It was strange: As long as it was raining in The Bronx, it wasn't raining here in East Brunswick; and as long as it was raining here, and at time it was sheeting down, they were able to play at Yankee Stadium.
But those clouds foreshadowed a Yankee defeat.
We certainly can't blame the Yankee pitching. Masahiro Tanaka, who normally pitches much better at night than during the day, went 6 innings, allowing 2 runs, only 1 earned, neither of them on a home run, which is usually his weak spot; 6 hits and 2 walks. He followed up his last start, which had a career-high 14 strikeouts, with 11 in only 6 innings this time. Tommy Kahnle pitched a perfect 7th inning, and Dellin Betances pitched a scoreless 8th and 9th.
In fact, in spite of being broken up by a very long rain delay, his 8th inning was an "immaculate inning": 9 pitches, 9 strikes, 3 strikeouts.
Right, that's just a quirk. It's not a highlight if you don't win the ballgame.
You can slightly blame Tanaka for allowing 2 runs. You can blame Jacoby Ellsbury for his 4th inning error that allowed the 2nd run.
But, mainly, you should blame the Yankee bats. The Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the 1st. They had men on 2nd and 3rd in the 2nd, but Todd Frazier hit a liner right at Justin Upton, the Tiger left fielder.
The Yankees had men on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out in the 3rd, but Aaron Judge struck out -- once leading in all 3 Triple Crown categories, his batting average dropped under .300 today, and no Yankee should ever again participate in the Home Run Derby -- and Gary Sanchez grounded out.
Didi Gregorius singled to lead off the 4th, but Matt Holliday, Chase Headley and Todd Frazier each took a called 3rd strike. You can't do that. The Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the 5th. They had Sanchez on 2nd and Judge on 3rd with nobody out in the 6th, but Didi popped up, Holliday flew out to short center, it was too close for Judge to score from 3rd, and, on a 3-2 pitch, Headley struck out swinging. At least he took the bat off his shoulder.
The Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the 7th, wasted a man on 2nd with 1 out in the 8th, and went down 1-2-3 again in the 9th. 7 hits, but not 1 walk, and not 1 run.
I was all set to point out that much-hyped rookie Clint Frazier did nothing in this game -- and then I found out that this was literally true, because he didn't even get into the game. Okay, so, not his fault.
Tigers 2, Yankees 0. WP: Jordan Zimmerman (7-8). SV: Shane Greene (2 -- the last 2 games). LP: Tanaka (8-10).
The Boston Red Sox got rained out tonight, and now, the Yankees are 1 game behind them in the American League Eastern Division, even with them in the loss column. There are 56 games to play.
The Yankees now head out to Cleveland for 4 against the Indians. Here are the projected starting pitchers:
* Tonight, 7:10 PM: Sonny Gray makes his Yankee debut, against Trevor Bauer.
* Tomorrow, 7:10 PM: Jaime Garcia makes his Yankee debut, against Danny Salazar.
* Saturday, 7:10 PM: Jordan Montgomery vs. Corey Kluber.
* Sunday, 1:10 PM: Luis Severino vs. Mike Clevinger.
Then it's off to Toronto, for 3 against those pesky Blue Jays, before coming home to face The Scum.
*
Days until The Arsenal play again: 3, on Sunday, 11:00 AM our time, in the FA Community Shield (known until 2002 as the Charity Shield), the annual season-opening contest at Wembley Stadium in London between the teams that won the previous season's FA Cup (Arsenal) and Premier League title (West London club Chelsea).
Days until the Red Bulls play again: 3, on Sunday night at 6:00, a Hudson River Derby against New York City FC at Yankee Stadium II.
Days until the Premier League season begins: 8, a week from tomorrow. The Arsenal open the season at home to Leicester City, in a game moved back from the intending opening to suit British TV.
Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series: 8, a week from tomorrow, at Yankee Stadium.
Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 22, on Friday night, August 25, also against New York City FC, but at Red Bull Arena. They will next play the Philadelphia Union on Sunday, September 17, at at Red Bull Arena. They will next play the D.C. Scum on Saturday, September 27, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. They are not scheduled to play the New England Revolution again this season. The Red Bulls might make the Playoffs, but the Revs probably won't, so they almost certainly won't face each other again until next season.
Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 29, on Friday, September 1, against Costa Rica at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, in a CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier. We beat Jamaica to win the CONCACAF Gold Cup, our 6th international tournament win, all within the last 26 years. (For context: England, whose fans talk about how they're better than any CONCACAF team, mainly because they invented the game and won the World Cup in 1966, haven't been to a Final in 51 years, or even a Semifinal in 21 years.)
Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 29, on Friday, September 1, home to the University of Washington. A little over 4 weeks.
Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 36, on Friday night, September 8, home to Sayreville, a "derby." A little over 5 weeks.
Days until the New Jersey Devils play again: 65, on Saturday night, October 7, home to the Colorado Avalanche. A little over 2 months.
Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 72, on Saturday night, October 14, against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden in Midtown Manhattan. Their 1st game against the New York Islanders will be on Sunday, January 7, 2018, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn -- and they'll have played the Rangers 3 times by then. Their 1st game against the Philadelphia Flyers will be on Saturday, January 13, 2018, at the Prudential Center in Newark -- and they'll have played the Rangers 3 times and the Islanders once by then. This is a weird schedule. But at least we have it. The NBA usually doesn't release its new season's schedule until August.
Days until the Alex Rodriguez Contract From Hell officially runs out, and the Yankees can spend his salary on new players: 89, on October 31.
Days until the next election for Governor of New Jersey: 96, on Tuesday, November 7. A little over 3 months until we elect Phil Murphy, defeat Kim Guadagno, and end Christieism forever. But only if you vote!
Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 100, on Saturday, November 11, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.
Days until the next North London Derby: 107, on Saturday, November 18, at the Emirates Stadium. This game could be moved to the following day, for TV purposes.
Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving high school football game: 112, on Thursday, November 23, at 10:00 AM. Exactly 16 weekss, and thank God it's at home, at Jay Doyle's Green Grove, rather than at that purple shit pit on Route 9.
Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Pyeongchang, Korea: 194, on February 9, 2018. A little under 6 months.
Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia: 315, on June 14, 2018. A little over 10 months. Has Bruce Arena turned our chances around? Maybe. Or maybe, with the tournament on his soil, Vladimir Putin will tell his bitch Donald Trump to tell Bruce Arena to tank the games. Maybe not. Or maybe only if we end up playing Russia. I don't think Arena will listen. If he doesn't, I hope his life insurance is paid up, because Putin has had people killed for defying him.
Days until September 2018 roster call-ups, when we can finally start to expect seeing most of these wonderful "prospects" for whom Yankee general manager Brian Cashman threw away a chance at the 2016 Playoffs: 394. A little over a year, or a little under 13 months. Of course, Clint Frazier is already up, but we've hardly benefited enough to offset the cost of Andrew Miller. We could end up seeing another of them sooner than that, but since most of them are at Double-A Trenton now, if that, who's kidding who?
Days until the next Congressional election: 460, on November 6, 2018. Under a year and a half, or a little under 15 months.
Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 524, on January 9, 2019. A little under a year and a half, or a little under 17 months.
Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 889, on January 8, 2020. A little under 2 1/2 years, or a little under 29 months.
Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 1,094, on July 24, 2020. A shade under 3 years, or under 36 months.
Days until the next Presidential election: 1,556, on November 3, 2020. Under 3 1/2 years, or exactly 39 months.
Days until Liberation Day: 1,634, at noon on January 20, 2021. A little under 3 1/2 years, or under 42 months. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just from Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad, mixing theocracy with plutocracy, rather than mixing kleptocracy with plutocracy.
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