The fading, struggling, scuffling – pick your adjective – Yankees lost the series at Fenway instead of grabbing the head-to-head opportunity to gain ground. Saturday night was a lift, edging out the Red Sox with a solid starting performance from CC just back from the DL, a Chapman-less pen made of a fired up D-Rob and Betances and clutch hitting. But Friday night and yesterday’s games were a huge letdown.
Where oh where is Judge? All those strikeouts are killing us and yet Girardi, the most stubborn guy ever, won’t drop him out of the third slot in the lineup. Gary Sanchez allowed two passed balls on Saturday night but his spectacular throw to second on the steal attempt redeemed him, and he’s been great on offense. Didi is so clutch and steady. Torreyes is too. But none of it is enough if you can’t beat the team in front of you. As Jeter always said, “You have to win games.” Speaking of the Captain, very happy for him and his wife about their baby girl, Bella Raines Jeter. Also happy he’s about to seal the deal on buying the Marlins. I’ve had so many comments from Yankee fans on Facebook who are pissed off that he’s not buying the Yankees. Here’s a bulletin for them: the Yankees were not for sale. I really don’t understand people who think it’s traitorous for him to own a team other than the Yankees. The man’s stated goal after retirement was to own a team, period. Let him live his dream, for God’s sake.
Back to basics, if the Yanks want to hang on to any Wild Card hopes, they need to start winning series again starting tonight in Detroit. There are lots of teams bunched up in the standings right behind them. No time for letting them jump ahead.
I think we’ve blown our chance to catch Boston for the division. But hopefully we will at least make the Wild Card. (I still hate the new wild card format but whatever.) Let’s also hope Castro and Holliday will be able to pick up this slumping defense. (I don’t believe Greg Bird will ever actually wear pinstripes again. He’ll roll his ankle or something in batting practice and be out for another year.)
Also agree with you that Judge needs to not be in the 3 spot. I love the guy and all, but geez. It’s brutal.
Let’s hope for some winning this week!
I hate the Wild Card too – one game and you’re out? – but if we get in (and that’s a big IF the way they’re playing), at least we’ll have a chance to go further. I agree about Bird, alas. I really like him, but he’s very Nick Johnson. Castro should help us a lot, although I love Torreyes. Holliday I’m feeling less sure about. They never did diagnose that viral infection and I just hope he can get his power back even if it’s just off the bench. Judge – ugh. He’s been my favorite player, so it’s painful to watch him struggle. But he’s killing our lineup right now.
Okay, I lied – I still care, dammit, and after getting all those messages during the Mets series with all that good Yankee news – well, I thought maybe I could start watching them again without having my heart broken. Oh, how wrong I was! To add insult to injury I had to watch all the games on NESN and that is a torture I wouldn’t wish on an ISIS terrorist, honestly. The constant in-your-face glorification of the Red Sox is really too much to be borne (and Dennis Eckersley, he of the 70s porn star look, is awful!) but I did it for my Yankees. And how did they reward me – well, we all know the answer to that and it is not nice.
Judge needs to regroup and I think Girardi would do him a favor to give him the Gary Sanchez treatment but Girardi manages this team like a bunch of Little Leaguers with fragile egos so . . . At least he finally did what needed to be done with Chapman.
There are still 38 games to be played so the Yankees could pull the ultimate comeback but they’d better get working on it – pronto!!!
I thought of you during this series, Audrey, and I figured you couldn’t resist watching. But on NESN? Having to look at and listen to Dennis Eck? Now that’s sacrifice. You deserve a medal or at least a bobble head doll! Yes, indeed, Judge needs to have the Sanchez treatment. Just sit him down or bump him down in the order the way they did with A-Rod – anything to get him out of the #3 slot. I forget if I said this on the blog, but a Facebook friend compared Judge to Dave Kingman – a one-hit wonder with no defense – and I took instant umbrage. But if Judge doesn’t come around, then….Well, he just will. You baked those cookies and they can’t have been for naught.
I think Judge will come around but he may need the off season to do it. In the meantime, we cannot afford to have him striking out in important offensive situations like bases loaded.
I thought I was going to be able to avoid the Eck on Sunday because TBS was supposed to broadcast the game but when I tuned in there was Eckersley! I do think someone has told him he needs to stop being so negative, though, because on Saturday he actually said a few nice things about Yankee players (must have killed him!). But I did not end up listening to him on Sunday after all because something happened at TBS and a Forensic Files show came on in the middle of the broadcast and it never went back to the game. So frustrating when you are blacked out from your mobile YES broadcast. So once again I turned to NESN but I was able to sync my MLB app radio broadcast to the game and listen to John and Suzyn while I watched the action. Not that any of my machinations mattered – I still watched a terrible game!
Yes, but you gave it the old college try, Audrey! That’s being a real fan :)
Breaking news….apparently, Judge has been receiving cortisone shots in his shoulder since the All-Star break. Did I not say that stupid home run derby was a bad idea???!!!