Aaron Boone claimed that the Yankees were on the verge of being able to utilize their deep roster in multiple Division Series situations, but never got there.
Instead, he channeled his inner Pat Riley and played less time in the playoffs against the Royals. Coach Boone had 15 position players, 10 of whom were starters, and the 11th, Duke Ellis, played in Game 5 in a relatively meaningless pinch runner position. Jason Dominguez, Trent Grisham, Jose Trevino and Ben Rice never saw the field.
Boone started 10 of his 11 pitchers, all except Lewis Gill, who is scheduled to start Game 4 of the ALCS in Cleveland. However, Jake Cousins, Ian Hamilton, and Tim Meza appeared in one game, and that trio and Tim Hill combined to face 14 batters. Clay Holmes faced 18 alone and Luke Weaver 15.
When the Yankees open the ALCS on Monday, it's not like Boone was worried about overuse, considering they've played four games in the past 15 days. Coach Boone started every game with seven players in the same position, starting with John Berti and Oswaldo Cabrera. These players have seen plenty of action on both sides of the ball, but the Yanks are considering adding Anthony Rizzo (broken finger) to the ALCS roster.
The Yankees will add at least one pitcher and Nestor Cortez (elbow) may be out, so there will likely be a roster shakeup no matter what.
But beyond the top-heavy nature of the Yankees, one of the reasons Boone was able to stick with fewer players is that the Division Series is a redemption tour for three key players, clearly important in the ALCS against Cleveland. It means having the right to speak out.
1. Clay Holmes. Amid the flurry of saves that cost Holmes his final job, it was easy to forget that the right-handed pitcher was one of the best acquisitions of the Brian Cashman administration. Holmes' ERA of 155 or higher ranks fourth in Yankees history (with at least 200 games played) behind Mariano Rivera, Goose Gossage, and Dellin Betances.
Holmes has a Ryan Pressley vibe, was very durable in the regular season, and was even better in the postseason (13 shutouts in 10 games). Holmes is getting a feel for the sinker again, and the right-hander is often very effective when maintaining positive counts. Against Kansas City, Holmes faced 18 batters and had just one walk and three walks in five shutout innings.
The industry knows what kind of guy he is, and Holmes is set to sign a strong contract as a free agent this offseason.
2. Giancarlo Stanton. Many people say they don't care what other people say. Stanton is among the few people I can trust. He knows how bad it looks when you run in a controlled manner with big swings and misses, but it's basically a jog. He knows his most important role is to try to stay healthy enough to do damage at the plate.
And he hasn't changed. He knows who he is and I think it really helps him block out the noise and not try too hard during this time.
Stanton had a great at-bat against Kansas City, going 6-for-16 with three extra-base hits. In particular, in Game 3, he hit a decisive home run in the 8th inning. Stanton currently has 12 home runs in 128 postseason at-bats, making him the only Yankees player to hit one batter in an at-bat. Babe Ruth (1.285), Lou Gehrig (1.214), and Reggie Jackson (1.090) had better playoff OPS (minimum 100 at-bats) than Stanton's .987.
3. Anthony Volpe. If you knew nothing about the ALDS other than that Volpe outscored shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., you would have correctly guessed that the Yankees won the series.
Volpe rushed and made some mistakes in the first game, but mainly showed solid defense. The positive was on offense, as in the regular season he still often fell into easy outs with big swings.
Against the Royals, he had three hits in 12 at bats, but had four walks and one strikeout. And there was no reward for crushing the ball to the right.
It was as if he had a magnet drawn to right fielder Tommy Pham's glove, hitting lineouts at 160.8 mph, 96.8 mph, 99.4 mph, and 103.1 mph, with the last two expected to hit .350 and .460. However, he hit a line drive double. In Game 4, he played first base with an expected average of .520.
Still, all three of his hits were pulls or singles over the center. Still, this version of using the entire field to tough out is the best version of Volpe.
“Watching these games and the preparation week that followed, I thought he looked his best offensively at any time all year,” Boone said. “So I'm going to sign up for what he's doing now.”
