Jane Heller

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

Heartbreakers

Could there have been a more difficult loss than there was today in the finale against the Blue Jays? My heart broke in a million pieces as I watched the Yanks fight their way out of a 0-5 hole, thanks to Pineda’s ineffective start, only to have the strangely unreliable Betances blow another opportunity to do one thing: throw strikes. He couldn’t. He hasn’t been able to for awhile now. And Chapman hasn’t been much better.

Today’s loss cost us another series against yet another team we should have beaten. Aside from Tanaka’s brilliant start on Monday, there wasn’t much to smile about, except for Judge’s prodigious homers.

This team, as I recall, was built in the off-season around a star-studded back-end bullpen that would come to the rescue when the starters couldn’t go deep into games. It’s not working out that way. Girardi says Betances’ problems are mechanical, but if you ask me they’re mental, too. Not being able to throw strikes and get batters out has gotten in his head. And Chapman hasn’t been effective since before he went on the DL. His velocity is down and he’s not making his pitches. Thank God Adam Warren is back on the roster and can help out.

But what is the front office going to do about the “scuffling,” as Girardi mildly calls this skid? It’ll be nice to have Castro, Hicks and Holliday back at some point and I’m grateful there’s an off-day tomorrow with the A-S break coming up. But if the Yanks are planning to be real contenders, a trade must be made. Must. Be. Made. Personally, I’m done with Pineda. I’d trade him for just about anyone right now.

How Depressing Was That?

depressed

I guess I should say it was a nice run while it lasted. I guess I should be excited that Gary Sanchez continues to be a superstar (although I wonder why he wasn’t brought up from the minors sooner). I guess I should be satisfied that the Yankees gave fans something to hope for when, after losing so many good players in the so-called rebuilding phase, they won games anyway.

But I’m not. I’m depressed this morning after they were swept in Boston over the weekend. It was a heartbreaking series on so many levels. The first couple of losses were mostly on Betances and by last night’s finale we had already lost Ellsbury and Castro to injury and Headley, too, was out of the lineup because of a stiff something or other.

So there’s the season in a nutshell. The Yankees had chances but couldn’t capitalize and it looks like they’ll be sitting the playoffs out.

I do have one request of all pitchers in spring training next year: Learn how to throw the ball to the bases. Whether it’s Betances not being able to throw home or CC not being able to throw to first base, the errors were really costly and I wonder why. Isn’t this a drill they practice over and over? If not, they should.

As for the series in Boston? All I can say is if we’d had our old bullpen (as in Miller and Chapman), I don’t think we’d be in the shape we’re in. At all.

9th Inning Meltdown

Image: © the food passionates/Corbis
Image: © the food passionates/Corbis

Dellin Betances?!!!???!!!

Why can he not throw the ball to home plate if he can fire a 100-mph fastball to a batter? I’m asking, of course, because this sort of short throw has dogged Betances since spring training and it came back to haunt him in tonight’s finale against the Dodgers. Talk about a heartbreaker.

The Yanks had a chance to capitalize on last night’s win and draw even closer to the Wild Card and the division. But they were locked tonight in a 0-0 battle until the end when they had a complete and utter meltdown. Why wasn’t Headley playing closer to the bag at third? Why did Castro not catch the ball at second? And why oh why did Betances have to throw home like a third grader? GRRRRRRRR.

I’m not a happy camper right now, especially with the long road trip ahead and the days/nights slipping away. The Yankees begin a huge series in Boston tomorrow night and the future is in their hands. If they beat the Red Sox, good for them. If they don’t, it’s so long until next year. Which is another way of saying tonight was a must win and a doable win but they didn’t make it happen.

Another Lost Series and Another Fallen Player

Sad

That series in Baltimore was winnable. Our starting pitching, for the most part, has been surprisingly good. We actually scratched out some runs here and there. But our crack bullpen was oddly lacking at Camden Yards. Chapman was bound to blow a save at some point and Betances hasn’t been lights out, and the result was another series loss. The Yankees are a team that’s failing to stay relevant.

Teixeira. Yikes. First came the neck spasms and now he’s got the tear in his knee that’ll probably end in surgery, end his season, end his tenure as a Yankee. I sure didn’t see that coming.

What I also didn’t see coming is that the Yankees never got around to ensuring that there was a good backup at first base once Gregg Bird was lost to us. (I don’t even count Ackley.) Refsnyder seems to be giving it the old college try, but why haven’t they called up Swisher? He’s not young, but he’s played first base for us in the past and done a credible job there. I get that Refsnyder can hit and, God knows, we need a bat in the lineup, but….

Well, what do I know.

Truth be told, I was more interested in the French Open finals this weekend than in baseball. The Yankees need to start giving me a reason to watch – and that reason is winning more than the occasional game. Everywhere I go, the chants of “Fire Cashman” get louder. It won’t happen, but it should.

Another Broom

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It would be easy to say that Betances blew two of the three games in Boston over the weekend – he did, thanks to serving up homers on both Saturday and Sunday – but he had plenty of company in the loser department.

Until last night, the Yankees hadn’t scored many runs and at least they managed a few more, mostly due to A-Rod’s sudden resurgence following his oblique injury. And the starting pitching, while not atrocious (well, Pineda and Severino would qualify as atrocious), hasn’t exactly been mowing down the opposition.

So here we are at the beginning of May, over a month into the 2016 season, and the Yanks are in last place. They’ve been slow starters before (my She-Fan book documented the 2007 season during which they were in last place at the end of May), but I’m getting the feeling there are changes in the air. It would be easy to fire the new hitting coach, but I actually think Girardi’s job might be in jeopardy. I do. He hasn’t had a winning team since 2009. If the Steinbrenners cared about such things, they could have gotten a new GM, I suppose, but how long will they be patient with Girardi? How long can they subsidize empty seats at the Stadium? How long before they decide to sell the team?

Yes, it’s still early, but something makes me think all is not well in Yankeeville. Just a hunch.

 

 

Always Satisfying to Beat This Guy

jose-bautista-beard-4

He kills the Yankees and Toronto is such a tough opponent, but last night in their series opener of the new season, the Yanks edged out a 3-2 win. Bautista had a two-run double, naturally, but Betances struck him out in a big situation.

Tanaka…What to say about his performance. He limited the Jays to 2 runs, which was no small thing, but he reminded me of early Phil Hughes who took forever to get outs and let his mounting pitch count send him out of games. Which is where our crack bullpen comes in. Betances was “on.” You could see it. He reared back and fired and set the stage for Miller, who took care of business.

After misjudging a couple of balls in center, Ellsbury (maybe he needs glasses?), along with McCann were the offensive heroes – McCann’s homer all the more impressive because he was hobbling around after being hit on the toe by a foul tip. Thankfully, the toe’s not broken, but he’s not a great runner in the best of circumstances and he really lumbered around the bases last night.

It’ll be Pineda’s turn tonight. No idea what to expect, but I’d love a repeat of last night.

Opening Day Chill

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I tip my cap to those who braved the cold temps to be at the game today. Brrr. Not my weather. Not the Yankees’ weather either, judging by the eighth inning when things went awry. Oh, Betances. His throw set the loss in motion, which was a shame since the big bad Astros starter, Dallas Keuchel, was no longer a factor in the game and not as invincible as he’s been in past match-ups.

I love that both Starlin and Didi made important contributions though. And Tanaka, who’d been shaky in Tampa, pitched better than I expected.

So the Astros won the opener. No biggie. The cool thing about the start of the season is that, from now on, there’s always tomorrow.

 

Some Positives in a Season of Negatives

Positive Negative

How impressive that Dellin Betances actually surpassed Mo’s single-season strikeout record tonight. I mean seriously. Jeter’s retirement signals the end of an era, but here we have another homegrown kid who made good. One season does not a career make, but it’s a start.

Other bright spots? McCarthy. Who knew he could pitch so well and so consistently? Maybe even he didn’t, but he has.

And then there’s Headley. The guy gets hit on the chin and comes right back and dives into the stands to catch a ball. If I’m the Yankees I sign him for next year.

And then there’s the fact that we’re done with the Trop for 2014. Yay. Enough with the hit batsmen.

So now it’s countdown time until the end of the season. I have to say I’m ready to put this one behind me. It was a miserable year for injuries, for disappointments, for sad stories like Carlos Beltran and his wife losing their baby, all of it. Time to turn the page and hope for better things to come.

 

Bright Lights, Big City

Photo: Mike Stobe/Getty Images North America
Photo: Mike Stobe/Getty Images North America

Photo: J. Meric/Getty Images North America

Photo: J. Meric/Getty Images North America

Chase Whitley and Dellin Betances were good for the soul tonight in the Yankees’ shutout of the Mets. Whitley was a desperation call up and he performed beautifully, if briefly, even getting a hit.  And Betances has just been flat-out impressive. Whenever I think we don’t have a farm system, I see kids like these two and feel warm all over. It’s particularly heartening to watch Betances flourish. He was one of the so-called Killer B’s on the farm, and he’s the only one left. He had control problems as a starter and was reinvented as a reliever. Good move, Yankees. Good move.

The Kids Are All Right

I’m in a movie mood, granted, given that the Oscars start in a few hours. But my headline isn’t about this.

It’s about Nova and Montero and Betances and – my fave from yesterday – Vazquez. Eric Chavez will probably get the remaining infielder job, despite his lobster claws playing first today, but Jorge the II can hit! Two homers in two days? Yeah, I know. Shelley Duncan was on that track and look what happened to him. But for now I’m liking him a lot.

Sorry, I digress. I meant to start with Nova. He was sharp. And fearless. He threw one that buzzed Polanco’s head and acted like it was no big deal. I know the word “poise” is overused, but he’s got some; you can just tell he’s ready for prime time.

It was fun seeing Montero make his debut. Did he do anything spectacular? Not really. But he and Nova seemed to be in a nice rhythm and he really worked his at bats.

I have to say that the highlight of the Yankees’ win over the Phillies was the appearance of Dellin Betances (whom I couldn’t help calling Beyonces). Um, why aren’t we FedEx-ing this kid right to the majors? He’s big and strong and throws strikes at 97 mph. As I watched him I kept going, “Who cares about Cliff Lee?” Speaking of Lee, he was interviewed by Michael Kay and said he chose the Phillies because they gave him the best chance to win a championship. Oh, yeah? We’ll see about that, Cliffy.

Photo: Kevin H./flickr

P.S. Friend of the Blog, Corinne, sent me a pic of her mom in Monument Park. As you can read from her comment below, she and her family arranged for a Stadium tour for her mother, who seems to have been given the royal treatment! Thanks for the pic and the wonderful story, Corinne!

The Kids Are All Right

I’m in a movie mood, granted, given that the Oscars start in a few hours. But my headline isn’t about this.

It’s about Nova and Montero and Betances and – my fave from yesterday – Vazquez. Eric Chavez will probably get the remaining infielder job, despite his lobster claws playing first today, but Jorge the II can hit! Two homers in two days? Yeah, I know. Shelley Duncan was on that track and look what happened to him. But for now I’m liking him a lot.

Sorry, I digress. I meant to start with Nova. He was sharp. And fearless. He threw one that buzzed Polanco’s head and acted like it was no big deal. I know the word “poise” is overused, but he’s got some; you can just tell he’s ready for prime time.

It was fun seeing Montero make his debut. Did he do anything spectacular? Not really. But he and Nova seemed to be in a nice rhythm and he really worked his at bats.

I have to say that the highlight of the Yankees’ win over the Phillies was the appearance of Dellin Betances (whom I couldn’t help calling Beyonces). Um, why aren’t we FedEx-ing this kid right to the majors? He’s big and strong and throws strikes at 97 mph. As I watched him I kept going, “Who cares about Cliff Lee?” Speaking of Lee, he was interviewed by Michael Kay and said he chose the Phillies because they gave him the best chance to win a championship. Oh, yeah? We’ll see about that, Cliffy.

Photo: Kevin H./flickr

P.S. Friend of the Blog, Corinne, sent me a pic of her mom in Monument Park. As you can read from her comment below, she and her family arranged for a Stadium tour for her mother, who seems to have been given the royal treatment! Thanks for the pic and the wonderful story, Corinne!

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About Jane Heller

Jane Heller is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Her fourteen breezy, witty novels of romantic comedy and suspense are now entertaining millions of readers around the world, along with her two books of nonfiction.