After a Thrilling Win on Sunday, the Yankees are Playoff Bound

By -

Through all the troubles and frustrations in this Yankees season, the time is finally here. Playoffs. Thanks to the first ever walk off hit in the career of Aaron Judge, the Yankees beat the Rays in Game 162 to give the Bombers a playoff berth and send them to the Wild Card Game. 

Photo Credit: New York Yankees via Twitter

The Yanks will head to Boston on Tuesday, October 5th to take on the Red Sox in the one-game Wild Card.

 

The first winner-take-all game that the rivals have played against each other since the 2004 American League Championship Series, there is a lot to unpack before 8:08 PM comes around on Tuesday.

 

The starting pitchers for both sides have already been announced. Gerrit Cole will take the hill for the Bombers, and Nathan Eovaldi will get the nod for the Red Sox.

 

For the Yankees, it seems that they will lean to Kyle Higashioka to do the catching tomorrow for Cole, as Cole has proven more comfortable with Higashioka. You have to take in the struggles of Gary Sanchez as of late to understand this decision by Aaron Boone.

The catching situation is an important thought, but there are questions all over the field, specifically the infield. DJ Lemahieu was added to the 10-day IL on Sunday, so the Yankees will be without him on Tuesday. They also are without Luke Voit who was added to the 60-day IL this weekend.  His season is done regardless of how far this team advances. Gio Urshela, who made an unbelievable catch falling into the Rays dugout, gave a little scare to Yankee fans and personnel. He is fine and expected to play Tuesday, however, according to Aaron Boone.

 

Boone will have a decision to make at third base, assuming that Urshela does play. Between Tyler Wade, Rougned Odor, and Andrew Velasquez, one of the three will have to play alongside Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres, and Urshela in the infield. Odor has played a lot lately in spot of these injuries, so you have to expect that Boone will go to him. If Urshela does not play, Boone probably goes to Tyler Wade to fill in that last spot in the infield.

 

That leaves Velasquez and Wade as the lone infielders on the bench for the Wild Card. Brett Gardner most likely starts alongside Aaron Judge and Joey Gallo in the outfield with Giancarlo Stanton as the DH.

 

With only one game though, Boone will not need the same amount of pitchers that he normally would, leaving room for extra hitters like Estevan Florial, Miguel Andujar, Greg Allen, Ryan Lamarre or Chris Gittens. With the injuries, the Yankees are going to need the insurance of extra help off the bench. 

 

You also have to think about the option of a third catcher. Rob Brantly could be added to the roster for emergency purposes for the game.

 

Expect the Yankees to have 10 or 11 pitchers on the roster, leaving off starters who won't be needed, like Jameson Taillon, Jordan Montgomery, and Nestor Cortes, who all just pitched this weekend.

 

Any other pitcher is fair game, even Corey Kluber, who could be a good emergency option for the Bombers during the Wild Card Game.  Perhaps the Yankees roll the dice with Cortes on three-days rest, but they likely see him as their ALDS Game One starter should they advance that far.

 

Boone will for sure leave his ace on the mound for as long as possible, but there are a lot of good options that he can go to following Cole. Luis Severino and Michael King for long relief, then Clay Holmes, Jonathan Loaisiga, Chad Green, and Aroldis Chapman in the backend would be the ideal situation for Boone to have.

 

Gary will be the first bat off the bench given that Higashioka starts, and will definitely get an at-bat before the end of the game. Wade coming in for speed and defense first opportunity is to be expected as well.

 

So with all of this in line, there is a lot to consider for what the Wild Card Game roster will look like. I assume 15 hitters (Judge, Stanton, Gallo, Gardner, Urshela, Rizzo, Torres, Sanchez, Higashioka, Odor, Wade, Velasquez, Brantly, Allen, Florial) and 11 pitchers (Cole, Cortes, Severino, Chapman, Green, Loaisiga, Holmes, King, Peralta, Rodriguez, German). 

 

There is a lot still to happen and a lot that can still happen before first pitch on Tuesday. It is going to be an exciting time for Yankees fans, so buckle up and come along for the ride.


Article by: Matt Zumbolo

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introducing Bronx Bomber Bets: BBBets 9/23

By -
Image
Welcome to our new gambling column at BBB, Bronx Bomber Bets. Here we will be giving out some of our favorite picks of the day and sharing them with our readers. Today, we are giving out 10 picks for all of you, so please enjoy, and bet responsibly. Now, we know that not all of our readers are big gamblers, if they are gamblers at all, so for the first week or so that we give out picks we will be explaining the odds and gambling terminology for anyone out there who is looking to learn about sports betting. Here are our picks:
Read more

Trade Market the Perfect Storm for Yankees to Acquire Starter

By -
Image
 UPDATE D 11/18/15 We’ve all heard it: The Yankees aren’t likely to be big spenders this offseason. Hearing this makes me chuckle as the Yankees have the dollars to field a $500 million pay roll if they wanted to, but their dedication to winning just hasn’t been there since the passing of good ole’ George. Sure little rumors have serviced here or there about them maybe pursuing Zach Greinke who has recently opted out of his contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but that move reeks of the move CC Sabathia pulled in opting out of his contract with the Yankees a few years back to simply restructure his contract and make a better payday.   However, instances like CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka are why I believe the Yankees aren’t going to shell out big money and a long term contract for a big name starter this year. There are simply too many factors that could explode in the Pinstripes’ face when giving a long contract to a starter as evidenced by Sabathia’s fall from g...
Read more

Pride, Passion and Pinstripes: The greatest Yankees to ever touch the field

By -
Image
No team in baseball history has a story quite like the Yankees. 27 times they’ve found baseball Nirvana which is 16 more than the next closest team (Cardinals). 40 times have the Yankees won the American League, and that is also a major league record. The franchise won four straight championships from 1936-1939 and five straight from 1949-1953, a task no other team has ever accomplished. With all this sustained success, the team has seen some of the greatest players in league history proudly call the Bronx home. Together the Yankees could field multiple All-Star teams with their collective legends, but in this article, I’m going to try and put together a team of legends that I think would be absolutely unbeatable.   Photo Credit: Creative Commons
Read more