This is a public service announcement to ESPN from the Editorial Board at SU.  Stop allowing A-Rod to have more than one cup of coffee a day.  He is absolutely unlistenable.  It’s bad enough that the games are 3 and a half hours of minimal action.  We watch Severino labor through 5+ innings and 105 pitches against a AAA quality roster in the Orioles.  We then watch the Yankee relievers have to throw a ton of pitches to finish the game.  Glayber Torres makes and error with 2 outs and no one on.  The Orioles end up scoring because Chad Green can’t get one out.

A-Rod goes on and on about the error and how it ruins the rest of the game and how Boone wants to use his pitchers.  Seriously: the kid is 21 years old and is not a finished product.  He plays with a bad hip and he occasionally loses his concentration.  We get that and we live with that.  The relief pitchers actually need to get people out too.

SU never, ever turns off the sound – although I have made the exception with Al Leiter when they ask him to show the circle change up grip on YES broadcasts.  But I must admit that I did turn it off in the 9th inning last night.  Just couldn’t take it any more.  STOP TALKING!  And I like A-Rod.  But it’s pure torture.

Severino has still not earned the right to pitch the Wild Card game.  For whatever reason, he is very hittable.  SU says you go with Happ right now to pitch that game although Tanaka has the post-season pedigree.  The Yankees have cut into the Red Sox lead which is great but they are not going to catch them.  However, it’s good to make them feel a little uncomfortable.

Gotta love Luke Voit and what’s with his inter-locking grip on the bat like a golfer?  See, that was something that A-Rod could have talked about that we never hear about.  What are the physics of hitting a baseball vs. a golf ball?  Maybe Voit has something there?  SU feels badly for Bird as Voit’s success comes with the inevitable discussion about Bird’s failings.  This is starting to feel like a Wally Pipp story.

Finally, SU does note that once I said that Stanton has been really good, he immediately goes into a slump.  A-Rod says it’s because he’s at 299 home runs and maybe it’s better that he gets that at home this week.  Really?  Does any Yankee fan even care?