The Girardiest Game Ever

Last night in Orlando, the U.S soccer team beat Panama 4-0, and all but secured a berth in the 2018 World Cup. (UPDATE: Little did we know... )

In spite of this, I am not happy, because Joe Girardi essentially ended the Yankees' season.

I know I've said that before, and he's done it before, and seen the players kind of bail him out. But this time, he screwed them over.

If you were a Yankee Fan from 1982 to 1995, people who hated the Yankees could legitimately call you a frontrunner and a loser at the same time. You had all of the drawbacks of being a Yankee Fan, and none of the perks.

Which is why I do not presume that Brian Cashman's "prospects" will pan out. I have seen Gleyber Torres before, in Hensley "Bam Bam" Meulens.

But one advantage the 1982-95 Yankees had over the 2010-17 Yankees is accountability: The manager was fired when he failed. Sometimes before.

The Yankees already lost Game 1 of their American League Division Series to the Cleveland Indians, 4-0. And, last night, they trailed Game 2 3-2 in the top of the 3rd. But they scored 4 runs in the inning, and 2 more in the 5th, to make it 8-3.

That should have been enough for CC Sabathia, who returned to the scene of previous fine performances for the Indians. But he walked Carlos Santana to start the bottom of the 6th.

Maybe that should have been Girardi's signal to remove him, that he was losing his effectiveness, especially with the dangerous Jay Bruce up next. But he got Bruce out.

You never, ever, ever take a pitcher out right after he's gotten an out.

Girardi took him out -- having thrown just 77 pitches -- and brought in Chad Green.

I would hate to think that the Yankees pounded the billed-as-invincible Corey Kluber for nothing. More than that, I would hate to think that this was CC Sabathia's last appearance in a Yankee uniform, and that he, as usual, gave 100 percent, and that it was wasted.

Now, Green has done remarkable things for the Yankees this year. I don't fault him for what happened next.

He got Austin Jackson -- another good player that Cashman let get away -- out. But then he allowed a double to Yan Gomez

The batter was Lonnie Chisenhall.

Home plate umpire Dan Iassogna ruled that Chisenhall was hit by a pitch. The instant replay showed that he wasn't, that the ball hit the knob of his bat, and that Gary Sanchez, so often criticized for his defense as a catcher, caught it. That should have been called strike 3, and the last out of the inning.

Girardi should have challenged the call. He didn't.

You would think that he would stand up for his team. You would think that, being an ex-catcher, he would at least stand up for his catcher and his pitcher. But he just sat on his ass and did nothing.

The bases were loaded. And Francisco Lindor hit a grand slam to close the gap to 8-7.

It would have been very easy, at that point, to presume that the Yankees were going to lose.

Which they did. The Indians tied the game in the 8th. The game went to the bottom of the 13th inning. Girardi burned through Green, David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle, Aroldis Chapman and Dellin Betances. He let Robertson and Chapman pitch 2 innings each. Green, despite his mistake (which was not his mistake), and Kahnle each could have gone another inning. Girardi didn't let them.

From the 7th inning onward -- after the lack of challenge on the hit-by-pitch -- the Yankees got a single by Todd Frazier in the 9th inning, a walk by Greg Bird and a single by Aaron Hicks in the 10th, Frazier reaching on an error and Aaron Judge drawing a walk in the 11th, and that's it: 5 baserunners in 7 innings.

You can't blame that on Girardi. Or can you? Were the players demoralized by their spineless idiot of a manager not supporting them on an obvious screwing that could have been very easily unscrewed, if only he were not spineless?

In the bottom of the 13th, Betances walked Jackson, who stole 2nd, and allowed a game-winning single to Gomes.

I don't blame Betances for that. Maybe he should have been in the game earlier. Maybe the score never should have gotten worse than Yankees 8, Indians 3.

Instead, it ended Indians 9, Yankees 8.

Oh, by the way: Andrew Miller pitched for the Indians in this game, when he should have been available to the Yankees. Cashman's biggest bonehead move? No, the 2009-10 offseason trade that amounted to Melky Cabrera for the 2nd coming of Javier Vazquez was worse.

Had the Yankees won this game, they'd have gone back to New York tied. Instead, it's 2 games to none down, and they have to win 3 straight against the defending American League Champions, 1 of the 3 best teams in the majors this season, along with the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

This game may have been the Girardiest game ever. The only game I can think of that was worse, in both importance and (for want of a better word) reasoning, was Game 4 of the 2010 AL Championship Series, when everyone in America except Girardi knew that Boone Logan was going to serve a home run up to Josh Hamilton, but Girardi brought Logan in anyway, because his damn binder said bring a lefty in to face the lefty.

Would Casey Stengel have done that? Would Billy Martin? Maybe -- but the lefty would have been CC.

This game may have turned the tide. So many of the online fans who claimed that Girardi did a wonderful job with the team this year -- with the Wild Card Game as their greatest evidence -- turned on him.

Still, many people are saying that the Yankees "overachieved" this season.

No. They did not. They aren't winning the World Series. They aren't winning the Pennant. They aren't even winning the ALDS.

That is underachieving.

Don't tell me what the Yankees were "projected" to do. When you're the New York Yankees, you do whatever you have to do to win -- within the rules. (Unlike some other teams we could mention.)

And when you're the manager of the New York Yankees, and you see a bad call that hurts your team, you challenge it. You now have that right in Major League Baseball.

Joe Girardi didn't.

If the 1980s George Steinbrenner were in charge now, Girardi would have been out of a job before he even left the dugout.

Instead, Girardi will still be the Yankee manager on Opening Day 2018.

Will we ever see another World Series?

*

Hours until the Red Bulls play again: 7, this afternoon at 5:00, away to the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Hours until the New Jersey Devils play again: 9, at 7:00 tonight, the season opener, home to the Colorado Avalanche.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 3, this Tuesday night at 8:00, away to Trinidad & Tobago. The last -place team in the Group shouldn't be too hard to beat. Even with a draw, we will qualify. But if we lose, and Panama beats Costa Rica, and/or Honduras beats Mexico, we might miss out.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 6, next Friday night, at 7:00 PM, away to South Brunswick. Last night, in a Greater Middlesex Conference/Shore Conference crossover game against Marlboro, Da Bears won 28-14, gaining their 1st win of the season. Bob Molarz' Green-White Army is now 1-3.

Days until The Arsenal play again: 7, next Saturday at 10:00 AM our time, away to Hertfordshire club Watford.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 7, next Saturday at 12:00 noon, away to the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois. They are now 1-4 after their 56-0 shellacking by Ohio State last week. They have this week off.

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 7, next Saturday night, 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.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 15, on Sunday, October 22, against the D.C. Scum, at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington. Depending on when the new Audi Field opens next year (right now, they're talking about a June 2018 opening), this could be Metro's last trip to RFK. This is the last derby of the regular season. They could play New York City FC in the Playoffs, but the New England Revolution and the Philadelphia Union won't be faced again until next season.

Days until the Alex Rodriguez Contract From Hell officially runs out, and the Yankees can spend his salary on new players: 24, on October 31. A little over 3 weeks.

Days until the next election for Governor of New Jersey: 31, on Tuesday, November 7. Exactly 1 month until we elect Phil Murphy, defeat Kim Guadagno, end Christieism forever, and send the Republicans and their illegitimate leader Donald Trump a message that their time has come and gone. But only if you vote!

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 35, on Saturday, November 11, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.

Days until the next North London Derby: 42, on Saturday, November 18, at the Emirates Stadium. Exactly 6 weeks. This game was moved back to 5:30 PM London Time, 12:30 PM New York time, for TV purposes, but was not, as I thought it might be, moved to Sunday afternoon (morning, our time) or Monday night (afternoon).

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving high school football game: 47, on Thursday, November 23, at 10:00 AM. Less than 7 weeks, 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: 125, on February 9, 2018. A little over 4 months.

Days until Opening Day of the 2018 Major League Baseball season: 173, on Thursday night, March 29, as the Yankees open away to the Toronto Blue Jays. Under 6 months.

Days until the Yankees' 2018 home opener: 177, on Monday afternoon, April 2, against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 185, on Tuesday, April 10, 2018, at Fenway Park.

Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia: 250, on June 14, 2018. A little over 8 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, and the 2017 AL East title as well: 329. Under 11 months. Of course, Clint Frazier is already up, but the bubble has already burst on him, and 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, when we can elect a Democratic Congress that can impeach and remove Donald Trump from the Presidency: 385, on November 6, 2018. A little over a year, or a little under 13 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 449, on January 9, 2019. A little under a year and a half, or a little over 15 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 814, on January 8, 2020. A little under 2 1/2 years, or a little over 27 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 1,012, on July 24, 2020. Under 3 years, or a little over 33 months.

Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 1,114, on November 3, 2020. Under 3 1/2 years, or a little under 37 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 1,192, at noon on January 20, 2021. A little under 3 1/2 years, or a little over 39 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.