THE YANKEES WERE BUILT FOR MOMENTS LIKE THIS

 

I write that headline, and I need a little bit of time to soak in the meaning. After the Yankees beat the Royals on Thursday night to head to the American League Championship Series (ALCS), I got that sense of relief, realizing that the hardest hump to the World Series has just been overcome. I say this because the Yankees have hit a wall in the ALDS way too many times over the last several years. It is like they just don't have enough depth to get over that wall. This year it is different. This year, the Yankees are showing that they were built for moments like this.

"Ger-rit Co-le," they repeated, with a clap-clap-clapclapclap in between, the same chant with which Yankees fans had serenaded him in the immediate aftermath of the win. And when Gerrit Cole, brought to New York specifically for moments like this, finally arrived, the Yankees broke out into a cheer and could properly capture the aftermath of a series that made them look as dangerous as they have in years," reported ESPN. 

Perhaps I am being a little off-putting to some as I make this statement, but I don't agree with Aaron Boone when he said, "We played a really good brand of baseball in this series,"per ESPN. I think the Yankees edged into the ALCS, not dominated their way through explosively. If the good brand of baseball Boone is referring to is just doing enough, then yes, sure. But the Yankees are a way better team than we have been seeing. Aaron Judge has not even showed up yet. But the bullpen has.

"When Luke Weaver re-signed with the New York Yankees last January, he was hoping to jump-start his flagging career as a starting pitcher. Ten months later, the 31-year-old is integral to the team’s post-season run. Weaver never started a game during the season for the first time in his career. Instead, he had his best year ever, all out of the bullpen," reported Forbes. Weaver appeared in all four games of the ALDS, saving all three of New York’s victories, sending them into the ALCS. As much as I would like to say that what Weaver and the bullpen did is sustainable, that is not realistic. If the Yankees are going to make it World Series, they need their big guys to hit.

"Aaron Judge has not been himself this postseason. The All-Star slugger that led MLB with 58 home runs in the regular season went a combined 1-for-11 (three walks) in the first three games of the ALDS after a New York Yankees Wild Card bye," reported ESPN. On the flip side, his bat woke up on the final game against the Royals, so perhaps the captain is on the other side of this timing thing that has been plaguing him thus far.

Giancarlo Stanton however did show up and likely is the reason, offensively, the Yankees are where they are right now. If the Yankees continue to turn on the bats, and relieve some of the pressure from the bullpen, the Yankees will be dangerous and unstoppable in the ALCS into the Series.

So I go back to the headline: "The Yankees were built for moments like this." In unpacking their depth, from their upgrades defensively to the explosive bats they added to augment Judge and Stanton, the Yankees are tailor made to get to the World Series. The only thing holding them back, is of course, themselves. 

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof