Just when it seemed like nothing weirder could happen at the stadium after Gerrit Cole had his no-no moment against Rafael Devers in the fourth inning on Saturday, Boston manager Alex Cora nonchalantly acknowledged before Sunday's game that the Red Sox had tried to hit Aaron Judge with a pitch in the sixth inning.
“That's not acceptable,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said when informed of Cora's declaration after Judge, the 53rd batter in the third inning, smashed a 445-foot ball into red center field in a game his team won 5-2. “That's something someone else has to deal with.”
These 27 hours will become a singular footnote in the history of the rivalry. It's not Harry Frazee selling out the Babe. It's not Thurman Munson and Carlton Fisk. It's not Graig Nettles and Bill Lee. It's not Bucky Dent hitting an extra-base hit into left field. It's not Grady Little leaving Pedro Martinez in the game too long, or some third baseman named Boone hitting an extra-base hit late into the night in Game 7 in 2003, or overcoming/blowing a 3-0 edge in the ALCS a year later.
But it was something special.
When asked if his accusation Saturday that Cole intentionally hit Devers in the first inning carried over, Cora calmly acknowledged that Cole did, in fact, hit three batters in 4 1/3 innings of work.
“We stopped around the sixth inning yesterday,” the director said, in what might be taken as an excited Law & Order comment, but was more of a casual remark. “We had our chance. We didn't. We have to move on.”
In the sixth inning, Boston starter Brian Bello's first pitch went under Judge's feet and No. 99 hit a liner to deep center field, after which Bailey Horn came in to replace Bello.
“That's baseball,” said a calm Judge, sounding like a John Sterling impersonator. “He made a mistake. There was nothing you could do about it.”
Cora also thought he was being asked about his conversation with Boone after the game and unwittingly volunteered to talk about his postgame meeting with Judge, who, when asked about it, said, “It was a good conversation, let's leave it at that.”
Judge carried his bat about two-thirds down the line after bouncing a ball off the front of a restaurant above Monument Park to give the Yankees a 4-0 lead. If that was a statement, Judge wouldn't say it. He's not Cora.
“I thought you always did that,” he said. “Aren't you wrong?”
The Yankees went 5-2 in the Bronx, winning three of four games to finish the homestand three games behind the Orioles. Gleyber Torres continued to pitch well from the leadoff spot. Carlos Rodon was great. The retooled bullpen got the job done. It was a good day for Boone's team.
Cole's puzzling decision to intentionally walk Devers in the fourth inning on Saturday may end up being just a blip and a blemish, a mystery all its own. By the time the playoffs begin and Cole takes the mound in Game 1, it may be a 24- or 48-hour tale that's been forgotten.
But I don't know. And it's not the minor details that baffle me: whether catcher Austin Wells was part of the discussion between Cole and pitching coach Matt Blake last innings or even the pre-planning meeting in which this concept was apparently introduced.
This wasn't due to a breakdown in communication — Boone accepted responsibility when asked about it on Sunday — but chaos in the dugout is not a good sign.
I don’t understand the mentality of introducing such a concept to Cole going into a game, or in the dugout one inning before Devers’ at bat. It seems like the opposite of positive thinking.
I can't believe Roger Clemens acted like this. I would have thrown the bat at him before giving Devers a free pass. I can't believe CC Sabathia was comfortable with this, let alone Catfish Hunter, Tom Seaver, Don Drysdale or Bob Gibson. Can you imagine?
But maybe that's unfair to Cole. Cole fits the definition of a traditional starting pitcher, like Justin Verlander or Max Scherzer. Cole hits the ball all the time. He's a very traditional ace. But he was waving the metaphorical white flag from the mound, gesturing theatrically for Devers to get on base, as if Devers were an overbearing usher at the Lincoln Center Philharmonic.
At the same time, Cole comes into the world in an age of analytics, and he's part of a Yankees organization that believes it's the smartest-run organization around, despite not winning a championship since 2009.
Remember, this team — and Blake is part of it — was the team that started Deivi Garcia in Game 2 of a best-of-five series against Tampa Bay in 2020 when the Yankees lost the series 1-0.
Cole said, “No.” Cora said the Red Sox tried to hit Judge. No. 99 hit a home run. The Yankees won three of four.
Footnotes from “The Rivalry.”
