It was a tough weekend for our country. I was hoping that my favorite baseball team would provide a pleasant distraction from such tragic events.
Does Joe Girardi still believe Aroldis Chapman is rusty? Ridiculous. At least Chapman, himself, admitted he stunk last night and, if you fed him truth serum, he'd also say he stunk just before he was bailed out on Friday by Aaron Hicks.
On the bright side, it is refreshing to know that, in the three starts Chris Sale has made against the Yankees, their starters have been able to match him, nearly pitch for pitch. (I was especially heartened by Jordan Montgomery's performance, after he'd been hit in the head with a line drive during batting practice the day before.) Up to this point, Sale has not beaten the Yankees this season, and the Yankees are 2-1 in those games. Too bad Luis Severino could not have started last night instead of Saturday. Not that I'm giving that as the reason he pitched so poorly.
Rivalry Week continues tonight when the Mets arrive at the Stadium. Two games there and two games at Citi Field. Then, another Red Sox showdown, this time in Boston. The Yankees are now 5.5 games behind the Red Sox with seven head-to-head meetings left. As the saying goes, lots of heavy lifting for the Yankees going forward. Plus, they only hold the first Wild Card by 1.5 games. Will it be easier to win the division or hold onto the Wild Card at this point? Both look extremely daunting.
Aaron Judge's quest to get back to his first half self looks extremely daunting, as well. In fact, it's not going to happen. He might even be playing himself out of consideration for Rookie Of The Year. It just goes to show that people have no idea what they're talking about. People who are paid to give opinions don't know what they're talking about.
You write a good blog!