The East Coast is in the midst of a heat wave to end Spring and begin Summer. Transit has been affected by the heat, causing shutdowns of a variety of lines. Public Service Electric and Gas, my gas provider, has been forced to stop work because of the conditions—although that didn’t stop crews from tearing up my grass and shrubbery earlier in the week to install new gas lines and move my meter outdoors.
With intolerable heat, the demand for electricity rises. Which usually leads to providers like Con Edison in New York City asking its customers to cut back on power use during the day.
Evidently, one customer took that admonition to heart. The once powerful New York Yankees are not scoring runs, opting to let the Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves have their own powers surges, at the Bombers expense.
The Yankees had been on a roll. Aaron Judge was hitting the ball at a near historic clip and leading MLB in so many categories. Free agent-to-be Juan Soto was his companion, walking so many more times than anybody in baseball this season and getting timely hits. Anthony Volpe, the sophomore shortstop, was fielding like he did last season when he won a Gold Glove and his batting average was above .280 in the leadoff spot.
The one-two-three combination of Volpe, Soto and Judge, augmented by Alex Verdugo and Giancarlo Stanton and with periodic contributions from other starters, was pounding the heck out of their opponents. Plus the pitching, even with the absence of starters Clark Schmidt and Gerrit Cole, last year’s AL Cy Young winner, was solid, with the rotation and with a bullpen which ranked at the top of the league. The team seemed nearly unbeatable.
That feel good streak started to unravel when two things happened. First, Soto experienced discomfort in his throwing arm and was pulled from a game. The tests came back negative but he had to sit out until deemed medically able to throw, which happened in the Kansas City series.
The problem was that Soto’s absence occurred when the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers arrived in New York. In three playoff-like games, LAD took two of three. Even when the Yankees came back on Sunday night, it felt like the Dodgers were perhaps the better team.
Traveling to KC and even with Soto and Judge out of the lineup, New York won the first game handily. Games 2 & 3 went to NYY, but in Game 4, a Thursday afternoon affair, closer Clay Holmes, who my wife finds too inconsistent, blew a lead and cost New York the ballgame.
While the first game in Boston began great with Alex Verdugo hitting a home run against his old team on the first pitch he saw, the bottom dropped out for the Yankees. Boston literally ran wild on the base paths, taking the next two contests in very convincing fashion. The Yankees bats went somewhat silent and the pitching fell apart. Defense was non-existent.
It really didn’t get much better when the team returned home to face its closest pursuer, the Baltimore Orioles. Despite losing some significant pitching talent, the Birds remained upright and the hitting was solid.
In the end, the Orioles won 2 of 3, which meant that they have beaten the Yankees 5 out of 7 games this season. The finale was so bad when Baltimore put a real hurting on Yankees pitchers, to the tune of 17 runs. The Orioles looked to be the far superior team and what the Yankees had done previously to other teams was merely a mirage.
Atlanta, a perennial playoff team, was next to come into Gotham. Friday night was another massacre, with the Braves slugging three home runs against the suddenly slumping Carlos Rodon. With a win on Saturday, the Yankees did everything right—good pitching, first inning run production and timely hitting. This is what powered them for a month, led by their superstar captain, Judge, who powered a home run into the right field stands on his first at bat. Thankfully he suffered no injury when hit on his hand by an errant Orioles pitch on Tuesday night.
But make no mistake—this team has serious flaws. The catching is in disarray. The pitching revolves around a lot of new parts in the bullpen and has hopes that the starters, now including their ace, Cole, will come around again; the fact that Luis Gil seems fatigued after his tremendous start is of concern given the tendency for overuse in his return from Tommy John surgery is always a concern.
And Gleyber Torres is mystifying at bat and in the field. D.J. LeMahieu isn’t hitting and Anthony Rizzo is out with a fractured arm as he was beginning to hit. Ben Rice may or may not be a solution at first base while Rizzo is on the IL. Plus resurgent Giancarlo Stanton tweaked his hamstring on Saturday night—pessimistic Yankees fans anticipated some injury to sideline the slugger. Anticipate an IL stint for the tough luck DH.
Yes, the Yankees are in first place as the O’s went to Houston and lost two games to the Astros. Which NYY team are we really seeing—the one which won so many series in accumulating the best record in the majors, or the one which has lost 4 of the last 5 series and is headed downwards? Stay tuned—there is a half season to go.
Meanwhile, the next opponent for the Yankees after the Braves leave is the cross-town Mets. Seemingly the opposite of the Yankees, the Mets have put together a streak which has vaulted them back into the NL Wild Card picture after a dismal start to the season. Like the Yankees, the Mets are missing significant components to a team which many believed could contend with the Phillies and Braves for the NL East crown. Yet they have overcome the problems to surge up the standings.
Let’s see how this first Subway Series plays itself out. It might show exactly how the two teams might fare going forward.
The NBA Finals is over. Boston completed its domination of the playoffs by defeating Dallas in five games.
This was not a team which could necessarily top some of the legendary Celtics teams which had to beat more worthy opponents like the vintage Lakers teams or contend with the Bulls and Sixers in the East. Necessarily, they played with an intensity from their top stars which could not be matched by any other team. Indiana came closest and, in reality, that series wasn’t that close.
Is this the beginning of a dynasty? I don’t think so. There are young and hungry teams in the league which will be better after a year of playoff experience. Plus free agency and trades, along with salary cap issues will change the dynamic.
Savor the championship win, Celtics fans. Just don’t get your hopes too high for a repeat.
A couple of more NBA notes. After UConn’s Dan Hurley wisely rejected the Lakers offer to coach the team, former player turned broadcaster J.J. Redick was given the reins to the team, without any coaching experience. All the nice things have been said about his intelligence and J.J. is a podcast partner with soon-to-be free agent Lebron James, who is expected to re-sign with the club (with or without his son Bronny going him?). This team is not a contender, which, with the high expectations by management, could spell doom for the new guy.
And Klay Thompson has removed all mention of the Warriors from his social media. Either this is a negotiating ploy or the Splash Brothers are about to split. It seems inevitable, unless Klay comes back for much less money and a reduced role in the offense.
For football fanatics, Aaron Rodgers failed to show at minicamp while DL Haason Reddick wants a new contract. Ah, the Jets are already in turmoil. Plus the NFL is weighing a salary cap for quarterbacks, who receive these ginormous contracts and tend to fail miserably. Except for Patrick Mahomes, who is busy right now, vacationing in Europe with his family. And not to fear about his tight end—Travis Kelce and his brother Jason and Jason’s wife Kylie were in London supporting Travis’ girlfriend and seemingly big time Chiefs fan Taylor Swift as she played Wembley Stadium and cavorted with Prince William and family. Of course anything Kansas City at this time of the years is somehow associated with the Royals.
Finally, if anyone hasn’t been watching the Stanley Cup Finals, get to a set for Monday night’s Game 7. Florida looked like world beaters in getting to this final stage and was playing like a champion in taking the first three games.
Nobody told Connor McDavid and his teammates that the series was over. Instead, Edmonton seems to be in the driver seat to make a miraculous comeback (done only once, in 1942 by Toronto) and win the Cup after trailing 3-0.
McDavid is the new Gretzky? He’s broken The Great One’s single postseason assist record and is five points from tying Gretzky’s record 47 points in 1985. At age 27.
A fitting way to end hockey for the season. ABC gets to air a tension-filled finale. You betcha I’m watching. Eh.
Baseball. Basketball. Football. Hockey. Summertime at its best.
No comments:
Post a Comment