With his victory this evening, adding to his career total, Mike Mussina gets to enter Walt Whitman High School and earns the right to sit next to Karen Valentine. How sweet is that?
Unless my eyes are going – which is always possible – this is the first time this season that the Yankees won a game by the score of 3-2. Wow.
Don’t get me wrong, with the current state of Yankees pitching, I still cannot shake the feeling that the only way the New York will finish 1st this year, now, is if Fenway Park catches fire, burns to the ground, and the Red Sox have to play all their remaining games on the road. But, that said, at least for one game, tonight, it’s great to have a nice, crisp, Yankees win to soak in.
12 Responses to “August 8th vs. The White Sox”
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August 8th, 2005 at 10:54 pm
we can arrange to have that happen….
August 9th, 2005 at 12:22 am
Steve, it’s nice to see you warming up to the reality of the situation, finally:)
August 9th, 2005 at 9:40 am
You’re right, SL: I’m not watching any more games, I’m done following the Yanks because, on paper, the pitching’s not great and there are so many guys on the DL, etc. I agree: let’s adjust our expectations downward.
F*** THAT!
Anyone notice, by comparison, how the Red Sox have been winning quite a few games of the 10-8 variety in the last month?
Every game in Boston’s last 2 series (KC and Minny) was a slugfest….not too much teeth-gnashing about their pitching by the experts.
There’s a lot of season left.
August 9th, 2005 at 10:13 am
Hey, I never said don’t watch. I always watch. I love baseball and I love the Yankees. I’d watch even if they brought back Chuck Cary and Wade Taylor to pitch.
And, yes, believe it or not, through last Sunday, as a team, Boston’s pitching is worse than the Yankees – in terms of the statistics. But, Boston’s hitters have been better than the Yankees batters (who are still great) and that’s been the difference.
I should look into these stats more and do a compare or something today. Thanks for the idea.
August 9th, 2005 at 10:25 am
Yes, I’ve definitely noticed that the Sox pitching has been terrible lately. All of their starters have ERAs > 4.00, a far cry from the Pedro era, and aside from Wells, these have been moving north over the past month or so.
However, Boston is scoring more than they give up, so for now it’s working.
August 9th, 2005 at 10:34 am
boston’s hitters are not better than the yankees. their stats are a product of the ballpark they play in. if alex rodriguez and gary sheffield got to play in fenway park where every fly ball to left field is either a double or a homerun they might have 70 hrs a year and 180 rbi’s. the fact that boston is only 3 games ahead in the loss column with the pitching injuries the yankees have this year just shows that boston isnt a very good team its just the media would rather focus on how bad the yankees are doing rather than boston
August 9th, 2005 at 10:40 am
Hah, we’re in agreement. The Red Sox are not as good as they were last year, but unfortunately neither are the Yanks. As for the Red Sox hitting, I’m sure all the park-adjusted stats would show it’s excellent with or without Fenway.
August 9th, 2005 at 10:51 am
Steve,
Now, just wait a minute. What kind of starting pitching do the Red Sox have? Their bullpen is also nothing to write home about. We’re 3 back and have nearly one-third of the season left.
As far as the wildcard goes, do you really think Oakland is going to keep up this torrid pace? Even the White Sox are going to cool off a bit.
We’re flawed, no question. But guess what? Everyone else is flawed too. 162 games is a great equalizer. The same “analysts” who said before the season that the A’s and White Sox had no chance are now saying that they’re virtually unbeatable.
2 out of 3… 2 out of 3… Little by little… 5 and a 2/3 from Leiter here… 6 from Chacon there… Watch Joe start to put his foot on the Gordon and Mo pedal a liitle bit more. And finally, there’s no replacing the great individual stars in our lineup. Never underestimate the ability of a star to make the one play or get the one hit that saves an entire season. We have more of those kind of guys than anyone else.
Keep the faith.
August 9th, 2005 at 10:56 am
I have faith – I just keep it hidden in a dream for now.
August 9th, 2005 at 11:08 am
Actually, the difference this season has been the Yankees’ problems hitting on the road. Team OPS of .853 at home but .760 on the road. Red Sox: .820 OPS home, .807 away. All teams ideally are built to take advantage of their home park…it would be stupid not to do that. In fact, the major advantage the Red Sox have at home is that their 3 most important hitters, Damon, Ortiz, and Ramirez have decided home park differentials (as they should). The Yankees’ problem stems from the fact that Bernie, Cano, Posada, and Womack have combined for a measly .656 OPS in 628 ABs in Yankee Stadium. Their offense has been entirely dependent upon Jeter, Sheff, ARod, Matsui, and Giambi.
August 9th, 2005 at 11:40 am
Paul in Boston: im not discrediting Boston’s hitters they have an excellent hitting team however that wall in left field provides room to pad stats. Some Homeruns over the monster wall are easy popouts in yankee stadium’s left center death valley thats all im saying.
August 10th, 2005 at 10:00 am
Paul in Boston: im not discrediting Yankee hitters they have an excellent hitting team however that porch in right field provides room to pad stats. Some Homeruns over the short porch are easy popouts in Fenway’s RF/RC thats all im saying.
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Edited for my amusement (: