I noticed Kahnle had some words for the home plate umpire on his way to the dugout after the beating he took. 2 outs. 2 hits. 3 walks. All 5 runners ended up scoring. Now I thought he was being squeezed a little, so I understand him being angry. But that was not a pitching clinic. He was not sharp. 23 pitches and 9 strikes? Can’t blame all of that on the ump. It shows the frustration the Yankees are experiencing. I like Kahnle. He had a monster season last year, so we probably shouldn’t expect that again. But he should be a dependable 6th and 7th inning guy for Boone this year. I’m not worried. Yet.
Those Boston bats are hot. They Yankees better hope they can keep this close thru April. Falling too far behind could cause stress on their clubhouse and make it a long and difficult season. They’re already 4.5 games out and that could be 7 or 8 by the end of the month. Seriously though, I really don’t think it matters that much. New York will at worst get a Wild Card, win, and you saw what happened last year. There are no guarantees, but I’ve seen too many seasons and the Yankees are a good team. Raise your hand if you think Gary Sanchez will finish the season with a batting average below 100. Yeah, I didn’t think so.
Gotta say something about Chris Sale. I didn’t get to see the early innings last night. I’ll watch it today. But Sale has now thrown 17 innings and given up 2 runs. And frankly, this is just what he does. His mid 90’s fastball and that wicked slider that comes at you from right field and lands on the outside edge to right hand hitters is just not fair. He’s got a lifetime 2.96 ERA and strikes out a staggering 10.6 batters per 9 innings pitched. That tells you that hitters are missing a lot of his pitches. This year that number is 12.2 so far. He is securely settled as one of the top 4 pitchers in baseball right now with Kershaw, Scherzer and Kluber. Those 4 were on every ones top 10 list as either 1,2,3 or 4. And a couple had Sale as the #1 pitcher in baseball. So there is no shame in eeking out 1 run against him. Unfortunatley for the Yankees, Price has been even better so far this season. Can’t wait for the game tonight. Everything else in baseball takes a back seat to this opening salvo in the continuing saga of Yankees/Red Sox.
BTW: How many active pitchers have a career ERA below 3.00? Two. Kershaw and Sale. Here’s the top 10.
