Well, THAT was a momentum killer!

From HoraceClarke66

Eighteen strikeouts in a playoff game—what was that, a tribute to the late Bob Gibson?

There were plenty of the usual complaints to be had about tonight. The continuing, bizarre refusal to bat Judge, Voit, and Stanton back-to-back-to-back, or at least Judge and Stanton belly-to-belly. Sanchez.  Always Sanchez. 

 

But considering the fact that the Yanks were up against some pretty tough pitching and C.B. “Random Selection” Buckner was behind the plate, five runs was still a very decent performance. A first-rate staff would have brought that home, especially facing Tampa Bay’s “Palookas’ Row.”

 

But that’s once again what we don’t have. The Yankees got outpitched tonight, just as they were outpitched in 2017, and 2018, and 2019. Just as they have been outpitched, eventually, in every postseason over the last 20 years, with the shining exception of 2009.

 

That shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s how teams lose, almost always.

 

What’s been exasperating about it is how consistently Brain fails to get us enough arms—or how he brings in the wrong ones. The Yankees go to war with the staff they have, and it’s always ready to surrender. 

 

Sonny Gray instead of Justin Verlander. Luis Severino with his arm falling off. Happ. And Happ. And Happ. James Paxton. When any one of free agents Max Scherzer, Yu Darvish, Patrick Corbin, or Dallas Keuchel would’ve gained us at least one of those rings.

 

But it goes way back with the Brain. The answer was going to be Jeff Weaver or Jose Contreras, Ed Yarnall or Javier Vazquez, Michael Pineda or Kei Igawa, Kevin Brown or Jaret Wright, and Jay Witasek giving up 500 runs to the Diamondbacks because who the hell needs Jeff Nelson?

 

The Brain can’t judge pitching and he won’t hire someone who does, which is a grievous fault in a man who grew up around racehorses. Brian Cashman’s daddy never would have advised someone buying a thoroughbred not to bother hiring a trainer who knows horseflesh. But somehow, Brain has never learned the same lesson in a lifetime of being around pitchers, an even more skittish species.

 

The Yanks aren’t out of it, not yet. Not with Tanaka pitching tomorrow night. But it’s difficult to see how they steal away another game after that, against a Tampa Bay team that had the 2^nd best pitching the AL this year, while the Yankees had the 8^th best.

 

I doubt if the bottom team in such a match-up has ever made up such a statistical gap in an intra-league playoff series. But then, I suspect that Mr. Statistics already knows that. Shame how he can never do anything about it.