The Wednesday Discussion: So Far...

October 9, 2024

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With the late game on Monday, we moved the Tuesday Discussion to Wednesday.

This week we asked our writers to respond to the following:

After two playoff games, what has been the biggest surprise for you regarding this Yankees team?

Here are their replies...

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Paul Semendinger - The biggest surprise thus far was how well Carlos Rodon began Game Two. It was so exciting to see him throwing strikes. He was focused and doing great. What wasn't a surprise was that it fell apart quickly.

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Derek McAdam - The biggest surprise so far has been how well Alex Verdugo has played, both offensively and defensively. Vertigo’s offense wasn’t as spectacular as it was in Game 1, but he has been putting the ball in play. And of course, his defense has been solid, as it was for most of the regular season. If Verdugo can continue to be a contributing piece to this lineup, the Yankees’ fanbase may be able to forgive his regular season statistics at the plate. 

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Ethan Semendinger - The biggest surprise for me in these playoffs has been how poor Aaron Judge has looked at the plate. Up until now, he had been able to stave off a reputation as a playoff choker, even though his overall numbers did not look great. However, teams with Aaron Judge had three times made it to the ALCS, including forcing a Game 7 once. Though he didn't perform well overall, it still shows that he needed to produce somewhat for the team to get to that point.

This year, with a line-up that (basically) started with Soto and ended with Judge for the whole season, he will need to start hitting if the Yankees want to have any chance to even make it past the Royals.

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Tim Kabel - Since I was unsure about how the Yankees would respond in the playoffs, I can’t say that I’m surprised by much. The fact that they appeared to be a little flat, particularly Gerrit Cole, and Aaron Judge, among others, was not shocking, considering the long layoff. I would have to say that the overall effectiveness of the bullpen has been a pleasant surprise. I hope it continues, but unless the offense starts to do more, it might not matter.

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Andrew Hefner - The Yankees bullpen, which many cast their doubts about, has zero earned runs over 9.1 innings pitched. More specifically, Clay Holmes, who recorded the win in Game 1, has been lights out... when not put in a save position. With the offense providing little to no run support in Game 2, it will be imperative that the bullpen can shut down the Royals, which so far, they've shown the ability to do flawlessly. I'll be looking for Clark Schmidt to go a strong 5 innings, and then be followed up by Jake Cousins in long relief (2 innings), Tommy Kahnle as the setup (1 inning), and will be rounded out by Luke Weaver closing. All three of these pitchers have extremely strong regular seasons and have already shown this postseason they are capable of good things. Boone needed to trust his gut a bit more, as going through 8 pitchers in Game 2 wasn't great for the bullpen, I can still see what he was trying to do, and ultimately it worked out.

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Ed Botti - I am glad we waited 2 games to pose this question, however my answer wasn’t altered by the 2nd game, and regardless of the outcome of game three, it still stands. I won’t use the word “Surprise” because having analyzed their operation for the last number of years and watching them dump Girardi after getting to a ALCS game 7 (against a proven cheater), trade for Gallo, put Gleyber at SS, pay Rodon $163mm, trade for Stanton 1 year before Harper was available, ignore Seager, etc.…) nothing surprises me regarding them anymore.

What I am astonished by is that they were arrogant enough to go into a MLB playoff series with no first baseman and no proven MLB third baseman.

Jazz brings value to this team as he would any team, but to think that 30 or 40 games at a premier position like third base is enough time to play it at the MLB post season level is beyond arrogant. Yes, he can field a ground ball. Yes he has a strong arm. But, he does not know the ins and outs of the position. That takes time. I played that position most of my Baseball life, it is not the same as 2nd base. They needed a third baseman, and gave us an outfielder/2nd baseman/shortstop. I said it in July and got raked over the coals here  in the comments because he was being judged by a hot first week at the plate, and everyone seemed to forget he is actually being asked (unfairly if you ask me) to play a critical position at the MLB level with ZERO MLB experience at that spot for a team that has world series aspirations.

Perfect case in point, he failed to cut off Alex Verdugo’s throw from left field after Garrett Hampson singled in that 4 run 4th inning. By the way, that was not the first time he has been out of position on cutoffs since being acquired. You cannot have that at this level, especially in a 5 game series. That extended the inning, and added runs to the board that they would never make up.

He also made a throwing error an inning later.

Adding to my level of astonishment, despite whatever performance he had (and they lucked out because he did pretty well on this night) is starting Jon Berti at first base for Game 2, when he has NEVER played first base before (at least in MiLB or MLB). Jon did fine (he did get his legs crossed up a few times). Personally, I would have bunted all night long down the first base line if I was Quatraro.

This team has invested over $300MM and they go into October with neophytes at both infield corners and a brand new closer? Rizzo is hurt. OK. Who’s next in the pecking order? Rice you would think, but they apparently lost confidence in him. So, why not dip into your system and bring up an actual first baseman. It’s not the ideal situation, but at least you know the person playing has experience and years of training. Did TJ Rumfield have vacation plans they didn’t want to interrupt? It’s not idea, but remember they also switched closers in September (took them long enough, didn’t it?) and have Duke Ellis on the roster.

I am not saying Jazz or Jon are the fall guys here; to the contrary. I give both of them all the credit in the world for trying their best, and given time both could become competent at these positions.

The question was “what has been the biggest surprise for you regarding this Yankees team” and those decisions shocked me, going back to the July trade deadline with respect to Jazz.

This series is still very winnable, but those two infield holes will come into play again in even bigger situations, and we’ll have to wait and see if they can get past it.

Lastly, this goes out to the morons (to be nice) who sent those absolute terrible social media messages to Carlos Rodon’s wife about their children. STOP being gutless, stupid and ignorant. It’s not funny and it’s not cute. If you really feel that way, you should say it Carlos’ face and leave his wife and kids alone. But, I doubt you have the guts to do so.

Prayers go out to all of those on Florida’s Gulf Coast!