The Yankees are Arsenal through and through.
Those of you who are both Pinstripers and Gooners will get that. Those of you who aren't, which I suspect is most of you, maybe you should keep it that way, for your own sakes.
CC Sabathia didn't pitch badly against the Baltimore Orioles last night, but neither didn't have particularly good stuff. He pitched 4 innings, and face up 3 home runs, 2 them to Manny Machado.
Then he left with hip soreness. Brandon Drury had a migraine, and had to be taken out. Tyler Sads apparently had the flu. And, in the 14th inning, Gary Sanchez was removed with a leg cramp. The Yankees used 20 players in the game, everyone except Adam Warren and the remaining starting pitchers.
They picked up single runs in the 2nd, 4th, and 8th Innings, the last of these a home run by Didi Gregorius, his 3rd of the young season. But when the game went to extra innings, I knew the Yankees would not win it, because Aaron Boone manages the same way that Brian Cashman wanted Joe Girardi to manage: Using every pitcher he can.
The Yankees had their chances. They went down in order, 1-2-3, in the 9th, and again in the 10th. They had men on 1st and 2nd with 1 out in the 11th, but didn't score, partly thanks to a weird play that got Gregorius tagged out at home plate with what should have been the winning run. They went down 1-2-3 in the 12th. They got the leadoff man on in the 13th, but stranded him.
Jonathan Holder pitched a perfect top of the 13th, but melted down in the top of the 14th. He loaded the bases with nobody out, got a strikeout, and then faced Pedro Alvarez. In 2013, with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Alvarez led the National League with 36 home runs. He's been plagued by injuries ever since.
It didn't matter. Grand slam. And the Yankees, predictably went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 14th. Orioles 7, Yankees 3. WP: Pedro Araujo (1-1). No save. Think about that: It was not a save situation for Brad Brach, who pitched the bottom of the 14th. LP: Holder (0-1).
So, for all the off-season and preseason hype, the Yankees are now 4-4, 2 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox in the American League Eastern Division.
The "experts" told us we would pound the opposition into submission. Five runs in 23 innings against a weak pitching staff suggests otherwise.
The series continues this afternoon. Sonny Gray starts for the Yankees. Chris Tillman pitches for the Orioles, and he usually pitches well against the Yankees. It's already a long weekend, and it could get longer.
How soon before Yankee Fans start acting like a small group of Arsenal fans, and start having anti-Cashman demonstrations?
That's the difference between the Yankees and The Arsenal: With the Yankees, the general manager is the problem. Arsène Wenger wants to win. Brian Cashman just wants publicity and money.
No comments:
Post a Comment