their bullpen let the Cubs back in the game. Because their bullpen has been so awful, I hope Joe Girardi has a good supply of Pepto Bismol.

  • White Sox at Twins – Although the White Sox only had three hits, it was enough to get by in a 4-1 win over Minnesota. Carlos Rodon, fresh off being named to the American League All Star team, reeled-off six innings of one-run ball with eight K’s. Rodón (7-3) and José Berrios (7-3) matched up in a pitcher’s duel, with the latter pitching seven innings – the only blemish a two-run single to Chicago catcher Zack Collins in the second inning. Finally, in the bottom of the 9th, White Sox CF Billy Hamilton made the catch of the season, robbing Max Kepler of extra bases. Most certainly, you’ll see a lot of this highlight.

  • Yankees at Mariners – The Yankees have gone through a horrendous stretch, winning just 13 of their past 35 games. The team hit the road for a pair of series in Seattle and Houston, hoping to shake the funk. Apparently, the players meeting Aaron Judge called last week did some good. The Bronx Bombers got off to a good start, pounding Mariners starter Justus Sheffield (5-8) for six runs in 1.2 innings. Giancarlo Stanton hit a missile for a three-run bomb, and Luke Voit got off the schnide with a 5-hit night. Every Yankee in the lineup scored at least once, and eight of nine had at least one hit. Jameson Taillon (4-4) had his best start in Pinstripes, with seven innings of four-hit ball. He struck out nine.

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So, I hope everyone enjoyed. I am looking forward to more recaps and highlights going forward. Have a great day! 😎⚾

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Waiting for the Kraken to Release 🦑

Posted on by Charlie Ricker

The New York Yankees are off to a torrid start to their 2020 season, winning eight of their first nine games. Catcher Gary Sánchez has been off to a dreadful start with his bat.

This isn’t unusual. Gary has a lifetime batting average of .207 with a slash-line of .207/.531/.806 in March and April. It’s no surprise he is struggling at the onset of the season, because he has always been a streaky hitter. Hits and home runs come in bunches for Sánchez when he gets hot. When the Kraken is on fire, Yankees games are fun to watch because he puts on a show.

Sánchez’s hitting is secondary to me, though. Make no mistake, his towering blasts are jaw-dropping. What matters most to me about Gary’s game is the work he does behind the plate. Watching the way he and new ace Gerrit Cole interact in the dugout after each inning tells me how much his defense and calling games means to him. Although Cole grew up a huge Yankees fan, I don’t think he would make a nine year commitment if he didn’t feel good about his main battery-mate.

Sánchez worked diligently on his techniques behind the plate this past winter with Tanner Swanson, the new catching coordinator. YES Network filmed Gary doing drills in Florida back in February.


In seven games behind the dish, Sánchez has thrown out one out of two would-be base stealers and recorded one passed ball. It wasn’t long ago when his defense was a liability, drawing the ire of then-Yankees manager Joe Girardi, a key reason why the manager wasn’t retained.

The hits and home runs will come, albeit in bunches. The good news is the calendar now reads “August”, a month that historically has been scalding-hot for Sánchez (1.075 OPS).

$86,000,000 Mistake?

Posted on by Charlie Ricker

In a past article, I wrote about New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and the great moves he has made. I continue to have faith in his deals and the future of this team.

I am not sure signing Aroldis Chapman to a 5 year/86 million dollar deal is one of them. After last night’s loss to the Boston Red Sox, many Yankees fans were shaking their heads after a tough defeat. Chapman entered the game in the top of the 9th inning and quickly disposed of Hanley Ramirez on three pitches – fastballs clocked at 100, 102 and 102.

The next man up was 20 year-old rookie sensation Rafael Devers. Chapman, ever so proud of his heater, pumped two fastballs by Devers. By this time, the excited crowd at Yankee Stadium was buzzing, as all of Chapman’s pitches were 100 mph and above. The third pitch, also a fastball — a 102.8 mph fastball — was right down the middle and the baby-faced rookie barreled it up well enough to put it over the wall to tie the game. The excited crowd quickly grew quiet, like letting the air out of a balloon.

Chapman finished the inning without further problems, and went back out for the tenth inning. After quickly striking out Mitch Moreland, Jackie Bradley, Jr. was hit by an errant fastball and the following batter, Eduardo Núñez walked and by that time, Joe Girardi came out to hook Chapman. Reliever Tommy Kahnle later gave up a hit to score JBJ with the deciding run.

Illustrated below are Red Sox hitters’ numbers vs. Chapman in 2017. The numbers aren’t pretty. An on base percentage of .484, nine walks and six strikeouts.

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As Dennis Eckersley might say, “YUCK!” I’m pretty sure Brian Cashman, Joe Girardi and all Yankees fans didn’t have this in mind when Chapman put his signature on that five year contract. A top-flight closer is supposed to lock down games against division rivals in the heat of a pennant race, not wilt like flowers in a dry, hot summer. But Girardi reiterated in his postgame interview, “Chapman is my closer”.

As if his performance alone wasn’t bad enough, it appeared Chapman smirked in response to a reporter’s question asking how frustrating this stretch of less than ideal outings has been for him. It’s roughly around the 1:10 mark in the video in the link below, courtesy of YES Network.

I can understand that players might find some questions dumb, annoying and any other adjective you want to use. In my humble opinion, losing a tough game to a division opponent is not a great time to laugh/smirk/whatever. I guess we better get used to it, because Chapman is here for the duration.

Not a Good Night for MLB Umpires

Posted on by Charlie Ricker

Last night was not a banner night for MLB umpires. The ongoing abomination that is the Baltimore Orioles vs. Boston Red Sox series continued to provide more drama last night. In the bottom of the 2nd inning, Kevin Gausman hit Xander Bogaerts in the fanny with a 77 mph curveball and was quickly ejected by home-plate umpire Sam Holbrook.

I am not sure what Sam Holbrook was thinking, because he’s been an umpire for many years and he wasn’t made a crew-chief by accident. There’s no question him and his crew needed to be on “high alert” (as Holbrook claims) given the recent animosity between the two clubs, but ejecting Gausman without so much as a warning is absurd at best.

Unfortunately, there was more to come for umpire Holbrook. In the top of the 5th inning, Adam Jones was tossed out of the game for voicing his displeasure with a called strike on a high curveball from Boston starter Drew Pomeranz.

Given everything Jones endured during this series, I think Holbrook should have just let him have his say, and he was already walking back to the dugout when he ejected him. Holbrook should have just let it go, given the circumstances.

Meanwhile, shoddy umpiring wasn’t confined to Fenway Park last night. In the Bronx, home-plate umpire Bill Welke didn’t have his finest night. It wasn’t as rough a night as Sam Holbrook, but it’s enough to warrant mentioning.

Throughout the game, Welke’s strike-zone was inconsistent and roughly the size of a postage stamp. He heard from both New York Yankees players as well as the Toronto Blue Jays.

The normally very mild-mannered Brett Gardner took exception to a called strike by Welke and destroyed a dugout recycling bin after his 6th inning at-bat.

 

Yankees manager Joe Girardi got the boot for voicing his displeasure over Welke’s inconsistency. All in all, the evening of May 3rd, 2017 wasn’t the finest day in baseball history for MLB.