11-16. That's where they stand. They have 24 games left this month including series against the Sox and the A's. They are 7-10 in the "House That Ruth Built". Give them a massive turnaround and, say, they win 16 of their next 24. That only puts them 3 games above .500 by the end of May AND their pitching staff is in shambles...They are scoring their runs, but they have (behind Tampa Bay) the worst pitching in baseball. Randy Johnson is not the RJ from National League Year's Past, Kevin Brown is flat-out awful, Wright is out with a shoulder injury and was far from impressive with his 9.15 ERA, Mussina at 2-2 with a 4.5 ERA is starting to, perhaps, show his age. They are in to the AA and AAA leagues looking for guys who can get outs.
It's great to look at those facts about the Yankees and feel good.
But...the Sox aren't exactly lighting it up this year. With injuries to Schilling and Wells you could say, "Wait until they come back." However, they are leaving too many men on base and their bullpen has not looked good.
The good news? The Sox have 3 starters with ERAs of 4 or under. You have to guess that Schilling will eventually come back and pitch well. Miller (a previous ace) is more than likely pitching Sunday after two good rehab outings. You have to guess that Ramirez will end up around .300+ for batting average which only means he will get better.
But these are mere projections...You could say Brown will turn it around for the Yankees. That Jaret Wright will come back lights out from his injury. That Mussina will become effective again.
You could say all these things...But right now the facts are that Baltimore and Toronto look very good. Halladay is back for the Jays and their lineup is scoring some runs. If Baltimore lands a legitimate ace in a trade, they could be the team to chase.
Again, more projections...But isn't this what makes baseball so much fun?
Yeah, it's weird -- I normally try not to pay attention to the Yanks except when they're playing the Sox. Soc usually have their own troubles to deal with, and as you point out, this year is not exception.
ReplyDeleteI feel the Sox have reached their midseason doldrums 1 1/2 months early, but that's it. Not much to say except "they'll get it together". Sort of boring -- meanwhile, the Yanks are like a horrific car accident -- impossible to look away even though we should.
While we are at it...What is the deal with moving Womack to LF and Matsui to CF so they can bring up a prospect?
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I can think of is that they are trying to showcase this 2B as trade bait for some pitching...
The more they lose the more I think that Clemens will be a Yankee one more time...
Tonight they have a guy named Henn pitching? Why?
In the meantime would a Baltimore/Toronto split be good?
Random thoughts:
ReplyDelete"Give them a massive turnaround and, say, they win 16 of their next 24." Based on what we've seen to date, that does not appear likely.
They are an enigma and I also try to look away from them especially when we have problems of our own to deal with (another peave of the O'Nan guy in faithful) - but I guess a lot of Sox fans are like that.
The Yanks are scoring their share of runs - 4th in baseball with 135 (shocking that SF is 5th, 1st in NL even without BB and Alou). And I know it is monkeying in a small sample size, but that is 5 runs per game and if you take out their 19-8 and A-Rod's big night, they are down to 4.2 runs per game or better than only KC, Oak and Cleve.
"You could say Brown will turn it around for the Yankees." I also could say that Ben affleck will win an academy award in his next movie, but just b/c I say it has no bearing on actual events or reality.
Yes, Clemens to NY rumors are only more and more likely to heat up, but I can't see that realistically happening until at least the end of June. The 'Stros have struggled, but they are only an 8-2 stretch away from respectability and suere they have hitting woes, but with Clemens, OSwalt, Pettite and Lidge - its possible.
The Cano move by the Yanks is intriguing. Bernie has truly sucked and after the Sacrifice fly that his throw had to be cut off on (it was awful, even Damon would have thrown the guy out), they had to do something. apparently Cano lit it up in the spring. It could be tough to showcase him in the MLB with the pressures of the pinstripes.
Oh well, the Sox need to get some momentum going and all the rest of this stuff will take care of itself.