Time For Yankeeland To Think Wild?
Posted by Steve L. on June 21st, 2011 · Comments (12)
The 2011 Boston Red Sox have won 44 of their first 72 games this season.
From 1996 through 2010, there have been 39 teams to win 44+ of their first 72…and 77% of them went on to win their division.
I’m just saying…
Just need WC baby
The Yankees are 1.5 games out for the division lead. Not an insurmountable lead by any stretch.
Raf wrote:
And they’ve hung right with a Boston team that is absolutely on fire lately, including sweeping our butts.
Red Sox since April 16th:
42-18
Yankees since April 16th:
35-24
Forget that 1.5 games in the GB column. These two are trending in different directions.
Steve Lombardi wrote:
One team has 0.593 W%, the other has a 0.700 W%. In the last 50 years, only 2 teams have sustained that win % for an entire year. And both those teams were in the last 15 years. I don’t think it is likely that the Red Sox continue that trend for the entire year.
As of right now they have 1.5 game lead, that is hardly an insurmountable lead and that’s all that matters right now. “You are what your record says you are.” And right now the records say the Yanks are 1.5 games worse than the Red Sox.
One thing about the Red Sox though – except for Gonzolez and Ortiz, no one was hitting much to begin the season. The rest of the usual suspects have awakened. I expect they’ll stay awake. Plus, their pitching staff is having a very good year.
There’s no shame in the WC. It gets whoever wins it in the PS. I’d rather the Yanks win the division, but I’ll take the WC.
redbug wrote:
No one’s saying there is. But to write off the division, when a team is 1.5 games back with over 3 months left in the season is a bit odd.
If the Red Sox continue to play .700 ball, then they win the division.
Even if they play .650 ball, they’re almost certain to win the division. Any measurably lower than that, and it’s up for grabs, especially if the Yanks can play them even in the last 9 head to head games.
@ Steve Lombardi:
Please – it’s June for God’s sake! The Yanks are 1 measly game behind the Sox. You might be willing to concede the division by I’m not.
@ Steve Lombardi:
It’s nice that your love of the Yankees has rubbed off on your children. Let’s hope that your never-ending pessimism doesn’t as well.
LMJ229 wrote:
This right here is all that needs to be said… Sox aren’t playing .700 ball for the rest of the season. They’ll come back down to normal sooner rather then later. Why worry about the Sox in June? Lets worry about what the Yankees are doing and how well they’re playing. Wait til September to start worrying about the Sox. No need to scoreboard watch right now.
I think the Red Sox are the better team, but not by much, and I expect the race to stay close. The Yankees have done surprisingly well given the fragility of the starting pitching, which itself has outperformed expectations given the loss of the guys who were supposed to be the anchors behind C.C. — first Hughes, then Colon. The bullpen, too, has responded well to injuries. I suspect it cannot last, but reinforcements, either internal or external, will be found by the trade deadline.