Best of the Yankees on WFAN: Bring on the Rays

Craig Carton (0:00)

I know Sean wasn't surprised, but I don't know about you, Tiki. I was surprised that we ended up seeing the kind of mutilation that we saw over the last 48 hours.

Evan Roberts (0:09)

Well, I don't know if we should be, given how Chad Tracy managed this team and pissed off everybody along the way, including Wilson Contreras, Jackass, 20-second walk around the base on a home run dude, and Sonny Gray, cheating ass, reaching behind his neck, pulling some sticky stuff, and saying that he's the best pitcher in the American League, but it was almost like Chad Tracy was like, let me get the best pieces of this team on the bench so that the Yankees can get to the bullpen and obliterate you. Now it wasn't a home run after home run after home run. In fact, Yankee fans should be encouraged with the number of singles, small ball that they played and bumping Christian Button over, actually not even bumping to advance, even though he did advance the runners, he was, he got on base like with a pulled hamstring. He got down there and Spencer Jones being unbelievably fast, despite being six, seven and stealing a base and taking an extra one and starting a rally that ultimately led to a home run by Cody Bellinger.

This was just classic old school, not necessarily Yankees, because Yankees were bludgeoning you with home runs, just old school ass kicking. Like no matter what you try to do, we're better than you. And Max Fried, who we had questions about because he hadn't gone long in two of his last four, he was fantastic.

Craig Carton (1:30)

Well, but you know what? Exactly what you wanted. When you said old school, it's the same thought I had yesterday after game one, and it's my feeling after game two. Just for this little sample size of two games, the Yankees were the old school team.

Evan Roberts (1:42)

That's what I mean.

Craig Carton (1:43)

They really genuinely were. They didn't have the manager overthinking when to take their starting pitcher out. They didn't have that. They also had a team that actually laid down some bumps and made contact at the most important times. Meanwhile, on the other side, you had the Boston Red Sox making idiotic decisions. It's funny, usually in a series where the Yankees are facing another team, we don't care what the other manager does. We don't care what the other fans are saying. We don't care about their perspective. But I think because it's the Red Sox, some of the joy in whipping the Red Sox tookuses are the mistakes that they made. If this was a Yankee series against any other American League team, I don't think we'd spend time analyzing what Sonny Gray said or Wilson Catrera said and what Chad Tracy did. But because they're the Red Sox, a part of the story of this two-game series was that their manager wasn't ready for the moment. And maybe it's because we find it humorous. Maybe it's because they're a blood rival. Maybe that's what it involves. But a part of the story of these two games, and I get it, it's a very small sample size two games, is that Aaron Boone didn't overthink things.

He didn't. He said, I have an async Kam Schlitler. I'm gonna let him pitch. He said the same thing about Max Fried is believe it or not, there were moments in that sixth inning, like after he gave up the homerun to Contreras, where Boone could have taken him out. His pitch count was 96

Like there's a world where Aaron Boone says, ah, let me overthink this, and he didn't. And yet on the other side, Chad Tracy did. And I think the hope is moving forward, that's gonna continue, but I think the Red Sox contributed to beating themselves, and the Yankees just did smart things. Like outside of the Trent Grisha mental blunder on the blue pit by Nate Eaton in the 3rd inning, where he didn't charge, and he was very cash, and it turned into a cheap one out double, other than that little mental mistake by Grisham.

Evan Roberts (3:30)

Yeah, but that was really annoying, by the way.

Boomer Esiason (3:32)

That's his fault, though.

Evan Roberts (3:33)

Come on, Trent.

Craig Carton (3:34)

That's a Trent Grisha thing.

Evan Roberts (3:35)

Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you?

Craig Carton (3:36)

No, I agree, and that's why I'm criticizing him for it, but everyone else, I think, the Yankees played smart. They made every play, they laid down buns, they struck out a bunch of times, but the difference was they made contact when it mattered. They had a lot of two strike hits. The Yankees were very, almost on Yankee-like. They were the team that callers call up after the Yankees get knocked out and scream that they want them to be.