The Yankees are in a tail spin right now; they’ve lost 6 of 8 so far on this road trip (I guess shaving the mustaches didn’t work?). Last nights 10 inning loss to the Nationals really got me fired up for a number of reasons, but before I get into it, please do not blame Andrew Miller for that loss. Ok, lets get into it…5 things that angeredĀ me from last night:
1) Nathan Eovaldi — It seemed like after giving up 2 HRs in the first inning he was settling into the game. He retired 6 in a row and then got out of a jam in the 4th. Meanwhile, the Yankees offense awoke from their coma and scored 6 runs. It was 6-2 heading into the 5th and Eovaldi WALKED THE LEADOFF HITTER. You don’t do that…its baseball 101. From there it went down the toilet quickly for Eovaldi.
When your team, who is in desperate need of a win, gives you a 4 run lead you HAVE to gut through at least 5 innings. Show some gutsĀ for me, Eovaldi. But instead he gave way to the pen, and kudos to Jusin Wilson for getting Harper. But Eovaldi is #1 on my blame list from last night.
2) David Carpenter — I am done with this guy. Ever since he couldn’t get 3 outs in a 6 run game in Toronto in the 9th inning back on May 5th I’ve been done with him. Last night he gave up a HR to Wilson Ramos on a 3-0 meatball and then gives up a leadoff single the next inning to a rookie making his major league debut. I don’t care if he throws 98mph, I don’t want to see him any more.
3) The Offense — They went from dormant, to thunderous, back to dormant in a matter of 3 innings. The Yankees started the game by going through the batting order one full time and everybody grounding out. I can honestly say I’ve never seen that before. They did score 6 to take the lead, only to go back to sleep again. I don’t know how many times I’ve watched this team score runs, usually early in games, only to disappear for the rest of the game. Last night? 2 hits and only 3 baserunners after the 5th inning. AWFUL!
4) Girardi — Its been a rough week for Girardi. He had some questionable moves in Tampa: not taking Eovaldi out, then leaving him in too long, then pitching Miller in a game they were losing on the road.Ā Last night was a Joe Girardi special; we got the full experience. He was making double switches, pitching change after pitching change (some worked out, yes). ARod and Beltran on the bench to start. He was going to pinch hit John Ryan Murphy, his backup catcher, instead of Didi in the top of the 10th. (I think that actually tells you all you need to know about what Joe thinks of Didi). And then the coup de gras: he brings Miller, the closer, into an extra inning tie game on the road. Last time I checked that was a no-no unless you’re in like the 16th inning or something. Thats a move the new GM/manager/bat boy of the Marlins would make. And we know what happened next…Miller gave up a walk-off HR. Honestly, you can’t blame Miller. He’s been perfect up until last night and he was bound to give up a run sooner or later (the same will happen with Betances, so heads up). This makes the Yankees 0-3 in extra inning games this year. Managers have their biggest impact with in-game decisions late in games and in extra innings, and the fact they’re 0-3 is telling. GirardiĀ frustrates the hell out of me sometimes. It seems like he lets the game speed up and he makes either no moves or too many moves. Last night and this past week is just an example.
5) Jacoby Ellsbury — We have learned that Ellsbury is heading to the DLĀ after leaving the game with a knee injury last night that he suffered from swinging. You know, somethingĀ he does thousands of times Ā a year. The reason this bugs me is because he has a history of weird injuries like this and they usually keep him out for a while. Lets just hope its only 15 days because the Yankees need all the offense they can get.
So there you have it. It took me until May 19th to have a full mental breakdown over this team. Last year I think it happened around May 1st, so progress!
