So I made a bet that I want to lose. My son and I watch most Yankees games together. We yell at the YES Network, the radio, we laugh at John and Suzyn and of course, we love to cheer and jeer in right field at the Stadium. And last week we made a bet. I said if the Yankees don't get into the playoffs Aaron Boone gets fired and Gary Sanchez gets traded. He said if they don't make the playoffs, both offenders will stay despite their mediocrity. Clearly neither of us want to win because we want the Yankees to be playing well into the end of October. But with the ways things look heading into game 162, the Yankees playoff door is just open by a crack.
I have some real beef with Yankee coaching as I watched Jordan Montgomery get blasted by the Tampa Bay Rays like a puppet without strings. Monty typically pitches well against the Rays, but not Saturday and that should have been crystal clear to the coaching staff. He gave up seven runs early and not once did the Yankee starting pitcher get a mound visit. Both Rays pitchers got visits after giving up one run and shut down Yankees bats both times after the visit. Why not see what is going on? Why not get the bullpen up early, with the all guys on deck strategy? The Yankees can't play these games with a throw in the towel mentality; these games are clearly different and require strategic coaching.
And if the game could not get any worse, as the Yankees were getting beat up on the field, long time broadcaster, Kenny Singleton announced his retirement from the booth. Talk about a great player, and baseball officienato. He's the kind of leader that is missing from today's game. He calls the game straight. And said it from the beginning of Saturday's broadcast, "The Yankees just have to win."
It is disappointing to watch a team implode like this. And to watch Boone strut around the dugout like an expectant father is equally ridiculous. Bottom line is this—Boone doesn't belong in the manager role. He can do PR for the Yankees but he can't coach. And sure, it is not him alone who is responsible for this team's demise, but he has had a role in it. You just can't keep coming back with the same stuff every season and expect to go any further you did the season before.
So game 162 is on tap today at the Stadium at 3:00 PM. This is the Yankees victory day or doomsday. And what happens after is up for grabs. I may be getting a 4 star meal if I win this bet, and I will take full advantage of this opportunity. But I will miss the Yankees in October. And if the same catcher and manager come back, it will be like 50 first dates or Groundhog Day—same outcome, different year.
--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof
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