NEW YORK — That’s why the Yankees wanted, and needed, the AL East so badly. At times, home plate umpire Eric Cooper’s strike zone was forgiving to Dallas Keuchel. Other times, the Astros’ defense was menacing; in the fourth, George Springer ranged to his left to rob Alex Rodriguez of a double, and in the […]
Category: Articles
The Nature of Yankees Fans
We here at Baseball Prospectus are generally not in the business of Hot Takes, and justifiably so. BP prides itself on level-headed analysis and occasional jokes on the proficiency of Mark Reynolds’ vision. With the season being decidedly over, however, and the manner in which it was declared over being met with such strong reaction, […]
AL Wild Card Game Recap: Astros 3 Yankees 0 – Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is Booing
The joy of baseball lies in its unpredictability. The g**damn frustrating joy of baseball lies in its predictability. In 2015, when opposing batters swung at the first pitch off Masahiro Tanaka, they slugged .508 with four home runs. In September/October, the Yankees offense ranked last or second-to-last in the AL in batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS. […]
The Yankees and Postseason Experience
When speaking of the Yankees, one word oft-used to describe the team is “age” and more specifically, “old age”. While the team isn’t so old now—the average age is 28, or about league average—some of the Yankees’ biggest names and contributors are seasoned veterans. Age can be a big negative in the postseason: older players […]
Is Dallas Keuchel too tough for the Yankees?
Tonight, the Yankees can end their season or extend their season. If New York wants to advance to the ALDS, they need to get past AL Cy Young contender Dallas Keuchel and the Houston Astros. Should the Yankees be scared? Well, they have to face one of the best pitchers in baseball. So in a sense, […]
Reliability of Yankees’ bullpen could make or break playoff chances
Once upon a time, the Yankees had a bullpen that caused the opposition to quake in its boots. This bullpen was used early and often, and in the process it seems that the figurative gas tank was depleted in a bad way. Nowhere is this best encapsulated than in the form of Dellin Betances, whom […]
Who will play second base for the Yankees in the wild card game?
Now that the Yankees have clinched a playoff berth, attention turns to their wild card-game roster. We can guess at the composition of most of that 25-man roster, beginning with about 16 sure things: C Brian McCann C John Ryan Murhphy 1B Greg Bird SS Didi Gregorius 3B Chase Headley OF Carlos Beltran OF Jacoby […]
Both optimism and uncertainty surround Yankees’ playoff berth
Considering the tumultuous nature of the Yankees’ 2015 season, it’s only fitting that their playoff-clinching win was wrapped in both buoyancy and anxiety. On the one hand, here were the Yankees, who the masses counted out back in April, cracking beer cans and submerging their teammates in alcohol. Here was Alex Rodriguez, who wasn’t even expected to […]
The Yankees’ Slowest Runners can make them Faster
The Yankees aren’t the fastest team in the MLB (that title belongs to the Reds), but New York’s roster is comprised of at least a few fleet-footed players. Sure, Brian McCann has been recorded as one of the slowest runners in the majors (by Statcast, he runs 16.07 mph, the slowest in baseball by quite a […]
Stephen Drew makes all his money in right field
There is an inherent opportunism to writing that I occasionally find a bit uncomfortable. Often I find myself cheering for specific outcomes because they would make a long-standing idea of mine become timely. If I’m dying to write something about Alex’s Rodriguez’s opposite-field power and he puts one out to right field it won’t make or break a story, […]