The MLB pennant race thread

[MrRain422]

I was going to get into that, but I figured you'd take care of it.

[Sir Stewart]

Do we have to do the whole "Arod doesn't suck, even in the postseason with the exception of 2 15 at bat samples"? Because I'm getting too old for that.

How do you feel about "clutch" hitting?

[bobbob1313]

How do you feel about "clutch" hitting?

 

It's totalii real.

[cryptique]

If the Yankees pitching is so terrible why are they 4 games up in the WC? Why are they only 5-1/2 behind the Sox? Why have they been able to take 8 of the last 11 from the Sox this year?

They're 8th in the AL in team ERA. The Red Sox are first, the Indians are 3rd, and the Angels are 4th.

 

If anything, the offense has been more of a problem.

What?!!? They have the # 1 offense in the AL, by several measures -- runs per game, total runs, team batting average, total home runs, team on-base percentage, team slugging percentage, adjusted OPS, and runs per game at home (and they're second in runs per game on the road).

 

That's why they're four games up in the wildcard, 5

[boywiththorninside]

They're 8th in the AL in team ERA. The Red Sox are first, the Indians are 3rd, and the Angels are 4th.

What?!!? They have the # 1 offense in the AL, by several measures -- runs per game, total runs, team batting average, total home runs, team on-base percentage, team slugging percentage, adjusted OPS, and runs per game at home (and they're second in runs per game on the road).

 

That's why they're four games up in the wildcard, 5

[caliber66]

Do we have to do the whole "Arod doesn't suck, even in the postseason with the exception of 2 15 at bat samples"? Because I'm getting too old for that.

Murtaugh?

[Stefanie]

the yankees pitching has been dismal at times but so has the offense. it has taken some time for the pitching and the hitting to line up on the same page. it seems to be there now, even with clemens and moose a little banged up. pettitte may be overpaid, but in the scheme of things, when you look at what team he plays for and how clutch he has been for them recently, i don't think he's that overpaid. pettitte and wang have been the most reliable pitchers for the yankees.

 

wang has been highly underrated by baseball media this year. everyone talks about beckett like he's some wonderboy but wang has just as many wins. beckett's ERA might be slightly lower but not enough to really make a difference. another underrated player on the yankees in posada. i mean, people talk about him every now and then but not much. the focus is always on a-rod which is understandable but jorge is having the best offensive season of his career. hopefully the yankees suck it up and do what they have to do to keep him around for 2-3 more years.

[PigSooie]

Julio Lugo is D-hing tonight?

 

Jeebus.

[Lammycat]

Julio Lugo is D-hing tonight?

 

Jeebus.

Manny and Ortiz (knees again...) out and a lefty on the mound. Better than the alternatives, I suppose.

[bobbob1313]

By the way, is there a bigger candidate for steroid user of the year than Posada?

[Spawn's dad]

[Duck-Billed Catechist]

Re: atchingway amesgay nlineoay

http://www.myp2p.eu/MLB.htm

[Stefanie]

By the way, is there a bigger candidate for steroid user of the year than Posada?

 

seriously, can there be ONE baseball thread here that doesn't talk about steroids? good god.

[boywiththorninside]

By the way, is there a bigger candidate for steroid user of the year than Posada?

 

Carlos Pena - Tampa Bay.

 

What's the suspicion with Posada? Only his average is up. HR's and RBI's are pretty steady with the rest of his career. He's had two good years after a slight decline. However, these past two years are also the first time his son has been healthy. According to the Yankees radio team, this has helped him mentally. Is it true? I got no idea.

 

Also, there's been no physical change with Posada. He looks as unathletic and chubby as ever.

 

Are we supposed to be talking 'roids? It's part of the game now, I guess. Regrettable, but unavoidable.

[Stefanie]

yeah, jorge isn't really hitting with any more power than past seasons, he's just getting better hits. his son is healthy, he's even more patient at the plate, and this is his contract year so he really has something to prove. i think those things are contributing to his great season, not steroids.

[MrRain422]

I know we're talking about baseball, the sport where numbers rule but I stand by what I wrote.

 

I've watched so many Yankees games this year and it's been their, at times, lethargic offense that has driven me crazy. I can't emphasize how much A-Rod has carried these guys offensively. Honestly, until July, only A-Rod, Jeter and Posada did anything at all. So although the cumulative numbers might be impressive, if you watched every game - I'm assuming you didn't - you would see the offense, as a whole, struggled for long stretches this year.

 

So the Yankees team ERA is 8th in the AL. Where does that put them? Right in the middle of the league. The numbers would say they have average pitching. Not terrible, as seems to be the general consensus. Also, the present ERA is not wholly representative of the Yankees current arms. Kennedy and Chamberlain both recently came up, and Hughes and Clemens haven't even pitched half a season. There are a lot of guys now in AAA who contributed to the Yankees team ERA. If the Yankees make the post-season, all of the guys I previously mentioned (Joba, Kennedy, Hughes, Rocket) are going to be factors in a manner that they haven't been in the regular season. Said another way, if the Yankees had these guys all year (and not the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre guys), the team ERA would be improved. Personally, I tend to think this is why the Yankees have taken 8 of the last 11 from the Sox. The Yankees pitching of the past few months is vastly better than it was in the earliest part of the season. Since June 1, the Yankees are 5 - 1 against Boston. Better pitching, I say.

 

Bottom line for me: please stop telling me how bad the Yankees pitching is. If you've consistently watched the team this year, you'd see this is not the case - and certainly not the case today. Let me get all Lloyd Bentsen for a moment: I watched the Yankees in the 1980's. I knew terrible pitching. The 2007 Yankees do not have terrible pitching.

 

The numbers are a record of what has happened on the field. They are the best way to measure what has happened on the field, plain and simple. Dismissing them makes no sense at all.

 

The Yankees pitching has been inconsistent this year. It's their offense that has put them in playoff position. Sure, their pitching could settle down and make them a force down the stretch, but if they had identical pitching but with the offense of the Royals, they'd be near the bottom of the division. In fact, the Royals team ERA is almost identical. So what's the difference in their records? The fact that the Yankees have scored a whole lot more runs than any other team in baseball.

[cryptique]

By the way, is there a bigger candidate for steroid user of the year than Posada?

Dammit, Chris, I'm serious. I'm closing this fucking thread if there's any more talk of the S-word. Keep that shit in the other thread.

[Duck-Billed Catechist]

[bobbob1313]

Carlos Pena - Tampa Bay.

 

What's the suspicion with Posada? Only his average is up. HR's and RBI's are pretty steady with the rest of his career. He's had two good years after a slight decline. However, these past two years are also the first time his son has been healthy. According to the Yankees radio team, this has helped him mentally. Is it true? I got no idea.

 

Also, there's been no physical change with Posada. He looks as unathletic and chubby as ever.

 

Are we supposed to be talking 'roids? It's part of the game now, I guess. Regrettable, but unavoidable.

 

SHHH NEVER MENTIONED ******** AGAIN!!11

 

35 year old catchers generally don't see career highs across the board.

[bjorn_skurj]

How old was Johnny Bench when he crapped out? (Ans: 35 or so.) Unless you're Carlton Fisk, you don't go much further than that as a backstop, do you?

[bobbob1313]

How old was Johnny Bench when he crapped out? (Ans: 35 or so.) Unless you're Carlton Fisk, you don't go much further than that as a backstop, do you?

 

Thats my point.

[boywiththorninside]

The numbers are a record of what has happened on the field. They are the best way to measure what has happened on the field, plain and simple. Dismissing them makes no sense at all.

 

What if the numbers are partially based on the performance of players no longer on the team? The Yankees pitching staff, as presently constituted, is not the pitching staff that has compiled their team numbers. Matt DeSalvo, Tyler Clippard, Darrell Rasner, Kei Igawa, Sean Henn, Jeff Kartsens, and Mike Mussina each put a nice dent in the Yankees team ERA. The thing is, except for Mussina, you aren't going to see these guys the rest of the way. You are going to see quality young guys like Chamberlain, Hughes, Kennedy, Ramirez and solid old guys like Clemens, Pettite and Wang (not that old, I know). Anyway, I'd like to see the numbers if the present staff and relief core got to pitch the whole year together. I bet they would be pretty good and definitely more representative of the team that the Yankees will bring into October (assuming they are lucky enough to make it).

 

Numbers.

 

The numbers say the Yankees were the best team in baseball in the 1980's. They compiled the most wins of any team for that decade. I watched those teams. Those teams stunk and never won a ring. I don't dismiss numbers, but I don't see them as the end all either. Yes, the numbers would indicate the Yankees pitching has been inconsistent. However, again, the numbers do not show who compiled those figures. Fortunately for the Yankees, many of the guys who compiled their numbers are now enjoying their off-season.

 

If the Yankees pitching has been inconsistent, it isn't right now. The arms have become pretty well settled. That's the gist of it for me.

[bjorn_skurj]

Yeah, but Pettitte seems to me to be pitching a bit over his head of late. And then there's the fact that the Yankees had a pretty soft schedule of late. Anybody's pitching looks great when it's up against the Royals. Though to give credit where it's due, that sweep of Boston was impressive. The Yanks have some great players and I'm not at all surprised they recovered from their early funk. But I don't really see anything fundamentally different from the 2006 model, which lost in the first round. We shall see. Cleveland can't be counted out, either. This will be an AL playoffs for the ages.

[boywiththorninside]

The Yankees also swept Cleveland in mid-August, and split 8 games with a solid Detroit team about the same time. Took 2 of 3 from Seattle last week. They've played some good teams.

 

I'm not predicting or guaranteeing anything. I'm simply not ready to concede the ALCS to Boston and LA. Anything can happen. Hell, Detroit could catch the Yankees, take the Wild Card and go on to win the whole thing. Like you say, we'll see. It will be fun.

 

NL, not so much fun. I can't see anyone beating the Mets.

[bjorn_skurj]

There, we disagree. The one thing the Mets sorely need is a big fat giant power pitcher. But if Pedro stays healthy, and Glavine, Perez and the bullpen don't suck, los Mets should be fine.