NFT: Game 4 - ALCS - Yankees vs Astros from The Stadium - 5p FS1

And when we got down 2-0 in this series I was wondering if maybe this was like the 2015 Cubs moment (great first round win but swept in the LCS). That learning moment in the playoffs before the big payoff the next season.

But this group continues to overcome the doubts. This could be something special.

Just need to finally figure out how to hit Keuchel at least a bit in order to grab control of this series.

Go back a few months, and everyone would just love to make the playoffs.

Get close to winning the division - miss by a couple of games, and people are pissed that some blown saves cost them the division.

Get into the playoffs - and we'll be happy to do well against Cleveland. Go down 0-2 after a managerial brain fart, and people want Girardi dead. All anyone wants at this point is to see some fight.

Team roars back from 0-2, and it's house money. Houston's a tough customer, but we're all just glad to be here, right? No chance given against Keuchel, why aren't we trotting Sonny Gray out there. The Yankees play two close games, and people are pissed that the bats go silent and that two possibly winnable games are lost.

It's not just us, it's fan psychology. We lose track of how hard it is to win sometimes.

kind of arriving a year early with all the young position players. Will be interesting to see how this ends. You still have to like Houston's hand- with 2 of the potentially 3 games remaining at home, and your 2 best pitchers going the next 2. However that mountain has gotten a shit ton smaller since Saturday night. Plus there is a lot of pressure for Keuchel/Verlander to pitch really deep into games because 6+ or even 7 innings won't cut it if the game is close.

Houston very well might not if Verlander/Keuchel do the same.

In comment 13654665 Stu11 said:

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Houston very well might not if Verlander/Keuchel do the same.

This is true. More pressure on the Astros' starters to be great because they know how shaky their pen is.

is that last night, for the 2nd time in the playoffs the Yankees did not have their 3rd baseman guarding the line in a close and late situation. They made that mistake in the Cleveland comeback loss and it almost cost them again last night when Frazier inexplicable was off the line for the Gurriel double. In the 90's I remember Nardi Contreras constantly on the top step of the dugout moving fielders, sometimes between pitches. Whoever is doing this for the Yankees needs to be more observant, that's a basic tenet of baseball, the ball goes to one side it's one run the other it's 3, guard against the 3.

All over seatgeek looking for tickets for the game today. Any suggestions? Best bang for your buck section? Hoping to spend under 175.

[youtube]watch?v=-Msi4XLDrP4[/youtube]

In comment 13654735 dune69 said:

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[youtube]watch?v=-Msi4XLDrP4[/youtube]

Old people with a computer should be outlawed

I've been screaming at my TV for them to do just that. I blame the hitting coach for not drilling this into the team. When you try to pull a good breaking ball you either miss it, pop it up or pound it in the ground. Every now and then you'll get lucky but not often.

Likewise if your approach is to take the ball the other way you stay on the breaking ball a lot longer and square it up more often. The pitchers will adjust by coming inside more and you know what happens to mistakes made on the inside part of the plate. Judge, Didi and Sanchez lose them for you.

Stadium rocking, pitcher on the ropes - you just knew the hits would keep coming.

Never "hey, some pitchers have really been lights out against them" and "bats have been in a bit of a funk in the series". No, it's "I blame the hitting coach!" "I blame the bench coach!" "I blame Sonny Gray!" "I blame Gary Sanchez!".....ok, well, Gary WAS to blame in game 2, but my point stands.

They've been pitching him a similar pitch sequence all series; Low curve, low curve, high and tight fastball, and its been killing him until last night.

Starting with the sac fly, it looks like he began to anticipate the sequence. The fastball he hit the double on was a bit low and over the plate, but it came after two low curves just like all series.

I'm sure they will change up thier approach to him now, but the youngsters are starting to key in on Houston's pitching.

The best part of the double off the wall, was how he bent down to scoop thelow curve, that we all knew was coming.

In comment 13654782 Greg from LI said:

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Never "hey, some pitchers have really been lights out against them" and "bats have been in a bit of a funk in the series". No, it's "I blame the hitting coach!" "I blame the bench coach!" "I blame Sonny Gray!" "I blame Gary Sanchez!".....ok, well, Gary WAS to blame in game 2, but my point stands.

All this time I was blaming you. I'll rethink.

but so do the Yankees. And the Yanks actually have a bullpen.

The smart money might just be on the Yanks.

Judge has an OBP of 333 in the postseason. Not great but not god awful and is 2nd in RBIs with 9. Not bad for a guy that many have labeled as lost at the plate. 9 rbis is 9 rbis no matter how you slice it. LAst night's HR was huge. The RBI double even bigger.

Judge has shown me so much in this postseason. First time ever in the playoffs facing the best pitching in the world and he's shown an ability to adjust on the fly. Not easy to do. He's a legend in the making in my opinion.

up!

Love baseball too! What a turnaround!. Judge goes from invisible K machine to completely taking over the series with his bat AND his glove in 2 days. Sanchez goes from zero to hero and finishes the game behind the plate.

over his career
44.2 IP, 166 total batters faced. And he has given up 0 HRs. .188/.218/.234 split

It seems that since Joe mentioned the poor umping on Judge, that he has gotten better calls on the low pitches in this homestand. If that continues, hopefully he fares better against Keuchel.

If I'm Girardi and Cockrell, I'm telling this team that they have nothing to lose by changing their approach with Keuchel and to focus on those low pitches and look to take every pitch the other way.

think one of the most important persons that can determine todays game is the home plate ump. If Keuchel gets the Maddox strike zone and Tanaka doesn't, it will be hard to beat him.

today?

Definitely some encouraging signs with Frazier going the other way for a HR Monday, and them all going with the pitch the last 3 innings last night. Lets hope that carried over to today because thats the only prayer you have of getting to Keuchel.

In comment 13654968 Del Shofner said:

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today?

I'm betting Headley. He started hitting the ball harder the previous few games and delivered last night.

but Keuchel has made several starts against the Yankees with I'm assuming several home-plate umpires. He has filthy stuff with late movement that work to great effect against a team comprised of a higher percentage of fly-ball hitters.

Styles make fights and Keuchel is a bad matchup for us. The Yanks were 8th in fly-ball percentage and 24th in ground ball percentage He is one of the best at not giving up HRs and led the league in ground ball percentage.

While I'd like to say it's an easy fix of just strategy, hitters for the most part are who they are. They make adjustments, but they don't just suddenly become a different type of hitter.

He's good, but no one is .188/.218/.234 good for too long. Those are Pedro Martinez 2000 numbers.

...against a great pitcher. On Oct 24, 1996, John Smoltz threw eight innings of 4 hit, 10K, 1 run ball....and lost because Andy Pettitte threw 8.1 innings of 5 hit shutout ball. Might need a similar performance from Tanaka.