Big Game Tonight!!

Well, comrades, here we are...

A hundred-sixty-two games, a hundred-and-four wins, a thousand tweaks, a million frayed nerves, a six month roller coaster of hope and despair, and there are no words - none - that matter.

Since late July, we've known this team was playoff-bound. The question was, who would be healthy enough to play? Now, we know: Almost everyone. It's too late to cry about Dellin Betances or Aaron Hicks; they're items for the hot stove. We know our rotation, we know our lineup, and we know our opponent. It's like Election Night, and all the polls, all the conjecture, none of it matters. 

Tonight, I will try to post something each inning, so if you need a primal scream, or to remind Cashman why we needed Patrick Corbin, the game thread should be piping hot. 

Rosters will be announced this morning. By the time you read this, they might be out. From where I sit, I'd prefer Mike Ford over Luke Voit - the monster lefty over the hernia-compromised Cool Bat Luke. But I won't quibble. Voit has been the Yankees' spirit animal, and it might be wiser to keep him. Also, the Twins lefty bullpen could negate Ford's platoon advantage. 

Frankly, the loss of CC Sabathia does not bother me. Lost in the talk about his bullpen conversion was his inability to field bunts and cover first base. During the regular season, nobody wanted to bunt on the Grand Old Man, who would likely throw at the next batter's head. But this is now. If I were facing CC, I'd make him field his position. His bullpen spot will be filled by a late season scrap heaper. If we see them, we will be far ahead or far behind. 

Edwin Encarnacion says he's ready. So does Giancarlo Stanton. Since July, this was a fantasy, the lineup we've barely seen all year. The planets have aligned, for better or worse.  

So, here we are, as Friedrich Nietzche wrote: Gazing into the abyss, as it gazes back into us. 

Back in college, a long time ago, I took a course in Nietzche. I know that you can't predict baseball, Suzyn, but Nietzche predicted a lot of things, almost to the exact timeline. He foresaw both World Wars, followed by a half-century of relative stability. Then he said humankind would face The Abyss: A dark, desperate, overwhelming cynicism, which would devour us. We would come to believe in nothing. Does anything better describe the state of our world? 

Well, I believe in the 2019 Yankees. It's a choice I'm going to make. I'm going to believe the Yankees win the World Series, and that our nation is going to not only survive, but repudiate The Abyss. Maybe it starts tonight. Or maybe none of my words matter.

Well, comrades, here we are...