Yankees Loyalist Fires Back at Critics After Tigers Upset, as Carlos Rodón Left to Shoulder Immense Pressure

The Bronx was not exactly buzzing on Tuesday night—unless you count the groans by fans that were echoing around the New York Yankees Stadium. Because the Yanks were flying high and in momentum, and the game against the Detroit Tigers was looking like another win at first. Sure, it was tight, a 2-2 game against them, but it turned into a full-blown disaster when the Yankee bullpen completely imploded.

In a bad seventh inning, Fernando Cruz and Mark Leiter Jr. combined to give up nine runs without a single out. They handed Tigers a 12-2 win—this is embarrassing to the fans. It’s almost a deja vu of what they faced with Jays.

Between four walks, four hits, a hit batter, and a wild pitch, Cruz and Leiter Jr. managed to throw only 14 of their 36 pitches for strikes. By the time Tim Hill finally stopped the bleeding, the Tigers had sent 10 men to the plate and blown the game wide open. The loss was annoying because Will Warren had done his job, tossing six solid innings and keeping New York in the fight. Hence, fans are mad—but not everyone is panicking just yet.

On the Locked on Yankees podcast, the hosts were more measured, saying, “I do think this is one of those losses where you crumble up the loose leaf, toss it in the bin, and move on to tomorrow, right? It’s a bad game that got away from them. It was winnable at a point, then it got away. They had a terrible inning. It happens … They’ll lick their wounds and come back tomorrow with Carlos Rodón, who’s been excellent for them over the last two months.”

And well, this is where the conversation goes—Carlos Rodon. The season for him was supposed to be the least stressful one, given that the Yankees got Max Fried. But with Gerrit Cole in the IL due to his Tommy John surgery, the pressure has fallen squarely on Rodon, and that’s some heavy pressure. To his credit, though, he has come through big time and put up a 3.12 ERA over 170.1 innings. He gave the Yanks the steady, reliable arm they needed. Rodon has been consistent, durable, and dominant at most times, and the Yanks need every bit of that if they are going to survive this stretch. Meanwhile their captain’s crown might just not reach him this time around!

Yankees captain’s MVP crown at risk?

Aaron Judge is the reigning American League MVP, after he put up unbelievable numbers last season. This time around, he is making another convincing case to keep that title. In just 134 games, Judge is hitting an eye-watering .321/.442/.660 with a 1.103 OPS. He has managed 44 home runs, driven in 98 runs, and scored 115 times. But that’s not all.

Judge is also leading the league when it comes to WAR, runs, walks, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging, OPS, and total bases. If that doesn’t scream dominance, then what does? However, this time it’s not a simple route for him, and the thorn that’s blocking his way is Seattle’s Cal Raleigh.

Raleigh holds the lead in the AL with 53 home runs and 11 RBIs, and immediately, that number shocks everyone. Catchers, after all, don’t put up stats like this. Plus, his strong defense behind the plate makes him a serious challenge to the Yankee captain. Now, ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle did predict that Raleigh could edge out Judge for MVP, even though Judge has had a great offensive season. “It shouldn’t be controversial to suggest that Judge has had the better offensive season despite Raleigh’s historic home run pace and league-leading RBI total,” Doolittle said.

Even then, Raleigh’s defensive value as a catcher and his durability could honestly sway the voters. So who will win it? This time it is confusing, but the overall best player will win this. Whether it’s Judge or Raleigh remains to be seen—the race, after all, is not over.