The Tuesday Discussion: WILD CARD SERIES!
September 29, 2026
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This week we asked our writers two simple questions:
How will the Wild Card Series turn out?
Which Yankees player will have the best series?
Here are their replies:
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Cary Greene - Yankees will win the Wild Card series 2-1
Cody Bellinger will be the best player.
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John Nielsen - I prognosticate that the Yankees will sweep the Wild Card Series 2-0.
The Yankee Wild Card Series MVP will be Cam Schlittler.
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Derek McAdam - I predict that the Yankees take the Wild Card series in two games, with George Lombard Jr. being the MVP.
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Paul Semendinger - The Yankees should win. If the Yankees don't win, that will be a problem. So, logically, I predict that the Yankees will win.
The player with the best series will be.... Luis Garcia. (How's that?)
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Mike Whiteman - The Yankees will beat the Red Sox, and much like the regular season, it will not come easy for this team. It will take all three games, with the Yanks taking a late lead in the third game, and Bednar holding off a late Boston rally in the ninth.
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Ed Botti - I really hate to sound like an old curmudgeon, but my personal feelings about these Wild Card Series are that they are pocket padding scams by Manfred and his team. First and foremost (and I said this last year) how is it fair and equitable that one team (Yanks) get all 3 home games? Afterall, neither team won a division. So why is one treated different than the other? Second, the Teams that won their division, Rays in this case, don’t play again until October 3, six days of. Baseball players are creatures of habit, and don’t want the better part of a week off.
As far as the series goes, I can see the Yankee starters doing well and leaving the games with a no decision or the slimmest of margins either way.
The Yankee offensive approach and lineup order do not inspire much confidence in me. I could be flat out wrong, but this team looks no different then any of the other last 8 post season teams.
The Red Sox on the other hand have a different approach. They swing aggressive early in counts (Yanks carry that forward) and have a better 2 strike approach then the Yanks.
Both teams run the counts deep and take a good amount of walks, the difference is the Red Sox strike out much less (154 times less) and are below League AVG in K’s, that means they put the ball in play and make the defense make plays.
So Yankee defense is going to be tested.
They will have to play mistake free, which they can. My biggest issue is manufacturing runs i.e. moving runners and scoring from 3rd with less than two outs on productive outs. That is not a strength of this team. In the post season, it is critical.
If they can keep their strikeouts below 8 or so per game, they should be in a position to score some runs with solid professional at bats. But that is no given.
I would not make any out of position gambles (Volpe, Rosario or Jazz at 3rd). This is not the time to experiment. Leave McMahon at third and let him catch everything hit his way. If his teammates do their job, he doesn’t need to be more than a contributor at the plate.
Also, late in games, I’d put Goldy at first as often as possible because Garcia is not a very good first baseman. Yes, he does make some pretty good plays, but he is not solid.
Lastly, I would have a very short leash on Cole, especially if his defense lets him down. He tends to let that get the best of him (Game 5, 2024 World Series as an example). I if he is pounding the strike zone with is 4 seamer and his slider is on, he should be OK. Otherwise, a short leash.
Aaron Judge not being able to go is also ridiculous. Tell me Yogi Berra wasn't banged up a bit here and there when he won 10 championships. Tell me Thurman Munson or Derek Jeter would be sitting out during the playoffs. No way. Yankees vs Red Sox and Aaron Judge can't play! My Judge jersey is already on E-Bay. What a fantastic way to slam the barely open championship window on your career and that Gerrit Cole's as well.
I need to retract my prediction - after seeing that the Yankees will be without Aaron Judge, Ryan Weathers and Paul Goldschmidt and have instead opted to go with Giancarlo Stanton and Amed Rosario. Adding Stanton and Rosario is a total joke. Stanton hasn't hit in a game in ages and the Yankees have Chisholm, Volpe and Caballero all playing better than Rosario is. These roster decisions are akin to malpractice. I'm okay with Grisham being added, as Ramos is not good at all vs RHP and Grish is a better bet coming off the bench or starting in Game 2 vs Gray.
The Red Sox are at an advantage with these moves and they have Garrett Chrochet back for…
To respond to Ed's question: I like the better team having three home games because it makes it as tough as possible for the bottom two to advance. That's the penalty for just getting in under the wire. That said, I'd get rid of Nos. 5 and 6. 27% of teams making the post-season is already bloated (back in the pre-Division era, it was 12.5%). 40% of the teams making the post-season is ridiculous. What is this, hockey or basketball?
12 pitchers on the roster for these 3 games? Really? Utterly Ridiculous!