Tanaka, Rothschild and Girardi Don't Stay Long, Yanks Lose

On Friday night, Joe Girardi missed the Yankees' game away to the Tampa Bay Rays because he was attending his daughter's high school graduation.

Yesterday, he was on hand, but didn't see the whole game -- and not by his choice.

Maybe he should have made a choice.

The Mets aren't the only New York team whose "aces" aren't looking too good right now. Masahiro Tanaka started for the Yankees, and he had nothing. As late as the bottom of the 4th inning, the Yankees and Rays were tied 3-3, and things were looking all right. But Tanaka gave up a home run to Corey Dickerson in the 1st, one to Evan Longoria in the 3rd, and another to Dickerson in the 4th. He is feeding his gopher way too much.

Girardi brought Tommy Layne in to relieve Tanaka, and he got through the rest of the 4th without further damage, but he allowed another 3 runs in the 5th, and the game was essentially over.

At that point, it was over for both Girardi and pitching coach Larry Rothschild, who made a mound visit to talk to Layne, and when home plate umpire Scott Barry came up to break up the meeting, Rothschild questioned Barry's ability to call balls and strikes. My grandmother, an old Dodger-turned-Met fan, said she hated it when umpires "get too big for their britches." Barry did, and threw Rothschild out of the game. Girardi came out to protest, and also pointed out that Barry's strike zone was like Nuke LaLoosh's pitching, kinda all over the place. Barry tossed Girardi, too.

Memo to Barry -- and to Joe West, and to a few others: Nobody comes to a baseball game to see an umpire.

"Just upset," Girardi said. "If I'm going to get tossed for asking about one of my coaches, I might as well get my money's worth."

I can't disagree with Girardi on that, despite everything else on which we disagree.

Despite the 15th home run of the season by Aaron Judge, and the 4th by Gary Sanchez, it ended Rays 9, Yankees 5. It was the 1st time all season that the Yankees had lost a game in which Judge had homered. WP: Matt Andriese (4-1). No save. LP: Tanaka (5-3). He has that record despite all the home runs he's given up.

The series concludes this afternoon. CC Sabathia starts against Chris Archer. Then the Yankees come home to face the Kansas City Royals. Time to start winning again.

One and Four-get It

Tonight, the Philadelphia Phillies scored 12 runs in the 1st inning, something they've never done before, and they've been in business since 1883, the Chester Arthur Administration, just before the Brooklyn Bridge opened.

Five games into a new season, 45 innings, and the Yankees have scored a total of 18 runs.

This is unacceptable.

Masahiro Tanaka was better today, pitching 5 innings, giving up 3 runs, on 6 hits and 4 walks. Yes, that constitutes "better," compared to his 1st start of the season.

And he left with a 4-3 lead, thanks to Ronald Torreyes singling home 2 runs in the 2nd inning, and a 5th inning that included a balk by Kevin Gausman sending Austin Romine home, and a single by Starlin Castro that scored Jacoby Ellsbury.

Why was Romine, a backup catcher in the game? Because Gary Sanchez got hurt, injuring his biceps while fouling off a pitch in that 5th inning. He's being put on the 10-Day Disabled List. I didn't even know there was a 10-Day Disabled List. I know about the 15-Day, the 30-Day, and the 60-Day.

Kyle Higashioka, a catcher from the Los Angeles suburbs, will join the team in Baltimore for tomorrow's game. He batted .293 with an .864 OPS last season -- in 63 games at AA Trenton. He then batted .250 with an .820 OPS at AAA Scranton. All told, he had 21 home runs and 81 RBIs in the minors last season.

He'll be 27 in 2 weeks. If it takes you until you're 26 before you even reach Triple-A, and almost 27 before you play your 1st major-league game, that just screams "not good enough for the majors." "26th Man." "Quadruple-A." Most likely, he'll be the emergency catcher, backing up Romine, who's 28 and running out of chances to impress.

Girardi replaced Tanaka with Adam Warren in the 6th. He uncharacteristically kept Warren in for the 7th, and Warren got the 1st out. No problem, leave him in, right?

Wrong -- if you believe Joe Girardi's Binder. He took Warren out, and put in Tommy Layne. Layne's been good so far, but he allowed a double to Chris Davis. Why didn't Girardi leave Warren in to pitch to Davis? Because Davis is lefthanded, but Warren isn't, and Layne is.

How'd that work out, dummy?

Girardi immediately took Layne out, and brought in Dellin Betances, who should be the 7th inning man, with Andrew Miller as the 8th inning man and Aroldis Chapman as the 9th inning man. Except Brian Cashman stupidly traded Miller away last season for 4 "prospects," and so Betances is the 8th inning man, except Girardi brought him in for the 7th, and so we have no 8th inning man. When the starting pitcher should be the 8th inning man! But all bow down before the great god Pitch Count.

Mark Trumbo singled Davis home to tie the game. Betances got Welington Castillo (yes, that's how he spells it) out for the 2nd out, but Trumbo stole 2nd, and Hyun-Soo Kim singled him home.

The Yankees stranded 2 runners in the 1st inning, 1 in the 2nd, 2 in the 4th, 1 in the 5th, 1 in the 8th and 1 in the 9th; lost a runner trying to steal in the 6th; and went 1-2-3 in the 3rd and the 7th.

Orioles 5, Yankees 4. WP: Mychal Givens (1-0). SV: Zach Britton (3). LP: Betances (0-1). Girardi's Bullpen Blundering: 2.

The Yankees are now 1-4, just like they were in 1998. But in 1998, Joe Girardi was the starting catcher, not the manager. Joe Torre had his issues with the bullpen, but at least he didn't futz things up as often, or as much, as Girardi has.

It's like I'm on the opposite side of the Arsene Wenger debate at Arsenal. Except, while Girardi has won the League more recently than Wenger, he's had only 1 League title, 2 other Division titles, and 2 other Playoff berths. Since November 4, 2009, the Yankees' record in postseason games is 10-14 -- an average of less than 4 games per season. And it doesn't look like it will increase this October.

The series continues tomorrow afternoon at 1:35. CC Sabathia starts against Wade Miley.

Come on you Bombers, give the Big Fella some runs, so he can pitch 8 strong.

If Girardi will let him. Will he? Is the Pope Buddhist?

Yanks Walk Off vs. Rays, Race Tightens

The surging Yankees began a 4-game home series with the struggling Tampa Bay Rays last night. CC Sabathia started, and was a little shaky, allowing single runs in each of the 1st 3 innings. Joe Girardi panicked, and took him out in the 5th, and brought in Jonathan Holder, who got us through the 6th.

Didi Gregorious singled home a run in the 1st inning, and Brian McCann hit home runs in he 2nd and the 4th, giving him 19 on the season.

The game went to the bottom of the 9th tied 4-4. Tyler Austin came to the plate with 2 outs, against Erasmo Ramirez. (Not to be confused with former Yankee Edwar Ramirez.) Boom! Home run to right-center field. Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeee Yankees win!

Yankees 5, Rays 4. WP: Tommy Layne (2-1). No save. LP: Ramirez (7-11).

With 23 games to go, the Yankees are 4 games out of the American League Eastern Division lead, and 2 out of the 2nd AL Wild Card.

The Yankees were given up for dead. How do they look now? The races are tightening.

The series continues tonight, as Michael Pineda starts against Blake Snell. Come on you Bombers!

*

Time until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Right now, away to Sayreville, a.k.a. Sewerville. Hell of a place to begin the season, even if the opposition wasn't good -- and, since 1990, they usually have been.

Hours until The Arsenal play again: 15, tomorrow morning, at 10:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time, home to Hampshire club Southampton.

Hours until Rutgers University plays football again: 17, tomorrow at 12:00 noon, home to Howard University of Washington, D.C. RU got crushed by the University of Washington in their season opener, 48-13. Hopefully, a Football Playoff Subdivision (formerly "Division I-AA") team at home will be easier going.

Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 2, Sunday afternoon at 1:00, home to their most hated opponent, D.C. United. (I've tried to tell Red Bull fans: A New York Tri-State Area's arch-rival is always either New England, or Philadelphia, or another Tri-State Area team -- not Washington, D.C. But they don't listen to me.)

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": The same 2. The next game against the Philadelphia Union is on Saturday night, October 1, at Red Bull Arena. There are no further games this regular season against New York City FC, although Metro could face them in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series: 6, next Thursday night, at 7:00 PM, at Fenway Park. It could be pivotal in the AL East race, more so in the AL Wild Card race.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play another regular season game: 34, on Thursday night, October 13, away to the Florida Panthers in the Miami suburb of Sunrise. Under 5 weeks. The home opener is 5 days later, on Tuesday night, October 18, against the Anaheim Ducks.

Days until the 2016 Presidential election: 60, on Tuesday, November 8. That's exactly 2 months. Make sure you are registered to vote, and then make sure you vote!

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 63, on November 11, home to arch-rival Mexico at Mapfre Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, in a CONCACAF Qualifying Match for the 2018 World Cup. That's 9 weeks. Regardless of whether Mexican-hater Donald Trump defeats Hillary Clinton in the election, there could be trouble from Trump's supporters. This match will be followed 4 days later by another Qualifier, away to Costa Rica.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving game: 76, on Thursday morning, November 24, at the purple shit pit on Route 9. Under 11 weeks.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play another local rival: 93. Their 1st game this season with the New York Rangers will be on Sunday night, December 11, at Madison Square Garden. Their 1st game this season with the Philadelphia Flyers will be on Thursday night, December 22, at the Prudential Center. By a quirk in the schedule, the New York Islanders, a team they usually play several times a season, don't show up on the slate until Saturday night, February 18, 2017, at the Prudential Center.

Days until The Contract From Hell runs out, and the Yankees no longer have to pay Alex Rodriguez any money for any reason: 478, on December 31, 2017. A little over 15 months.

Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Pyeongchang, Korea: 518, on February 9, 2018. Exactly 17 months.

Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia: 643, on June 14, 2018. Under 21 months. The U.S. team will probably qualify for it, but with Jurgen Klinsmann as manager, particularly in competitive matches such as World Cup Qualifiers, rather than in friendlies, you never know.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 851, on January 9, 2019. Under 2 1/2 years, or 28 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 1,216, on January 8, 2020. Under 3 1/2 years, or 40 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 1,414, on July 24, 2020. Under 4 years. Under 47 months.

Was 2 of 3 from O's Enough? Not Really

If the Yankees were really in the thick of the American League Eastern Division race, taking 2 out of 3 games of a home series with the Baltimore Orioles would be good news.

But we're not in the thick of it. We're on the thin outer edge of it. We needed a sweep, and we didn't get it.

On Friday night, the Yankees scored a lot of runs in support of rookie starter Luis Cessa. A 6-run explosion in the 2nd inning settled it. But none of the 3 home runs the Yankees hit on the night were in that inning: Mark Teixeira hit one in the 1st (it was his 11th of the season), Chase Headley in the 4th (his 12th), and rookie sensation Gary Sanchez in the 5th (his 10th).

Yankees 14, Orioles 4. WP: Cessa (4-0). No save. LP: Yovani Gallardo (4-6).

*

Saturday was the high-water mark of the Yankee season this far. Again, there were lots of runs, much more than were needed. Sanchez hit another homer (his 11th), Starlin Castro hit one (his 18th), and Aaron Hicks hit one (his 7th). The latter 2 came in a 4-run 5th inning, but that was too late for Chad Green: He'd already been knocked out, and replaced by Tommy Layne, who ended up as the winning pitcher.

Yankees 13, Orioles 5. WP: Layne (1-1). No save. LP: Dylan Bundy (7-5) -- and that's not the Florida serial killer (Ted Bundy), the idiot from Married... with Children (Ed O'Neill as Al Bundy), or the even bigger idiot on that ranch in Nevada (Cliven Bundy). The Yankees were 6 games over .500.

*

Yesterday, as is so often the case, the Yankees needed a few runs from recent offensive explosions, and couldn't transfer them. Kevin Gausman pitched brilliantly for Baltimore, going 7 innings, allowing no runs, 7 hits, and no walks, striking out 9. Sanchez and Ronald Torreyes each hit doubles, while those 2, Teix, Hicks, Brian McCann and Didi Gregorius each hit singles, but that was it.

In contrast, CC Sabathia allowed only 2 hits and a walk over the 1st 5 innings, but a home run by Steve Pearce gave the O's a 1-0 lead in the 6th. CC tired in the 7th, and Joe Girardi brought in Adam Warren to replace him, because he could no longer bring Dellin Betances in for the 7th, Andrew Miller for the 8th and Aroldis Chapman for the 9th, because Brian Cashman had stupidly traded Miller and Chapman.

Instead, Warren (brought in the trade for Chapman) and Ben Heller (brought in the trade for Miller, and his 2 major league appearances thus far, both for the Yankees, have been horrible) turned a redeemable 1-0 deficit into a pathetic 5-0 performance.

Brian Cashman, this one is on you: Orioles 5, Yankees 0. WP: Gausman (6-10). No save. LP: Sabathia (8-11), who really deserved a better fate.

*

There are 5 weeks left in the regular season -- 33 games. In the AL East, the Toronto Blue Jays lead the Boston Red Sox by 2 games, the Orioles by 3, and the Yankees by 6 1/2. The Yankees trail the O's by 3 1/2 for the 2nd AL Wild Card.

It is beginning to look bleak for the Division, and I'm not sure we deserve the Wild Card. Well, we do, but Cashman doesn't, and Girardi probably doesn't, either.

Tonight, we begin a series in Kansas City, away to the Royals. The defending World Champions, the 2-time defending Pennant winners have not done well, either, but they're also in the Wild Card race.

Here are the projected starting pitchers:

* Tonight, 8:15 PM (7:15 local time): Michael Pineda vs. former Met Dillon Gee.

* Tomorrow, 8:15 PM: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Edinson Volquez.

* Wednesday, 8:15 PM: Cessa vs. former Yankee Ian Kennedy.

Come on you Bombers... please! We don't have any more games to waste.

The Yankees are making me a nervous wreck again. With the death yesterday of the great comic actor Gene Wilder, I'm reminded of his scene in Blazing Saddles, as Jim, the Waco Kid. He holds out his right hand, and Cleavon Little, as Sheriff Bart, says, "Steady as a rock." But Jim holds out his left hand, and it's shaking like crazy, and he says, "But I shoot with this hand!"

It's been that kind of season for the Yankees. The movie had a happy ending. But this isn't Hollywood.

R.I.P., Gene.