(The other games to be made up will be in a doubleheader at Houston, the day after the All-Star break ends. Why is it I don't believe that MLB would've subjected the Astros to the same brutalities, had the series been scheduled in NYC?)
But hey, not to complain. And it will be interesting to see how Yer Cheatin' Stros fare after coming within a hairsbreadth—well, actually a competent bullpen—of sweeping 8 straight against our New York teams.
Meanwhile...a potpourri of delightful statistics!
—Yanks now have the best home record (34-9) AND the best road record (22-11) in the majors.
—As much reported, the Yanks are 25-1, lifetime, in games in which both Judge and The Man of Glass hit home runs, including 9-0 in the postseason.
The one loss? The bogus, Field of Dreams game, in which MLB appeared to change the baseballs when it looked like the team from the most hated city in the country might spoil their fraudulent paean to agrarian baseball.
—The Judge and Giancarlo (wasn't that the name of a 1970s sitcom?) now have 48 homers between them, and our gentle, unsigned giant is on pace for 62.
—With yesterday's win, the Yanks improved to 27-23 in comeback wins, for a .540 winning pct. Not bad. In fact, the NEXT best record in comeback wins is the Dodgers', at 18-26. After that, it's San Diego, at 20-30.
Incredible, no?
But also ominous. You don't win in MLB by constantly coming from behind. It is, usually, more of an indication of weak starting pitching than anything else.
That might not be the case this year. But the Yankees teams of the past that did this a lot are fondly remembered—and ultimately disappointed. The 1980 and 2004 teams spring to mind, to name two.
Winning, especially in the playoffs, is more about grabbing a lead and clinging to it for dear life.
Well, we'll see. Oh, and one more stat:
—The Yankees drew the Mets by about 10,000 fans yesterday, on a beautiful afternoon in New York. That puts the Bronx team at 7-0 in all our head-to-head competitions this season.
Heh-heh.
Dear Hoss,
ReplyDeleteLove your work. I would point out, however, that our "coming from behind success' can also be due to a putrid offense, that thrives only on solo HRs ( yesterday being an exception...but Oakland is the worst ).
But we are seeing a change in our starting pitching. Lately, everyone has been trying to "hold on for 5 or 6 innings." Keep us close. Don't open the flood gates to a blow out.
Today could be one of those
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ReplyDelete'Phonso, far be it from me to be argumentative and petty, but c'mon Man! I know it doesn't feel like it, but the Yanks are 4th in the Al in OBP. 1st in SLG, 2nd in OPS and 1st in OPS+.
ReplyDeletecoming from behind can be fun.
ReplyDeletejust saying...
Hey - The Twitch is back in the lineup batting 9th.
ReplyDeleteGet ready for some BIG TIME RUN SCORING HEROICS RIGHT OUTTA THE GATE FOR THAT YOUNG MAN ! ! !
Its gunna be a big night !
(Twitch is now longer on the Yankees roster in 23 days)
Looking at tonight's lineup, I noticed Lee Trevino has as many HRs and SBs as Sam Donaldson *and* is batting 40 points higher in average..
ReplyDeleteI'm not a Donaldson hater (I didn't sign him to the contract, but I would have taken it if I were him), but why is Trevino always lower in the lineup?
The Post had a headline about Gallo which said “Slumping Yankee gets day off after hearing boos”. That’s BS. Gallo is not slumping. He’s been at a steady even keeled terrible all season. This is not a slump, you have to slump from a height… like a couch, or your office chair. I slump from those height when Gallo comes to bat perhaps. Anyway, if Gallo is slumping, it’s from 191st Station.
ReplyDeleteRufus, the question is why isn’t Donaldson platooning with Carpenter?
ReplyDeleteI think we’ve seen enough of. JD to realize there’s not much left there, at least offensively.
$24m for 2 years for this guy? Only Cashman, and I mean ONLY Cashman, would make that deal..
We could have simply non-tendered Sanchez.
Meanwhile, the bats are back in sleep mode. I didn’t realize Tom Seaver was pitching for the Asstro’s tonight.
Looks like a tough night ahead.
True that, Alphonso! And hilarious, Beauregard.
ReplyDeleteBitty, we have some soap for that foul mouth of yours!
Sevvy walks a .215 hitter. Incredible. Four out of five pitches not even close.
ReplyDeleteAnd 999 is absolutely right about platooning Donaldson. He sucks against righties. Sit him
ReplyDeleteSeverino is not a frontline pitcher.
ReplyDeleteDonaldson blows.
ReplyDeleteCashman shouldn't have signed him, period.
ReplyDeleteWtf with Severino and that comebacker? Worse than nonchalant. Almost blew it.
ReplyDeleteI almost feel bad for Gallows. Almost. 0-25 with 14 strike-outs and he hits a weak grounder to third to make him 0-26. The camera pans to Gallows in the dugout who twitching his head from side-to side and then he attacks his hair and scalp by digging in his fingernails like the avian attackers went after Tippi's head in the phone booth. Then he took his hand and pulled his head hard to one side. That is one badly tortured soul. His teammates must think he's extremely neurotic and anxious.
ReplyDeleteOnly because he is.
ReplyDeleteDonaldson sucks.
ReplyDeleteDonaldson’s AB was pathetic. Pathetic and bathetic, and any other -athetic you want to throw in there.
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't Boone PH Carpenter for Donaldson? He can't hit righties.
ReplyDeleteWell, I can't really blame this on on Sevvy, for allowing all of 3 hits and 2 runs in 6 innings.
ReplyDeleteWe may be one of the best hitting team in baseball. But in the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Going into this game, the Yanks were batting all of .239. 5 hits and 11 Ks later, we're hitting less.
We need help!
I guess he was saying him to K for IKF? Hell, he should’ve started the game tonight
ReplyDeleteExcellent pitching tonight, another tip o’ the hit to the bullpen.
Offense was mostly an unrelenting stream of shitty AB’s, aided and abetted by the lousy umpiring
that was clearly tilted in the Assholestros favor.
Now it’s time to get on the plane, get to Cleve. and maybe have the hitters look at their AB’s and learn a
better approach…
Hoss, I was talking baseball, my good man.
ReplyDeleteNow, let me get back to the schoolyard...