Schadenfreude 270 (A Continuing Series)

Howie Kussoy, Post:

There was solace in the most crushing loss of the season: The Yankees aren't scheduled to visit Tampa again this year.

Despite ... a late three-run lead, the Yankees suffered their third loss in four games against the Rays on Sunday, 4-3, on Michael Perez's walk-off single off Zack Britton. With their seventh loss in their past eight games at Tropicana Field, the Yankees have now lost five of seven games since their seven-game win streak, allowing the Rays to climb within two games of first place. ...

Despite leaving nine men on base and going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, the Yankees seemed to have enough offense.

The first run came when Mike Ford was hit with a pitch with the bases loaded in the first inning. The Yankees were gifted another pair of runs in the fifth inning, when Rays center fielder Manuel Margot dropped a deep fly ball ... that would have been the third out.

As Paxton exited the mound with a no-decision — having lowered his ERA from 13.50 to 7.84 — the lefty appeared to hear taunts from the Rays bench, before violently slamming his glove in the Yankees dugout. ...

With Britton taking over in the ninth, Brosseau ripped a leadoff double, but he was thrown out at third on a grounder to Gleyber Torres. But a wild pitch quickly put Lowe at second. Three batters later, Perez sent the Yankees back home.

Howie Kussoy, Post:

The box score blames Zack Britton. He accepts the fault, too. But Gary Sanchez can rarely sidestep all responsibility on a wild pitch. He can't escape his reputation.

With a tie score, runner on first and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning of Sunday's game against the Rays, Britton threw a blockable sinker in the dirt short of Sanchez, which bounced past the catcher and allowed Brandon Lowe to advance to second. Three batters later, Lowe scored the winning run.

When asked about the pitch, Aaron Boone quickly defended the catcher, who has twice led the American League in passed balls.

Howie Kussoy, Post:

Giancarlo Stanton has returned to the injured list — and the Yankees don't know when the injury-plagued slugger might be ready to return to the lineup.

Stanton, who was placed on the 10-day injured list on Sunday with a left hamstring strain suffered in Saturday night's game in Tampa, will receive an MRI on Monday in New York ...

After being limited to 18 games last season, the former MVP — who also suffered a calf strain during spring training and was sidelined in last year's ALCS — will make his third trip to the injured list since putting on pinstripes in 2018.

Even with his workload lightened as a full-time designated hitter, Stanton, 30, will miss a significant portion of the 60-game regular season.

After this season, the Yankees still owe Stanton a whopping $218 million over the next seven years!

Joel Sherman, Post:

This equated to finding a signed confession after the DNA evidence already had allowed a case to be solved.

Giancarlo Stanton going down over the weekend with yet another leg injury merely corroborated the already verified — the Yankees are going to be spending most of this decade working around Stanton. With their roster structurally, and their payroll financially.

This is three years in three as a Yankee in which Stanton has incurred lower-half maladies. And these are prime years, ages 28-30. He is signed through 2027 and age 37. In 2020, he could not stay healthy in a shortened season in which he was exclusively a designated hitter and further reconfigured his body to avoid such breakdowns. This is the lamp breaking despite being in bubble wrap, swathed in blankets and handled with care.

This time it was a left hamstring strain. In 2018, Stanton played through a hamstring injury, persevering as others went down around him. He could not manage that last season amid the Yankee record spree of IL stints; Stanton landing on that list in April 2019 with a biceps strain and June with a right knee sprain. He played through a calf injury in last year's postseason that was still problematic enough that he almost certainly would have begun this year on the IL had the season opened as scheduled in March.

It began, instead, in late July and by the second week of August, Stanton — first year in his thirties — is hurt again. He has seven seasons at $218 million left beyond 2020, which by itself would be the 16th largest contract ever behind — among others — the 13-year, $325 million pact Stanton originally signed with the Marlins. He has the right to opt out after this season, which would mean heading into free agency after yet another injury amid a pandemic. So, yeah, there is a better chance Babe Ruth will be hitting third for the Yankees Tuesday night vs. [Atlanta]. ...

Kristie Ackert, Daily News:

The Yankees went two weeks with their sluggers all healthy, before Giancarlo Stanton was put on the injured list Sunday morning. The Yankees slugger strained his left hamstring ... Saturday night ...

[T]his is a blow, if an unsurprising one. This has been the lament of the Yankees fans since they acquired Stanton before the 2018 season ... [I]t's been a series of injury after injury for Stanton.

The 30-year old outfielder played just 18 regular-season games last year. He strained his left biceps the first weekend of the season. While rehabbing from that, Stanton also dealt with a strained left shoulder and then, as he was beginning to rehab he strained his left calf. He returned to play six games before he jammed his knee running bases and missed 73 games before returning in September. And then he suffered a right quad strain during the ALCS, playing in just two games of that series that ended the Yankees season.

This spring, Stanton played in one Grapefruit League game before he was sidelined by a strained right calf. ...

The Yankees ... owed [Stanton] $214 million over the remaining eight seasons coming into this season. ... He has an opt out after the 2020 season — which is very unlikely at this point.

Ken Davidoff, Post:

When home-plate umpire Vic Carapazza ejected Yankees manager Aaron Boone and hitting coach Marcus Thames from Game 2 of the seven-inning doubleheader, it drew further attention to the tension surrounding the eventual 5-3 Yankees loss to the Rays, one sparked by the Rays repeatedly throw high and tight to Yankees batters ...

Boone explained he got the fifth-inning hook after protesting the heave-ho of Thames, which he felt was unjustified. Asked what Thames said to be thrown out, Boone replied, "Nothing. Nothing." ...

The chirping from the Yankees' dugout could be heard on television by virtue of the empty stands, and that anger emanated from a trio of pitches thrown high and tight to Yankees players, two to DJ LeMahieu (in separate at-bats) and one to Gio Urshela. The last one, by Rays right-hander Andrew Kittredge to LeMahieu, immediately preceded the turbulence, as LeMahieu ended the top of the fifth with a comebacker for a groundout. ...

It was Kittredge, on Sept. 27, 2018, at The Trop, who threw behind the head of Romine. He has since joined the Tigers. The now retired CC Sabathia responded by drilling Tampa Bay catcher Jesus Sucre and, upon getting ejected, pointed to Kittredge in the Rays' dugout and declared, "That's for you, [expletive]!"

Sabathia was suspended for five games and fined. His ejection meant he ended the season two innings short of receiving a $500,000 bonus.