by Paul Semendinger
August 16, 2022
***
About Last Night: There isn't much to say right now. At all. The Yankees are playing terrible baseball and they have been for a long time. A very long time. Over their last 12 games, the Yankees are 2-10. In that period, they have been shutout four times. Come on. It is offensive just how badly this team looks. Since June 30, they are 16-24. They have been bad for 25% of the season. ("They are on pace to win 64 games this year!")
Last night the Yankees managed seven hits. One hit went for extra bases (an Anthony Rizzo double). Gleyber Torres had two hits. He was the only Yankee to have more than one hit. Only one player walked (Josh Donaldson in the ninth inning).
Gerrit Cole gave up one run in six innings to get the loss. Lou Trivino gave up three runs in one third of an inning, in the top of the ninth, to take a 1-0 game and turn it into a 4-0 one.
Quick Stats:
The Blue Jays are playing terrible baseball. The Yankees have to be very appreciative. In their last ten games, the Jays are 3-7. That is the only thing that has made this Yankees' slide not look as bad as it is.
Because the Jays are so bad, the Yankees still have a 10 game lead in the AL East
The Tampa Bay Rays are now also 10 games out. The Yanks play them tonight and tomorrow. If the Rays win both, 10 games becomes 8 and things get a little less comfortable.
The Big Story - The big story is that the Yankees are playing very poorly and have for a long long time now. They don't seem to have any answers. The Yankees have some players at Triple-A who could help. Estevan Florial should be playing centerfield. Aaron Hicks is having an awful year. He was hot for a period, but he has been terrible since then. He is hitting .160 with no home runs in the second half. Why is he playing when a possible better alternative is on the farm? One reason fans get so upset with the Yankees is that they do not do things that are so clearly obvious moves that can help the team. It looks as though the Yankees just don't care.
One aspect of the Aaron Boone Era is that each season the Yankees go through these horrible stretches when they are no fun and just unwatchable. Player(s) of the Game - Gerrit Cole pitched six innings. He struck out six. He gave up one run. (That was one run too many.) Better to Forget:
The Yankees need more than six innings out of their ace, Gerrit Cole. They just do. The bullpen is a wreck. It's a disaster. The ace needs to pitch deep into games. Gerrit Cole does not do that. Once the Yankees go to the bullpen, it's only a matter of time before Aaron Boone finds a pitcher who cannot get anyone out.
Josh Donaldson looked foolish last night, as did Aaron Boone, when, with the game already over (for all intents and purposes) Donaldson claimed he wasn't tagged on a ground ball by second base. Ok. Maybe (maybe) the ump missed the call, but Donaldson then didn't run to second. He was still thrown out at the bag on his way there. IF he had run to second and if he was safe, maybe he had an argument. But he didn't so he was first "kind-of out" and then "really out." And then he complained and the Yankees made a long night go longer by challenging the play. Why? For what purpose? There is no universe in which he could have been safe. He never reached second base.
As a principal, I have spent my entire adult life in schools watching kids play games on the playground. "You missed me," "No, I didn't," etc... I have seen six-year-olds manage situations like that better than Donaldson and Boone.
Why is the replay rule bad? Because, as the announcers said, "The Yankees might as well use their challenge since they have one." What were they challenging? Even if the ump missed the call, Donaldson was still out. Using a challenge just because you have one is a bad reason to use it. It makes the game longer - a game the Yankees had already lost.
My Take - Come back here for the Tuesday Discussion at 10:00 today so see how the SSTN writers feel about the Yankees and their World Series chances.
Next Up - Nifty Nestor takes the mound tonight. He will have to show up. Will the rest of the team? Will the Yankees do anything to light a spark? The Yankees tonight are on Prime or Apple Plus or whatever. Who cares? The Yankees should issue refunds to people who bought those games or packages. It's bad TV because it's bad baseball.
