If only we were still the Evil Empire. That's how Hal would be cackling. (Instead, he's probably still down in the cellar, riding out Irma.) But by next Thursday, we will either wrap ourselves in the Wild Card one game flag... or drape our rotted carcass with black. Here's what's coming:
1. Four with Baltimore, all with crowd-boosting swag. (Tonight is Yankees Earbuds Night. Tomorrow: Yankees Knit Cap Night. Saturday: Yankees Gel Pack Day. Sunday: Yankees 1997 Yankees World Championship Fan Ring Day. I'd go with the Gel Pack, because I have no clue what the fuck it is.) The O's have lost three in a row and dropped to two below .500. Barring a Clevelandesque run, they're chum. Last week, if not for Dellin Betances' ninth inning meltdown, we would have swept them in Buckamore. They have won three in their last 10. The only guy hitting lately is Adam Jones (.370 over the last seven games.) Everybody knows how to beat these guys - pitch around Manny Machado and Johnathan Schoop.
But here's the rub: This is exactly the kind of home series we have flubbed all year.
At right are Twins batting averages over the last 30 games. Look at Byron Buxton. He is finally emerging. Look at Jorge Polanco. The guy is 24. (Overall, he's hitting .259 on the year with only 11 HRs, so clearly, he is a rising nation.) Now, imagine what they would look like if not for the Aaron Hicks-John Ryan Wilkes Booth Murphy trade. (By the way, Murph is now with Arizona, up from the mines for September.)
Listen: There is danger lurking in this next week. The O's recently swept Boston, restoring us temporarily into the AL East race after a wipe-out series. They could do the same to us. And Minnesota increasingly looks like the team you don't want to face in a one-game season. (Actually, come to think of it, there is no team we want to face in a one-game season, eh?)
Think of it as a seven-game series. Might be the last meaningful one in 2017.
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According to the NYT, some of the pitchers are annoyed with Joey Binders for his quick hook. Unfortunately, Chad Green is not one of them. At this rate, Green's arm will be dangling by a thread by the end of the first round of the playoffs. He has been about as good as any multitool reliever we've had since St. Mariano in '95-'96. It would be nice if they would treat him like a top talent.
The media and YES's own Jack Curry think Girardi is doing just a wonderful job, making all the right moves. I like Curry, but holy bejeezus.
The problem is, those guys hardly ever say, "Why did he leave CC in so long?" Or, "Why did he bench so-and-so after his hot hitting last night?" Or, "Why hasn't he used Robertson as a closer sometimes, given the drama and inconsistency with Chapman and Betances?" Or, "If Girardi hadn't been so busy playing matchups, wouldn't we have won that game?"
But if Girardi lucks out and his overmanaging results in a win, they're all right there with accolades and how he "pushed all the right buttons."
If only the Yankees would push the "eject" button on him.
I did like the quick hook.
And as for the pitchers' upset over the quick hooks, here's my advice: Pitch Better!
If Garcia didn't want to come out, he should have got Lucas Duda out. This guy has a 4.60 ERA since coming over, with 50 a baserunners in 29 1/3 innings.
He said in the paper today, "My goal is always to go eight or nine."
Well, it's a goal he rarely achieves. In 172 major-league starts, he's got 4 complete games, exactly 1 of them since 2011.
Meanwhile, he can go console himself with some of his $12-million a year salary.
Betances this year, too, has done nothing to fill anyone with confidence.
Grow up!
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