Winning with Broken Bombers? - A Yankees Dynasty

[LondonYankee]

February 1st 2014

We keep working towards the start of the season and although the pace is more relaxed there is still business to be done.

First up a trade with Houston. The Astros sent OF JD Martinez (batting .265 for half a season last year) and minor league 2B Joe Sclafani in exchange for minor leaguers, C Chris Stewart, 2B Corban Joseph, MR Cesar Cabral and SP Mikey O'Brien. With Ichiro and Granderson aging I wanted more depth in the outfield that I hope Martinez can provide. Sclafani meanwhile is highly rated and will spend time at AAA to see what he's got.

Next I traded minor league SP with the Mets. We got Jenrry Mejia and sent them Vidal Nuno. Damon likes the look of Mejia so lets see what he does in our system.

Another minor league trade, this time with Oakland. The A's sent SS Andy Parrino while we sent 1B Luke Murton. Parrino can cover several infield positions and I like that flexibility.

After complaining about not finding 3B and re-signing Youkilis, Damon came to me to let me know that Minnesota were looking to move Maicer Izturis. He'd split the year at Toronto and with the Twins hitting .260. Not prodigious but another solid glove to add to our defence. Jayson Nix, jack of all trades, master of none went the other way.

I'm not looking to make any more moves but lets see what Spring Training throws up to change my mind or not.

[LondonYankee]

March 30th 2013

The lead up to Spring Training was pretty quiet with no further movements.
We went through the Spring camp in pretty good form, starting out winning our first 8 games before eventually finishing camp with a 13-9 record.



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A couple of injuries in the outfield meant I made a move to pick up free agent Will Venable on a $2m one year deal. His performances at camp really didn't feel me with confidence though.

Here's the teams Spring batting stats:



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And the pitchers stats:



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During camp I had a visit from Hank Steinbrenner to inform me of his expectations for the coming season. Surprisingly he'd apparently listened when I'd said we'd be in transition because he's only expecting us to reach the playoffs! I'll take that.

That however is way more than the media expects from us, as the pre season predictions were published:



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The only consolation from their predictions is that Boston are tipped to be worse than us. Oh and Brandon Belt is tipped as the top batter in the AL.

Next up we'll get the opening day line-ups organised and play some ball!

[RoyalsBlue]

Not a Yankee fan by any stretch, but I really like the way your going about this. Hope you far and away exceed the media expectations.

Maybe there will be an old-style Yankees/Royals matchup in the playoffs!

[LondonYankee]

Originally Posted by RoyalsBlue

Not a Yankee fan by any stretch, but I really like the way your going about this. Hope you far and away exceed the media expectations.

Maybe there will be an old-style Yankees/Royals matchup in the playoffs!

Thanks mate. I struggled big time against the Royals last season - apart from the wild card game - so I'd rather steer clear of them if I can.

Edit: I didn't actually play the Royals in the wild card game. That was the Rangers.

[LondonYankee]

April 1st 2014

Spring training is done and we're now looking forward to the season getting underway at Boston in 2 days time. It was time for Joe and I to finalise the line-ups for our first series of the year.

Starting rotation:

1) Josh Johnson - I'm expecting big things from our big pitching acquisition. With Andy Pettite gone he has big shoes to fill. He didn't have the best spring training camp but I'm sure he'll be fine when the real action starts.
2) Francisco Liriano - our spring standout and I see no reason why he can't continue his form into the regular season
3) CC Sabathia - Joe's got his way with CC. I'm still not convinced and nothing he did in spring has changed my mind. He needs to step it up to earn his big bucks.
4) Ricky Nolasco - I think he should be above CC in the rotation. I hope he can prove that after an indifferent start to his Yankee career.
5) Ubaldo Jimenez - Could be a surprise package. Showed glimpses of his talent in spring.

In AAA - Manny Banuelos, his last year was blighted by injury which has slowed his progress. Jenrry Mejia, the winter arrival from across town will get his chance at Scranton and I hope he can take it.

Bullpen

Mariano Rivera - Almost certainly his last year, he's still got a lot to offer.
David Robertson - Will offer strong support to Rivera as a set up guy and closer.
Huston Street - wants to be the closer, he can show me what he can do as a set up guy to win my trust.
Joba Chamberlain - offers steady mid-relief without being showy.
Boone Logan - Needs to deliver this year if he's to live up to his own hype.
Cody Eppley - another consistent yet unspectacular reliever.

At AAA - Mark Montgomery continues to develop at pace. Can really hurl those fastballs and his control is improving. Kiyonori Katayama could challenge for a bullpen role sooner than anticipated. Fellow international free agent Pablo Perez has been less impressive.

The batting line up

Lead-off - Brett Gardner (LF) Gardner led the AL in stolen bases last year, I'll be looking for the same again this year.
2) - Mason Williams (CF) the youngster blazed onto the scene last year and hasn't let up in spring training. He can run, hit for average and power and has a great arm. Joe thinks the 2 hole is too much for him but I'm convinced he's ready.
3) Robinson Cano (2B) - Slightly underwhelming performance last year. Needs to step up production to earn his $18m per year. Had a stellar spring.
4) Brandon Belt (1B) - Another of my big additions. Has the ability to break out this year. Teams could really fear our middle order if he and Cano can get it on.
5) Curtis Granderson(RF) - I stuck my neck on the line for Curtis, I don't believe he'll let me down.
6) Ryan Hanigan (C) - Had a great season last time out. Isn't flashy but gets on base. A lot.
7) Kevin Youkilis (3B) - Youk just about holds off Maicer Izturis for the 3B role. If they can hit .250 between them I'll be happy.
8) Alex Rodriguez (DH) - A-Rod has to deliver. He's got no position to worry about, just hitting. Teixera and Jeter will also be on the DH depth chart although both of those can still field, which is more than can be said of A-Rod.
9) Derek Jeter (SS) - the captain just about holds onto the starting role from Zack Cozart. I hope Jeter can show the same form he did last season but it's clear his skills are in free fall.

Other subs/in AAA:

JD Martinez, Ichiro and Will Venable (OFs): Ichiro thinks he's still got it, I'm not so sure. Martinez edged Venable to the other OF slot on the roster, leaving Venable to sit in AAA for a bit.

Gary Sanchez (C) - has potential and will occasionally relieve Hanigan's work load.

Dante Bichette Jr (3B) - shows promise and if Izturis and Youk fail to deliver may get his chance.

Andy Parrino (SS) - will fill in if there are injuries.

So that's the line-ups, nothing left to say but 'LET'S PLAY BALL'

[LondonYankee]

May 1st 2014

The season didn't get off to the best of starts, although we won our first game against Boston. We then went on to lose 6 in a row. We finished the month 11-11, 4.5 games behind Toronto.



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Our main problem is the rotation. Aside from Josh Johnson who was AL pitcher of the month, going 3-0 from 5 starts with a 0.92 ERA. Other than Josh we're in trouble, CC is 1-4, Liriano 1-2 and our starters combine for a 4.42 ERA.
Luckily the bullpen is performing and leading the league with a 2.42 ERA.

Offensively we're much better off. Cano is hitting .333 with 23 RBI's while Belt is hitting .284. Granderson is 3rd in homers in the AL with 7.
Jeter and A-Rod are both cold as ice and really need to pick things up. Jeter's lost his starting role to Cozart already, A-Rod won't last much longer at DH batting sub .200.



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[LondonYankee]

June 1st 2014

April wasn't great, May was worse. We went 13-15 on the month, sitting 3rd, 7 games back from the East leading Rays.



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The plus points are Cano, Belt and Mason Williams with the bat; Josh Johnson and the bullpen with the ball.
Cano is hitting .332 and leads the league in RBI's. Belt is also over .300 at .309. Williams meanwhile is hitting a decent .272 and is 3rd in the league in stolen bases.
Johnson has a 6-1 record and is 2nd in ERA in the league. Despite his efforts my starters only rank 11th in the league. Ubaldo Jimenez started brightly and I've taken a risk bringing Manny Banuelos up from AAA. The bullpen led by Huston Street are 1st in ERA at 2.32.

I need this team to get their act together or we're going to struggle to keep pace.



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[LondonYankee]

1st July 2014

June was a happier month. A 16-12 record leaves us a couple of games above .500 and 6.5 games behind the Rays but more importantly in touching distance of a wild card spot.



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Cano was again the spark for our great form, on June 15th he went 5 for 5 in an 8-1 win over Toronto. He won Player of the week that week, hitting .462 with 5 homers for the 7 day period. He's still at .332 for the year, leading the league, he also leads the league in RBI's (75) and homers (23).

The below stats illustrate why things aren't better than they are:



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We're really strong offensively but just can't get our pitching together. This is why we're struggling so much in close and extended innings games, our poor record in one run games is a particular bug bear of mine.

In other news I finally hit the trade band wagon. We sent Ubaldo Jimenez to the Dodgers, getting reliever Brandon League in return. Jimenez was happy being sent back to AAA when his ERA hit 6.84 so I decided to ditch him. League adds another useful arm to our bullpen.

Ichiro wants out. He's barely featured this year and when he has he's done little or nothing. He's demanded a trade. I barely had the heart to tell him I'd been shopping him around all year but there was no interest.

Jeter meanwhile wants to stay. He's asked for an extension at around $8m for 2 more years. He's hitting .220 and his fielding abilities are dropping rapidly. If he gets a new deal it'll only be because he's Jeter, not for what his bat offers. I've asked him to wait a while longer before we talk.

[LondonYankee]

1st August 2014

We just can't get out of this funk. 12-14 in July. At least we haven't lost any more ground on the Rays but we have fallen a further game back in the wild card race.



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All Star month. That sums up Robinson Cano's month very nicely. Robi was one of 3 Yanks to go the Mid-Summer Classic. Josh Johnson and Brandon Belt the other 2.

Cano though continues to thrive. He leads the league in the Triple crown categories, hitting .343, with 98 RBI's and 29 jacks. He also had a 22 game hitting streak in the month.
I can't say enough good things about Brandon Belt either, he's 2nd in home runs with 25 and has 73 RBI's. His OPS is .996, trailing only Cano (1.015) and Prince Fielder (.997) in the AL.
In good news for the future of the franchise, 22 year old Mason Williams took Rookie of the Month honours. He's .291 with 52 RBI's and 28 steals (3rd in the league).

In trade news we acquired the starting pitching surprise of the year, 31 year old Gavin Floyd of the White Sox has an 11-1 record. He arrives in New York for SS Andy Parrino, CL Kiyonori Katayama and minor league SP Rafael De Paula.

August has to be better. I've had several phone calls from an unhappy Hank Steinbrenner the last few weeks, reminding me his goal is the playoffs. We're still in touch of that goal.

[LondonYankee]

September 1st 2013

I thought Hank was unhappy last month! 10-15 in August leaves us 4th in the AL East, 15.5 games back from the Rays and 4 games from the wild card spot.



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Again, none of the blame can be laid at the feet of Robinson Cano. He won his 2nd consecutive Player of the Month awards. He's now at .355 with 36 homers and 118 RBI's for the year.
The pitchings just plain ugly. I don't want to talk about it.

[LondonYankee]

6th October 2014

So the season is over and the only ball we played in October was meaningless. Sure we went 4-1 to close the regular season but a 14-14 September meant we were out of the playoff running. We finished 80-82, 13 games behind the Rays and were 7 games off a wild card slot.



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It's hard to fault the batting line up:



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Cano won the Triple Crown finishing .339 with 44 homers and 141 RBI's. A phenomenal display of hitting throughout the season for Robi.
Brandon Belt fell off the last 6 weeks of the season but still impressed me with a .289 average, finishing 2nd in the majors with 39 homers and batting in 103 runs.
Mason Williams justified my faith in him in his rookie year. He hit .281 with 13 jacks and 76 RBI's. He was tied for 5th in the majors (with our own Brett Gardner) with 36 stolen bases. He was also tied for 6th in triples with 10. He's still got some way to go before he peaks too, that'll be scary. Scary good for us. Just plain scary for the league.
Derek Jeter eventually finished batting .250 from 65 games and I'll sit down with him in the next few days to discuss his future.

The pitching:



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After a strong start even Josh Johnson fell away he finished 14-12 with a 4.07 ERA. Aside from Gavin Floyd who only started 11 games, our next lowest starter was on a 4.58 ERA (Nolasco). Sabathia stunk the place up going 9-13 with a 5.29 ERA. Ouch.
The bullpen was led by Huston Street but even he blew up at the end of the year. David Robertson was impressive at times and finished 3-4 with 8 saves and 71 k's in 56 innings. Funnily enough he wants an extension. Boone Logan played above himself to record a 2.63 ERA with 84 k's in 65 innings.
Mark Montgomery did enough in his appearances to convince me he has a big future.

I've got a meeting with Hank Steinbrenner tomorrow morning. Might be I'll get to watch the playoffs without the stress of a job weighing me down. Seriously though, I hope not. A sub .500 year isn't pleasant but if I can convince Hank of my plans I'm sure I can turn this around.

[LondonYankee]

October 7th 2014

Somehow I managed to convince Hank that it was worth keeping me on, despite the disastrous season we'd just endured. I say disastrous. There are teams out there that would give anything to be only a game away from .500 ball. The Yankee's ain't one of those teams.

Hank's parting words: 'Stuart, I don't know why I trust you with this, but I do. This is your last chance though. Go out there and get me a winning Yankee's team again or I'll expect you to jump before I push you'

Can't really ask for things to be any clearer than that can I?

One of the things Hank asked was whether I'd considered ditching Joe Girardi. I had to admit I'd considered it, but at the end of the day I still felt he was the best man for the job. It was my job to get winners on the field for him.

November 5th 2014


Despite my eagerness to get things moving not much was going to happen during the playoffs so I sat back and watched as the Tampa Bay Rays and Washington Nationals steamrollered their way to the World Series.
Once at the fall classic, my divisional rivals, the Rays won their first ever World Series title beating out the Nats 4-2. The last thing I needed was to be facing a team on a high next season. Tampa were already strong, this win could make them even stronger. The challenge just got tougher.

December 1st 2014

Before I kick on with Yankee's news, two pitching legends made it to the Hall of Fame. John Smoltz and Randy Johnson were on their way to Cooperstown.

Also the Reds and Red Sox would both be looking for new skippers this off season.

Once the post-season was over it was time to get to business. First up arbitration. We didn't have too much to deal with on this front, only Zack Cozart, Will Venable and most importantly Brandon Belt were eligible.
Belt was estimated to get $8m, I didn't think there was too much wrong with that but went in at $7m anyway. Cozart was estimated at $1m, thats not extravagant but I offered $750k. Will Venable hadn't done enough to impress and was denied arbitration and allowed to take free agency.

While I waited on the arbitration results the yearly awards. To the surprise of no one, triple crown winner on Robinson Cano took the AL MVP. Well deserved for an amazing season and career year.
Brett Gardner's Gold Glove was the only other award for a Yankee. I was disappointed that Mason Williams didn't get Rookie of the Year but in fairness the Indians Chun-Hsiu Chen had a great year with a slash line of .286/.400/.484, 26 homers (3 of them in one game off Liriano at Yankee stadium) and 76 RBI's.

Bench coach Tim Teufels contract expired and I didn't chase him to extend. Dave Anderson was the man chosen to replace him on a 3 year deal. I liked his ability to handle players and he has great skills in fielding training.

Next decision was whether to extend Jeter or not. I really wanted to keep him on but his productivity was waning. That said, characters like Derek can't be made and I felt his attitude and desire were good to have around the clubhouse. We settled on a 2 year deal at $8m per.
Brett Gardner's reward for another outstanding season in the outfield and stealing bases was a 3 year extension for a total of $8.4m. I'm not convinced he'll serve all those years out in New York but like Jeter he's good to have around the team.
David Robertson also got extended, he put up solid numbers again and got himself a 5 year deal for $6m per.
Francisco Liriano was also out of contract. I thought long and hard about this one too. He hadn't had the greatest year but some of his numbers told me that in some ways he'd been unlucky. Damon and Joe were convinced he still had the talent too. So I took a swing and talked him down from his demands of $18m for 4 years to $27 over 2 years. Time for him to put up or shut up.

Before we'd even thought of getting to the winter meetings I had one trade in the bag. Milwaukee had been showing an interest in Ricky Nolasco and they had a couple of decent prospects I was interested in. I liked Ricky but with Liriano staying and no one wanting CC, I felt the rotation needed shaking up. Ricky could go. His $12m per salary wouldn't be missed either. We got RF Kentrail Davis who'd spent half a season at the Brewers hitting .275 and C prospect Dylan Finch who came highly rated in return. Cutting $11.5m off our wage bill in a flash. That would help.

The arbitration results then came back. Brandon Belt had got $7.5m, we were both happy with that. Zack Cozart meanwhile got the $750k I'd offered.

Onto the winter meetings. I'd be looking for some rotation help and had also opened negotiations with free agent Asdrubal Cabrera the SS from Cleveland. I'd hope to get that deal tied up over the course of the meetings.

[LondonYankee]

January 1st 2015

The winter meetings are completed and we've done some good business, I hope!

First deal completed was the signing of free agent SS Asdrubal Cabrera. He's a .245 hitter but a really good fielder who can play SS or 3B. He's signed for 5 years at $48m for the term.

Next up a trade with the Phillies. We sent 3B Maicer Izturis and got 1B Kendrys Morales in return. Morales is a career .282 hitter and I intend to use him as DH as well as backing up Belt at 1B.

Our rotation finally got the boost it was needing with the next trade. We sent Curtis Granderson to St Louis getting Roy 'Doc' Halladay in return. There contract lengths and salaries were fairly even and I felt that even at 36 'Doc' could add a strong arm to our rotation. Last year for the Cards he had a 17-9 record with a 3.39 ERA. His lifetime ERA is 3.32.

With me unwilling to pay him in excess of $12m, Ryan Hanigan took free agency. This left a hole at catcher. Jason Castro was the man I identified to take his place. The Astros were keen to do a deal and we even managed to get 1B/LF Corey Hart added to the deal. In return we sent two relievers, Brandon League and Pat Venditte. Last season Castro hit .241 but has some pop in him with 26 homers. Hart's also a big hitter but he'll need to do better with his .238 average.

The final deal of the meetings strengthened our bullpen. We offered catching prospect Gary Sanchez to Milwaukee and we got Brandon Kintzler in return. I was happy with this addition and we have other catching prospects at A and AA to mean that Sanchez won't be missed.

The final order of business for the meetings involved the owners and MLBPA too. A new CBA was on the table. The main point to come out of it was one that definitely favoured the clubs, free agency minimum service time increases to 7 years from February.
League expansion was also discussed, it's not going ahead yet but more owners are leaning that way.

Unless anything changes dramatically I don't see me doing anymore business before the season starts. It's time to make sure everyone is focused on getting to Spring Training in top shape and hitting the ground running.

[LondonYankee]

March 30th 2015

Before we got to Spring Training I made one more dip into the free agent market. SP Max Scherzer was coming off the back of a couple of losing seasons for Detroit but he had something I liked so I gave him a 3 year deal (3rd was a team option) for $3m per.

Through spring training we alternated between brilliant and terrible, finishing up 12-11:



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The spring results obviously tempered Hank's opinion of how successful we should be as he was now only expecting a play off appearance.
The media weren't expecting much from us at all, predicting us to be over .500. Just at 84-78 and finishing 3rd in the AL East, 8 games off the pace.

Joe and I will be finalising line-ups shortly, and we'll be setting out to prove the media wrong and keep the boss happy.

[LondonYankee]

April 1st 2015

It's almost time for the season to get underway, let's take a look at how we'll line-up at the start.

Rotation

1) Josh Johnson - started brightly last year, but faded. I need him to stay consistent this year.

2) Roy Halladay - his experience could be crucial. This guy knows how to win ball games, just what we need.

3) Francisco Liriano - needs to prove he's worth his new contract, there's lots riding on his season for both him and I.

4) Max Scherzer - many have questioned whether he's good enough for the Yankees after two sub par seasons. He has my full backing.

5) CC Sabathia - if he wasn't earning $20m+ he wouldn't be anywhere near this spot. But he is. That said if he can't rediscover his form even that salary won't save him from AAA ball.

Waiting in the wings - Gavin Floyd is the best option we have at AAA, in fact I believe he should have CC's spot already. Manny Banuelos meanwhile has suffered another long injury and will miss the whole year.

Bullpen

Huston Street will be the closer. He's an experienced head and the right man for that job.

David Robertson will earn his new contract $$$'s as a set up man.

Boone Logan has also earned a role as a set up man but offers mid relief too.

Mark Montgomery is a future closer, for now he's going to be a mid reliever.

Joba Chamberlain and Brandon Kintzler round out the relieving corps.

Cody Eppley starts the season at AAA.

Batting line-up

Lead-off - After his breakout season CF Mason Williams has earned his spot at the top of the order. I expect him to continue to mature and grow as a player.
2 - C Jason Castro offers a great OBP and this earns him the 2 slot on this years line-up. When he needs a rest young prospect JR Murphy will catch, although he won't bat 2nd.
3 - 2B Robinson Cano comes off an MVP year and will again be expected to provide a whole lot of offense
4 - 1B Brandon Belt will look to build on a very good 1st season as a Yankee.
5 - DH Kendrys Morales will hopefully round out a strong middle of the line-up and offer further protection to Cano and Belt.
6 - LF JD Martinez has taken the starting role ahead of Kentrail Davis and Brett Gardner, he knows he needs to perform to stay here.
7 - 3B Asdrubal Cabrera was a big free agent signing and he's our best option at 3B. I think he can bat better than his stats say.
8 - SS Zack Cozart retains the start ahead of veteran Derek Jeter
9 - RF Corey Hart, I like Corey's skills and think that batting from 9, he'll act like a 2nd lead off man in later innings.

Other reserves/AAA
C Sandy Leon starts the year at AAA, but he's pushing Murphy for the back up slot to Castro.
1B/2B Matt Snyder had a big Spring and will offer strong support at DH mainly, his fielding skills leave a lot to be desired but he's definitely got some pop in his bat.
1B Mark Teixera just about stays on the depth chart. He's veto'd every trade I've tried to make getting his salary off our payroll, he'll have to earn his bucks now.
3B Dante Bichette Jr, a good fielder but I'm not convinced off his batting abilities.

1B/DH Alex Rodriguez is like CC and Teixera, untradeable and he will definitely start the season at AAA.

It's time to turn these line-ups over to Joe Girardi and see what he can do with them.

[LondonYankee]

May 1st 2015

We've flown out the blocks in April. We're 16-7, the best record in the majors and 1 game ahead of Toronto in the AL East. Our hitters have been on fire. Cano and Belt both took Player of the week honours through the month and Robi was the AL's Player of the Month, hitting .367 with 7 homers and 19 RBI's.
On the pitching front, Halladay is the pick of the bunch, 4-0 on the month. CC Sabathia however has found himself dumped down to AAA after 1 start, 4 innings pitched and giving up 8 runs. He's shot. Completely shot. Gavin Floyd has stepped into his slot on the rotation, he's 2-0 but needs to get his ERA down from 4.15.



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[LondonYankee]

June 1st 2015

Another really strong month, going 20-9 for May. That leaves us 36-16, 2.5 games ahead of Toronto to lead the AL East and hold the best record in MLB.



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Brandon Belt and Robinson Cano are both batting over .300 and continue to punish pitchers. This month though they aren't alone in doing so. Kendrys Morales and Matt Snyder platooning the DH role have both had stellar months. Morales in fact was the AL's Player of the Month as well as taking a weekly award. He's hitting .323 with 12 homers and 30 RBI's.
They're playing so well in fact that I've decided to try something extremely risky. We weren't getting any decent production from either Cozart or Jeter at SS, so I've moved Asdrubal Cabrera across from 3B and converted Morales to a third baseman. This allows me to get Snyder DH'ing and have 3-4-5-6 in the line-up producing big hitting(although they are both out with short term injuries as we end the month). Joe Girardi thinks it's a crazy move and Kendrys himself has reservations, telling me he hadn't played 3B since junior high. I told him I have complete faith and if it doesn't work out we'll come up with another plan.
The pitching staff meanwhile are doing their bit too; Halladay is 7-0 with Gavin Floyd also undefeated at 6-0. Huston Street leads the league in saves and both our starters and bullpen rank 4th in ERA in the AL.

My phone calls with Hank Steinbrenner have been a lot more enjoyable so far this season, let's hope that continues.



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[LondonYankee]

1st July 2015

Another winning month, not as spectacular but no one's going to complain at a 16-11 leaving us 5.5 games ahead of Toronto.



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It wasn't looking like it was going to be a good month when Cano went down with a hamstring injury early on, but the team continued to put up good performances with people stepping into the breach. Brandon Belt also missed a couple of games during a series in Toronto. The Blue Jays might have thought they'd get some reprieve and a chance to win. How wrong they were, Both Jason Castro and Corey Hart went 5 for 6 with 2 homers each as we blasted them 24-3 in one of the games.
Another player to step up was Dante Bichette Jr who took the AL Rookie of the Month award with a .363 batting average, 4 homers and 19 RBI's from the DH slot while Matt Snyder covered 2B for Cano.
The pitching staff didn't have the best of months but the big bats are making up for any deficiencies. At the moment.



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[LondonYankee]

1st August 2015

All Star month and it seems the team think they're all All-Stars and don't need to prove it on the diamond. A 12-14 month has allowed Toronto to close the gap slightly and we're 4.5 games ahead.



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CL Huston Street, Brandon Belt, Robinson Cano and Kendrys Morales all made the AL's All-Star squad. This month however almost certainly belonged to SS Asbrubal Cabrera, he won the AL Player of the Month award, hitting .363 with 7 jacks and 20 RBI's.
The rotation and bullpen continue to slide back, performance wise and I very nearly pulled the trigger on a couple of trades to reinforce both areas but eventually decided to put faith in them and that they could rediscover their early season form.



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[LondonYankee]

1st September 2015

A 15-12 month but the teams on a slide with a 2-8 record in the last 10. Luckily the rest of the East are in poor form too, we're now ahead of Toronto by 7.5 games.



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Kendrys Morales leads the league in homers and it's the big hits that are still driving us forward. All of the first choice line-up are in double figures for home runs and 5 of those are above 20 on the season.
Roy Halladay remains the pick of a bad bunch on the pitching front, although it must be said that the defense is poor also and offers little support. Morales' move to 3B got me an extra big bat in the line-up but he's leading the league in errors too.



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