Game Two of ALCS Recap: The One in Which the Guardians Learn that Vibes are Not Enough
This was about as bad as it gets for Guardians fans
The Guardians lost to the Yankees 6-3, to go down 0-2 in the seven-game series. The teams will now head to Cleveland but a lot is going to have to change for this series to turn around.
I’m a positive person. I’m about as optimistic as a fan can be. But, folks, this was a terrible game. I’m going to still give you some reasons to hang on to hope. But, we need to address some things first.
You’re not going to win a World Series when the best starting pitcher on your staff cannot get out of the second inning. Tanner Bibee was giving up lots of hard contact and having trouble controlling his stuff. It’s important to remember that this is his first full season, but there are no guarantees you get another shot at this. In Cleveland, because of their strong decade of making the playoffs, you have as good a shot as anywhere. But, there are just no guarantees and he 100% let his team down in a big spot today.
The Guardians have a lot of vibes players on their team. They could have promoted the International League MVP Johnathan Rodriguez in September to see if he could show some lift on the ball and make his way into right-field. They could have tried Juan Brito who walks a ton and rarely strikes out and hit 21 homers in Triple-A while getting 19 starts in right-field. They could have even aggressively promoted Chase DeLauter for the last week of the season and saw if he could stay healthy for a couple weeks.
But, the Guardians, instead, went with Will Brennan as their primary right-fielder. Brennan is a great teammate, an amazing person from all accounts, and chock full of vibes. But, he is worse than Austin Hedges as a hitter versus left-handed pitchers, had only a 109 wRC+ vs. RHP this year and a 92 wRC+ in the second half of the season. Brennan has swung at every pitch he has seen this postseason. He also offered the team a key bobble in right-field allowing a run to score in the sixth, and dropped a ball out of his glove on a sliding catch in the eighth also.
Vibes aren’t enough.
Austin Hedges is the element the clubhouse was missing in 2023. Jose Ramirez wanted him back. Everyone wanted him back. Austin Hedge is also the worst hitter in MLB since 2019, and has a 36 wRC+ since Opening Day of 2020. So, when manager Stephen Vogt makes an aggressive move and brings David Fry and his hurt elbow in to bat for the struggling Bo Naylor with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth, the team is forced to bat Hedges the rest of the game... leading to him taking a key at-bat with the bases loaded and striking out while looking like he was a man on the street who was offered a chance at a million dollars if he could get a hit off of Clay Holmes.
Vibes aren’t enough.
Stephen Vogt is amazing. He’s made a lot of amazing decisions as a manager this season. I don’t think the Guardians would be in the ALCS had they made a different decision for his role. I’m going to defend his decision to try to get a chunk out of the Yankees lead by doing the Fry-for-Bo gamble. But, he is overmanaging in this series. I don’t know why he removed Eli Morgan after Morgan made only six pitches while dispatching the heart of the Yankee lineup. I don’t know why he went to Erik Sabrowski after Sabrowski threw 19 pitches the day before. But, it didn’t work. It didn’t work.
Vibes aren’t enough.
To beat the Yankees, you need more than vibes. You need to play great defense (I am looking at you, Rocchio dropped pop-up in the first), you need to put up tough at-bats EVERY time, and you need to execute your best pitches the best you’ve ever done. And, maybe, maybe, it’ll turn out you just need more talent on your roster than what the Guardians currently have.
It’s not over, folks. I saw this team, again, refuse to give up. I saw them throw the Yankees out on the bases like nincompoops a couple times. I saw Jose JUST miss a home run on a foul ball in the first inning, and Josh Naylor JUST miss getting a barrel and a grand slam off of Cole on a sacrifice fly in the fifth. I saw Lane Thomas, Kwan, Ramirez, Gimenez and ROCCHIO continue to put up good at-bats, and Josh Naylor finally break through for some hits. I saw some great work from the bullpen again, including the warm-teddy-bear experience of Pedro Avila getting a big out, tough as nails Ben Lively coming in and saving the team with some gritty innings eating as usual. He made me look silly for saying he doesn’t match up well vs. the Yankees. I still love this team with all my heart. But they are going to have to play MUCH better if they want to have a shot to win this thing and get to the World Series.
But we have to know that someone is going to get to our big four occasionally, and Gaddis gave up a two-run homer to Judge. Which made me doubly sad because their superstar struggling in the postseason got one and my hero, the patron saint of all Guardians fans, Jose Ramirez, has yet to get a big hit. He hit a home run in this game! Off of Luke Weaver of all people! He also had another couple balls hard. But, he hasn’t been able to get the big one in a big spot yet against these Yankees. So, while I hope his home run tonight can help the idiots who say he’s failing his team to shut up, I also know that I won’t be able to put that behind me until he hits that home run with runners on to give the Guardians a lead.
Maybe everything will change when they get home to Progressive Field. I hope we all leave room in our hearts to hope that’ll be the case. I like that they kept it close enough for Yankee manager Aaron Boone to use his closer Luke Weaver AGAIN (every look they get at him helps). Even though they made me cringe several times tonight and teetered on the brink of embarrassing me, I know they are a great baseball team who can turn this thing around and even still win this series.
But, I can tell you this... if that miracle happens, it’s gonna take more than good vibes.