ON BASEBALL’S PANIC METER: YANKEES ARE LOW AND TWINS ARE HIGH
The New York Yankees just finished a 1-6 road swing to the West Coast, including four straight losses to the Oakland A’s. That’s not easy to do.
The Minnesota Twins spent a lost weekend losing four straight home games to Cleveland. In this American League Central showdown, the Indians put on the show and the Twins were put down.
My Baseball Panic Meter suggests Yankees fans should not be alarmed and that Twins fans can make plans to attend things other than baseball playoff games in October.
The Yankees are coming off an awful six-game losing streak. They were hurt by a few injuries – annoying but nothing major. Tyler Clippard is a decent seventh-inning set-up man but he’s no Dellin Betances in the eighth inning. And Betances is no Aroldis Chapman in the ninth inning.
Chapman returned Sunday from a sore shoulder and threw one perfect inning. All is right with the back end of the Yankees bullpen again.
Masahiro Tanaka’s problems (he says he isn’t hurting but his ERA sure is) and CC Sabathia’s inevitable trip to the disabled list have hurt not crippled the starting rotation. Luis Severino, Michael Pineda and Jordan Montgomery are a reasonably reliable trio until (hopeful) former ace Tanaka returns to form .and Sabathia returns to the mound again as at least an accident waiting to happen.
The Yankees rank second in the American League with a 3.73 ERA. That means the pitching isn’t as bad as it sometimes seems.
Hitting is the main reason not to sell your AL East pennant stock on the Yankees. League MVP/Rookie of the Year frontrunner Aaron Judge is the hammer on a solid lineup top-to-bottom. The DP combo of Starlin Castro and Didi Gregorius have been very good and Aaron Hicks has finally figured it out. Gary Sanchez is back in the groove. Matt Holliday can still rake against average pitching. Even Chase Headley is showing signs of life.
I’m being optimistic so I won’t say anything cruel about first baseman Chris Carter – except that the Yankees should hope Greg Bird’s foot problems clear up in time for the stretch run.
And remember. Just before the 1-6 trip to the West Coast, the Yankees won six straight against AL East rivals Boston and Baltimore by a combined score of 60-12.
This isn’t a great team by Yankees 27-championship standards but it is good enough to win the AL East.
Minnesota had fun when it was leading the AL Central. Then Cleveland came to town for four games and swept the series by a combined 28-8.
The Indians suddenly have a two-game lead over Minnesota in what appears to be a relatively weak division. They have a +38 run differential and the Twins have a -44 run differential.
Minnesota is a decent young team and definitely on the upgrade. But the future isn’t now. The starting lineup has impressive potential but the pitching staff has an AL-worst 4.97 ERA. Ervin Santana and Jose Berrios are solid at the top of the rotation, but the rest of the rotation is unreliable – to be kind.
The relief pitching is even worse. Most bullpens have a few overpowering arms. Minnesota has none.
Fifteen (15) pitchers have worked for both the Twins and the Rochester Red Wings this season. That’s not good.
Give the Twins credit for their 20-9 road record. But their 14-24 home record is brutal.
Minnesota closes the current homestand Tuesday through Thursday versus the Chicago White Sox. Then The Twins will take an 11-game trip to Cleveland (3), Boston (4) and Kansas City (4).
My guess is that Cleveland will be leading the division by a healthy margin by the time the Twins return to Target Field July 3.
Bob’s Panic Meter on a 1-to-10 scale (1 meaning no sweat to 10 meaning inevitable disaster): Yankees 2 and Minnesota 8.
DO YOU RERMEMBER BROOKS KOEPKA AT OAK HILL?
What a difference four years has made for Tiger Woods and Brooks Koepka.
When they arrived at Oak Hill for the 2013 PGA Championship, Tiger was among the favorites and Koepka was a relatively unknown vagabond pro who had recently graduated from the European Challenge Tour. He had polished his skills in countries some fans had never heard of.
Koepka had qualified for the 2012 U.S. Open but missed the cut with rounds of 77-77. He also missed the cut in the 2013 U.S. Open with rounds of 76-80.
The 2013 PGA Championship at Oak Hill was only his third PGA Tour event and he left town with his first PGA Tour paycheck.
Woods shot 71-70 in the first two rounds and not surprisingly was high on the leaderboard. Mystery man Koepka was a big surprise with rounds of 71-72.
Koepka was paired with Woods for the final two rounds on Saturday and Sunday.
In the third round, Koepka shot 71 and Woods 73. They entered Sunday’s fourth round tied at 216.
Did the pressure finally get to Koepka on that Sunday afternoon four years ago? He soared to 77 and finished tied for 70th at 291, 21 shots behind winner Jason Dufner. He earned $14,950. Woods shot 70 on Sunday to finish tied for 40th. His check was $28,000.
Now we wonder if Tiger ever will play again, let alone win another PGA event.
Koepka overpowered the field on Sunday to win the U.S. Open by four strokes and we wonder how great this 27-year-old might become. His first major victory proved his heroics as a rookie in the 2016 Ryder Cup (3-1 record in the United States 17-11 win over Europe) was no fluke.
THE NL WEST HAS THREE “GIANTS” – AND THE GIANTS AREN’T ONE OF THEM
It is time to recognize that the Major League Baseball division topped by the best trio of teams is the National League West – the Colorado Rockies, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The San Francisco Giants (surprisingly) and the San Diego Padres (naturally) are the doormats of the vision.
Entering Monday:
Rockies -- 46-26 record...21-13 home and 25-13 road (these guys don’t just win at Coors Field. They mash the ball on the road, too)...+75 run differential...Nolan Arenado enterte3s this week trailing Kris Bryant at third base in fan balloting for NL starter in the All-Star Game. Maybe hitting Arenado’s walk-off HR to complete hitting for the cycle on Sunday will tip the scales at the ballot box.
Diamondbacks – 44-26 record...26-9 home and 18-17 road...+89 run differential....Rookie starting pitchers have been the difference....Is there a more underrated superstar than D-Backs first baseman Paul Goldschmidt?
Dodgers – 44-26 record...25-10 home and 19-16 road...+98 run differential...Probably baseball’s deepest roster...Nearly unbeatable when Clayton Kershaw pitches.
Combining the Rockies, D-backs and Dodgers: 137-78 record (72-32 home and 62-46 road)...+262 run differential...25-5 in their last 10 games.
In all probability, both of the National League’s wild-card teams will come out of the NL wild-wild West.
ZACK GRANITE IS LEADING THE IL IN BATTING AVERAGE
It’s official – Rochester Red Wings rookie center fielder Zack Granite leads the 14-team International League in batting average. He passed the minimum for plate appearances over the weekend. He’s 56-for-164 in 40 games.
Granite’s .341 batting average is way ahead of the .324 mark for No. 2 Tyler Wade (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre). Only 10 players in the IL are batting .300 or better.
For the record, here the distinguished ’s the list of past Red Wings IL batting champions: Rip Collins (.376 in 1930)...George Puccinelli (.391 in 1932)...Red Schoendienst (.337 in 1943)...Nippy Jones (.337 in 1947)...Don Richmond (.33 in 1950 and .350 in 1951)...Bill Virdon (.333 in 1954)...Jim Frey (.3417 in 1960)...Merv Rettenmund (.331 inj 1968)...Bobby Grich (.336 in 1971)...Al Bumbry (.345 in 1972)...Rich Dauer (.336 in 1976)...Steve Finley (.314 in 1988)...Jason Kubel (.343 in 2004)...Randy Ruiz (.320 in 2008)...Chris Colabello (.352 in 2013).
THE RHINOS CONTINUE TO FRUSTRATE OPPONENTS
Coach Bob Lilley’s Rochester Rhinos have now played 11 United Soccer League matches this season and lost only once – 5-0 at the Charleston Battery April 15. No one on either team could figure what happened to Rochester’s stout defense in that game.
The stingy Rhinos have five wins and five draws in their other 10 league games and outscored opponents 15-7 in the process. They beat the Ottawa Fury 1-0 last Saturday before an official crowd of 2,548 at Capelli Sport Stadium.
The Rhinos host Orlando City B on Friday, 7:05 p.m.
RATTLERS FINALLY AT FULL STRENGTH
The Major League Lacrosse Rochester Rattlers lost 13-12 at the New York Lizards last Saturday. Rochester product Joe Walters earned Coca-Cola Player of the Game honors with 4 goals and 2 assists for the Lizards. I’ve always wished he were playing for the Rattlers instead of Chesapeake and New York.
The loss dropped the Rattlers to 4-4 with six games remaining in the regular season. They’re in fourth place in the nine-team MLL. The top four teams qualify for the playoffs and I like Rochester’s chances. The Rattlers finally are at full strength with the arrival of mainstays John Ranagan, Jordan McIntosh and Joel White – fresh off their Georgia Swarm over Saskatchewan in the National Lacrosse League Finals.
The Rattlers probably now are the MLL’s best all-around team. They arguably were the class of the league last summer, too, but a slow start cost them a playoff berth.
The Rattlers host the Atlanta Blaze (MLL-worst 2-5 record) Saturday, 7:30 p.m., at Capelli Sport Stadium.
Four of the remaining six games are at home. That’s probably a plus – home attendance is picking up – despite the fact that MLL home teams are 13-21 this season.
SHORT SHOTS
The new regime at One Bills drive is paying the price for salary cap mistakes by the former regime. The Buffalo Bills needed a proven quality wide receiver to complement brilliant but brittle Sammy Watkins. Free agents Jeremy Maclin and Eric Decker were on the market. They wound up in Baltimore and Tennessee respectively – not because the Ravens and Titans needed them more, but because those team could afford them.
Now that Indiana Pacers star Paul George has informed management that he plans to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent after this NBA season, I hope the Pacers trade him to Cleveland for his lame-duck year. It would spare Pacers fans the pain of watching him play out his contract and might give the Cavaliers the boost they to give mighty Golden State a stiffer challenge in the 2018 Finals.
The next time the New York Yankees need pitching help, they might consider giving a look to 25-year-old Caleb Smith at Scranton/Wilkes Barre. He allowed one hit in 7 innings in Sunday’s 2-0 victory in Buffalo. He’s 5-0 with a 2.44 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP (walks + hits per inning). Opponents have a .194 batting average against him.
The IL’s best team – the Lehigh Valley IronPigs – will play four games in Rochester Thursday through Sunday. They have a 45-24 record, including 28-9 at home and 30-14 vs. IL North division rivals. They’ve outs cored oppo0nents 335-281.
HAPPY BIRHDAY TO...
Monday, June 19 – CJ Mosley (25)...Xavier Rhodes (27)...Jacob deGrom (29)...Rashard Mendenhall (30)...Dirk Nowitzki (39)...Doug Mientkiewicz (43)...LPGA’s Patti Rizzo (57). Paula Abdul (55), and Kathleen Turner (63) are invited to the birthday party. The late Moe Howard and Lou Genrig were born on this date in 1897 and 1903 respectively.
Tuesday, June 20 – Leonard Williams (23)...Adalberto Mejia (24)...Terrelle Pryor (28)...Darko Milicic (32)...Kendrys Morales (34)...Cael Sanderson (38)...MMA’s Quinton Jackson (39)...Jozef Stempel (45)...John Ogrodnick (58)...Tony Chavez (64). Nicole Kideman (50), John Goodman (65), Lionel Richie (68), Anne Murray (72) and Brian Wilson (75) are invited to the birthday party. The late Fab Melo eas born on this date 27 years ago.