Let's Get Ready To Rumble

It's that time of year again. Round 1 of what is by far the greatest rivalry in all of sports. Red Sox vs. Yankees. I'll admit it. For me, this rivalry isn't what it once was. The peak of the rivalry was 2003-2004. Boone's HR and the great Yankee collapse. Since then it's become a little watered down and slightly on the boring side. It seems like they play way too much and way too often. They haven't met in the playoffs since 2004 so there have been no do or die meetings between the two. The fire for the rivalry still burns. It's just not as hot. The Red Sox were definitely the better team last year. Every expert also favors them this year as well. I like being the underdog. The roles are reversed and I like it.

The pitching matchups for the series are as follows:

Game 1: Chien-Ming Wang (2-0, 1.38 ERA) vs. Clay Buchholz (0-1, 5.40 ERA)

The Yankees have never faced Buchholz before and the Yankees typically struggle with pitchers they've never faced before. Considering this season's struggles at the plate, this might be a tough one. Wang has fared well against Boston in his career. He's 3-1 with a 4.11 ERA in 5 career starts against the Sox. He's made 2 starts at Fenway, where he's 1-1 with an ERA of 6.35. Wang's numbers in Fenway aren't great, but baseball isn't played on paper. He's off to a great start so far and the Yankees will likely need another solid outing from their ace.

Game 2: Mike Mussina (1-1, 3.09 ERA) vs Josh Beckett (0-1, 9.64 ERA)

This game is a total question mark. Which version of each pitcher will show up? Moose has done well so far but we saw this from him last year. He'd have a string of good outings followed by a string of poor ones. Moose has done pretty well in his career vs. Boston. He's 19-15 with an ERA of 3.66 in 52 career starts. Different times, different teams, different Moose. So who knows? Beckett's spring was cut short by back problems and that might cause problems for the Sox ace. The weather forecast for Saturday is a high of 49 and showers. It's not ideal weather for either but I think it would have more of an impact on Beckett than it would Mussina. Beckett's first start was in a temperature controlled climate (Rogers Centre in Toronto). He hasn't been subjected to the elements yet. It could bring up more back problems if he's not fully recovered. The Yankees have also been able to hit Beckett. The old Yankee killer ain't what he used to be. Beckett has a career ERA of 6.56 against the Yankees. His career WHIP against them is 1.74 with an OBA of .303. Not too shabby. But again, the games aren't played on paper.

Game 3: Phil Hughes (0-1, 5.00 ERA) vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka (2-0, 1.47 ERA)

ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. This will be the Sox first look at Hughes. He's been inconsistent in his first 2 starts this year. It works in his favor that the Sox have never gotten a firsthand look at him. It often takes a few at-bats for a hitter to adjust to a pitcher they've never faced. Hughes has good stuff so he just might give the Sox bats fits. I thought the same about Chase Wright and we all know how that went. I'm still not sold on Dice-K. He may be off to a good start but I don't think he's all he's cracked up to be (see Hideo Nomo or Hideki Irabu). He faced the Yankees 4 times last year. His ERA against them was high but the Yankees didn't exactly knock him around. His biggest problem when he faced them was issuing too many free passes. The Yankees haven't exactly been patient at the plate thus far and that might remediate any control problems Dice-K runs into.

It has the making of a great series. Neither team has been exactly knocking the cover off the ball. Both teams are 5-5 and coming off a win. The Sox will be a little more fresh as they avoid having to travel for the series. The weather doesn't look favorable for Friday and Saturday as rain is in the forecast. Sunday's weather looks a little better but it's a night game and it could get chilly. I always think that the Sox will take 2 of 3 at home, and vice-versa when the games are in New York. I think the Yankees win Saturday. The Sox win Sunday. And tonight's game is a toss-up. I give a slight edge to the Sox because their at home, didn't travel, and the Yankees lackluster offense will probably struggle against a starter they've never faced.

Be back later with pre-game thoughts.

J-Boogie

Pitching Is Outstanding, Offense Still Blows

It was a pretty uneventful game today. I actually napped through most of it. When you have a 7-month old sometimes that's going to happen no matter how hard you try to stay awake. So this recap will probably not be too in depth.

Wang was absolutely outstanding. It was great to see how effective he could be while throwing something other than the sinker. He's definitely the team ace and he showed it today with his performance. Want to stop a losing streak? Call 1-800-4WANGER.

I didn't see the tail end of the game so I missed the performances of Joba and Mariano. I did catch the post game show and was able to read some recaps and they dominated as expected. Chamberlain came in and got the Yankees out of a huge spot in the 7th. I give a lot of credit to Girardi for not being afraid to use Joba in big spots prior to the 8th inning. I'm just thankful he recorded the outs on very few pitches because the last thing any of us wanted to see was Kyle Farnsworth come out for the 8th. And Mo looked like typical Mo. 12 pitches, 10 for strikes, 2 ks and a save. Vintage. He's been pretty dominate so far this year also. If the Yankees can hold a lead through 6 or 7 innings, they're going to win a lot of ball games.

Surprisingly, I was awake to see the Yankees score their only runs considering how futile the offense has been. They did a little better today racking up 9 hits but the only scoring came off of 1 swing of the bat when Matsui went yard. They're starting to show a little bit of life and they're due for an explosion. I like Matsui batting ahead of Cano in the lineup. I think it makes more sense and I think it will benefit both at the plate.

Considering how things went today I'm glad I slept through most of it. I would have liked to have seen Chamberlain and Mo pitch, but what can you do?

Moose gets the ball tomorrow and he better pitch a little better than he did in his first outing. A repeat performance won't be good enough if the offense continues to sputter. Moose is one of my favorite pitchers and I think he's going to have a bounce back year. Hopefully, it starts with tomorrow's outing. The Yankees bats should be able to get to Rays starter Jason Hammel. Considering how the offense has been a series split and a 4-3 record wouldn't be a bad start to the year.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie