New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner is needless to say not very happy with the direction the Yankees have gone and the team has not been to the World Series since 2009. The Yankees are seven games back in the AL East (photo from nj.com)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s (43-27) are off on Thursday. On Friday, they will play three games against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. After New York, the A’s play four against the Texas Rangers and finish the trip with three against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.

The Yankees are 35-32 and are in third place in the AL Eastern Division, seven games behind the Tampa Bay Rays. Many people, press and fans alike, expected the Yankees to be the beasts in the East. The fans know the Yanks have not been to the World Series since 2009.

The drought is killing them. The Yankees’ front office, managerial staff, and players are feeling the wrath of the fans. People are questioning the decisions made by general manager Brian Cashman, manager Aaron Boone, and owner Hal Steinbrenner. The Yankees are the most valuable franchise in all of the sports. They are a money machine, yet Hal Steinbrenner seems not to want to pay the luxury tax to get the players they need.

The pitching matchups are set for the series. The A’s will send James Kaprielian to the hill Friday night. Kaprielian would love nothing better than send the Yanks down to defeat. New York sent Kaprielian to Oakland when they acquired Sonny Gray from the A’s.

James’ record is 3-1, and he has an ERA of 2.15. He has been especially tough on right-handed hitters, holding them to a .131 batting average. Righty Jameson Taillon (1-4, ERA 5.74) will pitch for New York on Friday night. On Saturday, Chris Bassitt will go for the A’s.

Bassitt is 7-2, with an ERA of 3.43. Bassitt has allowed four runs or fewer in each of his last 35 starts the past two seasons. Domingo Herman will go for the Yanks. Herman is 3-3, ERA 3.88. Sunday’s game will be a battle of lefties. Sean Manaea goes for Oakland.

Manaea is 6-2, ERA 2.99. Sean has allowed one run or less in nine of his last 14 starts. He is 1-0 in two career starts at Yankee Stadium. The big lefty has not allowed a run in 12 innings of work. Jordan Montgomery will pitch for the Yanks. Montgomery is 3-1, ERA 4.20.

The feared injury jinx has hit the Yankees hard. Righty Corey Kluber, who threw a no-hitter earlier in the season, is now on the 60-day IL. Lefty Justin Wilson is on the 10-day IL. Slugger Luke Voit has been on the 10-day IL and is almost done rehabbing his injury.

Centerfielder Aaron Hicks is out for the season. The Yankees will use Chris Gittens at first base. D J LeMahieu’s first two seasons with New York were fantastic.

He has a career .303 batting average and a .781 OPS. His numbers are way down this year. He is batting .262 with four homers and 19 RBIs. LeMahieu will be at second base. Glyber Torres will be at shortstop. Torres is having a tough time adjusting to the position.

He is better suited to play second base. He is hitting .263 with three homers and 23 RBIs. Gio Urshela will be at third base. Urshela is hitting .261 with seven round-trippers and 27 RBIs. Rougned Odor, the former Texas Ranger, and Tyler Wade can fill in if needed.

With the Aaron Hicks injury, the outfield has been a problem for New York. The Yankees will use Miguel Andujar or Clint Frazier in left. Frazier, finally getting an opportunity to play regularly, has not performed well. His batting average is an anemic .188. He has five home runs and 12 RBIs. Brett Gardner, now 37-years old, moved from left to center.

Brett is hitting .215 with two home runs and eight RBIs. The big man in the Yankee offense is Aaron Judge. Judge, 2017 Rookie of the Year with 52 homers, will be in right field. Judge, from Linden, California, has a .282 batting average to go along with 15 homers and 35 Ribbies. His OPS is .894. Judge is finally healthy. He has missed a lot of time over the last three seasons due to injury.

Giancarlo Stanton will be the Yankees’ DH Stanton was the NL MVP in 2017. The big guy blasted 59 homers that year. He joined the Yankees as a free agent in 2018. In 158 games that year, Stanton homered 38 times. He was injured in 2019 and 2020. In 2019 he hit three and four in 2020. This year, he has stayed healthy. So far, he is hitting .260 with 12 homers and 33 RBIs.

Gary Sanchez will handle most of the catching chores for New York. Sanchez has received a lot of criticism for his defensive work as a catcher. The Yanks have been working with him to improve. They keep him in the lineup as he is a threat to go deep at any time. Kyle Higashioka is the backup catcher.

The Yankees are 4-6 in their last ten games. They have won the last two over the Toronto Blue Jays. The teams are playing the third game of the set Thursday night in Buffalo, the temporary home of the Blue Jays.

Oakland is hot right now. The A’s were 8-1 on the last homestand. They have won six in a row. Ramon Laureano returned from a stint on the 10-day IL and led the team to an 8-4 win over the LA Angels Wednesday in Oakland. Laureano robbed Justin Upton of a home run in the fourth inning. He then hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth to get the A’s offense going. The A’s were trailing 4-0 when Laureano homered.

The A’s are hoping to continue playing well. Matt Chapman and Elvis Andrus appear to have snapped out of their early-season doldrums as they both come through with key hits. Mark Canha has been a steady presence all season long. Canha, in the leadoff spot, has shown a knack for getting on base.

He has a lot of pop in his bat, too. Matt Olson is leading the team in homers and RBIs. Other key contributors have been Laureano, Tony Kemp, Sean Murphy, Mitch Moreland, Seth Brown, and Stephen Piscotty. The A’s starting rotation has been solid, and the bullpen has come through many times this year.

Playing in New York has to be fun. The A’s want to do well to start the 10-game road trip. Let’s hope they win at least two of the three games.