The St.Louis Cardinals defeated the Texas Rangers tonight in World Series Game 7 by a score of 6-2. Chris Carpenter pitched a fantastic game and the Cardinals offense took the lead in the 3rd and never looked back. The real killing blow was when Scott Feldamn loaded the bases and then walked in the run and then CJ Wilson came in and hit the first batter to give the Cardinals a 5-2 lead. You have to feel bad for Rangers fans, they were 1 strike away from winning the world series twice and their bullpen failed them both times.
The Rangers lost in the World Series for the second consecutive year, which could make their off-season extremely interesting. Last Year they lost Cliff Lee and brought in Adrian Beltre.This year they have to wonder if C.J Wilson will stay or go. Will they make a lot of changes to shake things up, or keep things as they are, considering it brought them consecutive pennants? The bullpen lost them the world series but was key in them winning the pennant so what do you do there.
Regardless of the off-season this was a hell of a game and the Cardinals comeback in game 6 made that game one of the greatest of all time. Also as Joe Buck let us know numerous times this may be the last time that Wilson or Pujols suit up for their respective teams and while the Pujols saga will be trying for Cardinals fans at least they won, while Rangers fans have to think about game 6 and how their bullpen twice failed to win them the series. Great series for both teams.
Congratulations to David Freese for winning the series MVP.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
The 2012 Yankees Bench
The Yankees had one of their better benches this season even with injuries to Eric Chavez and Francisco Cervelli that had both spend a good deal of time on the DL. Chavez hurt himself in Detroit back in May and Cervelli started and ended the year on the DL with a Broken leg and a Concussion. Cervelli only appeared in 43 games with 137 PA, but he was on a Offensive tear before going down with a concussion, including 3 home runs in the week before he went on the DL. That being said with Jesus Montero showing that his bat is definitely MLB ready and Russel Martin likely coming back their really isn't place for him and Austin Romine. Either one could get traded but I would bet that Cervelli will seeing how they have tried to trade him twice in the last year. Chavez appeared in 58 games with 175 PA he finished exactly replacement level and is apparently strongly considering retirement. Andruw Jones also did well despite a poor start, the only real problem was that the outfield played well enough that he really didn't get too many plate appearances. In fact Jones had the fewest plate appearances since his debut as an 18 year old back in 1996. Jones could be back but he also could probably get the same contract from a team that would give him more playing time. So honestly the only guy who is more than likely going to be back in 2012 from the 2011 bench will be Eduardo Nunez who had an interesting season to say the least, but was the primary backup for Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.
If Andruw Jones and the Yankees part ways there are a number of options for the Yankees if they bring in another Right Handed Outfield Bench bat, including Marcus Thames or Jonny Gomes. The Yankees have also said that they want to give Nunez more reps in the outfield and if that's true they could bring in a Lefty bat like Chris Dickerson, Scott Hairston or Laynce Nix. A left handed outfield bat isn't ideal but the Yankees may have a problem finding a good left handed infield bench bat especially since reports indicate that if Eric Chavez retires then the Yankees would consider Brandon laird who is a right handed bat and can play the outfield and infield corner spots. Ramiro Pena is a no offense option but the Yankees will probably keep him as a depth option because they know exactly what they would get from him and his defense was not very good in his limited time with the Yankees. The other internal infield options are the aforementioned Brandon Laird as well as Jorge Vazquez, Kevin Russo and Mike Lamb. I doubt that Kevin Russo is an option as he is essentially a lesser version of Eduardo Nunez and was already removed from the Yankees 40 man once. Vazquez is a power bat who can play 3rd and 1st but has primarily played 1st in the Yankees organization. Mike Lamb is really the only internal left handed infield option but I don't know if the Yankees consider him a real option despite a good 53 games with the Scranton Yankees. Casey Blake is another suggested option after he had his contract bought out by the Dodgers and probably the best available one but he is another right handed bat and would probably be the most expensive option.
The likeliest option is that the Yankees will have a competition in Spring training for the non-Nunez/Montero bench roles. I expect that they will go with a right handed outfield bat, an infielder, Eduardo Nunez and Jesus Montero. This would leave them with another spot as Montero will probably be the primary DH and while the Yankees will probably go with a second infielder they could potentially bring Cervelli as a third Catcher/emergency infielder. We really wont know until Spring training so we have a while to wait.
If Andruw Jones and the Yankees part ways there are a number of options for the Yankees if they bring in another Right Handed Outfield Bench bat, including Marcus Thames or Jonny Gomes. The Yankees have also said that they want to give Nunez more reps in the outfield and if that's true they could bring in a Lefty bat like Chris Dickerson, Scott Hairston or Laynce Nix. A left handed outfield bat isn't ideal but the Yankees may have a problem finding a good left handed infield bench bat especially since reports indicate that if Eric Chavez retires then the Yankees would consider Brandon laird who is a right handed bat and can play the outfield and infield corner spots. Ramiro Pena is a no offense option but the Yankees will probably keep him as a depth option because they know exactly what they would get from him and his defense was not very good in his limited time with the Yankees. The other internal infield options are the aforementioned Brandon Laird as well as Jorge Vazquez, Kevin Russo and Mike Lamb. I doubt that Kevin Russo is an option as he is essentially a lesser version of Eduardo Nunez and was already removed from the Yankees 40 man once. Vazquez is a power bat who can play 3rd and 1st but has primarily played 1st in the Yankees organization. Mike Lamb is really the only internal left handed infield option but I don't know if the Yankees consider him a real option despite a good 53 games with the Scranton Yankees. Casey Blake is another suggested option after he had his contract bought out by the Dodgers and probably the best available one but he is another right handed bat and would probably be the most expensive option.
The likeliest option is that the Yankees will have a competition in Spring training for the non-Nunez/Montero bench roles. I expect that they will go with a right handed outfield bat, an infielder, Eduardo Nunez and Jesus Montero. This would leave them with another spot as Montero will probably be the primary DH and while the Yankees will probably go with a second infielder they could potentially bring Cervelli as a third Catcher/emergency infielder. We really wont know until Spring training so we have a while to wait.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Stop hating Nick Swisher!
 |
| Haters gonna Hate |
1.) Beltran is 34
2.) Beltran would command at least 3 years
3.) Would need to DH significantly.
4.) The 2012 Free agent class is awesome
The first and second reasons are pretty tied together, but I mean come on would you really want to sign an older declining veteran for three years? When Beltran has productive years he has been very productive, but he has had some trouble staying healthy only playing more than 150 games 3 times in the last 9 years. Also for all the talk about how Beltran would be more productive than Swisher in the postseason, he hasn't actually played in the postseason since 2006 and his only other time in the postseason was with Houston in 2004. Also one of the benefits of Nick Swisher is that he will only be under contract for one more year and if he isn't productive then we can cut him lose but Beltran would command at least a 3 year deal and possibly 4 years which would probably force him into more of a DH role in the last year or two of his contract which would be a problem with the already crowded DH role.
The other big factor is that the 2012 Free agent class is going to have some big names with Josh Hamilton, Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp and B.J Upton highlighting the Free agent Outfield class. All of these free agents are better than Beltran in terms of age and are not he injury risk that Beltran is.
Also people really don't appreciate Nick Swisher for his regular season production. In his Three years as a Yankee Swisher had hit 81 Home Runs and has been very productive as a Yankee with a .267 BA with 250 walks and 256 RBI's. Nick Swisher isn't just with the Yankees cause he has a pretty face hes been a solid hitter with power, patience and has gotten better in the field. This may not be the reason but also who do you think will be the number one suitor for Nick Swisher if we decline his option? The Red Sox, they need a Right fielder and he is better than everyone else out there with the possible exception of a Healthy Carlos Beltran. Some People have suggested that the Yankees should sign Josh Willingham, but they are surprisingly similar in terms of career stats and Willingham has never played more than 144 games in a season and he only player 96 games in the outfield this year. Swisher on the other hand has played exactly 150 games each of the last three years for the Yankees and despite all the criticism his overall value during his time as a Yankee ranks 7th among Right Fielders and Swisher is a consistent 3+ WAR player and even in this down year for Sisher he has a higher WAR rating than Michael Cuddyer who had a career high 3 WAR year, so please forget about that idea.
The end result is that there really isn't anyone at Swisher level for this year other than Carlos Beltran and as I said before Beltran is probably going to be looking for a 3 or 4 year deal as it will be his last big payday. The Yankees have a cheap option for Swisher who has outperformed his salary in each of the last 3 seasons by far and 2012 will likely be no different. As Fans we always want the best players for our team, but you need to appreciate Nick Swisher for the quality player he is and honestly their is good chance he will be with the team for the next several years as he would make a great stopgap player while the prospects develop in the minors. Also think of it this way, if Nick Swisher slumped in any other 5 game time period would you want the Yankees to not renew his option because of that 5 game period?
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Yankees likely 40 man casualties
Almost Certainly gone: Scott Proctor, Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, Austin Romine or Francisco Cervelli, Greg Golson, Chris Dickerson, Jorge Posada.
I don't think I need to tell you why Proctor wont be on the 40 man next year, but if you havent seen hes washed up and I would seriously doubt that he will get anything but a minor league deal from anybody. Colon and Garcia have both been really good for the Yankees this year and while its possible the Yankees will keep one of them I seriously doubt the Yankees will keep either one. Garcia is a type B free agent and he could do what Javy Vazquez did for the Yankees last year and just decline arbitration as a formality, but he is the most likely to be retained but they only would if they have completely lost faith in Hughes or Burnett. Romine wasn't supposed to even be on the 40 man but with the injury to Cervelli he has come up after playing almost the entire season in AA Trenton and as the scouting report said his glove is ready and his bat isn't. One of these two is likely to be traded and its more likely going to be Cervelli for the obvious reason that he has been playing significantly in the last three seasons and could definitely be a good starting catcher for a lot of teams. On top of that The Yankees have tried to trade him twice, once to the dodgers and then in July to the pirates. If the Yankees are so not confident in Montero behind the plate that they carry three catchers next season Romine will likely be dealt. Posada isn't coming back, I hope he retires but he might be able to find a job backing up for the Astros or something. Dickerson and Golson are both on the 40 man and with Justin Maxwell who is on the 60 day DL they are out of options and will likely sign with a team that could actually use them. Dickerson has the best shot of making the club as a Lefty 5th outfielder, but I somewhat doubt that the Yankees will carry 5 outfielders after going almost all year with barely needing four.
Could lose their spot: Aaron Laffey, Reggie Corona, Kevin Whelan, Colin Curtis, Raul Valdes
Let me start off by saying that Laffey's case is less likely a losing your spot case and more like a might actually keep his spot, due to his being a lefty and decent pitching this year. He could end up making the club next season or put in AAA if they sign a $4 Million LOOGY. Lefty depth is good and Laffey could provide good depth. The same goes for Valdes. I really don't know what to think for Kevin Whelan because he's been excellent in AAA and he had two appearances back in July, but he isn't with the Club now and that doesn't make any sense to me because I would much rather see Whelan take some innings rather than Proctor. However if the Yankees were going to kick him off the 40 man wouldn't they have done it by now? Even if he was hurt they could just put him on the DL, but he hasn't done anything since the minor league season ended, its just kind of weird.Corona hasn't been healthy all year and hes not likely to get picked up in the Rule 5 so there is a good chance that the Yankees take his 40 man spot away. The reason why Colin Curtis has a 40 man spot is because he's a left handed bat but he's been hurt all year and while I doubt he will lose his spot I also didn't think Kevin Russo would lose his. Both Dickerson and Maxwell are better in the field and hitters than Curtis but they are both out of options and would likely sign with a major league team.
The Yankees have five players that are Rule 5 draft eligible and therefore need to be added to the 40 man roster to be protected. Jeremy Bleich, David Adams, D.J. Mitchell, David Phelps and Pat Venditte are all Rule 5 eligible and all but Adams are pitchers. The advantage that the Yankees have is that only Mitchell and Phelps are in AAA and would have any shot at sticking with a club, therefore they will be the only two added to the 40 man.
David Adams was the piece that broke the Cliff Lee deal and his injury stopped that trade and he still isn't healthy so he is not likely to be selected. The guy is very talented but has only played 68 games in the last two years. Jeremy Bleich is a Lefty Starter who hasn't stayed healthy and has a 4.79 ERA in AA so no chance he is selected. Pat Venditte is the notorious Switch pitcher and honestly I think he will get selected but I doubt that he will stick with a club after Spring training or he wont last the full year on the 25 man. The guy has had a decent year in AA, but it is AA and I dont even know if the Yankees would bump him up to AAA in 2012. However even if he makes a club and stays, he isnt a good enough prospect for the Yankees to really care about.
D.J. Mitchell and David Phelps have both had good years at AAA Scranton and Phelps would be on the 40-man if the club hadn't decided to sign Brian Gordon to make a pair of starts instead. Mitchell isnt given a lot of credit but he has actually had the best year of any AAA Scranton Starter in terms of ERA, but his FIP was 3.96 compared to his 3.18 ERA and batters are hitting .263 off him. He may end up being a reliever long term but somebody would definitely pick him up if hes left unprotected and the Yankees will have to add him to the 40 man, but he could be packaged with Romine for a Trade. David Phelps is going to get added and he will likely be the guy the Yankees call if a starter goes down, which as the Red Sox found out is always a possibility. Phelps numbers are good and they probably would be better if he hadn't gotten hurt, but he will be looking to get a lot of innings under his belt next season. One of Mitchell or Phelps is likely to be traded because if they aren't the Scranton Yankees will have 6 starters so somebody's either going to get traded, moved to the bullpen or start the season on the real Yankees and these two and Noesi are the most likely.
Also if Utility man Kevin Russo is not added back then he could be picked but honestly I doubt the Yankees care enough to add him or else they would not have taken him off.
I don't think I need to tell you why Proctor wont be on the 40 man next year, but if you havent seen hes washed up and I would seriously doubt that he will get anything but a minor league deal from anybody. Colon and Garcia have both been really good for the Yankees this year and while its possible the Yankees will keep one of them I seriously doubt the Yankees will keep either one. Garcia is a type B free agent and he could do what Javy Vazquez did for the Yankees last year and just decline arbitration as a formality, but he is the most likely to be retained but they only would if they have completely lost faith in Hughes or Burnett. Romine wasn't supposed to even be on the 40 man but with the injury to Cervelli he has come up after playing almost the entire season in AA Trenton and as the scouting report said his glove is ready and his bat isn't. One of these two is likely to be traded and its more likely going to be Cervelli for the obvious reason that he has been playing significantly in the last three seasons and could definitely be a good starting catcher for a lot of teams. On top of that The Yankees have tried to trade him twice, once to the dodgers and then in July to the pirates. If the Yankees are so not confident in Montero behind the plate that they carry three catchers next season Romine will likely be dealt. Posada isn't coming back, I hope he retires but he might be able to find a job backing up for the Astros or something. Dickerson and Golson are both on the 40 man and with Justin Maxwell who is on the 60 day DL they are out of options and will likely sign with a team that could actually use them. Dickerson has the best shot of making the club as a Lefty 5th outfielder, but I somewhat doubt that the Yankees will carry 5 outfielders after going almost all year with barely needing four.
Could lose their spot: Aaron Laffey, Reggie Corona, Kevin Whelan, Colin Curtis, Raul Valdes
Let me start off by saying that Laffey's case is less likely a losing your spot case and more like a might actually keep his spot, due to his being a lefty and decent pitching this year. He could end up making the club next season or put in AAA if they sign a $4 Million LOOGY. Lefty depth is good and Laffey could provide good depth. The same goes for Valdes. I really don't know what to think for Kevin Whelan because he's been excellent in AAA and he had two appearances back in July, but he isn't with the Club now and that doesn't make any sense to me because I would much rather see Whelan take some innings rather than Proctor. However if the Yankees were going to kick him off the 40 man wouldn't they have done it by now? Even if he was hurt they could just put him on the DL, but he hasn't done anything since the minor league season ended, its just kind of weird.Corona hasn't been healthy all year and hes not likely to get picked up in the Rule 5 so there is a good chance that the Yankees take his 40 man spot away. The reason why Colin Curtis has a 40 man spot is because he's a left handed bat but he's been hurt all year and while I doubt he will lose his spot I also didn't think Kevin Russo would lose his. Both Dickerson and Maxwell are better in the field and hitters than Curtis but they are both out of options and would likely sign with a major league team.
The Yankees have five players that are Rule 5 draft eligible and therefore need to be added to the 40 man roster to be protected. Jeremy Bleich, David Adams, D.J. Mitchell, David Phelps and Pat Venditte are all Rule 5 eligible and all but Adams are pitchers. The advantage that the Yankees have is that only Mitchell and Phelps are in AAA and would have any shot at sticking with a club, therefore they will be the only two added to the 40 man.
David Adams was the piece that broke the Cliff Lee deal and his injury stopped that trade and he still isn't healthy so he is not likely to be selected. The guy is very talented but has only played 68 games in the last two years. Jeremy Bleich is a Lefty Starter who hasn't stayed healthy and has a 4.79 ERA in AA so no chance he is selected. Pat Venditte is the notorious Switch pitcher and honestly I think he will get selected but I doubt that he will stick with a club after Spring training or he wont last the full year on the 25 man. The guy has had a decent year in AA, but it is AA and I dont even know if the Yankees would bump him up to AAA in 2012. However even if he makes a club and stays, he isnt a good enough prospect for the Yankees to really care about.
D.J. Mitchell and David Phelps have both had good years at AAA Scranton and Phelps would be on the 40-man if the club hadn't decided to sign Brian Gordon to make a pair of starts instead. Mitchell isnt given a lot of credit but he has actually had the best year of any AAA Scranton Starter in terms of ERA, but his FIP was 3.96 compared to his 3.18 ERA and batters are hitting .263 off him. He may end up being a reliever long term but somebody would definitely pick him up if hes left unprotected and the Yankees will have to add him to the 40 man, but he could be packaged with Romine for a Trade. David Phelps is going to get added and he will likely be the guy the Yankees call if a starter goes down, which as the Red Sox found out is always a possibility. Phelps numbers are good and they probably would be better if he hadn't gotten hurt, but he will be looking to get a lot of innings under his belt next season. One of Mitchell or Phelps is likely to be traded because if they aren't the Scranton Yankees will have 6 starters so somebody's either going to get traded, moved to the bullpen or start the season on the real Yankees and these two and Noesi are the most likely.
Also if Utility man Kevin Russo is not added back then he could be picked but honestly I doubt the Yankees care enough to add him or else they would not have taken him off.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Nuts! Yankees season is over with a game 5 loss to the Tigers.
Well it ended almost the same way as last year except A-Rod struck out swinging in game 5 of the ALDS instead of looking in game 6 of the ALCS. The Yankees had 10 hits and 3 walks and loaded the bases with one out twice but still only scored two runs and one came on a bases loaded walk to Teixeira. So many missed opportunities and of course Jeters deep ball that was so close to being out its not even fair. Ivan Nova went down with pain in his arm so hopefully he is okay and now we will have the CC talks that despite all the writing about how he is done with the Yankees there is a 99.9% chance that he resigns with the Yankees. The Yankees should have won this game and frankly should have won this series several days ago, but they didn't and now the Tigers will advance to the ALCS and take on the Rangers. I really wonder how different the series would have been if game one goes off without a hitch because that game did end up giving the advantage to the Tigers, but the Yankees still should have won. That's the playoffs for you, you can never predict what will happen. Everybody is going to try and make a Goat out of A-ROD, Girardi, Tex or somebody but the end result is that we lost and there is nothing that we can do but wait until next season. This was a hell of a season with Jeters 3,000 hit and Mo's 600th save and its especially impressive because of how the season started.
Friday, September 30, 2011
ALDS Matchup: Yankees vs. Tigers
So this may ring a bell for some of you as this was the match up back in 2006 and the Yankees lost 3-1 and ending the series very meekly with a score of 8-3 in game four. The Yankees scored 8 runs in game one but scored only 6 over the next three games including a shutout in game 3.The tigers would go on to win the AL pennant but they lost to the Cardinals. Now the Yankees match up with the Tigers again and will try to have better results than five years ago. I'm gonna check out the pitching, offense and defense match ups between the two two teams and we will determine who has the advantage.
Game 1: Sabathia vs Verlander
Verlander is the runaway Cy Young winner and people have picked him over Bautisa for MVP for a reason that I will never truly understand. He has had a great season, but the two times we have faced the Verlander led Tigers we won and he has an ERA against the Yankees of 4.50. Sabathia's ERA isn't that much better at 4.15. I would call this pitching match up even but you cant predict the playoffs.
Advantage: Even
Game 2: Fister vs. Nova
Can you believe some people actually decried the Fister trade at the time and said that Fister would be a bust for the Tigers. I knew how great a pickup Fister was and so did every other MLB team. Fister has been even better than he was with the Mariners and now that he has some offense behind him he has gotten some wins too. Nova has had a great rookie season especially his second half where he has put up a 3.18 ERA in 11 starts and 73.2 IP. Fister has put up even better numbers with a 2.47 ERA in the second half, which is actually better than Justin Verlander. Even more impressive is that with Tigers hae has had an ERA of 1.79. That being said we did beat him back in July when CC took a perfect game into the 7th when we scored three runs off him but one game isn't a great sample. Nova has had a great second half but Fister has been the number two that the Tigers needed. I expect us to win at least one of these first two games but for this match up i'm gonna have to go with Fister.
Advantage: Fister
Game 3: Scherzer vs Garcia
Scherzer was a part of the three way trade between the Tigers, Diamondbacks and Yankees and he spent most of the year as the number two starter for the Tigers. He has pitched nearly 200 inning the last two years but his ERA has jumped almost a full run since 2010. I don't really know what to expect from Garcia, he could go 7 stong or give up 5 in 4IP. Detroit has some good hitters and he has done the job against better offenses than Detroit's.
Advantage: Garcia
*Game 4: Porcello vs. Sabathia
This is a no contest. Porcello has been nearly replacement level and has actually been worse at home. Anything can happen but it would be an upset if Porcello out dueled Sabathia. Also Leyland said he would under no circumstances start Verlander on 3 days rest so we will have to see if that holds up.
Advantage: Sabathia
*Game 5: Verlander vs. Nova
Nova has had a better year than expected but facing off against Verlander he would have to get some good run support or have a career game.
Advantage: Verlander
Bullpen:
The Yankees bullpen this year has ranked 4th in Baseball with an ERA of 3.12 while Detroit's ranks 25th with an ERA of 3.93. The Yankees bullpen has also pitched more innings than the Tigers bullpen, but people seem to think that the Tigers bullpen is elite because of Valverde's perfect save record. That being said their top three of Valverde, Alburquerque and Benoit have been very good this year. Simply put though the Yankees bullpen despite the numerous injuries has been better than the Tigers and honetly without Soriano and a with a healthy Joba you've got the best bullpen in baseball. After those three relievers the Tigers have one guy in the bullpen with an ERA under 4 and that's Daniel Schlereth. The Yankees only have 1 reliever on the postseason roster and a ERA above 3.5 that's Rafael Soriano.
Advanatge: Yankees
Offense:
Its hard to rate offenses going into the playoffs because you get guys like Cody Ross who hit .350 in the NLCS. The Yankees rank 2nd in runs scored and Detroit ranks 4th. The Yankees have hit more Home Runs than anybody else this season, but the offenses are so similar that I can't really give anybody an advantage.
Advantage: Even
Defense:
The Yankees ranked 14th in Errors while the Tigers Ranked 15th, they had exactly one more error than the Yankees did. Again the two teams are surprisingly even and so there is no real advanatge.
Advantage: Even
I'm not going to make a prediction because that would just be a guess but this game tonight could really set the tone for the series. Go Yankees!
Game 1: Sabathia vs Verlander
Verlander is the runaway Cy Young winner and people have picked him over Bautisa for MVP for a reason that I will never truly understand. He has had a great season, but the two times we have faced the Verlander led Tigers we won and he has an ERA against the Yankees of 4.50. Sabathia's ERA isn't that much better at 4.15. I would call this pitching match up even but you cant predict the playoffs.
Advantage: Even
Game 2: Fister vs. Nova
Can you believe some people actually decried the Fister trade at the time and said that Fister would be a bust for the Tigers. I knew how great a pickup Fister was and so did every other MLB team. Fister has been even better than he was with the Mariners and now that he has some offense behind him he has gotten some wins too. Nova has had a great rookie season especially his second half where he has put up a 3.18 ERA in 11 starts and 73.2 IP. Fister has put up even better numbers with a 2.47 ERA in the second half, which is actually better than Justin Verlander. Even more impressive is that with Tigers hae has had an ERA of 1.79. That being said we did beat him back in July when CC took a perfect game into the 7th when we scored three runs off him but one game isn't a great sample. Nova has had a great second half but Fister has been the number two that the Tigers needed. I expect us to win at least one of these first two games but for this match up i'm gonna have to go with Fister.
Advantage: Fister
Game 3: Scherzer vs Garcia
Scherzer was a part of the three way trade between the Tigers, Diamondbacks and Yankees and he spent most of the year as the number two starter for the Tigers. He has pitched nearly 200 inning the last two years but his ERA has jumped almost a full run since 2010. I don't really know what to expect from Garcia, he could go 7 stong or give up 5 in 4IP. Detroit has some good hitters and he has done the job against better offenses than Detroit's.
Advantage: Garcia
*Game 4: Porcello vs. Sabathia
This is a no contest. Porcello has been nearly replacement level and has actually been worse at home. Anything can happen but it would be an upset if Porcello out dueled Sabathia. Also Leyland said he would under no circumstances start Verlander on 3 days rest so we will have to see if that holds up.
Advantage: Sabathia
*Game 5: Verlander vs. Nova
Nova has had a better year than expected but facing off against Verlander he would have to get some good run support or have a career game.
Advantage: Verlander
Bullpen:
The Yankees bullpen this year has ranked 4th in Baseball with an ERA of 3.12 while Detroit's ranks 25th with an ERA of 3.93. The Yankees bullpen has also pitched more innings than the Tigers bullpen, but people seem to think that the Tigers bullpen is elite because of Valverde's perfect save record. That being said their top three of Valverde, Alburquerque and Benoit have been very good this year. Simply put though the Yankees bullpen despite the numerous injuries has been better than the Tigers and honetly without Soriano and a with a healthy Joba you've got the best bullpen in baseball. After those three relievers the Tigers have one guy in the bullpen with an ERA under 4 and that's Daniel Schlereth. The Yankees only have 1 reliever on the postseason roster and a ERA above 3.5 that's Rafael Soriano.
Advanatge: Yankees
Offense:
Its hard to rate offenses going into the playoffs because you get guys like Cody Ross who hit .350 in the NLCS. The Yankees rank 2nd in runs scored and Detroit ranks 4th. The Yankees have hit more Home Runs than anybody else this season, but the offenses are so similar that I can't really give anybody an advantage.
Advantage: Even
Defense:
The Yankees ranked 14th in Errors while the Tigers Ranked 15th, they had exactly one more error than the Yankees did. Again the two teams are surprisingly even and so there is no real advanatge.
Advantage: Even
I'm not going to make a prediction because that would just be a guess but this game tonight could really set the tone for the series. Go Yankees!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Final Thoughts on the Red Sox Complete Collapse
On September 1st the Red Sox had just lost 2 of 3 to the Yankees in Fenway, but hey were still 1/2 a game up in the division and nine games ahead of the Rays. The Rays had a 1% chance of making the playoffs, but nobody thought they would be able to beat the Red sox for the spot. The Red Sox went 7-20 in September and they won ONE game where they scored less than 7 runs, they did not win back to back games the entire month and only once did they win two games in a three game stretch and that was when they won against the AAA Yankees on Sunday and then again on Tuesday 9/27 when they won 8-7 over the fighting showlaters. As of Wednesday morning the Red Sox were still favored to make it to the Playoffs and nobody in the national media seemed to think it was possible that they would lose as most of them had picked the Sox to win the world series. It happened. Baseball fans never thought it would but the Red Sox blew a 9.5 game lead in the wildcard when they lost to the Baltimore Orioles and the Yankees epically didn't care and let the Rays comeback and win in extra innings.
This Year wasn't supposed to be the Yankees year and many people said they were too old and would miss the playoffs all together. The fact was that all of us were blinded by the Crawford signing, the Cliff Lee not signing and the Adrian Gonzalez trade. Gonzalez didn't have the power that he was supposed to, Crawford was mediocre from the get go and a rejuvenated Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia as well as a better than expected Ivan Nova meant that the Yankees didn't miss Cliff Lee as much as they thought they would.
My pre season assessment of the Sox was very close to true but I still thought they would win the Division:
The Red Sox were already a formidable team that contends every year, but then they went out and traded for Adrian Gonzalez who if healthy will be an absolute beast in Fenway park. The Red Sox, being the scrappy small market team that they are, were able to scrounge up some change and pay free agent Carl Crawford $142 million over 7 years. Last year the Boston bullpen struggled so the Sox acquired Dan Wheeler and Bobby Jenks to bolster their pen and possibly take over for Pappelbon if he proves to be unreliable. The Red sox have a great rotation, but after Lester every one of them has question marks as Beckett and Dice-K have had recent injury problems, Lacky suffered from being mediocre and over hyped and Buchholz stats suggest he will regress this year.Even if the Rotation has problems the Red Sox have good rotation depth and their offense should be able to overcome any pitching problems and win them games.
There were a couple things that we found out this year that blew these assumptions out of the water. Lackey wasn't as bad as he was last year he was worse, Adrian Gonzalez wasn't healthy, Jenks and Wheeler did almost nothing, Crawford was mediocre which nobody expected, The Sox Farm system got exposed as overrated as did their rotation depth. Now many Sox fans are calling for the heads of Theo Epstein and Terry Francona and don't be surprised if either some key Sox don't come back or the Sox go on another spending spree this winter. That being said I have gotten Four different reactions from Sox fans:
Reaction 1) We only lost because of Injuries: Adrian Gonzelez claimed that they lost because of Injuries/God (read here) and fans have claimed that if would have been different if Youkillis hadn't gotten hurt late then things would have been different. They also already pointed to their various injuries and one person I know even stated that the Yankees didnt have the same injury issues that the Sox did to which I smiled and laughed. Youkillis is your cleanup hitter and spent time on the DL but still played in 21 more game than our own cleanup hitter. The Yankees had more cumulative time on the DL than any other team. Stop bitching, great teams overcome.
Reaction 2) Numbness. With all the success of Boston and New England teams have come three big epic failures, Red Sox September 2011, Superbowl 42 and the Bruins losing in the playoffs after being up three games to none. As a Patriots fan I remember Suprebowl 42 and it was seriously 3 years before I could discuss it with people and even now I refrain from doing so in the same way I refrain from talking about 2004. Remember that numb feeling and just remind yourselves to never count your rings until after you've won them.
Reaction 3) Devastation: first of all as I said in the last reaction dont count your rings until you've got them. Second of all This sucks and there is no way around it but Boston and New England based sports teams have not only been in consistent contention every year for years but each major sports team has won a championship since 2004 and in total they have won 7 since Brady beat the Rams in 2001. You gotta get over it, it will suck but honestly San Diego, Seattle and Cleveland would all kill for one championship appreciate what you have.
Reaction 4) "your Yankees let me down" / The Yankees TANKED the game: Lets be clear YOU let YOU down, the Yankees contributed to your epic fail but if you had kept your lead against the Orioles then none of this would have happened, you had two strikes and two outs and blew it. Are you really trying to tell me that the Yankees who had literally NOTHING to play for should have brought in Mariano or Robertson to save that game when they play again in two days. I wasn't even that comfortable with Luis Ayala and Corey Wade pitching, I thought Proctor should have pitched the last two innings. Your telling me that with everything clinched the Sox would have brought in Papelbon and Bard to get the save in a meaningless game, no way. If our loss had kept you out even if you won that's different but it didn't, take responsibility for the fact that your number one offense in baseball could only score 3 runs off the Orioles worst pitching staff in the American league and your closer ,who according to some Sox fans is better than Mariano Rivera, couldn't hold the lead with two outs. Staying healthy was more important than winning games since they clinched home field advantage and if you had been in the same position you would have done the same. Keep in mind that this Sox team was the greatest baseball team in the history of the game as can be noted here.
First of all I want to say that if you haven't seen the video of the Orioles walking off you need to watch it, but also these two losses against the Orioles for the Sox provided two awesome Gifs.
On letting the Rays come back I have to keep reminding myself that in an even remotely meaningful game the Yankees go to a least Wade after Ayala walks the bases loaded but I'm not as happy about the Rays coming back as I thought I would be. However you have to give credit to the Yankees offense and honestly I am not even sure why Ayala and Wade came in as opposed to Scott Proctor. I just hope this game won't affect the Yankees in the ALDS because they are really going to need it while facing Verlander and Fister. If anyone is concerned about the Yankees losing four before going to the playoffs just remember that the Yankees lost their last seven in 2000 before winning the world series including 3 to the Rays in Tampa. Also two things that hadn't occurred to me, The Red Sox haven't won a playoff game since 2008 and could this be the death of Pink hat Nation?
This Year wasn't supposed to be the Yankees year and many people said they were too old and would miss the playoffs all together. The fact was that all of us were blinded by the Crawford signing, the Cliff Lee not signing and the Adrian Gonzalez trade. Gonzalez didn't have the power that he was supposed to, Crawford was mediocre from the get go and a rejuvenated Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia as well as a better than expected Ivan Nova meant that the Yankees didn't miss Cliff Lee as much as they thought they would.
My pre season assessment of the Sox was very close to true but I still thought they would win the Division:
The Red Sox were already a formidable team that contends every year, but then they went out and traded for Adrian Gonzalez who if healthy will be an absolute beast in Fenway park. The Red Sox, being the scrappy small market team that they are, were able to scrounge up some change and pay free agent Carl Crawford $142 million over 7 years. Last year the Boston bullpen struggled so the Sox acquired Dan Wheeler and Bobby Jenks to bolster their pen and possibly take over for Pappelbon if he proves to be unreliable. The Red sox have a great rotation, but after Lester every one of them has question marks as Beckett and Dice-K have had recent injury problems, Lacky suffered from being mediocre and over hyped and Buchholz stats suggest he will regress this year.Even if the Rotation has problems the Red Sox have good rotation depth and their offense should be able to overcome any pitching problems and win them games.
There were a couple things that we found out this year that blew these assumptions out of the water. Lackey wasn't as bad as he was last year he was worse, Adrian Gonzalez wasn't healthy, Jenks and Wheeler did almost nothing, Crawford was mediocre which nobody expected, The Sox Farm system got exposed as overrated as did their rotation depth. Now many Sox fans are calling for the heads of Theo Epstein and Terry Francona and don't be surprised if either some key Sox don't come back or the Sox go on another spending spree this winter. That being said I have gotten Four different reactions from Sox fans:
Reaction 1) We only lost because of Injuries: Adrian Gonzelez claimed that they lost because of Injuries/God (read here) and fans have claimed that if would have been different if Youkillis hadn't gotten hurt late then things would have been different. They also already pointed to their various injuries and one person I know even stated that the Yankees didnt have the same injury issues that the Sox did to which I smiled and laughed. Youkillis is your cleanup hitter and spent time on the DL but still played in 21 more game than our own cleanup hitter. The Yankees had more cumulative time on the DL than any other team. Stop bitching, great teams overcome.
Reaction 2) Numbness. With all the success of Boston and New England teams have come three big epic failures, Red Sox September 2011, Superbowl 42 and the Bruins losing in the playoffs after being up three games to none. As a Patriots fan I remember Suprebowl 42 and it was seriously 3 years before I could discuss it with people and even now I refrain from doing so in the same way I refrain from talking about 2004. Remember that numb feeling and just remind yourselves to never count your rings until after you've won them.
Reaction 3) Devastation: first of all as I said in the last reaction dont count your rings until you've got them. Second of all This sucks and there is no way around it but Boston and New England based sports teams have not only been in consistent contention every year for years but each major sports team has won a championship since 2004 and in total they have won 7 since Brady beat the Rams in 2001. You gotta get over it, it will suck but honestly San Diego, Seattle and Cleveland would all kill for one championship appreciate what you have.
Reaction 4) "your Yankees let me down" / The Yankees TANKED the game: Lets be clear YOU let YOU down, the Yankees contributed to your epic fail but if you had kept your lead against the Orioles then none of this would have happened, you had two strikes and two outs and blew it. Are you really trying to tell me that the Yankees who had literally NOTHING to play for should have brought in Mariano or Robertson to save that game when they play again in two days. I wasn't even that comfortable with Luis Ayala and Corey Wade pitching, I thought Proctor should have pitched the last two innings. Your telling me that with everything clinched the Sox would have brought in Papelbon and Bard to get the save in a meaningless game, no way. If our loss had kept you out even if you won that's different but it didn't, take responsibility for the fact that your number one offense in baseball could only score 3 runs off the Orioles worst pitching staff in the American league and your closer ,who according to some Sox fans is better than Mariano Rivera, couldn't hold the lead with two outs. Staying healthy was more important than winning games since they clinched home field advantage and if you had been in the same position you would have done the same. Keep in mind that this Sox team was the greatest baseball team in the history of the game as can be noted here.
First of all I want to say that if you haven't seen the video of the Orioles walking off you need to watch it, but also these two losses against the Orioles for the Sox provided two awesome Gifs.
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| $142 million Crawford Fail |
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| Bellsbury |
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