BALTIMORE — The Yankees lead the league in being pronounced dead. In being told to move along, go rebuild, stop torturing your fans with all these old, broken-down, falling stars.
But whether it is muscle memory or pride or just the ineptitude of the others chasing the final AL wild card, the Yankees just will not cooperate. Will not take that final step over the precipice in 2013, accept their toe tag. Close, but no casket. Not yet anyway.
Time to treat them like Freddie Krueger or Jason Voorhees. Show me the dead body. Then show it to me again. One more time. We are going to need to see that magic number completely evaporated. Indisputable proof.
Then and only then will we know for sure these Yankees couldn’t pull this parlor trick off, couldn’t sneak into the playoffs despite all of the injuries and age and failed performance and lack of farm system support.
If you needed a refresher course on this season, there it was Tuesday — disabled, but not derailed.
Before the game, the Yankees revealed Boone Logan’s left elbow is not getting better and his tests are being sent to — ominous drum roll — Dr. James Andrews.
Ivan Nova did not come out for the seventh inning because of a tight triceps that has been bothering him for months and that he now describes as “not too great.” Alex Rodriguez left in the eighth with a tight left hamstring — though he thinks he will DH on Wednesday. Austin Romine was removed in the bottom of the eighth with what the Yankees believe is a concussion.
Yep, the body parts continue to wither, but the patient just won’t expire. Bruce Willis never died this hard. The Yankees lost players yet again, but won a game, 7-5, over the Orioles, gained ground on the three teams — Tampa Bay, Baltimore and Cleveland — in their way for the final playoff spot.
“It’s nothing new,” Mariano Rivera said of another plague hitting the team. “We have been in this situation all year. We will have to find a way to get it done. We will find a way. Someone will step in, someone will step up.”
They have 17 games to make up the two games they are behind Tampa Bay while jumping over Baltimore and Cleveland (both a half game ahead) and holding off Kansas City (one game behind). They have to do this with personnel still shuffling in to help the weary and wounded. Free-agent lefty specialist Mike Zagurski arrived Tuesday before the game as protection against Logan not returning and — after the game — the Yankees announced they had obtained defensive specialist shortstop Brendan Ryan from the Mariners in case Derek Jeter does not come back.
It also would be no surprise if a catcher who hasn’t been with the Yankees all season arrives Wednesday to cover in Romine’s absence.
The most expensive, famous team in the world needs nametags, unless you can differentiate your Jim Miller from Matt Daley, your Cesar Cabral from Dellin Betances. The most important game of the Yankees season — each one the rest of the way will fit that category — ended with David Adams at third and J.R. Murphy catching.
The hitting stars were all players who arrived with the season already long in progress and who have see-sawed between too little too late and godsends against a dead end. Rodriguez had two doubles and an RBI. Mark Reynolds a run-scoring double and titanic solo homer. And Alfonso Soriano hit two more homers, the second a two-run shot that was part of five straight hits in the eighth that turned a 4-3 deficit to a 7-4 lead.
To protect it, the Yankees turned to Mariano Rivera. That forever was the great security blanket. You could put any Tom, Dick or J.R. on the field as long as Mo was on the mound, and all would be fine for the Yankees. But this is not that Rivera.
Nevertheless, despite his fall in production and advance in age (at 43, he is the oldest player in the majors), Rivera was asked for the fourth time in the last five weeks to get more than three outs — such is the depleted state of the pen. He had done that three times since Sept. 27, 2010. But Rivera is nearing the end, holding nothing back for the future, not concerned about becoming another broken body part with these Yankees.
He retired all four batters he faced to earn a fitting number — save 42 — rather than blow a save for the third straight appearance for the second time this year after never having done that before.
“Tampa lost, we won,” A-Rod said. “We are right in the middle of this thing.”
Not dead yet.