Yankees vs. Rays ALDS Preview | 1421

Today is October 1st and the Yankees are in the Divisional Series. We'll be previewing that matchup right now. Hello and welcome to Talking Yanks. Thank you very much for joining us today, the first episode of October. It's the American League Divisional Series preview. My name is Jimmy. His name is Jake. BBD, producing Fanatic Sports and Casino, presenting. And we're here to tell you all about Yankees versus Rays. You will listen to this and you will walk away and say, I'm smarter now. I know what I'm watching. Jake, how are you? James, Davis, everyone tuning in. You'll get some smarts and you'll get some of this. It's Steve Irwin redemption time. Let's kill the Rays. Okay? Okay. That's what I'm bringing right now. No, I'm going to have some of that because why not? Division rival. Playoffs. We've never played a playoff game in the trop. That's kind of crazy. I've never played a playoff game in the trop or Yankee Stadium against the Rays. Crazy. We played them in San Diego. In a way, this Rays franchise that, you know, when they first got built, they were a punching bag of the division for a while for some of the olds. And now this. And they got rid of the devil. So what's it called when you get when you like exorcism? Exercise. They were the devil Rays. They executed a perfect exorcism. They got rid of the devil. Just became the Rays. The sun. Heaven. Glory. Final ending. Or maybe it's the opposite. Maybe like their secret in their clubhouse before they take the field is like a devil worship. And then they put it away. We don't know about all of that. Some of that's rumor mill early on. We'll have some more stats and info. But, yeah, this is the first. We played them in 2020 in San Diego. So having that for this version of the Rays that has been a rivalry of sorts for the past decade or so with different iterations or even going back to Greg Longoria and David Price. So excited for that. And I guess my only, you know, Jakey Downer these days. Oh, no. I guess my only thing is that I was doing some of this with a couple people in the office was like, hey, that Red Sox series was great. We also kind of have to throw it out. Oh, yeah. That Red Sox team was not a playoff team. This Rays team has been the best regular season team in the American League from the start of the season. We were kind of fighting with them for a little while. Judge got hurt. And here we are. And Judge getting hurt will be a topic, too. But, yeah, we got some matchups. We got some what to watch for and all the goodies. Yeah. Here's the contents. Here's the chapter list. Season series. Projected roster changes for the Yankees on the roster. The starting pitching for both teams. A little bit of the Rays lineup, what you need to know. Rays bullpen, what you need to know. Some guesses at the Yankees lineup. And then just some quick here fun facts. So to kick us off, Jake, the Rays won the season series over the Yankees 7-6, one game. Now, a lot of this series, a lot of all the games, I'd be interested if you could find any series that we were like, that mattered. Maybe early on, maybe the first one, that's the most amount of players that are going to play in this series that played. The Yankees just took 3 out of 4 at home, but the Rays had clinched. It was rainy weather. It was doubleheader. It was not like your A versus A, let's see how we stack up against each other series. The Rays went 5-2 at home and the Yankees went 4-2 at home. So both teams. The Rays are the best home team in baseball. Their record at the trop is incredible. And they have built their skill set to play at the trop. The Yankees, best road team this year. So they've been enjoying the travel and the bus rides. Camaraderie. Belly doesn't. Not into it. And a lot of those Yankee starters who faced the Rays fared pretty well. They're pretty good, the Yankee starters. A lot of the Rays starters have fared pretty well against the Yankees. Yeah, it's tough and put this in the pocket if you're someone that cares about this as CBA is coming up and potential expansion and divisions and everything. I mean, this is exhibit A of why divisional teams do need to play more matchups. You can't take too much out of this. And I'll also say, I mean, part of the problem was the Yankees not keeping up with the Rays. Like credit to the Rays that the last week of the season didn't matter. Yes. That we don't have kind of more information or looking at that final week series of the season where, hey, you know, Rodon, who's a total wildcard this series, no Joes with us, his X Factor is Ramos, but like Rodon and how he could possibly be used or he could like not be used again. And that could be really good for the Yankees. But he has eight innings, one of the best starts of the season for the Yankees, but does it matter? Like I kind of don't think so. In a way it matters that I think a lot of the rounder numbers, like where you went with the Rays being amazing at home and obviously a unique home field. The Yankees being good at the road. That's one of the first push pulls of this series. The Rays are lesser hitters versus lefties. So I think as we go into roster construction, as we talk about Rodon's potential usage, that is another are the Yankees, how hard are the Yankees going to push that button against another platoon team like themselves in the Rays. And man, like the Rasmussen and some of his stats and our aces going in this, fun. But yeah, we need more division games. I agree, we need way more division games. All right, let's talk about the roster changes here. And it's interesting because I kind of just changed my mind on this. Okay. First flip. Yeah. The Yankees went with 10 pitchers in the wildcard series, which allowed them to have 16 batters. You're not going to be able to only have 10 pitchers in the divisional series. A lot of people were guessing 12. You go up to 12. But I think they're only going to take 11 pitchers. I could be wrong. My logic is when they had this same format right now, MLB playoff schedule is rotating in the divisional series, the American League and the National League, the amount of off days. Because the wildcard games are all played the same three days, and then they want to stagger it so they don't have four games going every day. So the American League, you play this year. You play game one. Then you have an off day. It's not a travel day. It's just an off day to separate the schedule. And then you play game two. Then you travel, play two in a row. Then you have an off day. Then you play game five. So that is three off days in a five-game set. That allows you to carry less pitchers because you can get by with only three starting pitchers. The Yankees did that two years ago. Last year, they carried 12 because they didn't have the amount of off days because it goes every other year. In 2024, they carried 11 pitchers for the divisional series and only used three starting pitchers. I like that, Jake, because Rodon can be used out of the bullpen in game one or two in the trop. And if he is a reliever, you only add one other reliever. My guess would be they add Weathers as the other pitcher. The Rays are not good against lefties. Weathers gives you another lefty. And also because if you get to game five, it's all hands anyway. So, okay, if Cole can start that because he started game one, you can have him start again on a very short leash and Rodon can be ready, you know what I mean, or whoever's ready. So my lean right now, and I'm interested to hear your thoughts, is they only go 10 pitchers. Oh, wow, stay at 10. No, sorry, 11, 11, 11. Okay, that was a double flip. Crazy ending. I think I had my first flip. Yeah. But it wasn't with that. I think it is 11. Like you said, in 2024 they do 11, and it's crazy. I mean, again, another conversation, a baseball bar conversation if you want to have it with your squad. Like, this is kind of crazy, the fact that there's only going to be one back-to-back games. Yeah. Like, that's so different than the normal baseball season, and this is something baseball people debate a lot. A lot of the old heads, no offense to the old heads, the more experienced heads usually come out, and they're like, a five-game set should be five straight days. Like, that's how you find out about a baseball team. That, yes, you don't need this. Like, I even, as we're doing flips right now, I'm wondering if, like, Hill is in more play than Yarbrough, because I don't know if you'll need the length because you have so many off days. Oh, that's a good thought. Right? Yeah, I haven't heard that thought. And you, yeah, I think that could be in play. I don't think I'd do it, because I just think Yarbrough is tossing the ball better than Hill, but the Yankees may think they like Hill better. If they have a match-up, they like the match-ups, because, you know, at the end of the day, Yarbrough is into E innings, where Tim Hill and this Rays team that is worse against lefties, this Rays team that is going to platoon, if Tim Hill can have a couple big outs, he could be useful for them. So, that was, like, my first flip. Oh, that's a good thought. Do we think Weathers is the guy? Yes. It seems like it, right? Like, he was throwing. Yeah, again, it's not like we have confirmation here. He was throwing right before the wild-card series. Like, that Monday before, he was the BP pitcher, and everyone said he looked great, which, in Yankees terms, you'd like to think. And speaking of potential leverage lefties, which then, okay, if Weathers is there, do you need Hill, and then you can keep Yarbrough for innings? So, we're in a dance with that part of it. I would think it is 11 pitchers, because I think you can get through. Because the other thing that's here is crazy. Going back to some of these previous Yankees teams, when we're talking about our second or third storters. Yeah. Sorry, I was thinking of going to Canada. Yeah. Those third storters, whether it's, you know, Luis Hill was a starting pitcher for the Yankees a couple years ago. Going back to 2020, we don't even need to say the funny business that the Yankees did in this very series. We're talking about Rodon, a $150 million pitcher, who had a fantastic season as, like, our swing guy. Yeah. And I misspoke earlier. Schloetler will go Game 5. It's Game 4 that Rodon would be pitching. And in my head, that's such a long... It's a gap. It's such a long gap for Rodon that you kind of want him to throw anyway. That could also be Cole? Game 4. It can be Cole again. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. So, like, they could... You don't need Rodon as a starter. As a starter. Yes. Which makes the bullpen more interesting, but it also gets really tricky, because, like we talked about last series, Hedrick, Blackburn, and Bednar, who have earned it, there's not a massive lane for Rodon. And also, say this. Say Cole pitches Game 1, and it doesn't go great, and you don't use Rodon, well, now you get to decide, do we want to go Cole Game 4? Or now Rodon is not part of the bullpen for Games 2 and 3, because he's starting Game 4. If Cole shoves Game 1, then I think Rodon now is part of the bullpen Game 2 and 3, and Cole's going to get Game 4. And that's the other thing that I... I said this as my one Jakey Downer thing, and now he's going back to it. But the Red Sox series, we were never down. No. It was never like... It was close. It was never like, hey, Freed loaded the bases his second time through, the bullpen's got to get hot in a hurry. No. Like, we never had any of those playoff feelings. So as I say that, and obviously, you know, we got dragons in our rotation. That's my new thing I'm saying. But Rodon... You've been saying that? ...is the first guy to go... Yeah, people have started using that for, like, really good quarterbacks. Oh, OK. Like, they've got a dragon on their side. It's almost unfair. Like, if you're the Buffalo Bills, you have Josh Allen. That guy's a dragon. Kind of unfair if you're just the Jets. Sorry. That the Yankees, those got, like, the best version of Garrett Cole. The dragon. Best version of Schlittler. D-word. Freed. Yes. So, yeah, that's the part of the playoffs that we just haven't felt that emotion yet at all. No, you haven't had to fire up the pen early, like, just in case. So, OK, I think that that's the pitching side. I think my guess is there's only one new name being... Well, they're going up in number to 11. I do like the Hill for Yarby theory. So what we're saying is we don't think Fulmer's going to be part of this. We don't think Legrande's going to be part of this. We think it's maybe Hill. It could, if they go to 12, I would say it's Weathers-Hill. Now, if it is Legrande, that's cool, and I'm interested. It's fun. But I don't know if it is. This episode is sponsored by TBS. It's almost here. The ALDS kicks off this Saturday, October 3rd, on TBS and HBO Max, and if the regular season was any indication, the ALDS is going to be necessary viewing this year. Here's the deal, people. You're currently listening or watching Talking Yanks. Know what might be the only thing better than that? Watching the Yankees play, and that's going to be happening on TBS. So watch out. For all the first-round pick Yanks, how about that? The youth is going to save us and hopefully bring us to the CS. TBS has you guys covered all October long. Game one of the ALDS through the ALCS. The biggest and brightest stars in the American League battle it out to capture the pennant. It all starts Saturday. Watch live on TBS or stream on HBO Max. There's no time like October. Don't miss a pitch. On the offensive side, Jake, say they're only losing one bat. I tend to think that's Stanton. Because there's just no versatility. Using him burns another player. And they don't have a lot of lefties. They don't have a ton of lefties. I mean, there is something to be said that he is Giancarlo Stanton. It's not like he's the purest platoon option in the world. Yeah, he's a good righty bat too. Giancarlo Stanton's role would be we need a game-winning homer. Have a moment, dawg. Which I'm wondering, is that more of a role than Rosario? Because the Rays do not have a lot of lefty pitchers. And they play in the trop where you literally can't play Rosario offensively. It doesn't matter if Schlittler's on the bump. Both of them. And then people are going to want to know, is Judge coming back? And I think no. I think if they think Judge can start in right field game three, then he might be on the roster and he's a pinch hit only, games one and two. I do not think they will. Nor I really don't think they should play him in right field on the turf. I don't think they would. I think it does become a question. I think Rosario's off. I just think you have Caballero who didn't play last series. Obviously, he's the pinch run threat. But we think Volpe stays, who's also a pinch run threat of sorts. Yeah, and infield help around the diamond. And Caballero's infield and outfield help in the past. I guess there's a Volpe asterisk. There is a world where Volpe's not on the team. The Rays don't have a lot of lefties. Yes, you have other options. I think Rosario's off. I think Judge and Stanton is just wild because Stanton literally being on the roster and who he is in the realm of baseball. Borderline Hall of Famer chasing 500 home runs was on the roster, which means he's on the roster to now have Judge potentially coming back. And you're right. They wouldn't let him. I don't think he would start a game on the turf. They've been so weird about that for years when Judge was younger and healthier that it is the first game in the boogie down Bronx would be Wednesday because it's Saturday, off day, game Monday, off day, Wednesday, which we've seen the updates on this. That's from the decision on the wild card. That's a full eight days. So I still don't think they'd do it because it limits them game one and two and it's a five game set being limited the first two games is tough. Well, the thing would be, is it Judge for Stanton? If it's Rosario for a pitcher and that gets us to 11, and then if you do Judge for Stanton, Judge is doing the Stanton role with the chance to be the right fielder for game three or four. Yeah, I could see it happening if he is in a better spot. He's been going to Somerset. He's with the Stay Ready crew. It's a really interesting, I mean, the two personalities involved there, like two of literally the biggest guys in baseball, two of the best power hitters in baseball. Judge said he used to idolize Stanton. Remember when they first joined and they had that picture of each other and like the tuxedos and stuff? You can't do both of them, right? Like if you're saying it's going to be like Rosario and Volpe, you can't. You can't do Judge and Stanton because you just need the defensive flexibility. You could do Rosario and Volpe off for the pitcher and judge, but it makes your bench really tight. Yeah, and this is a platoon team. Yeah. Where like say you want to play Ramos, get Ramos in that bat for Trent or whoever, like you need to now have another person whenever you do that. You need to be able to have a counter. And the Yankees probably say right now like they've gotten Volpe to a place where he is a versatile option off the bench and he's been base running pretty confidently since he came back. And you just need bodies like that. Yes. I think it could just be Stanton off or it could be Rosario off and then Judge for Stanton, but they didn't use Stanton at all and Rosario like in a pinch can run better than Stanton if they get really down to it. I don't know. If Judge is like a version of healthy that we can't imagine, Ramos off and Judge on, again, we're starting to get further into the daydream realm here. That might be like CS if Judge is really healthy. I don't know. Something to think about. I think we're all around it. Can you put Judge on and then as soon as you're like not into it anymore, you're like he's hurt and then IL him and bring Ramos back? I was laughing a little bit if they had like Stanton have a pinch hit at bat, they pinch run for him, they say Stanton's hurt and then Judge is like the injury replacement. Judge injury replacement game three? Crazy. I don't think he necessarily even has to be injured just if you remove him from the roster. But then they cannot. Whether for injury or not, they can't come back. They can't come back at all the rest of the postseason. If you've been removed, they can't be back for the next round so they'd be a World Series option. Okay, so. A little funny business. So Rosario starts game two against Seymour and he gets two at bats and then he limps off and now Judge replaces him game three and you're not strapped game one or two. I mean we laugh but. Funnier things. If you think that conversation isn't happening in the Yankees front office. Talk about every possibility. Can I call Boone and ask him that? Sure. I think that's funny. Say I've got one for you. I don't think he would like that. You don't think so? I don't think he'd like the faking injury part. But off the record maybe. Off the record, absolutely. Oh yeah. I'll give him a call after the show. And then that's it. That's the rest of that segment. Yeah. I think that's the roster part is still pretty juicy. Well if you take a look at the starting pitching. We did that for the Yankees. It's going to be. They haven't announced this. But I would assume it's Garrett Cole game one. Yes. Boone specifically didn't say it. And I think there's gamesmanship there. But I would guess it's Garrett Cole game one. Garrett Cole 22 starts in the postseason. 277 ERA. That's pretty good. Pretty good history. Now he hasn't pitched since September 23rd or something. September 22nd. So it's been a little bit. The only other option would be Rodon. Yeah. And in the lefty situation maybe that's there. But then Cole's not coming out. Yeah. Cole's not coming out of the bullpen. And you start Cam Schlittler game two. Because he'll be on the right rest. And Schlittler. I feel weird having to defend it. But he's the Cy Young winner. His postseason track record. Pretty damn good. And like what if. What if he is the guy. What if he's about to have a historic postseason. You need to give him every opportunity. That Schlittler is starting game two. And then if there's. Cole's starting game one. And if there's a game five. Cam Schlittler will start game five. It lines him up to pitch on the road twice. Cam Schlittler's road ERA was 1.16. That's good. This season. That was very fast. That's good. Very good stuff. For those not watching the YouTube. The stats are on the screen. In a flash. And that was like the whole thing. When they were even. Entertaining. They were thinking ahead. Pushing Schlittler to game two of the wild cards. Either way. He can do two and five. And then you got a thing. Max Freed is the first game in the Bronx. And then I also wonder. Would you rather have your lefties in the Bronx. With the short porch. Does that come into play at all. That used to be a line of thinking. If you pitch your lefties. They're going to bet their righties. You might take the short porch away from some of their lefties. I don't know if that even matters with this Tampa team. But. I would guess it's Cole. You can guarantee it's Schlittler. And then it is Freed. That's my guess. And then game four. They can go Rodon. Or they can go Cole. And I think they don't need to make that decision. Yeah there can be a Freed. Mini asterisk. That would be tied to Rodon. If they really want to get him out there. Or if they want to get Freed. An extra day for some reason. There's a world where they say. Freed, Rodon, Cole. You've all had elbow stuff this year. We're just starting you once. Sure. I don't know. And again. The fact that there would only be one set of back-to-back games. That yeah. It would be Freed and Rodon being the first guys on the mountain. And then. Actually not really. Because Cole would be. If Cole has a great start. He's on rest for game four. So. Again. These are all good problems. Yeah. These. Normally. Normally when we've done this. It's. Okay. Can Monte give us three. What's. Davies. Outlook. In heels. Been struggling. This is. This is pretty. This is why. There's glass half full with these Yankees. Yeah. But. If we're talking about the Rays. They're going to start. Drew. Rasmussen. Besides one inning of play. Where the Yankees scored six runs. He has absolutely shut them down. And he shut a lot of people. He's a very good pitcher. And then. It might be Freddy Peralta. Game two. It might be. Who's the other one. Is it Seymour. Seymour. In Seymour. He's their lefty. So if they want to. Switch the Yankees around. Or. Like you said. And maybe it's. Go back to basics. Like a lefty at the stadium. They could do that. Probably you'd rather do that. But yeah. Freddy Peralta. Who is so strong with the Brewers. For a handful of years. He got traded to the Mets. And they rubbed off on him. He wasn't good. But then he got traded to the Rays. A couple starts to get the Mets off. And then he's been good. Fastball. Freddy. He's got some postseason experience as well. That. Yeah. I mean. Pitcher of the month in September. They were like. Hey. We're in for a changeup. Yeah. Fastball's good again. And now the changeup's good again too. So. Interested to see. They also. Griffin Jacks. Is very talented. He also has some bullpen potential. A former bullpen pitcher. Nick Martinez. Who was kind of their guy. At the first half of the season. He slowed down a little bit. He also has bullpen experience. And. This is where. The Rays. And Kevin Cash. The longest tenured manager. And just how the Rays operate as a franchise. Like. Jackson Martinez. Having bullpen experience. They're in play. Every game of this series. Basically. Because. They're going to navigate. The lineup. I don't know. The best that they view. And they deserve respect. If there's one thing. October baseball. Knows how to do. It's keeping you guessing. Until that last pitch. But. Whether you're celebrating a big play. Or debating what just happened. That's the beauty. Of the game. And sometimes. You need to know. Because. Baseball has its own vacation vibe. You're outside. You're with your people. You got a game on. And somehow. Hours disappear. That same. Easygoing spirit. Is what you get. From La Playa. So. As you break down the game. Keep the good vibes. Going with Corona. Because. Whether you're at the ballpark. Or by the beach. This is our. Playa. So keep the baseball. Conversation going. And bring a little. Playa with you. This is our. Playa. Corona. La Playa awaits. The official surveys of MLB. Get yours at. Ordercorona.com. 21 plus. Relax responsibly. Corona extra beer. Imported by Crown Imports. Chicago, Illinois. I want. I want to just. That's fine. But their starting pitching. Is very good. Their. Baker. And their bullpen. Is really good. I think in the middle. There might be some softness. Like we found with the Red Sox. Maybe they can get to. Rasmussen. And Peralta. I don't know. All that stuff. Is a maybe. Obviously. It's postseason. Baseball. Maybe you can grind them out. Maybe you can battle. Get some runners on. But. They've been. Pitching. Very well. The Rays are. Again. At the forefront. Of a movement. In baseball. And it's. Same side. Changeup. So usually the changeup. A righty. A right-handed pitcher. Would throw his changeup. To a left-handed batter. Because the ball moves. Away from them. Same with lefty. Versus. Righty. But what the Rays. Have done. Is they're like. We're going to throw. Changeups. To the same side. So a righty pitcher. Throws a changeup. To a righty batter. Lefty. To a lefty. And they're like. The most. In baseball. They've done this. Eno Saris. I believe has written. A decent amount. About this. And that's what they did. With Freddie Peralta too. They're like. No. Throw your changeup. To both sides. Of the plate. It's going to work. So. That's what they do. They are smart. Smart. Baseball team. I don't think we're going to get. The Chad Tracy mismanagement. Here. I think it's a team. That's better. That is built. To be managed. By their manager. He's the longest. Tenured manager. In Major League Baseball. With the current team. He's with. Cash. Throw that good pitch. Yeah. Something. People have heard on this. Program. Going back. A long time. Mike Osanio. Is that who it was? Yeah. Osanio. I don't know if his first name. Was Mike. But it could have been. It might have been. Mike feels right. Yeah. He. Former. Yankee. Yeah. And no. It's funny Jim. As we. We go through all this. And we. We have a lot of. Stats and information. And trying to figure out what matters. And what doesn't matter. Man. As. Zooming in and out. On these teams. It's not. The plan's the same. Yeah. Each team has. Like. Their five starting pitchers. They like. That. Two of them. Are going to become. Bullpen weapons. They really like. Their back end. Like. Baker and Kelly. Have been two of the best. Eight. Ninth inning guys. In baseball. This year. Then it. Gets interesting. That. Like. They both like. The top of their lineup. Diaz. Aranda. Caminero. That's kind of like. Okay. Rice. Belly. Usually. There's one other. Joining them. There's a middle area. That I'm. Platoon day. It's like. Oh. We like them. Verse that. And then. The bottom of the lineup. It's kind of. Are you going to give us. Something. Whether it's Taylor. Walls. At shortstop. For them. Or. Well. Z. Who's been. Maybe it's. Wells versus. Walls. Have you thought about that. Taylor. Walls. Is just. Prime to be a pet. Doesn't he like. Have some games. Against the Yankees. We're like. Oh my God. That's. Yes. Why are you beating us. Yes. Yeah. The Rays. I mean. We can talk about the Rays lineup. And. Their makeup. But they are. A team that is. Turning back. The clock. In a way. They have Chandler Simpson. Led the league. In steals. He. Had the fourth most infield hits. Since the pitch tracking error. He is fast. He just. Chops the ball. To. Beat you to first. He's. Very fast. As soon as he's on base. The whole inning. Changes. We talked to. Boone about that. After April. Like. If he's on base. The inning. Changes. The. At bats. Behind him. Change. The hit and run is on. He's going to steal. You know. An early what to watch for. Is just trying to pick him off. They successfully picked him off. Second base. One time. In early April. And the Yankees. Run that. Pickoff play. We talked to Boone about this. And they did it again. To the. Who'd they do it to. Down the stretch. Was it the. Raise. Was it the raise. In that four game set. Or was it. Another. Was it the. Diamondbacks. Maybe. I forget. But. They run the. Pickoff play. Where. The pitcher throws it. To. The shortstop. At the second base. In motion. Basically. And it did work. On Chandler Simpson. Once this year. It has worked. A decent amount of times. Four times. They threw it away. Into the outfield. But I think. That's the risk. You take. Cause if you get. Chandler Simpson. Off the base path. It is well worth it. For how much. He changes. The dynamic of the game. So. Look for them to do that. And for it. Maybe not work. And you get very frustrated. Cause some relievers have thrown it away. But if it works. That'd be. Phenomenal. I believe Warren. Got him. Hmm. Maybe it was Rodan. It was Knight. It was like. You knew the other team. Was trying to steal. And the Yankees. The Yankees. Won it. Um. And we know how much. They've cared about this. For years now. I mean. Going back to when Stroman. Joined the team. And they were frustrated with him. Cause he didn't care about. Runners on. And they're like. No dude. Like this is. This is an impact. Piece of our organization. And yeah. Uh. Chandler. He's been amazing. Too. For the final two months. Of the season. Like it. It feels like the light bulbs. Gone on. And he. He might. Revolutionize. How. Prospects get to play. Baseball. Cause people didn't think. You could still do this. In today's major league. Baseball. Um. They got Palacios. Yep. Platoon. He'll be there. Platoon. Lefty. Second. He hits. Lefty. Playing second base. They picked off. Williams. On first base. Weathers picked off. Williams. From the Rays. On first base. When. Yandi was up. And they also picked off. It was three Rays I saw. Uh. Some of them are considered caught stealing. Because they. They actually like. Run to the next base. So maybe. Their first move is. Maybe it's not. Coming up. My. Searches. Wah. Hmm. I believe they picked off. I think they got. Here it is. Yes. It was Garrett Cole. Hey. Who got Chandler Simpson. Get a bug. Back in. May 22nd. So that'll happen. First game. Boom. The Rays. Are. A very. Dynamic team. They're really good. In close games. Down the stretch. They won every game. No matter what. If they kept it close. Down the stretch. They won it. Uh. In dramatic fashion. In stylish fashion. In. The other team. Catching a ball. Then tossing it over the fence. Like just. They just won. They've won. In so many different ways. They haven't lost a game. That they've led. If they've led. In the eighth. After eight innings. If they have a lead. They have not lost. In 97 games. They're closer. Baker. He is perfect. On the season. In. Save opportunities. So. They. They want to play. In close games. The Yankees weren't good. In close games. The Yankees want to do exactly. What they did in the Red Sox. Survive. Thrive. Survive. And then. Bam. Big. Innings. And make it a. Blowout. So. None of that extra stuff matters. What's nice. Is. This is nice Jake. With a team that puts the ball in play a lot. They strike out only 17 percent of the time. The Rays put the ball in play. They force action. They run. That's been a nightmare for the Yankees. It's nice that a team that does that. Doesn't have a lot of lefty pitchers. Because that means the Yankees can play. McMahon. They can play jazz. And. They're going to play Trent. And they're going to play. Spencer Jones. I don't know how much Trent over Ramos is even at a session anymore. But. McMahon and jazz should be a better infield. And it does. It grades out well. The Yankees. Had the. Some of the. Like. According to the metrics. Those guys. Had the best infield. In. Baseball. Which. I was a little jarred by that. But. Some of the defensive metrics had them as number one. Infield. When it's those guys. And that's good. That like. The lineups match. The defense. Because you have to play your defensive guys. Like. We could not play Rosario. Like you're saying. Yeah. Especially in the trop. I mean. Me mentioning the trop is kind of nice. To Rosario. On it. But yeah. I mean. It's the whole math we did. And like. Oh well. Schlittler's on the mound. And how much he strikes guys out. And their lefty batters. Blah blah blah. But. Yeah. I think with the. With the way the Rays play baseball. You can't leave yourself out. That I. I don't think Rosario's going to be on the team. And yet. Lefties did fair. A little bit better. Against. Rasmussen. Rasmussen's really good. He's been really good against the Yankees. But it's also. You know. We. I'd like to give credit. To the Yankees. When they do believe in something. And they go for it. And hey. We got a bunch of lefties. Let's throw them at Rasmussen. Let's. Let's see if we can get them. And then. Let's see if the Rays do the dance. And that could be very interesting. Because the Rays like to dance. Just a little bit more. Rasmussen's. Hasn't been on the team. Hasn't been a guy that's always been long for games. Like he uses his pitches. He's also a medical marvel. And I think I'm going to try to make that his nickname. I don't know if you remember this. We went through his injury history. I think it's two Tommy Johns. And another one. Like. Clark's coming for the title. Yeah. Watch out. I mean. Clark idolizes Drew Rasmussen. Right now. But like. Cam Boozer. Has been their. Verse lefty. Would you call that guy? Guy. I know. I don't like it. You know. Jake. You have a nickname. One of our college friends. Rude. The local booze bag. It was a joke. Because he's. He's a nice guy. I also went to high school. With him. He's just a sweet. Sweet. Boy. He was. He's probably a man. Now. He's in college. He was like. Why do you call me that? Yeah. It kind of stuck. Because of our friend. Ken. Who really laughed at it a lot. Yeah. And then it kind of became a thing. Town booze bag. He wasn't. Yeah. He was a nice kid. He wasn't even. Yeah. Not like a big drinker. And sometimes that's when nicknames stick. Yes. Like tiny. That. Boozer. I don't know if this is the what to watch for segment. But he's their go to lefty. If the Yankees roll out their lefty lineup. The Rays. The team that are famous for the third time through. How are they going to execute Boozer? He has really good numbers against Rice. That Rice is agent number zero. That's not really a phrase. But he's the guy that the other team is circling and being like you can't. Can't let you beat us. That that execution is interesting. And Jim. This is me. Big brain Jake kicking in. As we're talking about Rodan and his role in this series. I wonder if they could leave someone like Ian Seymour. In their bullpen just as another lefty weapon. Because they have starting pitching. Like they have as I talked about Martinez who's been great for them this year. Griffin Jackson. Other righty. That right now it's Boozer and Matz out of their bullpen. Matz has had a lot of ups and downs. That's me being nice to the Long Island kid. That if they have Seymour as a bullpen option. That gives them a second lefty against these platoon Yanks. Yeah. Which. I think in the five game set they're going to want that. And then who would be Freddie. They also could just save him the same way we're talking about Rodan. So they. You know. Like if we. OK. We have him starting. So we're not going to use him. OK. Never mind. We're good. We're going to have like. We're not going to use three starters. And he can come out of the bullpen for the next three games. Whatever it is. It's a lot of flexing. Which is nice. That's extra off day. Does help teams where. The National League Division. Divisional Series. They don't get to have this many options. And this much thought. It's kind of. Nope. You're set. These are your pitchers because of the days involved. We talked about this a little bit. All the lefties are going to start. So I think you're going to see a more consistent starting lineup for game two. I think it's going to look like game two of the wildcard series. Yeah. I think Trent's going to be in center field. Spencer Jones is going to be in right field. Ellie's going to be in left field. McMahon. Lombard. Jazz. Luis Garcia Jr. With Wells catching. That's what it's going to be. Yes. Unless. If the Yankees. Okay. This is fun. The Yankees. Steamroll game one. Wow. And the Yankees. Now they've played three playoff games. Boston and Tampa. And let's say they've scored. You know. Nine runs in all three of them. How jazzy is that? That Tampa could look at everything they have and be like. You know what? Let's throw the lefties. Like let's shake this up a little bit. But otherwise. Yeah. I think this is what you're going to get. And then you have your pinch hitters. And you have Ramos to pinch hit. You have either Stanton or Judge to pinch hit. Goldie. You have Goldie to pinch hit. If you really want Volpe to come in and pinch hit. Or he has to pinch run. Let's get Javier involved in this. It's his ex-team. Yeah. Hasn't he played really well against the Rays this year? Because of that. He had that quote. Like I. I want to kill the Rays. I feel like he wasn't good in that homestand final series against them. But that also. That series like didn't exist. This season started basically that June. Or started taking off against the Rays. That's some power against them. Homers. Yeah. I. I think it's. I think it's base running and either Stanton or Judge insurance. Which is a little unfair. But that can also be the biggest role in the series. Yeah. And. If there's no. If there's no Rosario. If they do start a lefty. I'd like to think Caballero would either get that start. Or something. What are those numbers? These are just overall against the Rays since becoming a Yankee. This is 2026. I had. Oh. Okay. 2025 was really good. I wonder if you combine them. Last two years. Or that was. That was. I think that last. Again. The series that didn't really matter. Heard it. This one. That's on the screen right now. Is. The best split so far. And it's. Against the Rays this year. Before the most recent series. It didn't matter. Okay. That was my memory. And then that memory. That series didn't really get put into my book. Hmm. Jake. I got a couple notes here. Of like. Just stuff I want to see continue. Okay. This is. Uh. Maybe the best one. In the wild card round. The Yankees went nine for 20. With runners in scoring position. Like. They had. Been way worse. Than over the course of the season. So. I'd like that. They had some situational hitting. They had some bunts. They had some slapping the ball around. The Rays. Defensively. Have a lot of weak zones. They're really good in the outfield. And their shortstop is really good. But the. At third. Their. What was it? It's like. They're either. Depending on what stat you look at. Some of them. Like. DRS has their first base defense as the worst in the league. Uh. And it has their second base defense as 11th. And then. Outs above average has their second base defense as the worst in the league. Has their third base defense as 25th. So. Um. There are weak spots. There's also guys. Just don't hit it too. Mm. So. If we can play some baseball. Put on the ground. If McMahon can. Battle. And put the ball in play. Make things happen. Let's continue that. Mm. I liked what we saw from the wild card series. I think that. Hopefully. They're like. Oh ----. That worked. Like. It's better in my head. Than them winning on like. Three. Uh. Home runs only. And being like. That's the formula. Everyone just swing. Mm. Like. Kind of cool to pass the baton. And keep the rallies going. And then the other guy. On the Yankees. I want to call out. Is Austin Wells. Has hit four homers this year. Against the Rays. Now his. Batting average is awful. But I think his slugging. Is very good. Okay. Uh. Four homers and 34 plate appearance against the Rays. I like what Wells has been doing. Let's pop one. He's out there. He's playing. And he's been playing well. So yeah. I love that. This episode is sponsored by SeatGeek. It's MLB playoff time. And the NFL is here. And the NBA. And the NHL is sneaking up on us. And one app has tickets. For. It all. It's SeatGeek. The number one rated ticketing app. 35 million downloads. That's a lot. Try counting to that. Sports. Concerts. Festivals. Everything. SeatGeek. MLB's official. Ticket marketplace. So Yankees tickets. Fully guaranteed. And instantly fulfilled. Every ticket backed by their buyer guarantee. Like that. And. I like that we have a code for you guys. You can use code Yanks2026. You're going to save 10% off your next set. Of MLB tickets at SeatGeek. 10% off. Any MLB tickets with promo code Yanks2026. Click the link in the description. Download the app. And have the code automatically added to your account. So you can use it later. Thank you. SeatGeek. What do we need to do? Some guys were worried about on the raise. Other things we're looking for. What do you think? We didn't talk about Junior Caminero at all. We did not. Forty. Home. Forty plus home runs. In two seasons. I think the youngest person to ever do that. You've got two. Forty plus home run seasons before the age of 22 or something like that. He's. He's a threat. He's the guy. They've got a couple threats. In different ways. I. Three of them I'll put out there. OK. Junior Caminero. All time threat. Slugger. Becoming a star in this league. Slow trots. The big stuff. Fun guy. To hate. When he beat you. A little bit of. This is very light. Very light. But a little love like that. And it's probably a better comp to this than the guy I'm going to say. But a little of that Ortiz energy. He carries himself with. Oh yeah. Like I'm the man. And I'm going to do it. Right. You know. And he has been that guy for them. At a very young age. Yandi Diaz. The best. Bat to ball. Player in the league. Lead the league in hits. I believe. This season. Has very good numbers against Cole. Also can be a very hard at bat. And can really just jump start their offense. Like he's like gear one. Caminero is like then. You know. Overdrive. But. If you get Yandi on for the rest. You got to watch out for those guys. Yeah. I mean. Caminero is one of the best players in the league. He's 23. You know. Team D.R. Classic. He's one of those guys. Like the energy. He plays with. He's been a dream for Tampa. Like after they clinched the division. He's. He's on the field. He hit the. Or. He clinched the playoffs. He's on the field. Yelling. This is for Tampa. Like. Tampa's never had a player say that. And. Not a Yankees. This is for Igor City. Come on. We got a new stadium. This time for real. That he's. He's a stud. He's probably going to finish second in the MVP voting. Third. Worst. He's a special player. Yandy. Is just. He's the guy. That seemingly. I mean. He is their leadoff hitter. That it always feels like. Yandy is up. Leading off an inning. Or there's two outs. And two on. And it just feels like. That's every. Yandy Diaz at bat. And like you mentioned. He's going to put the ball in play. And he has. Thump. It's not. Pure power hitter. Thump. But he drives the ball hard. It's a line drive. He swing. He's one of the. Biggest dudes. In baseball. That the ball gets out enough. But yeah. He's. It feels like the moment. Always finds him. And it would be rude. To not mention. Aranda. Who he's. He's their top three. He. Those are the guys. That set the tone. For this team. Aranda is a split sky. But he's on. The right. Side. While being a left handed hitter. That verse righties. 284. 366. And 837 OPS. So. And they're going to see. Two righties. In the first two games. So. Have you looked at. Yandy Diaz. Career numbers. He just completed. His 10th. Big league. Season. Now the first four. He didn't play. Every game. His career numbers. 291. This is over. 10 seasons. 291 batting average. 370 on base. And 442. Yeah. As. As a ray. He's just been. One of the best. Like. All around ish. Hitters in baseball. You can easily say that. I was going to say all around. Defensively. Like you mentioned. With the rays. Yandy's always been. Somewhat hunting for a position. But. Again. I guess. Raise fans. They know their team. Better than us. Like. Whenever I see the ball. Hit T. Yandy. It's not like. I don't know. He's at first base. And there's not. Year on. Or worry. I don't know. Or excitement. But yeah. He's just a great. He led the island. Hits this year. Like that used to matter. The other guy. Has only DH. This year. I thought he was getting. Some first base in. To get. A round off his feet. But I could be wrong on that. Let's see. This year. No. You're right. All DH. Okay. So don't worry about that at all. And the other one. And this is more of a game one. Which we'll do on the pregame show. Cedric Mullins. Might be my pick for Thorn. In the side. He's got. Really good. Numbers against Garrett Cole. Also plays a really good. Center field. Jake 38. Plate appearances. Versus Garrett. Garrett Cole. That's a decent amount. When you look at. Batter versus pitcher. 316. Batting average. 316. On base. So no walks. 500 slug. That's pretty good. Two homers. Double. A pro. Like. ALE. Sky. You know. Saw the highs. Of baseball. And then. He came. Kind of down from that. That he looked like. He was going to be the. Every year. All star. For Baltimore. But yeah. Moments. Not going to freak him out. He knows what he brings. On defense. That. He's going to contribute. In some way. On offense. My. Thorn. In the side. Pick. New segment. Yeah. Victor Mesa. Junior. As. As I believe. I was doing a. Wake and Jake. Episode. And talking about. Spencer Jones. A little bit. A Tampa. Fan. Was like. We have our version. And he's. Been a little better. It's Victor Mesa. Junior. And. I think. The other reason. He stands out. For me. One. Very strong arm. He's got range. Like. It's kind of that old version. Of Tampa. We picture. Two. He's electric ball player. And he's a split sky. For them. But in a funny way. He's only gotten limited action. Verse lefties. But when he's. Faced lefties. He's done solid. Which kind of the Spencer Jones story. A little bit. The lefties. But his. Yes. But. In this short series. Of five game set. Where we've seen so many. Playoff baseball games. Come down to. Who's hot. Who's not. This guy's the guy. Right now. You know. We see the scariest guy. On the opponent team. Change like that. Victor Mesa. Junior's. First two games. Are going to be against. Right handed pitching. In the truck. Like. He can. Establish himself. In this series. As one of the biggest. Threats. Or. He can look like a rookie. Kind of in his first. Playoffs. And. You know. They could come into game three. Against freed. And it's like. Oh yeah. He's not even an option. Anymore. So. He's a big swing piece. For me. On how Tampa's team. Feels as the whole. Does any part of you. Because a part of me. And I think it's not. Warranted. But. I kind of wish. They didn't. Have Cole Schlittler. Back to back. Like there was a way. To not do it. Because they're very similar. Pitchers. In a way. Where it's a lot of. It's a righty. It's heat. Now obviously. Schlittler's longer. And his repertoire. Is much different. But if Schlittler's throwing that curveball. That Cole's throws a curveball. Decent amount. And. I don't know. If you have the four headed monster. Like. Obviously. This is. Pointless. But when I've been looking at this. If we were the first seed. And we got to set the lineup. For this DS. I think you would go. Schlittler freed Cole. Like they did in the. Yeah. So you go. Righty. Lefty. Righty. And giving them the same look. But Schlittler's such a different beast. So that. Everything I'm saying is. And I can spin it in a positive way. Moo point. If Cole is nasty. If Cole is 6.211 K's. Great. Here's. Here's Cole plus. Yeah. So that. That's. That's a positive version. That again. It's a. It's a good first world problem. The Yankees currently have gone. With their starting pitching. Clean defense. Play clean defense. Versus Boston. You need to play clean defense. As. Much as you can. Limit them. As much as you can. And. I know. In that Boston series. In a way. It was a blur. And like. Perfect. Like. Jazz Chisholm. Yeah. Like. Lock in. Like he's. Yeah. If Tampa throws out their starters. How we think. He's going to be the second baseman. We have two right handed pitchers on the mound. He's going to be facing righties. And you're. You're still. Jazz Chisholm. Yeah. That's everything. Let us know what you guys got. And then. We will be back. On Saturday. Pre game show. Then we'll be streaming and. Then we'll be recapping. It's all happening. Now we're here. Go Yankees. Tom Grams. Go Yankees. Tom Grams.