I’ve had about 24 hours now to digest the absolute mediocrity that was on display Tuesday night in Boston and I am more nonchalant about theYankees 6-2 loss than anticipated. Perhaps it was the egg they laid over the weekend against Tampa Bay, showing us they didn’t really have a lot of fire in their bellies. Perhaps it was the streaky play they’ve displayed over the course of the entire 2021 season. Perhaps it’s just a function of life being absolutely bananas right now. No matter the reason, when I woke up this morning and remembered the Yankees season is now over, I simply shrugged.
The pathetic play from the Yankees last night in a do-or-die game wasn’t especially surprising, but it was deeply disappointing. Where do I even start? The starting pitcher who basically threw up on his own shoes? The offense that didn’t hit? The 7 walks issued by the Yankees pitching staff? A horrible judgement call by third base coach Phil Nevin? Oh boy.
Let’s start with Gerrit Cole, the man the Yankees signed to a 9-year/$324 million contract. He is an ace pitcher, hands down. For much of 2021, he was in Cy Young contention (and still might be, even after last night). He has pitched every bit like the ace he is paid to be. Even after he was forced to stop using spider tack by MLB mid-season, he found a way to still be a tremendously effective pitcher. September was a rough month for Cole, and he got blasted by the Jays in his last start, but there was no doubt he would be on the mound Tuesday. He’s the ace, why wouldn’t he pitch in a must-win game? Well, Cole gave up three runs and was pulled after only two innings, forcing manager Aaron Boone to go to the bullpen early. He didn’t have his best stuff and Boston was seeing the baseballs as if they were beach balls. Look, I’ve got a lot of respect for Cole and am still on the fan wagon, but he really pooped the bed last night.
However, even after Cole was pulled, the Yankees were still only down three runs. The game was still well within reach. Red Sox starter (and former Yankee) Nathan Eovaldi was cruising, pitching better against the Yankees than he had all season. Eovaldi had been pitching like an ace all year, but for some reason he never delivered against the Yankees. Last night was a different story. He pitched a GEM. Over 5 innings, he gave up 4 hits and only one earned run, which was a home run from Anthony Rizzo. Red Sox manager Alex Cora pulled Eovaldi after the home run, but honestly Eovaldi probably could’ve kept going. He looked great up until that point, and the Sox’s bullpen has melted down over the second half of the year. In that moment, it seemed like momentum was turning towards the Yankees and they should’ve been able to take advantage of that.
But they couldn’t.
Aaron Judge tried, getting on base right away. Giancarlo Stanton tried, hitting a very loud single off the green monster in left field (a home run in any other park). But momentum came to a screeching halt when Aaron Judge was waved home after Stanton’s single and tagged out easily. Perhaps third base coach Phil Nevin totally misread Stanton’s single (understandable, considering I originally thought it was a home run until I saw the ball plop onto the field). But still, Judge isn’t a fast runner and shouldn’t have been sent home. That’s on Nevin; but even if he held Judge at third, there’s no guarantee Joey Gallo would’ve been able to bring him home. It’s yet another small piece to an otherwise larger problem with this team.
Stanton did eventually get his home run, in garbage time in the top of 9th inning. He was 3-4 on the night and is no longer on my blacklist. He’s been the Yankees MVP in the second half of the season and has earned the salary he commands. The rest of Yankees, though, did nothing. They did absolutely nothing. The Yankees inability to play small-ball has been detrimental all year, and last night was no exception. Don’t get me wrong, this team can hit home runs with the best of them, but they also strike out plenty. They leave runners on base instead of trying to drive runs home.
Lastly, and this is a huge credit to Red Sox fans, the environment at Fenway was insane. After being in a pandemic for over 18 months, it sounded so damn good hearing fans be loud and making an impact. Don’t tell me home field doesn’t make a difference, because it clearly does; I think the Red Sox wouldn’t have played as well in Yankee Stadium with all the fans yelling at them. What’s a tough pill to swallow is the knowledge that the Yanks could’ve easily had home home field advantage instead - all they had to do is win 2 of 3 against a Rays team that had nothing to play for. But they didn’t, they laid an egg last weekend.
I don’t know exactly where the Yankees go from here or what they will do next. But, I do have a few suggestions:
Fire Aaron Boone. I have nothing personally against Boone, I think he’s a nice guy and I enjoyed him in the broadcast booth at ESPN. But he didn’t have any experience managing at any level prior to taking this job, and so often he has been out-managed in games. It’s easy to play armchair manager from the couch, so I can’t say too much, but I do think he’s made a lot of questionable calls and been far too reliant on new-school analytics and not trusting that old-school gut-feeling. The players seem to like Boone, but I am not convinced he is the right guy to lead this club.
Let Joey Gallo walk. Yes, I was excited to get his left-handed bat at the trade deadline, but he is home run or bust. That’s it. He’s got a good glove in the outfield, but when your options are strike out or hit a home run, that doesn’t leave a lot of room for error.
Sign players who can play small ball. We have dudes who can jack homers, but we need guys who can get on base. The rest of the baseball world seems to have figured out that the home run or bust mentality just doesn’t work anymore. Pitchers are too good and too effective, so clubs are having to adapt. The Yankees, well, they haven’t. They don’t steal bases well, they are error-prone and just often sloppy.
Sign steady pitchers. Boy did I miss Masahiro Tanaka this season. He was such a consistent player for the Yankees, quietly doing his job every five days and never straying too far from the average. You knew what you were getting with Masa; his consistency and overall good health was sorely missed this season. The Yanks need to have that kind of pitcher behind Gerrit Cole.
In his postgame press conference on Tuesday, Aaron Boone said the rest of the league has “closed the gap” in regard to talent and that’s why the Yankees haven’t succeeded as much in recent years. Well, yeah. No shit, Sherlock. That’s how sports work. Sports and teams constantly evolve. The Yankees don’t get to be the best team every single year. Big spending does not equate to winning games in MLB anymore. That Yankee-centric view is part of the reason this team has stalled out in the last few years. Despite being one of the most popular and recognizable sports franchises on planet earth, the Yankees are not terribly feared within Major League Baseball. On the “New York New York” podcast, one of host John Jastremski’s callers made a comparison I found to be interesting, cruel and accurate: the Yankees are basically the MLB version of the Dallas Cowboys. VOMIT BUT ACCURATE. Both clubs spend lots of money but are essentially just average teams with outsized views of themselves and no recent championships to show for it.
So I ask the Yankees this question: do you want to be the Dallas Cowboys of the MLB? If not, y’all best do some retooling in the off-season.
And congrats to the Red Sox on a game well played. I will greatly enjoy watching you get annihilated by the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS.