...thoughts? ...will the offense awaken from its slumber? ...will Tanaka last long enough to hand the game off to Betances/Miller? ...if the Yanx fail to advance, who will you be pulling for? ...I wanted to hear others' thoughts before I post my own.
Honestly Ron at this point I have no idea which team will show up. They need to stop giving up the lead early in the game. I think that screws with their heads thinking "oh no we can't score" and then they get desperate and start swatting at everything. Patience will be the key today. As far as who I am rooting for if they lose is The Mets. I know alot of you guys hate them but I would rather have them represent NY in the World Series. I also have a soft spot for The Bucco's.
I'm riding with the Yankees till they bop or drop. I'm not big on the American Leagues entrants, though Toronto earned the Division, I don't want them to advance, keep that American League or World Series Title in the US.. National League though St Louis earned their title despite the adversities I'd still lean with Pittsburgh.
I think Tank will have a decent outing, (maybe-maybe not)......Minute Maid park, can be a hitters park from either side of the plate...... Overall, its all going to come down to whether the Yanx bats are alive, or sleeping; scoring runs, (and not in 1 or only 2 innings). I expect the Stros bats to be alive, especially at Home. The Yanx are going to have to come out of the chutes swinging, and connecting, getting men on base, and NOT stranding them. (I know the 'run variance chart' may not even apply here). Lack of Yanx RBI's and quantity of stranding RISP, have been a major obstacle of late, and hell all year....... In his career, Tank has a 10.80 ERA, vs Houston. Odd thing is: when I look at Tank's W-L numbers, et al. I see he's only pitched in 5.0 innings in Houston, (2015). Tanks Split Stats for last year, show He did not face Houston in 014.... I think it would be safe to say, this 1 - 5.0 inning game, this year, can be tossed out, as I don't see this stat as being relevant for that 1 game effort..... It will be interesting, watching this game, as he could easily throw a damn good game vs Houston, but He HAS to have run support, and the Yanx are 3-4 both away and home combined. I don't foresee Tank eliminating Stros batters, not for long anyway. If its a 5.0 inning game for Tank, then I can't see the middle RP's, being effective, rather the opposite. I think you hit it on the head, 59; ie Reference: your comments noted with *** This is interesting though: The Yanx vs Houston overall, have scored 17 runs, but allowed 36 Runs by Houston.......I thought I had seen another stat, ie Yanx B'Avg vs Houston and Houston vs NYY......and I could've sworn the Yanx are batting a bit below .250 vs Houston...... but- I can't find that stat a 2nd go round....... It's 5:37 am, and I've not been to bed yet, so, I'm damn near hallucinations with exhaustion, and I've become "Gumby Damnit")..... I gotta' get to bed, this brain is fried....... Honestly, my gut feeling, or intuition says: Stro's Win Big at Home, as has been the case this year....... This is telling of tonights game, IMO, Yanx 42-39 Away Record, vs Houston's 53-28 Win/Loss at Home.....doesn't look good for the Yanx....
Personally in the NL, I'd love to see the Cubs beat t/Pirates.... The Cards just keep re-loading, if I had to put money on it, I'd say Cards all the way..... with the Kershaw-Greinke teaming up to pitch games 1,2, 4, 5, I expect the Mets to choke, and the Bums to choke with the Cards in another NLCS..... In the AL, the Rangers can be scary, tho' this last week, they didn't look it. Jays, a team to be reckoned with, esp in Toronto's Homer Dome, and have the same Home record as Houston.... I expect to see KC vs Toronto in the ALCS, with another I-70 W.S.
that does it, I am going to bed, I can't even think straight, its been a very long day (yesterday) and longer night....... Thanks for the correction........shit, in that case, I'm not sure at all,
Something to consider...... The Yankees offense went dead, their once comfortable lead to make the playoffs almost vanished completely & they finished with just 87 victories. By the way, those were the 2000 Yankees. They lost 14 of their last 17 games. During that stretch Paul O'Neill hit 108, Tino Martinez hit 170, Scott Brosius hit 174, and David Justice only 218. Of course that team went on to win it all. But here's the difference, that was a 17 game stretch, this years team has been bad the the last 55-60 games during which time (Since August 1st), Rodriquez is hitting 191, McCann 192, Gardner 202, Ellsbury 226, and Headley 233. And FWIW: In two games Tanaka is 0-0 with a 10.80 ERA against the Astros while Keuchel has gone 2-0 0.00 ERA in 16 innings with 21 strikeouts against the Yankees.
...keys to the game; 1. Tanaka with 2 strikes on the batter is extremely tough with that splitter of his, but the Astros are a VERY aggressive free swinging offense and will be hacking early in the count. So needless to say, Tanaka must be very careful early in the count. If he misses over the plate, the Houston hitters will pounce on those fat pitches. 2. Houston has been unbeatable at home but they also cannot win on the road...on the other side of the coin, the Yanx are at home but playing at home has not been kind to them lately...so the HFA is out the window, IMO. 3. If the Yanx have the lead after 6 innings you have to like their chances...conversely, if Houston is leading late, their BP is by no means as strong as the Yanx BP. 4. If McCann starts, considering how badly he's struggled at bat lately, he needs to swallow his pride and take the ball the other way vs the shift...in fact, against Keuchel, ALL of the Yankee LHed hitters need to take the same approach. ...and fwiw, if the Yanx don't win tonight, I'll be pulling for the Cubs.
I'd also go with the Cubs Ron but if they don't get past the Pirates being a NYer I'd lean to the Mets. Otherwise, I'll not care who wins as long as its not the Dodgers
Going back to the Marichal / Roseboro incident.http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/6479266/v7140189/marichal-looks-back-on-incident-with-roseboro
all the pressure is on the hitters & the defense, look for tanaka to dominate, and keep an eye on didi...... go yanks
As a fan all I can say is I'm hopeful. I optimistic Tanaka is going to being his A game tonight. It will be up to the hitters to give him some help. As the biggest right handed bat in the lineup they need something big out of Arod tonight.
