I’m not sorry I missed seeing Ivan Nova get hammered by Kevin Youkilis’ grand slam tonight. I didn’t see most of the game, first because I was with Friend of the Blog Audrey and her husband Larry, who drove up to Santa Barbara during their west coast trip and honored us with a visit (and brought some delicious chocolate truffles) and then because I had a dinner date at a local restaurant. So I saw highlights (or, more appropriately, low lights) when I got home. What a bummer. Thank God the Rays lost.
So. Is Nova no longer good? No longer a winner? No longer a starter we would trust in the playoffs? I’d feel better if he merely threw a couple of bad pitches tonight, but the fact is he’s been trending downward for awhile. He’s shown glimpses of his former glory but glimpses aren’t good enough in September and we’re almost there.
As for Derek Lowe, I think we’re seeing why he was dumped by the Indians. Enough said.
I loved that Jeter got us off to another early lead, but what’s going on with Cano? He’s been invisible, offensively, and we need him to be the Cano of last season.
But I don’t mean to sound so negative. The Yankees are in first place in the AL East – a very nice place to be. They’re not playing well right now, that’s all. Maybe they’re allergic to Chicago. Maybe they’re saving their talents for games against division rivals. Maybe they’re waiting for CC to come back.
Salvaging tomorrow’s finale would be very much appreciated.
