Saturday, June 8, 2019

Another Bad German Start Dooms Yanks vs. Indians

First, the good news from yesterday's Yankee game, the opener of a 3-game weekend series against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field:

* Didi Gregorius came off the Injured List, made his season debut, and went 2-for-4. The Dutch Knight is back.

* Aaron Hicks hit another home run, his 4th of the season. Anybody who was saying the team needed Gregorius and Hicks to come back is looking pretty smart right now.

* Clint Frazier got 2 hits.

* The Yankees didn't make any errors, not even with Frazier playing the whole game.

Now, the bad news: Domingo German had his 3rd straight bad start, going 6 innings, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits and a walk, striking out 6. Control wasn't the problem: He just got hit. Dave Hale wasn't a whole lot better, allowing a run in 2 innings of relief.

The Yankees scored in the 2nd and the 3rd, and led 2-0 going to the bottom of the 4th, but it was all Cleveland from that point onward. Indians 5, Yankees 2. WP: Zach Plesac (1-1). SV: Brad Hand (19). LP: German (9-2).

The series continues this afternoon, a 4:10 start on Fox Sports 1. CC Sabathia pitches against Adam Plutko.

Masahiro Tanaka was supposed to start the Sunday finale, but he was sent home so he could be there as his wife had a baby. He should be back for his next start, but the Yankees now have to decide who to start tomorrow. It could be another "Chad Green for the 1st 2 innings, then whoever else is available, and pray."

*

Hours until the New York Red Bulls play again: 8, tonight at 7:30, against the Philadelphia Union, at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania. 

Hours until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": See the previous answer. The next game against New York City FC will be on Sunday night, July 14, at Red Bull Arena. The next game against the New England Revolution will be on Saturday night, August 17, at Red Bull Arena. The next game against D.C. United will be on Wednesday night, August 21, at Audi Field in Washington. The next game against the Union will be on Sunday night, September 22, at Red Bul Arena.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 10, a week from this Tuesday, June 18, against the South American nation of Guyana, at the brand-new Allianz Field in St. Paul, home of Minnesota United, in the opener of the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup. They clowned their way through their last warmup match, a 1-0 loss to Jamaica in Washington on Wednesday. Better then than in the actual tournament, I suppose. The women's team opens its defense of the Women's World Cup on Tuesday, at 3:00 PM Eastern Time, against Thailand in Reims, France.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series (after the current one) begins: 21, on Saturday, June 29. Just 3 weeks. This is the 2-game series at the London Stadium, home base of the 2012 Olympics, and home field of soccer team West Ham United.

Days until Arsenal play again: 37. A little over 5 weeks. Following their debacle in the UEFA Europa League Final, the Gunners' next game will be in America.

Days until Arsenal play in America: 37. On July 15, they will visit the Denver suburbs to play the Colorado Rapids. On July 17, they will visit the Los Angeles suburbs to play Bayern Munich. On July 20, they will visit Charlotte to play AS Roma. And on July 23, they will visit the Redskins' stadium in the Washington suburbs to play Real Madrid.

Days until the next North London Derby: Unknown, as both Premier League matches, and a League Cup match, have been played this season. The next season starts on August 10, which is 63 days from now. Just 9 weeks. But the PL never puts a Derby on the opening weekend. The Gunners and Spurs usually play each other in N5 in October or November, and then in N17 in February or March.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 84on August 31, home to the University of Massachusetts. Just 12 weeks.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Unknown, because the 2019 schedule hasn't been released yet. Usually, the next season begins on the 1st Friday in September, which would be September 6, which would be 96 days. It has been announced that East Brunswick and its arch-rivals, Old Bridge, will no longer play each other on Thanksgiving Day. In fact, many of the local Thanksgiving rivalries have been moved back to the opening night, September 6. Whenever the Big Green play the Purple Bastards, it will be under a new head coach: Andy Steinfeld, a longtime assistant and a two-way lineman on the school's 1984 Conference Champions.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play again: Unknown. Traditionally, a new NHL season begins on the 1st Thursday in October, which would be October 3, which is 117 days from now. Under 4 months. The new schedule is usually released around June 20 or so. We shall see.

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: Unknown. But the Devils never open against either the New York Rangers, a.k.a. The Scum; the New York Islanders; or the Philadelphia Flyers, a.k.a. The Philth.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 175, on Saturday, November 30, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. Under 6 months.

Days until my 50th Birthday, at which point I can join AARP and get discounts for travel and game tickets: 193, on December 18, 2019. A little over 6 months.

Day until the premiere of the final Star Wars film, Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker: 195, on December 20, 2019.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 227on January 21, 2020. A little over 7 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 412, on July 24, 2020. A little over a year, or a little over 13 months.

Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 514on November 3, 2020. Under a year and a half, or under 17 months.

Days until a fully-Democratic-controlled Congress can convene, and the Republicans can do nothing about it: 575, on January 3, 2021. About a year and a half, or under 18 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 592at noon on January 20, 2021. Under 2 years, or under 20 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.

Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Beijing, China: 972, on February 4, 2022. Under 3 years, or under 32 months.

Days until the next World Cup is scheduled to kick off: 1,262, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. A little over 3 1/2 years, or a little over 41 months. The charges of corruption against Qatar may yet mean that they will lose the tournament, in which case it will be moved to a nation where it would not be too hot to play it in June and July.

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