The Yankees Suffer Another Horrible Loss, But Trade For Former MVP Andrew McCutchen So Shane Robinson Doesn't Have To Be a Thing Anymore
Last night the Yankees were on the verge of a very nice win against the Detroit Tigers. In the blink of an eye that all went away as Dellin Betances blew the game right before our very eyes. After the game it was announced the Yankees had acquired former NL MVP Andrew McCutchen through a post-trade deadline deal right before the August 31st deadline. There’s a lot to get into so we’re going to start with the game and then get into the trade after that. If you want to jump down and read about my thoughts on Cutch then I’ve bolded out that section so you can skip. Alright, to last night….
J.A. Happ, undefeated in five starts with New York, had by far his roughest outing since joining the team. Happ was not good, giving up 10 hits in 4.1 innings while allowing five runs to the lowly tigers. In total the Tigers hit 5 home runs last night despite being in dead last in that category in all of baseball. They got Happ for three bombs which was hard to watch. Now obviously Happ wasn’t going to be perfect with the Yankees, but I didn’t see an outing like this coming, Happ, however, has never pitched well against Detroit for some reason. Through 11 games in his career he has a 5.25 ERA against the Tigers. Luckily he won’t be facing them in the Wild Card game so we can just flush this outing away and start fresh.
Despite Happ’s bad start, the offense did their part. Giancarlo Stanton finally hit his 300th home run, which hopefully now allows him to relax mentally and continue to crush the baseball. He definitely was pressing, trying to get this milestone over the last two weeks, and I’m happy it is past him.
After the Tigers retook the lead, Gleyber answered with this bomb in the fourth.
After going through a brutal rookie slump, the Gleyber that we know and love has returned. Over his last twelve games he’s hitting .419 with an OPS of 1.138. The swing is back, the confidence has returned, and he’s helped boost the offense greatly because of it. Getting Gleyber back on track for the September push was one of the bigger needs for this team. The lineup changes when he’s going.
After Andujar tied the game in the 5th, the game remained knotted until the 7th when who but Louis Voit, King Louis V, stepped to the dish with his hammer.
All this guy does is mash. He’s such a breath of fresh air compared to that embarrassment that is Greg Bird. Keep in mind Cashman got him for Chasen Shreve and Gallegos L O L. Since he’s gotten consistent at bats, Voit is hitting .457 with four homers and nine RBIs in seven games. His OPS in that span is an absurd 1.458. Obviously it’s been seven games, but he’s produced more in that span than Bird has in two months. The energy he continues to bring to this team is contagious. When he homers the dugout erupts. He’s an easy guy to root for and I’m so happy Boone and the analytical team made the switch from Bird to him lately.
Alright, so that was positive Hubbs. Here comes the negative. After Happ’s bad outing, the bullpen took over and did a pretty good job of holding Detroit at 5 runs for the longest time. Chad Green was excellent, Robertson was stellar, and Britton was 1-2-3. I did get nervous seeing Britton in there in the 8th since that should always be Dellin’s spot. I think by now we have learned that Dellin does not have the closer mentality. You can throw out all the stats to me, I simply don’t care. Sure he was 10 for 12 in saves last year and he had pitched well in two 9th inning appearances lately, I don’t care. From the naked eye perspective, Dellin is not a closer folks. His approach changes drastically in the 9th and he mentally breaks. Whatever it is, he cannot do it. So Boone opted to use Britton, who has been good lately (one run in last 6.2 IP) in the 8th, and therefore had Dellin close. It was a disaster.
In the snap of a finger, the Tigers had the lead. The Yankees two run cushion was wiped away just like that. I hated bringing in Dellin to close. HATED IT. The moment Aroldis went to the DL I pleaded that they don’t move Dellin from the 8th. It’s something he’s so comfortable doing, so why mess with it?
ERA is the far right number in that chart and it shows the 9th is Dellin’s worst inning by far as a reliever. This is nothing new. Boone should have used Britton or Robertson. It was a move that easily could have been done and it simply wasn’t. The Yankees lost the game because of it. They scored seven runs against the Tigers and still found a way to lose. They invent new ways to lose every night and it’s astonishing. After having an outside chance at a division chase in September about a week ago, that is basically all said and done right now. Now it’s about getting healthy, getting in a rhythm, and extending that first wild card spot lead as much as you can.
Andrew McCutchen is a New York Yankee (probably)
Right after the loss to the Tigers, news began swirling on Twitter that Cashman was on the verge of acquiring Andrew McCutchen. Jon Morosi had hinted at the possible deal a few hours earlier, and within an hour of losing to Detroit the deal was done. I’m here saying about damn time. I’ve had enough of seeing Shane Robinson in the lineup for a team 34 games over .500. It’s insane how much that guy has played this year. INSANE. So now we add Andrew McCutchen to the mix finally and put out a real outfield again.
Now, this could be a very bad sign. One could fear that Cashman making this deal means that they don’t believe Aaron Judge will be back. We just passed the five week mark of an original three week timetable. Judge’s pain scale has decreased from a 5 to only a 4. That’s not the most encouraging thing in the world. Although the fear that he won’t be back is warranted, I am going to be positive and think this is just insurance for him and in the mean time an answer for the outfield right now. Cashman had up until tonight at 11:59 PM to make a deal for someone in order for that guy to be eligible for the postseason roster so it doesn’t hurt to go get Cutch for Abiatal Avelino and another unnamed prospect. The Yankees also remain under the luxury tax threshold with this move which is very important.
Giancarlo Stanton has played in all but one game this year which is crazy. Despite dealing with some mild tightness in his hamstring he has been out there every day grinding because the team needs him. He’s remarkably played in 83 straight games whether it be at DH or RF. He needs a day off in the coming week 100% and he’ll get one. McCutchen’s addition will allow that to happen thankfully. Additionally, McCutchen can still hit the baseball. He hits lefties very well still, posting an .812 OPS against them this year. No, he’s not the MVP McCutchen from Pittsburgh anymore, but he did have a team-high 15 homers with the Giants this year despite playing in a huge park. He 100% can bring value to this lineup without a doubt. He’s an immediate upgrade from Shane Robinson OBVIOUSLY and probably Brett Gardner as well. I don’t know what the immediate future holds for Gardy, but he continues to struggle mightily. I know Cutch has been playing right field primarily this year and center years before that, but maybe we could see him in left versus lefties if/when Judge returns. McCutchen is also one of the best clubhouse guys in all of baseball and will be an awesome veteran addition to the young inexperienced guys on this team. It’s also worth nothing he has four homers off probable wild card starter Mike Fiers from Oakland. Just saying, fuck Mike Fiers.
Update: I guess the deal isn’t officially done yet, but from all signs it will be completed today.
So best case scenario Judge returns and McCutchen was added as just insurance/possibly a replacement for Gardner. A playoff lineup could look like this…
CF Aaron Hicks
RF Aaron Judge
SS Didi Gregorius
DH Giancarlo Stanton
C Gary Sanchez
3B Miguel Andujar
2B Gleyber Torres
1B Luke Voit
LF Andrew McCutchen
Do you really wanna fuck with that? When you see that lineup out there and you’re the opposing pitcher how are you supposed to feel? Confident you can last five innings? Nope. As a Yankee fan that tingles my balls. Now this all predicates on Judge coming back and that’s a big question mark at the moment. If Judge doesn’t return then I don’t have much hope in terms of success in the playoffs. He changes everything. If he does and they can roll up a lineup like that then I don’t care if they’re a wild card team to be honest. I’ll feel as comfortable about a World Series run as I can with that squad rolling deep.
P.S. Ellsbury should be forced to give up #22 to Cutch immediately. It’s the least he can do to contribute to the team this season.
P.P.S. Maybe we can do an actual pizza review with him this time…