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Yankees vs Guardians an ALCS Preview

Author CJ Keeling
CLEVELAND, OHIO - APRIL 14: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees celebrates after hitting a three run homer during the third inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on April 14, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio.

The New York Yankees are set to take on the Cleveland Guardians in the ALCS in what figured to be a battle between superstars.

Jose Ramerez takes on Aaron Judge who has struggled mightily throughout his playoff career, and Yankee Left fielder Juan Soto.

The Guardians are riding high off a game 5 winner-take-all all game at home against the Detroit Tigers, but they are going to have to switch focus quickly if they want to get off to a quick start in this series. With game one happening tonight, the Yankees and the Guardians are set to face off with the Yankees throwing left-hander Carlos Rodon vs the Guardian’s Alex Cobb.

Rodon will look to rebound after losing the only game the Yankees lost last series, and Cobb will look to do the same as he was hit hard in just three innings of work against Detroit. The Yankees have their rotation set, with Carlos Rodon, Gerrit Cole, Clarke Schmidt, and Luis Gil starting in that order for the Yankees throughout the first three games.

The story of the postseason so far for the Bronx Bombers has been the disappearance of superstar Aaron Judge. Judge has struggled mightily in his playoff career, and he has continued the same struggles early on in this postseason. The Yankees and their fans will look and hope for Judge to break out of his post-season slump early on in this series.

Giancarlo Stanton has historically performed well for the Yankees in the playoffs and is certainly playing a huge role in their success so far this postseason. If the Yankees can get Judge to turn it around and keep Stanton swinging a hot bat, it is going to be hard to knock this Yankees lineup out of the playoffs.

The Guardians will give the Yankees fits with their statistical lockdown bullpen, even though it was vulnerable last series. The two guys at the top of the order for the Yankees, Juan Soto and Gleyber Torres will look to keep working pitchers early and often and get all the Guardians pitcher’s pitch counts high which could lead to some success for the rest of the Yankees lineup.

Will the Yankees make it to the World Series? Game one at home will go a long way in deciding that. The Yankees must win game one to avoid any added pressure from the City of New York and make it a near-impossible task to do. Yankee fans are hungry for a World Series, or even a World Series appearance since they haven’t been there since 2009, and this might just be the year the fans get what they have been looking for.

Keys to New York Mets Second Half Playoff Push

It’s been a tale of two seasons already for the 2024 New York Mets. On May 29, the Mets lost to the LA Dodgers 10-3 to drop to 11-games under .500 at 22-33. Then Mets reliever Jorge Lopez chucked his glove into the stands in frustration, and then in his postgame comments allegedly said the Mets were the “worst team” in all of Major League Baseball.

Lopez was sent packing. There was a players only meeting orchestrated by Francisco Lindor, and ever since the Mets have been on fire.

The clubhouse became galvanized after the moment, focusing more on playing loose and it has showed.

Meanwhile, the fan base jumped on the “Grimace Power” bandwagon after the purple McDonald’s character threw out the first pitch at Citi Field in early June. Later, Joe Iglesias’ infectious hit single “OMG,” climbed the record charts, and led to both fans and players walking around Citi Field with gigantic blue and orange OMG signs. The Mets can do no wrong anymore. Everything has a vibe in Met-land.

The Mets have gone 27-13 in their last 40 games since May 29; have climbed over seven different teams and find themselves in the thick of the wild card race as the second half begins. Now, can the finish it off and get into October? Let’s discuss.

  • Roll Dice on Pete Alonso

    Pete Alonso’s future with the team is the biggest story of the 2024 season. When the Mets were 11-games under .500 it made sense for New York to ship Alonso, get prospects in return and move on. But with the the Mets squarely in the pennant race for a wild card slot, trading Alonso would damage this team’s chances. Despite an All-Star appearance this week, Alonso has had a terrible season. He’s hitting .240 with 19 homers and 51 RBI, but is hitting only .214 in the month of July. Cynics would say missing Alonso won’t hurt the Mets, but his presence in the middle of the order matters. We are a little over two weeks away from the deadline, the Mets are going to still be in it by then, so the Mets may have no choice but to risk losing him for nothing in return except draft pick compensation at the end of the year.

  • Get Kodi Senga Back, Add to Rotation

    A lot of speculation has been that the Mets might be willing to part with either Jose Quintana or Sean Manaea because both players are on expiring deals and New York could get something for them. And the reason that idea exists has to do with the return of Kodai Senga, and the prospect of either Jose Butto or Christian Scott staying in the rotation. Senga’s return is highly anticipated; he’s been rising up through the minors in rehab and will pitch at Triple-A Syracuse this weekend. He has made three rehab starts already in the past few weeks, and has pitched to a 0.90 ERA in 10 innings pitched. Senga’s return would be a huge boost to the rotation.

    Moreover with the Mets in the mix, adding a starter is not a terrible idea. CBS projected the Mets could be in on Chicago White Sox ace Garret Chrocet who is 6-6 with a 3.02 ERA on a bad baseball team is interesting, but might command a step return. The White Sox Erick Fedde might be more tangible since he has a manageable contract through 2025.

  • Add Another Bat??

    Are the Mets in the market to add another bat? There have been plenty on social media suggesting that the Mets could add an outfield bat with Starling Marte still nursing a right knee bone bruise. Former Met Mark Canha and current Nationals outfielder Jesse Winker have been rumored. Canha was with the Mets in 2022 and 2023 before New York shipped him a year ago to Milwaukee. It would be wild if the Mets bring him back a year later. He’s a good clubhouse guy.

    Winker would be an interesting addition. He’s killed the Mets as an opponent whenever he faced the Mets either as a member of the Reds, Mariners or Nationals. He’s also built a back-and-forth relationship with Mets fans in the left field corner whenever he visits Citi Field. He would be fan endorsed addition. Winker is hitting .260 with 11 homers and 43 RBI. He would be a major improvement over DJ Stewart as far as left handed pop off the bench is concerned. This is a move to watch.

  • Lindor and Nimmo Must Continue Surge

    Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo were robbed of All-Star honors this year. Absolutely robbed. After a sluggish April, Lindor is hitting .285 in the past two-and-a half months. He’s been the Mets’ best player both offensively and defensively, and has formed into the true clubhouse leader. If Lindor keeps playing at a high level — which one expects, the Mets have a shot. Also Brandon Nimmo has been on fire. He hit .315 with 6 homers and 21 RBI for the month of June, and is sill scorching hot in July with three bombs and 13 RBI. And he’s not a guy  one expects to hit homers. The Mets need Nimmo and Lindor to keep the momentum going. And let us not forget they Mets need to keep having fun! Jose Iglesias has been infectious on this clubhouse with his hit single and his play. Keep it up, and good things could happen.

  • Improve the Bullpen

    If the Mets miss the playoffs this year it will be because of the bullpen. In an article I posted before the Break, the Mets were fifth in Major League Baseball in blown saves with 16. That needs to change. Edwin Diaz can’t do it alone, and after battling injuries and suspension, he’s not the automatic closer he was two seasons ago. The problem is injuries hurt this unit. They lost Drew Smith and Brooks Railey to season ending injuries. Reed Garret is banged up. Adam Ottavino and Jake Diekman have both logged a lot of innings and have hit the proverbial wall. The Mets need help here. They acquired Pat Maton from Tampa Bay a couple weeks ago, but they need more. Perhaps getting Sean Reid-Foley, and Garret back soon will help, but a trade for a relief arm is not out of the question. In fact it has to happen if the Mets plan to contend.

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Author CJ Keeling
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