About Yesterday Afternoon: The Yankees Polished Off the A’s 7-4

About Yesterday Afternoon: The Yankees Polished Off the A’s 7-4

By Tim Kabel

September 23rd, 2024

The Yankees are driving hard toward the finish line of this season. They beat the A's yesterday and swept the series against them. The Yankees finished the West Coast road trip 5-1. My initial trepidation proved to be unwarranted. Perhaps I ate a piece of moldy cheese like Ebenezer Scrooge. Anyway, the Yankees are doing what I said they should do, which is to finish this season like Secretariat finishing the Belmont. Right now, winning the American League East is almost a foregone conclusion for the Yankees (I have to say almost). Their focus should now be to have the best record in the American League and if possible, the Major Leagues.

Quick Stats –

·       Aaron Judge now has 55 home runs and 138 RBI, which is his career high. I'm not sure if he will reach 60 home runs but, I would not be a bit surprised if he did.

·       The Yankees lead the Orioles by six full games with six games left in the season. The Yankees’ magic number to clinch the American League East is one. If they win one game against the Orioles, that will count as two. (They don't have to give one back in the magic number tally).

·      Clay Holmes struggled once again and only managed to pitch 1/3 of an inning. It’s too bad the Yankees couldn't leave him in Oakland and take Mason Miller instead. Who would have noticed? Well, everyone once Miller didn't blow a save.

·      Anthony Rizzo has 0 home runs and only 5 RBI since he came back on September 1st. Oswaldo Cabrera may get more playing time in the postseason than we originally anticipated.  Ben Rice may reappear as well.

·       Luis Gil won his 15th game this season, which is the second most for a Rookie behind Ivan Nova and Ron Guidry, who each won 16.

·      On September 22nd, 2003, Alfonso Soriano hit his 13th leadoff home run of the season, which was the Major League record until Kyle Schwarber broke it this season.

Big Story –

Even if the Yankees lose half their remaining games, they will still win 95 games this season. Is that a success? I don't believe that most fans would consider it to be a success unless it led to at the very least, a World Series appearance. This team has been erratic and really inconsistent this season. However, if they can ride this current hot streak through the postseason, no one will remember the streakiness from earlier in the season. The long stretches of mediocrity that occurred in the summer will disappear like a puff of smoke in a windstorm. However, at this point, it's not very windy. The inconsistent play from just a few weeks ago looms and lurks in our minds, as we prepare to enter the postseason. We all know the Yankees could suddenly lose their way and fall right out of the postseason. Hopefully, that will not happen. Let's be positive.

Player of the Game – 

Luke Weaver recorded the final five outs, earning his fourth save since he replaced Clay Holmes as the closer. Ironically, he replaced Clay Holmes in this game as well because Holmes couldn't get out of the 8th inning.

Notable Performances –

Gleyber Torres, Aaron Judge, and Jasson Dominguez all hit home runs. Dominguez’s was of the two-run variety.

Better to Forget until the bitter end

These days, Clay Holmes falls to pieces faster than a clay pigeon.

My Take –  

I have a few thoughts about this game and the current state of the Yankees.

·       Jason Dominguez now has six home runs in his first 20 games in the Major Leagues. For those folks who think he was or is overmatched, I think we need to practice patience here. He is still only 21 years old and has a world of talent. He will be fine. I think the fact that he has so much talent almost works against him, and people have unreasonable expectations. Then again, if your nickname is “the Martian” great expectations would seem to follow. I mean, if his nickname was “Mr. Mediocre” we would be thrilled with six home runs in 20 games.

·       I do not think that Clayton Beeter being recalled is an insignificant or minor move. He should get into as many games as possible of the six that are remaining. He was injured for a large portion of the season but, has reportedly been doing well in a relief role recently. I would not be shocked if he became a significant piece of the playoff puzzle, especially with Clay Holmes being almost unusable right now. After all, how many pitchers named Clay do you really need?

·       The Yankees definitely need to close the deal and win the American League East. They do not want to have to play in the wild card round. The Tigers are surging now and would be a very dangerous opponent, especially in a short series. The Yankees cannot take their foot off the accelerator until they clinch the American League East, and the best record in the American League.

·       It will be very interesting to see how the Yankees construct their playoff roster. The rosters can be altered from one round of the playoffs to the next, so the roster for each round may have a different look. There was a lot of talk about how Duke Ellis may be on the roster but, with John Bertie there, is Ellis really needed. That might be wasting a space. Also, would you really need Alex Verdugo, Trent Grisham, and the immortal Duke Ellis? I don't think so. I read somewhere that Oswaldo Cabrera might not make the roster. I would bet my house that he will make the roster, especially since he is the backup first baseman. With Anthony Rizzo continuing to fade, Cabrera may get more playing time in the playoffs. Besides, since I'm a renter, it's easy for me to bet my housee.

Next Up 

Tuesday, the Yankees will open a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles at 7:05 PM at Yankee Stadium. Marcus Stroman, (10-8, 4.07 ERA) will face Baltimore’s Dean Kremer, (7-9, 4.10 ERA).  Wasn’t Dean Kremer in Animal House?