OFFICIAL YANKEES 2005 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS OR BUST THREAD

[istewart]

Sick is pushing it, yeah. I like their rotation a lot though.

[DangerGoodson]

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Maybe you could actually make for an interesting playoff series [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

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Did you watch the playoffs last year, we were a couple hits away from beating you.


"Will the Twins be the best team in the American League during the regular season? Probably not, judging by wins. The Yankees, Red Sox and Angels likely will have more wins at the end of September. But had Joe Mauer been catching last October, they would have beaten the Yankees." Peter Gammons

[sublime]

But had Joe Mauer been catching last October, they would have beaten the Yankees." Peter Gammons

i love gammons, but he makes some silly statements from time to time.

[Dead]

Heavy winds from the northwest of close to 15 mph, and rain to pick up in a bit and continue throughout the night.

Here's hoping that the forecast is wrong.

[JoeU]

I'm sorry guys, I didn't know we were making THIS thread the official thread.

Now for my 2 cents on this thing:

Someone here said that the Yanks will win 106 games. They are wrong. They will probably win 106+ games. Their biggest weakness last year was the starting staff. I'm pretty sure they addressed that. I've heard a bunch of arguments against the starting staff. Lets look at the 3 "question mark acquisitions":

1. Randy Johnson: He only went 16-14 with an ERA of around 2.00 and finished second in the Cy Young balloting. Even if he increases his ERA by a full run, he'll still win over 20 games. Don't give me the "if he stays healthy" bit Red Sox fans. Lets check the recent health of your 4 best pitchers: Schilling, Miller, Wells, and Clement.

2. Carl Pavano: he had a great season last year as well. He's under 30, and on an upward swing. He can pitch in the big spots (see 2003 WS), and will also benefit from the better offense behind him.

3. Jaret Wright: I know the argument here is that Leo Mazzone is no longer his pitching coach. But Mel Stottlemyer is no slouch, and he too will benefit from the offense. If he wins 15 games from the 4 spot, that would probably be good enough for the best #4 pitcher in baseball.

The Yanks will win the division, and have the best record in the American League. I'm pretty sure I'm not going out on a limb by predicting that. The Sox will/should win the Wild Card. And we'll all probably be back at square 1 sometime in October.

Joe

[MEbenhoe]

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But had Joe Mauer been catching last October, they would have beaten the Yankees." Peter Gammons

i love gammons, but he makes some silly statements from time to time.

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[Edge34]

Joe Mauer is the one Twin who I can't fully appreciate, as it was his fault (twice) that my HS football team missed state.

[img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

[DangerGoodson]

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Joe Mauer is the one Twin who I can't fully appreciate, as it was his fault (twice) that my HS football team missed state.

[img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

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That just makes me wanna cheer for him more. The guy is so talented it is sick. I saw him go 3 for 3 with 3 HRS against our high school baseball team, when he was an 8th grader.

[Jack of Arcades]

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3. Jaret Wright: I know the argument here is that Leo Mazzone is no longer his pitching coach. But Mel Stottlemyer is no slouch, and he too will benefit from the offense. If he wins 15 games from the 4 spot, that would probably be good enough for the best #4 pitcher in baseball.

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Holy crap, this reasoning is horrible.

1) You conclude that, if the offense is great for him, he'll win games, which means he's good? What the hell kind of dipshit logic is that? Whether or not a pitcher is good is independent of his run support.

2) "#4 pitcher" is arbitrary. It doesn't have anything to do with his value, it's just trying to make someone look better than he is. Starting pitchers are starting pitchers, it's the same position.

[JoeU]

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1) You conclude that, if the offense is great for him, he'll win games, which means he's good? What the hell kind of dipshit logic is that? Whether or not a pitcher is good is independent of his run support.


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The logic is that if he gives up 4 runs, and the Yankees score 5, the Yankees win right? If he does that 15 times this year, that would most likely amount to 15 wins, right? 15 wins from your 4th best starter is pretty good, right? I never said he would be good, I said that given his ability and the run support he should get over the season, he will probably be the best #4 starter in a rotation. You seem to think the Yankees are looking for a 20 win season or something out of him. I'm saying that in this situation, he should be successful. El Duque was fairly successful last year, was he "good"?

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2) "#4 pitcher" is arbitrary. It doesn't have anything to do with his value, it's just trying to make someone look better than he is. Starting pitchers are starting pitchers, it's the same position.

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Where you pitch in a rotation has EVERYTHING to do with value. Your statement is a dipshit statement. Lets ask Bronson Aroyyo how he would feel if he had to go against Randy Johnson tonight. His position in the rotation means he usually won't have to pitch against another teams best pitcher. Wouldn't you consider this an advantage? Starting pitiching is starting pitching, I agree. But, when you mix in the timing of when that starting pitcher has to pitch, and who he pitches against, its another story. Lets look at it another way. What if Randy Johnson (or Curt Schilling for that matter) had to pitch against every other team's 5th best starting pitcher. Do you see why now?

Joe