Apparently Gerrit Cole has walked off into DL limbo leaving his comrades on the Yankees' pitching staff with everything except his talent.We saw that today as Flouncy II demonstrated how NOT to come back from the most minuscule of bad breaks.
It's funny how a game can turn. For the first three innings today, the Yanks were playing what was truly beautiful baseball. The best situational hitting I've seen since forever by this team, plating three runs off a good pitcher. Smart base running, excellent fielding.
Flouncy II, a.k.a., Blow Me a Kiss, Honey, looked unbeatable, hitting his every spot. I honestly thought, if he keeps pitching like this, he is going to throw a no-hitter.
Then, you could almost feel the game turn. Paul Goldschmidt, our Ancient Mariner at first ("He stoppeth one of three") almost hit a ball out of our Bronx bandbox, robbed on an excellent leaping catch by Luis Matos.
Immediately, Rodon gives up a home run to J.H. Lee. Suddenly, instead of 4-0, it's 3-1.
Then came one of those horrible, awful moments in life that it's hard for any human being, no matter how stalwart, to come back from. Anthony Volpe failed to pick up a slow-rolling grounder.
Oh, the humanity!!
Flouncy II surrenders his second homer of the game. To the same, left-handed hitter who had hit all of 3, in his previous 215 major-league plate appearances.
Later came another error by our stationery first baseman. Jazz Chisholm finally broke his 0-22 skid with a solo chip shot into the right field seats, but too little, too late. Aided by the fact that Boone, the Genius, decided to follow Wells' first good day at the plate in two weeks by benching him—but letting him pinch-hit ineffectually late in the game.
Hurrah.
Any close game—any contest now that is not a welter of torpedoed home runs early on—exposes this Yankees team.
—Fact: Jazz Chisholm is not a good ballplayer, wherever you play him. He is a lifetime, .246 hitter with some pop and some speed, who never quite seems to get his game together. And then he gets injured (yet to come this year).
—Fact: Anthony Volpe is not a good ballplayer. A hit here, a homer there, never so much as a stolen base anymore, and an increasingly erratic glove. In his third year as a starter, he is simply not cutting it.
—Fact: Austin Wells is not a good ballplayer. I don't care how many burritos he eats.
—Fact: Giancarlo Stanton is reportedly hitting from the Yankees' "Trajekt machine," which "is no joke" according to one media report, and "is starting to move around more outside," according to Aaron Boone. Heeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee. Ah, Stanton! Always good for a needed laugh.
Meanwhile, meet the New Flouncy, so much worse than the Old Flouncy.
Nobody is coming to save us, Hoss.
ReplyDeleteSad to say.
ReplyDeleteIt will only be more entertaining for US
ReplyDeleteTonight’s dog walk:
ReplyDeleteMy neighbor made fun our the Yankees.
I might have responded more if he wasn’t absolutely correct with his assessment.
My world cries out!
The pain….The Pain…..THE PAIN !
No problem, Tissue Mon Statnton has begun working out.
ReplyDeleteWhy do I feel as though the game is lost whenever our lads fall behind? It SEEMS as though my loss of faith began with the "Boone Dynasty" began. Am I alone in my despair, dismay, and disgust? Let's face it, the Yankees need two starters to come up soon and pitch like seasoned veterans, and two more BATS. Btw, it seems that any player with speed and brains should be able to steal forty bases with an 80% success rate Without breaking a sweat with the new rules. WTF is wrong with Boone for not taking advantage? Does he believe that his number five"nine is filled with the reincarnation of Mantle? It may be early but not too early to despise most of this team with their zombie manager.
ReplyDeleteI thought Stanton was working remotely this year. Is that hitting machine in Yankee Stadium or in his backyard?
ReplyDeleteAs for Boone, he could work remotely and do just as well as a manager. Or better yet, he could just not show up to work at all. The team would probably improve.
Amen, Hoss! I was thinking the exact same things! Man alive, how does BaBoone allow Rodon to face that same guy who's been killing the Yanks with home runs in that big spot with the fucking game on the line? And though I didn't catch the game, I'd bet our resident pitching guru didn't come out of the dugout to remind Rodon not to make it too good for this hitter. OMG!
ReplyDelete