Tale of Two Weekends
On one hand, the Yankees were a rare Mariano Rivera mishap from taking two-of-three from the Red Sox at Fenway Park. On the other hand the Yankees’ ace was blasted yet again by the Red Sox and their closer blew a crucial save to the team they are chasing the division. A tale of two weekends…
A three-game series in early August—when the teams were tied going in—is not going to decide the division champion; nor do I think either team cares if they win the division or Wild Card. The more important thing for both of these teams is health and pitching alignments come October. But this weekend’s series meant more to the Yankees than it did the Red Sox.
There is no hiding the 2-10 record the Yankees have against Boston this season. Based on this fact alone it is baffling the Yankees are just one game out of the division, but facts are facts. Despite this however these two teams are not equal. This series meant more to the Yankees because they needed to prove they could beat Boston. Even though they were not able to do so, there are some good and of course some bad things to take away from the weekend.
The Good
The Yankees offense, despite their overall lack of run production (9), was able to grind out two games against Jon Lester and Josh Beckett—two of the best pitchers in Baseball. In the postseason there are not many 10-9 ballgames; there are games exactly like Friday’s and Sunday’s 3-2 games. In both of those games the offense was able to muster enough runs to put themselves in position to win. When they get the opportunity to face John Lackey however, 4 runs is unacceptable.
More impressively, the Yankees bullpen continued to be outstanding. In the two close games, the Yankees ‘pen allowed just 2 earned-runs in 8.2 innings against the best offense in Baseball. (I disregard the blowout on Saturday because I do not take stock in how bullpen guys pitch in garbage relief, good or bad.)
On Friday, Boone Logan saved the game when he struck out Adrian Gonzalez with bases-loaded in the fifth inning. Joe Girardi has continued to show confidence in Corey Wade, who improved his ERA to 1.80 and his WHIP to .095 over the weekend. Rafael Soriano also pitched two perfect innings to bridge the gap to David Robertson and Mariano Rivera, something the Yankees will need if they are going to make a deep playoff run.
To win a World Series you obviously need pitching; not necessarily starting pitching however. The 2002 Anaheim Angels created the blueprint on how to win a championship with a dominant bullpen but lack of starting pitching, and I believe the Yankees are attempting to do the same. This will not work without a dominant CC Sabathia however.
The Bad
CC’s struggles against Boston are both surprising and disconcerting. His history in New York shows that he has fared well against Boston, posting a 4-1 record in 8 starts with just a 3.03 ERA. Yet in 4 starts this season his ERA is 7.20. Even worse, the Red Sox are batting a ridiculous .324 against CC while he has uncharacteristically walked 10 batters in 25 IP. The Red Sox are notorious for being patient hitters, but CC’s job is to attack the zone and use his stuff to get batters out while pitching deep into the game.
The blueprint the Yankees are setting only works if CC can be dominant every time he has the ball in the postseason. Yes, that is a lot to ask of him, but that comes with having a rotation filled with question-marks. Over the weekend those question-marks pitched well enough to hand the game to the bullpen, which nearly won two of the games. Without CC pitching well however, the ‘pen will be stretched too thin and the Yankees will not beat the Red Sox in the postseason.
What does it mean for the rest of the regular season?
Not much. Like I wrote before the series began, both teams are going to make the playoffs and will do so as the two favorites to play for the American League Pennant. Once they get to that point however, it is clear who the favorite will be.
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Andrew Rotondi
NYYUniverse.com Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter @Yankees_talk