October 11, 200422 yr I'll pick New York everytime until Boston proves they can get past that whole "curse" thing....... And to make it fun, I'll say New York in 7 games.
October 11, 200422 yr Yankees in 7 after over coming 3-0 game lead, and win game 7 after trailing 10-0 entering the 9th, you know just so its all the more painful for the saux.
October 11, 200422 yr Author Offense: Sox Defense: Push Rotation: Sox Bullpen: Yanks Manager: Yanks Prediction: Yanks in 6
October 11, 200422 yr Bullpen: Yanks 588763[/snapback] :lol Not if Mariano and Flash miss time like expected.
October 11, 200422 yr Yankees in 7. Expect them to sign Pavano to pitch game 7 and Beltre to belt a game-winning HR in the bottom of the 12th to put the Yankees over the top. :mischief
October 12, 200422 yr The Yankees will win when they leave pedro in too long in game 7. 589026[/snapback] Pedro would pitch Game 6 :thumbup
October 12, 200422 yr Sox in 6. Here's why: 2004 Red Sox > 2003 Red Sox (add Schilling, Foulke and a much better defence) 2003 Yankees > 2004 Yankees (mostly because of SP) 2003 Red Sox > 2003 Yankees...but thanks to Grady f'ing Little that didn't happen.
October 12, 200422 yr Bullpen: Yanks 588763[/snapback] :lol Not if Mariano and Flash miss time like expected. 588804[/snapback] Even with Mariano and Flash, I'd say Boston has a better bullpen..... I mean the Yanks 3rd option out of the pen is Tanyan "I'm not good enough to pitch for the Devil Rays" Sturtze for God's sake.
October 12, 200422 yr Even with Mariano and Flash, I'd say Boston has a better bullpen..... I mean the Yanks 3rd option out of the pen is Tanyan "I'm not good enough to pitch for the Devil Rays and I was cut by the Marlins when the pen was God awful" Sturtze for God's sake. 589573[/snapback]
October 12, 200422 yr Paul "washed up All star" Quantrill Felix "el gato" Heredia Esteban "20 game winner but sucks more than sturtze" Loaiza still a good bullpen
October 12, 200422 yr It has to go 7. I picked Boston. They're going to stick it to all those fans at Yankee Stadium, if only this once. (Then they'll probably lose in the WS)
October 12, 200422 yr Author They meet again. The Yankees and the Red Sox - considered by most to be the best rivalry in baseball (being a Giants fan, I beg to differ, but that's another story). For the third time in six years, they will meet in the ALCS. Is the third time a charm? Let's see how it breaks down: Yankees: Payroll*: 182.59 million Record: 101-61 (.623 1st in AL East, 1st in American League, 2nd in Majors) Number of World Series wins: 26 Last World Series win: 2000 Number of World Series appearances: 39 Last World Series appearance: 2003 All time franchise record: 8996-6901 (.566) Red Sox: Payroll*: 131.40 million Record: 98-64 (.606 2nd in AL East, 2nd in American League, 3rd in Majors) Number of World Series wins: 5 Last World Series win: 1918 Number of World Series appearances: 10 Last World Series appearance: 1986 All time franchise record: 8165-7753 (.513) Now let?s look at the match up position by position: Catcher: While Jorge Posada is mediocre defensively, he is one of, if not THE best offensive catchers in all of baseball. At any position, his .401 on base percentage .481 slugging percentage, and .881 OPS would be considered really good. As a catcher, it's phenomenal. He leads major league catchers in OBP, 2nd in OPS, 3rd in homers, and 6th in slugging. He continues to be one the premiere catchers of the game. Jason Varitek, while not quite as good offensively, is much better defensively. He still is a really good offensive catcher with a .298 batting average, .390 OBP, .482 slugging, and a .872 OPS. While it's not as good as Posada, he more than makes up for it with his glove. Edge: Red Sox First Base: John Olerud has had a great, consistent career offensively. You can even make a case for a Hall of Fame bid. However, he is past his prime. 2004 has been his second straight mediocre season, and he just lucked out that the Mariners gave up on him and put him on the Evil Empire. His .259 batting average, .359 OBP, .374 slugging percentage, and .733 OPS are lousy especially when you compare them to his career numbers of .295, .399, .465, and .864. He does however still have a great glove, which has won him three gold gloves. While Kevin Millar's first two years in Boston weren't as good as his last three in Florida, they still are pretty good. He is batting .297 with a .383 OBP, .474 slugging, and a .857 OPS. While his glove isn't nearly as good as Olerud, his bat is a lot better. Edge: Red Sox Second Base: Miguel Cairo starting for the Yankees. It just doesn't sound right. Here's a guy that would be on the bench for most teams in baseball, but on the Yankees he especially doesn't fit in. He is having a career year. However, it's not saying much, considering his best year prior to this was in 1999 with Tampa Bay, in which he hit .295 with a .335 OBP, .368 SLG, and a .703 OPS. This year, he bats .292 with a .346 OBP, .417 SLG, and a .763 OPS. After jumping from the Giants to the Cubs and back to the Giants, Bill Mueller finally broke out in 2003 with the Red Sox, winning the batting title and having an amazing year. While he may not have been as good as last year do to injuries, he still had a pretty good year, batting .283 with a .365 OBP, .446 slugging percentage, and .811 OPS, while playing decent defense. Edge: Red Sox Third Base: For a while, we all thought the 252 million dollar man Alex Rodriguez would be playing in this series, except on the other team. But following a strange turn of events that we all know about, he wound up in pinstripes. And for most third basemen, a .286 batting average, .375 OBP, .512 slugging percentage, and .887 OPS while playing gold glove would be great. But for A Rod, this is an off year. His numbers are the worst since his since his third full year in the big leagues in 1997 when he was 22. His numbers across the board are worse than his career numbers. However, he still beats Kevin Youkilis, dubbed "the Greek God of Walks" by Billy Beane. While he somewhat lived up to that reputation (33 walks in 241 plate appearances), every year else the rookie Youkilis' numbers were just okay. His .260 batting average, .367 OBP, .413 slugging percentage, and .780 OPS are good for a rookie, but it's no A Rod. Edge: Yankees Shortstop: After an awful start where he got getting booed by ungrateful Yankee fans, Derek Jeter rebounded his numbers to a respectable .292 batting average, .352 OBP, .471 slugging percentage, and .823 OPS. He also fell one short of his career high in homers with 23. However, it's not his regular season numbers as much as it is him being one of if not the best clutch hitters in baseball. Jeter gets the big hits in the post-season and always comes through when needed, and that is what's most important. Compare that to Orlando Cabrera, who has no playoff experience and put up a lousy .268 batting average .316 OBP, .409 slugging, and .725 OPS following a breakout 2003. Edge: Yankees Left Field: After a so-so rookie season, Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui stomped over American League pitching (I know, bad pun). His .298 batting average, .390 OBP, .522 slugging, and .911 OPS are great numbers. However, even those numbers do not stack up to, who in my opinion should get American League MVP, Manny Ramirez. Ramirez was the only guy in the American League with an OPS over 1.000 with 1.010, bat .308, put up a .397 on base percentage, and had a whopping .613 slugging percentage. Ramirez is definitely the best left fielder not named Bonds. Edge: Red Sox Center Field: Kenny Lofton is a winner. He is in the playoffs for the fourth straight year with four different teams, and except for this year, none of those teams would have made it without him. And while the best leadoff hitter of our generation (other than Rickey Henderson of course) may be past his prime with a .275 average, .346 OBP, .395 slugging percentage, and .741 OPS, may have only 7 stolen bases, and he may be way past his gold glove days, Lofton is still a winner. However, he's just not as good as Johnny Damon right now. After a breakout year in 1999 and a better year in 2000 with Kansas City, Damon had struggled the next three years with Oakland and Boston. However, he has bounced back, and while he isn't quite as good as he was in 2000, he still had a pretty good year, batting .304 with a .380 OBP, .477 slugging percentage and .857 OPS. Edge: Red Sox Right Field: After struggling the first month and a half of the season, Sheffield came on strong and was red hot for three and a half months, before having a weak September (for him at least). He may not have been as good as he was with Florida, Los Angeles, and Atlanta, but he still is one of the best players in baseball. His .290 batting average, .393 on base percentage, .534 slugging percentage, and .927 OPS are great numbers, just not for him. Another guy who had a breakout year in 2003, Trot Nixon missed the first two and a half months of the season due to injury, came back and briefly picked up where he left off, went into a slump, and then missed another month and half. But Nixon came on strong when he returned in the last month of the season, batting .400 with a .434 OBP, .680 slugging percentage, and a 1.123 OPS in 53 plate appearances. His numbers for the year: .315 batting average, .377 OBP, .510 SLG, and .887 OPS. Edge: Yankees Designated Hitter: Bernie Williams just isn't what he once was. While he has slightly improved over last year's injury-plagued season, he is still not close to what he was. His .262 batting average, .360 OBP, .435 slugging percentage, and .795 OPS just aren't Bernie Williams?s numbers. 2003 and 2004 have been the two worst seasons of his career since his first full season in 1993. Compare that to David Ortiz, who just keeps on getting better. After putting up decent numbers in Minnesota, David Ortiz had a great first year in Boston in 2003 and a phenomenal one in 2004. His .301 batting average, .380 on base percentage, .603 slugging percentage, and .983 OPS, combined with the fact that he's still improving, is amazing. Plus, with his walk off home run off of Jarrod Washburn in game 3 of the ALDS to win the series over the Angels proves that he can come through when it matters. Edge: Red Sox Rotation: This one isn't even close. In terms of talent, Kevin Brown, Javier Vazquez, Esteban Loaiza, and Orlando Hernandez are as good as anybody. The fact remains that they're all underachievers. When they're on, they're unbeatable, but they?re not on often. Meanwhile, Curt Schilling is going to win his third Cy Young runner up in four seasons after switching leagues. He has been one of if not the most dominating pitcher(s) in baseball for the last four seasons, and he has a World Series MVP. The Yankees may be Pedro Martinez daddy, and Martinez may be past his prime, but he still is Pedro Martinez, the most dominating pitcher since Sandy Koufax. The bottom of the rotation may be pretty weak, but as proven in the past, it's the top that matters. Edge: Red Sox Bullpen: Mariano Rivera is far and away the best closer of our generation, possibly ever, and he's still at the best. Furthermore, with the exception of the 2001 World Series, he has proven time and time again that he is even better in the post-season. I would also take Paul Quantrill and Tom "Flash" Gordon over the Red Sox entire middle relief. Keith Foulke may be good, but he sure isn't Rivera. Edge: Yankees Manager: This is probably the biggest blowout anywhere. Joe Torre is a future Hall of Fame manager and a post-season winner. He has won 1781 games, and has 22 years of managerial experience. In addition, Torre is 66-34 as a manager in the playoffs. Compare that to Terry Francona, who has just 4 years of managerial experience, 383 wins, no post-season experience and his fans are already calling for his head in his first year with the team. Edge: Yankees X-Factor in favor of the Yankees: Five words: The Curse of the Bambino X-Factor in favor of the Red Sox: Yankees have an all right-handed pitching staff against a lefty-dominated lineup, playing four games in lefty-friendly Yankee Stadium Prediction: Yanks in 7.
October 12, 200422 yr this series will bring some memories to us Marlin's fan. I remember watching last year's Game 7 like we were playing since it was going to determine our WS rivals. I think Yanks in 7. If Pedro can dominate, then Sox should win (Schilling will dominate).
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