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Arkum Asylim,
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The Yankees will advance deeper into the Playoffs this year than the New York Mets


They say change is good...as much as I respect Torre, Girardi coming in with a no nonsene approach is what the Yankees need to win. Torre is a players manager and is loyal to his players. That works well during the regular season but case in point, Sheffield missed almost an enitre season due to an injury and when he came back, was at first base and hurt the Yankees.

Look at the Yankee pitching...
Wang = 19 or more wins
Pettite = 15 wins
Hughes = 12 or more
Kennedy = 12 or more
Mussina - he is the dark horse that shapes up this rotation and him knowing that Chamberlin is wtng in the mix, should motivate him to pitch better. Bullpen seems better and Mariano is one of the best in the game.

Yes the Mets got Santana and I would love for him to come to the Yankees but after him, you have Pedro who is still good but prone to injury and unproven starters after that. Wagner cannot pitch more than two innings at a time. Minaya likes his old Latin relievers (no intent of racism but what a Met fan told me). Pitching wins big games and I like the Yankees rotation over the Mets.


Question: What have the Yankees done the last 3 seasons as soon as they've entered the playoffs?

Answer: They've lost in the first round each time.

You argue that the Yankees will go deeper into the playoffs because they have better pitching. Not true.

The Mets have Johan Santana, who has a 2.93 ERA in the postseason as a starter. Pedro's got an ERA of 3.40 in the playoffs. I trust those starters in the playoffs over anybody the Yankees have.

Why haven't the Yankees advance farther in the playoffs in the past few years? Starting pitching (or lack of it). Their starters have posted a 5.30 ERA in the playoffs over the past 3 years. So what did they do to improve their rotation in the offseason? Nothing. By not trading for Santana, they lost out on a chance to get the frontline postseason starter they really needed. It does help out with their long term future, though.

The bullpen for the Yankees is a huge problem too, even if Joba stays in the bullpen. The fact is, you can't get through the playoffs with just two players in the bullpen. Would you really trust Latroy Hawkins or Kyle Farnsworth late in a close playoff game?

Pitching has kept and will keep the Yanks from advancing


Torre went with loyaly in the playoffs where Girardi will go with the best person available. Also, Torre mismanaged the bullpen at times burning out pitchers. Girardi is very tedious when it comes to stats and preparation and will have the Yankees better prepared then Torre did. Dont get me wrong, I will always respect Torre for what he did


I don't think Torre did great with the bullpen, but then again, besides Joba and Rivera, he didn't have much to work with in the pen.

What was one of the biggest reasons for the Yankee resurgence in the second half last year? Joba's emergence as a solid set up guy. If he's going to be in the rotation next year come playoff time as is currently planned...then Kyle Farnsworth and Latroy Hawkins are the Yankees' set up men...ouch.


I agree with you on Farnsworth...Hawkins should be ok. The Yankees also had some other young pitchers that came up last year (cant remember their names) and pitched well.

I know this is comparing apples to oranges but look at what Girardi did with the Marlins. That team was sold off before he managed one game and still brought them to within a possible playoff spot. Granted the Yankees are better than the Marlins which makes me feel that Girardi will get them into the playoffs and possibly past the first round. Torre will do well in LA and could get the Dodgers in the Playoffs, even the Wold Series. We will see in October.

Thank you for accepting my throwdown.


You said it yourself...comparing Girardi's job with the Marlins to his current one in the Yankees is apples to oranges.

There is a HUGE difference between bringing a group of youngsters up into the big leagues, and taking over a crew of veterans. I'm not going to say Girardi can't do well with a veteran club, but he hasn't shown it yet.

One more thing, Girardi has only managed one season in the bigs. He performed pretty well that season, but I would certainly not call him a sure thing.

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Yeah the Yankees didn't do anything in the off season because they didn't have to. They're finally relying on there farm system and that is showing huge promise.

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The Yankees pitching just isn't there yet.

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That promise won't necessarily pay off this year.

Recent World Series winners have always had that bona fide playoff ace.

2007 Red Sox: Josh Beckett
2006 Cardinals: Chris Carpenter
2005 White Sox: Didn't really have an 'ace', but had a lot of solid pitching.
2004 Red Sox: Curt Schilling
2003 Marlins: Josh Beckett

The Mets HAVE that ace. Johan Santana's proven his worth in the playoffs. Ditto for Pedro Martinez. Would you really take Wang or Phil Hughes over them?

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I think it will develop pretty well over the season though. And with Pettitte, Wang, and hopefully Mussina to anchor them they should be alright

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and no i wouldn't take wang or hughes over them...yet but i'd take pettitte

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You're really counting on Mussina to make a big difference?

And you really would take Andy Pettite over Johan Santana? As for Pettite over Pedro, you might be able to make the case, although Pedro did look very good in the games he started last season.

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That's true, Pedro did look good. I guess I'm kinda biased haha! I really do think that Pettitte doesn't get as much credit as he deserves, he's probably not as good as Johan but i think he's better than Pedro.
And I'm just hoping that Mussina can make a difference. He's definitely good enough to he just needs to break out of his slump that he's in.

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do you really think pettite can win that many games this season.who knows if he will even play that many. santana is better than all of the yankees and everyone knows that. and think of offensively. mets have a very solid lineup all the way through. and who knows if they will get the good arod or the bad arod, they are to questionable and there is no way the mets will self destruct again at the end. mets will go farther.

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Bad A-rod is still as good as just about any player in the league. I personally can't stand him even though I'm a Yanks fan but you have to admit that he's damn good. Offesnsively the edge is still the Yankees. Top to bottom they have one of the most solid lineups if not the best. Santana is better than all the Yanks pitchers, yes, but you cant have only one good pitcher when the postseason rolls around

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Pettite's still a very solid pitcher, but I don't think he's #1 starter any more. He was overshadowed a little by Clemens, Cone, and Wells while he was in New York. Pedro's a question mark, but if he can return to his 2005 form, it helps out the Mets tremendously.

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Pedro Martinez and Maine are definitely good enough to be #2 and 3 starters in the playoffs. It's not as if the Mets rotation is Johan and nobody else. In fact, everyone currently projected to be in the Mets' rotation had an ERA under 4 last year.

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My biggest concern would be how healthy Pedro stays. If he stays healthy then the Mets will have a good team but if not then i think they're sunk. Obviously I'm still biased so I'm sure that's affecting my thinking when i say that they Yanks will still go farther than the Mets.

The Yankees young pitchers should be able to step up and perform the way that they are expected to and there young arms will hold up well in the postseason behind the solid batting lineup that the Yankees feature

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Neither of these teams are even locks for the playoffs. As a Yankee fan, I was hoping Cashman wouldnt trade Hughes for Santana and I'm still glad he didnt. Yes, an ace is crucial to making noise in the playoffs and Joba is only in the bullpen until the All-star break, theyll move him into the rotation and acquire some solid relief. Hughes,Joba,Wang, Pettitte in the second half looks awfully good.

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Well, if they do move Joba into the rotation, it leaves Farnsworth and Hawkins as the set up men for Mariano Rivera. Moving Joba into the rotation by the time of the postseason might decrease their chances.

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The middle relief is going to have a huge effect on both teams. Both teams middle relief is basically totally uncertain right now and it'll matter a lot during the season.

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the yankees will go farther than the Mets,the metsonly play in a worse league and have better players,plus they won last ears season series?

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Hey Jesus. Pedro is coming off MAJOR shoulder surgery and he was a shell of himself before he injured that shoulder. He is by no stretch of the imagination a number 2 starter anymore. El Duque needs a walker to get to the mound, that isn't meant as a knock on him, most 90 year-old men need some help getting around. THe rest of their rotation is young.

They don't have a RF to speak of, it's only a matter of time until Moises is hurt again, Delgado is in decline and they have no pop at the catcher's position.

The only reason I haven't voted yet is because I am not so sure the Yankees are in much better shape. I will have to pnder on this one a bit. On one hand, it isn't a given theat the Mets make the playoffs. The wildcard won't come out of the east so they have to beat out the Phillies and Braves just to get there. On the other, IF they make the playoffs, they have the advantage of playing in the NL while the Yanks will probably have to play against a tougher first round opponent.

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'The Mets have Johan Santana, who has a 2.93 ERA in the postseason as a starter. '

Since becoming a full time starter in 2004, his playoff ERA is a hair under 1.50...

Notice how Why So Serious uses Win totals to determine how good the Yanks pitchers are instead of REAL pitching stats, like ERA, WHIP, BAA, Ks and IP?

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Coach, you're right about the surgery, but in his comeback during the last month of the season last year, he looked extremely good. As for how he looked before the surgery, he was plagued by a number of injuries. He had a couple DL stints, and was shut down before the playoffs even not started because of those leg injuries. Only after did they discover his shoulder problems.

Now that he's had months to recuperate, I think he'll be one of the top #2 starters in the league.

Offensively, I think the Mets can make up for deficiencies at RF and C with David Wright, Jose Reyes, and Carlos Beltran at the of the lineup.

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'The Mets have Johan Santana, who has a 2.93 ERA in the postseason as a starter. '

Since becoming a full time starter in 2004, his playoff ERA is a hair under 1.50...

Notice how Why So Serious uses Win totals to determine how good the Yanks pitchers are instead of REAL pitching stats, like ERA, WHIP, BAA, Ks and IP?

I am huimble enough to admit my oversight...

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