From Zach Buchanan:
Starting 6-0 may have been too much to ask.
Even as the Yankees blazed to their best start in more than 30 years, even as they tallied 26 runs in five consecutive wins to begin the 2024 season, cracks were showing throughout the New York offense. The trio of Juan Soto, Anthony Volpe, and Oswaldo Cabrera may have hit the ground running, but everyone else wasn’t hitting much of anything.
That continued Tuesday night at Chase Field, as the Yankee lineup was silenced by Arizona ace Zac Gallen en route to a 7-0 loss, their first setback after a 5-0 start. New York managed just three hits and struck out eight times, five of them on a called third strike. Only one Yankees baserunner reached second, with Volpe and Cabrera lacing back-to-back two-out hits in the second. But Jose Trevino went down swinging to end New York’s only scoring threat.
I mean, with Zac Gallen pitching against Nestor Cortes, this was always going to be a very likely loss, but it still was disappointing to see A. Cortes put the team in a hole for the second straight game and B. The offense to do NOTHING. A shutout already in the sixth game of the season. Not good at all.
Nestor is weird, because he wasn’t TOTAL garbage, as he pitched pretty well after being terrible in the first inning (the Diamondbacks were making some HARD contact), but goddammit, dude, you can’t keep putting the team in a hole every game! Get your head together, man!
Rizzo, Judge and Stanton have also got to get their heads together, as well. This is six games now of shittery.
Another tough matchup tomorrow in the rubber game of the series, as Merrill Kelly is a pretty good pitcher, and Carlos Rodon PROBABLY sucks.
I, for one, look forward to rodon games. huzzah
Stanton continuing his decline. 3 hits & 1 walk on the season with 11 Ks in 21 PAs, a 52% K rate. This guy is cooooooooked.
Rizzo I have some hope for still, but he is a 34 year old who hasn’t had an OPS over .817 (and mostly in the .700s) in 5 years.
Judge is probably injured and trying to play through so he’ll suck for a month then go on the IL for 3 weeks.
I asked this weeks ago – what will it take for them to release Stanton? Ok not 6 games of sucktitude, but what about 60? At what point do you realize his poor 2022 and his disastrous 2023 aren’t just a slump but more like the END. Chris Davis like finished.
I asked last night. If and when The Martian returns and has a pulse they may be forced to. 11/1 K/BB is pretty, pretty bad.
The way Cash admits mistakes? It will likely take a shotgun.
Maybe Stanton should work with Volpe’s off-season hitting coach.
Maybe they all should.
Short sample size sinks ships
(or sets them afloat, whichever)
If I get to watch some if this game, it’ll be the first baseball I’ve ever watched in Bukhara.
So far the 2024 Yankees have a two tiered system of hitting, theres Soto, Volpe, Waldo and then everyone else with Judge 381, Vertigo 351 and Trevi 311 anchoring the others.
Volpe finally moved ahead of Verdugo in the lineup. No Stanton.
Trying to figure out which lineup is worse: one with Stanton or one with Grisham.
All the way to 5 with Stanton sitting.
I like Volpe in the middle of the lineup. I know his speed plays at the top of the lineup, but I love that power.
When DJ returns, Gleyber at 4 and Volpe at 6 will be very nice.
Of course, when DJ returns, he will suck because of his hurt foot, but still…
I read in BP long ago an argument that speed in the 6/7 hole maximizes theof the value hits that 7/8/9 get. Depends on the other attributes of the batter of course, you would never bat Rickey 6th.
Let’s say Waldo is still hitting well by the time DJ returns, and Verdugo still sucks – do they possibly bench Verdugo for Waldo?