2024 New York Yankees Playoff Preview
After starting 45-19 and going 49-49 since - this Yankees season has been the most frustrating and confusing thing I’ve experienced since the final episodes of Lost. While I’m still trying to figure out if Jack, Kate, and Aaron Boone have been dead all along - the Yankees season is currently alive and well. The chase for 28 begins this Saturday against (checks notes) the Kansas City Royals.
I’ll start by saying that anything short of an AL pennant is unacceptable. I fully understand that this team has been the poster child for inconsistent play and has their fair share of flaws - but so does the rest of the MLB (hence our miraculous 1 seed). This is especially true for the trio of bummy squads that stand between the Yanks and a World Series appearance.
Just about the only thing this team has accomplished since 2009 is consistently beating inferior AL Central opponents in the playoffs. So what better time to end this championship drought than a year where the Royals, Guardians, and Tigers make up the remainder of the AL’s Final Four?
Much like Chris Farley, this lineup is comically top-heavy. But with Judge and Soto serving as the proverbial belly, you gotta believe that this series plays out a lot more like Tommy Boy than Beverly Hills Ninja. The duo just completed the greatest regular season by two teammates since Ruth and Gehrig (99 HR, 253 RBI, 250 R, 262 BB, 18.7 WAR) and we’ll need them to continue to carry this offense against an admittedly strong KC staff.
Soto seemingly lives for these moments (see nut-grab v. Verlander at 19), so I’m not the least bit worried about a late season slump in meaningless games. Meanwhile, Aaron Judge’s postseason struggles will sadly become a narrative if the Yankees once again fall short this October. Don’t get me wrong - I’d literally die for this man. His regular season stats alone have already landed him a reservation in Monument Park, but he NEEDS a signature October run to cement himself as an all-time Yankee.
The real question is - who else aside from these 2 guys is going to step up? Gleyber has been much better since he fell backwards into winning back the leadoff spot. But despite his decent postseason numbers, he still ranks below Olive Garden seafood in terms of things I trust.
“Playoff Giancarlo” is a fun nickname, but the monicker is purely based off a COVID series against the Rays (which we lost) and a pair of shots off the monster in the 2021 Wild Card (which we also lost). Not this year. I’m refusing to rely on the failures of years past and going to ride with a new horse.
I can’t lie - I was skeptical as hell of this guy when he came over at the deadline. I don’t know if it was the name, the 47 bracelets, or the fact he played for the Marlins - but I didn’t think for a second that Jazz Chisholm would add anything to a team that was in a total tailspin at the time. On top of being thrust into a new defensive position, Jazz hit big homer after big homer in his first few games with the Yanks. His speed on the bases, left handed bat, and willingness to win made me finally appreciate the swag/aura that all the 4th graders in the LLWS try to emulate. I know he’s been “mid” since coming back from injury - but Jazz is one of the few guys (outside of Judge and Soto) I can picture coming up huge in a critical moment this postseason.
We’ll likely need a number of huge “come from behind” moments both in this series and (hopefully) beyond. While I like the makeup of the starting rotations - Cole (very good except vs. Mets and Sox), Rodon (he has 16 wins?), Gil (ROY despite that neck tat), with Schmidt ready for disaster relief - this Yankees team doesn’t do anything else right in terms of run prevention.
Let’s start with the defense. I have no clue what the plan is at first base, but every Yankee fan with a functioning brain (roughly 59% of the fanbase) knows damn well that a missed scoop is going to lead to some unearned runs at some point down the line. Thanks to Rizzo’s latest plate crowding related injury, we’re left with Ben Rice (horrid aside from a 3 HR dicking of the Sox), Jon Berti (forgot this guy was on the team), and Old Yeller aka the corpse of DJ Lemahieu.
Whoever ends up there, I’m fully expecting a 1 for 15 from this series. So my vote is purely based upon whoever can properly field the position. Unfortunately, I was violently removed from the premises during my latest attempt to camp under the bleachers and spy on the Yanks fielding grounders, so I don’t have much insight as to who wins the job. Based on recent history, I assume Boone will use some combination of lefty/righty splits and stats against Seth Lugo in little league - rather than the guy who can handle the skipping stones Gleyber and Jazz will be pelting them with.
Then there’s the pending crisis in left field. After months of public outcry - Boone and Cashman finally relieved Alex Verdugo of his duties in favor of the prematurely crowned - Jasson Dominguez. After that rat bastard/Boston double-agent set the offensive bar lower than his .228 batting average in the second half, Dominguez pretty much just needed to get 2 hits and keep looking cute to secure the job. That of course was assuming he wasn’t in the midst of his Andujar/Clint Frazier defensive arc.
My gut feeling is to play the Martian and add “lazy fly balls to left” to the laundry list of “moments that can/will cause cardiac arrest”. If we’re leading in the later innings, I definitely welcome the defensive replacement of Verdugo - but would strongly oppose him being the everyday starter. The potential 7-9 “black hole” consisting of Volpe, INSERT 1B HERE, and Dugie will neuter our offense - and something tells me we’re going to need to score some runs if we want to make a any sort of noise this postseason.
That’s mainly because this bullpen scares the hell out of me. To put things in simplistic/douchebag terms - You’d marry Luke Weaver, fuck Kahnle and Hill (maybe Hamilton if you’re drunk), and kill the rest of these guys. Homes and Leiter have been putrid and I literally expect any lead to evaporate the second the camera shows either warming up. The sad part is both are most likely locks to make the postseason roster because this pen is that bad. I’m praying for some good news on Jake Cousins, otherwise the end of these games are going to be total clown fiestas.
So buckle up Yankee fans. Despite the cards falling about as well as humanly possible, this is probably the most defective iteration of a team we’ve taken into the playoffs in quite some time. Can they get it done? Of course. We have the star power, home field advantage, and our 3 potential opponents can’t hit for shit. Don’t get me wrong - Bobby Witt Jr. is an absolute freak. But I’m sorry - when you have the entire state of Missouri praying for Vinnie Pasquantino and his .761 OPS to get healthy and provide a spark, your offense is cooked.
To quote Aaron Boone - “Everything we want to accomplish is right in front of us”. For once, this coach speak nonsense is completely true. Despite their warts, the 2024 Yankees have an incredible opportunity to reclaim their seat atop the baseball world.
I don’t care how. There are no excuses. Take care of business. Beat this team.
Yanks in 4
