 cold out windy out who does it affect pitchers or hitters you know it depends on what's going on on the field now from a pitching standpoint if the wind is in your face or a little bit of a swirling crosswind the Tanaka splitter is going to move all over the place you know I used to pitch a candlestick park and they I loved pitching there because of when you throw into the wind or with a crosswind your slider breaks like crazy so does your splitter so that can help and hurt you at the same time because you've got to get it over over the plate you know and throw strikes with it but pitchers you have to deal with the movement on your pitches being more than than what you're used to how about batters are they at a disadvantage when it's cold yeah a little bit I don't think it's quite cold enough it's just more blustery right it's still around 50 degrees when it gets down to in in the upper 30s and 40s and then you know range of motion gets inhibited so yeah the extension on everything pitchers extension on their fastballs hitters extension on their swings and then that comes into play now the big conversation is trying to get length out of Tanaka and really all of your starters because you might have to go four straight days and you can really tax your bullpen and nobody's pitched you know three straight days out of this bullpender in the course of the year but do you think they'll treat Tanaka differently do you think the scenario is the exact the same as it was in the first game where 68 pitches goes through the order three through six does he bring them out for the seventh or did he stick to the game plan of not wanting to have his starting pitchers go three times through the order you know I think he's going to give him a little slack on the leash tonight so to speak but it still depends on how the game situation is going at that time how well he's throwing what Houston's doing and this is a must-win game I'm not worried about four straight games you might not get to the fourth game at this point you've got to win tonight and really tomorrow in my mind as well if you win tonight then you put some pressure on Verlander tomorrow and you get to face Verlander in your home park now now you can see a way to the end and you you know if you can steal that one from Verlander then you Garrett Cole on short rest boy you've really flipped the script I'm not worried about four straight days you got to get to four straight days tonight as a must-win there's a story that we just covered Andy Martino of SMY does a great job said that the Yankees are upset with whistling from the Ashrow's dugout and they a GM that didn't give his name said that's breaking an unwritten rule the only problem I would have is they're whistling to relay signs that were gotten illegally through technology have you ever heard that you can't whistle from the dugout well I think you know it's it becomes a big bluff a big poker game at this point where you're trying to use you know the bluff is getting into the opponent's heads and it's kind of working and actually saw Aaron judge do something in a dugout and in game to where you know that they're like looking at some sort of a script and they're looking at the camera and it's almost like everybody's into a big bluff game it's almost become a big joke at this point but yes using technology back to the Apple watch with the Boston Red Sox a couple of years ago yeah that's a big no-no you can't use a monitor and then use an app you know an iPhone or an Apple watch and try to relay signs and that's so tough to do anyway but what let's say their bench coach Joe Espada picks up a tell on the pitcher and they say well this is when he does this he throws a fastball and somebody whistles to tell is that wrong well you know that you're getting into the gray area you know and from a pitching standpoint you could start to say you know what I'm gonna throw one high and tight you know to send a message and that's Gainesmanship too so yeah that's when you're getting into the the blurred lines of Gainesmanship at that point all right so many guys slumping right Sanchez slumping Incarnacion DD I mean which one of you the biggest concern about just as far as you're afraid that this is something it might last right till the end well you know I think if you're basing a slump on facing the two most dominating right-handed pitchers in the American League and you're thinking well maybe we need to make a change you know is it a slumper is it Verlander and Cole and I put green key in that category too he gave up three runs he's still you know a great pitcher with a great pedigree so yeah I mean are they slumping or are they great pitches you know I saw Cole make some of the best sliders I've seen him make all year long and in particular on Gary Sanchez and sometimes pitchers do that when you have a hitter that's down a little bit and I did it when I pitched it's like well it gives you a little confidence and you break out your best sliders against those hitters because you don't want to let him up you kind of smell blood so to speak so you know I give credit to Cole and some of those nasty breaking balls he was throwing we had a narrative at the start of the show callers calling in constantly they've got to Ben Sanchez for Romine Mark to share a laughed it off let me ask you would you even think about it no no definitely not you know and you know is that cranky through a ball 95 miles an hour in the dirt the other night there's no way you can catch that ball there's no you know is that Britain matter rather Zach Britton did and you know catchers block breaking balls in the dirt they don't block 95 mile an hour sinkers in the dirt so forget about the passball that was a wild pitch the wild pitch of all wild pitches so you know Sanchez can still have a Reggie night who would it would you be surprised if Sanchez did three home runs tonight I don't think anybody would be surprised if that happened he may strike out three times as well as that green key may make great pitches on him that they're great pitchers that that happens in postseason we see it all the time that great pitchers make great pitches you know hitters are going to strike out or they're not going to do well I'd be more surprised by the three home runs David only because the one I'm all I'm not remotely for benching Gary Sanchez but he has appeared lost it to me it's not just that he hasn't been making contact there were some of bats where he downright didn't look close well that's a valid point I mean it's certainly a confidence is a big part of this game confidence is very fleeting for even the best of athletes yes it happens but you know I thought that you know watching him against Cole in particular just let's just narrow it down to the most recent game well I really saw some nasty breaking balls and the last time up you know Gary even though he hit it on the ground he hit it a hundred and seven miles an hour on the ground right at the shortstop I thought that was a pretty good swing I think Aaron Boone is right he's missing his pitches we've seen him right on some pitches and foul them straight back up off the screen and you know that you could say hey well it's a foul ball well the timing was there on several swings that I saw you just can't miss your pitch when you get it what's wrong about a vino you know how to vino it's a little bit miscast in my mind he's not a one batter guy you know his stuff moves all over the place it takes him a little while to get to find the radar so to speak and to bring him in for one hitter it was really not his strength I think and the one thing about out of you know is that they got exposed the other night was how slowly is the home plate and we actually saw a hit and run or a run and hit whatever you want to call it without to be the other night kind of hit the ball in the hole when Glaber was covering when Springer was trying to steal and that's the problem without a vino is it the Springer and now to be in that part of the lineup if they're on base but he can get exposed in the running game because he can't hold runners on I want to go back to Verlander and Cole for a second you're right they're they're both filthy but wouldn't you say that Verlander in game two and what we saw Cole in game three that there were moments they were hittable that was not necessarily their a plus games would you be concerned that they might even be tougher to hit the next time around you know yeah you could argue both ways you know I know that speaking from experience they both got really used in the first round they both had to pitch twice in a five game series and that took a lot of bullets out of them and an emotional one for Cole in game five in the division series so cumulative cumulatively I think you know that might be the Yankees best chance that these guys are starting to get worn down they both were well over 200 innings a lot of strikeouts a lot of deep games maybe you know and maybe this is a residual effect that may benefit the Yankees they're both gonna have to pitch twice in this round as well and you know I think maybe their stuff is showing some signs of some wear and tear over a long year we're talking with my yes or colleague David Cohn for me Yankee and met as well so I younger word winner before I let you go let's play the what if game let's say these two games of split 3-2 going to Saturday if you're hinge would you pitch Cole on three days rest no if you're down three games to two now you saw how Verlander pitched on three days rest it wasn't him would you do it yes I think you almost have to if you're down three to two well you that's a tough decision because it's sort of like leaving your closer in the bullpen on the road an entire game and was saving Cole for game seven but you don't get to game seven that that is the ultimate choice for hinge you got to have an awful lot of confidence in your bullpen to do a bullpen day down three to even though you're at home how tough is it for a pitcher that's used to pitching on four days rest to pitch short well it's not tough it's just that your stuff isn't quite as sharp and we saw that with with you know with Verlander in game two you know I did it in 1992 in the playoffs when I was with the Blue Jays and I pitched game two in the ALCS against the Oakland A's had one of my best games in postseason ever I think in game two of 92 came back on short rest and got bombed and my fastball was about a foot shorter my slider didn't break I didn't make quick adjustments and I got knocked out of that game so yeah it takes something out of your arm you especially when you're a power pitcher back in 92 I was a power pitcher I was coming off of my Mets days you know and I wasn't the guy you saw at the end of my career with the Yankees I saw that with with Verlander pitching on short rest this slider just didn't didn't have the snap to it and the same with Cole Cole didn't have that that that riding action on his fastball he only got three swings and misses on his four-seam fastball which is one of the best if not the best fastball in the game right now that's why it's so important you win today if you could squeeze one out tomorrow against Verlander and then you're forcing them to use Cole on three days rest and you know flip the coin see what he has you flip the script and I know you know you people say well the Yankees have to use their bullpen four days in a row that's four days from now I'm not worried about that I think this is a positive for tonight because you get to knock it back on the mound he's your best pitcher going right now Chad greens already been used so if you're going to use him as an opener last night you were lucky to get one inning out of him and an opener as opposed to two so in the short term this is advantage Yankees in the long term if this goes to game seven it may catch up to the Yankees