I could whine about the state of the New York Yankees after the team was unceremoniously swept by the Blue Jays in Toronto. First four game sweep of New York by the Jays across the border. Which put Toronto in first place for the first time this season. It must have felt great to the patriotic Canadians who were there for Canada Day to stick it to the MLB team which embodies America the most.
Look, the Yankees are a flawed team. Aaron Judge may be hitting .370 and leads the majors in R.B.I.’s and is second only to “The Big Dumper,” Seattle’s Cal Raleigh in home runs as No. 99 chases the Triple Crown. But almost no one on the Yankees is hitting within 100 points of Judge, has half the homers he has or is close to him driving in runs. Which isn’t good.
Moreover, the situational hitting is not there. Seemingly every game New York is repeatedly leaving men in scoring position without plating them. Even in the big outburst on Wednesday night, when the Yankees came all the way back to tie the Jays on a monster home run by Judge, once Toronto scored two runs off closer Devin Williams, the door was shut. Again. Just like on Thursday night when the number of runners left on base was in double figures yet New York could only score five runs while collecting 12 hits.
And the pitching is in tatters. Even their best pitchers, Max Fried and Carlos Rodon cannot lead the team to victory because they haven’t been perfect or the once solid bullpen is now unable to stop anybody.
Plus, in a very ominous sign, starter Clarke Schmidt, in the midst of a solid year, left the game with right forearm tightness. His loss could be devastating for a team already hurting with the absence of quality starting pitching in the form of Gerrit Cole and the still unavailable Rookie of the Year Luis Gil. Relying on a sustainable comeback by Marcus Stroman is not a solid option.
The players will say all the right things about slumps and how they happen during the course of a season. Or how much fight they team has shown, especially in the comebacks on Wednesday and Thursday night.
But the reality is that the team fell out of first place, trailing Toronto by one game and they are tied with Tampa Bay for second place. Having seen the Rays in person in Baltimore when they clubbed the Orioles, Tampa looks a heck of a lot better than the Yankees. Division rivals Boston and Baltimore give New York fits right now. This is not good.
NYY has gone from the penthouse to the outhouse and now, after playing a night game across the border, have a mid-afternoon July 4th start at Citi Field in a pressure-packed three game series with the Mets, who are on a two game winning streak after playing as badly as the Yankees. Mets fans, who always are in frenzy when hosting the Yankees, must be salivating at the prospect of adding to the misery of their hated rivals.
I don’t have the answers for this problem. Could the Yankees be on the precipice of breaking out, like Manager Aaron Boone preaches? Maybe. But even if the hitting becomes torrid for awhile, is the pitching able to maintain leads—former closer Luke Weaver looks lost on the mound and Williams is inconsistent at best. The mid-inning relief isn’t much better.
Watching the Yankees is depressing. Almost as depressing as viewing Season 4 of “The Bear.” At least with the latter, my wife and I are six episodes into the season; with the Yankees, we have to get to October, which seems way too far away.
I could get into all of the free agency signings and trades going on in the NBA and NHL. Starting with all the speculation about what Lebron James is going to do now that he has opened into a $52 million one year deal with the Lakers and has stated how much he wants to be in a place where he can win now. The Knicks have been mentioned as a landing spot for him. Especially with Mike Brown becoming the new head coach—the former Coach of the Year had James on his roster in Cleveland when the Cavs first went to the NBA Finals.
If I were New York, I would avoid taking James. It could be one year only. He has shown that he is more injury-prone and he is now 40 years old. And the pieces which would go to Los Angeles in the form of a rental would be too much. Stick with the plan—the Eastern Conference is wide open with the injuries in Indiana and Boston along with trades which have happened and will continue to take place changing the dynamic of the Celtics, Pacers, Pistons, Bucks, Cavs, Magic and even the Wizards.
One more comment—this time it’s about the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. Management has gone big time in re-signing core players to extensions. This is a team which has won two Cups in a row and has been in the past three Finals. Thinking about a dynasty in this day and age seems unlikely given player movement. Unless you are in South Florida.
However, it is the Fourth of July as I write this blog. This nation is one year away from celebrating its 250th birthday.
There is a lot of political turmoil right now. I will not discuss that. Yet in 1776, the situation was chaotic as Americans were revolting against Britain and the tyranny they felt.
As we know, America won the war. Largely because they had a home game in terms of the fighting. That was emblematic of the resolve Americans would repeatedly show as the years went by.
Wars. Depression. Racial strife. Still we came together and banded as one solid nation after the Civil War. Sure, there were hiccups large and small along the way. Nothing is perfect in watching a nation grow. Resiliency remained the key.
This is a great country. I have been fortunate to have seen so much in my 75 years living in Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Each of those states, like every other sister state, is so different and diverse. Just think of the Amish and North Jerseyans as examples.
To me, California is as beautiful as Texas. Utah is as pretty as South Dakota. Sunrises in Illinois are as lovely as they are in Alaska. A beach in South Carolina is as spectacular as a mountain in Montana.
New Jersey has been a steady home for me for the past 50 years. I find it to have its own intrinsic beauty—West Jersey and the Jersey Shore are remarkable in their colors and sounds. Sure, there is urban blight in Essex, Hudson, Passaic and even Union County where I reside. I always found the refineries along the New Jersey Turnpike to be amazing, although I am glad that the stench from the pig farms in Secaucus is no more. All of the aforementioned doesn’t overwhelm the magnitude of the state and its people from all walks of life.
I have been so fortunate to have traveled this country many times. I look forward to doing more in the future months as time and physical ailments allow. At my age, major car trips are going to be fewer and fewer.
That doesn’t mean that I won’t be checking out more and more of this great land. Or making return trips to places which deserve a second or third visit. I am sure that attending games or visiting college campuses will be a part of my travels.
Along with interacting with the people who live in such a diverse land. Southern hospitality at a family-owned restaurant is as wonderful as going to a theme park. It’s part of Americana.
I will watch the fireworks displays in my home town of Springfield and adjacent Millburn, commemorating what we have—liberty. A nation which thrives and supports sports and viewpoints so divergent.
We are a great nation. You may hate a school like Duke or a team such as the Yankees because they win. Sports and the connection we have to those who play is wondrous. Think how we all marveled in the 1980 USA hockey team defeating the hated Russians at Lake Placid. Or watching Steph Curry sink the three pointer to secure Olympic gold last year in Paris.
Take some time away from your barbecues to remind yourselves of what you believe makes this country what it is. Think about what you want it to be heading into the next 250 years. Most of all, rejoice for the ability to be where you are for the reasons you have arrived there.
Happy Fourth of July. Let’s Go Yankees!
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