The expression "We're not out of the woods yet" was probably first used by a camp counselor who got his charges away from a bear, and realize that the danger was far from over as long as they hadn't yet gotten back to their campsite.
The Yankees slaughtered the Baltimore Orioles 4 straight, but the Orioles are a very bad team. Last night, the Cleveland Indians came into Yankee Stadium II, and it was a very different story. They made the Yankees look like the Orioles, minus the garish orange and black uniforms.
It was Opener Night, because Brian Cashman did not make a trade to make sure that the Yankees have a full 5-man rotation, which is, you know, a pretty important part of his job. Chad Green started, and the Indians quickly finished him. He got only 1 out and allowed 5 runs.
Jonathan Loaisiga had just come off the Injured List. He may wish he'd stayed on it one more night, because he pitched through to the end of the 3rd, allowing 4 more runs. After 1 inning, the Yankees were down 7-0; 2, 9-1.
Chance Adams was no better, allowing 5 runs in 3 2/3rds innings. Nestor Cortes closed the 7th, and was the only Yankee pitcher who didn't allow a run.
Someone on Twitter told me Ford was coming in to pitch for the 8th. I said, "Well, he's had 52 years of rest, so he should be fresh." Of course, that was a joke. I knew it wasn't Whitey Ford. It was Mike Ford, who grew up in the ritzy Belle Mead section of Montgomery, Somerset County, Central Jersey. Someone altered his Wikipedia page to list his position as "First baseman, Pitcher, and all around great guy."
He may well be an all-around great guy, but when a position player comes in as a pitcher, it means 1 of 2 things: Either the game is hopelessly lost, and you don't want to burn any more relievers, to keep them rested for the rest of the series; or you've got an injury crisis. Unfortunately, for the Yankees, both were true last night. And he allowed 5 runs in 2 innings.
Didi Gregorius hit a home run in the 5th inning, Gary Sanchez came off the IL to hit one in the 6th, and Gleyber Torres hit one in the 8th. But it was no use: In one of their worst losses of the season, the Yankees fell 19-5.
As manager Aaron Boone would say, "It is what it is." As his predecessor, Joe Girardi, would say, "It's not what you want." And as his predecessor, Joe Torre, would say, "I think I need some green tea."
And yet, the Tampa Bay Rays also lost, so the Yankees remain in 1st place in the American League Eastern Division by 9 1/2 games. Their Magic Number to clinch the Division is 31.
The Indians are half a game behind the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central. There is a chance that they could face the Yankees in the Playoffs. So this was a statement game for them.
The Yankees will have to come back with a statement of their own tomorrow night. Masahiro Tanaka starts against Aaron Civale.
The Yankees are not out of the woods yet.
*
Days until Arsenal play again: 1, tomorrow, at 7:30 AM New York time, their new season's home opener, against Lancashire team Burnley.
Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 1, tomorrow night at 7, home to the New England Revolution at Red Bull Arena.
Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": See the previous answer. It will be the last game against the Revs this regular season. The next game against D.C. United will be on Wednesday night, August 21, at Audi Field in Washington. The next game against New York City FC will be on Saturday night, August 24, at Yankee Stadium II. The next game against the Philadelphia Union will be on Sunday night, September 22, at Red Bull Arena. All 4 of these rival teams remain potential Playoff opponents.
Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 14, on Friday night, August 30, at 7:15 PM, home to the University of Massachusetts. Just 2 weeks. This game was moved back from the previous afternoon.
Days until the next North London Derby: 16, on Sunday, September 1, at the Emirates Stadium. It is unusual for Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur to play each other so early in the season, but not unprecedented: As recently as the 2013-14 season, they did so on September 1. As it was on that occasion, to get higher TV ratings, the game was moved from Saturday to Sunday.
Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 20, on Thursday night, September 5, at Fenway Park. Under 3 weeks.
Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 21, on Friday night, September 6, at 7:00 PM, home to arch-rival Old Bridge. Just over 1 month. Like most of the local rivalries that were once played on Thanksgiving Day, this one has been moved back to the opening game. It will also be the head coaching debut of Andy Steinfeld, a longtime assistant and a two-way lineman on the school's 1984 Conference Champions. It will also be the start of a Yankees-Red Sox series. So I'm getting a double dose of "Scum" on the night. Lucky me. At least it'll be at Jay Doyle's Green Grove off Cranbury Road, instead of at the purple shit pit on Route 9.
Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 21, on Friday night, September 6, at 8:30, against Mexico, at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands. This will be their 1st match of any kind since their bottlejob against Mexico in the Final of the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The women's national team, of course, won their 4th World Cup, their 2nd in a row, defeating the Netherlands in Lyon, France. Their next game is against Portugal on Thursday, August 29, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
Days until the New Jersey Devils play again: 49, on Friday night, October 4, at the Prudential Center, against the Winnipeg Jets. Just 7 weeks.
Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 54, on Wednesday night, October 9, against the Philadelphia Flyers, a.k.a. The Philth, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The season's 1st game against the New York Rangers, a.k.a. The Scum, will be on Thursday, October 17, at the Prudential Center. The 1st game against the New York Islanders will be on Thursday, January 2, 2020, at the Barclays Center.
Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 106, on Saturday, November 30, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. A little over 3 months.
Days until my 50th Birthday, at which point I can join AARP and get discounts for travel and game tickets: 124, on December 18, 2019. A little over 4 months.
Days until the premiere of the final Star Wars film, Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker: 126, on December 20, 2019.
Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 158, on January 21, 2020. A little over 5 months.
Days until Euro 2020 begins, a tournament being held all over Europe instead of in a single host nation: 301, on Friday, June 12, 2020. Under 10 months.
Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 343, on July 24, 2020. Under a year, or a little over 11 months.
Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 445, on November 3, 2020. A little over a year, or under 15 months.
Days until a fully-Democratic-controlled Congress can convene, and the Republicans can do nothing about it: 506, on January 3, 2021. Under a year and a half, or under 17 months.
Days until Liberation Day: 523, at noon on January 20, 2021. Under a year and a half, or a little over 17 months. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just from Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad, mixing theocracy with plutocracy, rather than mixing kleptocracy with plutocracy.
Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Beijing, China: 903, on February 4, 2022. Under 3 years, or under 30 months.
Days until the next World Cup is scheduled to kick off: 1,193, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. A little over 3 years, or a little over 39 months. The charges of corruption against Qatar may yet mean that they will lose the tournament, in which case it will be moved to a nation where it would not be too hot to play it in June and July.
Days until the next Women's World Cup is scheduled to kick off: As yet unknown, but probably on the 2nd Friday in June 2023, which would be June 9. That would be 1,3939 days, a little under 4 years, under 46 months. A host nation is expected to be chosen on March 20, 2020. Since 2 of the last 3 host nations have been in Europe, North America (Canada) hosted in 2015, and Asia (China) hosted in 2007, my guess is that it will be in either Asia (Japan, possibly Korea, but not China) or Oceania (Australia, possibly a joint bid with New Zealand).
The Yankees slaughtered the Baltimore Orioles 4 straight, but the Orioles are a very bad team. Last night, the Cleveland Indians came into Yankee Stadium II, and it was a very different story. They made the Yankees look like the Orioles, minus the garish orange and black uniforms.
It was Opener Night, because Brian Cashman did not make a trade to make sure that the Yankees have a full 5-man rotation, which is, you know, a pretty important part of his job. Chad Green started, and the Indians quickly finished him. He got only 1 out and allowed 5 runs.
Jonathan Loaisiga had just come off the Injured List. He may wish he'd stayed on it one more night, because he pitched through to the end of the 3rd, allowing 4 more runs. After 1 inning, the Yankees were down 7-0; 2, 9-1.
Chance Adams was no better, allowing 5 runs in 3 2/3rds innings. Nestor Cortes closed the 7th, and was the only Yankee pitcher who didn't allow a run.
Someone on Twitter told me Ford was coming in to pitch for the 8th. I said, "Well, he's had 52 years of rest, so he should be fresh." Of course, that was a joke. I knew it wasn't Whitey Ford. It was Mike Ford, who grew up in the ritzy Belle Mead section of Montgomery, Somerset County, Central Jersey. Someone altered his Wikipedia page to list his position as "First baseman, Pitcher, and all around great guy."
He may well be an all-around great guy, but when a position player comes in as a pitcher, it means 1 of 2 things: Either the game is hopelessly lost, and you don't want to burn any more relievers, to keep them rested for the rest of the series; or you've got an injury crisis. Unfortunately, for the Yankees, both were true last night. And he allowed 5 runs in 2 innings.
Didi Gregorius hit a home run in the 5th inning, Gary Sanchez came off the IL to hit one in the 6th, and Gleyber Torres hit one in the 8th. But it was no use: In one of their worst losses of the season, the Yankees fell 19-5.
As manager Aaron Boone would say, "It is what it is." As his predecessor, Joe Girardi, would say, "It's not what you want." And as his predecessor, Joe Torre, would say, "I think I need some green tea."
And yet, the Tampa Bay Rays also lost, so the Yankees remain in 1st place in the American League Eastern Division by 9 1/2 games. Their Magic Number to clinch the Division is 31.
The Indians are half a game behind the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central. There is a chance that they could face the Yankees in the Playoffs. So this was a statement game for them.
The Yankees will have to come back with a statement of their own tomorrow night. Masahiro Tanaka starts against Aaron Civale.
The Yankees are not out of the woods yet.
*
Days until Arsenal play again: 1, tomorrow, at 7:30 AM New York time, their new season's home opener, against Lancashire team Burnley.
Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 1, tomorrow night at 7, home to the New England Revolution at Red Bull Arena.
Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": See the previous answer. It will be the last game against the Revs this regular season. The next game against D.C. United will be on Wednesday night, August 21, at Audi Field in Washington. The next game against New York City FC will be on Saturday night, August 24, at Yankee Stadium II. The next game against the Philadelphia Union will be on Sunday night, September 22, at Red Bull Arena. All 4 of these rival teams remain potential Playoff opponents.
Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 14, on Friday night, August 30, at 7:15 PM, home to the University of Massachusetts. Just 2 weeks. This game was moved back from the previous afternoon.
Days until the next North London Derby: 16, on Sunday, September 1, at the Emirates Stadium. It is unusual for Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur to play each other so early in the season, but not unprecedented: As recently as the 2013-14 season, they did so on September 1. As it was on that occasion, to get higher TV ratings, the game was moved from Saturday to Sunday.
Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 20, on Thursday night, September 5, at Fenway Park. Under 3 weeks.
Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 21, on Friday night, September 6, at 7:00 PM, home to arch-rival Old Bridge. Just over 1 month. Like most of the local rivalries that were once played on Thanksgiving Day, this one has been moved back to the opening game. It will also be the head coaching debut of Andy Steinfeld, a longtime assistant and a two-way lineman on the school's 1984 Conference Champions. It will also be the start of a Yankees-Red Sox series. So I'm getting a double dose of "Scum" on the night. Lucky me. At least it'll be at Jay Doyle's Green Grove off Cranbury Road, instead of at the purple shit pit on Route 9.
Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 21, on Friday night, September 6, at 8:30, against Mexico, at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands. This will be their 1st match of any kind since their bottlejob against Mexico in the Final of the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The women's national team, of course, won their 4th World Cup, their 2nd in a row, defeating the Netherlands in Lyon, France. Their next game is against Portugal on Thursday, August 29, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
Days until the New Jersey Devils play again: 49, on Friday night, October 4, at the Prudential Center, against the Winnipeg Jets. Just 7 weeks.
Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 54, on Wednesday night, October 9, against the Philadelphia Flyers, a.k.a. The Philth, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The season's 1st game against the New York Rangers, a.k.a. The Scum, will be on Thursday, October 17, at the Prudential Center. The 1st game against the New York Islanders will be on Thursday, January 2, 2020, at the Barclays Center.
Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 106, on Saturday, November 30, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. A little over 3 months.
Days until my 50th Birthday, at which point I can join AARP and get discounts for travel and game tickets: 124, on December 18, 2019. A little over 4 months.
Days until the premiere of the final Star Wars film, Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker: 126, on December 20, 2019.
Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 158, on January 21, 2020. A little over 5 months.
Days until Euro 2020 begins, a tournament being held all over Europe instead of in a single host nation: 301, on Friday, June 12, 2020. Under 10 months.
Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 343, on July 24, 2020. Under a year, or a little over 11 months.
Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 445, on November 3, 2020. A little over a year, or under 15 months.
Days until a fully-Democratic-controlled Congress can convene, and the Republicans can do nothing about it: 506, on January 3, 2021. Under a year and a half, or under 17 months.
Days until Liberation Day: 523, at noon on January 20, 2021. Under a year and a half, or a little over 17 months. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just from Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad, mixing theocracy with plutocracy, rather than mixing kleptocracy with plutocracy.
Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Beijing, China: 903, on February 4, 2022. Under 3 years, or under 30 months.
Days until the next World Cup is scheduled to kick off: 1,193, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. A little over 3 years, or a little over 39 months. The charges of corruption against Qatar may yet mean that they will lose the tournament, in which case it will be moved to a nation where it would not be too hot to play it in June and July.
Days until the next Women's World Cup is scheduled to kick off: As yet unknown, but probably on the 2nd Friday in June 2023, which would be June 9. That would be 1,3939 days, a little under 4 years, under 46 months. A host nation is expected to be chosen on March 20, 2020. Since 2 of the last 3 host nations have been in Europe, North America (Canada) hosted in 2015, and Asia (China) hosted in 2007, my guess is that it will be in either Asia (Japan, possibly Korea, but not China) or Oceania (Australia, possibly a joint bid with New Zealand).