Tomato cans to the rescue, and finally, a chance for Gary Sanchez to excel... (as backup catcher)

Ah, Cleveland, gateway to Ashtabula! Great to be here and - while we're on the subject of catastrophes - how 'bout that Indians bullpen: Edwar Ramirez, Colter Bean, Chris Bootcheck and bad Scott Proctor - on a cold night without mayflies! Here's to tomatoes, fresh from the can! Can I get a war-whoop from Chief Wahoo? No? 

Ah, Cleveland. It's nice to put Toronto and Tampa behind us - to escape Florida with its sinkholes and pythons - and revisit pre-apocalypse America. How about a nice little win streak - say - three of four? Five of six? Nineteen of twenty? From Cleveland, we visit Camden Yards - Earl Weaver's tomatoes, right? - then come home for the Tigers and the cheating Asterisks. If we're still losing, those games with Houston could produce the loudest boos in Yankee history. 

Listen: There's nothing wrong with beating tomato cans. For some reason, the Rays and Jays can't do it. Five wins would haul us above .500. And the first-place Redsocks have lost two straight. Let's face it: They're playing for 2022. 

But but BUT... one win is not a streak. Tonight, it's the Mysterious Montgomery: a gift from above or a demon from hell? Saturday is King Cole, and Sunday, the famous TBA. Is Sidney Ponson still an option?  

So, about last night... 

1. Is there any reason in Creation not to make Kyle Higashioka our starting catcher? He is tied on the team for 2nd in HRs, one behind Aaron Judge (who has 4), even though Higgy has batted only 17 times. (Judge has 58.) 

Yeah, Higgy's Ruthian spree - hitting .356 - won't last.  But what does it take to be elevated on this team, an act of Congress? His defense is superior to Gary. His hitting is superior to Gary. The Yankees should let Sanchez plot his comeback on the bench. 

Nothing against Gary. Frankly, he's been hustling. No complaints about commitment (as we've heard in the past.) This is about the hole in his swing, as bleak as the Cuyahoga. Until it's fixed, he flails at the same pitch, over and over, and 2016 looks like the dead ball era. Great rookie seasons don't last forever. This is such a no-brainer that I actually feel sorry for Gary. He's watching his career slip away. But we're still in last place. It's time to play the better catcher. 

2. Rougned Odor - (who, let's be honest, we all want to hate, right?) - came through again. Look, he's not the Second Coming of Raul Ibanez, but his bases loaded, two-out single in the seventh turned out to be the Toyota/NRA/Oath Keepers/Little Debbie Snack Cakes Drive of the Game. Something tells me: If he doesn't get that hit, and we blow another opportunity, that game flies out the window. 

I have not bonded with Odor. I prefer that Mike Ford gets the chance, and truth be told, I'd rather see Tyler Wade. But Odor's career is dangling by a thread - one of the worst teams in baseball just waived him - and his beardless chin must really be cold, because he wore a full mask last night. Could he have something left? This is the part of the wedding where your bat speaks or you forever hold your peace. If he gets shipped to Scranton, he can restart the beard, because I doubt he'll be back. 

3. My hopes are draining for Clint Frazier. Dammit, Red, swing the bat, swinnnng battah!  Last night, he patiently observed two third strikes - meatballs - as they grooved the center of the plate. He might as well have been watching a movie. I'm tired of hearing about Frazier's "legendary bat speed." I don't claim to know hitting, but his stance looks like a Bollywood medley of unnecessary movement. Can someone settle him down? I still want Clint to get 200 at bats (he has just 47). But he needs to show up soon... or it might be too late. 

Somewhere out there, in the laundromats of Moosic?, wither goest Miguel Andujar? We sure could use a hitter.