The Yankees Have An Animal Thing So I'll See You All At The World Series Parade
ESPN – A flock of newcomers quickly swoops into Yankee Stadium and suddenly a team that wobbled all season turns into a playoff contender.
So exactly who’s gotten the New York Yankees flying so high? A rookie slugger, a fresh set of pitchers?
Sure, they’ve helped. But maybe it’s something more.
“Pigeon power ,” outfielder Aaron Judge said. “They’re fueling us.”
OK, go ahead and laugh. Then look at the Yankees’ record lately — against the Blue Jays and Orioles, no less — ever since dozens and dozens of pigeons began descending for picnics at the park.
Besides, if the Royals can have a Rally Mantis, the Angels a Rally Monkey and the Cardinals a Rally Squirrel, why not a good-luck flock of pigeons?
All weekend I was at Yankee Stadium and everyday someone would ask “Why are there pigeons on the field?” The logical answers are that they planted seeds because after a long season with baseball and soccer the grass was dying. Or you could go the Portnoy route and just say this is a disgusting city and we have flying rats all over the place and they’ve invaded Yankee Stadium. Either one works.
This is just another sign of the new era of the Yankees though. In the past because all of our players were so old and established stars before they came to NY, they were no fun. Two years ago if you asked about the pigeons in the field you would just get “We’re just trying to win games and stay in this thing”. Now though with young players who don’t know any better we get quotes like “Pigeon power” from Judge. Yeah the pigeons aren’t hitting or pitching, but they are giving the players something to joke about because after all, they are playing a game. Plus watching Ronald Torreyes chase them out of his way while playing a shift is hilarious.
Other News
Aaron Judge- It looks like his season could be done after an oblique injury last night. Mason Williams, who is finally healthy will take a lot of the playing time in right field moving forward. In 31 games at AAA this year Williams has a slash line of .296/.313/.376. Williams was a top prospect before a string of injuries so if he can keep his progress moving, he can be a big contributor. The big concern now is, will this impact Judge training in the off-season?
Clayton Kershaw- Unfortunately the Yankees have to face him today. No team gets excited to see Kershaw on the mound against them, but his first game at Yankee Stadium is exciting. It’s a little more exciting when you know he has pitched 3 inning since June. On Friday, Kershaw came off the DL to start for 3 innings in a loss to Miami. With a career era of 1.20 in two starts against the Yankees, Kershaw should be feared. However, with the Dodgers holding a 4 game lead in the division, they’re ramping up for the playoffs and will probably have a low pitch count on Clayton so he doesn’t re-injure his back. Now lets just hope Pineda doesn’t stink up the place.