AL Wild Card Thread - Athletics @ Yankees

DeadlySplitter

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Going to start this a bit early.

OAK is likely to go with a bullpen game. They have been using Liam Hendriks and Lou Trivino as "openers" lately.

NYY just announced (or it was leaked, Boone seemed very tight-lipped yesterday) that Severino will start for the Yanks. They had three legitimate options in Happ/Tanaka, and I'm sure one if not both will be on the roster for break glass in case of emergency.

8:08 first pitch tomorrow. I believe Eck will be an analyst, I think Darling/Anderson will be there too.
 

luckysox

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Any of you Yanks fans surprised it's Severino and not Happ, given the former just got lit up by Oakland a month ago? I assume Happ will be in the bullpen, but if they need him, Oakland is likely out in front. I can see the arguments for Severino, but none of them add up to the fact that Happ has been the best pitcher on the staff since he joined the team, and I guess I'd like my best pitcher going in a winner-takes-all game.
 

luckysox

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Also, I just don't want the extra BS that comes along with a Bos-MFY series. So I guess I'd choose Oakland, but honestly, their not a freaking picnic, so I only pick them because they don't come with the added rivalry crap.
 

DeadlySplitter

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just to note Yank fans will be mostly talking in their own thread on the Yankee board, whenever that's created
 

Sam Ray Not

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Willie Geist to Mike Barnicle this morning on Morning Joe: "Setting aside your rooting interests, who do you have in the Yankees/A's game?"
Barnicle: "A's."
Geist: [exasperated] "I said setting aside your rooting interests!"

Barnicle went on to say he wants to face the Yankees, which I took to be basically BS/smoke-blowing.

Do this, Oakland. Go Warriors on their asses!!!
 

jon abbey

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Any of you Yanks fans surprised it's Severino and not Happ, given the former just got lit up by Oakland a month ago? I assume Happ will be in the bullpen, but if they need him, Oakland is likely out in front. I can see the arguments for Severino, but none of them add up to the fact that Happ has been the best pitcher on the staff since he joined the team, and I guess I'd like my best pitcher going in a winner-takes-all game.
Severino's slider is back since then, although he is still having issues with fastball command.

It would be easy to not pick Severino, not only did he get slammed by OAK in early Sept but he got knocked out in the 1st in the wild card game last year, but he will be on 7 days rest and only needing to go 4-5 innings, plus really wanting to prove he is the ace he seemed to be for a year and a half (3rd in the Cy Young voting in 2017, sub-2 ERA into early July this year). I kind of like it to be honest.
 

jon abbey

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just to note Yank fans will be mostly talking in their own thread on the Yankee board, whenever that's created
I think just a game thread after midnight like usual, but there are other threads to post in now if people like.
 

luckysox

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Severino's slider is back since then, although he is still having issues with fastball command.

It would be easy to not pick Severino, not only did he get slammed by OAK in early Sept but he got knocked out in the 1st in the wild card game last year, but he will be on 7 days rest and only needing to go 4-5 innings, plus really wanting to prove he is the ace he seemed to be for a year and a half (3rd in the Cy Young voting in 2017, sub-2 ERA into early July this year). I kind of like it to be honest.
He's also really good at Yankee Stadium, yes? And going against a bunch of righties, which I can see being a big point against Happ...like I said, I see the arguments. I'll say this - when Sev is good, he is really, really good. It'll be interesting to see what comes of his start.
 

jon abbey

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He's also really good at Yankee Stadium, yes?
He's only had five starts at home in the last three months (since his struggles began), Each one has gotten better, but he has an over 5 ERA in those five combined, FWIW (obviously a very SSS).
 

reggiecleveland

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Thanks Tim McCarver.
Too brief for McCarver

If he gets his pitches where he wants, hits his spots he will dominate. But, if he makes mistakes the A's will make him pay. But if some of those mistakes go out to die in death valley that could be good. On the other hand the A's have some guys that can hit out of any park including Yellowstone.
 

Doug Beerabelli

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Any of you Yanks fans surprised it's Severino and not Happ, given the former just got lit up by Oakland a month ago? I assume Happ will be in the bullpen, but if they need him, Oakland is likely out in front. I can see the arguments for Severino, but none of them add up to the fact that Happ has been the best pitcher on the staff since he joined the team, and I guess I'd like my best pitcher going in a winner-takes-all game.
Well, they won the last WC game Severino started.
 

Sox and Rocks

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Today could be MFY elimination day! The champagne is already on ice.

The mfy are a deep and scary team, and better than last year in many ways, but something about this year feels different, both with their roster and their opponent for this game. I hope I'm right.
 

brandonchristensen

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I'm super excited for this game. but I have the sense that by the end of the first it will be something like 5-0 Yankees and I'll be pissed off.
 

NJ_Sox_Fan

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I'm super excited for this game. but I have the sense that by the end of the first it will be something like 5-0 Yankees and I'll be pissed off.
That is the feeling I have. I don't really know that Oakland would be any easier to play in a 5 game series, but I want the MFYs to go out in the play in game very, very badly. However, I have bad luck, so I will just instead hope that the Sox win the playoff games that I am going to.
 

InsideTheParker

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Today could be MFY elimination day! The champagne is already on ice.

The mfy are a deep and scary team, and better than last year in many ways, but something about this year feels different, both with their roster and their opponent for this game. I hope I'm right.
You may not want to hear this, but I thought that the Cubs would murderize your team. That the Rockies beat the Cubs gives me a sliver of hope for tonight. A sliver.
Geaux, Athletics!!!!!!!!
 

mauidano

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Other than Happy, the MFY's pitching is suspect. Not counting the A's out at all. At this point all these teams in the Playoffs earned it. And as we saw last night, anything can happen.
 

ColonelForbin

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You may not want to hear this, but I thought that the Cubs would murderize your team. That the Rockies beat the Cubs gives me a sliver of hope for tonight. A sliver.
Geaux, Athletics!!!!!!!!
Let's get Chili Davis on a plane to New York to provide some batting tips to the MFYs
 

TheoShmeo

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Did the MFYs go with Severino because they’re looking ahead and see Happ as a Sox killer? Was that part of the calculus, if not the driver?

To me, if you have to win one game, Happ is the better bet. If this was the last game of the playoffs, I would assume the Yankees would choose him if they could.

And yes, go A’s. I have no desire whatsoever for the psychodrama of another holy war. Having been there and done that in 03 and 04, and having seen the Sox prevail in such a gut punchingly wonderful way, I’ll opt for straight baseball and the Oakland Athletics.

Yankee Elimination Day is one of the best days of the year. May it come this evening.
 

Al Zarilla

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Did the MFYs go with Severino because they’re looking ahead and see Happ as a Sox killer? Was that part of the calculus, if not the driver?
I think it was the reason. If it backfires and Severino doesn’t pitch well and the A’s win, well, the Yankee people have been telling us the dynasty starts in 2019. If Sevy pitches well and the Yankees win, yes, Happ has been a relative Sox killer. Still, A’s win tonight and Happ won’t pitch again until spring 2019. Come on backfire!
 

jon abbey

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I think it was the reason. If it backfires and Severino doesn’t pitch well and the A’s win, well, the Yankee people have been telling us the dynasty starts in 2019. If Sevy pitches well and the Yankees win, yes, Happ has been a relative Sox killer. Still, A’s win tonight and Happ won’t pitch again until spring 2019. Come on backfire!
Part of the calculus is that they really just want someone to go maybe 4 good innings before they turn it over to the bullpen, and they think that Severino on 7 days rest and pacing himself for 60-70 pitches as opposed to the normal 100-120 will be more effective. I think the potential ALDS matchups are a tiny factor, but mostly as a kind of tiebreaker, meaning the thinking is along the lines of "Severino or Happ for 4-5 innings in this matchup are roughly interchangeable but Happ is definitely a better matchup against BOS so let's go with Severino". Also NY needs Severino to be an ace in future seasons and the leader of their staff so I think that is a small factor also, giving him a chance to erase the bad memory of last year's Wild Card game as well as his disastrous outing in OAK in early Sept.

TL/DR: The Yankees don't have a Verlander or Bumgarner level ace so they drilled down into some of the specifics and I think in the end, they decided Severino is just as good an option as Happ for this game.
 

Al Zarilla

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Good luck Liam Neeson, er, Jimmy Hendrix. Liam Hendriks. Will he get out of the first? He started September with an ERA over 7, but got it down to 4.12 by allowing no runs in September. Hope the big stage doesn’t get him.
 

strek1

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The A’s have a 41% chance of winning. That seems high. This game will prove ‘bullpen games’ don’t work in October. You need an ace.
I don't know, if this were a series I would agree. But in one single game there are lots of possibilities. And Severino hasn't been real "Ace-like" in the 2nd half anyway. Wish it were in Oakland though.