Carlos Gomez Shouldn't Mess With a Brian McCann Team

Houston Astros outfielder Carlos Gomez has a flair, for shall we say, the dramatic. He plays passionately and that was on display Tuesday night in the Bronx when Gomez hit a routine fly out. The problem was Gomez flipped his bat in doing so, as well as yelled at himself. The problem was the Astros were up 9-0 over the New York Yankees and the Yankees did not want to see or hear Gomez' actions.

So much so that the Yankees bench, Joe Girardi included, began shouting at Gomez, who in turn repeatedly yelled shut up. It wouldn't be a surprise if one of those players involved on the bench was catcher Brian McCann. The Yankees regular backstop had the night off, but he is all too familiar with Gomez' antics.

Case in point - Gomez' Brewers vs. McCann's Braves two years ago. McCann's backup John Ryan Murphy had a few choice words for Gomez as well. You just get the feeling that not too many of Gomez' teammates care for his shtick either.

Yankees Fly In Bird For More Lumber

In the midst of a five-game losing streak, in which runs have been harder to come by than a late night meal in Cleveland, the Yankees have recalled minor league slugger Greg Bird to add some punch to the lineup. The Yankees had acquired Garrett Jones back in December (along with Thursday night's starter, Nathan Eovaldi) to back up Mark Teixeira at first base as well as play some right field, but Jones was designated for assignment Wednesday for the second time in two weeks.

In addition, to spelling Teixeira, Bird will also get some at-bats at DH when Alex Rodriguez needs a day off. Just as the Yankees called up Luis Severino a little over a week ago to bolster the starting rotation, Bird's recall is an attempt to wake up the suddenly sleepy Yankees bats. New York has lost five straight games, in which they have scored a total of six runs. Four of those runs came in one game and the team has been shut out twice. Combined with the Toronto Blue Jays 10-game winning streak the Yankees have fallen out of first place in the AL East for the first time since July 1. At that time, they moved back into first the very next day. They're hoping that can happen again.

Bird was a fifth round draft choice out of Grandview High School (Aurora, CO) in 2011 and has steadily climbed the Yankees organization ladder. He first made a name for himself when he slugged 20 home runs and drove in 84 runs for the 2012 Charleston RiverDogs ('A'). In addition to hitting .288, he drew 107 walks and had a .938 OPS. He started this season at Double-A Trenton where he put up a .258/.358/.445 slash line with 6 HR and 29 RBI in 182 At-Bats. He's been even better since his promotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre - a .301/.353/.500 line with 6 HR and 23 RBI in 136 AB's. In his 2012 breakout year, Bird also struck out 132 times. So far this season, he has struck out 57 times in 318 at-bats. That means he's been more patient looking for his pitch and not chasing bad pitches or being fooled as often as he was three years ago. He comes to the Majors after going 19-52 (.365) with 3 HR, 9 RBI, and 8 runs scored over his last 12 games. Any help to the offense would be greatly appreciated at this time.

Here's a closer look at how bad the Yankees team slump is.

Jacoby Ellsbury 0-19; benched Wednesday night

Brett Gardner 5-35 (.143) in last 10 games; was thrown out stealing the last two nights and hasn't stolen a base in two months.

Alex Rodriguez 6-37 (.162) in last 10 games. 2-21 during losing streak.

Mark Teixeira 7-40 (.175) in last 10 games. 1-17 in last four games.

Chase Headley 3-21 (.143) in last seven games. Did have go-ahead 2-run single in first game vs. Indians.

Stephen Drew 1-18 (.056) with 1 solo home run in last five games played.

Brendan Ryan 2-16 (.125) in last half-dozen. And dude, that mustache has got to go.

Brian McCann 1-19 (.053) in last six played. Like Drew, with one solo home run. Not everyone has been bad.

Didi Gregorius went 6-19 in the last five games, though he didn't have an RBI or run scored. Carlos Beltran has a modest seven-game hitting streak in which is 8-24 (.333) with five walks, and a pair of home runs and RBI.

Here comes the corny. The Yankees are hoping that Bird will help them rise like the Phoenix and to soar again.  I told you it was corny.

Let the Luis Severino Era Begin

Luis Severino is ready to bring his electric stuff to the Bronx.

There was a time that most fans of the New York Yankees didn't care about the team's farmhands. They didn't even know their names. But all that changed with publications like Baseball Weekly and Baseball America and the advent of social media.

While some fans still will quickly fork over top prospects for a current or former star, more and more fans want to see home grown ball players don their team's uniform for more than Spring Training.

The Yankees farm system was derided for some time after poor scouting, drafting, and trades for veterans left it bereft of ready for prime time players. Now the farm system has become replenished with top grade prospects. Those prospects were in demand during last week's trade deadline, but General Manager Brian Cashman refused to part with any of the cream of the crop. Aaron Judge, Jorge Mateo, Greg Bird and tonight's Yankees' starter Luis Severino remained in the Yankees system, much to the delight of the Yankees fan base.

While there is no such thing as a sure thing, the Yankees front office, manager Joe Girardi, and pitching coach Larry Rothschild expect a lot from Severino, the Yankees top rated minor leaguer.
It's not the first time a pitcher made his highly anticipated debut in the last decade. Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain both turned in some terrific performances in their initial lengthy recall with the team. Neither of them are in the organization any more, and Cashman is hoping (and probably praying) that will not be the case with Severino.

You probably need to go all the way back to 1964 to find a time when a Yankees staff was counting this heavily on a rookie this late in the season. Long before he was the Yankees coach, Mel Stottlemyre made his debut as a 22-year old stud on August 12, 1964. "Stot" went 9-3 with a 2.06 ERA in 12 starts and one relief appearance. He had five complete games in a time when starting pitchers still went the distance. He also made three starts in the '64 World Series, finishing 1-1 against a St. Louis Cardinals team that captured the championship in seven games. It would be the only postseason appearance for Stottlemyre.

Severino made eight starts for Double-A Trenton this season and averaged over 11 strikeouts per 9 innings before a promotion to Triple-A Scranton. He excelled at the challenge of facing hitters in a hitters' league, the International League. Severino compiled a 7-0 mark with  a 1.91 ERA in 11 starts. He allowed less than a base runner per inning, with just 40 hits allowed in 61.1 innings.

And now he'll put on #40 and face the Boston Red Sox in Yankee Stadium.