As the home field advantage disappears, a few Yankee slumps deepen

We can't whine. We can't go Zsa Zsa slapping the cop over a game between a team that's fighting for its life, and one who is sleepwalking into its second Ambien tablet. We shouldn't shout insults at the juju gods. We should be good sports, I guess.

Still, last night basically ended the 2019 Yankees' chance at post-season home field advantage. It means we'll probably face Houston in its own park, sleeping in its own beds, and it feeds the dark sense that these last seven magical months - the replacement players, the comebacks, the home runs - will lead to another empty October. 

I suppose we can still win our final four, and the Astros could lose out. But if I were Aaron Boone today, I would start thinking about Minnesota, and light an early prayer candle on behalf of whatever wild card team faces Houston in the best of five. Realistically, folks, our quest to be home team: it's history.

Last night, Tampa once again showed why they are MLB's smartest team in this millennium. They pioneered the now ubiquitous defensive over-shift and invented the (likewise) bullpen start. They regularly contend in baseball's toughest division without having to tank. They have the game's top prospect, a switch-hitting SS, who looks like the next star off their assembly line. I wonder if our front office has benefited from simply operating in the same city? Do we go through their recycling bins? Do we get them drunk and steal their secrets?

If not, maybe we should.

Oh, well... today, I want to note a disturbing set of numbers, all of which were amplified last night: Yankee hitters who are free-falling into October. 

On the right is a chart of slumps over the last 30 days. As you see, four critical players - Didi, Luke, Gio and Hammerin' Cameron - have been Missing In Action. (The Red Menace probably doesn't matter; he won't make the playoff roster.) In the cases of Urshela and Maybin, there remains the existential fear that pitchers have adjusted to them, and they haven't. With Didi, you worry about our ability to handle RH pitching - especially what the Astros will throw at us. 

Over the last 30 games, others have stagnated: Gardy is hitting .250, Gleyber just .247 and Gary Sanchez at .233 (and recovering.) But their power numbers remain solid, suggesting they have gotten a bit homer-happy.

This weekend, the YES team birthed a litter of stats to debunk the theory that homer-happy lineups go dry in the post-season, when the quality of pitching improves. Well, as Humphrey Bogart said in The Harder They Fall, "You can make those numbers jump through hoops." My belief is that there are good hitters who hit HRs, and there are simple HR-hitters. The Yankees have excellent hitters - LeMahieu, Judge, Gleyber, Voit - and one who simply swings for the fences. (Sanchez.) A huge concern is whether Gardy and Gleyber are tilting into that category and where will Stanton and Encarnacion fit in? Will they return as pure hitters, or strikeout/walk/HR guys? 

What's important next month is that we hit some singles and doubles.

Last night, we got nothing. Last night, we were a team that only scores via the HR. It was a sad sight, and it ended our season of home field dreams. Let's hope it's not an omen of what's to come.