ALDS Game 4: Red Sox (Porcello) at Yankees (Sabathia)

Very true regarding Stanton's extreme streakiness.  Did you have the feeling that Stanton hit better when he played the field?  It seemed that way to me.

Health and injuries are always a part of the baseball season. Health, in a sense is also a skill. Without it teams depend on their depth, which is also a major item in the recipe of team construction.

What happened to Yankees at first base for most of the year was due to a predictable failure. We all knew Bird may not return st full strength. Due to self imposed financial constraints, the Yankees were not constructed fully to withstand his failure.

When Judge was injured the team was left in a similar postion and for the same reason. There were other injuries and situations that were much less predictable, like the slump of Gary Sanchez, though his past behavior pattern did indicate that he COULD fall into poor habits, packing on weight, etc..

The team survived in part because when there were failures and injuries at 2B and 3B they had MiLB players that were first denied roster spots that were able to fill the gaps at low expense.

Boston kept almost everyone healthy. When they didn’t they were able to plug gaps with players that played at replacement level or above. They didn’t need to endure lengthy stretches of playing sub. .200 hitters at power positions like 1B, and RF...nor even at 2B like the Yankees did. The RS did stink offensively behind the plate, but the Yankees unexpected and massive issues there failed to allow us to counter that weakness...

www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/mariano-rivera-explains-how-the-yankees-players-should-react-to-their-playoff-loss-and-what-the-team-needs-moving-forward/ar-BBOfLtN

Legendary closer Mariano Rivera won five World Series championships and the 1999 World Series MVP award during his 19-season career with the New York Yankees.

"Sandman" boasted an unfathomable 0.70 ERA through his playoff career, allowing just 11 earned runs through 96 postseason appearances. In other words, he knows a thing or two about how to be successful in October.

After watching this year's Yankees squad lose in the ALDS to rival Boston Red Sox, Rivera told Business Insider that he had some advice for those currently donning the pinstripes and reflected on his success.

Kind of cool how Mo works with fire departments.  I like that.

How I miss that guy.  As classy and humble of a man who ever put on the pinstripes.  I have no doubt he would still be mowing them down with that cutter if he felt like being out there.  One of the most amazing and admirable players I have ever seen.  Time for Cooperstown next year.

Talking about Mo helps take my mind off this *&%# ALDS loss.  Hey, and howzabout that Mick!!!

Any interest in hockey, Kaybli?  Center Ice comes on the same channels as MLB on my system.  It doesn't fill the gap, no question.  But there's something to watch pretty much every night.  And it's a great sport.  (Better pre-helmet and third-man in rule, but that's an argument for another time.)  I truly believe that a guy who loves one sport can easily train himself to love almost any competitive action.  When my work took me to the Middle East for many years, pre-internet, the only sports I could get were on British-based Star TV.  I got so I looked forward to Premier League and Formula One and cricket.  Not the Yankees, for sure, but it's funny how you start rooting for somebody.  I even used to go to the camel races in Kuwait!!!