September 28, 2024
***
Well, the Yankees limped to the finish of the 2024 campaign.
They lost 2 of 3 to the Orioles. They have now lost the first two games against the Pirates.
Some fans excuse this approach. "They don't care about winning right now," they say in defense of the team. I find that excuse crazy and absurd. Of course they care - or they should care.
If it is the truth, that they don't care, that the Yankees aren't trying to be their best, I find it infuriating. This is professional baseball. The Pirates seem to care.
Not only that, these games are still important.
It's still possible, as we go into the evening before the last day of the regular season that the Yankees have not clinched the best record in the American League. Maybe the Guardians will lose and do the Yankees' work for them, but still... not an impressive finish for the team as they head into the playoffs. I think a team that was serious about being the best would care about winning these games.
The Yankees gave Aaron Judge the day off yesterday. Previously, he had homered in five consecutive games. Today he went 0-for-5 with FIVE strikeouts. Five strikeouts! The man was as hot as ever and the Yankees sat him down. Yeah, that worked well. (I can't wait to see the excuses for that decision.)
You're right - this is not a good look for a team with WS aspirations. Will it matter in the long run. I tend to doubt it. The Yankees will not play again until next Saturday IIRC. By then the losses to the Orioles and, unfathomably, the Pirates, will be forgotten. Ballplayers have short memories - they have to.
As for Judge he had no chance in his first at-bat and Bednar also threw some tough pitches at him. Plus he was robbed of what might have been a big chance to get the Yankees back in the game due to Soto's base running blunder. Does all of that excuse the 5 Ks? No. But do we really know that…
and beyond the 5 strike outs, he literally barely touched a ball. i am not even sure how many fouls he had, but i dont think he had more than one in ANY AB
i will not repeat it. i made a long comment on the game thread. i have coached Baseball, Basketball, Football, and Track
I have ALWAYS tried to teach my kids to FINISH the job!!
if you are running the 400 meters (or use whatever distance you want) then you RUN 400 meters. actually always told them to run THROUGH the line and then and ONLY THEN decrease your effort
NO MATTER how far ahead or how far behind you are! you signed up to run t…
Paul, the Yankees front office, has unknown reasons why they do what they do. They tell Boone to make it seem like it was his idea. Sometimes I wish Brian Cashman, Michael Fishman, or who ever was the Head front office guy for that game would have to do the post game interview, and not the manager. And it's not just here, remember what David Stearns tried to pull last year because he was too gutless to just fire Buck.
Bad news Rizzo has a fracture right hand.