Three Keys To Beating The Astros Today

1) Stop Taunting Altuve! 

The guy has proven that he takes the best we can give him and reponds by killing us. Altuve has turned into a living example of the punchline to that old classic joke about the Pope and the Heckler...  "Fuck me? Fuck you!"  

Instead he should be met with silence. Crickets. Nada. Like he's not even there.  Not worth our time. Just waiting for him to go away. 

2) Nestor Needs To Stop Believing In His Stuff and Go Back To Being "Nestor The Deceptor"(TM) 

Wrote this yesterday but it's still true...

Nestor thinks he’s better than he is and is pitching with more confidence. That takes away from his ability to deceive.  

Nestor is better when he is underestimated. No one is underestimating him now. The batters are ready for him.

3) Oh yeah... Uh, Hit

Humbled, humiliated and embarrassed at home, the Yankees suddenly look like the AL's second best

Fifteen strikeouts. Not one hit. (Oh, but Gallo did send one to the warning track! Is he maybe ready to break out?) 

Still can't beat Houston. 

Still can't get out Altuve. 

Two straight home losses.

Did the season just crack?

Nasty Nestor today.  

No Reason To Worry

 Just because the Astros have better pitching, better hitting, better speed and defense, and are younger and deeper....doesn't mean we can't come back tomorrow and even this series out. 

We won't have our Ace pitching, but neither will they.

And the chances of the Yankees getting no hit two games in a row is remote. 

So" light 'em up and  bottoms up." 

We won on Thursday, let's win on Sunday. 

I am already beginning to sense that the "devils bargain" I made with the Ju-Ju gods wasn't worth it.  And am now seeking remedies. 

Beginning with weed, shots of Crown Royal, and draught Guiness stout. 

Cheers.  

Fucking cheers. 

First report from the "New Me."

 Good morning to everyone. ( " Gentles all" as Shakespeare would say).

Well yesterday sure was a disappointment.  Our team had a chance there in the ninth inning for yet another "walk-off" win.  What a "never say die" bunch of fellows.

You can't win them all.  Even this fine team of clutch players.  Everyone was trying really hard. 

We have to give credit to the other team.  They made some fine plays.

We'll surely come back and win today.

Go Yankees!

A Much Needed Intervention

An antidote to our sense of well-being…

Sure, it’s easy to look at the record and indulge that feeling that this is going to be a special year.  

After all, the team, which was described yesterday by Michael Kay as, “Gritty and Gutty” (The collective ghost of Brett Gardner?) is playing some of the best baseball we’ve seen in years. 

Barring a collapse of 1978 Red Soxian proportions they will make the playoffs and probably win the division.  

As far as winning it all?  A deeper dive shows that our starting rotation isn't really as strong as it appears. 

Cole 

Talk to me after today. This is a big one. Full house. Hated opponent. Playoff atmosphere. So far, it seems like he tends to come up short. I mean, what if the National Anthem goes long?

Sevy  

Loved the energy yesterday but you have to wonder if he didn't expend too much celebrating getting out of jams. He’s still prone to “a couple of bad pitches”

JM called the HR just before it happened. I too wished I had one of those betting apps where you can bet each AB because the upcoming three run blast was pretty much a slam dunk. (Sigh)

Nasty Nestor  

Hopefully he will adjust but currently he THINKS he's an ace. (Shhhh, he might be.) 

What's happening here is... Nestor thinks he’s better than he is and is pitching with more confidence. That takes away from his ability to deceive.  

Nestor is better when he is underestimated. No one is underestimating him now. The batters are ready for him. He might still adjust. He really does pitch like an ace. (Shhhhh.)

Montgomery  

I actually like him as the Andy Pettitte guy. The second guy up. But if not, then somehow, because he seems to have a more of a flexible personality, he could be the pen guy.

Because…

Tallion  

Can’t get a read on him. Is he great? Is he… what? It’s not because he got shelled last time out. But something is up with this guy. 

What needs to happen is he borrows some of Sevi’s passion and Sevy borrows some of Talion’s “Matter of Fact” style and they would both be better for it.

The pen is the key.  Can Britton and Johhny Lasagna come back strong? Will they bring up Waldichuck? Can Chapman come up with a timely injury?  

All I'm saying is don't count your Fred Stanleys before their hatched. 

Once again, it's up to you, Mr. Cole, to rectify the situation

Well, it didn't take long for Alphonso's newfound, Holly Golightly, panda-hugging, Cashman-loving naivety to kick in, eh? WTF? A few late-inning rallies, and the guy turns into Marianne Williamson. 

May I remind you of the First Rule of Juju:

If you have a hopeful thought, keep it the fuck to yourself. 

Good grief, people, who are we -fans of the NY Yankees, or the Peoria Peach Pits?  I should not need to remind you that a) the season is not half over, b) the Redsocks are currently the AL East's hottest team, and c) we still can't beat old codger Verlander, even at 39, while wearing Depends. This notion that we'll win 'em all in the 9th? It's like finding horseshit under the Christmas tree and thinking there must be a pony in the yard. 

So here we go again: It's up to Gerrit Cole. This is why the Yankees need Aaron Judge in a lifetime deal (though I suspect we all know that won't happen.) There comes a point where the game comes down to one pitch, one swing, and it's nice to have a Thor, or at least a Daredevil. Once again, Cole's turn in the rotation follows a tough night. Today, he must match Verlander's effort, and then some.  

So, at the risk of being wobbly, here's a dirty little secret: I believed.  I Marianne Williamsoned. To the last out, DJ LeMahieu bouncing to third, I thought we'd win. We'd celebrate Judge's arbitration deal with a walk-off HR, or a bloop single. I thought it would happen. I've been reading too many hopeful comments on this blog. (You know who you are.)  

In moments of extreme jubilation, here's how Yankee fans should look:

Scattered thoughts:

1. Even though Verlander is a righty, Boone sat Joey Gallo. In the ninth, when a homer would win it, he went with Matt Carpenter. I think Boone recognized that, even at 39, Verlander would effortlessly twist Gallo into pretzel knots. In simple terms, he's a playoff caliber pitcher.

Gallo started the season batting 6th. (He went 0-4 with 3 Ks.) In recent weeks, he's batted 9th. Now, he's a late-inning defensive outfielder and the third spare LH bat (after Carpenter and Marwin Gonzalez.) There is no more space between Gallo and the ledge. This is actually quite sad, but a change is near.

2. There's gossip that SS-prospect Anthony Volpe will soon be promoted to Scranton. After a miserable April, he's hitting about .290 over the last month. Along with Food Stamp Hal's chinziness, Volpe is why the Yankees passed on the cache of star free agent shortstops last winter. That's why they chased the stopgap, Isiah Kiner-Falefa. 

There is no chance of Volpe impacting the 2022 Yankees, unless as trade bait. At age 21, I doubt he'll be MLB-ready next April. But after a spring when most of our top prospects floundered, there is hope. And the Yankees still have Miguel Andujar (3 for 4 with a HR last night in Scranton) as a chip in any deal. Would hate to see Miggy go, but something has to happen. He can't spend his life in Wilkes Barre.

3. Today, it's Cole, who would start against Verlander in game one of the ALCS. 

My playoff rotation: Cole, Sevy, Nasty Nestor and Monty, with Tailion for long innings. Clay Holmes would close, with Michael King and El Chapo throwing the 7th and 8th, depending on left/right hitters. If we're lucky, we'd have an effective Jonathan Loaisiga and maybe a wunderkind from Scranton. 

That would be one helluva staff... if we don't blow it, by gushing over it. Looking at you, Marianne Williamson. 

Conversion

 I have a confession to make.

Last night, at the end of the eighth inning, I said the following to the JU-Ju Gods:

"If the Yankees come back to win this one, I will become a " believer."

Keep in mind, we had punched back once, in the first inning, and then went stagnant. Not a single hit in innings 2-8, whilst the cheaters put up another 3 run dinger. 

Houston's bullpen was being touted as the best in baseball.

They were smiling and enjoying the playing of the game.  The Yankees were sullen.

And then the ninth inning happened.

So I have become a " believer."  I have to.  It is the law. I am in deep shit. 

That means I have to have a fairy tale attitude about everything.  Facts and reality no longer have a place in my thinking. I can't be negative.  I have to believe everything will work out, and we will win the World Series this year. 

In effect, Alphonso is gone.

Am I still allowed to smoke weed and drink Crown Royal in the morning?

BIG NEWS

 Jon Heyman says Judge and the Yanks have called off the meting for today and have settled.

Yankees are best team in baseball, hands down. So... now what?

Holy crap, our Yankee cups are runnething over. 

We shouldn't complain - not a peep, not a wail - not even about You Know Who. For weeks now, we've expected the meltdown, the python-length losing streak that negates the golden months of May and June, and relegates us once again to wild card hopes and a winter of rage.

And yet... AND YET... last night brought the greatest goddam win of 2022! A four-run rally! in the bottom of the 9th! against the cheats who stole our baby and replaced him with Carlos Beltran. No, we shan't  complain - not even about You Know Who.

But but BUT... if the ghosts of 2012-21 have fled the building, they're replaced by another demonic chorus - the 2001 Seattle Mariners, winners of 116 regular season games and only one in the ALCS. They were the unstoppable team - with two future Hall of Famers - (Ichiro and Edgar Martinez) - several past/future Yankees - (Gene Nelson, Jay Buhner, Freddy Garcia and Charles "Giddyyap" Gipson) and a brother to our manager (Bret.)  

And they are watching us...

The Yankees still must vanquish ever-smug Boston, which is steadily rising in the AL East. But 2022 is now at fulcrum point: We either win it all, or we join Seattle in the gift shop of the Museum of Unfulfilled Promises. 

So... now what?

1. Let's enjoy this, while it lasts. Considering the sorry state of the planet, Yankee fans may feel like Nero with his fiddle. If so, play "Born to Run" and sing along. Here's the reality: We might never see another team like this. Know a good thing, and appreciate it.

2. Let the big dogs run. If that means Judge in center and Giancarlo in right, so be it.  If somebody's chasing a no-hitter, or the HR crown, let him go. Otherwise, rest our soldier stock and try to keep everyone sharp. We are not just playing against Seattle. We are battling the juju gods, miserable little toads who'll tweak your gonad just for looking at you.

3. We must fortify the team wherever possible. Certainly, left field must be dealt with. We could use a third catcher - Benny Biceps, in rehab? We always need pitching, pitching, pitching... Who knows what Aroldis will bring? Jonathan Loaisiga? He needs a full shot. Even Domingo German. But if a pitcher comes available...

4. The Mets...  

5. As fans, we must continue to do what we've done. If that means whining, well... WHINE AWAY! It's working. We mustn't sleep until the world series is ours. And then, we whine about next year - that goddam fucking Cashman! It's not easy to be ungrateful, obnoxious fat cats. But we owe it to this team.

Birthday City

 All the best to our newest player. 

Open Audition!

Inspired by Beauregard Jackson (Clint Frazier's new name BTW) Pickett Burnside's stunning and very cool admission that he owns an Oogie and can post the audio I suggested that he call the first inning of the game as Oogie and submit it to the Yankees as a potential replacement for John Sterling.  (Or at least post the link here.)

"Actually", I thought to myself, "Who else has puppets? Who does impressions? Who just wants to call a batter or two tonight and post a link here."

John is going to retire anyway so why not replace him with one of us? 

Will it just be audio of Winnie screaming, "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH fuckers!"?  Will it be filled with colorful and historically accurate insight by Hoss (I know he's out of town so we will have to wait.) Is Zach A the perfect color man? 

And what of El Duque? Apparently it's his birthday. Perhaps in a celebratory haze he can turn in something so poetic, so insightful as to actually get the job. 

It's an open audition! Go for it! 

Happy Birthday, Hart!!

 

The fragility of the Yankee fan base is striking

 No lie... 

Last night, around the third inning, with the Rays leading 4-1, I had no less than five (5) people text me to say that: 

1. This game was over.
2. The Yankees would not score another run.
3. The final score would be a laugher.
4 And the Big Losing Streak of 2022 was imminent. 

In each case, I responded with one clear message: I agreed. 

 

A Few Thoughts

A Fine Wine

Last night after watching the Yankees go down big early - right after Michael Kay pointed out that Montgomery hadn't given up more than three runs in a game the ENTIRE season and then promptly did - this followed up with their botching numerous run scoring opportunities, I will admit I started to  think that the run was over. That they were, as David Cone likes to put it, “Reverting to the mean.”

Judge was back to hitting HR's with no one on. (Here's a thought - bat him third. Maybe there will be more runners on base for him.) It looked like we were going to come up short. 

And Then Came Trevino...

Easily the best Vino since the early days of Adam Ottovino and light-years better than our Failure in the Batter's “Box Wine” Joey Gallo.

Competence on both sides of the plate again. Thank you Brain. 

It's Still Early But Gotta Give Him His Due 

While I still hope that this is Cashman’s last year, (Hey Brain, go out on top!) he really does deserve some props for replacing Sanchez with Trevino. (Even if he lucked into it. I mean, if Muscles McGurk doesn’t come up lame this kid is still in Texas)

It just feels like a different club.

Replacing two guys who went from “Happy to be here.” to “I’ll work hard to stay” in Urshela and Voit, with two guys who know how to win ballgames and championships in Donaldson and Rizzo IS the difference.  

El Duque pointed out Donaldson’s blocking the bag last night. It’s the little things like that.

The Brothers K

After reading yesterday's main thread again I realized that there was one more book I wanted to recommend.

The Brothers K by David James Duncan -  By far and away the best baseball novel I’ve ever read. It’s a version of The Brothers Karamazov with baseball serving as the through thread. It’s a great read even if you have no love of the game. Not that that is an issue here.

 

Jose Trevino is either Brian Cashman's steal of the year, or the karmic fallout from Joey Gallo

Tuesday, it nearly slipped below the radar when Albert Abreu - aka "Double A" - signed with the Yankees, after being red-tagged by KC. It meant - for now, anyway - completion of another Cashman karmic cycle, which has helped propel the Death Barge to the summit of MLB... For now, anyway.

From this grand catbird perch, we can see the past unfurl like a Covid swab test instructions pamphlet, in unfathomable ways that - for now, anyway - have corked those relentlessly jarring sound-effects in the Tropicana Dome.

Abreu, now 26, came to NY in 2016, the year of the July garage sale, when the Yankees dealt Brian "Anger Management" McCann to Houston and fitted Gary Sanchez for his future plaque. Immediately, the YES machinery kicked in, promoting Abreu as a power arm, blahblahblah, hugged by prospect-rankers from Tampa to Trenton. 

McCann went on to torture us in the 2017 playoffs, two hurtful doubles, which may or may not have followed strategic bangs on a garbage can lid. (Even great deals have nuances, am I right?) Abreu slowly climbed the Yankee system and arrived last summer, showing flashes - a big stretch save - though his 5.15 ERA remained well north of Scott Proctor's career-ending self-immolations. 

This spring, Abreu hit a wall of younger arms - Clarke Schmidt, Ron Marinaccio, et al - and found himself on Cooperstown Cashman's list of expendables. This happened shortly after Ben Rortvedt - a catcher obtained from Minnesota in a deal for, who else? Gary Sanchez - started straining various sinews in his weight room-toned anatomy. "Benny Biceps" is currently in a rehab assignment in Tampa, 2 for 4 with a HR in two games. He's probably a month away, but he's a LH bat, age 24, with the Kiner-Falefa seal of approval. To bring him up would almost surely mean cutting Higgy, lovable Higgy, and I believe that I speak for the Yankiverse in saying, "Take your time, Benny." For now, anyway.

All of which is a convoluted way of getting to Jose Trevino, whom the Yankees obtained this spring in a seemingly inconsequential trade for Abreu. 

Last night, Trevino almost single-handedly beat Tampa (well, Aaron Judge's 2 HRs also deserve mention.) He picked off a runner at third in a critical moment (well, Josh Donaldson's crafty block of the base also deserves mention.) He homered in the eighth to win the game. The trade for Abreu now looks like one of Cashman's greatest heists, up there with El Chapo for Gleyber, another deal where the Yankees traded their cake and eventually ate it, too.

So, you'd think the Texas Rangers wouldn't answer the phone if Cashman calls, right? I mean, after such a ripoff, I half-expect the Texas to secede from MLB - isn't that trending down there? - and form their own league, maybe with some metropolises from Oklahoma. (For some reason, Muskogee comes to mind.) 

But I think the Rangers would answer the call. The Trevino deal was the second one the Yankees have made in the last year with Texas. The first, about 11 months ago, sent four prospects to the Rangers for Joey Gallo, the official whipping boy of IIHIIFIIc. 

I won't do another rant about Gallo. You've heard them all. Besides, last night, he drew two walks, (and fanned twice.) Let's just say that the four prospects we traded for him are still evolving, and Ezequiel Duran, a 23-year-old 3B, might be the one that makes Cashman cringe for the next 10 years.  

So, was Trevino a Cashmanic steal? Or Cashmanic karma? Take your pick. Either way, thank god we have Jose Trevino. And welcome home, Double A!

Joey, Joey...

 

Batting out of my usual order here, because I have to depart early for a wedding, and will be out of touch with you adorable moaxes for the next three days.

BUT...I wanted to note that, last night, The Man With the Thousand-Mile Stare played his 58th game of the season with your New York Yankees.

That is the same number he played for us last year, after coming over from the Texas Rangers.  

It was not going to be hard for Joey to outdo that performance. In 2021, Twitch hit just 7 doubles and 13 HRs for us, driving in a mere 22 runs, batting a miserable .160 and running up a slash line of .303/.404/.707.

He couldn't REALLY be that bad, many of us told ourselves. Could he?

Well, another 58 games have come and gone, and the verdict is in. Yes, he could be that bad. In fact, he was worse.

In his 58 games of 2022, our Joey has just 4 doubles, 9 homers, and 18 RBI—down across the board. Whereas last year he has 37 walks and 88 strikeouts with us—this year he has just 28 walks and 77 strikeouts. 

Batting average is the only area in which he improved, going from .160 to all of .180.  But not counting last night's 0-2, two-walk performance, his other slash numbers were .291/.365/.656.

Is WAR your pet stat? He's even done worse there, going from a net 0.2 to a net 0.1.  

Yes, Joey has been worse. Considerably worse.

Say it with me, and say it slow:

Hey-hey

Ho-ho

Dead-eyed Joe has got to go...

And Boston has entered the chat... It's starkly amazing, the morning-after response to a loss.

Lately, we're torn... 

One angel says to enjoy this wondrous time of year in the plush hills of upstate NY. The fireflies are blazing, the days last forever, and the Yankees have baseball's best record. We must celebrate this menstrual cycle of hope, because it cannot last.

The other angel latches onto those words... "because it cannot last..." and conjures up a despair. of mosquito bites and algae blooms. We know what can happen. We remember the last five years.  

I grew up in an era when a 10-game Yankee lead meant a guaranteed trip to the world series. Today, it barely punches our ticket to an October best-of-five, when the regular season will devolve into a card trick on a circus midway.  

Still, in a nightmare stretch of games we've been fretting over for months, the Yanks are 6-2. Win tonight, and even if we get swept by Houston, we will have run this mini-gauntlet successfully. That's not nothing. Unless, of course, it turns out to be. Because it could.

Damn, every loss summons the ghosts from the last 10 years. Last night, in the cacophonous Tropicana Dome, they rattled chains with every DP grounder and fly ball to the wall. And this is the message they sent: 

The Yankees shoulda won this game.

So, yeah, here we are...

1. Nasty Nestor T-shirt night comes this weekend, and who doesn't wonder if his recent troubling starts are not juju-related? We've cherished the Nestor Cortez narrative, so much that we tried to "love' it into existence. 

The reality is that after two fine months, Cortez is starting to unfurl. 

Last night, 4.1 innings and 4 earned runs - the second such line score in his last three starts. Batters are adjusting. He must respond. There's nothing new here - happens to everyone. But last night, we saw something different: An angry and frustrated look on Nestor's face in the dugout. In the past, he's been smiles and fun.

I wonder: Did the Yankees crass move to exploit him piss off the juju gods? 

Did they Jeremy Lin him?

2. Sorry to be a broken record here, but Joey Gallo went 0-3 last night with two strikeouts - this, after a week of hearing about his resurgence on YES.  He is 0 for his last 8. His batting average is back down to .182.

I don't claim to be an MLB scout, or a great evaluator of talent. But I've seen enough. This hasn't worked. Does anyone think Gallo will have a clue against solid post-season pitching? Dear god, he'll get wiped out. Anything we can get for him, we should go for it. Sooner the better. Andrew Benintendi in KC? He's in his contract year. How expensive can he be? They say the Padres still covet Gallo. Good for them. Here's an offer: I'll personally Uber him to the airport. 

And I say this without malice toward the guy. For his own good, he needs to be Gary Sanchezed. 

3. Boston has called up Jeter Downs, the well-hyped IF prospect who anchored the Mookie Betts deal. He wasn't exactly pummeling Triple A: batting .180 with 11 HRs.  Still, he's 23, fast, and there's that name, which makes every Yankee fan instinctively go, "Oh, shit." We need a counter-balance, a guy named Mickey Berra. (Actually, years ago, we did have Jackson Melian, said to be named after Reggie; he never panned out.)

I'm not suggesting we worry about Downs. But as AMC Channel says, we should Fear the Walking Dead. Between now and October, we play Boston 16 times - plenty of opportunities for the hopeful angels of June to disappear.  

It's amazing, the day-after difference between a win and a loss.  I've already forgotten that 12-game lead. Then again, I have the memory of a goldfish that played in the NFL. After last night, it's what keeps me going. 

Who Owns New York? It's Still Us.

Taking up that musical question from a few weeks ago, we've had a rare test case recently, with the Yanks and Mets playing six home dates across town from each other.

These were on May 31-June 2—Yankees hosting the Angels of Something Something Anaheim; Mets vs. Nate—and June 14-16, Yanks-TB; Mets-Milwaukee.

The Yanks played a total of 6 separate dates during these periods, and drew 205,501 fans—never drawing fewer than 30,000 (or, it must be said, as many as 40,000) to the Stadium.

The Mets, in 5 dates, drew 129,599 to the park named for one of the most destructive financial institutions in U.S. history.  Even with Mr. AND Mrs. Met now leading the cheers.

Head-to-head, that's 34,250 a game for the Yankees, to just 25,920 for the Metsies.

The Yanks continue to lead the AL in attendance.  The Mets...continue to run 9th in the NL.

Which seems inexplicable.  Except, you know...Mets.

Can Aaron Hicks reclaim his star? And can the Yankees put Tampa out of its misery?

Congrats to Aaron "The Wrong Aaron" Hicks, who last night recorded his third big clutch hit in as many games, a ninth-inning double that propelled the Yankees over the troubled Rays of Tampa.

Over the last 14 games, Hicks is hitting .324 with a HR and 7 RBIs. On the season, he has now lifted his batting average to a Jayson Nixian .237 - after dwelling below the Mendoza line through late May. 

For the last six years, Hicks has been an enigma within the Yankiverse. In 2018, he hit 27 HRs and batted .248 - prompting Cooperstown Cashman to give him a long-term deal. Ever since, he has adhered to the Hicks Boson Particle Sequence: 

Start cold, get hot, get hurt. 

It's not his fault, the injuries. They come with the job. But whenever Hicks gets hot, he seems to then get hurt. At 32, that's an excruciating career thumbnail, and even though the Yankees are melded to him through 2025, the brain trust has more or less benched Hicks so Giancarlo Stanton can romp freely in the outfield. (Let the Big Dog run!)

Last night's double off the right field wall came with its own, unnecessary drama, as Hicks stood at home plate, admiring a HR that didn't happen. He made to second in part because the Rays RF, Manuel Margot, wrecked a knee trying to catch it. Otherwise, it would have been an embarrassment. 

Margot, who at .302 was leading Tampa in hitting, was carted off, a bad sign for the Rays, who suddenly look lifeless and lost. Without Wander Franco, the blood seems to have left their erections. They now hold fourth place in the AL East. For the last four years, Tampa has been a divisional juggernaut, with a seemingly limitless tap of young and ascending talent. Last week, in Yankee Stadium, they looked like a lost tribe of Herschel Walker's sons. And last night, the sound of Yankee fans resounded inside that sad, cavernous dome, which only attracted 16,000. 

Tampa is a hockey city. Imagine that... 

Of course, the Rays always seem to regroup, They could still win the three-game series and restore credibility, heading into the summer blaze. But right now, they look like Yankee teams over the last few years - that is, they don't know how they'll do it, but they know they're going to lose. 

Tonight, we have the means to put them out of their misery, perhaps for all of 2022. Tonight... 

Losers

Okay, get a grip, down a shot, get thee to a nunnery - you foresaw this. Don't claim otherwise. 

You knew that, at some point, our vaunted bullpen would implode, our HRs would slice foul, and that two-out RBI single would elude us. Yesterday, the Babadook finally knocked. We lost, not only to the BJs, but to random occurrence.  

Nearly halfway through a 13-game death march, the Yankees are 5-1. Win just two of the remaining seven against Tampa and Houston, and they'll emerge erect and unscathed from the most punishing run of the 2022 schedule.  

Trouble is, Yank fans cannot easily bury the ghosts of our last five years. We have been groomed - (yes, word of the year) - groomed to expect every Yankee wondrous winning streak to be followed by an equally deflating succession of defeats. 

No Yank fan can ignore last year's meltdowns, or the sinister notion that any single loss will blast open flood gates that cannot be closed. 

Yesterday, the culprits were Wandy Peralta and Miguel Castro - two lug nuts during the recent surge, both viciously spanked by Toronto. The BJs were playing with their season seemingly on the line: To be swept at home would have been a huge psychological blow, maybe pushing them toward a trade deadline clearance sale. Not now, though. They have a win to remember, to fortify their hopes.

Also, before we fit ourselves into the noose, let's give ourselves credit: The Yankees went down fighting, mounting a challenge in the ninth.  

Still, it's amazing how different they look today.

1. Ralph Kiner-Falefa has a "tightened" hamstring. What this means, who knows? It kept him from pinch-running in the final frame. The Yankees had stolen on Toronto all series. Had IKF had been able to steal second, he could have scored on Aaron Hicks' single - tie game - only, this time, no dice.

2. Both big Toronto HRs came after mound visits from pitching coach Matt Blake. This year, Blake has been a godsend. Whatever he said yesterday, this time, no dice. 

3. Hard to fathom scoring nine runs and losing. But it's not hard to imagine the team floundering in Tampa and Houston. Still, after the Astros, we play the A's (22 games below .500), Guardians (6 above) and Pirates (13 below.)  You win divisions by beating up on tomato cans and holding off contenders. 

4. Tonight it's Gerrit Cole. How often do we find ourselves calling upon Cole to restore us after a tough game? Last time, he threw six scoreless innings to beat Cory Kluber. This time, it's Shane McClanahan. 

Doesn't look easy. Then again, after a loss, nothing does.