Anyone else watching the Yankees....

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

I was starting to wonder if Future Met Aaron Judge (just saying that to be mean; I can't see him leaving) is starting to press and wondered if it might be better just to sit him down, so as to let him decompress and get ready for the playoffs…

…and then I remembered that, in certain boroughs of NYC, the local team knows how to win the division, get five days off, and make the whole issue moot. Sorry; victim of my personal experience here.

Keep swinging, Aaron…you can rest while we're dying. (Sigh.)

Definitely, about Judge pressing right now. I don't care what a player says when interviewed; it's only human nature to know the importance of a huge number like that and to have it in the back of his mind during every at bat. He's down to only eight or so more opportunities now.

Regarding the Mets, I didn't want to appear to be a pollyanna in your thread, but a famous Yankee/Met used to say "It ain't over 'til it's over." The high-flying Braves managed to stub their toes against the lowly Marlins yesterday, and that put off their division crown celebration by at least one day. Besides, if the Mets get hot again, wild card is not going to matter.

[Bluenoser]

Congrats to Mr. Judge, what an incredible season.

Although I'm not a fan of either team, I would really enjoy a good old Yankees/Dodgers World Series.

[monkeyman576]

Congrats to Judge. Ohtani is still MVP though. Sosa McGwire and Bonds have eclipsed Judge. No one has eclipsed Ohtani.

[jg2977]

Originally Posted by monkeyman576

Congrats to Judge. Ohtani is still MVP though. Sosa McGwire and Bonds have eclipsed Judge. No one has eclipsed Ohtani.

The Yankees might not win the AL East without Judge. The Angels, on the other hand, are a bad team with or without Ohtani. I don't know if that gets factored in when voting for MVP.

[Amazin69]

Congratulations to Aaron.

And I think I've defined his Record: Aaron Judge now has the highest single-season HR total by a player who is not (currently, unofficially) banned from the Hall of Fame. We can debate who did what, but he has the chance of being honored in ways others don't.

(Albeit their circumstances can change, as could anyone's. And the Record is no guarantee of election; I agree that even with the two MVPs, Maris doesn't qualify. No more than Dale Murphy. So Judge still has work to do. But he's done damn good work this year. Congrats, Aaron. May your mark last as long as Roger's.)

[Amazin69]

Originally Posted by jg2977

The Yankees might not win the AL East without Judge. The Angels, on the other hand, are a bad team with or without Ohtani. I don't know if that gets factored in when voting for MVP.

"We can finish last with you or without you." —Branch Rickey, trading Ralph Kiner, 1953.

(It was a terrible trade, even allowing that Mr. Slug was on the downside. [Toby Atwell??]. That said, the point holds. It ain't the Most Impressive Stats award, IMO. And being uniquely versatile isn't the point either, I wouldn't say.)

[monkeyman576]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

"We can finish last with you or without you." —Branch Rickey, trading Ralph Kiner, 1953.

(It was a terrible trade, even allowing that Mr. Slug was on the downside. [Toby Atwell??]. That said, the point holds. It ain't the Most Impressive Stats award, IMO. And being uniquely versatile isn't the point either, I wouldn't say.)

Yeah but at the same time you shouldn’t punish someone for being on a bad team, especially when there's a corralation between winning and your payroll. MVP is an individual award, not a team award.

[Amazin69]

Nah, "value" is in helping the team win. The Angels' season was a failure. I wouldn't vote for Ohtani for that.

Should Pete place above Goldschmidt because the Mets won more games? Should Goldie get an advantage because the Cards won a (joke) division and the Mets (choked and) had to settle for a Wild Card? Nah, that's splitting hairs. Both teams had good years, both players were "valuable". That's where you can parse the stats and tot up the WaR and such.

But it was a season to forget in Anaheim. What was Ohtani's "value"? Keeping them above the A's? Oh, joy. Give Shohei the Silver Bat for DHs, vote for him in the Cy Young (I haven't followed the details of that race in the AL; the Rockies' broadcast team liked Verlander yesterday)…but IMO he's not a Most Valuable Player.

That goes to #99, who led his team to 99 wins (heh, cool) and a division title and a bye week…and made history while doing so.

(And yes, I know Mike Trout won two of his four MVP while on equally-lame Angels teams, but let's not be slaves to precedent. JMO.

Did you know…this is seven straight losing seasons for the Angels, who haven't had a winning year since they cut the "of Anaheim" off of their name? Is this the Curse of Disney or something?)

[knightdreamer2k]

The regular season is over so i thought I would recap the season:

Overall body of work: Good.

Started hot, then got really bad, like cannot beat anyone bad, and then finished up nicely. The record matches the talent level imo. They were not good enough to be in any talks of all-time great teams.

Starting pitching came out of the gate so strong, that it is disappointing that now it is just merely good versus the great it looked at the beginning. Cole needs to step up and now has an opportunity to be an ace in the post season. If the first half pitching shows up, then we are setup for a good opportunity to go to the world series.

The offense led the AL in runs but was too reliant on the long ball. Look if you have paid attention to the reason that the Yankees get eliminated from the post season it is usually their offense. I want to see Cabera on the roster over Marwin Gonzales. Hopefully Carpenter and Andrew come back. Oh yeah leave Hicks behind as well.

The trade deadline additions ended up not going so well. Montas was bad, may have been hurt but is out. Adrew got hurt as well. Bader just came back and has done good and seems at this moment to be the only good acquisition.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by knightdreamer2k

The regular season is over so i thought I would recap the season:

Overall body of work: Good.

I generally agree with your statements but overall, I have this feeling that the early part of the season was a fluke, a statistical anomaly.

For, aside from Judge's greatness and Cortes' very goodness, the rest of the team does not impress me all that much. It's a good thing that they are not a wild card, because I doubt they would have reached even the ALDS that way.

Oh sure, they have their bright spots; Bader and Cabrera are pluses but as for the Stantons, Rizzos, Donaldsons, LeMahieus, and even the Torreses now, I have this reaction: Meh.

[monkeyman576]

As a mariners fan I think it will be tougher to beat the blue jays than in a 5 game series against the Yankees in the Alds..

[Déjà Bru]

This is one of the reasons why I said in the Seattle Mariners thread that, even if they beat the Astr*s, I don't anticipate them going up against the Yankees.

Largely because they’ve adjusted their game to their roster, the Guardians play an aggressive, throwback style of baseball. They hit the second-fewest home runs in the majors this year but ranked third in steals with 119. They put the ball in play, leading the majors with an 80.8 percent contact rate, while striking out fewer times than any other team. They take extra bases and hit-and-run as well as anyone. They will bunt as necessary. They celebrate the sacrifice fly.

I have to stop thinking about this because, the more I do, the more I think the Yankees are going to be clobbered. I hope I am wrong, of course.

[monkeyman576]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

This is one of the reasons why I said in the Seattle Mariners thread that, even if they beat the Astr*s, I don't anticipate them going up against the Yankees.
I have to stop thinking about this because, the more I do, the more I think the Yankees are going to be clobbered. I hope I am wrong, of course.

Cleveland and Seattle are both have some of the best pitching in the league. Houston could beat Seattle but anything can happen in a five game series and I could easily see a Cleveland Seattle ALCS.

[monkeyman576]

While I want Judge on Seattle as much as anyone wants Judge on their team, and the Mariners can afford him, but parts of me wonder if investing that much, probably 10 years $400M, is a smart baseball decision given his injury history. I also wonder if he would consider a smaller market like Seattle or if he is intent on New York or LA even if his chances of winning long term are smaller(given Seattle is an up and coming team and the Yankees and Mets
and Angels have had difficulties being in the World Series consistantly)

[knightdreamer2k]

So, the Yankees advance...to the ALCS

Everyone has their viewpoint, and many fans believe that if their team does not win a world series it is a failure of a season. I am not one of those fans.

Based on what they have on the roster the Yankees met the expected results. They have over performed the predictions that experts had at the beginning of the season as most thought they would be a wild card team at best. They started out hot and then slumped big time, before bouncing back in the last month or so.

I have plenty of issue with the way this team was built and on paper there is question marks in some key areas. Are they better on paper then Houston? No, but they still could beat them because the Yankees are not a terrible team.

Unfortunately, it has been a while with the exception of 2017 that the Yankees over performed in the playoffs. Outside of 2017 it would be the 2001 season. Most of the time they have been knocked out by some team they should beat on paper with the exception of recent years.

I think it is time the Yankees overachieved and beat Houston. We have to stop letting the Houston/Boston teams knock us out of the playoffs.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by knightdreamer2k

I think it is time the Yankees overachieved and beat Houston. We have to stop letting the Houston/Boston teams knock us out of the playoffs.

From your typing fingertips to the eyes of the baseball gods!

[Déjà Bru]

After explaining the situation, I told my wife that I officially take back what I said about Harrison Bader shortly after the Yankees traded for him. He is one heck of a player.

[GeoWar]

The way Boone has handled the pitching staff ----- the Yankees are done .

The injuries - the repeated use - how they are rested - times up in the bullpen

The Yankees could do MUCH better ......

[Déjà Bru]

Yes, they are done. The words that come to mind are "overachievers" and "exposed." That early season excitement was a fluke. If it were not for Judge all season, Carpenter early and Bader late, the Yankees wouldn't have made the playoffs.

Well, throw in Trevino, who was a pleasant surprise, and Cabrera who looked really good for a young kid. And Cortes, of course.

Those guys are a good nucleus for next season. Everybody else, and I mean everybody, is expendable.

But, okay. I can't kick; it's obvious that the Astros are way better than the Yankees.

[Antonin]

In my home we are not sad to see the Yankees eliminated. For my family, since long before I was born, it has been traditional to "hate" the Yankees.

We are not thrilled to see the Astros move on, but former Cleveland outfielder Michael Brantley is there, so maybe we will root for them.