SU says despite all of the Yankees’ flaws as a team this year, going into the post-season as AL East Division winners, they have to be one of the oddsmakers’ favorites to win it all. They will potentially have the best record in the AL, feature the dynamic duo of Soto and Judge, and be reasonably healthy going into October.

So, why is SU not so optimistic? Aside from being down on this team for much of the year (although they did exceed my 90 wins prediction), there are some real concerns:

1. Back end of the bullpen. Weaver has been a revelation and it seems very possible that Boone will use him like Torre did Mariano for 2 innings in close games. Clay Holmes is the X-factor and he is basically terrifying. He certainly cannot be relied on to close games but can he even be trusted in the 7th or 8th inning? No doubt he will be on a tight leash.
2. Pitching around Soto and Judge. There is just no way that teams will pitch to them in the post-season – even if it means putting men in scoring position. Wells was terrific for a long stretch but he has slumped badly in September. The reality is that he may just be tired starting so many games at catcher which is a demanding position. There is no way you pitch to Soto and Judge. SU can see Boone moving Stanton to cleanup and while he has been good in the playoffs in his career, his role will be even more important this year. Can he come through consistently?
3. The injury to Nestor Cortes is big. The Yankees have a lot of confidence in Gil and he was lights out in the first half of the season. He now throws a lot of pitches to just get through 4 innings and that puts more strain on the bullpen. Nestor would eat some innings. Maybe Clarke Schmidt will step up big. No way you pitch Stroman. Will Rodon justify the big contract now? Cole is a lock but some concerns beyond that.
4. Verdugo or Dominguez in left field? Unfortunately, Dominguez did not take full advantage of his opportunities in September and he is a liability in left field (apparently). Boone will go with Verdugo as a veteran but you can’t expect much from him. Volpe has struggled but Rizzo is showing signs of life.
5. Don’t underestimate the importance of the trade for Jazz Chisholm. They have played so much better with him on the roster as it allowed the Yankees to not play DJ LeMahieu. No way DJ is on the roster for the post-season. Good guy but it’s been a long 2-3 years now.
6. The Guardians have a lockdown bullpen. They are a scary match-up in the ALCS if they get that far. Houston is always a threat for the Yankees but they have handled them well this year – not as worried. SU is more concerned about the winner of the Tigers-Orioles matchup. Detroit is red hot and the Orioles have some experience under their belts now. from last season in the playoffs.

Bottom line: the Yankees need to at least make it to the World Series for this season to be considered a success. SU is not feeling it. Just too many flaws in a flawed American League.

Meanwhile, the Mets have been red hot but now the weather is causing them to potentially have to play a doubleheader vs. the Braves on Monday and then fly West for the Wild Card game. That is not right or fair. No way Milwaukee will be motivated to play them this weekend and they will no doubt rest some of their starters. That benefits them while Atlanta faces a Kansas City team that is about to clinch the Wild Card. They may also rest some of their players although they are playing for home field for the Wild Card series which is important. Exciting weekend on tap here and the Monday scenario is very interesting.

Oh, that has to be an easy one. Deshaun Watson, quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, is in the middle of a 5-year, fully guaranteed $230 million contract.

SU is not even basing this on the fact that he is not a good dude. His off-the-field actions are well-documented. And I give him a bit of a pass yesterday (no pun intended) as he had no time to throw the ball with his offensive line. But SU says even in the best of circumstances, he is not an elite quarterback and this type of contract in the NFL is a killer for the whole roster. It can set your franchise back several years if you screw this one up. Consider that to be the case here. Too bad as the Browns have a good defense. Just brutal. It makes the Giancarlo Stanton deal with the Yankees look pretty good (which it ain’t).

Speaking of the Yankees, SU was very, very disappointed (did I say very?) in Nestor Cortes complaining that he was brought in as a reliever on Saturday for the first time this year. He promptly pitched 4+ innings of great relief and got the win. And he still complained. Disrespected, blah, blah, blah. As a Yankee fan, the team’s biggest weakness going into the playoffs is the bullpen. Has he not been paying attention? If Nestor can be effective pitching 2-3 innings a game in the playoffs, that is huge. You have to figure Boone will roll out Cole, Gil and Rodon for the first 3 games of any series. Cortes would not be starting anyway. Isn’t it better to get him used to doing this in the regular season in September? Why is this so hard? Team first. “Happy to do it if it helps the team.” Bad look for Nestor who is a good guy. Do better.

While an American did not win the US Open this year, it was a great showing by the American men and women. SU roots for players no matter what their nationality – I have never gotten caught up in the “USA, USA” stuff. But it appears that we finally have some great talent to root for who are in the primes of their careers. Emma Navarro is only 23 and Coco is just 20. Tiafoe, Fritz, Paul, and even Shelton are right there.

Speaking of Ben Shelton, SU thought he was a bit of a punk last year at the Open with the hang up the phone gesture after winning a match. Not my style for sure. But he is definitely maturing and handles himself very well on the court now. SU was at the Tiafoe-Shelton match this year – might have been the best match of the Open. SU will be rooting for Shelton from here on out – he showed me something – including a much better backhand. Of all the American men, he will have the most upside looking to the future.

NFL week 1 is just about behind us. SU observation: not playing your starters in the exhibition games makes total sense – I get that. But so many teams are just not ready for week 1 – see NY Giants (who may not even be ready in week 18 this year). Not sure there is a better way but some ragged performances this week.

It has been sooooo long since American men have been in the mix on the ATP Tour. While the USTA may have had some initial concerns with the early exits of Alcaraz and Djokovic, and the absence of Nadal at this year’s Open, the extended runs of Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe to the semi-finals have been great for American fans. Tiafoe, in particular, is very entertaining and an easy guy to get behind.

On the women’s side, Emma Navarro is another player who you can root for. 2 years at UVA and she has vaulted into the top 10 of the WTA rankings now. She plays a very clean game and at 23, has her head on straight. Coco Gauff needs a reset. A few SU observations:

1. Allowing on-court coaching is a good idea. It is interesting to watch how players interact with their teams. In singles, the challenge as a player is to problem solve on your own – it’s an individual sport in singles. Alcaraz has a running conversation with his coach and team in every match, and you wonder if that hurts him in the end? Clearly, he is uber talented but you would think he could make some of these decisions on his own. Coco Gauff seems to have a lot of issues with her team and to the average fan, it has to be a net negative. I guess every player reacts differently but receiving constant direction and commentary would be annoying in my book.
2. The USTA is allowing too many people in each day. The National Tennis Center footprint is just not big enough and it becomes challenging to physically move around without shuffling along behind a lot of people. Hope they re-evaluate that next year.
3. The men’s game is definitely in transition now. Nadal will be gone next year most likely, and Djokovic is not playing many tournaments anymore. Plenty of talent in the pipeline and the game will be fine going forward – just different.
4. The winner of Medvedev vs. Sinner tonight is the likely winner of the Open. SU will be rooting for Tiafoe but those are really tough match-ups for him.

Yankees’ closer, Clay Holmes, below his 11th save last night – just a killer for the Yankees. Boone has to remove him from the closer’s role now and either do it by committee or, SU says, put either Gill or Schmidt in there as they are both returning this weekend. Gill may be the better option as he has pitched a lot of innings. The offense has actually been a bit better of late. The bullpen will cost them in October for sure. Let’s see if Boone finally makes the move. There are many on Twitter who are ready.