Connery’s Views from a recliner

Labor Day Weekend can mean many different things to people. To my teachers and school admins, you got this! Rock it like you do every day. We love you and support you.

For sports fans it means a lot too. Baseball season is in its final push, teams are jockeyinh for the playoffs. For thr Yankees, the formula is simple; Keep doing the things yoy hsve been since the All Star Break, focus on what you can control, and win some games.

The other cool thing abour this wewkend, other than having Monday off, football season starts.

I follow Notre Dame & the New York Giants. Notre Dame starts at Florida State. The Irish have lot of new players, a new Quarterbsck and new Defensive Coordinator. Lots of potential but a few questions. The key is whether Brian Kelly and staff can finally push the right buttons and put the best team out there to win consistently? Because after all, making the College Football Playoff is nice, but getting waxed in the Semis is not.

For the Giants, its about getting and staying healthy. Saquon must back healthy. The offensive line must protect Daniel Jones. The key to it all in my eyes is offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.

The Giants spent a lot on free agents in the offseason to take pressure off Daniel Jones. The key now is Garrett. How will he modify his game plans to maximize the talent on the field. Because, similarly to Notre Dame, winning is fun, but won’t mean anything if tbey aren’t playing meaningful football after Thanksgiving.

Back tomorrow with recal of O’s Yanks game one from the Bronx.

The Yankees lost again last night to the Los Angeles Of Anaheim. 6-4. It was an interesting game. Interesting, not because of the final score, the Yankees lost and looked flat doing so, but Shohei Ohtani stole home!!! How cool is that?

Coolness aside, the Yanks need a win tonight. After winning 13, losing 4 straight sucks.

How can that occur? First, Gerrit needs to be Gerrit. Gerrit, you aren’t cute. Meaning, don’t try and nibble, don’t try and dot zones, just pitch. This means the nasty knuckle curve, slider and of course, that 100 mile heater.

I will regret this, but Gerrit will not fear Ohtani. I am really looking forwars to this matchup. Back tomorrow with a recap.

In other Views, the Giants roster is down to 53 men. I am not surprised by the cuts, really loo- (reading John Ross is already out until week 3) Shit!!

Outside of 26, the rest of y’all have 10 and a half days to get right!!

Back tomorrow with recaps and more Views.

The Bad: The loss. Corey Kluber only went 4 innings and gave up 5 runs. I’m going to be too hard on him, it was his first start in quite a while. The worse, if that’s even a thing. The bad Aaron Boone showed up again last night. Of all the pitchers you could have asked, you asked Andrew Heaney to face Shohei Ohtani? God….

The Good: The fight the Yankees showed coming back from 5-2 down. The Yankees are showing heart. If this was May or June, it would have been a blowout and, calls for Aaron Boone to be left in Los Angeles.

The Silver Lining: That Stanton guy keeps producing along Aaron Judge anf DJ LeMahieu. The other silver lining? There are a lot of games left.

The Hope: Hoping the Yankees win tonight because, losing sucks.

Back tomorrow with a recap.

The New York Giants concluded their preseason slate with a loss at home to the New England Patriots. There was some good and bad moments.

The Good: Blake Martinez with a great interception. The offense moved the ball, sorta.

The Bad: The Daniel Jones interception, I’m not gonna too crazy over it. It was a bad read and a miscommunication between Quarterback and Tight End. Also the bad, too many drops by the Wide Outs, including a big one by Darius Slayton, hit him right in the hands. The drop cost the Giants possible points. They NEED to clean that up in the next 13 days. They cannot have those silly mental mistakes when the games start to count.

The Ugly; The Offensive line was meh. Andrew Thomas struggled again, but acknowledged he needs to be better, so there’s that. 🤷‍♂️

The Hope: By September 12, the new toys the Giants spent big on are healthy and able to contribute positively.

Am I worried? Not really. Will my anxiety heighten as Week 1 gets closer, sure. Am I excited and optimistic for the Giants this year? Yeah, for the first time in a while.

Stay Tuned.

Okay, so the Yankees split the 4 game series in Oakland, less than ideal, but by no means that troubling. Over the last two games, Oaklamd got the big hits that the Yankees had been getting during their winning streak.

A silver lining? Corey Kluber is coming back. Now, this is in his prime Randy Johnson, but Kluber coming back, gives the Yankees something they haven’t had all year, depth in their pitching rotation.

The Yankees had down the Coast to Los Angeles to play Shohei Ohtani and the Yankees, the show that is Ohtani, aside it should be a good series. The Yankees just have to keep doing what they have been, smart at bats and good pitching.

A concern I have? Kluber either gets smoked like an Alaskan salmon and goes two innings, or he’s great, but pulled after 5 due to a pitch count limitation. It is imperative Aaron Boone work on his in game adjustments now, before the Wild Card game and playoffs.

Back tomorrow with a recap.

Well, it took until the 4th Inning to announce his presence, but, Giancarlo Stanton did in a huge way.

Continuing his recent hot streak, Stanton gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead with a 472 absolute moonshot of a Home Run. Guys, this dude absolutely crushed this pitch! It was a bomb to the upper deck. Luke Voit would add his own Home Run, making it 2-0, and the Bombers were off and running. Aaron Judge also hit a 3 run Home Run, and later added a run scoring single finishing the offense’s 8 run ouput

Gerrit Cole was Gerrit Cole, the Ace. 6 innings, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts. The typical ho-hum ‘I’m Gerrit Cole’ start’, exactly what the Yankees needed for their 13th straight win.

As for the bullpen, they stepped up as well when it counted. Although Joely Rodriguez relieved Cole, and struggled, Chad Green, yes that Chad Green, who’s been mind-numbingly inconsistent, picked up the slack for Rodriguez and earned a hold, pitching 1.2 innings, with a walk and three strikeouts, a massively welcomed development given Green’s struggles and Aaron Boone’s over reliance on him. Lucas Lutege worked the 9th to end the game.

The Bombers go for their 14th straight win this evening in Oakland. I will be back tomorrow with a recap. Enjoy this cool Saturday.

34-12 since July 4th. The New York Yankees won last night 7-6 over the Oakland Athletics. Why does this matter? Several reasons.

First and foremost, it helps in the standings, it keeps the Yankees 3 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox for the first Wild Card spot in the American League, which would mean the game is in New York rather than Boston, which is vital. I’m not saying they wouldn’t win in Boston but the pressure of that game would be magnified 100 fold, and almost certainly be on national television, in Prime Time. Not that the game wouldn’t be, it would just be helpful if the game were in New York rather than Boston.

So, how did they win last night? Welp, it was a nail biter, but the Yankees used some timely hitting amd clutch pitching to get the W. Jameson Taillon was sub par but picked up by a Yankee Bullpen that has struggled all year. Jonathan Loiasiga pitched 2 late innings for the win, and Aroldis Chapman got the save.

The offense was paced to a 6-2 early after home runs by Brett Gardner, Giancarlo Stanton and Joey Gallo. The game turned on an Aaron Judge single in the ninth that scored Tyler Wade. It was the Yankees 12th straight win, an incredible thought after a brutal loss to Boston on July 25th.

Timely hitting, clutch pitching, and an Aaron Boone ejection were the key last night.

The Yankees go for 13 in a row tonight with their ace, Gerrit Cole on the mound, color me excited.

Back tomorrow with a recap,

So, the Yankees start a seven game roadtrip beginning in Oakland this evening. To say these games are huge, is quite frankly, an understatement.

The Yankees come into town on an 11 game winning streak and sit 3 games better than Boston for the first wild card, Oakland nips at Boston’s heels, a game and a half back.

Winning three of four would be huge. It would keep momentum on the Yankees side, keep them in the playoff hunt, and also create more distance between them and Oakland, breathing room if you will, and may alleviate some pressure of them moving forward.

So, how do they accomplish this? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Timely hits, length from your starting pitchers and a good balance of your relievers. This formula must not change! This would not be the time for Aaron Boone to managed scared.

Jameson Taillon gets the nod tonight for The Bombers and with Gio Urshela coming back, there is reason for optimism. I will write more about game 1 tomorrow.

Now, to the Giants and Mr. Barkley. Saquon participated in Live Contact Drills for the first time this training camp. Joe Judge said Barkley would need to see live contact before returning full time.

My only thing with this is, are they rushing him back? ACL injuries can be tricky. If they are how much of it is Saquon saying ‘I can do this’, and how much of it is because the Giants need him, badly?

Goddamnit. I was totally prepared to let my typical Giants anxiety start in about 10 days. Now? I’m thinking of Barkley getting lit up in practice or missing a block and landing awkardly. They do this type of shit every year. I go from nervous to amped to pissed to buzzed, to angrily buzzed, pissed, then by October, it’s who we drafting?

Saquon Barkley is too important to screw up. They can’t, they won’t right?

11 Straight Wins. The Yankees won again last night, 5-4 over the other hottest team in baseball, the Atlanta Braves.

The Yankees got a servicable start from Andrew Heaney, and the bullpen hung on late to grind out another win.

Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu hit home runs, a third was added later by Rougned Odor. Once again, the Yankees ran well with Andrew Velazquez stealing a base.

A concern I have: Aroldis Chapman I think must have an alcohol clause in his contract. By that, I mean, he MUST get an incentive like a case of vodka for a walk or the finest Scotch for letting more than one runner on. Jesus!!! He does not need to be Mo, he just needs to be more consistent.

Chapman was bailed out by Wandy Peralta, of all people. The highlight was Braves star Freddie Freeman’s at bat. Freeman, in addition to being one of my favorite non Yankees, and having a fantastic ‘30 for 30‘, is a star. The bases were loaded, it had ‘all the makings’ as Bill Pidto used to say, of a expletive laden internal tirade. Fortunately, Freeman flied out to left field and the Yankees survived.

The Yankees are winners of 11 straight, are off this evening, my blood pressure says thank you, then head to the west coast for 4 huge games in Oakland, and 3 more in Los Angeles. West Coast baseball!!!! Late nights, anxiety and resulting sleep deprivation, yay!!!!

Back tomorrow with Giants talk, finally.

10 straight wins, 2.5 up on Boston to host the wild card game, not to mention 4 back of the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East. The one thing that all the haters feared is happening. They cheered when the Yankees struggled, the cackling from Queens and New England was loud and obnoxious. They blasted the manager and players even when they started winning series, ‘oh it’s the Orioles, its the Royals, no way they do that in Seattle or Houston’. Now that the Yankees are winning, regularly, they, the so called experts and loud mouths are scared shitless!!!

Now, rather than laugh and clap back at the recent Met fans and ‘Diehard’ Red Sox fans who were loudest in May and June, I’d like to highlight why the Yankees have been so successful since the All Star Break.

First, they are taking chances on the bases. When before July did you see the Yankees move guys over, or straight still or hit and run? If you answered ‘rarely,’ you’d be correct. The Yankees running more has opened up a ton of options for them. Guys like Tyler Austin running, or the threat of the steal has made pitchers have to throw strikes. This has allowed guys like Giancarlo Stanton to have quality at bats and see better pitches per at bat, rather to mash and outslug their opponents.

Similarly, guys like Tyler Austin, Brett Gardner, Andrew Velazquez and Kyle Higashoika, guys that shouldn’t be producing, are producing. All that’s needed now is Jonathan Davis to do something productive, and you’d need to check my pulse!

The increased hitting and run production has also led to better pitching. Starters are going longer in games, and relievers are able to be used and mixed and matched from a position of strength as opposed to ‘Damn, we could really use Jonathan Loaisiga to get us out of here, but he’s pitched 3 out of 4 days…..Loaisiga it is!!’

Take Saturday’s game as an example. Gerrit Cole only went 6 innings and threw 96 pitches, he pitched well, but not lights out by any stretch. The difference was he pitched with a lead because he got run support. Only going 6, but leaving with a 6 run lead allows for flexibllility. Instead of Loaisiga, Chad Green and maybe Aroldis Chapman, Aaron Boone had the luxury of using Lucas Luetge for 2 innings and Albert Abreu to close out the game in the 9th.

Their fkexible Saturday turned into a luxurious Monday. Jordan Montgomery went 5 innings, Loaisiga went 2 earning a hold, Wanda Peralta worked the 8th and Chapman worked a perfect 9th. None of this happens if they are playing from behind or in a one run game.

Lastly, credit where credit is due. I have been one of his harshest critics all year, but Aaron Boone is doing a great job managing the team. He’s relaxed and pushing all the right buttons as opposed to overthinking and managing scared and not to lose.

Former New York Jets Coach, Herman Edwards had a famous press conference where he empathically said ‘You play to win the game!’ As a Yankee fan, it’s felt like it took a while, but it seems that Aaron Boone is finally playing to win the game.

Let’s hope it continues. Back tomorrow with Yanks Braves Game 2.