With the division all but won by our neighbors to the north, it’s time for Joe Girardi to start thinking about the Wild Card game. Who does he trust enough in a do or die situation? The logical choice would have been Masahiro Tanaka. However, Tanaka sustained a Grade 1 right hamstring strain back on September 18 against the Mets and the team doesn’t know when he’ll be back. Girardi was hoping to have him back for the Red Sox series this week, but that isn’t set in stone.
“That’s something we have to decide on how he feels. I know everyone wants an answer, but it’s really not that simple because of his value to us moving forward,” Girardi said. “It’s something you have to weigh. Is it worth the risk maybe moving it up a day or two days if you need him, to what could possibly happen? It’s a careful situation that we’re trying to manage. I wish I knew, really.”
So the question then becomes, who takes the ball for the one game playoff series? My vote is for Luis Severino. Even if Tanaka can come back I still say Severino should get the nod. If Tanaka does make a start before the playoffs, and that’s a big if, he wouldn’t get much time off between starts. And if he doesn’t make a start before the end of the season, then you’re going to put him into a must win game after all that time not pitching? It’s a messy situation and Severino is how you clean it up.
“If that was the situation, you kind of talk about it and decide, maybe have him pitch an inning because it’s been so long since he’s been out there,” Girardi said. “Thursday would be the cutoff, yeah.”
I say have Tanaka pitch an inning or two out of the pen to get him loose for the ALDS, and have Severino go for the Wild Card. He has definitely earned the consideration. In his 10 big league starts he is 5-3 with a 2.77 ERA and, with the exception of the clunker against Toronto, he has been lights out. He hasn’t given up more than three earned runs (despite that clunker) and has been the most consistent pitcher of the staff by far. The 21 year old has taken the mound like a 10 year vet and you forget that he’s only a rookie:
“Yeah, you really do. Just because of how calm he is and how prepared he is and has an idea of exactly what he wants to do. There aren’t a lot of 21 year old kids who can do that.” Joe Girardi said.
In his latest outing against the White Sox, he threw six shutout innings with five hits for the win. I would feel more comfortable with Severino on the mound than Tanaka coming off an injury. Also, the would be ace does have a tendency to give up home runs. You can count on three things in life: death, taxes and Tanaka giving up a homer in a game. Of his 23 starts this year, he has given up a long ball in all but 8. All it would take is a Mike Trout swing of the bat, or Carlos Correa making contact, and those homers would take the Yanks right out of the race and right onto the golf course. Tanaka has been hot and cold all year and the only thing cold about Severino is the ice in his veins. It’s nothing against Tanaka. He’s done a lot for us in his short time and is a great pitcher. However, coming off the injury scares me. Not to mention still pitching with that partial tear in his ligament. I say start the kid.
“He’s just got poise,” Brian McCann said. “He belongs. He knows he belongs. He continues to show people he belongs, so it’s great to see.”
What do you think Yankees fans, do you want Tanaka or Severino on the mound for the Wild Card game?
