Posted in Yankees Gameday, Yankees Postseason, tagged A.J. Burnett, Bronx, ESPN Radio, New York, New York Yankees, TBS, Texas Rangers, Tommy Hunter, WCBS 880, Yankee Stadium on October 19, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Yankees (1-2) vs. Rangers (2-1)
Pitching Matchup:
RHP A.J. Burnett (0-0, 0.00) vs RHP Tommy Hunter (0-1, 4.50)
Lineup
Jeter SS
Granderson CF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Berkman DH
Gardner LF
Cervelli C (more…)
Posted in Pitching Probables, tagged A.J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte, C.J. Wilson, CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Colby Lewis, New York Yankees, Phil Hughes, Texas Rangers, Tommy Hunter on October 15, 2010| Leave a Comment »
The Yankees open up the American League Championship Series tonight against the Texas Rangers. Here are the pitching probables for the series:
Fri: Game #1: LHP CC Sabathia (1-0, 4.50) vs LHP C.J. Wilson (1-0, 0.00)
Sat: Game #2: RHP Phil Hughes (1-0, 0.00) vs RHP Colby Lewis (0-0, 0.00)
Mon: Game #3: LHP Andy Pettitte (1-0, 2.57) vs LHP Cliff Lee (2-0, 1.13)
Tue: Game #4: RHP A.J. Burnett (0-0, 0.00) vs RHP Tommy Hunter (0-1, 4.50)
*I’ll update you with more pitching matchups if those games are necessary.*
Posted in Yankees Gameday, tagged A.J. Burnett, New York Yankees, Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas Rangers, Tommy Hunter, YES Ntwork on September 11, 2010| 2 Comments »
Yankees (87-54) at Rangers (78-63)
Pitching Matchup:
RHP A.J. Burnett (10-13, 5.15) vs RHP Tommy Hunter (12-3, 3.99)
Lineup
Gardner LF
Swisher RF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Berkman DH
Granderson CF
Pena SS
Cervelli C (more…)
Posted in Pitching Probables, tagged A.J. Burnett, C.J. Wilson, Cliff Lee, Dustin Moseley, Javier Vazquez, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Tommy Hunter on September 10, 2010| Leave a Comment »
The Yankees open up a three-game series against the Texas Rangers tonight. They’ll be playing at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Here are the pitching probables for the series:
Fri: RHP Javier Vazquez (10-9, 5.01) vs LHP C.J. Wilson (14-6, 3.10)
Sat: RHP A.J. Burnett (10-13, 5.15) vs RHP Tommy Hunter (12-3, 3.99)
Sun: RHP Dustin Moseley (4-2, 4.83) vs LHP Cliff Lee (10-8, 3.37)
Posted in Yankee News, Yankees Miscellaneous, Yankees Opinion, tagged Chris Davis, CJ Wilson, Colby Lewis, Dustin Nippert, Evil Empire, FanGraphs, Justin Smoak, New York Yankees, Rich Harden, Scott Feldman, Texas Rangers, Tommy Hunter on July 9, 2010| 2 Comments »
So, it looks as though the Texas Rangers are the winners of this year’s perennial Cliff Lee sweepstakes. Does this mean the Yankees can expect to meet them in the playoffs?
Texas is currently 50-35 and in first place in the AL West. Adding Lee will undoubtedly help their starting rotation, which currently consists of Scott Feldman, CJ Wilson, Colby Lewis, Tommy Hunter and Dustin Nippert. Rich Harden is also in the mix, but the oft-injured righty is, well, injured yet again. Lee is better than any of these guys and will only improve on the group’s combined 4.27 ERA, which is currently the 8th best mark in the AL. By comparison, the Yankees rotation has posted a 3.79 ERA, 3rd in the league.
However, Texas sent their starting 1st baseman, Justin Smoak, to Seattle in the Lee deal. It’s not that Smoak was hitting at the level expected of him – but he was the only 1st baseman on the 25 man roster. The Rangers could return to using Chris Davis at first, or try putting one of their outfielders there. I doubt either move is particularly palatable to them, but the rules say you can’t play without a 1st baseman (or with 5 outfielders).
Texas is in a weak division, where one of their rivals just got a lot weaker. FanGraphs projected the Rangers to win 93 games before the Lee trade, so you have to figure adding Lee’s 4.0 WAR should pencil them in for 96-97 wins. That will be enough to get them into the playoffs, likely as the #2 seed behind the Yankees – which means they won’t face each other in the divisional round. Right now, that figures to be Yankees/Tigers and Rangers/Rays. The question for Texas will be, has adding Lee done enough to get them past the top two teams in the AL and into the Fall Classic?
I wouldn’t bet on it.
As for those of us in the Evil Empire, we can be content to watch the Rangers empty their farm system in an attempt to get a ring. After all, we know where Lee is headed this upcoming offseason. :)
M. B. Rozell
Kevin Rozell
