They are who we thought they were

In the days following the Yanks getting swept in Baltimore to end the regular season I was clinging to the notion that once the playoffs start you get a clean slate.  That you can throw everything you've done out the window.  Maybe even become a different team all together.  That wasn't the case with the Yankees.  The team the whole country just watched flounder at the hands of Dallas Keuchel and a very ordinary bullpen was the same Yankee team that's been playing since the trade deadline.  Last night's game embodied all of the maladies that had plagued the Yankees over the past two months.  A starting pitcher snake-bitten by the home run.  A bullpen that wasn't quite as good as it needed to be.  And an embarrassing, shameful offensive effort, the likes of which haven't been seen since the 2012 ALCS.

While the Yankee lineup had been an inconsistent, mostly anemic group since July 31st, you could argue they saved their absolute worst performance for last night.  3 Hits.  No run.  Not until A-Rod came to the plate with two on and two out in the bottom of the 6th did you ever actually feel like they might have a rally in their bones.  But we should have known better.  We saw what this offense was in August and September.  A once deep and explosive lineup that had succumbed to injury, fatigue and just general lack of production.

Was Tanaka horrible?  No.  But he needed to be better than that.  He was in and out of jams every inning, had very little command and was fortunate the two mistakes he made were without anybody on base.  Betances faltered yet again, struggling with control issues.  The run he surrendered made it feel like 20-0.  But none of that mattered last night and none of it matters today.  The only thing that should be discussed this morning is the pitiful performance by everyone in the Yankee lineup because the same guys who humiliated themselves last night are going to be lining up on the first base foul line circa Opening Day 2016.  Sure the experience down the stretch stands to benefit Greg Bird, Rob Refsnyder and Didi Gregorious, but everyone else is just going to be another year older.  And the problem with that, the problem with the composition of this offense is that they don't have ONE contact hitter.  They don't have anyone who's going to contend for a batting title, flirt with 200 hits or choke up and muscle a big RBI single like Jose Altuve did last night.  They're entire lineup is just one big giant cock-tease.  Just nine guys sitting around waiting for a three-run home run and when they don't get it they can't find other ways to score.  Can't win like that.

If I can take one positive from last night it was that I was impressed by the crowd.  I have to admit I expected to walk into there with no buzz whatsoever coming off the six losses in seven games.  But for the first six innings the new Yankee Stadium was as loud as it had been since the 2009 postseason.  Sure the Rasmus and Gomez home runs took some of the air out of the place, but for the most part the real fans got out to the Bronx last night and made a lot of noise.  Of course once the Stros pushed that third run across in the 7th half of the crowd bailed.  And you know what, I don't blame them.  This team hadn't given you any reason to think they were capable of a comeback.  By the 9th inning I was just waiting to go home.  They made Luke Gregerson look like Mariano Rivera.  Just a spineless, gutless effort from their first at-bat through the end of the game.  Now I'm just left sitting here at work, hungover as a skunk on two hours of sleep with a sore throat trying to trick people into thinking that my life isn't in a complete and utter tailspin.  Awesome.

Tanaka Tuesday

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.

Is CC kidding with this IG post?

Now this I don't like.  I can have empathy for a guy who feels like his life has been turned upside down. That he did something so awful that he can't go another day without seeking help.  But if you're going to pull yourself off the team the day before the playoffs start when your the quasi-captain making $25 million a year you better have done some ghastly shit.  Not something innocent enough to warrant dog poop internet memes.  So either CC has the worst sense of humor imaginable or he just flat-left the Yankees when they need him the most.  

CC is checking himself into an alcohol rehabilitation center, will miss the entire postseason

ABC - New York Yankees pitcher Sabathia is planning to check himself into a alcohol rehabilitation center Monday.

Sabathia issued a statement just after 1 p.m. (see below) that said he's leaving at a bad time, but it's something he owed to himself and his family. The announcement comes a day before the Yankees play Houston in the American League wild-card game.

The statement also said he's looking forward to playing again next season, so it appears he's not returning for the post season.

Here is the statement:
"Today I am checking myself into an alcohol rehabilitation center to receive the professional care and assistance needed to treat my disease.

"I love baseball and I love my teammates like brothers, and I am also fully aware that I am leaving at a time when we should all be coming together for one last push toward the World Series. It hurts me deeply to do this now, but I owe it to myself and to my family to get myself right. I want to take control of my disease, and I want to be a better man, father and player.

"I want to thank the New York Yankees organization for their encouragement and understanding. Their support gives me great strength and has allowed me to move forward with this decision with a clear mind.

"As difficult as this decision is to share publicly, I don't want to run and hide. But for now please respect my family's need for privacy as we work through this challenge together.

"Being an adult means being accountable. Being a baseball player means that others look up to you. I want my kids - and others who may have become fans of mine over the years - to know that I am not too big of a man to ask for help. I want to hold my head up high, have a full heart and be the type of person again that I can be proud of. And that's exactly what I am going to do.

"I am looking forward to being out on the field with my team next season playing the game that brings me so much happiness."




What the fuck is going on right now?  I'm so confused.  Never in my life have I seen something come more out of nowhere than this.  CC has a drinking problem?  A drinking problem so grave that he chose the day before the playoffs start to check into rehab?  CC?  One of the most model citizens in baseball?  Yea there was that incident earlier this summer in Toronto where him and his friends go into a scuffle while they were out.  Could there have been more to that?  Maybe, but he certainly doesn't have a history of getting into those kinds of situations.

Unfortunately my gut tells me that CC got drunk very recently and did something awful.  Something so bad that if he didn't take action right away and try to get himself help that he couldn't look his wife or kids in the eye.  If that's the case than this is really, truly unfortunate.

What an insane year this has been for CC.  He went from dragging the Yankees down with his awful performance to putting it all back together again to getting hurt with a potential career-ending injury to coming back off the DL only to be more productive and earn himself a spot on the postseason rotation to ending his season in rehab before the playoffs start.  It's tough to look past tomorrow the way the Yankees are playing but it looks like Nova is going to go from a bullpen demotion to starting Game 3 of the ALDS should they get so far.  As if you needed another reason to be down on this team before the wildcard game.

Yanks back into home field advantage

The biggest hit of the Yankee season came today off the bat of Paul Goldschmidt.  His two-run homer in Arizona lifted the Diamondbacks over the Astros in a 5-3 win that preserved the Yankees' lead over Houston in the wild card standings.  The AL wild-card play-in game will now take place in the Bronx on Tuesday night.  It'll be Dallas Kuechel on three-days rest against Tanaka.

It's a strange feeling right now.  The ultimate goal this weekend was to ensure that game was going to be at Yankee Stadium and it was achieved.  But the Yanks just got swept by the Orioles, have lost six of seven overall and look absolutely lifeless heading into Tuesday's win-or-go-home match-up with Houston.  Girardi appears as if he's actually trying to lose his job.  After Saturday's debacle he yanks Pineda after 83 pitches with the season on the line and hands the ball to Chris Capuano.  Yea, the same Chris Capuano who has about an eight ERA and has been cut four times this season.  Doesn't matter that Flaherty was like 1 for a million lifetime against Pineda.  Gotta have that lefty-lefty no matter what.

I've been trying to hold fast to the notion that the postseason erases everything and creates a fresh new slate for everyone but it's going to be really hard to get super pumped for Tuesday.  That place is going to be dead.  This team has given you no reason to get excited about anything.  I'll be there and I'm going to do my best to psyche myself up but if this team falls behind early Yankee Stadium is going to be embarrassingly empty in the mid to late innings.  

Win a game.

You can go ahead and blame Girardi for putting the Yankees in this situation.  It's pretty clear this team and all their lefties are in a far more arduous situation if they have to pack up and go across the country to play a one-game playoff in someone else's building.  And yet Girardi fielded two half-assed teams yesterday, hanging Nova and Severino out to dry and rendering game 162 enormous. It's pretty ironic he spent the entire year making sure everyone is rested and now instead of the regulars getting two full days off before the wildcard game they have to go balls-to-the-wall on the last day of the season.

But it's not entirely Joe's fault.  The guys on the field are playing AWFUL.  The offense is listless.  The bullpen is faltering way more often.  The starting pitching is just good enough to make this team painfully mediocre.  But all of that can flip in an instant.  We've seen it before and it can start today.  Big Mike on the mound against a team that's pretty much had his number all season long outside of one outstanding start.  If he can dial it up and be as good as he can be the Yanks have nothing to worry about.  If he doesn't have it you'll know it right away and will probably be reaching for your phone early to check the score of the Astros game.

Guess who's back

Up until last night I wasn't sure how I felt about the Yankees celebrating a wildcard berth.  It seems kind of silly to be popping champagne and smoking cigars when you're only one game away from cleaning out your locker.  But I loved every bit of last night.  It's difficult to embrace because the pinstripes are so awe-inspiring but this has been a team of underdogs all year long.  Vegas had them finishing below .500 before the season started.  These aren't your older brother's Yankees.  It's a cast of kids and aging veterans.  There's very little in between.  It's hard to remember that this guy...

And this guy...

were both counted out by pretty much everybody at some point in 2015.  People were wondering whether or not A-Rod was even going to make the Opening Day roster in spring training.  Everyone wanted CC out of the rotation and when he went down with his knee injury the consensus was that his season was over.  And yet they're both here and contributing to a playoff bound Yankee team not only on the field but as leaders in the clubhouse.  That in and of itself is something worth celebrating.

And how about my man John Ryan Murhpy...

It's always better when you deliver a great quote in a deadpan manner. So well done @JRMurphy513. pic.twitter.com/Qqa1TqlQU0

— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) October 2, 2015

You had to be blind not to see this coming.  Of course my good Irish brother John Ryan Murhpy led the drinking effort last night after the game.  And he earned it.  The guy hits every single time he gets a chance to play.  For a young kid it's pretty impressive how he's able to go out there and contribute with the bat and behind the plate even though he's not getting regular playing time.  He absolutely stole the show.

As for the game, how about my man Adam Warren.  Thrown into the game having no idea he was available to pitch, goes three scoreless and bridges what was seemingly an impossible gap to Betances.  Forget Ramiro Mendoza.  This guy is better than him.  He does everything.  Start, high-leverage relief, mop-up duty, paint your fence, wash your car.  The Yankees aren't where they are today without Warren and all he's been able to do this season.

It's impossible to feel good about this team given the way they've played lately.  They have a myriad of issues to sort out between now and Tuesday.  But that's the beauty of postseason baseball.  Once it starts you can toss everything you've done up until that point out the window.  All it takes is one swing of the bat to atone for a season of mediocrity.  I don't know what the postseason will bring for the Yankees.  If they run into Keuchel for the one-game playoff they're going to be in trouble, even if it is on three-days rest.  But these are short series' after that.  They don't have to sustain success over another 162 games.  They have to get hot for a few weeks.  I'm not banking on it but crazier things have happened.