McCarthy: Unfocused Severino Embarrasses Himself on Biggest Stage
By Matt McCarthy, 985TheSportsHub.com
Much has been made about the postseason failures of David Price in Boston, but a few hours south on I-95, the Yankees are finding out that one of their best pitchers can’t handle primetime, either.
Luis Severino embarrassed himself Monday night in Game 3, getting tagged for six runs on seven hits before being chased from the mound in the fourth inning.
He fooled nobody and the Red Sox ambushed him from the first pitch of the game.
But the performance on the field is only half the story with the Yankees unfocused “ace.” Severino didn’t even know what time the game started.
Seriously.
As Ron Darling detailed on the TBS game broadcast, Severino began his pregame bullpen session at 7:32 p.m., absurdly late for a 7:40 start. Severino, it seems, did not know the game was starting at 7:40 until Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild told him with just minutes to spare.
How is that possible?
Aaron Boone denied after the game that Severino was late warming up. His denial was about as believable as a politician embroiled in an unraveling scandal. Severino also denied it, saying he was in the bullpen 20 minutes before the game started.
The cameras don’t lie, Luis.
Severino clearly wasn’t ready to pitch and the Red Sox feasted on him.
The young right-hander has already built himself a well-deserved reputation as a poor postseason performer, no small feat given that he has made only four appearances in October. His ERA in those games is 10.17.
Luis Severino (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
But he hasn’t just been poor, he has been spectacularly bad. His one-out performance as the starter in last year’s Wild Card game was one of the worst outings in playoff history.
At least he knew what time that game started, even if he wasn’t long for the contest.
Severino’s talent is undeniable. He was arguably the best pitcher in the American League for the first half of 2018. He was good in the Wild Card game against the not-very-talented Oakland A’s less than a week ago.
But like it always does with Severino, the other shoe will eventually drop.
It did in the second half of this year when he flushed a potential Cy Young campaign down the drain with an 11-start stretch with an ERA near 7.00.
The other shoe dropped again Monday night, and the Red Sox took advantage, pushing the Yankees to the brink of elimination.
Dependability is more important than ability. The Yankees are finding that out with Luis Severino.
You can hear Matt McCarthy on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s own Hardcore Baseball podcast and on various 98.5 The Sports Hub programs. Follow him on Twitter @MattMcCarthy985.
