Is Giancarlo Stanton Finally Ready to be a Useful Player Again?

The Yankees delivered quite a stinker on Friday in their home opener against the Blue Jays, but their offense rebounded in the final two games and they won their third consecutive series to start the season and thus improved their record to 8-2. I’ll get started here with some thoughts on Giancarlo Stanton, and then we’ll move on to the game recaps.

Before all that, I want to give those of you who have not yet filled out my annual Pinstripe People survey one final chance to please do so. I’ve still only had about 20% participation and I really need more responses to give me a better idea on what you like or don’t like about the newsletter, and how I can make it better for you. So please, click the link here. It takes only a few minutes. https://forms.gle/iCHc8ant3ZVBHz8e9

Lets get to it.

We sure got the full Giancarlo Stanton experience over the weekend, and while there ended up being some very big and successful moments, you will not see me jumping on the bandwagon. Not yet anyway.

Good for Stanton that he had three hits on Saturday including a home run, as many hits as he had managed in his first 24 at bats to start season which also included 13 strikeouts. And good for Stanton, and obviously the Yankees, for hitting the game-changing grand slam on Sunday.

But this is what Stanton does. He’ll have a good game or two, maybe a good week, and then it’s back to being a black hole in the Yankee lineup for weeks on end, so you’ll have to excuse my reluctance in believing that he’s going to be an integral part of the offense.

Friday he was 0-for-4 with two whiffs; Saturday’s 3-for-4 was very nice, the kind of game we rarely see from him where all but one of his at bats was productive; and then amidst the grand slam Sunday, he also struck out in the second with a man at first, he grounded into a double play in the fifth, and then with two men on base in the seventh he struck out. As I said, the full Stanton experience.

I’m not actively rooting against Stanton. Of course I’m not. For the Yankees to be at full throttle, they need him to have a good season and be a menace to opposing pitchers no matter where Aaron Boone has him in the batting order. I just have no faith in the guy. There’s too much evidence that suggests he’s a diminished player who will never be a consistent threat and will more often than not hurt rallies rather than help them.

I wanted to scream on Friday when Boone, swallowing his usual handful of happy pills, said after watching Stanton go 0-for-4 and flail at the same out-of-the-zone pitches, “I think he’s healthy. The life is there. The juice is there. It’s just a matter of getting him going. And even when G is at his very best, sometimes the outs aren’t always the prettiest.”

Gee, ya think?

Boone continued, “I just think the physical tools are still there to get it rolling. It’s just sometimes you’ve got to live with that little bit of up and down with him as he’s finding that.”

Please, I’m getting up there in age and my memory isn’t great. When were the ups with Stanton?

Sunday, Boone said, “G’s been in the at-bats all year. Just not getting the results yet, having some swing and miss in there. Obviously the last couple days, good to get some results and a big-time blow today.”

Again, I sure hope last weekend was some sort of turning point for Stanton, but I don’t see it that being the case.

April 5: Blue Jays 3, Yankees 0

The Lead: Welcome back to 2023, at least for a day

Well, that was sure a fun Friday, huh? What a miserable home opener for the Yankees, a desultory performance that was so sadly reminiscent of the 2023 season. Apparently the earthquake that rumbled in New Jersey and was felt at the stadium during batting practice didn’t shake these guys awake, nor could a chilled crowd of 47,182 that came to the ballpark so excited about the 6-1 start, then just moaned and groaned after each wasted at bat.

The offense was invisible - six singles, two by red-hot Anthony Volpe who has gotten off to a tremendous start. From the fourth inning last Monday in Arizona through this game, the Yankees scored in just one of 33 innings where an automatic runner didn’t start at second base. Remember, they scored twice in each of the 10th and 11th innings Wednesday, but they had help with the automatic runner. That’s some 2023 shit right there.

Game notes and observations

➤ Toronto starter Yusei Kikuchi went 5.1 innings and gave up four of the hits and two walks while striking out seven. The Yankees never got a runner past second base against him, nor against the four relievers who finished the game including none other than ex-Yankee Chad Green who got the save.

➤ Marcus Stroman was great. What a waste of six three-hit shutout innings. That’s two six-inning starts for him - no other pitcher has gotten through six - and his ERA is still 0.00. Unfortunately, the bullpen, which had been so good on the road trip, had a blip. Caleb Ferguson took over in the seventh and his second pitch was launched over the wall in left for a solo homer. The man who hit it was Rochester’s own Ernie Clement, who’s a great kid and I’m happy that he’s found a role in Toronto. If you want to read the story I wrote about Clement last year when he was playing for Buffalo, click this link: https://rb.gy/oyclvz

➤ Jonathan Loaisiga tore the UCL in his elbow and he’s done for the season. Not to be an ass here, but at this point, do we care that his time in pinstripes is now likely done? Loaisiga represents the true fragility of this team, a player who simply can’t be counted on because he’s always hurt. He’s the bullpen version of Luis Severino. He’s a free agent at the end of the season so he may have thrown his last pitch as a Yankee. Good riddance.

➤ The man who replaced him on the roster, Dennis Santana, is a seven-year veteran who has bounced from the Dodgers to the Rangers to the Mets to the Yankees. He gave up two singles in the ninth so Boone sent in Nick Burdi and holy hell, what a mess he was. He walked two batters and threw three wild pitches which eventually got those two Santana runners home for some extra Toronto insurance.

➤ Juan Soto, one of the only guys who came out swinging the bat well, has gone all Stanton on us. He followed up his 9-for-17 start in Houston with a stretch of 1-for-16 with two walks through Friday.

➤ This was the first time the Yankees were shut out in a home opener since 1967. And coupled with getting shutout Tuesday in Arizona, it’s just the sixth time they’ve been blanked twice within the first eight games of a season. The others were 1953, 1936, 1912, 1911 and 1910.

Click below for the game highlights.

April 6: Yankees 9, Blue Jays 8

The Lead: Why can’t it ever be easy?

If you follow me on Twitter/X, you probably know one my most oft-used tweets regarding the Yankees is, “It’s never easy.” Saturday night was yet another instance.

They got up 6-0 within two innings when they knocked out Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman and should have been in for a joy ride the rest of the night. They ultimately stretched the lead to 9-2 through six, and everyone was having a great time.

But of course, altogether now, “It’s never easy.” The bullpen, which was so fantastic on the road trip, faltered again. Three runs for Toronto in the seventh, three more in the ninth, and the tying run was at first base when Clay Holmes finally ended the torture by striking out George Springer. Hey, it was a win, albeit a three-hour, 20-minute slog, but it didn’t need to be a nail biter.

Game notes and observations

➤ After their offensive debacle on Friday, the Yankees came out swinging, and the fact that it was against Gausman was shocking. Since he joined the Blue Jays in 2022, Gausman had started seven times against the Yankees and in 46 innings he had allowed six earned runs on 30 hits. Saturday, he gave up six runs (five earned) on four hits in 1.2 innings. Crazy, but the simple truth was that he just didn’t have it. His velocity was down, and his command was lousy and the Yankees pounced.

➤ Aaron Judge got it rolling in the first inning with a long two-run homer after Soto had walked, and then Stanton homered to right to start a rare three-hit night for him. Then in the second, Gausman got no help from his teammates as the Yankees’ three runs scored thanks to a combination of three singles, a walk, a batter reaching on catching interference, a stolen base, a passed ball, and a sacrifice fly.

➤ When Gausman hit the showers, the Jays asked reliever Mitch White to take one for the team and he covered 4.1 innings. In the fifth he walked Judge and gave up a two-run homer to Anthony Rizzo. Then in the sixth he walked Gleyber Torres with two outs so Tim Mayza relieved and he allowed that run to score when Torres stole second and Soto drove him home with a single.

➤ Handed that early 6-0 lead, Clarke Schmidt should have had an easy win, but as is so often the case with him, his inconsistency prevented him from getting the required five innings to qualify. It took him 91 pitches to record 13 outs, and he gave up two runs on six hits and three walks. It’s the same old story, he just can’t put enough hitters away and he winds up dealing with too much traffic, so Boone had to yank him.

➤ And then the bullpen did a poor job and allowed the Blue Jays to stay in the game, and very nearly steal it. Luke Weaver got his first five outs pretty easily, but in the seventh he just lost it. Vladimir Guerrero homered and then put on quite a showboat performance as he rounded the bases. I can’t stand him. At the time his team was down 9-3 and he was pimping that home run the entire trip around the bases as the crowd booed his stupid display. “That’s kind of his M.O. around third all the time,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters Saturday. “I’ve said it before: They don’t boo nobodies here in New York.”

➤ Then Weaver gave up a double, a walk, a double and a sacrifice fly and it was 9-5. Victor Gonzalez settled thing by getting the final two outs of the seventh and the first two in the eighth without incident, and Ian Hamilton got the last out in the eighth. But then in the ninth, Hamilton hit his first speed bump of the year. Two hits and a walk made it 9-6, so Holmes had to come in and he gave up an RBI grounder and an RBI single that made it 9-8 before he whiffed George Springer did a fine Stanton impression by swinging at three straight pitches out of the strike zone.

➤ Judge now has 35 career homers against the Blue Jays which are the most ever by a Yankee against Toronto. The only team he has hit more against are the Orioles with 39.

➤ Stanton’s last hit gave him 500 for his Yankee career. What’s sad about that is he’s been here since 2018, and it took all that time to get 500 hits because he has missed so many games.

April 7: Yankees 8, Blue Jays 3

The Lead: The importance of tack on runs

Stanton’s grand slam was obviously the pivotal moment because it gave the Yankees a 5-1 lead and they never looked back. Well, actually that’s not true. It put them in the lead for good, but they did look back briefly in the fifth and sixth when the Blue Jays scored single runs to pull within 5-3 with a short bullpen.

However, the Yankees did something that was often a problem last year. They tacked on a run in the sixth and two more in the eighth which eventually broke the Blue Jays’ spirit at the end of a long season-opening road trip. Toronto finally gets to head home after starting with four games in Tampa, three in Houston and three in New York.

Rogers Centre underwent a sizable renovation and the Blue Jays wanted to make sure everything was in working order so they are finally playing their first home game Monday night against Seattle. On their trip they finished 4-6 meaning they’re already four games behind the first-place Yankees, so that’s nice.

This is in contrast to those damn Red Sox who spent their first 10 games on the road as well, but they won seven. What sucks about that is they now have 10 road games plus one of their West Coast trips already out of the way and they trail the Yankees by just a game.

Click the image below to hear Boone talking about Anthony Volpe:

Game notes and observations

➤ Toronto scored first in this game because Luis Gil lost his command and his concentration in the third inning, partially because he was frustrated by home plate umpire Angel Hernandez, the worst in the sport. Now, to be fair, Hernandez didn’t actually miss calls, but the majority of the borderline calls when against Gil and the result was a 30-pitch marathon.

➤ It was a bizarre inning because Gil needed only seven pitches to strike out Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Kevin Kiermaier, but then Springer singled, Gil hit Guerrero with a pitch, and then he walked Bo Bichette and Alejandro Kirk to force in a run before he struck out Cavan Biggio to end it. As Gil came off the field, Hernandez did the sticky substance check and had a conversation with the pitcher, and then Gil went into the dugout and angrily slammed his glove on the bench. Yep, that’s what Angel Hernandez does to all players and managers.

➤ The Yankees had quite the response in the bottom half, though. With a man on first and two outs, Soto singled, Judge walked, then Rizzo worked an impressive eight-pitch walk to force in the tying run. Stanton followed with his grand slam, and what was promising about that is he fell behind 0-2, then laid off two waste pitches including the one that usually always gets him to chase, the down-and-out breaking ball. He fouled off a pitch, then launched the next one 417 feet to left for a 5-1 lead.

➤ Because of the third inning, Gil only lasted until one out into the fifth and with his pitch count at 95, Boone pulled him. While he struck out eight and gave up just two hits, the four walks plus other deep counts shortened his day and meant more stress on the bullpen having to finish half the game. The Yankees need to start getting deeper outings from the rotation, plain and simple.

➤ With their lead cut to 5-3, you got the sense trouble was brewing because the Yankees had scored in only one of the first five innings. But in the sixth, Volpe singled, Austin Wells walked, Volpe hustled to third on a fly out and then scored on a wild pitch. Love it. Then in the eighth, Volpe singled, stole second, stole third, and scored on a single by Oswaldo Cabrera. Love it. Cabrera moved up on a balk, Torres hit an infield single, and Cabrera scored on a sac fly by Soto. Love it. That’s how you put a game away, unlike Saturday when the Yankees did none of this and nearly blew it.

➤ Volpe has been fantastic. He currently leads the AL with a .424 average, is fifth in on-base at .486, and on 171 pitches this season, he has swung and missed just nine times and struck out only seven times in 38 plate appearances. In other words, he’s doing exactly what he needs to do for this lineup, get on base for the big boppers.

➤ The Yankees’ only two losses have been by shutout. When they’ve scored at least one run, they’ve won every time.

➤ This is the eighth time the Yankees have started a season 8-2. The only 10-game starts better than this were 9-1 in both 2003 and 1988.

Next up are the woeful Miami Marlins who lost their first nine games of the season before finally breaking through on Sunday with a 10-3 victory in St. Louis. I was very glad to see that happen because you didn’t want a team on a 10-game losing streak coming to town because the law of averages would say that they were due to win. Maybe the laws still apply for a 1-9 team, but I think it might now be tempered.

The Marlins made the playoffs last year though they had no business doing so with a minus-57 run differential. Now it’s looking like that was certainly a fluke, but the biggest reason for their awful start is they’re dealing with some serious losses to the pitching staff due to injury. They’ve given up 65 runs in their first 10 games and their staff has a 5.18 ERA which ranks 24th in MLB.

The pitching matchups are expected to go this way: Monday, 6:05 p.m. on YES, Nestor Cortes (6.30 ERA) vs. Jesus Lazardo (4.35); Tuesday, 7:05 on YES, Carlos Rodon (2.79) vs. A.J. Puk (9.00); and Wednesday, 7:05 on Amazon Prime, Marcus Stroman (0.00) vs. Ryan Weathers (4.00).