So, let's sum up, shall we?
On the night of his 89th birthday, Yogi Berra attends a Yankee game vs. the "crosstown rival" Mets. Now, let's forget that the "crosstown rival" stuff is nonsense; the Mets are rivals the Yankees the same way the New York Rangers are rivals.
So the Mets come from behind--twice--and beat the Yankees 9-7. Okay. It's one game.
But the revelations that come out after the game are staggering, and they bring to mind one of Mr. Berra's most memorable sayings, whether he said it or not.
Already on the disabled list are Ivan Nova (for the whole year), Michael Pineda (supposedly 3-4 weeks, but we've heard THAT before), and CC Sabathia, a mere 60% of the starting rotation. Here comes more of David Phelps, Vidal Nuno, Alfredo Aceves and who knows who else starting for the Yankees.
But tonight we hear that Mark Teixeira is playing with bad legs--again. Carlos Beltran hyperextended his elbow and was "very upset." Shawn Kelley has a bad back and can't pitch. Ichiro Suzuki is banged up and was not available tonight.
Yes, friends, it's deja vu all over again.
This team is starting to resemble last year's in a truly unsettling fashion. Everyone who could possibly be hurt is getting hurt. They're not coming back as quickly as promised. And the ones who are left--Jeter, Ellsbury (he's just a question of time), Soriano, McCann--are not playing up to the "backs of their baseball cards".
Remember how last year April looked really good and then reality started to set in? Consider that John Ryan Murphy is hitting over .400, and Yangervis Solarte, a career minor leaguer, is leading the team in RBIs, something that Brian Cashman himself said publicly on Monday should not be considered a good thing, and shouldn't be expected to last.
Uh-oh. With the Orioles on the upsurge, the Red Sox starting to remember how to play and the Rays unlikely to stay this bad for long, things aren't looking good for the Yankees in 2014. Consider that Jeter's last season is starting to play like Mariano Rivera's--the end of September could be less about a pennant race and more about the appropriate way to say goodbye.
And then next year, Ellsbury, McCann and Masahiro Tanaka might be all we have left.
But don't worry, Mr. Rod will be back.
