Roasting Yankees for ALDS strategy ignores reality as Brewers descend on Tropicana Field

The Milwaukee Brewers are heading to Tropicana Field with a 2-0 World Series lead over the Tampa Bay Rays. A championship is on the line after Milwaukee fell down 4-0 against Drew Rasmussen, battled back, and took aim at Ian Seymour in the late innings. I understand Yankee fans will find these notes impossible to believe, but it's true.

Here are Seymour's postseason game logs, for those interested in feeling nauseous:

3 innings, one hit, one run, four Ks against the Yankees (mostly lefties!) in Game 2
1 1/3 shutout frames against the Yankees in Game 3
1 1/3, one hit, shutout in Game 2 against Cleveland
1 inning, four hits, two runs in Game 4 against Cleveland
0 batters retired, two walks and a hit by pitch in Game 6 against Cleveland
2/3 of an innings, two hits, one run, a walk and a blown save in Game 2 of the World Series

Unsolvable problem for the Bombers, though! No reason to pinch-hit any right-handed batters or give him a different look, he's simply an unbeatable automaton!

There's plenty of failed strategy to get on the Yankees about from their way-too-early postseason exit, but one specific pain point isn't valid. During their ALDS off day in Tampa between Games 1 and 2, the Yankees practiced at their off-site facility at George M. Steinbrenner Field, allowing them to access to their beloved Trajekt machine and high-tech training tools.

Selective memory is a real thing, and after their Game 2 abomination, many fans have taken to roasting the Yankees for foolishly failing to prepare for Tropicana Field's unique quirks and dimensions, opting for the outdoor sunlight and indoor machinery instead. It didn't help that the Yanks went on to botch the defensive assignment spectacularly in Game 2, right from the very first batter of the very first inning.

Shouldn't they have used their practice time on Tropicana Field's completely unique surface, staring at Tropicana Field's completely unique ceiling? We'll see if the Brewers have the same issue after approaching the assignment with care, working on mastering every nook and cranny of this bizarre ballpark.

But here's the thing: The Yankees did that, too. Before Game 1. Their prep was remarkably similar. It just ... failed.

Yankees' ALDS workout at Tropicana Field mimicked the Brewers' strategy. It just didn't work.

The Yankees' Friday workout ahead of Game 1 featured every tenet of the Brewers' workout and more.

As chronicled in the New York Post, the Yankees rolled balls down the line to get used to detecting bounces and patterns, helped Austin Wells with relays with two-hops to the plate off the turf, then moved onto popup training.

"The Yankees then rolled a machine out behind the plate to fire high fly balls and pop-ups, giving the club a chance to begin figuring out how best to pick out a white baseball against a white fabric backdrop," the Post wrote.

Yes, it's true that the Yankees have much more experience working through the Trop's nuance than the NL Central champions do. It's also true that the Yankees flopped spectacularly after taking their practice reps to the comforts of their spring home between the two games. You can blame the lack of a second roof stress test if you'd like, but the fact is the Yankees took to the field in much the same way the Brewers did ... then let the moment get too big for them anyway. In this particular instance, you can blame the men on the field more than the culture of prep work they're privy to.

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