When the Yankees pull a Meat Loaf - as they did yesterday - it's hard not to imagine wheels falling off the wagon. But a fix is coming.

 

To quote Meat Loat, "We were barely 17 and we were barely dressed...""Like a bat out of Hell, I'll be gone when the morning comes..." "Two out of three ain't bad..." And - frankly, nosirree  - it ain't... bad, that is. Then again, considering yesterday's loss, it ain't no good, neither, ain't it? 

I mean, we should be celebrating. Sorta. We just won a West Coast road series against a team of revenge-minded ex-Yanks, which - if the season ended today - would qualify for that prestigious final NL Wild Card October booty call. Trouble is, we gifted the Padres a win over Juan Soto, who earned San Diego's ire by being traded, so its billionaire owner wouldn't have to pay him a worthwhile wage.

In case you missed it, here's what happened: Gleyber Torres botched another crucial play, his team-leading 7th error, opening the bullpen floodgate to a 5-2 loss. Giancarlo Stanton went 0-for-4 with 4 Ks - one of those cringy games that make Yankee fans yearn for Jasson Dominguez, who is 11-for-35 (.314) in his minor league rehab assignment. In his defense (or lack of it), Gleyber went 2-4, raising his BA to .228 - meager, but much improved in recent weeks. Gleyber's fuckups seem to stem from a lack of focus - bad timing from a guy who, knee deep into his contract walk year, looks more and more like a future ex-Yank.

The Yankee infield is about to change.

Yesterday, in Scranton, DJ LeMahieu played 1B and went 0-2. In his minor league rehab, he is 4-for-21 with 5 walks and 3 Ks. He is a natural 2B. It's his happy place. And by this time next week, he will be replacing someone - maybe Anthony Rizzo against lefties? Or Oswaldo Cabrera at 3B? And unless Gleyber gets his act together, one of these days, it might be him - not Meat Loaf - who is gone, gone, gone 'till the morning comes. Like a bat out of Scranton.