Air Quality & Yankee Quality Both Bad

The Yankees started a homestand last night, against the Chicago White Sox, with the haze from a wildfire in Quebec drifting over the Northeast, causing New York City's worst air quality since the 1960s. People not used to seeing the sky that color, the skyscrapers that shrouded in smog, or the air that dirty and hard to breathe, compared it to apocalyptic movies.

For those of us who do remember the 1970s and '80s, when the joke was that the crosswalk signs switched from saying "WALK" and "DON'T WALK" to "BREATHE" and "DON'T BREATHE," it was an unfortunate reminder of what life was like before the Environmental Protection Agency and its safeguards kicked in.

To make matters worse, before the game, the Yankees put Aaron Judge on the 10-Day Injured List, because of the toe he injured making that catch against the Dodger Stadium gate. And Nestor Cortés was put on the 15-Day Injured List. So the Yankees not only went into this series without them, but will also be going into the weekend series against the hated Boston Red Sox without Judge, Harrison Bader, reliever Jonathan Loáisiga, and 3 guys who were supposed to be in the starting rotation: Cortés, Carlos Rodón and Frankie Montas.

Clarke Schmidt started last night, and allowed only 1 run over the 1st 4 innings. But he allowed 2 in the 5th, before finishing the 6th. But it didn't matter much, since the Yankees didn't hit. Lucas Giolito pitched 6 no-hit innings. ChiSox manager Pedro Grifol handled it the way Brian Cashman would have had Aaron Boone handle it: He saw that Giolito had thrown 100 pitches, and threw his chance at baseball immortality out the window, and brought in a relief pitcher, Joe Kelly.

Kelly struck out the 1st 2 batters he faced. But he walked Willie Calhoun, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa doubled Calhoun home. Jose Trevino singled, but Calhoun could only get to 3rd base, and Jake Bauers grounded out.

The Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the 8th. Josh Donaldson led off the 9th with a home run, but 3 straight groundouts sealed the Yankees' defeat. White Sox 3, Yankees 2. WP: Giolito (5-4). SV: Liam Hendriks (1). LP: Schmidt (2-6).

The series continues tonight. As of 1:00 this afternoon, the Yankees had not chosen a starting pitcher, but it will likely be Jhony Brito. Lance Lynn will start for the Pale Hose.

Good Series In L.A. Can't Hide Yankee Injury Issues

Yesterday, had she lived, my grandmother would have turned 99. She could really hold a grudge. She was a Brooklyn Dodger fan, and she never forgave the Los Angeles version of the team for leaving her. She hated the Yankees once upon a time, but softened on them over time.

So she might have liked at least the last 2 games of this weekend series between the Yankees and the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Especially since there was good pitching. Domingo Germán started for the Yankees, and went 6 2/3rds shutout innings, allowing on 4 hits a 1 walk, striking out 6. But Bobby Miller also kept the Yankees off the scoreboard.

So the game was scoreless after 6 innings. In the top of the 7th, Jake Bauers singled. Isiah Kiner-Falefa bunted him over, and reached on a throwing error. And Kyle Higashioka grounded to short, allowing Bauers to score. However, Germán blew his shot at the win by allowing a home run to J.D. Martinez, tying the game in the bottom of the 7th, so he didn't get the win.

Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you. With 1 out in the top of the 8th, Anthony Rizzo drew a walk. Giancarlo Stanton doubled. And Oswaldo Cabrera got him home with a groundout. Clay Holmes had finished the 7th, and pitched a scoreless 8th, In the 9th, IKF drew a walk, and Anthony Volpe hit a home run.

Wandy Peralta walked the leadoff man, Will Smith, in the bottom of the 9th. Uh-oh... But he picked Smith off 1st, got Max Muncy to fly the center, and got Martinez to ground to 3rd. Yankees 4, Dodgers 1. WP: Holmes (4-2). SV: Peralta (4). LP: Evan Phillips (1-1).

The Yankees are 6 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Eastern Division, and currently hold the 5th slot in the AL Playoffs. They hit 8 home runs in the 3 games. And that's with Aaron Judge having gotten the day off yesterday. You know what Yankee Haters say about Yankee Stadium II. Is Dodger Stadium "a little league field," too? No, it is not. When fully healthy, the Yankees can flat-out hit.

Except the Yankees might not be fully healthy. The injury parade never ends. It seems as though there's always going to be holes in the starting rotation. Nestor Cortés is getting an MRI on his shoulder, and is probably going on the Injured List. Even if it's just the 10-Day version, that's at least 2 missed starts.

In addition, the reason Judge had the day off was that he appeared to have injured his toe making that great catch against the bullpen gate on Saturday. He's going to get an MRI, too. Outfielder Greg Allen went on the 10-Day List with a hip injury, and relief pitcher Ryan Weber went on the 15-Day list with a forearm strain. Cabrera was called up, and so was reliever Nick Ramirez.

The Yankees have come home, and have tonight off. Tomorrow night, they start a series with the Chicago White Sox.

Cole Shutout Bails Out Yankee Bats

Okay, whoever had April 15 in the "Giancarlo Stanton Injury Pool," you win. He pulled a hamstring legging out a double on Friday, and had to leave the game. He was put on the 10-Day Injured List. Knowing it's a hamstring injury, he might be tempted to reaggravate it soon, like too many other players (including some Yankees) have done, and knock himself out again, for who-knows-how-long.

With a starting lineup that did not include Stanton, but did include Aaron Hicks, on-base percentage .174; Willie Calhoun, .176; Jose Trevino, .235; Oswaldo Cabrera, .255; and Anthony Volpe, .309 but his batting average just .191, a fan could be excused for thinking the Yankees wouldn't score many runs against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium yesterday afternoon.

And they didn't. In the 3rd inning, Aaron Judge drew a walk, Anthony Rizzo was hit by a pitch -- and Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, whiny little sucka that he is, challenged it, unsuccessfully -- and, after a Gleyber Torres, strikeout, DJ LeMahieu singled Judge home. And LeMahieu led off the 6th with a home run. That's 2 runs, and that's all the Yankees would score, and DJLM was responsible for both of them.

But the story of the game was Gerrit Cole. Defying all Brian Cashman logic, Aaron Boone left him in to pitch a complete game. He allowed a walk in the 2nd inning, a single in the 5th, a single in the 6th, and that was it. He threw 109 pitches, 73 of them strikes, and struck out 10. In this case, the quantity was as important as the quality: He (and Boone) gave the bullpen a precious day off.

Yankees 2, Twins 0. WP: Cole (4-0). No relievers, so no save. LP: Pablo Jose López (1-1).

The Yankees are 10-6, as are the Toronto Blue Jays. They trail the Tampa Bay Rays, who were 14-2, by 4 games. The Baltimore Orioles are 9-7, 5 back. And the Boston Red Sox are 8-8, 6 back. So the entire American League Eastern Division is .500 or better.

The Yankees have today off, so that's more rest for the bullpen. Tomorrow night, the Los Angeles Angels come in, with Mike Trout, who is not as good as Mickey Mantle; and Shohei Ohtani, who is not doing the same things as Babe Ruth.

Yankees a M*A*S*H Unit, Without the Comedy

It's 18 days to Opening Day, and the Yankees look like an episode of M*A*S*H, without the comedy. Here's a list of the current injuries, and when the players can be expected back:

* Miguel Andujar, 3rd base, shoulder: Missed most of last season, but is already back playing Spring Training games, including in left field, in place of Giancarlo Stanton.

* Gary Sanchez, catcher, back: Might be back this week -- or, he might be out beyond Opening Day, March 26.

* Ben Heller, relief pitcher, back: Probably by Opening Day.

* Giancarlo Stanton, left field, calf: Probably not by Opening Day.

* Aaron Judge, right field, ribs: At least April 1, meaning he might be back in time for the home opener, on April 2.

* James Paxton, starting pitcher, shoulder: At least May 1, more likely June 1.

* Domingo German, starting pitcher, domestic violence suspension: Eligible to return on June 5.

* Aaron Hicks, center field, elbow: At least July 1.

* Luis Severino, starting pitcher, elbow: Tommy John surgery, so out for the season. This is a terrible blow.

And none of this is due to the Coronavirus.

In other words, the Yankees' Opening Day lineup (I won't arrange it in batting order) could be as follows:

1B Luke Voit
2B DJ LeMahieu
SS Gleyber Torres
3B Gio Urshela
LF Miguel Andujar
CF Brett Gardner or Mike Tauchman
RF Clint Frazier
DH Gardner or Tauchman, whichever doesn't play CF
C Kyle Higashioka

Does that fill you with confidence? Because it sure as hell doesn't fill me with confidence. Maybe I would have more confidence if Frazier, with the million-dollar bat and the five-cent glove, were the DH. Maybe move Gardner or Tauchman, whichever doesn't play CF, over to RF, and make Frazier the DH.

And, at least through the start of June, the starting rotation is likely to be, in order of effectiveness: Gerrit Cole, Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ, Jordan Montgomery and Jonathan Loaisiga.

For the moment, we won't have to do what we did last year, with Chad Green pitching 2 innings and then praying for the bullpen to hold together. But we're already down 3 starters for the 1st 1/3rd of the season.

As they say on TV medical dramas: I'm not going to lie to you, it doesn't look good.

UPDATE: If we only knew that none of this would be a problem -- and why.

*

Days until the next Primary or Caucus: 2, this Tuesday, the Michigan Primary. Since last I did this, the race for the Democratic nomination for President has gone from Bernie Sanders leading the field, with no clear runner-up, to Joe Biden leading the field, and everybody but Sanders having dropped out and endorsed him. Elizabeth Warren hasn't endorsed anyone yet, but Kamala Harris waited until today, after all the other women (except for the meaningless gadfly Tulsi Gabbard) have dropped out. If Biden wins Michigan, the race is essentially over. If Sanders wins it, he still has a chance.

Days until Arsenal play again: 3, on Wednesday, at 2:30 PM New York time, in Premiere League action, away to Manchester City. Yesterday, they beat East London team West Ham United. They have also advanced to the Quarterfinals of the FA Cup, although they have been eliminated from the UEFA Europa League. So now, their only chance to get into next season's UEFA Champions League is to finish 4th or higher in the Premier League -- or 5th, if Man City's CL ban is upheld, which is by no means a certainty.

Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 7, a week from today, at 7:00 PM, away to Minnesota United. Yesterday, they had a 1-0 lead away to Real Salt Lake, and then allowed an equalizer in stoppage time. This tie felt not like kissing your sister, but like kissing her best friend. You know, the one with the great personality.

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 13, on Saturday night, March 21, against the New York Islanders, at the Prudential Center. The next game against the Philadelphia Flyers will be on Saturday afternoon, March 28, at the Prudential Center. The Devils are not scheduled to play the New York Rangers, a.k.a. The Scum, for the rest of this regular season, and it is unlikely that the Devils will make the Playoffs and face them there.

Days until the Yankees' 2020 Opening Day: 18, at 1:00 on Thursday, March 26, away to the Baltimore Orioles. Under 3 weeks.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 18, at 3:45 PM New York time on March 26, 2020, against the Netherlands, at Philips Stadion in Eindhoven, home of PSV Eindhoven.

Days until the Yankees' 2020 home opener: 25, on Thursday, April 2, against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 41, on Saturday, April 18, at 1:00 PM, against the New England Revolution, at Red Bull Arena. On Sunday, April 26, at 3:00 PM, they will play D.C. United, at Audi Field in Washington. On Sunday, May 31, at 3:00 PM, they will play New York City FC, at Yankee Stadium II. And on Saturday, June 6, at 6:00 PM, they will play the Philadelphia Union, at Red Bull Arena.

Days until the next North London Derby: 49, on Sunday, April 26, Arsenal's 1st visit to the new Tottenham Stadium, adjacent to the site of the previous White Hart Lane. Exactly 7 weeks. It is had been moved from the previous day, probably say that nobody would talk about it occurring on the 16th Anniversary of the 2nd time that Arsenal won the League at White Hart Lane -- but also the last time Arsenal won the League anywhere.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 61, on May 8, 2020, at Yankee Stadium II. Exactly 2 months.

Days until Euro 2020 begins, a tournament being held all over Europe instead of in a single host nation: 96, on Friday, June 12, 2020. A little over 3 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 138, on July 24, 2020. Under 5 months.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 180, on Friday night, September 4, against arch-rival Old Bridge, at the purple shit pit on Route 9. Under 6 months.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge football game: See the previous answer.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 181, on Saturday, September 5, at noon, home to Monmouth University, a Football Championship Subdivision School in West Long Branch, Monmouth County, New Jersey. In other words, if they don't win this game overwhelmingly, especially now that Greg Schiano is back as head coach, it will look very, very bad.

Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 240, on November 3, 2020. Under 8 months.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 265, on Saturday, November 28, at home. Under 9 months.

Days until a fully-Democratic-controlled Congress can convene, and the Republicans can do nothing about it: 301, on January 3, 2021. Under 10 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 318, at noon on January 20, 2021. Under 11 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 Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz become eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame: 674, on January 11, 2022. Under 2 years, or a little over 22 months. We will then find out if it's okay for a Red Sox steroid cheat to be in the Hall, but not for a Yankee steroid cheat.

Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Beijing, China: 698, on February 4, 2022. Under 2 years, or under 23 months.

Days until the next World Cup is scheduled to kick off in Qatar: 988, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. Under 3 years, or under 33 months.

Days until the next Women's World Cup is scheduled to kick off: As yet unknown, but space on the international women's soccer calendar has been cleared for July 10 to August 20, 2023. So if July 10 is the tournament's starting date, that would be 1,219 days, a little under 3 1/2 years, or a little over 40 months. A host nation is expected to be chosen on March 20. Bids have been put in by Brazil (South America has never hosted), Colombia (ditto), Japan (Asia last hosted in 2007), and a joint bid by Australia and New Zealand (Oceania has never hosted).

This Was Supposed to Be THE Year

This was supposed to be the year. When the big contracts came off the books, and the "prospects" came good. Brian Cashman threw 2016, 2017 and 2018 away with stupid trades, so that 2019 could be the start of the next Yankee Dynasty.

It's not. This Yankee team was designed to sell tickets and merchandise, while staying under the luxury tax threshold. Not to win a championship.
Now, half the players meant to sell tickets are injured, and what's left is a .500-caliber team.

Don't blame manager Aaron Boone. Blaming him for the Yankees' bad start is like blaming the limo driver for JFK getting shot.

*

You certainly can't blame last night's starting pitcher for the Yankees losing. Masahiro Tanaka was terrific again, going 6 2/3rds innings, allowing just 1 run on 8 hits and no walks, striking out 7. Adam Ottavino finished the 7th and pitched the 8th, allowing no baserunners.

Now, a person with a clue would have considered that, having thrown 87 pitches, Tanaka was far from done. And that, maybe he should finish the 7th. And maybe even the 8th. Failing that, he would have considered that Ottavino was cruising, and that, perhaps, he should finish the game, giving closer Aroldis Chapman some rest.

But Aaron Boone has to follow Cashman's orders, and he lifted Tanaka when he did and Ottavino when he did. Which set up the 9th inning.

But before I get to that, let's talk about how the Yankees hit. Which was not well.

I keep telling people that the Yankees are not going to make the Playoffs because their pitching staff has too many holes in it. They say there's nothing to worry about, because Cashman has assembled a team of big boppers who are going to outscore everybody.

Well, in the 1st 5 games this season, the Yankees have scored 19 runs. Take out the opener, and it's 12 runs in 4 games. And several of the hitters Cashman acquired are on the Injured List.

With 1 out in the 2nd inning, DJ LeMahieu singled, Mike Tauchman hit a ground rule double, and Clint Frazier hit a sacrifice fly to left field to bring home LeMahieu. Then Tyler Wade struck out to strand Tauchman.

Respectively: LeMahieu was subbing at 3rd base for Miguel Andujar; Tauchman in left field for Brett Gardner, who was moved over to center field to sub for Aaron Hicks; Frazier at DH for Giancarlo Stanton; and Wade at 2nd base for Gleyber Torres, who was moved over to shortstop to sub for Troy Tulowitzki, who was subbing there for Didi Gregorius. Also, Austin Romine was catching for Gary Sanchez. The only people who were playing the positions they should have been playing were Aaron Judge in right field and Luke Voit at 1st base.

Last night, we partied like it was 1988. (We finished 3 1/2 games out of 1st, but in 5th place.)

The Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the 1st, the 6th and the 9th; stranded a runner on 1st in the 3rd. the 4th and the 7th; wasted a leadoff single and a walk in the 5th, and had a runner on 1st with 1 out erased by a double play in the 8th.

It was 1-1 going into the 9th. It could have been a lot worse, of course, but it could also have been a lot better, and it wasn't.

Bringing your closer in for the 9th makes sense. And Chapman got a strikeout to start it. But... Cliche alert: Walks can kill you. Chapman allowed walk, RBI double, strikeout, RBI single, infield single, groundout. And, as I said, the Yankees went down quietly in the bottom of the 9th.

No closer gets it right every time. Mariano Rivera didn't. Dave Righetti, Goose Gossage, Sparky Lyle, Luis Arroyo, Bob Grim, Joe Page, Johnny Murphy and Wilcy Moore didn't.

Chapman blew it, but it should never have been blowable. If the Yankees had scored 4 runs in the 1st 8 innings, and Chapman gave them the exact same 9th inning, they would have won 4-3. Instead, they didn't get the runs they needed. Because Cashman didn't get the players they needed.

Tigers 3, Yankees 1. WP: Joe Jimenez (1-0). SV: Former Yankee Shane Greene. LP: Chapman (0-1).

The Yankees go into this afternoon's finale at 2-3. Jonathan Loaisiga has come off the Injured List, and will be starting, when it should probably be either CC Sabathia or Luis Severino, both of whom are injured.

This was supposed to be the year. Does this look like the year to you? Because it sure as hell doesn't look like the year to me.

Understand this: I am not happy that I was right this. I am not happy about Cashman having failed to do his job.

But I did tell you so.

Yanks Beat Tigers In Spite of Arsenalesque Injury Crisis

First, the bad news: The Yankees on the Injured List (it's no longer the "Disabled List") now include pitchers CC Sabathia, Luis Severino, Jonathan Loaisiga, Dellin Betances and Ben Heller; backup catcher Kyle Higashioka (meaning that, if anything happens to Gary Sanchez, we're stuck with Austin Romine); starting shortstop Did Gregorius; starting 3rd baseman Miguel Andujar; outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury and Aaron Hicks; and designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton.

To rewrite an old joke, I went to a Yankee game, and an Arsenal match broke out! This looks like Arsenal's annual "injury crisis," and we'd only played 3 games!

To make matters worse, Andujar's injury is a torn labrum in his shoulder. He could be out for the season. Stanton's place on the roster was taken by Clint Frazier, and Andujar's by Tyler Wade. These two guys couldn't hit sand if they fell off a boardwalk!

Clearly, general manager Brian Cashman is not doing his job.

And last night, Domingo German was scheduled to start the opener of a 3-game series against the Detroit Tigers. This could be a long night...

*

The good news: Surprise: The Yankee pitching was brilliant.

How many Yankee pitchers does it take to hold the Tigers to 2 hits? Apparently, 5. German went the 1st 5 innings, allowing 1 run on just 1 hit, but 5 walks, which is concerning.

He threw 79 pitches, which means he had at least 2 more innings in him. But Cashman loves him some analytics and some pitch count, and Aaron Boone doesn't have the balls to tell him how fucking stupid this is.

Chad Green pitched a perfect 6th. Zach Britton pitched a scoreless 7th, allowing the only other Tiger hit. Adam Ottavino pitched a scoreless 8th, albeit with 2 walks. Maybe he should've worked on his control, instead of talking trash about Babe Ruth. And Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless 9th. None of the relievers allowed a walk.

But it would be just like the 2010-19 Cashman Yankees to have such a nice pitching performance and lose 1-0. Instead, the Yankees got a 2-run home run from Gary Sanchez in the 2nd inning, and a solo homer from Brett Gardner in the 5th, and that was all they needed.

Yankees 3, Tigers 1. WP: German (1-0). SV: Chapman (1). LP: Tyson Ross (0-1).

The series continues tonight. Masahiro Tanaka is scheduled to start against Jordan Zimmerman. The series concludes with an early start tomorrow, 4:05. Matthew Boyd starts for the Tigers, and the Yankees are still undecided. As with the replacements for Stanton and Andujar, we could be looking at the Scranton Shuttle.

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.