Morash: Clay Holmes 'absolutely an issue' for Yankees

Evan opened Thursday’s show by trying to quell the concerns of Yankee fans after Clay Holmes blew a save in the ninth inning, but Shaun Morash says the worry from a large portion of the fanbase is warranted when looking at how other potential Yankees championship seasons were thwarted.

“Make no mistake, this is absolutely an issue,” Morash said. “Ninety seven, 2001, game four 2004, 2019 with Chapman, It feels like the missed opportunities, the true missed opportunities at championships always fall on a blown save. It happened with Mariano, and it happened with Chapman.”

Mariano Rivera, the best there ever was, coughed up a lead in the 1997 ALDS thanks to a Sandy Alomar Jr. home run, and the Yanks lost the series. He also tripped up in game seven of the 2001 World Series and game four of the 2004 ALCS, sparking the biggest choke in baseball history. In 2019 and 2020, closer Aroldis Chapman surrendered backbreaking home runs to the Astros and Rays, respectively. Morash is worried that Holmes and the 2024 Yanks could follow the same trajectory unless they somehow found a dominant closer that can pile on the strikeouts.

“My biggest fear…there’s not really a dominant closer out there,” Morash said. “So if Clay Holmes is that guy, great. But  what scares me more than anything, when I think about getting outs in a ninth inning, I need true swing and miss stuff that puts the fear of God in a lineup.”