If You Have to Ask...

Every so often, the question has to be asked: "If, before the season started, I had told you that (such-and-such event would occur), would you have taken it?" Usually, it's phrased in such a way that the answer would have to be, "Yes."

If you had told me before the season started that the Yankees would still be playing baseball on October 18, would I have taken it?

This is the New York Yankees. The standard is different than for any other team. So, as the old saying goes, "If you have to ask... "

No. It is not good enough. It would not have occurred to me that the Division Series would still be going on at this point. Hearing in March that the Yankees would still be playing on October 18 would have sounded to me like we were in the League Championship Series, and would be losing it. Anything less than a Pennant would not have been good enough. It still isn't.

Ten years ago today, as the Yankees were losing Game 4 of the ALCS to the Detroit Tigers, getting swept, with the Yankees batting .157 for the series and scoring 6 runs in the 4 games, I wrote this on Facebook, complete with the bowdlerization:

For (George Carlin word)'s sake, if you gotta go down, at least go down with all guns blazing and all flags flying.

I don't mind the Tigers as an opponent. I can live with giving it all you got and simply not having it work out well. I don't like it, but I can live with it.  But this? This is pathetic.

Last night, we were supposed to play the deciding, must-win Game 5 of the American League Division Series, at home against the Cleveland Guardians. But we got rained out. This does actually help, because it gives our pitching staff an extra day of rest, and we will have Nestor Cortés going this afternoon (first pitch scheduled for 4:07 PM), instead of a "bullpen game," with Jameson Taillon starting and not expected to go for very long. But it also gives the Guardians' staff an extra day of rest. We shall see which team does more with it.

Win tonight, and we advance to face the Red Sox South, also known as the Houston Asterisks, in the ALCS for the 3rd time in the last 6 seasons, having yet to win one of them. It's about time we did. Lose tonight, and the season is a failure.

If, before the season started, you had asked me, "If you knew there would be another failure this season, but it would be what finally got Brian Cashman fired, and a new general manager for the 2023 season, would you have taken it?"

Well, I will cross that bridge if and when we come to it. But I'm not holding my breath.

*

Days until the next Arsenal match: 2, this Thursday, at 1:00 PM New York time, at home at the Emirates Stadium, a Europa League match against Netherlands team PSV Eindhoven.

Days until the New Jersey Devils again play a local rival: 2, this Thursday, at 7:30 PM, away to the New York Islanders.

Days until the next East Brunswick High School football game: 3, this Friday, at 7:00 PM, home to Phillipsburg. We're not gonna win a game this season, are we?

Days until the next Rutgers University football game: 4, this Saturday, at 12:00 PM, home to Indiana.

Days until the next elections for the U.S. Congress and for the Governors of most States in the Union, including New York and Pennsylvania: 21, on Tuesday, November 8. Exactly 3 weeks.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 32 on Saturday, November 19, at 12:00 noon, at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey. Just over a month.

Days until the next game of the U.S. National Soccer Team: 34, in the World Cup, on its opening day, November 21, at 2:00 PM New York time, against Wales, at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar. Under 5 weeks.

Days until the next North London Derby: 88, on Saturday, January 14, 2023, at 10:00 AM New York time, at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Most likely, this game will be rescheduled, to another time of day, and possibly to another day, most likely the next day, to fit the whims of the TV networks. Either way, it will be under 3 months -- unless Arsenal get drawn against Spurs in one of the domestic cups.

Days until the next New York Red Bulls game: Unknown. They got knocked out of the MLS Cup Playoffs by FC Cincinnati, meaning that they have now gone 27 full seasons without winning an MLS Cup. The opening game of the next season is usually on the 1st weekend of March. Saturday, March 4, is probably the earliest day they will play another league game. So, 137 days, under 5 months.

Days until the Red Bulls again play a nearby rival: Unknown. Usually, the opening game is not against either New York City FC, the Philadelphia Union, D.C. United or the New England Revolution. So we're probably looking at, at the least, 1 more week, which would be a minimum of 144 days.

Days until the Yankees' next series against the Boston Red Sox begins: 234, on Friday, June 9, 2023, at Yankee Stadium II. Under 8 months.

Days until the next Women's World Cup opens: 265, on Friday, July 10, 2023, jointly held in the neighboring nations of Australia and New Zealand. Under 9 months.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge game: Unknown, since we won't know the 2023 schedule for months. It could be as soon as Friday, September 1, which would be 318 days. Under 11 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympic Games: 647, on Friday, July 26, 2024, in Paris, France. Under 2 years, or a little over 21 months.

Days until the next Presidential election: 749, on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. A little over 2 years, or a little over 24 months.

Days until the next elections for Governor of New Jersey and Mayor of New York City: 1,113, on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. A little over 3 years.

Days until the next Winter Olympics open in Milan, Italy: 1,207, on Friday, February 6, 2026. Under 3 1/2 years.