Wednesday, September 21, 2022

"Here's the three-one. Swung on- THERE IT GOES! DEEP LEFT! IT IS HIGH! IT IS FAR! IT IS GONE! HE'S TIED THE BABE!"

Great win, last night. Great 60th HR call by The Master. Great lead, today, by the Gray Lady's Tyler Kepner: 

It was one of those nights, the kind that reminds you of the fundamental rule of the last baseball century: There are the Yankees, and then there is everyone else.

Yep. Great. All around. Hoorah. For the rest of our lives, we'll relive it on Yankee Classics. 

But I'm not sure how it will age. Will it be the game when the fabled '22 Yanks finally righted themselves? When Harrison Bader arrived, when Aroldis Chapman returned, when Giancarlo Stanton broke out, when Aaron Judge made history? Or will it be the grand and glorious peak of hope before another disappointing October? Did it foretell greatness or a looming Yankee meltdown, like those ones that have haunted us for the last 13 years?

I know, I know... why can't I just fucking enjoy a win? Damn. We should all be wise enough to appreciate a great moment, to celebrate when we can, and to not dwell upon the disappearing twilight up ahead. Raise a glass, comrades: Aaron Judge is the greatest slugger of our time! He has beaten both Babes - the historical one and his modern incarnation - and it happened last night on a magical stage, as if scripted by Spielberg on a flowery bed of Katy Perry lyrics.  

Alas, this we know (or, at least, I suspect):

1. Last night, we glimpsed Boone's playoff lineup. It means Oswald Cabrera in LF, Josh Donaldson at 3B, and DJ LeMahiue in the dugout. Obviously, this will depend on LeMahieu's barking big toe - and whatever injuries detonate before Oct. 3. But even when he fails, Oswaldo seems to always give us a quality at-bat, and Donaldson looks good in the field. (Last night, his breakneck snag and throw in the eighth - barely nipping a speedy Pirate - turned out to be pivotal.) It's hard to imagine the Yankees without LeMahieu out there, somewhere. But let's say its late and a game is tied: He bats for IKF or the catcher, and if he gets on base... Locastro! 

2. Last night's heroics obscured the Yankee bullpen's inability to shut down the third worst lineup in baseball - an undisciplined lot that allows a mediocre hitter to stand and admire his first-row, Pennant Porch HR. Even as they seemed to take command, the Pirates were embarrassing themselves. And they almost won. 

Neither Clay Holmes nor Jonathan Loaisiga could hold the line. For Loaisiga, part of the problem was a defensive breakdown - Anthony Rizzo botched an easy play, perhaps a DP. That said, who closes? Soon, it won't be Pittsburgh. 

This remains an existential team crisis. Last night, El Chapo pitched a somewhat hopeful ninth - (it must be noted, the game seemed out of reach.) His fastball clocked around 97 mph, and the slider he's worked on since forever - well, let's just say it stymied Pittsburgh. Against Toronto? We better alert NASA, that it won't be meteors streaking across the night skies. 

Unless Holmes figures this out, I fear we all know how 2022 will end. If so, it will make last night's Classic forever bittersweet. Damn. I just cannot shake that feeling. Forgive me, Mr. Kepner, but in the matter of recent disappointments, there are the Yankees, and there is everybody else. 

16 comments:

  1. NEVER trust Chapo again, no matter how he pitches in inconsequential situations. That is a lesson we have learned, writ in bluestone on the curbs of River Avenue

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  2. I’m holding out hope that Britton and his sinker ball make enough of a comeback to close

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  3. It's the bullpen PLUS Aaron Boone's usage of it that makes me nervous.

    Ron Marinaccio gets two outs with the no. 9 hitter due up, Boone inexplicably goes to the pen and Lou Trivino immediately gives up a 2-run double. What's the point in making that change?

    Jason Delay is a career .221/.277/.275 hitter. If Marinaccio can't get him out (righty vs. righty matchup), why is Marinaccio in the major leagues?

    Of course Trivino deserves a lot of blame too. But that's another move by Boone that had zero logic to it and of course backfired.

    Then Boone pushes Jonathan Loaisiga hard and has him throw a season-high in pitches. Why are we using all those bullets against the Pirates? Loaisiga is held together with duct tape and glue, can we save his few bullets for October please?

    Holmes continued his poor September (4.66 ERA) by allowing a home run. Holmes has allowed more runs this month than he had in the first three months of the season.

    I know Chapman looked good, but how many times have we fallen for that act? Last month early on he looked very strong. Then when the big games vs. the Rays and Blue Jays came along, he unraveled.

    Even Wandy Peralta has looked shaky lately allowing 5 runs and 2 inherited runs in his last 10 appearances.

    I guess we're supposed to be banking on Scott Effross to save us?

    I have no idea who should or will be closing in October.

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  4. We better alert NASA, that it won't be meteors streaking across the night skies……..

    (wonderful)

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  5. THU-UHUHUHUHUHUH-uhuhuh-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhh-AAAAaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh YANKEES WON????????!!!!!!!!

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  6. @Winnie...you missed the Giancarlo Grand Salami...

    "Giancarlo!....Ronzoni Sono Buoni!!!"

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  7. Yes, Ranger. You correctly grokked what I was cookin'.

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  8. Zach is absolutely correct. The bullpen is a shambles, but Boone's decisions are terrible. That's a bad combo.

    The YES clowns are pissing me off. Curry & Co. are framing Judge's HR as having "sparked" the rally. Stanton's rare achievement somehow ends up being Judge's achievement. Glass has had a pretty awful year, and he finally does something heroic, memorable, and wins the game, but it has to have been "sparked" by Judge--who himself admitted he should've hit a dinger when HE was up with the bases loaded, and was berating himself for hitting a solo shot that, on its own, was meaningless in terms of the game when he hit it.

    Judge is having a great, historic year. Do they have to hype him even when he doesn't deserve it? Cripes.

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  9. Yes JM...Stanton's rare achievement...without HGH....

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  10. Rare for Stanton, I meant. lol

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  11. Ain’t got no closer.

    Got Judge though. The spurious accusations aired here yesterday incensed me. Instead, enjoy this historic season. Another rookie tonight, our ex-farmhand, Rockin’ Roansy Contreras. We always seem to struggle a bit against pitchers we’ve never seen before. It sez here no HR for AJ tonight, he will crack 2 tomorrow night.

    Last night’s game may be the peak, the absolute summit of this season. I intend to enjoy it, wish we were off tonight so I could feel good for another day. The Pirates are down there with OAK and WASH at the bottom of the heap, the fact that we struggled to beat them as we seek a first round bye is mind boggling. The bullpen is at times unwatchable. I think everybody bought into Holmes too soon without looking at his track record. Effross? Not impressed. Britton? Let’s give him a look, but it would be a near miracle if he came back as an effective closer. Shudder to say it, but it looks like BP by committee for the post.

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  12. Kaye had all his comments scripted and it came out inauthentic. The Master's call came from the heart.

    Bottom line is that Kaye really doesn't have the pipes and there's an air of phoniness about him. I turned off the TV sound and got chills just by watching the joy of the players on the Grand Slam.

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  13. Great post, Peerless Leader—and a great lede indeed, by Kepner. That game was a lot of fun, for a change, despite the pitching.

    Zach is right, Boone's field managing is awful. Yet we also knew from the beginning of this season that we did not have the stud starters OR the relievers necessary to win it all.

    As for Judge, I want him to break the record as soon as possible, Sox or no Sox.

    And I gotta admit—I like this Tots guy!

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  15. @JM..taken as you meant it...still w/o HGH...sorry, I'm PTSD with the HGH bullshit...

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  16. The guy whose stuff best translates to closing is tonight's starter, Severino. Great fastball and wicked slider.

    So the intern had his day last night, Master Bader looked great! My theory is that Bader hasn't been ruined yet by the Yankee coaching & hitting philosophy. He still hasn't worked off the Cardinals's approach, where he was a .250-.260 hitter. Give it til next year's All Star break & he'll be in perfect Yankee form: swinging for the fences, uppercut toe tapping stance, no contact & all strikeouts, .200 batting average. Fifty points less on the batting average is standard issue with the Yankees. LOL

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