Have Yankee Fans Become a Bunch of "Dumb Donalds"?

Gene Rayburn, reading a clue as host of Match Game in the 1970s: "Dumb Donald is so dumb!"

Panelists and audience: "How dumb is he?"

Gene: "He's so dumb, he tried to use flypaper as (blank)paper!"

*

I used to think Met fans were stupid. But, at this point, they may be the smarter of the two New York baseball fanbases.

I went on a Yankee-themed Facebook page, and asked, Now that Brian Cashman has refused to address the Yankees' obvious need for improved starting pitching, and also created a hole in the lineup where none previously existed, by trading Starlin Castro for a player who, let's face it, is a Porsche for a man with a midlife crisis, who is going to play 2nd base for a team that is supposed to be doing whatever it takes to win the World Series?

I basically got 2 answers:

1. Gleyber Torres. A 21-year-old kid with a grand total of 96 at-bats in Triple-A, meaning he hasn't even proven he can hit at that level, let alone at the major league level, and is coming off a major injury. And...

2. "Just wait for Cash to do his stuff."

I've seen Cashman do his stuff. I want him to stop doing his stuff, and start doing his job! Which is to strengthen the Yankees, not weaken them!

Firing Joe Girardi won't make much of a difference now that Cashman has actually weakened the Yankees with this dumb trade for Giancarlo Stanton.

2018 is going to be a very, very long year for Yankee Fans.

Oh, I can't wait for the trading deadline, when Cashman trades Gary Sanchez for 25 teenagers, and we have to rely on Austin Romine as our catcher for August and September.

Not October. We won't have one.

Brian Cashman is so dumb! How dumb is he? He's so dumb, he's left us with a blank at 2nd base!

UPDATE: Torres made his major league debut on April 22, 2018, and was named to the American League All-Star Team. He batted .271 with 24 home runs and 77 RBIs. As for the postseason, he went 0-for-3 in the Wild Card Game against the Oakland Athletics, but the Yankees won anyway; and 4-for-13 for a .308 average, but no extra-base hits or RBIs, in the ALDS against the Boston Red Sox, so we can't really blame any of the defeat on him.

Yankees Make Incredibly Stupid Trade; Tracy Stallard, 1937-2017

UPDATE: Through the 2023 season, Stanton's 6th with them, the Yankees still haven't won a Pennant since 2009. So I stand by what I wrote here.

Yesterday, these were the Yankees' strengths:

* 1st base: Greg Bird.
* 2nd base: Starlin Castro.
* Shortstop: Didi Gregorius.
* Left field: Brett Gardner.
* Center field: Jacoby Ellsbury or Aaron Hicks.
* Right field: Aaron Judge.
* Catcher: Gary Sanchez.
* Designated hitter: Whoever doesn't start, out of Ellsbury or Hicks.
* Overall offense.
* Top 3 starting pitchers, assuming they remain healthy: Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, Sonny Gray.
* Middle relief: Chad Green, Tommy Kahnle.
* Late relief: Aroldis Chapman, David Robertson, Dellin Betances.

And these were the Yankees' weaknesses:

* 3rd base: Chase Headley, with Ronald Torreyes possibly being an upgrade.
* 4th starter: Jordan Montgomery isn't really ready.
* 5th starter: Best possibility is CC Sabathia, who is currently out of contract, and will be 38 next July.
* Other middle relief: If a starter doesn't get out of the 1st 4 innings, the choices before getting to Green and Kahnle are Luis Cessa, Giovanny Gallegos, Ben Heller, Jonathan Holder, Bryan Mitchell, Chasen Shreve and Adam Warren -- none of whom meets the classic standard of being good enough for the New York Yankees.

Therefore, the Yankees' needs for upgrades were as follows, in order:

1. 5th starter.
2. 3rd baseman.
3. 4th starter.
4. Middle reliever.

*

The Yankees' general manager is Brian Cashman. It is his job to make those upgrades.

What has he done in this offseason, besides address what was the Yankees' biggest need, getting rid of Joe Girardi and replacing him with an intelligent manager? Which Aaron Boone might be, but he's gotta be better than Binder Boy?

Today, Cashman made a trade with the Miami Marlins, which is still unofficial until physical examinations of the players involved are done. Presuming nothing odd pops up:

* The Yankees get Giancarlo Stanton, a right fielder who just turned 28, and already has 267 career home runs, including some of the longest in baseball over the last 5 years. (For comparison's sake: When the Yankees signed Reggie Jackson before the 1977 season, he was 30, and had 281 home runs.)

* The Marlins get Castro and 2 prospects who were probably never going to be factors in a Yankee uniform anyway.

Essentially, Castro for Stanton. Easy trade to make?

Sure... if you're the Marlins!

Here's what the Marlins get: A 2nd baseman who turns 28 during Spring Training (that's right: Younger than Stanton), who's already been a 4-time All-Star and a 2-time postseason player.

Here's what the Yankees get: A righthanded-hitting right fielder who led his League in home runs this year, but strikes out a lot -- which they already have, in Judge.

The Yankees have a glut of outfielders, and only 1 guy can be a DH, unless you want to go with a lefty-righty platoon there, which weakens a team as often as it strengthens.

In other words, Cashman went for the shiny, and increased the Yankees' needs. Now, we also need a 2nd baseman.

Who's going to play 2nd? Torreyes? Gleyber Torres, who's coming off an injury, is listed at shortstop, and still hasn't proven he can hit Triple-A, let alone major league, pitching?

Meanwhile, we still need 1 or 2 more starting pitchers.

So unless Cashman can fill those 2 (or 3) needs, where he previously needed to fill 1 (or 2), trading Starlin Castro for Giancarlo Stanton looks like an incredibly stupid trade.

This is like if, knowing that Arsenal needed a goalkeeper (because Petr Cech is over the hill) and a centreback (because Per Mertesacker is retiring, Laurent Koscielny's Achilles is a nagging injury, and Shkodran Mustafi is injury-prone), signed Neymar. (Or, it would be, if Stanton cheated and had stupid hair and a worse attitude.)

Or, to put it in political terms, the Yankees needed a jobs program, and Cashman signed a tax cut into law.

Understand this: I am not questioning Giancarlo Stanton's ability. Or his character. This is about what the Yankees need, and what they don't.

For the Yankees, Giancarlo Stanton is a luxury. He's a fur coat, when the kids need new shoes.

Do I hope Stanton does well for the Yankees? Of course I do. It would help the Yankees win games, and I'm all about the Yankees winning games. Specifically, winning enough games to get into the postseason, and then winning 11 games in the postseason, and thus the World Series. Maybe Stanton can help us do that.

But what are we supposed to do, win 30 of the 95 games we need in the regular season, and 4 of the 11 in the postseason, by 11-10 scores?

The 2018 Yankees are looking not like the new Murderer's Row (1927), or the new M&M Boys (1961), but like the football team at the University of Nebraska in the early 1980s, which ran up huge numbers against weak opposition (scoring at least 51 points 16 times in 5 seasons, at least 62 points 5 times, and topping out at 72), but lost games they should have won against good teams (to Florida State and Oklahoma in 1980; to Iowa, Penn State and Clemson in 1981; to Penn State to cost themselves the 1982 National Championship; to Miami to cost themselves the 1983 National Championship; and to Oklahoma again and Syracuse in 1984).

I also thought of the "run and shoot" team at the University of Houston from 1988 to 1990, but that team can't be held up as a parallel, since various violations kept them out of bowl games in those seasons, so we don't know how they would have held up against real competition.

And then, of course, there's the elephant in the room. Suppose the Boston Red Sox decide to do to Stanton what they do to pretty much any Yankee they want: Hit him on purpose, with intent to injure. And suppose he is injured. There's a season of him down the drain.

July 25, 2016, the day Brian Cashman traded Chapman to the Chicago Cubs for Torres, Warren and 2 other "prospects." July 31, 2016, the day Cashman traded Miller to the Cleveland Indians for Clint Frazier, Justus Sheffield, Ben Heller and J.P. Feyereisen. August 1, 2016, the day Cashman traded Carlos Beltran to the Texas Rangers for 3 spare parts, and also traded Ivan Nova to the Pittsburgh Pirates for 2 nobodies And August 31, 2017, the day Cashman did not trade for Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros did.

These are dates which live in infamy. Cashman's trades since July 2016 have essentially won 3 Pennants -- for the 2016 Cubs (Chapman), the 2016 Indians (Miller), and the 2017 Astros (who signed Beltran as a free agent and traded for Verlander when Cashman wouldn't).

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: In August 2017, I would have traded the entire remaining career of Gleyber Torres for the next 3 months of Justin Verlander. It would have made all the difference in the World (Series).

Now, Cashman has gone for the sports car, while the heater is broken and Winter has arrived.

Dumb GM is so dumb. How dumb is he? If he doesn't find another starter and a 2nd baseman, either from someone else or already in the Yankees' organization, Brian Cashman goes down as the worst executive in Yankee history.

And those of you still defending him, I ask you this: How can you type while bowing your heads and kneeling?

I would have used another analogy, but, this time, I wanted some people to read this who might have objected to R-rated language.

*

Speaking of the 1961 Yankees, today I learned of the death of Tracy Stallard, who gave up Roger Maris' record-breaking 61st home of that season.

Evan Tracy Stallard (why he used his middle name, when it's usually a girl's name, I don't know) was born in August 31, 1937 in Coeburn, in the western panhandle of Virginia. He came up with the Red Sox in September 1960, making 4 appearances, 3 of them against the Yankees. Ted Williams' finale, on September 28, was not one of his appearances.

He struggled the next season, going just 2-7, and with a 4.88 ERA it wasn't just because the Red Sox were bad. His best performance of the season may well have been in the season finale at Yankee Stadium, on October 1, 1961, in which he gave up only 1 run -- a solo home run to Maris, which changed baseball history. Stallard went 7 innings, giving up only 5 hits in the hard-luck loss.

"I'm glad he did hit it off me," Stallard later said. "Otherwise, I would never have been thought of again. That was about all I did, and I've had a good time with it."

Stallard spent most of the 1962 season in the minor leagues, making just 1 MLB appearance. He was then traded to the fledgling Mets, along with Pumpsie Green, the Red Sox' 1st black player, and Al Moran, for Felix Mantilla, who had been the Mets' 1st starting 2nd baseman and the starting 2nd sacker on the 1957 World Champion Milwaukee Braves.

Pitching in the Polo Grounds did not help Stallard, as he went 6-17 for that 111-loss team. Pitching in the new Shea Stadium, a pitcher's park, should have helped, but didn't, as he went 10-20 for a 109-loss team. Among his losses in that 1964 season was the perfect game pitched against the Mets by Jim Bunning of the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Mets traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals, and, pitching for the defending World Champions, he went 11-8 with a decent 3.38 ERA in 1965. But he fell to 1-5 in 1966, was sent down to the minors, where he hung on until 1973, without ever returning to the majors.

And yet, he held Willie Mays to a .200 average: 6-for-30. He held Willie McCovey to .152: 5-for-33, albeit 3 of the 5 hits were home runs. He held Frank Robinson to .214: 6-for-28. He held Roberto Clemente to .138: 4-for-29. And that historic home run was the only hit Maris ever got off him, going 1-for-7, for .143.

It sounds like Stallard was a good Joe Girardi-style "situational pitcher." He might have been even more so if he'd been lefthanded. Alas, 1965 aside, he was a marginal pitcher, finishing with a 30-57 record and a 4.17 ERA -- in a pitching-friendly era.

Stallard died in his hometown of Coeburn this past Thursday, December 7, 2017. He was 80 years old.

In 61*, the movie that Billy Crystal made about the 1961 home run record chase, Stallard was played by Paul Gallo, who also played a softball coach on the TV series Gilmore Girls.

*

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: None. Right now, they are playing the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Their next game against The Scum will be on Thursday night, December 21, at the Prudential Center in Newark. Their 1st game against the New York Islanders will be on Sunday, January 7, 2018, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Their 1st game against the Philadelphia Flyers will be on Saturday, January 13, 2018, at the Prudential Center.

Days until The Arsenal play again: 1, tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM our time, away to Southampton.

Days until the Alex Rodriguez Contract From Hell officially runs out, and the Yankees can spend his salary on new players: 22, on Sunday, December 31. Just 3 weeks.

Days until Phil Murphy is inaugurated as Governor of New Jersey: 38, on Tuesday, January 16, 2018. A little over 5 weeks. Goodbye, Chris Christie, and stay out.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 50, on Sunday night, January 28, 2018, at 9:30 PM Eastern Time, a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina (that's 1 country), at the StubHub Center in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. About 7 weeks. After that, no matches are scheduled. They were supposed to play at the World Cup in June 2018. Alas...

Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Pyeongchang, Korea: 62, on February 9, 2018. Just 2 months.

Days until the next North London Derby: 63, on Saturday, February 10, 2018, at Wembley Stadium in West London, where Spurs are playing their "home games" until the new stadium they're building on the site of White Hart Lane opens the following August. Just 9 weeks. Two things could change this day-count: The game could be moved due to the British TV networks' demands, or Arsenal could be drawn to play Spurs in the FA Cup, which would be the weekend of January 6 (if it's in the 3rd Round) or that of January 27 (if it's in the 4th Round). The 4th Round would be the weekend of February 17, after the next scheduled Derby.

Days until the Red Bulls play again: Unknown. Usually, the Major League Soccer season begins on the 1st Sunday in March, which would be March 4, which would be 85 days from now. Just 12 weeks.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": Unknown, although the season opener is rarely a derby, so it probably won't be against either New York City FC, the Philadelphia Union, D.C. United or the New England Revolution.

Days until Opening Day of the 2018 Major League Baseball season: 110, on Thursday night, March 29, as the Yankees open away to the Toronto Blue Jays. Under 4 months.

Days until the Yankees' 2018 home opener: 114, on Monday afternoon, April 2, against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 122, on Tuesday, April 10, 2018, at Fenway Park.

Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia: 187, on June 14, 2018. A little over 6 months. But the U.S. team won't be playing. At least now, Donald Trump doesn't have to choose, and can root for his favorite country, the host nation, Russia.

Days until September 2018 roster call-ups, when we can finally start to expect seeing most of these wonderful "prospects" that Yankee general manager Brian Cashman wanted: 266. Under 9 months.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 266, on Saturday, September 1, home to Texas State University. Their loss to Michigan State this past Saturday left them 4-8 on the season, although it did include 3 Big Ten wins: At Illinois, and home to Purdue and Maryland.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Unknown. The 2018 schedule hasn't been released yet. But the season opener is usually on the 1st Friday in September. that would be September 7, which is 272 days from now.

Days until the next Congressional election, when we can elect a Democratic Congress that can impeach and remove Donald Trump from the Presidency: 332, on November 6, 2018. Under 11 months.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State game: 343, on Saturday, November 17, 2018, at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving high school football game (after tomorrow's): 348, on Thursday, November 22, 2018.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 396, on January 9, 2019. A little over a year, or exactly 13 months.

Days until the next Women's World Cup kicks off: 545, on June 7, 2019, in France. A little over a year and a half, or a little under 18 months. The U.S. team, as 3-time and defending Champions, has, as usual, a better chance than the men's team would have had in 2018 anyway.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 760, on January 8, 2020. A little over 2 years, or a little under 25 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 958, on July 24, 2020. A little over 2 1/2 years, or a little under 32 months.

Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 1,060, on November 3, 2020. Under 3 years, or a little under 35 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 1,138, at noon on January 20, 2021. A little over 3 years, or a little under 38 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 World Cup for which the American team will be eligible is scheduled to kick off: 1,806, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. Under 5 years, or 60 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.

Yanks Begin 2nd Half With Lots of News, Not Much of It Good

Tonight, the Yankees begin the official, though not numerical, 2nd half of the regular season, in Scum Town, facing The Scum at Scumway Park.

As you might have guessed, I want to win these games. The Yankees go into the series 3 1/2 games behind Boston in the American League Eastern Division, 2 in the all-important loss column, having lost 17 of their last 25 games, now only 45-41, 4 games over .500.

Taking at least 3 out of 4 is a must, to send the Red Sox the message that we aren't going to let them run away with the Division, that we are going to battle them to the end. And if we can take all 4, well, sure, that would be even better.

The projected pitching matchups are as follows:

* Tonight, 7:10 PM: Jordan Montgomery vs. Drew Pomerantz.

* Tomorrow, 4:05 PM: Luis Severino vs. Chris Sale.

* Sunday, 1:05 PM, opener of a rain-forced doubleheader: Bryan Mitchell vs. Rick Porcello.

* Sunday, 8:00 PM, the originally-scheduled game of the day: Masahiro Tanaka vs. David Price.

Why is Mitchell starting? Because that was supposed to be Michael Pineda's spot in the rotation, but his elbow is hurting, and he's been told he needs Tommy John surgery -- in his contract year, no less. His contract runs out at the end of this season, and there goes any shot he had at a big payday. Most likely, the Yankees won't try to re-sign him, so he has probably pitched in Pinstripes (and road grays) for the last time. Indeed, there's a not-insignificant chance that he may never appear in the major leagues again.

Mitchell is starting because it's too soon in the rotation for CC Sabathia, who will start in Minnesota on Monday, or Luis Cessa, who will start on Tuesday.

In addition, 1st baseman Greg Bird, who seemed so promising at the end of 2015, but has missed all of last season and most of this season due to injury, may need surgery again. We probably won't see him until Spring Training next year, and possibly never again.

With this in mind, Brian Cashman finally decided to do his job, and fill a major hole. He sent little-used pitcher Tyler Wade to the Milwaukee Brewers for Garrett Cooper. He is expected to make his major league debut tonight, at 1st base. He's 26, and, despite having hit like hell for Triple-A Colorado Springs, the Brewers had not yet chosen to bring him up to The Show. So what does that tell you? It tells me that Cashman was getting a guy on whom his previous team had given up.

There is some good injury news: Matt Holliday, who's been sick, should return tonight. Starlin Castro's had a bad hamstring, but is expected to return tomorrow.

But we need more good news. Can we possibly get it against The Scum this weekend? Stay tuned.

*

Days until The Arsenal play again: 1, tomorrow morning, 6:00 AM our time, as they complete their 2-game excursion in Australia. Having beaten defending A-League Champions Sydney FC 1-0 yesterday, they will play the preceding club's local rivals, Western Sydney Wanderers, also at Stadium Australia in Sydney.


Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 1, tomorrow night at 7:00, in the Group Stage of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, against Nicaragua, at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, home of the NFL's Cleveland Browns. They opened Cup play with a sluggish 3-2 win over Martinique in Nashville.

Days until the Red Bulls play again: 5, next Wednesday night at 7:30, home to the San Jose Earthquakes. This past Wednesday night, they advanced to the Semifinal of the U.S. Open Cup, by, for the 2nd time in 9 days, going on the road and winning a "derby" against the New England Revolution, having taken a league game against them the previous week. It wasn't long ago that Metro couldn't beat the Revs away, no matter what they did.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 23, on Sunday, August 6, against New York City FC at Yankee Stadium. 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 Revs 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 Premier League season begins: 28, on Friday, August 11. Just 4 weeks. The Arsenal open the season at home to Leicester City, in a game moved back from the intending opening to suit British TV.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series (after this one): 28, on Friday, August 11, at Yankee Stadium.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 49, on Friday, September 1, home to the University of Washington. Just 7 weeks.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 56, on Friday night, September 8, home to Sayreville, a "derby." Just 8 weeks.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play again: 85, on Saturday night, October 7, home to the Colorado Avalanche. Under 3 months.

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 92, 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: 109, on October 31.

Days until the next election for Governor of New Jersey: 116, on Tuesday, November 7. Under 4 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: 120, on Saturday, November 11, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.

Days until the next North London Derby: 127, 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: 132, on Thursday, November 23, at 10:00 AM. Under 5 months, 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: 214, on February 9, 2018. Under 7 months.

Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia: 335, on June 14, 2018. Just 11 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: 414. A little over a year, or 13 1/2 14 months. Of course, Clint Frazier is already up, but we've hardly benefited. 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: 480, on November 6, 2018. Under a year and a half, or a little under 16 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 544, on January 9, 2019. A little under a year and a half, or a little under 18 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 909, on January 8, 2020. A little under 2 1/2 years, or a little under 30 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 1,114, on July 24, 2020. A shade over 3 years, or 36 months.

Days until the next Presidential election: 1,576, on November 3, 2020. Under 3 1/2 years, or a little under 40 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 1,654, at noon on January 20, 2021. A little over 3 1/2 years, or a little over 42 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.

I Don't Care About 5 Yankees In the All-Star Game

The Yankees closed out a pathetic roadtrip at Minute Maid Park yesterday, against the Houston Astros. Luis Severino started, and he had nothing, allowing 3 runs in the 2nd inning, 2 in the 4th, and 1 in the 6th.

The Yankees didn't do much in the offense department, either: A double by Aaron Judge, and singles by Judge, Gary Sanchez (2 of them), Chase Headley and Chris Carter (for the Yanks' only RBI). The much-hyped rookie Clint Frazier went 0-for-3, but did draw a walk, as did Sanchez, Didi Gregorius, Tyler Wade and Rob Refsnyder.

But the Yankees just couldn't get anything going. Astros 8, Yankees 1. WP: Chris Devenski (5-3). No save. LP: Severino (5-4).

I was concerned that the Yankees would get swept in this series, since it was away to the team with the best record in baseball. Instead, they won big on Friday, and should have won on Saturday, but lost then and yesterday.

*

So here we are, 80 games into the 162-game season -- or, if you prefer, 12 weeks into the 24-week regular season. Halfway through. Here's how things stand:

* The Yankees are 43-37. In the American League Eastern Division, the Boston Red Sox lead the Yankees by 3 games, the Tampa Bay Rays by 5, the Baltimore Orioles by 6 1/2, and the Toronto Blue Jays by 9 1/2. In the all-important loss column, the Sox lead the Yanks by 2, the Rays and O's by 4 each, and the Jays by 9.

* The Cleveland Indians lead the AL Central by 3 over the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals. The Astros lead the AL West by a whopping 14 1/2 games over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Washington Nationals lead the National League East by 7 1/2 games over the Atlanta Braves, and 9 1/2 games over the Mets, 9 in the loss column. The Milwaukee Brewers lead the NL Central by 2 over the Chicago Cubs, and 3 1/2 over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Los Angeles Dodgers lead the NL West by 2 1/2 games over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

* If the current standings hold until the end of the season, the Yankees will host the AL Wild Card Game, against the Rays. However, the Yankees have never won a Pennant as a Wild Card, losing the ALCS in 2010, the ALDS in 1995 and 2007, and the Wild Card Game in 2015.

This could have been avoided if Joe Girardi knew how to manage a bullpen. He has blown more than 3 games.

Tonight, the Yankees come home, to face the Toronto Blue Jays. Here are the projected starters:

* Tonight, 7:05: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Marcus Stroman.

* Tomorrow, a 4th of July matinee at 1:05: An all-initials matchup between CC Sabathia and J.A. Happ.

* Wednesday, another 1:05 matinee: Michael Pineda vs. Marco Estrada.

Then the Yankees have Thursday off, before the Milwaukee Brewers, formerly an AL East opponent, but now in the NL Central, come in for an Interleague series, to close things out before the All-Star Break.

The All-Star Game rosters -- minus the annual voting for the last player in each League -- were announced yesterday. The Yankees had 5 players selected: Catcher Sanchez, outfielder Judge, 2nd baseman Starlin Castro (who may not be able to play due to injury), and pitchers Severino and Dellin Betances.

I don't care about 5 Yankees being selected for the All-Star Game. I care about 25 Yankees being available for the World Series.

Fire Joe Girardi. Do It Today, Before He Blows It Again.

2:43 AM, Eastern Time. 11:43 PM, Pacific Time, which was the time where the game was actually played. That's what time last night's game ended.

As far as I'm concerned, if you're going to lose, at least have the decency to do it in the regulation 9 innings, instead of stringing us along.

Also as far as I'm concerned, Joe Girardi needed to be fired after the failed season of 2013. A case could have been made for firing him as far back as after the ignominious exit from the 2011 Playoffs. Nevertheless, here we are on June 16, 2017, and he is still fucking up the Yankees' pitching situation.

Jordan Montgomery started for the Yankees last night, in the opener of a 4-game series against the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum. He did not have good stuff, allowing 3 runs in the 1st 2 innings, before settling down a bit, then allowing a 4th run in the 6th. Girardi brought Chad Green in, and he allowed another run in the 7th. He brought Tyler Clippard in, and he allowed another run in the 8th.

The Yankees closed to within 4-3 in the 6th, 5-4 in the 7th, and 6-5 in the 8th, thanks to the 7th home run of the season by Chris Carter -- who raised his on-base percentage to over .300.

Are you noticing a pattern here? Every time the Yankees had an inning in which they scored, Girardi changed pitchers, and lost another run. This is by-the-binder managing, and it is reckless as hell. It is just... plain... stupid. It does not work. It wastes pitchers.

Look, I understand taking Montgomery out. He didn't have a good game. I understand putting Green in. In spite of having allowed a run, he did throw 2/3rds of his pitches, 14 out of 21, for strikes. But Clippard has been horrible. Don't let that 2.30 ERA fool you: He has not gotten the job done.

Clippard was so bad last night! (How bad was he?) He was so bad, Girardi had to bring Dellin Betances in to get the last 2 outs in the 8th, because Clippard could only get 1 out with 14 pitches.

Somebody on Twitter told me last night that the pitching was "fine." No, it was not fine. They allowed 6 runs in the 1st 8 innings to the Oakland A's.

Not the 1972-74 World Champion "Swingin' A's" of Reggie Jackson, Joe Rudi, Sal Bando and Gene Tenace.

Not the 1988-90 Pennant-winning "Bash Brothers" A's of Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Rickey Henderson, Dave Henderson, Carney Lansford and the veteran but still powerful Dave Parker.

Not even the 2000-02 Division-winning A's of Jason and Jeremy Giambi, Miguel Tejada, Ben Grieve, Eric Chavez, Matt Stairs and Terence Long.

These are the 28-38, worst-record-in-the-American League, today's A's.

No, the pitching was not "fine" last night.

Nor was the hitting fine. The Yankees left the bases loaded in the 1st inning, stranded men on 2nd & 3rd in the 4th, stranded men on 1st & 2nd in the 6th, stranded a man on 2nd in the 7th, stranded a man on 1st with 1 out in the 8th, and stranded men on 1st & 2nd in the 9th. This game should never have gone to extra innings, and it wouldn't have, if the Yankees had gotten even 1 of those men home.

It still shouldn't have mattered: If Girardi had a goddamned clue about how to handle a pitching staff, none of those runs would have been necessary, because, at worst, the Yankees would have won 6-5 in 9 innings.

Betances was clearly gassed. And, having thrown 39 pitches last night, probably unavailable for tonight's game. He got out of a bases-loaded jam in the 9th to send the game to extra innings. With 1 out in the top of the 10th, Brett Gardner singled. Rob Refsnyder singled him to 3rd. Refsnyder took 2nd on fielder's indifference. Aaron Judge drew a walk to load the bases with only 1 out. Starlin Castro flew to right, and Gardner tagged up and scored. 7-6, the Yankees' 1st lead of the game.

Getting a run here was a must. As it turned out, getting 1 wasn't enough. With 2 outs, and men on 1st & 3rd, Matt Holliday struck out to end it.

Still, it looked like the Yankees were going to win. Until, that is, Girardi relieved Betances (which he had to do) with Giovanny Gallegos (which you should never do).

The words of Papa Bear from The Berenstain Bears come to mind: "Yes, that it was you should not do. Now let that be a lesson to you."

Gallegos got the 1st 2 outs. Things looked good. But then he gave up a single to Rajai Davis. Chad Pinder -- no relation to Branden Pinder, the horrible former Yankee pitcher, who would probably have been in this game had the Yankees not designated him for assignment due to injury after last season -- doubled, getting Davis to 3rd.

Girardi ordered Jed Lowrie intentionally walked, to set up the out at any base. Cliche alert: Walks can kill you. Khris Davis hit a bloop single to center, scoring the tying and winning runs.

A's 8, Yankees 7. WP: Liam Hendriks (3-1). No save. LP: Gallegos (0-1, now with a 7.15 ERA).

On Twitter, some Yankee Fans were blaming Castro, whose sac fly had given the Yankees the lead, for mishandling the blooper, for the defeat. That's kind of like blaming the security guards at the Empire State Building for King Kong taking Ann Darrow up there.

No, this game, the 3rd straight game lost by the Yankees, is the responsibility of our idiot manager, Joey Binders. After the game, he said:

We kept fighting back. We got behind then we tied it up, got behind, tied it up. We did it a bunch of times. It hurts because it's a matter of a couple inches that you lose that game by and it's frustrating. 

Yes, we lost that game by a couple of inches. The length of your brain. Or, perhaps, the width of your binder.

In addition, both Gary Sanchez and Aaron Hicks left the game due to apparent injuries. This after CC Sabathia was injured 2 nights before, in Anaheim. If they're both out, that's another pair of holes that Girardi and the equally execrable general manager Brian Cashman need to fill. Not including the holes in their respective heads.

The Boston Red Sox also lost last night, so the Yankees remain in 1st place by 2 games, by 3 in the loss column.

They'd be 5 games up. 6 in the loss column, if Girardi had simply used his eyes to manage, instead of that damn binder, over just the last 3 nights alone. That's not even counting his other fuckups this season.

Brian Cashman, Lonn Trost, Randy Levine, Hal Steinbrenner, Hank Steinbrenner, whoever might read these words, I implore you: Fire Joe Girardi. Do it today. Before he blows it again.

Or, as Samuel L. Jackson would say, "Enough is enough! I have had it with this motherfucking manager on this motherfucking ballclub!"

Judge Rules

So far, this season, the Yankees have scored at least 14 runs in a game 3 times. All 3 were against the Baltimore Orioles, including the last 2 games.

8-2. 16-3. 14-3. Those are the scores from the Yanks-O's series at Yankee Stadium this weekend. These are almost football scores.

(If you're thinking "football," as in soccer, this is about how those scores would apply in that sport: 3-0, 8-1, 7-1.)

In yesterday's finale, the Yankees scored 5 runs in the 1st inning, including Gary Sanchez' 10 home run of the season, and never looked back. Starlin Castro homered in the 6th inning, his 12th, and his 3rd straight game with a homer. Aaron Judge also homered in that inning, and again in the 7th.

Not wanting to start Masahiro Tanaka in this game -- to give him an extra day of rest? to stop the home crowd from booing him if he had another bad game? -- Joe Girardi played musical chairs with the pitching. When you're hitting the tar out of the ball against an opponent, you can do that, and get away with it.

Chad Green pitched the 1st 2 innings, Chasen Shreve the 3rd, Jonathan Holder the 4th and most of the 5th, Adam Warren the rest and then into the 7th, and rookie Domingo German the last 2 2/3rds innings. Neither Green nor Shreve pitched great, but the others did well. Since the starting pitcher didn't go 5 innings, it was up to the official scorer to decide which reliever would be credited with the win, and he chose Warren.

None of that is what people are talking about today, though. They're talking about the home run that Judge hit in the 6th, off Logan Verett. It went 496 feet (originally reported as 495, but now officially entered as 496) to left-center, off the retired-numbered wall.

It broke the record for the longest home run at the new Yankee Stadium, 477 feet, set by Raúl Ibañez, not yet a Yankee but then with the Philadelphia Phillies, on May 22, 2009, off Chien-Ming Wang. The longest by a Yankee had been 460 feet, by Alex Rodriguez on June 10, 2011, off Fausto Carmona (who now uses the name Roberto Hernandez) of the Cleveland Indians.

Dave Kingman supposedly hit a 515-footer at Shea Stadium on August 14, 1981. If that's true, then Judge hit the longest home run in New York City in 36 years. And it was the longest home run at any Yankee Stadium since August 12, 1964, when Mickey Mantle cranked one 502 feet off Ray Herbert of the Chicago White Sox.

That's the longest ever measured at the old Stadium, although it's possible that Babe Ruth may have hit one longer, before measurements tended to be taken. Josh Gibson hit some blasts there in Negro League games, although the myth of him hitting one all the way out appears to be just that, a myth, as the black newspapers never mentioned him doing it at the time. The balls Mantle hit off the facade in 1956 and 1963 did not actually go out of the Stadium, and we'll never know how far they would have gone.

Anyway, Yankees 14, Orioles 3. WP: Warren (2-1). No save. LP: Kevin Gausman (3-5).

Judge is batting .344. He has 21 home runs and 47 RBIs. At this pace, he will win the Triple Crown, the American League Rookie of the Year, and the AL Most Valuable Player. He is also leading the AL in runs scored, walks and total bases. His OPS+ is 202. By definition, the average player has an OPS+ of 100. Therefore, Judge is producing runs at a rate 102 percent better than the average player. To put that in perspective: Babe Ruth is the career leader for OPS+. His was 206.

Aaron Judge is, for the moment, actually comparable to Babe Ruth, with no exaggeration, and no irony.

As an old friend would say, "Holy cow, that's unbelievable."

*

So here we are, 10 weeks into the 26-week Major League Baseball regular season, and what do we have?

* The Yankees are 37-23. That's a winning percentage of .617, a pace to finish 100-62.

* They lead the AL Eastern Division by 4 games over the Boston Red Sox, 6 over the Tampa Bay Rays, 6 1/2 over the downsliding Orioles, and 7 1/2 over the Toronto Blue Jays.

* In the all-important loss column, they lead the Sox by 5, the O's by 7, and the Rays and Jays by 9 each. (Again, this is due to the schedule not having had all the teams play the same amount of games: The Yankees have a game in hand on the O's, 2 on the Sox, 3 on the Jays, and a whopping 6, an entire week's worth, on the Rays.)

* The Yankees' Magic Number to eliminate the Rays is down to 91, 93 for the Jays, 96 for the O's, and 97 for the Sox: Any number of Yankee wins and Sox losses the rest of the way, adding up to 97, and the Yankees win the AL East.

* Despite all of this, the Yankees do not have the best record in the AL. The Houston Astros are on fire, leading the AL Western Division by 12 games, and we're not even halfway through June yet. The Yankees trail them for the 1st seed in the AL Playoffs by 5 1/2 games. However, they lead the AL Central-leading Twins by 4 1/2 for the 2nd seed. The Wild Card teams would be the Sox and the Cleveland Indians.

* In the National League, the seeds would be, in this order: The Colorado Rockies, the Washington Nationals, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

* The Mets? They're 28-33, 9 1/2 games out of 1st place in the NL East, 9 games behind the D-backs for the 2nd NL Wild Card. You know, about where most "experts" thought the Yankees would be this season. Also, while the Yankees are getting an average of 38,536 fans per game, the Mets are getting 30,334. Allegedly. Officially.

That whole "We're gonna take back New York" thing didn't exactly work out for them, did it?

*

The homestand done, the Yankees have flown out to the Pacific Coast. Tonight, they begin a 3-game series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Yeah, they're still using that stupid name. Tonight, Tanaka starts against Alex Meyer. On Tuesday night, an all-initials, no-periods affair, as CC Sabathia starts against JC Ramirez. On Wednesday night, Michael Pineda against Matt Shoemaker.

Yankee Stadium: The Star Chamber

It occurred to me as I was writing this post that naming a 3-row, 6-seats-per-row section (18 seats total) of Section 104 in the right field Bleachers at Yankee Stadium "The Judge's Chambers," with faux mahogany wood and fans in black robes in the style of a judge, only makes sense when Aaron Judge is on defense, playing right field, in front of said section.

As a righthanded power hitter, he's much more likely to hit to left field. Since The Judge's Chambers were set up on May 22, in spite of the new Yankee Stadium's established status as a hitter's park, only 1 home run has been hit there, but the other Aaron, Hicks.

That's one of the few things that's gone wrong for the Yankees this season, along with Masahiro Tanaka's hungry gopher and a few Joe Girardi bullpen WTFs.

Last night, against the Baltimore Orioles, Judge hit a seat-seeking missile down the right field line, just fair, that Statcast, which has been recording the speed of batted balls since the 2015 season, measured at 121.1 miles per hour, the fastest batted ball they've ever recorded.

Somewhere, Mickey Mantle must be laughing and saying, "Yeah, surrrre!"

And Babe Ruth is saying, "I know, but this is our kinda baseball, ain't it?"

Mine, too, even if I couldn't produce it myself.

In fact, the Yankees have scored 14 or more runs in a game twice this season, and both times, it's been against Buck Showalter's Orioles, the team the Yankees were chasing for most of the season, but have now seriously slumped, behind both the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox in the American League Eastern Division.

Judge's 3-run homer last night was part of a 6-run 1st inning. Didi Gregorius also homered in the inning, for 2 runs. Starlin Castro had a 3-run dinger in the 2nd, and that was it for Chris Tillman, who usually pitches well against the Yankees.

Matt Holliday had a 3-run homer in the 4th, Judge had a 3-run double in the 5th, and Gary Sanchez got in on the action with a 2-run homer in the 8th. Respectively, that's 19 homers on the season for Judge, 6 for Sir Didi, 11 for Castro, 13 for Holliday, and 9 for El Gary. Never mind "The Judge's Chambers": Yankee Stadium II is becoming "The Star Chamber": Full of stars and, like its Renaissance-era English equivalent, punitive judgement.

Judge is now batting .332 with 19 home runs and 44 RBIs. Those would be really good numbers at the All-Star Break -- and we're still a month away from that.

Luis Severino made sure that not all of those home runs would be necessary. He went 7 innings, allowing 1 run on 7 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts. Yeovany Gallegos and Tommy Layne each pitched an inning in which they allowed a run, but that's no big deal.

Yankees 16, Orioles 3. WP: Severino (5-2). No save (ha, ha). LP: Tillman (1-4).

The series concludes this afternoon. Chad Green, who's been pretty good out of the bullpen, starts against Kevin Gausman. Like Tillman, Gausman usually pitches well against the Yankees. I wonder if we'll get a similar result.

Tanaka was supposed to pitch, but Girardi moved him back a day. The Yankees will fly out to the Coast after the game, and Tanaka will start the series opener in Anaheim tomorrow night.

Hicks' Stick Jacks Yanks

Those of you familiar with Hollywood history will recognize my headline as a takeoff of the July 17, 1935 headline the trade paper Variety used to describe the refusal of rural people to watch rural movies: "STIX NIX HICK PIX." (Usually, but incorrectly, listed as, "STIX NIX HIX PIX.")

The injury to Jacoby Ellsbury has been a blessing in disguise, as Aaron Hicks has come into his own. Last night, in the opener of a home series with the Baltimore Orioles, he hit a home run in the bottom of the 6th inning, becoming the 1st player to hit one into the section of the right field bleachers set up for that other Aaron, "Judge's Chambers." It gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead.

He hit another homer in the 7th. He now has 10 dingers on the year. My autocorrect tried to make that "has 10 fingers on the year." Well, I should hope so!

Rookie Jordan Montgomery may be a real find for the mound, as he got the job done once again: 7 innings, 2 runs on 5 hits, with 1 walk and 8 strikeouts. Tyler Clippard and Jonathan Holder each pitched a scoreless inning.

Starlin Castro also hit a home run last night. Like Hicks, he now has 10 on the season. Yankees 8, Orioles 2. WP: Montgomery (4-4). No save. LP: Dylan Bundy (6-5).

The series continues tonight. Luis Severino starts against Chris Tillman.

Yanks Hit 4 HRs in 8th, Get Great Pitching, Jab Jays

When you score 24 runs in 3 games, you should win all 3. It did not work out that way for the Yankees in the 1st 3 games of their series with the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre. However, 2 out of 3 is acceptable, especially if they end up making it 3 out of 4.

Jordan Montgomery got the start for the Yankees today, and got the job done: 6 shutout innings, allowing only 3 hits and 3 walks, with 5 strikeouts. Adam Warren, Tyler Clippard and Dellin Betances surprised people, each of them pitching a hitless inning. It was a surprise for Warren and Clippard, since they haven't pitched well; and for Betances, since he hadn't pitched for a while, which is why Joe Girardi pitched him in a non-save situation.

It wasn't a save situation because the Yankees unloaded the lumber. Back-to-back doubles by Aaron Hicks and Aaron Judge in the 3rd inning gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead. Didi Gregorius doubled home a run in the 7th, and at 3-0 the game felt safe.

The Yankees did not leave this to chance. They scored 4 runs in the top of the 8th, all on solo home runs. Brett Gardner hit his 12th home run of the season. Then, 3 straight, or, as John Sterling would say, "Back-to-back-to-back, and a-belly-to-belly-to-belly!" Matt Holliday contributed to the Canadian space program with a 452-foot blast. Starlin Castro and Gregorius added homers. The surprising part is that the Yankees had 4 homers in the inning, and Judge didn't hit any of them.

Yankees 7, Blue Jays 0. WP: Montgomery (3-4). He might be a major find. No save. LP: Joe Biagini (1-4). The Yankees are now 3 games ahead of Boston, 3 1/2 ahead of Baltimore, 5 ahead of Tampa Bay and 6 1/2 ahead of Toronto.

The series concludes tomorrow afternoon. Luis Severino starts for New York, Marcus Stroman for Toronto.

Early Deficit Too Much for Yanks to Overcome vs. Jays

Once again, the Yankees followed up a game where they scored a lot of runs with a game where a couple of runs from the game before could have made a big difference.

Michael Pineda started for the Yankees against the Toronto Blue Jays last night, and fell behind 3-0 in the 1st inning, allowing a home run by Josh Donaldson, a walk by Kendrys Morales, and another home run by Justin Smoak. The Jays scored additional runs in the 3rd and the 4th.

The Yankees played the rest of the game trying to catch up. In the 6th, it looked like they might, as Aaron Judge and Starlin Castro each hit home runs (their 18th and 8th of the season, respectively), but that only closed them to within 5-4. Jonathan Holder and Adam Warren each allowed a run in an inning of relief work, so even though the Yankees scored again in the 7th, they could not erase the deficit.

Blue Jays 7, Yankees 5. WP: Francisco Liriano (3-3). SV: Roberto Osuna (12). LP: Pineda (6-3).

The Yankees' front office revealed that Jacoby Ellsbury has concussion symptoms again, and will continue to be shut down. This is aggravating, given that he has never truly lived up to his big contract. On the other hand, Aaron Hicks has done well in his place.

The series continues this afternoon. Jordan Montgomery starts against Joe Biagini.