The Innocent Bystander

Hey, they were bound to lose one, right?

That will be the inevitable take on this series-ending collapse against the Angels, and what more do you want than three out of four?

The loss, certainly, was primarily the fault of Tanaka—who I am convinced will be on the DL within days—and the Arson Squad, now an appalling 5-12 under my CollBull W/L system (patent pending).

But much more irksome was how, as the Tiger and Jonathan Surrenderer coughed up a four-run lead, the rest of the team reacted.

Frustrated, no doubt, by a mess o' hard-hit balls that just failed to get out or get down for hits, and particularly by the ball-and-strike stylings of home plate ump Ryan Blankney, the Yanks melted into a puddle of self-pity, sloppily tossing the ball around in the field, pouting and posturing at the plate.

Blankney was, to be sure, calling your basic homer game, squeezing Tanaka while expanding the zone steadily when the Yanks were up—something that's become all too common an occurrence in the majors.

But so what?  Deal with it.  Instead, this young Yankees team seemed to lose their composure...and worst of all, Ma Boone once against acted like an innocent bystander to the whole scene.

In such a situation, a manager's got two basic options:  tell his team to grow-up and deal with it, and keep their heads in the game.  Or throw a cyclonic fit, tossing hats, kicking dirt, hurling bases—anything and everything to show he's fighting for his boys.

Ma did nothing but stand around literally blowing bubbles.  Well, Mickey Mantle he ain't, and more than silent stoicism was required.