ALDS Game 2: Yankees vs. Indians Preview/Predictions
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Wow. Just wow.
Talk about a good start to the series. Game 1 may have been the most stressful game I have ever watched. Five hits. Five. 5. No hit for the first 5.1 innings. Gray not even giving us four innings. Bullpen having to come in and keep it in range yet again. How do we expect to win the series when our starting pitchers can't even give us 5 quality freaking innings. It's the same thing every time too. No command. They fall behind on hitters. You simply cannot do that against a team like the Indians. They're loaded offensively. You can't afford to fall behind every batter, you just can't it's as simple as that.
Anyways, game 2 of the American League Division Series in on tonight at 5:00 PM, on MLB Network. C.C. Sabathia and Corey Kluber will take the mound for their respective teams.
After a rough game one, the Yanks are gonna need a lot of help. They had trouble hitting against the teams second best pitcher....and now they get to face the American League Cy Young Award winner in Kluber.
If the Yankees even REMOTELY want a chance, they need a solid outing from C.C. The starters for the Yankees have thrown just 4.2 innings combined in the first two games of the playoffs. Chad Green and David Robertson are still on the fence of being able to pitch, seeing as they both had long roles in the Wild Card game, that was three days ago. I'm sure they're available for an inning each, but when it comes to longer roles, their hands are somewhat tied.They do still have Jordan Montgomery in the pen as that long role pitcher, and I'm sure Garcia can give them another couple innings, but the bullpen needs a break. C.C. needs to be able to go out their and give the team a 6 inning, quality start.
And Jesus Christ can we stop putting Gary Sanchez behind the plate now? His defense all year long has been a liability, and now it's really showcasing. Four past balls in game one. Four. He can't block. He reacts too late. It's not something that can be fixed overnight either. It's an offseason adjustment that'll take time. "But Kaleb, there were a lot of balls in the dirt, you can't expect him to stop all of them." Ummmm... yes I can. That's his job as a catcher. Let's not act like they were tough ones to block either. He picks the ball up too late and doesn't get his body in front of the ball. Put Austin Romine behind the plate, and move Sanchez to DH. It's that simple.
You're probably thinking "But Kaleb, Romine can't hit, we need as many hitters as possible, who cares about defense?" To which I would respond by calling you an idiot, defense is just as important as offense. Also, let't not act like taking Todd Frazier out of the lineup would be the end of the world. He can't hit either. This move wouldn't impact the lineup too much, and it makes the defense better.
I have a feeling this game is going to be close. C.C. is used to the postseason environment (18 career starts in the postseason) especially in Cleveland, where he pitched for eight years of his career, including pitching in the postseason (5 starts). His numbers aren't pretty in the postseason (4.53 career ERA in the postseason), and he hasn't put up consistent numbers (12.27 ERA in 2008, 1.83 in 2009, 6.23 in 2011, 3.38 2012 for some examples) but this year is a different C.C. He's been big all year long for the Yankees, especially following a loss (9-0,1.71 ERA) after they get beat. Still, I feel Kluber dominates this Yankee lineup, making this into a pitchers duel, in which the Indians ultimately win, 2-1.
