Yankees sink to six over, Sabathia falters, Carter DFA’d again

The Yankees Fourth of July was not supposed to include a less than sub-par performance from Mr. Sabathia. The fact that he has returned, though, should be enough to give the team impetus to plod forward.

More than anything, the Yankees need stability from their starting pitching if they are going to make a serious run at the playoffs this season. They got a boost on Monday when Masahiro Tanaka turned in his third consecutive quality start and today was supposed to be another lift when CC Sabathia returned to the rotation.

Instead, Sabathia went the way the Yankees have gone since he last made a start on June 13 sinking almost to the bottom, unable to pick up his struggling team.

For the record, Sabathia’s line for the day reads 2,2 innings, three hits, four runs, three BB and one lone strikeout. More telling, though, of the 68 pitches he threw, only 35 were counted as strikes.

The 4-1 loss to the Blue Jays dropped the Yankees to four full games behind the streaking Red Sox, who have won eight of their last ten while the Bombers have limped along at 4-6. Wait, there’s more bad news. The Yankees lead in the Wild Card race has shrunk to a game and a half. The All-Star break can’t come soon enough.

Looking for a silver lining?

You have one. The Yankees designated Chris Carter for assignment following the game, forfeiting the only punching bag many Yankees fans have had. Not unexpected, the move still leaves the team without a major league first baseman, unless South Korean Ji-Man Choi can fill the gap as the team’s latest call-up from a rapidly depleting Scranton/Wilkes-Barre roster.

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Choi is a left-handed bat with a .289 average, eight home runs, and 43 RBIs in 56 games for the Railriders. He has some major league experience, having appeared in 54 games for the LA Angels in 2016.

Carter may be gone, but don’t think of him as forgotten as he has accepted the Triple-A assignment, leaving him available for yet another call-up.

This latest move smells of desperation and adds to what is fast becoming fodder for late-night TV hosts with the question, how many first basemen will the Yankees need this year?

Still looking for a silver lining?

Me too. Former Yankees catcher, Russell Martin, gave it a shot with this plausible explanation for Sabathia’s woes, telling the New York Times:

"“He looked like he might have been a tick off,” said Martin, who caught Sabathia for two seasons as a Yankee. “He wasn’t missing by much. He was running it up there all the way to 94. It looked like the stuff was there, but the command wasn’t as good as it could be.”"

Sabathia’s return is what they Yankees need, in spite of his stumble yesterday. He had convinced the Yankees that a rehab game or two wasn’t necessary and he was ready to go. As a veteran, the organization gave him a pass trusting his judgment.

The Yankees and their four greatest teams that almost were

But there are four Yankees teams that were good or even great but could have been better than that, could have been contenders for best team of all-time.

Both sides were proved wrong and, sometimes, that’s what happens when almost every decision you make turns out to be the wrong one, and you start to reach for straws.

Michael Pineda (8-4 4.05) gets the start tonight. Pineda picked up a win against the Astros in his last start, giving up two earned runs over six innings.