Brace yourselves.
Box the china, board up the windows, and inscribe Granny's SSI number onto her wrist, because a storm is brewing. Right now, it's out at sea, a fart of winds and barometric pressure, clunking along at the speed of Harrison Ford. And it's headed our way.
ETA: October.
By then, the Jays will have easily clinched the AL East, so far above the Dunder-Mifflin, also-ran, chumps that they'll fear having too much rest. But they'll be snug in their beds when the skies darken and the roofs begin to buckle.
If the storm gets a name, it might be "Luke," or "Devin," or simply: "The Pen." We know what to expect. Someone will enter a close game in the 7th. By the time they leave, Aaron Boone will be asking position players to pitch the ninth.
It's coming: The end of the '25 Yankees.
Last night, we saw another glimpse.
We watched the Death Barge sleepwalk for nine innings against our usual cupcakes, the Twins - first leg on a National Lampoon vacation through Minnesota, Baltimore and the White Sox. In the 7th, the Yankees unveiled their amazing, Spinal Tap self-immolating-drummer bullpen. Kaboom.
Make no mistake: No lead is safe.
Right now, the Yankees are playing for home field advantage in the three-game wild card series, the first round of October.
But will it matter? Right now, they'd play Boston. In game one, that's Garret Crochet, likely winner of the AL Cy Young. Who feels hopeful about that? Raise your hand. Anybody? Class? Anybody? In game two, it's Brayan Bello. We finally beat him last weekend. Can we do it again?
In every game, we'll face one existential question:
Who delivers the final 12 outs?
If we're lucky, our starter - Max Fried and Carlos Rodon - will go six innings and keep it close. That leaves nine outs. And then - uh-oh - he skies will blacken and the winds will roar. From there, it's the perilous pen.
Two months ago, Cooperstown Cashman hoped to build a lockdown staff. He traded for Camilo Doval. Mark Bird (of Scranton) and David Bednar. It didn't work. Aaron Boone's "circle of trust" is now a dot.
Does anyone think this bullpen will hold leads through an entire month, especially against solid lineups? Do you remember how last year ended, with a game on the line and Boone so desperate that he turned to - gulp - Nestor Cortez?
Nope. Baton down the hatches. Write your phone number on the back of your hand. This bullpen cannot hold.
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23 comments:
Every year, it's the same, old story.
They have become a dynasty of mediocrity.
Jake Bird is the Joey Gallo of bullpen lugs.
Excuse me
You're wearing out my joie de vie
Grabbing those good years again
I want to be alone
A one, a two, a one, two, three
Excuse me
I'm not the man I used to be
Someone else crept in again
I wanna be alone
Excuse me, please
I'm looking for Los Angeles
Soaking up the sin again
I wanna be alone
I wanna be alone
I wanna be alone
I wanna be alone
And it's 1, 2, 3 - what are we fighting for?
Don't know, don't give a damn, next stop is Vietnam.
And if's 5, 6, 7 - open up the pearly gates.
Ain't no time to wonder why, whoopee! We're all gonna die.
On a more somber note, just heard that Robert Redford died today and it hit me harder than I might have expected. I did not go around thinking about him often, despite my appreciation for his work. I wonder if he's another link to the past that I am mourning more and more. Need to stay focused on the present. We only have the moment, folks. Lucky for us, we also have the Yankees, who make it fun, exciting and fulfilling...sigh...
Redford starred in some great movies. Three Days of the Condor, The Candidate, Downhill Racer, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid--a hell of a string in the 60s and 70s. Plus, he played Death on a Twilight Zone episode. And was a ne'er-do-well brother on...was it The Alfred Hitchcock Hour? Something like that.
I forget what role he was up for, but the character didn't get the girl in the end. And the director asked, "Do you know how it feels when you don't get the girl?" And Redford said, "Whaddya mean?"
Pretty funny, true or not.
The fight for love and glory. A case of do or die.
We dead.
Sadness indeed.
RIP “Spy Fucker”
Oh, yeah, it was The Graduate, and Redford wanted the lead. Mike Nichols directing.
Check out ALL IS LOST, a great old-man-and-the-sea, Redford movie from 2013. The Yankees should adopt it as their theme for 2025.
It was a great watch
All is lost indeed if we got shutout by the Twins.
Don’t forget The Sting & All the President’s Men.
All the presidents men, a movie where they still speak in paragraphs and have intelligent conversations. Also, the color space of that movie is exquisite. I haven't seen a movie that looks like that in a long time. I don't know if I appreciated the 70s cinema when it was happening, but I sure do now
There is. No time. (dis)Like the present
That was really good.
Right, Hinkey. Man, there are so many.
And yes, Bit, the 70s films really had a visual edge. They remain great, they really hold up.
Did you ever see The Landlord with a young Jeff Bridges? A real time capsule.
Brubaker was pretty good, also. The Hose Whisperer and Out of Africa, and all time chick flick with a beautiful score. Sneakers, The Hot Rock...
On the directing side, Milagro Beanfield War was interesting, and Ordinary People, of course. A major downer, but perfectly done.
The Natural. C'mon fellas...
A River Runs Through It is good too. Directed that one, I think. And, with left-wing political violence much in the news lately, don't forget The Company You Keep.
A walk in the woods with Nick Nolte. They're both old in the movie, but it's kinda quirky funny. Sorta true story written by Bill Bryson.
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