Schadenfreude 253 (A Continuing Series)

Zach Braziller, Post:

Well, it had been a few days, so the Yankees were due for yet another injury.

James Paxton, the big offseason acquisition from the Mariners who has pitched so well of late, departed after three innings with left knee soreness ...

Injuries have been a problem for Paxton, who has been on the Injured List (then the DL) at least twice each of the last two years, and once every season since 2014.

Zach Braziller, Post:

Join the club, James Paxton. It's not so exclusive, however.

The Yankees' left-hander has been placed on the 10-day injured list after leaving Friday night's game following three innings with left knee inflammation. He is the team's 16th player to go on the injured list this season.

Paxton underwent an MRI Saturday morning after complaining of soreness in his left knee the previous night, an issue that had been bothering him of late. ...

Paxton joins a star-studded group of currently 13 Yankeees on the IL, a list that includes Giancarlo Stanton, Didi Gregorius, Dellin Betances, Aaron Hicks, Luis Severino and Aaron Judge.

George A. King III, Post:

Watching James Paxton slowly negotiate the dugout stairs on the way to the clubhouse after three innings was a snapshot of the Yankees' season.

High-end talent exiting a game with a physical problem has become common place for the Yankees ...

[Paxton's] exit came 4.5 hours after Aaron Boone painted a positive picture about the injury front.

Then Paxton was finished and a faced a date with the Carl Pavano Memorial MRI tube to see how serious his cranky left knee is.

George A. King III, Post, May 2:

Their first two steps into deeper water didn't go well, but now the Yankees need to prove they can handle teams that are actually good as opposed to the awful clubs they beat up despite having many of their own big names on the injured list. ...

Having dropped all five games they've played this season against teams with winning records — the Astros and Diamondbacks — the Yankees need to prove to themselves they can handle clubs with a pulse.

As players trickle back from the IL, the Yankees will face three teams with winning records — the Twins, Mariners and Rays — in a 10-game stretch that could determine whether their recent 11-4 record put together by replacements won't be wasted. ...

The tougher schedule comes at a time when the AL East-leading Rays are coming off getting swept in a doubleheader Wednesday by the morbid Royals, and the Red Sox took three straight from the A's. The second-place Yankees trail the Rays by 2.5 lengths, and for all the angst running through New England, the Red Sox are 3.5 games back of their blood rivals.

George A. King III, Post, May 2:

Troy Tulowitzki was removed from a minor league rehab game with Single-A Tampa on Wednesday when he felt tightness in the left calf after going 1-for-1 and playing short.

It is the same calf that Tulowitzki strained earlier in the season and landed on the IL with.

Kevin Kernan, Post, May 2:

At least Masahiro Tanaka didn't pull both hamstrings.

Not much else positive happened to Tanaka on Wednesday against the Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Last June in the Subway Series, he suffered two hamstring injuries running the bases against the Mets. ...

Allowing three runs in four innings is by no means a quality start. ...

[The Yankees have] faced two teams that currently own plus-.500 records — the Astros and Diamondbacks — and have lost all five games to them. ...

Remember the days when the Yankees talked about Tanaka being an ace. He is more of a survivor.