Taylor Walls? The Rays infielder gave the New York Yankees — the team with the best record in baseball — bulletin board material.
The Rays lost Thursday’s series opener to the Yanks, their first game against the AL East favorites this season, thanks to part to an error by Walls. While it’s unknown if Walls spoke to the media before or after the game, the timing of this quote is a little curious given, ya know, the score.
“That team’s very beatable, and we know we can beat them,’’ said infielder Taylor Walls, per the Tampa Bay Times. “We’re here. We’re going to be here all year. There’s (18) more games (against them). We’re going to be here.’’
Rays: Taylor Walls gives Yankees bulletin board material
Yes, very beatable. Is this the same Taylor Walls who made a critical error in the Rays’ Thursday defeat?
The Yankees have yet to respond directly to Walls, but you can bet Aaron Boone will hang on to that bulletin board material for when he needs it. For now, New York is playing such good baseball there’s no need to waste such an opportunity.
As for his error, Walls was full of excuses:
“Maybe I rushed a little just because I knew I stumbled, so it lost me a little bit of time as far as if I were to have my feet up under me. I don’t know. I just felt like my momentum was going away from me,” Walls said.
Unfortunately, when one makes such a bold claim about a rival, you have to be able to back it up. Through one game, Walls has done the opposite.
It remains to be seen if he’ll become the next great Yankees enemy. For now, though, it’s a flop.