With the 2024 season nearing its conclusion, here are three things for MLBTR readers to keep an eye on today:
1. Dodgers go for the sweep:
Game 3 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium last night ended much the same as Games 1 and 2 did in L.A. over the weekend — with a Dodgers victory. In a game where struggling right-hander Walker Buehler delivered five scoreless innings for the Dodgers, the Yankees were unable to score until they already had two outs in the ninth inning. They now enter Game 4 in need of the first 0-3 World Series comeback in history to win their first World Series since 2009.
Today is scheduled to be a bullpen game for the Dodgers, a reality that theoretically could create an advantage for the Yankees as they send talented righty Luis Gil (3.50 ERA) to the mound. This will be only Gil’s second appearance in the postseason after he started against the Guardians and surrendered two runs in four innings while striking out three. The Yankees need a strong start from the rookie right-hander and/or a wake-up call for their dormant offense in order to stay alive and pass the ball back to Gerrit Cole in Game 5.
2. Marlins managerial search heating up?
After the weekend brought about some buzz regarding the managerial vacancy in the White Sox dugout, yesterday saw the rumor mill kick into gear with reports about the other ongoing managerial search being conducted in Miami. The Marlins are seemingly down to two finalists for the role: Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz and Rangers associate manager Will Venable. Both have received interest from the White Sox as well, with Venable having already interviewed for that position and seemingly remaining in the mix in Chicago. While it’s unlikely that Miami will formally announce anything while the World Series is ongoing, news regarding their decision appears to be on the horizon.
3. MLBTR Chat this afternoon:
With the World Series on the brink of an early conclusion, the 2024-25 offseason is now closer to getting underway than ever. If you have any questions about the upcoming winter, your team’s direction, or the ongoing World Series that could end as soon as tonight, MLBTR’s Steve Adams is holding a live chat with readers at 3pm CT today. You can click here to ask a question in advance, join in live once the chat begins, or read the transcript once the chat is complete.
Terry Turdbucket seems like an ideal candidate to manage the Marlins.
cant get anymore clueless than him lmao.
Lloyd, I think all 14 fans in the stands might like Paul Peebottle.
If, for no other reason, seeing that name on a jersey.
The only way the Yankees could be humiliated more is if Knack, Honeywell and Casper throw a shutout tonight. Dodgers should put Ohtani on the injured list and add Kershaw to the roster to pitch the final out of the game. That being said, 14 other AL teams wish they were in the Yankees place.
I’m ready for winter meetings and the hot stove to fire up again….
Jerry – I’m not ready for 3 months of baseless free agent reporting and people here crying “why aren’t players signing yet, they need to hurry up”..
But I am definitely ready for Duran to win a GG, Sale to win a Cy, and Abreu to win ROY & GG.
@fever
I don’t think wilyer will win rookie of the year.
I don’t think he’s better than cowser, wells, gil, or miller.
Looking at the two different WAR valuations is interesting
bWAR has Wilyer as the best of the bunch.
fWAR has Cowser and Wells ahead of Wilyer
Seems pretty close. Depends what the writers want to use to make their judgements.
Fan – I think Cowser will be his toughest competition, and I do admit Abreu slumped at the end of the season.
Cowser and Abreu have similar offensive numbers, but Abreu has far better defensive numbers. Ultimately I think that will be the deciding factor.
Maybe the writers will just look at the stats instead of fantasy league evaluations. Maybe they have actually seen them play. Ya never know!
Stymee – The writers nominated Soto for a Gold Glove.
‘Nuf Ced
Sure, Soto is a magician with the glove, but he’s no David Ortiz.
Gold Glove awards aren’t voted on by the writers.
Squeeze – You are absolutely correct, I should have written “voters” instead of writers. It’s the managers and coaches that vote for GG.
And when a team signs a minor league journeyman, the nonsense posts..”There is the ticket to the World Series next year!”
Yankees have been embarrassed in the WS. These games are close, but hardly competitive.
Yeah, only 1 lead change in 3 games (G1). Ever since Freeman’s slam (G1), it’s been all LAD. It seemingly took the wind out of the NYY sail.
ssowl – Netflix is now running a great documentary on the 2004 postseason, it’s well worth watching what great baseball used to be like.
A bullpen game tonight in the WS seems ridiculous.
Look at the list of injured starting pitchers the Dodgers have. A bullpen game isn’t ridiculous; it’s impressive that they can do that and continue to win.
Philly – They haven’t won tonight’s game yet, so not sure what you mean by “continue to win”.
It’s ridiculous that they are gonna rely on 6-7 pitchers all being good in tonight’s game, rather than ensure 4 starting pitchers were on the roster. I understand with a 3-0 lead they can afford to lose tonight, but even if they had lost last night they’d still have gone with a BP game today. Flaherty pitched only 5 innings and threw only 89 pitches in Game 1, and that was with 2 extra days rest …. no reason why he couldn’t start today if the Dodgers had lost yesterday.
I thought the Dodgers turned around their season, the playoffs, and the NLDS Series down 2 games to 1 to the Padres, deploying 8 pitchers in a bullpen in Game Four of that series?
Perhaps I am misremembering…
Jersey – You are correct, I should have probably said 7-8 pitchers instead of 6-7.
98 regular season wins, 10 postseason wins, and only 1 more needed to be World Series Champions. That is what I mean by “continue to win,” since these injuries occurred before the playoffs; they lost Kershaw, Glasnow, Gonsolin, May, and Stone, as well as Yamamoto for almost half the season. A bullpen game now allows them to pitch Flaherty on normal rest, which is ideal. I know you say if they “lost yesterday,” but they didn’t, so what does that have to do with anything?
Philly – The decision to make this a bullpen game was made before yesterday’s win, that’s what is being heavily questioned.
We will find out tonight if it was a good decision or not.
“Heavily questioned”? Again, it seems like it’s working for them.
Philly – Yeah didn’t take long for your comment to not age well.
In case you missed the Fox announcers say this for the umpteenth time, “Every time that bullpen door swings open, you risk the chance they won’t have it”.
Seems like everyone but you gets it.
You are picking only the best case scenario by referencing what Schilling did for the Sox. Most SP on short rest don’t pitch well in the playoffs. It wasn’t the wrong call. You’re disagreeing with the entire Dodgers organization. But I’m sure you have a greater handle on their team than they do. Hats off to you lol
Philly – Ummm ….. I wrote 2001 …. he was with the DBacks, not the Sox.
But there’s plenty of other examples of starting pitchers going on short rest in the postseason. When making the decision you have to factor in everything, which I did by pointing out the extra rest Flaherty got before his prior start, and the low pitch count during his prior start.
Teams make bad decisions all the time, you’re not one of those people who assume teams are perfect and always make the right decision …. are you?
Dodgers should be very grateful they won Game 3, otherwise they’d be sitting 2-2 and having to face Cole tonight.
FPG, I am one of those people that don’t look at the results as affirmation, especially knowing that the club has a whole lot more information than I do.
Did Flaherty pitch any simulations during those extra two days off? And referring to 90 pitches as a low pitch count for a guy that topped 100 once all year is quite the stretch.
Fever: I said that earlier in the PO when the Tigers had only two starters and then a BP game. Shows there’s just not enough talent to go around especially when injuries hit.
avenger – I can understand dropping a 5th starter from a 3-game postseason series, but not a 7-game series.
And not wanting one of your best starters to go on 3-days rest is just another example of over-coddling. It’s the World Series, what are they trying to save Flaherty for? The Guardians lost the 2022 ALDS for the same reason, they didn’t want to pitch Bieber on 3-days rest.
And then you’ve got guys like Schilling who started 3 games in the 2001 WS, the last two on short rest, and went 7 innings in each start. What a difference.
Fever- Zero percent of what your saying makes any sense. They only have 3 starters,, a bullpen game was always necessary
Lotta misplaced anger here
Cap – Flaherty on short rest was the correct answer.
Anger? I’m not a Dodgers fan, I have no money riding here. I just get annoyed when managers make stupid decisions.
Teams have injuries all the time, when was the last time a team had a scheduled bullpen game in the World Series?
Why ?
Then it would be bullpen game 5 as Yama and Buehler are not ready….what’s the difference ? There was ZERO way of avoiding ONE bullpen game…..If we want to backtrack to the Mets series Id agree having a pen game game 2 was a mistake but the inks dry there too so we move on
By going game 4 they were able to save all their best Rps for today by getting mileage from Knack
**The bigger problem here is losing Glasnow, Gonsolin, River Ryan Stone and Kershaw who would have been a nice play yesterday, but spilt milk nobody cares and its (rightfully) just a staff of 3 today
@fpg
I’ll be honest not a fan of the 04 playoffs lol, but after your guys came back 0-3 against the yanks I knew my birds had no chance. Tbh I don’t think any team in history could of beat the soxs after that alcs.
“Have been embarrassed”…It’s obviously due to a rules interpretation snafu. Somebody at “Draft Kings” clearly told the Yankees it was bad to score runs in the first 8 innings of games.
Its been closer than yall give credit
Both game 1 and 2 were decided on the last pitch of the game
1 bad pitch to Freeman and a Mookie blooper to right in game 3 was the difference
I;m surprised how well the Dodgers pitchers are holding up, I thought to win the series they would have to hit their way there, that hasn’t been the case at all…outside of Freedy and somewhat Kiki/Edman this offence isnt doing much at all
Cap – I totally agree, which is why the Dodgers should have gone for the sweep rather than give away last night’s game.
Not saying the Yanks will win the WS, but when you consider Ohtani is hurting and Freeman can’t possibly homer in every game and the SP matchups favor the Yanks …. let’s just say the Dodgers could be feeling a lot of pressure in Game 6 if Cole pitches a gem tonight.
I really thought the Yanks would make this a better show, but they’ve absolutely fallen on their collective faces.
Sure would be helpful if Judge could find his way out of the witness protection program.
Canuck – The AL was incredibly weak this year, not a surprise the Yanks looked better in the ALDS and ALCS than they actually are. They lack depth.
Lol ok
“”Witness protection program”…Let’s not disparage the people in “witness protection”. I’ve seen several of them that have better strike zone discipline than do the N.Y Yankees.
If anyone can empathize with this feeling, it’s Dodgers fans.
The Dodgers might save the Yankees some embarrassment with f***ing bullpen games. Don’t drag this out. Send Jack Flaherty out on short rest and let’s all go home.
Knack, Honeywell and Casparius will cover the bulk of the “starter” innings tonight. Yankees are the ones that need to play desperate….
Yeah, but a rookie is starting vs this Dodgers offense.
No chance! After the first game debacle, how can the Yankees win even a game when they know their manager and coaching staff are out of their league. Cmon, when you put a pithcer on the mound who has not pitched in 37 days on the feeling I thought it felt right. Yankees got to the WS because the American League rolled over.
Not quite Al Downing, but Nestor will be shown on clips for decades to come if Dodgers close out the series.
Maybe it doesn’t seem as bad since Freddie also hit homers off three other pitchers this series.
Never was picking a series MVP this easy.
My Mets at least did better than this!
Every Dodgers game I watch makes me increasingly feel that the team they have constructed is among the best in history. Team really has no weaknesses anywhere. They don’t even have one of their better pitchers available.
Ok, but almost no other club can construct a roster around the free agent acquisitions of its 1 thru 3 hitters that will be in HOF.
Smart FO who takes advantage of a league that has an intentionally messed up economic system.
Mookie was a trade and extension. Not many teams could sign Ohtani, but Freeman is making the same money as Carlos Rodon lmao. Anyone could’ve had him, including the Braves.
fred – It’s a travesty that Mookie isn’t with the Red Sox and Freeman isn’t with the Braves. In the end, both teams are at fault.
Here we go — let’s spin this narrative that it was ATL’s fault for not outbidding themselves and give in to Freeman’s agent’s ridiculous counter, when Freeman made clear his desires and fired his agent, after the fact.
BOS didn’t back the truck up to Betts and traded him away for a lot less talent. That’s their own fault.
RunDMC, they had years to work out an extension with Freddie but didn’t. Once you let a player get to free agency, anything can happen
Run – The Braves signed both Strider and Acuna to massive contracts after just one season in MLB.
Why did the Braves allow Freeman to become a free agent instead of extending him earlier?
I’m well aware of the role his ex-agent played, but you do realize the Dodgers wouldn’t have been a factor if the Braves had gotten serious with an extension long before.
fred – I didn’t see your post until later, I totally agree!!
Bottom line, teams typically don’t allow players to reach free agency if they are really serious about extending them. The Yankees are probably the one exception, but they can afford to pay “free agent prices” as they did when they foolishly refused to extend Judge before he became a free agent.
Of course, and there are regular reports of them approaching Freeman before he hit FA, like they did with Swanson, and have done with Fried, and even Heyward. This is the same player that the franchise previously gave the richest contract in franchise history with his extension. It takes two to have an agreement, and in this case, it took three (Freeman’s agent), as Braves wanted it (per their offer, and upping their offer, reported), Freeman said he wanted to re-sign with ATL, and yet, Casey Close didn’t make it happen and came back with a ridiculous amount when ATL upped their highest offer, which was higher (in present-day value) than LAD’s winning offer (which included 57M in deferred money at no interest; not including the difference in CA and GA taxes). Braves wanted it, Freeman wanted it, Freeman’s agent didn’t want it.
How many other 1B make as much as Freeman in MLB? 1?
Rob – He has a .919 OPS with the Dodgers and a career .890 OPS in the postseason, definitely worth the money.
the same money as Carlos Rodon
========================
Unmentioned by cws is that the top-3 NYY SPs are all FA, and combined make > $80M.
I’m not sure anyone is looking at the NYY as a model of fiscal restraint.
Harper and Vlad Jr
Run – If that’s true, why didn’t Freeman sue his agent for not relaying the Braves offer? His agent denied it, right?
With the long history between the Braves and Freeman, I find it hard to believe he didn’t sit in the room with them. Sure seems like he was on board with what the agent was doing, until it backfired.
@Fever — Just b/c you don’t see a suit from nice guy Freeman doesn’t mean what was being reported didn’t happen. Casey Close denied it — but it’s the same stunt he pulled with previous clients (inc. Jeter), which is fine, and that’s his prerogative, but it sounds like he wasn’t on the same page with his clients wants/desires, which has been readily written about. Close still has a business and reputation to uphold — motivation for him denying it. Also, that same agency had Swanson as a client, who reached FA the next offseason.
Re: “I find it hard to believe he didn’t sit in the room with them” — reportedly, he didn’t. There was also much written about where AA took criticism and Freeman said that when he hit FA, he didn’t receive a phone call, though AA had offers out and communication with his agent. I believe the same thing happened with Swanson, if I remember reports.
Run – I don’t know, I’m all about logic and none of this seems logical.
If Close had multiple allegations from previous clients of sitting on offers, why did Freeman retain him? As far as I’m concerned, withholding offers is the worst possible thing an agent could do.
@rundmc
Mookie wasn’t going to sign in Boston. He didn’t want to be there. It would have looked worse had they let him walk as a FA.
Dave – And soon to be Devers.
Stymee – Refusing to accept a lot less from the Sox doesn’t mean he didn’t want to stay in Boston, thats just silly.
I was not referring to Close sitting on offers, I was referring to him playing a franchise icon against a team, using their legacy upping the price. He did it in Jeter’s last deal with NYY, and was doing something similar with FF/ATL, considering that would presumably also be FF’s last substantial contract deal. There’s much written about those contentious negotiations (Jeter/NYY FO). Again, it’s a tactic and there’s nothing necessarily wrong with it, but if he did do that, I can understand why ATL would pull their offer and go a different route, ultimately upsetting a client that wanted to remain in ATL (for the highest possible amount).
I’m sure there’s info we’re missing or misreported, but I’m just following the info that has been reported.
Run – Okay so Freeman was aware of the Braves’ offer, that makes a difference. Close is guilty only of giving bad advice, same as Boras last offseason.
Still doesn’t excuse the Braves for letting him get to free agency. It’s always harder to keep someone when there’s other suitors, therefore it’s just common sense to get something done before then.
Again, this idea of ‘letting someone get to free agency’ is denying the fact that it’s agreement between 2 parties, and you’re seemingly not giving any blame on the player, if acknowledging the reports of offers priors to hitting FA. And if you’re saying it’d be a low-ball offer, remember he signed the largest deal in franchise history (at the time) with his previous extension. Some guys want to test free agency, and some agents are deadset on them getting there without an overpay, not unlike Boras.
Glad that the Braves FO can separate the emotions from the business, or else there’d be a lot more dead contracts on the books.
Run – You’re reading into my words.
I totally get it’s a sensitive issue with you as a Braves fan, but it was on the Braves to tell Freeman “If you don’t sign an extension offer before you become a free agent, we will move on with alternative options”.
That way Close can’t use another team to jack up the asking price.
And no, I’m not saying Freeman wouldn’t be greedy while negotiating an extension …. but certainly the chances were higher of him taking a reasonable. offer before free agency.. We see it all the time, we saw it with Judge and we saw it with Xander and so many others.
LOL — sure, it’s on the Braves to state to a grown man the obvious fact that they will move on from him. Close wasn’t using another team to jack up the asking price…he was trying to get the Braves to bid against themselves. How do we know? He accepted a worst deal, after ATL’s was pulled.
In multiple posts, you’re stating it’s the Braves fault for letting him get to free agency, like they have 100% control or an implication that they should give him risky blank check extension that rarely pans out.
Run – In negotiations it’s important to give deadlines, and it’s done all the time. Many players/agents tell their team they will not negotiate during the season, so they give end of ST as a deadline.
Giving deadlines creates a sense of urgency and motivates each side to provide their final offer by a certain time. The Braves had a trade lined up as a contingency, so they couldn’t wait until late in the offseason to decide on Freeman. If they had an internal replacement option, then yeah they could have waited all offseason.
We will never know with certainty if the Braves would have signed him to an extension, but they would have had a much better chance of doing so. Hard to believe negotiations ended with Freeman turning down the highest offer, especially from the team he wanted to stay with. Wasn’t that report questioned?
“Free agent acquisitions..1 thru 3″…Just for your information Mookie Betts is a trade acquisition, not a “free agent” acquisition.
The Dodgers use an efficient mix of free agents, draftees and trade acquisitions to build their roster and do not rely on just one avenue to acquire players.
Betts extended at UFA levels with 1 of the only teams that could both afford to pay him a fortune w/o messing up their payroll flexibility and give Boston value in trade without concern. Again smart FO who is using their massive chips advantage like in poker to buy a combo of guys at massive contracts (not even counting the pitchers) and filling out roster with homegrown talent. Both things are true-this is not something other pro sports in US allow since there are caps in some form.
Considering how the talent Boston got hasn’t panned out, one of the most lopsided trades in mlb history?
The NYY have maybe $115M committed to #1-4.while the LAD have about $120M. I’m not sure the extra $5M is the difference-maker.
My comment replies to posters related to the LAD are not related to any commentary about the Yankees/this specific head-to-head battle of Goliaths series……but yes the Dodgers have a superior FO as far as taking better advantage of its financial resources & overall player development.
Don’t stop at 4. The difference is how much additional depth LA could afford. Neither team is going with the top 4 they had at the start of the season.
Ready for the offseason. This feels like college football where all the other teams barely have a chance. Even if you are a Yankee or Dodger fan how can you really enjoy this? It’s just not what sports are supposed to be about.
Nope. Sports are all about making sports books filthy rich.
Betting on sports is for idiots.
Got it! Again and again and again. Got it!
then again, this year will make the next matchup that feels like 2023 rangers-dbacks feel even more special
Yeah if people are still watching baseball by then. It’s already slow and boring. Once people realize their team barely has a chance to win they will find something else to do.
they will find something else to do.
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This is my 50th anniversary of fans finding out other stuff to do. And only 40 years since I was told that soccer was taking over.
Most teams have a chance.
1-Since 2015, has any team NOT had a playoff appearance? LAA, but even they made it in 2014.
2-Since 2000, it is far more likely to have a wildcard win the WS than for the best record to win.
And even beyond all that, part of what makes sports fun is winning when you don’t expect it.
Their are 4, now 6, wild card teams every year. Of course they’ve got better odds to win than the 1 team with the best record
Soccer does suck. But baseball is boring.
Then why do you care about a site called MLB Trade Rumors?
It’s just another place to complain.
“Soccer does suck”? Even the sports media in Murica had to acknowledge Manchester United sacking their manager on Monday.
Then how come half the teams in MLB have been to the World Series in the past decade?
Utopian dreams only lead to disappointment. Perfect worlds don’t exist. Life is what it is….
Thats a lame reply.
Hey I don’t have to watch it. And I haven’t short of about 20 minutes of game 1.
I hope it was the last 20 minutes, that was the best part!
Oh well, sorry you can’t accept human nature. Maybe one day your mind will grow up….
Maybe one day you will realize capitalism is a fraud.
Hey I don’t have to watch it.
=========================
That’s 100% right. No one is forcing you to watch.
For half my life, I watched multiple Red Sox fiascos. And that half was offset by watching 30 years of consistent winning by my Raiders.
Now I’ve had 20 years of incredible RS success, and watch my Raiders take a blow torch to their feet. But I don’t quit. I watch and focus on the draft. And on trades. IMO, that’s what sports is all about.
“Capitalism is a fraud”…I don’t necessarily disagree, but “socialism” is just Hollywood celebrity, anti Americanism, 24/7 establishment MSM propaganda and “race”. I’ll take “capitalism” over “socialism” all 7 days days of the week.
Capitalism is just that, capitalism. It does exactly what it is supposed to do which is to reward with the best products and the best organization.
It will not treat anyone well, without some regulation, but this is how we have the products we have. Capitalism is the only reason we can actually have this conversation.
I honestly don’t think I can take comments seriously from a guy who puts a K-Pop group on his username. I just can’t.
The monopoly man approves this message.
Only took a 100 win Dodger team spending a billion dollars in the offseason to get a trophy
The Yankee hitters are channeling their inner Seattle Mariner.
Why does Aaron judge look more like Ty France this postseason
Why disparage Ty France like that?
Sad – Because he’s not with Kate Hudson?
Boone/Cashman/Yankees Analytics Department could not adapt to the Dodgers. Judge should have been moved down for Staton, and Boone chose to play the same line-up, minus Wells. What’s worse, is Boone or Cashman will say “We were 4 wins away from a championship” when clearly they weren’t even close…
What if the Yankees come back from 3-0 and win the next 4
People wouldn’t stop talking about it and put it in the school history books
@sad tormented neglected mariners fan
They haven’t been the same since the RSox did that to them. I think the Sox reversed the curse and it’s now on the Yankees. It’ll be another 86 years before the Yanks win again. See you in 2095.
That would be a thing if they didn’t win it in 2009.
York – As much as the thought of “20-09” chants make me smile, I don’t anticipate their drought to last too much longer. You spend enough money on lottery tickets, eventually you’ll win something.
There’s no such thing as school history books anymore.
In a series where the Yankees have struggled to score runs, their defense(and lack of urgency) has given the Dodgers a couple of free runs in virtually every game. Giancarlo Stanton should have never been sent home, since he’s the worst baserunner on the team.
Agreed, my jaw dropped that they waved him home. I’m guessing that they were looking to score any run to change the momentum of the game/series. Also, the Yankees fielding has been suspect in this series. Too many blunders to overcome, while your offense is not pulling it’s weight. Pitchers feel like they need to throw zeroes every inning, just to have a chance.
No hitting (other than Soto and Stanton)
Questionable base running (other than Jazz)
Mediocre pitching (both bullpen and SP)
These are the reasons why the Yankees are down 0-3.
Or, Dodgers are up 3-0 because:
Clutch hitting and timely homers
Smart baserunning and defense (Soto has been exposed big time)
Excellent SP and RP
Yankees are getting beat,
And stop with the “struggling” Buehler narrative. Other than one inning in SD with suspect defense and favorable scorekeeping (Freeman should have been charged with an error, therefore unearned runs), it has been vintage Walker Buehler. He has set himself nicely for a big payday be demonstrating he’s a big game pitcher.
If you listen to John Smoltz (assuming you can stand it), the game is all about narratives. He must use that word at least once an inning. Anyway, the Buehler of 2024 is not the Buehler of a few years ago, but he’s figured that out himself and is no longer trying to be that pitcher. Still I suspect he’ll probably have to settle for a shorter term contract because of the recent history. I also wouldn’t rule out a QO from the Dodgers based on the progress he’s made.
Stanton never should of been sent home but Yankees know they can’t right now rely on the next man up to contribute. Boone has a team option it’s time to let him go. Bring Mattingly back home. Now is the time for Donnie to return and bring Randolph back as his bench coach. This home run or nothing approach needs to change now this off season. I honestly was expecting bigger things from Volpe and Verdugo. Huge disappointments. This roster needs an overhaul and can they please get 5 starters guaranteed to go 5-6 innings. Let Cole walk away. I’m begging him to opt out. Get a more athletic contact hitting team and find a lead-off hitter if you refuse to use Jazz or Volpe.
I have no problem sending Stanton in that situation with 2 outs. Teoscar, not known for his outfield ability, made the throw of his life; probably a 90% chance he makes a worse throw and Stanton is safe and the Yankees recapture some momentum.
I understand that the score argued against sending him, but I’d like to offer two offsetting points.
1-It took a very good throw to nail him. I’d say it was at least a 50% chance of him being safe.
2-The NYY lineup is not particularly deep.
That said, I kept waiting for Stanton to turn on the jets. Now I know what I must look like on the base paths.
Like “Now I know what I must look like on the base paths”. Ditto.
It wasn’t just how slow Stanton is, but how poorly he slid. Feet up in the air, on his back. His butt was the first thing to reach home plate. How can he have played this many years and not know how to slide FEET first?!
He should’ve gone in head-first outside of the baseline. That would’ve forced the catcher to make the tag on his hand, which is a bit more difficult.
That was so strange to watch as it happened. It was as if Stanton and the third base coach were just pretending the ball was not going to be thrown.
I watched that and thought I had entered the Twilight Zone.
More effort and he would have pulled a hamstring (or calf, quad, achilles, knee…can you pull a knee?).
Aaron Judge should dress up as Joey Gallo for Halloween at this point since he looks just like him every at bat in the postseason.
Both Gallo and Judge have been said to have “light tower power”. But, what good is “light tower power” when you cannot make contact?
This series is leaving me unfulfilled. If the Dodgers are up, say, 9-1 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, let Ohtani pitch. Even if he tosses up a couple of fluff balls to the plate, they’re not losing.
Terrible idea to put him on the field while nursing a separated shoulder and recovering from elbow surgery. Plenty of things can go wrong in an instance for a nostalgic appearance.
He could throw with his other arm and get them out.
Jose Canseco once blew out his elbow as a mop-up man.
Put alot of money on the Yankees with a bookie at someone’s advice, please say it was still the right move. The bookie has been sending increasingly urgent (threatening?) messages once per hour ever since the end of last night’s game with payment instructions and he doesn’t seem like the type who would be up for negotiating.
“A lot of money on the Yankees with a bookie”…Please tell me you at least went to High School with your “bookie”. At least that way, when it comes time for him to “send you a message”, he’ll go for your arm and not your legs, ribs or the dreaded “cut off a thumb” message.
I also bet that Ohtani would hit at least .400 for the series so he’s also sending messages about collecting on that. Ohtani is 1 for 12.
If you were smart, you would blame it on your interpreter.
No worries. MLB is just setting the stage for some drama where the Yankees will tie up the series 3-3. All part of the script.
York – Why aren’t the special baseballs working for Judge this time?
@Fever Pitch Guy
As I said, it’s all part of the script. No one is expecting Judge to be coming out the gate. Expect some magic in game 6 to take the series to game 7.
York – So Kate Hudson is traveling with Judge to LA?
@Fever Pitch Guy
You’d need to ask the script writers.
York – I bet Tom Werner is involved, he has lots of experience as an Executive Producer of scripted shows.
Yankees… I don’t want to pile on..but reading all your posts about not hitting… and then the Dodgers bring in my man Brasier to face the meat of your line up and he strikes out 2 and gets Soto. ( (very intelligent to walk judge so he doesn’t take him into monument park and gets jumped started) you could be on to something…
Judge is completely out of sync, and he’s either going to find himself, or, more likely, not. The rest of the team has some holes that have been there from the first game of the season. Dodgers are simply better, and the Yankees are cold. That’s baseball.
I’ve said it once… the ONLY way the Yankees can ever get the taste of 2004 out of their mouths is to…. And Dave Roberts… I’m wrong 99.9% of the time… please let that streak continue…
This World Series has shown that the Yankees need a lot more than Juan Soto to win a championship. Tying up $45 to $50 million per year in Soto for over a decade keeps the Yankees an unbalanced, top-heavy offense.
Yanks have a lot of holes to fill on offense. They were fortunate that the Royals and Indians were as inept offensively as they are and received some timely hits from Stanton and Soto to reach the WS. Rest of the team has been awful overall.
The rest of the team IS awful.
Hal and Cashman know little about the sport of baseball. They know how to sign stars which placates NY baseball fans that know little about the sport a well.
For years now the most valuable employee of the Yankees has been pitching coach Matt Blake that they poached from the Guardians. Without him those Yankee teams wouldn’t even have even been playoff contenders. contenders….been writing this for years.
Was stunned that they beat the Guardians.
Cohen and the Mets run over then with David Stearns there.
I mentioned this yesterday, but the Yankees should bat Judge lead-off. Changing his mind set from HRs to OBP will improve his selectivity. Judge drawing a couple of walks in front of Soto and Stanton could be very productive.
Should bat him anywhere but third. I was not a fan of Shildt sticking with the same lineup when it scuffled in Game 4 of the NLDS, and I am not a fan of Boone doing the same thing. I don’t understand not managing to win when there is literally no tomorrow if you lose.
I called a 4 game sweep so we will see!
marlins
Gil had not pitched 30 innings in a year and they had him pitch 150? Led the league in walks? This is a guy who has anything left? Why are doing this, throwing the young pitcher out there? I will never understand this move. Even if the dumpires give him the Yankee courtesy strike zone from the regular season. Btw, the Yankees have actually been getting their share of hosed in this series. Goes around comes around I guess. Robo strike zone from now on MLB.
BOOOO. the real evil empire and their cheating DH will probably win the next 10 WS because they get away with that BS contract and no one else will be able to do the same. Baseball needs to make sure they don’t get away with anymore BS contracts like that. They should be paying the real amount of per year money towards the luxury tax, not the $2 million, or the other $68 million per year needs to count against the lux tax once the deferrals kick in.
Rob Manfred, paid $25M annually by all 30 team owners/bosses, approves or vetos every MLB contract.
Exactly. And Manfred did whatever he had to so Offshore Ohtani became a Dodger. And Ohtani told the Dodgers he would be their best bet. He likes that he’s playing for a team so close to offshore. Lol
Ohtani’s contract costs $46 million per year toward the luxury tax, not the $2 million you stated.
The Yankees look like they are simply practice against the Dodgers. So far, this is the worst WS series performance I witnessed in my lifetime.
The dead ball remains dead. If I would have still been in the running for the picks, I know my home run total was so far above reality it is laughable. This new MLB dead ball is the great equalizer for high and low cost teams.
I just hope it remains inconstant no matter what. Let teams build upon results instead of chasing down live balls like 2019 or dead ball like 2024. Will the dodgers get Soto tomorrow ?