It's the fifth inning of Game Five and Gerrit Cole is Sisyphus, forever jogging towards the dugout and never getting there.

 

"There’s no way to sugarcoat it: The Yankees put forth one of the sloppiest defensive performances in their franchise’s postseason history Monday night against the Rays in Game 2 of the American League Division Series at Tropicana Field.

In what was effectively a must-win game, the Yankees lose, 5-2, in large part because of four errors -- and that’s just the mistakes that were counted by the official scorer. There were other blunders that won’t show up in the box score."

I am relieved somebody said that. I've been saying that for years. Counting up errors and relying on an official scorer does not fully explain the defensive ineptitude and lack of professionalism of the Yankees.

 

"It was a game that recalled memories of New York’s disastrous fifth inning in Game 5 of the 2024 World Series. Except this was arguably worse."

The World Series was worse because it was the World Series. But a good callback.

 

"Chisholm said if he could do it all over again, he would probably still try to make that play. Boone said his second baseman probably should have held on to the ball, but he didn’t have a problem with the attempt: 'We've got to play catch. It's the big leagues,' he said."

This is the essence of the problem and the reason why I can't defend Boone.

Sure, Boone won't criticize his players harshly to the press. You have to read between the lines and this is Boone's idea of a criticism.

But Boone continually confuses mental errors with physical errors. Even if Jazz had made a perfect throw, the runner is safe. No upside to making that throw.

Why did Wells try to run to third base? Why did Sanchez try to pick off that runner? 

How far do I have to go back?

Why did Donaldson go into a home run trot when the fly ball hit off the wall?

Why was Gleyber Torres allowed to play second base?

Three out of four of the preceding eye-scorching plays were in the playoffs. 

In yesterday's game, Jazz didn't fully run out a ground ball to second base. Jazz dogged it. He never even reached the base.

I was thinking, "Go ahead and pull him. Send a message."

But it's way too late. That message conceivably could have been sent 18 months ago when it happened in a nondescript mid-June game vs. Oakland. 

 

"Schlittler allowed four runs (two earned) over 4 1/3 innings. He struck out only two batters on his 76 pitches (56 strikes). The errors drove his pitch count up, and Boone said that might have affected his ace’s effectiveness."

Schlittler wasn't particularly sharp and the Rays were putting the bat on the ball. But that's the strategy. Don't strike out, foul off the tough ones, and put the ball in play.

We'll just never know what would have happened if the defense had played well. Schlittler may have thrown seven shutout innings. He'd be receiving praise for getting the win in a must-win game and for efficiently pitching to contact. 

Game One in Atlanta had a crowd of 30,000.

It's the wild card round.

The playoffs start next week.

So let's try out Volpe at third base and maybe see if Giancarlo Stanton is ready to go.

Sure ...

I am not the type of fan who roots for the other team.

"Fans chanted his name until Alonso emerged from the dugout for a curtain call. Then chants of 'Fire Stearns' began, aimed at Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns."

That is what I thought was going on.

Alonso was a great player with the Mets. Rookie of the year. Fan favorite.

But players come and go. You root for the name on the front of the uniform.

What is really going on is that Alonso is an avatar for fan frustration with the owner and the GM. That frustration is fair and accurate, I suppose.

I still couldn't call myself a Mets fan and then become ecstatic when my team blows the lead in the top of the ninth.

I am with Manaea on this one. Though I also understand he does not share Alonso's status in Mets history by any means:

" 'As the 2026 Mets, I know we have definitely underperformed. But we are -- the guys in here work their ass off every single day, and to have that kind of reaction to an opposing player, could be anybody, is crazy to me,' said New York pitcher Sean Manaea, who started Tuesday night. 'Again, I've got nothing but respect for Pete. But yeah, just never seen anything like that before.

" 'Pete's not here,' the veteran left-hander added. 'He's just not here. So I know everybody loves him. He's the man. But yeah, he's not here. So to see the reaction from the fans like that, I don't know, it's just different. "

Spencer Jones is not who I thought he was.

High batting average.

Excellent fielder and baserunner.

Most surprising of all?

His stats vs. lefties: .422/.480/.689 ... and that doesn't include the three-run HR he just blasted against a lefty. 

Good news! Anthony Volpe in the minor leagues is Barry Bonds all of a sudden!

Forty percent of MLB teams make the playoffs.

"There’s still a month left in the regular season, but we don’t need to wait that long to declare this to be true: the 2026 American League playoff race is the worst in MLB history."

MLB has been around a long time, kind sir.

"Specifically, the AL West and final wild-card spot form the crux of what’s been a yearlong sojourn to infamy. There are perhaps no five words in the sports lexicon more irrelevant than 'If the season ended today.' However, applying that moniker at present would leave us with a .500 division winner (the Astros) and two AL playoff teams with negative run differentials (Houston and the Guardians).

... 

Playoff expansion was always going to lead to subpar teams making the field. But what we’ve seen so far has taken things to a new low. To fully grasp just how unusually incompetent the AL playoff race has been this year, let’s take a look at seasons past to give 2026 the abysmal context it’s earned so far."

OK.

It's obvious why this is happening, and at least you explained it. I guess I don't have much of an objection to the overall point. It's kind of an obvious observation.

Also, when the playoffs start, everyone's record is 0-0. The Astros have the AL MVP and a dominant closer. MLB asked for this, and this is what they got. 

 

Solipsism

It's the same thing every year, but this article is basically eight hometown reporters explaining that their team has an easy schedule for the remainder of the season.

In never dawns on anyone that they're the soft spot in their opponent's schedule. 

I did this in Little League one time.

Good news about Rodon, but ...

"Rodon will rejoin a strong Yankees rotation that also includes Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers."

Did something happen to Max Fried?

In fact, something did happen to Max Fried. 

Where do the Yankees find these people?

He somehow loses his mitt while trying to scoop a throw on a double play?

Then he throws the ball to an empty base?

I mean, is he throwing the ball to the third base umpire?

The Yankees lose a lot of games by making horrible plays that no one has ever seen before. Not like, "oh, I've never seen a first baseman make an error before." But I've ever seen ridiculous stuff like this. It's just inning five of Game Five of the World Series over and over again.

Not Anthony Rizzo

The path to a championship is unlikely, right? Of course it is. The big bats have to get healthy and get hot at the right time.

But the pitching and defense have drastically improved. McMahon, Lombard, Jazz, the new guy at first base. Jones is a surprisingly good outfielder.

Pitching and defense, huh? Let's find out. 

It's like, "let's teach Anthony Volpe how to play second base. It will increase his value in the short-term and the long-term."

So what have you been doing the past four seasons?

Not to mention all the time in the minors? 

528 regular season MLB games plus 21 playoff MLB games is 549 pregame opportunities to take infield practice.

50 ground balls per session. I'll do it myself. Let's grab a fungo and learn how to play baseball together, Mr. Volpe.

If 27,000 practice ground balls isn't enough, then guess what? He isn't good enough.

Which we already know to be the case.

I understand that we ought not to take these proclamations literally. Boone also said Volpe has been playing good defensively at shortstop, which is ridiculous.

Boone is a genuinely nice guy. It's just not in his nature to criticize anyone.

But in this situation, it doesn't do anyone any good to ignore the reality of the situation.

Both Dominguez and Volpe have suffered from a lack of commitment to the craft. These young players perhaps should motivate themselves, but it's also quite clear the Yankees haven't insisted. The Yankees just anointed them and hoped for the best.

Dominguez and his .270 on-base percentage was batting 3rd, 4th, or 5th in the majority of the games in which he played.

I really think the Yankees were just wishcasting with these guys. 

First I have heard of Matt Olson's streak.

The best way to field a ground ball in the outfield is to wait until it stops rolling and then pick it up.