Flash Points: John Flaherty breaks down the Game 1 pitching match-up
Posted by: Sam Borden - Posted in Misc on Oct 07, 2009 
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Former Yankee and YES Network analyst John Flaherty has agreed to break down the pitching match-up for every Yankees postseason game exclusively on the LoHud Yankees blog. Be sure to watch John on the YES pregame show at 5 p.m. and immediately after the last out on the postgame. Here’s his take on Game 1:
YANKEES: CC Sabathia (19-8, 3.37 regular season):
Strengths: “CC has three above average pitches – fastball, slider and change-up – and I love the way he establishes the fastball. The slider is the big pitch, but I think the most important pitch is the change-up. If you’re a right-handed batter, you’ve got to think about 95 mph with the fastball, the slider coming down and in and then he’s got this change-up that he throws on the outside corner and they have to respect that. For a right-handed batter, it’s a lot to handle.”
Weaknesses: “If you’re the casual fan and you see him falling towards the third base dugout and not finishing towards the plate, it’s a sign that his arm is dragging behind and the slider isn’t as tight. It also throws off the location on the fastball. … I think his last outing (when he was hit hard in Tampa) was good for him because he’s been so good for the last couple of months. In some ways, it was the perfect wake-up call.”
TWINS: LHP Brian Duensing (5-2, 3.64 regular season)
Strengths: “Like all those Twins pitchers, he throws strikes. I would say his stuff is average. His fastball is anywhere from 89-92, and his slider is short; it’s not a big breaker. It’s mid-80s with five or six inches of break. His change-up is a decent pitch. If you have to categorize him, he’s your average lefty. Ironically, a lot of his strikeouts were fastballs up in the zone, which would tell me that he throws pitches a little backwards – change-ups and sliders early in the count, and then sneak a fastball by a hitter late.”
Weaknesses: “He’s in for a tough assignment, stepping into this situation at Yankee Stadium. That’s an environment that’s hard for anyone. If he doesn’t throw strikes early in the count, the Yankee will be all over him. Everything I read about him, the Twins are raving about his makeup but we’ll see. If he can’t locate, it could be a short outing for him.”
Edge: “Big edge for the Yankees here. Sabathia is an ace and Duensing is a flip of the coin. The Twins are also rolling on so much adrenaline right now that there could be a bit of a letdown.”
Great job by Flash. Thanks for that, LoHud.
You never want to underestimate an opponent, but how can you not feel good about this matchup.
If we lose this game, something went seriously wrong.
Analysis is nice but in the future, I hope John actually says something worthwhile. How does he match up against the twins lineup, for example. Geeze, my 82 year old grandmother could have said all that.
from previous thread
Who has a the better playoffs from 2 players that are trying to get the monkey off their backs? C.C. or Alex?
Sabathia has really good numbers against the Twins. No one in the Twins lineup has good numbers against him. Mauer has bad numbers against CC. Actually all of the Yankee pitchers have pretty good numbers against the Twins.
Well done! Thanks. Going to the game tonight – and looking forward to CC just destroying the Twins lineup.
Love the new feature-Flash did a great job.
It’s great to see Flash’s insight here on the blog. I cannot wait for 6 o’clock!
great point by chad on the video chat
you do what you need to make the pitcher comfortable & deal with the offense late in the game
most of these games are close & the offense later in the game will matter along with the pen
If somehow Twins upset Yanks in game 1, wow.
I am not seeing that’s gonna happen
Don’t forget the wind. It’s blowing 50 mph out there … and it’s not going to let up until midnight. That type of wind could make the ace vs. non ace argument moot. Especially if it’s blowing out of the stadium.
Nice job by Flash. Thanks
Thanks Flash-
And hey look, Sabathia is an ace
4 hours and 35 minutes until Game 1
Big article on Big CC…
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=4533597
Jason, please, by all means, tells us something all of us and your 82-year-old grandmother don’t know about the match-ups. Must be VERY insightful! We’re waiting….
Btw, it is INSANELY windy on Long Island.
I almost got blown away walking to my car
Sweet. Me likey.
Twinkie, Twinkie in the sky,
You came into town to give it a try,
Beat down and embarrassed you leave,
sent home sad, into the toilet you heave.
Thanks for adding to the conversation, John!
Thanks for adding to the conversation, John!
Anyone know which direction this crazy wind is blowing at the stadium?
CC vs Twins hitters:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....yerId=4553
http://www.northjersey.com/spo.....ge_35.html
“NEW YORK – Derek Jeter was supposed to be too proud to change. He was supposed to be too successful, too established, too damned good at being Derek Jeter to surrender to the vile nature of human frailty.
In the season of his 35th birthday, the captain of the Yankees was supposed to embolden the critics and mathematicians suggesting he was entering an advanced stage of decline.
Yankee captain Derek Jeter takes swings during Tuesday’s team practice at Yankee Stadium. Only Jeter pulled off a more improbable trick in 2009 than the flip play he pulled out of his cap in Oakland in 2001.
He grew younger, quicker and more athletic. He did all of the above by making a concession that wasn’t easy for any iconic Yankee figure to make.”
I forgot about the chat. Next time can we have a big red arrow pointing the way (a reminder)?
Neyer talks about that article here: http://myespn.go.com/blogs/swe.....ation.html
If CC dominates this series is over. This is a must win game for Minnesota because they know if they break CC they will spin the Yankees into panic mode and hold a serious psychological advantage.
Brian Duensing vs Yankee hitters (only 9 total at bats):
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....erId=28960
Who cares about the wind. If Sabathia is striking guys out and is on his A game the wind won’t be a factor. The wind might be more of an issue for the Twins starter since he isn’t a power pitcher. Duensing pitches to contact and gives up a lot of fly balls.
It’s blowing like crazy in westchester too (And we’re less than 15 miles away from the stadium). Maybe when sam and chad get to the stadium they could give us insight on whether it is blowing out of the stadium or not. Either way .. i think the wind will be a huge factor in tonight’s game. How can 50 mph winds not be?
Weather channel says the wind is “WNW.”. Don’t know if that means from the west or if it means blowing to the west. I believe home plate is east and centerfield is west. If that’s true, wind blowing to the west-northwest is out to left field. But I’m no meteorologist.
I’m sure the wind will be a part of the “Weather Report” in the game thread
Just took the dog for a run and came to the following conclusions.
Sprinting out the box is essential tonight. With this wind, anything hit in the air is going to be an adventure for whoever is trying to catch it. Johnny may call it and Swish may catch it kind of wind.
Depending on which way this wind is blowing, either 0 or 10 HRs will be hit tonight.
Great job,Flaherty! Maybe you should start your own blog too.. Looking forward to your other posts on this blog..
Man. This day feels like the days im waiting for the Super Bowl to start. Each minute feels like an hour. I cant take this much longer!!
LOL. I didn’t read before posting and now see the wind has already been discussed. Nevermind.
Scratch that. I believe home is west and center field is east which means it’s blowing in right now. It will be swirly with these gusts for sure though.
Folks. Dont worry about the wind. The Steinbrenners made this cajillion dollar stadium work to our advantage by having wind control blowers. When the Twins are up, it will blow in towards the hitter. With a flip of a switch, the Yankee batters will have the wind at their backs. Molina will launch a homer opposite field. Wait. Thats tomorrow.
Good job by Flash, especially in looking at CC to see where he ends up finishing after his delivey.
Great idea also by Sam in adding some insight to the blog from someone who was a former player. I may be biased, but my recommendation would be to get a former pitcher to chime in, say someone like Al Leiter…
He sure loves to talk and I bet would be glad to discuss his insight about the starting pitchers.
Thanks to John Flaherty. Appreciate this lead-in to tonight’s game.
It’s windy here in Central NJ, as well. Really windy. Well, it’ll be interesting, won’t it? I guess we can watch the Phillies game to get an idea? It’s supposed to be pretty windy there, as well.
Don’t want to even picture Damon and Swisher dancing under balls to the outfield. Shudder.
But it will affect both teams. Mother nature has no preference.
Mark is having a chat of his own. This is what he said about the wind
‘ve heard whispers about rain, but it doesn’t look like we’ll get any. The wind, however, is whipping around the stadium right now, with the flags at the top of the ballpark making a ton of noise. It looks like it’s blowing out to right field, but I have no clue if that means it will carry balls out or knock them down. We’ll have to wait and see.
Great link Rishi.
Anyone know free sites on the internet where you can publish things? Verizon unfortunately has no tech support for setting up web space and it appears pretty archaic.
I’d like to be able to link to the Postseason Prediction Chart so people can view it, tell me if I made mistakes to it (
) etc.
Thanks.
Thanks guys for the Flash info.
Christina- you are right, Leiter would be great.
thanks for the link Tom, did you see that Molina has a .500 BA against Friday’s pitcher?! Ok its a small sample size, but still…
Its time for “Guess the Line Up” Postseason Edition
Post your line up guesses here (this should be pretty easy). I am accepting line up guesses until 2:30
Sorry for the short window, I kind of forgot
Jeremy .. you may be right .. but cc would have to strike out the side every time the make the wind a moot point. I wouldn’t kid yourself .. when you have wind that can push a flyball out of the ballpark when it otherwise would have been a can of corn .. you can;t discount that .. no matter how good your pitcher is. And if the wind is blowing in .. it could make the twins starter more effective and hurt the yankee offense and make for a low scoring game.
Erica -
Jeter – SS
Damon – LF
Teixeira – 1B
Rodriguez – 3B
Matsui – DH
Posada – C
Cano – 2B
Swisher – RF
Cabrera – CF
I can’t believe I proof read first and had left out Swisher! I am just so not good at these. But at least I proofed before hitting “submit”
My lineup:
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
A-Rod 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Cabrera CF
Doreen,
Mother Nature has no preferences, but it’s clear she’s not a Yankees fan. Between the rain delays and midges, she’s not fooling anyone.
Erica-
SS Jeter
LF Damon
1B Tex
3B Arod
DH Matsui
C Posada
2B Cano
RF Swish
CF Melky
thanks for doing this again
Erica there should be a lot of winners today
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Cabrera CF
Sabathia P
m -
LOL!
Too true, sadly!
This wind talk reminds me of when my Colts had to play the Bears in the 06 Super Bowl in the rain. Everyone was saying that the rain would negate the passing game of Manning and give the edge to the Bears. Didnt change a thing. The best team won the game and a star can always adjust to the weather. While the average doesnt do so well. This is where home field advantage is a big plus. Every pitcher that comes in knows they cant make a mistake to our hitters. While our pitchers lead the league in strike outs and dont worry about it as much.
RE: wind, I got this from a good source:
45mph wind gusts blowing to right center expected for tonight. Matsui and Tex, hell why not Jeets and Damon too, should be good for popping out a few…
m -
On second though, maybe the rain delays were the lucky charm this season? (Showers of Happiness?) Maybe?
Pete’s obsession lives!
http://www.boston.com/sports/b.....n:twit:sox
Erica:
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Tex 1b
A-Rod 3b
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2b
Swisher RF
Cabrera CF
Here is mine, pretty much nobrainer:
Jeter: SS
Damin: LF
Tex: 1B
Arod: 3B
Matsui: DH
Jorgie: C
Cano: 2B
Swish: RF
Melky: CF
Wow, how many posts did he have over there until he brought up A-Rod? Holy cow.
rishi-
nice jeter link
What’s wrong with that post? He seemed to be pretty fair to me.
Any working links for listening to the games on the net??
Leave Pete alone.
Everyone is acting like a jealous ex
the best part of Pete’s post was Bronx Jeer’s comment (my son was really into Star Wars when he was little)
pat
Obsession or beating a dead horse. In either case, I am glad he is gone and has taken his sour negativity with him.
Argh
game thread
“What’s wrong with that post? He seemed to be pretty fair to me.”
More fair than he was here which is amusing.
However, would you rather read a post on this blog about how MVP Pedroia hit .059 in last years ALDS but this could be his year or one about a Yankee player?
Erica,
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
A-Rod 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Cabrera CF
“Anyone know free sites on the internet where you can publish things?”
you could just do a blogger blog.
they’re free and take about 2 minutes to set up.
I just don’t see what A-Rod has to do with Boston or the Red Sox, that’s all.
I was wondering how long it would take pete to “address” the A-rod issue.
going to my first playoff game tonight! cant wait
I can post again!! hopefully…
To sum up: Omg everyone stop talking about posada / molina. Girardi is an incredibly empathetic guy and has shown he will go for the throat so if he thinks this will help AJ then god bless him and if we have the bases loaded in a tight spot you better believe he is gonna go for the throat and have Popo go up to the plate.
Also if we are ever in a situation where we lament the loss of Freddy Guzman then I think we’re in a pretty bad place!
Finally, I doubt AJ or Posada or Molina or Joe have had their reputations or relationships tarnished in the locker room. That is incredibly silly.
its the A line up the best one all year
Jeter ss
Damon lf
Teix 1b
Arod 3b
Matsui dh
Posada c
Cano 2b
Melkman cf
Random thoughts:
*Doreen, it’s good luck to have sprinkles on your weddin here. It’s a blessing.
*I had to rub my eyes a bit, but Kevin millar cleans up pretty good (mlb.com).
*Boras suing Sheffield for $600,000. He doesn’t have enough money? That being said, Go, Scott, Go!
*Pregame show on TBS for Philly/Rox, right now.
*They’re talking to Rosenthal (?) (is he with mlb network?) from the stadium about the wind right now.
*If you’re Charlie manuel, who do you call to close? Gotta be Lidge, right?
whoops missed
Swisher before Cabera
OMG did pete forget he is not covering the yankees anymore? lol i bet het gets lambasted by red sox nation for writing about a yankee player that even yankee fans aren’t talking about right now! although now that the subject has been broached, I wonder what everyone’s expectations are in regards to Arod tonight. Seems like he is really under the radar coming into the postseason this year .. which is probably a good thing.
Greg,
Its a red sox fan thing. Their world revolves around what Yankees do, more than whats going on with their own team. Pete = Obsessed red sox fan
Totally right SOS. I live a mile from Fenway, I know exactly what you’re talking about. It’s a classic inferiority complex from years of playing the 2nd fiddle and losing when it counted (recent history not withstanding). A majority of sox fans would rather NYY do bad than their own team do well. They love to focus on it, really it’s pathetic.
Randy – thanks!
Everyone talks about how hot the Twins are. However….
Their record since 9/1 is 21-11. Yankees record is 20-11 against a MUCH better class of opponents
Sam stinks. This is awful. Get those nerdy pictures away from the posts I’m sick of looking at him.
Nice feature.. Thanks lohud and good job Flash.
eave Pete alone.
Everyone is acting like a jealous ex
—
Like or hate what Pete wrote on his new blog(which has a grand total of 6 responses…looks like it’s a rebuilding process all over again for Pete), but I could careless.
The Yankees Postseason begins in less than 4 hours and I am having a hard time doing anything but prep my mind for that. CC has a chance to shut up his post season critics tonight and I’m looking forward to watching it happen.
Sam Borden
Works Hard – A+
Plays Well with others – A
Follows Directions – B
Creativity – A
Good blog Posts -A