Maybe Everything That Dies Someday Comes Back

I was all set to write the season-ender posts. Not just the recap of the game on which the Yankees, were eliminated from the American League Division Series by those pesky Toronto Blue Jays, but also the "You Can't Blame" posts.

You know. The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame Aaron Judge for the Yankees Losing. The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame Aaron Boone for the Yankees Losing. The Top 5 Reasons Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Is a Fat Pig. (Reason Number 1: His real hero isn't his father, it's David Ortiz.") The annual "These guys were a bunch of gutless wonders" post. The annual "Brian Cashman has got to go" post.

It was all going to happen, and it was all going to be necessary.

Because Carlos Rodón had nothing last night. Guerrero hit another no-doubt-about-er off him in the 1st inning, putting him in a 2-0 hole. The Yankees pulled a run back in the bottom of the 1st, but a double, an intentional walk to Guerrero, a lineout, and 3 straight singles meant a 6-1 Toronto lead. This thing was headed for another blowout, to forge an ugly elimination game.

Then the Yankees did something that I didn't expect, something few people expected: They came from behind to win. They scored 2 in the bottom of the 3rd, on an Aaron Judge double and a Giancarlo Stanton sacrifice fly.

In the 4th, Austin Wells reached on an error, Trent Grisham drew a walk, and Judge hit one down the left-field line. Some of us thought of Carlton Fisk's World Series homer, 50 years to the month earlier (I sure did), and some of us may even have copied him by waving our arms to keep it fair (I didn't). As with Fisk's homer, it hit the foul pole. Unlike Fisk's homer, which broke a 6-6 tie to win the game, this one made a 6-6 tie.

Jazz Chisholm put the Yankees on top in the 5th, with a homer deep into the right-center Bleachers. This was followed by an Amed Rosario double and a Wells single. Ben Rice hit a sacrifice fly in the 6th, to make it 9-6.

The bullpen made that hold up: Over the last 6 2/3rds innings, Fernando Cruz, Camilo Doval, Tim Hill (credited as the winning pitcher), Devin Williams and David Bednar allowed no runs on 3 hits and no walks. Williams, arguably the most damaging Yankee player of the season, actually got Vlad to fly out. If he can't get a hit off Devin Williams, how great can he be? And Bednar got Vlad to ground to 3rd for the last out.

From the 1st to the 5th inning, the Yankees' scoreline was 10232. That ZIP Code is not in use, but if it were, it would be in Manhattan.

Last night, the Blue Jays came in as birds of prey. They left as clay pigeons. Or, to put it another way, to paraphrase Yankee Fan Bruce Springsteen: They blew up the chicken men in The Bronx last night.

Tonight, at 7:00, weather permitting, Game 4 will be played at Yankee Stadium II. Cam Schlittler will start against Louis Varland. Varland has appeared in 77 games this season, making exactly 1 start. It looks like the Jays are going with a "bullpen game." Hopefully, we can get to them early and often.  Hopefully, they can do it again tonight, and then go back over the border, get a good Game 5 from Max Fried, and not only blow up the chicken men in Toronto that night, but blow up their house, too.

Metaphorically speaking, of course, although that is one ugly stadium that the Jays play in.

As Bruce said: "Everything dies, baby, that's a fact. But maybe everything that dies someday comes back."