That's a possible outcome; no one has said what the plan is definitively. And while he does have an innings cap, the Yankees have also said that the postseason doesn't count towards his innings cap. If they felt it was necessary for winning, they'd find a way to keep him in the rotation in October. But the point remains, rotation-wise, the Yanks are - at worst - in the same boat they were in last year (maybe slightly better). They could also be significantly better, too, as I would take the Yanks' #4 options over just about any other playoff team's #4 options. Possible exception would be the Rays, depending on how their rotation lines up. I assume it would be Price > Garza > Shields/Niemann/Davis > Niemann/Davis/Shields. Shields is having the worst season of the group, but has been their "#3 starter" for most of the year. If we were doing it now, I'd probably give the #3 slot to Niemann (although the kid done got blowed up last time out). Not sure what Davis' story is going to be, either. Whatever, though. Point is, I'm not going to sweat the #4 starter for the Yanks in the playoffs, and they're in pretty good shape right now. No need to be alarmed.
Agreed. And, while that's a better overall rotation than the Yankees, it comes with the caveat that in any Game 7 you'd want Sabathia starting, and Rivera closing.
I tried to tell you he's better than you've given him credit for. Honestly, I didn't see the game so I have to ask: did he really pitch well? I have managed to be unavailable to watch both of his starts so far. :sad: Anyone have an update on Tex? This team is so banged up. I'm still seeing Pettitte is at least two weeks away. As of Saturday the Sox had the best record in the AL East over the month of August. The Rays were next and the Yankees third. The Yankees also have the hardest schedule of the three the rest of the way. This race is going to be tough the rest of the way. We really needed to put the Sox away in that last series. Ted Lilly is on waivers. I know the chances are slim that the Yankees can get him, but I'd like them to at least try.
From The Onion: The Quotable Ozzie Guillen The colorful White Sox manager is in the spotlight for comments about supposed favoritism toward Asian players, but it isn't the first time he's had something to say. 2006: "I very much love the people and the fans of Chicago, because they pay me very much to play a baseball manager in Chicago, even though I very much hate the people and fans in Chicago" 2006: "I don't give shit about the home-field advantages for the World Series. You know what I care about? Where the fuck is the Smash Mouth? Why aren't they here for singing the 'All Star' song? I love that shit" 2007: "I love Dustin Pedroia. He is very good hitter. And he has a strong back, so he could be climbed up on and I sit on his shoulders and ride around on him like riding a little horse that loves me and eats apples and I have to pitch around because he is a good hitter" 2008: "I never say one bad thing about those stupid fucking Cubs fans. Not a single word about those mother-shitting pieces of fuck" 2008: "If we win the World Series, I will quit baseball and run for mayor mostly on a campaign platform of minimizing the city's budget, while still raising revenues with strategic tax plan for Chicago businesses" 2009: "Wrigley Field makes me puke. When I eat a little bit of the ivy on the wall it make me puke barf everywhere" 2010: It's not the fair for Japanese players have the interpreter. I want the interpreter so I can understand what the fuck it is I am talk about"
Nova has been really sharp. Like I said in my previous post, we all knew that he had a live fastball but his sharp curve has been a very pleasant surprise. If he can get it over for strikes, he's gonna be effective. As for the Sox, I'm really just not that worried about them. The Yankees basically just have to play .500 ball down the stretch and they'll make the playoffs. I would rather avoid facing Texas in the first round though (because, recent struggles aside, I still think that Cliff Lee is the best pitcher in baseball.)
I think I've mentioned before that his breaking stuff is what made me believe he's a legit #2-type pitcher. I'm not trying to be all "I told you so," I was just impressed at his ability to get outs in AAA. Obviously that doesn't automatically translate into MLB outs but if you've got a good fastball and nasty breaking stuff you're in a good position to be successful at the pro level. As for the Sox, their primary problem has been health. Even with a lack of it they've managed to stay in the race. The Yankees have played worse than their two closest rival over the last month and they also have the hardest upcoming schedule. Factor in another week without Alex in the lineup at all and Pettitte still out until the middle of September, not to mention Tex's unknown status, and you're making for a tighter race than it needs to be.
Nah. Their primary problems were a shitty April and shitty performances from Beckett and Lackey. The replacements for Boston have done a fine job and some of their best ball as a team came when everyone was hurt. The Sox weren't likely to be able to wring additional wins out of that stretch if their starters were healthy.
I think they'd have a better record without the Youkilis and Pedroia injuries. also when victor martinez was injured, they had absolute garbage, like kevin cash, at catcher
Exactly. Anyone who thinks the Sox aren't much better with Youkilis and Pedroia in the lineup is crazy. And as I said, even with the injuries they managed to stay in the race.
You're arguing against a claim no one made. Anyone would take a lineup with Pedroia and Youkilis in it over one without it. Has anyone said differently? Of course, that straw man ignores the point I was making. Here are the monthly splits. Month W L RS RA W% April 11 12 103 119 .478 May 18 11 166 132 .621 June 18 9 166 117 .667 July 12 13 107 107 .480 Aug 15 12 116 118 .556 April: 11-12 record. Pretty much everyone was healthy (except Ellsbury). No one was hitting. May: Played very well without Cameron, Ellsbury, Beckett. June: Best monthly winning percentage. No Ellsbury, Beckett, Dice-K, Hermida, and - for the last few games - no Pedroia. July: Simliar to April in play, but no Martinez, Varitek, Pedroia, Lowell. Youkilis was there, though. Beckett returned (and stunk). No Buchholz, but they were 2-1 in the starts he missed. August: Lost Youkilis. Still no Pedroia. Beckett continued to stink, losing three games for the team. Martinez was back. Would I rather have a team with Pedroia and Youkilis starting? Of course. Do I think it would have translated into more wins? Eh. Probably not more than 1-2, if that. This team lost in April while healthy. They won a ton of games in May/June when they weren't healthy. And throughout it all, they've been first or second in the league in runs scored. I think the biggest loss for the Sox was Martinez, mostly because of the performance of the guys who replaced him. For all the injuries at other positions, they have gotten pretty damn good production out of their replacement, either in overall production or in timely hits. They've lost more games with lousy pitching and - in July, at least - poor performance from the bullpen.
It's completely worthless trying to talk about anything with you. You whine about straw men, then proceed to create your own. I specifically said that they managed to win even through the injuries. That was a key component of my whole argument. Of course, in your ever-continuing quest to "prove Alio wrong" you ignored that. My entire argument was that I was still concerned with the Sox because even with the injuries they managed to stay in the race. Throwing your numbers around about how they may or may not have been a game or two better without injuries is simply creating an entirely different conversation simply for the purpose of creating yet another Alio vs. Cappy 10 page crapfest that does nothing but piss everyone off for having to scroll through it to read actual content. If you really believe that injuries played no part in things like Beckett continuing to struggle after returning from injury, I'd like you to kindly refrain from pushing keys on your keyboard next time I talk about how much Curtis Granderson sucked dirty wet anus after coming off the DL. That's all I'm going to say about the topic. If you want to spend another 8 pages posting graphs and quadratic equations to prove how I must be wrong, feel free. You'll just be talking to a wall.
Sometimes it seems like I'm talking to a wall, anyway. Sheesh. You need to lighten up a bit. It wasn't a separate conversation, either. You said the primary problem has been their health. I disagree. They stunk back when everyone was healthy, and they played their best ball during a period when the most people were hurt. I think their primary problem this year has been inconsistent pitching from people they assumed would be better (Beckett and Lackey) and a rather ineffective pen. I didn't ignore that part about them playing well through the injuries because I have some "quest" to "prove you wrong" or whatever. It just wasn't relevant to the comment about their primary problem being injuries. Everyone like to point to how many injuries they've had and a lot of people like to say that they'd be in first place if it weren't for those injuries... but that's just not the case.
