The Yankees win Game One: Ten takeaways.

1. We won. What else matters?

2. We won despite the heat lamp scorn of Bob Costas and Ron Darling, who both wanted Jazz Chisolm out at 2nd on a steal. They claimed replays showed it. But I didn't see it, and neither did the MLB tech gerbils. (Let the conspiracy theories begin!) Basically, you couldn't tell. But that didn't stop Darling & Silk from rendering their Old Testament judgements. Darling even suggested his view was better than MLB's. I love it when technology fails. 

3. Judging on Elon's X, Costas pissed off the free world last night. Everybody hates him. But but BUT... a confession: I like Costas. There, I said it. Costas has the rare ability to speak in actual paragraphs. Most announcers today can barely utter a sentence. (Paul O'Neill is, at best, a burst of strung-together syllables.) Costas can sum up a player in a few practiced words. I recognize that praising him is like defending Mike Pence to a MAGA crowd. But - honestly - it's nice to hear him, still slinging the shit.

4. One other point on Costas: He noted that Aaron Judge's throw from home - way off line, allowing a run to score - hit the side of pitchers mound and skipped to the right. A minor note, maybe, but it absolved Judge of a bad throw.

5. Clay Holmes delivered. Three words I never thought I'd write. Holmes gave us the game's most important five outs. He effectively staunched KC's offense, the first Yankee pitcher to do so. Screw the closer role. Holmes began with the Yankees as a middle innings man. Maybe that's where he's always belonged. 

6. Great night for Juan Soto. We didn't know it at the time, but his early throw to the plate, nabbing Salvador Perez, eventually saved the game. Plus, three hits! Listen: If he leaves the Yankees, he will rue that decision the rest of his life.

7. We can whine about Judge's night. He didn't look good. But we've seen his mini-slumps come and go. The mission of the Yankees is to somehow get Judge into the next round. If they do, he'll hit. (Not so sure about Giancarlo, though, whose inability to run cost us a run.) 

8. We rip Aaron Boone when he botches a decision. So kudos for starting Verdugo in LF. Guy made a sliding catch on a foul. He held Gurriel to a single on a drive off the wall. He drove in the winning run. And maybe he taught The Martian a lesson: To reach this level, you better learn the basics.

9. I think we're okay with Oswaldo at first. He made a great scoop on a low throw, delivered a double. Anthony Rizzo wouldn't have done much more. 

10. Wouldn't it be nice if Bobby Witt Jr. - 0-for-5 - stays snake-bitten? Last night, he reminded me of Danny Tartabull, in 1994, at the end of his Yankee tenure. I wonder why?