The rich just got richer this week when the Yankees acquired Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton for Sterling Castro and a couple of minor leaguers plus cash.
Aaron Judge, Stanton, Gary Sanchez, Didi Gregorius, Brett Gardner, first baseman Greg Bird, designated hitter Jacoby Ellsbury, Aaron Hicks and Chase Headley. All of those guys are double-digit home run guys.
What the Yankees gave up is relatively little. Castro had a good year, but with Stanton in the fold, the Yankees can afford to go for a light hitter/great fielding second baseman. Both Judge and Stanton are right fielders. We’ll see if they make one into a DH, or if one is shifted to left field.
Expectations are always high in New York, and they got even higher for new manager Aaron Boone, who has never managed at the big league level. You can’t ask for a more talented roster than what he’s being given.
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Apparently, the realignment I talked about in my Sunday column isn’t quite official yet, according NIAA assistant commissioner Donnie Nelson. Apparently, the final vote is scheduled for today, and Nelson said he has no idea how long that meeting will last.
Nelson said it was the committee’s recommendation, but the item wasn’t officially closed out by vote and public comment.
“We have to actually, officially, finally vote on the item, and then move on into actual league/region alignment and then finally tournament formats,” Nelson said.
On my wish list, and maybe it can happen the next realignment cycle, is for Dayton to move down to 2A and Hug and Wooster go down to 3A. There are ways to make 3A two divisions, but as I’ve stated before you have to think outside the box, something Nevada isn’t known for doing well.
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Damonte Ranch quarterback Cade McNamara, who has agreed verbally to attend Notre Dame starting in 2019, is the Nevada Gaorade Player of the Year.
The 6-1, 190-pounder threw for 3,470 yards, 44 touchdowns and scored four times on running plays. McNamara has thrown for more than 9,000 yards in three years with the Mustangs.
McNamara has maintained a weighted 4.07 GPA in the classroom and represents one of the state’s top academic candidates in meeting the Gatorade award’s broad criteria.
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Kudos to the Barracuda Championship. The annual PGA tournament held at Montreux Golf & Country Club every summer was honored by the PGA Tour for Best Ad Campaign/Promotional Idea.
Jim Bauserman, who heads the Foundry (a local PR firm), promoted the Great Clubhouse Cookout throughout the year.
The cookout, which you could smell down the block, was the focal point of activity behind the 18th green. The food was tasty, and there was plenty of it. According to tournament officials, concessions were up around 300 percent.