Aaron Boone Flips Out on Media as Yankees Losing Continues

 As I wrote for Fox Sports New Jersey 

Aaron Boone is no happy camper. Nobody rooting for nor associated with the Yankees is happy right now. Understandably so; New York lost for the 15th time in its last 19 games after falling to the Toronto Blue Jays 5-2 on Saturday. It was the third straight win for Toronto in this series, and marks the sixth straight series loss for the Bronx Bombers.

For a team that was once the best team in baseball, and appeared to be on its way to possibly challenging the 1998 New York Yankees for most regular season wins in franchise history, things have gone south fast.

And when things go south in the Bronx, the pressure gets ratcheted up.

 

Boone displayed his frustration in his postgame news conference, decrying answering questions about the skid and slamming the podium.

"I got to quit answering these questions about this ..., we got to play better period. The best thing is it's right in front of us," said Boone as he slammed the podium. "It's right here and we can fix it. It's there and we can run away with this thing. We have the players to do. We got to do it. If we don't score, it's tough to win. We got to do better." 

WATCH HERE!!! 

 

Perhaps the good news for New York is that Giancarlo Stanton is rehabbing with Somerset. He was 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts in Somerset's 5-3 loss to Bowie on Saturday night.

The Yankees try to salvage a game in this four game series on Sunday before welcoming the Mets into the Bronx on Monday and Tuesday.

Apparently Boone isn't the only one feeling the pressure right now. Yankees fans are irate over the team's performance in recent weeks. 

Jets and Falcons Training Camp Vlog

I had the opportunity to go “On the Road” to see the New York Jets hosting the Atlanta Falcons at 1 Jets Drive in Florham Park, NJ for a joint practice and scrimmage. This was the final work out for both squads before their preseason clash on Monday Night Football on August 22. 

Zach Wilson Injury Update, Will Miss 2 to 4 Weeks

 Official word came down Saturday that Zach Wilson's injury in Friday's preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles was not as severe as many had speculated and reported. 

As was reported by the Jets beat writers, Wilson has a bone bruise and a meniscus tear that will require arthroscopic surgery and will require a 2 to 4 week recovery.  It was later reported that the timetable for Wilson could be extended depending on how the surgery goes. 

There is a chance Wilson could be available for the season opener on September 11, but that remains to be seen. In the meantime the Jets will decide on Joe Flacco or Mike White to lead the team going forward. 

The Jets quarterback situation is certainly in better shakes that it has been in the past. Flacco is an experienced veteran who has had a good camp, and White put forward some good efforts while starting in place of Wilson last season. 

Without question this is a huge blow averted for the Jets. The speculation last night was that the quarterback tore his ACL which would have been season ending. With Wilson set to return sometime within the next month, he has time to salvage his second season and prove that he can indeed be the franchise face moving forward.

Zach Wilson Injures Knee, Jets Nation in Full Panic Mode

When Jets quarterback Zach Wilson tried to scramble to his right and make his way down field for a first down, he twisted his knee awkwardly as he dove for extra yardage. Upon getting up off the ground, Wilson stumbled, he knew something was wrong on his right knee and fell back to ground. 

He stayed on the ground for several minutes, and the next time Jets fans saw him, he was getting helped to the locker never to return to the game. 

For Jets fans, it was another harsh reminder of what life is like to be a Jets fan. They had flashbacks to 1999 when Vinny Testaverde ruptured his achilles tendon on Opening Day, ending his season; flashbacks to 2003 when Chad Pennington broke his hand in a preseason game, and to 2013 when Mark Sanchez was stupidly put back into a preseason game and injured his shoulder.

Now it is Wilson. 

The only difference between Wilson and his predecessors is that all three were known quantities who had taken the Jets to the playoffs. 

Testaverde was coming off an career year in 1998 when he got injured the next season. Pennington led the Jets to an AFC East title in 2002 before getting hurt in '03. Sanchez was under center for two trips to the AFC Title game before falling out of favor so badly with Gang Green he was battling with Geno Smith for his job by 2013. 

Wilson? He hasn't done much up to this point. What we have seen from him is a mixed bag. There is no guarantee the Jets are a playoff team with him, because we haven't seen it. We have no idea how good Wilson could be, and the answer to that million dollar question will quiet possibly be on hold one way or the other. 

That makes Friday's injury that more tragic -- possibly, and, only if the injury is as severe as many were jumping on social media proclaiming before any official word. 

Throughout the night Friday, Jets fans were clamoring that Wilson tore his ACL without clearly knowing anything. Even a known medical "expert" proclaimed on Twitter that the injury didn't look good as far as the ACL was concerned.

However, Jets head coach Robert Saleh said after the game that he was told early tests revealed Wilson's ACL was intact, but more tests and an MRI would be more conclusive. 

Beat reporters on the scene later said that Wilson was walking around gingerly.  Finally SNY's Connor Hughes who covers the Jets, and ESPN's Dianna Russini both stating that the injury may not be season ending. In other words, people were jumping to conclusions too soon. 

Hopefully for Wilson his injury isn't too serious, and he is able to play at some point this season so we can finally get answers to the questions about whether he is indeed the "franchise quarterback."

 If  the news is devastating, the Jets will have no choice but to move on and move on with Joe Flacco or Mike White at quarterback. Not ideal, but Flacco is a former Super Bowl winning quarterback, and White played well when called up last season. 

This is the NFL, it's an unforgiving business. 

The Red Hot New York Mets of August. Can they Keep it Up?

 The Mets have been red hot this month, posting a record of 15-2 since the All Star Break. This team is playing its best baseball of the season, and is playing cohesively as they stand at 73-39 on the year. 

Can they keep it up? Watch this week's vlog! 

Jets sign OT Duane Brown with Becton Out for the Season

 With offensive tackle Mekhi Becton out for the season, for the second straight season, with another knee injury the Jets came to terms on a two-year deal with former Pro Bowl tackle Duane Brown. 

 

Brown and Jets had interest in a partnership dating back to last week when he attended the annual green and white scrimmage according to ESPN's Rich Cimini. 

Brown is a five-time Pro Bowler, and has 203 career starts under his belt, all at left tackle. He will be 37 in 19 days. 

This could mean the Jets will schuffle their tackle position with George Fant, who was expecting to play left tackle, shifting over to right tackle and Brown taking the Zach Wilson's blind side. 

Don't expect to see Brown play at all in tomorrow's preseason game at Philadelphia. And until we know officially, right tackle is still an open competition between Connor McDermott and Chuma Edoga in the mix. 

Brown's contract is worth around $22 million. It is also worth noting he was arrested last month for carrying an illegal firearm at LAX.

Yankees Wrap Up Deadline Trading Montgomery to St. Louis

 The Yankees wrapped up the trade deadline with a shocking move, shipping starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery to the St. Louis Cardinals for center field defensive wiz Harrison Bader. 

Montgomery became expendable after the Yankees acquired Frankie Montas from the Oakland A's on Monday.

The lefty never really caught on with the Yankees, producing results that were in line with a number four or five start. This season Montgomery was 3-3 with a 3.69 ERA in 21 starts. He finished his Yankee career with a record of 22-20 and an ERA of 3.94 in 98 games. 

In Bader the Yankees get a player a center fielder with a high motor. He has a .988 fielding percentage in center. Offensively he hits for some pop and likes to run the bases. He owns 52 homers and 55 stolen bases in his career. 

With Bader in tow, the Yankees could move Aaron Judge back to his natural right field position. 

The Bader acquisition completes a busy trade deadline for the Yankees who added five players to its major league roster. Joining Bader and Montas are Andrew Benitendi, Lou Trivino and Scott Effross. In so doing the Yanks answered questions in the bullpen, starting rotation and outfield defense.

Mets Acquire Light Hitting Outfielder as Rivals Get Better

The trade deadline was a real struggle for the New York Mets, who -- in the eyes of many -- may have overpaid for a 36-year old part time outfielder in Darin Ruff, and waited til the last second to address their biggest need of all: bullpen. 

The Mets sent J.D. Davis and minor league left-hander Nick Zwack, right-hander Carson Seymour and Thomas Szapucki. Many have pointed out that that Zwack was putting up great numbers down in the minors. He was 6-2 with a 2.18 ERA in two Class-A stops, and had a velocity in the upper 90s. 

Seymour was also impressive down on the farm, posting an ERA of 2.76 in 18 games. 

Davis was a great teammate on this Mets club. A veteran player, who spent 4 seasons in Queens, Davis broke out in 2019 as an everyday player when he hit over .300 and basted 22 homers. He never reached those same heights again the last three seasons. This year Davis struggled to find playing time, and was hitting only .238 with four homers and 21 RBI. 

His days in New York would have been likely numbered at the end of the season. Still his presence in the clubhouse will be missed. 

The Mets instead get a player in Ruf who has really struggled with the bat this season, and is not a prolific hitter to begin with. Ruf is hitting only .216 on the season, although he does have better power numbers than Davis this year, with 11 homers and 38 RBI. The Mets got Ruf because his splits against lefties is much better than righties (.252 vs. .191). 

In short he is a right-handed version of Daniel Voglebach. That's not a great improvement, and lot to give up for such a hitter at 36-years old. 

The final move the Mets made was swinging a deal with the Cubs for reliever Mychal Givens for minor league reliever Saul Gonzalez. Givens is a solid veteran pitcher. He has a 2.66 ERA in over 40 innings of work this year for the Cubs. He will help lengthen a bullpen that needs arms badly. Givens is excellent against both left-handed and right-handed hitters, and is familiar pitching under Buck Showalter, during their time in Baltimore. 

The moves comes as the Phillies and Braves loaded up on talent. 

The Phillies acquired former Met Noah Syndergaard and outfilder Brandon Marsh from the Angels, and reliever David Robertson from the Cubs. Many believed the Mets would be in on Robertson, but the Phillies swung a deal for him. 

Meanwhile the Braves added former Angel closer Raisel Iglesias to bolster their bullpen. That move comes a day after Atlanta extended Austin Reilly with a 10-year contract. 

Yankees Ship Gallo to Dodgers

 The Yankees have shipped Joey Gallo out of town to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Double-A pitcher Clayton Beeter. 

The Yankees have been trying to ship the struggling Gallo out of town for a while, and found a taker in the Dodgers at the 11th hour of the trade deadline. 

In parts of two seasons with the Yankees, Gallo never caught on with New York. This year he was hitting only .159 with 106 strikeouts in 233 at bats. 

Clayton Beeter, whom the Yankees receive in the Gallo deal was 0-3 with a 5.75 ERA in 18 games, 16 starts for Double-A Tulsa. It is not clear where Beeter may report to next, but it would likely either be Double-A Somerset or High-A Hudson Valley. 

The Patriots could use the arm of Beeter after the Yankees shipped Luis Medina to Oakland in the Frankie Montas deal.

Yankees Acquire Montas and Trivino from A's

The New York Yankees understood the assignment. 

With a team that looks destined for October greatness, the Yankees went ahead and made a big splash for a starting pitcher and a reliever, satisfying two huge needs as the trade deadline nears. 

The Yankees acquired Oakland's Frankie Montas to bolster its rotation, and closer Lou Trivino to solidify the bullpen. 

In return the Yankees shipped pitchers Ken Waldichuck, J.P. Sears and Luis Medina, and second baseman Cooper Bowman. Waldichuck, Sears and Medina all had experience pitching for the Somerset Patriots the past two seasons, with Medina pitching the most games for Somerset -- 32 games, 29 starts, over the past two seasons. 

Waldichuck started the year in Somerset before getting promoted to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes Barre. Sears was with the Double-A Patriots in 2021 before shooting up the charts and got in a number of Major League games this year for the Yankees, and was impressive. Bowman was hitting .217 with eight homers and 35 RBI at High-A Hudson Valley. 

The Yankees didn't have to unload their top prospets Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells or Oswald Peraza to get a deal done. 

In Montas the Yankees are getting a solid middle of the rotation starter, who could slide into the number two spot behind Gerrit Cole in the playoffs. 

Montas was 4-9 in 19 starts with the A's, with a 3.18 ERA. His best season came last year, where he won 13 games and struck out 207 over 187 innings for Oakland. 

He is an expiring contract, although there is a year of arbitration left, and the Yankees could conceivably bring him back on a one-year deal after this season. 

In Lou Trvinio, the Yankees are getting a "closer" from a bad baseball team. He does own an ERA over six. The Yankees are not asking Trivino to close, but to at the very least come into the seventh or eighth innings is not a bad thing. 

The Yankees also added former Chicago Cubs reliever Scott Effross for Hayden Wesnieski, who had a 3.51 ERA in 19 starts at Triple-A this year. Effross is a solid reliever, who still has five years of control on his deal, so the Yankees will have him for a long time. 

This is a huge deadline day win for Brian Cashman and company because they solidify a very important need, and could still make a move if they should choose.