THE STANKY CLIPPARD
Tyler gives up slam as leaky pen throws away another game, ruins Judge’s milestone HR
The Aaron Judge home run juggernaut continued Friday night in the Bronx, when the Yankees’ rookie rightfielder blasted his majors-leading 30th dinger, 72 hours before he takes his hacks in the All-Star Home Run Derby in Miami. But Judge’s bat couldn’t help the Bombers avoid a third straight loss, this one an ugly, rain-delayed 9-4 defeat at the Stadium that featured beleaguered reliever Tyler Clippard in another meltdown. Clippard surrendered a grand slam to Milwaukee first baseman Jesus Aguilar in the seventh inning – a hit that essentially iced the game – and as he departed the field, Clippard made it rain in a different way. What was left of the 43,472 fans booed the right-hander mercilessly. “Even the last at-bat when I gave up the home run, I made some good pitches. Obviously the last one wasn’t what I was trying to do, but that’s baseball man. Frustrating. Just trying to throw a good fastball down and away. Didn’t execute there,” Clippard said after taking the loss (1-5). “As far as how I feel on the mound, I feel pretty good.”
The Yankees (44-40) are still within striking distance of their ancient rivals – the American League East-leading Red Sox – but after Boston’s win Friday put them 4½ games up on the Bombers, it might as well be a 14-game hole. Or, about the same-sized crater the Yankee bullpen seems to dig on a regular basis.
On June 26, when he attended former Yankee Mariano Rivera’s charity golf event in Westchester, Bombers general manager Brian Cashman was asked by the Daily News if he would consider designating Clippard for assignment, as Clippard was fresh off recent struggles then.
“If I feel that way, that’s what we would do,” said Cashman then. “It’s never come up. If that’s something we choose to do (DFA Clippard), the only time to talk about stuff like that is after you do it.”
It may be time to think seriously about making such a move after Clippard gave up four runs on one hit in
1.2 innings Friday. Joe Girardi said he still backs his reliever. “I believe (Clippard) will come out of it and be fine,” said the Yankee manager.
The trickier decision for Cashman and the Yankees’ front office is whether or not to package some of their top prospects in a deal for a quality reliever and/or starting pitcher.
Two months ago, Yankee owner Hal Steinbrenner, although not spoken with the same booming voice of his late father, George, made it known to reporters that the organization’s sparkling farm system was off-limits for any potential future trades.
“That’s not something I’m looking to do, is trade away all of our top prospects,”Steinbrenner said at the owners’ meetings in May.
Judge continues to be the marquee attraction in pinstripes — even star-crossed former Yankee Alex Rodriguez blew through the Stadium earlier Friday to interview Judge for FOX Sports and also pose for photos with the towering slugger and A-Rod’s gal pal, Jennifer Lopez. But while Judge is a big – pun intended – reason the Yankees are still treading water in the playoff race, Friday night’s game was flush with contributions from a slew of Baby Bombers.
Recent call-ups Clint Frazier and Ji-Man Choi sparkled. Frazier, who homered and doubled in his major league debut in Houston July 1, put the Yankees on the board with a sacrifice fly in the second inning and tripled in the eighth. The red-headed outfielder also made a terrific diving catch on a Keon Broxton sinking liner to left in the fifth. Choi, who also homered in his Yankee debut, socked his second homer since being promoted, a towering two-run shot in the fourth.
A 51-minute rain delay torpedoed starter Jordan Montgomery’s night early, as the lefty gave up two runs on seven hits in four and a third innings of work. Then two consecutive Tylers (Webb and Clippard) opened the floodgates, highlighted by Clippard’s debacle of an evening. The Bombers couldn’t even capitalize on Milwaukee’s five errors on the night, two each by rightfielder Domingo Santana and second baseman Jonathan Villar.
The Yankee prospects are also helping fill major holes as numerous starters are injured, including Matt Holliday, Starlin Castro, Aaron Hicks and Greg Bird. Holliday and Castro are expected back with the team when the Yankees resume play in Boston following the All-Star break.
But will the Bombers be too far behind by then to right the ship and their 2017 season? Some hard decisions hang in the balance for Cashman and the front office, and if the team is serious about contending in the second half, it may have to come with a steep price. That’s baseball, man.