It will be a long, hard slog. It will be Vietnam, Frazier-Ali, Cavanaugh... It will start after dinner and run deep into the October night, if not into the morning of December. It will end with a stadium of thunderous cheers or angry boos. It will not end quietly. If the team doesn't fight, the fans sure will.
Apparently, Oakland will start a one-inning reliever, Liam Hendricks, a righty to face our right-leaning first three (assuming Hicks doesn't bat third.) He's done it eight times this season, given up two earned runs. From there, who knows? Expect the kitchen sink. Everybody will rested. It will be like an All-Star game: Pitchers throwing one-inning gas, while replacements warm in the pen. But it won't be an all-star game, because instead of Catfish Hunter warming up, there will be at least one Atlee Hammaker, or maybe a Colter Bean.
The beauty of the bullpen thing is that hitters never get to see a pitcher twice. They're always catching up, always trying to adjust. And let's face it: "adjusting" has not exactly been a Yankee strength. We are a team of homer-hitters, damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. It reminds me of what critics in Syracuse used to say of Jim Boeheim's early seasons: The team that lives by the jumpshot... dies by the jumpshot. We live by the homer/strikeout. That could also kill us.
The trouble with the bullpen thing is that it only takes one clunker to mess up everything. Also, at some point, somebody has to take the reins and pitch a second inning. The A's can't throw nine pitchers at us, so by the eighth or ninth, their ranks could be depleted. If we can leap on one pitcher, just one, we can take the lead and try to hold on, the baseball version of running out the clock.
Beware that mentality, though. When the 2018 Yankees go to sleep for an inning, they often nap for five.
I can never summon great optimism on the eve of such a game. It's just not inside me. I see Dellin Betances entering in the seventh and walking the lead-off man. From there, a five-run lead can evaporate. I see the same with El Chapo in the eighth or ninth. Both are loaded members of the 100-Keg Club - kegs of dynamite, that is. Either can strike out the side, or leave with runs in, the bases loaded, and nobody out. But I cannot imagine a Yankee victory without them. No Yankee starter is going to throw past the seventh, and once our bullpen takes over, all bets are off.
We will have to save our juju for the seventh inning onward. It's going to a long, grinding night. Nothing comes easy in October. But we will have the last at-bat, and they will be almost out of pitchers. That's not nothing.
Let's all put our predictions on the record tomorrow and Wednesday. Let's see who can tell the future.
I have to put this here since probably nobody is going to the comments of the previous post anymore.
ReplyDeleteGreat preseason predictions by Urban Dutch FarmerFan:
March 28, 2018 at 9:46 AM
Urban Farmer formerly known as DutchFan said...
"91 wins; I am sorry. And the Socks win the division.
Bird will get to about 61 games.
Judge and Stanton will not be performing like last year.
No ability to win games won "small ball" style.
Tanaka, Sabathia and at least 2 relievers will be spending considerable time on the DL.
Chapman and Betances. Really?
It will come down to the traditional 1 game post-season play-off lottery. Home advantage.
And that will be it.
All in all I feel quite optimistic."
As for the homer/strikeout thing, while the HRs get headlines, the very hopeful signs of good situational hitting over the weekend and in Tampa, if I recall, got buried.
ReplyDeleteThis team can do more than hit long balls and whiff. It was on display--walk, single, double, single, single--amazing and fun to watch.
Of course, someone did eventually hit a home run, and of course, the headline screamed, "Yanks' long ball wins over Sox", or something. Much more was going on than that.
I have had a bad feeling about this team from day 1. And predicted 85 wins.
ReplyDeleteSo, one could say, " I am a bit off"
I hold with my prediction that Severino will start.
I think he will pitch well, and then Boone will leave him in too long.
A lead we hold will be squandered away, due to this issue.
We will not score a lot of runs, because getting lots of runners on and having a big dog hit homers is not in the cards.
Nonetheless, the Yankees are starting to re-emerge.
We win in the 10th on a walk-off homer by Voit.
Several members of this blog will have less hair on Thursday morning.
I'll be chanting "As long as it's not Grey, we'll be OK!" But then I remember we also have Kahnle, Robinson, Cole...well just about anyone can and has already blown a game this year.
ReplyDeleteBoone needs to yank the first guy who gets more than two runners on base, not whomever lets the first 4 runs to score. Also none of this waiting 5 batters when a guy is throwing so wildly and cannot find the plate, even if the other team is popping those balls for outs it's a recipe for disaster.
And certainly no "Pass Ball Sanchez" behind the plate as he'll blow the game for us and we know he won't hit worth a lick. Romine is way safer of a pick but we know Sanchez will be there anyway.
Any idea who's umping the match? That tends to have a huge factor in who'll actually win the game. The Yanks were cheated last year in the Houston series due to lousy umps behind the plate mostly calling strikes on such obvious balls, especially against Judge.
Did anyone say 100 wins for the season? I believe that I had 94 and said either 3 games ahead or behind the Red Sox. I would never have predicted 108 for the sux.
I feel the Yanks are not a 100 win team. They were more of an 84 team in hindsight and should have been behind the Rays for third. Other teams were a lot worse than I had expected them to be in 2018 which helped the Yanks win more than they should have.
Vamp - "Boone needs to yank the first guy who gets more than two runners on base, not whomever lets the first 4 runs to score. Also none of this waiting 5 batters when a guy is throwing so wildly and cannot find the plate, even if the other team is popping those balls for outs it's a recipe for disaster." THIS!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI don't remember what my win prediction was. I'm guessing in the 92-94 range? I liked Alphonso's "I predicted 85 wins and I was right." from an earlier post. He was.
So Wednesday's game:
At least three errors. A passed ball (could be two) by Sanchez, a Gleybar muff and an AnDUjar throw.
At least two double plays that don't get converted even though they should have.
Happ Starts goes three.
Green follows. Lights out in 4th Gives up 2 runs in fifth.
Robertson follows. Gives up one run in fifth and get two outs in 6th with runners on 1st and third. Runner gets to third on Passed Ball by Sanchez. A walk. and then he gets out of it.
Tarpley goes 1-2-3
Frightening but mostly effective relief appearance by Britton in 7th
Frightening but mostly effective relief appearance by Betances in 8th.
El Chapo -- if up by three, gives up one but we win right there. If up by less. Game tying HR.
On the offense
A Home Run by Luke Voit.
A Home Run by Stanton (plus a walk and three Ks)
Two Doubles by Miggy.
A two run single by Judge. Plus a walk.
A long sac fly by Gleybar
McCutchen on base 3/5
Sanchez quiet.
Hicks decides the game.
Yankees 7 Oakland 5
Doug K.
Jed Lowrie. Short porch. I have visions of Brett in 1980, relieving frustration, exorcising demons. May the mention forestall it.
ReplyDeleteCall me a heretic. No, I'm serious; please call me a heretic. And Killer Doc. I really like that one too. But I do like the mad desperation of a one game winner take all. Don't get me wrong, I love running the table like the 1998 and 1999 World Series. That was awesome. (Who was the Brave who after Game 3 said that if the Braves couldn't beat the Yankees that night, that they couldn't beat them ever?) But I do like the frenetic energy of the must-win, all-hands-on-deck, pedal-to-the-metal deciding game. Everyone pitches. Empty the bench for even the smallest advantage. Better know who your emergency third string is that night; he may have to suit up. I shall be inchoate, as you all must realize by now. I have just the pair of pants, too, for the occasion. Will it be Live Blog Again?
ReplyDeleteThird string catcher!
ReplyDeleteThere are a few differences between us and the '98/'99 team. Forgetting about the superior pitching, hitting, fielding and managing of the earlier versions, let's mention the intangibles: the current team does not have the heart that the earlier teams had. It also doesn't have the iron scrotal sack attributes that, collectively, create what we like to call "clutch." This is NOT a clutch team. This is not a team that takes a lucky break and capitalizes on it. And it's CERTAINLY not a team that creates its own lucky breaks.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I'm sorry to be such a downer. My cold remains and perhaps I'm pissing all over everybody's golden mood here. I do feel that way, though. I'm trying to remember my prediction. It was in the 80s and I think it was either 83 or 87, so I am thrilled to have been wrong. As for other predictions, I don't think I made any, so I won't go and lie about it. I DO know that I was much more optimistic about our youngsters in April than I am now, as were we all.
Anyway, at least the season continues. I think we all have to take this one game at a time. Anything else and we are doomed - both psychically and spiritually. Physically, we're all probably over the hill, anyway, so I'll leave that out of it. Here's something encouraging, through. High Lord Facebook informed me today, via a pithy meme, that October is NATIONAL PIZZA MONTH. I normally am not a fan of almost any holidays, especially those of the fake variety, which is almost all of them, but....when it comes to pizza......I get a little tingly. I hate gnocchi last night - did not kill the cold, by the way, so it would imprudent of me to imperil my health with pizza less than 24 hours later. I also don't have much appetite at the moment. We'll see how I feel in a few hours, though.
"bless them all, bless them all, the long and the short and the tall..."
oh, my kingdom for a copy edit button...
ReplyDelete13bit, you are riding the Bummer Train right into Sadnessville, aren't you? I know this team is not like that team. I was just pointing out that ... well, never mind. You're sick and cranky and I can't imagine how much pressure your wee, wee sinuses can stand. Take a hot shower and have a lay down. You'll be ready for Wednesday or have expired from consumption.
ReplyDeleteMama Win, I’ll follow your orders and do my best to change my shitty attitude.
ReplyDeletexoxo
I am the PTBNL on this site, so I have no pre-season predictions to mention. I was skeptically optimistic during the first part of the season, because it's a long season, and I was completely mistrustful of Ma Boone's ability to manage that collection of young talent. He was unable to create a cohesive team that was able to step up when things got tough and players went down with injuries, and as a consequence we had to settle for a WC game at home (which we just BARELY managed) when we should have been competing for the division title based on the talent available.
ReplyDeleteMy prediction of Wednesday's game is that it will be a microcosm of the entire season:
*The Yankees were built to mash the ball, and there will be some mashing that takes place, but too many of them will be solo jobs.
*The Yankees will succumb to collapses in concentration, probably on defense, where they will make one or two critical mental errors.
*They will score early, but fail to put the hammer down and keep racking up runs.
*Happ will start in the hope that they can hold Sevy back for Game 1 of the ALDS. There will be one bullpen meltdown.
*Ma Boone and his Boonedogle coaching staff will leave one pitcher in too long because "the process" says so.
*Despite all this, I think the Yankees will win something like 7-6. They will score just enough runs to win and give the bullpen just enough rope to throw over the limb but not hang themselves.
*The hairs on and around my scrotum will turn grey in the process.
Greying pubic hair. Like a silverback, but much, much worse ...
ReplyDeleteFish hot dog tacos for all.
13 bit - "the current team does not have the heart that the earlier teams had. It also doesn't have the iron scrotal sack attributes that, collectively, create what we like to call "clutch." This is NOT a clutch team. This is not a team that takes a lucky break and capitalizes on it. And it's CERTAINLY not a team that creates its own lucky breaks."
ReplyDeleteI have to agree. In the beginning of the year when they were on that great run it seemed otherwise but it's a long long way from May to a Dismembering.
Also, Dairy is not your friend.
Apoor, that's pretty close to my prediction and circumstances as well. At least we both have them winning.
Doug K.
One cannot say this team does not have iron balls. Yet. There is October yet to play. The book will not be written on this team until play has finished. There are no awards for having a really, really good regular season. Only the Post Season matters. All else is meaningless.
ReplyDeleteRaise some suds for the Brewers. They beat the Cubbies, who will never win a World Series again until 2108. Though they will now be an entrant in the Selig Memorial One-Game Pizzapalooza.
ReplyDeleteWonder if the Rockies can beat the Dodgers now? That would be nice.
And 13bit, I agree with you. I was reading your comment and nodding, then got confused when you said you were being so negative. I thought you were being reasonable. Like Alphonso.
By the way, I, too, said 87 wins back in March. Rufus had 100, the firefly.
http://johnsterling.blogspot.com/2018/03/write-this-down-96-yankee-wins-return.html
ReplyDeleteI had 64 wins (hexadecimal). Or 100 for those who count like humans.
Of course I also had Sasha Grey leading the team in wins.
For Wednesday, I predict a blowout. And Sasha Grey pitching by the end of the game.
...and I think Urban Farmer gets the prize -- a free subscription to this website!
ReplyDeleteHe was spot on, but I disagree on the outcome Wednesday.
I HAD US AT 95 WINS...
ReplyDeleteDON'T REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT I SAID ABOUT IT THOUGH...
AS FOR WEDNESDAY, I LIKE ALPHONSO'S TAKE.
"LAUNCH ANGLE LUKE" WILL COME UP BIG FOR US AND WE WILL WIN IT.
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