About Yesterday Afternoon: The Yankees Lost to the Pirates 3-2

About Yesterday Afternoon: The Yankees Lost to the Pirates 3-2

By Tim Kabel

September 18, 2023

***

The Yankees completed their three-game series in Pittsburgh against the Pirates yesterday with a 3-2 loss. Prior to yesterday's game, the Yankees had been the hottest team in baseball. There were some people, including Jeff Nelson, who kept talking about their chances to make the playoffs. In order for that to happen, the Yankees would have had to win almost every game the rest of the season. It is now virtually impossible for them to make the playoffs. Hopefully, we won't hear a lot of chatter about that moving forward. It is better to focus on reality, which means shaping the team for 2024. The fact that they have been playing much better is definitely a positive omen, and something that can be used to build for the future.

Quick Stats -

• The Yankees were 14-6 over their last 20 games.

• The Yankees finished the road trip 5-2.

• Carlos Rodon recorded his 1000th career strikeout in the fourth inning by ringing up Ke'Bryan Hayes.

• The Yankees have won five out of their last six series, after losing their previous six series in a row.

• Carlos Rodon had 10 strikeouts and no walks yesterday.

• Heading into yesterday's game, the Yankees had the best record in the Majors since August 28.

• Oswald Peraza's and Oswaldo Cabrera's hitting streaks ended at 9 and 6 games, respectively.

• On September 17th, 2011, Mariano Rivera recorded his 602nd career save, moving him ahead of Trevor Hoffman into first place on the all-time list.

The Big Story -

The Yankees have become a much more exciting and competitive team since they adopted their current youth movement. They are 76-74 after 150 games and have just 12 more to go for the season. Two weeks from yesterday, the season will be over. There will be no playoffs for this team. The closest the Yankees will get to the playoffs is the opportunity over the next two weeks to knock the Blue Jays out of them. That will have to be enough. Besides that, the next two weeks will continue to be about developing their young players and getting an idea about the roster construction for next season.

Wednesday will also be a very important day, as Jasson Dominguez will have the surgery on his right elbow. We will all be holding our collective breath, hoping that it turns out for the best.

Player of the Day -

Carlos Rodon had another dominant performance, pitching six and two thirds' innings, striking out 10 and walking none. If the ball hit by Jason Delay had not struck third base, the Pirates probably would not have scored the third run.

Notable Performance -

Anthony Volpe hit his 21st home run of the season.

Better to Forget-

The offense did not have a very good day, managing only four hits and two runs.

My Take -

It is a very good thing that the Yankees have embraced their young players and given them an opportunity to play. They have been one of the best teams in baseball since doing so. This is a tremendous sign for the future. However, we need to be very careful when we read signs. If we are not, we can easily make a wrong turn.

It would be a tremendous mistake to attribute the enthusiasm and excitement of the young players to Aaron Boone's leadership or managerial abilities. He has long proven that he has very little of either. He has not been a good manager, despite the record, the entire time he has been here.

I was opposed to keeping Aaron Boone through the remainder of the season because I felt he might not fully commit to playing the young players. Surprisingly, he has. I'm not sure if this was because he was ordered to do so or because he perceived the team was out of contention and there was really no other logical choice. Perhaps, it was a combination of the two. Regardless, he is certainly not Brother Matthias, teaching Babe Ruth the finer points of the game.

I believe the young players are learning, improving, and developing with little or no input from Aaron Boone. That has been the case throughout his tenure as manager. Why and how would it be any different now than it has been all along? Even if the team finishes a few games over .500 and makes things interesting, Boone should not be retained. His time as manager of the Yankees should end on October 1st of this year.

Next Up -

Tomorrow night, the Yankees will open the final homestand of the season with a three-game series against the Blue Jays at 7:05 PM. Clarke Schmidt (9-8 4.56 ERA) will oppose Toronto's Yusei Kikuchi (9-6 3.81ERA).