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00:01It's a drive by Danny Dawson, Charles Chisholm goes deep.
00:09The playoff matchup is set.
00:12We get a rematch, Yankees vs. Red Sox in the wild card round.
00:15This is Pinstripe Post.
00:17I'm your host, Ryan Sampson, but he's the star of the show, Joel Sherman.
00:19Today is Sunday, September 27th.
00:21Joel, what a wacky day for baseball.
00:22They don't play the game today for the Yankees vs. Orioles, game 162.
00:26MLB decides to say, you know what?
00:28We'll just end the season.
00:29That's it.
00:30After the Nor'easter hits us in the up year.
00:32But I'm anxious.
00:33I'm excited because we get the rematch that we've been penciling in for months now,
00:38it seems like, with Yankees vs. Red Sox, two AL East foes facing up against each other.
00:42But before we get to any of that, as always, how are you doing today, Joel?
00:46Yeah, I mean, obviously everybody who was in the Northeast got socked by the weather today.
00:50And I'm one of those who appreciates the idea of the integrity of trying to get
00:59162 games in, but it reached a ridiculous point today.
01:04I mean, they moved up the start time from three to one, hoping that they'd be able to get a
01:13window.
01:13But once that window wasn't there, I think you have to concede, we're not going to have a game and
01:18whatever.
01:19But we sat around for over three hours.
01:21I mean, more than that, you know, like I got to the ballpark at eight and they called the game
01:25at four or so.
01:27So and also like the integrity of the game, you know, the Yankees were going to have the guy
01:33Klopfenstein up pitching like like, you know, wasn't.
01:37And, you know, like for one of these teams, you know, everything is in place starting Tuesday night.
01:42You don't want the ball to slip out of somebody's hand and suddenly you're dealing with an injury.
01:46And there was a lot of standing water all over the field, especially on the dirt tracks or that ring
01:53the field.
01:54So anyway, that's a long winded way of saying the Yankees will forever play 161 games, which means they didn't
01:59get a chance to win a 94th game for a third straight year.
02:03Yeah, just a weird way for the season to end.
02:05And Joel has been very weird, I would say, around the Yankees with the injuries and how they're going to
02:10build this roster.
02:11And before we get to any of the roster building for what this Yankees playoff team is, officially Tuesday morning,
02:1710 a.m.
02:18Rosters have to be set to the MLB office for what the Yankees are going to carry into this wildcard
02:22round.
02:23And there is a ton in terms of what is going to happen, Joel.
02:27And since the last time we spoke to you, I think we should start with the Aaron Judge saga took
02:32another turn this past week.
02:34And I don't even know if you thought it was going to take this type of turn in the past
02:38week.
02:38Now, look, you have said time and time again, Ryan, the Yankees are very squirrely on the injuries.
02:44They've been that way for years now.
02:46Aaron Judge, very squirrely on his injuries.
02:48He's sensitive to the way the media has responded and fans have responded to him being out and missing so
02:53much time.
02:54But look, again, was another injury where he was diving for a ball, broke a rib in a weird place
02:59that really doesn't happen in baseball.
03:00He's out for a long time, works his way back.
03:03Now he pulls his calf and then we asked the question this past week, Joel, how do they handle this
03:08if they judge can't go for the wildcard round?
03:10It doesn't seem like this is an injury you can return so quickly from what judge comes back and says,
03:14my plan is to be ready for the wildcard roster.
03:17And boom goes back and forth with him in the media in terms of their messaging.
03:20So I don't know, man, like you tell me the way this played out the past week with Aaron Judge.
03:25One, your thoughts on it.
03:27And two, does Aaron Judge end up being on the wildcard roster?
03:30Yeah, so let's deal with the third thing first, which is, you know, it's a word I use on this
03:36show a lot, which is you can be myopic.
03:38So, you know, the Red Sox literally put two important players on the injured list today, right?
03:43Tyron Guerrero, who's a power throwing righty in their bullpen.
03:46And Mickey Gaspar, who had, you know, really a guy who actually came from the Yankee organization.
03:51He was a Yankee draft pick.
03:53And in that period when the Red Sox took off in the second half, I mean, he had a period,
03:58one period where he hit eight homers and I think 14 or 15 games became a bit of a folk
04:03hero there.
04:03So they lost them.
04:04They got there.
04:05They're trying to rush back and see if they could get something out of Garrett Crochet, who hasn't pitched this
04:10April 25th.
04:11Would you like to know how long ago April 25th is?
04:13That was the day the Knicks beat the Hawks to tie the series 2-2 and start a 13-game
04:19winning streak in the playoffs.
04:22So, and we're just about to start another training camp with the Knicks.
04:25So that's how long Garrett Crochet.
04:26I only know that because the day before was the last day that Stanton played and he's trying to rush
04:32back.
04:32And Wilson Contreras, who is their Aaron Judge, he's their best hitter, got into game 162 today.
04:39You want me to give you the weird fact about his injury?
04:41He was hit by pitch in the middle of September on his right hand between his knuckle and pinky, I
04:49believe.
04:50Would you like to know the name of the guy who hit him with the pitch?
04:53That would be Jacob Junis, the same guy who fractured Judge's wrist in 2018 and created all the paranoia that
05:01Judge has around injuries, which is a nice way for me to circle back.
05:04Now that I've given you all the trivia facts for the day, I could circle back to Judge.
05:13Look, on one hand, I admire Judge because he wants to play and he almost wants to block out reality,
05:22which is how long the healing process is for an injury like this.
05:28Uh, and I could even appreciate it on a more, uh, I think he was trying to say this the
05:35other day, Ryan, when he talked, I was there when he talked to reporters.
05:38And I don't know that he articulated it well, and I, I'm going to try to talk for him because
05:43I think I know what he was trying to say, which is, I'm 35.
05:48How many more of these do you think I have?
05:51So I'm going to do everything possible to get in there because of something we've talked about on this webcast
05:58quite a bit, which is he's a very smart guy.
06:01He knows what's missing from the great Yankee legacy.
06:04Uh, he's a great Yankee without a championship.
06:07He's a great Yankee without a sustained total postseason run.
06:12And that's all that's missing.
06:14He's going to the hall of fame.
06:15If he never plays another game, he's a three-time MVP.
06:18He's one of the, probably the 25 greatest hitters ever.
06:21He, he, he's aware of what's missing.
06:24And Ryan, like, let's have some empathy.
06:28If you or I were in that situation, we'd be dying.
06:31What do you mean I can't play in the playoffs?
06:34This is my whole life.
06:35This is what I've built it around.
06:37So I have that.
06:40Conversely, this is an injury, which is like the mildest of mild.
06:45Calf strains is a three-week injury.
06:48And it did not sound mild.
06:50And it did not sound like the place on the cap that heals quite that quickly.
06:56Even if you're doing round the clock stuff and the risk of going out there to kind of like hurt
07:04the team, but, but more specifically, potentially hurt yourself.
07:07Right.
07:07I was the guy, if you saw the group, I was the one who did ask him, like, are you
07:11somewhat concerned that if you do this, you can re-injure, you can make bad worse.
07:17And then it literally bleeds into next year also.
07:21So, and once more, I do want to admire the warrior who wants to figure out how to get on
07:29the battlefield.
07:32But there's a little bit of delusion to it, if not a lot of delusion.
07:35And then the other problem is it just creates the eggshells that the leadership on the team has to walk
07:41on around its most important player, who in a way is an undeputized, at least assistant general manager, who's making
07:51a lot of decisions for them.
07:52Having said that, Ryan, I will never say never, because who knows, but I would be very surprised if he's
08:03on this roster.
08:05I think, look, I think if you said to the Yankees, hey man, you're going to get through the ALCS
08:12and judge will be ready for the ALCS.
08:14They do it because I think the other problem becomes, even if he starts moving towards being ready for the
08:19DS, are you really going to put them on the turf?
08:21The turf in Tampa.
08:22In St. Petersburg?
08:24I, maybe, maybe, but like, I just, this, calf injuries are tricky, man.
08:30They, they re-injure easy.
08:32They cause, they cause cascading problems with other injuries.
08:36Oh yeah.
08:36You just can't willy nilly just say, hey, the guy wants to play.
08:40He's historically so important.
08:43And so the Yankees, no crying in baseball.
08:46You're going to have to figure out a way to win without him.
08:48Uh, they have a great strength in their starting rotation.
08:52I think that great strength will bleed into their bullpen with Rodon and Warren.
08:57And I think Ryan Weathers has a real shot to be on the, even this version of the roster.
09:02And certainly the next round of the Yankees are fortunate enough to get there.
09:06And I think if you remember how the 2019 Nationals won the World Series, it was leaning on their
09:12main starters, not only to start, but to relieve, uh, you know, it was the one great season Patrick
09:18Corbin had after signing a big contract in Washington.
09:21And, you know, it was kind of worth it because he helped them win a World Series.
09:25Uh, you know, him, Scherzer, Annabelle Sanchez, Steven Strasburg, you know, it is Steven Strasburg
09:30career was maybe shortened up because of how much he pitched both starting and relief that
09:35year.
09:35But I think this is the way the Yankees will go.
09:38Uh, but just on judge, I, I, I do see both sides of it.
09:42I have understanding and empathy for a warrior athlete who wants to figure out a way to play.
09:49But I also think at some point he has put Boone in an impossible public box.
09:56That's where I wanted to spin this forward is the Boone part of it is because he's got
10:00to deal with his own player, his captain, his face of his franchise saying, I want to
10:04be ready.
10:05I'm going to be ready for the wildcard.
10:07And also that he's upset at the wording that Boone uses in real time when, you know,
10:12Boone is made to like walk the plank for him by being nondescript or nonverbal about injuries.
10:21And instead of using actual terms, like what the grade of an injury is, you end up using
10:26terms like moderate, like, you know, if somebody tells you they're a moderate politically, they're
10:31telling you, they don't want to tell you what they are politically, right?
10:34Like, it means that like, I could go swing either way here.
10:39And moderate is one of those, uh, you know, in between words that kind of tell you nothing,
10:45right?
10:45You know, and we're in the business of trying to tell fans, you know, like we went through
10:48this last week or the week before I say, I don't sell it like heroin on the street.
10:53I assume fans want to know what is going on with all the players, but specifically this
10:59player, whether he's going to be able to play or not.
11:01And, you know, not just Yankee fans, I mean, this is a huge star in the game.
11:06So baseball fans, the networks that are broadcasting these games, uh, you know, so I, uh, look, I,
11:15I would be surprised at a pretty high level if he made this roster and, uh, the Yankees need
11:25to kind of, you want to do something for judge, get through a round or two, and then you'll probably
11:30get judge again.
11:32And, uh, you know, that's their job and they have strengths to, and they they'll, how about
11:36this is there's still the favorites to win even without judge in the AL you're saying,
11:41or the, just the wild card, let's start with this series, which is a killer series, right?
11:45Like it's best two out of three, you know, you could play the, the Colorado Rockies or
11:50the angels and lose two out of three because baseball's fickle that way.
11:53You know, Reed Detmers goes out and pitches.
11:55Well, you've lost the game to the angels, right?
11:57And the angels lost a hundred games this year.
11:59They stink.
12:00But, uh, so it's very fickle, uh, best two out of three, you know, like you're winning
12:05a game and David Bednar hold hangs a pitch and you don't win a game, uh, on June 7th,
12:11you overcome it on September 29th and September 30th and October 1st, you don't overcome it.
12:17It could end your season.
12:18So you, you know, those are just, those are the rules we are, we understand and everybody
12:24plays by, um, but the Yankees have an arsenal and the Red Sox have significant injuries.
12:32The Yankees aren't the only team with injuries.
12:34The Red Sox are beat up going into this.
12:37The Red Sox have not scored more than four runs in a game in over two weeks.
12:41They come in with their offense struggling against the very good Yankee pitching staff
12:46and they come into Yankee stadium and the Yankees are going to have to figure out how
12:50to get some lefty might, get some balls out of the park.
12:54They're going to see a lot of lefty pitching.
12:56Uh, he has a lot of Boone has a lot of interesting decisions about which righties are in the starting
13:01lineup, which writers are being held for specific lefty relievers and how much he believes in
13:07a couple of his lefty hitters being able to left on left, get the ball into the porch,
13:11which is a Yankee strength or should be a Yankee strength.
13:15Yeah, it really should.
13:16Uh, the judge of it all.
13:18I mean, that was just, it's a very interesting time.
13:21I, you, like you said, you feel for the player, the captain, he's gone through it really this
13:24year with the injuries.
13:25Boone is not an enviable position about how he's going to manage this roster.
13:29And when your star player is putting that kind of pressure on you publicly, you kind
13:32of have to wear it and answer it, answer to it.
13:34So, uh, moving forward, Joel, let's assume that judge in this episode does not make the wild
13:40card round because we would assume that he doesn't make it because of the injury to the
13:44calf, the big pieces that seem to be right here on the cusp of making this wild card
13:50roster are Trent Grisham, John Carlos Stanton, Ryan Weathers.
13:55We saw Clark Schmidt land on the aisle again.
13:57So he is no longer going to be a part of that, that bullpen piece as well.
14:01Those three players do all three of them make the playoff roster for the wild card round.
14:06I think they do.
14:08I think the Yankees end up going with no more than 11 pitchers.
14:13And I think maybe 10, uh, and they go with 16 position players.
14:19And I think that Boone is going to be hyper aggressive about trying to create favorable
14:24matchups.
14:25He's going to know for sure here.
14:27Here's the one, like I mentioned the dates, the April 24th and April 25th of it all with
14:31crochet and with Stanton.
14:33Can you imagine if a series comes down to an at bat Stanton versus crochet, how, how
14:38interesting and drama filled that would be.
14:42But when I think, I think Stanton is going to take, depending on if the series goes two
14:47games or three games, he's going to take two or three very targeted at bats in this series
14:52against.
14:53So he's not starting at DH in your opinion.
14:55I don't think so.
14:55I don't like, like, look, if he wallops a ball in game one out of a pinch hit situation,
15:03I could imagine that I, if I were, uh, uh, thinking about game one, my sister, if, if,
15:12if Peyton toll is going to be the game one starter, their, their top lefty, um, and we'll
15:20see how they line up.
15:21But if he is, my suspicion is Goldschmidt at first and rice full DH, uh, again, like
15:27we'll be one of those rice finished really strong rice has been their best hitter soup
15:32to nuts this year.
15:33I think he, it's going to be hard to keep him out of the lineup.
15:35He did some damage against lefties, especially down the stretch.
15:38And he's like one of those guys, you know, Ryan Peyton toll is a guy.
15:43He, he throws his fastball 88% of the time, some form of it, cutter, uh, sinker for seamer
15:51and people don't hit it real well.
15:55And the Yankees certainly didn't hit it.
15:57Well, I think the Yankees were like four for 44 against him this year, something along
16:01those lines.
16:02And so what you have to accept if you're the Yankees is you might go one for four with
16:08three strikeouts against him.
16:09But the one, if it's a left on left Homer is he's going to strike out Yankees.
16:16He's going to dominate certain innings would be my suspicion.
16:20You know, it's important that Schlittler does what he does against the Red Sox and holds
16:24down their end of it.
16:25And the Yankees have a couple of swings against toll.
16:30And, you know, like, like, like, and try to grab this series from, you know, I would
16:35remember the Yankees lost game one last year and still won the series.
16:39In part because they had Schlittler sitting in game three.
16:42Um, so, uh, yeah, I just think tolls, a guy like Yankee fans are going to have to, I would
16:49brace them.
16:51You can have a night where the line looks ugly, except for the thing you do well can change
16:55the game against him.
16:56He can dominate you.
16:57You've got, there's probably got to be a sellout for fastballs.
17:00And he's a guy, there's very few ground balls against him.
17:04The ball could get in the air.
17:05You're playing in Yankee stadium.
17:07You have a heavily heavy lefty lineup.
17:10A couple of guys got to park up, you know, like you've got to win.
17:14You got to get out, got to guess fastball, get out on it and, and, and win the matchup.
17:17Well, what's fascinating too, about the, the John Carlos stand of it all feet, they do use
17:21him as a pinch hitter.
17:23Joel, his career as a pinch hitter, numbers are not great.
17:25He has pinch hit 68 plate appearances in his career.
17:28Uh, he has two homers in those appearance as 68 appearances, 14 ribbies, 10 walks strikes
17:34out 24 times out of the 68 plate appearances, the one 61 average and a six 16 OPS.
17:41And clearly not something that he has done well in his career as a pinch hitter.
17:45Um, and, and I, I think it, it is probably the right move to carry him as that pinch hitter.
17:50Cause like you said, only looking for one swing against one of those lefties in the bullpen
17:53or possibly Ryan, if I could just jump in for a second, look at this point, a D H in
18:00him
18:00when he hasn't taken live at bats in so long is like four pinch hits.
18:05We're just going to call it designated hitter.
18:07So to me, what, what's the, what's the difference as I, I, I, I said to Boone the other day,
18:14I said, look, if you look down your bench and there's a couple of options against the lefty
18:21and one of them is John Carlos Stanton, it's almost like not going to matter that he hasn't
18:26played since April 24th, right?
18:27It's John Carlos Stanton.
18:28Right.
18:29And now the likelihood that you get the movie script for the, for Yankees and Yankee fans,
18:35the Hollywood thing, which is he comes back because here, here, here's the thing again,
18:41thanks everyone who watches us with some regularity, you know, I am a Stanton guy in the sense that
18:48I think he cares, you know, like when you don't play, I think sometimes fans could think you
18:53don't care.
18:54I think that this player cares a great deal.
18:58Uh, I think he has a great deal because I think he's come to have affection for the group.
19:02And I think he cares a great deal because he has great affection for his legacy.
19:07And he's a guy who's trying to get to the hall of fame.
19:10And with all the injuries, as close as he might be, he might not get to 500 homers,
19:14but his post-season resume is spectacular.
19:18And if he parks one or two in this series or in the post-season and helps the Yankees kind
19:24of get to the promised land, it's going to spruce him up.
19:28I know he's not going to be afraid of that moment.
19:30He's going to make it about just the moment.
19:33Uh, and so you've got, it's, it's, it's a little bit like if a compromise Aaron judge
19:38was sitting on the bench, you would still turn to Aaron judge because he's Aaron judge.
19:42If John Carlo Stanton is sitting on the bench and he's over his last hundred as a pinch
19:46hitter, you're going to be, Hey, good luck with a bat one-on-one, right?
19:50It's John Carlo Stanton.
19:51You're going to hit him.
19:52And I think that the Yankees will try to be as strategic and scientific as possible and
20:00say, which lefty is John Carlo Stanton?
20:03The most likely, you know, the way he swings, the way the guy pitches to, you know, is that
20:09Alex Gamboa?
20:11Is it crochet?
20:13Is it Giovanni Moran?
20:14If he gets into a game, is it Patrick Sandoval?
20:17If they put him on the roster, is it guy Miller?
20:20They got from the giant Eric Miller.
20:21They got from the job.
20:22Like, I think that there'll be, is it saving it for Chapman in the ninth inning?
20:26Like your job is to sit and wait and see if Chapman gets in the game.
20:30And so you may never bat in this series.
20:32Hey, Yankees win a couple of games, five, nothing series is over.
20:36Chapman never pitches.
20:37See you in the next round, John Carlo.
20:40But I think they'll try to be, or they'll be like, Hey, the Yankees are down four to two.
20:47There's two men on in the sixth inning.
20:51There's a lefty on the mound.
20:52There's a guy with 450-ish homers sitting on the bench who's been great in the postseason.
20:58I get it.
20:59He hasn't been a good pinch hitter.
21:01I get it.
21:01He hasn't played since April 24th.
21:03It's Giancarlo freaking Stanton.
21:06They're going to go with it.
21:08It makes sense, Joel.
21:09It does.
21:10Trent Grisham.
21:11You said he most likely will be activated for this wildcard round.
21:15My question to you is, is he starting at center field, and is he batting in this lineup starter?
21:21No.
21:23Again, all guesswork, so aggregator friends of ours, I'm just speculating here.
21:29My suspicion is Spencer Jones will play center, who's hit lefties pretty well, and hasn't seemed to so far be
21:38afraid of a big moment.
21:39So, there's that.
21:42I think Grisham will be targeted for, here's Garrett Whitlock.
21:47Here's Greg Weissert coming out of their bullpen, a big righty, to do it.
21:53And let's not forget that right now, their fourth outfielder is Jose Caballero.
21:59Yeah, if Ramos is starting in right, and Judge is obviously not on the roster.
22:04So, now if you decide, like, hey, I want to try to play the best defense, whatever you think of
22:09Grisham, having Grisham in center and Jones in right is better than having Ramos in right.
22:13You know, so, like, you could end up, again, depending on the situation, how Grisham looks, if he's moving well,
22:25it's imperfect, but which level of imperfect do you want?
22:30It's probably that.
22:32If you're playing defense late, it's probably Grisham in center and Jones in right.
22:37And if they go with Grisham off the bench, especially against the lefty starter, if they pitch Sonny Gray, let's
22:45say in game two or game three, would you see Grisham, you think, be a starter, like you said, and
22:51put Jones over to right field against the righty?
22:53Maybe.
22:54Yeah.
22:55I think that becomes totally in play.
22:59But, again, I will say this is my gut, and it's just a gut, says they take no fewer than
23:0715 position players and maybe 16, and the idea will be to use everyone whose name is not Allie Sanchez
23:15in that situation.
23:17I think you'll see some very aggressive pinch running.
23:20I think you'll see some very aggressive pinch hitting, and I think you'll see some very aggressive moves for defense
23:26if it's needed.
23:27Joel, I mean, you brought up Allie Sanchez.
23:30I wonder, would you be better off carrying J.C.
23:32Escarab just because they like him defensively and also calling the pitchers more?
23:38I know the pitchers just really do not seem to respond well to Allie Sanchez behind the plate.
23:42So let's say if there was an injury to Austin Wells or something happened where you had a pinch hit
23:46for him for some reason,
23:48wouldn't you rather have J.C.
23:50Escarab over Allie Sanchez on the roster?
23:52It's just been a long time since he's been with these guys.
23:54He was on their taxi squad, so I'm assuming he's been catching.
23:57The bullpens for about the last four or five days that he's been around, trying to re-familiarize himself.
24:03I'll say this is however bad a year that Austin Wells had, he's going to catch every inning.
24:11And look, there could be a tough left-on-left-at-bat in a big game situation.
24:17And I think that you'll see Ahmad Rosario, Giancarlo Stanton bat, and Sanchez will be in the game at that
24:24point.
24:24And it will be one of those moments where their inability to upgrade on backup catcher, like it is an
24:33interesting moment in this series.
24:35They very badly wanted to try to get Adley Rutschman.
24:38They tried really, really hard for him.
24:41And I think they didn't get close to the Red Sox offer.
24:45Yeah, the Red Sox gave up a good player for Adley Rutschman, a good prospect.
24:50They gave up prospect collateral.
24:52It's always wait and see on that.
24:54They also gave up Narvaez, who comes from the Yankees.
24:57The Red Sox have a lot of touches of Yankees all over their roster.
25:00You know, guys from their system, guys like Sonny Gray and Aroldo Chapman, who interestingly both failed here, you know,
25:08their exit from New York was not loving and happy.
25:13And they get that chance at real retribution in this series.
25:18But Narvaez was part of the package that got Rutschman.
25:23And, you know, it's it's it's it leaves all kinds of interesting things.
25:28But it felt like this, this from the trade deadline, we've talked about it is it felt a backup catcher
25:36and a relief pitcher short.
25:38And we'll see if that ultimately bites them come this postseason.
25:42Yeah.
25:43And the Grisham part of it all, too, like you mentioned it last week, he's been in big moments where
25:48he's had big hits, especially in the playoffs.
25:51I think that plays here, especially with the Red Sox, Yankees rivalry, Yankees, the Bronx, Spencer Jones is getting his
25:58first playoff experience, as is George Lombard.
26:00So there's going to be a lot of heavy weightlifting you'd expect from those guys.
26:04But at the same time, Trent Grisham is sitting there.
26:07And I would not be shocked if, you know, Jones looks really overmatched in these bats early on.
26:12I wonder if if Boone looks at Grisham and says, you know, it might be time to go to the
26:16vet who gives us that little bit of just like calmness at the plate and can get on the base.
26:20If you're really struggling to put any kind of nice at back together, because we've seen, Joel, this Yankees lineup
26:25really struggles at times to piece together like strong at bat, strong at bat, draw some walks.
26:31So as the Red Sox, though, the Red Sox offense has really struggled like like I hear something to keep
26:36in mind.
26:37The two teams played, you know, so it's think of it as six six offensive games in three in in
26:43a wildcard series last year.
26:45Right. The three they totaled 15 runs in those three games.
26:50The two teams combined, by the way, this year, who leads the major leagues in ERA?
26:55The Yankees are one who's three.
26:57The Red Sox are number three runs are probably going to be precious again for the Yankees who can get
27:03a little leaky on defense.
27:05Giving stuff away is going to be punished at a high level.
27:10You know, one thing that Yankee fans, I'm sure very good fans already know this, the Red Sox have the
27:16best outfield defense in the major leagues.
27:18And all of those guys can throw, especially the center fielder, Raphaela and the right fielder, Abreu.
27:25You at Yankee Stadium, except the long single, Abreu will throw you out if you think you're going to get
27:32a wall ball that's hit hard and get second base.
27:37So that's something. But the Red Sox infield defense is a little sketchier.
27:42So is the Yankees.
27:43Yeah, so is the Yankees.
27:45It's a little sketchier, especially Wilson Contreras, who's a very good first baseman, can't play.
27:50And suddenly, again, when you talk about, wow, the Yankees are missing stuff, there's a pretty decent chance against Lefty
28:00Storda that Jemai Jones, remember him, will start for the Red Sox.
28:05And not a 0% chance that Isaiah Kain of Falefa will start for the Red Sox.
28:11Maybe even, again, depending on what Contreras can do, he can be an option at first base.
28:17So no crying in baseball. Yankees are missing guys. So is Boston.
28:22But, yeah, I think run, just based on who the two teams are for 162 games and what the series
28:29looked like last year, it could be first team to four will win a game.
28:34Joel, before we get to the starting pitching and the bullpen, I feel like we should talk about, again, this
28:39infield that you just mentioned.
28:41What happens at third base? Does Ryan McMahon get left off this playoff roster?
28:45And is Jazz Chisholm your starting second baseman against these lefties?
28:49Yeah, so I think McMahon will be on the roster.
28:54I think game one is an interesting moment because I think a righty hitter will start.
29:04My gut says it will be Rosario because he could have very targeted at-bats for Rosario until Toll comes
29:12out of the game and then have still two switches at third base and really even maybe a third if
29:17Volpe is on the roster, which I think is, again, if they're 16, Volpe will be on the roster.
29:23The Yankees have one homer against Toll.
29:27It was hit by Jazz Chisholm.
29:31And so, Ryan, I think if you were saying, tell me some underlying thing you think will be important in
29:39this series.
29:40The Yankees have to get left-on-left homers.
29:44They must.
29:45It was one of the success stories of their offense, especially last year, is how many left-on-left homers
29:50they hit.
29:51And that was down somewhat this year, like almost across the board, except for from Rice.
29:59And they need that.
30:01It's their ballpark.
30:03It's how their lineup leans.
30:05And a couple of them, you know, like Austin Wells, again, he could go one for four with three strikeouts.
30:12It's the one one he parks into the porch.
30:15It's just – I just think it's so important for them because as targeted as he can make right-on
30:22-left-at-bats in this by using Rosario, Caballero, Stanton, Ramos, et cetera, there's just going to be a lot
30:30of left-on-left-at-bats in this series for the Yankees.
30:33You can't run away from all of them.
30:39And more than one or two have to go over the fence.
30:44I just worry –
30:45That's who they are.
30:46Yeah, that's who they are.
30:46I know.
30:47I just – I worry again if we're going with the all-or-nothing approach again.
30:50Like I hear you on the left-on-left, but part of me also wants them to like – like
30:55you said, test this infield defense a little bit.
30:57Be a little bit more aggressive in the – aggressive, but like be more patient in the bats.
31:02Draw some walks.
31:03Get Toll out early.
31:04Go to that Red Sox bullpen.
31:05I just think you're not going to – Toll is an aggressive fastball over-the-plate guy.
31:10I think you're going to have trouble.
31:11So like –
31:12So you're expecting early swings in the account like trying to jump on the fastball.
31:15Ryan, I think you've got to play the game.
31:17You've got to see – by the way, you know, Toll pitched – faced one batter in the playoffs last
31:23year.
31:24Right?
31:24He came out of their bullpen for one batter against the Yankees.
31:26You do have to – I suspect everything I've heard and seen about that guy that like Schlittler, he's going
31:35to be juiced and fine on Tuesday night and rise to the moment.
31:40That's who he seems to an outsider when I watch him, that he's not.
31:44But in the first inning, do you want to see a little, make sure he isn't walking the ball?
31:49I'm not sure.
31:50But if he's locked in, I do think you have to say he's good.
31:54Again, it's not – he is throwing a fastball 88% of the time.
32:00Think about what we're saying.
32:00Nine out of every ten pitchers is a fastball of some sort.
32:04Now, some of those fastballs cut.
32:06Some of those fastballs rise.
32:08Some of those fastballs sink.
32:09But it is hard followed by hard followed by hard.
32:12That's what he does.
32:14And you've got to sell out a little for it.
32:17And the one thing, though – and we know the Yankees could get not great on this, though they're really
32:24middle of the pack.
32:26If you go look at the statistics for the year, when there is a runner on third and less than
32:32two outs, that guy needs to score.
32:34When there's a runner on second and no outs, that runner needs to minimum be on third base with one
32:40out, right?
32:41That's not what the Yankees have ever been good at, is moving the runner over.
32:44But, Brian, that's again where – I'll say this is.
32:46That is, again, a moment where when you watch 162 Yankee games, you see all their failures.
32:51You can go look at the stats.
32:53They're right at league average for scoring a runner from third with less than two outs.
32:59But I'm sure if I asked you, tell me the 50 times you watched it this year where it didn't
33:04happen, you could start as a Yankee fan rattling them off.
33:07In a playoff series where I think runs are going to be so hard to come by against a really
33:14good pitching staff with an outstanding outfield defense,
33:17when you have a runner on third base and less than two outs, he needs to score.
33:23And that's the moment where you can't sell out.
33:26Now, that's the moment where the ball has to be in play and you must force some action.
33:32Now, again, some of that action is if you don't hit a fly ball deep enough against the Boston outfield,
33:37you're going to get a runner thrown out at the plate.
33:41But you've got to make them play the defense.
33:43You just can't give it away with a strikeout.
33:45Yeah, completely agree, Joel.
33:47It's going to come down to those things.
33:48You know it is.
33:48It's going to be a leadoff double and then it's like, what are the Yankees going to do to move
33:51that runner over?
33:52What are they going to do to get him home?
33:53Can they get that timely hit?
33:55But it's all it's going to really come down to, especially, like you said, when the pitching is so good
33:58in this series for both teams.
34:00All right.
34:01So that sounds like the infield is going to be set with the lefty on the mound.
34:04It's going to be Goldschmidt.
34:05Would you expect the righty on the mound to be Luis Garcia with Ben Rice still DH-ing in that
34:09situation?
34:10Yeah, I think about Sonny Gray.
34:11So I think their likely thing is Toll, Gray, Suarez in that order.
34:17Though I've heard some buzz that if the Red Sox lose game one, Suarez might pitch game two, that that's
34:24in play.
34:25We'll see.
34:26Again, I heard that more from secondary people who have some feel for it than directly from the Red Sox.
34:33But those are the three starters they're likely to get.
34:36I think Jake Bennett will play a factor in the series.
34:38Bennett had two really, really strong stars.
34:41He's a young lefty who they got from the Nationals in a trade before the season who didn't pitch well
34:46in the second half, but pitched well twice against the Yankees this year.
34:50And he came in in relief for the first time all year against the Cubs last weekend of the season
34:55and pitched very well in relief.
34:57And I could see, because he's a lefty, him being the guy who follows Sonny Gray into the game, especially
35:02if the Red Sox need some length.
35:04So I think you're going to see those four starters.
35:08And then I just think you're going to see, I think the Red Sox are actually most comfortable when they're
35:14handling the ball from one reliever to the other,
35:16which is, again, why I think the Guerrero injury is hurtful to them, because he had become one into that
35:22circle of trust as a power righty.
35:25But I think the Yankees will see plenty of all the lefties, plus Weiser, plus Whitlock, and, of course, Chapman
35:30in the end of the game, if they could get there.
35:32Yeah. And then, like you said, Crochet, if he's in there, too.
35:35And Crochet is a, you know, there's two real big wild cards in the wild card series, which are Stanton
35:41and Crochet.
35:42It's crazy. It's crazy that they're both going to be, if they make the roster.
35:46Well, you're seeing it in other places, right?
35:47Jesus Lozardo might actually start game one of the playoffs for the Phillies, right?
35:52And he missed the last, what, three weeks, whatever he missed late in the year.
35:55This is the time of year.
35:56It's why I said I have empathy for Judge.
35:58Everyone is beat up and physically compromised and figuring out, it's the playoffs.
36:03How can I play?
36:05This is why, you know, obviously everyone wants to make a good living, real money in this.
36:11But guys want to win, and this is the winning moment.
36:16This is when you're playing for everything.
36:18And, you know, it kills guys.
36:20You know, it kills, I'll say, 18 out of 20 guys.
36:23You know, do two guys not give a crap?
36:25You know, they're, like, happy.
36:26They're hoping the season is done so they can go hunting and fishing?
36:29Probably.
36:30But usually good teams are filled with guys who care and want to win.
36:35And, you know, this is the winning time of the year.
36:38Speaking of guys that are coming in banged up, Ryan Weathers, you said you would expect him to make this
36:42wildcard roster.
36:43Not much of a buildup here from this guy coming back from an arm injury.
36:48And he was just so damn good for them this year, Joel, considering they acquired him in the offseason.
36:53He was their, quote-unquote, big acquisition, you can call it, this past offseason.
36:58Shaky at the start, but then he really solidified himself as one of their most dependable starters.
37:02Didn't get much run support in many of his starts, but he still took the ball every fifth day.
37:06But he did ultimately end up breaking down at the end, right?
37:08Like, that was something that was concerning, how long he's pitched or how many innings he's pitched this year.
37:13But if they could get him in the bullpen, it would be that second lefty relief or arm, besides Tim
37:18Hill, that they have currently, that you could really rely on, you'd feel like.
37:22But you tell me, Joel, considering he hasn't pitched much since last month, how reliable can they be on him?
37:28And how actively will Boone look to pull that trigger?
37:31Because I do get a little bit of flashbacks.
37:33I know it's the wild card to the World Series, but I do get flashbacks with the Nestor Cortez injury,
37:37playing in the World Series.
37:39And he hasn't pitched that much.
37:41And it's like, okay, go get him, kid.
37:42It's like, Ryan Weathers, I wonder, game one, we're up 2-1 and there's a runner on first.
37:48What are we doing?
37:49We're bringing in Ryan Weathers.
37:51Yeah, look, I think the strength of the team is the starting pitching.
37:55And that's the three guys who are going to get the ball if it goes straight.
37:59And I think that Rodon, Will Warren, and Ryan Weathers are going to play a big part in this series.
38:06Now, they all might just have one targeted, like one inning or two inning stint, maybe a little longer for
38:13Rodon or Warren because they're built up a little more.
38:15I don't know that they could be fired multiple times, but I think one of the major developments of the
38:22last month of the season is Brent Hedrick ran out of gas.
38:26And he was so good for five months.
38:28He was arguably right there among the best lefty setup men in the whole sport for five months.
38:33And he just is not the same guy.
38:35He doesn't have the same velocity.
38:36I think he's trying to create the velocity and he's lost his command because of it.
38:41But I think that the Yankees can't risk shoving him into the highest leverage just because Roman Anthony is up
38:49in the seventh inning.
38:50Like that, if you told me Carlos Rodon could pitch that inning or Brent, this version of Brent Hedrick, I'll
38:57take Rodon right now.
38:58And I might take Weathers right now.
39:01And I think that that's, it's a little bit of the mystery game.
39:04I think the Yankees are in a very uncomfortable spot with just how many.
39:08So I asked a question with the word mystery in it today and Boone actually said, boy, you've been using
39:13the word mystery a lot.
39:14And it's like, yeah, you've got a lot for a team that won 93 games.
39:18It has the second most wins in the American League and has a probably right there with the raises, the
39:23favorites to come out of the American League.
39:25You've got a lot of freaking mysteries.
39:26And it's how does Lombard and Jones handle the postseason?
39:31All these questions you've been asking about who's on the roster.
39:35And Schlittler gives him six great innings and is winning three to one.
39:39You still need three innings of shutdown Biltman.
39:42And I'm like, OK, I'm sure Bednar is three to five outs, maybe even three to six outs.
39:48But, you know, you've got to be a little like you've got to do everything you can to win that
39:52game.
39:52But you've got to be a little careful in the sense that you want Bednar to be able to pitch
39:56Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday if this thing goes, you know, like like three games.
40:00So, like, you're blowing them out for 35 pitchers in game one just to sell out to get those two
40:04in.
40:04Who is getting those outs?
40:07And my gut says, and it's just my gut, that the starting pitchers who are in the bullpen are going
40:14to have to, must get big outs in this series.
40:18Because you just have a different Brett Hedrick and you might have a different Paul Blackburn.
40:24That'd be tough, man, considering those guys, like you said, were so relied upon in the seventh and eighth inning
40:28for the Yankees set up bullpen.
40:31And I just I can't imagine them using Carlos Rodon like you're saying, though, in the seventh or eighth inning
40:36when you're when you're up three one and you need to get some lefties out.
40:40I just because I don't know.
40:41Part of me also wonders, like, I know you're playing for everything, like you're trying to win these games because
40:45you got only three games here.
40:46But then are you killing yourself for the DS or you don't even care at that point?
40:50It's just go.
40:50I've got to start Ryan Yarborough in game one of the division series before I could line up again with
40:55Schlittler in two.
40:56Yeah.
40:57Then I start Ryan Yarborough.
40:58I give them Johnny pitching staff.
41:01Yeah.
41:01If you told me today the Yankees advance.
41:04They could play the series and whatever happens, happens or they advance.
41:08But you've got to start Ryan Yarborough in game one.
41:10You start Ryan Yarborough in game.
41:12Makes sense.
41:13Makes sense.
41:13What you have to to sell out.
41:15You've got to start Elmer Rodriguez in game one.
41:18Who cares?
41:19You've got to get to the next round.
41:22And, you know, you try to steal one of those first two games in St. Pete, which Schlittler starting game
41:27two, you would probably feel pretty good about that game.
41:30You know, even though they've had trouble like against Rasmussen and Nick Martinez, et cetera, who I'm sure will be
41:35lined up for one and two.
41:37Good luck.
41:37You've got to, you know, to run the 15th mile of the marathon, you've got to run the first 14.
41:44And so, like, you better make sure you run the first 14.
41:48Maybe you've got a little bit of that 2019 magic, like you said, with the Nationals.
41:51If Rodon can be some of that bullpen piece if you need.
41:54Yeah, I just think that's the blueprint, is the Yankees' best pitchers are their starters.
41:59And they should be, to some degree, complimented for it, as you've seen, like the Cubs run out of starters.
42:05The Braves run out of starters.
42:06The Phillies run out of starters.
42:08You know, the White Sox run out of starters.
42:11Like, these are teams making the playoffs.
42:12The Rangers failing to make the playoffs because they kind of ran out of starting.
42:15Like, we've watched a lot of teams.
42:17And this is kind of the moment the Yankees have actually gotten healthiest with their rotation right now is, will
42:25that last?
42:26Who knows?
42:28But right now, those guys, six guys are healthy.
42:32And they're six of their seven best pitchers with Bednar.
42:37You know, there's a little mystery around Blackburn.
42:40There's a lot of mystery around this version of Brent Hedrick right now.
42:46And so I, when my season is on the line, the best guy is going to take the shot.
42:53And I'm going to live with the outcome of Jalen Brunson taking a shot or my best guy.
42:58Whoever my best guy is, is going to take the shot.
43:01And in the sixth inning, if that's Carlos Rodon, then Carlos Rodon is going to take the shot.
43:05And then you would imagine, like you said, he'd give you multiple innings at that point, too, because I'd want
43:10him to.
43:10You know, like Ryan, look, nothing ever works as you script or imagine.
43:16But if Schlittler gives you six and you say have like a 4-1 lead, like if Rodon could run
43:22the last three innings of, say, the opening game.
43:27It just gives you everybody for the last two games of the series and a win, like and a win.
43:34So I think he's probably thinking, I probably have Warren for multiple innings in one of three games.
43:40I probably have Rodon for multiple innings in one of three games.
43:44And I probably have Weathers for any place from an inning to maybe a little, like that's the one.
43:50I'm not sure he could get two out of them, but but he probably only has Weathers once.
43:56When do you fire it?
43:58Yep.
43:58And if it's fired properly, how much could you like?
44:03Like if I told you Monday night, Tuesday night, the only guys who touch the ball are Schlittler and Warren.
44:08Think about how that would set the Yankees up for the last two games of the series.
44:12I mean, if Warren's coming in, I think they're up probably like 6-1 or 6-2.
44:16No, I actually don't.
44:17I don't know if Warren's in a high leverage spot, Joel.
44:19You really think they would trust him in that spot?
44:21Well, after, when it comes to a righty setup guy, besides Blackburn and maybe even including Blackburn.
44:28I think you've got to go Blackburn still no matter what.
44:30Okay.
44:31Maybe.
44:32Maybe.
44:33Maybe.
44:34So you're saying what you're seeing lately, you're not liking at all, obviously.
44:37Well, it's not that.
44:38I kind of like what Will Warren has done for the last month, and I like when they brought him
44:43in relief the other day.
44:44I thought his stuff really played well.
44:46Okay.
44:48It's just the strength of their team.
44:50Yeah, the starting rotation linking into the bullpen, though.
44:53That's the thing.
44:53The bullpen is not a strength right now in terms of where they're at.
44:57You're seeing a lot about how I think about sports in general and baseball in specific, which is I think
45:02the strength of the team for the Yankees is their lefty power.
45:05Right?
45:06Especially if Judge isn't in the lineup.
45:08It's their lefty power.
45:09Well, they've got to get some lefty-on-lefty homers.
45:12I think the strength of their team is their starting pitchers.
45:15Those six guys are going to try to – I'm going to try to cover as many innings of the
45:19at least 27 innings that I've got to play in this series.
45:22I'm going to try to cover as many of it with the six guys I think are my best guys
45:26and Bednar.
45:27And then, like, if you get to game one against Tampa Bay and St. Pete, you hope that maybe you
45:36haven't – you know, again, like, if you use Rodon in game one, he's still lined up to have plenty
45:42of time to start game one in the division series.
45:44So if I were guessing who the relief pitcher is in game one, if he's going to use one of
45:49those guys, I would think Rodon because strategically – first of all, it would be a lefty following a righty
45:55where he could have the righty Warren follow the lefty and Fried in game two.
45:59He could have Rodon follow Schlittler.
46:02And he still would have potentially Rodon to start game one of the DS if he says throws 30 pitches
46:10in that game.
46:12And it's just – he's been nailed.
46:15And Brett Hedrick has not been nailed.
46:18And your season's on the – it's just as simple as this, Ryan.
46:21Your season's on the line and you've got to get three outs in an inning.
46:24Right now, would you pitch Brett Hedrick or Carlos Rodon?
46:28Rodon.
46:29And I think that's how the decision's going to be made.
46:31I must get the three outs.
46:33Like we fall into the endless abyss if we don't get the three outs.
46:37Who do I believe will get it best?
46:41We saw this past week a lot of the back-and-forth rumors of who would start game one for
46:47the Yankees, Max Fried or Cam Schlittler, Max Fried or Cam Schlittler, Cam Schlittler, Max Fried.
46:52It ends up being Cam Schlittler, the AL Cy Young Joel.
46:55Was that just jockeying from probably the Boone and Yankees PR team of like keep the Red Sox on their
47:01toes?
47:01Or is there actual consideration why Max Fried would start game one over Cam Schlittler?
47:06You know, quite frankly, I do think the right decision would have been Schlittler in two.
47:12But like because of the age we live in where the noise is so loud and it would have suffocated
47:21the Yankees leading into this.
47:22And if they especially if they lost game one with Fried on the mound, even though they lost game one
47:27last year with Fried pitching very well and still won the series.
47:30I think that they avoided like they had nothing but good choices.
47:35And I think the people who were elevating this to Davey Garcia in 2020 were being ridiculous.
47:40Oh, where'd you hear that?
47:42Well, it's like where the Yankees are outsmarting themselves.
47:45This is Max Fried.
47:46This is Max Fried.
47:47The AL Cy Young, Max Fried, who was up for the Cy Young last year.
47:50Yes, and my argument would be this is like would be like starting Carlos Legrande, right, with almost no with
47:58no experience.
47:59Like Garcia was 21 and had pitched for a month in the major leagues.
48:03And I think the Yankees got caught up.
48:04I think their front office got caught up in the we're as smart as the Rays.
48:08Watch us.
48:09We're going to turn their lineup around.
48:10And Jay Happ had not really pitched out of the bullpen.
48:13They just did a lot of stupid things.
48:14Masahiro Tanaka, who was a great postseason pitcher, is sitting there just pitch him in game two and stop overthinking
48:20it.
48:20In this situation, the reason I'm just a big old school disciple of Joe Torre, who is old school as
48:28old school could be.
48:29And I also think wise.
48:31And Joe Torre's thought always was game two of any series is the most important game.
48:35If you're up 1-0, you're trying to get a commanding lead.
48:39If you're down 1-0, you're trying to avoid being in a real pit.
48:43And so, like, he always saw that as a swing game in five-game series or in seven-game series,
48:48which is all he had with the Yankees.
48:50Joe Torre had 25 game twos.
48:53He started Andy Pettit in 12 of them.
48:54He started David Cohn in four of them.
48:57Like, he really was my game two starter is vital because I could either go for the kill shot or
49:04avoid the kill shot.
49:05And if I had Schlittler in two, I would feel, I actually think, more comfortable than it, like, somehow told
49:13just outpitches Schlittler in one, that kind of situation.
49:17I think he had nothing but good choices.
49:19I think Frieda's a good choice.
49:21I think Schlittler is a good choice.
49:22I think Cole is a good choice.
49:23Did Cole does something?
49:24He throws.
49:25I get it.
49:26He's had some trouble against the Red Sox over the years.
49:28But the Red Sox are, this year's version, does not hit high velocity at the upper part of the zone
49:34well, except for, like, Roman Anthony and Gasper, who's out now.
49:38And so I think Cole might actually match up okay with them.
49:42If he's your third starter, think about what we're saying about the quality of the group.
49:48So I think it would have been, and also, even if Schlittler starts two, he still would have pitched two
49:53and five in the next round if you're lucky enough to get there on full rest.
49:57It also is true about game one.
49:59He will be the two and five starter in the next round if the Yankees are lucky enough to get
50:02there.
50:03But it isn't like you're sacrificing it.
50:05And also, you do want him pitching on the road.
50:07He had a 1-1-6 ERA on the road this year.
50:09It's the best since Greg Maddox in 1995.
50:13That's how good he was on the road.
50:15So you want him being the road warrior for you in the thing.
50:19So I think there was a legitimate – and the other reason a scout from another team who's been following
50:23the Yankees said,
50:24if you were thinking about playing three games in three days, the guy you would want who you think would
50:30give you the most innings from your rotation pitching in the second start.
50:34Because he said this way you could feel comfortable emptying in one, maybe saving some of it in two, and
50:39if you got to three, you'd have everyone again.
50:42Right.
50:42And so I think there were legitimate strategic reasons to do it.
50:47But, Ryan, we've both been around New York for a long time.
50:51We understand how there's a certain feeling about this Yankee front office being too smart for its own good.
50:56We all know that there's this feeling that Boone is a puppet to that too smart for its own good
51:01front office.
51:02Whether it's true or not, I'm not really – I don't think it's true, but whatever.
51:06It doesn't really matter.
51:08And I think because they were all good choices, instead of creating the noise around the Yankees, which then they
51:15would have talked about for the next 36 hours to the first pitch,
51:19and then certainly would have been the storyline of Freed lays an egg, it will – it avoids that.
51:26Yeah.
51:26The Yankees could lose with Schlittler and it will not create noise.
51:29I don't think.
51:31Except for there's so many assholes on the internet, I guess.
51:34It will create noise.
51:35I should have gone with – whatever.
51:37Right?
51:37But I think they did the right thing because if it was even up, I would try to remove tension
51:45from around my team, you know, all the stuff, the distraction, whatever that would have been.
51:52And because Schlittler could still pitch two and five from pitching game one if they're lucky enough to get there,
51:58I think they're doing the right thing.
52:00But there is a totally good strategic reason to have started Freed in game one of this series.
52:08I didn't think of it that way, and I think you brought some light into maybe the thinking of what
52:12was actually the judgment of –
52:14I think that was it.
52:15But like you said, it's two really – I mean, it's about the Cy Young winner and the guy who
52:19was running for the Cy Young last year.
52:20If Eric Cole was starting game one, if Carlos Rodan, the Yankees – this is the strength of the team.
52:24Like Carlos Rodan has been one of the best pitchers in baseball for the last month and a half.
52:29If he is the game one starter, you'll feel – that's their number four starter.
52:34This is – Ryan, this is the strength of their team.
52:37They must rely heavily on it for the next number of games that they're alive between now and elimination or
52:44the Canyon of Heroes is – I would ride that hell out of the starting rotation.
52:51Joel, final thought about a guy here who has really come on in the offensive side of the ball, and
52:58I think you know where I'm going.
52:59George Lombard, man, he continues to impress me in terms of the steps he takes, and I think we've seen
53:05it at every level that he's ascended.
53:06It has become a natural progression where maybe it's a little slow to start, and it's like he's struggling.
53:12This time with the major league level, we saw him pop his first at-bat in the home run.
53:16Then he struggled offensively at the plate, carried over into the defensive part of his game.
53:21But now we've really seen him turn on some balls, Joel, and the power is impressive.
53:25The kid is impressive. The moment doesn't seem too big for him.
53:28He's entering as a starting shortstop for this Yankee squad with big expectations.
53:32You're going up against the Red Sox. Is it fair to say that this kid can have that big moment?
53:38I'm not going to compare him to who everyone thinks about, but can he have those type of moments for
53:43them in this wildcard round?
53:44Well, let's talk about him, who everyone thinks about, which is – Derek Jeter is one of the greatest players
53:51of all time.
53:52He finished with, what, 3,500-plus hits.
53:55I'm here to tell you George Lombard isn't going to get 3,500-plus hits just because nobody is ever
53:59getting –
54:00you know, it's an impossible number.
54:03So to have the longevity and the metronome-like brilliance of Jeter is unlikely.
54:09But Lombard has handled this all pretty well at the exact same age as Jeter.
54:14And the one thing is Jeter was not – Jeter was a really important offensive contributor in the 96 postseason.
54:21By the time they got to the 96 postseason, it was like, oh, they've got Bernie Williams and O'Neal
54:27and Tino Martinez and Strawberry and Fielder and Jeter.
54:30Jeter was part of it.
54:32He wasn't the other guy.
54:35Like, that – by about a little into that postseason, I think Torrey moves him up to the leadoff spot,
54:41which he really hadn't done, like, a lot during the year.
54:44He moves him up.
54:44It just was undeniable.
54:47Can Lombard not be Jeter as much as make it undeniable that he's – whoever you think the weightlifters are
54:55in the lineup,
54:56if Judge comes back and Rice and Garcia and Ramos against lefties and, you know, whoever else, Jazz, well, can
55:04he be not –
55:06oh, nice little thing over here.
55:08Can he be a weightlifter during this?
55:11He has given some indications that he might be able to do that.
55:18And when you think about how do you get from here to there, he's one of the ways.
55:25The Yankees have so many issues, Ryan, right now to me that feel like they could go two ways.
55:31And I mean really drastically two ways.
55:33And he's one of them.
55:35But I don't think it's impossible, and I think it's in play, that the one way where he can go
55:42really well is in play,
55:44where you look back and say, whoa, that guy hit .290 during the postseason, had three really big homers.
55:51And, like, that does not feel over his head right now.
55:58And considering where they were with shortstop two months ago,
56:03and considering what it would mean for the near future if this guy had a big postseason,
56:08as the Yankees shortstop in the playoffs.
56:13Storybook stuff, man.
56:14And, like, so they have, it is, I find where the Yankees are right now among the most fascinating moments
56:25for the Yankees
56:26in the last, like, 35 years where they make the playoffs all the time, where I'm sitting there,
56:31and Ryan, you could tell me their season is over Wednesday night.
56:35And, Ryan, you could tell me, man, game one against the Brewers is, game one against the Dodgers is, I
56:46got it.
56:46I got it.
56:47I think both are totally possible.
56:50I think the Red Sox definitely have the kryptonite for the Yankees.
56:54They have a lot of lefty pitching, and they're not afraid of the Yankees.
57:00And, yeah, you know, and Wednesday night, you and I could be jumping on at midnight or so to do
57:07one of these,
57:08to be in everybody's feed Thursday morning who wants to be able to commiserate.
57:13Some therapy.
57:14And I, and Ryan, I'm here for you, man.
57:16I think it's a real possibility.
57:18Yeah.
57:19And I think there's a real possibility that they catch fire in a Knicks kind of way.
57:26Finally put it together.
57:27They put, like, because to me, their rotation is the healthiest it's been all year.
57:32And it's just what they, it is what they are.
57:36And that rotation could win rounds if the offense, and if the offense is a little above average and the
57:43defense doesn't kill them.
57:45Yeah.
57:45That's a good point.
57:46Like, the offense does not have to, like these last few years, like Soto judges feel like, can the offense
57:55carry them?
57:56And most of the Judge Stanton error has been, can they carry them?
58:00To me, if you told me this offense averaged four and a half runs in the postseason, I think they
58:06can go very far.
58:08I agree.
58:09And their defense doesn't force the pitching staff to get bunches of extra outs or layer unearned runs on them.
58:18To me, that is, now, of course, we'll probably come back and Freed will give up seven runs and Schlittler
58:26will give up five and we'll do it.
58:27Because baseball is the craziest freaking sport that's ever been created in history.
58:32But, to me, lefty power without Judge around and starting pitching, both in the rotation and their bullpen, is the
58:41key to the Yankee postseason.
58:44Joel, we appreciate you hopping on here, giving us all your insight.
58:48We're going to find out a lot more in the next, I would say, 48 hours.
58:52Considering in 48 hours, there's going to be game one happening right now.
58:55But we'll also find out what that roster's decision is going to be made.
58:57And then it's game time.
58:59Cam Schlill, they're on the mound.
59:00Game one, probably against Hull.
59:02And then, from there, we'll just continue to follow you along the way and along the journey.
59:06Joel Sherman, we're looking forward to your coverage throughout the week.
59:09We'll catch up with you next time, man.
59:11All right, Ryan.
59:11All the best.
59:12And, everyone, thank you for watching and sticking with us during the playoffs.
59:15Stick around with us.
59:16Hopefully, it's a long one.
59:17Thanks, Joel.
59:18Thanks, Joel.