If the Yanks fell behind, nobody panicked. The lineup grinded out walks, wore down opposing pitchers, put balls into play. Our starters battled into the 5th - the modern bar for success - and the bullpen held the barricades. Judge & Giancarlo were swinging, Rodon and Nestor were looking nasty, and John & Suzyn were back for another summer, as God intended, and the days were growing longer.
Remember how it used to be, last week?
Well, we should have known better. You don't just let down your guard, but, hey - that's baseball, Suzyn. You tell yourself it's only April, but deep down inside, every night is Game Seven. We wanted to believe that Juan Soto was a transitional supernova, a talesman whose mere presence elevated all others, and the magic would extend throughout the order. What fools. Then, again...
Best record in baseball through the first 15...
A start that conjured memories of 1961, 1998, 2009...
A generational slugger in RF, where Reggie once roamed, and maybe even a future great Yankee in the footpaths of Jeter...
So convincing, so solid... last week.
Now, three straight losses, tied in the loss column with ascending Baltimore, and facing a sweep in Toronto, the Yankee-Hate Capital of the World.
Meanwhile, Suzyn Waldman occupies an unending "magilla," abandoned to Justin Shackil and Emmanual Berbari, filing Clubhouse Reports that suddenly seem inconsequential, while the team and city await Saturday's John Sterling farewell, likely to be one of the most emotional events in modern Yankee history.
What do you say to the departing Voice of the Yankees? Only one answer comes to mind:
"Not today."
Listen: I have no inside knowledge of Sterling's health. He insists that he's fine and simply wants to enjoy life. At 86, he certainly has earned the right to such a decision. But in my experience, when someone - who has worked for the last half century without missing a day - suddenly calls it quits, something bad has happened. I've had the luck to know a few such people. Shortly after they stopped working, they stopped living. Not saying this will happen with John. I sincerely hope he celebrates his 100th birthday (on July 4, 2038) at home plate in Yankee Stadium, and wherever I am - in an fogy home eating creamed corn, no doubt - I will watch on TV. But this farewell must come with great gravity and concern. Yesterday, I was sure Sterling would rise again. That was my heart talking. Today, not so sure.
Someday, the Yankees must decide who shall replace Sterling. I don't envy Shakil and Berbari, both of whom have inherited an impossible task. It will take three seasons just to find a candidate, and nothing will happen until after Suzyn has retired. For a long, long time - surely longer than I have - "the Voice of the Yankees" will remain the one and only John Sterling.
It's the end of an era, folks. And right now, it looks like the magical glories of April have ended, as well.
First time all year I switched off. It came right after the Gleyber error (the difference in the game BTW). I knew they had nothing.
ReplyDeleteThey look lifeless. Stanton is back to being clueless and offers Judge no protection.
Maybe they should move Judge back to second and bat Soto third which I seem to recall is where he likes to hit anyway.
It's a very Yankee thing to have a guy who likes to bat second (Judge) and a guy who prefers to bat third (Soto) and fail to bat them that way.
Gleyber--of course--muffed a play that allowed a run, followed by a hit that plated another for the Jays. Not all his fault, Volpe whiffing into a Golden Sombrero and Judge incapable of hitting yet again. And Weaver coughing up two in 1.1 innings. And 1 for 7 with RISP.
ReplyDeleteI'm telling you, the wind really went out of their sails after that extra-inning debacle in Cleveland followed by Sterling's announcement. It's rocked them. The earlier heart isn't there now. Hopefully, they'll recover in time, but it won't be easy.
Sad but true, el duque.
ReplyDeleteThis loss of Sterling oddly feels like the final explosion in the planned demolition of what we once knew to be our New York Yankees.
I have no idea who the planners are.
But it all seems so overwhelming and heartless and cruel.
And I fear that Saturday’s ceremony will feel sadly disingenuous and hollow.
Especially when it appears that Michael Kay will likely be the Master of Ceremonies.
Perhaps Suzyn can steel-up and find the courage to MC instead.
I do not blame Mr Sterling.
I wish him the best of everything in all that he has left because….
Time is inevitable
Bit, I am moved to tear-like eye moistness.
ReplyDeleteKay and John are friends, so Saturday might turn out to be halfway decent. Still...
It's time to get Ricky in the booth. He's the only one who carries on John's legacy.
Since moving Volpe to lead off. It's not a coincidence.
ReplyDeleteThe first few weeks were somewhat illusionary. It’s beguiling to think that adding a few players can suddenly improve the team, but it’s really the same old car we’re driving. The awful infield play and weak bullpen have come home to roost. Volpe has been playing over his head, and Torres is, well, Torres. Age and that lingering head injury have devalued Rizzo. 3rd base is still anybody’s guess, and if you think LeMahieu is the answer you should see that guy with the bridge. Don’t even get me started on the catching. A sweep seems inevitable today. More hot streaks will come, but when all is said and done this is still an 80-something win team that will struggle to make the watered down playoffs.
ReplyDeleteSame car with some new, used-like-new slightly stained neoprene seat covers on the front seats.
ReplyDeleteYep, same car with maybe a new fuel injector, extra 5 horsepower, and maybe new tires. The starting point was only 100 horsepower, and Baltimore has at least 200 hp, so there you go.
ReplyDeleteDuque, I thought the same thing about Sterling's retirement. This ain't the kind of guy who retires unless he absolutely has to retire. I hope he didn't get any bad news from the doctor.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember if it was Sterling or Kay, but the running joke in their radio booth used to be that, if they were ballplayers, they would never retire until somebody tore their uniforms from their bodies. And now Sterling says he's retiring, that he's had enough? UNBELIEVABLE! Hard to believe, unless there's a lot more to the story. (I hope he's telling the truth, that he's simply had enough.)
hammer of....
ReplyDeleteit could be that someone made him an offer that he couldn't refuse
As far as the 2024 Yankees, here comes the shit that we all feared. The toothless tiger offense; the errors in the infield; the dumb base running; the lousy pitching, both starting and relieving; the incredibly stupid and inept managing.
ReplyDeleteI don't even know what it was about, but Ba-Boone (I think it was him, I wasn't listening too closely) suddenly admitted the other day on the pre-game show interview that he blew one. That he should've challenged a call by the ump, but didn't. WTF? Not that again! If he's not sure, he should just challenge, right then and there. So what if you lose your challenge? Might not even use it the rest of the game.
@ Publius, I agree. He might've had a great game or two leading off, but it was not a good idea. Most of us thought it was premature. Boone, re-inventing the wheel.
ReplyDeleteThis Yankees team, put together by Genius Cashman has holes and the team is coing back down to earth.
ReplyDeleteJIC you are wondering:
ReplyDeleteTrevor Bauer en Mexico...
3.2 innings, 7 hits, 4 earned runs, 2 strikeouts — 9.82 ERA
@ AA, LOL! I surely hope not, surely hope not!
ReplyDeleteIf they think Torres is pressing, the guy who they could've led off with is Cabrera. Should've left Volpe in the 7 or 8 slot.
ReplyDeleteWhich brings us once again to that question that never goes away: why is Torres still here? Should've been traded, at the latest, by last year's trade deadline. The only answer to my rhetorical Q, they're not interested in winning. Just keeping the can kicking all the way to the bank every Friday.
John could be retiring because he " has had enough" of traveling on commercial airline? Or does he get to ride in the Yankee plane?
ReplyDelete