The Athletic | Stephen J. Nesbitt and Chad Jennings: (subscription required) The Athletic began their postseason preview coverage yesterday, starting with the pitching staffs. Choosing eight pitchers for each postseason contender — three starting pitchers, one swingman, three middle relievers, and one closer — Nesbitt and Jennings ranked what they considered to be the best staffs in the postseason. The Yankees ranked eighth (out of a total of 15 teams), and were fourth in the American League (behind
Seattle, Houston, and Boston). Not surprisingly, their middle-of-the-road ranking is the result of their “boom or bust” strategy.
The Athletic | Brendan Kuty: (subscription required) Focusing more specifically on the Yankees, Brendan Kuty highlighted the Yankees’ top four concerns heading into the final days of the regular season. Unsurprisingly, atop this list is simply locking up a playoff spot as soon as possible. With a magic number of three headed into action last night, the Yankees can clinch as early as Wednesday.
MLB Trade Rumors | Steve Adams: Last winter, the New York Mets surprised everyone by signing former Yankees closer Clay Holmes with the intent of converting him into a starting pitcher. With that move working better than expected, at least so far, it’s fair to wonder if teams might consider viewing Luke Weaver as a rotation candidate, particularly in light of the fact that most of the starters hitting the free agent market this winter have dealt with underwhelming performance and injuries this season. For his part, Weaver is open to the idea, saying that being a starting pitcher “has got to be the best job in the big leagues — especially when it’s going well.”
ESPN | Alyssa Roenigk: Yesterday was the tenth anniversary of the death of Yankees great Yogi Berra. In his honor, Eve Schaenen, the executive director of the Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center, organized the biggest game of catch ever. 1179 pairs of catch-havers descended upon Yogi Berra Stadium at Montclair State University from all across the country to honor the beloved catcher and earn a place for them in the Guinness Book of World Records. As Alyssa Roenigk wrote, “Yogi would have loved this.”
