Jet-Lagged Yankees Flop Against The Other Team

Let me get this straight: The Yankees scored 13 and 12 runs, against the Red Sox, on the other side of the world, and then they come back to New York, and only score 2 runs against the fuckin' Mets?

Either jet lag is real, or "trap games" are real, or the Yankees miss Luke Voit more than we thought (he was placed on the 10-Day Injured List today), or Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone are idiots again.

Having had just 1 full day off after coming back from London, the Yankees wasted a nice start by James Paxton. He went 6 innings, allowing 1 run (in the 6th) on 8 hits and 2 walks, striking out 3. He even helped out his own cause, laying down 2 nice sacrifice bunts, including a safety squeeze in the 2nd that made the score 2-0 Yankees.

But he allowed a home run to J.D. Davis in the 6th to make it 2-1, and, suddenly, the thought that the Yankees hadn't scored more than 2 runs loomed large. They stranded a man on 1st in the 1st inning, a man on 2nd in the 2nd, a man on 3rd in the 5th, a man on 3rd in the 6th, a man on 1st in the 8th, and a man on 1st in the 9th.

Tommy Kahnle pitched a perfect 7th. But Aaron Boone put Adam Ottavino on the mound for the 8th, and it was a big mistake. Pete Alonso led off the inning by grounding to 3rd, and DJ LeMahieu, the Yankees' leading Most Valuable Player candidate, threw it away. Davis struck again for the Mets, doubling Alonso home to tie the game. Ottavino struck former Yankee Todd Frazier out.

But then came another former Yankee, Robinson Cano. Boone ordered him intentionally walked to set up the inning-ending double play. It didn't work: WIlson Ramos singled to load the bases.

Boone took Ottavino out, and brought in Zack Britton. He gave up a 2-run double to Michael Conforto. Britton got the last 2 outs, but the damage was done.

Mets 4, Yankees 2. WP: Seth Lugo (4-2). SV: Edwin Diaz (18). LP: Ottavino (3-3).

Disgraceful.

With the Tampa Bay Rays beating the Baltimore Orioles tonight, and the Boston Red Sox beating the Toronto Blue Jays, the Yankees' lead in the American League Eastern Division has been cut to 5 1/2 games ahead of the Rays (7 in the loss column), and 10 over The Scum (11).

The Citi Series with the Mutts concludes tonight. Domingo German comes off the Injured List, and will start against Jason Vargas.

*

Hours until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 20, tonight at 8:30 PM Eastern Time (7:30 Central/local), against Jamaica, at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, in the Semifinal of the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The winner will face the winner of the game between Mexico and Haiti -- in other words, Mexico -- on Sunday night at Soldier Field II in Chicago. Yesterday, the U.S. women beat England 2-1 to advance to the Women's World Cup Final, which will also be on Sunday, at 11:30 AM our time, against either the Netherlands or Sweden, at Parc Olympique in Lyon, France.

Hours until the New York Red Bulls play again: 21, tonight at 9:00, away to the Houston Dynamo and their retina-burning orange shirts.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 11, on Sunday night, July 14, home to New York City FC. 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 Philadelphia Union will be on Sunday night, September 22, at Red Bul Arena.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 22, on Thursday, July 25, at Fenway Park.

Days until Arsenal play again: 12. Under 2 weeks. The Gunners' next game will be in America.

Days until Arsenal play in America: 12. 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 2019-20 Premier League season begins: For Arsenal's purposes, 39, on Sunday, August 11, at 9:00 AM New York time, away to Newcastle United.

Days until the next North London Derby: 59, on Saturday, August 31, at the Emirates Stadium. It is unusual for Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur to play each other so early in the season, but not unprecedented: As recently as the 2013-14 season, they did so on September 1.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 59, on August 31, at 12:00 noon, home to the University of Massachusetts. Under 2 months.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 65, on Friday night, September 6, at 7:00 PM, home to arch-rival Old Bridge. A little over 10 weeks. Like most of the local rivalries that were once played on Thanksgiving Day, this one has been moved back to the opening game. It will also be the head coaching debut of Andy Steinfeld, a longtime assistant and a two-way lineman on the school's 1984 Conference Champions. It will also be the start of a Yankees-Red Sox series. So I'm getting a double dose of "Scum" on the night. Lucky me. At least it'll be at Jay Doyle's Green Grove off Cranbury Road, instead of at the purple shit pit on Route 9.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play again: 93, on Friday night, October 4, at the Prudential Center, against the Winnipeg Jets. Under 14 weeks.

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 98, on Wednesday night, October 9, against the Philadelphia Flyers, a.k.a. The Philth, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The season's 1st game against the New York Rangers, a.k.a. The Scum, will be on Thursday, October 17, at the Prudential Center. The 1st game against the New York Islanders will be on Thursday, January 2, 2020, at the Barclays Center.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 150, on Saturday, November 30, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. Under 5 months.

Days until my 50th Birthday, at which point I can join AARP and get discounts for travel and game tickets: 168, on December 18, 2019. Under 6 months.

Day until the premiere of the final Star Wars film, Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker: 170, on December 20, 2019.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 202, on January 21, 2020. Under 7 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 387, on July 24, 2020. A little over a year, or a little under 13 months.

Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 489, on November 3, 2020. Under a year and a half, or exactly 16 months.

Days until a fully-Democratic-controlled Congress can convene, and the Republicans can do nothing about it: 550, on January 3, 2021. A year and a half, or exactly 18 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 567, at noon on January 20, 2021. Under 2 years, or under 19 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: 947, on February 4, 2022. Under 3 years, or 31 months.

Days until the next World Cup is scheduled to kick off: 1,237, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. A little over 3 1/2 years, or under 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.