Yankees Playoff Notes: Left field decision coming, Game 3 starter still undecided

While the other New York team had an extra day after the season and a quick jaunt across the middle of the country, the Yankees have the week off before opening up postseason play on Saturday afternoon in the Bronx.

For manager Aaron Boone, the days off is an opportunity to reset but present a challenge to keep the team engaged and maintain their edge.

“These are important days for us,” Boone said Tuesday. “Earning a bye gives us the ability that of rest [after] a long season, but these are important days for us where I want our guys walking in with an edge, there’s a lot to accomplish, there’s a lot to get done.”

The plan is to have a couple of “simulated game situations” on Wednesday and Thursday, working on some fundamental things each day.

“These are important days for us to make sure we’re prepared, ready, tight in that room, we’ll kinda hammer that with these guys, but that’s also who they are, too. They know what’s at stake and they know where we are in the season and what we have an opportunity to do.

“Confident we’ll be focused here and hopefully have a good few days leading into Saturday.”

And when that series starts – Boone said he had no preference between facing Kansas City or Baltimore – a new challenge will arrive in the mental side of playing in the postseason.

“You try and prepare for that all year and try and treat any game you’re in like it’s your last, like it’s a playoff game and hopefully those repetitions, that muscle memory serves you well,” the manager said. “Obviously, every play is so important and so scrutinized, the biggest thing for me is regardless of what just happened – good, bad, indifferent – you really gotta keep moving. Keep moving because the next play’s too damn important. 

“So, we make a mistake, you do something great, acknowledge it, learn from it, process it, but the next pitch is too important. And these playoff games can switch on a dime where all of the sudden something doesn’t look great and a big moment comes and you flip the script. 

“The biggest thing is, a lot’s gonna happen, you’re gonna feel the butterflies, the adrenaline, the energy of playoff baseball, of playing in Yankee Stadium in the playoffs, there’s gonna be an energy you’ll feel… but also just kinda keep the blinders on and just play the game. And understand, great moments, mistakes all of it in between coming and you gotta keep moving on because the next one’s really important.”

Left field decision still to be made

The matter of whether it will be Jasson Dominguez or Alex Verdugo starting in left field in Game 1 is also still to be decided this week: “Let the week unfold, I have thoughts in my mind, but we’ll let that unfold,” Boone said.

After his call-up to the big leagues on Sept. 9, Dominguez had some nervy moments in the field and struggled to make the impact he did last season at the plate with three extra-base hits (two home runs) and four RBI in 52 at-bats with a .192 average and .660 OPS.

“Obviously had some hiccups in the outfield,” Boone said, “didn’t light up the stat line from an offensive standpoint, but felt like he was having quality at-bats still and certainly know what he’s capable of both sides of the ball for that matter. And the speed component he brings to the table.

“I feel like he’s ready to go and whatever way we go, he’s gonna play a big part.”

For his part, Verdugo had a pair of homers and seven RBI in 64 at-bats during September with a .234 average and .608 OPS.

Anthony Rizzo’s status

There is nothing new on Rizzo’s availability after the first baseman sustained a pair of broken fingers on his right hand in the season’s final series. The Yankees are still treating the injury and “not testing it for at least a couple more days,” Boone said. “He’s been in here for already a couple hours treating it, nothing yet.”

Ben Rice, who was called up for the season finale and played first, “will be in that mix” during this week’s activities.

The manager said Sunday that Rizzo playing would be a “long shot,” and if he is not on the ALDS roster, Boone said they “will look at everything here these next few days.”

“Maybe a situation where you’re gonna lean on everyone anyway,” he said. “In different spots, in the biggest moments maybe it’s this guy starting, this guy coming in a scenario. Or a lot of different scenarios. Those are the things we’ll work through this week and as the Division Series unfolds.”

Potential Game 3 starter

With Gerrit Cole the nailed-on Game 1 starter and Carlos Rodon likely penciled in for Game 2 next Monday night, Boone has a decision to make about who will start the first game on the road: Clarke Schmidt or Luis Gil are both options.

“I want everyone to kinda weigh in, certainly have their opinions and thoughts heard. I think it’s a really good decision we have in front of us,” Boone said. “I feel like whichever way we end up going it’s gonna be a good choice.

“That said, both guys, Clarke and Luis, could play a role in the days ahead out of the ‘pen in a situation. We’ll continue to work through it this week, we don’t have to make that call yet. Both guys bring a lot to the table.”

With Gil finishing up his rookie season and pitching throwing 151.2 innings over 29 big-league starts, could it be too much to ask the 26-year-old to work out of the bullpen having never done that before?

“It’s that time of year, it’s all hands on deck, we’re trying to win a world championship,” the skipper said. “So that’s where the guy’s focus will [be] and we’ll do our best to put our guys in the best spots.”