May Day for the Yankees' Bats

The 1st full month of the Major League Baseball season is over. The Yankees have done better than I had expected, but still not good enough.

Two nights ago, they began a road series against the Baltimore Orioles. The O's moved the left field wall at Camden Yards back 26 feet, specifically to stop the Yankees' righthanded sluggers -- Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres -- from hitting home runs there. It has had some success: Torres, in particular, has been affected by it.

Clarke Schmidt started on Monday night, and he got into the 6th inning, but was removed after 92 pitches. This did not come back to hurt the Yankees. What hurt them is that they left 10 men on base, and lost, 2-0.

Then, last night, Nestor Cortés had one bad inning, in his case the 4th, allowing 3 runs. That was all Baltimore needed. Juan Soto hit a long home run onto Eutaw Street beyond right field, nearly becoming the 1st ball to hit the B&O Warehouse on the fly in a competitive game. Other than that, the Yankees only got 4 hits. They lost, 4-2.

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Today is May 1. May Day. We are 19 percent of the way through the season -- a little over 1/6th. The Yankees are 19-12, one game behind the Orioles in the American League Eastern Division, with the Boston Red Sox 2 1/2 back, the Toronto Blue Jays 5 back, and the Tampa Bay Rays 6 back. In the all-important loss column, the Yankees are 2 games behind the O's, who are 3 ahead of the Sox, 6 ahead of the Jays, and 7 ahead of the Rays.

When the Yankees score at least 3 runs, they are 19-3. When they don't, they are 0-9. However, that 19-3 includes a game where they scored 6 and another where they scored 7, and in each case lost in extra innings. In extra-inning games, they are 1-3. They need to step up and score enough runs, but they also need to improve their bullpen. That kind of inconsistency, with both the lumber and the bullpen, may hurt them at some point.

What they have accomplished this far, they have done without Gerrit Cole, DJ LeMahieu and Jonathan Loáisiga, all injured.

Here's the on-base percentages (not batting averages) for every Yankee with at least 50 at-bats: Juan Soto .438, Alex Verdugo .358, Anthony Volpe .358, Aaron Judge .340, Jose Trevino .339, Austin Wells .338, Anthony Rizzo .321, Giancarlo Stanton .296, Gleyber Torres .295, Oswaldo Cabrera .290. Except for Soto's, those are not good enough.

The series in Baltimore continues tonight, at 6:35. Luis Gil starts against Corbin Burnes. It then concludes the following afternoon, at 1:35. Carlos Rodón starts against an Oriole pitcher yet to be announced.

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Days until the next Arsenal match: 3, this coming Saturday, at 7:30 AM New York Eastern Time, home to Dorset team Bournemouth. Arsenal can still win the Premier League title if they win their last 3 games, but will need Manchester City to fail to win at least 1 of their remaining games.

Days until the next New York Red Bulls match: 3, this coming Saturday, at 7:30 PM, away to Inter Miami, owned by David Beckham, and starring Lionel Messi.

Days until the Red Bulls again play a nearby rival: 10, a week from Saturday, at 7:30 PM, home to the New England Revolution.

Days until the next game of the U.S. National Soccer Team: 38, on Saturday, June 8, at 5:30 PM, vs. Colombia, at Commanders Field in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

Days until the Yankees' next series against the Boston Red Sox begins: 44, on Friday night, June 14, 2024, at Fenway Park. A little over 6 weeks.

Days until the next Summer Olympic Games: 86, on Friday, July 26, in Paris, France. Under 3 months.

Days until Arsenal play Liverpool in Philadelphia: 91, on Wednesday, July 31, at Lincoln Financial Field. Kickoff time has not yet been announced. Exactly 3 months.

Days until the next North London Derby: Unknown, as the 2024-25 Premier League schedule has not yet been released. The season will start on Saturday, August 10, but local derbies are rarely scheduled for the season opener. At any rate, it's at least 101 days, and probably more than that. Arsenal just won one, 3-2, away to Tottenham.

Days until the next Rutgers University football game: 122, on Saturday, August 31, at 12:00 Noon, home to Howard University. Exactly 4 months.

Days until the next East Brunswick High School football game: 128, on Friday, September 6, at 7:00 PM, home to Hamilton of Mercer County, a.k.a. Hamilton West. A little over 4 months.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Game: 149, on Friday, September 27, at 7:00 PM, at Vince Lombardi Field in Old Bridge.

Days until the New Jersey Devils again play a local rival: Unknown, as the 2024-25 NHL schedule has not yet been released.

Days until the New Jersey Devils again play a regular-season game: 156, on Friday, October 4, against the Buffalo Sabres, as part of the season-opening NHL Global Series, at the O₂ arena in Prague, Czechia.

Days until the next Presidential election: 188, on Tuesday, November 5. A little over 6 months. Make sure you're registered to vote, and then vote! If you don't, there may not be a next time.

Days until the next elections for Governor of New Jersey and Mayor of New York City: 552, on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. About a year and a half, or about 18 months.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: Unknown. With the expansion of the Big Ten Conference for the 2024 season, these 2 schools will not play each other in that season. They are set to play each other in 2025, but a date has not been set. Since Rutgers entered the Big 10 in 2014, the Penn State game has usually been on the 3rd or 4th Saturday in November. If that holds true, then it will be on November 22, 2025, at 12:00 Noon, in Piscataway, at what's currently named SHI Stadium. (The naming rights could be sold to someone else by then.) If that turns out to be when it's played, that's 570 days.

Days until the next Winter Olympics open in Milan, Italy: 646, on Friday, February 6, 2026. Under 2 years, or a little over 21 months.

Days until the next World Cup opens: 768, on Monday, June 8, 2026. A little over 2 years, or a little over 25 months.

Days until the World Cup Final in New Jersey: 809, on Sunday, July 19, 2026. Under 2 1/2 years, or under 27 months.