The Basement View

Nine to three. A blow out. Let’s go deeper than the box score because this game was more enjoyable than just a standard nine to three blow out. With all the things happening in 2020 one thing that seems to be constant is if Gerrit Cole pitches he wins. This is nothing new for Cole since he has lost just two games dating back to May of last year he has been as sure of a thing as anything can be. To not overreact too much, Cole has given the Bombers so far the ace they have missed since the early 2010’s when C.C. Sabathia was dominating the game. The confidence that a club has knowing they have someone as incredible as Gerrit Cole is irreplaceable. Now, in last night’s start he didn’t have his Cy Young stuff, but it was still good enough to go six and a third innings. Cole ran out of gas in the 7 th after he retired 14 straight, he gave up three consecutive hits including a two run homer by Dwight Smith Jr. with the evening getting off to a rough start as well. Cole threw 21 pitc...

No game tonight because of the outbreak of COVID-19 that the Miami Marlins have had in their clubhouse with five more players testing positive for COVID-19 bringing the total to 14 people in the Marlins organization who have tested positive. The Marlins are still in Philadelphia and have cancelled their home opener today against Orioles. From the outset of the plan to bring back baseball this year what the Marlins are going through was one of the biggest questions to answer. The solution before the question was a reality was to expand the rosters to 30 players, now the number of players isn’t important, the health of an entire ball club is. The outbreak with the Marlins was one of my biggest concerns with bringing back any sports in 2020 with the COVID-19 Pandemic and why I have been cautious with all of my excitement around sports since all of the plans have been finalized, but now again, the ball is in the glove of the owners to react correctly to the situation that is causing a ...

Since I’m late to the party for last night’s affair, this column will be a recap for both the Saturday and Sunday. Games like last night happen all the time. I don’t say that to dilute the awful outing that Paxton had, but to bring you back to reality, in a 162 game season a clunker happens routinely.   Really it’s just game two of 60, this game won’t matter. I have heard the numbers that say every game of this season is like three games in a 162 game season, but with the addition of the two playoff teams for 2020, this game doesn’t matter to the Yanks. Washington was just better. They’re the world champs and with that roster they’ll play like they are more nights than not—tonight the played like it.   The showed the same resolve that they did in October and pounced on every opportunity they had.   The Nats were 4-10 with runners in scoring position, but hit three homers in the process, I will tell you watching the game it didn’t seem like only 4-10. The shaky but stu...

We finally witnessed it. Opening Day. It’s the day that I look forward to every year! This is the day when I was a kid that I would avoid everything baseball at all costs (except being decked out in my Yankee gear going to school) until 3:00 when I would get home—shutting out the world—and soaking in every moment of the first day of baseball. Even now, on Opening Day I don’t really pay attention to anything but baseball. Opening Day is my New Year. I don’t need half-baked resolutions, or a countdown, or crappy champagne that someone bought last minute on their way over to a party (a beer will do just fine for me), all I need is baseball. Opening Day in 2020 isn’t normal, because life in 2020 is anything but normal, but maybe Opening Day this year will give us the normalcy we have been craving to have back for so long. Even though it doesn’t look or feel like the usual Opening Day (I say that writing this drinking a cup of coffee in my dining room with all the windows open) it is the ...