For crying out loud, the Yankees are playing clean baseball ... other than the hitting.

Bird is slow as molasses on his best day. He missed most of the season with an ankle injury. The hi-fi, 4-D, super slo mo instant replay analysis doesn't do justice to human scale and human biology. Yes, it was a bad slide with his foot to the inside of the plate. It's asking a lot to expect him to be agile and dexterous enough to nimbly wisp across the inside corner of the plate ... he isn't Gumby.

Judge missed the cutoff man. But even that decision clearly didn't cost the Yankees a run because the throw home was in plenty of time. Sanchez missed a short hop and the runner scored. If the Yankees were hitting, no one would have paid it any mind.

Gardner can be properly criticized for making the third out at third base, but the guy hitting behind him is hitting approximately .000 ... it's time to be aggressive perhaps? It's time to hope for a wild pitch instead of a base hit? Not that he or the third base coach analyzed it to that degree in the heat of the moment, but maybe if the team was hitting he wouldn't feel the need to force the issue?


That's it?

Over the course of two games, that's the evidence for inexperience or sloppiness?

I've seen the Yankees make far more misplays in a playoff series. In fact, I've seen the Yankees make more misplays in one game. In fact, I've seen Championship-caliber Yankees make more misplays in one inning. In fact, I've seen Tommy John make more misplays on one play.


2017 ALCS: No errors, no wild pitches, no passed balls, no bad throws, no runners picked off, no botched bunts, no ground balls to the pitcher thrown into CF, no errant pick off throws rolling down the first base line, no hit and runs where somebody missed the signal from the third base coach, no fly balls dropping between two outfielders who are both yelling, "I got it."


The Astros totally made two REALLY GOOD throws from the outfield. Nothing I haven't seen before, but amplified for sure because it's the playoffs and the games are close.

The Astros also made about 250 consecutive really good throws from the pitcher's mound towards home plate and that's why they're up 2-zip.