gerrit cole

How the New York Yankees will maximize Gerrit Cole’s abilities in 2020

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New York Yankees, Aaron Boone, Gerrit Cole

Aside from the two bottles of wine that sold Gerrit Cole on the New York Yankees and their illustrious franchise, new pitching coach Matt Blake played an integral part in luring arguably the game’s best pitcher to the Big Apple. Cole, who earned a nine-year, $324 million deal, will slide in as the Yankees’ top pitcher in front of Luis Severino and James Paxton.

Cole’s numbers are earth-shattering, as he ranked in the top five among MLB starters in total innings, K/0, LOB%, ERA, xFIP, and WAR (2019). Part of the reason he chose the Bronx was because of Blake, who received fantastic reviews from other players, including Trevor Bauer, who stated via Twitter:

For all the @Yankees fans coming to my page to ask me about @Blake_Matt, he’s awesome. One of the smarter guys I know. Knows a lot about pitching. A lot about development. Good communicator. Etc. Really excited for him getting this opportunity and pumped to see the results.

The principal negative Cole has is a 17% fly-ball rate, which could be problematic in Yankee stadium. Domingo German faced a similar challenge last season but managed to overcome it, for the most part, seeing a decrease of .62 HR per inning in 2018 to .44 HR per inning in 2019.

Firing Larry Rothschild, who spent years as the Yankees’ pitching coach, was an unfortunate reality of modern-day analytics and progression, something that Blake factors into his game-plan.

Matt Blake on joining the New York Yankees:

“Watching it from across the field in Cleveland, there’s a bevy of really talented pitchers — I think it’ll be interesting to get to know where they are in terms of the things they’re thinking about and the things they’re wanting to work on and improve upon.”

As per Nick Nielsen of Empire Sports Media:

Nothing more reassuring than hearing a new pitching coach praise the talents and look toward the future and improvements down the road. Blake prides himself on his relationships with his players, as well as using analytics and different techniques to get the most out of them, seeing as to how talented the New York Yankees farm system is flooded with young, prosperous arms — Garcia, Gil, Medina, Abreu, Schmidt, Acevedo, etc. — and how the starting rotation has all the pieces and talent to be elite, Blake should be able to make an immediate impact.

The Yankees have numerous pitchers returning from significant injuries last season, which bodes well for Blake, who will have a fresh start with guys like Severino and Jordan Montgomery. However, helping Cole continue to develop and add new tools to his arsenal will be the priority in 2020.

The New York Yankees: Pitching for the 2020 Season and Beyond!

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New York Yankees, Luis Severino

The New York Yankees are set with their rotation for the 2020 season with the exciting acquisition of arguably the best pitcher in baseball, Gerrit Cole, to head up an already steady rotation. He will head up a rotation of Luis Severino, James Paxton, and Masahiro Tanaka. The fifth spot is a little confused due to the suspension of Domingo German for the first 63 games of the season. Jordan Montgomery or J.A. Happ will fill that slot if he is not traded.

However, German will most likely fill the fifth spot in the rotation upon his return. Beyond that, if any Yankee starter is injured, several pitchers could fill in a make an impact. Jonathan Loaisiga and Micheal King, to name a few. Besides a strong starting rotation, the Yankees are in an advantageous position due to their depth.

Although this article is about starters, one must remember that if any of the starters falter, the Yankees have one of the best bullpens in baseball. They could be looking to strengthen the bullpen even further.

Breaking down the New York Yankees’ starting pitching rotation:

Gerrit Cole: Gerrit Cole has done nothing but get better during his career.  With the Pirates for five seasons, he was 59-42, which would be a satisfactory record for a pitcher on any team. After being traded to the Houston Astros in 2018, he would have a breakout season going 15-5 with an ERA of 2.88.

In 2019 he bested that with an additional five wins with the same losses and an improved ERA of 2.50.  His ERA was once again improved in the postseason when he lowered it to 1.305 and a record of 4-1.  There is no reason to assume he will get less than several wins in the high teens this coming year.  If the rest of the pitching staff performs similar as they did last season, that means an additional 3 or 4 wins at the least on the season.  If Luis Severino pitches to his capabilities, this could be a year where the Yankees could eclipse the 1998 season.

Luis Severino: Severino, this year, will be coming back from a season where he didn’t pitch until the last two weeks of the season.  In 2017 he was 14-6, and in 2018, he was 19-8 with an ERA of 3.39.  Both years he was in the running for the Cy Young Award and an All-Star.

This past season during spring training, he suffered rotator cuff inflammation, and when he was recovering from that,  a stubborn lat strain that had him away from the team until late September.  In his 2019 games, he was 1-1 with an ERA of 1.50.  In the postseason against the Twins, he pitched four innings of no-run ball in the Yankees win in the ALDS against the Twins.  In the ALCS, he pitched 4.1 innings giving up two runs in a game the Yankees lost to the Houston Astros.  In that three-game homestand, the Yankees lost all of their games at the Stadium. The Yankees are hoping a rested, and injury-free Severino will return to his 2018 form.  If he does, he could compete with Cole as the Yankee’s best pitcher.

James Paxton: Paxton started the season slowly, but came on strong in the second half of the season.  The Yankees won all of his last eleven starts in which he recorded ten wins in a row. He ended the season at 15-6. He lost all five games he pitched in July.  Had he not had a bad July, he could have had the best record of any Yankee pitcher.  In this postseason, he gave up three runs in the game against Twins in the ALDS; in a game, the Yankees ultimately won.

In the ALCS against the Houston Astros, he allowed just two runs in 8.1 innings in a win against the Astros in Houston.  Paxton will be a free agent after this season.  Although Paxton is 31, he should have several more years of production.  The Yankees should offer him an extension of 3-4 years at similar pay.  Paxton is a relatively inexpensive number 2 or 3 starter.

Masahiro Tanaka: Masahiro Tanaka, when he was signed with the Yankees in 2014 he was supposed to be a top-line pitcher, and he didn’t disappoint.  In 2014 he went 13-5 with a 2.77 ERA — 2015 and 2016 were outstanding seasons when he recorded a 26-11 record.  In 2017 he started to show a decline in his four-seam fastball and had a poor season resulting in a 13-12 record.  Although he has approved somewhat in the past two years, he is showing signs of decline and continues to give up the long ball.  He is dependable and gives it his all in every start.  He has addressed the reduced velocity of his fastball, relying more on his slider and splitter this past season.  Like Paxton Tanaka also is a free agent after this season.  However, unlike Paxton, he is an expensive pitcher.   Considering what is out there to replace him, I would offer him an extension to his contract for a short period, say two years at a somewhat reduced annual salary.

Domingo German:  German came into his own during 2019, being asked to be a fill-in for the rehabbing Luis Severino. The Yankees were hoping he would at least be even in his win and loss record.  But German answered the calling by going 18-4,  before being suspended for breaking MLB rules on domestic violence.  If he had not been suspended, he may have had a 20 plus winning season and could have had a significant impact on the outcome of the Yankee postseason.  He will miss the first 63 games of the season, but considering last year’s record, he will likely replace whoever is in the fifth spot in the rotation upon his return.

Depending on how things go during spring training,  Jordan Montgomery will probably be the fifth starter in the rotation to begin the season, unless J.A Happ over performs in his spring.

What makes the Yankee’s pitching situation so bright, besides Cole leading off the rotation, is that great depth of the Yankees pitching picture.  If needed, Jonathan Loaisiga, Mike King, and Deivi Garcia and other prospects in the farm system could have an impact in the 2020 season and beyond.  This includes a sleeper by the name of Luis Gil, who has worked his way up through the system. Gil entered this season as the organization’s 13th-ranked prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. He currently ranks No. 4 and is pitched for the high-Class A Tarpons this past season.  The 2020 season certainly looks bright for the Yankees this year and into the future, with the possibility of several trips to the World Series.

New York Yankees: Will Luis Severino battle Gerrit Cole for the most wins?

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New York Yankees, Luis Severino
The New York Yankees acquired the top pitcher in free agency Gerrit Cole who will head up the Yankee lineup that consists of Luis Severino, James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka and probably Jordan Montgomery until Domingo German returns from suspension sometime in June.  Severino didn’t pitch in 2019 due to an injury suffered in spring training.  The question this year is if he will return to his 2018 stats of 19-8 with a 3.39 ERA.  In the few games, he pitched in the postseason he had an ERA of 2.07.  This season may see a competition between Cole and Severino for the best record.  Here’s some background on how the 25-year-old Severino got to where he is today.
Luis Severino was born on February 20, 1994, in Sabana de la Mar, Dominican Republic. As a boy he played baseball in the sand fields of the Republic, he played most infield positions but as he aged he preferred pitching. He loved baseball and grew up idolizing fellow Dominican and former Yankee player Robinson Cano. He hoped to play professionally and hoped to someday to pitch for the Yankees.
Yankee scouts in the Dominican Republic took notice of Severino and invited him to the baseball training facility in Boca Chica, a facility used by several teams. And when he was just seventeen signed him as an international free agent. He was offered a signing bonus of $225k, which the Colorado Rockies matched but Severino wanted to pitch for his childhood favorite Yankees. When he was scouted, he could throw a fastball in the low 90’s. He made his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League for the Yankees where he went 4-2 with an ERA of 1.68 in fourteen games. He stayed in the Dominican League until 2013 when the Yankees promoted him to the Charleston River Dogs. During his time with the Dogs, Severino gained strength and increased his fastball to the high nineties He finished his first season with the River Dogs going again 4-2, this time in ten games with an ERA of 2.45.
Severino again started the 2014 season with the River Dogs but was quickly promoted to the Tampa A team. The same year he was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game. Severino was propelling his way up the Yankee organization and was sent to the Trenton Thunder. Between the three teams, he went 6-5 with an ERA of 2.45 and with 127 strikeouts in 24 games. He started the 2015 season with Trenton but was again promoted this time to Scranton Wilkes/Barre. Before leaving Trenton he as 2-2 across eight games. Severino went 7-0 with an ERA of 1.68 for the Rail Riders.
In 2015 due to an injury to Michael Pineda, Sevy was called up in August to pitch in his first major league game against the Red Sox, he pitched five innings allowing two hits and one earned run with seven strikeouts. At the time he was the youngest starting pitcher in the leagues at age 21. He ended his rookie season having started 11 games, pitching ​63 innings with a 5–3 record, 2.89 ERA and 56 strikeouts. 2016 was a rough year for Sevy, he had injuries and was optioned back to AAA. Later being called back up but only as a reliever. In 2017 he started the season back in the rotation. Sevy impressed big time as he went a season-high in innings pitched, and achieved a record of 14-6 with an ERA of .298. He tied CC Sabathia for most strikeouts in a season by a Yankee pitcher. He was chosen to start the All-Star game but was removed after giving up three runs. He ended the season being voted 3rd in the Cy Young voting.
In the first half of the 2018 season, he recorded 14 wins before the All-Star Game, the first pitcher to that since 1969 when Mel Stottlemyre did it. He was again selected to pitch in the All-Star game. Severino started the AL Wild Card game against the Oakland Athletics in a game the Yankees won 7-2. Severino finished the season 19-8 with an ERA of 3.39. For the second consecutive year, he led all major league pitchers with an average fastball velocity of 97.6 miles per hour. At the end of the season, Severino signed a $40 million contract for four years with a Yankee option for a fifth year.
In Luis Severino’s short career he earned Pitcher of the Week in the Florida League for the week of June 30. He was a AAA All-Star in 2015 for the Scranton Wilkes/Barre Rail Riders and an AL All-Star in 2017 and 2018. In 2018 he also won the most games for a 24-year-old pitcher in Yankee history. Sevy also holds the Yankee record for the most strikeouts per nine innings on average.
During spring training in Tampa in 2019, he suffered a rotator cuff inflammation and then suffered a strained lat muscle, during his initial rehab. After much delay he has pitched now in several simulated and minor league games. At the end of the season, he returned to the majors and pitched in 3 games with a 1-1 record and an ERA of 1.50. In the ALDS he pitched a no-decision outing going 4 innings and not allowing a run. In the ALCS he pitched 4.1 innings in a game the Yankees lost to Houston at the Stadium.
Severino is married to his wife Rosemary and has two children, both daughters, one born in 2015 and one born in 2017. Severino and his wife live in New York but have spent time before spring training in the Dominican Republic where they both have a family.

New York Yankees: 2020 Projected Starting Rotation

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The New York Yankees signed Gerrit Cole over the offseason to bolster their starting rotation, shaking things up a bit. Here is my projection for their 2020 starting rotation.

1. Gerrit Cole

When the Yankees signed Cole, it was the obvious expectation that he would become the ace. For $324 million, he better be the ace. He’s coming off a year that saw him go 20-5 with a 2.50 ERA, but wasn’t charged with a loss after May 22nd.

The expectation of the ace is a dominant pitcher with both power and finesse, and he sure fits the bill.

2. Luis Severino

Severino isn’t far from an ace, which is why it makes sense that he would be the number two pitcher. He only pitched in three regular season games in 2019 due to injuries, but was 19-8 with a 3.39 ERA in 2018. He hit a wall in the second half of 2018 and struggled through some starts, but that’s kinda expected with someone that young.

I have full confidence that he will bounce back in 2020.

3. James Paxton

Paxton is the number three starter in my mind to split up the two lefties. I think that Tanaka may be a bit better than Paxton overall, but it’s better if the two lefties don’t pitch back-to-back starts.

Big Maple was 15-6 with a 3.82 ERA in his first year in pinstripes, but was much better in the second half of the year. If he can continue to stay healthy, he will thrive in the three spot in the rotation.

4. Masahiro Tanaka

As I already said, I put Tanaka at the four spot to split up the two lefties.

Tanaka was 11-9 with a 4.45 ERA in 2019. His numbers are higher because of his inconsistency. Normally, the starts that he wins are because he is completely dominant, and is completely dominated in games that he loses. However, he did manage to get an all-star nomination in 2019. If he’s just more consistent, then him and the Yankees are golden.

5. Jordan Montgomery

Montgomery missed most of the 2018 and 2019 seasons due to Tommy John surgery.

In his 2017 rookie campaign, he was 9-7 with a 3.88 ERA and was one of the best fifth starters in baseball. I feel that he will come back strong in 2020 with similar numbers.

I left JA Happ off this list with the expectation that he will be traded. Domingo German was left off the list due to his suspension, but I suspect that he will take Montgomery’s spot once eligible again. Montgomery would then shift to the bullpen.

 

The two biggest changes the Yankees made this offseason

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New York Yankees, Aaron Boone, Gerrit Cole

The 2019 season proved that the New York Yankees have the talent to win a World Series, but their lack of run support in the ALCS held them back from the ultimate goal. Timeliness and momentum played a significant part in the demise of the team late in the season. Still, they sought to address the deficiencies this offseason, starting with the starting pitching rotation.

Owner Hal Steinbrenner gave GM Brian Cashman the green light to explore every avenue in free agency, and the team elected to spend a big chunk of their money in one spot — Gerrit Cole. Steinbrenner signed off on a nine-year, $324 deal to feature as the Yankees’ ace, alongside Luis Severino, James Paxton, and others.

That was the first significant change the Yankees brought upon themselves to help supplement a lack of starting pitching support last season and the 63-game suspension to Domingo German.

However, the second change might have been the most significant of all, and that was the overhaul of the strength and conditioning program.

How did the New York Yankees address their injury issues?

In 2019, 30 Yankee players spent 39 separate stints on the injured list. Multiple players were forced to miss virtually the entire season, putting reserve players in positions to start and make significant impacts on the team’s success. The Bombers still managed to scrape 103 wins out of an injury-riddled campaign.

Last month, the Yanks fired their strength and conditioning coach, Matt Krause, after spending six seasons with the club. A lot of the injuries seemed to be soft-tissue issues that emerged with over-use, but the increasing amount couldn’t be ignored.

The Athletic’s Lindsay Adler reported that the Yankees would hire Eric Cressey to take Krause’s place. Cressey is highly regarded in the industry and is expected to make sweeping changes across the regimen. Having worked with All-Star pitchers Noah Syndergaard, Corey Kluber, and Max Scherzer, Cressey will work closely with Gerrit Cole to ensure his health.

The Yankees’ longtime athletic trainer Stevie Donohue will also be moved to a different role after serving in the same position since 1986. Keeping him was a loyal move by the Steinbrenners, but changes needed to be made.

New York Yankees: What does Domingo German’s suspension mean for the starting pitching rotation?

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New York Yankees, Domingo German

When Domingo German, starting pitcher for the New York Yankees, was first charged with domestic violence after an incident with his girlfriend, the 27-year-old took full responsibility, deciding not to fight the charges. The actions he took were unacceptable, and he deserves punishment.

Hopefully, his actions will prove to be a lesson for the future, as his delicate career in Pintrsipes is at stake. However, the MLB rolled out a lengthy suspension for the Dominican born player, forcing him to miss a combined 81 games.

The suspension is retroactive, meaning he will only serve a 63-game suspension in 2020, as he missed the final 18 games of the 2019 season.

What does this mean for the New York Yankees’ starting pitching rotation?

German’s absence will inevitably open up the door for other options in the rotation. Adding Gerrit Cole on a nine-year, $324 million deal supplants Luis Severino at the top of the order, sliding him into the no. 2 spot for the foreseeable future. The Yankees, though, have a fantastic rotation, packed full of capable starters and elite playoff arms, like Masahiro Tanaka.

The normal rotation will look like this:

  1. Gerrit Cole
  2. Luis Severino
  3. James Paxton
  4. Masahiro Tanaka
  5. Jordan Montgomery
  6. Michael King

I left J.A. Happ off the list with the expectation that he will be traded. From the look of the list, we can assume the Bombers will survive without German, as Cole, Seve, and Paxton are all sub-4.00 ERA pitchers. Cole finished 2019 with a 2.50 ERA, making him arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball. Last season, the Yanks enjoyed 103 wins without Cole’s services, but rather boasting a strong bullpen.

Montgomery will likely slide into the No. 5 spot in place of German. Monty had two successful seasons of sub-4.00 ERA baseball before undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2018. He saw just two appearances in 2019 in September, but he is set to have a more significant role moving forward.

New Year, New Beginnings for New Yankees’ Ace

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New York Yankees, Gerrit Cole

A new year brings new beginnings for everyone, and Yankees players are no different. It didn’t take long for Gerrit Cole to announce some pretty big news, that’s also life-altering.

New Papa Ace

Shortly after the start of 2020, Gerrit Cole and his wife, Amy, announced that she’s expecting. With a due date sometime in June, this is truly a happy occasion for the young couple. Yes, his impending paternity leave will require him to miss a couple of starts in June, and he may miss a small handful here and there baring any unforeseen emergencies/difficulties Amy Cole could potentially experience during her pregnancy. But I think we can all find it in our hearts (and minds) that a new baby trumps Cole’s responsibilities during the first half of the season. Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner certainly will.

From all of us here at Empire Sports Media, congratulations to Gerrit and Amy Cole on their wonderful news!

A 10 Part Breakdown of the New York Yankees Depth: Starting Pitching

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New York Yankees, Gary Sanchez

In the last few seasons, the New York Yankees starting rotation was not as well as people thought it was. Masahiro Tanaka, the teams imported ace, has been giving up (on average) 4.5-4.9 runs per game, with an adjusted WAR of -0.1, averaging a .500 record over that time span. Luis Severino is still trying to figure himself out. And while CC Sabathia is now retired, he… uh, wasn’t great.

What About Now?

Gerrit Cole is a big upgrade. Like… such an upgrade that we catapult ourselves to the top of the league in terms of starting rotation. Our starting 4 looks like this:

  1. Gerrit Cole: WAR of 12.1 in two seasons with Houston, with 602 strikeouts compared to the 734 strikeouts he recorded as a Pirate.
  2. James Paxton: 26-12 over the last 2 seasons, with 394 strikeouts, and a WAR of 5.1 in the same time span.
  3. Luis Severino: Last season was shortened to just 12 innings in September. He still managed a 34-15 record since 2017, with 467 strikeouts, and a 10.7 WAR.
  4. Masahiro Tanaka: a WAR of 5.7 since 2017, he still averages about 150 strikeouts per season, with at least 1 complete game shutout. This is great stats for a number 4.

So Who’s the 5?

Boy howdy do we have options.

We don’t know yet what’s going to happen to Domingo German. Chances are if MLB levees a suspension against German, he’ll have a reduced sentence for time already served. But that will mean we need to figure out how to bridge the gap between then.

Jordan Montgomery would be a great filler, but we’re talking about a team that developed the Joba Rules, shut down Phil Hughes during the best season he had as a Yankee starter (screwing him up for the end of his tenure), and at least one massive implosion from more than one member of our bullpen at the WORST time every year for the last 5 seasons. They aren’t going to let Montgomery throw more than 150 innings next year.

What would be a smart move is to have Monty serve as an opener. We know Monty can go more than the one inning they let Chad Green go on average last season. Slowly building him up to 5 innings, and complimenting him with Happ (if we can’t move Happ) would allow us to save our pen throughout the entire season, which would mean they get to stay fresher during a push into October.

We finally have a starting rotation that can complement one of the best bullpens in the game. Everyone should be happy about this! I know I am.

Could the Yankees keep J.A Happ in the starting rotation?

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New York Yankees, J.A. Happ

One season is usually not the end-all, be-all for any given player, and that testament is no different for New York Yankees pitcher, J.A. Happ. The former Toronto Blue Jay was traded to the Yankees in 2018, where he posted an impressive 7-0 record with a 2.69 ERA and 1.052 WHIP.

However, last season, he resorted to negative ways, falling out of favor with manager Aaron Boone and plummeting into a seldom-used relief arm. Over 20 outings, Happ logged a 12-8 record with a 4.91 ERA and 1.295 WHIP. His inefficiency across the board was evident, and it has made him a candidate to be traded this offseason.

The Yankees starting pitching rotation is strong:

Signing Gerrit Cole to a nine-year, $324 million deal spelled the end for Happ, but if he would have performed well in 2019, you could justify keeping him and letting a different option go. The issue — Happ is set to earn $17 million next season, a number far too costly for the quality he produced in the most recent campaign.

General manager Brian Cashman is looking to open up more salary cap after the Cole signing, and Happ fits the bill. However, they may retain him.

As I mentioned before, Happ endured one terrible season and is already on the chopping block. Maybe Cashman should be looking to trade Giancarlo Stanton and his massive contract too, by that logic? The argument here is the depth of the starting rotation, but there are two unknowns to consider.

Both Domingo German and Jordan Montgomery are capable of being quality pitchers. Still, the former will likely miss a significant chunk of 2020, and the latter is one-year removed from any live-game action. There’s no guarantee Montgomery will prove useful in the coming season, as bouncing back from Tommy John surgery can be catastrophic for a pitcher, despite the injury becoming a formality in baseball.

If I were to place a bet, it would be that Cashman finds a new home for Happ, but with German and Montgomery entering the 2020 season with question marks on their heads, he could elect to take a safer route and retain Happ for the final year on his contract.

What Bernie Williams thinks of the Yankees signing Gerrit Cole

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New York Yankees, Bernie Williams

The pressures of New York can be overwhelming for the common folk, but when the Yankees signed Gerrit Cole to a record-breaking deal, they knew he could handle the fire. Cole, 29, was the league’s best pitcher in 2019, setting career highs in both ERA (2.50) and strikeouts (326).

Current and past Yankees players took to the media to express their confidence in Cole and his ability to weather the storm in high-pressure situations. He’s not only physically strong but mentally as well, which is an attribute that takes plenty of psychological refinement. James Paxton endured high-stake situations last season, as he was the Yankees’ top pitcher in the playoffs. The mental skills he developed throughout the year and therapeutic sessions all contributed towards his success on the mound.

One former Yankee great, Bernie Williams, has seen his fair share of ardent moments in Pinstripes, and he was one of the first to advocate for Cole’s dominance moving forward.

“He’s a player that has come into the city with a lot of expectations,” Williams said of Cole during an interview with MLB Network. “Obviously, every time he doesn’t do well with that side, kind of expectations, they’re going to throw his contract in. But I think, for me, has just has to stay the course. He, obviously, has a lot of confidence in his ability to play the game and to pitch. New York is going to challenge that ability and that confidence in many ways.

“So I think in order for him to be successful, he just has to kind of go back to what made him successful and stick with that plan. And no matter what happens, no matter the distractions and everything New York can throw at him, he has to stay firm with his course and having that confidence and his ability that have brought him in the first place to New York.”

The Yankees culture will test Gerrit Cole on all levels:

The fans in New York can be some of the most hostile in the world, especially to their own players. Dishing out $324 million over nine-years to a pitcher comes with its restraints, and Cole will face the harsh reality of failure if he cannot live up to expectations. However, he has proven to be successful in high-leverage situations, helping take the Houston Astros to the World Series in 2019 as their ace.

New York in September is a different type of intensity, though, and Bernie knows all too well what that can do to a fresh face.