About Last Night: The Yankees Defeated the Marlins 9-4

About Last Night: The Yankees Defeated the Marlins 9-4

By Tim Kabel

August 12, 2023

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The last-place Yankees played the first game of a three-game series against the third-place Miami Marlins last night. The seesaw ride that is the 2023 New York Yankees' season continued last night. The Yankees had just lost two of three games against the abysmal Chicago White Sox and were only three games above .500 starting play last night, but

last night, the Yankees received solid pitching and offensive contributions from everyone in the lineup. They had 14 hits last night, which seems like their monthly quota lately. Four players had multi-hit games. Unfortunately, last night was just one game. The Yankees are still in last place, and they are still only a handful of games over .500. Before we get too excited, they need to string a few wins together and be consistent. So far this season, that hasn't happened

Quick Stats -

• Before yesterday's game, the Yankees placed Nestor Cortes on the IL for the second time this season with left shoulder issues. Going into the final stretch of the season, Nestor Cortes, Carlos Rodon, and Frankie Montas are on the IL. Domingo German is on the restricted list. Luis Severino is completely ineffective as a Major League pitcher. Out of the projected starting rotation at the beginning of the season, only Gerrit Cole remains. Clarke Schmidt, who was uncertain to make the rotation in the first place, is now the number two starter. My, how the mighty have fallen.

• Every Yankees' batter in the starting lineup had at least one hit last night.

• The Yankees are 49-13 in games in which they score four or more runs. Unfortunately, they don't do it often enough.

• The Yankees are 41-11 in games in which they hit two or more home runs.

• The Yankees were 7-13 with runners in scoring position last night, after going 3-26 with runners in scoring position in the last three games combined against the White Sox.

• Despite the victory, the Yankees continue to make base running blunders. In the sixth inning, Gleyber Torres was out at third base on a fielder's choice after inexplicably running on a ball hit by Giancarlo Stanton that bounced off third base. Why does Torres continue to make so many bone-headed plays? As Yul Brynner said in The King and I, “is a puzzlement".

• The Yankees have won 10 of their last 14 games against left-handed starters.

• On August 11th, 1929, Babe Ruth became the first player in Major League Baseball history to hit 500 career home runs. The next most any player had at the time was Rogers Hornsby with 263.

The Big Story -

One of the best quotes from the Shawshank Redemption is: "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."

Sports fans live and breathe hope. It's the currency we use to purchase our dreams. Even when the coals grow cold and the fire has been extinguished for a long time, a game like last night's, can rekindle the flame of hope.

Reality is often the other side of the coin to hope. Not in every instance of course, but in many cases, the reality of the situation shows us that hope is somewhat futile. Yes, it is possible for the unlikely to occur. Dreams do come true. Andy Dufresne was able to tunnel out of the prison. However, Aaron Boone was not overseeing the tunnel digging. If he had been, Andy Dufresne would still be in prison.

So, have hope for the remainder of the season and enjoy the wins when they come but don't expect too much.

Player of the Day -

Kyle Higashioka had three hits and drove in two runs.

Notable Performance-

Anthony Volpe had a three-run home run. He is the only rookie in Yankees' history besides Alfonso Soriano to hit at least 15 home runs and steal at least 20 bases.

Better to Forget-

Not much. It was a solid game but, it was just one game. Keep the victory parade floats in the garage for now.

My Take -

Do you remember Gilligan's Island? Although the show was actually only on for a few years, it was in syndication for decades. I believe you can still watch it someplace. The basic premise of each episode was the same. The castaways would develop some plan or happen onto some circumstance that would make them, and the viewers believe they were about to be rescued. Then, inevitably, something would go wrong, usually because of a buffoonish act committed by Gilligan. And after the requisite high jinks and hilarity, the plan would be thwarted, and the inhabitants of the island would remain there. That should not have been a surprise to anyone because they were, after all, castaways. As an aside, an original consideration to play the skipper was Carroll O'Connor. Lucky for him, he went with Edith and the Meathead instead.

This Yankees' season is essentially a modern-day sports version of Gilligan's Island. The Yankees and their fans know the team is ordinary. They are in last place. Yet, whenever they win a game or two, the players, management, and fans will believe they are about to escape from last place. Then, something will occur, usually a dubious decision by Aaron Boone, or a poorly executed play, or a failure to hit, and the team will remain stuck in a quagmire of mediocrity and ineptitude. This should not be a surprise to anyone, as the Yankees are, after all, a last-place team.

In this scenario, Aaron Boone would be playing the role of Gilligan and I suppose Brian Cashman would be the Skipper. Hal Steinbrenner would of course be Thurston Howell III. I'm not sure who would play Maryann, Ginger, Lovey, and the Professor. In this version, Gilligan and the Skipper don't provide a lot of laughs. They merely leave the audience frustrated and annoyed. I think it's time for this version of Gilligan's Island to be canceled, just as the first one was. The only difference is, we certainly don't need to see this season in reruns.

Next Up -

This afternoon, the Yankees will play the second game of the three-game series against the Miami Marlins at 4:10 PM at Loan Depot Park. An as-yet undetermined Yankees' pitcher will face Miami's Sandy Alcantara (4-10 4.28 ERA).