BOONE THE BONEHEAD!

The last thing I wanted to do was try and get too crafty against the Rays, and we've done just that. It's been a long time since I have been critical of Aaron Boone, but I can't think of a better time other than right now. I don't understand what Boone is doing AT ALL. I'm all for keeping our opponents on their toes but....I think he's lost his mind. This is an experiment that has gone terribly wrong.

We've had a lot of struggles against the Rays this season, so strategy was critical here....and Boone folded.

Game one was good, and it damn well should've been with Gerrit Cole on the mound. The Yankees did what they needed to do and we won. But...I'm still stuck on game two and game three was just bad.

Look, the Yankees complicated the situation in game two with Deivi Garcia. There was no reason to try and treat this like an "opener" situation that the Yankees have done before. It worked with Chad Green in the past but, we've already had challenges this season with the Rays....why complicate it?

Why not let Garcia go out there and pitch for longer and see what he had? If he tanked then sure, pull him but considering that the ALDS series has no planned off days, why not try and get some length out of your starters so the bullpen isn't overworked? The idea shouldn't change in the postseason.

But it did. I get it, Boone wanted J.A. Happ, the lefty out there to try and neutralize the Rays lefty heavy lineup. I understand the logic, but it didn't work and we didn't even give Garcia a chance to see if he could neutralize the Rays on his own. Boone pulled the trigger too fast....

And it backfired, terribly. Both Mike Zunino and Manuel Margot made Happ pay and then Austin Meadows hit a home run off of Jonathan Loaisiga. It was just a mess and Boone's pitching strategy just didn't work.

And last night I was really hoping for more out of Masahiro Tanaka. He is our proven and experienced postseason guy and he threw WAY too many sliders last night and the Rays just sat back and waited on it. Sure, Tanaka didn't pitch well but Boone also deserves some of the blame. As a manager he is responsible for making the decisions that put your team in winning scenarios. I really feel like he fails at this more often than not in the playoffs especially.

So now we are at a MUST WIN game four....or we sleep until spring again. Our fate lies in the hands of Boone and Jordan Montgomery and I don't feel so good about that. I still believe he can contribute to the Yankees but this hasn't been his year. He finished the regular season with a 5.11 ERA and his worst start came against the Rays on September 2nd. I hope he learned a lot from that appearance, because we need him now more than ever.  

I'm crossing every body part I have tonight, because I am not ready for the season to end. I'm ready to get Cole some backup because he needs it. I'm ready for the pitching to get their act together because Cole can't do it all, and I'm ready for Aaron Boone to stop being a BONEHEAD!

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

YANKEES PICK UP CHAPMAN FOR A HUGE WIN!

It doesn't get better than this.  I mean sure, you want your closer to close a game for you, but as we have even seen with Mariano Rivera once in a while, these closers are human and Aroldis Chapman is no different. The Yankees were winning, and then when it was time to close it up, Chapman blew the save.

The New York Post writes:

"When Chapman surfaced from the bullpen, it figured he would be able to handle the light-hitting Rays, who had been held to a run and four hits through eight innings. But the flame-throwing lefty’s control was off. He issued two walks, gave up an RBI double to Joey Wendle, a left-handed hitter who started the game hitting .188 and was 0-for-3 until driving a double to right-center that scored Nate Lowe. 

Chapman wild-pitched Wendle to third and buried a fastball in the dirt that squirted through Sanchez’s legs and allowed Wendle to race home and tie the score, 3-3. Chapman gathered himself to strike out Austin Meadows with the bases loaded and send the game into extra innings."

But were the Yankees dead at that point? No.  That's what is great about this team. They are resilient. They don't quit.

The New York Daily News writes:

"LeMahieu singled in two runs to break a 3-3 tie in the 10th inning and Sanchez followed by unleashing one of the hardest-hit home runs of the season to power the Yankees to an 8-4 win over the Rays at Tropicana Field."

The Machine and The Kraken. You can't hold this team down. Every game, they find a way. Could not be happier about this win. Way to go boys!

THE PIRATES SNAG ARCHER

I didn't see that one coming, but there you have it.

Photo: Getty Images

Chris Archer is a Pittsburgh Pirate.

MLB Trade Rumors writes:

"The Pirates have officially struck a trade to acquire starter Chris Archer from the Rays, as Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported (via Twitter). Talented young players Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow will both go to Tampa Bay, as Jim Bowden of The Athletic tweeted.

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

There’s also a third player in the deal, as first noted by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). The identity is still not known..."

Soon enough that player will be revealed.

Nice move by the Pirates and I just have to laugh because of all the baseball insiders that revealed that the Yankees were the leader in those sweepstakes. Truth is no one truly knows until it happens... and it happened... and it was the Pirates!

Love it.

IVAN NOVA LOOKS BETTER AS A PIRATE

Some players just look better in other uniforms.  Ivan Nova is one of them. He looks bad ass as a Pirate. Just saying.  I never disliked Nova, I just didn't like the inconsistency.  As you know, Nova was traded to the Pirates for players to be named.  We still don't know there names, but I have info...

Follow News writes:

"Ivan Nova was traded to the Pirates for two players to named later, and after the trade, Brian Cashman told reporters the Yankees will pick those players from a list after the season. They’ll spend the next few weeks scouting before making a decision."

Cashman has revealed that the players will be "legitimate".  Who knows what that means, but if you check out the Pirates prospects, there are several that Cashman will choose from. Click HERE.

(In Photo: Austin Meadows)
I'm personally a fan of Austin Meadows who's an outfielder, although we don't really need any of those anymore.  Other guys I'd like to see in pinstripes are righty pitcher Chad Kuhl, or even lefty Brandon Waddell or Stephen Tarpley, another lefty.

(In photo: Chad Kuhl)
I guess we'll have to see, but I am curious and excited to see who they will be.

And good luck to Nova, by the way.  Maybe that black and gold and change of scenery will help out with his consistency.  I wish him well.

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