Connery’s Views from a recliner

So I’m back from a mini Anniversary get away to Kennebunk, Maine. The trip was awesome, minus a complete misfire from yours truly on where to eat dinner on our last night in town.

The place was just outdated, our waitress who you just tell had been there forever, was okay. She just tried way to hard with the enthusiasm and jokes, and the food was kinda just, meh. Here I was thinking we were going to this great local spot with a cool name, instead it was like walking into and not being able to get out of a 1970s time warp.

But truly, that is my only gripe, and it was my pick so nobody to really be pissed at but myself, and believe me, I felt terrible.

The rest of the trip was lovely. The beaches were comfortable enough for a lot of people, but you still had plenty of room to move around on the sand or in the surf. The waves were excellent, once you got over the hypothermic shock of initially getting wet.

The food was for the most part, really good. The first spot we went to had a burger with bacon and peanut butter. It was epic! I even put A1 on the burger, which some would call crazy, I would simply call it awesome!!! The rest of the food was a symphony of burgers, steaks, including a cheesesteak that combined barbecue sauce and pickles and it worked, seafood, and really good ice cream. Over indulgent, sure, but not over eating. It was truly the first trip in a while where I ate a little of everything, without eating everything and feeling awful afterwards and not sleeping. That’s called progress my friends.

The bottom line was, it was a trip my wife and I needed, and a trip we are already talking about taking next year.

In actual sports news. The Yankees have had a good stretch, winning 8 out 10 and gaining ground in the Wild Card as Boston has lost 8 out of 10. So that’s good!

However, the weekend ended on a sour note, as the lack of a big hit plagued the Yankees in a 2-0 defeat to Seattle on Sunday. To those getting on Luke Voit and Aaron Judge, please just stop. The team that everyone buried is on the rise, some folks are never content, I guess.

Back tomorrow with a recap of Yankees-Royals from KC and some final thoughts on the Olympics.

The Yankees did what they needed to, beating the Orioles 13-1 in a rout in the Bronx. The Yankees got contributions from up and down the lineup, including the much maligned, Giancarlo Stanton who had a 3-run Home Run and a run scoring single, the haters (myself included) at times this year need to stand down.

Newcomer Anthony Rizzo had another two hits, where would they be without him? And Joey Gallo, the other new Yankee, 0-4 and struggling a bit. We hope he’ll break out of the funk soon.

The star of the game was rookie Luis Gil, who threw 6 innings of 4 hit ball, surrendering a single walk, no runs and 6 strikeouts. Not bad for a Yankee Stadium debut.

What followed was also the debut of middle relief guy Stephen Ridings. My post on Facebook was ‘who in the blue hell is Stephen Ridings?!?’ Apparently, he’s this big dude 6’8’’, throws a plus fastball and struck out the side in the 7th. Judging by the reaction on Social Media, he’s a keeper! And Stephen, don’t worry, your Yankeeography will debut soon.

So all and all, it was night for the Bombers who clawed within 2 games of the second Wild Card. They need to win tonight, period. In case I haven’t mentioned it earlier, the 4 game set that starts tomorrow against the Mariners is massive!

And now to the absurd, the New York Giants. First, Kenny Golladay tweaked a hamstring, don’t appear to be serious, thank Christ, but still, ‘Shit!! Our shiny new toy needs repairs, already!!!’

Now to the melee. I appreciate Head Coach Joe Judge for taking control of the bullshit and making them run and condition after the fact. But, Daniel Jones at the bottom of the pile? Nobody thought ‘hey um, so our quarterback is…okay, we’re looking the other way on this? Let the melee ensue! And Logan Ryan, sure stick up for teammates but pick your spots. If Zeke pushes McKinney, then yeah, its on! But, not during practice, at the end of the day, and not against your own team. Bad form from the Giants all the way around.

Going away tomorrow thru Sunday, will blog when able. Be good too and take care of each other.

So. Bad News first, the Yankees lost last night, looking badly against a bad team. The cherry on this sundae? Both Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery have tested positive for COVID-19.

More bad news. The Giants had a team wide brawl with their quarterback at the bottom of the pile AND Logan Ryan, a defensive leader in the fracas! Daniel WTF!!!! And Logan, lead, don’t be dumb ya bastard!

The Good News: All good at the Giants camp, Papa Judge lit into them pretty good and they deserved it! Also, the Yankees are winning and Giancarlo Stanton has hit a home run! Hell may gone a few degrees colder tonight with the Stanton home run!!!

The Bottom Line: The Giants need to keep their shit in house, use that aggression against the Broncos week 1! And the Yankees? Keep finding a way.

Back tomorrow with more.

Since wrapping up a weekend series with the Mets on July 4, thr New York Yankees have played 21 games. Not only in that span have they won 14 of the 21, and gotten themselves back in the playoff hunt, 16 of the games were on the road. 16!

The Bombers finally return home tonight to begin a 3 game set against the Baltimore Orioles. In football, there is a term often used when a team should win over another team, particularly a team that’s down in the standings. This referred to a ‘Trap Game.’

This has alllllll the makings of a ‘Trap Game’, or ‘Trap Series’ for the Yankees. The O’s aren’t very good, they have some talented guys, they aren’t good for the most part, yet they always seem to play the Yankees tough. The Yankees need to take advantage of this and keep the train rolling as opposed to derailing.

The Bombers will look to newcomer Andrew Heaney to get the series started off right. Heaney, who came over in a trade last week from the Angels, makes his first start for New York. Heaney is a fly ball pitcher. (Gulp!)

Hoping it works out. Back tomorrow with a recap.

Welp. It took a while for the Yankee bats to get going Sunday. Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara was really good thru 7 innings, keeping the Yankee hitters off balance with a good mix of pitches and a good fastball.

The game turned with a Yankee rally in the top of the 8th inning. Newcomer Anthony Rizzo came thru once again, tying the game with a single that score Brett Gardner. Aaron Judge would put the Yankees in front for good with a RBI single that plated Giancarlo Stanton.

The real stars of the game were the Yankees pitchers. Starter Jordan Montgomery went 5 innings, allowing 1 earned run and 3 hits. The Yankee Bullpen once again did the job, allowing just 1 hit in the final 4 innings. Relievers Clay Holmes, Joely Rodriguez, Zach Britton, and closer Aroldis Chapman held the Marlins in check over the final innings. Rodriguez picked up the win, while Chapman pitched a perfect 9th inning for his 22nd save.

After 10 games on the road, the Yankees return home for 7 games, 3 against Baltimore and 4 against Seattle. The Seattle series is huge as the Yankees are currently 2.5 games out of the second Wild Card position, with Seattle right behind them.

Newcomer Andrew Heaney takes the mound for The Bombers as they begin the homestane against the Orioles.

Be back with a recap Tuesday, and some more Olympic talk tomorrow.

The Yankees won again on Saturday Night 4-2 over the Miami Marlins. Starter Domingo German only went 4 innings, but was bailed out by his bullpen. I don’t think I’ve said that since I began this blog!

The winning pitcher Saturday was Lucas Luetge, he pitched 2 innings of 1 hit ball with 4 strikeouts. Fellow relievers including newcomer Clay Homes and Chad Green each pitched a clean 7th and 8th respectively before Jonathan Loaisiga rebounded in the 9th after giving up a hit, and hung on for his 3rd save on the year and a series win for The Bombers.

Offensively, the Yankees were again paced by newcomer Anthony Rizzo. Rizzo homered again, had another hit, walked twice and scored 3 runs. Rougned Odor and Gary Sanchez each added RBI hits for New York who has 4 of their last 5. The Bombers go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon with Jordan Montgomery on the mound.

And the cherry on top of this win? The Red Sox, so the Yankees are holding their own in this wild American League playoff hunt!

Back tomorrow with more.

The Yankees won last night 3-1 over the Miami Marlins. The game was highlighed by an absolute BOMB of a home run of 449 feet into the second deck by the newly acquired Anthony Rizzo.

The game was salted away by a 2 run scoring hit by Rougned Odor. The game was put away by the Yankee Bullpen after another strong 5.2 innings from Jameson Taillon. Manager Aaron Boone pushed the right buttons and didn’t overthink it, using Aroldis Chapman in the 9th for his 21st save on the year. Who would have though sticking with the hot pitcher and not micromaging could lead to success, Mr. Boone.

The Yankees stand 7.5 games back in the American League East and 3.5 games back of the second wild card. They have the same record as the on paper World Series Champion New York Mets, and seem to be rounding into form for the stretch run. (No joy is experienced when the Mets lose, ever 😆.)

Throughout my blog posts involving the Yankees this year, I have preached consistency. Over these 60 games, they need to be consistent. They have to take care of their own business and not scoreboard watch. Most importantly, they have to beat the teams they are supposed to beat, and that will hopefully continue this evening against the Miami Marlins.

The Marlins has a 23 year old Rookie, Trevor Rogers on the mound, with the Yankees countering with Domingo German. Hopefully, as recent history suggests, the Yankees can buck the trend of making a rookie look like the second coming of Bob Gibson and get the win.

In Other Views from my Chair….

I, last night with Erica, watched some of the Olympic coverage. The track and field events are just amazing. To run that fast, over hurdles in some cases, it’s just incredible. These athletes don’t even look winded! Then the swimming, to use the words flawless and perfection to describe Katie Ledecky would have been an understatement. She made the 800 Meters looked easy! And, in her own words, she’ll be back in 2024 and maybe 2028! Go Team USA.

Back later depending on timing and definitely tomorrow. Enjoy this summer Saturday!

The trade deadline came and went today at 4 PM. To say there was a flurry of activity would be an understatement.

All the big market teams seemed to get better. The Mets added Javier Baez, the Red Sox added Kyle Schwarber, and not to be outdone, the Yankees added Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo, and that was just the Eastern Teams!!!

Out west, the Dodgers made the minor move of adding some journeyman pitcher, MAX SCHERZER!!!! Scherzer is a 3 time Cy Young Award winner, while also adding Trae Turner. In San Francisco, they added Kris Bryant and the White Sox added Craig Kimbrel, as like the Nats in Washington, the Cubs are in full demolish and rebuild a bigger more tricked out mansion mode.

Those weren’t even all the moves! Seemingly, all the teams that needed to make a move and get better, did. These last 60+ games are gonna be fun!

As fans, that’s all we can ask for.

Back tomorrow with more baseball.

So, the Yankees lost today, bad. A first pitch home run given up by Gerrit Cole, and it was not to be the Yankees’ Day on the field, as 1-0 somehow turned into 14-0 Tampa Bay. Cole wasn’t good by any stretch, but Aaron Boone once again mismanaged a pitcher, and by the time it was 6-0 and the relievers were ready, two home runs later turned into 14-0. That’s the bad news on the field.

Off the field? Reinforcements are on the way! In addition to Joey Gallo, Brian Cashman added Cubs slugger Anthony Rizzo late Thursday afternoon, again without blowing up the team or the prospects in the farm system. It’s been an incredible 24 hours foe The Bombers.

Now, what does this mean? First and fotemost, Luke Voit might be gone. I could see Voit being moved for some pitching help before the deadline. Anthony Rizzo is an upgrade over Luke Voit, so this is best for the Yankees even at the expense of a fan favorite like Voit.

So, the Yankees head to Miami for a weekend set against the Marlins, again 2 out of 3 is a must. Giancarlo Stanton maybe in the outfield? Leave him in Florida, I say.

As the Yankees head to South Beach ahead of tomorrow’s 4 PM trade deadline, the question now becomes, what’s next Mr. Cashman?

Intrigue is abound in Yankeeland. Stay tuned.

Incredibly, in this season of still dealing with Covid-19, baseball related injuries, and sometimes, awful management decisions both on and off the field, the New York Yankees are 1 game back in the loss column for the second Wild Card in the American League. One Game Back!

The Yankees continued their winning ways of Tampa last night 3-1 on the strength of an Aaron Judge single and some solid pitching. Who knew solid pitching could be part of a winning formula? Remember those ‘awful management decisions’ from above? I’m looking right at you, Mr. Boone.

So, the Yankees won, yay. The win ensured a series win against the Tampa Bay Rays, in Tampa, which hasn’t been a fun place to place for the Bombers in recent times. They go for the sweep this afternoon with Gerrit Cole. Here’s hoping for good things.

In addition to the win last night, the Yankees made a move, acquiring left handed slugger, Joey Gallo from the Texas Rangers for a slew of mid and higher end prospects. I’ll take it.

In my blog yesterday, I was very critical of Brian Cashman standing pat. Maybe, just maybe he has a plan.

I like the trade itself for a couple of reasons. First, they didn’t part with Aaron Judge or Gleyber Torres, leading up to the trade, I was concerned. Torres has struggled but yrsding him says you gave up on him, and, Judge was a late scratch out of the starting lineup. Man, did Twitter explode! ‘Did they actual trade Judge?!?’ Thankfully, they did not.

Additionally, the trade benefits the Yankees because it gives them options in the outfield and gives there bench a boost. Maybe now, Brett Gardner doesn’t have to play every day and guys like Ryan LaMarre and Estevan Florial can be used situationally.

That short right field porch at Yankee Stadium looms large. The trade, as I said gives the Yankees options and might give opposing managers something to think about, which is a nice problem to have if you’re the Yankees.

Of course, this all hinges on Our Fearless Leader not screwing it up and misusing his new toy.

Things just got even more interesting in the Bronx.