This time, it was the Big Fella. CC Sabathia pitched only 3 innings, giving up 2 home runs to 2015 American League Most Valuable Player Josh Donaldson, and then left with a knee injury.
Clearly, he had the injury before he went out there. Joe Girardi said, "When he came off, he said he was feeling it every pitch, and that's why I pulled him."
"It's just frustrating," CC said of the knee on which he's worn a brace since late in the 2015 season. "It's been healthy all year. To go out today and not have it be where I want it to be is just frustrating.
"It's just hard for me to get over my front side and finish the pitches. When I can't do that, I don't know where the ball is going."
Bryan Mitchell pitched the next 4 innings, and David Robertson the last, all without further damage. But the damage was done. Rookie 1st baseman Garrett Cooper got both Yankee RBIs, singling home Chase Headley in the 2nd inning, and bringing Gary Sanchez home with a sacrifice fly in the 8th.
And the much-beloved Clint Frazier? He struck out in the 1st, the 3rd, and the 5th, before singling in the 7th. Can't Miss Clint now has a .243 batting average, a .274 on-base percentage, a .477 slugging percentage, and an OPS+ of 91. Clearly, he wasn't ready to be brought up.
Blue Jays 4, Yankees 2. WP: J.A. Happ (5-8). SV: Roberto Osuna (29). LP: Sabathia (9-5).
The Boston Red Sox won last night, so the Yankees are now 4 games out of 1st place, 3 in the loss column, with 51 games to play. The season may be slipping away.
The series continues tonight. Masahiro Tanaka starts against Nick Tepesch.
*
Days until The Arsenal play again: 2, on Friday, 2:45 PM our time, in the Premier League season opener, home to Leicester City. They won the FA Community Shield (known until 2002 as the Charity Shield), the annual season-opening contest at Wembley Stadium in London between the teams that won the previous season's FA Cup and Premier League title, by beating the defending champions, West London club Chelsea, on penalties.
Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series: 2, this Friday night, at Yankee Stadium.
Days until the Red Bulls play again: 3, on Saturday night at 7:30, home to Orlando City. They played like garbage in the Hudson River Derby against New York City FC at Yankee Stadium II the other day.
Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 16, on Friday night, August 25, against New York City FC, but at Red Bull Arena. They will next play the Philadelphia Union on Sunday, September 17, at at Red Bull Arena. They will next play the D.C. Scum on Saturday, September 27, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. They are not scheduled to play the New England Revolution again this season. The Red Bulls might make the Playoffs, but the Revs probably won't, so they almost certainly won't face each other again until next season.
Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 23, on Friday, September 1, against Costa Rica at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, in a CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier. We beat Jamaica to win the CONCACAF Gold Cup, our 6th international tournament win, all within the last 26 years. (For context: England, whose fans talk about how they're better than any CONCACAF team, mainly because they invented the game and won the World Cup in 1966, haven't been to a Final in 51 years, or even a Semifinal in 21 years.)
Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 23, on Friday, September 1, home to the University of Washington. A little over 3 weeks.
Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 30, on Friday night, September 8, home to Sayreville, a "derby." Exactly 1 month.
Days until the New Jersey Devils play again: 59, on Saturday night, October 7, home to the Colorado Avalanche. Under 2 months.
Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 66, on Saturday night, October 14, against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden in Midtown Manhattan. Their 1st game against the New York Islanders will be on Sunday, January 7, 2018, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn -- and they'll have played the Rangers 3 times by then. Their 1st game against the Philadelphia Flyers will be on Saturday, January 13, 2018, at the Prudential Center in Newark -- and they'll have played the Rangers 3 times and the Islanders once by then. This is a weird schedule. But at least we have it. The NBA usually doesn't release its new season's schedule until August.
Days until the Alex Rodriguez Contract From Hell officially runs out, and the Yankees can spend his salary on new players: 83, on October 31. Under 12 weeks.
Days until the next election for Governor of New Jersey: 90, on Tuesday, November 7. Just 3 months until we elect Phil Murphy, defeat Kim Guadagno, and end Christieism forever. But only if you vote!
Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 94, on Saturday, November 11, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.
Days until the next North London Derby: 100, on Saturday, November 18, at the Emirates Stadium. This game could be moved to the following day, for TV purposes.
Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving high school football game: 106, on Thursday, November 23, at 10:00 AM. A little over 15 weeks, and thank God it's at home, at Jay Doyle's Green Grove, rather than at that purple shit pit on Route 9.
Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Pyeongchang, Korea: 186, on February 9, 2018. Exactly 6 months.
Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia: 309, on June 14, 2018. A little over 10 months. Has Bruce Arena turned our chances around? Maybe. Or maybe, with the tournament on his soil, Vladimir Putin will tell his bitch Donald Trump to tell Bruce Arena to tank the games. Maybe not. Or maybe only if we end up playing Russia. I don't think Arena will listen. If he doesn't, I hope his life insurance is paid up, because Putin has had people killed for defying him.
Days until September 2018 roster call-ups, when we can finally start to expect seeing most of these wonderful "prospects" for whom Yankee general manager Brian Cashman threw away a chance at the 2016 Playoffs: 386. A little over a year, or a little over 12 months. Of course, Clint Frazier is already up, but the bubble has already burst, and we've hardly benefited enough to offset the cost of Andrew Miller. We could end up seeing another of them sooner than that, but since most of them are at Double-A Trenton now, if that, who's kidding who?
Days until the next Congressional election: 454, on November 6, 2018. Under a year and a half, or a little under 15 months.
Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 518, on January 9, 2019. A little under a year and a half, or a little over 16 months.
Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 883, on January 8, 2020. A little under 2 1/2 years, or a little over 28 months.
Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 1,088, on July 24, 2020. A little under 3 years, or a little over 35 months.
Days until the next Presidential election: 1,550, on November 3, 2020. Under 3 1/2 years, or under 39 months.
Days until Liberation Day: 1,628, at noon on January 20, 2021. A little under 3 1/2 years, or a little over 41 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.
