Season Determining 6-Game Stretch Starts Tonight For the New York Yankees

The season could be determined for the Yankees by these six games that start tonight at 7:05 pm against the Seattle Mariners. The Yankees have been playing their worst baseball of the season lately. Now they face two very good teams. In this first series against the Seattle Mariners, the Yankees have the starting pitching advantage in none of the games. The Yankees could get swept, and that would ruin their season. Do you think Yankees’ Manager Aaron Boone will get fired?

Preview Of the Pitching Matchup In Game 1

Will Warren is pitching for the Yankees in this game. He has been inconsistent all season and is coming off a bad start. He leads all rookie pitchers with 107 strikeouts. His pitches move but are poorly located. His inconsistency is shown by his mediocre statistics. Warren is 5-4 with a poor 5.02 earned run average.  

Warren is being opposed by Logan Gilbert. Gilbert is just coming back from an injury. However, he does have a very good earned run average of 3.40. Nevertheless, he is healthy now and could very well outpitch Warren. He presents a difficult matchup for the Yankees, who strike out too much. He has struck out 74 batters in just slightly more than 50 innings pitched.

Bat Trace Drill

The Yankees have been hitting very poorly this season, and it would be good for them to practice hitting. They should go back to basics, as they strike out too much and hit balls weakly too often. Before we begin, a batter wants to hit a ball as hard as possible to increase the likelihood they will get a hit. A fielder may be there, but baseball is one big likelihood function, and hitting is no different; batters want to increase their odds. So, we will review the best drill ever.

To do this drill, you need a bat, a net, a tee, and a bucket of baseballs. It would be beneficial if the batter had a partner with him to feed him baseballs as he hits them into the net. To do the drill, first swing slowly and do not hit the ball, but stop just short of it. In this bat trace phase, pay attention to the fundamentals from the ground up.

How This Drill Works

Check to see if your toes are all pointing in the direction of the tee. Also, ensure you are balanced, with your knees slightly bent. The knob of your bat should be pointing at the catcher’s knee and your knuckles should be lined up, like you are going to knock on a door. You can check this by pointing your index fingers forward. They should be straight. Then begin your swing. This first time, the trace phase, swing slowly and note how your swing goes.

On your swing, step forward with your front foot, toes pointing to the pitcher, and ‘squish the bug’ with your back foot, which never comes off the ground. It is important that you stay balanced during this bat trace phase. The hitter can add to the drill by standing on a balance beam (a 4-foot-long 2×4, on approximately 6-inch feet). Do not fall off.

The barrel of the bat, at contact, should be just below the hands. Make sure your hands are close to your body, short to, long through. The top hand should be facing down, the bottom hand should be pointed up, and at contact, your belly button should be facing the pitcher. Look at the ball. One cannot hit what they do not see. Ensure you follow through, rolling your wrists. Finish high.

Return your bat to the cocked position and swing and hit the ball off the tee into the net. Pay attention to all the fundamentals you noted in the trace phase. After you hit the ball, your partner can replace the ball you hit into the net on your tee. Everyone likes to hit baseballs, and the drill goes much faster if a partner feeds you baseballs. The Yankees have hit poorly during this month-long slide, and could use this drill to improve their season.

Conclusion

Boone has had many good seasons as manager of the Yankees, but if the Yankees lose the three games to the Mariners, he could get fired. It would be ironic because he is managing the American League All-Star team with Joe Torre, the former Yankees manager. Yankees fans were calling for his job when the Yankees lost last season’s World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers.