SPANISH HARLEM, NY – Whether you love sports or hate sports (see Angry Ward), August is the month of great anticipation. College Football and the NFL are right around the corner and many fans can’t wait for the season to get started. Basketball and Hockey will soon follow suit, giving us on the MeetTheMatts more sports to bore you with. Still that won’t stop me from talking about the Yankees and the trade everyone knew was coming.
Gary Sanchez has been on a tear lately. This month alone El Gary is hitting .352 with 10 home runs and 21 RBI. Those of you that witnessed what he did last year when he was called up have come to terms that August is the month of the Kraken. This is the time of year when guys get tired and need extra rest to recover from the daily grind but it seems that it’s also the month that Sanchez turns into the monster we all know and love. In my opinion, I always thought that he should have been our 3rd batter from the beginning of the season. I know most analyst and statisticians think that your best hitter should bat 2nd in the lineup so that they can get the extra at bats but the value of comfort gets taken for granted here. I believe Gary loves hitting 3rd and why shouldn’t he, when the lineup is deep and you have guys that can get on base in front of him then that allows guys like him to go into beast mode. He wants to hit home runs and produce RBI, sure runs are great but there is a lot value for guys that can hit with runners on base. Sanchez is one of those players that you can see becoming one of the best in the game, his catching ability will need to improve but we are seeing why the fans and those in the clubhouse think he can become a Superstar.
On Tuesday, Aaron Judge was able to finally end his strikeout streak, which stopped at 37 games. Did he have some help? Sure some will say that Joe Girardi was a major factor but you also have to admit that he had 4 at bats to strikeout and didn’t. Will Judge continue to strikeout a lot and hit home runs… yes and yes. I know we were all mesmerized with the great stats Judge was able to put up and we saw through the strikeouts because he was playing so well but now that he is not hitting for average everyone is freaking out. I always said baseball can be a humbling sport and at times you have to make adjustments because something is off or doesn’t feel right. He was able to make those adjustments coming into this season to become a better a hitter and now he has to make a few more. I don’t believe he is a .174 hitter and I didn’t believe he was a .330 hitter but what we have is someone that will hit .270 and .280 and hit a ton of home runs. Go back to his minor league stats and you will see what type of hitter he is and will be. The guy can hit and he will show that again, just don’t ask me when.
For those that love the game of basketball (like me), most of you know by now that Kyrie Irving was going to get traded but no one thought it would be the Boston Celtics, who acquired Isaiah Thomas, Jae Cowder, Ante Zizic and the 2018 Brooklyn Nets unprotected pick. What makes this trade so unique is that both teams where in the Eastern Conference Finals last season yet made trades to help each other now and for the future. Lebron James gets a sidekick who was the top scorer in 4th quarter last season and also allows the Cavaliers to get a good draft pick WHEN Lebron leaves… that’s a win win. For the Celtics they finally get the Superstar they always wanted and needed, who is under contract for 3 more seasons. Will this trade move Boston ahead of Cleveland for the right to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals? No but it makes them the best threat to dethrone the Cavaliers the league has seen in years. I can’t wait until they meet in the Playoffs!
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