The greatest month of the year is here. Yes, I am a few days late. I guess I’ve been relishing the moment for a few days now and haven’t had the time to share it with you all. For those who are wondering who I am, my name is Brad. I am a new contributor to the Pinstripe Chronicle's blog. I have been a long time friend of the founder, Greg Andriano, and can’t wait to piggy back off his hard work! no better time to start talking baseball than the end of the season right?
Why is October so great? Is it because October 16th is Boss’s Day and my employees give me gifts for telling them what to do? Is it because my Wedding Anniversary is October 3rd ? Is it because my birthday is the 30th ? Or maybe because Halloween brings TV specials, movies, candy, and sweet decorations? All those are great answers, in fact you might even want to rename this month to Octoberad! But no, the answer is none of these (sorry to my wife Danielle). It’s playoff baseball time!!! 162 games are left in the record books and we move on to a month of the best suspense a fan could ask for. In recent years, baseball has been criticized for not appealing to the young generation due to its lack of “time of action”. In fact, most fans spend more times on their phones while watching the game than actually looking at the field. Even at the stadium, fans look to the countless TV monitors scattered throughout the venue for a replay after every play rather than watch the fielders shift positions or the pitcher walk around the mound. But October is different. Much to the dismay of every home plate umpire, every pitch is anxiously viewed, assessed, and then analyzed by all fans and athletes. Every pitch is argued by one team or the other because each one is so important. Its anxiety at its finest and that’s what makes MLB Baseball in October so damn good!
This year we are treated to some very tasty match-ups, especially in the AL. We have the young bucks in Atlanta that some say are here a year too soon against the pricey Dodgers trying to win their first World Series since 1988. Then there is one of the hottest teams in baseball in the Milwaukee Brewers who wrestled the NL top seed away from the Cubs against the Colorado Rockies who once again made this month Rocktober. Over in the much superior AL (yes this is an opinion article) the Astros look to defend their title with an even better team than last season against an Indians team that after starting slow is playing more like the WINdians of last season. And then of course the monster series that is making the MLB sooo happy (could you imagine if it was rays/As in that WC card?) and that is the mighty New York Yankees who made quick work of a 97 win Oakland A’s team by beating them 7-2 in the WC card vs the Boston Red Sox who only won 108 games (franchise record) and has the top two MVP candidates on the roster. Buckle up people, this October is gonna be a blast.
Now this is a Yankees blog so lets focus on this series. As I went position by position I realized the teams are almost dead even. The difference? Starting pitching vs bullpen. To make a long article somewhat shorter this is what I came up with:
Left Field – SPLIT
Center – NYY
RF – BOS (that was a tough one)
3B – split (until Andujar shows what he can do in the postseason)
SS – NYY
2B – BOS (again, until Torres shows what he can do in playoffs)
1B – BOS
C – BOS
DH – NYY
SP – BOS
RP – NYY
These were very tough.
Sale vs. Happ could be a toss up as well as Tanaka vs. Price, but I cannot ignore the type of pitcher Sale is the majority of time and Price is a different pitcher at Fenway. Porcello has always dominated the Yankees but, which Porcello will show up in the playoffs?
This series will come down to those swing positions and the starting pitching. We can almost guarantee the Yankees bullpen will outplay Boston’s. So can Happ/Tanaka/Severino keep up with Boston’s starters for 5 innings? Will Torres and Andujar contribute? In the wild card game they both looked a little over-matched by the moment. Torres had one hard hit line out to left but other than that looked clueless at the plate. Andujar’s in his own head when it comes to throwing the ball to first. Those two have to play older than they are or a more veteran Boston team could take advantage of them. The last match-up that will be key is Stanton/Judge vs. Betts/Martinez. Both these duos are capable of monster numbers. The NYY duo is more prone to the strikeout however while Boston’s duo is more consistent. But its October - it’s a new season for everyone. So who will show up?
This series will not be for the faint of heart. It will have big plays, big mistakes, bad calls, close calls, big HRs, bigger Ks, and most likely a lot of momentum swings. My prediction is Yankees in 5. I think they take 1 of the first two games in Boston, win both at home, and then beat Price is game 5 at Fenway. And oh how sweet it would be to celebrate on Boston’s field after knocking off the best team in Red Sox history (statistically). Remember 2001 Yankee fans? Remember beating the 118 win Seattle Mariner team?
Other quick predictions: Brewers in 4, Dodgers in 3, Astros in 5. We’ll talk again when the League Championship series’ start. Until then my baseball friends, thank you for reading the first installment of "Bradder Chatter", please share your thoughts and most of all enjoy the games!