Run It Back Baby! (Yankees vs. Rays Game 2 Recap)
At some point, I really need to stop doubting the level of trauma that Aaron Boone and the Yankees brass are capable of inflicting upon us. While Saturday night’s mortifying 1-hit, 1-0 loss might’ve felt a hell of a lot like rock bottom, this team continuously finds ways to outdo themselves. Somehow, someway, the Yankees managed to embarrass themselves in an even grander fashion, not only by refusing to hit the ball, but by refusing to field it as well.
The Yanks wasted no time letting us know that Monday wasn’t gonna be our night. Ryan McMahon — whose only redeemable quality is his serviceable 3rd base defense — completely fans on the most routine ground ball you’ll ever see. Then, instead of settling for a much-needed out, Jazz Chisholm opts to 360-no-scope a ball into the Rays’ dugout, instantly putting the team in a 1-0 hole.
After the game, Jazz was asked whether he regrets trying to turn that impossible double play. The Yankee second baseman told reporters, “I’d still try to throw the runner out.”
You gotta love this level of accountability. He’s not only doubling down on the mistake, but letting you know that he looks forward to making it again in the Bronx. I just hope to God he’s wearing another uniform when he decides to do so.
Schlittler would survive the pair of fielding errors, along with a 3-pitch strikeout overturned by catcher’s interference to keep the Yanks in the game. Cam fucking battled for the entirety of his short outing. Despite being under constant siege by the relentless Rays offense, he never allowed them to deliver the knockout blow. Even after the defense forced him into throwing high-stress pitches and getting a half-dozen extra outs, he still took responsibility postgame.
“I’m not disappointed in our defense. I’m not disappointed in the offense. Really just disappointed in myself. That’s baseball and those things are gonna happen. But I’ve got to be able to work through those. I wasn’t able to do that today. Didn’t get through the fifth, just not good enough.”
Given this is likely the last time we’ll see him pitch for a while, I think it’s only right that Cam gets his well-earned flowers. Schlittler is a rare breed of psychopath and a true throwback ace. While I respect the hell out of him falling on his sword, this game wasn’t on him at all. He carried this pitching staff from wire to wire, and his team let him down in the biggest game of the season. There are plenty of players that need to be replaced this offseason, but Cam is a guy I want on my team for the next 20 years. Rest up, King. We’ll see you soon.
It’s hard to believe that there was a point in the night where I genuinely believed the Rays had missed their opportunity to step on our throats and end the game/series. After Rice’s game-tying solo shot, it truly felt like the momentum was on our side. I probably should’ve realized it in the moment, but when you’re celebrating your biggest rally of the series — one that consists of a double, 2 walks, and an almost grand slam — your offense is in a truly pathetic state.
Enter: “Inning from Hell Pt. 2.”
As if watching him literally swing his helmet off for the 2nd consecutive game wasn’t offensive enough, Spencer Jones decided to get in on the defensive masterclass and stopped dead in his tracks to allow a leadoff single in the 5th. Then, with men on 2nd and 3rd and every other member of the infield playing in, you have Jazz playing shallow right field with a thumb up his ass, allowing a weak ground ball to give the Rays the lead. Boone would, of course, cover for Chisholm in the postgame, being ever so adamant that he was in the correct position. If that’s the case, then WHY WAS HE IN ON THE DIRT THE VERY NEXT PLAY?
By the time Lombard muffed another weak grounder and Luis Garcia couldn’t squeeze an easy out at 1st, I was beyond numb. We’re the same team making the same mistakes that cost us a World Series, and nothing will ever change. The 5-1 deficit was insurmountable, and the season was, by all accounts, over.
Aaron Boone seemingly shared my sense of ennui as he sat idly watching his team get massacred for the world to see.
Hey asshole, how about when your defensive lineup fails to play any semblance of defense, you make a god damn substitution? You’re so fixated on lefty/righty matchups, yet you allow our all-lefty lineup to get mowed down by left-handed bullpen arms for 5 straight innings?
We’re down 4 runs and just got ground-balled to death, and you’re just watching this team die like Corporal Fucking Upham. The best part is, if the Yankee Analytics Department catches wind that Tampa’s Game 3 starter scratches his balls with his right hand, THEY’LL ROLL OUT THIS LINEUP AGAIN!
This series is completely over. Even if we save ourselves the embarrassment of getting swept at home, you’re not beating Rasmussen and then winning a Game 5 Spikeball match at the Trop. The “Run it Back Yankees” are quite literally running back last season bar for bar.
Next season, it’ll be Baltimore’s turn to knock us out of the divisional round, but we’ll bat Grisham leadoff again and be told “things are different”.
Wooooo! Let’s go Yankees!
