**** ALDS GAME 4 Tribe/Yanks (Byrd vs. Wang)****

[durron597]

From mlb.com scouting report...

Scouting Report:
Indians: Byrd doesn't have electric raw stuff, but few can match his desire to win. After an uneven 10-9 season in '06, he came into '07 intently focused on being a more reliable contributor to the Tribe's rotation. What ensued was the third 15-win season of the veteran Byrd's career. Byrd made it happen with impeccable control. He pounds the zone in and out, which explains how he managed to walk just 28 batters in 192 1/3 innings. Byrd tossed complete-game shutouts against the Twins on Aug. 6 and against the White Sox on Sept. 1. But September wasn't entirely kind to him, as he went 2-3 with a 5.21 ERA to close out the regular season. Byrd made one start against the Yankees this season, and it was brutal. He allowed seven runs on seven hits in two innings of work in a home loss on Aug. 11. In eight career starts against the Yankees, he is 1-4 with a 4.44 ERA.

Yankees: Wang will pitch his second game of the ALDS on short rest, trying to rebound from his Game 1 loss. He lasted just 4 2/3 innings in that one, keeping his sinker high in the strike zone and watching the Indians pound it for eight runs in all. Wang said he didn't believe the short rest will be a problem, and that he wasn't feeling any soreness in his arm on Sunday night. Pitching coach Ron Guidry said the lack of rest might even be a bonus, with a little less velocity helping Wang's sinker move even more. No matter how he does it, he'll need to improve against the Indians, who put averaged nearly three base runners per inning off Wang in Game 1. The right-hander is now 1-2 in three career postseason starts.