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The Full 408: The New York Yankees’ Streaky August Continues

By Antonio Mendes

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The New York Yankees came home from Toronto to start a week and a half home stand, starting against the Minnesota Twins. It’d start off great with a three game sweep, but just like the Yankees streaky season, it’d go downhill from there with the team losing three of four to the Cleveland Indians (58-65). With the Anaheim Angels serving the Yankees no help, the Jays would take the first spot in the AL East back by a half a game. Here’s all you need to see and know in this week’s edition of The Full 408.

The Good

Track

: Though his ERA is still 4.24, that is now somewhat misleading.

Nathan Eovaldi

has been the Yankees most reliable starting pitcher in the last month and a half keeping opposing teams to just three runs or less in 19 of his 24 starts this season. Nasty Nate also turned up the heat in his last start, hitting 102 on the radar gun multiple times in his seven innings of work. Eovaldi continues to be a great pick-up for the Yankees despite all the problems they’ve gone through with their rotation this year.

Wall

:

Luis Severino

finally got the run support he deserved to pick up the first win of his Major League career on Saturday. He went six, gave up three hits, and one earned. After four starts his ERA is at 2.74 and he hasn’t done anything but deliver a stellar performance every time he goes out on the mound.

See Ya!

: Greg Bird made a name for himself this past week as he alone won a tight game for the Yankees with power. Two home runs and four RBIs gave the Yankees their sweep over the Twins, and for Bird it’d be his first and second Major League home runs of his career. He’s molded into this offense well and looks extremely comfortable, just as Severino does. How the Yankees will keep

Bird in the lineup

when

Mark Teixeira

is yet to be known, but there’s a good chance he’s going to be in Pinstripes no matter what.

The Ugly

  1. Though Dellin Betances got his eighth save on the season Wednesday, he didn’t look that sharp in the series against Cleveland. Though he had four run lead when he came in he gave up a run Saturday, and followed it the next day with a home run which would cost the Yankees the game. Whether it be from fatigue or just not having it, the Yankees will need him to bounce back this week, especially with Houston coming into town.
  2. The Yankees got a sweep, but the bullpen had to work hard for those three games as well as the four games against Cleveland. Joe Girardi has been doing a good job of bringing guys up the last couple of weeks to try and preserve the main guys in the pen (Adam Warren, Chasen Shreve, Justin Wilson, Dellin Betances, and Andrew Miller), but he’s going to need more from the guys who are transitioning between Triple-A and the Bronx. Chris Capuano has been one of those guys switching between levels and he has been pretty effective in his appearances. Branden Pinder and Nick Rumbelow have been in those transitions as well and could play bigger parts in the pen heading into September with how harsh August has been fatigue-wise.
  3. This isn’t in his power, but CC Sabathia left yesterday’s game with an apparent right knee injury. The notion is he’s going to the DL, but details have not yet been released besides he went to get an MRI after he left the game. CC has been pitching pretty well and this could very well go in either direction. Leave the spot to Severino and hope he continues his dominance? That is all the Yankees can do really.

Weekly Performances

  1. Keep It Up: Despite what happens when Teixeira comes back, Greg Bird was an immediate fit on this team. He’s a smart hitter, knows the situations he’s in, and also has had some flashy fielding plays as well. Once Teix’ is healthy again, he will still need to be preserved for the postseason, and Bird is the one guy who will be in charge of that while also putting in the work Mark does.
  2. Pick It Up: No one generally had that bad of a week, a bad performance or two, but that’s it. No one of course besides Stephen Drew, who I’ve become very tired of talking about (as I’m sure whoever is reading this has also). He went 5-20 this week, and there’s not much else I can say (or need to) about the ‘Drew Situation’ honestly. Severino has worked out, Bird is working out, I’m not sure how many times Rob Refsnyder‘s name can be called out by fans for something to happen. Whether the organization doesn’t trust him defensively, or if they truly didn’t like what they saw when he was previously called up, there aren’t nearly any other options for the Yankees. So for now, I’ll just say the same thing everyone has been saying. Stephen Drew, you have to step it up, and fast before Brian Cashman comes to his senses and calls for Ref’ or acquires another second baseman off waivers.

The Reel

Alex Rodriguez snaps out of his slump in the only way Arod would.

No one was stealing on Brian McCann this week as he was throwing out guys left and right.

Brett Gardner and John Ryan Murphy team up for a great double play.

What’s Next?

The Yankees take on the Houston Astros for what will probably be another hitting clinic from both teams. Look for Nathan Eovaldi to get his fourteenth win, and Chris Young to pick up where he left off against the Astros. Also, injury related news on Bryan Mitchell and CC will be coming shortly. See you next week on The Full 408.

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