Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Yankees confirmed earlier today that they are now up to seven confirmed cases of COVID-19 within their traveling party, and that shortstop Gleyber Torres would be held out of tonight’s game with the Rays as a precaution. Torres’ test results appear to still be pending.
Aaron Boone said that Torres had not tested positive, and that Torres had suffered a COVID infection over the winter and was vaccinated, so it seems Torres himself should be fine. The Yankees stated that, along with base coaches Phil Nevin and Reggie Willits, pitching coach Matt Blake had tested positive, and that there were four further positives among the team’s support staff.
Yankees endure COVID scare, beat Rays behind Jordan Montgomery | Rapid reaction
Updated May 12, 2021;
Posted May 11, 2021
New York Yankees Gary Sanchez, right, high fives third base coach Carlos Mendoza after hitting a solo home run off Tampa Bay Rays reliever Josh Fleming during the seventh inning of a baseball game Tuesday, May 11, 2021, in St. Petersburg, Fla. AP
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. A trip that started scary for the Yankees ended its first game about as well as it could.
The Yankees’ experienced a COVID-19 outbreak in their coaching staff before holding off the hated Rays for a 3-1 win at Tropicana Field on Tuesday night.
Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images
Yankees fans and pundits alike worked themselves into a frenzy watching the way Brian Cashman went about assembling the pitching staff. In a winter buyer’s market, he passed on reliable starters and impact relievers, opting instead to load the rotation with high variance reclamation projects and the bullpen with bargain arms. People were ready to hit the panic button before the season even began.
Now more than a month into the season, the starters own the second-best ERA in the AL (3.59) while the relievers have accounted for the most fWAR (2.1). It’s fair to say that guys from both groups have outperformed the early expectations, and the hope is that they will continue to punch above their perceived ability. One factor that will aid in keeping this success sustainable is the organizational philosophy shift to embracing the changeup.
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
I am not someone who is overtaken with panic for baseball’s future. I think that that panic is often used in bad faith, to remark upon a change in the game that someone morally disagrees with. There was panic around Babe Ruth clubbing 20 home runs a season and Jackie Robinson integrating the game, and neither of those things threatened the future of baseball.
However, while I’m not panicking, I am Officially Concerned™ about the state of the game. This past April was a standout month for offensive ineptitude, with more than 1,000 more strikeouts than hits and the lowest triple slash line in at least 30 years. The league is striking out, on average, 25 percent of the time. Doc Gooden’s electric, nine-win, Cy Young-winning 1985 season saw him strike out 25 percent of the hitters he faced. Every pitcher, on average, strikes batters out at the rate the best pitcher in the game did in the ‘80s. We’ve bemoaned the reliance on three-true-out