Have the Yankees Saved the Season?

Before this series with the American League Eastern Division-leading Boston Red Sox, I said that the Yankees needed to take at least 3 out of 4 to stay alive in the Division race.

Mission accomplished. Next mission: Make sure said preceding mission was not in vain.

On Thursday night, CC Sabathia pitched like an ace. Perhaps even more important than that, he showed that the biggest part of his body isn't his gut, or his head, or his mouth, but his spine. Something the Yankees have shown precious little of against the Red Sox since October 17, 2004. And the Yankees got the runs they needed, beating The Scum 6-2. Things were looking up.

On Friday night, they seemed to come crashing down. Sonny Gray pitched decently, but the Yankees couldn't hit Doug Fister, and lost 4-1.

On Saturday afternoon, Masahiro Tanaka took the ball, and matters, into his hands, and pitched like an ace. And the Yankees gave him the runs he needed to beat Drew Pomeranz, winning 5-1.

And then, last night, Luis Severino pitched like an ace. And the Yankees hit 3 home runs off Boston's much-hyped free agent acquisition, Chris Sale: Chase Headley in the 3rd inning, and, in the 4th, the 1st back-to-back jacks Sale had given up all season, to Matt Holliday and Todd Frazier. Sale didn't get out of the 5th inning. Aaron Judge finally broke his home run drought, unleashing the boomstick for his 38th dinger of the season. Yankees 9, Red Sox 2.

So long, Scum. This is the last time we'll be meeting in the regular season, although a Playoff matchup is possible.

*

So here's where things stand, with 21 of the Major League Baseball regular season's 25 weeks in the books:

* The Yankees trail the Red Sox by 3 1/2 games in the AL East, 3 in the loss column. My guideline is that if you have more weeks left than games behind, you have a chance; if you have more games behind than weeks left, forget it. The Yankees are still under the threshold.

* The Yankees still stand to be the home team in the AL Wild Card Game. As usual, I don't trust Joe Girardi to manage a win-or-go-home game, hence the importance of winning the Division: At the absolute worst, the Yankees would not have the home field advantage in the AL Division Series, but they would still have a margin for error, as it's a best-3-out-of-5.

* If the current MLB standings hold to the end of the season, the Playoff matchups would be as follows, with the team having home field advantage listed first: Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins, winner facing Houston Astros; Cleveland Indians vs. Boston Red Sox; Arizona Diamondbacks (who have won 10 straight) vs. Colorado Rockies, winner facing Los Angeles Dodgers; Washington Nationals vs. Chicago Cubs.

* The Mets are 14 games out of the National League Wild Card, and David Wright is ending his rehab assignment and going into surgery again. His career may be over. The Curse of Kevin Mitchell strikes again.

* The Yankees have 26 games remaining. In order:

* Starting with today's Labor Day matinee, 3 away to the Baltimore Orioles. And the Baltimore Bandbox might be just what the doctor ordered for our sluggers.

* After a day off on Thursday, 3 in Arlington against the Texas Rangers.

* 3 in St. Petersburg against the Tampa Bay Rays.

* 4 at home to the Orioles.

* 3 at home to the Minnesota Twins.

* After a day off, 3 away to the Toronto Blue Jays.

* Home for a rainout makeup against the Kansas City Royals, the game that forced New York City FC to move a "home" game to East Hartford, Connecticut. (After all their fans' snipes about being the true "New York" team because the New York Red Bulls play home games in New Jersey, they will never live that down.)

* 3 at home to the Rays.

* And closing with 3 at home to the Jays.

Having those last 7 games at home may well help, although the Red Sox, with 25 games left, will also have their last 7 at home, but their last 4 will be against the Playoff-bound Astros, who just bolstered their starting rotation with the addition of Justin Verlander, whom Brian Cashman wasn't willing to go after.

So the Yankees have 14 home games, and 12 away games. If they split the away games, 6-6; and, in the home games, take 3 out of 4 vs. the O's; 2 out of 3 vs. the Twins, Rays and Jays; and the 1 vs. the Royals... 16-10 the rest of the way, hardly an unreasonable proposition...

That would give the Yankees 89 wins. That would mean that, for the Yankees to win the Division, the Red Sox would have to go 11-14, .440, the rest of the way. And, with no games left against the Sox, the Yankees have no control over that.

Then again, the Sox' last 4 games are against the Astros. If the Astros take 3 out of 4, then the Sox would have to go 10-11 otherwise. That's certainly possible.

Have the Yankees saved the season with their 3-of-4 performance against The Scum? Stay tuned.

Here's the projected starting pitchers for the Baltimore series:

* Today, 2:05 PM: Jordan Montgomery vs. Dylan Bundy.

* Tomorrow, 7:05: Sabathia vs. Jeremy Hellickson.

* Wednesday, 7:05: Gray vs. Kevin Gausman.

Come on you Bombers!

Mo Mentum Swings Back to Red Sox

Maurice "Mo" Mentum is that most enigmatic of athletes, jumping from one team to another without warning.

Less than 24 hours after the biggest win of the season, the Yankees had the most depressing defeat. This time, there would be no come-from-behind against the Red Sox.

Gary Sanchez got the game going the right way, hitting a 2-run home run in the 1st inning, his 19th dinger of the season. In all the fuss over Aaron Judge and Clint Frazier, El Gary is putting together a good season.

The Yankees took that 2-0 lead into the top of the 3rd inning. Luis Severino ended up having the inning that may turn out to have sunk our season. With 1 out, he walked the Sox' Number 8 hitter, Christian Vazquez, and then their Number 9 hitter, Jackie Bradley Jr.

Then former Yankee Eduardo Nunez grounded to 3rd. Todd Frazier should have been able to turn it into an inning-ending double play. But he bobbled it, his 1st error in 22 games as a Yankee. The bases were loaded.

Mookie Betts singled home Vazquez and Bradley. And Andrew Benintendi hit a home run to make it 5-2 Boston.

Benintendi hit another home run in the 5th. Chase Headley and Jacoby Ellsbury hit home runs in the 9th inning, their 7th and 5th of the season, respectively, but it was too little, too late. Red Sox 10, Yankees 5. WP: Drew Pomeranz (12-4). No save. LP: Severino (9-5). The Yankees fell to 4 1/2 games behind the Red Sox, with 47 to play.

The series concludes tonight. Chris Sale, the much-hyped, and rightly-so as it has turned out, Boston acquisition of the 2016-17 off-season, but unable to help the Red Sox win either of his 2 starts against the Yankees in 2017 thus far, starts for them tonight.

For the Yankees, Jordan Montgomery starts, despite a scary moment yesterday: While signing autographs as the Red Sox took batting practice, he was hit in the head by a ball. As it turns out, he was fine, with no concussion, and no injury beyond a cut on his ear.

It should be noted that August 13 is not a good day for the Yankees. It is the anniversary of the deaths of both Mickey Mantle (1995) and Phil Rizzuto (2007).

Hix' Stix Nix Sox for Yanx

Aaron Hicks returned to action for the Yankees, and put on a show. It couldn't have come at a better time, or against a more appropriate opponent.

Because the Boston Red Scum had come to town, for a series that could well end up setting up the American League Eastern Division for the rest of the season. The Yankees had to step up.

For the 1st 7 innings, it didn't look like they would. Jaime Garcia made his 1st home start for the Yankees, and gave up a 2-run home run to Mookie Betts in the 1st inning. He allowed another run in the 5th. Adam Warren relieved him in the 6th.

Eduardo Rodriguez pitched the 1st 6 innings for the Red Sox, and only gave up 2 hits and 2 walks, striking out 7. Matt Barnes pitched the 7th, and it was 3-0 Sox, with the Yankees still only having 2 hits: A double by Hicks in the 3rd, and a double by Ronald Torreyes in the 4th.

Yankee Stadium was quiet, except for the celebrating Chowdaheads. The season seemed over.

In the immortal words of ESPN's Lee Corso, "Not so fast, my friend!" We came to the bottom of the 8th inning, and it became -- and, if the Yankees go on to October glory, it will remain -- the most important inning of the season for the Yankees.

Sox manager John Farrell brought Addison Reed in to relieve. Brett Gardner led off, and Reed hit him with a pitch. This was a rare occasion where a Red Sox pitcher hits a Yankee batter with a pitch, and you know it's not intentional. Maybe, with a 5-run lead, it would have been a message. With a 3-run lead, you still have to worry about putting the game away.

Hicks stepped to bat, and hit a drive down the right field line. It was a true Yankee Stadium right field short porch job, but it counts just the same. 3-2 Boston.

I was reminded of the famous headline "STIX NIX HIX PIX," and tweeted "HIX' STIX FUX UP SOX FOR YANX." For the title of this post, I changed it to the more family-friendly, "Hix' Stix Nix Sox for Yanx."

"STIX NIX HIX PIX" -- actually, the 1935 Variety headline was "Stix nix hick pix," meaning people in rural areas reject movies that make them look like undereducated idiots -- was made even more famous by its appearance in Yankee Doodle Dandy, the 1942 musical in which Yankee Fan James Cagney played Broadway legend George M. Cohan, who was a fan of the New York Giants baseball team, but whose song "Yankee Doodle Dandy" helped to rename the New York Highlanders the Yankees in 1904.

Gary Sanchez was up next, and he singled. That brought up Aaron Judge and his boomstick, as the go-ahead run. Reed may have been shaken up, because he threw a wild pitch. That wild pitch was rendered moot when Reed, apparently still nervous, walked Judge.

Farrell took Reed out, and brought in Joe Kelly. But the Yankees kept coming. Didi Gregorius singled, scoring Sanchez with the tying run. Todd Frazier singled home Judge with the go-ahead run. Kelly struck Chase Headley out, but Jacoby Ellsbury, formerly of the Sox, singled to load the bases. Torreyes flew to left, but that was only the 2nd out, and it was enough to get Gregorius home.

The Yankees had batted around. Gardner drew a walk to re-load the bases. Farrell brought Fernando Abad in to pitch to Hicks, and got him to pop up to end it. 5-3  Yankees.

On came Aroldis Chapman to get the last 3 outs. But, yet again, he was shaky. The 1st 3 batters of the inning were Jackie Bradley Jr., former Yankee disaster Eduardo Nunez, and Betts. And he walked them all. Bases loaded, nobody out, the potential winning run already on base.

The batter was Andrew Benintendi. He drove a pitch to the warning track in left field, where Hicks caught it for the 1st out. There was no way to catch Bradley at the plate to prevent the score from becoming 5-4. But Hicks threw to 3rd base, Frazier got it, and tagged Nunez out as he tried for the base. Huge double play.

Then Chapman got Mitch Moreland to fly to center to end it. Whew. But YESSSS! We beat The Scum!

Yankees 5, Red Sox 4. Just like the Bucky Dent Game in 1978. WP: Warren (3-2). SV: Chapman (15). LP: Reed (0-1).

With the win, the Yankees close to within 3 1/2 games of the Sox, 3 in the loss column, with 48 to play.

The series continues at 4:05 this afternoon. Luis Severino starts for the Good Guys, Drew Pomeranz for The Scum. Come on you Pinstripes!

Yanks Overcome Shaky Pitching to Pound Jays

After a lousy start to their series against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre, the Yankees needed to win last night. And it looked like they would, but then it looked like they would blow it.

Masahiro Tanaka, not that long ago the obvious best pitcher in New York, was shaky again. He lasted just 4 innings, throwing 88 pitches. He managed to hold the Jays to 3 runs (2 of them earned) on 2 hits, but his control failed him, and he issued 5 walks. At least he only allowed 1 homer, a solo job to Jose "Test Him For Steroids Even Though He Follows Me On Twitter" Bautista.

The 2nd inning featured Gary Sanchez hitting his 18th home run of the season, and Todd Frazier his 19th (his 3rd since the Yankees traded for him). Didi Gregorius hit his 18th in the 3rd. The Yankees went into the bottom of the 5th leading 6-2.

But Tanaka let 2 batters on, and Joe Girardi decided that he had seen enough. He brought in Chad Green, and he wasn't a whole lot better. When the 6th inning was over, they were only leading 6-5. Yankee Fans online were all, "Oy vey, here we go again."

But Tommy Kahnle, David Robertson, Dellin Betances and Adam Warren pitched the last 3 2/3rds innings, allowing 2 hits, a walk, and no runs. And the Yankee hitters put the game away. In the 8th, Ronald Torreyes singled home 2 runs. In the 9th, a Jacoby Ellsbury groundout got a run home, and a Garrett Cooper single drove home 2 more.

Yankees 11, Blue Jays 5. WP: Green (2-0, and he didn't really deserve the credit, but somebody had to be credited as the winning pitcher in a game the Yankees won when their starter didn't go 5 full innings but left with the lead). No save. LP: Nick Tepesch (0-2).

The Boston Red Sox also won last night, so the Yankees remain 4 games behind them in the American League East, 3 in the loss column, with 50 games to go.

The series concludes tonight, with Sonny Gray starting against Marco Estrada. Then, home, to face The Scum.

Garcia's Yankee Debut Worse Than Gray's

A night after Sonny Gray's Yankee debut turned sour, through little fault of his own, Jaime Garcia made his Yankee debut, and he provided the sourness himself. He didn't get out of the 5th inning, and  the Yankees were down 6-1 when he left.

The Yankee bats didn't get the job done, either. Unlike the night before, they at least put enough guys on base to put themselves in position to score runs. They just didn't get those runs home. Todd Frazier led off the top of the 3rd inning with a single, but got erased on a double play. They got men on 1st and 2nd in the 4th, but didn't score.

Frazier -- Todd, not Can't Miss Clint -- hit a home run in the 5th, to give the Yankees some hope. But no one was on base. Right after that, Ronald Torreyes singled, and Brett Gardner did the same, getting Torreyes to 3rd. Up came Can't Miss Clint. If he had done anything but ground to 3rd, another run would have scored. He grounded to 3rd, and Torreyes was thrown out at the plate. No further runs were scored in the inning, and the Indians took 2 runs back in the bottom of the inning.

Chase Headley doubled with 2 out in the 6th, but Todd Frazier couldn't get him home. There was some hope in the 9th, as Headley led off with a single, but Todd grounded into a double play. Torreyes singled and took 2nd on fielder's indifference. Gardner singled him home, to bring up Can't Miss Clint, but he, yet again, grounded to 3rd, and that ended the game.

Indians 7, Yankees 2. WP: Trevor Bauer (10-8). No save. LP: Garcia (1-1 -- remember, stats with both teams are counted together).

So: 2 days, 2 games, 2 new starting pitchers debuted, 2 defeats, 2 games fallen further behind the Boston Red Sox in the American League East, and the biggest prospect in the system (unless you count the injured Gleyber Torres) failed in the clutch again.

If the Yankees had an equivalent to Arsenal Fan TV, the venom directed at Brian Cashman (and, sometimes, Joe Girardi) would be ceaseless. But we don't, and too many people continue to drink the Cashman Cool-Aid.

The series continues tonight. Jordan Montgomery starts against Danny Salazar. Montgomery, the guy we thought either Gray or Garcia would force out of the rotation.

#CashmanOut

U.S. Takes CONCACAF Gold Cup, Yanks Sweep Reds

Last night, for the 6th time, the U.S. men's soccer team won the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

CONCACAF is the acronym for the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football. The Gold Cup replaced the old CONCACAF Championship in 1991. 

Guatemala won it in 1967. Haiti won it in 1973. Honduras won it in 1981. Canada won it in 1985 and 2000. Costa Rica won it in 1963, 1969, and the last tournament before the name changed, 1989. Mexico has won it more than any other country, 10 times: 1965, 1971 and 1977 under the old name; 1993, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2009, 2011 and 2015 under the new name.

The U.S. has won it 6 times, all under the new format: 1991, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2013, and again last night, defeating Jamaica 2-1 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, the new home of the San Francisco 49ers.

Attendance: 63,032. Officially, anyway. There were a lot of empty seats. This may have been because a lot of Mexican fans bought tickets and didn't show up, since their team didn't make it.

Only once, in 2000, with Canada defeating Colombia, has the Final featured neither the U.S. nor Mexico. On 5 occasions, the U.S. and Mexico have played each other in the Final: 1993, 1998, 2007, 2009 and 2011, with Mexico winning all of those except 2007. It was widely expected to happen again this time, but Jamaica shocked Mexico in the Semifinal.

The U.S. got to the Final by winning its group, gaining a 1-1 draw with Panama in Nashville, then beating Martinique 3-2 in Tampa and Nicaragua 3-0 in Cleveland, then beating El Salvador in the Quarterfinal in Philadelphia and Costa Rica in the Semifinal at the Dallas Cowboys' stadium.

The Final was scoreless until the end of the 1st half. Jozy Altidore, who now plays his club soccer for Toronto FC, tends to play well for his country but not his clubs, making him the American Peter Crouch. He also tends to have games where he plays like garbage except for scoring a goal, making him the American Theo Walcott. He scored a beauty to make it One-Nil to the Stars & Stripes.

Jamaica pulled one back early in the 2nd half, and then got very chippy, committing all kinds of fouls on the U.S., but only receiving 1 yellow card in each half. U.S. fans tend to view CONCACAF referees -- always from a neutral country, but can any referee from a Latin American country truly be unbiased for a U.S. game? -- as corrupt, rather than incompetent.

The game got frustrating. The introduction of Clint Dempsey, currently tied with Landon Donovan for most career goals for the national side, brought a lot of optimism on social media, but he couldn't find the winner.

Finally, in the 88th minute, Jordan Morris, a 22-year-old forward and Stanford University graduate, who plays for his hometown team, the Seattle Sounders, found the winner on a free kick, sending U.S. soccer fans into a frenzy. The team hung on through 3 minutes of stoppage time. Final score: Stars & Stripes 2, Reggae Boys 1. (That's not a stereotype nickname: The Jamaica National Team actually does call themselves the Reggae Boys.)

Apparently, firing Jurgen Klinsmann as manager and bringing Bruce Arena back made a big difference.

One more thing, before I move on to my coverage of yesterday's Yankee game:

Dear England: We've won 6 major tournaments in the last 26 years. You haven't even been to the Final of one since 1966. Don't tell us what to call the sport. You call it "football," and we'll call it "soccer."

*

As for the Yankees: Two games, wrapping up in under 21 hours. A recipe for fatigue, but the Yankees cooked the Cincinnati Reds' goose.

Luis Severino started for the Yankees in yesterday's matinee conclusion of the series, and he went 7 innings -- Joe Girardi is improving, he actually let Sevy throw 112 pitches -- allowing 2 runs, neither earned, on 3 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 9.

Rookie sensation Clint Frazier drove in runs with singles in the 3rd and 5th innings. The Yankees added 2 in the 6th, and 5 in the 7th, including home runs by Didi Gregorius (his 16th of the season, and he has been on fire lately) and Todd Frazier (his 17th of the season, but his 1st as a Yankee).

Luis Cessa made the game interesting in the 8th, allowing 3 runs. David Robertson pitched a perfect 9th to end it. Yankees 9, Reds 5. WP: Severino (7-4). No save. LP: Homer Bailey (2-5).

That's 5 out of the last 6 for the Yankees, who thus remain a game behind the Boston Red Sox in the American League East, but a game ahead of them in the loss column.

Tonight, the Yankees begin a 4-game home series with the Tampa Bay Rays. Here are the projected starters:

* Tonight, 7:05 PM: CC Sabathia vs. Chris Archer.

* Tomorrow, 7:05 PM: Masahiro Tanaka starts for us, and Rays manager Kevin Cash has yet to decide who his starter will be.

* Saturday, 1:05 PM: Caleb Smith vs. Blake Snell. Sounds like a pair of law firms.

* Sunday, 1:05 PM: Jordan Montgomery vs. Jacob Faria.

Triple Your Pleasure

The Yankees returned home last night, for a short 2-game Interleague series with the Cincinnati Reds. If it wasn't quite the 1939 World Series (the Yankees of DiMaggio, Bill Dickey, Ruffing and Gomez swept the Reds of Ernie Lombardi in 4 straight) or the 1961 World Series (the Yankees of Mantle, Maris, Berra and Ford beat the Reds of Frank Robinson in 5), it was certainly better than the 1976 World Series (the Yankees with Thurman Munson and Catfish Hunter, but not yet Reggie Jackson, got swept by the Big Red Machine of Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan).

One of the weirdest plays in the 115-season history of the Yankees -- or even the 136-season history of the Reds -- happened last night. With the game scoreless in the bottom of the 2nd, Matt Holliday led off against Luis Castillo. As we've seen, National League players named Luis Castillo have some unpleasant (for them) history at the new Yankee Stadium.

But this was different. Holliday singled to right. Didi Gregorius singled to right. Chase Headley singled to left, but Holliday couldn't score. Bases loaded, nobody out. The Yankees should've gotten at least 2 runs home.

The batter was Todd Frazier. From Toms River, Ocean County, New Jersey, he was making his Pinstripes debut, having come to the Yankees in a trade while we were on the road. He got a nice hand.

Frazier hit a ground ball up the middle. Jose Peraza, the Reds' shortstop, got it, and stepped on 2nd base. That's 1 out. He threw to Joey Votto at 1st base to throw Frazier out. That's 2 outs. In the meantime, Holliday came home to score.

But Gregorius thought the ball might be caught, so he stayed close to 2nd. Maybe 99 times out of 100, that's the smart thing to do; maybe 999 times out of 1,000, it's at least the safe thing to do. But, seeing what was happening, he ran for 3rd base. Votto saw this, and threw across the diamond, and Gregorius was caught in a rundown. Eventually, he was called out for running wide of the baseline to avoid a tag. That's 3 outs.

A triple play. The 1st pulled by the Reds since 1995, the 1st against the Yankees since 2011. But since Holliday scored while the play was still in progress, and none of the outs concerned him, his run still counted.

"A strange play," said Captain Obvious, in his secret identity of Joe Girardi.

Not to be Captain Obvious myself, but, for any Mets or Red Sox fans

who may be reading, this is not actually Joe Girardi.

This is Brandon Moynihan, the actor who plays

Captain Obvious in the Hotels.com TV commercials.

"Got to be a record," Frazier said. Not quite: It was the 1st run scored during a triple play since the Seattle Mariners did it against the Minnesota Twins in 2006.

This wasn't a case of, to paraphrase the old Doublemint gum slogan, "Triple your pleasure, triple your fun." But it did get the Yankees on the board. Cliche Alert: That's baseball: You never know when you're going to see something you've never seen before.

A triple play, but we still score? Cliche Alert, Part 2: Whatever works.

So, anyway, one-nil to the Pinstripe Boys. Gregorius made up for his baserunning faux pas with a sacrifice fly in the 4th inning, to make it 2-0. An Austin Romine double brought home a run in the 5th, to make it 3-0.

Jordan Montgomery walked a batter in the 2nd inning, but kept a no-hitter going through 5. We were 12 outs away from having a no-hitter and a run-scoring triple play in the same game. Cliche Alert, Part 3: Baseball is a funny game.

In the 6th, Montgomery ran into trouble, allowing a leadoff double, and 2 grounders that each advanced the runner a base, to make it 3-1. Girardi kept him in through 7, and brought Dellin Betances in for the 8th.

Cliche Alert, Part 4: Walks can kill you. Betances bracketed a strikeout with walks. A fielder's choice moved the runners up, and then he allowed an RBI double to make it 3-2, with the tying run on 3rd.

Girardi brought in Adam Warren, and I figured this was another game that Girardi had blown with his pitching musical chairs. But Warren got a strikeout to end the threat. And Gregorius, clearly the man of the game, in whatever direction you want to suggest, got us an insurance run with his 15th home run of the season. Aroldis Chapman pitched a perfect 9th to close it out.

Yankees 4, Reds 2. WP: Montgomery (7-5). SV: Chapman (12). LP: Castillo (1-4). The Yankees have now won 4 of their last 5, and it really should be 5 in a row; while the Reds have lost 10 of their last 12.

Even better, the Boston Red Sox lost last night, so the Yankees close to within 1 game of 1st place in the American League Eastern Division -- and, because we have 4 games in hand on them, we are actually a game ahead of them in the all-important loss column!

This briefest of actual series, rather than a 1-game rainout makeup -- 2 games, most likely ending within 21 hours -- concludes with a matinee today, with Luis Severino starting for New York, and Homer Bailey, he of 2 career no-hitters but otherwise with a career record of just 59-56, for Cincinnati.

Then, tomorrow night, the Tampa Bay Rays come in for a 4-game series.

*

Hours until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 9, tonight at 9:30, in the Final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, against Jamaica, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, home of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles. The U.S. had expected to play Mexico in the Final, but Jamaica pulled the upset.

Days until The Arsenal play again: 3, on Saturday, 11:20 AM our time, as they begin the 2-day Emirates Cup. Four teams, two doubleheaders. The early game on Saturday is Sevilla of Spain against Red Bull Leipzig of Germany, followed by Arsenal vs. Benfica of Lisbon, Portugal. The next day, Benfica play RB Leipzig, while Arsenal host Sevilla.

Days until the Red Bulls play again: 3, on Saturday night at 7:30, home to the Montreal Impact.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 11, a week from this 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 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 Premier League season begins: 16, on Friday, August 11. A little over 2 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: 16, on Friday, August 11, at Yankee Stadium. A little over 2 weeks.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 37, on Friday, September 1, home to the University of Washington. A little over 5 weeks.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 44, on Friday night, September 8, home to Sayreville, a "derby." A little over 6 weeks.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play again: 73, on Saturday night, October 7, home to the Colorado Avalanche. A little over 10 weeks.

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 80, 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: 97, on October 31.

Days until the next election for Governor of New Jersey: 104, on Tuesday, November 7. A little over 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: 108, on Saturday, November 11, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.

Days until the next North London Derby: 115, 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: 120, on Thursday, November 23, at 10:00 AM. A little under 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: 202, on February 9, 2018. A little over 6 months.

Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia: 323, on June 14, 2018. Under 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: 402. A little over a year, or a little over 13 months. Of course, Clint Frazier is already up, but 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: 468, on November 6, 2018. Under a year and a half, or a little over 15 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 532, on January 9, 2019. A little under a year and a half, or a little over 17 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 897, on January 8, 2020. A little under 2 1/2 years, or a little over 29 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 1,102, on July 24, 2020. A shade under 3 years, or 36 months.

Days until the next Presidential election: 1,564, on November 3, 2020. Under 3 1/2 years, or a little over 39 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 1,642, at noon on January 20, 2021. A little over 3 1/2 years, or a little under 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.

Montgomery Implodes Early, Yanks Lose

The joy over the Yankees dumping Tyler Clippard, getting Todd Frazier, and reacquiring David Robertson didn't even last 16 hours.

For today, in a getaway-day matinee at Target Field, Jordan Montgomery imploded in the 2nd inning, allowing the Minnesota Twins to score 6 runs, including a 3-run home run by 1st baseman Miguel Sano.

Joe Girardi left Montgomery in to pitch 6 innings, and aside from the inning in question, he was fine. As is sometimes the case with CC Sabathia, today, Montgomery had "Onebadinningitis." Indeed, Girardi let him throw 104 pitches, which is over Girardi's usual limit of 95.

Chad Green pitched the 7th inning, allowing no runs, no hits, and a walk. Tommy Kahnle, also obtained in yesterday's trade, made his Yankee debut, and pitched a perfect 8th inning. Each reliever had 2 strikeouts.

But the Yankees didn't hit. They wasted a leadoff single by Brett Gardner in the 1st inning, the bases loaded with 1 out in the 2nd, a leadoff single by Starlin Castro in the 4th, men on 1st and 2nd in the 6th, a Gregorius single in the 8th, and Todd Frazier's debut, a hit-by-pitch, in the 9th.

The only Yankee run came in the 7th: Clint Frazier (no relation to Todd) led off with a single, Austin Romine was hit with a pitch, and Gardner singled Clint home. But that was it.

Twins 6, Yankees 1. WP: Jose Berrios (9-3). No save. LP: Montgomery (6-5).

The Yankees are now 4 games out of 1st place, 3 behind the Boston Red Sox in the loss column, pending the result of tonight's game between the Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Yankees now fly out to Seatlte, for a 4-game series with the Mariners. Here are the projected starting pitchers, with all starting times Eastern:

* Tomorrow, 10:10 PM: Luis Severino vs. "King" Felix Hernandez.

* Friday, 10:10 PM: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Andrew Moore.

* Saturday, 9:10 PM: Sabathia vs. Ariel Miranda.

* Sunday, 4:10 PM: Luis Cessa vs. Sam Gaviglio.

*

Hours until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 2, tonight at 9:00, in the Quarterfinal of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, against El Salvador, at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles.

Days until The Arsenal play again: 3, on Saturday, 6:30 AM our time, as they complete their 2-game excursion in China. Having beaten defending German Bundesliga Champions Bayern Munich on penalties in Shanghai this morning, set up by a last-minute goal by Alex Iwobi, they will play defending Premier League titlists and West London rivals Chelsea, at the 2008 Olympic Stadium (a.k.a. the Bird's Nest) in Beijing.

Days until the Red Bulls play again: 3, on Saturday afternoon at 4:00, making their 1st-ever visit to expansion team Minnesota United. Actually, they're hosting the San Jose Earthquakes at Red Bull Arena as I type this.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 18, 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 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 Premier League season begins: 23, on Friday, August 11. A little over 3 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: 23, on Friday, August 11, at Yankee Stadium.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 44, on Friday, September 1, home to the University of Washington. A little over 6 weeks.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 51, on Friday night, September 8, home to Sayreville, a "derby."

Days until the New Jersey Devils play again: 80, on Saturday night, October 7, home to the Colorado Avalanche. Under 3 months.

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 87, 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: 104, on October 31.

Days until the next election for Governor of New Jersey: 111, 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: 115, on Saturday, November 11, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.

Days until the next North London Derby: 122, 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: 127, on Thursday, November 23, at 10:00 AM. A little over 4 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: 209, on February 9, 2018. Under 7 months.

Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia: 330, on June 14, 2018. Under 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: 409. A little over a year, or 13 1/2 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: 475, 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: 539, 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: 904, 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: 1,109, on July 24, 2020. A shade over 3 years, or 36 months.

Days until the next Presidential election: 1,571, on November 3, 2020. Under 3 1/2 years, or a little under 40 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 1,649, 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.

The Day the Season Was Saved?

During last night's game between the Yankees and the Minnesota Twins at Target Field, the Chicago White Sox were hosting an Interleague game with the Los Angeles Dodgers (a game the Dodgers would win 1-0), and Todd Frazier wasn't in it. Instead, he was seen shaking hands with his teammates in the dugout -- as if they were about to no longer be his teammates.

That turned out to be the case. Yankee general manager Brian Cashman pulled off what could turn out to be a major trade. He sent pitchers Tyler Clippard and Ian Clarkin, and outfielders Blake Rutherford and Tito Polo, to the White Sox for Frazier and pitchers David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle.

Polo, one of the "prospects" that Cashman had thrown Ivan Nova away for, was playing for the Class AA Trenton Thunder, 2 steps below the major leagues. Clarkin was pitching for the Class A Tampa Yankees, 3 steps below. Rutherford was playing for the Class A Charleston Riverdogs, 4 steps below. None of these guys was going to help the Yankees this year, or the next, or probably even in 2019.

The most important player the Yankees gave up was Clippard, who had proven for the 2nd time that he simply cannot pitch for the Yankees. Yes, Tyler Clippard is gone. As Bronson Pinchot used to say on Perfect Strangers, "Now, we are so happy, we do the dance of joy! Hey!"

This is a case of, "Great trade! Who did we get?"

Kahnle is a 27-year-old righthanded pitcher from near Albany, New York. He had pitched the last 2 seasons with the White Sox, and the 2 before that for the Colorado Rockies. He's been assigned Number 48, and if the Yankees get anything out of him, it will be a surprise and a bonus. He was a throw-in. (UPDATE: As it turned out, he would be the most productive of these players!)

Robertson, we know. The 32-year-old righthander from Birmingham was with us from 2008 to 2014, and rejoins Brett Gardner as the last 2 guys on the Yankee roster who played a home game at the old Yankee Stadium. "D-Rob" won the 2009 World Series with us, made the All-Star Team in 2011, and was eventually the man who had the unenviable task of succeeding Mariano Rivera as the closer in the 2014 season. He did a good job, but after the season, with his contract having run out, he declined the Yankees' new offer, and signed with the White Sox.

He's done well since, and now he's back, and he can either fill the 8th inning role that's been effectively vacant since Cashman stupidly traded Andrew Miller away for "prospects" last July, or alternate with the lefthanded Aroldis Chapman as closer.

As for Frazier, well, who thought that "prospect" Clint Frazier wouldn't be the most important Frazier for the Yankees this season? Todd, a.k.a. the Toddfather, was born in Point Pleasant, Ocean County, New Jersey, and grew up in neighboring Toms River. He helped a Toms River team win the 1998 Little League World Series, graduated from Toms River High School South (which has one of the Shore Conference's most historic baseball programs), and was Big East Conference Player of the Year at Rutgers University in 2007. His 42 home runs are the most in Scarlet Knights history.

He was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in 2004, but did not sign with them, choosing to stay at Rutgers. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 2007, and signed with them. He was a late-season callup in 2011, finished 3rd in the National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2012 (behind Bryce Harper and Wade Miley, so he never had a chance), and was an All-Star in 2014 and '15.

His wife, Jackie Verdon, is also a former Rutgers athlete, a gymnast. They have a son, Blake; and a daughter, Kylie. His brother Jeff played 9 games for the Detroit Tigers, and his brother Charlie played in the Miami Marlins' organization.

Frazier has worn uniform Number 21 since he arrived in the major leagues, a tribute to his favorite player, Yankee Legend Paul O'Neill. Since the Yankees have, effectively if not officially, retired that number for O'Neill, he has been assigned uniform Number 29.

He comes into this game with only a .207 batting average, but he has 16 home runs and 44 RBIs. His OPS+ is 105. In contrast, the man who he could replace as the Yankees' starting 3rd baseman, Chase Headley, is batting .257, but has just 4 homers, 37 RBIs, and a pathetic OPS+ of 87.

Frazier could also play 1st base. a position that was held by Chris Carter for most of the season, with an OPS+ of an execrable 70. Ji-Man Choi and Garrett Cooper have been tried there, but it's too soon to tell if either is a solution.

Regardless, Todd Frazier should help. David Robertson should help. Indeed, simply not having Tyler Clippard as an option for Joe Girardi to put in the game should help!

*

Oh yes: There was a game last night. Luis Cessa was the starting pitcher, and he was shaky, not getting out of the 4th inning. Girardi brought Chasen Shreve in, and he settled things down. At that point, it was 3-1 Minnesota.

To that point, Bartolo Colon, the big fat 44-year-old former steroid user who had previously pitched for both the Yankees and the Mets, making his debut for the Twins, had handcuffed the Yankees.

But Ronald Torreyes led off the top of the 5th with a single. Gardner hit a ground-rule double. Gary Sanchez nearly hit one out, settling for a double and 2 RBIs, tying the game. Twins manager Paul Molitor had seen enough: He took Colon out, and brought in Ryan Pressly.

If this Pressly, like Elvis Presley, told the Yankees, "Don't be cruel," he was, instead, left all shook up. Aaron Judge broke out of his post-All-Star-Break slump, and singled home Sanchez to give the Yankees the lead. Matt Holliday struck out, but Didi Gregorius hit a home run to make it 6-3 Yankees.

That was the final score: Between them, Shreve, Adam Warren, Dellin Betances and Chapman pitched 5 1/3rd innings, allowing no runs, 3 hits and 2 walks. And this was without the possibility of Robertson -- but also without the possibility of Clippard.

Yankees 6, Twins 3. WP: Shreve (3-1). SV: Chapman (10). LP: Colon (0-1).

This may well have been the day the season was saved.

The series concludes this afternoon. Jordan Montgomery starts against Jose Berrios.

As Bad As It's Looked, It Doesn't Look So Bad

So far, so good for the Yankees in the 2nd half. On Saturday afternoon, Brandon McCarthy got his 1st Yankee win, going 6 innings against the Cincinnati Reds, allowing 1 run on 6 hits and no walks. Plus 9 strikeouts. (1-0)

He was boosted by a home run by Carlos Beltran in the 2nd, an RBI single by Brett Gardner in the 3rd, a Gardner sacrifice fly in the 5th, an RBI single right after that by some guy named Derek Jeter, knocking Alfredo Simon out of the box (12-4), and a Kelly Johnson 2-RBI single and another Gardner sac fly in the 6th.

Yankees 7, Reds 1.

*

And then yesterday, Hiroki Kuroda pitched with the wisdom of a 39-year-old and the arm of a 27-year-old. He pitched into the 7th inning, allowing only 1 run, unearned, 3 hits, 2 walks and 6 strikeouts.

Back-to-back singles in the 5th inning by Jeter and Jacoby Ellsbury gave Kuroda a 2-1 lead, and he got a standing ovation when he left in the 7th.

But Todd Frazier hit one out for the Reds, a rare mistake this season for Dellin Betances. The game would go to the bottom of the 9th.

The Reds had Aroldis Chapman on the mound, the possessor of 97 saves these last 2 1/2 seasons, a 0.997 career WHIP, and a fastball that can reach 102 miles per hour.

But Ellsbury led off with a single to left. Then he stole 2nd. Then one of Chapman's blazing fastballs got away from Reds catcher Breyan Pena, who's no Johnny Bench, or Ernie Lombardi, or even Joe Oliver. Man on 3rd, nobody out, and the resurgent Mark Teixeira up.

But Chapman blew Teix away with a 101-MPH heater. And Brian McCann came up, and Chapman blew a 102-MPH heater past him for strike one, and I thought, "Uh-oh, here we go again: Yankee RISPfail. We're gonna lose this one in extra innings."

But McCann hit a popup to the right side. Reds 1st baseman Frazier, 2nd baseman Skip Schumaker, and right fielder Jay Bruce all had a chance at it.

Have you ever heard "The Story of Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody"? Once upon a time, there was a job to do. Everybody thought that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it. But Nobody did it.

The ball fell between 3 Reds, allowing Ellsbury to score the winning run on a cheap play. Who did the Reds think they were, the Mets?

(UPDATE: Frazier and Bruce would later play for the Mets. And Frazier and Chapman would later play for the Yankees.)

Reason Number 57 why the Mets are a joke: I said on Twitter that the Yankees won on a "Luis Castillo Play" -- and everybody knew exactly what I meant. Heck, it was even to the same general area (if not the same exact spot) of the field.

Yankees 3, Reds 2. A sweep of the Big Red Machine. WP: David Robertson (1-2). No save. LP: Chapman (0-3).

*

So here we are, with 10 weeks to go in the Major League Baseball season. Here's how things look:

The Yankees trail the Baltimore Orioles by 3 games in the American League Eastern Division. So do the Toronto Blue Jays, although the Yankees trail the O's by 3 in the loss column, while the Jays trail there by 4. The Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays are 7 1/2 back. So as bad as anyone has been, the Division race is, theoretically, still up for grabs by all 5.

The Yankees trail the Seattle Mariners by a game and a half, just 1 in the loss column, for the AL's 2nd Wild Card entry.

As bad as it's looked, it doesn't look so bad. If you'll pardon what would have been a Yogi-ism if Yogi Berra had thought of it first.

*

Tonight, the Yankees begin a 4-game home series against the Texas Rangers. Like all teams representing Dallas, and all teams called Rangers wearing blue shirts (whatever the country, whatever the sport), they suck.

Manager Ron Washington has an interesting coaching staff. He's got ex-Mets Dave Magadan and Tim Bogar. He's got Bobby Jones -- but not either of the 2 Bobby Joneses who pitched for the Mets in the 2000 World Series, the greatest World Series ever. He's got Bengie Molina, the eldest of the Molina brothers. He's got former Angels All-Star Gary Pettis. And his bullpen coach? Andy Hawkins, who on July 1, 1990 pitched 8 no-hit innings for the Yankees against the Chicago White Sox in the last game the Yankees ever played in Comiskey Park -- and lost due to his own walks and 3 awful 8th-inning errors. He didn't even get credit for the no-hitter, although he got credit for the complete game.

Here are the projected pitching matchups:

Tonight, 7:05 PM: Shane Green vs. Miles Mikolas.

Tomorrow, 7:05 PM: Chase Whitley vs. Nick Martinez.

Wednesday, 7:05 PM: David Phelps vs. Yu Darvish.

Thursday, 1:05 PM: McCarthy vs. Colby Lewis.

Come on you Pinstripes!