Carlos Betran was the hero of Games 1 and 2 of this weekend’s big series at Toronto and the goat of Game 3. (Well, not the goat exactly. There were many reasons the Yankees lost, but his misplay of the ball in right field certainly was entertaining.) His homers were thrilling and important and just what the team needed to climb back on top of the division in what promises to be a seesaw battle the rest of the way, not only with the Jays but throw in the Rays and O’s too, plus the Red Sox, who seem to be playing with understandable passion after the news that John Farrell has cancer.
Severino, while win-less since being called up to pitch in the majors, has proven he belongs. The kid’s good. And Tanaka was spectacular on Saturday, giving the bullpen a much-needed break by pitching his first complete game of the season. How his fragile arm will hold up after that outing is anyone’s guess. Evo, too, has been dependable, more each time he takes the mound.
I honestly don’t know where the Yankees will land by the end of September. Maybe they’ll peter out. Maybe they’ll go on a tear. Maybe, as I wrote above, they’ll continue to seesaw with the other teams. I really hope they hang in, because it makes this year’s pennant race truly exciting.
I’ll be there to cheer them on against the Twins tomorrow night. I’ll be wearing my purple Yankees cap to celebrate the great work of the Alzheimer’s Association and to honor my dear friend Peter Grad, who died suddenly two weeks ago. Peter and his wife Laurie co-chaired their annual “A Night at Sardi’s” benefit in LA for many years and raised millions for Alzheimer’s research and treatment. If anyone would like to make a donation in Peter’s name, go here.
Sorry to hear about your friend; there’s no way to get over a loss like that. Anyway, I really wish we could have swept Toronto like they did to us when they were in town. But at least we’re in sole possession of first place in the AL East – even if its only by a nose. Tanaka was incredible – 9 innings with a very reasonable pitch count and only one “bad” inning; which wasn’t so bad after all. I’m going to be at Friday’s game in celebration of my birthday which is tomorrow. Let’s hope The Yankees give me the gift I want more than any other. A win…and on their way to a World Series win. GO YANKEES!!!
Happy Birthday in advance, Diane!
Jane – I Hope you are enjoying your visit to the Bronx. You can’t make this stuff up!
What a crazy game tonight, Terry. Were you there too? I couldn’t believe it was 9 o’clock in the 3rd inning! Plus the Twins were in double digits in hits and the Yankees had 5 or 6. Poor Mitchell got that hot smash in the face and Tex hurt his leg, etc but we prevailed. Very exciting.
I think we can all forgive Beltran for that misplay on Sunday. Fielding a fly ball in the sun has to be very difficult and these guys still catch many more than they miss. Beltran has saved our bacon so many times recently we really can’t stay mad!
Our starting pitching was very encouraging over the weekend with all the “youngsters,” as Suzyn likes to say, performing well. So sorry L’enfant Mitchell took that ball in the face last night. I hope his injuries are confined to the broken nose and he doesn’t also have a concussion.
After he made a few good plays in the field I was wondering where OUR Nunez was. Fortunately, Eduardo Scissorhands showed up in the bottom of the tenth:).
I was so mad that Eduardo Scissorhands was the one who hit Mitchell with that comebacker, Audrey. Poor Mitchell was on the ground for so long and then had that bloody towel on his face. Scary, scary moments. But then Scissorhands showed his true self when he messed up Headley’s ground ball and let us win the game. Not sorry we didn’t keep him.