It would be more upsetting if it wasn’t so predictable. Dallas Keuchel continued his mastery of the Yanks as the Astros made quick work on the home team, 3-0 to advance to the ALDS against the Royals.

At least it was swift and relatively painless. The only reason I qualify the pain is because it feels as if the Yanks have been playing–and losing–the same game for the last 3 weeks. In late August, Keuchel pitched 7 scoreless innings in the Bronx, 3 hits, 0 walks, 9 K’s. Last night, he almost matched it–6 scoreless, 3 hits, a walk, 7 K’s.

Like lambs, I tell you. But give Keuchel credit, he was excellent once again. The Yanks didn’t hit against lefties all year, especially Keuchel.

So, no surprises, nothing crushing, just a sagging, uninspired end to what was a surprising and entertaining season.

Picture by Bags

It’s Money-Earnin’ Masahiro on the hill tonight against that dart-throwing, horrendous-beard-havin’ Cy Young hopeful, Dallas Keuchel.

As per the intrepid Chad Jennings–once again, the King of Yankee bloggers–here’s the Yankee roster tonight:

Catchers: Brian McCann, John Ryan Murphy, Gary Sanchez

Infielders: Greg Bird, Dustin Ackley, Rob Refsnyder, Didi Gregorius, Chase Headley, Brendan Ryan

Outfielders: Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner, Carlos Beltran, Chris Young, Rico Noel, Slade Heathcott

Designated hitter: Alex Rodriguez

Starter: Masahiro Tanaka

Bullpen: Andrew Miller, Dellin Betances, Justin Wilson, Adam Warren, Bryan Mitchell, James Pazos, Ivan Nova, Luis Severino

And the lineup:

Brett Gardner CF
Chris Young LF
Carlos Beltran RF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Brian McCann C
Chase Headley 3B
Greg Bird 1B
Rob Refsnyder 2B
Didi Gregorius SS

I’m perfectly happy with Ellsbury sitting way he’s been playing.

Stay out of those double plays, boys, and you’ve got a chance. Masahiro, keep ’em in the park, baby.

It’s been a fun year and this is a likable team. Too bad they didn’t grow mustaches again for the occasion–my that seems like a long time ago now, doesn’t it? Yeah, they’ve looked like crap for most the past couple of months and especially lately. Nobody will be surprised if they go out like lambs, but man, wouldn’t it be great if they pulled this one out?

Never mind that sinking feeling that says they’re going to get smoked:

Let’s GO YANK-KEES!

Picture by Bags

Our thoughts and support go out to CC Sabathia. You aren’t alone, Big Man. Hang in there. We believe in you. Now, you just need to believe in  yourself.

[Photo Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports]

Despite their recent allergy to winning baseball games the Yanks will host the wildcard playoff game at the Stadium on Tuesday night. The Orioles pounded the Yanks again today–to the tune of 9-4–but the Astros lost the Diamondbacks so the Yanks get the home field. You have to laugh. That’s the good news.

The bad news is they still have to face Dallas Keuchel no matter where they play. Sure, Keuchel is mortal on the road (he’s 15-0 at home) but he shut the Yanks out for 7 innings at the Stadium in August. Gave up 3, didn’t walk a batter, struck out 9. Couple of months earlier, Keuchel shut the Yanks out in Houston, 6 hits, a walk, 12 K’s.

Gasp.

They’re going to need more than luck to advance to Kansas City. Keuchel on 3 days rest is a start.

Wouldn’t you know, the Yanks belly-flopped the double header yesterday in Baltimore. Lost the first one 9-2, and the second one, 4-3.

I mean, you just have to laugh. But nuts to that. They win today, they play at the Stadium on Tuesday night. Lose, and its hit the bricks pal and beat it.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Brett Gardner LF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Carlos Beltran RF
Brian McCann C
Greg Bird 1B
Chase Headley 3B
Dustin Ackley 2B
Didi Gregorius SS

Yo Big Mike, consider this your first playoff start. How bout it, bout it, huh?

Never mind the scoreboard:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

Double header today. First game at noon. Second game at Seven.

Brett Gardner CF
Rob Refsnyder 2B
Alex Rodriguez DH
Chris Young LF
Chase Headley 3B
John Ryan Murphy C
Jose Pirela RF
Austin Romine 1B
Brendan Ryan SS

Ivan Nova’s on the hill.

Never mind the rain:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

The last home game of the regular season at Yankee Stadium. Cold, rainy, and two old lefties–CC Sabathia and Rich Hill. The game moved slowly, crawled for the first 3 innings, but Sabathia pitched OK. He was picked up by Adam Warren, who threw 3 shutout innings. I thought he was a sure thing to come back in the 9th–after home runs by the kids, Bird and Refsnyder gave them a 4-1 lead–but it was Betances instead, retiring the Sox in order.

The Yanks won, 4-1, and will play in the wildcard game next Tuesday night.

Proud of this team.

Making the playoffs is something to savor. Let’s do just that.

[Photo Credit: Al Bello/Getty Images]

Yanks give it another go. With the Old Hoss on the mound, Senior CC.

Brett Gardner CF
Rob Refsnyder 2B
Alex Rodriguez DH
Carlos Beltran RF
Chris Young LF
John Ryan Murphy C
Greg Bird 1B
Didi Gregorius SS
Brendan Ryan 3B

Never mind the grumbling:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

You want to know about last night’s game, check the less-than-measured game thread, particularly my comments. It was not an enjoyable evening.

The Yankees left a million men on base–Sox pitchers walked 11 batters, only 1 scored–and generally acted like they were allergic to winning. And yet they still inched one game closer to clinching a wild card spot. Had they won, they would have clinched. But they gagged, and a sprightly Boston team had some fun, winning 9-5 in 11 innings.

For all my bitching last night, the Yanks are practically a shoe-in for the playoffs. And I don’t really care how ugly the landing has been–just get that ticket punched.  Course it would almost be civil if they were put out of their misery in the wildcard game because having to face certain doom at the hands of the Blue Jays is no way to end a season.

Then again, anything can happen. And hell, if the Yanks made it through the ALDS, that sure would be proof enough for me.

Picture by Bags

The Yanks, bordering on desperate, turn to their guy, Masahiro Tanaka to help get them a win tonight.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Chase Headley 3B
Alex Rodriguez DH
Carlos Beltran RF
Brian McCann C
Chris Young LF
Greg Bird 1B
Rob Refsnyder 2B
Didi Gregorius SS

Never mind the belly ache:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

Big Mike got his tits lit to the tune of 6 runs in the first inning last night. His mates got him right back in the game scoring 4 in the bottom of the first. But those were to be the only runs the Yanks scored all night. Yes, Jacoby Ellsbury narrowly missed a 3-run home run that would have put the Yanks ahead, but that’s just the kind of night it was.

Early in the game, a high pop foul landed in the first row of the seats on the third base line. A clean-scrubbed, attractive, but slightly nerdy guy with glasses–Clark Kent–reached back to catch it and missed. Hit his hands but he couldn’t hang on. It was a tough play under the best of circumstances. A little while later a foul ball bounced right to him, took a late bounce and he muffed it. Then the third base coach tossed him a ball and the man went to catch it. But the ball bounced on the guard rail and he missed that too. In a way, they were all hard luck chances. His companion looked especially fetching as she laughed, in a combination of surprise and mortification. But the guy seemed to have a sense of humor about it all.

Let’s hope the Yanks have the same kind of humor because they are playing about as well as this guy can catch.

10-4 was the final. The Yanks just need to win a couple of games with five left. No time to panic though the seeds of panic are in place and ready to go.

Yeah, so like, it’s supposed to rain starting sometime tonight and it might not stop for awhile.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Brett Gardner LF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Brian McCann C
Carlos Beltran RF
Dustin Ackley 2B
Chase Headley 3B
Greg Bird 1B
Didi Gregorius SS

Never mind the galoshes:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Photo Via: We Love Rain. 

Ivan Nova was cruising along. Then he made a mistake, followed by another. An inning later he made another one. All told, those three mistakes cost him 4 runs, which these days is an unreasonable sum to ask his mates to match never mind top.

The Yanks are like a ballon that has slowly been leaking air for the past 2 months. Tonight saw another lifeless performance by the hitters as the Red Sox skipped to a 5-1 win at the Stadium. Jackie Bradley Jr. had a homer and made a couple of nice plays in the field.

The Yanks need to win 2 of their final 6 games in order to qualify for the Wildcard but let’s get right to it–have you ever had less confidence in a playoff-bound Yankee team?

It’s hard to be mad at them, we didn’t expect this at the start of the year. We sure would have taken where they are at now. But the way this has played out, death by a thousand cuts, has been dispiriting. While there is plenty of excitement to go around for all the playoff hopefuls there is something missing here in the Bronx. Call it the residue of a generation spoiled by success (the Yanks of the early Sixties ran into this as well). It’s almost as if the Yanks would have to be bad for a good stretch before the excitement returned to the Bronx. Or a player under 50 with some star power.

Part of it is the team on the field, part of it is the fans.

As Walt Kelly famously wrote, “We Have Met the Enemy and He is Us.”

Yanks looking to secure a playoff spot. Their next win will be franchise victory number 10,000. Not bad.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Brett Gardner LF
Alex Rodriguez DH
Carlos Beltran RF
Chase Headley 3B
Greg Bird 1B
John Ryan Murphy C
Didi Gregorius SS
Rob Refsnyder 2B

Never mind the chill:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

Luis Severino was good today and his counterpart wasn’t bad either. But the Yanks arouse from their offensive slumber to stitch together half a dozen runs on their way to beating the White Sox, 6-1.

It wasn’t thrilling but it was a nice way to spend part of a Sunday afternoon. The Bombers’ are three games away from clinching a wildcard spot, and as we all know, three is the magic number.

You know, if Luis Severino starts that game, I won’t riff, will you?

Meanwhile, La Moon sure am sweet tonight.

It’s Luis Severino on the hill today as the Yanks look to take the series from the White Sox.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Brett Gardner LF
Carlos Beltran DH
Brian McCann C
Greg Bird 1B
Dustin Ackley 2B
Didi Gregorius SS
Slade Heathcott RF
Brendan Ryan 3B

Never mind the clouds:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

In the middle of yesterday’s game a group of dozen pigeons settled in short right field pecking for seeds. They spread out–a few were combing the third base line for seeds–which prompted a girl sitting in front of us to say, “The birds are the most exciting thing that’s happened so far.”

And she wasn’t far off. The crowd was dead and the person who directs the chants and rallies over the P.A. system didn’t do much to encourage us. Neither did the Yankees, especially their hitters who were off-balance all game long. They scored a couple of runs and it turns out that was enough against an even more hapless offensive team. One encouraging note was the 7-pitch, 3-out performance by Dellin Betances. Justin Wilson and Andrew Miller was good, too.

The Yanks won, 2-1, and every win is a good one, even the ones that are less than inspired.

Just win the damn game. Score some damn runs. Don’t make it so hard, give  the pitching staff some help.

The Wife and I will be at the Stadium today root, root rooting for Adam Warren and mates.

Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Chase Headley 3B
Alex Rodriguez DH
Carlos Beltran RF
Brian McCann C
Chris Young LF
Greg Bird 1B
Didi Gregorius SS
Rob Refsnyder 2B

Never mind the chill:

Let’s Go  Yank-ees!

Picture by Bags

Hapless, that’s what it was. C.C. Sabbath didn’t pitch poorly, even when he allowed the go-ahead run in the 7th. No, it was all those 6-4-3 double plays–4 in all–that doomed the Yanks to a 5-2 loss.

Really, there ain’t much good to say about this one, much good to remember about it (with the exception of a weird base hit off the bat of Brian McCann that looked like a knuckle ball).

Forgotten it yet?

Good, let’s move on.

Picture by Bags

It’s our man, CC, the Big Fella, tonight at the Stadium. Behind him you’ll find:

Brett Gardner CF

Chase Headley 3B

Alex Rodriguez DH

Carlos Beltran RF

Brian McCann C

Chris Young LF

Greg Bird 1B

Rob Refsnyder 2B

Didi Gregorius SS

Never mind prosperity:

Let’s Go Yank-ees!