Thoughts after the Yankees clinch a Wild Card spot

It took the entire 162-game season, all the way down to the final at-bat of the final inning, but the Yankees are going to the postseason. Jameson Taillon had a mini-bloody sock moment, the bullpen stood tall, Aaron Judge walked it off, and the Yankees are heading to Fenway Park for the Wild Card Game on Tuesday. Fun fun fun. We all deserve a free dinner at NYY Steak after this regular season.

I’m planning a more forward-looking Wild Card Game preview post (shooting for Monday night but it might not be until Tuesday morning), but for now, here are some quick scattered thoughts on the weekend after the Yankees send Ken Singleton off into retirement in style.

1. Game 162 thoughts. That was a regular season game on the calendar yet it had all the feel of a postseason game. The 2021 Yankees have conditioned us to think the back-breaking home run or crucial error or silly pitching decision would bite them eventually, but it never came. The Wild Card Game takes years off my life, but you know what? It’s better than the season being over. Some thoughts on Sunday’s game.

First, what a gutsy outing for Taillon. His ankle is messed up, he’s basically admitted he’ll need surgery in the offseason, yet he was able to get the Yankees 10 outs on 45 pitches. The Rays helped him out a bit at times I thought -- there were some classic “let’s go home” Game 162 swings -- but hey, if they’re going to help you, let them. Taillon was awesome.

Second, what a job by the bullpen. And what a job by Aaron Boone too. He made some truly awful decisions Friday (Domingo German? Albert Abreu?) and Saturday (Mike King down six runs???), but he pushed all the right buttons Sunday. The only pitching move I questioned was Chad Green against all those lefties in the seventh, but I understood it (Green has historically been very good against lefties), and it worked out.

Wandy Peralta (four outs), Clay Holmes (three), Green (three), Jonathan Loaisiga (four), and Aroldis Chapman (three) combined to hold Tampa to three hits and three walks in 5.2 innings. They struck out seven and of course did not allow a run. The bullpen has been absolutely nails lately. The blowout Saturday was ugly, but other than that, just great bullpen work lately.

Sunday’s Moment of Truth™ came in the eighth, when Loaisiga struck out Nelson Cruz and got Austin Meadows to fly out with a runner on third. Look at this strikeout pitch to Cruz. This is just vicious. An unhittable two-seamer (GIF via Rob Friedman):

“I enjoy situations like that,” Loaisiga said after the game (video). “I enjoy coming into the game -- game on the line, a lot of adrenaline rushing through your body -- I enjoy it. I understood what the score was and I’m trying to do my job to keep right there. Definitely very exciting.”

Third, holy crap Gio Urshela! What an unreal catch. Here’s the video if you somehow missed it. Showed total disregard for his own well-being to make an inning-ending catch with two on in the seventh inning of a scoreless game. “What an epic play,” Boone told Bryan Hoch. Indeed. Better than Derek Jeter’s dive into the stands given the significantly higher stakes.

“Just a little sore. It could have been worse. Thank God I didn't hit my head or anything like that,” Urshela told Erik Boland following the game. He expects to play Tuesday even though he limped across the field and had to be removed later in the game to get treatment. Urshela escaped with a quad bruise and minimal damage, somehow. Incredible.

UPDATE: I got the inning wrong. Urshela made that catch to end the sixth inning with the bases empty. My bad. Still, amazing catch, Gio.

Fourth, good gravy offense. You pain me. Michael Wacha had a 1.66 ERA against the Yankees this season and a 5.77 ERA against everyone else. He held the Yankees to one hit in five scoreless innings Sunday, and it’s not like he mowed them down. Just two strikeouts. The Yankees just couldn’t time Wacha or square him up at all. Please be better Tuesday.

And fifth, the Rays really wanted to go home, huh? Otherwise I don’t get pitching to Judge in the ninth inning. Walk him and pitch to Giancarlo Stanton, who is strikeout and double play prone. I guess the thinking is Judge needed a hit or a sac fly to win the game, whereas Stanton only needed to not make an out with the bases loaded, and Stanton’s OBP > Judge’s AVG + SF.

That said, yeah, pitching to Judge there was kinda dumb, and I’m not sure the Rays do it in any other game. They clinched everything they could possibly clinch and they have a flight home. No need to hang around and play extra innings in the Bronx, right? Whatever the reason, they pitched to Judge, and it sent the Yankees to the postseason. (That’ll add significantly to Judge’s MLB leading championship probability added.)

2. LeMahieu’s injury. DJ LeMahieu has played through a hip/groin issue the last few weeks, and we now know it’s a sports hernia. That’s better than something like a hip labrum. He got a cortisone shot Friday and apparently it didn’t take, so LeMahieu was placed on the injured list earlier today. He is out through at least the ALDS* should the Yankees advance that far.

“He was willing to do whatever if we would have wanted him to go out there,” Aaron Boone told Bryan Hoch. “I just feel like he’s too compromised to be able to play at a level close to what we would expect of DJ. In the end, I just don’t think that’s fair to him … After watching him (work out Sunday) and talking with him, it was clear that this was the right way to go.”

* Yes, the 10-day thing still applies into the postseason. Otherwise teams would manipulate the hell out of their rosters the final weekend.

It was pretty clear the injury was more serious than the Yankees let on when LeMahieu sat out last Saturday’s game in Boston even though the series was bookended by off-days. He did play two straight games on the turf in Toronto before exiting Thursday’s game in the seventh inning. What does the injury mean short and long-term? Let’s break it down.

LeMahieu’s status

Well, he’s on the injured list, so we won’t see him for a while. And even when he returns, will he be limited in any way? It might be best to put LeMahieu at DH should he return this postseason, which means putting Giancarlo Stanton in the outfield and sitting Brett Gardner (or Joey Gallo?). I’ve never had a hernia but I reckon the less LeMahieu has to move, the better.

With so many built-in off-days in the postseason, playing Stanton in the outfield every single day shouldn’t be an issue. Then again, maybe all those built-in off-days mean LeMahieu could play third base? I’d rather have Gardner (or Gallo?) in the lineup than Rougned Odor. Even if you have to pull LeMahieu for defense in the late innings, it would be worth playing him at third (as long as he can actually do it).

Not much anyone can do at this point other than wait and hope. Hope LeMahieu feels better and hope the Yankees advance far enough that his return becomes a legitimate possibility. The offseason surgery is no big deal. Sports hernias are usually a six-week recovery. He should be ready in plenty of time for Spring Training. The bigger question is his postseason availability.

“We’ll see how the next week unfolds,” Boone told Hoch. “If we get to an ALCS situation, we’ll see if he’s potentially in play at that point.”

Torres at leadoff

The Yankees inserted Gleyber Torres into the leadoff spot following LeMahieu’s injury because, well, what else are they supposed to do? It’s the right move too -- Torres has hit very well since the All-Star break -- and the Yankees should stick with it even if LeMahieu is able to return this year. He hasn’t exactly killed it at the plate and Torres has been great lately.

Also, move LeMahieu down in the order and you’ve got a high contact bat to break up all those high strikeout hitters in the middle of the lineup. Gleyber doesn’t strike out excessively, but he does strike out more than LeMahieu. Putting someone in the middle of the order you can count on to put the ball in play isn’t a terrible idea. We all know LeMahieu is going right back to leadoff whenever he returns. I prefer Torres up there though, at least right now.

The short bench

LeMahieu’s injury did not pop up out of nowhere, and he exited Thursday’s game when it flared up. Yet not until Saturday did the Yankees call up an extra position player, and not until Sunday did they put LeMahieu on the injured list. They went with an 11th reliever (Albert Abreu) when Luke Voit went on the injured list, then replaced Abreu with Andrew Velazquez two days later.

As a result of the short bench, Odor batted with two outs and the tying run at second base in the ninth inning Friday because the Yankees did not have alternatives on the bench. With LeMahieu unavailable, the Yankees had a two-man bench (Gary Sanchez and Tyler Wade) that night even though it was a crucial game in a postseason race. I mean, what the hell?

That is roster mismanagement and it’s on the front office. I understand waiting to put LeMahieu on the injured list until you’re certain he’s out, but 11 relievers and two healthy bench guys is pretty screwed up, especially when you know one of Odor or Wade (both weak hitters) will be in the starting lineup. The roster management has been really screwy at times this year.

Whither Andujar

The current bench is the backup catcher and whichever two of Odor, Wade, and Velazquez are not in the starting lineup. Why then is Miguel Andujar still in Triple-A? Andujar is technically on a rehab assignment, and he is 11-for-34 (.324) with two home runs, six walks, and three strikeouts in 11 games since starting said rehab assignment with the RailRiders.

Am I really supposed to believe there’s no room for his guy on the MLB roster? Even if you don’t want to start him for defensive reasons, he’d give the Yankees a potent bench bat. Certainly more potent than the guys they’re carrying now. Andujar makes contact, he can handle velocity, and he can punch extra-base hits. There has to be a place for him on the roster.

Here’s another thing: Andujar has only played left field (plus one game at first base) during his rehab stint. He takes ground balls at third before games, but he has not played third base in an actual game since May 14th. For all intents and purposes, Andujar is a full-time left fielder now. A full-time left fielder who can fill in at first base on occasion.

I know Andujar is a butcher at the hot corner, but Odor hasn’t distinguished himself there, and the Yankees have known about LeMahieu’s injury how long now? The guy’s been playing hurt for weeks and the thought never occurred to them to give Andujar time at third in case he’s needed? You don’t have to put him at third. Would be nice to prepare him for the possibility though. Shrug. Get well soon, DJ.

3. Rapid fire thoughts. Luke Voit’s season is over. He was placed on the 60-day injured list earlier today. Not exactly a surprise given the ongoing knee problems. I have no idea why the Yankees gave his 40-man roster spot to righty Brody Koerner though. Must be for postseason/taxi squad purposes? I don’t get it otherwise … Earlier today MLB announced the various tiebreaker scenarios, and in the event of a four-team tie for two Wild Card spots, the Yankees chose to play the Red Sox in Fenway Park rather than the Blue Jays in Toronto (MLB sorts all this out ahead of time so teams could arrange travel, etc.). With the four-team tiebreaker, the teams are paired off, and the winners of the two tiebreaker games meet in the Wild Card Game. Here’s how that selection process worked:

1. The Red Sox had the best head-to-head record against the other three teams, so they picked first and they of course picked a home game.
2. The Blue Jays had the second best head-to-head record, so they picked second and picked the other home game.
3. The Yankees had the third best head-to-head record, so they picked going to Boston rather than going to Toronto.
4. The Mariners had the fourth best head-to-head record, so they were stuck with whatever was leftover. They were going to Toronto.

Aaron Boone told Bryan Hoch the decision to go to Boston rather than Toronto was “kind of a tossup.” The Blue Jays have been insanely good in Toronto this year (25-11) and the Yankees did just sweep three games in Boston, but going to Boston also means you don’t have to go through customs or deal with all the COVID protocols going into Canada. I’m sure “we think this gives us the best chance to win” factored into that decision to some degree. There was more to it than that though. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter. There is no four-team tie (a four-team tie required Yankees and Red Sox losses, and Blue Jays and Mariners wins Sunday). Let the record show the Yankees opted to go to Boston rather than Toronto in the postseason though.

(As in the past, I’m going to put Tuesday's random Yankee series and Friday's mailbag feature on the shelf during the postseason. The Tuesday and Friday schedule goes out the window in October, and I’ll have more regular posts through the postseason. Feel free to continue sending random Yankee requests and mailbag questions to RABmailbag at gmail dot com, but they won’t be the priority for the next little bit. Thanks as always for reading.)