Hix Stix Slayz Jayz, Didi Returns, Cash Dithers, Keuchel Signs Elsewhere

"HIX STIX SLAYZ JAYZ" isn't as much fun for a Yankee Fan to write as "HIX STIX ROX SOX," but a win is a win, and anything that gets me that win -- within the rules, as I am not a Red Sox fan -- is okay by me.

The Yankees managed to salvage the finale of their series away to the Toronto Blue Jays last night. The bottom of the 2nd inning was key. After 2 nights of "taketh away" with his bat, reminding us of his Hall of Fame father, Toronto 3rd baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. managed to "giveth" back. With 2 outs in the inning, and the Yankees not looking like they would get anything going against winless starter Edwin Jackson, Guerrero made a throwing error that allowed Thairo Estrada to reach 1st base.

This was a huge break, and the Yankees took advantage of it. Cameron Maybin singled. DJ LeMahieu doubled Estrada home. And Aaron Hicks hit a 3-run home run, to make it 4-0 to the Bronx Bombers.

Gio Urshela led off the top of the 5th with a home run. The Yankees got another run on a single by Maybin and another double by LeMahieu.

They got the pitching they needed, mostly from starter J.A. Happ, who went 7 innings, allowed 1 run on 4 hits and no walks, striking out 4. Chad Green allowed a run in the 8th, turning the 9th into a save situation for Aroldis Chapman, but he pitched a perfect inning to nail it down.

Yankees 6, Blue Jays 2. WP: Happ (6-3). SV: Chapman (18). LP: Jackson (0-4).

*

So, 61 games into the 162-game season, despite injuries whose quantity and level of players stricken would render most teams already out of the Playoff hunt, the Yankees are in 1st place in the American League Eastern Division, a game and a half ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays, with the Boston Red Sox 6 1/2 back. In the loss column, it's Tampa 1, Boston 7.

If the current standings turned out to be the final standings, the Yankees would have their 1st Division title in 7 years, and avoid the treacherous Wild Card Game, but would not have home field advantage in the AL Division Series: The seeds would be:

1. Houston Astros
2. Minnesota Twins
3. New York Yankees
4. Tampa Bay Rays
5. Texas Rangers

And, in the National League:

1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Philadelphia Phillies
3. Chicago Cubs
4. Milwaukee Brewers
5. Atlanta Braves.

Of course, things change. Players get hurt. Players drop off. Players who aren't doing well start to do well. And acquisitions get made.

The Cubs have bolstered their bullpen by signing former Braves and Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel. With the NL Central being probably the best division in the majors this season, this could be a huge pickup for them.

And the Braves may have made an even bigger pickup, by signing Dallas Keuchel, the former Astros pitcher who won the 2015 AL Wild Card game by shutting the Yankees out, and was also a major factor in their beating the Yankees for the 2017 Pennant before winning the World Series.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman could have signed Keuchel anytime he wanted once the free agency period began, but chose not to, first because he was unwilling to give up a draft pick; then, after this week's MLB draft, apparently because he was not willing to offer $1 million more, and the Braves were.

This is so fucking stupid. If you're the New York Yankees, you have $1 million to spare. The fact that Cashman was not willing to give Keuchel that much more money shows that he is more concerned about money than about winning.

The old George Steinbrenner would have fired him for this dithering. Then again, the old George would have fired Cashman years ago, for continual incompetence.

At any rate, the Yankees move on to Cleveland, and have activated Didi Gregorius from the injured list. He is expected to be in the starting lineup tonight. Here are the projected starting pitchers:

* Tonight, 7:10: Domingo German vs. Zach Plesac. He's a rookie, and the nephew of Dan Plesac, former All-Star reliever for the Brewers, now an analyst on MLB Network.
* Tomorrow, 4:10 (on Fox Sports 1): CC Sabathia vs. Adam Plutko. The Big Fella makes his 3rd attempt at his 250th career win against his 1st major league team.
* Sunday, 1:10: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Shane Bieber. No, that's not Justin's brother.

Yankees Not Prepared to Face Even a Weakened Red Sox

The Yankees are in trouble.

Yesterday, at Yankee Stadium, they played the rubber game of a weekend series against the Chicago White Sox, It started out well, as they led 2-0 after 3 innings, and Masahiro Tanaka was pitching well. But things fell apart in the top of the 4th. The White Sox loaded the bases, and Tim Anderson hit a grand slam. Tanaka even allowed a 5th run.

Now, we could take as a good sign the fact that, between them, Luis Cessa, Tommy Kahnle, Adam Ottavino, rookie Joe Harvey, and Chad Green pitched 5 innings, allowing no runs on 2 hits and 3 walks.

But it didn't matter. Luke Voit had an RBI double, Aaron Judge an RBI single, Gleyber Torres a single, and newly-acquired, newly-called-up infielder (3rd base yesterday) Gio Urshela a single. But that was it. Everybody else -- DJ LeMahieu, Clint Frazier, Brett Gardner, Kyle Higashioka and Mike Tauchmann -- was a combined 0-for-17.

White Sox 5, Yankees 2. WP: Carlos Rodon (2-2). SV: Alex Colome (3). LP: Tanaka (1-1).

So, 2 full weeks into the season, the Yankees are 6-9 -- a 54-108 pace -- 5 1/2 games out of 1st place in the American League Eastern Division, 5 behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the all-important loss column.

The injuries have piled up. The callups from Scranton have begun, but they have provided no relief for the problem. And Brian Cashman continues to make no trades, and continues to ignore the as-yet-unsigned Dallas Keuchel.

Why has nobody signed Keuchel? Did he kneel during a National Anthem, or something?

And now, after a day off tonight, the Boston Red Sox come in. They have gotten off to an even worse start, 6-11. But we can see what's coming. The Yankees are not prepared to face The Scum. I can smell a sweep by the Chowadheads.

It's only 2 games. Tomorrow night, with a scheduled first pitch of 6:35 PM, James Paxton starts for us, Chris Sale for them. On Wednesday night, same time, it's J.A. Happ vs. former Yankee Nathan Eovaldi.

Then the Sox go out, and the Kansas City Royals come in.

*

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 1, tomorrow night, at Yankee Stadium II. The next one starts on May 30, at Fenway Park.

Days until Arsenal play again: 3, on Thursday, at 3:00 PM New York time, away to Napoli of Naples, Italy in the 2nd leg of the Quarterfinal of the UEFA Europa League. They just played a rough game away to Hertfordshire team Watford, but won 1-0, and take a 2-0 lead into the away leg in Naples.

Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 5, next Saturday night at 7:30, away to Major League Soccer's Boston-area team, the New England Revolution, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Metro drew 2-2 with Sporting Kansas City yesterday afternoon, but will likely lose Paraguayan midfielder Alejandro Sebastián Romero Gamarra, a.k.a. Kaku, to suspension for doing something stupid at the end of the game.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": See the previous answer. The next game against the Philadelphia Union will be on Saturday night, June 8, at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania. The next game against New York City FC will be on Sunday night, July 14, at Red Bull Arena. The next game against D.C. United will be on Wednesday night, August 21, at Audi Field in Washington.

Days until the next Women's World Cup kicks off: 53,  on June 7,  in France. Under 8 weeks. The U.S. team is 3-time and defending Champions. This will come after today's tragedy of a fire at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 64, on Tuesday, June 18, at the brand-new Allianz Field in St. Paul, home of Minnesota United, in the opener of the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Days until the Yankees and Red Sox play each other in London: 75, on June 29. Under 11 weeks.

Days until Arsenal play in America: 91. Exactly 13 weeks. Yes, the Gunners are coming to America for the 3rd time in the last 6 years. 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. This almost certainly means no Emirates Cup this Summer.

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 117 days from now, 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: 138, on August 31, home to the University of Massachusetts. A little over 4 months.

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 144 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, because Bob Molarz, in charge for the last 6 seasons, has resigned.

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: Unknown, as the regular season has come to an end, and they didn't make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Traditionally, a new NHL season begins on the 1st Thursday in October, which would be October 3, which is 171 days from now. But they 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. The new schedule is usually released around June 20 or so. We shall see.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 229, on Saturday, November 30, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. A little over 7 months.

Days until my 50th Birthday, at which point I can join AARP and get discounts for travel and game tickets: 247, on December 18, 2019. A little over 8 months.

Day until the premiere of the final Star Wars film, Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker: 249, on December 20, 2019.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 281, on January 21, 2020. A little over 9 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 466, on July 24, 2020. Under a year and a half, or a little over 15 months.

Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 568, on November 3, 2020. A little over a year and a half, or under 19 months.

Days until a fully-Democratic-controlled Congress can convene, and the Republicans can do nothing about it: 629, on January 3, 2021. Under 2 years, or under 21 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 646, at noon on January 20, 2021. Under 2 years, or a little over 21 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: 1,026, on February 4, 2022. Under 3 years, or under 34 months.

Days until the next World Cup is scheduled to kick off: 1,316, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. Under 4 years, or a little over 43 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.

The Yankees Are In Serious Trouble

Right now, it looks like the Yankees will be opening the season with CC Sabathia and Luis Severino on the Disabled List.

Excuse me: The name has officially been changed, starting this season, to "The Injured List," so as to be more sensitive to the disabled.

Well, speaking as someone who was medically certified as disabled in the middle of last season, with a State ID that now allows me to ride public transit for half-price (I'd prefer cutting my pain in half), I'm not offended by the term "Disabled List."

But no CC and no Sevy means we have a starting rotation of Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ, James Paxton, and 2 out of these 4 guys: Chad Green, Luis Cessa, Jonathan Loaisiga and Domingo German.

Does that sound like at least a Division-winning rotation to you? Because it sure doesn't sound like a Division-winning rotation to me.

Meanwhile, Dallas Keuchel, a proven American League winner, is an unsigned free agent. And our general manager, Brian Cashman, is sitting on his ass, twiddling his thumbs, and giving a damn about the last thing he should give a damn about, which is staying under the luxury tax threshold!

As Arsenal fans would say, "Oi, Cashman: Spend some fucking money!"

If he doesn't, then, unless CC and Sevy come back quickly, or we can win a lot of games by a 12-11 score, the Yankees are in serious trouble.

Anybody predicting a World Championship with the rotation I described is fooling himself. With that rotation, we'd be lucky to break .500.

*

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 1, at 7:00 tomorrow night, against the New York Rangers, a.k.a. The Scum, at Madison Square Garden. The Devils are not scheduled to play the New York Islanders or the Philadelphia Flyers, a.k.a. The Philth, again during the regular season.

Days until Arsenal play again: 2, at 12:30 PM New York time this Saturday, home to Manchester United. Looks like it will be 3 straight games in which Arsenal get screwed by referees, following last Saturday's march against their North London arch-rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, a 1-1 draw that should have been a 1-0 win; and yesterday's 3-1 Europa League loss away to Stade Rennes in France, when Sokratis Papastathopoulos got a very dubious 2nd yellow card (though the 1st was legit) and sent off for something he didn't do, leaving Arsenal to play 10 vs. 11 (or 10 vs. 12) for more than half the game.

Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 4, Tuesday night at 8:00, away to Santos Laguna in Torreon, Mexico, in the 2nd leg of the Quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League. They lost the home leg 2-0, so they have some work to do. They gained a draw in their League opener, away to the Columbus Crew.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 13, on Thursday, March 21, a friendly against Ecuador at Orlando City Stadium. Under 2 weeks.

Days until the Yankees' 2019 Opening Day: 20, on Thursday, March 28, home to the Baltimore Orioles. Under 3 weeks. Come on, Brian Cashman: Sign Dallas Keuchel!

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 39, on Tuesday, April 16, at Yankee Stadium II. Under 7 weeks.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 43, on Saturday night, April 20, against the New England Revolution, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. The next game against the Philadelphia Union will be on Saturday night, June 8, at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania. The next game against New York City FC will be on Sunday night, July 14, at Red Bull Arena. The next game against D.C. United will be on Wednesday night, August 21, at Audi Field in Washington.

Days until the next Women's World Cup kicks off: 91,  on June 7,  in France. Just 13 weeks. The U.S. team is 3-time and defending Champions, but has struggled in its warmup friendlies and in the recent SheBelieves Cup, drawing with Japan and England before beating Brazil, while England beat Japan and Brazil to win the Cup.

Days until the Yankees and Red Sox play each other in London: 113, on June 29. Under 4 months.

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 155 days from now, 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 (presuming Spurs finally get that new stadium open by then) in February or March.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 176, on August 31, home to the University of Massachusetts. Under 6 months.

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 182 days. It has been announced that East Brunswick and its arch-rivals, Old Bridge, will no longer play each other on Thanksgiving Day. That game will not be played early in the season, but we don't yet know when. For most of its history, 1963 to 1987, it was an early-season game, sometimes the opener. And it will be under a new head coach, because Bob Molarz, in charge for the last 6 seasons, has resigned, citing "personal reasons." 

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State game: 267, on Saturday, November 30, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. Under 9 months.

Days until my 50th Birthday, at which point I can join AARP and get discounts for travel and game tickets: 285, on December 18, 2019. A little over 9 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 319, on January 21, 2020. Under 11 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 504, on July 24, 2020. Under a year and a half, or under 17 months.

Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 606, on November 3, 2020. Under 2 years, or a little under 20 months.

Days until a fully-Democratic-controlled Congress can convene, and the Republicans can do nothing about it: 667, on January 3, 2021. Under 2 years, or a little under 22 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 684, at noon on January 20, 2021. Under 2 years, or under 23 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: 1,064, on February 4, 2022. Under 3 years, or a little under 35 months.

Days until the next World Cup is scheduled to kick off: 1,354, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. Under 4 years, or under 45 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.

Slump Alert: Once-Streaking Yankees Have Lost 2 Straight

A 2-game losing streak. Compared to their 20-5 run, the Yankees are now in a slump.

Michael Pineda started last night, in the opener of a 4-game home series against the Houston Astros -- the teams with the 2 best records in baseball. And Pineda gave up a 2-run home run to Carlos Correa in the 1st inning.

That one mistake essentially decided the game. Dallas Kuechel has been a beast so far this season, pitching like he did when he shut the Yankees out in the 2015 American League Wild Card Game. In 6 innings, he allowed only 5 hits and 1 walk.

The Astros made it 3-0 in the top of the 5th. With 1 out in the bottom of the 5th, Chase Headley reached on an error, Didi Gregorius singled, and Aaron Hicks walked to load the bases. Kuechel struck Chris Carter out. He led the National League in home runs last season, but he's in the American League now, and the AL is hard.

Then came the rarest play in baseball: Catcher's interference. The Astros' catcher is Brian McCann, and his mistake allowed the runners to move up and Headley to score. Thank you, Agent McCann. But Kuechel got Gary Sanchez to ground out to end the threat.

In the 6th, Matt Holliday and Starlin Castro singled to put the tying runs on. Kuechel then struck out the side: Aaron Judge, Headley and Gregorius.

The Yankees did threaten in the 9th, against reliever Ken Giles. With 1 out, Hicks drew a walk. Brett Gardner, pinch-hitting for the shockingly useless Carter, struck out. Ellsbury singled Hicks over to 3rd. Ellsbury, the tying run, stole 2nd. Sanchez was up. If he hit one out, the Yankees would've won.

He did as much as we had a right to ask him to do: He singled to left. Hicks scored. Ellsbury came around 3rd, but he was thrown out at the plate. Game over.

Astros 3, Yankees 2. WP: Kuechel (6-0). SV: Giles (10). LP: Pineda (3-2).

The Yankees have cooled off their last 2 games, not only losing but not hitting much. It's their 1st losing streak of at least 2 games since April 8, 2017. That's 34 days. How long has that been?

James Comey was still the Director of the FBI, and seen as a hero by the right wing and a villain by the left. Now, the 1st of those is no longer true, neither is the 2nd, and the 3rd may yet chance. And Bill O'Reilly was still working for Fox News.

Erin Moran, and Jonathan Demme, and Luis Olmo have died. Babies who will one day grow up to be famous, though we don't yet know their names, were born.

The series continues tonight, with Jordan Montgomery starting against Lance McCullers Jr., whose father was a major league pitcher, including for the Yankees.

Girardi Lets Starter Pitch 7 Innings, Yankees Win

Looks like I was wrong: Maybe Joe Girardi will let his starters pitch 7 innings after all.

The Yankees began a series away to the Houston Astros, the team that beat them in last year's American League Wild Card game, against the pitcher who won that game and the AL's Cy Young Award. (And, as I suggested last November, should have gotten the Most Valuable Player award as well.)

Michael Pineda, who'd been shaky this season, had his 2nd straight strong start. He was, indeed, allowed to go 7 innings, and throw 103 pitches, allowing 1 run -- a home run by George Springer in the 1st inning -- on 5 hits and 2 walks, striking out 8. This is in Minute Maid Park, formerly known as Enron Field, nicknamed Ten Run Field because it's such a good hitter's park.

With 2 outs in the top of the 5th, Didi Gregorius hit a double, and Chase Headley singled him home to tie the score. Headley led off the 8th with a single, and Austin Romine doubled him home to give the Yankees the lead.

Dellin Betances pitched a perfect 8th, striking out the side. Andrew Miller pitched a scoreless 9th. Yankees 2, Astros 1. WP: Pineda (5-9). SV: Miller (8). LP: Keuchel (6-10).

So the Yankees won without needed a reliever in the 7th inning. Maybe the stupid Aroldis Chapman trade wasn't so stupid after all.

But if Adam Warren ends up being the reason the Yankees don't make the Playoffs, I will remind everyone that I told you so.

But what I also told you so is that good things can happen if you trust your starting pitcher when he's pitching well.

The series continues tonight. CC Sabathia starts against Doug Fister. Come on you Bombers!

Girardi Ruins Opening Day

Eddie Sawyer was the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies when he led the team, nicknamed the Whiz Kids, to the 1950 National League Pennant.

They didn't win another, he was fired after the 1950 season, they still didn't get back on track, and, in 1958, he was hired back. But he quit after the opening game of the 1960 season, saying, "I'm 49 years old, and I'd like to live to be 50."

He never managed again, but remained in the game as a scout. He lived to be 87.

*

Today, pushed back a day by inclement weather, the Yankees opened the 2016 Major League Baseball season, at home at Yankee Stadium II, against the team that knocked them out of the postseason last year, the Houston Astros.

I'm 46 years old. I want Joe Girardi to be fired as Yankee manager, because I'd like to live to be 47.

Things started off well today. New 2nd baseman Starlin Castro hit a 2-run double in the bottom of the 2nd, Masahiro Tanaka pitched well, and it was 2-1 Yankees going into the top of the 6th.

But the Astros threatened. Girardi looked at his pitch count, saw that Tanaka had now thrown 87 pitches, and looked into his damn Binder, and saw that it read, "Pitchers today are not men. They are babies. They cannot be trusted to throw more than 87 pitches. Do not trust the starter to go any further. Take him out."

Now, I could complain about the blatant running outside the baseline that led to Dellin Betances' game-costing throw in the 8th, leading to 3 Astro runs, which Didi Gregorius' home run was not enough to overcome.

I won't. Because, after his bullpen stupidity cost the Yankees 20 games last season, Girardi pulled Tanaka for Chasen Shreve, whom he then let pitch through the 7th. Shreve didn't do all that badly, but because he didn't, he should have been allowed to continue through the 8th. Instead, Girardi brought in Betances.

Also, the Yankees got only 4 hits all game long: Gregorius' homer, Castro's double, and singles by Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann. Jacoby Ellsbury went 0-for-4 at the top of the order. Aaron Hicks and pinch-hitter Brett Gardner, between them, went 0-for-3 with a walk at 2nd in the order. Alex Rodriguez, in October form, went 0-for-3 with a walk batting 3rd. Mark Teixeira, getting no protection from A-Rod, went 0-for-3 with a walk batting 4th. So the top 4 guys in the order, between them, went 0-for-13, though they did come up with 3 walks -- an on-base percentage of .188. Pathetic.

Between the hitters' weak bats and Girardi's weak brain, Opening Day was ruined.

Astros 5, Yankees 3. Winning Pitcher: Dallas Kuechel (1-0). Save: Luke Gregerson (1). Losing Pitcher: Betances (0-1).

The series continues tomorrow night, with Michael Pineda starting against Collin McHugh.

American League Most Valuable Players: Right and Wrong

In every one of these cases from the 1931 establishment of the award until 1968, it goes to the Pennant winner. By definition: The most valuable player is the one who did the most to help his team win the Pennant.

From the start of divisional play in 1969, it has to go to a player who was on a Playoff team. After all, only regular-season performance is counted.

1931: Lefty Grove, Philadelphia Athletics. Right: He went 31-4 and the A's won the Pennant.

1932: Jimmie Foxx, A's. Wrong: It should have been Lou Gehrig of the Yankees. They won the Pennant, the A's didn't, and it didn't matter than Foxx hit 58 home runs.

1933: Foxx, A's. Wrong: Joe Cronin, Washington Seanators. Batted .309 and drove in 118 runs for the Pennant winners. Whom he also managed.

1934: Mickey Cochrane, Detroit Tigers. Right team, wrong player: Hank Greenberg. Cochrane had a great season and was also the manager, but Greenberg had a better one.

1935: Greenberg, Tigers. Right.

1936: Gehrig, Yankees. Right.

1937: Charlie Gehringer, Tigers. Wrong: Joe DiMaggio, Yankees. .346, 46 homers, 167 RBIs, and he wasn't yet 23 years old.

1938: Foxx, now with the Boston Red Sox. Wrong: DiMaggio. Another monster year that was better than Foxx' 50-homer season.

1939: DiMaggio, Yankees. Right.

*

1940: Greenberg, Tigers. Right.

1941: DiMaggio, Yankees. Right. Don't tell me Ted Williams batted .406: It didn't help the Red Sox finish 6th, let alone 1st.

1942: Joe Gordon, Yankees. Right. Don't tell me Williams won the Triple Crown: That and a failure to win the Pennant does not top a Pennant and a 154 OPS+. Don't tell me Williams can't be faulted for faulty teammates: There was plenty of talent on that Red Sox team, and TomYawkey had the money to buy whoever he wanted.

1943: Spurgeon "Spud" Chandler, Yankees. Right: Best year of any AL pitcher since Grove in '31.

1944: Hal Newhouser, Tigers. Wrong: Vern Stephens, St. Louis Browns. Best of a not very impressive bunch on the Pennant winners.

1945: Newhouser, Tigers. Right, on the 2nd try.

1946: Ted Williams, Red Sox. Right, beyond any question.

1947: DiMaggio, Yankees. Right: Again, Ted's Triple Crown doesn't top Joe's title.

1948: Lou Boudreau, Cleveland Indians. Right: Like Cronin in '33, he was a boy manager and shortstop who put his team on his back and led them to the Pennant.

1949: Williams, Red Sox. Wrong: Tommy Henrich, Yankees. Despite injuries and playing out of position (he frequently played 1st base instead of his usual right field), the man known as Ol' Reliable led the team in OPS+ and it won the Pennant.

*

1950: Phil Rizzuto, Yankees. Right: He didn't have as good a season in terms of power numbers as DiMaggio, or Yogi Berra, or Hank Bauer, but he did bat .324, collect 200 hits, and play sterling defense. If Vic Raschi hadn't paired his 21-8 record with a 4.00 ERA, it might have been him.

1951: Yogi Berra, Yankees. Right.

1952: Bobby Shantz, A's. Wrong: Allie Reynolds, Yankees. Shantz' season was better statistically, and he almost singlehandedly dragged the A's into 4th place, a level they wouldn't reach again until moving to Oakland. But they weren't close to the Pennant. Reynolds also had a season for the ages.

1953: Al Rosen, Indians. Wrong: Berra, Yankees. Rosen nearly won the Triple Crown, but he didn't win the Pennant. Yogi had the best season of any Yankee. It also could have gone to Mickey Mantle or Eddie Lopat, who had a Cy Young Award-worthy season at age 35.

1954: Berra, Yankees. Wrong: Larry Doby, Indians. If the Yankees had won the Pennant, Yogi would have been a good choice, but they didn't. Doby was a close call over his pitching teammates Early Wynn and Bob Lemon.

1955: Berra, Yankees. Right.

1956: Mickey Mantle, Yankees. Right: Not only did Mantle win the World Series, but he led both leagues in the Triple Crown categories, something that hasn't been done since.

1957: Mantle, Yankees. Right.

1958: Jackie Jensen, Red Sox. Wrong: Mantle, Yankees. Jensen had a really good season, but the Sox were nowhere near the Pennant.

1959: Nellie Fox, Chicago White Sox. Right: This was a Rizzuto '50-type season in that you needed to look at more than power numbers to realize how valuable he was.

*

1960: Roger Maris, Yankees. Right: He was not a one-hit wonder.

1961: Maris, Yankees. Right.

1962: Mantle, Yankees. Right.

1963: Elston Howard, Yankees. Right.

1964: Brooks Robinson, Baltimore Orioles. Wrong: Mantle, Yankees. The Orioles nearly won the Pennant, but nearly isn't enough.

1965: Zoilo Versalles, Minnesota Twins. Wrong: Jim "Mudcat" Grant, Twins. "Zorro" was a pick like Rizzuto '50 and Fox '59, but he wasn't even close to being the most valuable player on his own team.

1966: Frank Robinson, Orioles. Right.

1967: Carl Yastrzemski, Red Sox. Right.

1968: Denny McLain, Tigers. Right.

1969: Harmon Killebrew, Twins. Right, mostly. Now, we get into the Divisional Play Era, where winning your Division is a qualifier, but winning your Pennant is no longer necessary. The fact that Frank Robinson and Boog Powell both had MVP-quality years probably divided the votes for their team, enabling the Killer to win it.

*

1970: John "Boog" Powell, Orioles. Right, although it could also have gone to his teammate, pitcher Dave McNally.

1971: Vida Blue, Oakland Athletics. Right, although the Orioles' lack of an obvious choice helped.

1972: Dick Allen, Chicago White Sox. Wrong: The ChiSox finished 2nd.

1973: Reggie Jackson, A's. Right.

1974: Jeff Burroughs, Texas Rangers. Wrong: The Rangers finished 2nd.

1975: Fred Lynn, Red Sox. Right: It's probably the only time a rookie has deserved the MVP. Until 2001, it was the only time a player won Rookie of the Year and the MVP. (And Ichiro shouldn't have been considered a "rookie" at that point.)

1976: Thurman Munson, Yankees. Right.

1977: Rod Carew, Twins. Wrong: Al Cowens, Kansas City Royals. The Yankees didn't have a single player that stood out among all the others, although I could have gone with Reggie, or Graig Nettles, or invoked the Rizzuto/Fox/Versalles idea and said Mickey Rivers, or chosen Cy Young Award winner Sparky Lyle. But the Twins finished 17 1/2 games behind the Royals in the AL West, so, flirtation with .400, 100 RBIs and Gold Glove or no, Carew was not the most valuable player. Cowens had the best season of any Royal.

1978: Jim Rice, Red Sox. Wrong: Ron Guidry, Yankees. This was the dumbest decision in the history of MVP choices, far worse than any of the 3 that the Yankees "stole" from Ted Williams in the 1940s. With an ordinary player in left field instead of Rice, the Red Sox wouldn't have gotten close to the Playoffs. With Rice, the Red Sox still didn't make the Playoffs proper. With Ron Guidry, the Yankees won the World Series. With a .500 pitcher in place of Guidry, the Yankees would have finished 11 games out. I don't care how many total bases he had, or what his "WAR" or his "VORP" was that season: Anybody who thinks Jim Rice was more valuable in 1978 than Ron Guidry is an idiot.

1979: Don Baylor, California Angels. Right, although it could have gone to Ken Singleton of the Pennant-winning Orioles, now a Yankee broadcaster.

*

1980: George Brett, Kansas City Royals. Right.

1981: Rollie Fingers, Milwaukee Brewers. Right: The Brewers did make the Playoffs in that weird split-season setup.

1982: Robin Yount, Brewers. Right.

1983: Cal Ripken, Orioles. Right.

1984: Willie Hernandez, Tigers. Right, although it could have gone to Kirk Gibson. A .237 batting average probably cost Lance Parrish the honor.

1985: Don Mattingly, Yankees. Wrong: Brett, Royals. This might be my most controversial decision, because "Donnie Baseball" is still (unfairly) an unimpeachable icon among Yankee Fans. But Brett had nearly as good a season with the bat, and actually reached the Playoffs.

1986: Roger Clemens, Red Sox. Right.

1987: George Bell, Toronto Blue Jays. Wrong: Kirby Puckett, Twins. The Jays blew the AL Eastern Division title in the last week.

1988: Jose Canseco, A's. Right, based on what we knew at the time. What we know about steroids now, we may not have known at the times of these decisions.

1989: Robin Yount, Brewers. Wrong: Dave Stewart, A's. A .231 batting average may have cost Mark McGwire the MVP. Batting .269 may have taken Fred McGriff out of the running, too.

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1990: Rickey Henderson, A's. Right.

1991: Cal Ripken, Orioles. Wrong: The O's were nowhere near the Playoffs.

1992: Dennis Eckersley, A's. Right: The A's did win the AL West.

1993: Frank Thomas, White Sox. Right.

1994: Thomas, White Sox. Right: The ChiSox were leading the AL Central Division when the strike hit.

1995: Mo Vaughn, Red Sox. Right: The BoSox did win the AL East, and, again, we're going by what we knew at the time.

1996: Juan Gonzalez, Rangers. Wrong: Bernie Williams, Yankees. The Rangers did win the AL West and give the Yankees a scare in the 1st 2 games of the AL Division Series, but Bernie ultimately did more for his team. At the time, it looked like he, not Rookie of the Year Jeter, was going to be the defining Yankee of that generation.

1997: Ken Griffey Jr., Seattle Mariners. Right: The M's did win the AL West.

1998: Juan Gonzalez, Rangers. Wrong: Paul O'Neill, Yankees.

1999: Ivan Rodriguez, Rangers. Wrong: Derek Jeter, Yankees. Red Sox fans say Ted Williams was robbed of 3 MVPs. Jeter may have been, and this was the 1st.

*

2000: Jason Giambi, Oakland Athletics. Right: Again, we may have suspected that he was on steroids, but we didn't know.

2001: Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners. Wrong: Roger Clemens, Yankees. The guy won 20 of his 1st 21 decisions. If his ERA+ and WHIP don't excite you, you can go with Tino Martinez.

2002: Miguel Tejada, A's. Right, but it was close. Jason Giambi, whom the Yankees let Tino go to get, had a better season, and also won his Division but got no closer.

2003: Alex Rodriguez, Rangers. Wrong: Mariano Rivera, Yankees. A guy who can't get his team out of last place is no MVP>

2004: Vladimir Guerrero, Anaheim Angels. Right: The Angels did win the AL West, and we're not including the postseason, so David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and Curt Schilling -- all arguable MVPs for the Red Sox -- kind of split their vote.

2005: A-Rod, Yankees. Right, although this is a little dubious until you remember that the postseason doesn't count in this decision.

2006: Justin Morneau, Twins. Wrong: Jeter, Yankees. Morneau had a superb season and did win the AL Central, but Jeter's was better from a pure hitting standpoint, was close in terms of power (an OPS+ of 132 compared to Morneau's 140), and played better at a harder position (Morneau is a 1st baseman). Morneau wasn't even selected for the All-Star Team, despite a fine season.

2007: A-Rod, Yankees. Right, though it ended pathetically in the Playoffs.

2008: Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox. Right.

2009: Joe Mauer, Twins. Wrong: Jeter. Again, the Twins player selected had a wonderful season, statistically, and made the Playoffs. But Sports Illustrated got it right when it made Jeter the 1st Yankee ever to be named their Sportsman of the Year.

2010: Josh Hamilton, Rangers. Right: A miserable human being, but it's hard to argue against a Pennant winner with a 170 OPS+.

2011: Justin Verlander, Tigers. Right.

2012: Miguel Cabrera, Tigers. Right: The 1st Triple Crown since Yaz in '67, and the Tigers won the Pennant.

2013: Cabrera, Tigers. Right.

2014: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Right.

Right 56, Wrong 28. In other words, the voters get the decision right 2 out of every 3 times.

*

So who should it be? Let's look at the teams that made the Playoffs:

* AL Wild Card New York Yankees: An MVP vote taken at Labor Day should have chosen between Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira. But the former went into his usual late-season tank job, and the latter got hurt and missed the stretch run, possibly costing the Yanks the AL East. (Greg Bird's performance while stepping into 1st base gave the Yankees some run production, but he wasn't usually put in Teix' spot in the order.)

* AL Central (and World) Champion Kansas City Royals: They had 5 players with OPS+'s in the 120s: Kendrys Morales, Lorenzo Cain, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Alex Gordon. Such balance is good for winning a title. It's not so good for getting one of your guys picked for the MVP.

* AL West Champion Texas Rangers: No real standout. They had 4 players with at least a 110 OPS+ and 2 with at least a 125, but no one above 126.

* AL East (and ALDS) Champion Toronto Blue Jays: They have the opposite problem from the Rangers: 3 real standouts in Jose Bautista (OPS+ of 149), Edwin Encarnacion (153) and Josh Donaldson (155). And yet, their most valuable player may have been trade deadline acquisition Troy Tulowitzki.

* AL Wild Card Houston Astros; Carlos Correa, already selected Rookie of the Year, is a possibility. But Dallas Keuchel, sure to win the Cy Young Award, is a better one.

My choice for the 2015 American League Most Valuable Player is Dallas Keuchel, pitcher for the Houston Astros. If you really can't select a pitcher for the MVP, I understand. In that case, your best choice is probably Josh Donaldson, 3rd baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Why not Mike Trout, center fielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, whose OPS+ was a League-leading 176? Or Cabrera, whose OPS+ was 170? Because they didn't make the postseason, that's why.

Besides, if you've got 41 home runs and a 176 OPS+, as Trout did, you should have a lot more than 90 RBIs, as Trout did.

After all, it's not Most Outstanding Player. It's Most Valuable Player. We laughed and cursed at Stephen Drew all season long, but, in the end, his team made the Playoffs, Trout's team did not. Therefore, by definition, Stephen Drew was a more valuable player in 2015 than Mike Trout.

You might think that's ridiculous. But without Trout's contributions, the Angels would be exactly where they ended up: On the outside looking in. Surely, with Rob Refsnyder at 2nd base instead of Drew, the Yankees would have done better. But he did make a contribution to getting the team into the Playoffs.

Dallas Keuchel was the most valuable player in the American League in 2015.

Yankees Don't Show Up For Postseason. Unacceptable.

"Showing up is 80 percent of life." -- Woody Allen, New York native

Before the season, I was one of the few people to predict that the Yankees would make the Playoffs. I thought they would win the American League Eastern Division because the Division was weak.

Well, I was partly right. The Division was weak, and the Yankees did make the Playoffs.

But they didn't win the Division. They only got one of the berths in the AL Wild Card game last night.

They had home-field advantage, a strong starting pitcher in Masahiro Tanaka, an opposing starter who wasn't good away from home in Dallas Keuchel of the Houston Astros, and a better bullpen.

All they had to do was have their hitters show up.

The Yankees didn't show up last night.

My big fear was that the Yankees would be clinging to a 1-0 lead when Tanaka tired, manager Joe Girardi would panic at the pitch count, relieve him, see it become 6-1 Astros, and then a comeback would fall just short, and we'd lose 6-5.

That was never going to happen, because the Yankees were never going to score 6 runs last night, or even 1 run.

Here's all their baserunners:

* Chris Young walked in the 1st inning, and advanced to 2nd on a groundout. He was stranded.

* Greg Bird singled in the 2nd. He was stranded.

* Didi Gregorius singled to lead off the 6th. It took that long for the Yankees to get a 2nd hit off Keuchel.

* Young grounded into a forceout, getting to 1st but eliminating Gregorius.

* Carlos Beltran singled, advancing Young to 2nd. They were stranded -- by Alex Rodriguez, who went 0-for-4, apparently having decided to party like it's 2006. "Redemption of A-Rod," my ass.

* Chase Headley walked in the 7th. He was stranded.

That was it. The Yankees chased a lot of pitches they shouldn't have. Also, home plate umpire Eric Cooper was squeezing Tanaka for 6 innings, while he gave the Astros a gigantic strike zone. (And I just discovered that this bastard has the same birthday that I do. Rats!)

Colby Rasmus hit a home run to right field in the 2nd. Carlos Gomez hit one to left-center in the 4th. At 2-0, it's still easy to imagine coming from behind. As John Sterling taught us, "That's just a bloop and a blast." But 3-0 is harder, and the Astros made it 3-0 when Jose Altuve singled home Jonathan Villar in the 7th. Once that happened, it became extremely difficult to imagine this Yankee team coming from behind.

And, of course, they didn't. The 1st 2 batters in the bottom of the 9th were Beltran and A-Rod. Two men who, in their careers, between them, have 5,497 hits, including 1,075 home runs. Was it too much to ask to have either of them get a hit in this situation?

Yes, yes it was. Because, instead of the Beltran of October 2004 or the A-Rod of October 2009, I knew we'd get the each of them of October 2006.

Beltran took a strike 1 right over the plate, that he could have launched, and ended up striking out swinging. At least, this time, unlike with the 2006 Mets, he took the bat off his shoulder. Still, as Squawker Lisa showed tonight in Subway Squawkers, Squawker Jon (the lesser, Met half of that blog) gave her Yogi Berra's line. Not, "It ain't over 'til it's over," but, "It's deja vu all over again."

(She then said, "It's enough to make me want to root against the Mets!" You know what's enough to make me want to root against the Mets? Met fans. The Flushing Heathen. I hope the L.A. Bums sweep the bastards in 3 straight.)

A-Rod also struck out swinging, going back to his A-Fraud and A-Bum status. And then Brian McCann ended the game, and the Yankees' season, with a weak grounder to short.

Ballgame over. Yankees' season over. Yankees lose. Theeee Yankees lose.

Astros 3, Yankees 0. WP: Keuchel. SV: Gregerson. LP: Tanaka.

Don't blame Tanaka. He pitched well enough to win. Blame the hitters, and blame Girardi. If he hadn't thrown away 20 games on stupid pitching maneuvers, we would have won the Division, and we wouldn't even have been playing last night.

Instead, we were scheduled, but we didn't show up.

Were we lucky to get this far? Maybe. But we still should have run with the opportunity.

We barely took a step.

And so the off-season begins. With it, hopefully, a purge.

Starting with Girardi and general manager Brian Cashman. They have failed for too long. It is time for them to go.

Because what they've give us since November 4, 2009 has been unacceptable.

This season, with the talent that was available -- both already on the roster and at the trading deadline -- was unacceptable.

Using Stephen Drew at 2nd base when Rob Refsnyder was available was unacceptable.

Putting Chris Capuano and Branden Pinder on the mound, ever, was unacceptable.

Trusting Carlos Beltran at this stage of his career was unacceptable.

Continuing with Girardi and Cashman would be unacceptable.

It is time for Hal and Hank Steinbrenner to act.

Will they?

I wouldn't count on it. Neither one of them is their father.

UPDATE: Girardi was allowed to continue as field manager through 2017, when his contract ran out. He was simply not rehired, the lamest of ways of getting rid of him. Cashman was allowed to continue as general manager into the 2019 season.