When the lights went out at LoanDepot Park on Friday night, it didn’t feel like a team on the rise. It felt like a slow-motion collapse that was almost mythical. The Yankees tore through the early frames, hitting home runs and stealing bases to build up every possible lead. Fans probably thought this was the turning point. But in baseball, it’s not that simple; leads are just illusions until you close the door.

The Yankees held a 9–4 lead in the seventh inning, fueled by home runs from Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham. However, Anthony Volpe tied the game with a home run in the eighth inning and later hit a double in the ninth that gave his team the lead. But an unexpected turn, and the Yankees collapsed. As the final pitch was thrown, the score was 13–12. Where did it go wrong? The pitching. And the Marlins dugout celebrated yet another comeback.

However, just before the game, the Yankees’ dugout was optimistic about the bullpen. Bryan Hoch shared a pre-game conversation on X. In which Camilo Doval said, “It’s tremendous. There’s so much talent in the bullpen when you look around. I think we’re going to do a great job.” David Bednar, a new reliever, also stated, “There’s no shortage of arms, and there’s no shortage of looks, either. Just a lot of different varieties and different ways to get guys out. It’s just going to be cool.” 

That confidence didn’t come out of nowhere. Brian Cashman, the GM of the Yankees, made a lot of changes to the team just before the trade deadline. He got three relievers who are All-Star candidates: Bednar from Pittsburgh, Doval from San Francisco, and Jake Bird from the Rockies. This was all done to fix a bullpen that had the worst ERA in the league in July (6.27). The rationale was rock solid: add more closers, cram in flamethrowers and weird arms, and watch the cherry-picked relief corps stop comebacks.

Instead, the three did the reverse. It started with Jake Bird taking the mound. Kyle Stowers hit a grand slam against him. The slam was only the start of a painful ride that would see all three deadline trades take their lumps in a big way. David Bednar let up one home run to Javier Sanoja, and Camilo Doval had a hard time on the mound as well.

The Yankees’ new bullpen fell apart terribly, giving up nine runs (seven earned) on nine hits and two walks in just 2 1/3 innings and only getting seven outs.  After the dust settled, Bird accepted the blunder. He said, “Just not executing the pitches to my ability.” “I need to be better there. I will be better.” 

Bird might have taken the responsibility. But the bleacher creatures went crazy, and social media turned into a digital roasting chamber.

Twitter fury erupts as Yankees’ bullpen boasts spectacularly backfires.

The difference between how confident they were before the game and how things turned out after the game was so big. And it almost called for mockery, and the internet was more than glad to give it. The first wave of replies centred on the sheer hilarious timing of the whole situation. A comment read, “Can’t help but just laugh at these quotes now.” Doval’s “tremendous” praise for the bullpen and the actual performance were two very different things.

A short and cutting remark, “This did not age well.” It would seem like a good idea to bench humility before you even play, but what if your bullpen gives the other side a walk-off gold mine?

No sarcasm, no jab, just frustration. “And then they su—- tonight.” Giving nine runs and changing the momentum from having a lead in the 4th inning from 3-0 to giving away in the very next inning by 3-4 is not what anyone expects. And, when the front office traded pitchers.

Are they still positive like they were in pre-game? That’s exactly what one fan noted: “I bet they aren’t quite as excited right now.” Well, that’s difficult to say. But Bednar knows, “It was not an ideal start, by any means.”

Yankees are top two, and Marlins are at 3rd, and losing against them wasn’t something anyone had imagined. And this fan didn’t shy away from taking it out, “Can’t even beat a below average team when we’re up by 6 runs at one point and 2 in the 9th.. I am so tired of watching the Yankees blow it. Get it together and get a new manager already.” Lately, the Yankees have been inconsistent, and the fans are getting furious now.

The Yankees’ last-minute trades were meant to be the last pieces of the championship puzzle, the things that would turn a good club into a great one. Instead, it turned out to be a loss the Yankees haven’t seen in 85 years.