A Yankee fan's prayer for justice... and Clay Holmes.

This we know: The juju gods are assholes.

They think they're Kristi Noem - that they can torture us, toy with us, twerk us and tweak us - that they can nullify a great Yankee win with a chicken-plucked hamstring or a surgical line drive, all to remind us that heavenly outcomes can come with hellish consequences. 

Last night, the juju gods took out their frustrations on a relatively innocent bystander in the eternal NY baseball cold war, the so-called "Subway Series." A freak liner fractured the fibula of Clay Holmes, an ex-Yankee who was pitching for the Mets. He's out for "a long time." Maybe worse. At age 33, a broken leg can be a career killer. Damn. It's not fair. 

Normally, like Trump grousing from his airliner's restroom door, I will rage through the night about Yankee stars who sign with other teams. They're guilty of the worst crime known to fans: Yankee treason. 

My piercing righteousness stems from Juan Soto, who pissed upon a year of Yankees loyalty so he could bank a few extra dimes on a Mt. Everest stack of money he will not in his life imagine. In Soto's case - like that of Robbie "Joggy" Cano - he made not only a craven choice, but a flat-out bad decision, which has already begun to haunt him. I believe he will secretly regret it for the rest of his life. Good riddance.

In an alt-Yankiverse, last night's Yankee batting order should have been:

Ben Rice, 1B
Aaron Judge, RF
Juan Soto, LF
Giancarlo Stanton, DCH
Cody Bellinger, CF
Higgy C (why not?)
Jazz Chisholm, 2B
Jose Caballero, SS
Oswald Peraza, 3B (same)

Okay, I'm soaring off topic. This is about an injustice, about wrongful collateral damage, which happened last night to an undeserving soul. 

In his time with the Yankees, Holmes had been a solid closer, who always took the ball, even when he was being vastly overworked by Aaron Boone, until his arm nearly fell off. When he reached free agency - at 31, the most important contract in his family's future - he had run his course with the Yankees. The Mets offered a new life, as a starter, and Holmes had become their ace. Last night, the juju gods kicked him in the nuts.

Holmes took a shot off the bat of Spencer Jones - a newly inscribed character in the hyped-up history of the Subway Series - who before last night was known for strikeouts and being as tall as Aaron Judge. I hope Jones can launch his New York career in the next two nights. And let's hope Holmes can make it back. Guy didn't deserve this. Screw you, juju gods.