And then came the Yankees:
Can't really disagree with Stark here, this one is fair. The Angels, Tigers, Rockies, Dodgers and Twins round out the list. What do you think?This team might have been our toughest call. We polled folks who rated them as the very best rotation out there. We also polled folks who ranked them as the fifth-best rotation out there. But we think, in truth, they're somewhere in between.
"I like the Yankees because of depth," said one executive. "Someone in that foursome could very well disappoint, but anyone in that foursome has a decent chance of pitching a dominant game."
True. And that starts with Sabathia, whose 8.53 ERA over the past two postseasons is a stat most people in the game don't take real seriously. "The last two years, he was worn completely down by the time he got there [by the Indians in '07 and the Brewers in '08]," said one NL executive. "That's not who he is."
But after CC, roll those dice. It's amazing how little faith Burnett (2-5 since Aug. 1) inspires for a guy with spectacular stuff. ("I'd be very surprised," said one scout, "if Burnett comes up big.") The Yankees think Pettitte's shoulder is OK, but who knows? And then there's Joba, who has the Yankees so exasperated that they've told him he'll have to outpitch Gaudin down the stretch if he even wants to get a postseason start.
So this is a very iffy group -- but one with gigantic win-the-World-Series upside.
52 Comments:
Players rise to the occassion in the playoffs unless your named kevin brown or the yankee version of randy johnson or yankee version of jose contreras. I have faith in AJ.
I hope you're right.
How are the sox ranked 1?
Because
Beckett, Lester, Dice-K, and Bucholz are pretty damn good
It's ESPN, who else would be ranked no. 1?
haha, i guess there's that too
if the Red Sox converted to hockey, who do you think the #1 rated NHL team would be???
Yankee fans should appreciate why the Sox are Ranked #1. They have guys who have got it done before and the Yankees have guys who have either a) Failed miserably (CC, Joba), b) Have no track record at all but have to scare the heck out of Yank fans in a big moment (Burnett), c) Memories of being any good past mid Sept are so far in the past it's Pettitte).
I would take the Phillies over Boston. Besides Lester and Beckett who has been good for them? Wakefield has been good up until he found the DL and what has Dice K done this year? All of Buchholz's wins are against the o's Tampa bay and Toronto. That doesn't say too much.
ummmm, Joba's pitch 2 postseason games- as a 22 yr old. CC- as was said- was ridiculously overworked, and although i agree about Burnett, you have to see that CC, Pettitte, and Gaudin being 5 innings 4 runs (not CC- the latter 2) are good enough for this offense, unless of course, they face yankee destroyer Jon Lester
Buchholz hasn't pitched in October yet, Matsuzaka had an ERA in the mid-4's last October. Jon Lester went 0-2 in last year's ALCS. And Josh Beckett was an embarrassment in the playoff last year: 7.20 ERA in the DS and a 9.64 in the CS.
Just saying.
if this was facebook, Greg, that would have a SUPERLIKE under it from me
The cardinals by far have the best pitching staff this year.
IF CC was burned out in 2007 and 2008 then why isn't he burned out in 2009? His sitting here with 220 IP with 2 starts left. He'll be just 10-15 IP fewer than he was in '07 when he's done and 20, or so fewer than last year, when he got to coast against NL lineups the second half of the season.
Sabathia's problems are that he is bad in the cold (he's not a good April pitcher, either) and he over-throws in big games, thus getting wild. Good lineups kill him when he can't throw strikes.
Fine, put Joba into category 2, if it makes you feel better. He is a lot like BUrnett, in that he's soft in the head and not someone I'd want on the mound when it matters.
BTW, nobody mentions how bad Jeter and Texiera have been in the postseason this decade... Arod, we all know about. Yanks are the favorites, but a total implosion is not at all unlikely, given how many key guys have just not got it done in big spots.
TWEET, TWEET: fresh off twitter.
Josh Beckett and Kevin Youkillis admitted their gay love for each other and were repeatedly beaten, in turn, by each man on the 40 man roster, including rookies. They will both be out with injuries til November, and will be shunned from the Red Sox, for protection, until January of 2011.
from
@MLB- Twitter
:)
Come on Greg. YOu know better than that. BEckett was hurt last OCt and barely able to move. He's one of the best Oct pitchers in MLB history. Lester was 0-2, but he lost one game, what was it, 1-0? You left out Beckett, Lester and Dice-K's 2007, I noticed.
hey, Eric guess what? No one cares. (CC's innings in 07 and 08 came mid-august --- sept... his innings in 09 are even from may --- aug)
SORRY
Eric, maybe this is why nobody talks about how "bad" Tex has been in the playoffs:
He's only played four games and hit a pathetic .467 against Boston. How terrible.
DICE-K WAS INJURED!!! hes pitched against crap so far.... puhleeeeezzzz.
I didn't leave out anything, I was talking about last year, because that's the most recent history. This is a what have you done for me lately league, you know.
I'm not saying the Yankees are better, but I am saying that Boston gets an honorary no. 1 from ESPN every chance they get.
John Kruk, Peter Gammons, and Baseball Tonight (except Olney) always have their lips on the Red Sox @$$. I bet the Sawx pay 'em.
Joe, my point is not that CC was burned out. He wasn't. He was awesome down the stretch in 07 and 08. The problem is he is just bad in Oct. Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's the pressure. But facts are facts.
Greg, my bad on Tex.
I'm sorry, but even superman would be burned out if he pitched 3 CGs in a row on 3 days rest (a week b4 the playoffs)
It's so funny to see Yankee fans acting like Boston fans from before 2004. You are all terrified and it's a riot. You know that if you don't win the WS, then everyone will laugh at you. If you do, it's because you went out an bought all that talent. Bummer to be you. Maybe Jack Clark is available next year:)
Maybe a stapler is available to us, cause i'd like to staple your mouth shut right now. ESPN <3 BOS... the yankees will be the Red Sox in the ALCS because they are better. 6-1 in the last 7 games, + a division title after a series win starting tomro.
Joe, let's assume that explains CC in '08. How do you explain what he did in '07? Or his 5+ ERA in April? Seems to me the most logical assumption is he has trouble in the Cold. Better hope for a heat wave through Oct!:)
So ESPN is calling the AL for the Yanks? I thought they were in the bag for the Sox?
eric,
would you consider 5 innings and 3 runs a good start, and your team wins? just answer
????
Joe, Against a grinding lineup like the Yankees or Sox, maybe. It depends on the situation, is the short answer. A lot is forgiven when you win. That's a 5+ ERA, so obviosly it's not a good long-term result and you are setting your team back for the rest of the series.
uhmmm well- this was a start made by a certain pitcher against the New York Yankees. I'd consider that good. Now this pitcher, he will be pitching against the Tigers. Against that lineup, in a what's going to look like, humid New York--- will turn in to a 6-8 inning start, 2-4 runs. And with the Yankees lineup.. that will be plenty enough. I don't know if you live in NY, but it doesn't seem like it's cooling down at all, and that pitcher:
CC Sabathia.
If you make 30 starts, go 5 innings and give up 3 runs you will end the season with 150 IP and a 5.whatever ERA. In other words, you'd have Brian Tallet. I hope you expect more from CC than that!
I like how sox fans don't seem to think they bought their team. I also like how they are so preoccupied with the Yanks that they talk about the Yanks more than their own team. They are just pathetic whiners just like their dads and their grandfathers before them.
So you are expecting it to remain in the 70s through Oct! Now that's something to bank your $250 million payroll on, Mr. Steinbrenner. Too funny. Joe, this is an unusually hot spell for mid-late Sept. To expect it to continue through October is just nutty.
Sox spend 1/3 of the amount of money on free agents as the Yanks do. You can look it up
their payroll is 80 mil less, basically AJ Burnett.
and + im expecting to go to at least Oct 15-17, not more, but by then CC will have his groove on
Sabathia regular Season pitches thrown by year:
2007: 3581 (6th in MLB)
2008: 3814 (1st in MLB)
2009: 3408 -- 3608, proj. (2nd in MLB)
If this is your case for a guy who was burned out in 07 and 08 but rested in 09, I don't get it. Again, I don't think he was burned out in the past, but if he was then, he is now.
AJ and Burnett make $80 million? You are mixing apples and oranges. Sox are $80 million less, which is the difference between CC, Burnett, Arod and Tiexiera (with some money left over for a hot dog) -- all guys Boston could not afford.
IM SAYING that most of his innings the past two years came in the last two months, which they did. 08- he threw 90 innings Aug + Sept. 07- He threw 85 inn Aug + Sept. He's not being pushed like that now
+ its not completely stress free now, but its not like- if i dont win, we don't have a shot at the playoffs now
oops, I meant to say that BUrnett makes $80 million over his contract, not per year. Yanks spend 50 percent more on payroll than boston does, and way more than that on guys they signed as free agents. JD Drew is the highest paid Red Sock, if you want to get an idea. I think there are 7 or 8 guys on NYY who make more than him.
Sabathia pitched 80 innings in Aug/Sept of 07. 90 innings in Aug/Sept of 08 (a ton!). He's pitched 72 innings so far in Aug/Sept of 09. He'll be somewhere between his 07 and 08 end-of-season workload this year. Again, you are hanging your hopes on something that just isn't there. His 09 is looking an awful lot like his 07
Joe, I thnk you have this perception that Cle squeeked into the playoffs in 07 on the back of a superhuman Sept from Sabathia. It's just not the case. Cle won the AL Central that year by 8.5 games with a MLB-best 97 wins. He was off for 8 days between his second to last and last start of the year, then off for 6 days before his first playoff start. He was more than fully rested for the post-season. Again, very very similar years for him. Reality is always a problem when it kills the myth.
He got to the playoffs and faced the Yanks and Sox and couldn't throw strikes. Maybe he was *too* rested?:)
your hanging on the hopes that the red sox are good, sorry to break it to you---- Yanks/Sox in the ALCS---- yanks win
yeah, maybe he was too rested--- that could very well be the case
Seriously, that was the spin at the time. Go Google Sabathia "too much rest 2007. There was criticism that he wasn't used enough down the stretch.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/baseball/mlb/specials/playoffs/2007/10/12/indians.sabathia.ap/
Now it's been spun by the NY buttboys that he was "overworked" and that's why he sucked in 07 and 08. Sorry, it's just not true. He's got a TON to prove this Oct and if he fails it will be brutal. I can't wait. Just hope the Yanks get by DET so we can see them in the ALCS.
I don't know about other Yankees fans, but I'm far from terrified.
Like I said, typical pathetic red sox fan is so worried about the Yanks that he constantly has to think about them.
This is likely a result of anger brought on by relatives dying without ever seeing a championship.
ill be terrified if boston is rated nicest city in the US
You guys seem disappointed that I'm not responding to the attempts to bait. I guess we've settled the issue of whose rotation is better, eh?
Eric, I'm not saying the Yanks have a better rotation, in fact I don't think they do. Joba is the wild card. If he can pitch like he's capable of I'd say the rotations are about even. But my main complaint is that I don't think the Sox have the best rotation going into the playoffs, especially because they're in the AL. In fact, no AL team does. I'd give the nod to Philly or the Cards because their rotations should have no trouble getting through the NLDS, then I think the Cards will knock off the Phils because Lidge is a disaster.
Greg, the difference between leagues is only relevant when the leagues are playing each other. The fact that the NL is weaker than the AL is an argument for the AL rotations, not the NL ones.
I'm surprised you haven't picked this up yet, but there was a report today somewhere that the Yanks were going to opt for teh schedule that would mean they would be able to use a 3-man rotation. Apparently they don't want to see Jobba starting a game, if they can help it. Can't say I blame them.
This means the Sox/Angels series will feature Dice K versus whatever Dregs the Angels have as their 4th now.
I disagree. And as for Joba I know that, when I talk about him pitching I mean in the ALCS.
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