Yankees put Troy Tulowitzki on the 10-day IL and fans are not surprised

Troy Tulowitzki is on the injured list for the first time this season. It is, thus far, only a 10-day IL stint for a left calf strain. Thus far.

If you are aware of my writing, and I certainly hope that you are, you should already know what you are about to read. You should already know what type of Yankees fan I am. Before getting into it, let’s keep in mind that it’s only April. The Yankees have only played seven games this year. Seven. It’s still very early into the season and there’s a gargantuan amount of baseball left to play.

Having said that, you were all warned how petty I was going to be about this.

I’ll start this by stating that DJ LeMahieu is doing well in pinstripes. He’s hitting well and getting on base. Like everything, it’s a small sample size, but if I’m going to be petty about one thing, it’s only fair to acknowledge the good as well. Here’s hoping he keeps it up, as the team will need him.

Now onto the bad side of the Two-Face coin. Tulo is already injured. It has barely been a week of baseball and he is on the IL for a new injury. What an unexpected tale full of twists and turns.

Well then.

It’s entirely possible that this is nothing. It’s also potentially fortunate that it happened this early in the season. It’s still not at all comforting that we have to use the terms “possible” and “potentially” when describing Tulowitzki, yet here we are. Here we bunting are. We will most likely be here all year. If you want to see how fans are reacting to this news, just scroll down this Twitter thread.

It’s no secret that losing to teams like the Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles does not sooth my bitter, petty soul. “It’s still April” and “It’s only been seven games” are things I constantly have to remind myself of. And it helps, sometimes. It also helps seeing the vile Red Sox imploding on their West Coast trip from hell. Boy, does that help.

I still wholeheartedly believe that the Yankees will make the 2019 playoffs. You can clearly see the potential of this team. Aaron Judge is picking up right where he left off. Gleyber Torres had a day to remember yesterday. Gary Sanchez, despite some throwing errors, is showing way more life with his bat. It’s all there and it will get better. Still, here we are.

Miguel Andujar is facing potential season-ending surgery. Troy Tulowitzki’s tenure in pinstripes is already in question. Meanwhile, two generational superstars in their prime play on other teams due to reasons of cost, control, and the “we don’t have the room” excuse. And you know what? Good for those teams and good for their fans. They are all excited to have them and they’ve breathed new life into their fan base. It’s good for the sport, for however long it has left anyway.

Even if Manny Machado and Bryce Harper weren’t the right fit for the Yankees for whatever silly reason you come up with, there’s nothing that can be done about that. Personally, I think my favorite one was that they should save that money for an ace pitcher. Well, in case you haven’t noticed, free agency is pretty much dead. All the owners out there are signing up their stars to wild, team-friendly extensions. Not that I wanted him that much, but I’m prepared to be petty about Patrick Corbin as well.

All it would have cost the Steinbrenner Bros. was money that they already have in abundance. Money that could have been used to make the team even better than it already is. That’s the goal, right? To put the best possible team on the field? Sure, you can’t predict injuries, even though this current one was pretty gosh dang easy to predict. As I’ve said before, I never thought I would ever defend George Steinbrenner like I have lately, but his desire to win was never in question. Just almost everything else about him.

This all falls on Hal and Hank Steinbrenner. I’m not upset with Tulo for getting injured. I want him to do well, like I want all Yankee players to do well. Yes, the Yankees are playing only their third series of the season. However, I just keep “what if’ing” it every time I look at highlights of players I’ve wanted the Yankees to sign or keep, then look at Mike Tauchman batting 6th in our lineup. I look at Jacoby Ellsbury clogging up the roster drain.

Then I look at Gary Sanchez hitting a massive dinger. I look at Gleyber Torres having a 4-for-4 day. I look at Greg Bird and hope he can be everything I want him to be because his first name is the same as mine. My point is that you can have hope for the Yankees and still lament the easy bunting choices Hal and Hank could have made to make this team better for the past five or six years.

I hope it all works, I really do. But like I said, if it doesn’t, you will hear about it.