Matchup for this weekend
-
-
- April
- 18
-
The Yankees aren’t saying yet, but this is what the weekend looks like:
Friday: Andy Pettitte (1-0, 1.50) vs. 38pitches.com (2-1, 2.84), 7:05 p.m.
Saturday: Jeff Karstens (welcome back) vs. Josh Beckett (3-0, 1.50), 3:55 p.m.
Sunday: Chase Wright (1-0, 5.40) vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-2, 2.70), 8 p.m.
I’m sure there will be panic in the streets. I somehow do not think the season will hinge on what happens in April. I know every game counts but no team in the division is going to run away and hide.
Meanwhile, where is the love for Mike Myers? Eight games: 7 1 0 0 4 4. He has already thrown more innings this month than in any month all last season.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, April 18th, 2007 at 10:27 am by Peter Abraham.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
I have no problems with the matchups. April matchups between the Yankees and Red Sox are meangingless. It just gives ESPN the chance to hype the game beyond comprehension.
If the Yankees win one this weekend, they will have done their jobs. Stay close until everybody is back. That has to be the team motto right now.
Everybody back, except Pavano that is. I suspect we won’t see him back for months, if at all.
I am glad Wright will get the start Sunday night. He is in a perfect situation. No pressure, nothing to lose. Wouldn’t surprise me if he pitches very well up there.
Even a sweep will not be the end of the world, but it’ll certainly seem like it on WFAN! Wang and Mussina will be back soon to stabilize things soon enough.
While Saturday and Sunday look especially scary, remember that true Yankee Sidney Ponson started the second game of the doubleheader that began the Boston Massacre. And remember that last summer, Julien Tavarez faced Roy Halladay, and the Sox won.
In other words, there’s no reason to think the Yanks couldn’t win the series, but there’s no reason to panic if they don’t.
Here’s hoping A-Rod stays hot and Dice-K feels the pressure. Dicey’s never faced a lineup quite like the Bronx Bombers ‘07. While the Bombers have gone cold all at once more than a few times before, I get the sense that they realize they are literally wounded animals right now and I think that motivation will be powerful for the bats.
You guys are right: nothing that happens this weekend will make the slightest difference over the course of the season. But just one thing. I firmly believe that the Yankees’ season last year started to turn around (and Boston’s likewise, but the other way), early in the season when we went to Boston the week after Matsui got injured. We had literally a spring training lineup, including (an unproven) Melky, Terrance Long, and others. Not only did we not get swept, we won two out of three. In baseball, anyone can win any day, so I don’t buy for a second that we should throw our hands up and concede this series just yet.
Solid starts from Igawa and Rasner the next 2 days are just as important as who is starting in Boston. It will keep the bullpen from insane use the next 2 days and have them primed and ready to pick up any slack that may occur this weekend.
I agree with Jeff that the Yankees and their fans shouldn’t go into Fenway thinking they can’t win the series. Having said that, it is downright foolish to say that getting swept wouldn’t make a difference. Plain and simple, that would mean 3 games that the Yankees would have to make up. Games in April count as much as games in September, so every series with Boston (or any playoff rival) is important.
“I am glad Wright will get the start Sunday night. He is in a perfect situation. No pressure, nothing to lose. Wouldn’t surprise me if he pitches very well up there.”
Sure, no pressure…lol.
Wright will be as nervous as he was last night, walk the ballpark and groove that 88 mph fastball and get his brains beat in.
It’s hilarious that now Pete is even conceding that this series will be a nightmare, but that the games don’t really matter! And why would anyone in their right mind welcome back a hack like Jeff Karstens? Since when did Jeff Karstens become a good major league pitcher. And who in their right mind thinks Jeff Karstens (or Chase Wright, for that matter) even has a slight chance of winning at Fenway Park?
Even the injured Yankee starters don’t match up well with the top 3 from Boston.
It’s a sad state of affaris when winning one game out of three will be considered a major achievement.
But on Monday morning, Red Sox fans will be celebrating and Yankee fans will be saying the games didn’t matter.
“it is downright foolish to say that getting swept wouldn’t make a difference. Plain and simple, that would mean 3 games that the Yankees would have to make up. Games in April count as much as games in September, so every series with Boston (or any playoff rival) is important.”
You’re wrong. According to Pete and most fans, these games don’t really count. They’re just exhibition games, so getting swept won’t affect the standings one bit.
Yankees take 2, I’m calling it now.
If we could beat the Sox last year in a game started by Sidney Ponson, we can beat them in a game started by Chase Wright.
Did my eyes deceive me or did Myers get two outs against righties last night? Astounding! Right-handers hit .302 (.877 OPS) against Myers. Torre had better not get carried away here.
Wow, hello, way to go overboard with the usual nonsense.
It must be great to know without the slightest hesitation who is a “hack” pitcher and who isn’t, based on 5 innings of a pitcher’s first ML start.
You are wasting your time on this blog. There must be a major league team ready for someone with your sonar-like evaluation skills.
ho, your team can’t hit left-handed pitching. Didn’t you know that? Watch last night’s game — they were dominated by Chacin. (A lefty who barely gets to 90 on his fastball.) Ted Lilly owned them (another lefty who didn’t throw too hard). Hell, even Brad Halsey pitched well against them (and they had a better offense at the time).
So before you claim victory over young Chase Wright, you should consider the facts.
Hopefully a combination of a dormant Boston offense and an unimpressive Boston bullpen will give the Yankees the chance they need.
H?O?, the reason Karstens is getting praised is because he went on such a tear in Spring Training…he was topping out at 91mph instead of 87mph last year, everyone thought he was going to replace Kei Igawa as the 5th starter in the rotation, and he was rolling until that exhibition game against Detroit where he was hurt. If he’s healthy, most fans would like to see what he’s made of at the earliest possible chance.
hello? offense?
If I wanted to read/hear Bosox fans, I’d drop in at the local pub. Please go away. You’re not wanted.
You can’t forget about Scott Kazmir, Stormy…
SJ,
Chase Wright could have pitched shutout ball for those 5 innings and he still would have looked like a stiff out there. The guy has zero velocity, and iffy (at best) command. A fastball/change-up pitcher won’t cut it as a starter in MLB. But this weekend’s entertainment will start soon enough…
ho, your team can’t hit left-handed pitching. Didn’t you “know that? Watch last night’s game—they were dominated by Chacin. (A lefty who barely gets to 90 on his fastball.) Ted Lilly owned them (another lefty who didn’t throw too hard). Hell, even Brad Halsey pitched well against them (and they had a better offense at the time).
So before you claim victory over young Chase Wright, you should consider the facts.”
Did you watch either game?
Chacin was throwing in the low 90’s, and he also has a very good curveball. Lilly also has a very good curveball. Chase Wright doesn’t even have a curveball. He’s a fastball/changeup pitcher. And we’ll see soon enough who’s right. I’ll be here to either eat crow or accept my accolades.
chase wright has as many wins as matsuzaka. just had to say that.
it’s getting around the league already that matzaka is not the same pitcher out of the stretch:
http://redsox.bostonherald.com.....eid=195384
matsuzaka is lights out until he isn’t. when he gets in trouble, he’ll by design take7-8 pitches to get a hitter out. it seemed like the 4th inning last night was a 40 pitch inning. the final out of that inning was a few feet short a grand slam. despite being a very good pitcher, matsuzaka is very beatable. the red sox will not let him use the ability he has to go to a high pitch count in a game. couple that with matsuzaka’s tendency to use a lot of pitches to get out of jams and there’s the yankee formula for beating him. get someone on, get in scoring position and then be patient and let the pitch count go up. rope-a-zaka. let him throw all the out of the zone pitches he wants.
basically it’s just a tweak on the way that the yankees used to beat pedro. the yankees can turn matsuzaka into a.500 pitcher just the way they did with pedro by getting matsuzaka’s pitch count higher than the red sox are willing to go. the red sox have spent 103 million for a 6 inning pitcher. once his problem’s from the stretch gets around the league, he’s going to have a tough time staying in games long enough to get enough decisions to win 14 games.
Who cares if Wright wasn’t impressive? He was an emergency starter, not Chien-Ming Wang!
“If he’s healthy, most fans would like to see what he’s made of at the earliest possible chance”
OMG, we KNOW what Jeff Karstens is made of. He’s an “eh” pitcher who’s top effort at Fenway would probably be around 5 innings pitched and 4 or 5 runs given up. Karstens and Rasner are pretty much the same guy. Neither one has the potential to dominate or even be very good. I realize fans are desperate to have young guys to root for, but these goofs are not the ones.
Murphydog,
Here, Here to your toast. Matsuzaka said last night he got a little unnverved with having to face Thomas and that led to the bad 4th inning. It will be interesting to see if Matsuzaka can stay focused for the Yankees circular lineup that seems to turn over very quickly for opposing pitchers. It can also be (when they want to) a very patient lineup that eats up a lot of pitches.
In the case of Dice-K’s two losses, he had like 10 strikeouts per outing and still lost(!). In each case he got outpitched. There seems to be a certain pride among the opposing pitchers that seems to bring out the best in them. They don’t want to lose to a guy who’s been hyped up so much. In the Yankees case it may not be a case of outpitching as it’s the Yankees’ bats wanting to beat a really good pitcher. Hopefully they’ll show him what real run support is.
“In the case of Dice-K’s two losses, he had like 10 strikeouts per outing and still lost(!). In each case he got outpitched.”
AND YOU THINK CHASE WRIGHT IS GOING TO OUTPICH DICE-K??????
There isn’t a chance in heck of that happening. You people are delusional.
From the Bronx, I implore all of my Yankee brothers and sisters not to speak to the mean, angry people. We will have to deal with them in our neighborhood soon enough. Ignore them and they will eventually go away. Peace.
hellooffense you again are a clown..
you know Wright is a zero…
really and your credentials are???
You coach, scout, or play??? Stratomatic in your mommy’s basement does not count. The amazing thing since the sux are so much better you think they would be up by like 7 games already, since the Yanks cannot even compete with them..
Hold the sux injury excuses later in the year when they occur with that young staff of Shilling 39 and wakefield 40+ and timlin 40 + etc.
man you are such a downer it is amazing….
I stand by my prediction of a Yankee sweep this weekend over Boston and HO crying himself to sleep late Sunday night.
As for Matsuzaka, he is exposed, if the Yankees play their game he will gone by the 6th and they will win similarly to the way they always beat Pedro.
yogi would say ‘he throws strikes until he doesn’t”. i think the book on matsuzaka is going to be with no one on base, swing early at strikes and somehow get on base, and then when matsuzaka is in the stretch, take pitches and make him throw a lot of pitches to get his pitch count high and eventually out of the game.
he also throws such a high percentages of breaking balls and other off speed pitches that hitters can sit on off speed pitches early in the count.
he’s really two pitchers, one with a full wind up and one from the stretch.
Ho, you can wave your pom poms when dice-k strikes out 3 in the first, after throwing 35+ pitches.
and keep praising Gustavo Chasin. ha!
I’ll take 5 innings from Chase followed by 4 from our pen over Dice-K for 5/6 (tops) followed by your pen. anyday.
Starting pitching matchups are nice on paper but when the game starts anything can happen. Lineups, bullpens, etc.
I’ll take our chances this weekend.
This just in, Boston sucks.
Good day you ho.
I am going to the game tomorrow, Thursday. Anybody know who will be pitching??
well said, Jake.
matsuzaka is good. there isn’t really any way to spin it otherwise.
but he’s not Pedro-good.
my guess is he’ll shut down the yanks the first time he sees them.
the yanks just need to make him work and get him out of the game by the 7th, then try to score on the bullpen.
guys, ignore the troll. you’re letting him ruin this blog, and that’s his goal.
Richard C, must be Rasner.
Can someone/anyone end the linking to the Boston blogs?
Who cares?
Yankees Sweep – Myers makes Big Flopi look ridiculous. Fenway fans will be throwing each other out of the stands. D-Mat publicly announces he should have waited a year and worked out a deal with Yanks. Boras says “I told you so”. “It is possible”
yet again, well said Jake!
Like I said yesterday, I’m IN Boston and don’t pay attention to anything RSux related, so why would I care what some nerd did in the Boston Marathon for the sake of some article……..
Richard C,
Tomorrow is scheduled to be Darrell Rasner v. Fausto Carmona.
If the Yanks go out there and play there game I’m not really worried. Injuries happen. These arent bad injuries by the way. No one blew out an arm. Wangs back next week. Moose too. Wright gets valuable experience. Same with Jeff K. The pen looks good. Matsui is back next week. Melky is getting a ton of at bats. The defense will only get better.
And we were a break or two from going 6-0 on a road trip against 2 playoff/95 win teams.
So forgive me if I dont jump off a bridge on April 18.
This thread is hilarious. I live in Boston and this is so typical of Red Sox fans — talking up their team to make themselves feel better in April. Just like last year. LOL.
This thread is hilarious. I live in Boston and this is so typical of Red Sox fans — talking up their team to make themselves feel better in April. Just like last year. LOL.
JD, I prefer “Big Sloppi”
Espn Baseball Writer Jayson Stark says on his blog, that Yankees made the right choice promoting Wright over Hughes. Also He mentioned on his blog that Wright will have a instant success than Hughes.
http://insider.espn.go.com/esp.....ark_jayson
• Do the Yankees have the Wright stuff? The Elias Sports Bureau reports that the Yankees are in the midst of starting three rookie pitchers in a row for the third time in 95 years. But while it might seem shocking to some people that none of them will be the much-ballyhooed Phil Hughes, one scout says the Yankees made the right choice in tapping Double-A left-hander Chase Wright instead of Hughes. And he said that before Wright beat the Indians on Tuesday. “This guy has a better chance to have instant success than Hughes,” the scout said. “He throws more strikes. He’s got more weapons. He’s in the zone with more pitches. And he’s experienced more failure, so he’s had to discover a little more about himself. Hughes has incredible stuff. But he might have had too much success. He still has to learn how to pitch his way out of trouble. At least Wright has been through that.”
Hey Pete-
any chance of starting up a registration service where everyone has to register a working – nonwebased email?
I’ll be the first in line when that happens.
Let’s face it , Boston’s starting pitching is better right now. But so what. I’m okay if we get through April at 500 ball with our injuries and pitching. The Bullpen has never looked better than it has this year for sometime. That will keep us in the hunt. We have a great offensive team this year. So it’s all about getting 5 innings from anybody right now.Last night was the indicator. Keep us in the game until the yankee bats can get into the opposing team’s bullpen. We should win in those situations.
Very curious to see this years Red Sox/Yankees matchup especially Dice-K on Sunday.
Check me for the Yanks all time team
Karl Ravech of Espn Baseball tonight is a Redsox Homer
ESPN just doesn’t give up. I happened to be flipping through the channels and they’re showing the home runs of the night. Then Ravech says, “you’ll miss him when he’s gone,” referring to A-rod. He’s acting as though he’s already left.
There is no objectvie analysis
Mark my words: we won’t get swept.
“matsuzaka is good. there isn’t really any way to spin it otherwise.
but he’s not Pedro-good.”
BINGO! matsuzaka is clearly such a good pitcher that it’ll do yankee fans no good by denying it, but he’s no pedro. he pitches with a lot of intelligence, stuff,and command. his problem is that he pitches with a strategy that worked in japan where they let him go 130 pitches. boston management will not let him do that here.
i see two scenarios that could happen when matsuzaka pitches. number one is when he gets a lot of 1-2-3 innings with no one on base and he cruises through 7 innings with 100 pitches and gives up 0-2 runs.
the other is he cruises along until someone gets on base, he goes to the strech, more runners get on, and then as the pitch count goes up and he loses command, he gives up a big inning and is out of the game by the 6th inning with 3-5 runs given up.
the difference between a big inning and nothing could be as little as an ump giving the yankees the benefit of the doubt on a borderline pitch that gives the yankees a walk to get things going. that’s what happened last night. he clearly lost his composure when a bad call was made. with matsuzaka we need the tipping points to go our way. if the yankees use the right strategy , they can tip the scales in the right direction.
ho must be referring to his pathetic team’s offense. Tek, .212, Cereal, .150 (AFTER going 2 for 4 last night!), Dusty, .202. Man, that sure strikes fear in a ML pitching staff! But he will be able to drag out the age old Sux excuse of injuries when Nancy does on the DL.
The Red Sox are like daylight savings time….
Spring ahead, Fall behind!
I completely agree about Dice-K. He is good, not Pedro good, and not $107 million dollars good.
Should the Yankees fear him? Hell no.
I will be interested in seeing how he does from starts 11-30. After 10 starts, teams will have a book on him and it will be interesting to see the adjustment hitters and Dice-K himself make at that time.
Good but not Pedro good is the best evaluation one can give on Dice-K at this time, IMO.
Here’s an interesting statistic on Arod:
He has driven in over 28% of the runs the Yankees have scored so far this year. Wow.
We can absolutely win this series. The Yankees and Sox are balanced teams overall.
Starting pitching: advantage Sox
Relief pitching: advantage Yankees
Defense: advantage Sox
Offense: advantage Yankees
it is becoming more and more difficult to differentiate the trolls with the regulars around here.
The yankees will crush Schilling and Beckett this weekend. DMAt will give them troubles because they ALWAYS struggle with a guy the first time they see him- whether it is Adam Loewen, Rodrigo Lopez, or Dmat.
we take 2 of 3…and then never lose to DMAT again this year
Re: the “good, but not Pedro good” – as dominant as he was, we beat Pedro plenty of times. In fact, when he seemed unhittable, it seemed like we were the only ones to get wins off of him.
I’m not worried about any pitcher. They can all be beat and one guy is still one guy. Everyone on that Sux staff can be beat. I could care less if they all win 15 games (as long as we still finish 1st), they’ll still have 5 or 10 losses each, some of which will be to the NY Yankees.
Boston’s got a lot (A LOT) to prove after last season’s fade and third place finish in their first ‘07 meeting with the Evil Empire. They have to prove it was just the injuries last year. They have to prove that Dice-K was worth the money and that JD (Nancy) Drew was the right move. (I notice that he needed some rest last night already).
Right now on paper Boston has JD Drew, Paps as closer, Schilling, Beckett and Dice-K, plus the pizza-throwing fans/home field advantage and the Manny/Papi show. The Yanks are away, have a “rotation in tatters,” a shortstop who leads the league in errors, a 1st baseman who is 2 in his last 20 odd at bats and an injured Hideki Matsui. A-Rod is never a factor in Boston ; ) On paper, Boston should take all 3, right?
But you don’t play the games on paper. It’s going to be a great series and the Yankees will play with pride, grit and determination. Maybe A-Rod can even keep his butterflies in formation.
Call me crazy, but I give the edge to the wounded animals, the New York Yankees.
Funny line in Levin Kernan’s aricle in the NY Post I had to share about a quote from Chase’s Dad:
“I was more nervous than Chase,’ said the other David Wright, who flew here yesterday from Texas. “He’s just a good kid. He’s pretty calm. I’m proud of him. I bet you everybody in Iowa Park was at the sports bar watching. You probably could have robbed the bank.”
Speaking of robbing the bank, Carl Pavano held another injury press conference before the game…”
lol
let’s hope that, unlike all of us, the yanks’ players aren’t looking ahead to this weekend but instead focusing on cleveland tonight and tomorrow afternoon, like they should be…
I think A-Rod effectively sprayed his stomach with insectiside. No butterflies can live there anymore
Kudos for Myers. I’ve heard plenty of people who wanted to get rid of him, because he takes up a roster spot, but he proved them wrong big-time up until now
I’m withholding judgment on Dice-K. Kaz Ishii was also lights out his first time around in the majors. We all know how that ended up.
The key thing for this weekend is that Boston has a better chance of scoring runs in the beginning of the game and we have a better chance at the end of the game. Bring me your Piniero, your Timlin, your Romero. What a crapfest. At least the guys we are trotting out there to start aren’t total losers. Papelbon and Donnelly can’t pitch every night.
murphydog, I know you had a wink in there, but A-Rod definitely played a factor when he crushed a schilling offering over the green booger. I look forward to seeing him deposit a gyro ball over the wall, past the turnpike, and into the Charles this weekend.
Since so much is being said of Chase Wright’s 88-91 mph fastball, I noticed two other notable pitchers who are also gunning in at that range – Roy Halladay and Jason Schmidt.
(See SI’s Jon Heyman’s latest article)
Things to note:
Homerless big name players include Mark Teixeira, Manny Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Delgado, Raul Ibanez, David Wright, Joe Mauer, Hank Blalock, Joe Crede and Gary Matthews Jr.
power bats not doing so well include: Gary Sheffield (.122 – still wish we had him??, Albert Pujols (.170), Sosa (.175), Andruw Jones (.186), Richie Sexson (.192) and Manny Ramirez (.194) – lemme guess… Manny being Manny?
Jeremy,
Why do you give the Sox an advantage on defense? I don’t see that. Drew can’t throw and he plays in the only deep part of the park while Abreu has a cannon and is great as long as he doesn’t have to get too close to a wall, Lugo hasn’t mastered the quick Fenway infield so I take Jeter there, I take ARod over Lowell any day in any way, Melky clearly over Manny, Damon who is probably still more familiar with the Fenway CF than Crisp, Minky over Youk, Cano over whatever piece of crap the Sox are trotting out there at second, and at catcher Tek is more and more showing his age, bet the Sox are sorry they gave that flash in the pan a big C to put on his paunch.
Nah, the Yanks’ll win all three games by 10 runs or more.
This is one of those series that means more theoretically than in reality. It always means more to the fans than it should, simply because it’s Sox v. Yanks. But even if either team gets horribly dominated, it’ll probably only matter for a week or so. There’s no momentum to be lost or gained this early in the season, so this is all about “starting the season off right,” as they say.
That said, I think, for the fans at least, it all comes down to the DMat game. The other two are just icing. But if DMat wins, Boston will be happy even if they lose the other two. And if DMat loses, especially if he gives up 3-5 runs (or more), then Yanks fans will be happy, even if the Yanks lose the series.
This is just one of those psycological series that doesn’t matter much on paper, but means a lot to the fans and players. At least for the next week or so.
“Dicey’s never faced a lineup quite like the Bronx Bombers ‘07.”
The Blue Jays. 2 runs.
I like the Manny being Manny reference. And this certainly goes as evidence to all the schmucks on espn and on here, and wherever else burying the Yankees that our “it’s only April” defense is indeed very valid. It IS early, and like our pitching staff and defense, good hitters will find their groove. (and when Sheff does, I’ll still be glad he’s gone, though he’s not as gauranteed to find it as the others, given his age and recent injury woes).
It is nice to see A-Rod taking over Manny’s spot on the HR charts though. And it certainly goes as evidence to all the schucks on espn and on here, and wherever else burying the Yankees
sorry, meant to go back and delete that last line after I moved it…. really need an edit button on the comments here.
The Yankees will win 4 out of the 3.
The Blue Jays lineup isn’t close to the Yankees lineup.
Reed Johnson and Troy Glaus are both out with injuries and that weakens their lineup tremendously.
I am not saying the Yankees are going to shell the guy. But, saying the Blue Jays lineup is as good (or close to) as good as the Yankees isn’t remotely correct.
I agree, while they’re much improved the last couple years, the jays are still not on the same level as the Yankees. they do always play us and boston tough, but that offense is not in the same league as ours.
The 3 guys the Yankees got rid of in the offseason are all off to a terible start:
Randy is still injured and hasn’t even pitched yet
Jaret Wright is 0-2 with a 6 ERA
Sheffield is batting under .200 and has one HR and 5 RBIs
i KNOW this was tongue in cheek, and you weren’t completely serious, but just for the record:
A-Rod at Fenway
.290/.365/.574, 272 ABs, 20 HRs, 17 2Bs, 62 RBIs, 14 SB, 1 CS
in other words, about half an MVP-type season’s worth of ABs.
The Sox also have two relievers with 9.00 ERAs in their pen. If we get to any of their starters early, the Sox will have a huge problem. With two notable exceptions (the Farnsworth and Rivera games), the Yankee bullpen has made a habit of keeping games close.
wow, i can’t read. those are actually a-rod’s numbers at camden yards.
at fenway:
.278/.354/.505, 273 ABs, 16 HRs, 12 2Bs, 1 3B, 45 RBI, 10 SB, 2 CS
merely “very good”, not MVP-caliber.
i second the vote for the edit button.
Chef’s surprise
48 AB/.148 AVG/.557 OPS
He spends a lot of time promoting that book. Caught the last minute of his interview with Cowherd yesterday. As soon as Gary’s off the phone, Colin rips him. Says that Sheffield blames everyone but himself. Said that Sheffield’s not a Yankee anymore because of Sheffield. AND called him a hypocrite. It was fun to hear someone rip on Gary for a change.
Sheff’s AVG now at .143
Makes Giambi’s .234 look pretty good.
I took a quick look at the numbers. (Thanks ESPN.com) Toronto’s lineup is similar in some respects at the moment, but very different in others. Let’s take a snapshot of right now :
1) Yanks have 3 in the top 25 in SLG; Toronto has 3 (Hill Rios Zaun).
2) Yanks have 3 in the top 20 in OPS; Toronto has 2 (Hill and Wells).
However :
1) Yanks have 7 players in the top 40 in OBP; Toronto has 1(Hill).
2) Yanks have 5 players in the top 30 in Avg; Toronto has 2 (Hill and Rios).
I think the avg. and OBP show that the Yanks have far more hot bats at the moment and that they are more patient than Toronto. Both will be important this weekend against all three of Boston’s pitchers.
I was thinking it would be great if the Yankees went 3-3 across the Indians/Sox series after the tough game in Oakland. Keep it close, which a few postings have stated, until they get healthy. Last nice was a nice win with the rookie thowing.
One thing that worries me about this wknd is Manny.
He buried the Yankees last year and Manny being Manny means he produces in the big games (04 WS MVP, over .500 avg last year vs the Yanks). Hes due to bust out.
That said 1 out of 3 this wknd is fine and if they can stay within 3 until the injuries work themselves out they’ll be in the thick of it come September.
” “Dicey’s never faced a lineup quite like the Bronx Bombers ‘07.â€?
The Blue Jays. 2 runs.”
-two more feet on a 400 ft ball hit by the 8th or 9th hitter on the jays and it would have been 6 runs. matsuzaka was terrible that inning. he walked three. he’s not the same pitcher from the stretch. and the yankees are a threat to steal unlike toronto . it was wells on first that gave matsuzaka fits. he’s one of the few blue jays that will run.
“the red sox have spent 103 million for a 6 inning pitcher.”
The yankees have spent 40 million on a 0 inning pitcher
Randy 1:
I guess we’ll see the Yanks running in Boston on Sunday? They’ve been running a lot from first lately with 2 outs to get into scoring position.
“the red sox have spent 103 million for a 6 inning pitcher.�
“The yankees have spent 40 million on a 0 inning pitcher”
the red sox have spent 27 million on a 0 inning pitcher
this is fun!
As long as the Yankees aren’t facing Wakefield! It seems they can beat on any given day, any of the Boston pitchers other than Wakefield. As for Dice-K, I expect them to have trouble with him only because they ALWAYS have trouble with a pitcher the first time they see him. But, that’s not to say they can’t or won’t beat him.
But more will be made of this series than should be necessary at this time of year. Yes, all the games count, but there’s more urgency at the end of the season, because there’s just not the time to make up games lost. Right now you have the whole season in front of you.
Mel, I wish I’d heard that interview with Sheffield, more specifically, the comments afterwards. Most people give Sheff a free ride on his comments regarding the Yankees, and I don’t know where he figures he got a bum deal here.
Lets get it on…
murphydog-
i sure hope we see some running going on because it’ll mean we’re getting the right players on the bases. arod, jeter,damon, and abreau all should be able to run on matsuzaka. it doesn’t look like he slide steps either.
I dont know why every one keeps saying the redsox only have paps and donnelly. The truth is the redsox only have paps. Donelly pretty much sucked last yr giving up 58 hits and 28 walks in 64 innings – doesnt sound all that great to me. And the funny part of all this is donnelly is actually the sux second best pitcher out of the pen – he just isnt that good and would prolly be one of the worst on the yanks or maybve even in triple A.
Will people please stop railing on sheff? I know he had a big mouth but he did play his heart out for us for two yrs which showed in those 70 homers he hit for us and 400 obp for two yrs of the three. He also played the entire second yr in constant pain and still played almost every day. What, the its only april excuse can be used for all the yankee players who r struggling but not for sheff? I gotcha. Not to mention, check out how well humberto sanchez is doing right now? Yea hasnt thrown a pitch yet. What an awesome trade that was? There is no reason or need for all this sheffield bashing in april – what r u trying to prove?
I’m really interested in seeing how DiceK goes through the league the 2nd and 3rd time. Like Igawa, it seems that he throws an inordinate amount of pitches up (and everything is up…fastballs, change ups, breaking balls). Obviously, he has better stuff, but with both of them, I worry that any relative early success they have pitching up all the time like that is going to change once hitters, who frankly just don’t see that kind of pitch pattern, start to realize what’s coming.
Come on you have to admit, it was a mistake signing Sheffield because if not him they would have signed Vlad. A guy who is a lot younger who is not a malcontent.
The Red Sox bullpen is a disaster.
And how long before Papelbon hurts that shoulder?
Remember folks this is the same shoulder that they shut down last yr and they said for 6 months (docs included) that it shouldnt be pitching everyday and should be in a controlled environment(like starting)
Now its suddenly healthy and ready to pitch 75 games???
dOREE, who is this blog gives sheff a free ride? Almsot every one in here have said some or other negative abotu sheff. Its not surprise he wanted to stay in NY and was pissed when they didnt want him any more cuz abreu was here. I think it is just the opposite – everyone remembers sheffs mouth in yankeeland and no one remembers his bat or more importantly, his heart whilke he was on this team. And frankly, I am sick and tired of reading yankees fans moronic opinions on sheffield. Forget that he helped lead our offense for two yrs in a row. Just remember his comments in his third yr after being replaced by abreu. Good job guys! You should be ashamed of yourselves.
I bet at least 1 game gets rained out
I smell a day night double dip on Sunday…
Dave that’s your opinion. Sheff was a mercenary who represented everything that was wrong with the Yankees. Compare him to Paul O’Neill and try to tell me he was good for the team even with his strong offense for 2 years. Oh and by the way, where was he in the playoffs, I never remember him coming up big. If you insist on telling us how to feel then I will just tell you that we should agree to disagree. F Sheff.
I agree vlad would have been better but i dont remember sheff complaining when he had a separated shoulder and still hit 35 homers and bat 290 playing in almost every game in 2005. Dont be angry at sheff that we didnt get vlad – blame that on big steiny. Im just saying stop railing on sheffield. He did so much for us for two yrs putting up all star like and almost mvp like numbers while playing injured.
Jeff – where was any one in the playoffs the last three yrs – I have no idea. Sheff certainly did not represent everything that was wrong on the yanks – he played his heart out on the field and would do anything it took to win. I dont think that is everything that is wrong with the yanks.
Dave –
I’m not a Sheffield basher — to the contrary, I have said in the past here that he was a very integral part of the Yankees teams, excepting last year. With Sheffield, it was always, let him run his mouth, ’cause he gets over things quickly and moves on and seemed generally approachable by the press.
However, I think it’s been interesting to say the least how he’s condemning a ballclub that he would still love to be on — just a bit hypocritical. And I say he would still want to be a Yankee because one of the last things he tried to do was to circumvent Cashman by trying to get to Steinbrenner, thinking that Steinbrenner would surely work things out so he could stay here. I am not rooting for Sheffield to do poorly anywhere else, and I take no particular pleasure that he’s doing poorly now. He is a very talented ballplayer and he’ll more than likely adjust to his new role as a DH, just as I’m hoping Jason Giambi will do the same.
It is a fact that in most interviews regarding his book, most people are looking for dirt on the Yankees and therefore, he can pretty much say anything he wants and it will go unchallenged, and he will never be asked, “if it was so bad, why did you want to stay with them?”
Dave,
Forget Humberto Snachez. The Yanks also got kevin Whelan in the trade who is off to a great start in Trenton.
Last 10 Games: (Current team only)
Date OPP W L ERA SV IP H ER BB SO
Apr 06 BOW 0 0 0.00 1 2.0 1 0 0 5
Apr 10 HAR 0 0 0.00 0 2.0 1 0 0 2
Apr 14 @CT 0 0 0.00 1 1.0 1 0 0 1
Totals 0 0 0.00 2 5.0 3 0 0 8
Oh, and Dave, I didn’t say people in this blog give Sheffield a free ride — I should have been more clear — people who are interviewing regarding his book give him a free ride — no hard questions.
Doreen,
You can listen to the podcast of the show at the podcenter at espn.com. If you don’t have insider you can only hear the interview, which is at the end of the 3rd hour, by playing the whole podcast. If I don’t want to listen to the whole show, I just click play and come back when the part I want comes on. I have a feeling the interview was pretty tense, and Colin couldn’t wait to get Shef off so he could start ripping him.
As far as Sheff, a little unfair to just talk about Sanchez in that deal. Kevin Whelen and Anthony Claggett (in AA and A respectfully) have been lights out (both have ERA’s under 1.50) thus far.
I only have two issues with Shef, and one is not his fault. One, he was a “Tampa Mafia” signing (not his fault), which cost us Vlad (whom Cashman had in NY, ready to sign, until Bill Emslie and Doc Gooden talked George into finishing the Sheffield deal. My other beef is that he was a whiner. Something that is his fault. All of his “Shef against the world” stuff got old after awhile.
Aside from that, he hit (except for the post-season. Worse post-season hitter than ARod) when healthy. However, his defense declined RAPIDLY each of his years with the Yankees.
I wish him well. Glad he is no longer with the team.
Thanks Mel. I will try that.
sheff also bat .333 with a homer and five rbis in the alcs against boston in 2004 and .286 in the ALDS IN 2005. Really, the only playoff series he did really poorly in was last yrs ALDS – but only three yankees hit even remotely well last yr. Matsui, cano, arod and abreu didnt exactly produce either. Can u say selective memory?
I think most Yankee fans recognized that Sheff was a mercenary, but tolerated him because 1) he produced, 2) he played hurt and 3) he kept his mouth shut for the most part while he was here. After he left and started popping off, Yankee fans said hey, two can play this came.
Dave, if you think we fans should appreciate what Sheff did here, shouldn’t Sheff also appreciate the way he was treated here, and not go running his mouth after he leaves?
“the red sox have spent 103 million for a 6 inning pitcher.�
“The yankees have spent 40 million on a 0 inning pitcher”
one of the benefits of being a yankee fan on cape cod is you get to know how to annoy red sox fans. i figure that matsuzaka is overpaid by 6 million dollars compared to igawa. matsuzaka was paid 20% more in japan over his last 3-4 years by japanese baseball that should know his relative value over igawa. igawa’s total cost to the yankees is 9.4 million a year(47 million/5 years). that means ,if you carry over the comparitive value japan put on matsuzaka as compared to igawa,than matsuzaka should cost the red sox 11 million(9.4 million times 1.2). his cost to the red sox is 17 million(103million/6 years). that means using igawa’s yankee salary as a base, matsuzaka is overpaid by 6 million a year(17-11).
no wonder they didn’t have any money left over for middle relief.
That was 3 years ago before he missed 3/4 of last season. He was great for us while he was here, but he has little value for the future. His defense has weakened and he is getting older.
FYI, Sheff just popped up with the bases loaded none out. I admit it, I’m rooting against him.
whoops 2nd and 3rd no out. I’m on board for the edit button.
Randy 1:
When it comes to money, we ignorant spoiled Yankee fans cannot understand the brilliant strategy employed by the Beantown Brain Trust. We members of the Evil Empire have unfairly skewed the results of the AL East for years by outspending everyone else and signing the most expensive, mercenary players and… Oh, wait. That was Boston this year with “posting system” poster child Dice-K and uber mercenary and part-time invalid Nancy Drew. Nevermind….
i agree with most everything in this thread (the games will be made to be a far bigger deal than they actually are, etc.), but one thing: that “dormant” boston offense scored 25 runs in three games against the angels. with lackey and santana going. they OPENED the game with a six-run first against santana. i’m not sure “dormant” is really the word i’d use there.
the pitching matchups favor boston. i don’t care how you look at it. matsuzaka’s going to feel the pressure?! what about karstens and wright? so far, in matsuzaka’s two losses, he has given up a total of 5 runs. in the three games he’s started, he’s struck out 26 batters. add that to the fact that the yankees don’t typically hit well against a pitcher they’ve never seen before, and matsuzaka could have a very good outing in front of him. schilling and beckett are both pitching very well right now, too. in terms of pitching, it’s going to be a very tough matchup for the yankees. yeah, if they can get to that boston bullpen, they’ll be fine, but tito’s brining papelbon in in the 8th now, so that’s one less inning, one less reliever. pretty much, if boston’s got a lead after 6, the yankees have one inning to work with.
offensively, the yankees are the superior team. no question about it. but, keep in mind, they’ll be facing boston’s three best pitchers, while that “dormant” boston offense will be up against pettitte, karstens and wright. don’t get me wrong, i like karstens and wright, but karstens has thrown ONE rehab start and he’s going to face major league hitting again after being down a month, and wright is going to be pitching his SECOND major league game, on national television, at fenway park.
realistically, if the yankees take one of three, i’ll be happy. i think expecting more than that is expecting too much right now. shouldn’t stop anyone for hoping for two of three, but the odds aren’t exactly in the yankees favor this weekend.
Im not saying he should be on the team now. Im just saying yankee fans shouldnt bash a player who played hard for us batting 290 two yrs in a row and 70 homers and 245 rbis combined. He had a separated shoulder and still took 584 at bats (FOURTH ON THE TEAM.) And he wasnt nearly as bad a hitter in the playoffs as people are making him out to be batting 222 333 and 286 in the first three playoff series on the yanks with 2 homers and 9 rbis. The only playoff series he batted really poorly in was last yrs series but he was injured almost the entire yr as was matsui and neither hit very well. His fielding percentage was 983 and 988 for the two yrs making five errors the first yr and three the second. I understand that doesnt measure his fielding but he was no liability in right the two yrs he played.
Sheff was great for the team in his first two years and, like Dave said, played through a lot of pain. If he had been physically capable of playing in 2006, he would have been good then too. Yes, he is a jerk and that makes it easier not to miss him, but the guy played hard and well for us.
Of course, I’d much rather have had a multi-year deal with Vlad, and dealing Sheff to the Tigers was a great move.
Dave,
I rip on Shef the human because he’s a $#!()y person. I loved his bat when he was here, so I lol when I see his avg, which in the course of our little discussion here has dipped to .137. I even (gasp!) heard the fans boo after Shef’s weak popout with men on 2nd & 3rd with no outs. With the Yankees that would’ve been a 3 run shot.
The reason why Colin called him a hypocrite is because in one chapter he writes that the Yankees aren’t a team, they’re a business. Then two chapters later Shef blames a lot of his personal stuff (him bouncing from team to team, etc.) on the fact that baseball is just a big business. Huh? Just can’t be grateful for the fact that teams are willing to give $13M to swing a bat. Gotta get all the world is against me. Nobody on this earth feels sorry for Sheffield. In fact I’d venture to say that there’s a lot more empathy for his chronic user uncle than there is for Gary Sheffield.
Dave –
1) Don’t be a hypocrite. You spew more negative garbage here than most people do. Sheffield is as fair game for criticism as any other Yankee, past or present. Not that I do, but if I want to, I’ll rag on Sheffield as much as I want to.
2) Someone having a different opinion than you, or not liking the same players as you does not make them a moron.
Sheffield was a dangerous bat to have in our lineup and an asset because of that. As long as he produced on the field and kept the mumbling and grunbling to a minumum, I was fine with him. Now that he is batting sub-.150 and appears to have his crummy attitude out in full force, I’m glad he’s not on our team anymore. Sanchez has yet to show us much, but I’m more excited about Whelan and Claggett anyway.
Dont feel bad for sheff and dont feel bad for pavano either. No baseball player making 5 million or more should be felt bad for esp one that isnt earning that money. They are playing a game for millions of dollars, what is there to feel bad about?
Dave,
Good point. Maybe we rip on Sheffield to quell our criticisms of Pavano? Otherwise Pavano would be our punching bag and he’s already beat up pretty bad.
Its not the opinion that makes them a moron – its their reasoning behind that opinion. I spew negative garbage but rarely targeting players (besides pavano but who could resist.) Sanchez hasnt showed us much? He hasnt pitched a single pitch. He hasnt shown us anything.
“Dont feel bad for sheff and dont feel bad for pavano either. No baseball player making 5 million or more should be felt bad for esp one that isnt earning that money. They are playing a game for millions of dollars, what is there to feel bad about?”
Should I only feel bad for people who make less money than me? What does one’s salary have to do with being able to root for or against anyone?
Dave, I agree with what has already been said on here. But some points:
1. You keep leaving out wheelan and clagget.
2. You keep forgetting Sheffield was mouthy and a distraction going back to ST LAST year, before he was replaced by Abreu, before he was on his way out.
3. You keep forgetting we only picked up his option to trade him, so if you think getting something for nothing is a bad deal, and you already said you don’t think he should be on the team, but if you did think getting something for nothing was a bad deal, then you’d be the moron. We could’ve let him go and gotten nothing. Instead we got some young talent that may or may not help us. I’ll take may or may not over nothing.
Look, I loved the guy his first 2 years and have not forgotten his bat, his playing through injuries. I also have not forgotten how much he reminded us he was playing through injuries, nor how lazy he got in the field, nor how much he started being the big-mouthed baby he used to be and fooled us all into thinking he’d grown up from when he came to NY.
The guy bashed Torre after Torre bent over backwards and almost lost his job to keep him in the lineup. You want me to respect a guy like that?
No thanks buddy.
I think, after last night, I would rather take C. Wright and his 88-mph, 61-out-of-104-for-strikes-over-5.1-innings stuff…
… over K Farnsworth and his 100-mph, 9-out-of-8-for-strikes-over-0.1-innings, including the patented “Krazy Kyle’s 4 Straight Pitches to Walk The Lead-Off Batter.”
Yanks take 2 of 3; Boston shuts down all business in protest.
just for reference, the Farnsworth stats were from the Minnesota game: 4.11.07.
(I wanted to quote my source.)
Dave,
You’re absolutely right about Sanchez. But some of us look at the overall picture. Shef was a cancer. Now he’s gone. Randy had 30+ wins in his last two seasons, but he was an ogre in that clubhouse. Now he’s gone. Jaret Wright? Gone and on the DL. It’s great to have good players. But it’s even better to have good players that are good people. That’s the thing about the Yankees, they have resources and they have options. Cashman is going in the right direction by getting younger. Yes, he sacrifices some offense by losing veteran players, but it’s a price he’s willing to pay. It’s not all about sabermetrics, fantasy leagues, avgs., W-L for pitchers, trade analysis, etc. It’s about character and being good teammates.
And for those fantasy guys: Gary’s avg. is now .135.
For the definition of a great TEAM versus a great group of all-stars, see the NY Yankees, 1995-2001.
I dunno Kasey. I mean, you have a good point about the Angels series, but in the other 9 games so far, they’ve scored 34 runs. Not BAD, but not good enough to outhit the Yankees unless Schilling and the others bring their absolute best.
They really need Manny to step it up, because I’m not sure if Drew and Ortiz can make up for the relative lack of production from the rest of the lineup. And if there really is anything to this “can’t hit lefty pitching” business, they’ll be in trouble.
Good for us.
The Sheffield-Torre stuff really should be emphasized here. Joe Torre messed up the entire chemistry of the lineup last year when he inserted Sheffield back in the lineup.
They were the best team in baseball without Gary Sheffield. Once he got back in the lineup, the lineup wasn’t the same and the results show it.
He could have, and should have, not even thought about bringing Sheffield back in the lineup for two reasons. If he was going to bring him back, putting him back into the middle of the lineup was a HUGE miscaluation.
One, there was no place for him. He is NOT a first baseman.
Two, he wasn’t healthy and the lineup was so balance, Shef’s insertion back into it completely messed it up.
Torre should have never put him back in the middle of the lineup. However, he knew Sheffield would be a huge distraction if he wasn’t back in the lineup. So, he caved, and it hurt the team.
As another poster observed, Torre could have been fired for that move and yet, there is Sheffield, ripping him at every turn. Total lack of character on Sheffield’s part.
No thanks. A good, no longer excellent, hitter, and limited in every other aspect of the game at this point in his career. Add to that, he is a career whiner of the nth degree.
The Yankees have had enough of these type of guys the last several years (see: Johnson, Randy and Mondesi, Raul as two examples). You don’t win with those type of guys on your team.
It was right to trade him and, in time, Cashman will be proven correct on this deal.
I did listen to the interview. First of all, Sheffield did not directly answer all the questions. When he did, regarding Torre, he stated that he had to “earn the respect,” but that other newcomers did not. I submit that Sheffield showed up as a Yankee with a certain reputation, and if I were the manager, I’d take a “wait and see” on Sheffield’s attitude, as well. The bottom line is, there was no greater sign of “respect” than Torre allowing Sheffield to play in last year’s playoffs even though he was nowhere near ready to do so. And, I for one never hear Torre talk out of school on any of his players (which was one reason why the SI article on ARod last year was such a shock to everyone). I can only remember Torre praising Sheff as a leader. Sheff’s a “show me the money” guy, plain and simple, but he tries to present himself as some kind of a baseball martyr. I can’t and won’t speak to his intimating that black athletes have more to prove than white athletes, because I have never had his experience and so therefore can’t even imagine how it might be.
Time to ask … what’s wrong with Jeter?
As A-Rod’s fortunes soar, Yankee captain down in dumps
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18164432/
Time to ask … what’s wrong with Jeter?
As A-Rod’s fortunes soar, Yankee captain down in dumps
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18164432/
SJ44- I agree with your post.
Yawn.
Raul Mondesi, what a freakin’ punk! Loved his arm out there, hated everything else about him.
Honestly, I don’t even look at the Sheff transaction as a trade, and nor should any of you. He was gone, a free agent, we didn’t need or want him, his contract was up. Then, in a BRILLIANT move, Cashman realizes that Sheff suddenly has more value in the market than anyone would have thought just a couple weeks beforehand (before the market blew up) and picks up the option to trade him and get something in return. It’s not as if we had him under contract and traded him. It’s more like buying a stock low to sell it high. It’s DAY TRADING, nothing more. The guy was gone and Cashman got 3 talented young players for someone who was already out the door.
If you think that’s not a brilliant business and baseball move, then you just can’t keep up with the logic. Please come visit me, I’d like to -rip-you-off- sell you a nice bridge.
Talk about tough-luck pitchers. Detroit’s Bonderman has 4 no-decisions (2.25 ERA)for the season as Todd Jones just blows a 3-1 lead over the Royals in the 9th.
Ouch. He get traded to the Astros or something…..?
This is for hello? offensive?
I’ve watched with bemusement for a while but I’m really tired of this yipping – like a fluffy little poodle – that Sox fans do every year until they are silenced by reality (yes we know what happened in 2004 – FLUKE)
There is a simple explanation for why losing 3 in Boston doesn’t mean much. We play 19 freaking times and the Yankees win the division every year. SO play the 162 and IF you finish in front of us and IF you go deeper into the play-offs and IF you win the World Series with all this incredible pitching and hitting that you bought, THEN I’ll kiss your butt. UNTIL THEN JUST SHUT UP and don’t get swept in Toronto LOL
Chris NY,
Shh! I wince everytime that Houston wins and cringe everytime the Yankees blow a save. I’m hoping all the stars will line up perfectly for the Rocket to land in NY.
Exactly, Myers. H?O? is just like every Red Sox fan – they run their mouths all season long and have an inferiority/Napoleon complex. But when is all said and done, their beloved team usually settles into its rightful place – behind the Yankees. Don’t get me wrong – on paper, the pitching matchups this weekend heavily favor Boston. But I ain’t going to sweat about it. We’ve hit Curt the Lip and Blister Beckett before. And yes, Dice-K has been impressive, but he’s made three starts, none of which will be as intense/scrutinized as the one he makes against the Yanks. So everyone, especially “The Nation,” needs to settle down. After this weekend, there will be about 140 games left in the season, 16 with the Sox. We have a long way to go.
So is Wang definitely not pitching on sunday now?
.132
I’m done with this subject.
Hope the Yankees have a great game today.
“he’s not the same pitcher from the stretch.”
fyi- you are wrong…
“Matsuzaka allows a .217/.345/.304 line with runners on base. Compare that to when the bases are empty: .240/.255/.340. In other words, he actually allows fewer hits, and those he does allow go for fewer bases, when he’s (presumably) pitching out of the stretch, though he does walk more (five walks to zero — though, again, three of those came last night).”
Chris NY – great post.
SJ44 – you forgot Brown, Kevin.
Call me crazy,but I don’t want Clemens. Let him go to the Sux so we can kick his steroid ass in August. I don’t know why he has received a pass from the media regarding steroids, but check out his pictures w/ the Astros and the Sux here:
http://www.sethmnookin.com/blo.....07-edition
Sooner or later, it will come out and I’d rather he be on The Olde Towne Team when it does. We’ll get our re-inforcements from the farm system, thank you.
Are we seriously going to start looking at this guy’s stats based on 2 or 3 games and decide we know when he’s good and when he’s not? Who cares? All I care about is whether or not the YANKEES can beat him.
“he’s not the same pitcher from the stretch.�
fyi- you are wrong…
“Matsuzaka allows a .217/.345/.304 line with runners on base. Compare that to when the bases are empty: .240/.255/.340.”
—rich you glossed over that difference between a .345 obp with men on and the .255 obp with no one on.
that’s a .110 obp difference, and matsuzaka has walked none with no one on base while he’s walked 5 with men on.
this backs up that he’s not the same pitcher from the stretch .
the biggest thing he does that is going to be a problem with men on base is he goes to a strategy of using a lot more pitches to get a hitter out. he walks around the mound,plays with his hat, and basically slows down the whole process. he doesn’t often get a hitter out like wang does with one pitch. it takes him 5 -6 pitches to set up one pitch when he’s in trouble. this adds up like the 40 pitch inning he had last night.
Oh Yeah (Sadly), It’s Gonna Be a Wonderful Weekend for Red Sox Fan.
Can we all agree to ignore hello?offense? from now on? Not only is this person clearly a Sox fan antagonizing us, but he doesn’t seem to bother to craft smart, fact-based arguments as to why the Yankees are going to finish in last place, 20 games behind the all powerful Sox this year. I respect Red Sox fans who know a thing or two about baseball and can participate in friendly back and forth, but this guy isn’t capable of that, so it’s time we get on the same page and just ignore him.
I mean, even the name “hello?offense” in a Yankee forum is ridiculous!
Cool…
Nice…
interesting
Nice!
Interesting…
Nice
Nice…
Nice
Cool.
Nice
Cool…
Cool.
Nice!
Nice!
interesting
Sorry