A night filled with dark omens casts an early shadow over the 2021 Yankees

Last night was a trap, a mirage: We entered on a roll, unveiling a stud winter acquisition, and our dearest friends - the jolly-good Orioles of Baltimore - would surely accommodate us. They are wonderful guests. 

Still, it began with one Yank in the jacuzzi and ended with another face-down in the dirt. A night of bad omens, with the juju gods working overtime. Consider...

1. Gleyber Torres threw a game away - literally. One out from a scoreless 10th, Gleyber botched a Little League throw to first. Yeesh. It was a play he simply has to make. By night's end, YES was airing a highlight reel of his errors from the first five games. Dare I wonder: Is this becoming a Knoblauch thing? The '21 Yankees were balanced on Gleyber at SS. If he can't play it - increasingly a concern - it forces a domino-drop of roster moves, all of which begin with finding someone who can. The lineup with Gleyber at 2B is like a Picasso painting, the nose and eyes out of place. Be afraid.

2. In the ninth, down by a run, Gary Sanchez - is there such a thing as an omen-free night from Gary? - smacked a clutch line drive double to left, except for a problem: He stopped at first. Actually, he had no choice. Halfway down the baseline, Gary stopped running so he could better watch the ball. It soared past the LF's glove and bounced off the wall, and Gary had no chance to take second. The result: a runner on first, as opposed to one in scoring position... because he didn't run hard. 

The game was on the line. If a guy doesn't hustle in that situation, will he ever? Great Yankee teams were built around firebrand catchers - Yogi, Elston, Thurman, Jorge, even Girardi - who led by example. That's not Gary. It never will be. Last night, Sanchez was bailed out by an epic romp by Mike Tauchman - scoring from first on a ball that didn't even get past the LF. If Tauchy were out at home, the Yankiverse would be on fire today, seething about Gary's failure to run.  

3. Gleyber's botched throw might have been snared by an expert first-baseman. Instead, we saw an awkward lunge by OF/DH Jay Bruce (who otherwise did not play poorly) as the ball skidded by. Gleyber might have one chance at SS - a gold glove-level 1B who snares his bad throws. That's not Bruce. (It might not even be Luke Voit.)

4. Okay, no more burying the lead: Aaron Judge watched. He suffered "side soreness." WTF does that mean? I do not think Judge is a wuss or bad actor. He is a big lug with with big muscles that snap like matchsticks and heal in geologic time. It we hear today that he'll miss six weeks, will anybody be surprised? And if it's Giancarlo tomorrow, would eyebrows even raise? This we do know: The Yankees will not feel compelled to disclose the truth about an injury, if they sense any advantage to keeping it quiet. So whatever they say about it being minor... their words mean nothing. 

5. Clint Frazier is in a funk. In five sad at bats last night, he gave the O's infield practice. We all have high hopes for Clint. But now and then, you blink and see another Billy McKinney, another Zolio Almonte - another young Yankee whose great potential might be obscured by a flaw that we never noticed, but is now on every opponent's chalk board. 

Until Frazier is a proven hitter, he is not. 

This weekend, we start a nine-game set between Tampa and Toronto. Although there is no such thing as a "must" series in April, last night's omens will not disappear on their own. Thus far, the 2021 Yankees have just not looked all that good.