by Tamar Chalker
October 17, 2022
***
Before the game was even scheduled to start, the delay was announced. Then we waited for the rain. And then it poured. Finally, the game was called around 9:30 pm. Two and a half hours after it should have started, MLB decided it was a little ridiculous to start an all-east coast ALDS Game 5 at 11 pm EST on a Monday.
Instead, we have a 4:07 pm game on Tuesday to find out if the Yankees or the Guardians will have the pleasure of taking down the Astros in the ALCS. Sidenote: I really hope that regardless of the outcome of today's game, the prevailing team beats the snot out of Houston. I don't think anyone would argue that this delay shifts favor toward the Yankees in this pivotal Game 5.
The Yankees were the team of the first half. They were awful after the All-Star Break and put together some solid baseball at the end of the season - though not nearly as dominant as they were in the first half. Bullpen depth has been the difference down the stretch and despite the Yankees' successes over the Guardians this season, it has had me nervous this postseason. The Guardians pitching is what got them this far and the Yankees' went from dominant to - let's go with unpredictable.
The delay obviously means the Yankees' bullpen gets a little more rest, which only helps the cause. Given the schedule change, New York has tapped Nasty Nestor to throw on short rest, which hopefully also works in their favor. Whoever wins will not have long to celebrate, as they will be headed to Houston to face the Astros on Wednesday, so, unfortunately, the Astros may be the biggest winners here.
As many know, I lived in Ohio for seven years - three years in Cleveland. It's a good city with loyal fans, leading me to somehow both adopt some of their teams as my seconds (the Guardians, the Cavs) and refuse to ever cheer for others (the Browns - and Ohio State). This means I have a LOT of Cleveland fans across my social media and they were understandably upset about this delay. They know that if baseball was predictable this would give the Yankees a big edge tomorrow. Cleveland is a sports city that has seen a lot of heartbreak and can embody the "hope for the best, expect the worst" mindset, so this seems like another moment where luck isn't breaking their way. I almost start to feel for my Cleveland fan friends.
And then I remember the lake midges.
