Keefe To The City Podcast

J.A. Happ can't start another game for the Yankees. After providing 30 mostly awful starts in 2019, Happ has continued his decline by laying two eggs to begin 2020. In two starts, Happ has only been pitched seven innings, while allowing eight earned runs, eight walks and three home runs.The Yankees need to stop thinking Happ is going to get better and figure it out. He's not. It's time to put him in the bullpen and give his rotation spot to someone with the ability to get major league hitters out and someone with a future with the team.

In his third start as a Yankees, Gerrit Cole didn't have his best stuff and hasn't had it yet with New York. Despite this, he's 3-0 with a 2.55 ERA. Brett Gardner proved the super baseballs are still in play as he hit an opposite-field home run, a feat that seemed impossible for him prior to the change in the ball and Gio Urshela hit his third home run of the season. Aaron Boone tried to make it a game after the rain delay by choosing not to go to his elite relievers right away for the final nine outs, even with the Yankees having an off day on Tuesday because of inclement weather.

Neil Keefe and Mike Hurley of CBS Boston talk about the Red Sox’ abysmal starting pitching, watching this Red Sox team for a full season, revisiting the team’s decision to not sign Mookie Betts, the career progression of Rafael Devers and decline of Andrew Benintendi.

Another game, another win for the Yankees as their winning streak is now at five games after their 5-2 win over the Red Sox. Masahiro Tanaka was OK in his season debut, which was limited due to a pitch count, but Aaron Judge homered for the fourth straight game and Gio Ursheal hit the Yankees’ second grand slam in three nights to power the offense. The Yankees got 6 1/3 innings of two-hit, shutout pitching from the trio of Luis Avilan, Nick Nelson and David Hale to stifle the Red Sox.It was announced that Tommy Kahnle will undergo Tommy John surgery, ending his season and likely his Yankees tenure, but the Yankees might have found their next elite bullpen arm on Saturday night.

The Yankees' home-opening 5-1 win over the Red Sox was their fourth straight, and given how bad this Red Sox team is, the Yankees should beat up on them all season. The Red Sox' lineup still boasts J.D. Martinez, Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts, but after that, there's not much. (Andrew Benintendi is part of the not much.) As for their pitching staff ... well, it's right there with the Orioles'.

Before the season, I said I was going to be patient and understanding and wouldn't get upset with Aaron Boone this season. I said I was going to accept his managerial ways even if they are at times confusing, frustrating and nonsensical. Well, it didn't even take five full games for me to scrap my plan. After Boone's bullpen management in Baltimore, I had no choice.

After two unexpected days off, the Yankees played again on Wednesday night and won again, beating the Orioles 9-3 to improve to 3-1 on the season. Why was Gerrit Cole out for the seventh inning at 90 pitches with a six-run lead and nine outs to go to a win? And why is the team not playing the everyday lineup in a season in which they have already had three days off in a week and could have additional days off at any day during this season? Yes, the Yankees won again, but these are relevant questions for a team that needs to finish first in the American League and get back to and win the World Series for the first time in more than a decade.

For as good as the Yankees were and are expected to be this season, Saturday night proved why I still have my doubts about them in the postseason. Without Luis Severino this season, the Yankees need James Paxton to be a front-end starter and they can't afford for him to have many other starts like his first.

Neil Keefe and Scott Reinen of Bronx Pinstripes talk about the Yankees’ season-opening win over the Nationals, Brett Gardner batting fifth in the lineup, Gerrit Cole’s Yankees debut, the new-look Giancarlo Stanton, Tyler Wade’s best game in the majors and the expanded postseason field.

Neil Keefe talks with former Yankees pitcher Brian Gordon about transitioning from the outfield to the mound after a decade in the minors, how Nolan Ryan helped him change positions, his first call-up the majors as a reliever with the Rangers, his unbelievable 2011 season in Triple-A, the June 15 opt out that allowed him to be a Yankee, making his first career start in Yankee Stadium, playing in the KBO in Korea and what his post-playing career has been like.

Neil Keefe and Andrew Rotondi of Bronx Pinstripes talk about  the return of baseball and to do our annual individual Yankees over/unders to get ready for the start of the 2020 season.

Neil Keefe and Neil Paine of Five Thirty Eight talk about his recent Rangers-related playoff point article, how the Rangers' lack of overtime and shootout play has hurt their playoff chance and ways the NHL can improve their current point system and overtime format.

For the third straight podcast, there’s no guest. It's once again a Yankees injury update and it's once again not good. Judge is undergoing more testing for his shoulder and if he can't start playing in spring training games by the end of next week, he won't be ready for Opening Day, and the Yankees' entire outfield will be on the injured list.

Giancarlo Stanton had an up-and-down first season with the Yankees, which ended with him flailing at a Craig Kimbrel slider several feet off the plate and in the dirt. His second season was a disaster as he played in just 18 regular-season games and then ended up watching the Yankees lose to the Astros in the ALCS on the bench. There's no guest today. It's just me for the second straight day talking about yet another Yankees injury.

There's no guest today. It's just me being sad, frustrated, annoyed and mad about the news that Luis Severino needs Tommy John surgery and will miss the entire 2020 season.

Neil Keefe and Chris Stacy of NYY Sports Talk talk about the Luis Severino forearm injury, the never-ending injury problem with the team, J.A. Happ suddenly becoming the No. 3 starter, if the Yankees' core is injury prone and how worried Yankees fans should be right now about the team's health.

Neil Kefefe and Chief of Barstool Sports talk about the Blackhawks trading Artemi Panarin and all the roster decisions made by Stan Bowman over the last few seasons, the Blackhawks' front office dynamics, wasting the remaining prime years of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, the future for Brent Seabrook and when the Blackhawks will be back to being both a playoff team and a contender.

Neil Keefe and Blue Jackets team reporter Jeff Svoboda joined talk about the surprising play of this season's Blue Jackets, the void left by Artemi Panarin, the decision to not sign Sergei Bobrovsky, the team's never-ending injury bug in, the differences between John Tortorella in New York and Columbus and what the roster will look like after the trade deadline.

Neil Keefe and Jesse Cohen of All The Kings Men talk about the Kings' trade of Jack Campbell and Kyle Clifford to Toronto, what's happened to the team since their last championship, the team's recent head coach carousel, if the franchise's organizational shift is the right plan, why Ilya Kovalchuk didn't work out in Los Angeles and current Kings who might not be Kings two weeks from now.

Neil Keefe and Newsday Yankees beat writer Erik Boland talk about the start of spring training, the questions Gerrit Cole will have to answer about his time with the Astros, the James Paxton injury news, the position player battles and how Clint Frazier avoided being traded for another offseason.