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Friday, September 18, 2009

The Yankees, Unobstructed- September 18

The Yankees have the best record in baseball, they lead their division by seven games and they have the second highest run differential in the majors. They also have big problems that can really hamper their postseason run.

With the exclusion of C.C. Sabathia, the Yankees starting rotation has become a hodge-podge of inconsistent (and consistently poor) hurlers.

Consider:

Andy Pettitte — His 4.35 era over the last month is not bad, but the eight walks that Pettitte has surrendered in his last 11 innings points to an emerging control issue. His sore shoulder is also a cause for concern.

A.J. Burnett — Sporting an unseemly 7.67 era and 1.53 whip, Burnett has had trouble keeping the ball in the park. He has given up two or more home runs in three of his last five starts.

Since July, 27, Burnett has gone 1-5, with two no decisions.

Joba Chamberlain — It's hard to make judgements about Joba. He certainly has not been good. For the last month his era is 7.41 and his whip is 1.88. On the other hand, in his last seven innings (two starts) Chamberlain has walked only one batter, while striking out five. It's tough to gauge Joba because the Yankees have not allowed him to pitch five innings in a game since August 16.

The upcoming schedule


The next ten days are chock full of playoff-preview type baseball. The past month can be forgotten if Yankees starters can shut down the Angels and Red Sox next week (two potential American League Championship foes).


NOTE: Make sure to check back on Fridays for The Yankees, Unobstructed, BNN's weekly Yankees opinion column.

For more of Graham Kates' sports writing, check out his True/Slant blog "Coaches in the Crosshairs" (http://trueslant.com/grahamkates).

5 comments:

  1. The Yankees will go to a three man rotation for the playoffs, so they really only need two out of those three pitchers to round into form before October. I'd say the chances of that happening are better than even.

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  2. Don't forget the stern test they will take this weekend against the surprisingly decent and undeniably gritty Seattle Mariners. I think it's King Felix vs. CC tomorrow night.

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  3. Anonymous,

    I think they'll only do a three man set if they have to. If Joba puts in a couple of good stars before the end of the season, he'll definitely be in the rotation. But he needs to get through six innings first.

    Alex,

    It's always nice to see #2 and #3 in the Cy Young race face each other.

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  4. Greinke's number 1? Guess it's hard to argue against that, but what if Felix wins three more games for a total of 18 and Greinke stays at 14?

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  5. Oh man, there are so many reasons why "wins" is a flawed statistic. 18 wins is impressive, but 14 wins for a team that wins between 60 and 70 games is just as impressive.

    ReplyDelete

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