Schadenfreude 271 (A Continuing Series)

George A. King III, Post:

The only thing the Yankees hit Sunday in Camden Yards was rock bottom.

And if losing three of four to the Orioles isn't the lowest Aaron Boone's team can go, the rest of a very short season is going to feel awfully long. ...

[I]t's hard to fathom the Yankees leaving the Inner Harbor having dropped three of four to a bottom-feeding team in a complete rebuild.

Yet, Sunday’s 5-1 loss ... was exactly what the Yankees deserved and was their 13th loss in 18 games and had those in uniform in a foul mood. ...

Boone's biggest problem is a lineup that is swollen with hitters not performing anywhere near where they should be. And that gets worse in the clutch, where the Yankees have 22 hits in the last 118 at-bats (.186) after going 0-for-6 Sunday. ...

They had all kinds of trouble [on Sunday] with Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer who made his major league debut and held the Men Without Bats to a run and a hit in six innings.

Kristie Ackert, Daily News:

The Yankees are at a tipping point in this coronavirus pandemic-shortened season. ...

The Yankees (21-19), who came in having won 17 straight over the O's, lost three out of four here and head into Buffalo ... with their season in a free fall. ...

The Yankees have lost 13 out of 18 and are dropping in the standings and playing their way out of the playoffs. There's no time to waste. In Buffalo, they'll play the scrappy Blue Jays, who they'll be battling for a playoff spot down the stretch.

"I'm not concerned," Boone said about playoff spots. ...

The Yankees scored their only run on Erik Kratz's grounder into an out in the second inning. They did not get another baserunner against rookie Dean Kremer, making his major league debut, until the sixth ... An Andujar error contributed to two unearned runs. Saturday night, a Thairo Estrada throwing error contributed to four unearned runs.

The mistakes and blown opportunities ... are building up for this team. ...

Zach Braziller, Post:

It appears that Saturday night's woeful performance was the last straw.

Gary Sanchez was benched on Sunday by Aaron Boone in favor of Erik Kratz and it is uncertain how long he will remain on the bench. ...

It's hard to fault Boone for this move. Sanchez has given him no choice.

[Gary Maniloaf] received the golden sombrero for striking out four times in Saturday's ugly loss, has fanned seven straight times and is in a 4-for-41 rut that has seen his average drop to an unsightly .130. He has struck out 48 times in 100 trips to the plate in this abbreviated season, producing a meager .587 OPS ...

Among catchers with at least 50 plate appearances, Sanchez is 32nd in OPS, 42nd in average and his on-base percentage of .237 is 38th. ...

"To his credit, behind the scenes, he's working his tail off and wants to be in there," Boone said.

That's odd, because The Loaf never works very hard during games.

The MFY leave him "off lineup"? What the hell kind of baseball expression is that?

Kristie Ackert, Daily News:

It has always been a tricky balance for Sanchez. He has been loudly criticized outside the organization for his struggles behind the plate. In 2018 when he had to work on pitch framing more because he led baseball in passed balls, the airwaves and backpages in New York were full of criticism for his abilities behind the plate. In 2019 ... [the Yankees] brought in Tanner Swanson as their catching coach to change Sanchez's stance behind the plate.

Sanchez is again tied for the most passed balls with four and he has a defensive WAR of -0.1, tied for the fourth-worst in the big leagues. ...

"At times he looks like he ... doesn't know what they are throwing him," one American League talent evaluator said. "They are beating him with high fastballs a lot. His at-bats are uncompetitive a lot of the time."

George A. King III, Post:

After as bad of a loss a reeling team can inhale, Aaron Boone was asked if he was worried about his players' confidence, and said he wasn't.

Had Boone answered a question about his club's performance in the same light, he would have been lying. ...

[The Yankees are] in a free fall so drastic there is a chance [they] won't be one of the eight AL clubs to participate in the expanded postseason.

To some, that might be hard to believe. For those who watched what unfolded Saturday against a bad Orioles team, it's a real possibility since the Yankees have dropped 11 of the past 16 games ... hitting a woeful .196 (22-for-112) in the clutch. ...

There is no doubt the offensive woes — 61 runs in the past 16 games (3.8 per game) — are due in part to not having Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. But Gary Sanchez is around even though he isn't a presence ... Aaron Hicks is ice cold. Luke Voit has cooled off.

Saturday's Loss

Dan Martin, Post:

At this point, it’s fair to wonder just how much longer the Yankees and their ineffective lineup can keep throwing [Gary] Sanchez out there.

The latest example came in Saturday’s 6-1 loss in Baltimore, when Sanchez struck out in each of his four plate appearances.

He’s now fanned seven straight times since a homer on Friday, but the slump goes far beyond the last two games.

There’s also the 4-for-41 slide he’s in and the fact he’s hitting a mind-boggling .130 with three weeks to go in the regular season. ...

[Aaron Boone:] "We need him to be a little bit better." ...

On Friday, Boone reiterated he didn’t believe there was anything wrong with Sanchez, who has been among the worst hitters in the majors in 2020. ...

George A. King III, Post:

The Yankees are 5¹/₂ games out of first place with 21 left, so it is very difficult to avoid the math.

"We are all aware it is Sept. 5 and the season is coming to an end pretty soon," Clint Frazier said following a dreadful 6-1 loss to the Orioles on Saturday night at Camden Yards ...

The news coming from Boone about Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton continues to be delivered in positive tones, but there hasn’t been any talk about a date they will be ready to rejoin a lineup that needs their power.

Kristie Ackert, Daily News:

With just three weeks left in the season, Gerrit Cole and the Yankees have had no answers. ... [T]he heart of their lineup is on the injured list ... their ace is struggling and the lineup ... can't score runs.

With an epic, sixth-inning meltdown Saturday night, the struggles continued. ...

It was the second straight loss to the Orioles (18-21) ... They not only dropped to 5.5 games behind the Rays in the American League East division race, but fell into third place, a half game behind the Blue Jays. ...

When the night started out, Cole was in total control ...

Then it all fell apart in the sixth. ... a 353-foot home run ... throwing error ... back-to-back two-out walks ... two-run single to center ... double on "fan interference," when the Orioles ball guy touched the line drive, allowing two more to score. ...

[T]he bottom five in his lineup were all hitting under .200 Saturday night.

The impotent lineup went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 base runners.

Mike Lupica, Daily News:

To say Lupica has lost his fastball is like saying Donald Trump tends to deviate from truth just a little bit. The following segues about injuries illustrate Lupica's current style, which is perhaps best described as "a nonsensical stream-of-consciousness rambling that cannot maintain a consistent point of view":

Other than DJ LeMahieu ... [and] Luke Voit, the only two Yankees who have lived up to expectations or exceeded them are ... Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. You know why? Because they're hurt again. They're always hurt. Anybody who is surprised they're both back on the injured list has been watching the wrong movie.

The Yankees aren't done, not by a long shot. ...

You can talk about the injuries all you want. But the Yankees sent a world's record for trips to the injury list last season and 103 games. ...

And now the replacement guys are getting hurt, too, most notably Gio Urshela, who has bone spurs in his elbow. ... Gleyber Torres was hitting .231 ... before he got hurt. Mike Tauchman hit 13 home runs last season ... He had none through Thursday. Gary Sanchez was hitting so far below the Mendoza Line ... (.130) that there is some talk about renaming it the Sanchez Line. ... Brett Gardner, looking every single second of his 37 years so far, came out of the Mets series at .177. ...

The Yankees are wounded again. Yeah, they are. Cry them a river. Look up how many pitching injuries the Rays have had this season.

"The Yankees are always hurt ... But don't even think of using that as an excuse. They won 103 games with like 237 guys on the IL last year. Injuries mean nothing. ... Christ, so many injuries this season. It's nuts. ... Injuries? Boo hoo. Look at the Rays. They're hurt and they're kicking ass."

Oy. ... Cute quip about the Sanchez Line, though. Okay, what else? ... Lupica referred to the "Worcester Red Sox". See, because the Red Sox are playing so poorly, it's like they are a minor league team! ... Ho ho ho!