Waiting for Godot … or at least Sabathia
Posted by: Sam Borden - Posted in Misc on Oct 14, 2009 
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Waiting stinks. I know it, you know it, everyone knows it. Mark Teixeira said earlier today that he doesn’t like it because it’s so different than the regular-season routine. Joe Girardi said it might actually help guys like Johnny Damon, who struggled in the last round, because it’s basically starting over. Jorge Posada said it’s weird.
Having several big gaps (and numerous off days) is something baseball does in the postseason primarily because of TV. I’ve had several e-mails from people who think it’s strange that a team needs four or five starters all year and then can get away with three during the postseason becasue of all the off-days. To some degree, I can’t argue with that.
I know you guys have been doing countdowns in the comments, literally counting the minutes until there’s baseball again. I can understand why. Just know that the players are doing the same things right along with you. “With a layoff like this, it’s like you’re back to zero,” Teixeira said.
That’s it for today. Back at the Stadium for (yet another) workout tomorrow and don’t forget about the primetime-ish LoHud Live Chat at 7 p.m. tomorrow night. Chad and I will be on the scene to take all your questions as we get set for Game 1 on Friday.
It’s so annoying. Do they really think I won’t watch a Game 1 on a tuesday night or a wednesday night.. what the hell…… ahhhhhhhhhhhhh
LOL I love the time off – these games tie me up in knots. The days off let me relax……I completely understand why the players might be annoyed. I’m sure they are all itching to get out there – their routine has been disrupted – but this is the way it is for both teams. There’s no excuse to come out flat…..
i thought i would be ok with the off days because it would give me time to unwind from the high intensity innings. but 1 day is just fine. 5 puts me into severe withdrawal! its just so weird that the whole season, there is never more than 1 days off in a row except for the ASB. and so far, from the day the yankees and angels finished their first round to the first game of the ALCS, its longer than the ASB! and during that some of the players at least get to play in a meaningful. these ridiculous gaps between playoff games are crappy for the fans and for the players. correct me if i’m wrong but aren’t the fans and the players kind of the point? but the network big wigs get to decide when the games are….i don’t get why the start of the 2nd round can’t just be decided when the teams for that series are both set. they had the 16th chosen as the day for the ALCS to start, which would be a pretty good day if both ALDS’s went 5 games. but they both went only 3…and they can’t do anything to change the start of the ALCS based on that? so tired of waiting. i’m a very impatient person. and the rain in the forecast is making this even worse.
Chad, you guys are doing one hell of a job. Keep up the good work. The amount of updates have been mind-blowing.
Not sure how hardcore football fans can stand all this waiting around. Football is my fourth favorite sport, so I have no problem waiting till Sunday to watch the Giants.
Baseball, like life, is a grind – gotta show up and do your job every day. It is sad to see the postseason completely disrupt the rhythm of baseball.
Waiting for Gaudin…
Pedroia plays the Blame Game
This is rich
http://www.theyankeeuniverse.com/?p=8436
With the way the whole regular season is set up, very few days off, sometime going extra days because of makeup games, the players get used to the workload. Coming to a screeching stop isn’t what their bodies are accustomed to. It affects their timing, it affects their conditioning, it allows for the head games to set in.
The pitchers are actually the ones with the advantage in this long layoff period, but only to a point. Some will get regular rest, others may not have started or pitched in the first round and bullpen sessions aren’t enough to really stay sharp.
With the baseball ratings as they are, I don’t think it makes much of a difference with when the games get played. This year, with all the games being over in a sweep or 4 games, it makes even more sense to tweak the schedule and move the start of the next round up.
The trouble with the layoff time is it affects how on their game some players are. It may help some players who are hurting or in a slump, but overall I think more players will come in “cold”. How is that good for the sport, the fans or deciding the champions?
i think its just more a matter of routine. with football, you know its gonna be 5-7 days between games, sometimes 2 weeks when there is a bye. thats how it always is. its the routine. but baseball…you spend 6 months watching it every single day. then the most exciting time of the year rolls around and you find yourself waiting 5 days for the next Yankees game…
No matter. It will only affect game 1 and possibly game 2 at the most. After that the series will be on in earnest.
It’s going to be a great series devoid of the animosity that exists between Eastern Mass and the City.
How great is it that we will see the 2 best teams in the game (IMHO) finally fight it out in a 7 game series where there is ultimate respect between the opponents.
This is going to be like Ali vs. Frazier . . .
The lag in time between games is also due to the fact that there could have been four Game 5′s. I can’t find the original schedule of when the games were planned for, but there may have been only 2-3 days in between playoff rounds had there been all 5 games played in each series.
View the time off like the All-Star break…..Yanks came off of that time away from the game smokin !!!!!
Pat M,
I like your way of looking at it.
But the wait is driving me crazy.
Pat M,
Hopefully Joba went back to Nebraska!
Where’s everybody?
Selig is so bad…
Tex is normally a slow starter (when the season begins). And with the ++ time off and cold weather, this is like a new season.
if you need somethin to be concerned of, then worry that he will not hit
“Pedroia plays the Blame Game
This is rich
http://www.theyankeeuniverse.com/?p=8436”
Can somebody get that boy to the Wahbulance? What a crybaby.
Here’s the bottom line break down to the series……The Bronx Bombers score lots of runs in the 7th inning and on ( CB has the extract numberical breakdown ) & The Angels Bullpen surrenders lots of runs from the 7th inning on….Now unless either club departs from their DNA seasonal profiles,you can deduce that the NY Yankees should be in the hunt to win every game once they send the Halo starter to the showers……If this seasonal trends continue, then the Yanks win their 31st American League Pennant in 6 games…I wouldn’t be surprised if it accomplished in 5
Baseball isn’t hockey. Baseball players do not need a day in between games during postseason play to heal the bumps and bruises of a non-contact sport. Extra days off interrupt the flow of momentum and focus, the two most important factors over a 162-game season. It ruins the game! MLB should do something about this.
Yankees have 26 World Series,39 Pennants.
They are pursuing #’s 27 and#’s 40
Pat M, I appreciate your analysis and predictive powers. I recall, however, three ugly games in Anaheim in July, in which the trends of which you speak did not carry the day.
Yanks’ late innings dominance vs. the Angels’ pen seems like a good recipe for success, but CC, AJ, and Andy will have to do their jobs well for those positive trends to come into effect. Pitch well, we win…
That’s about the best I can do on $3 Red Stripe Wednesday in Truckee.
Pat M
Yankees already have 39 pennants and 26 World Series.they are playing for number 40 pennant.
Nick in SF…..The games that you refer to were the last games before the break……Joba was staked to a 4-0 lead and walked it away….The next night, Andy Pettite was also staked to a 4-0 lead and he too gave it away……The Yanks have been a different club since the All-Star break
I want Pete back. This blog is not the same anymore, the tone and style of writing just turn me off!
Where are you Pete?
The Dodgers might be for sale in the near future.
Why is Buster Oleny stealing my idea to Brian Cashman?;) Come on Cash, make it happen.
“Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has long been friends with Kevin Towers, who was recently released from his duties as GM of the Padres, and given that relationship, there would appear to be excellent odds that Towers will land with the Yankees as a special assistant sometime in the months ahead. Towers could serve as an evaluator for Cashman, taking on responsibilities like looking for pitching — which is considered to be Towers’ specialty — or scouting minor leaguers, or helping to prepare the Yankees as they consider options before the trade deadline.”
http://insider.espn.go.com/esp.....ney_buster
Come on mediots, I want more of these type of articles.
http://www.nydailynews.com/spo.....rayer.html
As usual, with Bud Selig and MLB it’s all about $$$$ and more $$$$$.
There’s no reason why the ALCS couldn’t be started on Wednesday. There was no NFL on TV and the airwaves were clear for baseball.
The perfect invitation for freezing cold baseball in November.
I hate this long wait. Its so boring, good thing there is Sons Of Anarchy and Ranger games to keep me busy so far this week, but tonight there is nothing. Gonna be bored beyond all relief.
I just looked over the forecast for tomorrow night and while the 60% chance of rain is not ideal, the fact that it says “showers” is very promising. This is very much like the forecasst for last Friday nights game and the weather turned out to be perfect……..temp tomorrow will; be about 20 degrees cooler….but thats fine by me, I love baseball in the Boogiedown in the 40′s.
I bring this up daily, but it mostly gets ignored for whatever reason.
But here it is again.
Why not start Pettitte in Game 2 to force the Angels switch hitters to bat righty in Yankee stadium? When they go back over to Angel Stadium, it’s 330 to both left and right and a bit harder to hit it out to left field. It’s not like Burnett was decidedly better this season or in the playoffs than Andy.
I know Burnett was a bit better at home and Pettitte a bit better on the road this season, but that’s the regular season. The playoffs are different.
Craw, next time you post something by Madden, let us know because I would never have clicked on it, lol. I didn’t bother reading it….though I admit I wouldn’t have even if someone else had written the article.
The Yankees are not going to pay Kevin Towers millions of $$$ to be a special assistant – Hal has really clamped down on the budget.
The weather for tomorrow and Saturday (even Sunday, should it come to that) is downright nasty. Even if the games get played, we’ll have to deal with delays and possible removals of the SP. The Yankees have to take an extra pitcher…….there’s just no way around it. Gaudin may have to pitch one of these games if the weather is really bad but they are played, so CC may not get game 4 even without a game 1 delay.
Betsy, I’m not so sure that Hal won’t consider hiring Towers as a special assistant to the GM, super-scout and talent evaluator. Money paid to those types of hires are not counted toward the luxury tax (I’m pretty sure), and can end up saving money in the long run.
Randy l (and probably SJ, CB and Pat M) have spoken in the past on this blog about how the Yankees should use their resources to hire more and better scouts, coaches and evaluators. Spending money in these areas can result in a huge advantage for them.
The Yankees may not choose to hire towers, but I think they at least consider it.
Doreen, I agree – after I heard Towers was fired, my first thought was how close he is with Cash and I wonderd about the possibility of hiring him. I would imagine (hope) that Cash is pushing for this, but maybe not until after the playoffs……..
Good article on CC:
http://www.northjersey.com/spo.....tober.html
A couple of points:
*For a manager to mock a player behind his back, esp. to other players, is disgraceful. Also, who the heck is Jason Giambi to be mocking anyone?
*Just win – I don’t care about comparisons to the 1998 team. I adore this team, but that team was one of, if not, the greatest team in history.
*CC is ultra-cool and a horse; he’s just amazing.
*AJ – now he’s used to it, so no overthrowing. NOt that I can blame him, lol – he’s never been in the playoffs before and never experienced a rush like this.
Why couldn’t they move up the CS series’ knowing that the DS’s went so short? They could have easily moved it up to Wednesday. But alas I guess TV dictates everything. If heaven forbid Friday and Saturday are rained out everything gets thrown out of whack.
It’s gonna be even more folks…
Rain till Monday with lows into the upper 30′s.
Betsy- I don’t recall ever hearing Mike mock Alex. Now Pavano yes. Also I was a member of Mussina’s fan club and he mentioned while he and Alex were not ‘friends’ they did go out to dinner on occasion. Now Joe T we know mocked Alex behind his back.
I still can’t fathom why this series couldn’t start before Friday – it’s ridiculous! It’s October. so the sun sets earlier, the days grow colder and postponements due to the weather are more likely. Momentum from earlier games has disappeared, fans are inconvenienced and players are at greater risk for injury. This schedule could only be the brainchild of Bud and his minions – and another reason he needs to be replaced as the Commish. Increasingly, he’s become an embarrassment to the game! If he’s really looking out for ‘the best interests of the game’, he’d resign his position.
Wow, a Samuel Beckett reference in a Yankees blog post.
Now it’s really sunk in that Pete is gone. (I mean this in a good way.)
Is it Friday yet?
> a team needs four or five starters all year and then can get away with three during the postseason because of all the off-days
Regardless of what pitching rotations were like at the time, the WS has always (except for subway series, of which there indeed have been a few) had travel days after games 2 and 5, so all teams, if they had the luxury of setting up their rotation beforehand (i.e., didn’t need their ace in the last game of the season, etc.), could use only three starters — and, naturally, would only *want* their three best starters, as opposed to using their fourth best too. Think Bob Gibson in ’64, ’67, and ’68, Jim Lonborg in ’67, Denny McLain in ’68. I haven’t taken the trouble to look every WS up to see if this has always been 100% true, but it’s certainly normally been the case for a heck of a long time.
So what I’m saying is that this is not just a modern thing, or even a LDS and LCS thing.
The waits also mean the games get played in colder weather with more chance of snow as well.