Basically, it's like a best-of-5 series with the Yankees already up a game. I'm not gonna get jack done today, I can already tell.
I get to miss tonights game while im driving south, and possibly tomorrows game while im helping my dad celebrate his b-day. dammit. GO SAWX
I have a friend's birthday party to attend tonight so I won't be able to catch the game as well. Too bad. I thought that the Yankees being on the road would help contribute to their demise. Unfortunately that isn't the case and will be decided in this series. Of course this will make for some damn entertaining baseball. Go Sawwwx.
DAMMIT the Yankees biggest regular season series since I was three... and I gotta miss two of the games because of a class I'm taking this weekend... And then Sunday I'm going out of town to celebrate my brother's birthday, but he's a Met fan so he could care less.
well we're in this together, at least in one sense. Do you have the same ungodly sense of dread i have? (just trying to get a MFY fans perspective.)
As the early innings progress, I'm at peace that the Yankees are going to do it this weekend. As someone who has posted more than once that they wouldn't make the playoffs this season, and who ripped a second and third one in Joe Torre, I feel confident they're going to take this series and knock Boston out. This morning, on one of the all-news radio stations here, the sports broadcaster was stupidly playing the calls on the Bucky Dent and Aaron Boone homers. Sorry, but that stuff is ancient, irrelevant history now. Last year's disgrace put all of that to rest. The thing for the Yankees to do is move on and make last season a one-shot deal--like they did with the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1950s. Okay, the Dodgers finally beat the Yanks in '55 after years of frustration. In 1956, the Yankees set things right again and continued on their way. One Dodger victory surrounded by multiple Yankee championships. Start a new string of championships this weekend and don't look back.
The yanks have not been the same since 2000, no more dependable starters, no bullpen depth, and a bunch of hitters who freeze up in postseason play(no more aura). With no O'Neil, Tino, and an in his prime bernie(not to mention a clutch hitter like Brosius) to carry jeter, it doesn't matter if the Sox win again or not, the Yanks are not a championship team and are not getting younger. 1 down 2 to go.....
The youth aspect is something they can attempt to rectify this off-season if Steinbrenner, Cashman, and the rest of the organization use their heads. Cano and Wang have helped show the way.
I think you're getting ahead of yourself a bit there, 11best. I honestly think the Yanks are the best team in baseball right now. Don't get too carried away with the fact that we just knocked around their #4 (or maybe 5?) starter. Unit is the best starter going at the moment. And Chacon and Small are solid support. Who knows what Mussina will bring, but he's a class pro who I expect to shine. Then they've got the nasty Gordon-Rivera combo that will lock up any game. Add that to the 2nd best lineup in baseball, and you end up with only one weakness: middle relief. It's no coincidence that they have been hotter than anyone over the last few months. FWIW, I think people are overrating the Angels. I'd put the Yankees 1, then Cleveland 2 in the AL as far as World Series favorites. All that said, here's to hoping that Unit reverts to his early season form tomorrow.
one weakness? Are you serious? best team in baseball? What a laugh. Plyoff rotation: Johnson, Small, Mussina, Chacon....that is not a dependable playoff rotation.....1, ONE pitcher has beena dependable postseason pitcher, and he is past his best. Are you seriously stating that you would have confidence in the payoffs with those pitchers? St Louis is clearly the best team in baseball, hitting and great pitching. How long has it been since the Yankees won a big game?
You cannot win in the postseason unless you have a damn good rotation(excluding a team with insane hitting and maybe the best bullpen I have ever seen, 2002 Angels). i wouldnt favor the Yankess against the Whitesox and their rotation either. How can the Angels be overrated? No one talks about them, they have a 20 game winner, plus 2 pitchers(Lackey and Washburn+ Escobar coming on strong) having better seasons than any pitche ron either of our teams, and they can hit. Oh yeah forgot about their lights out pen.
This is good stuff. Best of 3 now, two at Fenway, 1 at Yankee Stadium. I really doubt the big unit will lose tomorrow. It will come down to the battered and injured pitchers, Schilling and Mussina.
Since their 11-19 start, they do have the best record in baseball. And they're on fire over the last month or so. The Angels don't have the bats to go with their pitching, and their pitching ain't that great to begin with, aside from the pen. Chacon is no mirage, btw. He's a former top prospect who got screwed up in Coors like many great arms. 78 innings as a starter in the AL with a 2.76 ERA is no joke. Small is right there with him. I'll believe in St. Louis when I see their pitchers actually shut down an offense the caliber of the Sox, Yankees, or Indians. Missng Rolen is a big hole in that lineup, too, not to mention on D.
What exactly makes their D worst than the Yanks. And Mulder, carpenter, Morris, and Marquis are much, much, much better than any AL rotation. Rolen will be missed, but they still have Pujols, Edmonds, Walker, sanders, and a solid leadoff man. Trying to pick holes in this team is a joke. Chacon is no mirage? His ERA over the last 3 seasons on the road is worst than that of his at home(and over 5) so I dont think it matters where he pitches. 78 innings/ that is nowhere close to proving yourself over a full season, and the postseason is not the regular season. the Angels pitching isnt great? Compared to whos? Every starter in their rotations has an ERA of under 4, so I think you better check your facts.
The Indians lose! Now we might even be able to get away with losing the next two games, though I certainly hope it doesn't work out that way! One victory and we have at least a 75% chance of making the playoffs. I've been pretty harsh on Theo this year, but the Wells signing is looking really good. Despite all the fat jokes, Wells is one of the most durable pitchers in MLB history. Speaking of durable, I'm not looking forward to facing Randy Johnson.
Oh man I go so drunk last night after Red Sox game. Quite happy we got the win. But I don't remember too much about it. Things are still in a blur right now. But a win is a win. And Wells was great (I think I remember up to 8th inning and then the last out for some reason)
Cleveland's loss means the Sox will at least get a playoff game on Monday. Either in NY or at home v. the Indians, if we lose tomorrow and they win. Actually, no. Now there can be no playoff game in NY, right? If we win tomorrow, the Indians are out.
At least the Yankees can't knock us out. The only "good news" is that if we make the playoffs we face the White Sox. I'd rather face them than the Angels.
I was just thinking about how bizarre a spectacle it would be if we win tomorrow. One day the Yankees run on the field after clinching the playoffs and the next day the Red Sox do it. Strange. Torre says he'll bench a lot of his starters. I'm sure we at least won't have to face Giambi or Rivera.