We just handed Houston our harshest rebuke since the cheating scandal broke in 2019, a four-game sweep in their nest, with three come-from-behind wins at the hands of their Boeing-built bullpen. We just marched into their home, shat on the couch, and put Sinatra on the stereo, singing The Song. And this is no April Fools joke. This is real reality realness.
Some more realities:
1. We did it without Aaron Judge. He's been sleepwalking, lunging at balls, fanning at a Kingman's pace. That's okay. It will pass. We've seen it before: Judge goes into mini-slumps. The world has yet to experience the lineup with Soto-Judge-Rizzo-Stanton all pinging. When that happens, it will make the eclipse look like an blown-out matchstick.
2. Happy talk about revamped swings by Oswaldo and Volpe - reducing the numbers of strikeouts - does not seem to have affected the big hitters. They occupy four of the top 10 AL leaders in Ks. Not complaining. Just sayin.' This lineup still strikes out a lot.
3. Late yesterday, the Yankees bought another bullpen lug nut, RH pitcher Jake Cousins - brother of Nick, Jason, Captain, Kirk the QB - from the White Sox. He's 29, a moose, and basically been the last resort in every bullpen he's ever made.
4. The '24 Yankees will use pitchers like Kleenex in a Covid house. Scranton's Shuttle will run nonstop. ERAs won't matter as much as contract options. This doesn't just affect the Yankees. The new normal is using four pitchers per game, and that's not considering bullpen starts. Down the road, Cousins might be called upon to eat some catastrophic innings. (Is Josh Donaldson still available?)
5. Clay Holmes was insanely lucky last night. Jon Berti made a fantastic play at 3B. Judge chased down a blast to the CF wall. Verdugo dove to snare the final, line drive out. Every batted ball was a rocket. Holmes needs a rest, and the Yankees need a secondary closer.
6. Okay, we just achieved a belated revenge with Houston. Now, time to get Colorado payback for Troy Tulowitzki.
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26 comments:
You know that this is all a massive setup, right?
I do not intent to get psychically crushed when this train wreck of a team plays to average, to their pitching stats.
All arms will be limp members in a month.
intend, damn it. I hate autocorrect.
This is how older teams always start, come out like a freight train till the body breaks down. Hopefully the kids continue to pick up the slack when it happens. Would love to see Dominguez replace Stanton at dh at some point until his arm is ready for of
I'm completely on board with the good vibes. Best Easter weekend in 1,990 years. But just in case the juju gods are having a little fun with Cashman again (they do love to humiliate him), I want to be on record provisionally dubbing Soto "Mr March".
Tigers, Brewers, and Pirates.
You are the company you keep.
It was good to spank the Asstros. But it's April.
All four of these undefeated teams will be mired in mediocrity before long.
What's the other Sinatra song:
"You're riding high in April, shot down in May."
@ Jaraxle, Replacing Garbagetime Stanton with The Martian would be smart and the winning thing to do. Which is precisely why they'd never do it. Could very well be that The Martian spends the rest of his career in the minors, whilst HAL & Co. perform their hysterical theatrics about how he needs to play everyday & how he's not a "finished" player yet & with Great Great players like the Garbagetime here, how could The Martian get any playing time? We've seen this movie before, many times.
@ DickAllen, "riding high in April, shot down in May", what Sinatra song is that from? What a great line! Is the song about baseball?
Judge not only looks lost, but he might be hurt. Wouldn't be surprised if, after hitting .095 for three months with only one homer, they suddenly announce that he needs hernia surgery and will be out for the rest of the year.
We beat Hader yesterday, but wouldn't it have been great if we'd signed that guy to be the closer? Holmes giving up shots all over the field.
Gleyber finally did something right, eh? Only proves that even a blind squirrel finds an acorn sooner or later.
If anyone is counting, that's seven straight wins against the ASS-stros in their Minute Maid Park. I hate that place, but I wish the Yankees had done something like that with the new Yankee Stadium. What with global warming and endless heavy rain in NYC, a retractable roof would've been a God-send. But I'm sure HAL didn't want to throw in 150 mill of his own money for that roof on wheels.
Hammer, it's "That's Life."
@ JM, Thanks, will check out on youtube!
"That's life. That's what all the people say..."
Thanks JM for clarifying that tune title!
"That's life and I can't deny it
Many times I thought of cutting out, but my heart won't buy it
But if there's nothing shaking, come this here July (just like the Yankees)
I'm gonna roll myself up
In a big ball and die"
I hope I'm wrong.
More Sinatra:
Fairytales can come true
It can happen to you
When the Yankees Win
These cleats are made for walkin'
And that's just what they'll do
One of these days these cleats are gonna walk all over you
"I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn and a king
I've been up and down and over and out and I know one thing
Each time I find myself layin' flat on my face
I just pick myself up and get back in the race"
That is a swingin' groovy tune! Can't believe I've never heard that one before. Gonna add it to my repertoire.
If nothin' else, it'll be another good swan song for the Yankee funeral train. DickAllen, love your added lyrics ("just like the Yankees"). Was actually waiting for Sinatra to sing that line! I think it works great!
How can it be that Holmes “needs a rest” after the opening series? Secondary closer? We need a PRIMARY closer. Why not take one of the power arms in the system and develop him as a full-rime dedicated closer? Right now the closer in SWB seems to be 28 y/o Mets castoff Dennis Santana, who’s compiled a 5.17 ERA and negative WAR over bits and pieces of 6 seasons. What sense does that make?
Would've been great if we'd signed Hader. Holmes is too erratic. He gets into these bad grooves, possibly caused by back pain flare ups. Gives up shots all over the place. Sometimes hits batters out of nowhere with two outs and nobody on, like he did in Saturday's game. Just a matter of time before he blows a big one. Walkin' the tightrope, courtesy of Stevie Ray Vaughn, and his defense and the fans Caught in the Crossfire.
Ian Hamilton is the better pitcher, better stuff, better control. Seems to have the right mindset too. Maybe try him as closer. But wherever you put Holmes, you're gonna get angina that inning.
As if we haven't been suffering from late-inning angina for years.
BTW Hammer, I've always thought Sinatra was an asshole in spite of his fame.
But he made a live album with Count Basie at the Sands in Vegas in 1966 that is one hell of an album with Quincy Jones running the band. It is nothing short of spectacular.
It's not the quiet, beautifully quiet, studio albums he made with Nelson Riddle, but the band and Sinatra were at their peak together.
@ DickAllen, "always thought Sinatra was an asshole". Oh, I'm sure he was! LOL But he's dead now, so whether he's in heaven or hell, Frankie baby, this Bud's for you!
From "Kingdom of Heaven":
Blacksmith: I have done ... murder.
Baron of Iberlin: Haven't we all?
Blacksmith: Is it true that in Jerusalem we can erase our sins?
Baron: We can find out together.
Heady stuff Hammer :)
Yeah, I'm on fire today!
Gonna have to check out that live album. Thanks, DickAllen!
Re:sweep
Even stranger, we have now beaten the Astros seven times in a row going back to last year.
Keefe To the City encompassed my feelings this weekend when he wrote this:
"The Yankees are 4-0 and the Astros are 0-4. That may be my most favorite sentence I have ever written."
Fuck the Asstros ... to life-long debilitating injury, especially Cheater Shrimp, with the moldering foot of Curt Schilling. Again and again.
Fuck Hall too.
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