After a two year absence, the Yankees will make their return to October baseball when they host the Houston Astros in the one game wild card round. Despite the struggles the team had in the final weeks, New York will get it postseason baseball back. Can they come together and make a strong push for their 28th championship? Or will the pressure of the bright lights weigh down of them. One things for certain, all eyes will be on Masahiro Tanaka, Brian McCann, and Carlos Beltran as he looks to prove he's the big game players the Yankees hoped they would be when they signed them.
The Good
The Yankees secured their 10,000th victory as a franchise, becoming the 6th team to reach this milestone. For a team with such an illustrious history and winning tradition, it was only a matter of time until they added this to their extensive mantle of achievements.
The Bad
Things did not go well for the Yankees bullpen in September as it compiled an ERA of nearly 5 in the month. The combination of overuse and loss of confidence seems to have reared its ugly head at the worst possible time, especially with the playoffs coming up.
The offense did a disappearing act over the final week of the season as they struggled to get timely hits in important games. There is no room for error when the stakes are high, so if this trend continues the Yankees could be looking at an early exit to the postseason.
Chasen Shreve has had a miserable final month as his performance kept deteriorating with each outing. What's more alarming is Girardi's consistent use of him in key situation, despite his struggles. With the season riding in the balance, it may be best to leave Shreve off of the roster for the wild card round, otherwise they could run the risk of hurting their chances in a winner take all game.
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