Enjoy a Wild Card/ALDS exit, everybody.
As long as the New York Yankees fail to put together some sort of a winning streak, chances are they won’t win the AL East and will be stuck with a more difficult path to the World Series. But does that even matter anymore?
The Yankees, heading into Tuesday, had faced nine straight rubber matches and were looking to put an end to that streak when they led 4-1 in the bottom of the eighth. Well, make it 10 in a row, because they lost 7-4. And make that a league-leading 11 blown saves for Clay Holmes.
In a 4-3 game, Holmes was called upon to take care of the Rangers’ 7-8-9 hitters, but as the right-hander has proven since mid-May, no ninth inning task is without its colossal obstacles. Holmes gave up a hit to the No. 8 hitter and then walked the No. 9 hitter before turning the order over.
Leadoff man Marcus Semien also walked to load the bases with one out, and every Yankees fan at home said to themselves, “well, this is it.” The next batter, Wyatt Langford, a 22-year-old rookie, cranked a walk-off grand slam to give the Rangers a 7-4 victory.
All it took was another historic meltdown for the Yankees to “weigh their options” for the closer role moving forward, something Aaron Boone didn’t want to talk about after the game even though it was really the only thing to talk about after the game. But again, it’s too little, too late. The problems are far and wide, and it’s an indictment on the Yankees’ stubborn and shortsighted process for a long time now.
Think 2018-2019 when they thought they didn’t need better starting pitching, only to ruin two prime World Series windows. Think 2020-present day when they failed to make necessary upgrades at the trade deadline after not doing enough in the offseason. We’re watching it again. And again.
Holmes, who is definitely a good pitcher, is not a closer. He’s proven that with his inability to field his position, his mediocre swing-and-miss numbers, and the fact he allows far too much contact for somebody who throws 98 MPH sinkers. When he loses the zone, it’s threat level midnight. On top of that, every single one of his seasons as the team’s closer has been a tale of two halves: one is lights out, the other is that of a middling reliever.
2022 — 1.31 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in first half, 4.84 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in second half
2023 — 2.23 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in first half, 3.71 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in second half
This year has been the most egregious too. After not allowing a run until May 20, Holmes has legitimately been one of the worst high-leverage relievers in the sport. But Brian Cashman felt no need to upgrade the bullpen beyond Mark Leiter Jr. and Enyel De Los Santos at the trade deadline. Leiter Jr. might as well be roster fodder at this point while De Los Santos is no longer with the team. We can talk about this for hours, but you know the drill. Cashman hasn’t done “enough” at the trade deadline for most of his career as GM.
And then there’s Boone, who couldn’t manage a bullpen to save his job. It’s the fact of life multiple times per week. On Tuesday, he went to Tommy Kahnle in the seventh after Carlos Rodón’s sterling outing. Kahnle pitched a clean seventh and then was sent back out for the eighth, but Boone yanked him after the leadoff runner got on because DJ LeMahieu couldn’t play routine defense at first base. What was the plan there? Take Kahnle out after one batter? Why even do that if you’re not going to give him a fair shake?
Oh yeah, that was another managerial gaffe: Boone started LeMahieu at first base because the Yankees were facing a lefty in former teammate Andrew Heaney, who blanked them through five innings (with eight strikeouts!), and benched Rizzo for the night … only to bring Rizzo back into the game to hit for LeMahieu in the top of the ninth. LeMahieu shouldn’t be playing unless absolutely necessary, but Boone continues to play the lefty-righty matchups no matter what. Even if DJ is just as bad against lefties.
Anyway, like we said, Kahnle was pulled because of a defensive gaffe, in favor of Jake Cousins, who has been awful over his last three outings. But hey, what better time to bring him in than to face the top of the Rangers’ order? Cousins loaded the bases and gave up a run before being relieved by Tim Hill, who limited the damage by only allowing a sacrifice fly. The Yankees got out of the inning and still led 4-3. They just needed Holmes to beat the bottom of Texas’ order.
The Yankees couldn’t add insurance runs in the top of the ninth. Jazz Chisholm missed being sent home by third base coach Luis Rojas the inning prior and it cost the Yankees that fifth run in the eighth. But, perhaps even better (and more telling of this team’s core issues), was when Gleyber Torres singled with two outs in the ninth. He was removed from the game in favor of pinch runner Duke Ellis, who was part of the September roster expansion SOLELY TO STEAL BASES IN HIGH-LEVERAGE MOMENTS, and the Yankees didn’t make him steal. Ellis watched an eight-pitch Juan Soto at-bat before advancing to second after Soto walked. What is this team doing?
The Yankees will continue their flawed and very wrong processes because they will not be told otherwise. They will look at whatever metrics support their beliefs and ignore what’s unfolding before their eyes. It is September 4 and this team is 31-38 over their last 69 games. They’ve shown no consistency on either side of the ball over the last three months. They’re still making little league defensive miscues. They still can’t hit left-handed starters. Nobody can come through when it matters. They opted to keep their best young player at Triple-A and buried as he continues to hitin favor of a floundering veteran in Alex Verdugo who won’t be with the team after 2024.
Did we miss anything? Let us know. We’re tired of writing this same stuff over and over again.
