by Paul Semendinger
September 12, 2024
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About Last Night:
The Yankees won in extras for the second consecutive game. Juan Soto drove home Jon Berti.
Quick Stats:
Yankees: 10 men left on base
Yankees: 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position
Juan Soto has 101 runs batted in for the season
The Game Story:
The Yankees got on the scoreboard first with a Gleyber Torres leadoff homer in the bottom of the first inning. Through nine innings, that would be the last time they scored.
The Red Sox got the run back in the fifth inning. Danny Jansen homered off Nestor Cortes. Through ten innings, that would be the only run they scored.
Ripley's Believe It Or Not then arrived in the Bronx and documented that Clay Holmes pitched a scoreless 10th inning.
The Ghost Runner (Jon Berti) scored on a Juan Soto hit in the 10th inning.
Player(s) of the Game:
Nestor Cortes: 5 innings, 3 hits, 1 run, 9 strikeouts
The Yankees Bullpen: 5 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 5 strikeouts
Juan Soto: Game winning hit
My Takes:
This might be the best lineup the Yankees can put out there. It's certainly a deep lineup, at least in "names" and the hopes for something good. I know he hasn't hit well since the concussion, but when Anthony Rizzo is your 8th hitter, that's a pretty deep lineup, at least in theory.
I had the feeling (nothing more than hope, but the feeling nonetheless) that Aaron Judge would hit two homers and break out of his slump. I was certain I saw the first one in the first inning, but he flew out to the warning track. He wouldn't come that close again. His slump is perplexing. If the Yankees can win games when he's not hitting, that's a good sign.
It is interesting that heading into the game that both Rafael Devers and Aaron Judge came with long homerless streaks. Both streaks continue on.
You know, these darn Yankees are starting to make me believe in them. When I start to believe they go out and break my heart, so I'm very reluctant to believe.
I was 100% (actually one gazillion billion percent) against trying Jazz Chisholm as the third baseman in the middle of a pennant race. I am not in favor of the Yankees' propensity to move players to positions they never played before. But, you know what, ol' Jazz is playing a sparkling hot corner. In this case, it seems, the Yankees made a very good decision. I still think my original premise is correct - I don't like moving players' positions all the time. At the same time, I am quite happy to be wrong about Chisholm. In fact, if he plays the position this well, I'd allow Caleb Durbin and Oswald Peraza to fight it out at second base next year. If the Yankees have to save money, Chisholm, Volpe, and a kid at second base helps a great deal towards that end.
I'm not a big fan of John Smoltz as a commentator, but when I am typing and listening to the game from another room his voice sort of reminds me of Jim Kaat's. Kaat did a much better job, but there is a similarity to the way their voices sound.
I want to believe in the Yankees and then they have the bases loaded 437 times and they fail to score. It is very frustrating.
Jazz Chisholm cannot get picked off first late in the game because he's not paying attention or whatever. I know everyone loves him, and are very frustrated with a different player, but that's the type of blunder Gleyber Torres makes and gets criticized up and down for.
I've written this a million times, but the ghost runner in extra innings is so lame. It's kid stuff. It's a joke. But, the ghost scored and the Yankees won.
Next Up:
The Yankees and the Red Sox will continue this series tonight at 7:05 p.m. The greedy hands are putting the game on one of the pay sites as a way to thank all fans for their loyal support (or not). Clarke Schmidt takes the hill for the team from the Bronx. Most people won't see the game. How nice.
In fact, if he plays the position this well, I'd allow Caleb Durbin and Oswald Peraza to fight it out at second base next year.
you've touched on the key point, Paul the Yankees lacked a desirable 3B option for next season
while they had a couple of middle infielders in training.
moving Chisholm to 3B covered a significant weakness...and it left them with options to plug up a different hole in next season's infield.
and by creatively re-positioning Chisholm, they avoided some of the negative consequences of importing a free-agent third baseman.
no big bucks
no older, lumbering slugger
RISP hitting has been a problem since Cashman fired Kevin Long. Last night's main culprit was Anthony Volpe, 0-3 with 10 LOB. When the Yankees hired Rowson & Roessler to be hitting coaches here, but kept Dillon Lawson's personal pick to be his AHC, Casey Dykes, I openly questioned just how much a difference those 2 would make with the analytics HC still here. It looks like my concern was dead on, there isn't much of a difference.
I loved every talking head's reaction to Holmes's first pitch last night. They all wondered and said: 'Where has THAT pitch been?' Well, where has it been? What did Blake, Dreschel. & Co. do to help Holmes find it? I just remem…
Jazz Chisholm wasn't picked off first base, Paul.
he was halfway to second
when he realized he was going to be the second Yankee on second base.
he was all dressed up with no place to go.
responsibility for that particular blunder might best be rested...elsewhere.
I thought the exact same thing about Smoltz and Kaat. But, with Smoltz non stop talking, i knew right away it wasn't Kaat. Kaat didnt tell us what we could clearly see on the screen. It got to the point that I put on the new Tab Benoit album and muted fox so I didn't have to hear Smoltz. Great new blues album!!
Just like all those reports about Chisholm being too flashy, too selfish, and bad for the clubhouse were all wrong. He has been unselfish, well liked by his teammates and terrific in the clubhouse. When the Yankees were first considering acquiring him, I had the completely wrong idea about him because I was believing what others were saying about him, but then, when I heard him tell his own side of the story, that was when I changed my mind about him, and the troubles in the Miami clubhouse were caused by the veterans, who were jealous of young phenoms like Jazz coming into the organization, and they basically bullied them. I totally blame the veterans (Miguel Rojas, etc)…