And we're back with another one of these read-along series.
It wasn't too long ago that I found myself writing every other night as my Knicks marched their way to an NBA Championship.
Man, that still feels so good to indulge in.
But here we are on a similar journey for the Yankees.
Call me crazy, but I'm just not buying that the World Series is confirmed for anyone. Baseball has been weird all year, and part of said weirdness has been the parity, or dreadfulness - however you want to look at it - around MLB. In my opinion, the Yankees' pitching depth gives them a legit chance.
And with a lockout looming, 2027 might not present another chance.
Why you gotta go there, man?
I'm just saying...
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Game 1
Yankees d. Red Sox, 9-0
(Yankees lead Series, 1-0)
Cam Schlittler is amazing.
I sat on my sofa last year in Game 3 of the Wild Card between these two very rivaled teams and it felt like that dude was the best pitcher in the world. For the moment and game, it just felt that way.
Tonight, he took the mound, and there was that confidence that yes, Cam Schlittler might be the best pitcher in the world.
And he went ahead and shoved 117 pitches (77 for strikes) for 10 strikeouts and 2 hits over 6.1 innings.
Best. In. The. World.
Cue Living Colour's Cult of Personality (side joke there for my fellow pro wrestling fans).
Other Thoughts:
- I'm saying it one more time...Cam Schlittler is that dude.
I was genuinely shocked to see him emerge for the seventh inning.Killa Cam. #RepBX pic.twitter.com/KKLLvZq8oK
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 30, 2026- Does Cashman get credit for Shlit...or are we...you know what? It's too early for that. But you get my drift.
- Roman Anthony's departure has to be a huge gut punch for Sox fans, no?
- And for all the announcers and coverage we have on sports TV, how did we not get a follow-up on Anthony's departure during the game?
- Before giving Ben Rice and others their flowers, can we give it up for Austin Wells tonight?
- 2-3, 2 RBIs, and a tremendous job behind the plate that no one will talk about tomorrow.
- After all, remember when some Yankees fans absolutely lost their mind when Adley Rutschman was dealt to the Sox?
- On the topic of not being talked about tomorrow... shout-out to Nick Sogard and that double-play. Whew!
- Ben Rice is a dawg. 2 home runs. 6 RBIs.
- The Cashman thing applies here, too.
- I have to be honest, I am not down on Heliot Ramos since he arrived. He's had a tough start, and sometimes that is baseball. I just don't see the continuous love for him in the third and/or fourth spot in the order. I need to be sold on a lot more than the lefty splits and exit velocity.
- The bottom of the order really showed up tonight.
- There is a lot to break down regarding the Yankees' seven-man bench. Never been done before. And with that, you have to admit, Bo Sox manager Chad Tracy has a lot to think about when he makes that call to the pen.
- Tomorrow's game for Tracy is going to be a baseball nerd's dream. There is going to be plenty of chess being played to navigate a short leash and a heavy Yankee bench.
- That Giancarlo Stanton pinch-hit appearance is going to be absolute theatre.
- But all in all, it's just one game. Gotta grab another one tomorrow.
- Let's start with Fried - 6.0 innings, 3 hits, 1 earned run, and 6 strikeouts. He was, as expected, a stud. It's not a hot take or something profound - this team will go as far as all of the arms on the team take them. That's the ticket.
- Can we give it up for this team for putting the ball in play?! Up and down the line up, the box score showed crooked numbers in the hit column for everyone. They had 10K as a team (4 by Spencer Jones), but it still felt like they moved runners as needed in key situations. Again, not a secret, but that's a winning characteristic in Octo...er, late September.
- The biggest at-bat of the game for me wasn't Bellinger's home run (though that was awesome) or even Garcia Jr.'s to break it open; it was Ryan McMahon in the 6th inning. Yes, Ryan McMahon. He tried the bunt down the first-base line to add another run with the speedy Chisholm on third - it barely went foul. McMahon, in a 3-2 count, then still put the ball in play on a pretty good curveball low in the zone to force the defense to make a play and brought Chisholm in. McMahon has been offensively inept all year. That was so incredibly interesting to watch unfold.
- I found the tale of Chad Tracy and his bullpen use to be the thing to watch tonight. When would they go to the pen, and would they use Crochet? Gray pitched very well, and they removed him based on those numbers of opponents against him on the third time through the lineup. And they went right to their returning ace to roll the dice. It didn't work. It actually imploded. But that's baseball. I don't think it was the wrong call, but it still was a risky one.
- Oh yeah, Bellinger's at-bat was awesome. He's a baseball player to watch every day.
- Yankees carried 10 pitchers into this series and used seven. And we all were worried?!
- Never got that Stanton at-bat. The next round's roster is going to be a story. Is Judge ready!!!
- Does Boone get some love? From letting Schlittler go to some of the lineup positions (which is always scrutinized), can we maybe give him some love?
- And finally, it's always great to see the Red Sox go down. Two years in a row...even sweeter.