The Yankees are onto the ALCS! The Yankees are onto the ALCS! I’m still in shock. Happy shock. I got about 20 seconds of sleep from being so amped up by the time I turned off the TV last night!
CC was tremendous. D-Rob was tremendous. Chapman was tremendous. And that’s just the pitching.
Didi’s two homers not only chased Kluber ultimately but gave CC and the rest of us some room to breathe. With an early lead, the Yankees at least had a chance. But the key for me was, of course, that Herculean at-bat by Gardner, fouling off pitch after pitch with two on base, ultimately knocking in those runs. Wow. Just wow.
I could spread the kudos around to everybody – all the Yankees contributed during this series. But I was just so happy for them when it was over. They fought and fought during each elimination game and came through. So resilient. Especially Chapman. I thought his arm would fall off, but no. He was sensational. Will he have any gas in the tank for Houston? I’ll worry about that tomorrow.
Was I surprised that the vaunted Indians didn’t perform better? You bet. They were the team to beat, but they had so many errors. I’m sure they’ll be brooding about those missed opportunities during the off-season. They’re a great team that just didn’t get it done.
Of course, I do take credit for all of this. I ate my lucky club sandwich before each and every win, and I’m so sick of them I want to hurl. But hey, a fan has to do what a fan has to do and I’ll be choking back another on Friday night.
Oh – one thing: a plea to Girardi. PLEASE drop Judge down in the order to, like, 7th. I love Judge, but the strikeouts are ridiculous. Until someone teaches him how to hit a curveball, move him down in the order.