With the first pitch of Sunday night’s ALDS Game 4 between the Angels and Yankees scheduled for 8pm local time, the Yankees are up in arms about having to fly to Anaheim immeadiately afterwards (if they’re lucky). Though some have taken the Mushnickian stance that MLB has sold out, Newsday’s Jon Heyman proposes that if the Yankees were taking care of business on the field, the travel arrangements wouldn’t matter nearly as much.
As if the Yankees don’t already have enough problems, what with $46-million pitching piñata Randy Johnson threatening to be available to pitch in relief if needed tonight or tomorrow night, now we hear that the Yankees’ all-important beauty rest is in dire jeopardy.
Yesterday, when word came down that the Yankees and Angels would have to sandwich a cross-country flight between back-to-back night games if the Yankees win Game 4, you’d have thought someone told the Yankees they were being forced to extend The Big Unit’s contract by another two years.
Although it’s certainly not optimal to start a game tonight at 7:55, finish around midnight, hit the airport by 2 a.m. and get to Orange County by 5 a.m. Pacific time before tomorrow’s 5 p.m. start at Angel Stadium, the Yankees have bigger problems than game times, REM issues and jet lag.
For instance, it’d be nice if they played to their $210-million payroll sometime soon.
f this is going to be the Yankees’ excuse for spitting the first-round bit for the second time in four years, they’re not going to get sympathy here. They were well-rested for Game 3, and they could not have performed worse if they’d gotten special dispensation to put Tim Redding and Darrell May back on the roster.
They’ll have had another full day off before Game 4, so let’s see if they do any better.
After royally messing up Game 3, Johnson told the media yesterday that he’d be willing to pitch in Games 4 and 5 if asked. He didn’t say whether that was a threat or promise.