Great Response!

 This was an excellent response from an elimination game.  Montgomery worked through 6 runners in 4 innings with a lot of movement on his pitches.  I would have signed up for 2 runs 4 innings so an impressive job by Jordan.  Green followed with his best work in a long time with 2 clean innings and he hit his spots very well.  Britton was lights out and I would have let him finish the inning because he was throwing his 94-95 mph heavy sinker and they were barely ticking the top of it for 5 straight batters.  He struck out 3 of the 5 and the other two topped balls.  Zack had his nasty stuff but more importantly, he had excellent command.  Chapman closed us out working the final 1 1/3 only allowing a walk.  The bullpen went 5 innings of no hit ball, walking 1 and striking out 7!  

Some points from the game:

• Higgy made some excellent blocks and it was nice to not worry about balls in the dirt nearly as much as with Sanchez back there.  I didn't mention this in my other post but Sanchez had a passed ball but also had a curve that he just missed and it clanged off his helmet.  Higgy has earned the start over Sanchez and because it is Cole pitching he would have caught anyway.
• The lineup should be the same IMO.  I guess Boone read this as he swapped Voit and Stanton.  Voit did get a HR and Stanton only got a double (wasn't a huge success but hopefully Luke wakes up.  The HR was a very bad pitch so I don't feel like he is swinging better yet, but definitely better.  You know you are hot (Stanton) when it was a very disappointing game when you were 1-4 with double.
• Gardner couldn't catch up to a line drive over his head that he did not break hard for right away.  These are the plays he used to make routinely that he just steps off on now.  He should play over Frazier though as his defense is still a lot better and Gardner has hit better.  Frazier was 0-2 with 2 K's off of Glasnow in game 2.
• Speaking of Glasnow, all 4 of the runs against Glasnow came off the bat of Stanton, I would, especially with Judge looking awful and Voit still struggling.  
• Judge is now hitting .111 with an OPS of .428.  He is guessing wrong and just making all the classic mistakes.  After taking 2 balls he had the count in his favor at 2-0, but he went reaching for a low and outside breaking ball and pulled it slowly to 3rd base.  That shows how off he is.  Let's assume he was looking for the breaking ball, but why would you lunge and reach for an outside one?   He needs to sit on a pitch and get after it.  With 2 strikes he may want to have the same approach based on his poor he has been doing.  Time for Judge to make his own adjustments
• Big hit by Gleyber; he is getting going at a good time; I worry about his defense still
• Darling showed he doesn't watch a lot of Yankee games as he said that Chapman rarely throws the slider.  This year, he threw it more than he ever has.  He used to rarely throw it but the usage has gone up every year.  This year he threw it 33% of the time, last year it was 25%, in his previous seasons it was more in the 15% range.  It bothers me when announcers don't do their homework.  He even said that this was the first time he saw him throw over 100; which wasn't true either (well maybe it was true that it was the first time HE saw it)
• This was an awesome graphic.  This gives such a great visual picture of the difference of when you have to time your swing on a breaking ball compared to a FB, this was from Chapman.  This is a still and not that clear but look when the FB is on the plate where the breaking ball is.  I thought this was great to see.  The difference is 4.3 feet as well as the movement and why you see professional hitters waive weakly at some pitches.  It is very hard to pick up if a pitcher throws from the same arm slot and position.

For tonight's game, the plan needs to be Cole to Britton to Chapman and nobody else gets on the mound!

This is why we got Cole and he needs to make adjustments from his performance last time (3 runs in 6 innings) so that he gives us 6+ with 2 or fewer runs allowed.  I think the key for him is the command of his off-speed stuff and then locating the fastball off the middle of the plate.  I hope our stat department has shown what TB has been successful in hitting and we should feature fewer fastballs and a little more off-speed stuff against TB.  Time for Cole to earn his paycheck!

Down 2 Games to 1

• Morton has really good stuff, but he made a lot of middle of the plate pitches and the Yankees either took them or missed them.  This was one of the keys to the game
• The 2nd Key to the game was Tanaka making a lot of bad pitches and TB making him pay for them.  Those centered pitches did not come back.
• The 3rd key (I guess I have 4) was the AB where Luke was up with bases loaded (3rd inning) and had a 3-0 count.  I did not want him to get the green light and he didn't and Morton threw a pitch that was low, but called a strike; that was unlucky.   Morton, who was all over the place threw one outside that was close and once again we did not get the call for strike 2....Luke then grounded out.  That was very unlucky that Morton was either just off the plate and got both calls or just barely threw a strike and got both calls.  Either way, a bad break as it would have been a run and Stanton up with the bases juiced and Morton reeling.
• The final key to the game was the 3 run HR by Kiermaier who can only drive the down and in pitch (I mentioned this yesterday) and Tanaka missed his spot and gave him his perfect pitch.  The main key to this was the play before should have been a strikeout/throwout to give us 2 outs.  The ump was giving the low strike (see Luke) until this VERY critical missed call.  Kiermaier homered on the next pitch.  The ump hurt us bad with that missed call.   The Ump was pretty good the rest of the way :-)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            A few other points
• Excellent catch by Judge in the first inning!  The ball was crushed had a little topspin and the sun was not helpful.  Judge also made a good play cutting off a ball later and made it look easy.  Glad he is doing that as he has zero pop in his bat going the other way.  His Sac fly to RF to tie the game was a good example of his struggles to drive the ball.  His OPS is now .490 in the 5 PS games
• DJ should have been able to snag the 2 out single that plated TB's first run/  He thought he had it as he jumped with 2 hands up; if you felt you needed to stretch for the ball you would only use your glove hand to jump and stretch up.  I am sure DJ would tell you he should have had it.
• Torres had an AB that was a little typical.  He took two hittable strikes and then swung at a ball in the dirt
• Voit has been awful at the plate (.348 OPS) 
• Stanton is scorching hot and needs to swap spots with Voit, if you want to play Voit (I think you have to).  It is a shame Stanton and Hicks are the only ones really doing anything offensively.  I would seriously think of walking Stanton if anyone is on base.
• Speaking of Hicks, he was beaten inside on a bunch of fastballs that he fouled off, but he did make the adjustment later for a double.
• Higgy was 0-3 (They ended up giving Adames a tough error that I agree with), but it is nice to have him behind the plate so we don't have to see a passed ball and a ball hit off his face mask as he missed a ball (I forgot to mention that yesterday)
• Gardner has been OK with a .762 OPS
• This was a disappointing performance by Tanaka who had been excellent in the postseason coming into this year.  Tanaka had allowed 9 earned runs in his previous 46 innings (1.76 ERA) and this year he has allowed 11 earned runs in 8 innings.  Yet another example of why there is no statistical validity to someone being clutch (having clutch ability).  While there are clutch performances, there is not clutch ability; or at least it is statistically unlikely.  I know this always brings out strong views, but all of these players have played in high-pressure situations and if someone was a "choker", they would not be able to have such success to get to the majors.  I have written about this many times.  ARod was a choker until he would have been our MVP until Rivera had his rare blown save against Boston.  Andy Pettitte was such a clutch performer in the postseason, yet his ERAwas 3.81 in the postseason and 3.85 in the regular season; pretty close.  Is Judge a choker with how bad he is performing...or is it because he just was not swinging well coming into the playoffs?  My favorite example is how amazingly clutch Girardi was in the postseason.  That RBI triple against Atlanta was an amazingly clutch hit; he was definitely clutch...right?  Girardi stepped to the plate 127 times in the playoffs and that triple represented half of his total extra-base hits and it was his ONLY RBI in the postseason!  I should just drop the mic, but I want to be fair and use Jeter to show the other side and that is he had an OPS of .817 in the regular season and .838 in the postseason and he pretty much had a full season of numbers in the postseason 650 AB's, 32 doubles 5 triples and 20 HR's.  While pretty close, I would say to perform in the postseason slightly better than the regular season (with a large sample size) may show a tiny, tiny bit of more clutch ability to others as I assume the pitching in the postseason would be better than the regular season.

Our backs are against the wall and we are relying on Jordon Montgomery to pitch for us...Nothing against Jordon as he is a fine back of teh rotation guy that may improve as well, but   I think I would rather start Garcia.  Maybe start Montgomery and have a very quick hook and then it is bullpen time?  Let's see what we have!

Game 2 - Frustrating

 Talk about a game that immediately ticked me off.  This is perhaps my own issue I have to deal with, but I was really pissed just after 1 inning.  For one, I realized that CB Bucknor was behind home plate and it is always an adventure with him back there as he is simply pathetic behind the plate (more on that later).  Second, and my son can attest to this, before the HR to Arozarena, I said clearly, DO NOT THROW HIM A FASTBALL on the 3-2 pitch with nobody on base...Sanchez put the 1 down and he hit a HR.  This immediately set me off.  It is just stupid and without a game plan.  It is pretty obvious that fastballs have been the pitches that TB has done their damage against and while you must throw fastballs, Arozaerno would not see one from me unless it was inside tying him up.

Right away I was annoyed, but then I became more pissed and perplexed when Haap started the 2nd inning???  What was Boone thinking?  Garcia would have been OK, but the pitch selection was not good, and don't you want to use guys to extend in this format?  Yes, he allowed a HR, but the idea behind the 1 or 2 innings starter is to get through their perfect lineup with a good pitcher.  I really like Garcia and he is a very bright future, but, I am not ready to anoint him as a great pitcher yet.  Regardless, I would have left him in for the 2nd inning once you decided to start him game 2 (which led to many texts about this decision before the game).  Also, while I think the idea of a 1-2 inning starter does have merit, it is better when you can move their lineup around with a righty or lefty and then switch to the other.  The problem here is that because of the great changeup Garcia has he is more effective against lefties (small sample size but .817 OPS against righties and .579 against lefties).  Happ is a little better against lefties too so you don't really get any advantage out of the switch so the decision didn't make sense.  Happ actually had a solid year, but I am not sure what Boone was really trying to do and I think he was trying to be cute without any real reason behind it...and it blew up on us as Happ was awful allowing 4 runs in 2.2 innings and it could have been worse if Ottavino didn't get out of a 2 on and 2 out situation.  This was good to see as Ottavino looked good enough where we can use him to matchup on a righty batter or two.  He can be important.  

Stanton has been a monster and all the people who have been criticizing him need to back off as he clearly has not been worth the money so far, but injuries happen and he has absolutely been carrying us.  His 3 run HR had to be farther than the 454 they stated, it was crushed.  Ron Darling may not be the best, but he did state that he has seen so many long balls before but that was probably the longest HR he has ever seen.  Stanton did K later and also hit another bullet right at the LF'r.  I feel good for Stanton and it is great for us!

Loaisiga followed Ottavino and allowed his walked man to score by throwing a fastball down the middle to Keiermaier and then allowed his own HR the next inning on another fastball down the middle.  Down 7-4 against their vaunted pen, we did mount some pressure in the 7th as we got the 1st two guys on, but Sanchez, DJ and Judge all K'd against Anderson, who made some mistakes that we just didn't hit.  

Down by 3 in the 9th they brought in Fairbanks and Gio started us off with a walk.  Then Torres walked, but wait, CB Bucknor called a strike on a pitch that should get him fired.  It was high and outside (I will try and attach a picture of this).  There were roughly 15 calls that change the outcomes of AB's throughout the game and not all against us (Happ had 2 very important calls go our way when they had 1st and 3rd and 2 outs and it allowed him to get a K).   But, this would have set up the tying run at the plate with nobody out in the 9th inning.  Torres was able to gain his composure and foul off a ball just off the plate that would have been called a strike before taking ball 4.  While the outcome of teh AB was the same, who knows if Cash would have taken him out or how it impacts the players in future AB's not being able to take anything remotely close?  This guy is throwing 99-101 MPH so it stinks having Bucknor back there.  

Frazier was now up and we know he is a good FB hitter.  With a 2-0 count and having walked the first 2 batters, I said to myself, this is time for Frazier to cement himself as a Yankee we can trust.  He swung through a top of the zone 99 mph fastball.  Darn, had his chance, but I would still be sitting dead red and when Fairbanks missed way up high we had a 3-1 count and things looked good.  We got a tough break as Fairbanks luckily caught the up and inside part of the strike zone and CB called it a strike (he could have missed it as the catcher was not calling for it there.  That was a bad break and it hurt as Frazier then swung through a fastball that was just above the strike zone for our first out.  We still had Sanchez, but he swung 3 straight times and went back to the bench.  The last pitch was basically right down the middle but he missed it.  Fairbanks was struggling that after Gary swung at the 2nd pitch that was outside and high you would think he would not throw a strike, but he did and Sanches still missed it.  DJ then went up with a plan looking for a fastball and he got and ripped it up the middle for a run and now Judge represented the go-ahead run.  Unfortunately, Judge is struggling and after the first slider that was a ball was called a strike he was in a bad spot.  He then tried to check his swing on a slider ball in the dirt, but the 1st base ump said he went.  It was close, but I think the right call.  Then Judge got a slider right over the heart of the plate but he topped it to 3rd to end the game.

CB Bucknor is horrible behind the plate and should never ump a postseason game...or any game behind home plate.  I have said this numerous times throughout the years in this blog and last night was yet another example of him changing the outcome of AB's and the game with incredibly inconsistent calls and one, in particular, that was absurd.  Here is the picture; Torres was tossing his bat and I had already fast-forwarded to what I thought was the next AB and couldn't believe it was called a strike.  I don't think this does it justice as I couldn't get a better freeze of it, but the dot is where the pitch ended up and the catcher is centered on the plate.  In his natural stance, this was above his letters and way outside.

Time to get back at it tonight!

Game 1 To The Good Guys!

 

I am going to start in the 9^th inning because it was a curious decision by Kevin Cash to leave Curtiss out there or possibly even to start him in the 9^th.  Curtiss had a 1.80 ERA this year in 25 IP he struck out 25, so he was sharp this year, but it was obvious after 2 batters he was struggling mightily with his control and the announcers were saying they couldn’t bring in their normal bullpen they do when they have a lead because of the no rest in between games and the possible 5 straight games.   Here is where I think this is a mistake.  I could see us not using Chapman or Britton down by a run if we had Loaisiga or Ottavino who have been very sharp.  But, when they didn’t have it and it is still a one-run game, I want to keep it there.  You don’t know what will be needed tomorrow and a one-run game is within reach.  Even if you still didn’t want to go with your best, I would not have left him out there when he had no control and not much bite.  Cash left him in against Judge and while Judge just stood there for 4 pitches, it could be argued the count could have been 3-1 instead of Judge walking back to the dugout without swinging.  Even in those strikes, Curtiss, was missing his spots.  The final pitch was a good pitchers pitch with a slider low and away just barely out of the strike zone.  Curtiss then on a 1-2 pitch threw a spinner that was high and out of the strike zone but Hicks jumped on it for a single giving us another run and giving us a large 2 run lead now.  He stuck with Curtiss still with only one out and then he walked Tyler Wade.  There is no chance he sees another batter, but fortunately, he did as he threw a slider that was perfect height and a little outside on the plate and Stanton crushed it for a game over Grand slam.  Stanton has been criticized, but he is a difference-maker when on.  He has now hit a HR in each of our postseason games this year.

Now my summary of the game:

•        First, I like the “5” straight games of playing as it better shows who has the better team, not just who has the better postseason team.  I like that you need to use a 4^th starter or really tax your 1^st starter, I like that you can’t just have your best pitchers only pitch those leveraged spots.   It is more like the regular season but obviously more important.
•        I had sent out some texts before the game as I did not want Gardner to start the game.  I was OK with Sanchez DH’ing (he has good numbers against Snell) and Stanton playing left or just start Frazier in LF and that is what Boone chose.  Frazier jumped on a high fastball and tomahawked a HR and also struck out with the bases loaded and 2 outs.  Overall, good job Clint and Boone!
•        Cole simply struggled with his secondary pitches.  He normally has a great curveball and a slider that moves away from righties that is not as sharp as his curve and a change he runs away from lefties.  His control of all of them was really poor.  He spun many (at least 5) curves that never dropped to the strike zone (think of the single Hicks had in the 9^th) and had a bunch land in the middle of the K zone as well.  His slider was not used much, but he only had one very effective one that I saw.  I don’t think his change was thrown for a strike all game, but he didn’t throw many.  That gave Tampa the opportunity to sit on his fastball which has life and got up to 100 on one two-strike pitch (he hit 99 a few times as well).  The time she threw a sharp breaking ball, even in the strike zone it was effective and when he cornered it, he struck some people out.  He got more control as the game went on which helped but he clearly didn’t have the feel all day.  An example of why the secondary pitches are so important can be shown in the Frazier AB’s.  In his first AB, he was sitting FB and jumped on a high one for a HR.  Predictably, his next AB he saw breaking balls and when Snell did give him a FB which was easier to hit than the HR, Frazier was late on it.  Just knowing the slower pitch can be thrown and thrown in a good spot makes it harder to hit the FB, especially with 2 strikes when you run a higher risk to guess.
•        BTW, it is interesting that the games are all in warmer weather sites.  I never liked that baseball is played in the heat of the summer and then the most important games are played in the cold of October/November.  So I like this, but the hard throwers have an advantage pitching in the cold in my opinion as hitting in the cold is not as easy (getting jammed stinks) and in pitching, the feel pitches (softer stuff) are harder to throw effectively
•       Great start of the game with a 9 pitch AB by DJ and then lines one up the middle for a single.
•        Judge ripped a homer on an inside breaking ball, but has not been driving the ball to RF with authority.  He needs to step it up as we need his bat.  I know it is hard to criticize a guy who homered but he is not as sharp as he can be.
•       In Judge’s AB with DJ on 2^nd base he dribbled one in between the 3^rd baseline and the pitcher, Snell got it and fired to 1B and guess what?  He didn’t stretch toward the throw and almost missed the ball as Judge was getting there at the same time.  Not only could have he hurt his arm, Judge could have been safe.  Tampa got a break there, but one day someone will read this blog and 1B everywhere will change how they take that throw (Maybe I should try the Yankees first so we have an advantage?)
•        I have said this before but Torres at SS is shaky.  Combined with Luke at 1B and when Sanchez catches and that leads to some of our poor defensive showings.  Luckily the rest are solid and Gio has been spectacular!
•     Luke missed a few very hittable pitches.  His foot is bad, but I would keep him out there as we don’t have better options and he has hit enough to overcome his defense
•        Great game by Higgy!  I am so much more comfortable with him than Sanchez.  He blocked many very easily and with our guys it is important.  He also had an excellent game at the plate, going 2-4 with a walk and a HR!   He needs to make sure his front sliding foot touches home plate next time as it could have mattered if the play was closer.  He got around 3^rd pretty well for a catcher (in the 9^th)
•        Green, Britton and Cessa each pitched a hitless inning but walked one guy.  Nice work!

·         Tonight we start a 21 year old, which will be the youngest postseason starter in our history.  He reminds people of Pedro with a little less top end on his fastball.  BTW, did anyone see Pedro before the game?  I am not sure if he was sick so I am not trying to be insensitive, but he looks like he ate Pedro Martinez, his neck looked wider than his head.

UPDATED: 2 Down; 11 More Wins For The Title!

UPDATED: 

I could get into heavy detail, but I will first list my 10 key takeaways and then get into the detail.

• The longest 9 inning game in MLB history! The game was 4 hours and 50 minutes not including the 43 and 33 minute rain delays.
• The umpire was very inconsistent and bad...it did not favor either team, but it impacted a lot of AB's both ways.
• Tanaka made a lot of very bad pitches, the rain delay and the heavy rain probably had something to do with it, but too many very bad 2 strike pitches.
• The Yankees kept pitching the Indian lefties inside and a little down and many balls were hit down the 1B side because of this.  They should have been pitching those lefties outside or up and in.
• The offense was great in the two games...Our revolving lineup of quality, grinding AB's and working walks wears down the pitchers.
• Taking Carrera out when he did was probably the worst decision made by either manager.  He is a very good pitcher and while it was an elimination game, I would have continued with him and was surprised, he was pulled out.  The Grand Slam By Gio that followed exacerbated that decision.
• The only guy in the bullpen who did well was Chapman, however, Britton was taken out too early.
• Hand blew his first game of the year Wednesday.  He was 16-16 during the year.
• Gio was the MVP.  The Grand Slam was huge, the single in the 9th was important, but the outstanding play 5-4-3 DP in the 8th saved the game!
• The overall game was not played or pitched well (19 walks), but it was a back and forth exciting game.  

1st inning:

After we went down 1,2,3, Cleveland got a one out double to LF where Hernandez went with a high outside pitch and drove it down the line.  The pitch was with 2 strikes but was not a real bad one location wise, but was 90-91 MPH so it didn't have much velocity.  Tanaka didn't hit 93 in the 1st inning.  Tanaka was pitching in a wind and rain storm that was surprising they let the game go on.  Standing on the mound his uniform was like a wind battered flag.  After allowing a double down the 1B line on the type of pitches I mentioned in the highlights, they finally stopped the game for rain.  Again too many pitches to their lefties that were strikes in the "bottom left" of the strike zone.  When we resumed, Tanaka got an out and then walked Reyes.  Naylor doubled knocking in 2 runs and then our defense hurt us.  Perez hit a hard line drive grounder that ate up Torres who went the wrong way, indicating it either took an odd hop or that he just read it wrong, but because it was hit hard it got to Gardner very quickly and he fielded it 2 steps before the runner touched 3rd base.  However, Gardner double clutched on his throw and by the time he got it home it was too late.  If either one of them did their job the runner was either out or thrown out.  The batter got to 2nd on the throw, but we left him stranded.

2nd inning:

Stanton hit a HR to get us on the board and Tanaka settled down

3rd inning:

Yanks go down in order and Cleveland get a walk on 3 straight outs

4th inning:

Hicks leads off with a 3-2 count line drive that Deshields looked like a little leaguer on as he took 2 steps in and then it went over his head for a "triple."  Voit worked a 7 pitch walk and then Stanton walked on 5 pitches and Cleveland surprisingly took out Carrasco.  He had thrown 73 pitches and did walk two guys, but there should have been one out and he was their 2nd best starter and was really solid all year.  I was very surprised they took him out.  Urshela took a 3-2 pitch that was low and in and ripped a grand slam that gave us a lead after being down 4-0!  The Yanks were not done as Torres and Gardner walked and with nobody out they made a pitching change (terrible job by Karinchak...or wild thing as they call him).  Maton, threw only 7 pitches and got Sanchez, DJ and Judge to get out of the 1st and 2nd nobody out situation.

5th inning:

Hicks walked and then Voit doubled to LC so we had 2nd and 3rd nobody out. Stanton had a productive sac fly that also moved Luke to 3rd base with one out, but this was the one time Gio didn't get the job done as he topped a one strike pitch to the pitcher and Luke stupidly got caught off 3rd base.  Torres grounded out on the 1st pitch, but we took a 6-4 lead.  Cleveland was scoreless for 3 innings but Lindor doubled down the RF line on one of those down and inside pitches to a lefty and Hernandez walked, which ended Tanaka's night.  I was OK with this as Tanaka gutted through the rain and the delays, but didn't have his normal velocity of 92-94 and can hit 95 when dialing it up.  Unfortunately Green gave another low and in pitch their lefty and he doubled down the RF line.  This was another poor play by our defense as Judge got the throw into DJ, who made a very high throw to Sanchez who had to jump up and then come down and tag backward (turned toward the 1B dugout or right) and was just late in beating the runner to the front (3rd base side) of home plate.  An average throw and he is out.  Green got the next two guys.  Score is 6-6

6th inning:

Gardner led off with an excellent 9 pitch walk.  Gary jumped on the first pitch and didn't barrel it up but had a good swing where the ball got up in the air and with the wind blowing out just cleared the fence for a huge 2 run HR.  Cleveland came right back with a single a strikeout and then another single to make it 1st and 2nd with one out.  The last single came on an 0-2 count where the pitch needed to be out of the zone but caught too much of the plate.  Managing aggressively, Boone went to Britton.  I understood Boone's thought process here as the bullpen was fully rested, but I wouldn't have been pissed if he left Green in there because he was throwing decent.  Lindor is equal against both sides so making him go to the right side didn't matter.  When the count went to 3-2 it was nail biting time, but Britton's wicked 95 MPH sinker induced a grounder to 3rd base that Gio turned into a 5-4-3 DP!  Yanks up 8-6

7th inning:

Luke walked and I immediately wanted Wade to pinch run for him even though it was very probable Luke would get up again.  Luke is a very poor defender and with a 2 run lead I wanted to increase our chances of scoring in this inning and better our defense for 3 innings for the large drop off of that last AB and if it was important you could pinch hit.  Boone did not make the switch.  However, after Stanton struck out, it either dawned on Boone or someone and they finally put Wade in.  I think that was a mistake to not be on that earlier.  After Gio got out Torres hit a weak grounder that Ramirez booted and we had 1st and 2nd with 2 outs, but Gardner got out.  Britton struck out Hernandez and got Ramirez out for 2 outs and it looked like we were gaining control here.  But because momentum is fictional 😅 Britton walked Santana and Reyes putting 2 batters on base.  Britton had pitched 24 pitches, which is getting up there, but he is wild and I trust his stuff or at least I would have for at least one more batter.  When they took out their hottest hitter (lefty) for a pinch hitter (righty) that is better against lefties, Boone felt it was worth making the move Loaisiga.  After 2 fastballs and an 0-2 count things looked good.  After a wasted curve, we came back with another curve that was belt high but almost on the corner and Luplow doubled in 2 runs.  The pitch was not in the right spot and we were tied at 8.  After hitting the next batter, we got a force out to get out of the inning.

8th inning:

After Sanchez K'd, DJ and Judge walked, but Hicks grounded into a force and Luke's (Wade's) spot was up and Boone went with Frazier as a pinch hitter instead of Ford who would have to play 1B anyway.  Ford really struggled down the stretch so this made sense to me and Wade was not an appetizing option either.  Frazier had a terrible AB - he took two fastballs for strikes and then swung at a fastball out of the strike zone.  We kept Loaisiga out there but he walked Deshields to lead off the 8th and then walked Lindor on 4 pitches.  Not having faith in Ottavino made the move to take out Britton or even Green a little tougher, but it was hard to predict so many runs scored.  Regardless, Boone went to Chapman as he had to here.  After a jam shot single we were down by one and still had nobody out with 1st and 2nd.  (Deshields read the hit very well which allowed him to score).  Chapman got a huge strike out and with one out Gio saved the game as Santana rocketed a ball to Gio's left and he snagged it with a dive and ended up on his ass with his legs out but still made a quick transfer and threw a strike to 2nd to start the 5-4-3 DP that kept the game at one run.  It was a fantastic play!!!

9th inning:

Hand came in for Cleveland and he was 16 for 16 in save situations this year, But Stanton walked to lead us off.  Tauchman pinch ran for Stanton (it reminded me that it was a shame that Tauchman hasn't hit well because he would have been a good option to pinch hit in the 8th instead of Frazier.).  Gio then served a medium liner into CF flicking a low 0-2 pitch and we were in business with 1st and 2nd.  Torres worked to a 3-2 count and on the 8th pitch chopped a ball to the back side of the mound and Hand was not able to corral it as it bobbled off his glove.  They gave Torres a hit, but that was very fortunate.  Bases loaded and nobody out things looked excellent.  However, Gardner, after being up 3-1 in the count fouled two fastballs off before striking out.  Sanchez was now up against a strikeout pitcher with bases loaded and one out.  Kraken did the minimum to get the job done and got a sac fly to tie the game.  DJ then had a seeing-eye grounder go right up the middle to plate the go ahead run.  Judge then finally took the open base at 1st as they would not throw him a strike but he swung at 2 balls way inside before finally taking the base.  Hicks was now up with bases loaded and a chance to allow us to breathe easy, but swung at a very low changeup and then foul tipped a fastball before waving at a pitch that was bounced to the plate.  Terrible AB but we were up by one.  Chapman looked sharp striking out Reyes on 3 pitches and got Lulow to ground to Gleyber before striking out Nercado to end the game...well, that would have been too easy on a night like this.  Sanchez didn't turn his glove on the strikeout pitch that was way inside and allowed it to bounce off his glove for a passed ball and it gave Cleveland life.  (Frustrating).  Chapman closed it out by striking out Hedges to end the game 10-9 and win the short series!!!   

Bring on the Rays.  There is no love between these two teams.  It started back when Tampa ran over Francisco Cervelli in a spring training game and broke his wrist and continues through a lot of hit batters; mostly with CC being involved.  They have beaten us 8 out of the 10 games this year and they have been the best team, but it is time for us to get our revenge.  While our defense has not been sharp and our pitchers have not been at their best, we are healthy and I do believe we have the best team on paper...it is time to prove it and the offense will need to get it done against a TB team that I expect to pitch better than Cleveland did (Cleveland pitchers under-performed)

Previous post

The game last night, and into this morning, had so much to write about.   But, after going to bed around 1:30 (a little too pumped up as well) and getting up at 6 am, I need to finish later.  I usually just throw it up here quickly and move on, but there were so many interesting and not easy decisions that I want to break them down a little more.

I will send out a note later when I update it, but glad we moved on to play TB.  Unfortunately, they were clearly the best team in the AL and we need to find a way to beat them 3 out of 5!

Enjoy the day and stay safe!

 

All Is Right For At Least One Game!

This game was in line with what we should be expecting from this team!

The most important part of this game was watching our top pitching prospect show off his tools and his ability to deal with not having command of his great changeup. In the 2nd inning, with 2 outs and a man on first, Garcia had a 3-1 count on Fisher (Lefty).  Two failed changeups put him in this hole, but he threw a fastball at 90 for a strike.  He then threw a 92 MPH for a strike.  At this point, Garcia was throwing 90-93 MPH fastballs.  I wanted another change even though he wast struggling with it.  His fastball can be a little straight and after the last strike was fouled off I felt Fisher was on it and not expecting a change as he had thrown 3 balls on his last changeups.  He threw a fastball and it was deposited for a 2 run HR.  That was a mistake in 2 ways as I felt it was the wrong pitch, but he also centered the FB.  He still showed off his excellent stuff and I was really jazzed to see him get stronger as the game went on.  Garcia has an excellent curve and he also throws a slider to righties sometimes (definitely his least thrown pitch but it is pretty good).   That is a very repertoire, but you may say 90-93 is pedestrian these days...and you are right.  But, he pumped it up to 95 a hand-full of times and was at 94 many times as well.  I also liked that Boone stuck with him as he was getting stronger and he allowed him to go 7 innings allowing only 5 hits and had no walks and 6 k's.  Remember he did this while struggling with command of his best pitch (the change).  I am real excited about this kid.

The game continued with our lineup looking better as Torres is swinging his bat much better to go along with  DJ, Frazier and Voit to lengthen our lineup some.  Voit only had one hit, but our team walked 7 times and we put up 7 runs.

The 7 innings got us to Britton for an inning and then 1 inning from Chapman and that is our recipe for success.  

So the pitching followed the script (usually it would be 6 innings and then a well matched up 7th and then Britton and Chapman, but this worked.  The team had some hits with RISP and even Sanchez made a defensive play by blocking a pitch and then throwing out a guy trying to get to 2nd on it and he threw a bullet strike (The only good part of his defense...and it is excellent).

Seeing our rookie pitch well for our 22nd win was very encouraging...now we need Judge, Urshela and Stanton back.  This season is moving along as we only have 30% of the year left (18 games).

Tomorrow we have a DH against Baltimore and they are right behind us for the WC so they are big games.

Snatching Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory

The Yanks are simply awful right now.  Some poor decisions by Boone, the players just playing terribly in all 3 phases (fielding, pitching and hitting) and also some tough calls have led to this run of futility.  Injuries have not helped either, but if the people playing were performing, the outcomes would be far better.

First the positives:

Luke has hit really well; posting a .973 OPS.  He is a real hitter and is a guy who should post a mid .800+ OPS and is actually almost identical to his numbers in 2018 with us (Within 2 AB's as well)

Frazier has played very well too.  His .945 OPS has been great and has shown a steady progression of getting better at the plate every year.  His defense has also been better this year.

DJ has an OPS of .901 so no issues there; similar to last year.

The 3 injured guys were all performing well.  Judge (1.081) and Stanton (1.038) are our two best hitters and Gio (.873) are greatly missed in the lineup.

Hicks is in line at a .778 OPS as well.

Now the negatives:

Sanchez: His defense is not better and his offense has been putrid (.565).  He is hitting .125 with 11 walks and 49 k's...and he is healthy.  

Gardner: There have been many plays in the field where he would have made the plays and he is just coming up short.  Compounding his poor performance is an OPS of .603.  If others were healthy and playing, it would not be an issue and he wouldn't have had played as much

Ford: He has been terrible.  For someone who is only a hitter he has an OPS of .500 in 72 AB's.  If he were hitting we wouldn't see Luke who has been very poor in the field still.  

Andujar - started terribly, but has been hitting well of late and is at a total of .643 right now in 50 AB's.  His defense is still bad everywhere.  

Tauchman: His .647 OPS is very weak and he has had 80 AB's.  His defense has been solid though.

Gleyber only has an OPS of .646 and the ball has not been jumping off his bat to the right side.  

Estrada, (.531), Wade (.506) and Higashioka (.385) have been ATROCIOUS  in about .215 AB's.  Higgy's .385 is his OPS and the other night he didn't receive the ball well either.  

The people subbing in have been awful.  We even brought in Jody Mercer to play SS and he was 2-11 with no extra base hits.  

I will go into pitching in my next post.

Quick comments on the last two games with Toronto:

• Leading 6-2 in the 6th inning Green and Ottavino find a way to allow 10 runs while getting only ONE out.  This is not a misprint.
• Last night we were given the bases loaded by 3 walks and didn't score as Tauchman swung at a 3-1 pitch (it was a strike) and flew out.  No chance I am swinging there as I don't think their pitcher could have thrown 2 strikes in a row at that point.  
• In the 2nd inning, we have 1st and 3rd and don't score
• In the 3rd inning, Hicks gets to 2nd on a HBP and a steal and we don't score as he gets thrown at 3rd trying to steal
• In the 4th, we get two guys on and leave them
• In the 5th, we are now down 2-0 because with 2 outs an nobody on Toronto got a bloop single and then a HR.  We load the bases with nobody out and get a weak fly to RF by Gleyber, Tauchman does get a sac fly and then Sanchez strikes out.  
• It is beyond frustrating to see us have so many people on base and we score only one run and they were getting little but scored 2 runs on a 2 out bloop and a 2 run HR.
• We lost 2-1...thus we keep finding ways to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

The Streak is Over!

 ...And I hope we are starting a new one!  A 7 game losing streak in a 60 game season is the equivalent to a 19 game losing streak in a normal 162 game season.  That is a seriously bad run.  It was especially bad because the last 3 losses were all very tough ones.  Those three bad games started on Tuesday after the first loss of a doubleheader against Atlanta.  In the 2nd game, Tanaka was cruising and inexplicably, Boone made a bad decision taking Tanaka out.  Tanaka had retired his last 7 batters, allowed only 3 hits and no walks, and was in total command all 5 innings; his pitch total was 66 pitches.  Just because it was a 7 inning game, I would not manage differently.  Anyway, Tanaka was taken out and Green allowed an 0-2 single and then a HR to lose the game.  

The doubleheader on Friday against the Mets, where we lost both games in brutal fashion, closed out the losing streak.  In the first game, we blew a 4-0 lead going into the 5th (7 inning game) and a 4-1 lead going into the 6th.  Then in the 2nd game, we blew a 3-1 lead going into the 5th and a 3-2 lead going g into the bottom of the 7th where Chapman allowed a walk-off 2 run HR after walking the tying run.  This game was even worse because we had bases loaded and 2nd and 3rd with 1 out and didn't score.  The 2nd and 3rd situation was frustrating because Estrada walked on a 3-2 pitch that would have made it bases loaded with one out, but he was rung up on a curve from a lefty that never even made the outside part of the plate; it was a terrible call.

But, somehow, the Yankees overcame all that negative momentum 😊and won  2-1 on Saturday (on a wild pitch by our ex-teammate Betances).  On Sunday we had a doubleheader again and had a shocking comeback from being down 7-2 in the last (7th inning).  We got one guy on via a throwing error but then had 2 straight outs.  We then were given a walk and a HBP and then a single by Voit where Estrada (possibly the 3rd base coach) made what should have been a game-ending horrible decision to go to 3rd with 2 outs and didn't even slide.  However, the Mets 3B caught the ball and when tagging Estrada the ball kicked away from him giving the Yankees even more life.  Then a 3-2 pitch, Hicks lined a HR to tie the game.  We then scored the winning run in extra innings with 2 outs as Tauchman (starting at 2nd base) just got around the tag at home plate to have a huge win and a brutal loss for the Mets.  It was the 1st time in 20 years the Yanks had come back from 5 runs in the last inning (and were given 2 errors, a walk and a HBP to do so).  

The second game of the DH was another good one for a variety of reasons.  1) It was a close game throughout and went into extra innings, 2) the Yankees won on a pinch-hit grand slam by Sanchez and 3) we got to see one of our top prospects pitch and he didn't disappoint.  Devi Garcia, 21, has a young Pedro kind of feel about him.  He doesn't throw as hard as Pedro, but throws 90-94 and was mostly around 93.  But he has good spin rates and life to his fastball.  He also has a very good curve and changeup as well.  Garcia went 6 innings allowing 4 hits and no walks striking out 6.  He did allow an unearned run thanks to Voit misplaying a grounder, but it was encouraging.  He missed a lot of spots but he was effectively wild and was not afraid to throw inside to righties.  

Some quick notes:

• I don't like the starting at 2nd base in extra innings, It is too artificial, just end the game in a tie if you don't want to play longer...or just play 3 more innings and then tie if nobody wins at that point.  Why are ties such an issue?
• In college, I played two 7 inning games or one 9 inning game, but I don't really like a hybrid.  I get why this year, but in general, my feeling is every game should be roughly the same and 7 inning games are just different.  I know we have rain outs after 5 games, but I always felt those games should be continued as well.  I am more OK with 7 inning DH's than I am with the runner starting at 2nd base
• That running play where Estrada should have been tagged out at 3rd base really ticked me off and so did Etrada getting called out on that 3-2 pitch.
• I have a little more confidence in Britton to close than Chapman.  Both guys scare me with Sanchez behind the plate as wild pitches or passed balls are commonplace
• It is amazing the amount of injuries we are having again...Where is teh overhaul of our medical staff?.
• a 3 game winning streak is about an 8 game winning streak.  We are more than halfway through teh year...yeah, halfway already.

The Save

I will post about the most recent game and confirm comments I have made many times.  I believe managers use their closer's differently because of the save rule.  Last night was a great example.  The Yankees had used all their most reliable relievers going into the 9th inning and had a 4 run lead.  Why not just bring your closer in at that moment?  I get that 4 runs is more than 3, but the goal is to win the game while also setting yourself up for a better chance of winning in the future.  Bringing in Britton, does not accomplish the latter, but clearly reduces your chances in the present game.  It reduces your chances in a few ways, first, the closer will not be in as good a mental and even physical spot if he has to come into the 9th inning after it has started.  He has to loosen up just in case, but does have to start to throw (not just stretch).  If he has the 9th from the start, he is preparing and timing his throwing to coincide with the end of the bottom of the 8th.  Second, with the new rule, this makes even less sense, as the reliever must face at least 3 batters so the game could be a lot closer if you feel the need to go to your reliever.  I don't believe the closer will be as sharp being in limbo.  I know that this may be opinion and I usually need some facts to back this up, but the new rule is, well, new and I am not sure if there are specific stats about not starting the 9th for a closer and what their OPS against is compared to starting the 9th?  It is probably somewhere, but I don't have it.  At the end of the day, if Britton is ready to pitch the 9th, don't screw around with Holder, just bring in Britton and close out the game.  Yes, Holder could have pitched a perfect 9th, but Britton still stretched and had to do some throwing so it isn't like he had a full day rest (remember I am a fan of giving a guy a full day off with no actvility as that is a true day off.)  Finally, there is a chance that Britton is not needed the next game in a Yankee blow out or a loss where he isn't needed.  In this case, we had a day off so even more reason to close out the win!

I want to go back to the loss against the team that is our largest competition in our division (TB).  The Yankees were up 3-0 going into the bottom of the 7th inning.  Paxton was pitching well but I would have taken him out and locked in those 6 good innings and built off of that.  He had 81 pitches and I believe the pitchers are still not up to full strength; especially Paxton who is 3-4 MPH under his norm.  8 pitches later, including an 0-2 pitch hit for a 2 run HR, the score was tied and we had one out.  We end up losing the game because of this decision and some continued awful defense by Sanchez.  He allowed another ball to not be blocked that probably should be and with the runner on 3rd base, I believe Britton is reluctant to throw his heavy sinker because a PB or WP is likely.  

While on Sanchez, he has had numerous WP's that should have been blocked and already a few passed balls.  His defense is worse and this idea of getting down on one knee was a bad one; it didn't make sense to me when I heard about it and the outcome has been terrible so far.  Further, his hitting has been horrible.  He did hit a HR yesterday after having a really good AB the previous day that ended with a bullet for an out, but he is still struggling mightily.  Maybe he is coming out but his overall numbers are a .454 OPS hitting .104 with 25 K's in 48 AB's

Frazier had a great game last night, coming across and making a decent running catch in RF and going 3-4 with a HR and a double!  It would be great if he can contribute

Gardner is still a step slower and another ball yesterday fell in that he would have had in the past.  His offense has also been weak.  Hitting .171, but 3 HR's has his OPS at .676 (not good but not terrible)

DJ is now hitting .431 and while he doesn't have much power or walk a lot, his OPS is still at 1.048.  He needs to hit .330 because of the lack of power and walks.  His defense has been a little shakier than normal, but he is such a great guy to have on the team in so many ways...and fun to watch.

With Stanton out, this may be a big time for Ford to show that last year was not a fluke.  He is lefty which is helpful, although last year in only 33 AB's against southpaws he had more HR's than he did against righties 100+ AB's against righties.  His OPS was 1.389 against lefties and .766 against righties.  While not statistically valid, he is 0-5 against lefties this year and has a .734 OPS against righties in only 22 AB's.  If I had my choice, I would rather him be awful against lefties and a .800+ OPS against righties; our team is so right dominant.

The final comment is about Torres.  I feel comfortable he will turn it around, but he is struggling badly (.509 OPS).  He was up in a big spot with the bases loaded and 2 outs and struck out on 3 pitches.  His defense won't be as good/steady as Didi's, but after hitting really well for his two years, I am comfortable he will hit much better; 50 OPS points better than Didi is a good number to look at.  Right now he is 265 OPS points behind Didi, so it will be interesting to watch.

7-1 Start!

Quick recap on the two Oriole games

•  When Cole is on the mound you feel like this game is ours.  I am not sure why Boone let Cole go out there for the 7^th inning after getting through 6 innings with one run and we had a 7-1 lead?  Cole did end up allowing 2 runs in the 7^th and threw 102 pitches.  Why stretch him to 100 in that situation and so early in the year (his 2^nd start?) 
• Judge and DJ were the hitting stars as DJ picked up 4 hits and Judge homered.
• In the 2^nd game against Baltimore, Happ was just not sharp and 4 runs in 4 innings tells the same story.
• O’neill says a lot of things that I just disagree with.   He talks about momentum being so important and while he has come around a little on statistics, he is very far away from reality on them still.  I won’t go into all of Oneill’s comments, but Cone is on the other spectrum and I am a large fan of Cone’s.  One of Oneill’s comments about a mediocre pitcher on Baltimore was, “his changeup is bar far his best pitch… outside of his fastball”   Really???
• The Yankees scored 5 in the 1^st and fell behind 6-5 going into the 9^th before Judge stepped up and hit a 3 run HR
•  Loaisiga allowed the 2 runs in the 8^th, but he looked very good.  His breaking ball was very sharp and he also was throwing 96-97.  He had some control issues at first, but he will be a big part of our team.
•  Britton was very sharp in getting the save

Quick recap on the Red Sox 3 game series at empty Yankee stadium.

•  This Boston team is simply not a threat to us in its current makeup. 
•   Sanchez – He has great bat speed and will hit a lot better, but he is lost at the plate and his defense is annoying the heck out of me.  This one leg down thing is a bad idea and it will start to hurt his blocking ability.  I stated in my previous post that his thigh was exposed, but with nobody on base I saw he was protecting his thigh with his open throwing hand…so his thigh should be fine…I don’t understand what the Yankees are doing with him defensively, but it is wrong.
• Montgomery did a nice job of mixing up his pitches and throwing strikes.  5.2 ininngs with one run
• Chad Green came in and was dominant in 2 innings striking out 4.  I liked that he worked in his breaking ball more.
• Saturday’s game I missed as I didn’t record it so I don’t have much to say other than Judge homered again, Torres committed his 3^rd error (There will be a lot) and the pitcher Nick Nelson had a hitless 3 innings of relief striking out 4.  I watched some highlights and he looked to have a decent slider a good change and a 96-98 MPH fastball!
• Sunday’s game had a lot going on in it.
•  Paxton usually throws 95-96 MPH and he had his lowest velocity game in many years (maybe ever in the majors) as he was about 92.  He was 3-4 MPH lower than normal and that is significant and it showed poorly in his performance
• Hicks misplayed 2 balls into doubles that he probably could have caught both of them.  Hopefully, that was just a glitch in the matrix.
• Paxton bounced a pitch well in front of the plate and because Sanchez had his knee down, he didn’t move at all and the ball ricocheted off of him to the backstop.  This moved the runner to 3^rd and then Paxton was reluctant to throw another breaking pitch with Sanchez’ lack of ability and threw a fastball that was hit for a 2 run 2 our HR.  Sanchez is a mess around the dish right now.  At least he got an important hit and his first extra-base hit of the year.  He is now 2-22 with only one walk and 12 strikeouts
• Andujar is only 1-8 but he should be able to hit well.  He did boot a single and turned it into a triple with poor fielding of a grounder (ironically)
• Gardner has not looked good so far having only 1 hit in 16 AB’s…it was a HR though.  His fielding has not been sharp either.
• Tauchman will probably see a little more duty all over as he may be our 2^nd best OFr..  Normally Hicks can play defense in CF better than Tauchman, but we want to keep everyone healthy. 
• I wouldn't be shocked if Britton kept the closer job.
•  Judge has been amazing.  Not only did he double off a runner from the field, but he has also had huge hits that were game-winners (last AB).  Judge now has 6 HR’s and 14 RBI’s in 8 games.  For perspective, if this was a 162 game year that would be 122 HR’s and 284 RBI’s in a year J

And finally, I have discussed this many times, in fact, scroll down a few posts to the 10-30 one and I go into this again.  This is about the play where there is no stretch from 1B on a play in front of the plate.  This allows a lot of close plays to be safe when they should easily be out.  In this case, you can see the huge difference in not stretching and in fact, not even getting the feet correct and gaining one foot, let along 3 feet easy.  He was still barely out, but the next time maybe not.  Where the ball is would already be in the mitt with a even a slight stretch.  You can also see the feet where they are in line with the invisible line to 2nd base.  Luke is also toward the back of the back of the bag and not on the side.  I get not being able to use your right foot on the bag even if that got you your best stretch, but just stand up from your desk and do what Voit is doing (his arm isn't even stretched) and then take a long stride with your right foot and extend your arm...how many extra feet would you get?  3-4 feet?  This is almost all first baseman as well as I have documented.  It amazes me this still goes on.

Great start to the year, but all the Covid cases concern me as to what will happen as we move forward.  Also, what happens if the Yankees get hit later in the year when the playoffs start?

First Series in the Books!

Starting against the defending Champs and taking 2 out of 3 in their park is a success.

My thoughts on the last two games:

• We were down 3-0 early as Paxton was not able to put away the Washington batter.  While the stat line was bad, the Nationals batters did a good job of laying off pitches and Paxton's stuff was not as good as it usually is which led to 5 hits and 3 runs.  
• It could have been worse if King didn't come in and get out of a bases loaded nobody out jam by only allowing a sac fly and then got a DP.
• After clawing back with 2 runs King allowed a 2 run HR off the fair pole and that ended the night for us.
• Voit allowed a hard hit ball to go right through his legs in a key spot that I think should have been an error because he lifted up his glove and it went under his glove and through his legs.  He also failed to catch a pickoff throw from King that could have been caught
• While on defense, I worry about Gleyber making a lot of errors and he has started already.  He will get more solid, but he has to have a higher sense of urgency than at 2nd base.  LeMahieu also stretched too soon at 1B on one play and couldn't reach it and then on another play could have stretched and caught a low throw for an out.  He caught it as an in between hop but was not able to stretch for it and it was a bang bang play, we reviewed and lost.  It would have been an advanced play to stretch and still get the in between hop so being critical is a little rough...but hey, we want close to perfection, right?
• We also reviewed a play at 1B where Voit was ruled as coming off the bag and he immediately asked to review the play.  It was hard to overturn the safe call, but the way I saw it was he stretched and he did barely come off the bag, but then reached back and made contact with the bag again before the runners foot touched the bag.  I don;t have an issue leaving the call, but I think he retouched the bag.
• Stanton hit an absolutely rocket HR.  The distance was changed and I am not exactly sure where it ended up but it was one of the hardest balls I have seen hit; a bullet!  (Update: They said it was 121.3 MPH which is the 2nd hardest hit ball that has been tracked (He holds the record at 21.7)
• Loaisiga has a live arm and I have said I like this guy.  He pitched well but allowed a HR in 3 innings.  His stuff is good.
• Being down 3-0 with Corbin getting us out with what appeared to be fairly normal stuff was looking like like triouble.  We only had 2 base runners in 6+ innings.  He must hide his pitches very well, as his stuff isn't great.  he does spot his pitches well and didn't walk a batter so he doesn't hurt himself.  He does mix speeds and planes well.  Torres finally got to him to make it 3-1.  After Voit hit a HR later in the same 7th inning we were back in the game.
• The Nats bullpen is not good and having Doolittle go against our righties seemed like we had a great opportunity.  Hicks walked,Sanchez struck out, DJ hit a single and then Judge hit a bullet  to the LF.  Torres finished off his good day at the plate with a single bringing in Hicks who had walked.  Voit ended up striking out with the bases loaded and a chance to blow the game open.
• With a 3-2 lead, Kahnle came in to hold the lead.  Torres had a throwing error that made Kahnle work harder.  The Nats loaded up the bases as well, but Tommy got out of it striking out Thames to end the threat in the 8th.
• Britton's stuff was good, but Sanchez poor receiving skills hurt us as he allowed a PB (coudln't move to his left because his knee was down) to move the leadoff batter to 2nd (who got on because Torres was a little slow getting his feet under him after fielding a ball).  We got a huge break when a pinch runner tried to steal 3rd and safely made it but overslid the bag.  Good job by Gio to keep his glove in him.  Britton them closed out a very satisfying win (feel like we stole won a little)
• BTW, the batter walked when we threw out the runner at 3rd base, but it was a strike and he should have been struck out.
• Gardner misplayed a ball in LF that he would have easily grabbed when younger.  He is not the same elite player out there.

Cone is our best announcer!

Every team in baseball has won and lost a game this year.

And Here We Go!

I would like to first with the best of health during these chaotic times to all of you!  I know everyone has been hit in some way, shape or form and I hope that everyone is either in or gets themselves to a better place!

Now lets get into some baseball!

That feels good to write and I have to say I was ready to watch after only watching a few AB's in the preseason.  I won't give predictions yet or go into an analysis of positions, but I will soon.  That being said, we have a great team and if we stay healthy, we should win the division.  In fact, not winning the division would be an upset.

My thoughts on the game:

• It is very odd to not have a crowd; I am surprised the mic isn't more pronounced so that you here the crack of the bat better or the pop of the glove
• There was discussion from ARod about the new setup for Sanchez behind the plate.  He is now on one knee.  ARod said there were positives and negatives as it is supposed to allow him to frame pitches easier and catch the ball easier.  There is a little truth to making it easier to catch but you clearly have much less movement and setting up like that with men on base doesn't make sense to me.  You are already down which is good for blocking but you will not have left/right mobility.  ARod says the negative is that throwing will be hard, but Sanchez will probably throw from his knee anyway.  That being said, the game didn't tell me enough on whether Sanchez will setup that way with men on base.  One other point that was not brought up is that his thigh is exposed and you know how much I hate hands being exposed, but he takes a few on the open thigh and he may change his tune a little.
• It was good to see Stanton punish the fastball for the HR and then he hit a fastball that was outside for another hit.
• Judge ripped two fastballs for hits and not unexpectedly, he saw breaking balls in his third AB and somehow he was fooled on a slider that ended up over the inner middle of the plate.  Scherzer was not going to throw him another fastball and I am not sure Judge thought he would get a another fastball...he didn't and he took a hittable breaking ball strike 3.
• The same philosophy was against Sanchez and when he was waiving at sliders so far outside why throw the him fastballs?  It is only game 1, but the Yanks may need to sit on sliders sometimes.  Sanchez was behind the fastball and waiving at sliders.
• Wade's first AB he tried to get a  bunt down 3rd as they shifted him but he was not able to get it down.  All he needed to do was get it anywhere down toward 3rd and it was a hit.  His next AB he bunted to the right side and got it past Scherzer for a hit.
• Voit looked 15-20 pounds lighter.  Not sure how it will play out but he looks significantly different.
• It was great to see Cole out there and look pretty good for game 1.  He wasn't crazy sharp but walked only one batter and his stuff is good enough to get away with mistakes.  I am a fan of giving him the money they did.  He is the type of player and age the Yankees should invest in.  I have said many times, that the Yankees should get the studs at key positions, but not pay the good players the higher salaries as the value is not there.  In other words, getting a stud at $25M and a rookie (or $1M player) is better than having two $13M mil dollar players.  Especially, when the Yankees have the luxury to get more of the $25M players.
• I have always been a fan of the DH.  My argument is that the batter/pitcher confrontation is what is so interesting and when a pitcher is in the game it is not as exciting.  This stat might be the reason why the DH rule is in effect for the NL teams...I hope it stays.  Pitchers were 1-60 in the postseason last year.  That is pathetic and uninteresting.
• I think listening to music while watching may be better than listening to announcers with no crowd
• 1-0!