- There's been a ton of talk surrounding the Yankees ALDS pitching rotation. The simplest way to figure it out is to wait and see whether or not the Yankees can win the division this weekend. If they do and they get homefield advantage, they should go CC, Andy, Phil, CC, Andy and if they don't then go CC, Phil, Andy, CC, Phil. I would want to take advantage of Hughes' road/home splits and get him pitching on the road where he has been much better this season. I also wouldn't have any qualms about starting him in a Game 5 after his performance against Boston in his last outing.
- It goes without saying that A.J. Burnett, regardless of what he does in his last start of the year on Saturday, should not be a part of any ALDS rotation discussion. In fact, I wouldn't even let him sit in the dugout or bullpen infecting everybody else with his moping. Keep him in the clubhouse with a plate and can of whipped cream ready in case the Yankees win a walkoff. Teammates faces are pretty much the only spots he can these days anyway (BOOSH!)
- And speaking of A.J., there is something to be said for the job the Yankees have done this year despite having A.J. and Javy Vazquez make a combined 58 starts. In a season in which these 2 secured the new 3rd and 4th places in Yankee history for highest season ERA for pitchers who made 25 or more starts and the Yankees lost an overwhelming majority of the games in which these 2 started, the team is still going to finish somewhere around 30 games over .500. Not too shabby when over a 3rd of your team's starts on the season (36.42% to be exact after A.J.'s start on Saturday) were made by 2 of the statistically worst pitchers in franchise history.
- If the Yankees are seriously considering using 15 position players and only 10 pitchers on their ALDS roster, they are out of the minds. Pitching wins championships and you always want as much of it as you can get. Close playoff games tend to grind to a halt with all the strategic pitching moves made, and it pays to have those extra arms on staff if needed. There is way more value in another long man (Mitre, Nova) who can give you multiple innings in the 13th, 14th, or 15th of a tie game than a 5th infielder (Nunez), especially with the extra off-days between games providing added rest to your starters.
- One thing I'm not looking forward to in the postseason is all the talk that will come up about Joe's 2011 plans and whether or not he's going to go take the job in Chicago. Joe's not going anywhere, people. The Yankee brass will never allow it to happen. Having to read about it is bad enough, but having to watch boobs like Ken Rosenthal and Eric Karros talk about it is going to be even more painful.
- It's all but certain that Jesus Montero will be on the Yankee roster at some point next season. It will be interesting to see how the Yankees juggle him, Jorge, and Cervelli behind the plate. Given that Posada is horrendous behind the plate and Cervelli wasn't as great as advertised this year, I think Montero should be given a fair shot at winning the full-time job outright. If he doesn't, however, I would have him and Cervelli split the catching duties with Jorge getting the lion's share of the time at DH. Then, on Jesus' catching off-days, he could be used as a late-game pinch hitter for Cervelli if needed and finish behind the plate to keep Jorge healthy.
- It's hard to pick nits when he's had a monster year, but where have you gone, Robbie Cano? Just a .262/.304/.346 tripleslash in September? His season OPS is below .900 for the first time all year. Not to mention tying his season low with just 6 walks while also tying his season high with 15 strikeouts. I thought he was going to be a sure bet for 120+ RBIs and 120+ runs scored and he barely crawled across the line of 100 in both categories. Not exactly the way to make an impact in the minds of the MVP voters.
- For more Cano MVP discussion, check out this
awesome statistical breakdown and comparison of some key stats by Joe Paw at RAB. I still think Cano is firmly entrenched in the Top 5 of the MVP vote, but he's got no chance to win. For the record, my vote would be 1) Josh Hamilton, 2) Miggy Cabrera, 3) Adrian Beltre, 4) Robbie Cano, 5) Carl Crawford.
- And also for the record, while I'd love to see CC get the Cy Young, it just ain't gonna happen. I would vote 1) King Felix, 2) David Price, 3) CC, 4) Jon Lester, 5) Clay Buchholz.
**UPDATE- 3:09PM- BONUS MUSING**
- Andy, invest:
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