Chapter 749 – 736. Yankee Pressure. (2)
– Ji Maeng-ho, unfortunately the cycling hit failed! The Yankees lost 7:6!
… Ji Maeng-ho, who returned from suspension, performed well, recording 3 hits in 4 at-bats, 1 home run, 1 walk, and 2 stolen bases, but Lutchman’s comeback hit at the right time… Meanwhile, Ji Maeng-ho recorded a double, a triple, and a home run, leaving one hit in his cycling hit, but recorded a walk in his last at-bat…
… With this loss, the Yankees recorded their third consecutive loss against the Orioles…
┗Wow, it did well in the beginning and then crashed again haha
┗┗Yankees, spring for a day or two? Haha, it’s everyday life~
┗Wow, but I was told to hit at the end, so I threw a fucking artificial ball, but I endured it.
┗┗There is a lot of controversy over his fierce defense skills, but his work style is ㄹㅇ Got. He just gets walks for the team haha
┗┗ㄹㅇ You endure it allㄷㄷ
┗┗I think I don’t need it anymore after riding a bike once haha
┗But these days, the Yankees’ batting cycle has dropped so much
┗┗Honestly, it was crazy when we won 14 games in a row haha
-AL East Standins
1. Yankees 18 wins, 9 losses, 0.667
2. Rays 18 wins, 9 losses, 0.667
3. Res Sox 15 wins, 14 losses, 0.517
4. Orioles 15 wins, 14 losses, 0.517
5. Blue Jays 11 wins, 19 losses, 0.367
-Yankees endless fall!
… The Yankees, who had been on a 14-game winning streak since the start of the season, are continuing their endless decline, recording 4 wins and 9 losses. In particular, in games against the Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox, and Baltimore Orioles, which are in the same district, they recorded 2 wins and 8 losses, appearing to give up on winning the district championship…
… There are two main reasons for the Yankees’ decline. Except for JJJ Po, the rest of the batters are showing far too little performance compared to the salary they receive…, In addition, the highly paid starters are doing their job, but the bullpen, which is close to the minimum salary except for closer Miller, continues to fire…
┗Mattingly! Out! We need a young director!
┗Get rid of Ohhapi, you old bastard. His batting war is -0.5 at 10%. Are you going to keep using this bastard just because he’s a catcher?
┗Can we leave out some Vientos too? I’m saying it now, but I didn’t like the fact that that kid was from the Mets.
┗Volpi How many years does this bastard have to wait? A kid who gets hit 12.4 meters tall just because he’s a shortstop can’t even keep up with Jeter’s performance.
┗LOL Anyone would think that the Yankees are in last place. Yankees players are doing worse because of these fans.
┗┗It’s so fucking funny. Vientos and Ohappi are the guys who hit 30 home runs last year, and these pot-bellied guys are ruining the Yankees.
┗┗What should I do if I did well last year? Isn’t now important?
┗┗The biggest problem is Ji. He shook his fist when he got angry, so while he was away, the team lost 1 win and 4 losses.
┗┗There is nothing wrong with Ji?
┗These bastards have been seen all the time in Manhattan during their 14-game winning streak, and if I see them one more time, I’ll kill them.
┗┗I won’t say who it is, but I’m warning the guy who hung out with a stripper all night and came to work. You should know that there are a lot of Yankees fans in New York, and they are watching your every move.
┗Just try to lose the game against Boston guys. You won’t come back alive
*
: Does one walk in a month make sense, you selfish piece of trash? If you’re not going to choose cheeks, why are you wearing colored eyes? If you don’t need it, should I sell it to you?
‘Anyway, there are a lot of assholes in New York. Everything about New York is good, but it would be better if there weren’t these assholes.’
After parking, Verdugo checked his DMs as he walked into the locker room. He laughed at the DMs cursing him and turned off his cell phone. At first, I was embarrassed when I received this DM, but now I am a veteran of 11 years since my major league debut. This kind of thing was familiar.
Of course, it wasn’t this bad when I played for big clubs like the Dodgers or Red Sox, but it’s now been 4 years since I played in New York. I was slowly getting used to these harsh DMs.
When I first came to the Yankees, I was a little scared when I received a DM threatening to kill my parents or stab me with a knife if I underperformed even for a moment, and when someone scratched my car in the parking lot in front of my house with an awl, I thought about filing a complaint. Still, Verdugo loved New York.
As long as my grades were a little good, no matter where I went to a store run by a Yankees fan, I was the starting outfielder for the New York Yankees. For a simple word and an autograph, there were places that would provide various services and free meals, and in some places in New York, Even when I went to a club, women would recognize me first and come up to me with an expression like, ‘Verdugo from the Yankees?’
Of course, I often heard from club presidents who contacted me first and asked me to brighten the occasion.
Just yesterday, I received a call as soon as I arrived in New York, and I went to the club to relieve the stress of losing streak, received quality service, and played like an emperor.
When he achieved much better results there, he even had a few secret meetings with celebrities he never dreamed of, so he couldn’t help but love New York.
The problem was the self-proclaimed ‘true fans’ who even sent DMs full of such profanity. I wanted to round up all these bastards who thought they were saving the Yankees by putting pressure on the players and beat them up.
‘Do you really think these guys don’t buy a single uniform and just watch it on the internet and send DMs? Should I curse like Ji?’
He thought about posting swear words like Ji Maeng-ho, who posted swear words on social media, but he quickly gave up the idea. Anyway, even if they criticized him, he would have to gather together about 100 of these bastards and add up their annual salaries to see if he would be able to make an annual salary or not, so he didn’t want to deal with those low-class people.
When I entered the locker room, thinking about the self-proclaimed ‘true fans’ who were sending trashy DMs to the players, most of the players had already gathered there. And there were some faces I saw for the first time this season.
It was natural for someone to take responsibility if the performance was poor, so Verdugo quickly looked at the names written in the locker room. The missing names are the bullpen that failed to protect the team’s victory in the last few games.
‘Hmm… Sean and Cody went down. So, do your best. Those bastards did the blon, and I was the only one who got criticized for no reason.’
In yesterday’s game, he went 1-for-1 and even scored a run, so he was annoyed that the bullpen bullies set fire to him and got him scolded, so he happily changed into his sports clothes.
“You’re late, Alex.”
As he was changing his clothes, Judge, already wearing sportswear, approached Verdugo.
“Am I the latest?”
“Yes, some people have already gone out to warm up.”
“Well, it’s still not late for work.”
“Well, that’s true. However, the team atmosphere and fan opinion are not good these days, so don’t do anything that stands out. Okay?”
“Okay. Well, I’m not a child, so I have to worry about that.”
“Okay, let’s win today and make the home fans happy.”
“Of course.”
The ground gave a reasonable answer to a judge who said obvious things. Normally, the crowd would come in and scream even before the game started, but as Judge said that public opinion was not favorable these days, team training was held in a quiet atmosphere except for a few people taking pictures.
‘Good atmosphere.’
And Verdugo liked that atmosphere. Honestly, in Verdugo’s opinion, the reason the Yankees couldn’t win the championship was because of the fans.
From fans sending death threats in DMs just because the team is in first place and losing a few games, to a crowd culture that boos underperforming players to the point where it’s hard to believe they’re home fans. In fact, there were times when away games felt like home games.
Especially playing at home after losing a game in the postseason? Then Yankee Stadium was like hell. When I saw them booing Judge, the team’s franchise star and center, I felt sorry for him.
‘If only there were fans like the woman I met yesterday, the Yankees would win the championship. Haha.’
The training progressed with the thought that it would have been great if there were only fans who liked it moderately and without overindulgence, and before we knew it, it was time for Mattingly to call the lineup.
“Then here is today’s lineup.”
Boston’s starting pitcher today is a right-handed pitcher. He thought that he would be placed in number 8 or 9, as he had been up until now, and was comfortably listening to the coach. Mattingly’s lineup seemed to have been copied by his hand, so he thought he would play today as well.
‘Well, number 8 or 9 is comfortable. Because it’s in front of Ji, the pitchers only give good balls. Why is there only one walk? That kid probably doesn’t even know the letter B in baseball. If you stand in front of Ji, good balls keep coming into the zone. What kind of batter would hold up against those balls? Of course, it is right not to choose a walk.’
While Verdugo was chewing on the fan he had sent a DM to,
“No. 4 hitter, designated hitter Stanton.”
Unexpected words rang in my ears.
‘… Huh? Trilling is the starter today… Has the director gone senile? They’re taking out me, a left-handed hitter, and putting in Stanton? Are they really going to give Kelnick a rest today and have me play center field?’
“No. 5 hitter, center fielder Kelnick.”
However, even though all the outfield spots were filled, his name was not called. Although he was almost angry at Mattingly’s tyranny of leaving him as the starting player without a word, Verdugo soon smiled to himself.
‘After… Yes, it’s better to miss a game like today.’
What kind of pitcher Trilling, today’s starter, was passing through my mind.
Although he is said to be strong against right-handed pitchers, Trilling has won the AL Cy Young Award for two years in a row and is one of only three starting pitchers in the Major League this season, along with McClanahan and Ohtani, to reach one point.
Going to a game on a day like this would mean undermining one’s own record. If he’s lucky, he might go 1 for 3, but most games end with no hits for 3.
Rather, it was like being considerate of yourself.
‘Well, I drank a lot yesterday. Rest isn’t bad. It’s clear Mattingly knows how to handle players.’
Verdugo smiled as he secretly thanked Mattingly for being considerate of him.
However, Verdugo had overlooked one fact. The fact that this game is not just a game.
A stagnant team atmosphere, bad recent performance, a spiritual rivalry, a home game, and the opposing starting pitcher is the pride of the rival team and the ace that the team’s fans love and cherish the most.
This game was a game where all of these important elements overlapped, and being excluded from such a game was like declaring that another player would be more helpful to the team’s victory.
But Verdugo just smiled, happy to get a break against the best pitcher in the league.
“… Number 9 is catcher Ohapi. Everyone hasn’t forgotten that they were shut out by Trilling in the last game, right? Let’s win today and take back that humiliation. Let’s go!”
“Yankees!”
Without even thinking about what Mattingly’s decision meant, he loudly shouted Yankees slogans.