And now we play the waiting game.
The New York Yankees, winners of the American League East division title, await the winner of the Wild Card Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians, with Game 1 of the American League Division Series slated for Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees certainly can use the time off to give their walking wounded a breather for a few days. But injuries are just one potential fatal flaw facing the Yankees in the playoffs.
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The Athletic rated all 12 MLB postseason teams. It put the Yankees in “Tier 2: Will the hype pan out?”
There are three reasons why:
1. “Their bullpen scares the hell out of me,” one of our NL scouts said. “There’s been some severe cracks there. Look at Clay Holmes lately. And it looks like Aroldis Chapmanit’s about done.”
2. “They can be exposed by good right-handed pitching,” an NL coach said. “If (lefty batters) Anthony Rizzo and Matt Carpenter aren’t healthy, that makes their lineup even shorter.”
3. “They just seemed to be so banged-up right now,” another NL Scout said. “They are one team that might really need those days off in the beginning.”
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Also landing in Tier 2 are the St. Louis Cardinals, who won the National League Central division title, and the New York Mets, who will face the San Diego Padres in the wild-card round beginning Friday.
Three teams occupy “Tier 1: World Series front-runners.” They are the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros.
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Mike Rosenstein may be reached at [email protected].