Hey Yankees... Close Is Not Enough

hile the Yankees were brilliant in setting up their team and having JA Happ start against the Boston Red Sox, a team he had always pitched well against,  the forces of baseball can skew solid statistics any day of the week, changing them when we least expect it, and turning a “sure thing” to tragedy on the diamond.

Last night it was about digging out of a hole that was given to us by your savior and “Boston killer”, JA Happ.  The Yankees just never recovered. No matter how hard they tried… you knew eventually, time would run out.

Happ is good.  No… Happ is great, but Happ is also breakable.

And that is what I was trying to convey when Happ arrived in the Bronx.  There is no such thing as a sure thing.  You all told me there was when it game to J.A. Happ against the Boston Red Sox. You told me he owned them. You told me the trade was made for this exact reason.  You all told me that we had Happ and against Boston and he would be lights out.  I remember it well.  When I wrote YANKS PANIC, TRADE MCKINNEY FOR J.A.HAPPback in July.  It was followed it up with responses from many of you geniuses that knew I was wrong about Happ.  This is still my favorite.  What a joke…

My point back then was simply, “Baseball is unpredictable and you just don’t know that.”  You know how I know? Because nothing in baseball is automatic. It’s unpredictable… and you never know on any given day how a player is feeling and if the other guy is seeing the ball alittle better.

You can’t trust stats… you can only collect them. Bottom line.

Oh… can I call Chuck Itt an idiot again? I will… Idiot. And that’s not just for Itt, it’s for every one of you geniuses that thought that me challenging baseball statistics was stupid.  In the end, I was right, Happ did falter against Boston when we needed him most.  Where are you all now? Down 1 game in the ALDS.

Last night Happ, who I loved down the stretch by the way… laid an egg… and the Yankees never recovered.  We showed life.  We showed everyone that we are fighters and we might be able to do it… but close is not enough folks, and not we have Masahiro Tanaka on the mound in game 2 in Boston.  I don’t put my money on that AT ALL.

Tanaka is good, but Tanaka needs to be near perfect. I’ll be rooting, but I am alittle concerned. Not only that… the offense we saw late last night for the Yankees? It’s gotta be there every time. These games matter.

As my son said… “Andujar and Torres look like their scared shitless of this rivalry. They look nervous.”  I agree.

Guys like Judge and Voit can’t carry an entire team. This is Boston… they are awesome. We just need to keep our cool and do our job.  The Yankees need 1 in Boston because then winning 2 at home will be that much sweeter.

Winning 3 at home, while I love our chances… cannot be guaranteed.  Bottom line.

Looking for a big win today, Yanks! Clean slate today.

Let’s Go!