1947-2009 Yankees: Committed
2010-2019 Yankees: It's Complicated
So I got to go to Old-Timers Day yesterday. That was nice, as I got to see several players from the 1996 to 2003 Dynasty, and a few guys from the 2009 title team, and nearly all the guys who are left from the 1976 to 1981 Dynasty. There were even a few guys who came went back further than that, all the way to Dr. Bobby Brown, who played for the Yankees in the 1947 World Series. (Hence, my choice of a starting date.)
Notably absent was 90-year-old Whitey Ford. It was probably for the best, as it was really hot out there. Brown, 92, seemed okay. Don Larsen, pitcher of the only World Series perfect game, was not, needing a wheelchair and looking very frail. Hector Lopez, like Larsen about to turn 90, actually coached at 3rd base during the Old-Timers game, but, being from Panama, he could take the heat better.
The focus of the ceremonies, and the last man introduced since Whitey wasn't there, and Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Yogi Berra have all died, was the new, unanimously elected, Hall of Famer, Mariano Rivera. Especially with Derek Jeter not there, as he was with the Miami Marlins -- as was Don Mattingly, as their manager -- he got easily the biggest ovation.
The Old-Timers Game was a bit weird. Pitchers played in the field, and even batted. Mariano decided he'd like to take a swing. Mariano is about to turn 50, so it's not like he's elderly, but his 19-year playing career included exactly 4 plate appearances, one of them a bases-loaded RBI walk against the Mets in 2009, the same game in which he got his 500th career save.
Batting against 1991-96 Yankee Scott Kamieniecki, he stroked a clean single up the middle. He absolutely earned that. But former bullpen mate Jeff Nelson was playing center field, and he kind of accidentally on purpose let it roll all the way to the wall. It was obvious that he was giving Mo an inside-the-park home run, and by the time Mo rounded 2nd, the entire Stadium realized what Nelson was doing, and cheered Mo on. We all went nuts when he got to home plate.
*
Unfortunately, the current Yankees were not equal to the task. All the joy of winning 7 straight games, including the previous 3 in the series with the Houston Astros, went up in smoke. J.A. Happ started for the Yankees, and he had absolutely nothing. Jose Altuve hit Happ's 3rd pitch of the game into the left field seats for a home run.
Happ seemed to settle down after that, but even the Astros' outs were hit hard. It was as if they were taking 3 games worth of frustration out on us all at once. They got another run in the 3rd, and the Yankees hadn't even batted around the lineup yet.
Happ loaded the bases with nobody out in the 4th, and Tyler White hit a grand slam. When you're facing Justin Verlander, trailing 2-0 at the start of the 4th inning seems like a lost cause. Trailing 6-0 pretty much confirms it.
Happ allowed a single to Michael Brantley, and another homer, to Yordan Alvarez, to start the 5th, making it 8-0 Houston. There seemed little point in continuing. And Aaron Boone (who also played in the Old-Timers Game) brought in a reliever. It was Luis Cessa.
I was like Luke Skywalker, after Darth Vader told him that he was his father: "No... No... That's not true... That's impossible!" "Search your feelings: You know it to be true!" "Noooooooo! No... "
Actually, if you're going to use Cessa, and David Hale, whom Boone used later, this was the time to do it: When the game was already lost. Sure enough, Yuli Gurriel hit Cessa's 1st pitch into the left-field seats. 9-0. But after that, Cessa went 4 innings, and allowed only 2 hits and a walk. Hale pitched a scoreless 9th. They were fine.
Could the Yankees come back? Not really. In the bottom of the 5th, Aaron Hicks and Brett Gardner singled, and DJ LeMahieu hit a home run to make it 9-3. For a moment, there was hope. But that was it, except for the 8th, when LeMahieu tripled and an Aaron Judge groundout got him home.
Astros 9, Yankees 4. WP: Verlander (10-3). No save. LP: Happ (7-4).
The Tampa Bay Rays won, 8-2 over the Oakland Athletics. But the Boston Red Sox lost, 6-1 to the Toronto Blue Jays. So, 77 games into the season, the Yankees remain in 1st place in the American League Eastern Division, by 4 1/2 games over the Rays, and 8 over the Red Sox -- in the loss column, 5 and 9, respectively.
Tonight, the Yankees continue their homestand against the Toronto Blue Jays. Here are the projected starters:
* Tonight, CC Sabathia vs. Aaron Sanchez.
* Tomorrow night, Clayton Richard for the Jays, while the Yankees are officially undecided. This will probably be another "Chad Green and pray" situation.
* Wednesday afternoon, a "getaway day" before the Yankees' big trip, James Paxton vs. Trent Thornton.
They will have Thursday and Friday off, in London. On Saturday, they will play the Red Sox at the London Stadium (the 2012 Olympic Stadium and home field for soccer team West Ham United), at 6:10 PM local time, 1:10 ours. The game will be on Fox. The Yankees are as yet undecided on the starter, while the Sox intend to send Rick Porcello.
The Sunday game will be on ESPN, at 3:00 PM local, 10:00 AM us. Again, the Yankees are undecided about their starting pitcher, while the Sox want to start Eduardo Rodriguez.
The focus of the ceremonies, and the last man introduced since Whitey wasn't there, and Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Yogi Berra have all died, was the new, unanimously elected, Hall of Famer, Mariano Rivera. Especially with Derek Jeter not there, as he was with the Miami Marlins -- as was Don Mattingly, as their manager -- he got easily the biggest ovation.
The Old-Timers Game was a bit weird. Pitchers played in the field, and even batted. Mariano decided he'd like to take a swing. Mariano is about to turn 50, so it's not like he's elderly, but his 19-year playing career included exactly 4 plate appearances, one of them a bases-loaded RBI walk against the Mets in 2009, the same game in which he got his 500th career save.
Batting against 1991-96 Yankee Scott Kamieniecki, he stroked a clean single up the middle. He absolutely earned that. But former bullpen mate Jeff Nelson was playing center field, and he kind of accidentally on purpose let it roll all the way to the wall. It was obvious that he was giving Mo an inside-the-park home run, and by the time Mo rounded 2nd, the entire Stadium realized what Nelson was doing, and cheered Mo on. We all went nuts when he got to home plate.
*
Unfortunately, the current Yankees were not equal to the task. All the joy of winning 7 straight games, including the previous 3 in the series with the Houston Astros, went up in smoke. J.A. Happ started for the Yankees, and he had absolutely nothing. Jose Altuve hit Happ's 3rd pitch of the game into the left field seats for a home run.
Happ seemed to settle down after that, but even the Astros' outs were hit hard. It was as if they were taking 3 games worth of frustration out on us all at once. They got another run in the 3rd, and the Yankees hadn't even batted around the lineup yet.
Happ loaded the bases with nobody out in the 4th, and Tyler White hit a grand slam. When you're facing Justin Verlander, trailing 2-0 at the start of the 4th inning seems like a lost cause. Trailing 6-0 pretty much confirms it.
Happ allowed a single to Michael Brantley, and another homer, to Yordan Alvarez, to start the 5th, making it 8-0 Houston. There seemed little point in continuing. And Aaron Boone (who also played in the Old-Timers Game) brought in a reliever. It was Luis Cessa.
I was like Luke Skywalker, after Darth Vader told him that he was his father: "No... No... That's not true... That's impossible!" "Search your feelings: You know it to be true!" "Noooooooo! No... "
Actually, if you're going to use Cessa, and David Hale, whom Boone used later, this was the time to do it: When the game was already lost. Sure enough, Yuli Gurriel hit Cessa's 1st pitch into the left-field seats. 9-0. But after that, Cessa went 4 innings, and allowed only 2 hits and a walk. Hale pitched a scoreless 9th. They were fine.
Could the Yankees come back? Not really. In the bottom of the 5th, Aaron Hicks and Brett Gardner singled, and DJ LeMahieu hit a home run to make it 9-3. For a moment, there was hope. But that was it, except for the 8th, when LeMahieu tripled and an Aaron Judge groundout got him home.
Astros 9, Yankees 4. WP: Verlander (10-3). No save. LP: Happ (7-4).
The Tampa Bay Rays won, 8-2 over the Oakland Athletics. But the Boston Red Sox lost, 6-1 to the Toronto Blue Jays. So, 77 games into the season, the Yankees remain in 1st place in the American League Eastern Division, by 4 1/2 games over the Rays, and 8 over the Red Sox -- in the loss column, 5 and 9, respectively.
Tonight, the Yankees continue their homestand against the Toronto Blue Jays. Here are the projected starters:
* Tonight, CC Sabathia vs. Aaron Sanchez.
* Tomorrow night, Clayton Richard for the Jays, while the Yankees are officially undecided. This will probably be another "Chad Green and pray" situation.
* Wednesday afternoon, a "getaway day" before the Yankees' big trip, James Paxton vs. Trent Thornton.
They will have Thursday and Friday off, in London. On Saturday, they will play the Red Sox at the London Stadium (the 2012 Olympic Stadium and home field for soccer team West Ham United), at 6:10 PM local time, 1:10 ours. The game will be on Fox. The Yankees are as yet undecided on the starter, while the Sox intend to send Rick Porcello.
The Sunday game will be on ESPN, at 3:00 PM local, 10:00 AM us. Again, the Yankees are undecided about their starting pitcher, while the Sox want to start Eduardo Rodriguez.
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