jacksonianmarch

yep. The sox record against teams not named the Yankees= 42-33 (.560) The Yankees record against teams not from Boston= 49-26 (.653)

I think the yankee pen right now could hang with the sox pen. Not the case at the beginning of the yr. And the sox do get credit for doing it all season. But with Bruney back, Mariano being in lockdown, Hughes in the setup role and Aceves acting as Ramiro Mendoza incarnate, our pen has gotten a lot stronger. Though it will take a hit now that Aceves moves back into the rotation and we get to lean on Albaladejo and Robertson a little more.

I think Kilo showed you the basic concept of baseball math. But feel free to look like a fool anytime you like

right now, you are relying on him just as much as you are relying on any of your starting 5. Once every 5 days for the rest of the season. Now, if DiceK were 100% and throwing like he had in the past, then yes, Smoltz would be a luxury. But right now, you dont have the luxury of throwing every 5th game down the tubes.

Russ Adams was a big time bust. I remember when he came up, he was supposed to be their SS of the future and Aaron Hill was kinda in the shadow behind him. Turns out, Hill became the much better player

I'd be worried about Smoltz. Just like I am worried about Aceves in our rotation for the time being. Its an introduction of the unknown and the unproven into a spot that really needs to be filled strongly. Not to say that Smoltz is unproven in his career. Just that he has a lot to prove to stay in a major league rotation, especially in boston. Think about him. He's a power pitcher from an inferior division. He's 42 yrs old. He's coming off shoulder reconstruction. He's used to sitting 93-95 mph and being able to get it up into the high 90s when needed. At that velocity and with the wicked splitter, he didnt need to be perfect. He always was able to throw strikes, but he didnt need to be exactly on the corner, or exactly off the plate for the swing and miss. Now, he's sitting 90-91 mph and able to reach 93/94. His splitter is nowhere near as sharp and his location in the zone is spotty. But now, the 91 in the zone is a lot easier to hit than the 97 in the zone. And he is facing better lineups (albeit, one of them was Washington's in the NL stadium). So to be honest with you, there is a lot more to worry about than what appears at face value. He needs to make a transition to a finesse pitcher rapidly or he wont last in Boston.

I think he was taking what the lead would be if the sox lost half the games we played to this point and projected that forward. If the yankees and sox had split our 8 games thus far, we would be 7 games up on you guys.

So now you are going to contend that it is health setting aside the sox and the yankees? You guys had your chance. ARod missed 28 games Posada missed 24 days with a hammy injury Bruney missed most of two months with elbow problems Our backup catcher, Molina, has been out for two months. We had a rookie catcher who hadnt played above AA ball starting for the better portion of 3 weeks. We have lost Nady for the season Wang missed a large chunk of time and figures to be out for another month. Right now, for the red sox, the only injuries that matter are to Lowell and to DiceK. And neither are guaranteed to return to the level of their previous performance. Lowell has an arthritic hip that is irritated to a point that he is getting joint effusions. DiceK has a shoulder issue and a mental hiccup that seems to be a big hangup for him. If you are going to hang your hat on them alone and then cry foul, I am sorry. Neither of those guys are absolutely critical to your team. Now, you did lose Youk for 13 games, but you made do. For the most part, I will ride the ebb and flow of the season because it seems that both our teams are riding relatively highly these days. But dont fool yourselves. This yankee team is a different team than they were in April when we were 2 games under .500 and struggling to score or get good pen work. And over that period of time, we have been the best team in baseball and nearly 5 games better than the sox. Even when you include the 3 game sweep awhile back. I do think the yankees are the better team. I thought it in ST. I think it now. I think that over the rest of the season, it will bear out. I also think that the sox are the second best team in baseball even though they have a 1 game lead on us. I have a feeling both of us will be meeting in the playoffs and I hope to god that our regular season record doesnt reflect the potential outcome of that meeting when it all counts.

Since May, the sox and yankees have an almost identical ERA and your win % with youk is .614, not .717

I'd say that the pitching has become rather even to be honest with you. The difference in starter's ERA is 0.14 and that includes the three absolute stinkers from Wang to start the yr which absolutely skew the results. I know the sox had some DiceK stinkers, some Beckett stinkers, and some Lester stinkers in April. But the Wang level of suck in April was legendary. But after April, the pitching has been very much the same May staff ERA Yankees- 4.28 Red Sox- 4.41 June staff ERA Yankees- 3.55 Red Sox- 3.44 July staff ERA Yankees- 4.11 Red Sox- 4.04 So I certainly wouldnt agree with the statement that the pitching has been significantly different either way. Also, considering the fact that we were without our best player for a 28 game stretch had something to do with it as well. In ARod's absence, we were 13-15. With Arod back, we are 36-19 for a .655 win %. That is a bit more than just a hot spell. Also, I would say that the sox have had a ton of luck against us, but at the same time, they did have the bullpen that has been able to lock leads down. And in our 3 series vs Boston, that had been the difference. We'd have a lead, then we'd give it up and the sox would hold onto it. It was like clockwork. So, overall, I'd say we are very similar teams. The Yankees and Sox have very similar pitching with the Yankees having the better offense. It's gonna come down to the wire again, I think we all know this.

your ace has a 3.62ERA, ours has a 3.76. Not much difference.

2 more vs Minny and 3 vs Anaheim in Anaheim. BTW, I feel bad for Cervelli. He's been everything we could ask for out of a backup, but he's going down to AAA after today's game

9-1, they will keep pace

4 run lead with our ace on the hill, I'll take it

Actually, its called working. That is what people who actually make contributions to society do. You wouldnt know that

5-1.

Sabathia pitching well. 3-1 with Baker on the ropes

a700 is right

Aaron Bates is my favorite Red Sox

the NY media does what it wishes. But you dont see key guys from our team getting let go and then getting destroyed. When Bernie left, a few articles about the fact that he was done or even more, a few articles about how our GM had no loyalty, but there was no character homicide. When Pettitte left the first time, there were whispers about elbow problems, but for there was no character assassination. If the player sucked, had an extramarital affair, took roids, etc, they got ridden while they were in pinstripes. There is no wink and a handshake to air that laundry later. For the sox, everything is perceived as being honky dory until the player is on their way out. Then, all these negative articles come out prior to and after the departure.

Actually, no. There are plenty of publications talking about Gary Sanchez. He's considered one of the top 3 players available this INTL FA period, hence why he got 3 mil to sign. Listen, Dutchy, you should possibly look deeper than the Herald and the Globe for your news, especially about minor leaguers. Otherwise, you'll look like an idiot in a few yrs.

denial

that is not how a pitch is determined to be plus. It has more to do with break and velocity. I would say that absolutely, his curveball is a plus pitch.

That's airing dirty laundry that shouldnt be leaving the lockerroom. I am sorry, but leaking Petey's medical status, leaking DLowe's womanizing and drinking, leaking Nomar's lack of "dedication", leaking Manny's transgressions, and starting stories about Damon's wife and the negotiations were all underhanded. Do you think these beat writers make s*** up? They get their info from the top and once we start hearing it, you know the player is on their way out