Yankees: 3 things we learned from 2019 ALCS defeat

Yes, we are all in mourning. Yankees fans from New York to California and around the planet are grieving the team’s 4-2 loss to the Houston Astros in the ALCS. What did we learn from the team’s performance in the ALCS?

To be sure, the ALCS was a very close and highly competitive series between two MLB juggernauts (Yankees and Astros). The cliché, “it could have gone either way,” definitely applies here.

Analysts have provided varying explanations as to why the Astros won the series, and the Yanks did not. There seems to be some consensus that the ‘Stros were simply able to do the little things better and at the right time. This is generally correct from what I witnessed.

Also, as we all anticipated, Houston had superior starting pitching. Their starters were able to get into the late innings successfully, thereby putting less pressure on their bullpen, which was supposed to be inferior to the Yankees ‘pen. The starters for the Yanks, in contrast, had mixed success in getting deeper into games.

Surprisingly, the bullpen for the Yankees did not live up to expectations. Aroldis Chapman lost the series on one pitch. Adam Ottavino appeared to lack confidence on the mound and was a big disappointment, more generally. However, this was a valuable learning experience for him. I am sure that the Brooklyn-born Ottavino will pitch better in his next ALCS.