Schadenfreude 284: (A Continuing Series)

The Yankees are in sole possession
of the worst record in the American League
for the first time in 23 years.

Ken Davidoff, Post [url refers to the Tampa Bay team as the "ryas"]:

In Michael Lewis' legendary book "Moneyball," the protagonist, Billy Beane laments, "My [bleep] doesn't work in the playoffs."

The 2021 Yankees have seen that concept and raised it: Their (bleep) isn't working at all.

What an embarrassing display of baseball Friday night at Yankee Stadium. What a shocking, distressing start to the Yankees' season. This early in the schedule, they are threatening impressively to post the sort of nightmarish campaign, with the attendant consequences, they haven't registered in a generation.

Their return home marked a new low point, an 8-2 debacle of a defeat to the rival Rays that featured three errors, three hits and enough boos — all of them deserved — from the announced Yankee Stadium crowd of 10,202 to fill a non-pandemic sellout crowd. . . .

"As we talk about all the time, we know adversity is coming for you," said Aaron Boone . . .

The adversity wasted no time this season. The loss, their third straight, dropped the Yankees' record to 5-8, worst in the American League . . . 

[T]wo-plus weeks into the season, they appear a wobblier mess than "Joey" (the "Friends" spinoff, remember?*). If Abner Doubleday were alive to see Friday night's fiasco, he'd regret pretending to invent the sport.

Against Michael Wacha, the Cardinals phenom turned Mets bust who brought a 2021 ERA of 7.00 to the mound, the Yankees' righty-heavy lineup flailed as if they were getting paid by the whiff, striking out nine times, tallying only [one] single in six innings and not even advancing anyone to scoring position. . . . [In] the top of the fifth . . . the Rays plated four runs thanks in no small part to [three infield] errors . . . Brutal. 

What in holy hell is happening with these guys? It's as if, in return for relatively good health, they sacrificed their skills. They're not hitting or fielding at close to acceptable levels . . .

They seem, in short, broken.

[* Pro Tip: If you have to explain your outdated cultural reference, you are better off not using it.]

The MFY have had only two games in their history in which they had three or fewer hits, made three or more errors, and struck out 14 or more times. One was last night. The other was September 14, 2016, a 2-0 loss to Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers.

This was also the first time the Rays scored eight or more runs against the MFY without hitting a home run since July 5, 2015 (an 8-1 win). That game was also the MFY's last home game against the Rays in which they committed as many errors as they had hits.

Peter Botte, Post:

The Yankees decided to employ an opener against the Rays on Friday night . . .

[R]eliever Nick Nelson coughed up two runs in the first inning [and] the Yankees' surprisingly low-octane lineup was throttled again in a deservedly boo-filled 8-2 loss to Tampa Bay at the Stadium . . .

Manager Aaron Boone admitted afterward that he "already addressed" his Yankees following the latest loss dropped their record to 5-8, worst in the American League. . . .

The ugly game also was punctuated by a delay of several minutes in the home eighth inning when a few fans among the angry announced crowd of 10,202 threw baseballs and other objects onto the field. . . .

[T]he Rays . . . [won] their 14th win in 19 games (playoffs included) against the Bombers since the start of 2020. . . .

Boone's team also committed three errors, two of them leading to three unearned runs in the Rays' four-run fifth inning that extended Tampa Bay's lead to 6-0.

The Yankees are batting just .222 for the season . . . Boone benched slumping first baseman Jay Bruce (1-for-19) Friday and dropped regular No. 3 hitter Aaron Hicks (.167) to the sixth spot for the first time this season.

The Yankees also opted to start Nelson as an opener . . . [He] had pitched to a 9.00 ERA over three relief appearances this season, [and] was down 2-0 three batters into the game after Austin Meadows walked, Randy Arozarena doubled and Brandon Lowe hit a two-run double.

Sarah Valenzuela, Daily News:

The Yankees just can't seem to figure it out.

In their second series with the Rays this season, this time at the Stadium, the Yankees got nothing right. Shoddy pitching and poor defense allowed the rival Rays to run away with an 8-2 win . . .

The Rays are perhaps the Yankees biggest threat to winning the division. . . . If the Yankees hoped to establish their dominance in the rivalry, they certainly did not start the season against the Rays on the right foot. . . .

The Yankees experimented with an opener and were burned badly by the team that perfected the method . . . 

Nick Nelson started for the Yankees and was tagged for two runs on two hits in the first inning. . . . Luis Cessa came in for the fifth and allowed four runs (one earned) courtesy of one defensive blunder after another . . .

The Yankees continued to unravel further in the sixth when Aaron Judge tried to chase down a pop up . . . and instead deflected the ball, loading the bases with no outs. . . .

The Rays went with an actual starting pitcher, Michael Wacha, who dominated over six innings, giving up one hit and two walks and striking out nine batters . . .

The Yankees barely got anything going all night, with only two men left on base over nine innings.

Bryan Hoch, mlb.com:

Frustration spilled out of the grandstands during the eighth inning on Friday, thrown baseballs littering the Yankee Stadium outfield . . . To hear his players describe it, the display was nothing compared to the anger that Yankees manager Aaron Boone would soon show behind closed doors. . . .

With eight losses in 13 games, Boone's squad owns the American League's worst record.

The Yankees have committed three or more errors five times in their last 28 regular-season games, dating to last season.

The Bombers' bats were ice cold against Michael Wacha, who struck out nine and permitted only one hit — [a] second-inning single — through the first six frames. . . .

[Trevor] Richards and Hunter Strickland combined to retire the final nine Yankees batters. New York hitters struck out 14 times in the loss. . . .

"We're definitely underperforming," Stanton said.

Dan Martin, Post:

Giancarlo Stanton went hitless on Opening Day, and afterwards Aaron Boone said . . . he wasn't worried about his slugger. . . . "The biggest thing is to make sure he posts all the time."

So far, Stanton has "posted" regularly, but the results have not followed. . . .

Stanton [has] delivered just two extra-base hits in 43 plate appearances.

He delivered a 120-mph single, the hardest ball hit this season in the majors*, to drive in a pair of runs in his most recent game on Tuesday. . . . [It] snapped an 0-for-17 skid. His walk rate is down, ground-ball rate — like much of the rest of the lineup — is up and he's not hitting line drives like he typically does. . . .

In his 10 games this season, he's hit just one home run and his production against left-handed pitching has mysteriously vanished.

Over the course of his career, Stanton has typically devastated lefties, with a 1.013 OPS. So far this year, he's just 3-for-15 with no extra-base hits or walks. And versus right-handers, Stanton has 10 strikeouts in 28 plate appearances.

[*: Before that, Shohei Ohtani had the hardest-hit ball, a double at 119-mph, on April 12.]