If CC is dominant here tonight I think we win this series. If he plays like the CC in Milwakee during the playoffs then this is a whole new series.
I think he just regrets that he was caught. :wink: The CC of Cleveland or Milwaukee. But since he's gone out and pitched well twice, I think he's over his postseason struggles.
Do you also think we're in good shape if we score more runs than the Angels, and that the job of the pitchers is to keep the Angels from scoring runs? :smile:
I think you misunderstood. I wouldn't have brought in Bruney there necessarily. Just by having Bruney it would have completely changed the order in which guys appeared. (Chances are, Robertson comes in earlier.) He pitched in three innings yesterday. I don't recall him doing that all year. If you can keep him out of action tonight, you do that, given that you never know how many AJ is going to require of the pen. If you can stretch CC through all of 7, then you can have Joba do the 8th and Mo the 9th. I wouldn't say Hughes is unavailable, if needed. We do have the off-day to fall back on. I'd just rather not overwork him if it can be avoided. Fair enough. I hadn't even considered that. I'm not a Pinella fan. Your opinion is definitely not an unpopular one though. He'd be welcomed with open arms by a large chunk of the fanbase. I have always looked at Pinella like I do Girardi. Girardi is a cheap Torre knockoff, and Pinella is a cheap Billy Martin knockoff.
Eh. Not sure I buy that, given that Bruney would likely be the low man on the totem pole if he's in the pen. But even if that were the case, I don't see how that would have improved the situation. Aceves came in because Girardi liked the matchup. Robertson going in earlier doesn't mean anything -- he didn't give up any of the runs. The bullpen outside of Joba and Aceves did a great job, and I don't see any of those moves being made differently because Bruney is now an option. Girardi still would've liked the matchup with Aceves regardless of which other fastball pitcher was in there, and I don't think anyone bumps Joba out of that spot. How do you figure that one? And are people really calling for Girardi's head? While they still have a one-game lead in the ALCS?
Obviously it's Joba-Hughes-Mo right now. It's after Mo that I think Bruney would have changed the approach. Then again, Coke replaced Marte, (in between Joba-Hughes,) just like Aceves replaced Robertson, so maybe Girardi just micromanages it away anyway. As for calling for Girardi's head, I've been doing it various points all year. I've said the micromanagement would catch up to him, and it did. At the worst time. He overmanages, just like Torre. He may do it more with his pie charts than Torre with his "feelings" but overmanaging is overmanaging.
And for all the bitching about Girardi (which he deserves), he did stumble into one benefit. (Or maybe he planned it, who knows?) The Yanks bullpen is in much better shape than the Sox pen today. Pretty much everyone should be available today. No one threw more than 19 pitches (Hughes). And CC is usually good for at least six innings. Safe bet that Scoscia likely doesn't have two of his top relievers (Oliver threw 28 pitches, Jepsen threw 31) with a guy who's typically a five-inning pitcher on the mound.
Well, apart from the fact that we're not playing the Sox, I didn't realize that regarding our pitchers. I wasn't following pitch counts, and thought Hughes must have thrown more than that, given his appearance in multiple innings. I doubt he planned it, as you said, but that's not bad to stumble into. I really think it's important that we get to Kazmir early anyway. Get runners on, take a few pitches. Make him work. Get to the pen early and beat it senseless on their field. It's time to go for the kill.
I still hate the off day tomorrow. It just helps stretch out the postseason unnecessarily. Off days should be reserved for travel. I agree with Jim Caple.
I view today's game as a must win imo, being up 3-1 will completely dash their hopes and we only need to win 1 in the stadium to finish the job if we don't finish it in LA Being tied 2-2 is a completely different animal
I like the off-day. This is the playoffs. MLB knows managers are going to push their available pitching to the limit, so the days off allow guys to perform at playoff levels. Look at this series. Both clubs will undoubtedly use every available pitcher (with the exception of Gaudin who seems to just be occupying a roster spot) tonight. They both used up a lot yesterday. With no rest, game 5 would be a slugfest.
Agreed. If the Yankees lose they still have homefield advantage and a much more well rested bullpen (thanks, ironically, to Joe Girardi's micromanagement.) Plus, the Yankees just plain have a more talented roster--there's a reason that they secured the best record in baseball comfortably. That's obviously not to say that LAAAAAAAAA can't win this series: just that up 2-1 with their ace on the mound, the Yankees are still in the driver's seat.
oops..it don't take much. You can lose the press in a heartbeat. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/tom_verducci/10/20/five.cuts/index.html?xid=CBSsports
Even though he is finally shutting people up about his playoff struggles, A-Rod continues to give people awesome material for making fun of him.
