Throwing Games Away Ticks Me Off

I hate losing. Even more, I hate games that are absolutely thrown away.

Domingo Germán started the Yankees' pre-All-Star-Break finale, against the Chicago Cubs at Yankee Stadium. While he wasn't perfect, as he was 2 starts ago, he was strong: Over the 1st 6 innings, he allowed 2 runs, only 1 earned, on 1 hit and 3 walks, striking out 9. He had thrown only 74 pitches. A manager with a lick of sense, or enough of a spine to stand up to a general manager who didn't have a lick of sense, would have let him pitch the 7th inning.

Aaron Boone did not let him pitch the 7th inning. Whether this was due to a lack of sense or a lack of spine, God only knows.

This time, instead of bailing out a starter in trouble, the bullpen betrayed a starter who was pitching well. Ian Hamilton, Tommy Kahnle, Ron Marinaccio and Clay Holmes each pitched to the minimum 3 batters. Hamilton and Marinaccio each allowed 2 runs. Nick Ramirez also allowed a run, having pitched to 4 batters.

Boone could do this because, the day before, Gerrit Cole had pitched into the 8th inning, and Michael King had gone the rest of the way. Yesterday, he used pretty much everybody but King, and his musical chairs with the bullpen was, yet again, a disaster.

Anthony Rizzo doubled home a run in the 1st inning. Anthony Volpe, with Billy McKinney on 1st, and Kyle Higashioka hit back-to-back home runs in the 6th. The way that Germán was pitching, 4 runs should have been enough. Maybe it would have been if he'd been allowed to stay in, or maybe he would have run out of gas and blown it without the bullpen's "help."

But we'll never know, because Boone, probably on orders from Cashman, wouldn't give him the chance. What was he been saved for? Today starts the All-Star Break. He won't be pitching again for a week, anyway!

Cubs 7, Yankees 4. WP: Julian Merryweather (2-0). SV: Adbert Alzolay (7). LP: Marinaccio (4-4). A game that Boone completely threw away. To paraphrase Vic DiBitetto, New Yorker, comedian and Yankee Fan, that's what ticks me off!

Give the Cubs credit for taking advantage, but the advantage never should have been given. 

The Yankees threw something else away, too: Their hitting instructor, firing Dillon Lawson. They say they hope to have a new hitting instructor in place by Friday.

Cashman goes through hitting instructors the way George Steinbrenner used to go through managers, pitching coaches, and general managers. And Cashman has changed managers, going from Joe Girardi to Aaron Boone. The one constant has been Cashman himself.