If Luis Severino was tipping his pitches last year, blame belongs to the Yankee coaching staff

Theoretically, the reason for Luis Severino's dreadful, rotten, flea-bagged second half of 2018 was body language. Before throwing a fastball, he does something. He twitches. He fidgets. Maybe he scratches his billiards. He does something. The Redsocks supposedly saw it and knew when fastballs were on the way. Once they broke the Sevy Code, he was done. 

Some of this may be wishful thinking. It's a great excuse - and hope for the future - if Severino simply needs to adjust his twitchy testicles tomfoolery. If that's all, we can ignore his last 55 innings, when opposing batters hit .323 with 13 home runs. Think about that: He transformed all opposing batters into Mookie Betts. If it's simply body movement, then he didn't fall off the face of the earth, and he still has a future.

But here's a thought on a cold day: When a guy is found to be tipping pitches, it means somebody on the other team was watching him more closely than his own coaches. 

Last time I looked, Larry Rothschild - who survived the purge of Joe Girardi - is the supreme being assigned to guard against such events. If Severino was tipping pitches, it would have been nice if somebody on the Yankees noticed it before the Redsocks did.

Within the Yankiverse, if Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton represent the majestic towers of power, Severino and Gary Sanchez are the mysterious, alligator-laden catacombs, deep beneath the streets. Both were supposed to become stars. Last year, both fell apart.

I understand why Brian Cashman decided to keep them: He would be trading them at a particularly low period of value. But if either stumble this year, the team's chances of overtaking Boston will hit major turbulence. 

For reasons I cannot fully explain, we are still considering Severino the ace of the staff, and Sanchez remains our starting catcher. 

But make no mistake: The Yankee "resurgence," if one is coming, must be balanced on the backs of two players, neither of which did much in 2018. And the coaches who watched them fall apart will be back for more.