Domestic violence brings the latest challenge to "Next Man Up"

First, let's not convict without a trial. Whatever happened between Domingo German and his partner needs to be assessed by professional people-assessors. 

But when the news broke yesterday of his double-secret probation, due to matters of domestic violence, my first rage was simplistically directed at the juju gods: 

Haven't they done enough to us? Did they have to throw in this?

Then came a second thought: 

This is not a tweaked gonad.

When a Yankee gets hurt, we rail indignation about the Fates, the trainers, Larry Rothschild, artificial turf, climate change, Taylor Swift, click-bait - whatever. When it's a wife or girlfriend who gets hurt, we oughta show a little discretion and STFU. 

Of course, that is not an option.

I cannot imagine the emotional polar extremes of being a 27-year-old Dominican pitcher, transplanted to NYC. But nothing justifies hurting a woman. (How courageous I am, eh? condemning domestic violence!) But with hat in hand, let's abandon moral judgments and merely look at how German's loss could affect the team.

1. He's not the ace of May and June. In fact, he's been shaky. Two weeks ago, in Boston, he couldn't escape the fourth, giving up five earned runs in the opening game of what was then a crucial series. He's now a middle-innings reliever, who has thrown more innings than ever before, and he runs hot and cold. See for yourself.

Thus, if we lose German, it's not the end of the world. It probably means that both Luis Cessa and Jonathan Loiasiga make the playoff roster. It does not relegate us to Chance Adams or the toe-tapper. Lately, there's been hope of J.A. Happ turning it around. (His bicep strain could change that.) And if Luis Severino is truly back, we can win this without German. He can spare himself another month of innings on that whip right arm, maybe come back next spring and become a Number 1 starter.

2. If he returns, how could this affect him? Opposing crowds will jeer him; Oakland is a tough town - (Sonny Barger: R.I.P.) - Tampa already hates us, and he'll have to warm up in full view of drunken fans. All of this could make German a better pitcher - his back is against the wall. But it's a spiritual weight upon his physical psyche. Lately, I'm sorta liking Cessa. See for yourself.

3. The Yankees will lose a little of that No-Name fairy dust the Gammonites have been sprinkling. When German comes in, the Fox/ESPN/TNT blather-machines will ramp up their moral high ground apparatus. Joe Buck will come out swinging. A-Rod will stutter like Porky Pig. 

In a five-game series, it's hard to quantify moral high ground. But to those of us who are old enough to remember Lawrence Welk pledge drives on our PBS station, we can certainly fear another judgment: The mavens might start recapping Aroldis Chapman's history.

El Chapo remains a hurricane force of nature. Last night, with a nine-run lead and two outs, he was still capable of walking in 10 runs. (He didn't, of course. He made Albert Pujols look like Billy Crystal.) But there is always the fear that the wrong Chapman shows up, especially if Boone has already used his entire bullpen.

I don't mean to discard German, based on unspecified charges. But all year, the Yankee motto of "Next Man Up" somehow bypassed the bullpen. Aside from the Big Four, nobody really stepped up. It's time for that to change.