Hello Alds, it's Luketober Time!

We all love Aaron Judge BUT who doesn’t love Luke Voit? Well….besides Cardinals fans, Stephen Piscotty and the rest of the Oakland A’s. HOLY COW!

I am still reeling from last night! It was epic, it was a nail biter, and it was all of the excitement we all want to see in the postseason. It was October baseball is all about. Well, shall we say Luketober now? Too cheesy? I’m so amped right now I will roll with just about anything.

If you weren’t a Voit fan when the Yankees got him, you are now! Now we all can finally agree that LUKE’S NO FLUKE and this guy is everything the Yankees could’ve hoped for. Best acquisition ever! Okay, maybe ever is a little extreme but I like the guy.

This team has some major swag right now and Voit is no exception. He is baseball’s incredible Hulk. He’s tough, he has power and he can rock an unbuttoned Yankees jersey like nobody else. This guy is special, and the A’s wouldn’t disagree and hopefully the Red Sox will get the same experience. This was the game our boys needed heading into Boston.

Maybe I was finally wrong about Aaron Boone. I’ve been hard on him this season and I admit that, but I think he made all of the right moves last night. Luis Severino was throwing hard and that first inning was epic, but Dellin Betances was the shining moment for me. I was surprised to see Betances called in early and in the middle of a jam. I give credit where credit is due….well played, skipper.

Now the Red Sox and Yankees will meet in the postseason for the first time since the 2004 ALCS. Now it is time get revenge from 2004. I guess now is a great time to have restored faith in Boone. He knows the intensity this series will have and the scrutiny will be magnified now more than ever. Boone starred in one of the more famous moments in Red Sox-Yankees history with his game-winning home run off Tim Wakefield in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. This may be one of the most exciting postseason series I have ever seen in my life, and maybe yours too.

he Red Sox will be an incredibly tough challenge, their 108 win season can’t be discredited. Lucky for us, wins in the regular season don’t matter now. It’s a whole new ballgame. If the Yankees play like they did last night, they can win. The Red Sox have some serious question marks right now.

Ace Chris Sale has only thrown 17 innings since July 27 because of a shoulder injury and his velocity has dropped considerably. Then of course David Price, is 0-3 with a 10.34 earned run average against the Yankees in recent years. He’s always struggled against the Yankees and hopefully he continues to.

Now the Yankees will likely give the ball to J.A. Happ to start the series, and that could be a great advantage for us. He has had success against the Red Sox, with an 8-4  record and 2.98 ERA. His biggest concern will be Steve Pearce who is 11 for 32 against Happ, with 6 home runs, 2 doubles, 5 walks and 16 runs batted in. If Happ can continue his success against the Red Sox a game one win would be a HUGE victory.

The Red Sox don’t have the bullpen we do, it’s a weakness. We can see now more than ever that our guys want to win. We came so close last year, we are hungrier this year and want it. The best rivalry in sports is back in a big way.

I can’t wait for Friday! Congrats fellas, now rest up! The quest for 28 is back.
 

–Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @Nyprincessj