Yankees Collapse In Series Finale With Astros, Lose 8-7
Just when we thought the Yankees were ready to sweep the Astros and become buyers at the trade deadline, they give up six runs to blow the series finale. Put a fork in 'em.
As you can see with Jose Altuve's home run trot, he got in a bit of a troll job by taking off his jersey to show he wasn't cheating. I'm sure he probably thinks this is a last laugh, but it comes across like a cheating boyfriend who still gives passive aggressive remarks about loyalty years later.
It's probably best for Altuve to sit this one out and stick to playing ball.
The Yankees, however, are cooked
I tweeted that this team was down after tonight's loss, and plenty on Twitter claimed I was jumping the gun. I respectfully disagree, and I feel they've given us a body of work (82 games) that proves my point. So let's discuss why the 2021 Yankees struggle:
That rotation is hot garbage. After their ace Gerrit Cole went out and went complete game shut out, who'd the bombers send out for today's finale? Jameson Taillon, a man whose ERA is close to five. That's just flat out embarrassing, regardless of injury woes.
Defensively, this roster is arguably the worst in the league. Designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton makes close to $30 million per year, even though he can't play the field because of his injury history. Shortstop Gleyber Torres is a second baseman playing Jeter's old position since there's no room for Luke Voit to slide to DH. The result? Players all over the field, including Voit, are stuck in positions they don't play, which leads to dookie Yankees baseball. It's almost impressive they're within eight games of first, to be honest.
Owner Hal Steinbrenner may want to consider selling the talent on this roster to build something for the future. If he doesn't, it's possible this team takes years to recover from mistakes that could be corrected now.