By pulling pitchers before they cracked, Boone managed a flawless game. But with a thin, leaderless bullpen, how long can this continue?

A hallmark of Aaron Boone's 2022 chess master managerial style has been to leave pitchers in for one too many batters - especially Gerrit Cole. Generally, this led to disastrous HRs, blown leads and hostage video postgame shows. 

Last night, somehow, we skated. Cole threw a great game, leaving in the 7th with a 3-run lead, pulled even if he seemed to have a few pitches left. Everything worked.  

Now, can we repeat it?

Reason I ask: Jonathan Loaisiga looked shaky: two hits and a Christmas gift DP grounder. Wandy Peralta pitched well - four outs, nothing. And Clay Holmes looked shocked - SHOCKED - to find himself out there, having missed the last two weeks. Hitting the first batter had everyone fearing the worst - but it never happened.

Yep, it worked. The Death Barge needs two more wins over the Indians Commanders Guardians, fuck it, Cleveland. But Yank fans fear the final three innings like Putin's critics view an open 15th floor window. Boone's "Circle of Trust" has become a dot. Between now and Halloween, if we reach that far, somebody - Tailion? German? Wessert?- must step from the darkness and go Jamie Lee on Michael Myers. If we're depending on Boone to have flawless games, we're in trouble.  

And damn, Seattle couldn't put Houston away... 

Other scattered takeaways...

1. Trot Donaldson tossed cold water on the "savvied veteran" theory for postseason excellence. He admired himself all the way to No Man's Land - between first and second base - before realizing that balls don't bounce that far unless they hit a wall. 

This year, Donaldson has been an easy target - a huge offensive disappointment. His glove saved him from the bench (and, on that note, he made a nice play last night, beyond third, with a laser throw to first.) But if the Yankees had lost, probably by one run - fans would never forget his screw-up. Never. After all, we still remember Knobby's brain freeze, right?

2. So, now there's talk that Aroldis Chapman might throw in Florida, regain his command, reappear in the next round and drink from the Chalice of Redemption - assuming the Yankees advance. Yeah, and I'm the Easter Bunny.  

Listen: I feel sorry for El Chapo. Another easy target, a magnet for our hostility. He's been bad now for two years. The cardinal sin: He got old. Since 2020, he's been trying secondary pitches. None worked. Bringing him into the ALCS will be a mistake. He's gone, we made a decision, let him go. 

That said, I get it: The situation is Fucking Dire. It was dire when they had Scott Effross. Now, without him, it's hard to imagine the bullpen holding through October. I understand why they'd roll the dice on El Chapo. But we know where that goes: Another season ending with him grinning at the cosmos, as the opposing team celebrates at home plate. Nope. Can't do it. Please, no.

3. Effross' looming Tommy John surgery nearly closes the book on Brian Cashman's worst set of deals in trade deadline history. (Harrison Bader came through last night, but considering Jordan Montgomery's ascension to Cy Young candidate, that's still a hard deal to support.)

I remember our first impressions of Effross - he'd already pitched in 47 games, among the league leaders. The Cubs used him like dish towel and then peddled his ass when they got an offer. He'll miss all of next year, while we watch the next phase of Cashman's Deadline of the Dead - when the prospects we gave up become full-blown major leaguers. 

If the Yankees fail this month, how in Creation does Cashman keep his job? 

At the least, he needs to be kicked upstairs - given a dart board, putting rug and Miss Bixley from the typing pool - and replaced by the Jeter/Mattingly option. It's time.

4. Everyone has their own key moment last night. Here's mine: Jose Trevino's sac fly to center, which scored IKF from third, giving us the lead. He's done it all year - a strange, rare Yankee phenomena called situational hitting. 

What a concept? Instead of letting Gary Sanchez, Joey Gallo, Mike Ford, Aaron Hicks, et al, swing for the fences... you move the runner. Wait, is that legal? 

How often in recent Octobers did the Yankees fail to advance runners in critical situations? Had Trevino fanned, we would have needed a base hit to score the run, and we know how those dice roll. 

One huge difference between this team and others of the past: Our bottom of the batting order puts balls into play. There's something to be said for Small Ball. 

5. No game tonight? Who the fuck devised this playoff schedule, Kanye? Worse, Thursday's game might be rained out or played in a quagmire. When the owners added an extra tier in the postseason, did they think they could magically add another week to the month of October?

I'm getting tired of those ads that claim Halloween Ends, because we all know it won't. The question is, will we still be there when the last body drops?