Monday, September 30, 2024

So close...

I'm sitting in a misty drizzle at the stadium yesterday, the kind of permitting moisture you feel when you get off the bus at Niagra Falls a full 1/4 mile from the falls themselves and you start to realize that no matter what you are wearing you are inappropriately dressed. 

The game was an hour and a half delayed and despite the blaring, distorted, relentless soundtrack from hell emanating from the speakers, the disquieting feeling you get when you know you are sitting on something wet, and the monotonous flashing on the Jumbotron of, "The Game Is In Rain Delay", as if we didn't know, I am optimistic.  

Before I say why, I want to mention two things...

1) Wasn't there a time when the Yankees employed an old guy to wipe your seats down before you sat? I believe they were called ushers or something like that. 

2) The soundtrack, such as it was, included an ENGLISH version of the viral song Numa Numa, which shouldn't even exist.

Why? Just why?

Yes I was optimistic, because I looked at the lineup, bereft of our best hitters, getting ready to slog it out in a meaningless game, and I sat at 92 Wins.  

All the Yankees had to do was get swept by the Pirates and my ascension to the IIHIIF Hall of Fame was insured. 

Gleyber, seen here threatening to punch me in the head, leads off with a double. 

Of course he does. He is my least favorite Yankee, who has screwed me more times than I can mention. 

This is followed by a home run by Grisham, who, particularly when he wears his sun glasses, looks like a DEA or FBI agent. 

2-0.

The Yankees would score four.

Pittsburgh came back to get within one and fortunately Aaron Boone decided to give Mark Leiter Jr's legendary "swing and miss" stuff one more outing in preparation of him putting a playoff game out of reach.

Leiter didn't disappoint as he let an inherited runner score. The game was tied. 

The Yankees scored two more. 6-4.

My grip on immortality was fading fast.  

Then, in the ninth, I thought my luck had changed. In preparation for having him blow a save in a playoff game, Aaron Boone brought in Yankee Closer Clay Holmes, my second least favorite Yankee.  (I do not have a picture of him trying to hit me in the head.) 

Amazingly, he got the save dooming not only my bid for imortality but dooming the Yankees in the post season as Boone now thinks this guy can save games. 

My prediction for ALDS Yankee Post-Season wins... two. I can only hope I'm one short again.


Yanks finish with 94 wins. Rockstar Gary Frenay, take a bow!


Dateline: Syracuse - Baseball oracle Gary Frenay has won the IT IS HIGH 2024 Yankee Sayer of Sooth Regular Season Victories Award. 

In a daring preseason prediction, rendered before March 31, Frenay - (a Syracuse music legend whose band The Flashcubes is in the Power Pop Hall of Fame) -nailed it: 94 wins, dead perfect. 

As a result, he is now also inducted into the prestigious IT IT HIGH Readers Hall of Fame, with his name inscribed into IT IS HIGH Monument Park.  

(For the record, yours truly in March anticipated a measly 86 victories, Stang ridiculously projected 103 wins, and the renowned author HossClarke66 proved to be the biggest Negative Nelly in our entire brood, predicting a mere 69 wins.) 

As for tie-breakers, Parson Tom won the GAMES WON BY CARLOS RODON door prize category, predicting 16. (By the way, Rodon finished with a record of 16-9. If you didn't watch him all season, you'd think he had a great year.) And Carl J. Weitz and Above Average's Cat tied with projections of 41 HRs by Juan Soto (who, if you happened to watch him all season, you knew he had a great year.)

Here are your projections, delivered before March 31. Read them and weep celebrate.

 IT IS HIGH             Yank            Wins by               HRs by

Commenter       team wins   Carlos Rodon    Juan Soto

"I'll Have What They're Drinking" Group
Stang                         103                      28                    73
RtotheE                      97                      10                    36
PgPick                        95                       12                    42
GARY FRENAY         94                      10                    33
JM                                 93                        7                     47
Platoni                        93                      11                      39
Mattingly's
Mustache                   93                       9                     37
Doug K                        92                        9                     48
Parson Tom              92                      16                     38

The "Make it a Double" Group

Kevin                           91                       14                     43
Above Average        90                       12                     45
Jaraxle                        90                       11                      42
Vampifella                90                        6                     40
Hinkey Haines        89                       11                      31
Ken of Brooklyn     88                         8                     37
Joe of AZ                    88                         8                     44
Carl J. Weitz             88                         9                     41
Daveyhead               88                       10                      51
Ranger _lp               87                         8                     37
Above Average's 
Cat                                87                       10                     41
Lieber                         86                         9                     15
El Duque                    86                       10                     35
Mildred Lopez         86                       10                    29
Doctor T                     86                        8                     42
Pocono Steve           85                         7                     40
Publius                       85                         9                     33
BTR999                     85                         9                    35

The "I'm Feeling a Bit Queasy" Group
Acrilly                         84                         6                    44
Scottish
Yankee Fan
               83                         6                     27
Celerino Sanchez   83                         8                     34
Alphonso                   82                         4                     27
Rufus T Firefly        82                         3                     35

The "Somebody Get a Mop" Group
Bern Baby Bern       81                        14                    38
Dick Allen                 80                          9                    54
Hammer of God     80                          8                    36
Copelius                     79                          7                    52
13 Bit                            72                          7                    37
BASEBALL REFERENCE                71 wins 
HoraceClarke66     69                           5                   33

The Yankees won't play again until Saturday, Oct 5, when they face the winner of the Baltimore/Kansas City three-game series. 

Whomever we play, we'll face a five-game series, with Gerrit Cole pitching Game One at home. With luck, whomever we face will have burned out their pitching staff with a few extra-inning marathons. Let's hope for shutouts, with hitters in deep dark slumps. 

We'll be without Anthony Rizzo, a dirty trick by the juju gods. I'm not sure Ben Rice - 0-for-3 with 2 Ks yesterday - looks ready. Apparently, DJ LeMahieu hasn't heeled, which means - well - Oswaldo? Can we bring back J.D. Davis? What about that kid in Scranton, TJ Rumfield, who finished at .292, 15 HRs and 71 RBIs, and he's supposed to be great defensively? 

It might have been nice to give him a shot this season, eh? Maybe next March, to be cruel, we'll put him in a tie-breaker prediction category. 

Sunday, September 29, 2024

Reasons to be cheerful.

 


With apologies to Ian Dury and that other set of Blockheads (not the ones in the Yankees front office).

As the Yankees stagger yet again to the end of a disappointing season, here is the latest memo from The Glass Half-Full Department:


—Aaron Judge cannot possibly play any worse than this.

—We won't feel nearly as bad now when Brian Cashman lets Juan Soto sign with the Mets.

—We won't feel nearly as bad now when Brian Cashman trades The Martian for an injured pitcher.

—Bullpen problems? Who says we're going to play anything like a meaningful late inning?

—It looks like the fall television season is a corker. Reba McEntire is in some sitcom where she owns a bar, and everybody knows your name and they're always glad you came. Plus, Frasier is back!

—Now Brian Cashman can really concentrate on re-signing Gleyber Torres.

—Now Brian Cashman can really concentrate on re-signing Alex Verdugo.

—Let's go, Mets!

—Now we can cheer on the Jets as they fight for the Super Bowl.

—Now we can cheer on the Giants as they fight for the top draft pick.

—At least we won't have to watch Shohei Ohtani strike out Aaron Judge in the World Series.

—Hey, you knew Rizzo wasn't going to hit in the postseason anyway.

—Hey, now Nestor Cortes can return for the 2026 season tanned, rested, and nastier than ever.

—I really don't think we've paid enough attention yet to this glorious election season.

—C'mon, you always knew the real team in town this year was the Knicks. Why with Robinson and Hartenstein ruling the paint, and Donte gunning from outside— Wait, what's that?

—Maybe this is the Rangers' year. No, not the Texas Rangers!

—Look at all those free agents out there! Didn't you always want to see Pete Alonso's declining years?

—I, for one, can't wait to see the Phillies spank those Astros!

—Three words: New. York. Liberty.

—Two words: Brooklyn. Nets.

—One word and assorted initials: NJ/NY Gotham FC.







And so it ends...

We are sinking like a stone, our firstbaseman just went down, and we have home field advantage through the ALCS. 

Was this the plan?



Saturday, September 28, 2024

Yhe Ju-Ju Gods have it in for us....


She Devil orders Rizzo to get hit in hand and fracture a bone. 

A fracture is 4-6 weeks to heal.  How many hurricanes would have to pass through NYC to postpone game 1  that long?

So we lose a veteran presence who has "been there" ( Cubs WS Champions ) and still plays excellent defense. 

Can Cabrera do that job? Under payoff pressure ?  He did make a great scoop of a rotten throw by Volpe the other night to end an inning. And he seems confident. 

And there is Ben Rice who has been on a tear in Scranton.   But, who went limp rag at the plate for the Yankees.  And is a rookie, still learning the position. 

And DJ whose career seems ended.  And who isn't that good anymore, anyway. 

What I am saying is;  I don't think Rizzo can be well enough to play in 8 days ( whatever the number is ).  

He could probably play defense, but swinging a bat ( checking a swing etc ) would be very painful. 

And we can't play at this level with an automatic out in the lineup ( no reference here to Stanton, by the way ).

So we have been dealt a mighty blow in a meaningless game. 

Gulp.


A scary thing just happened in the AL playoffs structure...

The red hot Tigers just flipped KC and would now play Baltimore in the Wild Card round.

Bad news for the O's. Two games against Skubal? No thanks. 

Good news for Houston - naturally - as they play the floundering Royals. 

Either way, the Yankees will face a roaring lineup after their first-round bye. 


Here's where the Universe sits... 

Our Magic Number for home field advantage in the ALCS is one (1.) It's also the loneliest number that you'll ever know. All we have to do is beat Pittsburgh in one of the final two games, or hope that Cleveland loses one. (They lost last night to the Astros.)

Today, the Yankees must face the wunderkind, Paul Skenes, which will require shortening their swings and advancing baserunners. In other words... it's a loss. Let's hope he doesn't throw a no-hitter. It would be a buzzkill for October.

Let's hope Cleveland drops another.

One other thing... 

Last night, The Martian flubbed yet another fly ball to left, a catchable home run that just missed his flailing glove. I cannot imagine how the Yankees can play him in left field during the playoffs. He will pull a Nick Swisher. It's that simple. I don't blame him, or his coaches, or even the juju gods - (who are bastards) - for his lack of defense. He's only 21 - (turns 22 next July) - and soared through the minors - (missed a year during the Covid lockdown.) He has a bright future. But he is not ready to play LF in the chaos of a pressure-packed Yankee Stadium with the entire 2024 season on the line. If he blows a fly ball in the Divisional Series - and he will - it could haunt him for the rest of his time in NYC, which might be seriously shortened. 

We have no choice but Verdugo. There. I've said it. No choice but Verdugo.

Friday, September 27, 2024

Pop the F'in' Cork! Again.

 


Yeah, yeah, yeah, congratulations and everything. So the quick numbers on your New York Yankees:

50 1/2 first-place finished (1981, first half, accounts for that half).

60 postseason appearances.

66 seasons with at least 90 wins.

Oh, and when it comes to individual achievements...

Players with two or more seasons of 58 or more home runs:

Babe Ruth

Aaron Judge

Mark McGwire

Sammy Sosa

Two Yankees and two cheaters. Not bad. A part of me is just hoping that Judge gets enough at-bats—at DH, please! Surely even you can figure that out, Mr. Boone!—against the Pirates to get to 60 homers, 150 ribbies (he's currently at 144), and 100 extra-base hits (a bit of a stretch; he's currently at 95). I'm think two, three-run homers, and three doubles will get the job done. (But not too much vigorous running, please!)

Would also be nice to see Juan Soto get back up over .290 and 1.000 OPS, Cabrera get some at-bats, Wells get back in a groove, and The Martian spend some time in centerfield.  

And yes, best of luck to new father—and failed pitcher—Mark Leiter, Jr.  Hey, didn't Flopsie Vertigo's wife have a baby earlier this year? Shouldn't he really be back home, helping out?  

Congrats, guys, from the whole family (see below). As we all know, it was our constant worrying, complaining, and anti-jujuing that pulled it out. Onward to victory! Or, at least Thanksgiving.










Yo, Adrian, they did it.


Have a moment, everyone. 

Sleep the sleep of destiny. Or innocence. Or unbridled hope. Whatever. Doesn't matter. We have reached our destination: First place in the AL East.  


Remember the AL Beast?  Remember the super team, Baltimore, and how they celebrated after Verdugo's faceplant? Remember how the Mets swept us? How Boston ran wild on the bases? How we couldn't even beat Cincy? How we stumbled through August? 

Now, the last plank to fall is Cleveland, with our final magic number - two, BTW, to clinch home field advantage in the ALCS. 

Ah, but who cares? Four weeks from now, if we're still in this - that is, if the universe has any sense of karma, or drama, or whatever passes these days for a decent existential narrative, we'll surely face Houston. 

In the last 10 years, the Yankees have twice reached the ALCS. Both times, they were humbled by Houston - once, honestly, once by cheating. 

It's worth noting that these were not allegations of cheating. They flat-out cheated. They were outed by ex-Astros, who knew something stank, and who blew the whistle on it. The entire game was embarrassed, arguably the worst stain on baseball since the Black Sox scandal of 1919, 100 years earlier.

The Yankees have never avenged it.

Oh, yeah, right... we swept Houston on the first week of this season. That hardly qualifies as payback for a stolen October. We have unfinished business with the Astros, and either it happens this month, or it will probably accompany us to our graves. Soon, the generations will fade. By next year, it won't matter.

If the playoffs happened today, here's the lineup. Houston is seven wins away.


In the waning moments of an impending loss, Michael Kay often asks whether the Yankees have a rally in their bones? 

Tonight, we don't need to care. But we must ask if they have destiny in their bones? Nobody knows. So sleep the sleep of meaninglessness. It will be 10 days before the next critical pitch. Sleep the sleep of innocence, of bliss, and - maybe - ignorance. 

The Yankees have won their division! A toast to our victory! There's nothing more to be done, at least for now. The reckoning comes later.

The Yankees Provide Good Medicine To Ailing Baltimore


 Baltimore has pretty much been a broken team for much of August and September. The Yankees are giving them back their swagger and their confidence.   The O's now remember that they " own" the Yankees.  We have been out of games one and two by the third inning. 

And if we nosed or way back into the game ( made it close ), someone else dropped the ball and the O's pulled away.  Competitiveness was an illusion. 

If the Yankees back into  a favorable playoff situation ( home. field?) because someone finally loses a game, other than us, the path to destruction awaits. 

No matter what the line-up, we have two reliable players.

And this business of the Martian being blind to fly balls is beyond the pale.  I am still stunned by his ineptitude. 

So light up a joint boys ( lemonade haze is my personal favorite ...see above ).  The next several days already feel  unnecessarily painful. 

And the mayor of NYC is a crook.  What a surprise. 

Is The Martian a total disaster in the outfield? And if so, why did nobody warn us?

First, stay calm. You hear me? Stay calm, stay calm, STAY... CALM! 

The Yankees won't blow the AL East. Right? They won't. At worst, they'll beat Pittsburgh this weekend and secure a 1st-round bye. Or Baltimore will lose to the Twins. This isn't 1964 Phillies, and Boonie isn't Gene Mauch. Right? It's too soon to run toward the cliff. This isn't The Iceberg, just a floater. We'll get the bye, which means a week of carpet sex and Genny Cream. Stay calm. STAY. CALM. YOU HEAR? STAY FUCKING CALM!

Okay... checks room, shuffles notes... where were we? Ah, yes, The Martian...

W.T.F? 

Is this really happening? 

Three times, in three games, Jasson Dominquez has botched flies that would be caught by Kevin Corcoran, (aka Moochie of the Little League, and that's going way back.) Last night, he cracked apart in the 1st - bases loaded, a catchable fly that he overran and didn't even touch, thus avoiding an error. Not since the Orc days of Clint Frazier - (now that's a cringeworthy comparison, eh?) - has a Yankee rookie looked so confused in the field, so overwhelmed that his stony glove threatens to obscure whatever exists in his bat. 

Today, one question reverberates across the Yankiverse: How bad is he? Is this a sign that he's not ready for the postseason? Is it an existential threat to his career? Because we already have a DH, and unless we pay Giancarlo's freight with another club for the next four years, we have no place for a OF who botches routine flies. 

At the core of this lies another question: Was he this bad in Scranton? If so, why weren't we warned? And why hasn't he been taking 100 fly balls every fucking day, until he learns the parameters of Yankee Stadium? The Martian claims he wants to be a Yankee "now," right now, not just the long term. If so, how could he be so ill-prepared?

Listen: We'll get through this. Win tonight, and - for better or worse - we'll get a free week in October to rest our knees and elbows. (Thinking of you, Nestor!) 

It's what waits after the bye that worries us. How can a guy who has generated so much hype, so much interest, so much crapola... suddenly look so surprisingly inept? Oh well, stay calm, and pass me another Genny.

Wednesday, September 25, 2024

The Sinatra song they SHOULD be playing after every remaining Yankees game.

 


The summer wind was blowin’ out

At least half the year.

When Soto hit and Judge ran wild,

And we dreamed of golden rings.

Two monsters and the summer wind.

 

Like painted kites

Those long-ball nights

They went flyin’ by.

The world was new

’Neath a pinstriped blue 

Umbrella sky.

Then worse than

Poor Gleyber ran

Cashman sent it askew.

We lost it with the summer wind.

 

The autumn wind,

The winter wind

Will come and go.

As Giants fall,

And Knicks appall,

Through another barren winter.

 

And yes those days,

Those dismal days 

Will drag on and on.

As Gleyber clings

And Soto brings

Cheer to Flushing Meadow.

Where the hell can we go?

 

We’ll just have to wait,

For that same-old, same-old summer wind.









Did we just see a preview of the Yankees in the playoffs?

 

So, last night, did we reveal our true selves? 

We ran ourselves out of rallies. Our 4-6 hitters went 0-for-12. (Stanton with 4 Ks, but hey, a couple long fouls!) When the game suddenly seemed salvageable, we gave up a tack-on moon shot, effectively crushing our chances. 

We gave hope to a season-long disappointment that was yearning for Dr. Kervorkian. And once again, we reminded ourselves of how aimless the '24 Yanks can look on any given night. 

Listen: With the Magic Number at one (1), let's not wet ourselves over losing the AL East. 

Even if we somehow lose the last five -a catastrophic blow to our psyche - it's still Baltimore. The O's won't run the table. They're not that team. We'll secure a first round bye (though ALCS home field advantage is not guaranteed) and nap through the peak foliage weekends of October.

No, our terrors are far more existential than last night. The Big Question: Did we just  receive - via some juju god cosmic crystal ball - a snapshot from Oct. 10, a picture of what will happen after we soak for seven days in a tub of Calgon Bath Oil Beads. It came from Gleyber Torres' muddled head and Alex Verdugo's GIDP-infested bat. 

We may have seen the future: How the Yankees flounder for seven innings, then unveil a little league bad decision and a toxic event bullpen.  

Listen: Let's not self-immolate over last night. We weren't going to win 'em all. We are not that team. Whatever happens, it will catch us off-guard, a 50-yard field goal kick to the billiards. Just close your eyes and think of 2009. We'll make it to the second round. Then - well - it'll be Gleyber, or Jazz, or The Martian - or somebody... rounding third base and heading home...

Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Tonight, tonight won't be just any night

I knew John was coming back for the playoffs, but this past weekend when Michael Kay offhandedly said that the Voice would also be broadcasting the Orioles series, like we all knew it, I practically filthied myself!!

Oh! Speaking of Michael Kay, when Judge homered Sunday he said, "the captain just crunched one!" I think he's turning into John, or trying to.  


The "So Long" Six are entering their final Yankee days; how will it affect their postseason?


Six up with six left. I'll take it. 

Barring one of the worst collapses since Biden's debate - (and even then, we'll still make it to October) - the Death Barge  will draw a first-round bye in the AL playoffs, able to rake their lawns and mulch their gardens for a week of TV, drinking and sex. 

It will give six Yankees the chance to ponder their last ride in NYC, unless they hormonally transition into Mets. But a question remains: Could a world series ring - and a trip down the Canyon - restore their tenure... especially if Juan Soto bolts for the money, leaving Hal to cling to the guts of a championship team? 

Obviously, how we fare in October, and what happens to Soto, will determine the future for the So Long Six, who otherwise will soon say - um - so long. They are... 

1. Gleyber Torres. Yank fans are tired of watching a career ruined by spring slumps and fits of sleepwalking. In the first half this year, Glassy Gleyber hit a measly .231, with mental lapses in the field and on the bases. Over the second half, he's  at.288, and in the last two weeks, .317. Damn. What if he keeps it up?

For months, we've watched 5'5" Caleb Durbin at Scranton, hoping for a Yankee Altuve. Is he for real? Durbin might have arrived in July, if not for a broken hand. He's hit .287 at Scranton with 10 HRs and 29 SBs (CS: 3) He'll be 25 next year and knocking on the door. If they re-sign Soto, Gleyber is surely gone, and Cashman will seek a cheapo alternative. Durbin? 

2. Alex Verdugo. Sad, because Yank fans really wanted him to be a star, a fixture in LF, and embarrass the Redsocks. He showed flashes, then - around June 15 - became a ground ball machine. He's still a GIDP threat, and now The Martian is here. It's hard to imagine him returning, and his golden payday might be murky. 

Verdugo will have failed in LA, Boston and NY. He needs a nice, quiet small market. Pittsburgh? Colorado? How about somewhere in the NL West?  

3. Clay Holmes. His problems have become cringeworthy, fostering PTSD flashbacks of Aroldis. In fact, it's not impossible that - like El Chapo - if he continues to get pounded, Holmes could be left off a postseason roster. Damn. Guy cannot buy a 1-2-3 inning. Let's hope he throws a few shutout innings this week. It will mean a lot of money next winter, when he hits free agency. But I can't see the Yankees bidding.

4. Anthony Rizzo. Everybody will miss his smile, his character, and his glovework (which has diminished, slightly). If he were to get hot in October, those might get him an extra year in NYC. But when he steps to the plate, the Jumbotron says .218 with 8 HRs, and that is a terrible season for your starting 1B. 

5. DJ LeMahieu. Another huge disappointment and likely loss of clubhouse character. LeMahieu is beloved, but - jeeze - as a hitter, he is awful. On the season, he's at .204 with 2 HRs. Simple put, that cannot stand. Worse, he has two years remaining on a $15 million annual contract. The Yankees will get nothing in a trade. But his time is running out.

6. Giancarlo Stanton. I know, I know - he cannot be traded. We have him under contract through 2028, and he'll make $32 million in 2025 - and he cannot run. I don't know WTF we'll do, especially if he gets hot in October, as he has done in the past. Hey, you never know. But I do know this: 

Considering the wear and tear on Aaron Judge, the Yankees next year cannot afford a fulltime DH in the form of Stanton. He's gotta go. 

Monday, September 23, 2024

Hail and Farewell.

 

Just to close out the Athletics, late of Oakland:

In all three of the A's moves (thus far), your New York Yankees have played either their last games of their last season at home, or on the road—or both.

As previously noted, in 1954, Philadelphia A—and future Yankee—Art Ditmar, beat Tommy Byrne at the Stadium, 8-6, before 11,670 fans, on Sept. 26th. Mickey Mantle played a rare game at shortstop, drew three walks and hit a single (to finish at exactly .300 on the season), and had two putouts and four assists—including a double-play—without making an error in the field.


Ditmar notched his first major-league win and his first major-league hit (a single) in the game. After a couple of horrific years in KC—including a 12-22 season in 1956—he was dealt to the Yanks in the massive trade whereby they also acquired Clete Boyer and Bobby Shantz. 

In New York, he was 47-32, 3.24, with 11 saves and 2 shutouts. He helped the team to two pennants and a World Series in 1957-58, pitching almost 10 full innings of scoreless ball against the Braves those years. Unfortunately, that stint was generally overshadowed by two bad starts in the 1960 World Series against the Pirates.

Meanwhile, the Yanks had already closed out the A's 1954 season in beautiful, eccentric old Shibe Park, sweeping the Athletics in three games from Sept. 17-19,  10-3. 6-5, 4-2. Johnny Sain beat the A's in their final home game in the City of Brotherly Love—after 54 seasons—with a save by Jim Konstanty.

For the last contest, on a Sunday, just 1,715 fans showed up. Their team finished last, at 51-103.

The A's last home date in Kansas City, by contrast, was a stunning, doubleheader win that knocked the White Sox out of the pennant race. A certain Catfish Hunter won pitched a three-hit shutout to win the second game. 

But still, even with a contender to spoil, just 5,350 people showed up on a Wednesday night. Charlie Finley would cart Hunter and all of his other, budding Athletics stars off to Oakland for the next season.

But first—the 10th-place A's had to finish out 1967 with a trip to New York, to play your 9th-place Yankees. 

The Yanks already had the next-to-last spot in the AL sewn up tight, but still swept KC in four games. I remember being delighted, as a nine-year-old, that Mel Stottlemyre won the last game, 4-3, to even his record at 15-15. Dooley Womack got the save.  

Stottlemyre finished the 1967 season with a 2.96 ERA, 10 complete games, and 4 shutouts. It was a different game, and a different time.







With the magic number at one, it's almost time to make out our personal 2024 vendetta lists

What a sad moment yesterday for Joey Cora and his plucky Redsock flock. The excitable Boston manager didn't make it through the top of the first, blowing his gaskets over an obstruction call that - to worsen matters - held up on replays. 

Mercy. It's been a hard year for Mr. Cora, whose had to watch 

a) Chris Sale rise 
b) Bobby Dalbec not rise
c) his team play at 78-78. 

Their breakout hitter - Tyler O'Neill, with 31 HRs - is 29, and looks way too much like Luke Voit. Trevor Story has played in 21 (twenty one) games. Even Brigadoon Refsnyder's been hurt. Boston's best move last winter may have been to cut bait on Alex Verdugo. (Flopsie still can redeem himself in the playoffs; but he'll be gone in November.)

The Yankee magic number is one. That means one thing: 

Don't get swept. That's all. Don't get swept. Not at home. Not by Baltimore. Not by Pittsburgh. Win one game. That's all. Don't get swept. 

Honest to God, as a Yank fan, raised on M&M, I sometimes can become - well - a bit glutinous.  I demand outlandish outcomes. I concoct my personal vendetta list, which calls for terrible things to happen to those who have - well - left me miffed.

I'm not proud of this. I don't mean to crow over Boston's misery. It's sad, terrible, awful - what happened to Mr. Cora yesterday. Yes, he cheated a few years back. I'm sure he feels terrible about it. I ask you: Is any one of us perfect? Have none of us never done nothing wrong? Does that mean we forever demand that a fellow suffer? 

In the name of Eugene V. Debs, when anyone anywhere suffers indignity, is it not a strain upon each and every one of us?! 

To our friends in Boston, may October bring you sweet cider and pumpkin spiced brewskies. Go Patriots! You're better off without Brady! 

If this is to be a Yankee year - (Note to juju gods: I said "IF," I'm taking nothing for granted) - here is our current 2024 punch list.

1. Toronto collapses, misses postseason. CHECK.

3. Tampa collapses, misses postseason. CHECK.

3. Boston collapses, misses postseason.  CHECK.

4. Mets collapse, missing in postseason. PROCESSING.

5. We beat super future dynasty, Baltimore. PROCESSING.

6. We beat Houston, avenge their cheating. PROCESSING. 

7. We beat LA, avenge Japanese stars who scorned us. PROCESSING. 

We have a long way to go. Just don't get swept. For god's sake, don't get swept.

About that 600

Some people are making a kinda big deal over the fact that yesterday was Boone's 600th win as manager. And as usual with the Yankees, some big names of the past have been trotted out to show the rarified company Aaron Boob is now keeping.

But in fact, he's not really keeping that company. Not at all.

Yes, there haven't been a lot of Yankees managers with 600 or more wins. But take a look at that group:

Boone joined Joe McCarthy (1,149), Joe Torre (1,173), Casey Stengel (1,149), Miller Huggins (1,067), Ralph Houk (944) and Joe Girardi (910).

Call me irresponsible, but nobody on that list (comprised of the managers with the longest service, so brilliance is sometimes measured by how well you can print the names on the lineup card)--NOBODY--is in the 600s.

The Yankees and (as always) the subservient media are trying to make it seem that Boone accomplished something for the ages. 

Nope.

Four guys over 1,000. Two guys over 900. And then a long, long, long drop to Boone at 600. With no rings. And terrible decision making.

Park the accolades, YES and press boys (plus Meredith). It ain't the big deal you make it out to be.


Two wins, and Hal Steinbrenner will be vindicated... briefly.

One is the loneliest number that you ever knew. It's also the Yankee magic number for clinching a first-round bye in the playoffs. 

If they win today - (the franchise's last game ever in the holy city of Oakland) - the Yankees would have a five-game lead (in the loss column) over Baltimore, with six games to go. 

But it would still leave their magic number for winning the AL East at 2 (two). They still must win one game (1) against Baltimore, beginning Tuesday. 

Two wins... and the Yankees will spend the first week of October binge-watching their favorite TV shows - (Emily in Paris?) - along with the AL wild card playoffs.

Two wins... and Boone can start experimenting with lineups and bullpen hierarchies.

 Two wins... and Hal can pose for his victory portrait.

Saturday, September 21, 2024

Parody. Again.

 


So even as I write this, soccer great Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami Molly Ringwalds team is playing the NYCFC Pigeons on the not-so-sacred turf of Yankee Stadium, "The House That We the Taxpayers Built."

American soccer, in its usual, heads-up way, managed to minimize the audience for this game as much as possible, by putting it on a streaming service. But that's par for the course. Big-league soccer here in the US is essentially back where it was in 1975, when the great Pelé came to bring The Beautiful Game to our country, with his debut for the Cosmos at Randall's Island.

That was the old NASL, which at least a few novelties of its own. Today's MLS is more or less a parody of soccer where it's played elsewhere in the world, its novelty uniforms besmirched with merch, its team names even borrowed from foreign teams. 

In America, soccer is the sport of the future, and it always will be.

No, I don't think there's much chance of soccer ascending past baseball as our favorite sport of the summer. But I do think there's a better-than-even chance of baseball descending to soccer's level—and below.

Your Oakland Athletics, once a storied, original franchise in the American League, are a case in point. Today and tomorrow, the Yanks finish up their last trip to Oakland-Alameda Country Stadium. Their very first game there was a 2-1 win over the A's on April 22nd, 1968. Fritz Peterson got the win over Lew Krausse; Tom Tresh drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly, before all of 11,714.

The attendance never would get much better—brining up the whole question of why the Athletics moved there in the first place. Like original 49ers arriving in about '56 or '57, their arrival marked the end of a jaw-droopingly stupid hegira by the franchise across the whole of the United States, to the always golden land of California. 

Woefully underfinanced, the A's had, 13 years before, idiotically conceded the battle of Philadelphia to the Phillies, the team that still holds the all-time record for most losses by any team, anywhere, in anything. In 1955, they left Philly—then the third largest city in the US—for Kansas City, the 20th largest.

By 1968, KC ranked 27th. But that was all right. The A's moved to the 34th largest city, Oakland—a crime- and drug-ridden city in rapid economic decline...that also shared a market with the Giants. Brilliant! 

There, thanks mostly to the baseball smarts of Charlie Finley and Billy Beane, the Athletics somehow managed to win 6 pennants, 4 World Series, and 17 division titles. But Oakland fell to 45th in size among American cities, and neither the Giants nor MLB, in their infinite wisdom, would let the team move to San Jose.

Instead, the A's start the long trek back across the country next year, first with three years in Sacramento, then on to the Fun Capital of the World, Las Vegas!

The good news is that both the California capital and Vegas are more populous and wealthier than Oakland. The bad news is that the A's are going to Soccer-Size! their baseball.

The Athletics plan to play in a minor-league stadium in Sacramento, one that seats only 14,000. Even the new park planned for Slot and Craps City is going to only seat 33,000.  

This is part of the new trend in baseball, whereby ballparks are getting smaller and smaller—mostly so they can be filled almost exclusively with the rich. Our current Yankee Stadium seats only 46,000. Considering that the Stadium, at its zenith, seated (or stood) 82,000, that means pretty much an entire Fenway Park has been eliminated. Tampa Bay's planned new park will hold, I think, 27,000.

Then there's the weather. According to the YES broadcast last night, it is already so hot in Sacramento in the summer that the A's may not be able to play any day games there. As for Las Vegas, in the desert, well,  give us another 30 years or so at our current rate of environmental destruction, and the whole place will be a gigantic sand mound.

By that time, the Athletics will no doubt have continued on their way back east, stopping in city after city, stadium after stadium, until they are all the way back to...Philadelphia? Perhaps there they will play before all of 400 carefully selected billionaires, seated in a ballpark that also serves as an oxygen tent, iron lung, and five-star restaurant.  

Who knows? It's just more of MLB operating in its usual, haphazard, money-grubbing fashion. Running over any fans foolish enough to actually give their hearts to their local team, flipping franchise like free supermarket samples to operators who have neither the money nor the smarts to actually run a team (but all of the right friendships), and making constant demands on every taxpayer they can grab ahold of.

Meanwhile, the game we all love deteriorates before our eyes, the players seem more interested in perfecting their hand gestures and dugout rituals than learning their craft, and the sport's vaunted "parity" has succeeded in giving us maybe the worst major-league team since the 1890s.

Fourteen-thousand seat stadiums? Soon, they'll have trouble filling even those.


















Somehow, the Yankees are winning games that - halfway through - you're absolutely certain they will lose

Last night, in the 7th - after Giancarlo Stanton's rifle shot to the wall in RF became a single, quickly erased by a DP - I would have bet my four lake houses on Tahoe that the Yankees were fated to lose.

Listen: I've seen my share of Yankee defeats. I know the signs: the gritty texture, the rank fragrance, the colonoscopy-prep taste - dear, God, they never skimp on warning signals. 

It starts in the 1st, when they load the bases and fail to score. It rolls through the 5th, when the career minor leaguer, who they've never seen, channels Koufax. It slogs into the 8th, with 111 mph drives directly at outfielders. It ends with Mean Chad Green, or Aroldis, or Clay Holmes with a four-pitch walk. 

Yeah, we all know the looming Yankee loss.

But but BUT... last night, WTF? They won! In fact, that second game in Seattle - it looked like a loss from the first YES mention of Jay Buhner - yet they fucking won! How can this be? What is happening? 

Somehow, the Yankees lately are prevailing in obvious losses. In recent weeks, they've won four extra-innings games - this after practically an entire season of blowing them.

Which prompts a question: Do we dare hope? 

I say, no. I say, stand back. In fact, I say... run. 

This smells like a French fry in a bear trap. 

Over the final two weeks, the juju gods could have us capture home field advantage before the final series, letting the Yankees relax before they then go into hibernation with the 1st-round bye. It's frightening enough that they'll sit for a week of downtime. What if they add an extra three or four games? 

Also, let's not forget that last night's win came over Oakland, a team that would be approaching legend status, if not for the White Sox. For all my Yankee pessimism, I'm sure A's fans were just as certain of a loss. When it comes to blowing games, we simply had met our match.

So, what am I saying? 

Simple. No matter what happens, be ready to suffer. To tweak Monty Python: "Always look on the dark side of life." Let's not fall for the juju gods' sick tactics. Nothing good comes from thinking this team will win. All season, whenever we felt good about them, a losing streak emerged. 

So... the magical Magic Number - the one that includes home field advantage - is five. We can cut it tonight, maybe steal another unwinnable game? Baltimore visits Tuesday. Juju or not, we need a nicely padded lead. 

All year, the Yankees have played Anthony Volpe at shortstop. In October, that might have to change.

Back in April, if you were to project the future of the Yankees, every hopeful metric would start with Anthony Volpe. 

He was...

a) the next Jeter.
b) the next hometown hero
c)  the Gold Glove shortstop
d) the next leadoff fixture
e) our version of Bobby Witt Jr.
f) with a touch of Cal Ripken Jr.

Guy never missed a game, always hustled, always dirtying his jersey. He was our Gen-V. 

Soon, he might be sitting the bench.

You cannot call 2024 a "roller coaster year" for Volpe, because roller coasters go up and down. Volpe's cart just keeps descending.  

Over the last 30 days, he is hitting .222. 

Over the last 15 days, .125. 

Over the last 7 days, .111. 

Nor does he show power. His last HR came Aug. 3. In the recent week, he is striking out at a .562 clip, (9 of his last 16 ABs.) He wears a mask of bewilderment, as if watching a bad movie he cannot escape.

In April, he was a dynamo, a major reason behind the team's torrid start. By May 31, he was down to .282. A month later, .261. He's now at .245. You can argue that it's still better than last year, when he hit a measly .209. (Yeah, and aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how'd you like the show?) But the birds are circling, and off in the distance, the sirens are blaring. 

In Seattle, Aaron Boone pulled the plug - for one night, anyway. He sat Volpe against a righty starter and played Oswaldo Cabrera. Oswaldo went 2-for-5 with an RBI, in an 11-2 rout. (He's 5 for 13 in September, a .385 average -mostly from the left side; his switch-hitting days seem over.) 

Despite Cabrera's solid night, Boone reinstalled Volpe for the remaining two games in Seattle. He went 1-7, with a single and three Ks. Each time, striding back to the dugout, he looked broken.

To his credit, Volpe has not let the slump affect his fielding. Yesterday, he ranged to his left and made a sparkling play behind second. Of all Yankees, he remains the most likely to smear dirt on his jersey. That's not nothing.

Joe Torre used to say the playoffs are no time for a manager to make friends. He once benched Tino Martinez. He even sat Paul O'Neill. This might be Boone's last chance at a ring. If the Yankees collapse - as they have done for 15 years - the blame will fall squarely on somebody, and when it comes to avoiding the mudslide, there is nobody as gifted as Brian Cashman. 

Thus, Boone must make some harsh decisions on the likes of Giancarlo Stanton, Clay Holmes and even Gerrit Cole. But the toughest of all might be Volpe, because it strikes at the heart of our future hopes and dreams, which now seem so far, far away.