I really thought the Yankees’ fortunes might turn around after that stirring extra-innings win against the Cubs on Wednesday night, but last night’s smack down by the White Sox and Chris Sale was a bummer. Phelps did a credible job, but the Yankees can’t hit Sale, period.
Which brings me to the offense. I thought starting pitching would be the biggest problem, given all the injured starters. Now the hitters have caught the slump bug. Ellsbury had been so great as the season kicked off, but he’s looking grim these days. And – I’ve said this before – I’d like to see McCann start hitting up to his contract. But the real problem is Beltran: the lineup misses him in it. You take a power bat like him out of the equation, possibly for a few months, and it’s not so easy to fill his spot.
Still, the Yankees are only barely out of first place in the division as other teams have problems and liabilities too (except maybe the suddenly red-hot Blue Jays). And I remember they had a nightmarish trip to Chicago early last season, only to beat the Sox soundly later on. I just hope Kevin Long can spot flaws in guys’ swings and Joe can rally the troops and Jeter can inspire everybody to do their best.
It’ll be a busy weekend for me, so I’ll probably miss seeing the games, but I’ll be reading the wraps and keeping an eye out for news of the boys.
It really looked like they were going to come back in the 9th inning again, but it didn’t work out. Sale was scary. His delivery is really weird and he looks like he weighs about 90 pounds soaking wet. Anyway, I was worried about a perfect game for him so I guess the loss wasn’t as big a problem for me to deal with since they came back and scored a couple of runs. Let’s hope we don’t ever have to face him again. GO YANKEES!!!
I shudder at the thought of facing Sale again, Diane. He owns us!
This afternoon certainly worked out well. Never would’ve guessed scoring three in the 9th and winning in the 10th. Would be great to escape with a split. Hoping for good games in St. Louis. Attending all three.
Yes! Today’s come from behind win must have been exciting to watch, Terry. And I like how Robertson bounced back from his blown save from the night before, plus Ellsbury seems to have broken out of his slump. Enjoy the St. Louis series. What fun to be there.