Xander Bogaerts is the Yankees Grim Reaper

 Xander Bogaerts was the grave digger for the Yankees tonight. He got the party started in Fenway with a two-run homer in the first inning and made the biggest play of the game cutting down Aaron Judge on a relay throw to the plate to end the Yankees in the 6th inning.

Bogaerts did not play well down the stretch for the Red Sox, but he showed up when it mattered most. Gerrit Cole for the Bombers did not show up in this game last just three batters into the third inning giving up three runs and leaving with runners on first and second. Phil Nevin's send of Judge his in the 6th allowing Judge to get gunned at the plate is the worst send of his career and should be questioned if he is the man to have the third base coaching job. The momentum completely shifted into Boston’s favor after that—and the Red Sox coasted. Alex Cora gave the Yankees a gift taking Eovaldi out after a Judge base hit that didn’t leave the infield—Nevin gave it right back. This season has a roller coaster of a season that came to a screeching halt, overreactions will be angrily tweeted out, and the Yankees will be watching the rest of the postseason with the rest of us. Yet again, the fanbase is left asking: when will we finally win another World Series? Over the course of this run with the “Baby Bombers” there have been plenty of nights where they looked like the best team in baseball, unfortunately there have been more nights (particularly in October) where they haven’t been good enough.

Every question that has been asked about this team; from the balance of the lineup, lack of starting pitching, if Boone/Cashman/coaching staff as a whole are the people who are capable of leading this team to a championship. The Autumn and Winter air will answer all those questions, it is just crushing to sit here again saying: next year is our year. Hopefully that is the case. There are pieces on this roster that can lead to wins in October, the pieces just need to fit into the winning puzzle at the right time. Boston shock that puzzle up and dumped all the pieces on the floor. It’s not the same feeling as October 2004, but it is close. Losing in the postseason sucks, losing to Boston in the postseason sucks more! This season was the 12th straight season without an AL Pennant. In Yankee Years that’s as long as the drought in Cleveland. With 2022 being baseball’s reset with the new Collective Bargaining Agreement dictating how the game will be played for the next eight to 10 years everyone in the Bronx should also take a long hard reset at how they are going about winning this franchise’s 28th World Title. I love baseball and I love this team more than I love breathing, this loss is soul crushing, but as the great William Goldman and Mike Lupica most famously put into print: Wait Till Next Year.

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