Schadenfreude 367 (A Continuing Series)

Yankees   - 000 002 500 -  7 10  1
Blue Jays - 023 611 00x - 13 15  1

"I expect us to go out and play well today."
Aaron Boone

@_IAmNotANumber_

So fucking much for that.

@JamotheDooD

Bahahahaha wrong again you clown!!

@Mr_CheeseHead

So, expect the complete opposite of that

@Jordirod2

Yeah if you swing at every first pitch and popup you'll win

@DianeAlonge

Hahahahahaha!!!!

@Piff131

Update, they did not go out and play well today

@Oghuz1014

This guy is a fucking moron

Yankees Pushed To Brink Again After Another Blistering Blue Jays Beatdown
Greg Joyce, Post

The only thing resembling a real competition on the field Sunday at Rogers Centre was which side of the Yankees could be humiliated more: their hitters, who were no-hit for 5.1 innings by rookie Trey Yesavage, or their own pitching staff, which, led by Max Fried, got tagged for 11 runs before recording an 11th out.

Yesavage, armed with a devastating splitter, dominated and made life miserable for the Yankees while Fried wilted on the other side of the pitching matchup, resulting in an embarrassing 13-7 beatdown by the Blue Jays in Game 2 of the ALDS.

The Yankees, assuming they are allowed back into the USA, will fly home with their season on life support, having been blown out by a combined score of 23-8 in the first two games . . . 

The 22-year-old Yesavage, the No. 20 pick in the 2024 draft who made his MLB debut on Sept. 15, turned in a performance for the ages. Throwing from a high arm slot with a splitter that continually brought the Yankees to their knees with ugly swings, Yesavage struck out 11 across 5.1 no-hit innings while walking only one. . . .

Meanwhile, Fried did not register an out in the fourth inning, getting rocked for seven runs on eight hits across three-plus innings. The $218 million left-hander gave up a two-run homer to Ernie Clement in the second inning — which came after an Aaron Judge fielding error on Daulton Varsho's double — three more runs in the third and then allowed the first two runners to reach in the fourth . . .

Will Warren did not provide much relief, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. took him deep for a monster grand slam that made it a 9-0 . . .

Varsho added a two-run shot to make it 11-0 before the knockout punch of an inning was over. . . .

Guerrero and Varsho combined to go 7-for-10 with three home runs, two doubles, eight RBIs and six runs scored to lead the Blue Jays offensive explosion. . . .

Yesavage started the season in Low-A (his pro debut) before flying through the Blue Jays system. Along the way, he had faced the Yankees' Low-A, Double and Triple-A affiliates, all of whom had more success against him than the big league club did Sunday. . . .

This article was posted at 9:25 p.m. on Saturday!

Max Fried Is A Yankee For This Exact Moment
Mike Vaccaro, Post

This is the kind of assignment that used to fall on the right shoulder of David Cone, or the left one of Andy Pettitte, back in the dynasty days. CC Sabathia merrily assumed the burden for a while . . . If things had gone according to plan this year, it would be Gerrit Cole's responsibility.

But . . . the ball will be in Max Fried's hand Sunday afternoon . . .

Fried will do what a man who'll be earning $218 million over this and the next seven seasons must be required to do: He will go out and he will steer the Yankees train back onto the tracks. He will make the 10-1 clobbering they absorbed from the Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon fade to black. He will do his part to send the Yankees back to The Bronx tied 1-1, owning the home-field advantage in this best-of-five ALDS.

The Yankees probably don't want to ponder the ramifications if he doesn't. . . .

[Fried] needs to replicate in Game 2 against the Blue Jays what he did in Game 1 against the Red Sox . . . [H]e was brilliant for 6.1 innings, surrendering just four hits and zero runs and baffling the Red Sox for 102 pitches before Boone baffled everyone else and lifted him in favor of Luke Weaver (who . . . ought to be so far outside Boone’s circle of trust that he’ll get dressed for Game 2 in Vancouver).

The Yankees need Fried to be that kind of brilliant again. They need him to act like an ace, especially since the Toronto starter, Trey Yesavage, has thrown exactly 239 pitches in the major leagues. That’s a significant advantage for the Yankees, no matter how promising Yesavage may be. They need to pounce. And Fried needs to ignite the engine. . . .

Fried's mentality has to be this: Keep the Jays off the board as long as possible. Make it impossible for Boone to take the ball away from him . . . 

Fried can do nothing about the offense. He can do nothing about the bullpen. All he can control is his own left arm, but that ought to be plenty. . . .

The Yankees will give Fried the ball Sunday. This is why he's here . . . He is paid like an ace. He has played like an ace. He needs to be all of that Sunday.

Ooops.

 

Max Fried Pummeled, Pulled Early In Startling Yankees Dud Vs. Blue Jays In Game 2
Mark W. Sanchez, Post

In an on-paper mismatch that pitted ace Max Fried against rookie Trey Yesavage, the Yankees All-Star looked like the far more underwhelming arm.

Fried exited in the fourth inning — recording just one more out than Luis Gil had a night earlier — and was charged with seven runs on eight hits and two walks in a startling Game 2 dud . . .

Two of those runs scored after Fried exited. He handed a two-on, none-out jam to Will Warren in the fourth. . . .

In a near must-win, trailing 1-0 in a best-of-five, Fried could not deliver. He allowed two runs in the second, when Daulton Varsho doubled (and reached third on an Aaron Judge error) before Ernie Clement sat on a first-pitch curveball that he blasted to left for a two-run edge. 

The Jays added on the third, when a walk and three singles — including plenty of hard contact, such as another Varsho double and a rocket single into left from Clement — scored three more.

Yankees Set Out To 'Step On Necks' — They're The Ones Getting Stomped
Jon Heyman, Post

It's uncertain when the "step on necks" portion of the postseason is supposed to begin for the Yankees, but it sure as heck better be soon. . . .

[The Yankees are] not hitting enough and barely pitching at all, and . . . certainly isn't stepping on any necks, as Jazz Chisholm Jr. memorably promised would be the Yankees' October destiny.

In reality, the [MFY] are in peril of being ushered out of the playoffs Tuesday following two straight brutal overall performances vs. the Blue Jays . . . 

Things are looking bleak, to put it mildly, and the Yankees have only themselves to blame. . . . They now need three straight wins over a team they've beaten in only five of 15 matchups in 2025.

Chisholm's mid-September prediction — "we're coming to step on necks" — couldn't feel more wrong now. The Jays . . . outplayed the Yankees in every facet of the game all weekend . . .

Jays pitcher Trey Yesavage easily outpitched Yankees ace Max Fried, a $218M winter pickup, by dominating the Yankees like no one else has all year. The rookie right-hander struck out 11 Yankees and left with a no-hit bid intact after 5.1 innings to thunderous applause. . . .

[Yesavage, 22,] absolutely overpowered the Yankees lineup using a devastating split-fingered fastball and over-the-top delivery in his over-the-top performance. Yesavage . . . made it to the majors Sept. 15 after four promotions in his first full season in pro ball, logging a not-so-grand total of 239 pitches in the big leagues before his start Sunday.

The normally uber-polite Canadian crowd resurrected their "Yankees suck" chant after Guerrero's grand slam off Will Warren practically sealed the deal at 9-zip in the fourth inning. At that moment, it was hard to argue. . . .

The Yankees don't even look like they belong in this same beautiful stadium with the Jays. [JoS Note: I lived 30-40 minutes from Skydome 13 years and I can tell you it's a piece of concrete shit. Having the roof open on a sunny day could fool someone, I suppose. Jays fans are fuckin morons whether the roof is open or closed.] They did nothing when it counted while falling behind 12-0 before late rallies against the underbelly of a mostly so-so Jays bullpen. . . .

[T]his is one of worst starts to a series imaginable. It's not like the Yankees were killing it in the wild-card round against Boston, either. They barely escaped that one . . .

Yesavage was almost equally impressive, making a lineup of all hitters with 20 or more homers look downright silly. He struck out the side in three of his first four innings . . .

Chisholm's neck-stomping prediction aside, the Yankees could not have looked much more docile the two games here.

Yankees Look Like They Don't Belong As Blue Jays Humiliate Them At Their Own Game
Joel Sherman, Post

Usually you have to be the Giants or Jets to be a New York team that looks this bad on a Sunday. 

There are losses. There are humiliations. Whatever comes next is where the Yankees were in division series Game 2. 

The Yankees were no-hit into the sixth inning and clearly pitched worse than they batted. . . . [I]n two days in their Rogers Centre house of horrors, the Yankees did not look as if they belonged in the same league. 

And so far they haven't really been in this series — outscored 23-8 to fall into a two-games-to-none ditch (grave?). The Yankees must win two games at home just to use their passports again to get a Game 5 at Rogers Centre, where they are 1-8 this year and have been outscored 75-41. . . .

[C]an they win Tuesday to trigger a three-game winning streak after two games in which the Blue Jays have outhit, outpowered, outpitched, out-starred, out-supporting casted and outpoised them? . . .

Trey Yesavage . . . struck out 11 of the 18 Yankees he faced, finishing off eight of the whiffs with a disappearing split that left the Yankees flummoxed, flabbergasted and flailing. 

When Yesavage was removed, it was 12-0. The underbelly of the Blue Jays bullpen allowed some Yankees batting practice and a cosmetic improvement in a 13-7 final . . .

In the aftermath, the Yankees said all the blah, blah, fill-in-the-blank stuff about enduring adversity all season . . .

In perhaps the best moment of candor, Giancarlo Stanton said "probably not" when asked if the Yankees could rally if they do not win the home run battle. And so far it is not close. 

Going into this series, the biggest Yankees advantages were supposed to be stars, power and postseason experience. But the experience has meant nothing, the stars have been curtailed and the Blue Jays have outhomered the Yankees 8-1. This was the Yankees' 442nd postseason game — and the first time they had given up as many as five homers in one of them. . . .

The Blue Jays have not only had their usual hitting style of put it in play with the lowest strikeout rate in the majors. But they have done a lot of damage. Meanwhile, Judge and Stanton still have yet to homer in five playoff games . . .

And it feels like there is no way the Yankees can defy history if those two — and others — do not begin to flex and the pitching staff never quells the Blue Jays' relentless offensive nature. Teams that led a best-of-five series by two games to none have won 80 of 90 times. . . .

Here we see Judge in his natural October habitat, walking back to the dugout after striking out.

Yankees Aren't Getting Enough From Aaron Judge As Star's Strange ALDS Continues
Mark W. Sanchez, Post

The Blue Jays' best player in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. stepped up with the bases loaded Sunday and delivered a grand slam; the Yankees' best player in Aaron Judge stepped up with the bases loaded Saturday and struck out. . . .

Judge followed up a costly missed opportunity at the plate in Game 1 with an error and a few singles that arrived after the Blue Jays had built an insurmountable lead in Game 2 . . .

Against the Red Sox and Blue Jays, he has gone 8-for-18 (.444) with two walks.

But his only extra-base hit has been a double, and he has totaled two runs batted in (which might require an asterisk, those two arising from Boston's Jarren Duran dropping a fly ball off Judge's bat and an RBI single in the seventh Sunday to cut the deficit to 13-3).

He scored his first two runs of the playoffs Sunday, when he rounded the bases on a Cody Bellinger home run that closed the gap to 12-2 and scored on a Giancarlo Stanton single that made it 13-7. . . .

In a postseason in which Judge's arm, recovering from a flexor strain, had burned him once when he allowed an extra base against the Red Sox, his glove failed him Sunday. 

In the second inning, Daulton Varsho lined a shot over Ben Rice's head. Judge tried to cut the ball off before it reached the wall along the right field line . . . and he and the ball reached the wall at about the same time. . . . [Judge] watched the ball squeeze in between his legs and roll to the outfield wall, enabling Varsho to take third. 

David Ortiz Hilariously Basks In Yankees' Misery After Blowout Loss To Blue Jays: 'It's A Wrap'
Christian Arnold, Post

David Ortiz was more than happy to poke fun at his arch-rival, the Yankees, on Sunday after the Bronx Bombers found themselves down 0-2 in the ALDS to the Blue Jays. 

Sitting between Yankee greats Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez on the MLB on Fox set, the Red Sox legand [sic] had some fun . . .

"They can bring Jesus back and they're still going to go to Cancun," Ortiz said, insinuating the Yankees were headed for an early offseason. "It's over. It's a wrap, just so you know. This Toronto Blue Jays lineup ain't playing around."

The comment made Rodriguez burst into laughter, while Jeter also got a good chuckle out of the remark. . . .

Jeter had been seemingly trying to make some sort of positive comment when he looked at Ortiz, and immediately knew that Big Papi was gearing up to make a joke. 

"Don't say anything," Jeter tried to preempt before the desk again burst into laughter. 

"Let me tell you," Ortiz started up again. "I love you so much, but the only chance the Yankees have is if you, [Mariano Rivera], Andy [Pettitte], and A-Rod come back and play."

"Reggie Jackson, Babe Ruth, all of them," Ortiz continued. "Joe DiMaggio… Roger Maris…" . . .

Yesavage Makes ALL KINDS Of History In Hitless Postseason Debut

Keegan Matheson

Sunday in Toronto, a star was born.

Trey Yesavage had the Yankees seeing ghosts, the highest-scoring offense in baseball suddenly baffled by a 22-year-old with a pitch that plummets from the sky and disappears. . . .

It was one of the greatest performances in this organization's history, the type of moment we'll still be talking about years from now, comparing everything that comes after it to what Yesavage just did. . . .

Yesavage, by the numbers:

• Set a new record for strikeouts by a Blue Jays pitcher in the postseason (previous record, 8, shared by David Price twice, Juan Guzman and Dave Stieb).

• Yesavage (22 years, 69 days) is the 2nd-youngest pitcher with a double-digit strikeout game in postseason play (John Candelaria struck out 14 at 21 years, 335 days in the 1975 NLCS G3)

• His 10 strikeouts through four innings were tied for the most in postseason history (Patrick Corbin, 2019 NLCS G4)

Saturday, sitting cool and calm at the podium, Yesavage said, "I'm built for this." He said it so matter-of-factly that it couldn't even come off as cocky. We should have known it was a warning.

The moment that captured Yesavage best came in the very first inning. He'd walked in from the bullpen a few minutes prior . . . Soon, he had leadoff hitter Trent Grisham in a 1-2 count, set up perfectly for that splitter, which has turned hitters inside out all season. Grisham called time and stepped out of the box to take a couple of swings and a breath.

Yesavage? He just stood there.

Already set for the pitch with the ball high in his glove, Yesavage stood completely still on the mound, glaring in at Grisham as if to say, "Take your damn time, I'll be here." When Grisham finally stepped back in, there came the splitter and there went Grisham, back to the dugout as Yesavage's first of 11 strikeouts. . . .

All of this from the youngest postseason starter in Blue Jays history, a 2024 first-rounder who threw his first professional pitch six months ago in Single-A. Yesavage started this season mowing down teenage hitters in mostly-empty Single-A stadiums, then came High-A, Double-A and Triple-A. He's touched every level of this organization in a single season, joking that he knows just about everyone now. It's the type of development arc teams dream of, but can almost never pull off.

Trey Yesavage Stymies Yankees With 'Funky Release' As Blue Jays' Version Of October Surprise

Mark W. Sanchez

Yes, the Yankees knew they would be facing Trey Yesavage on Sunday. But no, they did not appear to have any feel for how to attack a pitcher with 14 career major league innings and with unique stuff that comes out of a unique delivery from a 22-year-old with what sure looks like a unique makeup.

. . . utilizing a delivery that is as over the top as possible and unleashing disappearing splitters, fastballs that give the appearance of rise, plus sliders that dive under bats . . .

The Yankees, of course, could and did watch video of Yesavage's few outings against the Rays and Royals in September, plus his 98 innings across four minor league levels this season. . . .

The Yankees were not able to adjust. Yesavage did not allow a hit through 5 ¹/₃ brilliant and scoreless innings in which he struck out 11.

He threw his splitter 29 times, 19 of which were either called strikes or swings and misses. The Yankees swung at 16 and missed 11. They could not differentiate the fastball, which remained at the top of the zone, from a splitter that was heading to the top of the zone until it began its plunge.

Against the heart of the Yankees order in the fourth, Yesavage used high heat to put away Judge, turned to the splitter that put Cody Bellinger on one knee during a swing-and-miss and again used that splitter to sit down Rice to strike out the side.

The Blue Jays, who left a building-up Chris Bassitt and a struggling Max Scherzer off their ALDS roster, tabbed a top prospect with three career starts to take the ball for Game 2. . . .

"This has got to be cloud nine," said Yesavage, who was pulled by a heavily booed manager John Schneider with a 12-0 lead after 78 pitches and took a curtain call from a sold-out Toronto crowd. "I couldn't imagine a better feeling right now."

Locked-In Vlad Jr. Launches 1st Grand Slam In Blue Jays Playoff History
Keegan Matheson, mlb.com

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. owns this city. Now, he owns this series.

Guerrero launched a grand slam in Game 2 of the American League Division Series against the Yankees on Sunday to put the Blue Jays up 9-0 . . .

When Guerrero's swing uncoiled on the fastball from Will Warren, he just stood and stared. The ball soared to left field, a no-doubter . . .

By the time Guerrero tossed his bat back towards the Blue Jays' dugout and started to jog down the line, Rogers Centre was louder than it's been [in more than a decade] . . . 

Fresh off a three-hit night in the opener, Guerrero already has three hits in Game 2 of the series. All of this comes after Guerrero stumbled through the final weeks of the season, never looking quite right.

The beast has awoken, though, and through two games, the ALDS belongs to Vladdy.

Schadenfreude 366 (A Continuing Series)

Yankees   - 000 001 000 -  1  6  0
Blue Jays - 110 000 44x - 10 14  0

"By the end, the allegedly super polite Canadians were
co-opting a famous Boston-favored phrase: 'Yankees S—!'"

Yankees Unravel Late In Brutal ALDS Game 1 Loss To Blue Jays
Greg Joyce, Post

The good vibes the Yankees carried across the border are apparently worth nothing in Canadian currency. . . .

The biggest Yankees bats came up small in key spots, Luis Gil got tagged in an abbreviated start and then Luke Weaver and the bullpen blew things open late, sinking the Yankees in a 10-1 loss to the Blue Jays in Game 1 of the ALDS . . . falling to 1-7 at Rogers Centre this year. . . .

Gil lasted just 2.2 innings while giving up solo home runs to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk [and] the game began to fall apart for the Yankees in the sixth inning.

They had the bases loaded with no outs and the heart of their order due up in a 2-0 game, but only came away with one run, in part because Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton each struck out.

Weaver then put an end to any comeback hopes . . . in the seventh inning, flopping again while issuing a walk and back-to-back singles that made it 3-1 and ended his outing before he could record an out. The two inherited runners came in to score off Fernando Cruz . . . 

In two outings this postseason, Weaver has faced six batters and retired none of them, getting charged for five runs on four hits and two walks. He had struggled for stretches during the regular season . . . but finished well, giving the Yankees hope they could count on him.

That has not been the case.

Kirk hit his second home run of the game in the eighth inning off Paul Blackburn, who went on to give up three more runs in mop-up duty . . .

Gil recorded just eight outs on Saturday, getting rocked for plenty of loud contact beyond the homers . . . Of the 10 balls put in play against him, six came off the bat at 95 mph or harder.

Aaron Judge, Yankees Can't Put Rogers Centre Woes Behind Them As Bats, Arms Flop In ALDS Blowout
Gary Phillips, Daily News

With the bases loaded, nobody out and Aaron Judge up at the plate, the Yankees finally looked like a threat in Game 1 of the ALDS. . . .

Alas, the Yankees captain, whose postseason shortcomings have been well-documented, struck out on eight pitches, chasing a 3-2 splitter below the zone. Judge's waving bat elicited a roar from Rogers Centre's packed crowd, which erupted again a few batters later when Louis Varland fanned Giancarlo Stanton with a 100.7-mph, inning-ending fastball down the heart of the plate. . . .

With the Yankees only mustering one run on a walk in the sixth . . . The outcome followed a regular season that saw the Yankees play some of their worst baseball north of the border, as they lost 6-of-7 games at the Rogers Centre over two series this summer. . . .

While the Yankees' bats were nearly silenced by Gausman, Luis Gil put them in an early hole, surrendering two homers in the first two innings.

The righty's first mistake came with two outs in the opening frame, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who has made his distaste for the Yankees well-known, took the pitcher deep for a solo home run . . . 

With one Yankees killer putting Toronto on the board, another padded the Jays' lead in the second inning when Alejandro Kirk led off with another bases-empty blast. . . .

Gil said he was surprised to see Aaron Boone pull him so soon . . .

Luke Weaver's struggles continued, as he began the seventh with a five-pitch walk and a single before permitting an RBI knock to Andrés Giménez. . . .

Weaver failed to record an out for the second time in as many appearances this postseason . . .

Weaver acknowledged that he's been tipping his pitches and struggling to adjust. . . .

Those who followed Weaver didn't fare any better, as Nathan Lukes ripped a two-run double off Cruz before Guerrero added a sac fly. The eighth inning brought more damage, as Kirk crushed another solo homer off Paul Blackburn.

Luis Gil's Disastrous Yankees Start Raises Daunting Rotation Questions
Mark W. Sanchez, Post

What became clear Saturday was [the Yankees] do not have a No. 4.

Luis Gil was given the ball instead of Will Warren, and Gil then had to give the ball to his bullpen in the third inning. . . .

The third batter of the game for the Blue Jays, Yankees-killer Vladimir Guerrero Jr., saw a changeup that got too much of the plate and hammered it out to left field for a lead the Jays never surrendered. . . .

On an evening the Yankees' offense did little, it might not have mattered which fourth starter the Yankees tried. . . .

[I]f this series lasts the distance the Yankees would be faced with the same unenviable position of selecting which fourth arm they trust the most. . . .

Yankees' Bullpen Setup Could Look Different After Hard Lessons In ALDS Game 1
Mark W. Sanchez, Post

[T]he Yankees tried to learn about bullpen pieces who were barely or not touched at all in the wild-card round. . . .

The lessons gained from Luke Weaver's second postseason appearance and Paul Blackburn's debut were particularly worrisome.

Tasked with completing a game that Luis Gil left in the third, the relief corps had an up-and-down evening in the 10-1, Game 1 embarrassment to the Blue Jays . . . 

The trouble began in the seventh, when Weaver entered and allowed a walk and two singles, the second to drive in a run, before he was pulled. The former . . . most reliable arm among the group has faced six batters in the postseason and retired none. Among many Yankees concerns, Weaver's struggles might top the list.

The Yankees probably were never going to give Blackburn much of a chance . . . Blackburn lost any goodwill he had built up by allowing four runs on six hits in the seventh and eighth.

Yankees' Luke Weaver Completely Lost After Latest Stinker: 'Don't Really Feel Like Myself'
Mark W. Sanchez, Post

The problem facing Luke Weaver has been diagnosed.

As Saturday demonstrated, it has not been completely fixed.

Within the past month, the Yankees identified that the typically reliable righty was tipping his pitches. Weaver has attempted to halt relaying to hitters which pitch is coming by altering something . . .in his setup or delivery. Pitching through this adjustment has proven difficult.

For a second time already this postseason, Weaver entered a game, faced three batters and retired none.

His October ERA is infinite, charged with five runs on four hits and two walks while recording zero outs.

"I don't really feel like myself," Weaver said after the 10-1, Game 1 ALDS loss . . . "I don't feel like my mind is completely clear . . . [T]here's some factors that are building up.". . .

The Yankees believe Weaver is no longer tipping his pitches.

But whatever tweak he has made has altered his feeling and execution on the mound. . . .

It is unclear how long Weaver had been tipping his pitches . . .

"I feel like I'm close. I feel like I'm competitive," Weaver said . . . "I don't feel like I'm getting hit hard. Guys are finding some holes. …"

Luke Weaver’s Mind Seems Fried Amid Yankees’ Pitch-Tipping Worries
Gary Phillips, Daily News

Luke Weaver did his best to keep things vague Saturday, yet the Yankees' reliever exposed a lot after failing to record an out for the second time in as many appearances this postseason. . . .

Weaver . . . spoke hypothetically about "giving things away" and "doing things out of the ordinary that people are picking up on." . . .

Blake acknowledged that the Yankees talked to Weaver about tipping. . . . 

[Weaver became] the second pitcher in playoff history to face three-plus batters and not record an out in each of his first two appearances of a postseason.

Rick Honeycutt became the first in 1989, per MLB.com's Sarah Langs. . . .

Weaver couldn't say for sure if the Blue Jays picked up on his tips Saturday, but he said it's "doubtful." Instead, he attributed the day's performance on the adjustments he's made and where his head is at.

Yankees Have Lost Their Identity — And It's Up To Aaron Judge To Find It Again
Joel Sherman, Post

. . . The Yankees, as much as ever, are a homer-hitting team. It is their identity. Their lifeblood. Their separator.

And Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are the flex brothers. They . . . represent the might and menace of this style. . . .

[F]our games into this postseason, neither has gone deep. Judge has hits, but not enough impact. Stanton has struck the ball hard, but not often in the air or far. . . . 

The Yankees simply cannot lose the long-ball battle to the Blue Jays [2 in the first 5 batters in Game 1] . . . 

Judge had the biggest at-bat for the Yankees in this game — none out, bases loaded in the sixth and Toronto ahead 2-0. He chased a Kevin Gausman full-count splitter out of the zone to strike out rather than draw a run-scoring walk. Judge is 6-for-15 this postseason, but his lone RBI was a gift [on a dropped line drive]. . . . Judge still is without a signature postseason Yankee moment and is now 8-for-47 (.170) with [RATS] in the playoffs.

With two outs and the Yankees trailing 2-1, Stanton [.067 in the postseason] whiffed against a Louis Varland triple-digit fastball, and the best chance for the Yankees . . . vanished.

Luke Weaver entered in the seventh, faced three batters, retired none and has faced six batters this postseason without recording an out. He may be at the unusable stage. . . .

Ten of [New York's] first 14 batters swung at [Gausman's] first pitch and four led to one-pitch at-bats. Thus, Gausman had shut out the Yankees on just 50 pitches through five innings. . . .

The Yankees never cleared the fence. The flex brothers did not flex. And for the second time this postseason, the Yankees will have to rally to stay alive.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Shows Again Why He's A Yankees Killer
Jon Heyman, Post

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the one avowed Yankees hater among probably tens of millions of Yankees haters up here and in the States who actually has many and ongoing opportunities to hurt them. What's more, Guerrero rarely misses a chance to do so, and Game 1 of the ALDS was the latest example . . .

Hardcore baseball fans know Guerrero probably took extra enjoyment from the Jays' big victory, even if . . . Guerrero gave rather drab answers about the Yankees in his pre-series interview. "It just happens that I do well against them," he said at one point . . . 

In 2023, Guerrero said in an interview that he "loves crushing Yankee fans and the Yankees."

In 2022, he was even stronger, saying, "I like to kill the Yankees. I would never sign with the Yankees."

One time he topped that, saying he'd "never play for the Yankees … not even dead."

Guerrero brought the Jays to life here Saturday, helping Toronto to a 10-1 series-opening victory over the Yankees. . . .

By the end, the allegedly super polite Canadians were co-opting a famous Boston-favored phrase: "Yankees S—!"

Beyond the dinger, Guerrero also singled twice, hit a sacrifice fly and turned a nifty double play after nabbing a liner, most of it occurring well before the game turned into a late hitting display by Toronto. . . .

Guerrero's not only a Yankees hater, he's a career Yankees killer. In 103 games against the Yankees, he has 51 extra-base hits and 76 RBI. His slash line coming in was .302/.367/.550/.918. He generally does what he sets out to do, which surely is to hurt the Yankees.

Guerrero doesn't often talk about it, but his detest for the Yankees goes back to early childhood. One time he felt mistreated by Yankees security (he wouldn't be the first there). Another time, and this is more important, he felt the Yankees, and specifically George Steinbrenner, wronged his father, the Hall of Famer.

As for his encounter, when he was a little boy, he was apparently removed pregame from a desired area while his father was a visiting player. . . . [I]t's eminently believable, as Yankees security is known for overzealousness in removing family members (even occasionally Yankee family members) and media.

As for the issue with his father, the Yankees had a deal set up with Guerrero's Hall of Fame father following the 2003 season when Steinbrenner pulled it and decided to sign his fellow Tampa resident Gary Sheffield instead. . . .

Yankee fans are truly the ones who lost out there, as Sheffield's brief tenure . . . was fairly volatile, and more vitally, paled compared to Vlad Guerrero Sr.'s years at the time. Sheffield also became embroiled in a steroid scandal . . .

His son may not quite be the overall hitter his dad was, but he's also a big-time guy . . . [H]e awakened when the Yankees got to town, helping the Blue Jays win their first postseason game in nine years. . . . 

So Far, So Good . . . . !

Also re the Brewers' six-run first inning in NLDS 1 against the Cubs:

lol boo hoo

ALWC 3: Yankees 4, Red Sox 0

Red Sox - 000 000 000 - 0  5  2
Yankees - 000 400 00x - 4  8  1

"I guess the Yankees are bound to beat us in the playoffs
every 22 years or so." – Petagine in a Bottle (SoSH)

Cam Schlittler's pitching performance (8-5-0-0-12, 107) was the only story worth telling from the Yankees' 4-0 win in the deciding game of the ALWC series. Schlittler spent his evening steadily – and seemingly without effort – firing fastballs at 100/101. He spotted his pitches extremely well, but even when his offerings came right down the middle, many of the Red Sox were overmatched. Boston managed to get one base runner to second base – and he stood there for all of three pitches.

Perhaps more importantly for New York, Schlittler didn't give manager Aaron Boone any oppourtunities to fuck up the game for the home team. (If Boone had tried to go the pen in the seventh or eighth, he would no doubt have been stopped by several hundred fans running on the field to tackle and beat his ass. (A lot of fans probably want to do that anyway. Bafoone!) This factoid is hard to believe, but Schlittler is the first pitcher in major league history to have a postseason pitching line of 8+ innings, 0 runs, 0 walks, and 12+ strikeouts. It was also the most strikeouts by an MFY pitcher in a postseason debut.

New York advances to the ALDS against the Blue Jays, thanks to a 10-batter fourth inning in which nothing was hit with any authority. Connelly Early pitched far better than his line would indicate (3.2-6-4-1-6, 78), and he showed remarkable poise as he fell victim to shitty fielding and shittier luck. Also, Alex Cora was astonishingly slow to call the bullpen, an inexcusable mistake considering his no-fuckin-around yank-job of Brayan Bello in G2 and the fact that this was a do-or-die game. A cognizant skipper would have pulled Early at least three batters earlier than Cora did, maybe even four batters early. Cora might have been wary after he used six relievers after Bello on Wednesday, three of whom tossed 23 or more pitches.

Early was the youngest Red Sox pitcher to start a postseason game in almost 110 years, at 23 years, 182 days. Back in 1916, Babe Ruth was 21 years, 246 days, when he started Game 2 of the World Series against Brooklyn. Boston won that game in 14 innings, the longest World Series game until the Red Sox and Dodgers spent nearly 7½ hours playing 18 innings in 2018.

Early and Schlittler traded sharp innings for the first three innings.

1st inning:
Schlittler: perfect inning, one strikeout looking, 14 pitches
Early: pefect inning, one strikeout looking, 8 pitches

2nd inning:
Schlittler: leadoff single, then three outs (two strikeouts), 22 pitches
Early: leadoff double, then three outs (two strikeouts), 23 pitches

3rd inning:
Schlittler: perfect inning, two strikeouts, 12 pitches
Early: leadoff single, then three outs (two strikeouts), 14 pitches

That's where the similarities ended. Schlittler gave up a single in the fourth, tossing 10 pitches. Early ended up throwing 33 in the bottom half as everything around him went to absolute shit.

Cody Bellinger hit a sinking liner to shallow right-center. Ceddanne Rafaela ran in and dove, but his glove was just shy of the ball. (I wondered if the thought of a charging Wilyer Abreu appearing out of nowhere was in the back of his mind.) Bellinger got a gift double out of a hit that had an expected batting average of .070. Early walked Giancarlo Stanton – and earned a visit from pitching coach Andrew Bailey. This is also when Justin Slaten should have started warming up. (Maybe he did; I don't know.) 

Early struck out Ben Rice on three pitches. Rosario grounded a single past Trevor Story's reach to his right and into left field. Bellinger was sent home and beat Jarren Duran's throw. There was something unhurried about Jarren Duran's fiedling; he seemed slow to get rid of the ball or his throw was not as hard as I expected. Where was Cora? Jazz Chisholm poked a single to right field to load the bases. Seriously, where was Cora? Anthony Volpe grounded a single past Romy González's glove at second and into right. A second run scored. Okay, quit fuckin around. Where's Cora? Austin Wells battled for eight pitches before chopping a routine grounder to first. (Sidebar: On the eighth pitch, Wells claimed Carlos Narváez's glove had touched his bat. The umpire ruled catcher's interference (and a run scored). Boston challenged that call and the replays were crystal clear – no contact between bat and glove. Not even fuckin close. The call was rightly overturned.) Nathaniel Lowe went to his backhand and the ball clanked off his mitt. Christ! The ball ended up in shallow right, as two runs scored, making the score 4-0. WHERE WAS FUCK IS CORA? Early threw a strike and retired Trent Grisham on a fly to right. Then – oh, look, it's Grady Cora – ready to bring Slaten in. His first pitch drilled Aaron Judge in the left arm and his second pitch was popped to center to end the inning.

Four hits, a shallow sinking liner to right-center and three average grounders that were just out of reach. Naturally, the ESPN dipshits acted like it was a rocket barrage. Cora knew Early wasn't getting knocked around the lot, but all those baserunners were real and the runs crossing the plate counted. Just bring in Slaten four batters earlier and ride the same arms as he ended up doing. Might have kept the game at 1-0 and then who knows? Maybe Schlittler is more likely to make a mistake or he gets pulled an inning earlier.

To the Red Sox's credit, the bullpen shut the Yankees down cold the rest of the way. The Boston bats were absent. There was a single in the sixth and another one in the ninth. You could see the hitters pressing by the sixth inning, if not earlier. Masataka Yoshida's wave at strike three was pure Cactus Sasahe. As was Rafaela's futile attempt to connect with high 2-2 pitch directly afterwards. Abreu struck out in the seventh on five pitches, all of which were not far from the middle of the zone. González climbed the ladder as well when he fanned to start the eighth. By the ninth, plate umpire Mark Ripperger was calling those high pitches strikes, just to get the fuckin game over with.

I followed the SoSH game thread during the second "half" of the game. Some posts:

Jed Zeppelin: "Pop up, dribbler, dribbler, dribbler for an error, fuck all the way off."

canderson: "Boston has scored more than 4 runs 10 times since Sept 1. And not once since Sept 24."

brandonchristensen: "Schlittler is apparently a mega stud. Who knew?"
Mueller's Twin Grannies: "MFY fans are in a Führer over him."

RSN Diaspora: "Getting blanked by a Schittler on Yom Kippur is the cherry on this shit sundae."

benhogan: "For all you youngsters out there...this is what the Red Sox looked like in most big playoff spots pre-2004. Just enough fuck ups to lose."

Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat: "Boone is having a good game"
JOBU: "Well it's easy when you literally don't have to do anything."

Norm Siebern: "I am in a rage. A full=on blue fucking rage. I truly fucking hate these neanderthal fucktwit MFY fans. I hope the Blue Jays sweep them in three."

jose melendez: "This team got to exactly where they should with their talent and injuries. Spend some money, come back young and strong next year."
Remagellan: "This. We were doomed once the Giolito news broke."

Hank Scorpio: "Thank you GameDay for telling me what happened before the feed caught up. Allowed me to turn the game off before I got to see/hear the final out/celebration."

YED will have to wait at least another week. But it's coming. 

Looking at the Post's sports section, I did a bit of a double take when I saw this:

Saturday, October 4

ALDS
Yankees / Blue Jays
Tigers / Mariners

NLDS
Cubs / Brewers
Dodgers / Phillies

ALWC 2: Yankees 4, Red Sox 3

Red Sox - 002 001 000 - 3  6  0
Yankees - 200 010 01x - 4 10  1

If Thursday's Game 3 ends up being as evenly-matched as the first two games, fans of both teams will be completely exhausted. Game 2 was packed with no less tension, elation, anxiety, relief, and terror as Tuesday's opener. 

Boston manager Alex Cora stayed with starter Brayan Bello for only 28 pitches and ended up using six bullpen arms. The Yankees slipped home a run against Garrett Whitlock in the eighth and that made the difference. New York won 4-3, setting up tomorrow's Win-or-Winter Game 3.

Whitlock ended up throwing 47 pitches, including 31 in the eighth as he tried over and over to get a third out. the yankes had snapped the 3-3 tie and had the bases loaded when he left. Payton Tolle got a groundout (on a full-count pitch) to strand the trio and give his teammates a shot at tying the game. Facing David Bednar, all they could muster was a two-out fly to right, which was caught on the warning track. The short porch was not quite short enough.

Bello did not Seize The Day. He allowed a single and was The Victim of Ben Rice's two-run homer in the first inning. He issued a walk in the second, which was erased by an inning-ending double play. On the mound in the third, Boston having tied the game 2-2, Bello gave up a single, got a force out, and allowed another single, before Cora went to the pen for Justin Wilson. It All Adds Up to: 2.1-4-2-1-0, 28. The runners pulled off a double steal (A Theft (x2)), putting runners at third and second. But Cody Bellinger golfed a fly to short left and Rice lined the ball right at Nate Eaton in right.

In the top half of the inning, Jarren Duran lined a first-pitch single to right-center. Carlos Rodón (6-4-3-3-6, 91) had set down the first six Boston hitters on 21 pitches. After Duran's hit, Ceddanne Chipper Nicasio Marte Rafaela showed patience and worked a full-count walk. Nick Sogard bunted to the third base side. Rodón gloved the ball and made a poor throw to first, offline and forcing Rice off the bag. The error loaded the bases. Rob Refsnyder struck out, but Trevor Story smoked a single to center. Grisham's throw went to third as two runs crossed, tying the game at 2-2.

Wilson tossed a perfect fourth, but Justin Slaten had some two-out trouble in the fifth. Grisham walked and took second on a wild pitch before Aaron Judge singled to left. Duran came in on the sinking liner and made a dive but the ball hit off his glove (and was scored a hit?). Steven Matz came in and retired Bellinger.

Boston re-tied the game as soon as possible. Story led off the sixth and homered to left. New York stranded runners at first and second in the bottom half, as Kelly relieved Matz and struck out Anthony Volpe after falling behind 3-0.

What turned out to be the Red Sox's last good scoring chance came in the top of the seventh. Rodón walked Eaton on four pitches and fell behind Duran 3-0 before hitting him with an eighth errant pitch. Fernando Cruz caught Rafaela's soft bunt fly and got Sogard to fly to left. Masahiro Yoshida came off the bench and grounded a 3-2 pitch to second. Jazz Chisholm dove to his right and threw off-balance. The ball bounced twice and Rice muffed a sweeping attempt at grabbing it. It wouldn't have mattered, as Yoshida had slid across the bag safely by that time. Story came up with the sacks full and he drove the ball to deep center, but Grisham caught it at the edge of the track.

Here's a question for you: Has anyone EVER enjoyed watching pro athletes yell and punch themselves in super-duper-slo-mo? Why do networks do this? Why have they done it for years and years and years -- and show no sign of stopping? Do these displays offer any insight? (I would like to see an entire game at that speed, though. Just make sure it comes in under 24 hours . . .)

Once Grisham caught the ball for the third out, Cruz fuckin lost it. 

Calm down there, Bruce Banner. Holy shit! Twitter simply laughed at him:

@BigCityBigSmoo1
Jesus Christ it's the wild card and you are NOT that good. . . .

@OwenLucey2
Bro it's the 7th

@Prominent_Jaay
"I almost gave up a grand slam"

@iJordanMoore
Fernando Cruz acting like he didn’t just give up a 115mph rocket. stfu man

@MadKingTylor
Cruz is screaming like he didn't almost end the Yankees season

@Dru227
Lmfao what a fucking idiot he would be crying like a Lil bitch if it was gone.

@GBPHIGHERPOWER
Totally lame, I didn't react that way after the first time I got laid.

Whitlock took the ball for the home seventh. His sinker was sublime, as he struck out McMahon and froze Judge on an 0-2 pitch for strike three. In between those batters, Grisham doubled. Bellinger flied harmlessly to right. Whitlock began the eighth by getting two outs, a strikeout on a low changeup and a grounder to short on a slider in the dirt. Then, despite still keeping the ball down, everything became hard work. Chisholm worked a seven-pitch walk. Wells singled down the right field line (also on the seventh pitch); with two outs, Chisholm was off on contact and he raced around th ebases and slid in just ahead of Narvaez's sweep tag for New york's fourth run of the day.

Whitlock was at 40 pitches at that point. Cora sat and watched as Whitlock then gave up an 0-2 single to Volpe and walked McMahon on five pitches before making a move.

Work did not cooperate as I had hoped, so I listened to the TV feed after the first three innings, watching bits here and there and filling in my scorecard when I could.

Dept. of Fuck you, ESPN: After the final out, Eduardo Pérez chuckeld: "Never a doubt" (or maybe "Never in doubt"). David Cone replied: "A hold-your-breath moment there." Fans on both sides likely held their breath on that fly to "deep" right, though Cone's tone made it unmistakable which side he was on. In this series, there is not even the flimsy pretext of trying to sound neutral. The old adage "No Cheering in the Press Box" might still hold, but among various TV and radio broadcasting combos, rooting out loud for one of the team is tolerated, if not encouraged. These clowns have been called out before for showing an obvious clear bias. The writer of that piece, Karthik Sri Hari KC, mentions (as I did) Pérez referring to Stanton simply as "G":

That same pattern of imbalance appeared in the Red Sox-Yankees playoff broadcast, where Aaron Judge received endless exaggerated praise.

Karl Ravech called a 95 percent catch probability play by Judge "a great catch," ignoring Statcast data. Eduardo Perez rambled off-topic, even referring to Giancarlo Stanton as "G," which annoyed fans craving sharper commentary. These repeated lapses across broadcasts show why many viewers feel ESPN's baseball coverage has declined and grown frustrating.

Fans once trusted ESPN with baseball, but the Guardians, Mets, and Red Sox prove otherwise. If Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez, and David Cone are the "A" team, standards need recalibration.

Awful Announcing's only coverage of this ALDS (so far) concerned poor audio quality during G1. Up in Canada, ESPN sounded fine (though the picture went black for a few seconds while Chapman was dealing with the bases loaded in the B9). Honestly, I would have preferred some crackling static rather than hearing some of the inanities that unfortunately reached my ears.

Asking @grok: "On A Scale Of 0-10 How Ass Are The Yankees"

And the perfect reply:

2008 ALDS - Beat Angels 3-2 in G4 to win series 3-1
2013 ALDS - Beat Rays 3-1 in G4 to win series 3-1
2013 ALCS - Beat Tigers 5-2 in G6 to win series 4-2
2013 WS   - Beat Cardinals 6-1 in G6 to win series 4-2
2018 ALDS - Beat Yankees 4-3 in G4 to win series 3-1
2018 ALCS - Beat Astros 4-1 in G5 to win series 4-1
2018 WS   - Beat Dodgers 5-1 in G5 to win series 4-1
2021 ALWC - Beat Yankees 6-2 to win "series" 1-0*
2021 ALDS - Beat Rays 6-5 in G4 to win series 3-1

*: Looks like a winner-take-all game does not count as a "series". I think it should count because it's the postseason and a win in that game would send the Red Sox to the next round. I'm arguing Boston is tied with the Athletics and can will set a new record with 10 series tonight.

Masataka Yoshida of the @RedSox is the first player in MLB history to have a go-ahead hit with his team trailing on the first pitch he ever saw in his postseason career.

From Sarah Langs:

Garrett Crochet had 11 strikeouts, tied for the most in a pitcher's Red Sox postseason debut, with:
1903 WS2 - Bill Dinneen
1912 WS1 - Smoky Joe Wood

Garrett Crochet's 11 strikeouts are the most by a Red Sox pitcher in a postseason game without issuing a walk

Most consecutive batters retired in a postseason game, Red Sox history:
1915 WS3 - Dutch Leonard: 20
2007 ALDS1 - Josh Beckett: 19
1967 WS2 - Jim Lonborg: 19 (first 19)
2025 ALWC1 - Garrett Crochet: 17
h/t @EliasSports

Garrett Crochet's 100.2 mph pitch [his 117th (and final) of the game)] tied his fastest of the year
It's also the fastest strikeout pitch for him in his career as a starter

And:

Chris Mason @ByChrisMason
As he retired 17 in a row, Garrett Crochet went two full hours (6:32-8:32) without allowing a Yankees baserunner. Filthy outing.

Schadenfreude 365 (A Continuing Series)

UPDATED: Another Boone Blew It Lament, Running on Judge's Rag Arm, & 2 Pics

Yankees Staring At Unsettling Red Sox Reality With Season On Brink
Mike Vaccaro, Post

In an eyeblink, they are toe-tips-to-the-brink. In an eyeblink, the Yankees are looking at the potential of a postseason run that could be over after about 27 hours or so. In an eyeblink, the stubborn goblins that haunted them all season — bullpen, clutch hitting, second-guessable decisions — threaten to reduce this whole New York baseball season to a vapor trail.

Once upon a time, the Yankees defeated the Red Sox 19-8 in Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS. . . . [F]rom that moment until 9:15 or so Tuesday night, the teams have played 10 postseason games. The Red Sox have won nine of them.

This latest one was a 3-1 final . . . in which the Red Sox all but threw a kegger the moment Aaron Boone hopped out of the dugout to remove Max Fried with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Fried was brilliant and he had a lead.

There were 47,027 people inside Yankee Stadium. What you heard in that moment were 47,027 lending their voices to one collective groan. It was as if they could see what was coming. Probably because they'd seen it so many times before. They absolutely saw what was coming.

"I felt like we were lined up," Boone said. . . .

Here came Luke Weaver, jogging in from the bullpen with a 1-0 lead. He allowed a walk to Ceddanne Rafaela, a double to Nick Sogard and a single to Masataka Yoshida.

Weaver walked off trailing 2-1. And the Yankees soon followed. . . .

The Yankees had a chance to dent Garrett Crochet early and drub Aroldis Chapman late. They got their first two runners of the game on base, and their first three in the ninth inning, too.

None of them scored. When the Yankees do not hit home runs, that has been a chronic issue all season. . . .

And in the ninth, with those 47,027 on their feet and screaming themselves silly, with Chapman helpfully recalling an October time or three when he was wearing a Yankees uniform and serving up tasty meatballs, Giancarlo Stanton struck out, Jazz Chisholm Jr. flied out and Trent Grisham struck out. . . .

"We've been playing these tight games for a while now," said Boone . . . "We've been playing with a lot on the line seemingly every single day. . . . We'll be ready to go. . . . We're going to show up. I expect us to do pretty well."

Aaron Boone May Have Cost Yankees Their Season With Fateful Max Fried Decision
Joel Sherman, Post

Game 1 of this Wild Card Series pivoted on these decisions:

Red Sox manager Alex Cora entrusted his ace, Garrett Crochet, to throw a career-high 117 pitches.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone pulled his ace, Max Fried, after 102.

It was not the only reason the Yankees lost 3-1 on Tuesday night. It was not the lone area of condemnation or concern that immediately put their 2025 season on life support. But it was the most glaring element in why the Yankees need a two-game winning streak against the Red Sox or their season ends and the question if they can ever beat another heavyweight in October continues.

But Boone watched Fried and thought Luke Weaver was a better option in the seventh inning. And Cora watched Crochet and trusted him to work into the eighth and hand the ball to closer Aroldis Chapman. In the ninth inning, Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger opened with consecutive singles off Chapman. Bases loaded no outs. The Yankees did not score.

There was something familiar here. The Yankees got their run on a homer . . . And no runs otherwise when the ball did not go over the fence.

[Fried] breezed through three innings on 37 pitches, but worked hard to get through two-on, two-out situations in both the fourth and fifth. Weaver was warming when Carlos Narváez . . . instead drew an exhausting nine-pitch walk.

Boone at that point decided that this would be Fried's last inning . . . But [Nate] Eaton hit into an inning-ending double play. So Boone decided to send Fried back out for the seventh for [Jarren] Duran, who was 0-for-12 in his career against the lefty.

Fried made an athletic play [for the first out] . . . Fried was at 102 pitches. He had thrown as many as 111 this year. . . . Fried said he had plenty left and would have been happy to go forward. But Boone was preprogrammed, feeling Fried had exerted heavily the previous three innings.

Boone said this was the lane he wanted for Weaver. . . . This felt like one of those decisions solidified five hours before a game rather than letting the game dictate this. Why not just tell Fried he had at least Duran and then go a batter at a time and see if Fried — the best the Yankees have — could finish seven? . . .

Cora and Boone were hired into these positions in 2018. This is their third playoff series against each other. Boston has won the previous two, and went on to win the championship in 2018. Boone's team has played five series against weak AL Central foes and has won all five with a 15-4 record. They have played seven other series, advanced once by beating the overmatched A's and otherwise lost the other six with a combined 7-19 record. Now, it is 0-1 versus Cora's Red Sox in 2025.

The Yankees Slipped To One Loss Away From Disaster — And We're Talking About Aaron Boone Again
Andrew Crane, Post

At its root, Tuesday night came down to 15 pitches.

It came down to the 15 extra that Red Sox manager Alex Cora let Garrett Crochet throw in a 117-pitch outing and the 15 that Max Fried (102) didn't.

It came down to the 15 that Luke Weaver tossed instead — and the two runs he allowed — after Yankees manager Aaron Boone turned to his bullpen in the seventh inning. . . . 

Because this was Fried. He was their $218 million lefty turned ace . . . and Fried had pitched a shutout through 6 ⅓ innings, allowing four hits and walking three batters while throwing 102 pitches.

Boone . . . trusted his shaky bullpen — and, more specifically, trusted Weaver, a reliever who had pitched to a disastrous 9.64 ERA in September and fired off one more disastrous outing to close the month.

In a way, it served as déjà vu to Game 1 of the World Series last year, when Boone pulled Cole after 88 pitches.  . . .

Cora opted for the opposite approach with his $170 million ace. He trusted Crochet . . . after he had retired 16 [it was 17] consecutive batters following Anthony Volpe's homer in the second . . . 

So Monday became the latest ding on Boone's playoff résumé, with his ability to ensure the Yankees — for the most part — consistently secure a spot in the tournament undermined by an inability to win the biggest games. . . .

That puts Boone in the spotlight in this series, with the Yankees' drought since their last title in 2009 only on the verge of adding another year. He has faced questions about his job security in past years and during past in-season spirals, and if the Yankees lose Wednesday . . . or Thursday, those murmurs will surface again.

No team has advanced out of the wild-card series in the current format after dropping the first game. No team has ever loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth in the postseason and gone on to lose the game without scoring another run, either, according to OptaSTATS. Not exactly the type of history the Yankees are looking to make.

Yankees' Bullpen Fails Max Fried In Crushing Game 1 Loss To Red Sox
Greg Joyce, Post

No matter how good Yankees relievers looked down the stretch, they had inflicted enough pain during the course of the regular season to induce nightmares about what might happen in the playoffs. 

The Yankees could not wake up from such a night terror on Tuesday . . . 

After Max Fried carried a shutout into the seventh inning, hanging on to a one-run lead, Aaron Boone called on Luke Weaver and he quickly flushed it away . . .

Weaver had no room for error because Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet was in the midst of a dominant night, throwing 7.2 innings of one-run ball while striking out 11. 

"We are going to show up [Wednesday], and I expect us to do pretty well," manager Aaron Boone said. 

They will have to fare better against Brayan Bello, who has mostly had their number [this season] than they did against Crochet. After giving up a solo home run to Anthony Volpe in the second inning, the lefty retired 17 straight Yankees . . .

"He's the best pitcher in the game," Judge said. . . .

Fried, who had escaped jams in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings . . . record[ed] the first out of the seventh inning, then walked off the mound to a standing ovation. . . .

Weaver entered and quickly got ahead of Ceddanne Rafaela 0-2 before the Red Sox center fielder — who had the lowest walk rate on his team during the regular season — fought back for an 11-pitch walk. 

No. 9 hitter Nick Sogard followed with a hustle double to right-center field — seemingly testing and taking advantage of Judge's injured arm — to put two runners in scoring position. The Red Sox then sent up pinch-hitter Masataka Yoshida, who pounced on the first pitch he saw and drilled it to center field to score both runs for the 2-1 lead. . . .

By the end of the night, the Yankees had their backs against the wall, just one game into the postseason.

Yankees' All-Or-Nothing Problem Rears Ugly Head Again In Loss That Puts Season In Peril
Jon Heyman, Post

As we all know, to be the best you need to beat the best (or second best), and they couldn't beat either Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet or star closer Aroldis Chapman, the ex-Yankee who's never a help to the Yankees, whether he was with them or against them.

The Yankees' 3-1 Game 1 wild-card loss to their reviled rival at The Stadium dropped them to 30-36 against teams that are still playing. . . . [T]hey haven't showed they can beat the better teams. . . .

[T]hey are short of expert at manufacturing runs. They started the first inning with two straight hits off Crochet (who should be close behind Tarik Skubal for Cy Young honors) and didn't score. . . .

The Yankees all-or-nothing approach topped that in the ninth inning, failing to score after starting with three straight hits, by Paul Goldschmidt, Judge and Bellinger. . . . Chapman got three outs to end the game and put the Yankees on the brink of elimination before they technically even got to October. . . .

"I feel great about our team," [Boone] told us before the game. "I think at this point, where we are as a club, this is the best group we've gone in with." . . .

There was a lot to lament afterward.

The Red Sox . . . no longer have power guys Rafael Devers (traded), Triston Casas (hurt) and Roman Anthony (hurt), but they manage to scratch out runs. Their lineup is more anonymous and less accomplished. But they do enough.

They may also have benefited from a quick hook of Fried . . .

Boone said later he felt Fried was finding more trouble in his last few innings, and figured he had his best three relievers — Luke Weaver, Devin Williams and David Bednar — "set up." But three batters into Weaver's outing — an 11-pitch walk, a double and a single — and the Red Sox had a 2-1 lead.

"How in the world do you take Fried out?" wondered one American League scout. "It made zero sense."

Luke Weaver Can't Replicate Previous Playoff Magic As Yankees Bullpen Flops In Loss To Red Sox
Dan Martin, Post

This was not the postseason debut the Yankees bullpen was looking for.

From Luke Weaver blowing a one-run lead in the seventh, to David Bednar allowing an insurance run in the ninth, Yankees relievers weren't as sharp as they'd been down the stretch — or enough to beat the Red Sox on Tuesday . . . 

Weaver entered with one out in the top of the seventh, with the Yankees up 1-0. . . . [He] faced Ceddanne Rafaela, who's given Weaver fits in the past. In seven plate appearances against Weaver, Rafaela was 2-for-6 with a pair of homers, a walk and three strikeouts.

But Aaron Boone went to Weaver against the bottom of the lineup and after Weaver got ahead 0-2, he ended up walking the center fielder after Rafaela fouled off five pitches in the 11-pitch plate appearance. . . .

In the biggest spot, though, Rafaela won — and the Yankees were on their way to a loss. . . .

[A]fter the walk, Weaver said, "The momentum kind of switched."

Nick Sogard followed with a double that sent Rafaela to third, before pinch-hitter Masataka Yoshida changed the game with a two-run single to end Weaver's rough night.

 Red Sox Take Advantage Of Aaron Judge's Arm In Key Moment Of Yankees' Loss
Dan Martin, Post

It's become clear that Aaron Judge's arm still isn't the same since he suffered a flexor strain in his right elbow on July 25.

Since his return to right field . . . Each contested throw has been placed under a microscope, but there has been no question Judge would be in right for the playoffs as he continued to improve over the final two months of the season.

On Tuesday, the Yankees got their answer of just how much of an impact Judge's arm might have on their postseason chances, as Nick Sogard hustled into second for a double on a hit with one out in the top of the seventh . . . 

The hit landed in right-center and Judge appeared to go after the ball hesitantly and then one-hopped a throw to Anthony Volpe at second base, not in time to get the speedy Sogard, who represented the go-ahead run.

The next batter, pinch-hitter Masataka Yoshida, hit a two-run single off Luke Weaver and the Red Sox never looked back.

Judge's throw was clocked at just 73 mph. That was well below his pre-injury average of 88-90 mph, according to Statcast.

Asked if that was as hard as he could throw, Judge said, "[I was] trying to get in there and make a play. I didn't want to overthrow it." . . .

Aaron Boone added of Judge's throw: "I think it was just controlling the one hop on it."

Perhaps . . .

Alex Cora indicated that running on Judge was part of his team's game plan.

"That's preparation," Cora said. "We talk about their outfielders and, 'What can we do or what [can't we] do,' and [Sogard] saw it right away and took advantage of it."

Sox Exploit Judge's Ailing Arm In Go-Ahead Rally
Ian Browne, mlb.com

. . . Sogard chipped in with what looked like an innocent single to right-center. Instead, Sogard never broke stride, testing right fielder Aaron Judge's ailing right elbow and turning it into a hustle double. . . .

What did Sogard see in that moment?

"It kind of took a while to field it and it was Judge fielding it, and I just tried to challenge the arm in that spot," Sogard said. . . .

Per Statcast, the throw by Judge was 73.2 mph. Judge has made just two throws at 80 mph-plus since his return from the IL. Prior to the injury, Judge's throws regularly exceeded 90 mph, topping out with a throw of 95.3 mph in April.

Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s Postgame Body Language Says It All After Sitting Yankees' Game 1 Loss
Greg Joyce, Post

Jazz Chisholm Jr. never said he was upset about the decision to keep him out of the Yankees' lineup to start Game 1 . . .

His body language said it all, as Chisholm conducted a brief interview with reporters, spent mostly with his back towards the cameras as he rummaged through the hangers in his locker, as if he was searching for answers to the questions coming his way.

"We got to do whatever we got to do to win, right?" the typically talkative Chisholm said . . . "That's how I look at it."

Chisholm did not sound convincing or thrilled by the decision, in which Aaron Boone started the right-handed hitting Amed Rosario at second base against tough left-hander Garrett Crochet, against whom he was 6-for-9 in his career.

Rosario, who went 0-for-3 against Crochet before Chisholm replaced him in the top of the eighth, could have started at third base, except Boone wanted a superior defender there with ground-ball machine Max Fried on the mound, so he started José Caballero (who went 0-for-3 on the night) . . .

Aroldis Chapman narrowly avoids another playoff blowup as he closes out Yankees in Game 1
Mark W. Sanchez, Post

Aroldis Chapman carries an excellent October résumé that nonetheless contains enormous blemishes . . .

In pinstripes, there was the infamous, walk-off home run surrendered to Jose Altuve in Game 6 of the 2019 ALCS. There was the eighth-inning home run slugged by the Rays' Mike Brosseau that largely cost the Yankees the 2020 ALDS. With the Cubs, there was the game-tying home run served up to Rajai Davis in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. 

So as the Yankees loaded the bases without an out in Tuesday's ninth inning . . . the big and strong lefty might have had flashbacks. 

If so, he was not about to acknowledge them. . . .

Among pitchers who logged at least 50 innings this season, Chapman's .131 batting average against was the best in the game. And yet Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger stacked three straight singles that loaded the bases and put the tying run on second. As Giancarlo Stanton stepped to the plate, Yankee Stadium might have reached its highest decibel level. 

"In that moment, you don't hear anything. You don't see anything," Chapman said. "You just kind of 100 percent focus on your catcher and the next pitch." 

Perhaps Stanton did not see much, either, fouling off a couple triple-digit fastballs before swinging through a splitter. Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed with a shallow fly out to right field that did not score a run. The Yankees' momentum just about gone, Trent Grisham then whiffed on a 101.2 mph four-seamer. . . .

A player who had a roller-coaster career with the Yankees . . . said there was no extra motivation or satisfaction in putting away his former team. 

"The past is the past," Chapman said. "Just happy to be able to close out the game." 

Michael Kay Blasts Aaron Boone's Explanation For Pulling Max Fried In Yankees' Game 1 Loss
Andrew Battifarano

Aaron Boone's decision to pull Max Fried before the seventh inning is one of the reasons the Yankees' season is on the brink. . . .

Boone said after the game that he had initially planned to take Fried out after six innings, but after inducing a double play in that frame, the skipper said he wanted the lefty to face Jarren Duran — a left-handed hitter — in the seventh before exiting. Boone added that Fried did not ask to be pulled, but rather that he liked how Luke Weaver matched up against Boston's order — which was sending up the eighth, ninth and leadoff hitters.

Three batters later, the Red Sox had the lead after a walk, double and two-run single.

After watching Boone's comments, Michael Kay — who admitted he was initially OK with Boone's decision — said on YES Network's postgame show that he did not buy into the explanation.

"When I walked into the studio, I was all for the decision," Kay said. "You don't put your guy to where he can't go, and he hasn't gone that far all year. But when you hear Aaron Boone say, you know, after he came in in the sixth inning, just give me one more batter. Well, why? It's the eighth and ninth batters in the lineup. This is your ace. This is the guy you gave an eight-year contract to. That's why you give the guy the money to be that person."

Kay said the decision, after hearing Boone's comments, sounded like it was a "blueprint move."

"To me, that sounds like a blueprint move. That's not the time for Weaver," Kay said. "That's the time to keep in Fried. You keep Fried in until Fried can't go any longer."

Kay is such a tool. 

He admits that he supported the move, but then it failed, so it's a terrible decision. Kay says one of the reasons to pull Fried is that he shouldn't be pushed to pitch "where he can't go, and he hasn't gone that far all year". Fried pitched 6.1 innings. So Kay is saying Fried had not pitched deeper into games than that? 

Fried had 15 games – almost half of his 32 starts – in which he recorded more outs than he did last night:

7.0 innings on April 9
7.2 on April 20
7.0 on May 2
7.0 on May 7
7.1 on May 24
7.0 on June 10
7.0 on June 15
7.0 on June 25
7.0 on August 27
7.0 on September 2
7.0 on September 7
7.0 on September 18
7.0 on September 24
and
6.2 on April 15 and July 29

Fried faced 25 Red Sox batters. He faced 26+ batters 17 times this season.

Fried threw 102 pitches. He threw 103+ in eight of his starts.

Does Kay have dementia? Seriously.

Fan Comments at the Post:

Bafoone!!!