MLB
Mike Francesa Stunned by Rays Crowd, Says Yankees Need Schlittler to Deliver
Mike Francesa reacts to the Rays’ home support in Game 1 and explains why he believes Cam Schlittler must deliver for the Yankees in Game 2 of the ALDS.
“Not only was it not a Yankee crowd, but it was an overwhelming Tampa crowd with a crowd size of which they’ve never seen,” Mike Francesa said. “I mean, this was a complete changing of the order down there. People in that building were Tampa fans.”
Speaking on The Mike Francesa Podcast, Francesa addressed the expectation that the Yankees’ following in Florida would give New York the stronger crowd support at Tropicana Field. Tampa Bay won Saturday’s ALDS opener 1–0. MLB’s Game 1 report
The announced attendance was 40,542, Tropicana Field’s highest since Game 5 of the 2010 ALDS. MLB’s attendance report
Francesa pointed to the Yankees’ winter base in Tampa and their following throughout Florida.
“It’s their base. It’s their winter base. And you know, we know how many Yankee fans are around there and how many there are in all of Florida, but especially in Tampa,” he said. “So, that was a stunning and really quite surprising development.”
For Game 2, Francesa’s expectation was that Schlittler would deliver one of the two victories he believed the Yankees needed from him in the series.
“The Yankees have to win this game tonight. They’re not going to beat this team that they are so evenly matched with three games in a row. It’s not going to happen.”
He acknowledged the responsibility that Yankee fans were placing on the young right-hander.
“They have incredible respect for his abilities right now, but they’re also expecting him to carry the team,” Francesa said. “And that’s a lot to ask a young guy to do. It really is. But that’s where they are. And that’s who he is. He is the ace. He is the guy with the makeup. He is the guy who can do this.”
Francesa’s advice concerned getting outs without allowing the pursuit of strikeouts to drive up Schlittler’s pitch count. He recalled the Yankees teaching Mariano Rivera to retire hitters without having to strike everyone out.
“I’d like to see him be able to harness this ability and to get to a point where he understands how to get a guy out by jamming him and breaking his bat or getting him to hit a weak ground ball or pop it up and do that in two swings,” he said.
“You don’t have to strike every guy out and it is not advantageous in big games to do that. It elevates your pitch count.”
Francesa also described how he would handle the innings after Schlittler. He recalled the postseason handoff from Andy Pettitte to Rivera, while allowing for an additional reliever between the starter and closer in his proposed Game 2 plan.
If Schlittler left with a lead after six innings, Francesa preferred staying with the bullpen rather than bringing in a starter. His proposed finish was a reliever in the seventh, followed by David Bednar for two innings.
“One of the other relievers in the seventh. We know who they are depending on who’s up in the lineup. And then Bednar for the last six outs.”
