Met fans are nervous but SU has seen this before. Think back to the Yankees in 2000. They had a big lead and Joe Torre took his foot off the gas pedal. He started resting guys, putting out the Clay Bellinger line-up and getting his starting pitchers lined up for the playoffs. A huge lead got down to as little as 1.5 games before they made it to the finish line. However, the playoffs were tough in that first series against Oakland before they got rolling to win yet another world championship.
Terry Collins has not done that with the Mets but the Matt Harvey innings limit has produced the same situation. Harvey has become a distraction and going to the 6-man rotation is not helping anyone as of yet. The offense had been smoking hot but in baseball, those things come and go. They are now limping home but the Nationals just aren’t good enough to mount a challenge. They will ease in just fine and be ready for a spirited first round with the Dodgers. SU says no way is Washington making a charge here.
The Yankees lost the season series to Toronto 13-6 and that is the difference in the Eastern Division race. The Blue Jays are a better offensive team plain and simple. SU says you can’t blame the Texeiria injury – Greg Bird has put up more than comparable offensive numbers and is good in the field as well. The killer injury for the Yankees was having to shut down Eovoldi and putting Warren in the rotation. That has left the Yankees one reliever short in the bullpen to pitch the 6th inning and now Girardi has been forced to pitch many of the youngsters in high pressure situations. And to be honest, none of the youngsters has stepped up and differentiated themselves. No doubt great experience for future years but they are not ready for prime time as of now. To cap it off, you had to rely on Andrew Bailey last night in a key situation. None of the relievers that pitched last night would have even appeared in a game in August.
Wild card games are a crapshoot. SU would not be overly confident but I suppose it’s better to make that game than not. As long as Stephen Drew is left off the playoff roster.
Sports Update Intergalactic 
Tanaka against Keuchel is least desirable playoff matchup. Would rather play Minnesota or Angels
Agreed, neither the Twins or Angels have a shutdown type pitcher. Plus to watch the Yankees hit with half the line up hitting to a “he’s in a 3 for 35 slump right now” like Gardner and Headley is too painful. We need a Phil Hughes type pitcher to face.
Would love to see a playoff for second WC spot–Minnesota against Houston– so they use up their top pitcher
Yes, that would be the ideal situation. I actually think CC might be the Yankees best starter right now in a big game. Scary.
Ironic thing is that if the Yankees make the playoffs, and win the wild card game, they probably go with a rotation of Tanaka, Pineda, Severino and CC and now you have both Warren and Nova in the bullpen again. Deterioration of Shreve has been key.
Yes, the way Shreve is pitching it’s like he’s hurt as well. Maybe lots of rest will help him. He was really good for a long time this year. If he can somehow get back on track, would be huge. They really can’t afford to pitch any of the rookies in the post-season. None are sure things right now.
Keuchel vs. the Yankees this year is scary. 2 Wns. No Runs. 21 Ks. The way he’s pitched, it may not matter who the Yankees send up there.
Also, the way the Yankees hit in some of these big games, it doesn’t matter who’s pitching.
It is interesting that the Yankees gave 2 minor leaguer (Bird and Severino) legitimate opportunities this year and both have proven to be legit. You wonder if this will give them a little more confidence relying on someone like Refsnyder going into next season. You also wonder if Bird can spend the offseason trying out another position because Tex should be back and Rodriguez and Beltran will already have 1st and 2nd dibs on DH.
Ya never know what to expect.
Ever time you see the Yankees trend upward in hitting the pitching tailspins. Every time you see the offense sputters the pitching picks up. Only during the big spurt when we went from a 500- team to a 10-15 + above 500 team did both our pitching and hitting work well together. That lasted about 3 weeks. Now you never know what to expect night after night. The only consistent hitter since may has been Beltran. he might be the only true starter with an average higher than 270.
To know how far the Yankees will go this year in the playoffs is such a crap shot. If they get hot we can make some serious headway. The same can be said in reverse… even in a 1 game playoff. Relying too much on the long ball and whether any of the Starters can show the consistency needed are all up in the air. Ya never know what to expect.
Being too complacent isn’t helping. Who is our team leader anyway? We could really use one… and one with some energy that can rub off on their teammates. BTW… is the Pope attending the game tonight? We could use some inspiration in “our” Cathedral.
Andy, the consensus is that Brett Gardner is the team leader now. He is the go to guy for the media after games as well. Hard to see the Yankees making a run in the post season but I have been a bit off about them all year. We need to hope the Twins get the other wild card as Houston has the big ace that the Yankees can’t touch.
Stephen Drew is awful but at least he was finally benched. Chase Headley is TERRIBLE both hitting and in the field with 23 errors. Needs to be moved in the off season.