Yankees Finally Discover a Chink in AL Rivals Armor
It only took eight years to find. The Yankees saw their modern-day rivals, the Houston Astros, show vulnerability. The interaction took place between Astros catcher Cesar Salazar and pitcher Framber Valdez. What it showed the world is that everything is not all sunshine and rainbows in Houston. The Yankees noticed, and what followed was a role reversal that saw Houston making the type of excuses that have been the hallmark of Aaron Boone's Yankees during his tenure as manager.
The incident took place in two acts. The first epoch saw catcher Salazar attempting to signal Valdez to walk off the mound to reset their signs as they appeared not to be on the same page. Framber ignored Cesar and proceeded to throw a meatball down the middle. Trent Grisham, the Yankees' season-long revelation that they must retain, went to the opposite field with a home run into the Crawford Boxes, the left field equivalent of Yankee Stadium's left field short porch, plating four runs.
What followed was something not seen in fifty years of watching Major League Baseball. After the home run, Sanchez signaled for a pitch low and away. Framber responded by throwing a 94 mph heater down the middle, drilling his catcher's chest, bringing a surprised, then frustrated look from Cesar. Framber looked steamed as well. It was the first time in recent memory that Houston showed signs of pressure against a New York team that usually is the one to crack in high-leverage games. If the Yankees were not confident after witnessing this, they came into tonight even more so after hearing the Astros' postseason explanations.
Houston tried to do damage control by bringing Sanchez and Framber together to claim the pitch was not intentional. In addition, Yankee followers had to smile to themselves when they heard the excuse for getting hit after the grand slam home run. "There was a good amount of Yankees fans, " Sanchez pointed out, "so it was pretty loud after the grand slam. Maybe my Pitchcom wasn't in the right spot, so I pressed the wrong button."
One could hear the collective howl of Yankee fans who have suffered through their own team blaming the enemy field, the wind, the weather, and our personal favorite, cheating from Houston. The irony was not lost on them as Sanchez spoke of pressing the wrong buttons, which seemed to imply the Astros' use of technology finally failed them. What it signals is that after eight years, the Yankees have finally seen a crack in the Houston armour. The door to the division is wide open for the defending AL champions to claim the all-important top two seeds.
