Yankee Nation Podcast

The Yankees continue to struggle and still need a spark after getting swept in the Bronx by the Tampa Bay Rays. Jose, Ryan, and Brian talk about all the news and give their thoughts on possible fixes and the underlining issues plaguing this rough start to the season. They look ahead and talk about how the Yankees can turn it around before next week's episode. 

Jose, Ryan, and Brian try to dive into the little Yankees news that has happened this season. The New York Yankees did sign all their non-tenured guys, mainly the big names of Sanchez and Andujar. They hired a new hitting coach and assistant pitching coach. We discussed how these moves could improve the roster. But the roster itself has yet to change. With the Yankees heading into the lockout with no notable signings, life in Yankee land is a little bleak at the moment. Many other teams paid out big money for free agents while the Yankees watched. However, many options are still available through trade and free agency when the MLB world reopens.

After some technical difficulties, the Yankee Nation Podcast is here, and we are breaking down every piece of offseason news and rumors. Jose, Ryan, and Brian break down all the Yankee news that has gone over the last three weeks, including player and team options, coaching news, as well as Brian Cashman's quotes from the General Manager meetings.  Cashman in the GM meetings said that a shortstop and centerfielder are musts this offseason. So we broke down all of our favorite rumors and names that have come up this offseason. The Yankees could also toss some money at starting pitching, which could mean the Yankees will spend big money after resetting the cap last season. 

Aaron Boone is officially back as the New York Yaskines signed a new three-year contract with an option for the fourth. This may have come as a surprise to some Yankee fans after the team almost missed the playoffs, but in General Manager Brian Cashman's press conference after, it seemed like the right thing to do. Boone is already deep in the organization and has tried to carry out its philosophy, whatever that might be. Cashman also mentioned that the Yankees believe Boone would be the top name for teams looking for a new manager.  However, Boone will need to hire a few new assistant coaches, as both hitting coaches were let go, Marcus Thames and  P.J. Pilittere, and the Yankees third-base coach Phil Nevin was also let go.  Cashman also was very transparent with the needs of the team after a season of disappointment. Cashman stressed the need for a starting shortstop, contact bats, and athleticism. These will be the main holes that he will spend trying to fill in this offseason, and he will be allowed to spend the money necessary to fill the gaps.

The New York Yankees 2021 season is officially over after losing 6-2 to the Boston Red Sox in a Wild Card game in Fenway. The Yankees were on a roller coaster ride all season, playing like a true contender one week, then playing like the worst team in the league the next. In a final win or go home game, the Yankees went home with a rough night from ace Gerrit Cole and no real run support. Jose, Ryan, and Brian broke down the key moments in the Wild Card game, as well as their fan reaction to the loss.  We then went into an off-season preview, diving into many possible off-season moves for the Yankees. The biggest questions are mainly focusing on General Manager Brian Cashman and Manager Aaron Boone. It isn't likely for a massive shift to happen in the organization, but there should be at least some. On top of that, the Yankees should have a big off-season, as they won't plan to stay under the luxury tax this year. 

This season has been stressful, so it only makes sense to end in a win-or-go-home Wild Card game against the Boston Red Sox. Jose, Ryan, and Brian go over all the crucial details before the game, figuring out how the lineup will look. We also looked at the pitching matchup between Cole and Eovaldi and how a hot start for the Yankees in this game is extremely crucial. 

Since the Yankees did make it into the playoffs for the 5trh straight season, we will dive straight into those final stressful six games. Jose, Ryan, and Brian break down every stress-filled game. In the first series against the Blue Jays, the Yankees won two out of three, winning the bookends. The Yankees did at least win the series, but nothing seemed safe all series.  Then they lost the first two games of the series with the Rays to send the final game into a win crunching mess. The Yankees, outside of some stellar pitching performances, did not look good against the Rays. Despite all that, they found a way to win on game 162 1-0 on a walk-off ground out by Aaron Judge.  The Yankees are in the post-season, and that is what matters.

Last week, there was no light at the end of the tunnel. It seemed like the Yankees season was just about over. Somehow, only a week later, the Yankees find themselves on top of the Wild Card race after sweeping the Texas Rangers and the Boston Red Sox. The pitching and the bats have been hot all week, with Giancarlo Stanton having a historical series in Fenway, hitting 3 HRs with 10 RBIs. The bullpen was pretty much light out this week as well. The Yankees completed three confident boosting comebacks this week that will helpfully carry them through this week, and then the Wild Card game. 

After a frustrating episode last week, the Yankees sweep the week and go 6-0 to move into first place of the Wild Card race once again. Jose, Ryan, and Brian go over how frustrating this team has been to root for, as they have constantly gone from being a playoff team to a horrible team. However, a big part of the recent struggles was starting and bullpen pitching. Now that the bullpen has rested and Sevy and German are pitching again, the pitchers look back on track. 

Since our last episode, the Yankees seem to be doing worse, not sweeping the Orioles and then getting blown out by the Clevland Indians twice. There will only be a Monday episode this week with Brian taking a day off and the Yankees just being too frustrating this week. We start with Ryan going over all the injuries, with Sevy and German looking to make a come back this week. Joe and Ryan then dive into their frustrations with the team, from upper management to just the play on the field. Unlike most episodes, instead of just diving into every game, we dove into every series. They were looking at the impact as a whole, along with the effect for the future of the Yankees. This week is crucial for the Yankees if they want even to get close to the Wild Card game, and the way they are playing makes it very unlikely.

Yankees go 1-6 in this week's seven games, pretty much erasing the 13 game win streak they just went on. They got swept in a four-game series by the Toronto Blue Jays, who have kicked the Yankees out of the Wild Card. Then they went 1-2 in Queens against the Mets. Nothing is going right for the Yankees as they play without energy while the pitching looks tired. This season has been a horrible roller coaster, and as of now, the Yankees are out of the playoff picture because of this horrific stretch. 

The Yankees have played seven games in the last seven days and only won one game. That is not where you want to be closing in on the last few weeks of baseball, now sitting a game outside of the wildcard. Injuries hit the Yankees hard this week, with Cole coming out early, which has affected the whole pitching rotation. The starting pitchers are struggling, the bullpen is tired, the bats can't come alive, and sloppy defensive plays lead to a seven-game losing streak. 

After winning 13 straight games, the New York Yankees seem to be sliding back into the old habits that made them .500 in the middle of the season. This episode is a special Labor Day episode in where we combined the Monday and Tuesday episode into one.  We start with the usual Yankee Weekly Update, with Ryan going over all the injury updates in the Yankee system. Brian then takes back into the past as we talk about our favorite Jeter moments. Finally, we break down this week's games, as the Yankees go 2-4 against the Angels and Orioles.  Andrew Heaney's struggles came up a lot, as he is a big part of two of this week's losses. The Angles series seemed like the pitching was not there to help the bats, but nothing was working with the Orioles. As the Yankees try to secure home-field advantage in the Wild Card Game, they need to start playing a better brand of baseball. 

The Yankees keep on winning, as they take the first four games of this week, to reach a 13 game win streak. Sadly that streak in Oakland, as the Yankees split a four-game series with the A's. In the first two games against the Atlanta Braves, the Yankees won, showing how hot they were against another hot team. Game 1 featured two teams with nine game-winning streaks, but the Yankees would still leave on their streak. With a west coast road trip on the way, it was likely that the streak would end there, but the Yankees snuck two wins right at the start of the series, only to lose the last two. 

In this week's Yankee Week edition of the Yankee Nation Podcast, Jose, Ryan, and Brian go over all the injury news, with Kluber set to make his return tonight and Torres working his way back. Finding out that the Yankees have a lot of middle-infield and pitching talent, figuring out who will be sent down to make space for players coming back will be very difficult. Judge and Cole have been stables throughout this whole season and have proved to be the backbone of this team. Cole should be in the race to win the AL CY Young, while Judge is putting up some career numbers. 

The Yankees are hot, and they have been the hottest team in baseball over the last few weeks. Since the previous episode, the Yankees managed to win against the Angles, outplay the Red Sox, and destroy the Twins. This team has made a complete 180, and Jose, Ryan, and Brain break down every game and all of the highlights. The Red Sox series shifted the Yankees into the leader in the Wild Card running, now in pursuit of the AL East division title. 

With the Yankees being it by injures and COVID-19 all season long, it is a sight for sore eyes to start seeing some of these starting players get healthy. Jose, Ryan, and Brian break down all the players coming back from injury, along with all the players who are slowly inching closer to coming back. On top of that, the Yankees now have a 2.5 game lead in the Wild Card and just 4.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays. Even with all the IL stents, the Yankees have found a way to become the hottest team in baseball. The Yankees have started to play a better brand of baseball, and it has shown up in the win column. 

The New York Yankees are hot right now, winning eight of their nine series since the All-Star break, winning the last six. This week the Yankees won both series 2-1 in exciting fashion almost every game, mainly because of the bullpen miscues (check out the Monday episode for more). The series against the Royals was a must-win, as the Yankees have the better team, but the Royals still put up a fight. The Yankees needed to put up runs, and it proved to be practice for the next series against the White Sox's. In heart-wrenching, exciting games, the Yankees found a way to beat the White Sox in the series, in games where no lead was safe and was filled with action. In this series, the Yankees were not expected to win, but their hot streak continued against one of the best teams in the American League. Jose, Ryan, and Brian break down each series game by game, giving their unique takes on performances. 

With the Yankees roster being ravaged by injuries and COVID-19, Ryan breaks down all the updates and possible returns for all the players. Many of the players out seem to be pitchers, which has finally affected affecting the players. They are overtaxed, showing up on the field, as the bullpen has blown multiple saves this week. The high leverage bullpen arms are being used every day, forcing pitchers who fans are not ready to step up, which has led to a slide in bullpen production.  Jose, Ryan, and Brian break down all the recent struggles of the bullpen and how it could get back on track. 

In the seven games that the Yankees played this week, they won five of them and went 8-2 in their last ten games, making them one of the hottest teams in baseball. It seems like the Yankees have found a new team after the trade deadline, stealing bases, playing smart and hard, and above all trying to win every game. After getting blown out by the Orioles in game one, they returned the favor for games two and three. Then against the Mariners, a team with playoff hopes, the Yankees win three out of the four games in comeback fashion. The Yankees are playing like a team that wants to win, which has been missed most of the season.