By Aaron Jackson,
It may not be what it once was, but I still get at least a little fired up every time I see the Red Sox and Yankees get set to play baseball. This season the teams have only faced each other three times with New York winning every game. And it’s not just against the Red Sox, the Yankees keep winning, while the Red Sox keep trying to shake off a World Series hangover. But how is New York winning given most of their stars aren’t playing? Lets take a look.
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Gio Urshela: Talk about making the most of an opportunity. Urshela is in his fourth year in the majors, has never hit for an average higher than 233, and has never had more than 21 rbis in a season. He’s already matched that total, is batting .331, and playing every day at 3rd base for New York. He’s also been called their most clutch hitter. For a fringe at best major league player Urshela has certainly surprised this season.
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DJ LeMahieu: Playing second base and batting leadoff, LeMahieu has a lot more success under his belt compared to Urshela. He broke into the majors in 2011 with the Cubs, but then moved onto Colorado where he was an every day player for them the last six years, putting up a decent average just about every season. This year is no different. He’s a smart signing that flew under the radar and is now paying big dividends.
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Clint Frazier: Frazier has been up and down with the Yankees the last three years with varying degrees of success. That has changed this year. He already has topped his previous high in at bats, home runs, rbi, walks, hits…you get the idea. A shortstop now playing in the outfield, Frazier is now hitting in the heart of their order on almost a nightly basis, and playing at a very high level.
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Domingo German: Another player that has been up and down with New York the last two years, German is thriving this year. Nine wins…yes, that’s right, nine wins on the season already. An ERA in the mid 3’s. A WHIP of just over 1. He has a fairly mediocre fastball, and relies largely on a curveball that is good, not great. It almost looks more like a splitter than a curve. His numbers have regressed some lately, but German is still a large reason for the Yankees success.
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Bullpen: This last spot isn’t exactly a surprise. New York spent tons of money on their bullpen the past couple of years, from closer Aroldis Chapman to former closers Zach Britton, Adam Ottavino and long time setup man Tommy Kahnle. Each has a role to play on any given night, and each has done a great job in that role. They’ve taken the opposite approach from Boston when it comes to bullpen arms, and right now it’s working in their favor, essentially shortening games to seven or even six innings.
