Yankees in Six!
When I heard that Yankees manager Joe Girardi was going to use only 3 starters in the World Series I cringed. I knew this series was going to go 6 or 7 games so that meant using multiple pitchers on 3 days rest. While I wasn’t worried about CC Sabathia I am worried about Andy Pettitte and A.J. Burnett on short rest. Sabathia is a confirmed workhorse and the 290 pounder is one of the best in the league on short rest. My reservations about Burnett were confirmed last night. Burnett is a very talented pitcher but he’s also an inconsistent headcase who despite having quality heat and an awesome curveball has never become a team’s go-to guy or someone who regularly wins half of his starts. In fact Burnett’s total of 13 wins (in 33 starts) this year for the Yankees is the 2nd highest total of his 10 year career. Yes this guy is in the first year of a 5 year $82.5 million contract.
Despite his great start in Game 2 there is a measure of worry when he takes the mound. Will we get the good Burnett or the bad one? The good one will look like an ace, striking out 10 and giving you 7 or 8 innings of great baseball. The bad one will blow up, usually in one particular inning and seem to lose his composure for a long enough period of time that 4 or 5 runs will be on the board for the other team when the smoke clears. Unfortunately the bad Burnett made the trip to Philadelphia and now the Yankees come back to the Bronx not as the champs but as the favorite to wrap it up Wednesday or Thursday night.
Tomorrow night’s game will feature big game Yankee lefty Andy Pettitte on 3 days rest. While Pettitte did not look great in game 3 he kept his team in the game and the Yankees pulled it out. Pettitte is many years older and not the power pitcher Burnett is but I get the feeling he will fare much better tomorrow night. For one he is going against the equally aging Pedro Martinez and not Phillies ace Cliff Lee. Secondly I offer 2 primary reasons why Andy will shine and the Yankees will win this series in 6 games; finality and fate.
First when discussing finality you have to look no further than Pettitte’s offseason in 2009. He was essentially low-balled by the Yankees when inferior pitchers were making bigger money. Pettitte signed for below market value and it did not go smoothly. The Yankees offered to Pettitte a 1 year, incentive laden deal and although it took some time, he did accept it. Pettitte has waffled a bit in deciding whether or not to even pitch the last few years and this could very well be the last game of his great career. With that in mind, do you really think 3 days rest matters when this could be your last time ever pitching? I’m sure the Yankees will get everything he has and then some as the Major League record holder for playoff victories looks to add one more.
When it comes to fate you can’t do any better than this: Andy Pettitte won the AL East title clincher back in September. Then he closed out the Twins in the Division Series and he was the winning pitcher in the Championship Series clincher against the Angels. While the great Mariano Rivera is firmly entrenched as the Yankees closer, the Yankees “clincher” certainly appears to be Pettitte.
From the fans perspective fate couldn’t have played this out any better. The Yankees can close out the Phillies at home in the 1st season of the new Yankee Stadium. They can win this one for George, who may not be around for too many more of these, in the house he built. They can also defeat old nemesis and crowd favorite Pedro Martinez to do it. Plus how great would it be for Andy Pettitte to get the win with Jorge Posada catching, Rivera getting the save and Jeter getting a clutch hit? The fifth ring is calling. The stage is all set. After getting hammered by the Yankees in Game 3, potential Phillies Game 7 starter Cole Hamels wanted the season to be over for him… don’t worry Cole, it soon will be.
No comments:
Post a Comment