SU is reading that some possible line-up changes may be in order for tonight’s game:

1. Donaldson out; move IKF to 3rd base
2. Stanton back to DH; Oswaldo Cabrera in left field
3. Oswald Peraza at shortstop

Go younger and more athletic. SU is in favor of all of these moves. Carpenter sits, Donaldson sits (please) and Cabrera back in the lineup. We will see what Aaron Boone actually does. SU notes the comments from today’s earlier post. Btw, LeMahieu is not on the post-season roster for the ALCS, and Hicks is out 6 weeks with a knee injury for those keeping score at home. The moves listed above are the ones available for Boone.

SU says roll the dice and play the youngsters. They are easy to root for and maybe they won’t strike out 3 – 4 times tonight. Let the youth movement begin.

Panic moves? Thoughts?

It’s the playoffs. At this point of the season, it’s all about the team, and players need to get over any perceived slights. I mean Joe Torre batted A-Rod 8th back in 2006 in the playoffs against the Tigers when he wasn’t hitting.

Aaron Boone has some decisions to make on the Yankees now that game 1 is in the books. SU wanted Matt Carpenter in the line-up and as we saw last night, er, well, maybe not such a great idea. He has now been up 6 times in the playoffs and all ended in strikeouts. In a short series, Boone needs to make the decision and the right one is to sit him. He is rusty and over matched.

Next, what about Josh Donaldson? He is a very good fielder. There is no obvious replacement at this point other than IKF who won a Gold Glove as a 3rd baseman. SU says just bat him 8th or 9th but get him out of the middle of the lineup. And, by the way, late in the game when you need a hit, do not be afraid to pinch hit for him. He will get over it.

SU listened to Boone in the post-game interview. The Yankees have not used German at all in the post-season. Surely he is more experienced than Clark Schmidt who has now lost 2 games. Boone made a vague comment that German was the long man. But last night you were tied 1-1 in the 6th inning with a chance to steal a Verlander game, and the strategy was to pitch Schmidt and then Montas? I guess the strategy was to steal the game and not use your best relievers.

They (obviously) should move Bader up in the order. He is one of the few hot hitters and in baseball, you ride the hot streaks. SU would also put Oswaldo Cabrera back in the lineup as you just need to have more left-handed batters. I know this will shatter Brian Cashman’s dream of fielding only right-handed hitters but 17 strikeouts was an embarrassment last night. And most of those strikeouts occurred in the last 6 innings. I mean they could not put the ball in play.

What about the umpiring? SU asks: is the box shown on television accurate and the same one that MLB uses to evaluate umpires? If so, that was a truly awful performance last night and once again helps make the case for electronic umpiring. The missed calls were low, high, inside and outside – equally for both teams. I actually think (hope) that the box was not accurate which is possible.

Bottom line: the Yankees win this series if they hit a lot of home runs. As in a lot of home runs. This team cannot string together hits or score via singles and doubles. Houston has far superior starters and relievers, and the relievers seem to all be right-handed. It’s just a bad match-up. SU is committed and emotionally invested but I must admit that I tuned into the Knicks’ overtime last night for mental relief. Tonight’s game becomes HUGE as otherwise, you need to win 4 out of the next 5 to win the series and that is not happening. SU does believe that Severino will come up big but the question is can the Yankees score?

First of all, loved the Gleyber Torres move to rock the baby on the final out. The Guardians deserved that. Further retribution awaits Naylor in 2023 but that will have to wait.

Yankee fans have been here before. Facing Houston in the ALCS, and have come up short each time. Will this time be different? Consider the following:

1. The Yankees field the almost all-right handed line up per usual. Per usual, it’s not a good idea against Houston. SU says that Boone needs to force Carpenter into the line up somehow. Decide what you want to sacrifice (Stanton in left field who might be a liability defensively) but let’s get Carpenter more at bats than the occasional pinch hit appearance.
2. Apparently, there is only one travel day which means games 3 – 7 will be played on consecutive days. Of course, that is a disaster scenario for the Yankees’ bullpen which is already running on fumes. The good news? There is rain in the forecast for Sunday and Monday and maybe the Yankees can steal a rainout for one of those days.
3. Cole can pitch game 3 and then perhaps game 7 on 3 days rest. Not ideal. Will they roll out Frankie Montas for this series? SU says please do not do that. Ride the pitchers that got you here. His acquisition was a mistake. Admit it and move on.
4. What do you do about shortstop? IKF had a rough series in the field but he can actually hit with RISP unlike virtually the rest of the team. If Hicks is out (and by the way, how is he an upgrade for anything?), the choice is IFK or Cabrera at shortstop. SU likes Carbrera but he has bobbled a few in the field at shortstop as well.
5. Aaron Boone is a key guy this series. How he handles the roster and the bullpen might actually be important in this series. This does not give SU the warm fuzzies.
6. Bad things happen to the Yankees in Minute Maid Park. They just do. And the team knows it.

SU said at the start of the season that the goal in 2022 was making it to the World Series. That is still the case. Falling short is a failed season for this roster and payroll. Now, you can give them a pass with all of the injuries to the relievers (King, Green, Marinaccio, Britten, Efross, and there are probably others). The starters rarely go more than 5 innings and there are just too many outs to cover with less than stellar relievers.

The Yankees are still standing unlike the Braves and the Dodgers. But it’s hard to see how this ends well for them. The smart money feels like Houston in 6 games but of course, SU will hold out hope for somehow stealing 2 more wins. Tonight may actually be a chance for one. The Astros might actually be too rested and perhaps the hitters are a bit off on their timing.

Is SU being too pessimistic? Feel free to weigh in with your predictions.

Lots of hate for Aaron Boone on Twitter last night and this morning for the handling of the bullpen in game 3. SU did not see the last 3 innings of the game but was following on line. I get all of the analytics and wanting your best relievers to face the heart of the order in the 7th and 8th innings. But the 9th inning is still the 9th inning and you need your top guys to pitch that inning.

Now, the Yankees’ bullpen is vastly depleted as SU has pointed out for the last few months. No Green, no King (huge), no Chapman (MIA) and Holmes is banged up. The Yankees need big leads to win these games. But… you have to save your top guys for the 8th and 9th innings. You also have to note that if the series goes 5 games, you are playing 4 days in a row. You cannot pitch everyone every game. The bottom line last night is that Boone put Clark Schmidt in for the biggest outs of the season and he did not come through. Holmes said in the post-game interviews that he was available and ready but Boone said he was only an emergency option. Interesting miscommunication there.

The Guardians continue to get a lot of bloop hits “but that’s baseball, Suzyn.” The bigger issue, of course, is that the Yankees don’t hit other than home runs. SU does not like this team – just too many hitters who go up to the plate mindlessly guessing on pitches and not considering where the fielders are or the situation. Do you ever watch Josh Donaldson hit? And so many right-handed hitters who look over matched by the right – handed pitchers on the Guardians. They hit 3 home runs last night and in most games, probably enough to win. But what about tonight? Can they manufacture runs?

Long-time subscriber, J. Levine, wants to see Carpenter in the line up tonight as DH and Stanton in the outfield. And Cabrera at shortstop in place of IKF who has been pretty bad in the field. SU agrees with the moves. SU says roll the dice – and put your better hitters in there. Then you can bring in Hicks in the late innings for defense although truth be told, he has been terrible out there all year.

SU notes this. The Guardians are winning putting the ball in plan and they have had a bunch of bloop hits. The Baseball gods do not let you do that too many games in a row. SU believes this series will go 5 games although not necessarily feeling the Yankees will win it. Boone has run through his top relievers and that is going to cost him as the starters can’t go more than 6 innings. Even Cole throws way too many pitches early and he needs to go 7 innings and 125 pitches tonight for sure.

Long-time subscriber, J. Winston, has told SU that I am not giving the Philadelphia teams enough credit and he is clearly right. The Phillies are a great story after beating the mighty Braves. SU likes manager Rob Thomson and also hitting coach Kevin Long who apparently is in the mix for several managerial openings this off season and good for him. And how about the Eagles? Philadelphia – city of champions??

San Diego took out the Dodgers last night so Met fans can feel a little better about losing to the Padres. Both the Braves and Dodgers out and soon the Yankees may join them. Good for baseball if not World Series ratings.

Is Aaron Boone managing his final game for the Yankees tonight? 2 innings for Loaisiga? Not going to matter as they are blown out by a feisty Guardian team? Thoughts?

SU likes the new MLB playoff format. Having a 2 out of 3 first round for the Wild Card teams seems fairer than the play-in games of years’ past, and giving the team with the better record home field for all 3 games is interesting. Today there are 4 series playing all on the same day. Sweet.

The Mets – Padres series is very interesting as San Diego can put a great staff out there for all 3 games – just as the Mets can. It makes managing a bit more important and doing the little things. SU says you have to give Buck Showalter the edge there as he has emphasized those things all year. Plus the Mets have the lockdown closer in Diaz to help close out a tight game. SU says this series goes to the Mets.

In the AL, Yankee fans will be checking out the Guardians and Rays. SU has watched enough Yankee games in Tampa over the years, and no matter who is on that team, that is a bad match – up for the Yankees. Too many relievers throwing 95 mph+, and then bad things just happen at Tropicana Field. You have to root for Cleveland even though they are probably a better team.

It’s funny. Writing how the Mets do all of the little things, the Yankees pay no attention to that. Crazy shift – should we hit to the opposite field? Say what? No, it’s important to stick to what got you here: go for the home runs and let’s maintain those .220 batting averages. The Yankees’ bullpen is running on fumes with all of the injuries. They will have to slug their way to win the series and hope a 3-4 run cushion can survive Aroldis Chapman or Loaisiga closing the games. SU thinks the Yankees can beat Cleveland but then will go down – easily – to the Astros.

You have to assume the Dodgers are sizable favorites to win it all but they will have to beat both the Mets (likely) and the Braves to get to the World Series. Not an easy road. Keep an eye on the Mets. But the smart money has the Dodgers beating Houston in the World Series.

The Yankees have worn me down the last few months. Of course, I want them to win it all but can’t be too inspired given the injuries to the relievers, position players and the .200 batting averages. Boone will have to decide between Donaldson, Rizzo and LeMahieu. One of them will have to sit each game.

SU looked up Dave Kingman’s stats the other day. For you youngsters, Kingman was a high home run, huge strikeout type of hitter. Typical season would be .217 with 40 home runs and 100+ rbis. By today’s standards, he would be called a “productive” hitter. That is the problem with baseball today. The words “.200 hitter” and “productive” should not be allowed in the same sentence.

Has the NFL become a mediocre league? Did you watch any of the Denver – Indy game last night? All field goals. What happened to Russell Wilson?

SU read that a new HBO documentary is being released next week on SU fave Jeremy Lin. Called “38 at the Garden.” I will definitely check that out. How the Knicks allowed him to walk after the Linsanity season to appease Melo was just wrong. Lin plays in China now and still wants one last shot in the NBA but he knows that ship has sailed. Truth be told, he can’t stay healthy and he can’t cover the quicker guards (never could). Of course, none of today’s guards can cover either but hey.

OK feel free to put out your World Series predictions. Impress your friends with your brilliance.

Yankee fans know that this was a line that Joe Girardi often delivered as manager of the Yankees in his long tenure. No doubt Met fans can relate this morning after getting swept by the Braves over the weekend. They wake up down 2 games with 3 to go and don’t have the tie-breaker with the Braves as a result of losing the season series 10 – 9. You have to feel for the Mets who had held onto 1st place in the NL East for so long this year.

The bigger deal is that they will now (most likely) have to beat the both the Dodgers and Braves to get to the World Series. SU says that while this is obviously not a good thing, in a long baseball season there are twists and turns. You just never know and momentum in the regular season does not always translate directly into the post-season. Play who is on your schedule and let’s see. There are many cases of red hot teams in September who are then exhausted come October and fizzle out.

Which brings us to the Yankees who have an impressive team on the IL at this point. The bullpen is in shambles. Holmes is on the IL and Chapman is up and down. Peralta is trying to come back and would be a key guy if he can stay healthy. Britton is done for the year. Bottom line: the Yankees do not have a closer and Boone will have to feel his way along every game. The team’s strength has been its pitching and this places even more pressure on them. You cannot rely on the offense – we have seen that. It would be great to get Carpenter back – he is apparently close. There is no protection for Judge – can’t imagine any team pitching to him in any game. Not necessary.

SU has been on record that the goal in 2022 had to be to get to the World Series, not necessarily win it. That seems like a tall order now. They should win the divisional round but no sure thing. The hope has to be that Houston stumbles in that first round as the Yankees cannot hang with them – especially in Minute Maid Field.

Who will start at quarterback for the Giants in London against the Packers next Sunday? It’s hard to believe Daniel Jones can recover from a sprained ankle in one week and the back up has a concussion.

Is Judge going to get #62 in Texas? SU says yes. He is clearly showing the strain now trying to do it in New York but he should feel better before a small crowd in Texas. And if he doesn’t? No shame. Great year and get recalibrated for October. And please, no more lead-off hitting in the playoffs. The Yankee line up at the bottom is not a bunch of world beaters and he is only going to come up with the bases empty most times.

Final question for the intergalactic subscriber base. In yesterday’s Arizona – Carolina game, the Cardinals score in the 4th quarter to go up 26 – 10. The analytics should be that you kick the extra point there to go up 3 scores. Instead, the Cardinals went for 2 (and failed). That left the Panthers down 2 scores plus the 2-point conversion. Please explain how that made sense.

All eyes continue to be on Aaron Judge as he tries to get to home run #61. Surely the Maris family is hoping to get this over with as they are now on the road with the Yankees and who wants to go to Texas next week? SU says he will get there and when he hits #61, he will hit #62 in the same game.

But the bigger issue for Brian Cashman and the Yankees is who to put on the post-season roster. Some decisions are easy (Frankie Montas: No, no no) but did you see the story from CBS Sports that Cashman is considering Designating For Assignment Aroldis Chapman? Chapman is a free agent after this season and the Yankees have no interest in bringing him back (there goes his number retirement – just kidding). But it shows just how low Chapman has gone in 2022. He is too much of a risk to pitch in October UNLESS they can straighten him out in the next 8 games. Unfortunately, the Yankees do not have a locked down closer and that will haunt them in the post-season. No 9th inning will go smoothly.

Other decisions:

1. Matt Carpenter – Cashman thinks he may play in Texas next week. SU says he has to go on the roster. Left-handed bat and there are so few.
2. DJ LeMahieu – SU would actually keep him off unless he shows he can hit with this toe issue. He had almost no extra base hits for a month before he went on the IL. He needs to be honest about what he can do. Obviously, prefer to have him in the line up but not like this.
3. Aaron Hicks – NO. Unless you need a late game doubleplay, no use.
4. Andrew Benintendi – apparently he is getting his stiches out shortly and might be ready. The question is whether he can get enough practice at bats in – not clear. At this point, SU is much more comfortable with Oswaldo Cabrera. He can play every position. Energetic, spark plug. Must be on the roster.

SU knows the Yankees score a lot of runs but having a line up of .220 hitters is painful to watch. Judge is the outlier. No way he bats lead-off in the post-season. The 7 – 9 hitters never get on base and it’s not helpful having him lead off so many times. And, I am sorry. No more comments about how Rizzo and Stanton have had such “productive” seasons. SU does not care about just home runs and RBIs. Hitting .220 is not productive with 500 – 600 at bats. Yes, you can win the World Series that way with great pitching but it means a lot of luck.

The NY Giants continue to play hard and are in every game. SU says Barkley is your best player. You have to put the ball in his hands much more often – especially on pass plays. Jones is running for his life on every play and a short pass to Barkley is often your best bet. Adjustments on play calling please.

Keep your eye on the NL East. Season’s best race all year long. The Mets and Braves go head to head this weekend in Atlanta and it’s huge. It’s the difference to having to beat the Dodgers vs. having to beat the Braves and the Dodgers in October. SU continues to give the nod to the Mets in having a deep playoff run vs. the Yankees.

Finally, the Laver Cup this weekend was great entertainment for an exhibition. First, the Federer send-off was great. Second, you saw how the top 3 players in the world have mutual respect for Federer and each other. Federer, Nadal and Djokovic set the tone for 15 years of how top rivals can compete at the highest level but still respect each other and the game. Others have clearly followed and it’s actually much more fun to watch vs. the antics in the past of McEnroe, Connors, Nastase, etc. Kyrgios did not get the message and he has a large following. But men’s tennis is in a good place for years to come now. Francis Tiafoe continues to be a prime time competitor and no one works the crowd better. Great for the sport.

I don’t think the answer is obvious on this one. On the one hand, if Judge had signed a long-term deal before the season started, would he have played with the same level of intensity? Would he have been as motivated? Would he have felt pressure to justify the big contract? More likely to pace himself and take some games off?

As he is playing now for his next contract, he obviously took a huge risk. He could have had a season like Stanton’s (.210) with injuries and an inability to get on base. Or Judge could have had a more typical season with lots of strikeouts and the inevitable trip to the Injury List for a couple of months. Given his numbers this year, it’s all the more impressive as he is basically putting his career year together at the perfect time in his walk year. Most players would have fallen short, gotten distracted with all of the questions about his contract and probably under-performed. Judge is on the verge of winning the Triple Crown which is almost as remarkable an achievement as passing Roger Maris in home runs. No doubt (assuming he doesn’t fail a drug test) he will be viewed as the true, legitimate single season home run leader given that McGwire, Bonds and Sosa are all tainted by PEDs.

You have to figure the Yankees will do whatever it takes to keep Judge. And the likelihood is that his future years will involve some injuries as that has been his M.O. for most of his career. And of course, the long-term deals always end badly for the last few years. But Judge is the face of the franchise, always does the right thing, respects the game and his teammates as well as the opposition. And who knows? Maybe the home plate umpires will even figure out that the low strike calls below his knees are actually balls.

Judge’s numbers in a year when the average batting average is .242 is amazing given that he is a slugger. And by the way, he IS the MVP. The Yankees are a middle of the pack team without Judge in the AL East this year.

Frankie Montas to the IL. Thank goodness. Not a New York kind of performer. No need to put him on the post-season roster. Harrison Bader with 2 hits and 3 rbis in his first game with the Yankees. A week’s worth of production for Hicks. You have to hope Stanton’s grand slam will finally get him going now. He is huge for their post-season chances. Yankee bullpen is gassed due to so many 5-inning starts by the starters. Just too much usage. Chapman looked surprisingly good last night; he may be ready to take back the closer role.

Roger Federer says good bye this weekend playing one last doubles match Friday night – most likely with Nadal. Pretty cool.

Will Judge be a $300 million man this off season?

SU says do not draw too many conclusions from the first week of NFL action. My experience is that a win creates unrealistically high expectations for teams that win, and for teams that lose, well “there goes the season” is usually just too negative. The truth is somewhere in the middle unless you are talking about the NY teams where the 1st series of the game is representative of what the season will bring.

SU does make this observation. The desire of NFL head coaches to avoid injuries in the preseason games (which is certainly justified) causes the simplest plays to become challenging in the first game of the season. Did you see the Bengals try and kick and extra point or a game winning field goal in OT? Yikes. There were so many missed field goals and fumbled snaps yesterday.

For NY fans, you have to get the Red Zone Channel. Of course, you need to be ready to be over-stimulated with scoring plays for 6 hours which as we get older is not a great thing. But it is just not fair to generally be limited to watching the Jets and Giants for 17 weeks. SU must admit that I tuned in to the Giants game for most of the 4th quarter and give props to the new coach for going for the 2-point conversion and the win. This strategy probably won’t work next time but no doubt he won his players’ hearts and minds with that move even if the Titans had converted on that last second field goal attempt. Good for NY football fans to get that first win out of the way before we are into October.

The men’s tennis world anointed 19-year old Carlos Alcaraz as the next great thing with his US Open win. He has the whole game, can volley at the net and is super fast. Will he win 20 grand slams? Hey, it’s still early but he has the mindset and attitude to do it. He also has the #1 target on his back now and big expectations so we will see. But he seems like a great kid and is respectful of his opponents following in the footsteps of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic who certainly have always carried themselves well on the court whether winning or losing. SU is also hoping that Tiafoe can continue to improve and polish his game now that he has had a taste of winning a Grand Slam. He is the consummate entertainer but needs to show that he can do this in the other tournaments. His strokes are a bit unorthodox but he is good for tennis and especially American tennis.

Finally, the Yankees have righted the ship for a week. Thank goodness for the Minnesota Twins. Aaron Hicks also did Aaron Boone a major favor by not hustling after a dropped fly ball on Friday night causing the fans to erupt (when they are chanting “Joey Gallo, Joey Gallo” at you, well, that is not a good thing). Boone pulled him from the game and that will make it easier for Boone to never play Hicks again this season (could happen). Gleyber Torres has reawakened and Stanton is showing signs of getting hot and we know that when he gets hot, it lasts for several weeks. The Rays have a lot of Toronto and Houston on the schedule down the stretch and it’s hard to see them running the table. SU likes having the rookies play and I am interested to see what Harrison Bader is all about as he is about a week away.

At this point, a “successful” season for the Yankees has to mean getting to the World Series. The Mets are hanging on to their first place lead with the Braves in hot pursuit. That is actually a big deal as the first place team avoids the Dodgers until the NLCS while the wild card will have to go through the Dodgers in the Division round. That is a reason to do what is necessary to win the Division at the expense of resting players for the playoffs.

Brian Cashman must be excited this morning. Rizzo gets an epidural shot for his back and will be out this weekend. Benintendi feels a pop in his wrist while swinging and is going for an MRI today. That will not be a good outcome. Assuming that Aaron Hicks is not in the lineup, Cashman can now field an entirely right-handed lineup. Perfect in Yankee Stadium with the short porch in right field (not). Opponents are going to make sure that they throw only right-handed pitchers against the Yankees the rest of the way.

The epic collapse this year is in full swing now on this road trip. The Yankees’ road record is down to 34 – 33. Amazing after the great start to the season. The fans on Twitter are up in arms and are looking to fire both Boone and Cashman. SU does not feel like it’s Boone’s fault. The roster offensively is so limited – he has has few choices to mix and match. The Montgomery trade was a head scratcher (6 shutout innings last night for the Cardinals) and Montas is looking like a big-time bust.

As pointed out by long-time subscriber, M. Benowich,a few weeks ago, losing the division title this year will go down in the record books as an all-time collapse. That was a 15-game lead at one point. They may hang on as Tampa Bay and Toronto have a lot of head-to-head games remaining but the Yankees need a spark from somewhere and it’s likely going to have to be a minor leaguer.

SU has to comment on Serena Williams. While I have never been a fan, I have no issue with the tennis world giving her a nice send-off in this US Open. Now, the coverage on ESPN has been way over the top (I mean there are limits to this). SU’s issue with Serena goes back to her behavior at the US Open in two events where she threatened a lineswoman in one and then the umpire more recently. Zero mention of any of those incidents anywhere as no doubt it is all chalked up to “she’s an uber competitor who has fought for everything her entire life.” Fair statement. My other issue is that when Serena wins, it’s all about Serena. When she loses, it’s all about Serena. Usually no mention about the opponent and maybe being outplayed or giving credit to the other player. Same story last night for Tomljanovic who played the match of her life at 29 under the most trying circumstances. She prevailed in 3 hours with 23,000 fans cheering every service fault.

Yes, yes, yes – I get it. This was Serena’s moment but for SU, just continued a career long pattern. That’s it – you can disagree and I have no issue with that.

I think Alcaraz is now ready to break through with his first major. Nadal seems vulnerable as he continues to play himself into shape, and he would have to beat Alcaraz and Medvedev to win it all. Certainly possible but it feels like a big lift when he is not 100% health-wise.