By Paul Semendinger
October 26, 2024
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Well, Game One was a thriller with a disappointing ending. More on that below.
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The game summary is coming, but it will be posted at 8:00 a.m. so I don't have to wake up at a silly hour to get it published. This is (obviously) the 6:00 a.m. article for today. We also have my podcast coming (I just recorded it...it's late) and Andrew's One Good, One Bad before the Game Thread and Game Two tonight...
Lots of great content to discuss.
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Before the World Series, I was trying to think of a good heavyweight fight comparison for this series. If the Dodgers had won 108 games and the Yankees 104, I think it would be Ali vs Frazier. The two best fighters at their peaks. But, these teams, this year, I don't quite see as Ali and Frazier...
Of note... Aaron Judge vs Shohei Ohtani is equal to Ali vs Frazier. Juan Soto vs Mookie Betts as well. These are the great players today, maybe the top four players in the game.
But as teams, I don't think the 2024 Yankees (94 wins) and Dodgers (98 wins) are quite Ali vs Frazier.
Maybe this is George Foreman vs Ken Norton in 1978. Two great heavyweights. Two of the best ever. Both who could claim greatness, but might not have necessarily been the greatest.
That fight, by the way, went 15 rounds. It went to the scorecards. Foreman won. Does that mean this series will go seven games?
I'm not a boxing historian so maybe there is a better match. If so, let me know.
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I am a Rocky historian. (If there is such a thing.) I've seen every Rocky movie a million times - enough to quote them in my sleep. I also don't think any of the big Rocky fights quite capture the Dodgers and the Yankees in 2024.
Balboa vs Creed I - A great champ vs an unknown
Balboa vs Creed 2 - A great champ trying to prove the unknown was a fluke in the first fight
Balboa vs Lang 1 and 2 - Balboa was champ, Lang was the ranked contender in the first one. In the second fight, Balboa was trying to get his title back.
Balboa vs Drago - There isn't a Drago in this series
Balboa vs Gunn - This World Series isn't a street fight
Balboa vs Dixon - Balboa came out of retirement as an old man to fight the current unliked champ.
Of note - the final fight in Creed 2 takes place at Dodgers Stadium.
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Giancarlo Stanton's homer was epic. It was absolutely epic. So fun.
I am glad I thought up the Kit Kat thing all those years ago. It's become a "thing." It started with me and Ethan when he was at college as a way for he and I to keep close while he was away at college. I'm glad it has caught on.
Here's hoping for a few more Kit Kat moments this World Series.
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Gerrit Cole pitched a gem to begin the series. I wish he could have gotten through the seventh inning though. I wish, more, he got the win. I wish, even more, that the Yankees did.
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I think the Guardians and the Dodgers are speaking very loudly when they'd rather walk Juan Soto to face Aaron Judge in big spots and with the game on the line.
I have no way of researching this but has any team ever done that to face the Babe or Ted Williams or Hank Aaron or Willie Mays or Albert Pujols or....
This speaks volumes about how the teams see Judge right now. It just does. This is not bashing Judge, it's speaking the truth. Right now teams do not fear Aaron Judge's bat.
That does not mean Aaron Judge wasn't the MVP of 2024. That does not mean he's not a great player. That does not mean I don't appreciate him. Aaron Judge is great. Period.
But, it does mean that in the post season he is not feared the way other great players were feared. (Or how I suspect they were feared.) Isn't it true that when Roger Maris hit 61 homers, he was never walked in front of Mickey Mantle? If Judge were batting behind Maris, right now, they'd walk Maris to face him. Again, this speaks volumes.
I know we're not supposed to notice or say this because it's Aaron Judge, but teams are intentionally facing him in big spots and he's failing. If teams feared Judge, they wouldn't give him the chance in these big spots. It's clear they do not.
Again, I like Judge. I wish he'd hit. But he hasn't. That's the cold hard fact. People might not like the fact. In fact, I don't. I keep hoping and wishing that he'd come through. But facts are facts and I'm going to speak the truth. It's not bashing the player to note how badly he's played and that opposing mangers do not fear him right now. They are very confident they can get him out. And, he is proving them correct time and again.
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Brining in Nestor Cortes was the wrong move. It almost worked out. But it didn't. Even if it did work out, it was the wrong move. Tim Hill has been pitching well. Nestor Cortes s a complete unknown at this point with the injury and the fact that he hadn't pitched in so long. Going to Nestor Cortes was a sentimental move, not a smart baseball move.
As I noted last night, in 1986 playing Bill Buckner at first base was also a sentimental move.
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I like Nestor Cortes. He's been a terrific Yankee. I love his willingness to pitch and give it everything he has. I respect him. He's a fun player.
But, the truth is, that was not the spot to use him. (And that's not Nestor bashing. It's just the fact.)
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In other news...
A loyal reader who has terminal cancer reached out to me to let me know he published a deep and very thought provoking book on the Yankees that is available free on-line. You can access the book here at Yankalytics.com
Take a look!
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I'll miss Game 2 "live" tonight. I'll watch it on DVR much later tonight or early tomorrow depending on when I get home. We're seeing the rock band Chicago tonight. We got the tickets and made the plans before I knew it was a World Series date. When I mentioned this in the comments the other days some readers expressed that Chicago isn't Chicago any longer. I'm sure the music will sound good. I always liked Chicago as a band.
For fun, here are a few of my favorites that I hope they play tonight:
25 or 6 to 4
Saturday in the Park
Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is
Hard Habit To Break
You're the Inspiration
Hard To Say I'm Sorry/Get Away
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If you're a Beatles fan and you haven't seen the Fab Faux, you're missing a great concert. These guys are great - the best. If you go see them and close your eyes, you'll think you're hearing the Beatles. They are that good.
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The Yankees have bounced back all year long. I've been as down on them as anyone, but they have proven me wrong time and again. As I said the other day, the Yankees reached the World Series. They have reset the narrative. Losing Game One is not great, but this series is far from over.
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Let's Go Yankees!!!
Most of Judge's poor numbers have come since 2019. I think in all of those years, he's been hurt or worn down come playoff time. His at-bats were very good at the end of the Cleveland series. Unfortunately, I think that shot to the ribs is affecting him badly. His swing slot looked different to me. Need to look at video to learn more, but that's my slightly uneducated take.
There is a very logical explanation as to why we have a "different Aaron Judge" in the post season as opposed to the regular season. Too many days off! This obviously doesn't effect other sluggers, including Giancarlo Stanton, but with Judge, it is all about TIMING.
The EXACT SAME THING happened at the beginning of this season. Judge missed the last "week and a half" of Spring Training, and he got off to the slowest start of his career, until he finally found his footing a month later, and he took off. Between the bye, the days he did not play against Pittsburgh before the bye, the unnecessary days off in the middle of the Division Series (day off betwe…
maybe others do not believe it, but I believe that Judge is the best hitter in the game today. that said, he has proven, even in his best years, that he is a hitter who can get into a bad funk!! and sometimes he can get into a funk that can really last!!
hitting a baseball is probably the hardest thing to do in sports. the very best hitters in the whole world fail more than 70% of the time (Juan Soto did NOT hit .300 this year). because of this i am a HUGE HUGE HUGE believer that when a player is HOT you make sure that you do absolutely NOTHING to tempt a hot streak to end. t…
Can you imagine the terrible pressure Judge is feeling right now? Wonder what kind of night's sleep he got. I feel terrible for the guy because he is first-class and a great ambassador for the sport. He's had some of the best seasons anyone has ever had in recent memory and it irks me when these announcers keep referring to Ohtani as the "best player in baseball." Bull. I pray Judge will get untracked and go on a tear but as long as he keeps chasing pitches at his ankles that's not going to happen.
I have no idea if the guy batting in front of Ruth, Aaron, Mantle, Williams, etc was ever intentionally walked in front of them when they were slumping and I'm not going to sign up for a BR Stathead account and launch a giant query for the entirety of baseball history to find out. But I also want to point out that with the exception of Ruth most of those guys did not have anyone as good as Juan Soto hitting in front of them (and I don't have any idea if Gehrig hit in front of Ruth or the other way around).
Williams, by the way hit .200 in the only World Series he appeared in.
No one denies…