Wild Card Preview

I did one of these last year and I'll do it again here. Last year the Yankees got to play their perennial playoff patsy, the Twins. This year they're facing a red-hot A's team that plays particularly well on the road. Oakland is following Tampa Bay's success with bullpen-games, something the Yankees had a lot of trouble with this year. The good thing about facing a bullpen is that you only need one or two guys to be off their game to score some a few runs.

Lots of questions about the Yankees pitching, too. Luis Severino, who struggled so much in the second half, and who lasted just a third of an inning in last year's Wild Card game, is an interesting choice, especially with Gary Sanchez catching. A month ago in Oakland Sanchez couldn't catch Severino at all. If you see a lot of wild pitches and passed balls early, you know it will be Oakland's night for sure.

The big question is, can the Yankees score enough runs? I certainly hope so, they haven't looked as good in the second half but looked a little better the last week of the season. We'll see . . .