This Was Supposed to Be THE Year

This was supposed to be the year. When the big contracts came off the books, and the "prospects" came good. Brian Cashman threw 2016, 2017 and 2018 away with stupid trades, so that 2019 could be the start of the next Yankee Dynasty.

It's not. This Yankee team was designed to sell tickets and merchandise, while staying under the luxury tax threshold. Not to win a championship.
Now, half the players meant to sell tickets are injured, and what's left is a .500-caliber team.

Don't blame manager Aaron Boone. Blaming him for the Yankees' bad start is like blaming the limo driver for JFK getting shot.

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You certainly can't blame last night's starting pitcher for the Yankees losing. Masahiro Tanaka was terrific again, going 6 2/3rds innings, allowing just 1 run on 8 hits and no walks, striking out 7. Adam Ottavino finished the 7th and pitched the 8th, allowing no baserunners.

Now, a person with a clue would have considered that, having thrown 87 pitches, Tanaka was far from done. And that, maybe he should finish the 7th. And maybe even the 8th. Failing that, he would have considered that Ottavino was cruising, and that, perhaps, he should finish the game, giving closer Aroldis Chapman some rest.

But Aaron Boone has to follow Cashman's orders, and he lifted Tanaka when he did and Ottavino when he did. Which set up the 9th inning.

But before I get to that, let's talk about how the Yankees hit. Which was not well.

I keep telling people that the Yankees are not going to make the Playoffs because their pitching staff has too many holes in it. They say there's nothing to worry about, because Cashman has assembled a team of big boppers who are going to outscore everybody.

Well, in the 1st 5 games this season, the Yankees have scored 19 runs. Take out the opener, and it's 12 runs in 4 games. And several of the hitters Cashman acquired are on the Injured List.

With 1 out in the 2nd inning, DJ LeMahieu singled, Mike Tauchman hit a ground rule double, and Clint Frazier hit a sacrifice fly to left field to bring home LeMahieu. Then Tyler Wade struck out to strand Tauchman.

Respectively: LeMahieu was subbing at 3rd base for Miguel Andujar; Tauchman in left field for Brett Gardner, who was moved over to center field to sub for Aaron Hicks; Frazier at DH for Giancarlo Stanton; and Wade at 2nd base for Gleyber Torres, who was moved over to shortstop to sub for Troy Tulowitzki, who was subbing there for Didi Gregorius. Also, Austin Romine was catching for Gary Sanchez. The only people who were playing the positions they should have been playing were Aaron Judge in right field and Luke Voit at 1st base.

Last night, we partied like it was 1988. (We finished 3 1/2 games out of 1st, but in 5th place.)

The Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the 1st, the 6th and the 9th; stranded a runner on 1st in the 3rd. the 4th and the 7th; wasted a leadoff single and a walk in the 5th, and had a runner on 1st with 1 out erased by a double play in the 8th.

It was 1-1 going into the 9th. It could have been a lot worse, of course, but it could also have been a lot better, and it wasn't.

Bringing your closer in for the 9th makes sense. And Chapman got a strikeout to start it. But... Cliche alert: Walks can kill you. Chapman allowed walk, RBI double, strikeout, RBI single, infield single, groundout. And, as I said, the Yankees went down quietly in the bottom of the 9th.

No closer gets it right every time. Mariano Rivera didn't. Dave Righetti, Goose Gossage, Sparky Lyle, Luis Arroyo, Bob Grim, Joe Page, Johnny Murphy and Wilcy Moore didn't.

Chapman blew it, but it should never have been blowable. If the Yankees had scored 4 runs in the 1st 8 innings, and Chapman gave them the exact same 9th inning, they would have won 4-3. Instead, they didn't get the runs they needed. Because Cashman didn't get the players they needed.

Tigers 3, Yankees 1. WP: Joe Jimenez (1-0). SV: Former Yankee Shane Greene. LP: Chapman (0-1).

The Yankees go into this afternoon's finale at 2-3. Jonathan Loaisiga has come off the Injured List, and will be starting, when it should probably be either CC Sabathia or Luis Severino, both of whom are injured.

This was supposed to be the year. Does this look like the year to you? Because it sure as hell doesn't look like the year to me.

Understand this: I am not happy that I was right this. I am not happy about Cashman having failed to do his job.

But I did tell you so.