Monday, May 18, 2026

Yesterday's second-worst Yankee loss in this decade came with one upside

It's a no easy task, calculating the absolute worst Yankee losses of a season, or a decade, or a millennium. 

Yesterday's out-of-body, felony-grade defeat - surely the ugliest thus far in 2026 - does not measure up as the worst in this wretched decade.  

Nope. That dreaded distinction still belongs to what Yankeestorians call "Game Five," of the horror show 2024 World Series. It featured a 5th inning that began with Aaron Judge muffing a harmless fly ball, ascended with Anthony Volpe botching an easy throw to third, and peaked forever in our hearts with Gerrit Cole pointing to first base, rather than running there.

Nope. Game Five remains the worst Yankee loss of this decade and, frankly, of this millennium. 

And, seriously, there have been some masterpieces. A few years back, remember when closer Clay Holmes disassembled in Houston, leading to a walk-off HR by Jose Altuve? Or the Dave Roberts loss to Boston, back in the waning days of the Curse? Or the Johnny Damon grand slam off Javier Vazquez? Those were primo, bull-goose, are-you-fucking-with-me-God? losses, which we must carry for the rest of our lives.

If there is an upside to yesterday - in a sad, desperate way - it is that John Sterling didn't have to call it... or even watch. 

Nope. Add this to the pantheon of abuses by this Yankee regime against its fans. It brought a little of everything: the scrutiny of a Subway Series rubber match, the arrogance of Juan Soto, the expectations of Mets youngsters, the meltdown of another Yankee closer, and the inevitability of another season shot to hell. 

The YES men will say that the Yankees this week can rectify their course against Toronto and Tampa. Let's not kid ourselves. This is not how champions play. 

8 comments:

JM said...

How did Suzyn call the Clueless Volpe Fuckup--already declared "not his fault" by Boone and, of course, Volpe?

Has anyone been tracking fan comments online about this incredibly stupid play? I'd love to know if other fans saw what I saw and are laying the blame accordingly.

Pocono Steve said...

I didn't see, but I did manage to Google a bunch of "Bednar sucks" comments. From Pirates fans.

ranger_lp said...

ED, is that you in the bottom corner?

https://x.com/NYYUNDERGROUND/status/2056113959883702578

BTR999 said...

From our cousins, as they dig a little deeper into the Volpe myths and realities:

https://bleedingyankeeblue.blogspot.com/2026/05/how-yankee-scouts-lost-their-way-in.html

JM said...

Thanks, BTR. I tried to point people to that story the other day but maybe I did it too early in the morning! Or was that too late at night?

BTR999 said...

I missed it myself JM! But thanks for all your front page posts, I try to read ‘em all!

edb said...

Yesdterday's loss showed what a bunch of loers the Yannkees are. This group is not going anywhere.

HoraceClarke66 said...

Incredible what an obsession Derek Jeter became to Brian Cashman—and how he remains one, even after he has been gone from the Yankees for over a decade.

The Troy Tulowitski nonsense, the "big steal" of Giancarlo Stanton (with accompanying book), and now Volpe, Cashman's own, Frankenstein Jeter.

As the worthy bleedingyankeeblue research shows, the obsession has now corrupted the entire organization, with everyone scrambling to make Cashman's fantasy a reality.

Bitty compared this team to our national government today. Here is another example: the maximum leader decided that the sky was actually red, so all his minions quickly fell into line, rather than be axed. The results are the same in both cases.