Yankees Face World Series Mandate as Giants Lead the NFC East

Craig Carton (0:00)

And obviously, we'll get all your calls, as everyone's all excited, as you should be, for tonight's playoff games. The Yankees will start their track for their 28th World Championship. It's been 17 years since the Yankees won a title.

Chris McMonigle (0:12)

Has it been that long?

Craig Carton (0:13)

17 long, arduous years.

Chris McMonigle (0:17)

It does feel like it. I bet it does. Look, there's no excuse not to win this series. There's no excuse not to get to the World Series. I agree, because you got the best pitching staff in the American League. Aaron Judge is not an excuse. They need to win this series. Losing this series would be a disaster.

Craig Carton (0:29)

You could make an excuse if you want to if they don't get to the World Series or win it. If Aaron Judge doesn't play, that's a built-in thing for them. But the reality is what you just said.

I don't care what the Red Sox have. I don't care about...

Chris McMonigle (0:41)

They're not better than this team. They're not. They're not better.

Craig Carton (0:44)

This is... now it's time. Now it's time to stop effing around. And you got to get back to a World Series. Here's the reality. The starting pitching is good enough and the closer is good enough to get there.

Chris McMonigle (0:54)

Bingo.

Craig Carton (0:54)

And you have what a lot of teams wish they had. Those two things, right?

And that's it.

Chris McMonigle (1:00)

The Red Sox can pitch. I'm not saying the Red Sox are a bad team, but you can't tell me they're definitively better. And the Yankees have all three games here at home. They have the best pitcher in the American League on the mound tonight. Tonight's a huge game for the Yankees. They absolutely have to win it. For all the talk of...

Of all the talk of Cam has to start game one, well Cam has to win game one. Now they have to win this game. This is a huge game for the New York Yankees. They can't afford to lose it. And they can't afford to lose the series. And Aaron Boone, but I'm... Look, I think it's a big series for Aaron Boone, not just because he has a 7-man bench.

Craig Carton (1:30)

But because he hasn't won a World Series.

Chris McMonigle (1:32)

Well obviously that, but they specifically designed it that way. They designed this roster to be a platoon roster. They designed this post-season roster to be a roster that you can manipulate and manage. It's not just, hey, I've got a lot of options.

Craig Carton (1:49)

It's hey, I'm coming with a lot of options and they're showing, they're showing what's obvious, their undying belief in their pitching staff, specifically their starting pitchers, because they're not counting two, three extra pitchers.

Chris McMonigle (2:02)

I think that could be...

Craig Carton (2:02)

They think their starting pitchers are going at least six.

Chris McMonigle (2:05)

I think... As they have to, by the way. You could look at a lot of stats and who knows what will be the definitive stat that defines this series.

Home runs, on base percentage, whatever else you want to talk about. I think you could argue the most important number at the end of this series will be innings pitched by the starting pitching.

I think if the Yankees, whoever wins that battle, has a really good chance to win this series. The Yankees have to go deep into this series. The Red Sox as well, I mean, they've got a really good bullpen. It's been the best in the American League. And they've thrown in Gary Crochet into it. They're a starting pitcher working his way back. He hasn't pitched since April either. So who knows what he is? But I know he's a damn good pitcher when he's out there.

Craig Carton (2:42)

I'd rather have a guy who hasn't swung a bat in five months than a guy who hasn't pitched in five months, to be honest with you. That's how I feel. Real quick, just a quick giant thing, because you know, football is very alive and well. Obviously, the Giants are tied for first place after the Philadelphia Eagles took one on the chin last night to the Chicago Bears and Case Keenan, which shows you again, the importance of backup quarterbacks. And if you have a competent veteran backup, or in this case, the third string quarterback, and a coach that knows how to call a game based on the skills of that quarterback, you can stay relevant, you can win football games, which of course is what the Giants are hoping to get out of James Winston. And now eventually, not this week, but maybe two weeks from now. And beyond that, JJ McCarthy is the guy who's played 10 games in the NFL, but they cut Odell Beckham Jr. today. They cut Odell Beckham. What I'm trying to look, it's not a big story because Odell Beckham, he didn't play. I think he had three snaps on Sunday and three snaps on Sunday before that. And I think 11 total snaps before that.