Thoughts before Game 5 of the World Series

The Yankees will try to make history Wednesday night. Never before has a team that fell behind 3-0 in the World Series forced a Game 6. Prior to this year, there were 24 3-0 leads in the World Series and 21 sweeps. Only three teams forced a Game 5: 1910 Cubs, 1937 Giants, and 1970 Reds. None forced a Game 6. Tonight seems like a good night to make some history.

“I've had that sense all day with these guys. They're just like, let's go get it. These guys love playing with each other and you kinda got that sense before the game,” Aaron Boone said after Game 4. “… We wanted to get it to tomorrow, and we've done that. Excited for the opportunity tomorrow.”

Game 5 is Gerrit Cole’s legacy game. It’s too bad the Yankees are down 3-1 instead of up 3-1, but pitch well and Cole will be a legend. Even more of a legend than he already is. Pitch poorly and lose and people will hate on him, that’s the way it goes, but I also feel like it won’t tarnish anything. At least not in my eyes. I don’t expect the Yankees to win the series. The loss is gonna sting either way.

Blowing Game 4 open late allowed the Yankees to get Luke Weaver out of the game, though he’s still pitched the last two days, ditto Tim Hill, Clay Holmes, and Mark Leiter Jr. I assume they will all be available tonight – that’s the point of pulling Weaver in Game 4, right? to make sure he’s available in Game 5 – though maybe not for more than three outs. The workloads aren’t too bad though:

• Tim Hill: 17 pitches in Game 3 and 5 pitches in Game 4

• Clay Holmes: 12 in Game 3 (two ups) and 13 in Game 4 (two ups)

• Mark Leiter Jr.: 17 in Game 3 (two ups) and 18 in Game 4 

• Luke Weaver: 6 in Game 3 and 21 in Game 4 (two ups)

Hill in the ALCS is the only Yankee to pitch three straight days this season, but he’s a funky lefty with an 88 mph fastball. The laws of fatigue don’t apply to those guys. They can pitch forever. Holmes has been so good and so efficient in the World Series. Multiple ups though, meaning pitching in multiple innings with multiple sets of warmup pitches, is a little extra wear and tear. That stuff matters.

I imagine the Yankees will lean heavily on Tommy Kahnle in Game 4. Cole to Tommy Changeup to Weaver might be the master plan. Or, ideally, Cole to Jake Cousins to Tim Mayza because the Yankees have a big lead. Remember Marcus Stroman? He hasn’t so much as warmed up this postseason. A big enough lead that Stroman could get the Yankees across the finish line would be swell.

Jack Flaherty starts for the Dodgers in a Game 1 rematch and normal rest does not agree with him. He did actually pitch well on normal rest during the regular season (3.15 ERA and 3.58 FIP), but it was only six starts, and five of the six came when he was still with the Tigers. Flaherty started NLCS Game 5 against the Mets, gave up eight runs in three innings, and was sitting 91-92 mph with his fastball.

“Number one, we don't have a different alternative,” Dave Roberts said about Flaherty possibly having to pitch on normal rest before the World Series. “And number two, we are going to dig into that as far as the stuff kinda seems like it's been down on regular (rest). But that's kind of the way we set up the rotation, and that's just the way it's going to be.”

The offense broke out in Game 4 and yes, I know it was against the last few guys in the Dodgers’ bullpen, but sometimes that’s what it takes to get an offense going. Beat up on the Daniel Hudsons and Brent Honeywells, build some confidence, and carry that over against the Michael Kopechs and Blake Treinens. Even after Game 1, the Yankees have had the better bullpen this series. By a lot too.

One way or another, tonight will be the final game at Yankee Stadium until next Opening Day. 2009 World Series MVP Hideki Matsui will throw out at the ceremonial first pitch and Masahiro Tanaka is in town. A.J. Burnett randomly came out to catch Paul O’Neill’s first pitch before Game 4. Maybe Tanaka will catch Matsui’s before Game 5? Incredible vibes, those would be. 

Get a good outing from Cole, score some runs against normal rest Flaherty, send the series back to Los Angeles, and make the Dodgers nervous as hell. The Yankees never get to play the “no one believed in us” card, but it applies now. This is all house money. Go feed the chaos machine.