Wildly different potential foes in elimination game
JOE GIRARDI won’t go there yet. He can’t go there yet. He probably shouldn’t go there yet.
“I think it’s very important to find out where we need to be and what we need to do,” the Yankees’ manager said Thursday, after the Yankees edged the White Sox 32 at Yankee Stadium to draw within three games of the firstplace Blue Jays in the American League East and lower their magic number for clinching a playoff spot to five. And that’s as specific as Girardi would get regarding the club’s shortterm future.
Nothing stops The Post from going there, though, so let’s discuss: It’s quite unlikely the Yankees (8468) will overtake Toronto (8765) to win the division, and it’s essentially just as improbable the Yankees will tumble out of the playoffs altogether. If the season ended right now, they’d host the AL wildcard game on Oct. 6.
Baseball’s tightest race with the highest stakes is for the AL’s second wild card. Houston has fallen into that slot, after leading the AL West for the bulk of the schedule, and is being pursued by a pack of contenders.
So how might the Yankees root? Whom should they want as their opponent in the harrowing, oneanddone playoff game? Here’s how I’d rank them, from most desirable to least, if I were a Yankees adviser.
1. Minnesota. Don Cooper, the White Sox’s veteran pitching coach (and a New York City native, New York Tech alumnus and former Yankees pitcher) sees his AL Central neighbors often and said Thursday the Twins are an “up and coming team. They’ve got a combination of some veterans and younger guys. [Byron] Buxton and [Aaron] Hicks. [Eduardo] Escobar’s playing well for them. [Miguel] Sano.”
Nevertheless, doesn’t it feel like the Twins have never defeated the Yankees like, ever? In four AL Division Series (2003, 2004, 2009 and 2010), the Yankees are 40 in series and 122 in games. Granted, few current players remain from that onesided history, but the Yankees won five of six meetings with Minnesota this year, including all three in The Bronx.
2. Angels. Like the Twins, this potential opponent doesn’t employ a dominant starting pitcher. Unlike Minnesota, the Angels do employ the game’s best player in Mike Trout, plus an alltime great in Albert Pujols who still can rake. Like the Twins, the Angels got swept by the Yankees at the Stadium this season.
3. (tie) Cleveland and Baltimore. Both clubs are extreme long shots to climb all the way to the postseason. Both are managed by men (Terry Francona and Buck Showalter) with extensive postseason experience, and the Indians went 52 against the Yankees. Yet neither team possesses so much as a winning record at this juncture, even after victories Thursday, so you’d take your chances with them.
5. Houston. In Dallas Keuchel, the Astros have the sort of ace on which you want to bet in the wildcard format. Keuchel throws lefthanded, and the Yankees have struggled against lefties since Mark Teixeira fractured his right shin; Carlos Beltran’s thirdinning, threerun homer off White Sox southpaw Chris Sale accounted for all of Thursday’s scoring.
Keuchel made two starts against the Yankees this season, and he won both while totaling 16 shutout innings, allowing just nine hits, striking out 21 and walking one. Throw in a power-heavy Houston lineup, and you understand why the Yankees would prefer the Astros to stay home.
6. Texas. The Rangers seem like they’re running away with the AL West, which means they’re more likely to face the Yankees in the AL Championship Series than the wildcard game. However, the Astros host the Rangers this weekend, so those tables could turn.
Texas has old pal Cole Hamels, acquired from the Phillies in July, and a strong bullpen. It boasts of one of the AL’s top offenses and an acclaimed firstyear manager in Jeff Bannister. The Rangers climbed out of a deep hole to get to where they are, defying industrywide expectations, and they’d face little pressure in a oneanddone Stadium tilt.