Mike Napoli may have struggled this season, but he left his mark on the Red Sox organization, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. The slugger hit .242/.350/.436 during his Red Sox tenure with 53 regular season home runs. He also popped two home runs in the 2013 ALCS. In addition to his on-field contributions, Napoli was known for his character. I’ll leave the story telling to Bradford.
Here’s more from the AL East:
- The acquisition of Cliff Pennington by the Blue Jays is all about making final tweaks, writes Mike Wilner of Sportsnet.ca. The club could have survived with Munenori Kawasaki, but Pennington offers a modest upgrade. Not only is he a better defender with more utility, he also has solid splits against left-handed pitching. He’ll also provide insurance for second baseman Devon Travis. The rookie is currently on the disabled list with recurring a shoulder injury.
- The Blue Jays are on a seven game winning streak and just 2.5 games behind the Yankees in the NL East. New acquisition David Price figures to pay “big dividends,” according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPN New York. Price is 2-0  with a 0.60 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 15 innings since the trade including a victory against the Yankees today. The Bronx Bombers may regret passing on Price and other aces. Instead, New York remained committed to their youth movement, refusing to part with Luis Severino or Aaron Judge.
i don’t have a problem with what the yankees did. they don’t need to trade future production for a rental. Rather, they need to get younger. If what Severino showed in his first start is an inkling of what he can do, I’m glad they kept him
It does make me wonder how serious of a run the yanks will make a run at Price during the offseason.
Hopefully they have no interest at all. In two years Price will be what Verlander is today. He completely relies on his fastball and when that starts to diminish look out. They won’t repeat the mistake they made with CC.
Exactly.. One starter wouldn’t have made much of a difference with the Yankees.. Even with Price they wouldn’t be a championship caliber team.. Who knows though.. They should at least get a wild card and with their bullpen they will have a chance in the playoffs.. Tanaka, Pineda (if healthy and with a month off his arm should be rejuvenated) and Severino should be a decent rotation. If Beltran and Ellsbury stay healthy they might get through to the AL Championship.. I just don’t see them beating the Royals or Blue Jays this year even if they had Price. He would only factor into one or two games in a playoff series.. That Blue Jays lineup is just sick and the Royals are young and hungry.. I wouldn’t be surprised to see CC dial it up in the playoffs.. This might be his last shot at another championship and if he pitches like he did in his last outing (avg 94mph fastball) he would factor in nicely as a backup to Severino (might get shut down with an innings limit).. Regardless, the Yankees don’t need to go all in this year.. I like the way Cashman is trying to build a yearly contender.. It’s not the end of the world because the Yankees didn’t go for it this year.. Shortsightedness is what put the Phillies and Tigers in the position they are in now and is what caused the Cubs to do their complete overhaul..
bumgarner begs to differ. they would be a championship caliber team with price, the package for price was pricey and i don’t think the yankees could have put together a similar package without severino or judge is the problem
I agree with you that the Yankees don’t have what it takes to be a championship team this year. Sadly, I read Vegas odds having them as second most likely to win the World Series (behind the Dodgers). It made me laugh.
What are you talking about? The Yankees have a better lineup/offense then the royals. And their bullpen is just as good if not better then the royals. And the royals don’t have s good rotation. Plus the Yankees have beat them this season.
I love how people pick the jays as the favorites because they’re on a hot streak in the early week of August. Lol. Every team goes thru hot streaks, doesn’t make them favorites to win it all.
They’ve become the favourites not because their on a hot streak but because of the team that’s been built. Methinks the last 2 games between the jays/yanks was won or lost mainly between the ears; jays are confident and don’t think they have been playing to their potential until now while the yanks have been playing above expectations this year.
If you make the playoffs, you’re a championship caliber team. If the best SP is the key to success, then the Tigers would have swept the O’s and not the other way around. In an era where SP (excluding Aces) rarely go 7 IP, a good bullpen is just as important, possibly even more important, than a good rotation
Last years WS featured 2 wild card teams. Playoffs is about who gets hot at the right time. Right now Jays are the hottest team but they certainly aren’t the best team in baseball. They could get cold in September but hot in October. They could stay hot through September and then get cold in October
I think the 2007 Red Sox and 2009 Yankees are the only teams since 2000 to have the best record in baseball and win the WS.
Bumgarner carried the Giants on his back.
What do the Blue Jays plan on doing with Munenori Kawasaki??
I’m pretty sure the Jays and Yankees play in the AL East and not the NL East (the last bullet point says NL East)