The last two days have been thoroughly enjoyable. I believe I have consumed every available social media post, video, blog and podcast of depressed Red Sox fans, who are angry, embarrassed, sad and miserable about what took place in the Wild Card Series. But now it’s time to focus on the ALDS and the Rays.
With the ALDS set to begin on Saturday at Tropicana Field, let’s go through some questions and comments from readers.
I think Carlos Rodon should start Game 1. – Charles
The Yankees announced earlier that Gerrit Cole would start Game 1. Aaron Boone made a comment that Rodon would start one of the two home games, either Game 3 or Game 4. If Rodon is going to start a home game and we know Cam Schlittler is going to start Games 2 and 5, then this is what the rotation will be for the ALDS:
Game 1: Gerrit Cole
Game 2: Cam Schlittler
Game 3: Max Fried/Carlos Rodon
Game 4: Max Fried/Carlos Rodon
Game 5: Cam Schlittler
For me to advocate for Rodon to start a game and even Game 1 says everything you need to know about his current abilities versus Cole’s. I despise Rodon. He was a clown for all of 2023, untrustworthy in 2024, a postseason disaster in 2025 and made only 16 starts in 2026. But those 16 starts in 2026 were the best he has looked as a Yankee, and arguably in his career. He didn’t give up more than three earned runs in any start, pitched to a 2.67 ERA and allowed only seven home runs in 84 1/3 innings. In his last start of the season on September 22 against the Rays with the Rays trying to clinch the division at Yankee Stadium, Rodon shut them down: 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K.
That night, the Rays won the division in the second game of a doubleheader, and the following day, after a night of celebrating in New York City, the Rays played a hungover, meaningless game. They sat Yandy Diaz and Chandler Simpson, pulled Junior Caminero after two at-bats and called Mason Englert up from Triple-A to start. They treated the game like a spring training exhibition and were blown out 9-2 by the Yankees. Cole started that game and pitched to this line: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, 1 HR. It was a fine start in a vacuum, but factor in the Rays’ lack determination to win a meaningless game after a night on the town and with a lesser lineup, and it wasn’t very good. But that’s mostly what Cole was in his final starts of the season: not very good.
I’m a big believer in the Yankees being run as a meritocracy. It’s why I wanted Spencer Jones playing over Trent Grisham before Grisham got hurt. It’s why I wanted Anthony Volpe sent down in 2023 and 2024 and 2025 and 2026. It’s why I wanted Alex Verdugo out of the starting lineup in 2024 and it’s why I want Ryan McMahon on the bench in 2026. You should have to earn your playing time, your at-bats and your starts. Rodon has earned it this season.
I understand wanting to start the lefties at Yankee Stadium to attempt to negate the short porch, and if the Yankees were playing at home in Game 1, I think it’s possible Rodon would be starting Game 1 (though I can’t say for certain since the Yankees cater to Cole). If Rodon and Cole are both going to pitch in the series, having Rodon pitch at home and Cole on the road does make more sense even if I don’t trust this version of Cole.
Which position players on the Wild Card Series roster get left off the ALDS roster? – Steve
Would you dump Giancarlo Stanton from the bench since the Yankees will carry at least 11 pitchers in this series? – Rick
These two questions are nearly impossible to answer because we don’t know the status of Aaron Judge or how many pitchers the Yankees will take on the ALDS roster. The Yankees took 10 pitchers for the Wild Card Series. With this year’s ALDS having a day off between Games 1 and 2, they could get by with 10 pitchers again, but I think they go with 11, and Ryan Weathers is the addition.
I think the first player off the roster then becomes Amed Rosario. The Rays are starting Drew Rasmussen (righty) in Game 1 and probably Nick Martinez (righty) in Game 2. Other rotation options are Griffin Jax (righty), Shane McClanahan (lefty) and Ian Seymour (lefty). The only other potential left-handed pitchers on their roster are Garrett Cleavinger, Cam Booser and Steven Matz, and they are all pretty bad, including against lefties. If the Yankees needed a right-handed bat to pinch hit and Rosario wasn’t on the roster, they would have Paul Goldschmidt, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Volpe, Heliot Ramos and Jose Caballero as options. (And Ali Sanchez, but I’m more likely to appear in this series than he is.) Rosario is the easy choice to leave off.
Now if Judge is healthy, someone else has to come off the roster. I fear it may be Stanton, but I would make it Ramos. Ramos can’t be trusted in the outfield, and while three at-bats in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series is the smallest of sample sizes, he looked overmatched for the moment. I understand he had a .907 OPS against lefties this year, but the Rays don’t have many lefties and there would be better pinch-hit options against them. And with the Yankees’ left-on-left success, you may not even need a pinch hitter.
If the Yankees go 0-2 at the Trop, who do you want to start Game 3? – Aaron
I would say Fried, but if the Yankees are in that hole, it doesn’t really matter if it’s Fried or Rodon since both would have to pitch anyway with the other going in Game 4. The Yankees need to win one of the first two games at the Trop.
Boone did not need to do much in the Wild Card Series. What do you see as his pitfalls for the Tampa series? – Paul
It’s easy to manage when your offense scores nine runs like it did in both Wild Card Series games and when your starting pitchers give you length like they both did in the Wild Card Series. Boone didn’t have to do much against the Red Sox. The only move he really had to decide on was to bring Paul Blackburn into Game 1 in relief of Schlittler with a runner on and the Yankees leading 2-0. That move worked. However, Boone admitted he got greedy and should have pulled Schlittler after he got Willson Contreras out to start the inning, which was his initial plan and what he told Schlittler was the plan.
Boone will have to be at his best in the ALDS. He’s not going to outmanage Kevin Cash, the best manager in baseball. He needs to match him though. He’s not going against Chad Tracy, who just managed arguably the worst two consecutive games imaginable. If Boone screws up, the Rays will take advantage. The only way to remove Boone from the equation is for the starting pitchers and offense to perform like they did against the Red Sox, but that is an impossible ask against the team that finished with the best record in the American League.
Tampa Bay schooled Boone in the art of baseball in the game where they clinched the division. Do you think, based on the Wild Card Series, Boone learned anything from that beatdown? – Bret
We’re in Year 9 of Boone and he still makes the same mistakes he made in Year 1. I don’t think the loss to the Rays two weeks ago turned on a lightbulb that will change him as a manager. He had very little impact on the Wild Card Series. He had the best starting pitcher against the Red Sox in the history of the game pitching Game 1 and one of the best starting pitchers of this generation pitching Game 2 and his offense scored 18 runs in 16 innings.
If the Rays have a runner on third with less than two outs, they will bunt to get that run in. They used this play in the division clincher two weeks ago and throughout the season. The Rays don’t care about giving up outs, they care about scoring runs when they are readily available. Earlier this season, Boone claimed that the Rays’ use of the squeeze play to score when executed perfectly is indefensible. However, Joe Girardi explained during a game what is needed to defend the play. The Rays are going to use this play to score if given the opportunity. Accepting the situation as a lost cause isn’t good enough, and the Yankees need to attempt to defend it better.
I worry about the Yankees’ sloppiness making an appearance in this series, which will doom them and end their season if it does. If Grisham is playing center field and jogging to shallow fly balls like he’s shagging in batting practice or if the team can’t cleanly field bunts, hit the cut-off man and properly back up throws, the Rays will run wild. If the Rays are given free bases like Grisham gave Nate Eaton in the Wild Card Series, the Rays will take advantage. The Rays will score leadoff doubles. They will put the ball in play to move runners over and they will put pressure on the Yankees’ defense. The Boone era Yankees have always played messy baseball even if Boone claims that judgment is an exaggeration. This is not the team to play Boone baseball against.
Last modified: Oct 2, 2026
