Tuesday, April 23, 2024

The 10 worst elements of yesterday's pathetic loss

 1. We are now 2nd - (as in runners up, also-rans, silver medalists, participation trophy candidates, fillers - in the AL East. We couldn't even hold first through April 30, following our best start in decades. Next week, it's Baltimore, and they are for real. 

2. Another looming indignity: Boston could soon pass us. Weren't they supposed to be in a rebuilding year?

3. We lost to last year's consensus worst team in baseball.

4. We lost to last year's consensus worst team in baseball... at home.

5. We've been shutout in two of our last three games. In one, we couldn't even score in 10 innings, even with a ghost runner on 2nd. In the other, the pitcher was JP Sears, who we traded last year for Frankie Montas. In both, we squandered great starts by Nestor Cortes and Carlos Rodon.

6. After Juan Soto, the heart of the batting order is killing us. Aaron Judge looks lost. If he doesn't strikeout, he's a DP grounder. But nobody is stepping up.

7. Aaron Boone managed to get kicked out of a game without speaking. 

8. We're back to fuming over Juan Soto's future contract.


9. Anthony Volpe cannot hit leadoff. His average is plummeting, and nobody knows when it will level off.


10. Some of us have forgotten the fundamental tenets of juju. You don't call a team "tomato can" on the verge of playing them. Talking about you, Stang. Get your act together. 

8 comments:

AboveAverage said...

Haiku Tuesday - Bah-da bah-da-da-da Edition

Passover JuJu

Our Dreams they Break like Matzo

Big Swing and a Miss

el duque said...

Love these.

JM said...

Some things never change.

We can pitch. We can't hit. We can't score. Our pitchers get screwed. We lose
low-scoring games against bad teams. We always lose in extra innings.

Once again, we have half an offense, if that. A couple guys are hitting. Most aren't. Judge is a drag and increasingly a worry. (But his metrics are great.)

Management has learned nothing from anything. Front office mistakes are rewarded. Dugout mistakes are unpunished.

It was a nice couple of weeks. If only the Angel of Death had passed over our lineup. Somebody forgot to put blood on the doorpost. He will not be fired.

HoraceClarke66 said...

Damn! And I had the blood all ready to go, too! Instead, I wound up tomato paste.

JM said...

See, Hoss, the Angel of Death can spot such sleight of hand. Can't fool him/her/it/them.

Power ranking on The Athletic site:

2. New York Yankees
Record: 15-8
Last Power Ranking: 1

Notable stat: Aaron Judge’s .690 OPS against fastballs

As The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner noted, Judge had destroyed heaters in the past. He tended to crush fastballs in the strike zone throughout his career. Thus far, in 2024, he hasn’t been able to catch up. The lack of success is the key to his slow start because otherwise, Judge has been himself. His eye is keen, and he tends not to chase pitches outside the zone — he entered Monday with a .320 on-base percentage despite batting .183. When he makes contact, he strikes the ball with force. But he hasn’t been able to cover fastballs in the zone, which is a bit worrisome.

AboveAverage said...

Wow JM - one could almost think that you were being mindful of providing proper pronouns - but we all know that the Angel of death identifies as everything (except Brian Cashman because frankly Cash disgusts the AoD).

Lots of tomato products here over the past 24 hours.

I’m now inspired to make a lovely Italian meal for my wife and I tonight.



The Hammer of God said...

So that is why Brian Cashman continues to torture us with his sheenanigans - The Angel of Death can't stand the guy, is downright disgusted by the guy, has taken a flyer on Cashman.

JM said...

AoD said no way is he/she/it/they spending the time it takes to escort Cashman to Hell. "He's just such an asshole," the angel was quoted as saying. "I've got a list of those people."