Well, we all know what happened: Every time this broken boomerang of a team won a few games, suggesting a run on first, somebody snapped a blinky, or a bomb went off in the bullpen - something horrible happened. Enduring memories of 2021 will include losses so crippling, so soul-devouring, that they belong in a Rob Zombie movie, not a future YES Yankeeography.
And last night - as the innings puckered along, with the Yankees flailing and failing - the night terrors returned. Suddenly, we were back in 2020, rooting for a team destined to crush us.
Seriously, I ask one question to the readers of this blog:
What more honest way of celebrating 2021 than to blow the final three games and finish out of the running?
Turns out, even if we lose all three, we'll end up tied for the final wild card birth, the away-team, and face a Monday playoff. So there's that. Also, we made a valiant - albeit too late - ninth inning comeback try. So there's that, too.
But here we are, needing one win - just one - against a team that has owned us since long before we ever heard the word COVID.
If we win today - game time 1:05 p.m. - we clinch something. The remaining question would be whether we play the wild card home or away. If we lose today, we could be on our way to pissing away everything we gained last week. But wouldn't that be sooooooooo like the 2021 Yankees?
Other deliriums:
1. Last guy I expected to see holding the Yankees fate in his hands last night was Albert Abreu. In every ninth inning bullpen scenario, I didn't imagine him on the mound. And despite Michael Kays assurances that Abreu was a cool customer, not likely to melt under the pressure, I saw the entire season going down - with Albert Abreu on the mound.
2. Why did it have to be Wander Franco delivering the winning hit? Whenever I see this guy, I imagine him killing us for the next five years, then being traded for three younger versions of himself, and eventually - at the end of this career, when he's a shell of the player he once was - being our DH.
3. In the wild ninth, Joey Gallo executed one of the most beautiful bunts I've ever seen. Bravo, Joey. But why did he wait so late in the game? Tampa was using an outrageous over-shift against him - four OF and nobody on the left side. In his previous at bat, Gallo lashed a liner into the gap, where it was effortlessly caught. Last night, with a little sense, he could have gone 4-for-4 and broken their defensive scheme. One last thing: When he came to bat in the ninth, Gallo displayed one of the disturbing stat lines I've ever seen: With the Yankees, he had 8 HRs and 10 RBIs. Think about that.
4. The fact that DJ LeMahieu couldn't bat for Kyle Higashioka in the ninth should terrify us. He must be in a wheelchair. As it was, all the air left the stadium - and my living room - when Gary Sanchez stepped up to pinch hit. And three pitches later - two outside the zone - he was marching back to the dugout. All we needed was a single...
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79 comments:
At least it's Bucky Dent day. We've got that going for us.
Of course that happened 43 years ago.
Bravo to Stanton and Judge for understanding what pitchers were trying to do to get them out. Their pitch sequences and location. And adjusted accordingly. But Sanchez is both clueless and,worse, very stubborn. Boone should get right in his face and lay it on the line. Or as Mr Hamilton from the Fawlty Towers Waldorf Salad episode would say " bust his ass!" Tell him he will be benched again in the playoffs of he doesn't adjust.
Of course, Boone doesn't have the balls to do that.
Sanchez is not going to play much in the playoffs, except as DH, and if they had a better option there they would use it. Clearly, Boone doesn't trust him. How else to explain putting Higashioka's anemic bat in the line-up so often lately.
Carl,
It's even worse. Day game today after a night game. ICS will be starting.
And you know bonehead probably thinks Judge needs a day off.
No PHs available?
Voit: hurt constantly, Yankee politburo discloses nothing. Gotta suspect the crack Yankee training staff and (cough, cough) maybe the bulking up aids are leading to body breaking down (cough, cough)?
DJ: horrible (for him) year. Now we learn he's been playing hurt, but we didn't know that. Round up the usual suspects, Yankee PR politburo and crack training staff. Weren't Aroid and Ellsbury 'retired' to the DL for bad hips? You'd think the training staff would keep an eye out for that. Too bad we didn't have someone like Velazquez to step in. Except we need 20 relief pitchers on the roster so bonehead can pitch Lasagna to one batter, then have no one to pinch hit except a sure out. Now they'll probably panic and put him on the playoff roster without seeing MLB pitching for the last month and a half.
Frazier: ruined by all of the crack Yankee medical, coaching, and training staffs.
Hicks, Andujar: it's the same old story.
There SHOULD have been someone else available besides ICS.
Sanchez sucks but that would’ve never been an issue if Cashman’s sock puppet Boone doesn’t put the inconsistent rookie Abreu in the 9th fucking inning of a high pressure game. If Green is too overworked this Chapman in, hell throw Lutege
That Sanchez at bat will haunt me for many years.
And Odor. Jesus, what waste of space. What happened to "yeah, he hits .200 but can hit 30 home runs?" He can't hit shit. He had a nice streak--the 2021 Yankees themeline, "They had some great streaks"--but has been taking up a roster space that Velasques could fill more admirably.
Don't knock Kyle. I won't hear it. His average has plummeted, but he has come through in some important sitations. And he can catch, which is something our other catcher can't really do. Come to think of it, after last night's whiff, I guess he can't hit, either. But of course, he did have a nice streak for a while.
The biggest problem with this problemmatic team is the manager. Boone is a nice guy, but his in-game decisions are largely awful. The pitching choices last night killed us, as much or more than the Sanchez and Odor at-bats.
How is this not wildly obvious to management? Is having a rubber stamp more important than winning?
Dumb question. It sure seems to be.
Yeah, it’s easy, REALLY EASY, to pin this all on Sanchez. It was certainly one of the worst displays of non-existent plate discipline I’ve ever witnessed. It’s almost as if he didn’t care.
But Odor’s hacks were equally odorous. And as previously pointed out, giving up those two runs was unforgivable. It’s not that Abreu was bad (he was), but Booooone continues to make decisions that lose games. And you can bet he’ll get an extension after we shit the bed in the next two days.
I’m hoping beyond hope that the Yankees not only lose the next two games and any possible play-in games so we don’t have to listen to the usual lamentations about how the playoffs are a crapshoot.
ICS catching.
Velazquez at short.
Great points, Duque—and everyone else. Terrible clutch play, even worse managing. Talk about Bucky Dent Day—it's as if Bob Lemon had put Paul Linblad in to close out the Sox in the ninth.
Should things come to it, who will decide whether the Yanks should be team A, B, C (or even D)? Boonie? OK, OK, stop laughing, Cash and his nerds will decide. What does their data say, I wonder?
Doug K still has a shot at winning the case of Utica Club. Did we panic when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? NO!
Bear with me here:
Yankees win 1 of 2 this weekend and host play-in game. 92 wins
Yankees win play-in game 93 wins
Yankees win 3 in division series 96 wins
Yankees win 4 in AL championship 100 wins
Then they get swept in WS, Chapo gives up series winning HR.
Re. Joey Gallo 8 HR/10 RBI. I'm just waiting for the Yankee who'll set the impossible record of 50 HR/50 RBI for the season. Oh, and 50 BB. But not 50 Strikeouts, unfortunately, more like 500 Strikeouts.
The Hammer of God
Rufus,
I think the 100 was just for the season.
Also, and no disrespect, but I wouldn't wash my car with Utica Club. I was more of a Genny Cream Ale guy. Or as I used to call it... a pitcher of phlegm.
Now I'm pretty much whiskeys only. (Well, and the brown acid)
Oh hey thanks for the links. I didn't comment yesterday because I was too busy being both disappointed in the Yankees inability to finish the comeback and being full of self satisfaction because I knew (as did we all) the Sanchez would fail spectacularly.
I wasn't sure about Odor he had a mid to low AYGHAB because of the uniqueness of thee situation. He'd come through before.
They are not going to win tonight nor tomorrow. Abreu should never have been on the mound in a late-and-close situation. Using Lasagna for one hitter is inexcusable. He used to be a starter!!
And ICS needs to be traded to a non-contender. For whatever they can get. Crap prospect. A few dollars. A tub of Dubble Bubble. Whatever they can get. And if they can't even get that, DFA.
Winnie,
Re: Lasagna
He was probably saving him for a more important game. Because, you know... Boone.
Tuning in today because I'm a masochist, and away weeeee go!~
And a great start it is.
And ... the game is over.
Hello darkness INDEED!
The Yankees will have to fly to Seattle for the bud selig memorial game
I think someone has to take out this Franco guy. You know, rough him up a little. Maybe break a leg, an arm.
I'm having lunch at a restaurant in Little Italy and they're playing Godfather-era music. It's rubbing off.
The horror, THE HORROR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JM,
Have him deal with bonehead and brainless first.
Ken,
This is worse than Col. Kurtz.
Credit to Montgomery to saving up his fecal matter all year to unload it all at once at the most opportune moment.
Can they just forfeit the rest of the season?
Rufus,
I think they just did.
I picked 103 or, 104 I forget which so If they win 3 in WS or win outright, I buy myself a case of beer.
They should trade Sanchez to an AL East team so he can strike out 125 times and hit into 40 DP against us.Oh, and give us 30 free bases because he can't block balls in the dirt.
Make something special, like heffenreffer
Just no Schickelgruber.
Fiji Bitter.
136 runs since the start of the challenge.
I'm starting on August 31. Do not know if that's correct.
Carl? Buhler?
Maybe someone should post the win predictions and the run predictions. It would be nice to have SOMETHING to root for.
I had 97 wins. Went crazy for a while. Must have been off my meds.
http://johnsterling.blogspot.com/2021/08/from-dickallen-wager.html
http://johnsterling.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-last-wager.html
Wager terms in first thread.
Recorded wagers in second thread.
Well now I'm hoping for the 4 way tie. Chaos!
Yanks don’t deserve being in postseason…
Kaos?
Missed it by *that* much!
Yanks are a victim of a drubbing…
Not "craw"! CRAW!!
Ok, make it 146 not counting today and tomorrow.
Platoni is looking awfully damn good for both wins (92) and runs (152).
It’s between Platoni and Scottish Yankee Fan
Looks like runs might break it either way:
Platoni: 92 wins, 152 runs
Scottish Yankee fan: 90 wins, 111 runs
If the Yankees lose all three to the Tampons, Scottish Yankees Fan takes the cake, or in this case, the beer by virtue of runs. If this pathetic excuse for a Yankees team wins one, it’s Platoni.
Three home runs by this guy. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph Stalin.
Yikes! I think I’m wrong. The run count is currently at 146, JM?
If that’s the case, Platoni can’t lose!
JM, do you concur?
Dick, there are 146 runs, 148 counting today. Is the rule like the Price Is Right? You can't go over?
Yes, I think it's Platoni.
Way to go belly up and show their true colors when it comes down to it. Embrace the suckage! Boone and Cashless need to go
NY Post: "Hello losing, my old friend, we’ve come to wallow with you again." 1:27 PM EST Paul Schwartz
Hmmmmn...
If it's just a matter of who is closest, regardless of whether they're over or under the actual number.
Holy fuck, they're killing us.
I think whoever gets closest either over or under takes it - and if there is a play-in to the play in, then Parson Tom might be in the mix.
Fuck. I think we need to wait until the dust settles.
Joely is terrible.
Time for Odor to pitch.
He can't stink up the joint any worse.
It's almost hard to fathom that TB has only won 8 more games than the Yankees, well 10 more after today and tomorrow
Now comes the really crazy panic move: pitching Cole on short rest tomorrow.
I'm almost beginning to welcome the idea of a lockout.
They should bring back Heany!
There must be a few folks here with the same reactions I have to this:
a. Distressed.
b. Not really surprised.
c. Not sure I give a flying leap (at a rolling donut) what happens tomorrow.
Getting into the play-in game isn't a big deal, is it?
NOT making the play-in game won't get Boone and Cashman fired, will it?
The only relevant question that remains is: If the Master retires soon -- what will be the new URL for this blog?
Gleyber pulling a Sanchez and strolling to first base for an inning ending out
An absolutely pathetic team lead by a pathetic manager installed by a pathetic GM unchecked by a pathetic owner.
Well, I've been away from electronics for the afternoon. The first thing I see when I turn on the TV is Torres half-assing it to first like it's February in Florida and the Yankees are getting demolished.
I picked a good game to miss, it seems.
Oh, and according to social media, there were "FIRE BOONE!" chants at Yankee Stadium
Those people are a little late to the party, folks.
Back to back, and smelly to smelly.
The only question is, how can they possibly make it worse tomorrow?
(you know they can)
Leinstery has the quote of the season.
In the words of the esteemed Mr. Blutarsky, "My advice is to start drinking heavily."
Well, we can hope that Tampa wasted some runs today. I mean, they can't just keep beating our asses like a kettle drum two days in row, the stat gods won't allow it. Right?
Hard to believe that a team with nothing to play for could just walk into the Stadium and bitch-slap us like that. Not to mention the way that Boone's lack of urgency in both games. I would love to have been a fly on the wall in that locker room last night and today.
Phil Linz, play your harmonica
JM,
As *Senator* Blutarsky's friend Otter once said: "This calls for an incredibly stupid and futile gesture on our part."
Like watching the game tomorrow.
If only to see the ridiculous prospect of a 4-way tie.
Pathetic.
Carmines just scored in the top of the ninth to go ahead.
And the BJs rolled.
TB's first mistake this year: not making sure that Toronto was out of this.
Joe FOB, I think you put it exactly right. And Kevin, yes, it's completely humiliating. And you really start to wonder...what's the point of extending the humiliation?
So glad Boone didn't go all out last night. I mean, there were two more games to play, right? What could possibly go wrong?
Tying run at the plate for the Senators.
Fuck. Carmines won. Tied now.
Steinbrenner Sucks!! Steinbrenner Sucks!! Steinbrenner Sucks!! Steinbrenner Sucks!! Steinbrenner Sucks!! Steinbrenner Sucks!! Steinbrenner Sucks!! Steinbrenner Sucks!! Steinbrenner Sucks!! Steinbrenner Sucks!!
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