The Yankees’ offense showed up for the third straight game to open the postseason and made sure Gerrit Cole’s off night didn’t cost them a win.
Gerrit Cole didn’t pitch like any Yankees fan expected him to pitch in Game 1 of the ALDS, but he pitched the way he has against the Rays all season. Thankfully, the Yankees’ offense showed up for the third straight game to open the postseason and made sure Cole’s off night didn’t cost the Yankees a win in the best-of-5.
Gerrit Cole wasn’t anywhere near his best in Game 1 against the Rays, but he didn’t have to be as the Yankees’ offense picked him up and continued their postseason dominance.
Every Yankees postseason exit since their last World Series appearance can be attributed to a lack of hitting. When the Yankees couldn’t solve Cliff Lee or Colby Lewis a decade ago, their season ended two wins short of the World Series. When they stranded 11 baserunners in a do-or-die Game 5 at home to the Tigers nine years ago, they went home. When they scored six runs in 38 innings against the Tigers eight years ago, they were swept. When they were shut out by Dallas Keuchel, Tony Sipp, Will Harris and Luke Gregorson in the wild-card game five years ago, their postseason lasted nine innings. When they scored three runs in the four games in Houston three years ago, they fell one win shy of the World Series. When they scored four runs total in their two homes against the Red Sox two years ago, their season ended. And last year, when Aaron Judge, Didi Gregorius, Gary Sanchez, Brett Gardner, Edwin Encarnacion, Giancarlo Stanton, Gio Urshela and Aaron Hicks combined to go 27-for-153 (.176) with 56 strikeouts against the Astros, the Yankees lost their fourth ALCS in a decade.
This postseason, while only three games so far, has been a different story. The Yankees scored 22 runs against the Indians in two games and then scored another nine in their first game against the Rays on Monday night. Their 31 runs over the three games established a major league record as the Yankees have looked like they have been hitting against Red Sox’ and Orioles’ pitching rather than Shane Bieber, Carlos Carrasco and Blake Snell. There hasn’t been talk about timely hitting, the need to manufacture runs or play small ball this postseason because the Yankees have been scoring in bunches, homering as if it’s early July instead of early October and putting up crooked numbers against some of the best pitchers in baseball.
The offense has mostly kept Aaron Boone in the dugout and has prevented him from ruining their season. It’s covered up a bad Masahiro Tanaka start and a bad Gerrit Cole start. It has allowed Luis Cessa to eat three of the team’s 27 innings so far (11 percent) to rest a depleted and underachieving bullpen, which is down to three trustworthy arms. It has led the Yankees to three straight wins to open the postseason and has set them up to only need to play .500 baseball over four games against the Rays to reach the ALCS for the second straight season.
Last October, the Yankees’ offense was DJ LeMahieu and Gleyber Torres. Judge disappeared for the final four games of the ALCS and Gregorius did the same after his ALDS Game 2 grand slam. Stanton took himself out of the lineup in the ALCS, Luke Voit wasn’t on the postseason roster and Hicks missed the ALDS and returned to have one big hit. Encarnacion, Sanchez and Gardner might as well have not even taken a bat to the plate. This postseason though, everyone has contributed. Every single player. There hasn’t been a Yankee to get a plate appearance who hasn’t played a meaningful role, and that includes Tyler Wade of all Yankees, who drew a significant walk in the ninth to lead the Yankees to blowing open the game.
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It’s a good thing the Yankees blew open the game because I had a bad feeling about Aroldis Chapman coming into a one-run game, the way I always do about him coming into a one-run game. You never know which Chapman you’re going to get and after Cole had already blown two leads earlier in the game, I couldn’t physically take a third blown lead in a playoff game in a best-of-5 series to the Rays.
Cole wasn’t good in Game 1. He might have gotten the win and struck out eight in six innings, but he wasn’t good. If you think otherwise, then you’re content with mediocrity from a pitcher who is supposed to the best, or at worst, second-best in the world. Three earned runs in six innings isn’t good, it’s a 4.50 ERA. A 4.50 ERA is medicore, but Cole’s start wasn’t mediocre, it was actually bad when you consider his status and reputation. After he exited the game, TBS’ Brian Anderson said, “Well, Gerrit Cole, impressive here today.” Impressive? His Game 1 start against the Indians was impressive. In Game 1 against the Rays, he was bad.
Three earned runs against him is like five to six against other pitchers. If J.A. Happ or Jordan Montgomery had pitched to Cole’s Game 1 line (6 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 2 HR), I would likely be praising them. But they’re not Cole and I don’t expect greatness from them. Cole expects more out of himself than he prodcued in Game 1, and there’s no way he’s happy or satisfied with his performance given the type of competitor he is. I was critical of him during the game and I still am after the game the same way a parent scolds their child because they only want the best for them, and that was far from Cole’s best.
Cole’s start proved him needing Kyle Higashioka to be his personal catcher is unnecessary. The stark difference in regular-season ERA between Sanchez catching him and Higashioka catching him was a result of Sanchez catching him against the Rays, and Monday confirmed it doesn’t matter who Cole throws to against the Rays, he has trouble with them. And the majority of that trouble comes from him inexplicably being unable to retire Ji-Man Choi. It’s not like he’s unable to retire Choi in a weird, quirky way like Enrique Wilson having a great average against Pedro Martinez from a bunch of singles. Choi is hitting a home run seemingly every time he faces Cole. It’s like Sanchez vs. David Price, or Sanchez vs. Snell (6-for-20, 1 2B, 5 HR, 7 BB, .300/.481/1.100), a matchup that didn’t happen because Higashioka has to catch Cole. Thankfully, Higashioka made up for his questionable game-calling with a game-tying home run and wasn’t the automatic out with ground balls to the left side he has been so many times. (Yes, I know Higashioka’s game-calling has little to do with Cole’s success, but if it’s going to be cited as the reason he catches Cole, then it needs to be criticized when Cole gives up three runs in six innings.) I expect Sanchez to be in the lineup for Game 2, but it wouldn’t surprise if he isn’t since nothing the Yankees do surprises me anymore. Anger me? Yes. Frustrate me? Yes. Annoy me? Yes. Surprise me? No.
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Actually, I shouldn’t say nothing surprises me. I couldn’t believe the Yankees hadn’t announced a Game 2 starter prior to late afternoon on Monday. Was there really an option other than Tanaka? It turns out there was and the Yankees weren’t just stalling for no reason as Deivi Garcia will get the ball on Tuesday. I, along with everyone else, assumed the Yankees would go Tanaka in Game 2, Happ in Game 3 and Garcia in Game 4, so this surprised me. But this isn’t the typical surprise from the Yankees, which is the bad kind of surprise. I really, really, really like this plan.
After winning Game 1, if the Yankees win Game 2, they will have one of the best pitchers in postseason history starting in Game 3 to close out the series. If the Yankees lose Game 2, they will have one of the best pitchers in postseason history starting in Game 3 to win an all-important swing game and push the Rays to the brink of elimination.
There isn’t any mystery left between two teams who played each other in 10 of their 60 games this season and who play each other 19 times in normal seasons. That is, except for Garcia. The Rays have never seen him, and in Game 2, that’s advantage Yankees.
The Yankees’ biggest obstacle in the ALDS against the Rays will be their own bullpen and manager.
The Yankees have a chance to avenge their disappointing 2-8 record against the Rays from the regular season by beating them in the ALDS. In order to do so, the Yankees’ offense will have to put up runs to keep the bullpen from blowing games and to keep Aaron Boone from managing the Yankees to a series loss.
The grace period for these Yankees is over. Depending on your viewpoint, this is either this Yankees core’s first, second, third or fourth season in their window of opportunity to win a championship.
No one expected the 2016 Yankees to be any good. And they weren’t.
They got off to a 9-17 start, and it was obvious they had to tear apart the team and play prospects, and this time, every fan wanted them to do just that. Free agency had been the Yankees’ strategy since the early 2000s and a way for the team to plug holes on their sinking ship. It worked at times as they were able to tread water, have winning seasons and reach the playoffs, but over the previous 15 years, they had won one championship. Eventually you need to start over. Eventually you need a new boat. The game had changed and the Yankees needed a new boat. Yankees fans wanted a new boat.
At the end of play on July 6, 2016, the Yankees were 41-43 and it looked like they would certainly be sellers at the deadline in three weeks, but ownership wasn’t on board. The Yankees then went on an 11-5 run through July 26, and were now in striking distance of a wild-card spot — only four games back — and ownership hadn’t budged on selling and giving up on the season for future seasons. The expectation was that the Yankees would go out and acquire more patches for their old, under-performing, beat-up roster.
The Yankees then lost their next four games, one in Houston and a three-game sweep in Tampa Bay. It was the best thing to happen to the organization since the Astros, Indians, Expos, Orioles and Reds passed on Derek Jeter in the 1992 draft, allowing the Yankees to select him with the sixth-overall pick. The losing streak pushed the Yankees out of reasonable contention, ownership gave Brian Cashman the green light to trade his veteran assets and begin what the Yankees were calling a “transition”.
Andrew Miller (Indians), Aroldis Chapman (Cubs), Carlos Beltran (Rangers) and Ivan Nova (Pirates) were all traded, and Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira announced their retirements. Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge were called up to become everyday players, and in the process, Brian McCann was relegated to backup duty, which would lead to his offseason trade to the Astros. The Yankees had finally decided to show off the depth in their farm system, and thanks to that four-game losing streak at the end of July, the depth only got deeper with the top prospects they received in return.
The 2017 Yankees weren’t supposed to be good either, picked by many to finish near or at the bottom of the AL East in what was certainly going to be a rebuilding season. There ended up not being any transition or rebuilding. The Yankees seemingly hit on every prospect who reached the majors and the team went from preseason dud to postseason bound, winning 91 games and putting up a plus-198 run differential.
The 2017 Yankees overcame a 3-0 first-inning deficit in the wild-card game. They overcame an 0-2 series hole to the 102-win Indians to advance to the ALCS. They overcame another 0-2 series hole to the Astros to bring a 3-2 series lead to Houston for Games 6 and 7. Ultimately, they came one win shy of reaching the World Series for the first time in eight years.
For 2018, the Yankees essentially replaced Chase Headley, Starlin Castro and Jacoby Ellsbury with Giancarlo Stanton (the reigning NL MVP), Miguel Andujar, Gleyber Torres and the Aaron Hicks who was drafted in the first round. Once again, they came up short in the postseason.
The 2017 postseason loss wasn’t crushing. It was an exhilarating ride, being back at a raucous Stadium seemingly every night in October and watching a young, homegrown core get within a game of the World Series. The 2018 postseason loss, on the other hand, was crushing. After falling into and winning the wild-card game, and taking a game in Boston, the Yankees became the favorite in what had become a best-of-3 with two games at the Stadium, where they didn’t lose. Not only did they lose both home games, they were embarrassed in every facet of the game, especially managing, and their rival celebrated on their field en route to a championship season.
Because of the way the season ended and the team it ended against, 2018 is viewed as a disaster, and rightfully so. But if you go back to 2016, 2017 and 2018 were never supposed to be about the Yankees. They were supposed to be about the Indians and Astros and Red Sox and Cubs and Dodgers, and they were. The timeline Yankees fans were given and expected prior to Opening Day 2016 was always 2019, these Yankees just happened to arrive early. The 2017 and 2018 Yankees gave us two unexpected years of championship contention even if it didn’t end with a championship.
The 2019 season could have and probably should have been a disaster. When you set the single-season record for most players placed on the injured list, you’re not supposed to win your division or 103 games. You’re not supposed to sustain success with backups becoming everyday players and backups to the backups carrying the team for weeks at a time. The Yankees got 49 plate appearances from Miguel Andujar, 18 games from Giancarlo Stanton and 59 from Aaron Hicks; Gary Sanchez missed six weeks and Didi Gregorius and Aaron Judge each missed two months; Luis Severino pitched 12 innings and Dellin Betances faced two batters; James Paxton and Brett Gardner made trips to the injured list and CC Sabathia made several. Despite these injuries and more, the Yankees won the AL East and the ALDS.
The ALCS was a different story, a disappointing story. The Yankees won Game 1 won in a blowout in Houston, but lost the next three and four of the last five games of the series to lose to the Astros for the second time in three years. It was the Yankees’ fourth ALCS loss in 10 seasons and it came on a walk-off home run after the Yankees had tied Game 6 in the ninth inning in the most improbable way.
This season represented the Yankees’ best roster and best chance at winning a championship with this group. Their lineup was as deep as usual and their pitching staff so bolstered Masahiro Tanaka would be their No. 4 starter. Then the shutdown happened, the season was condensed to 60 games and the injury bug ravaged the Yankees before and during the season for a second straight year. They managed to do enough to get into baseball’s ridiculous eight-team playoff field and then beat the league’s top pitcher this season and overcame their own manager’s ineptitude to reach the ALDS and the San Diego bubble.
It’s nearly impossible to predict who will and won’t perform in the postseason, with the goal being to get there and then hoping things go your way. The Yankees achieved that goal, managing to do enough to get into baseball’s ridiculous eight-team playoff field and then beat the league’s top pitcher this season and overcame their own manager’s ineptitude to reach the ALDS and the San Diego bubble.
The championship grace period for the organization is over. It’s been over. It’s been more than a decade of Octobers since the Yankees last reached the World Series and last won it.
The grace period for these Yankees is over as well. Depending on your viewpoint, this is either this Yankees core’s first, second, third or fourth season in their window of opportunity to win a championship. There’s no more consolation prize for coming within a game of the World Series and losing or having another 100-win regular season and getting eliminated in the ALDS or reaching the ALCS and failing to get to the World Series. Every season with this group which doesn’t end with a championship will be a missed opportunity.
The Yankees are very luck they aren’t playing an elimination Game 3 against the Indians with J.A. Happ on the mound.
The Yankees are very lucky they aren’t playing an elimination Game 3 against the Indians with J.A. Happ on the mound on Thursday night. Aaron Boone did everything he could to manage his team to a loss in Game 2 on Wednesday, but the Yankees’ offense wouldn’t let his ineptitude overpower their ability. The Yankees will now play the Rays in the ALDS with a chance to avenge the regular-season disappointment against their biggest rival.
