Both the Yankees and Rays swept their AL Wild Card Series, so they will end up with four days off before squaring off in Game 1 of the AL Division Series on Monday.
The Yankees, however, are already in San Diego, and manager Aaron Boone told Joe Benigno during his weekly hit on Joe & Evan Friday that he is looking forward to another heavyweight bout with a team that dominated the Yankees during the regular season.
“We’re really looking forward to this. They’ve been the best team in the AL this year, and we know they’re going to be challenge because they do so many things well,” Boone said. “We’re excited for the opportunity and we’ll be ready for it, and hopefully we can turn the tables on them from what happened during the regular season.”
The Yankees were unable to work out on Friday, as Petco Park was still hosting the NL Wild Card Series between the Padres and Cardinals, but they will have two workouts over the weekend to prep for Monday. Between those, though, there are a lot of roster decisions to be made, as five games in five days presents a different challenge than a Wild Card Series that was three tops.
“Do we stay with 13, or do we add a 14th pitcher – that will be the biggest decision we make, and that could affect the position player side of things,” Boone said.
When pressed about the rotation, Boone admitted that Gerrit Cole will indeed start Game 1, but after that, nothing is a certainty.
“It could be a four or a five-man rotation, depending on if we get to Game 5 and have to look at Cole’s availability, how his workload was in Game 1 and how he bounces back,” he said. “There may be a game where we get creative and do something different, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
And as for the lineup, well, outside of the catching conundrum, the only tough decision for Boone in the Wild Card Series was on his left fielder – but his choice of Brett Gardner paid dividends.
“It was a tough decision, because of how well Clint (Frazier) has played all year on both sides of the ball – we’re probably not there without him,” Boone said. “I felt like if I had gone with Clint we would have been in good shape, but with Gardy’s at-bats the last two weeks, and what he provides defensively, I felt it was the right way to go. And it got another lefty in there, and gave us a different look.”
Whatever may come, Boone is hoping that the Yankees aren’t affected by something like a ridiculous weather pattern, which may have been part of the reason for Masahiro Tanaka’s ineffectiveness early in Wild Card Series Game 2.
“Yeah, I don’t know what it looked like on TV, but it was bad. I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. “With the wind and the way was rain was blowing, no question it affected Masa’s secondary pitches especially. But the pro that he is, he got into a rhythm and gave us three more good innings.”
As Boone noted, it’s “beautiful” in San Diego, and the Yankees spent Friday trying to “enjoy our bubble.” And, there’s one last thing that may help them enjoy it just a little more.
“In San Diego, families are allowed to attend the games; I don’t think that’s the case in Los Angeles, so it may be a thing by municipality, but we have it here,” Boone said, “so our families that are in the bubble will be allowed to go to the games.”
Check out Boone’s entire segment below!
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