Let's Not Put The Cart Before The Horse...

All of these predictions made by baseball analysts’ mean absolutely nothing to me. It doesn’t matter if you were a bubble team or the division winner; it’s a clean slate, an open whiteboard and the future is in each team’s hands. As I watched each of the Wild Card matchups on Tuesday, I was impressed. From the Tigers to the Mets, the games were exciting; just as playoff baseball should be. Yet the baseball pundits will continue to predict, and I say, don’t listen because the story has not been written yet.

“Even in a world where the Dodgers lead off a game with three former MVPs, the Yankees’ combination of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto may be the most fearsome one-two punch in all of baseball. Judge just completed a season that evoked prime Barry Bonds (.322/.458/.701 with 58 home runs and 144 RBI) while Soto led the American League in runs scored (128) in his first season in the Bronx,” reported The Guardian. Facts. And all of this will have an impact, if the Yankees can put themselves in the position to leverage more than just those combos of bats. A lot has to stack up first before the Yankees can be predicted to go far in the postseason.

With a bye into the American League Division Series, the first obstacle, if you would call it that, is to keep from getting rusty before their first game against a worthy Wild Card opponent who has battled through another worthy Wild Card opponent. “We’ll do our best to prioritize taking advantage of the rest that I’m sure a number of guys at this time of year will benefit from,” manager Aaron Boone said Sunday. “But also trying to make sure we keep that mental edge and keep guys as sharp as we possibly can with live looks and things like that. Try and strike that balance and then tee it up on Saturday,” reported the New York Post.

From advantage standpoint, however, the Yankees will be fresh, likely the most fresh they have been since the beginning of the season. And that could mean a lot for this club who has been plagued by injuries and setbacks all season. 

“Besides avoiding a short series where anything can happen, the Yankees will be able to line up their rotation exactly how they want for the ALDS — Gerrit Cole in Game 1, likely Carlos Rodon in Game 2 and either Luis Gil or Clarke Schmidt for Game 3 (Gil would appear to have the slight edge, with Schmidt having prior relief experience),” reported The Post. While the rest of their AL opponents have had to expend their starting pitching just to compete in the ALDS. 

Again, not a bit of this matters, if the Yankees can’t take advantage of what would seem a favorable position. As Yahoo Sports points out, “Any team, no matter how talented, can fall victim to the torturous reality of October randomness.” In fairness the writer was speaking to the Phillies who have the most potential to go the distance, because of the team’s completeness. Yet, the same writer states, “Whether or not this ends up being Soto’s final year in pinstripes, this looks like as good of a chance as we’ve seen in a while for New York to return to the Fall Classic.” 

It is a crap shoot and an endurance exercise all at the same time. And if you say too much, you might talk your way out of the mix. But if you don’t hype enough, you might not confident enough to withstand the pressure of the entire enterprise. It takes balance. And an ability to know how much optimism and how much humility you need to contribute. Yet, putting the cart before the horse is a good way to drive yourself right off the rails. So, I like the optimism, and I appreciate the critics, but in playoff baseball, it is about doing just enough to move on. And getting better with each game.

2009 was a long time ago. So was 2017. It is 2024. Go get it, Yankees. Stay hungry like your cross-city rivals. That is the kind of persistence that wins ball games, no matter what horse you have in that stable. 

–Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof