It was only three weeks ago, but so much has happened since the Yankees sent the Red Sox away with tails between legs:
- The Sox gained a half-game in the standings and cut their magic number in half.
- Clay Buchholz pitched a no-hitter.
- Mike Mussina crashed, burned and rose from the ashes.
- Jason Varitek gave lessons in how to be a captain.
- Rick Ankiel went from inspirational to embarrassment.
- Ian Kennedy and Jacoby Ellsbury blew up.
- Joba Chamberlain allowed a run.
So here we are again. Three games. It’s not quite do or die — the Red Sox, even if they are swept, benefit simply from shaving 20 percent of the remaining games from their schedule and still having a 2.5-game lead. But it will still be fun. I predict two wins from the Sox: A loss tonight, a win from Beckett in a duel and a shelling of Clemens and his elbow.
Consider this your afternoon thread as we count down toward the first pitch tonight.
You should name tommorrow’s gamer a Highlander-esque quote “There Can Be Only One!” or some such. With two of the leading Cy Young candidates.. and the two 18-game winners… goign at each other, its appropriate.
I hope the Sunday headline could then be something like “Beckett looked small next to Yankees’ Wang”. Titter-titter.
Limp Wang can’t perform in Boston.
:)
Wang goes linp in the face of Beckett
“Yanks Get Their Wang Up for Boston Series”
“Beckett Flaccid next to Wang”
“Sox Drubbed by Yanks’ Wang”
This could go on all day. Mother would be so proud…
Ortiz takes Wang Deep, Twice
The Red Sox pound the Wang in Boston last night…
Old Man Clemens and the Wang come up too short in Boston this weekend…
:)
ha.
Well, since we’re just piling on now:
Yankees’ new Wang harder than the old Johnson was, but Boston holds on and beats him.
Dear gods… my poor innocent eyes. I shouldn’t be reading this!
I have never been more ashamed to have this thread affiliated with my name. lol
Really? Not even in the Woot days? or Frankie?
Nosebleeds at Fenway tonight.
Ha! Ha! Penis jokes.
“Wang faces stiff resistance from Boston beaters”… I mean, batters.
Also: “Beckett duels Wang, comes up short”
I hate to “pull out” “prematurely” from the Wang-isms, (which I am very proud to say I started…yes, I said “proud” – shows how low I have fallen), but the following highlights from Joel Sherman’s article in the NY Post today titled “Rotation Debate No Longer Swings in Boston’s Favor” might re-orient us toward the series:
In 15 starts, Sox pitchers have one quality start vs. NY this season and that belongs to Schilling. ERAs of the top 4 Sox pitchers vs. NY this year:
Beckett: 1-1 with 5.49 ERA
Dice-K: 2-1 with 6.98 ERA
Schilling: 0-2 with 5.76 ERA
Wakefield: 0-3 with 10.93 ERA
Best Boston starter vs. Yanks has been Tavarez.
By comparison, Pettitte alone has 3 quality starts vs. Boston.
Wang, who had trouble with Boston previously has held them to 2 runs in 13.1 innings in his last two starts vs. them.
Of course, from there on out it is a crapshoot: will Clemens’s arm fall off and, if so, will it be Mussina/Hughes/Kennedy in any future (read ALCS) confrontation between the two teams.
In any event, this was not meant as a dig on SF’s, but the numbers were actually worse for Boston and better for NY pitching-wise then I realized.
Oh, and I have to admit that I find Lockland’s “Ortiz takes Wang Deep – Twice” the best, even though I don’t want to picture either of the two images it conjures up…
I knew about the quality start stat, and I knew how sh*t they’d been against the Yankees this year…but I still can’t muster much fear somehow. The weekend may prove me wrong, but I think those pitchers can beat the Yankees and luck is due to swing their way a little.
Perhaps. Bigger drama-drainer for me: does it really matter for this weekend anyway? It seems more relevant for a possible future ALCS, which no one is assured of reaching anyway of course.
Interesting stat I heard today; since the Yanks and Sox last met at Fenway on June 3rd, the Yankees are 7 games better than the Sox when you compare their respective records. Thank you Brian Cashman for going into April with Kei Igawa and Carl Pavano as key pieces of the rotation. Ass.
That said, I still would like Buchholz warming in pretty much the first inning of Matsuzaka’s (today’s) game.
[voiceover: this thread has been rated “M” for Matsui.]
What a rivalry weekend. Yanks-Sox; and my football team is playing the NE Cheaters. Here’s to Merriman doing the lights out dance on Brady’s corpse. GO BOLTS!!
Since I have plans to go out and watch the game, I wouldn’t mind if it was Matsuzaka warming up for Buchholz. I’m a little (okay, a lot) nervous for tonight’s matchup, but it’s the only game this weekend I can see on tv!
“NE Cheaters” “Here’s to Merriman”
What’s wrong with this juxtaposition?
“my football team is playing the NE Cheaters. Here’s to Merriman doing the lights out dance on Brady’s corpse. GO BOLTS!!”
Fill in the blank:
New England got caught ________ .
Shawn Merriman got caught ________ .
“Bigger drama-drainer for me: does it really matter for this weekend anyway?”
Kind of feel the same way Iron Horse. Looks like the AL East is wrapped up at this point. Let’s just make sure we stay healthy and out of beanball contests!
Darn you FSP!
if the sox had the decency to let those 2 games against the ray slip away the way god intended, this weekend would have been huge.
HUGE.
oh well. yankees vs. sox is still yankees vs. sox.
Again, we can throw all the stats right out the window, here.
How many starters have quality starts? Does it matter ever when these two teams play?
If Wang gets rocked in the second inning, is anyone surprised? Is anyone really surprised if Mo blows one? If Papelbon gives up a three run HR to A-Rod? Count me among the group that feels anything can and probably will happen.
It’s nice that they don’t play on paper.
Also, IH, they should be. Have you seen that NY lineup lately? It’s not that easy to get through unscathed. It’s just a good thing that both teams play 140 or so games against other teams.
In fact, i always thought that NY pitchers had a huge advantage in the ALEast becasue they didn’t have to face the Yankees offense, thus making it easier to keep that ERA down.
If you subtract the Red Sox and Yankees ERA’s from all the pitchers it’s a better guage of what’s going on. ha.
Also, as a huge Bronco fan, nothing makes me happier than to see Merrimaid and the whole lot of the cheaters getting caught. I hope they absolutely beat the snot out of each other. They each deserve it. Here’s to hoping Samuel puts an absolute full out hole stopper on LT for running his mouth like a girl all week, and Brady sees nothing but lightning bolts in his face on every play.
Boy it’s win-win for you huh Brad?
Absolutely.
Well, I’m not buying into the Charger hype anyhow, yet. I mean, it’s Norv Turner for God’s sake. I wouldn’t want him coaching a high school team. That division is anything but over.
AFC Championship game: Pittsburgh at Denver.
We’ll see on Sunday.
….but I’m biased.
Oh, I fully expect SD to run ALL OVER that NE defense, but the difference is: in Denver they don’t worry about the passing game, so the line can be stacked this year. With the addition of Dre Bly to Champ Baily’s backfield, not many QB’s are going to be too successful in Denver. New England, ehh, not so much.
I don’t expect any Joba-hangover beanings, but I don’t know the atmosphere in Boston around this. Other than heartily boo-ing Joba if/when he enters a game, does anyone expect anything ugly going-in? This isn’t Toronto after all, where they wait for 2 series and 2 months to pass before throwing behind a guy…twice. Right?
If there were odds on a Yankee getting hit, I would take them. Youk is such a big part of that clubhouse and that team. I don’t think they let this one slip by. Plus have the Sox EVER been shy about coming inside, regardless of a warning? I just hope the Yankees don’t get caught up in it. They are fighting for the Wild Card and need all the arms they can get, no suspensions please.
ih yf-
the last time roger pitched at fenway, they were dancing in the bullpen and pedro rolled zim across the infield.
i know that will have nothing to do with this series, but i get the feeling that people on both sides (or the umpires sometimes) are looking for an excuse to shout at each other or more.
i wouldn’t be surprised if there were some fireworks at some point.
Agreed Trisk. Though if the Sox start something up and retaliation seems called for, let it be Farnsworth. Throws hard and we can live without him for a few days (even though, to be fair, he has been very good lately).
(that was me.)
I disagree with you IH this time. I say you let it happen with NO retaliation. We cannot afford to miss anyone, for any period of time. The Tigers aren’t 7 games back, every game counts in the final 16. I would rather make the playoffs then hit Pedroia in the head. (I can’t believe I just said that, LOL)
I was being half-facetious – more dumping on Farnsworth than anythign else. And I would never want to see that guy throw at a head…scary. But I don’t at all mind that the Yankees have some brush-back attitude now with Clemens back and hard throwers like Joba and Farnsworth. I don’t like this junk at all, but I really don’t like watching Yanks take it again and again without dishing some out.
Agreed and I know you were being facetious. I just want to get in and get out this weekend. We need to focus on the WC and I am afraid a series like this could cause some disruption. They have never been a team that retaliates, I just hope they don’t start now.
Sorry, shouldn’t say never. Just not during my lifetime.
I’ve been reading this blog for a few weeks now and I have to say I think it’s great that Sox fans and Yankee fans can get together, talk a little smack and keep the rivalry alive. How cool is it that fans from Maine to California will be breaking out the gear tonight to get ready for the greatest rivalry in all of sports? Anyways, just wanted to say what a cool blog this is and in closing….LET’S GO YANKEES!!!
Krueg: we need more people like you…appreciative of this site (which I had nothing to do with setting up but enjoy thoroughly) and, most importantly, YANKEE FANS!
IH will your daughter being doing her Mariano impression tonight for luck?
Ha! Now that she can walk without holding my fingers it might even be more effective on video. Of course, it also means I can control where she goes about as much as Kei Igawa controls his fastball…which is to say not at all. But I appreciate the props – she is just 19 years away from breaking into the bigs as the first female closer and messages like yours will keep her motivated when the going gets tough…
God bless her! That’s awesome. My son is going to be 2 in October, so we are already working on developing that fastball. Soon as he wakes up from his nap he I will put on his Jeter jersey and get him ready for the game!
Sounds good – maybe they’ll go through the minors together!
Michael Kay interviewing Cashman right now on ESPN radio. I just don’t think much of Kay. I don’t hate him – I just feel like he has gotten a lot bigger than he deserves. He is just not that interesting or insightful.
He just asked Cahman if he cares who they’d get in the post-season – Cleveland or LA. Dumb question since you know what he’ll say. No he doesn’t care. And you also know he’s lying.
Cashman confirms Joba isn’t available tonight but is tomorrow.
Don’t be too scared, FSP! Matsuzaka’s not a crappy pitcher. If he can get breaking pitches over, he has a great arsenal, and his bad streak can end if he is not lying about his fatigue.
But I’m still scared.
PS For Matsuzaka, the parallel to Beckett’s first year is now direct. See trouble, use fastball. I hope the analogy from Beckett to Matsuzaka carries over to Matsuzaka’s second year…
Devine – I agree 100%, and it’s frustrating. It seems so obvious that there’s a parallel, and I don’t understand why Tek and the coaching staff aren’t able to apply the lessons they learned from 2006 Beckett to 2007 Matsuzaka.
I’m going to guess that the Poast article about pitchers didn’t mention that until the last series, Andy Pettitte was the ONLY New York pitcher with a quality start against Boston.
I agree with Brad. These games long ago stopped being pitchers’ duels, and they’ve shown time and again that stats mean nothing. Sometimes we get surprised and a tight, crisp game breaks out, but these all seem to wind up being four-hour slugfests
Re Japanese pitchers:
Kei Igawa v Sox 6.0 i 0.00 era 1 – 0
LoHud has a good post on the $103 million man today.
Uhh, Wang tossed sevon scoreless innings the last time they faced him. Clemens pitched 6 scoreless the next day. How are these not a quality starts?
And the series before that Wang gave up 3 runs in 5.2 so yeah, one out short of a quality start.
On the larger point: saying “anything can happen” does not mean stats are irrelevant and meaningless. The three Yankee starters that Boston will face have 5 quality starts in the past two series alone against Boston and Boston’s 3 starters have one all year on NY.
Does this mean the Yankees will win even a single game this weekend? No. But a pitcher feels confident or not based on past performance against a team and the recent past performance for NY starters against Boston is just better than I realized (and Boston’s top 3 worse than I realized against the Yankees). It makes me feel warm and fuzzy. But don’t worry SF’s. I am smart enough to know that once first pitch is thrown, all bets are out the window.
Sorry Paul – just saw that you qualified with “until the last series”, though that kind of is arbitrary. If anything, the most relevant is the most recent in terms of how the pitchers are doing.
Just heard manny is out. I thought he was due back tonight? Obliques suck – as I tried to explain to clownboy earlier in the week.
Oops…4 quality starts in last two series. 5 overall plus Wang’s near-miss. OK – no more serial posting – sorry.
Three straight balls to MCab, oy.
Oops, wrong thread.