The Yankees lost to the Orioles 5-3 on Tuesday and failed to clinch the division title in their first attempt at it.
Here are 10 thoughts on the Yankees.
1. The Yankees entered Tuesday’s series opener against the Orioles with a magic number of 1 to clinch the division. Win one of the remaining six games and the goal of winning the AL East would be complete. Their first crack at it was unsuccessful.
Aaron Boone decided he would try to clinch the division title in the first of six possible attempts without the best possible lineup. There was Alex Verdugo, some way, somehow starting over Jasson Dominguez on Tuesday.
“It’s still declaring itself,” Boone recently said of the starting left field role. Tuesday was Game 157 of the season. Wednesday is Game 158. In all likelihood (barring a monumental collapse over the five remaining games), the Yankees will be playing a postseason game next Saturday night at Yankee Stadium. There’s no time for left field to still be declaring itself. IT’S DECLARED ITSELF! We have a full season of Verdugo being one of the very worst everyday players in the league. The Yankees can’t go into the postseason with a daily lineup shuffle the way they did two years ago. That’s not going to work. Play the best available nine players. This isn’t hard.
2. But for Boone it is hard. It’s hard for him to not play veterans and players and pitchers he has relationships with. It’s why Verdugo is still playing. It’s why Clay Holmes is still pitching in high-leverage and save situations. It’s why Brett Gardner was batting third in the 2019 ALCS. It’s why CC Sabathia was allowed to face the Red Sox’ lineup a second time in Game 4 of the 2018 ALDS. It’s why Boone couldn’t completely pull the plug on Isiah Kiner-Falefa as the team’s shortstop in the 2022 postseason and why he kept batting Josh Donaldson fifth and sixth that same postseason despite him having no better chance than a fan from the stands at putting the ball in play.
3. Nothing will stop Boone from playing Verdugo at this point. He would rather lose with his favorites playing than win without them. He so desperately wants Verdugo to be the team’s starting left fielder and small “wins” like Verdugo reaching first via an infield single that had a .180 expected batting average are the types of nonsense Boone will refer to when telling the media Verdugo has been “swinging the bat well lately.”
4. Verdugo has one extra-base hit in September. Dominguez has three times as many in 17 less plate appearances. Verdugo has two home runs since July 6. Dominguez has two home runs in the last six days. Since being called up, Dominguez has more walks, steals, doubles and home runs, and a higher on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS than Verdugo.
If you want to talk about Dominguez’s outfield mishaps in left field in Seattle, well, other veteran outfielders had trouble with the sun in those games as well, not to mention Dominguez still adjusting and learning left field. At least he has an excuse. Verdugo overthrew the cutoff man over the weekend. And no one should ever forget his play to end the games against the Orioles in the last game before the All-Star break.
5. With the Yankees trailing 2-1 in the fifth on Wednesday, Anthony Rizzo and Anthony Volpe drew back-to-back walks to begin the inning, bringing Verdugo to the plate. He hit into a double play to destroy the rally. Representing the tying run at the plate with two outs in the ninth, he made the final out of a game he shouldn’t be playing in, a game the Yankees could clinch the division in. How can you not be romantic about baseball? Verdugo is now for 1-for-his last-17 with the one being the slow roller to the right side that he beat out on Tuesday. Keep playing him!
The Yankees have five games over the next five days to get it right, play Dominguez every day and get him as acclimated as he can be to the Yankee Stadium outfield before they begin to play for all the marbles next Saturday. Every inning Dominguez spends on the bench and Verdugo spends in the field is detrimental to the Yankees’ chances at winning the division and then winning in October.
6. The Yankees’ best chance to tie or take the lead in a game they never led in came in the same inning as Verdugo’s monster 82-mph infield single that traveled three feet in the air. Trailing 4-1 with runners on first and third with two outs in the seventh, Gleyber Torres hit a ground-rule double to right field to make it 4-2. Juan Soto followed with a single to pull the Yankees within a run. Anthony Santander threw home on Soto’s single to try to prevent the run from scoring and as the ball traveled toward the plate, Soto took off for the second, barely beating the throw. Torres had initially held up on the base hit, but when Adley Rutschman threw down to second to try to get Soto, Torres inexplicably broke for home, ended up in a rundown and was eventually tagged out.
“I think he thought Soto was going to be out,” is the nonsensical, bullshit reasoning Boone gave to defend Torres’ decision.
When told Torres leads the majors in outs at home plate, Boone barked back at the questioner, “I mean do you have the context on all of the outs at home plate?” as if Torres has a history of smart decisions on the basepaths.
You’re right, Boone. Torres is an intelligent baseball player with good baserunning instincts, who has a seven-year career full of aggressive, smart baserunning choices. Everyone else is just wrong and dumb.
Jack Curry on YES called Torres’ decision “inexplicable” and “reckless.” Aaron Judge said, “Stuff like that can’t happen.” Even Torres himself said, “If I’m going to make that decision, go straight for the run.” Everyone including the baserunner realized it was a losing mistake. Everyone except the manager who couldn’t just flat-out say it was a foolish error.
7. Playing Verdugo and Torres’ baserunning gaffe weren’t the only reasons the Yankees lost. Clarke Schmidt needed 100 pitches to get 16 outs and gave up three earned run in 5 1/3 innings and Boone’s choices to relieve Schmidt in a close game following an off day were Tim Mayza and Mark Leiter Jr. The duo got five outs, but not before allowing five baserunners and a run to score.
8. The loss dropped the Yankees to 4-7 on the season against their division rival. The head-to-head record won’t mean anything if the Yankees can win one of their five remaining games or if the Orioles lose one of their five remaining games, but it doesn’t make me feel comfortable or confident about the Yankees’ chances against the Orioles if the two teams meet in the ALDS. And as of Wednesday morning, the Yankees will face the winner of a potential Orioles-Tigers best-of-3.
9. The Yankees released some bad news on Wednesday morning, announcing Nestor Cortes would not make his scheduled start in the second game of this series and instead would have an MRI on his left elbow. Cortes has allowed just one earned run in his previous 15 1/3 innings since calling out the Yankees for sending him to the bullpen in Chicago and has pitched to a 1.58 ERA over his last 40 innings. He is/was likely to be in the postseason rotation, and if not, would have been a left-handed weapon out of the bullpen, but now could have his season cut short (and possibly miss all of next season as an impending free agent). Rarely does a pitcher in need of a throwing elbow MRI receive good news. And even if they do, rarely is it a few days without throwing before returning to action. It’s hard to envision Cortes being a part of the postseason.
10. John Sterling will be a part of the postseason. The 86-year-old legend returned to the broadcast booth on Tuesday and it was like he never left. It’s almost as if the last five-plus months didn’t happen. As a Sterling fan, it was hard to not be able to listen to him anymore when he retired in April. While I’m elated he’s back for the remainder of the regular season and the postseason, overall, it’s just a tease, knowing we will have to say goodbye all again. Hopefully, the last out of the season and of his career he calls isn’t the same as the last out of the last 14 seasons he has had to call: with the Yankees’ season ending without a championship. The next Yankees win (or Orioles loss) will increase the Yankees’ odds at preventing a 15th straight disappointing final out call from Sterling. It would be enjoyable if that win came on Wednesday night to get it out of the way.
Last modified: Sep 25, 2024
