These last few Septembers have been much more interesting for Yankee fans than in years past. That's in part due to the fairly new wild card format but mostly because the Yankees just haven't been as good recently. For the better part of the 90's, 2000's and early 2010's the Yanks were beating people's brains in for 162. There was never any apprehension in September about a postseason berth.
The last two seasons, while we were still technically "in it" on September 4th, anybody who was watching knew we didn't have the horses. This year is different. While there's been plenty of poor play mixed in there have been several stretches this season where the Yankees have been the best team in baseball. They have all the makings of a division winner and a championship contender but they haven't quite put it all together yet. We'll find out what they're made of over the next four weeks starting with a 10-day, 10-game homestand against all divisional opponents.
After a 5-1 road trip it's fair to say the Yankees are playing well which is exactly why I'm terrified of this weekend series with Tampa. Every time you think the Yanks are about to get on a roll they start playing shitty again, mostly because the bats disappear at random. Add in the fact that the Rays are always a pain in the ass and are still very much in the playoff hunt and you have yourself a very dangerous series coming up.
As per usual Tampa comes into the Bronx with an excess of good starting pitching. Jake Odorizzi will toe the rubber tonight against my man Luis. Odorizzi is a young, tough righthander but carries a lifetime 4.84 ERA against the Yanks heading into tonight. McCann's numbers against him are insane (10-for-16, 2 HR, 6 XBH). Severino will make his 6th start tonight and you can make a case that since he's been inserted into the rotation that he's been the Yankees' best pitcher. He hasn't gone further than six innings in any of his starts but if there's one team that can afford that kind of brevity it's the one with the best bullpen in baseball.
Matt Moore was just recalled from AAA and will make his first start back in the Bronx on Saturday afternoon. Moore was sent down after struggling mightily following his return from Tommy John surgery in July. We've seen him enough where we know he's going to be a much tougher match-up than his 8.78 ERA suggests. Nasty Nate is coming off the kind of win he was far more accustomed to earlier in the season. A mediocre performance against the Braves (five runs in five innings) aided by a profusion of run support. Either way, it was another one in the win column for Eovaldi as he now sports the league's highest winning percentage (.875) and is 9-0 with a 3.32 ERA since June 20th.
Sunday's going to be tough. Chris Archer is as good as it gets and he absolutely kills the Yankees, especially in the Bronx (3-0, 1.54 in Yankee Stadium). It'll probably be up to Ivan Nova to keep the Yankees in the game but I'm not sure he'll be up to the task. He's lost three in a row and is currently the weakest link in the Yankee rotation. The Rays don't have the greatest lineup but they're plenty pesky and I'm sure they're going to give him fits.
Who's hot?
Didi Gregorius
On the road trip Didi went 14-for-24 with 2 HR and 10 RBI. He's playing short like a gold-glover and is legitimately one of the best players on this team right now.
Stephen Drew
I'm almost reluctant to include Drew here because I can't stand all of the proverbial dick sucking the last few days. He went 9-for-20 in five games during the road trip and now the Yankees have nothing to worry about at second base. Broadcasters and writers talking about how Girardi's had his faith rewarded. This guy's hitting .194 in a full season's worth of at-bats as a Yankee. In a perfect world this past week gives him enough confidence to change the kind of hitter he's been for the last calendar year but I doubt it.
Who's Not?
Jacoby Ellsbury
He went 4-for-22 this week with a .280 OBP. That's not going to get it done. Apparently he's still nursing that hip after his body touched the ground against the Astros so hopefully that doesn't linger for too much longer.
It's kind of strange how the lineup has worked itself out down the stretch. Whenever the Yankees face a lefty they're forced to either bench Ellsbury or Gardner because you can't afford not to start Chris Young against a southpaw and Beltran has become almost too important to take out under any circumstances.
Who to watch for
Kevin Kiermaier
There's really nothing exciting about this Ray's lineup but this dude is fun to look at. Seriously....
Honestly every time we play the Rays I can't stop thinking about how good looking this guy is. He's really got everything working. The eyes, the chin, the physique. If I could switch lives with any one baseball player I think it would be Kevin Kiermaier. He gets to live somewhat of a normal life, flying under the radar because he's really not that good and he plays for Tampa but he's still young and super hot and gets to tell girls he matches with on Tinder that he's a starting center fielder on a major league baseball team.
Too bad you can't use Vine on Tinder.
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