Aaron Judge uses Brett Gardner's bat-slamming antics as Yankees odd new rallying motion

By Tony Mangia

The Yankees aren't happy with the target MLB umpires have put on Brett Gardner and his recent bat-slamming actions in the dugout but, Aaron Judge may have introduced a new, kinder and albeit less savage, team rallying motion derived from the antics of their fiery left-fielder.

There was a lot of talking about team unity — after Gardner was tossed from Saturday's game against the Cleveland Indians for banging his bat on the dugout ceiling in response to manager Aaron Boone being thrown out for jawing to the home plate ump — before Judge mimicked Gardner's double-handed rant at first base following his third-inning single and again from second base after a Judge double.

"no no it aint a shot at you guys" pic.twitter.com/Zw1O83Nncs

— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) August 18, 2019

I'm sure a lot of twisted baseball fans — and probably some indignant and inefficient umpires — will see an indecent double-entendre in the two-handed motion, but — to the easily offended — the gesture might be less naughty than Gardner's in-and-out motion with a bat in a dugout cubbyhole during that same rant. And, if you believe Judge, the jerky up-and-down bat action just might become the Yankees version of the Rally Cap.

Maybe they can call it Gard's Up! or Wood's Up! They are Savages, after all.

"Yeah, he's one of the leaders of this team," said Judge. "We do a lot of crazy things in that dugout when we get on base. Just showing support for him. He's the leader of this team so we're just supporting him."

Gardner had been one of three Yankees kicked out of the game — CC Sabathia was the third — by first base ump Phil Cuzzi on Saturday, so before the game on Sunday, Boone warned his players that the umpires might be watching the dugout for more abuse of his lumber by Gardie and another excuse to toss him from the game.

When the Yankee Stadium Bleacher Creatures did their ritual role call at the start of Sunday's game, Gardner pretended to slam a bat on the dugout ceiling in return. Judge must have been watching and took it as a sign.

Gardy can't stop.

Gardy won't stop. pic.twitter.com/uNEj6bewqr

— Cut4 (@Cut4) August 17, 2019lll

Cuzzi worked home plate during Sunday's loss without incident although the Yankees could be seen shaking their heads at more than a few lousy pitching calls. But, with Gardner's bats on a leash, it didn't come to this... not in the dugout at least.

Here is the full sequence of the Boone ejection. Hot mics galore. pic.twitter.com/R6Vw0qw0qn

— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) July 18, 2019 

Yankees' Brett Gardner and Brian Cashman both victims of mistaken identity

By Tony Mangia

In two separate incidents Friday, a couple members of the New York Yankees family were both involved in dramatic incidents of mistaken identities by respective authorities hundreds of miles apart, but later absolved of any wrong doing after the infield dirt and exhaust fumes had settled.

Before rightfielder Brett Gardner got tossed out of a game against the Blue Jays up in Canada last night, general manager Brian Cashman was tossed by a swarm of anti-car theft police in Connecticut earlier in the evening — with guns drawn.

Gardner's bust and outburst in Toronto might have been witnessed by fans at the game and watching on the YES Network,  but it was the Yankees general manager's dramatic experience which might have been a little more TV show worthy after he was swarmed by “as many five patrol cars" and "between six and nine police officers” with “guns drawn” in Darien after being mistaken for an "armed car thief,” according to a report from the New York Post.

The only guns showing in the Gardner case were his biceps as he was restrained from going after umpire Chris Segal by Yankees manager Aaron Boone.

Cashman's ordeal began while was driving the vehicle from Yankee Stadium to the Norwalk, Connecticut Police Department on Friday afternoon to have it processed for evidence after he reported it stolen in the Bronx. When he stopped for gas in Darien, he was greeted with a swarm of police officers responding to someone in a white Jeep “that was brandishing a gun in a local doctor’s office.”

Combined with the fact that the NYPD never took the jeep off the "hot car" list, Cashman was told not to "make any rash moves" as he exited his vehicle. Talk about a trading deadline being over, this was one rash decision that even a MLB GM knew not to make.

“And that’s when apparently the circumstances radically changed,” said Cashman. “I had a welcoming committee descend upon me as I pulled out of that gas station … They executed a very tactful interception. They’re clearly very professional and trained and they asked me to turn my car off, exit the vehicle, walk backwards towards them … they were executing their duty.”

After a 15 minute process, Cashman was escorted to the Norwalk Police Department by Darien police in order to avoid a similar situation unfolding down the road. He was assured his vehicle was off the stolen car list.

Gradner's incident with The Man resulted from other player's barking in the Yankees’ dugout over a pair of questionable called strikes by Segal in the fourth inning, the first a strike-three call on Cameron Maybin and the second the very next pitch to Mike Tauchman.

After the Tauchman call, Maybin, seated in the dugout, yelled, “F—ing terrible, let’s go!”

Segal immediately responded: “Time, out, done!” and signaled someone was out of the game. When Boone inquired who had been tossed, Segal replied: “Gardner. He just told me I’m f—ing terrible.”

The obvious misidentification caused a stunned Gardner to emerge from the dugout before he blew up and had to be held back by Boone. Then it was time for Gardner's signature bat-bashing in the dugout.

“I told him I didn’t say anything,” Gardner said. “He told me I did say something. That’s why I got pretty irritated.” Gardner also called Segal “a liar.”

Later, a still agitated Gardner wasn't as diplomatic or forgiving as Cashman for the mishap. Asked if wanted an apology from Segal, Gardie plainly said, "Not interested."

So Mike Tauchman takes a strike...and Brett Gardner gets ejected?

That's what happened, and if this game can get any crazier, you can watch it here: https://t.co/i6xvpsa0pF pic.twitter.com/V5VQ2SHOuj

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) August 10, 2019

McNeil's acrobatic catch brings back memories of Jeter's dive into the stands — without the net

By Tony Mangia

Last week, in the fifth inning of the Mets’ 4-0 win against the White Sox, Jeff McNeil made the kind of wild catch that just might become pretty common in the future. The Mets rightfielder hopped a low wall into the fans' protective netting to stop his momentum after running down a foul ball, making the catch and flopping around like he was inside a kid's bounce castle.

And, in the kinder, gentler world of sports these days, nobody was harmed in the making of this play.

“That’s instincts taking over,” McNeil, who goes by the alias "The Flying Squirrel," would say later.

The catch was fantastic and deserving of all the ESPN Top Ten airplay it got that night, but the hustle and intrusion into the stands also brought back memories of another foul catch by a certain shortstop in the Bronx 15 years ago and how that scenario played out without today's safety precautions.

On July 1, 2004, Derek Jeter made one of the most memorable catches of his career, diving into the third-base stands at Yankee Stadium to catch a Trot Nixon pop-up in the 12th inning of a game against the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees ended up winning the game, 5-4, in 13 innings.

Not to take anything away from McNeil's highlight gem, but Jeter's dive into the hard-backed seats and fans' cold beers — not to mention against their hated division rival in a game that had playoff implications for both teams even that early in the season — was way superior.

McNeil's play came during what will probably shake out to be a meaningless regular season game where he calmly walked back to high-fives in the dugout unscathed two outs later.

Jeter, meanwhile, was slapped on the back by the stunned fans he just crashed into and dramatically escorted back onto the playing field by trainer Gene Monahan — bloodied and a bit bruised.

While McNeil's trampoline catch might become more commonplace because of fan protection becoming a priority inside baseball stadiums, it's Jeter's hard-nosed play that will live on in MLB lore forever — if not only because of the lack of those nets.

Jeter's catch wins this debate, but McNeil does have a better nickname.