Never Satisfied: Sanchez Sharp, but Yankees Edge Jays
Aaron Sanchez was great last night. The Yankees are not an easy team to pitch against, especially since they are stacked with left handed hitters which have been the bane of Sanchez's existence. They grind out at bats and make it hurt. Sanchez pitched inside effectively, his sinker was on point with the curve and change mixed in.
The strike zone was in flux all evening, evidenced by both Pitch Trax and the visible frustration of our catcher. It was a right triangle that became an isosceles. And then some sort of rhombus. Nothing was called up until it was. It didn't help that Sanchez had a little bit of issue with his command. As he said to John Lott,
“You can’t go out there expecting to do great when it’s ball-ball-ball-strike-strike-strike-ball-strike,” he said, referring to his inability to get ahead in the count consistently and to put batters away promptly when he did.”
The great thing about this, is that despite the fact he was so on point, he wasn't satisfied. He was hungry.
Tanaka was not sharp but pitched just well enough to get by a Jays team that isn't quite firing on all cylinders yet. The bullpen, particularly Brett Cecil last night, isn't there yet. And the Jays are just missing the big hit late in games. Good American League offense should go "walk, bloop, blast." The walk, bloops and blasts are happening, but not consistently or sequentially.
“The curveball exposes a lot when it comes to whether you’re swinging the bat well or not. So it’s a good way to work on your swing, adjust some little things. Every guy’s a little bit different. But it’s good to get the reps.”
Luckily, facts are here to save us all.
SCIENCE!
Finally, the Ken Burns Jackie Robinson biopic is fantastic. The best thing it does it makes Robinson flawed and complicated but extraordinary, which is what a hero should be. Jackie Robinson was not a "magical Negro" and Burns does a lot of things that dispels some of the myths that persist about his story. I'm not sure how I would respond if I had to justify my existence in the world, at all times, the way Robinson, and so many other Black Americans have had to do.
He also wrote absolutely beautiful love letters to his wife Rachel. The doc is available online here.
This is Dave Zirin's Edge of Sports podcast interview with Ken Burns.
