It's been three long years since there's been postseason baseball in the Bronx and it honestly feels like an eternity. I didn't really know how to live my life these past two Octobers. Playoff baseball at Yankee Stadium is in the fabric of my being. From watching Tino's grand slam sail over my eight-year-old head at the 98' World Series to the Raul Ibanez game in 2012, experiencing the Yankees in the postseason has easily been the best, most exciting part of my life. And now it's back. But it may not be back for long.
For the first time since the new wildcard format was introduced the Yankees are going to experience the rigors of the one game playoff and they couldn't have drawn a more formidable opponent. Not only is Dallas Keuchel the front-runner for the American League CY Young, he's dominated the Yankees this year to the tune of ZERO runs in 16 innings. Pushing a few across with this guy on the mound is going to be a daunting task but the Yanks have a couple of things working in their favor. Paul Goldschmidt's two-run home run in game 162 brought the one game playoff to the Bronx and away from Minute Maid Park where Kuechel is 15-0 with a 1.46 ERA this season. And while he did shutout the Yankees in the Bronx earlier this year he's 5-8 with an ERA almost two runs higher (3.77) away from Houston in 2015. Keuchel's also pitching on three-days rest tonight for the first time all season. That may be a factor, it may not be. But the guy we have throwing tonight has had five full days to get in his routine and prep for the biggest start of his career.
That this game has fallen on a Tanaka Tuesday gives me about 200% more confidence going into tonight. That and the fact that this Houston lineup is made to order for him. All these guys do is swing and miss. Yea, they have plenty of guys who can hit the ball out of the ballpark and every one of them is dangerous at Yankee Stadium. But they expand the zone more than any team in baseball. That's Tanaka's bread and butter. Getting batters to chase is his livelihood. If he's sharp, if he can avoid the big mistake that can wreck this game, I think we may be in store for an all time performance. If he's not the Yanks may be chasing in this game early and if you've been paying attention the last two months that's not where we want to be.
Chris Young is playing tonight. It hasn't been announced but I'm going to go on the premise that Girardi is using his brain and will bench Gardner. Honestly I'd rather have Gardner in there than Jacoby but the guy making $22 million a year isn't sitting on the bench in a game like this. At least Gardner might put together a long at-bat before he strikes out. Expect Ellsbury to ground out weakly to the right side on first or second pitches at least a couple of times tonight. I don't mind not playing McCann either. He's been MISERABLE this month, especially against lefties and at least you can use him in the late innings as a pinch-hitter if you want a chance for a big home run.
The two X-factors the Yanks have in this game are Rico Noel and Carlos Beltran. Noel because he's been an automatic stolen base every time he's pinch-ran since getting called up. Beltran because he's one of the greatest postseason players of all time and will be the most dangerous man with a bat in his hands tonight. Am I worried about Betances? A little bit. He's had his command issues but he doesn't have to pitch on the black to get these guys out. Like I said, they chase more than any team in baseball. As long as he isn't throwing wild pitches with guys on base I think he'll be fine. Chances are he's going to factor into this game in a big way, even if it means getting six outs before handing it off to Miller.
The energy heading into this game isn't exactly electric. There's plenty of reason to be down about this team given the way they've played these last two months, especially this last week. The CC news drags things down even more. But winning cures all ills. If the Yanks win this game, especially if they win it dramatically, that will carry over into the division series. They win a game or two in Kansas City, all of the sudden Yankee Stadium is rocking again. Guaranfuckingteed. There's nothing better than playoff baseball in the Bronx. So let's take a deep breath, win ONE GAME tonight and see where that takes us. Let's go.
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