Sheffield is finally coming off the DL and will be asked to play first base. If he has no issues coming back, here is the potential lineup for the playoffs 1) Damon (.293, 22 HR, 77 RBI) 2) Jeter (.339, 14 HR, 95 RBI, ** AL MVP) 3) Abreu (.296, 12 HR, 99 RBI) 4) Sheffield 5) Rodriguez (.284, 34 HR, 116 RBI) 6) Giambi (.250, 36 HR, 109 RBI) 7) Matsui 8) Posada (.279, 20 HR, 85 RBI) 9) Cano (.339, 11 HR, 71 RBI) I think they will leave Abreu in the 3 spot. You don't fix what ain't broke. He has worked out incredibly well in the role. That would mean Sheff should be in the cleanup spot. This will take pressure off A-Rod (lord knows he needs it). That still leaves Melky Cabrera, Bernie Williams and Miguel Cairo off the bench. This is the most potent lineup ever offered up in the playoffs.
lets stack this team of soulless mercenaries up against the mets: 1) Damon (.293, 22 HR, 77 RBI) vs mets CF beltran, edge: mets 2) Jeter (.339, 14 HR, 95 RBI, ** AL MVP) vs mets SS reyes, edge: tie 3) Abreu (.296, 12 HR, 99 RBI): vs mets rf green, edge: yanks 4) Sheffield vs mets 1b delgado, edge: mets 5) Rodriguez (.284, 34 HR, 116 RBI) vs mets 3b wright, edge: mets 6) Giambi (.250, 36 HR, 109 RBI) vs mets dh ?, edge :yanks 7) Matsui vs mets LF floyd, edge: tie 8) Posada (.279, 20 HR, 85 RBI) vs mets C loduca, edge: tie 9) Cano (.339, 11 HR, 71 RBI) vs mets valentin, edge: yanks pitching edge: mets (far superior bullpen). also consider the chef and godzilla are coming off major injuries and have hardly played in many months. mets win.
Version 2.0 just maybe... With Sheff coming back that will put Giambi at DH, Sheff at 1B and Matsui in LF. Cabrera to the bench. I think the Yankees can still win w/o Sheff/Matsui, they have been doing it while they have been out. Also congrats to the Yankees for winning their 9th straight AL East title. Will they break the Braves division title runs?
:lol: :lol: :lol: I realize the Mets are good, but there is no way you honestly believe that they are better on paper than the Yankees. Matsui v. Floyd a tie? Really? I don't know if I'd be giving Wright the edge over ARod either. Based on value, yes--but not on overall production. Salary doesn't count here. And ONLY because he's coming off the injury should Sheff be at a disadvantage to Delgado. I don't see how you can give the pitching advantage to the Mets either. Pedro, as usual is broken down. He came back today and gave up 4 in 5 innings. A month ago peope were afraid Glavine's career was over. After those two who's left...Steve Trachsel...c'mon. The Yanks get the nod in starting pitching. Mets get the nod in middle relief. There no reason we even debate Wagner v. Rivera (especially when we're talking about the playoffs). The Met's world series will be the NLCS. The real world series will be the ALCS. Yanks v. A's. As a formality, they'll go ahead and play another series after that.
Yanks vs. Mets pitching Johnson vs. Martinez Mussina vs. Glavine Wang vs. Hernandez Wright vs. Trachsel or Maine Yanks are at least solid in this department, Mets are shaky as hell, way too many question marks surrounding their starting 4 at this point. IF Pedro and El Duque pitch like they are capable, Mets win the series. If not, Yanks will take it easily.
both matsui and floyd have been injured a bunch this year so lets compare stats from last year: floyd .273 34 homers matsui .305 23 homers both had an ops of exactly 863. you say they arent evently matched? arod OPS 898 wright OPS 906 plus arod cant get the clutch hit and is a clubhouse cancer. arod hits more dingers, but wright has a better average and steals more bases and plays better D. arod: "people dont like me because i am good looking". it isnt relevant why anyone gets an edge. pedro only lacks stamina and will be ready. he was perfect through 4 today. he gave up some dinks when he tired out. he will be ready. well it isnt. he gave up one run in his last outing. 3 in the outing before that. none in the outing before that. how can you forget el duque, one of the greatest money playoff pitchers ever? wagner: ERA 2.0, 89 k in 69 innings. mariano: ERA 1.9 49 k in more inings. the closers are a wash, even though wagner has a better BAA and strikes out far more people. the eras are basically the same. the mets have secret weapons like pedro feliciano in the pen. his era is 1.7, and mota has given up one run in 13 appearances with the mets. and jeter is having a nice season, but reyes has more home runs and is the fastest man in baseball.
Let's examine what might decide the series: The battle of the bullpens Closer.........Rivera (1.90, 33/36 Svs) vs. Wagner (2.08, 39/44) Set Up........Farnsworth (3-5, 4.29) vs. Heilman (4-5, 3.69) 7th Inn.......Proctor (6-4, 3.58) vs. Bradford (4-2, 2.88) Lefty..........Myers (1-1, 2.97, .243 BA) vs. Oliver (4-1, 2.83, .190 BA) Other.........Bruney (1-1, 0.53) vs. Feliciano (6-2, 1.74) Other.........Villone (3-3, 4.71) vs. Hernandez (0-3, 3.13) Other.........????????????????? vs. Mota (2-0, 0.68) Proctor's ERA is 2.28 since the All-star break Heilman's ERA is just over 2.00 since just after the All-star break Villone has given up 25 ER in last 13 2/3 IP (ouch!) Bruney seems to have turned his fortunes around since coming over to the Yanks, but much like Villone can blow up on you at any time. The Mets bullpen has to be one of the best ever assembled going into post-season. The only other one I could consider close was the Padres from last season or maybe the Twins from a couple of years ago. Definitely the deepest bullpen ever. When you can have someone as good as Feliciano cleaning up the 6th inning, that's pretty special. Also, any games going extra innings give a huge advantage to the Mets. This gives the Mets the opportunity to pull Pedro early if necessary, and especially with starters like Maine or Hernandez, they only need to get 5 good innings and then have the ability to go to the bullpen. Big advantage over the yanks, who are only 3 deep in their bullpen (plus the lefty specialist). Conclusion: Big advantage to the Mets regarding the bullpens
I hate the yankees almost as much as i hate the barn, if that is possible. However, I really think think they win it all this year. Don't know why, but with all of thier problems they are doing this good. With Shef and Godzilla back, they will be dangerous.
