The Good Giancarlo Stanton

Despite being out 92% of the season, Giancarlo Stanton stepped into the clean up spot in the lineup against the Blue Jays Saturday and everyone knew it.  Stanton blasted a double followed by a tremendous home run to lead the Yankees to a 7-2 victory.  This is the Stanton the Yankees need and his presence could change everything.

“It’s always good to get some results in your first few games back,” manager Aaron Boone said of Stanton, who also doubled before leaving the game, as planned, after six innings. “I feel like he’s stringing some good at-bats together. Hopefully he can continue to build and get into a nice rhythm here as we get ready for October,”reported the New York Post.

“The good Stanton” as the Post referred to the Yankees slugger, could bring much needed relief and a huge bat to the lineup if he can perform the way he did Saturday.  “He still undergoes treatment for the right knee sprain that felled him most recently, he said on Saturday, explaining, “I’ll have to do maintenance all the rest of the year. Just keep that up, keep my strength up and go out there with all I’ve got,” said Stanton as reported by the Post.

His impact in yesterday’s game has coursed through the entire dugout from supporting his starting pitcher James Paxton as he posted his 10th win in a row, to filling a hole in the lineup with Gleyber Torres taking the day after he slipped fielding a ground ball in Friday night’s game.  Stanton’s performance has also somewhat masked Luke Voit‘s sub-par at bats since returning from his IL stint due to a hernia.

Although I was skeptical of his ability to make an impact, I was impressed with his at bats and his swings, which often appear choppy.  Stanton feels if he can get a few more at bats, and continue his rehab on his knee, strengthening it as he plays, he will be able to highly contribute to his team.  “I feel like my at-bats have been good…just working off better at-bats as I go along,’’ said Stanton, who feels he’ll need to play nine innings in the outfield “at some point’’ before postseason begins. “As long as I get one or two of those, I’ll be good,’’ as reported by NJ.com.

Let’s hope the Good Giancarlo continues to heat up this Yankee team and as the Yankee near the post season, he will be at his best.

–Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof