At Least There Is Soccer

  Last Sunday was both euphoric and depressing. An emphatic ending at Wimbledon and the self-destruction of the New York Yankees in Colorado. 

The nearly five hour men’s final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic was epic. Young, hungry tiger with lethal shots versus the great master, perhaps the G.O.A.T., who played at as high a level as he could.

The duo traded points on Centre Court in a spell-binding manner. One game in the third set lasted 27 minutes. What looked like a walk over for Djokovic in the first set proved to be just window dressing for a marathon match. One which will be etched in the annals of Wimbledon lore.

In the end, the younger man took control of the deciding fifth set to win his first All-England Championship. His smashing forehands and acrobatic, athletic movements were too much for his opponent. 

At times, I found myself rooting for the energetic Spaniard. Other times, I wanted the Serb, not my favorite human being, to rebound, which he did in the fourth set to extend the match.

It was exciting, captivating tennis. A great way to begin a Sunday morning that stretched into early afternoon on the East Coast of the United States. 

Then there was the sad saga of the Yankees. The team began the restart of the season after the All Star Game with a thud. 

With the team’s offensive woes and the bullpen showing signs of wear from overuse, it seemed to be an ideal landing spot for New York when they arrived in Denver to play the last place Rockies. Except that the team hasn’t really awoken from its slumber.

On Friday, the somewhat toothless Yankees lost to Colorado 7-2. On Saturday, the team turned things around and looked fairly good with a 6-2 victory. 

Then came Sunday. Ace Gerrit Cole, fresh off of his nice start in the ASG, went to the mound. And he pitched like an ace would. In six innings, Cole surrendered two hits, was tagged for one earned run and struck out 11 Colorado batters.

Yet the Yankees were equally inept, only pulling ahead 3-1 in the top of the seventh inning. The team had a chance to leave Colorado and head to California with a series win. 

Except that the roof caved in. Not once but repeatedly. In the bottom of the eighth inning, normally reliable receivers Tommy Kahnle and Clay Holmes surrendered four runs to put the Rockies on top. 

Somehow in the top of the ninth inning, the Yankees eked out two runs to forge a tie. Colorado helped with some sloppy fielding. But in what would be an omen for the afternoon  Harrison Bader hit into a sacrifice fly to tie the score, which bad base running made into a rally-killing double play.

Head to the eleventh inning. New York plated two runs to take control again. Unfortunately, this is a bad New York Yankees team.

Relievers Nick Ramirez—I don’t like him in high leverage situations—gave up the tying run via a home run. Then more reliable Ron Marinaccio, the New Jersey native with the usually lethal changeup, allowed another homer. Game over. 

What could have been a significant win, buoyed by a magnificent performance by Cole, turned into a disaster. Instead of having some swagger, the team limped into Anaheim to face the Angels, a team sliding since Mike Trout injured his hand, requiring surgery.

New York wasted a superb performance by Luis Severino on Monday night. Severino had not been pitching well and he provided six solid innings, holding the Halos to one run.

Michael King, one of the better Yankees’ relievers, showed that his slumping pitching was continuing, as he gave up a no doubt home run to the inevitable M.V.P., Shohei Ohtani to tie the score.

Then in the tenth inning, manager Aaron Boone opted for Ramirez to pitch. Bad choice. He allowed a hard hit single to left field which score the winning run. Final Score: LAA 4 NYY 3. 

Domingo German, he of the perfect game against Oakland, didn’t have his pitching rhythm, which was sorely needed, because the Yankees only managed two hits—scoring the lone run in a 5-1 defeat via a Gleyber Torres home run.  

Carlos Rondon, the pitcher GM Brian Cashman signed to be the second hurler behind Cole, had his second straight abysmal start after starting the year on the IL. When he was booed off the field by the throng of Yankees supporters in the stands, he blew kisses to them. A fitting end to  disastrous sweep by the Angels, the first over New York since 2009.

No matter that Manager Aaron Boone implored Cashman to bring in Sean Casey, his good buddy from their Cincinnati days, to recharge the hitting. While Casey had an over .300 lifetime batting average and sports a mustache in honor of former Yankees great Don Mattingly, his favorite childhood player, the former MLB analyst has a monumental task ahead. 

Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo have been in prolonged slumps. Rizzo’s power outage has been of concern—it is the longest of his fine career. From two-time batting winner D.J. LeMahieu has been hovering in the nether regions of .220 for the bulk of the season. Rookie Anthony Volpe has had droughts, then spurts; his game-ending throw to third base on Friday night was a savvy veteran move. 

Look at the lineup. Guys on the field include Billy Mc Kinney, Franchy Cordero, Oswaldo Cabrera and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Not names which create much fear among opposing pitchers. These guys are role players at best. Torres is the top hitter, sporting a .264 average in the midst of a nice twelve game hitting streak. 

Moreover, Jose Trevino, an All Star catcher and a superb pitch framer, is gone for the season with a wrist injury which has persisted since the spring. Kyle Higashioka will share the catching duties with Ben Rortveldt. Not awe-inspiring. 

Plus starting CF Harrison Bader is injured again, having been plunked in the ribs earlier in the week. His status is day-to-day. He personifies the lack of a solid core reliable lineup.

Pitcher Clarke Schmidt has become more relaxed and is not as much a liability. But outside of Cole, the starters and bullpen is not that formidable. Coupled with hitting which is subpar, this is a desultory season thus far—one which has landed New York in the unaccustomed position of last place in the AL East, even sporting a 53-47 record after three wins over moribund Kansas City at Yankee Stadium.  

The Yankees are only two games out of the last AL Wild Card slot. Aaron Judge has been ramping up his rehab, even with the damaged toe still hurting him. He took batting practice early on Sunday against rehabbing reliever Jonathan Loaisiga on Sunday in a first step (ignore the pun) towards a badly-needed return to action. 

This team needs a jolt. Judge might provide some, but I suspect he will not be the M.V.P. caliber player he was before his injury. Will Cashman find the right players—without going after a Josh Donaldson type who is on the IL, gone for the season and was a bust? Is Torres trade bait, even if he is currently the team’s best hitter? 

Heading into the trade deadline, the Yankees are home to Kansas City, then meet the equally dreadful Mets at Yankee Stadium for two games, before heading to Baltimore to face the first place Orioles (they have been holding their own against the Dodgers and the slumping Rays). How these games play out and what is available in the market will likely dictate how Cashman proceeds. 

Of course, he could go for a rental like Ohtani—yeah, sure, like that’s going to happen; the Angels would be foolish to part with the slugger-pitcher who is en route to an all-time season for anyone.  But, stranger things have happened before. 

Tennis was sublime. Baseball is bordering on horrible. 

Thankfully, Lionel Messi dramatically scored the game winner for Inter Miami on his debut on Friday night. Manchester United and Arsenal sold-out Met Life Stadium for a “friendly” on Saturday evening. And the American women are trying for a three-peat with a revamped squad in the Women’s World Cup.

At least there is soccer. Even if it is winter Down Under.