Bomber Bites With Jumping Joe-Praising the Rain Gods

Mandatory Credit: Chad R. MacDonald.

Monday night’s game against the Royals was postponed due to rain.  The game will be made up on August 25th.  A rain out may have been the best thing to happen to the Yankees.  The rain out comes at a good time for the Yankees.  The bullpen needed rest.  The way the way the offense was hitting, they might have scored the same number runs in a rain out as they would in a game.  The rotation gets pushed back a day.  Masahiro Tanaka will get the extra day of rest that he needs as well as the other starters.

"“It gives all our guys an extra day, which in the long stretch I think they can use,” Manager Joe Girardi said.(h/t Chad Jennings, The LoHud Yankees Blog)"

The day off comes just before the Yankees begin the west coast swing of this long road trip.  It also breaks up a murderous portion of the scheduled in which the Bombers play 17 straight days.  The lone off day that was originally scheduled, was replaced by a rescheduled rain out game against the Mariners.  The brutal grind imposed by the schedule makers has been especially unkind to an aging team like the Yankees.  Now, the players can have a temporary reprieve from the fatigue and pain imposed by the grueling schedule.

The dings and dents that come along with a baseball season now have an extra day to heal.  Jacoby Ellsbury‘s hip can rest.  Mark Teixeira‘s wrist can rest.  Derek Jeter‘s soon to be 40-year-old body can rest.  Shawn Kelley is one day closer to returning to the bullpen.  No one has to watch Alfonso Soriano swing at pitches above his head or in the dirt on the way to yet another strikeout.

Unexpected rain outs are like snow days for baseball players.  Players can relax.  They can unwind.  Their bodies can take an extra day to heal.  Their bats can take a day to try and heat up.  The bullpen arms can rest a day.  The rotation gets an extra day between starts.  The disastrous play of the first part of June can be put behind them for a day.  The Yankees can enjoy the break and turn the page.  They can begin the next part of their season with fresh legs as they try to catch the surprising Toronto Blue Jays.