The 2021 New York Yankees would wait until the bottom of the 9th inning on Game 162 to clinch their playoff berth. The team that was horribly streaky during the season would force us to watch nine innings of no-run baseball before walking off the Tampa Bay Rays to secure their spot in a one game winner-take-all Wild Card game. They would do that.
Jerks.
On Sunday, the Yankees clinched a postseason spot by the skin of their pinstripes, avoiding what would have been a hilarious and calamitous three-to-four-way tie for the Wild Card game. THAT would’ve been a disaster if you’re a fan of the Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays or Mariners - being forced to play in one do-or-die game BEFORE you get to the OG do-or-die Wild Card game would’ve been hellish. Thankfully, the Yankees avoided that scenario and will head to Boston for the Wild Card game on Tuesday.
The Yankees looked dead in the water for the entire Rays series. I was at Yankee Stadium on Saturday when the Yankees lost 12-2, and honestly they looked like they were not even playing that hard. Truly, seeing that team in person made me want to rip my hair out, simply because they were playing with no fire and seemingly little motivation. They were playing like a team who was already eliminated from postseason contention! After going down three runs in the first inning, the Yankees seemed to sleep-walk through the rest of the afternoon, with the exception of a first inning homer by Anthony Rizzo. The team on Saturday just didn’t play hard; they didn’t try to run out plays, they didn’t show any hustle and they made defensive gaffs that are not excusable for a team trying to make it into the playoffs.
Thankfully, on Sunday they played with a little more zeal, and by “they” I mean their pitching and their defense. Gio Urshela had several defensive gems that saved their season (which is good considering he chose not to run out ANY plays on Saturday). The pitching held up surprisingly well Sunday afternoon and Aaron Judge sent everyone home with a baby bloop RBI to drive in Tyler Wade from third.
It was a hot mess and I expected absolutely nothing less from the 2021 Yankees.
Do I expect the Yankees to beat Boston on Tuesday? Not really. But, at the same time, I don’t really expect Boston to beat the Yankees, so it’s really just going to be a total crapshoot. Both teams have looked like dumpster fires at various points throughout the season, so it could go either way. Regardless of who wins Tuesday, that team will likely get annihilated by the Rays in the ALDS.
NFL Tidbits
Cardinals vs Ram (Cardinals won 37-20)
First place in the NFC West feels SO good - don’t harsh my vibes by reminding me it’s only Week 4. The Cards put the whoopin’ on the Los Angeles Rams and Kyler Murray had another fantastic game. I still don’t think I’d venture to say the Cardinals are the best team in their division, but shoot they have been fun to watch this year. Not only did the Cardinals win, but the Diamondbacks, Mercury and Sun Devils all won their games Saturday and Sunday, so AZ is just really having a nice weekend.
THE GIANTS AND JETS WON THIS IS NOT A DRILL
Is hell freezing over? Are pigs flying? No fam, it actually happened: the Giants beat the Saints in overtime 27-21 and the Jets beat the Titans in overtime 27-24. Congrats to these two garbage teams on winning their first game of the season and momentarily allowing NY fans to forget about the Yankees for a moment. Danny Dimes (AKA Daniel Jones) had a really nice game against the Saints and was able to unleash some tremendous throws. And despite giving up 24 points, the real hero for the Jets was their defense who was able to stop the Titans at critical points throughout the game.
Buccaneers vs Patriots (Bucs won 19-17, but really, we all lost)
The NFL’s wet dream was little more than whimper on Sunday night when Tom Brady returned to New England for the first time since breaking up with the Patriots. Honestly, the game was really boring and the antidotes about Brady vs Belichick got old before the season even started. The game was not played terribly well (the nasty rain didn’t help) and honestly Brady didn’t look that great until the 4th quarter. But even then, the whole game was over-hyped and the Bucs won because NE missed a field goal with one minute left. I’ve been sick of Tom Brady for awhile, so this week was just exhausting for me. I’m also sick of NBC broadcaster Cris Collinsworth constantly praising garbage human Antonio Brown every single week. Let’s stop that.
Even More Tidbits
- One of my favorite things about New York/New Jersey is the random conversations that you can have on the train. While coming home from the Yankees game, we had fun conversations with a few guys and y’all they were DRAGGING Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons. One of the dudes was from Philly and both he and my sister were basically volunteering to drive Simmons to the airport. The two guys were also deeply embarrassed Kyrie was from New Jersey and were exasperated that he would likely not be able to play in any home games for the Nets. At one point, a trade was proposed to swap Kyrie for Simmons and I’m not honestly not mad at it. Trade one problem child for the other.
- Kudos to Chris Paul and Devin Booker for showing up to cheer on the Phoenix Mercury during their playoff game in AZ. They forced the Suns to push back their chartered flight to a preseason game so they could attend the game between the Mercury and Aces. These two guys didn’t have to stick around, but they wanted to cheer on these amazing women and honestly, I love to see that. The WNBA is really good and I love seeing NBA superstars cheering these teams on from the sidelines.
- During the Yankees game on Saturday, I was in my element and spouting off a lot of stats to my dad, sister and boyfriend. A Tampa fan sitting in front of me was listening and after game asked the group which one of us girls was the statistical encyclopedia. When he found out it was me, he said it was “wonderful”. So, to the random Tampa fan who told me that, thank you. Please know you made my day and helped further validate my love of the nerdy side of baseball. So often women don’t get the same respect as men when it comes to sports analysis and statistics, so I greatly appreciated that small acknowledgment.