The late, great Yogi Berra had it right for this year’s Yankees.  The wild card lead over Oakland is down to one game.  Despite a terrific regular season record, they could end up on the road for the Wild Card game in a stadium where they don’t play well.  SU, which always has its finger on the pulse of the Yankees, has some advice for Aaron Boone on how to right the ship.  Starting tomorrow:

• You have two outfielders who are past their prime: Gardner and McCutchen.  SU has never loved Gardner but he has earned the right to play most days.  And SU had already beaten the rush and started not liking McCutchen almost from day 1.  This guy is well past his prime and yet, he needs to play every day?  Why?  SU says platoon them – Gardner against righties and McCutchen against lefties.  They are both in their 30s and it will help them to stay fresh.  McCutchen is another hitter who when he gets a hit, you almost want to fall over out of shock.
• I am sorry: Stanton is overrated and I regret my posting from several weeks ago saying he was better than I thought.  At $30 million a year, he is not.  SU checked the stats last night: did you know that with RISP, he is hitting .238 with 3 home runs?  Think about that: your big slugger with RISP (which is a lot) has 3 home runs.  Did you know that Andujar has 6 and Gleyber hast 8???  Bat him 6th.  Even if he ends up with 38 home runs and 100 rbis, that is not a $30 million season for someone who is mostly a DH.  Nope.
• Many will disagree with SU on this one.  I believe Bird is ready to break out.  Last night, a double to left field and just missed a home run his first time up.  I liked having Voit DH and Bird at 1st base last night.  Go with that line up for a few games and see what happens.  You need some pop from the left side of the plate in this line up.  It is so obvious now.
• Crazy to say this but they miss Romine in the line up.  And Walker.  They have both driven in important runs during the middle part of the season.  But I know you have to play Sanchez.
• Boone should encourage/force/beg his players to hit to the opposite field.  You don’t appreciate it on TV as the broadcast doesn’t show it enough but every team shifts against every Yankee hitter.  There are gigantic holes in the infield.  If you really want to play deep into October, start now.

SU has enjoyed the season but I am losing interest now down the stretch which is very unusual.  To me, it feels like the hitters are mindless at the plate and never give a thought as to where the fielders are or how many outs there are or who is on base.  Actually, Andjuar and Torres do it.  The rookies.  And Didi as well.  But not your sluggers or your generational players.  If they lose the Wild Card game, SU will move on.  Boone will be back – not his fault – but I would get new hitting coaches.

So, is SU the only one feeling this way?  Am I too hard on a 100-win team?  Can they get hot?

As most of you know, SU is all in on the Yankees.  I watch most games when I can and this is my team.  But SU must come clean now: this current edition of the team as of September 12th is not going anywhere in October.  Let’s examine why that is the case:

• First of all, where have all the left-handed hitters gone?  Boone rolled out what might be his Wild Card game line up last night with McCutchen in right field and Stanton in left.  Now, assuming Judge is able to return which is still a big if, Judge will slide into right field or DH.  Gardner will be the odd man out it appears.  That leaves 2 left-handed hitters: Hicks and Didi.  Bird earned his way onto the bench so no argument there as Voit deserves to start.  The problem is that so many of the right-handed hitters are of the swing and miss variety led by the Generational One and Sanchez.
• Question: with RISP, who do you trust to get a hit right now?  For SU, it’s Didi, Andujar and Torres.  Never Sanchez, never Stanton, never McCutchen and maybe Hicks.  This is why the Yankees are not built for the playoffs.  They cannot hit with RISP.  Judge may help if he can play and stay in the line up but you have to figure he will be bailing out from inside fastballs along the lines of what Stanton does.
• I don’t love Gardner and his .237 batting average but he should play over McCutchen.
• Oakland is now 2 games back and with 6 games remaining against the Red Sox, the Yankees could easily be playing the Wild Card game in Oakland.  Not good.  Plus Boone is re-jiggering the rotation to try and have Severino pitch that game.  Say what?  That game is for Happ or Tanaka.  Only.

The trade for Stanton clogged up the line up with another right handed hitter.  SU may be alone in this thinking but I would trade both Sanchez and Stanton in the off-season, eat some salary and get some starting pitching or left-handed hitters who make contact and have some speed.  SU is not a believer that baseball is now just a home run hitting sport.  Not in October.

Good comments from the subscriber base about the Serena incident and long-time SU subscriber J. Levine referred readers to this column by the Hall of Famer Martina Navratilova in the “failing” (not) New York Times:

Clearly, Martina has been following SU as we think alike.  It’s been interesting to see how the initial media reaction which was very pro-Serena has now swung back to a much more balanced view which is correct in SU’s estimation.

No truth to the rumor that Eli Manning is doing wind sprints in practice this week to get ready for this Sunday’s game.  Flowers needs to go on the offensive line.  The Giants have playmakers this year but Manning needs time to throw.  Barkley is the real deal.  Meanwhile, the Jets looked great – especially on defense.  But SU feels week 1 in the NFL is never an indication of what the full season will look like – good or bad.  Make the adjustments, calm down and week 2 will be more telling.

First of all, a happy and healthy new year to all of the Jewish subscribers in SU’s intergalactic subscriber base.  Many are clamoring for SU to comment on the Serena Williams outburst from Saturday evening.  Full disclosure: SU was watching but lost the cable TV signal for the key moments and has had to piece together what happened.  But I think I get the gist of it.  SU’s thoughts:

• Serena is the GOAT in women’s tennis.  No question.  Her dominance for so many years is incredible.
• SU has never been a fan of hers.  From the beginning.  I found her to be arrogant, self-absorbed; it’s always all about her.  Until recently, she rarely gave credit to her opponent in losses.  It’s always been about the way she played that day.  I also accept that this attitude on the court has helped her become the champion she is.
• Serena has always felt that she was singled out and unfairly persecuted.  This year in particular, she has commented several times that she is drug tested much more than any other player.
• The umpire that did her match has historically been tough on the men’s stars as well in their matches – especially Nadal.  He is a stickler for the rules.

For me, Serena made the mistake of continuing to push and push and push in her comments with the umpire.  She is correct that the men players will often complain to the umpire and make snide remarks in the heat of battle.  SU has seen this but they have their say and move on.  Most umpires allow the outburst, the blowing off of steam and then the match continues.  Is there coaching in tennis?  Apparently so.  But Serena’s coach from what I saw was pretty open and obvious about it.  For her to say that she never looks over is not believable.  And she made the leap from coaching to “cheating.”  I don’t think the tennis fan automatically equates coaching with cheating.  At this level, SU doesn’t think whatever advice is coming from the friends’ box is not all that impactful.  She didn’t let it go.  From what I heard, she was abusive multiple times there during each changeover.

I also felt the quick move to make this about women’s rights seems to me to be more of convenience than her original intent.  As SU said earlier, it’s always about her and I think that was the whole motivation here.  She is a champion of women’s rights for sure but that wasn’t the initial goal.  She is the same player who once threatened to stuff a tennis ball down the throat of a lines woman at the US Open in the Finals.  There have been other occasions as she is very competitive.

The umpire could have given her a warning in his discussion with her and maybe he should have done that.  SU thinks back in the NBA to the time that Amar’e Stoudamire, when he was on the Suns, took one step on the court when a fight broke out in the playoffs against San Antonio.  The NBA suspended him for the next game and the Suns lost that series to the Spurs.  Turned it all around but that was the rule.  Serena’s point here is that men get away with much more.  SU’s observation is that the men will make the remarks and move on.  She, like a manager in baseball that is looking to get ejected, kept going and going and going.  To SU, she earned what she got for that behavior and in the end, didn’t give the umpire a way out.

SU hated the way she took the spotlight off of Osaka who was thoroughly outplaying her.  Serena ruined the moment for her – that was wrong.  I  know she tried to make things right in the trophy award ceremony but too late.

OK, what do you think?  Was Serena wronged?  Was she jobbed there?

Last night, Roger Federer looked like his full 37 years of age and fell to the #58 ranked player in the world in front of a crowd of 23,000 fans of which 99% were rooting for him in suffocating heat.  In the day session, Novak Djokovic managed to get through his match but was really suffering from the heat as well.

SU says here is the deal.  You can say Federer had not played enough tournaments this year and perhaps his stamina is not what it used to be because of that.  Djokovic in his career never plays well in the extreme heat.  But the problem is with the roof at Ashe Stadium.  The roof, even when open, traps the hot air and humidity, and creates an environment like you are playing tennis in the Lexington Line 42nd St. station in July.  You can take the position that the circumstances are the same for all of the players and SU agrees with that.  However, as a fan, you want to see the best players perform at their best and this is just not the right way to do it.  SU says Ashe Stadium has air conditioners that are activated when the roof is closed.  Why not put it on on for days like we have had this past week?  If not for the sake of the fans who are also suffering?  Today is going to be another one of those days and Nadal will be on deck next to deal with it.

Upsets are great but you shouldn’t create a scenario that is like the show “Survivor” where the players have to compete in extra extreme conditions.  At least on the outer courts there is a bit more of a breeze and air circulation.

The Yankees are also dealing with the “heat” of a Wild Card race out in Oakland and the A’s served notice yesterday: they have a top rated bullpen and in a one game playoff, that is scary.  SU watched the last 4 innings and the Yankees had no hits, not even a hard hit ball.  Sabathia, per usual, was terrible in Oakland as he grew up near there and never pitches well in that stadium.  Stanton continued his major slump since SU said he had been good – I take it all back by the way and should have trusted my instincts.  He is reverting to his lifetime .260 batting average and is trending in that direction.  McCutchen looks to SU like he has seen better days and is past his prime.  However, it’s not like he is keeping anyone on the bench although Neil Walker is now no longer starting.  The Yankees obviously miss Judge but Didi is the bigger loss and his left-handed bat.  His return will make a difference.

Boone will have some interesting decisions to make come playoff time.  Gardner will likely become a platoon player and they will look to put McCutchen out there every game.  Bird languishes on the bench but SU says he deserves a few starts as he appears to be getting closer to contributing.  They are still a home run hitting team and are challenged to get big hits.  They really need to win one of the next two games in Oakland.  Who will step up?

SU note to Yankee fans: relax.  You are not catching the Red Sox – not with 3 of your starters on the DL.  It’s just too much to overcome for any team.  Luke Voit has given them a nice jolt and he should play everyday until he proves he no longer deserves to do so.  Bird is just lost.  David Cone showed a stat the other night that in 2018, Bird is hitting under .100 when he puts a pitch over 95 mph in play.  For his career, he hits .268 in those situations.

You would expect the hitting coaches to fix that but clearly they have not been able to.  SU says why not have him work with the AAA batting coach who probably knows his swing?  Something is off and it just may not get fixed in 2018.

The Yankees traded for Andrew McCutchen to shore up the outfield.  This tells SU that Judge may never come back this season.  Anything to not play Shane Robinson in any game is an improvement and a move worth taking.  If Clint Frazier was healthy, this could have been avoided but he just started a rehab assignment yesterday and who knows if he will be back?  I don’t think McCutchen has much left in the tank but worth a couple of minor leaguers.  Brett Gardner is in .235 territory now although he is due to hit .450 for a few weeks now as he was at .200 for August with 5 rbis.  If there was ever a .255 lifetime hitter, it’s Brett Gardner.  Solid guy in the clubhouse, good outfielder and a nice complimentary outfielder.  But SU is ready for a change there next season and would like to see Clint Frazier get his shot.

The goal now is to get the home Wild Card game and figure out who starts that game.  You have to figure it will be Severino – you go down with your best arm but on a short leash.  Full transparency: SU is not feeling it this year.  The magic from the first half of the season left with the injuries.  The Didi injury was huge – he is such a key part of the line up.  I still don’t trust Stanton in a big spot in the playoffs.  I have enjoyed the season and they will get to 100 wins so no complaints obviously.  Just not feeling it and do not want to be embarrassed by the Red Sox in the playoffs.  The problem is that even when fully healthy, you have a line up that relies too much on the home run and against a top pitching staff, that becomes harder.  Then, how do you score?  TBD.

SU is ready for the start of the college football season this weekend with all eyes on Michigan – Notre Dame.  SU actually enjoys the Michigan hoops season more than football – less stressful and the expectations are more manageable.  For Harbaugh, anything short of a Big Ten championship is seen as a failure, and this year’s schedule is tough with Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin and Michigan State also on tap.

The usual suspects are in the conversation for the national championship – Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, Georgia.  But the games are wide open and much more unpredictable vs. the NFL.

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?

Do not lose sight of Sonny Gray.  While his strong outing last night came against what is basically a AAA line up in Baltimore, he can still be an effective pitcher.  And he certainly has not lost any confidence:

“If I can throw the ball like that, I know I can get anybody out. I’m one of the best starting pitchers in the league, and I truly believe that. It’s that belief that will keep me moving forward, and continue having success from here on out.”

OK, while he may be slightly delusional, at least he has not allowed his demotion to the bullpen to beat him down.  SU gives him credit for that.  And I am telling you that Gray will be in the mix in October.  It may not come as a starter but he will pitch some important innings.  SU is not a Lance Lynn fan – he has a 5.00 ERA for a reason (as does Gray of course) but his best years are behind him.

While Gray is rising to the personal challenge, Greg Bird is stuck in a 7 for 67 slump and is shrinking while Luke Voit is taking advantage of his chance.  Voit reminds SU of Shane Spencer back in 1998 when he had an incredible 5 weeks down the stretch.  Voit is going to get every chance to play every day down the stretch this year and Bird will need to stay ready.  The reality here is that Aaron Judge may never come back this year.  Broken bones in the wrist area are tricky and there are lots of examples of players who were expected to return but never recovered to that point.  SU can envision line-ups with Stanton in right field, Voit at first and Bird at DH.  It’s possible but won’t happen unless Bird can figures things out.  Otherwise, Boone will go with Walker.

Bird has benefited from “Chase Headley” treatment in 2018 from Aaron Boone.  Headley, long an SU fave, was allowed to play every day by Girardi for weeks on end doing nothing.  Boone gave Bird similar treatment but in the end, decided to give Voit a shot and has now said that “performance matters” this time of year.  SU agrees.  Plus this is New York: you have to produce.

Finally, the US Open is upon us.  SU says the return of many players from injury has really jumbled the seedings and some of the projected matches.  Wawrinka plays Dimitrov in the 1st round tomorrow, and Djokovic could play Federer in the quarterfinals.  On the men’s side, most players are now healthy and this should be a great tournament.  For either Djokovic or Federer to win, they would likely need to beat the other and then Nadal in the finals.  That is a tall order.  SU will go with the Djoker on the men’s side and not Serena on the women’s side.

Finally, SU caught a few minutes of the Giants’ exhibition game Friday night.  Eli looked good and you can envision how the offense with Barkley in there will be quite effective this season.  Of course, Beckham has yet to play and you can’t minimize his personal disruption to team chemistry.  SI has the Giants going 8-8 which seems optimistic but if the defense is improved and the offensive line is better, that could happen.  A lot of “ifs” though.  SU’s official and fearless NFL predictions are yet to come.

SU has not been following the Urban Meyer saga that closely but the resulting 3-game suspension was about what I expected.  No doubt, he deserved a longer punishment or even dismissal but he had maintained enough separation apparently from the assistant coach that the Trustees did not feel the need to bring the full hammer down here.  SU was surprised that the AD got a 2-week suspension as he is very highly regarded nationally.

So, what if Urban Meyer was the Maryland coach with a .300 winning percentage?  Would he be gone in about 3 minutes?  No doubt DJ Durkin who has been temporarily sidelined at Maryland will be on the way out soon enough for what is a much worse situation with a player dying in summer practices.  SU has never liked Meyer going back to his Florida days.  If you read the report here, he immediately erased his phone texts from a year ago once he got word that the story was coming out in the press about his assistant coach.  It’s a black eye for Ohio State and SU would expect he will be roundly booed this season – but only on the road of course.  He is still a god in Columbus as winning puts you on a pedestal.  However, we have seen the mighty get taken down the last few years – Paterno, Pitino.  SU still maintains that he is NFL bound at some point soon and this may just accelerate his move to the pros.

What do you think about the 3-game suspension?  Appropriate?

SU went to the US Open Qualifying rounds again this year.  This is a great value.  Admission is free and you can walk around with minimal crowds.  I watched on just about every court, saw Djokovic, Del Potro and others practicing and saw some of the Next Gen Americans in action.  It’s a great day for any tennis fan and the level of play is just a notch below the top stars.  A must see!  The new Armstrong stadium is great but very windy and incredibly loud as the LIRR and #7 train run right outside.  This will be a factor for the tournament for players who can’t handle the noise.  But hey, it’s New York – what do you expect?

Big Yankee series in Baltimore this weekend.  SU wants Torreyes in for 3 of the 4 games.  It’s also do or die for Bird I expect.  The pressure will be on.  And Sonny Gray is starting one of the games!  Look for 3 relievers to warm up with him before the game.

What is going on in the Bronx?  Last night, Chapman lasts only 6 pitches due to knee soreness and if you listened to his post-game comments, this is not a good situation.  He hadn’t pitched in the last week so this is not from over-use.  SU says the DL is in his future.

Meanwhile, David Robertson is having shoulder soreness and was not available last night.  SU has done the math and that means Betances is your new closer unless you suddenly trust Zach Britton.  As Joe Girardi used to say, “It’s not what you want.”

SU has officially had it with Greg Bird.  I have come to agree with long-time subscriber, S. Goldman, that Bird is an average hitter at best who belongs in the 7th or 8th spot in the order.  Aaron Boone has given him every chance to claim 1st base as his own.  Last night, he went 0 for 6 and if you watched the last at bat, he was standing about 8 feet from the plate.  Still struck out.  He needs an extended break.  SU says he may be the type of player who needs to be motivated and a stint on the bench is in order.

The timing is right.  Didi is on the DL and Torres is now playing shortstop.  Let’s put Walker at 1st base and Torreyes at 2nd for the next several games.  Stanton can play right field or throw Tyler Wade out there.  Or put Voit at 1st and Walker in right.  SU says Torreyes should play every day now – guy can hit and is fresh.  This is the right move.

The Yankees need to wipe up before the key West Coast trip against Oakland and Seattle.  Show some fire and get some hits with RISP.  I must say that while their batting averages are pretty bad this year, check out Houston – just as bad.  It’s a sign of the times in baseball.  SU says napping during games is also a sign of the times.  Zzzzzzz.

As many of the SU faithful know, SU is not a fan of Giancarlo Stanton.  He started slowly this season and even when he started to hit home runs many were with no-one on base or when the game was out of reach.  However, once Judge went down with an injury in July, we needed to see if Stanton would step up.

Clearly, he has done so.  He has hit a lot of home runs of late and with both Judge and Sanchez on the shelf, this is the guy who needs to supply the power.  While many of his home runs are solo shots, that’s not his fault as Boone has him hitting 2nd in the line up even though the bottom of the order these days features sub – .220 hitters.

Is he the “generational player?”  SU is not ready to go that far but he has earned the praise for his last 3-4 weeks of power and average.

Don’t look now but Oakland has caught Houston in the AL West.  This is not good for the Yankees.  They would much prefer to face Oakland vs. Houston in the wild card game with their stable of stud starters.  I know the goal is just get into the playoffs but with Boston awaiting in that first round Divisional Series, well, it would be better to at least have an easier Wild Card match-up.

Interesting comments from Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray about switching the major tournaments from best of 5 sets to best of 3.  Their point is that young fans don’t have the attention span to sit through 4-5 hour matches similar to what other sports are experiencing with the younger fan demographic.  Roger Federer disagrees and would prefer maintaining the best of 5 format.  SU would agree with Djoker and Murray.   Part of the problem is that the servers take so long to serve it just prolongs the matches even more.   Sports need to change with the times.  SU likes the serve clock that the US Open will be using and baseball would also benefit from that.  Speed it up!

Finally, the Ohio State investigation should be wrapping up soon.  SU says Urban Meyer will be suspended for 2 games.  No way they do the right thing and send him packing.  Thoughts?