There is that excitement and enthusiasm in the Bronx with a youth movement of the New York Yankees and at one point Tuesday night it was that way again. Michael Pineda held the first place Toronto Blue Jays scoreless through 5.0 innings and then the rains came.
And in the end the Yankees are still in that rebuilding mode, not in the class of the Blue Jays despite what the standings say and the Yankees back in a pennant race if one wants to believe that.
The Yankees who built a 6-0 lead quickly saw it vanish and the Blue Jays with four runs in the sixth inning and with an eight-run eighth, took control and went on to a 12-6 win.
Simple to understand how frustrating this has become for the Yankees with this revamped roster of youngsters, and the beginning of what to expect in the years ahead.
For now, remember that the Blue Jays have Donaldson, Encarnacion, Tulowitzki and more. They hit home runs, extra base hits, and score a lot of runs which is why they lead the AL in home runs and have the highest winning percentage since May 19 among teams in baseball.
Yes, the Blue Jays are in a first place divisional battle with Boston and Baltimore, and the Yankees with this different roster have closed the gap a bit but Tuesday night in the Bronx, don’t blame the rain delay and resumption for the Yankees to give away a 6-0 lead in the fifth inning.
No matter what the rookie Gary Sanchez has accomplished in a few games, including his first of probably many more multi- home run games, the Yankees need to continue working on their pitching rotation and rebuild a bullpen that has to have more than Dellin Betances.
They need more reinforcements to make these “Baby Bombers” to the next level. Adam Warren imploded for the first time since rejoining the team with the fire sale last week, so did Anthony Swarzak, and Jason Shreve. The Blue Jays scored 12 -runs off them as quick as the rain disappeared in the Bronx and it shows the needs that GM Brian Cashman will be looking for in the off-season.
Pineda was good, but the rain came and the Yankees can’t use that as an excuse for an implosion. Good teams, as the Yankees still are not, know how to maintain a six run lead when the starter is forced to leave after a rain delay. That is not to say that the Yankees will never become good, and eventually they will, because the nucleus to get better is in place with the youth movement.
Girardi on this night did not want Pineda back on the mound. The fear was a risk, because the righthander had major shoulder surgery in 2012. Girardi is cautious, as he should be because Pineda is in the plan as one of those “Baby Bombers.”
“I would have loved to,” he said about sending Pineda back to the mound, “but what he went through with his shoulder, I just felt he couldn’t do it. We just felt it’s risky for him. And that’s just not a risk we want to take.”
Then Girardi said, “He’s important to us.”
Yes, Pineda is important for this youth movement of the Yankees. But for now, the Blue Jays are the better team than the Yankees.
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