A night off from this unfolding Yankee disaster.
Wait... do I sound brusque? Disagreeable? Cynical? My sincerest apologies. That's the last thing I'd want - unpleasantness. Why, with a mere 22 games left, this Yankee club is a lock for the postseason. Not only that, but John Sterling says he'll return for the playoffs.
Both games.
Oops. There I go again. Surely, our heroes will give us three or four games, until the bats go poof and the bullpen implodes. As we've seen for the last two months.
Since July 2, the Yankees have a sad record of 26-27, a game below .500. Fortunately, this meltdown was masked by a complete collapse of the once-proud AL East.
Since July 2... here are the records.
Baltimore 27-29
Yankees 26-27
Redsocks 25-30
Blue Jays 24-29
Rays 26-29
Yikes. Turn it off. What a hellscape. Basically, the story of 2024 is that the O's and Yankees got off to torrid starts, and then treaded water, while the AL East went to sleep. This is a pennant race? No. It's My Dinner With Andre.
But but BUT... last night did bring some fun. I watched the Scranton Railriders clobber the Syracuse Mets, 11-5. The Martian went 3-4 with a HR and 2 RBIs. He's hitting .313 at Triple A. Not that it matters. The Yankees won't promote him until it's absolutely certain that he cannot statistically qualify as a rookie in 2004. That way, they'll squeeze out an extra year of contractual control over him. I guess you could say that's a canny decision, right? I mean, it's a cutthroat biz. Prince Hal can't just give money away, right? He's gotta make ends meet, right?
So last night, instead of Gerrit Cole, we got Cody Poteet. He pitched into the third inning, gave up 2 runs on 5 hits. Bring him up, Cash! With those kind of numbers, he's ready to close.
Maybe I'm just still intoxicated by last night's sudden freedom. No bullpen meltdown. No strikeouts. Unfortunately, tonight, everything resumes, and if the Yankees are lucky enough to win Game One, we all know it will simply lead to blowing the next two.
Seriously, would it be too much to ask that, over the final 22, we do better than 11-11?
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16 comments:
Anyone else have the feeling that the team is out of shape? Their legs look heavy, shoulders slouching, asses just hanging... Maybe they are over-trained, or haven't done enough road work which used to keep ballplayers in shape during the season. Perhaps they are hitting the weights too hard for too long. I know that they pay the training staff a lot of money to ensure that they don't fall into troughs. But the Dodgers, Rays, and Orioles pay big money to keep their pitchers healthy, In the case of, especially the Dodgers and Rays this is three years now that they are paying for pitchers to actually pitch, but can't. Maybe, just maybe these physiologists are over-thinking their jobs too much.
I got plenty of nothing, and nothing's plenty for me...
Jor-El believes that our planet is going to explode.
What a bunch of hooey . . .
Saw a couple of innings of that game, too, Duque! (On SNY, of course. YES showed the Hudson Valley game; didn't want to give the fan base more of an idea of what they're missing?)
Yep, The Martian dominating again. Can't have him up for the pennant race, because...five years from now! Another revelation was watching T.J. Rumfield, their 6-5, 225 first baseman at Scranton make a great, diving stop. The SNY announcer described him as "an elite defender." He's also hitting .298 with 12 homers. So, with all the troubles at 1B this year, we couldn't give this guy a shot?
For that matter, there's also Whirling Durbin, with his .302 average and 25 stolen bases in 27 attempts...and also, 48 pitchers. That's right: 48 different guys have taken the mound for Scranton this year. I mean, even with all the call-ups and rehab assignments, and the usual churn of a Triple-A team in this day and age...does that strike anyone else as a little excessive. How is anyone even keeping track of that many guys?
But hey, who am I to criticize? Scranton is in first place in the International League's East Division, five games up and getting set for the playoffs. Looks like another great year for the RailRiders. How are they coming with that statue in Scranton for Brian Cashman? I hope they get the same sculptor who did the "Lucy" statue in Jamestown. Our Bri deserves nothing but the best!
Kevin, I think you're right.
Hoss, I've been wondering about Rumfield and Durbin. Are they being sentenced to career minor leagueness, or worse, trade bait?
Scranton baseball is certainly more interesting and exciting than the big league club. Cashman is a shithead for moving so slowly on the kids. Give 'em a shot, already. Although, maybe, if?) he has the brains to let Vertigo and Gleyber go, along with the rest of the free agents (isn't Trevino on that list?) he could bring up a batch of kids and actually make next season more enjoyable. Maybe they all bomb, but somehow, I don't think they would.
If only the Yankees were owned by Ma and Pa Kent.
To me Kevin, there’s just that huge gulf between pitchers and position players. The stress that modern day pitching puts on arms is tremendous. I always read people saying that pitchers are babied now, don’t throw enough, and while that’s true to a certain extent, the demands for spin rates and increased velo have taken their toll.
Spin rates?
Velo?
Sounds like a drive north on the Taconic Parkway
Somebody on this august blog once plucked that modern pitching tern, "launch angle" from thin air and compared it to the act of sitting/shitting on the toilet. It was a moment I'll always cherish and another sign that the highest level of discourse happens here. Carl - my first thought was, "yes, if only Ma and Pa Kent owned the Yankees" and I liked that idea. Also made me smile. I remember them as being frugal, though. Who in the world of comics is a spendthrift, slightly crazy, and fanatical about winning? I'm blanking out. Peter Parker? nah, he's too cool-headed, if a big neurotic. Richie Rich? Uh uh. Maybe Bruce Wayne? OR maybe Jimmy Olsen could grow up, become a media mogul, own a chain of papers and then buy the Yankees? Or maybe we need to go the world of EC Comics and just get fucked up.
Krazy Kat?
Back in the day, when they did NOT baby pitchers...a helluva lot of them burned out, pretty quickly. And many of those who lasted, did not throw a lot early. Warren Spahn, for instance, who threw an insane number of pitches, year after year, lost three years to WW II.
(Do I WANT there to be WW III so pitching can get back on track? Of course not. But would it really be so bad?)
Depends of course on how many ballparks double as fallout shelters - my guess is that the radiation could also have its advantages - such as, it might just be what it takes to make those hot dogs less virulent….
Bit, it's Kingpin.
@ 13Bit....I think J. Jonah Jameson fits as an answer to your question. He might also start a high-end cigar concession kiosk near the box seats.
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