Then came the news of the trade: The Detroit Tigers sent Justin Verlander to the Houston Astros for prospects.
It may have changed the entire season.
Dear Brian Cashman: This is how you make baseball transactions.
You go for it. You try to win the World Series. And you try to do it this year.
Worry about the future later. "Can't miss" prospects miss. Proven stars want to prove it again.
Verlander? This guy has had a Hall of Fame career, but he doesn't have a World Series ring. He wants one.
The Astros have never won a World Series. They want one. Their city needs something to rally around. A World Series wouldn't bring a single person back to life or rebuild a single house, but it would make a hard-hit people happy for a while.
The Astros are going for it, Brian. Why didn't you? This year, last year, or any year this decade?
The Yankees have made the Playoffs only once in the last 4 full seasons. That is unacceptable.
The Yankees haven't won a Playoff game in 5 seasons. That is unacceptable.
The Yankees haven't won an American League Championship Series game in 7 seasons. That is unacceptable.
The Yankees haven't won an AL Pennant in 8 seasons. That is unacceptable.
The Yankees have won just 1 World Series in 17 seasons. With all the resources available to them, with the Steinbrenner family's billions, with high attendance at high ticket prices, with the biggest memorabilia haul of any team, with the best TV network deal of any team, with no need to save cash to built a stadium, with no stadium debt to pay off... That is unacceptable.
Clearly, the Detroit Tigers, contenders almost continuously their 2006 Pennant, but no more, have decided their glory days are over, and they have to start over and build a new contending team. Clearly, Justin Verlander was available.
Clearly, the Yankees need at least 1 more starting pitcher to beat the Red Sox for the AL Eastern Division title. After all, with Michael Pineda done in Pinstripes, CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka remaining injury question marks, adding Sonny Gray and Jaime Garcia, while welcome, was not enough. And with those guys, plus Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery being inconsistent, there is no absolute ace.
Verlander could have been that ace. He is 183-114, and he's only 34. He could have given the Yankees 5 more good years, including the August, September and October of this one, had Cashman gotten him before the intraleague, non-waiver trading deadline.
Instead, Cashman is waiting on prospects, most of whom won't be ready until at least exactly 1 year from today, September 1, 2018 (when they wouldn't be eligible for the 2018 postseason roster anyway, presuming we even reach the 2018 postseason). We've already seen his top 2 prospects give us bad news: Gleyber Torres is injured for the season, and Clint Frazier was called up, and was first thrillingly good, then shockingly bad, making the August Aaron Judge look like the June Aaron Judge. (And, of course, neither Judge nor Gary Sanchez was hyped as much as Torres and Can't Miss Clint.)
And speaking of prospects, the Yankees need another starting pitcher badly. Of their top 3 pitching prospects:
* Chance Adams, a Yankee draftee, not one of the "prospects" that Cashman threw away 2016 for, is 11-5, 2.89 ERA, 1.075 WHIP at AAA Scranton. He's 23, and seems ready for a major league chance -- and yet, he hasn't thrown a major league pitch. Why?
* Justus Sheffield, who came in the idiotic Andrew Miller trade last season, is 7-5, 3.09, 1.351 at AA Trenton. He's 21. He's one of those much-hyped 9/1/18 guys, and clearly won't be ready before then.
* And Albert Abreu, who came in the nitwitted Carlos Beltran trade last season, is 1-3, 4.19, 1.983 at Class A Tampa. He's about to turn 22, and is far from ready. If we see him before September 1, 2020, I'll be surprised.
So if those are our 3 best pitching prospects, it doesn't say much for how well Cashman "rebuilt the farm system." And if those are our 3 best pitching prospects, when we still need an ace, why didn't Cashman go for it and go after Verlander?
The Astros went for it. Now, they, not the Los Angeles Dodgers, a repeated postseason failure, are, beyond any question, the best team in baseball. It's just a matter of getting it done, as the Dodgers have not.
The Yankees could have been that team. Brian Cashman chose not to make them so.
By the way: If you've been paying attention, you'll notice that, until now, I have not mentioned the name of manager Joe Girardi.
Because, for the purpose of this discussion, he's actually irrelevant.
*
Now, about last night's game: Carsten Charles Sabathia is my hero. Not only did he pitch superbly against those hated Boston Red Sox last night, but he called them out on their cowardice.
Actually, bunting on an injured pitcher is smart strategy. If Joe Torre had done it on Curt Schilling in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS, the Yankees would have won the Pennant, and the Sox might still be looking for their 1st title -- instead of their 1st untainted title -- since 1918.
But it is long past time that a Yankee player stood up to The Scum. CC proved that the biggest part of his body isn't his gut, or his rather large head, or his mouth, or even, with that big brace that he needs, his knee. It's his spine.
Gary Sanchez and the finally-back-from-injury Greg Bird hit home runs. Dellin Betances was a bit shaky in the 9th inning, loading the bases with nobody out, but only letting 1 run across, and the Yankees beat The Scum 6-2.
The Yankees close to within 4 1/2 games, 4 in the loss column, with 3 more against them, tonight, tomorrow and Sunday, and then 26 more games against other teams.
Tonight, Sonny Gray starts for the Good Guys, Doug Fister for The Scum. Come on you Pinstripes! Let's do this!
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to watch U.S. vs. Costa Rica in a key World Cup Qualifying Match, Yankees vs. Red Sox, and Rutgers football open their season, all at the same time.
It's going to be a long night. Hopefully, with some victories.