The Yankees continued their recent offensive onslaught last night and all of a sudden, their line-up is starting to look circular. A few observations:
- Stanton: he has homered in 3 straight playoff games and actually last night’s and the one before were hit in meaningful situations. SU says he is clearly thriving without fans in the stands to boo him. He does seem more relaxed. Naturally, he is due for a pulled calf muscle now as he is not used to running to first base so much. But the roster is deep and he can be replaced easily.
- Bullpen: face it, this is not the strength of your team. Chapman needs a minimum 3-run cushion in 2020 to notch a save. Green is not a lock down pitcher and Boone just won’t use Ottavino in any stressful situation. Not a winning formula and Boone needs to find 1-2 others he trusts and fast.
- Boone: man, he is not a good in-game manager. SU is concerned – especially with no off days this series. If he pulls Garcia and Tanaka after 5 innings, they will not have enough pitchers to finish the game.
- Bad Blood: in the 9th inning, after the Stanton grand slam which face it, we were all shocked by, Urshula took a huge swing and miss on the next pitch. The pitch after that knocked him down. Gleyber got knocked down next on a pitch. The Yankees retaliated in a measured way by having Gleyber steal 2nd base after he singled with a 6-run lead. That was a better move than throwing at one of their hitters in the bottom of the 9th inning and giving the Rays a spark heading into game 2. But this is something to watch tonight.
- Time delay: As referenced by long-time subscriber, J. Levine, if you follow the games on mlb.com in their Game Day feature, there is about a 5-second delay between what’s happening on the field and when you see it on TV. SU tried it for an inning but it made me jumpy. But you can impress your friend with texts about what happens if you watch and follow this way.
This series is just getting started. No doubt Boone will pitch Cole for game 5 on 3 days rest. Garcia starting tonight is a risky move and SU likes him a lot. But he is a real youngster and if he gets rocked early, I guess you bring in Montgomery quickly. Glasnow for the Rays throws hard and has a good record vs. the Yankees. Let the fun begin.
Sports Update Intergalactic 
LeMahieu’s first at-bat set the stage, what a stud. Best leadoff hitter since Ricky Henderson. Got him cheap for 2 years but will have to pay now, and they should. I like the Garcia start tonight who could impress or could implode but might as well not waste Tanaka against Glasnow who could shut us down. The line-up looks pretty awesome right now, I wonder if Shiggy gets more playing time than Sanchez.
The Yankees have undergone a DJ Lamahieu type transformation. They are actually waiting pitchers out and not swinging at breaking pitches in the dirt. They are even hitting to the opposite field. If this continues, this could be the year they actually outhit everyone to a World Series trophy. And the Chad Green, Luis Cessa trade return looked pretty good last night.
Perhaps we can get Stanton some blinders and ear plugs. Just hit number 4
Great managing by Boone. He takes out Garcia for the crime of allowing 1 run and two hits, to rush in JA Happ, who they are desperately trying to void the last year of his contract . This is who they got rid of Girardi for. Lousy manager and lousy pitcher.