ALL EYES ON SEVERINO... AND VOIT

Photo: New York Post

There's been mixed reviews about Luis Severino starting tonight's game for the Yankees.  People are stuck in the past.  They forgot the dude won 19 games this season.  I say this on Twitter yesterday:

Not really. Wild card last year was a mess and he's really struggled the past few months. He can be a no doubt ace, I just wonder where he went. I hope I'm wrong but I don't think he'll be in the game long

— Adam Parison (@Bucky7588) October 2, 2018

I get it. Nerves are rattled as a fan.  But negativity kills a fan base, bro. You gotta get past it. We need to go in positive, root hard for our guy and know that in this game, the Yankees have a tremendous bullpen and guys like CC Sabathia and JA Happ if needed to shut the door.  We have tools.

Plus, as I said yesterday in WE CAN DO IT YANKEE FANS!, imagine for a moment that Sevy is lights out. If he is, we don't waste any extra pitching.  We are in good shape either way.

Let's go!

But for me personally, my eyes are on Luke Voit, a kid with a dream and a kid that earned his spot fair and square from the anointed God and first baseman Greg Bird.  Voit has been pretty dominant the past few months.  He deserves his shot.  The New York Post has a great write up about him.  Here's some of that...

"It wasn’t always all smiles for Luke Voit. One week after being acquired by the Yankees, Voit had played more games with Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre than he had in the official pinstripes. On Aug. 13, he was batting .188 (3-for-16, with five strikeouts) and sent down to spend another seven games in the minors. 

The chants Voit had heard in Yankee Stadium were not confusing. They were not saying his first name. 

'It was definitely boos the first time, but luckily I changed that around, and I got back to who I was,' Voit said Tuesday. 'It’s all positive ‘Luke’ now.'”

And I get it.  I remember watching Voit at the stadium and tweeted that this guy just looks right at first for the Yankees.  Well... it was like I killed Greg Bird myself or something. I was getting some hate mail on that one.  The point was Voit was doing the job... and well. Voit was being productive, much like Tyler Austin was before him.  But at the time, the Yankees were hell bent on making Bird their official first baseman and the fans couldn't except change.  But anyone that reads BYB knows... I root for the underdog... and I root for them hard! And Luke Voit is exactly that... the underdog.

Look, I'm choosing the Yankees to win this one. We have the tools and talent and the perfect mixture of youth and veteran experience.  Look, it's true, you never know when it comes to the A's. But as a Yankee fan since the 70's, there is no question that I bleed Yankee Blue, and I hope they pull out a win here.

I'm proud of our team this season.  I just hope we pull off a nice win tonight.

Go Yanks!