How 'bout those Yankees!

[TroutFishingBear]

CUBS
and they are only 14.5 games back becuase of how the cards are playing.

Also, wood still has his slider. Prior is going to be pitching well again, Zembrano is pitching great, Maddux will win the big game, and clement is one of the best starters in the game despite his record (poor run support).

CUBS

[deerhunter]

the red sox are hot these days and yhey are slowly catching up.
don,t be surprized when after the yankee series that they are in 1st place.

[Pasquatch]

Wood stated to ESPN last week that he hasn't been effective with his slider of late( he's been getting pounded).
Look at Prior's era, it's over 5!, For an N.L. ace! He just gave up 4 runs in the first inning to the Expos!
Zambrano has been great, almost Cy Young material, he will be, in a couple more years.
You said they were all great, they aren't exactly.
Maddux is a great pitcher but he isn't good enough (12-8, 3.70) 
Clement hasn't been great either, as his ERA will attest to. (3.44) Not bad, but not great either, although better run support should flip flop his 9-12 record, but it's not happening.
Same things happening with the Yanks rotation, the names are great, Brown, Vazquez, Mussina, Lieber, and EL Duque. But Moose has been horrible, Brown's great, but only when he's healthy, and Lieber's inconsistent.
Don't get me wrong I like the Cubs, I just think the team isn't playing well enough to make playoffs.
They're playing as well as the Padres, a far poorer team with both owning a .550 winning percentage, they should be at least .625 .
And why is Ramirez batting sixth, it makes no sense.
Deerhunter, I WILL be surprised when the Red Sux are in first place.
I would love to see a Yankee- Cubs World Series, I just don't think it will happen this year.



                                                 GO YANKEES!
                                             GOOD LUCK CUBBIES!
                                               MAYBE NEXT YEAR!

[deerhunter]

any world series without the yankees is agood world series.
i
 am praying to the fish gods for a red sox cubs world series game.
pas, you have to start worring after last nights tromping by the indians.

[Mugz]

What happened to your beloved Yankees last night? They took the worst shalacking in their history.......22-0. The sox are on their heels and only 3.5 games back with plenty of baseball left. At this rate the Yankees could even get bumped from the wild-card race if the Sox overtake them.......!!!!!

[Pasquatch]

We'll see guys, I'm not worried at all. Any team can score that many runs, the Yankees are just spreading their wealth.

[TimC1086]

See, Ive figured something out about yankees fans, including the ones where i live. as soon as they start to play badly, they become "Oh... whatever. the red sox havent won since 1918." But he point is, we arent talking about 1918. we are talking about right now, when the yankees suck. as soon as they start to slip , they detach themselves.

just something ive noticed

[MickeyFinn]

The swankees have been overachieving all year,their starting pitching is HORIBLE they do not have a single sarter with 200 inings under his belt this season and their only productive pitcher El duke (sp) was not even on the active roster last year...Their bullpen has bailed out their starting pitching all year and now thats catching up with them.. The Swanks are in trouble and when Swanks are in trouble all of us Red Sox fans have to here about 1918 and Bill Buckner well guess what thats all fine and dandy but how about the FACT that the Swanks have the highest payroll in baseball and there is a good chance that they are not going to even make the playoff's.... LOL the 200million dollar ship is sinking... Hey it happened to the Titanic..

Member of the RED SOX Nation and defender of the faith....

[TroutFishingBear]

That's stupid about clement pasquatch. a 3.44 era is extremely good! Especially for a "5th" starter. Do you know about pitching stats? It seems like you are one to go with record rather than stats that actually count like era, strikeouts, whip, and innings pitched. I suppose you think johnson is bad at 12-12?

[Pasquatch]

You stated that Clement is one of the best starters in the game, which he isn't.
Now you say he's good for a fifth starter. Which one is he?
3.44 in the National League is very good, but not one of the best in the league.
His low run support isn't a coincidence, is it? 9 starts in a row with almost no run support resulting in 9 losses. You can't win if you give up 3 runs and your team scores 2.
If you are Dusty Baker in the 7th game of the World Series, do you want to put in a guy who consistently only gets a few runs in support, while giving up a few more?
I think that Clement is a very good pitcher, not nearly one of the best of the game, though. Just my Opinion.

Mickey Finn, Good Chance the Yankees won't even make the Playoffs, what are you talking about? They have the best winning percentage in the American League.

[MickeyFinn]

I am just gooing by how they are playing now .. They have blown a considerable lead over the sox... If they continue playing the way they have been they could be fighting for the wild card spot and Aniehiem is just as hot as the sox right now..

[Pasquatch]

Yanks have won their series against the Indians, and they got a key reliever in Steve Karsay. It'll be close, but the Yankees will very likely take the AL East and will certainly make the playoffs, as the Angels aren't doing very well at all.(They lost their last 3 games.)
Red Sox- Wild Card
Yankees- AL East

[TroutFishingBear]

You stated that Clement is one of the best starters in the game, which he isn't.
Now you say he's good for a fifth starter. Which one is he?
3.44 in the National League is very good, but not one of the best in the league.
His low run support isn't a coincidence, is it? 9 starts in a row with almost no run support resulting in 9 losses. You can't win if you give up 3 runs and your team scores 2.
If you are Dusty Baker in the 7th game of the World Series, do you want to put in a guy who consistently only gets a few runs in support, while giving up a few more?
I think that Clement is a very good pitcher, not nearly one of the best of the game, though. Just my Opinion.

You must not know that much about pitching or don't follow it pasquatch. For a while this year clement had a lower era than roger clemens, but 2 bad starts got it above 2.90 which is astronomically low. 3.44 is lower than any yankee pitcher (starter) if I am correct. and it's not the national league that does it, a common misconception from an american league fan. Most of the best hitters are in the national league, alon with the best hitters parks (wrigley, coors to name a few.)

I am a pitcher and I will give you an example how you are not a bad pitcher if you lose or don't get run support like you seem to think. I was pitching a 16 and under game in aspen colorado this year. It was a doubleheader. I sat the first game. Well, our team scored 19 and the other team scored 18 and we won 19-18. Our starter gave up all 18 runs and 25 hits and 5 walks. Then I pitch and I am losing 1-0 going into the top of the 7th. We score 2, and I win 2-1. I threw a 2 hitter with 9 k and 2 walks. Now, from what your saying, if my score was reveresed and we lost 1-2, according to you I would've pitched horribly and the other pitcher would've been great, even though I actually did better. Think about that logic, its the same when comparing clement to the yankees pitchers. He doesn't get the same run support even though he is better.

[Pasquatch]

Most of the better hitters are in the national league? That's simply not true.
In the national league there are more pitcher's parks than in the A.L                                 

          NL                                Al Hitters Parks
       Coors                           Kansas City 
        Houston                           Texas
        Arizona                        MetroDome
       Montreal                       Comiskey Park
                                            Edison Field
                                           Jacob's Field
                                           Camden Yards

                                Pitcher's Parks


                NL                                AL
             Pac Bell                        Seattle
           Quallcomm Stadium       Oakland
           Dodger's Stadium          Yankee Stadium
           Florida                            Comerica
          Shea Stadium
           Cinnicinati
          Turner Field                           


                                   
                   
                                                             
                                                                       
El Duque has a lower e.r.a than Clement, and Brown's is very close.
It is not a misconception that N.L pitchers have it easier than A.L guys. The DH Rule allows for a considerably greater amount of offense. The "9" guy gets paid just to hit, not to pitch and attempt to lay down sac bunts occasionally.
Clement's WHIP is the 52nd best in the Major Leagues, three Yankee starters are ahead of him.
As for the low run support, I never said that the pitcher was horrible, I have absolutely no clue as to where your came up with that. I said that if you give up two runs and get one, you lose. It's as simple as that.
Randy Johnson is in no way horrible at 12-12, as his era and strikeouts and whip and ip will attest to.
Something tells me that Dusty Baker wouldn't want to go and put in a "great" pitcher who gives up 2-3 runs but gets 1 in support in the 7th game of the World Series.
After they lose Clement can still go out and say he pitched a great game, he just lost.
Are you saying you would rather go through a season with a 3.45 era and a 10-15 record or a 4.00 era and a 15-10 record? The 10-15 guy can go and sit after September with his 3.45 era while the lesser pitcher who actually wins helps his team go onto the playoffs.
Oh yeah, Javy Vazquez and Kevin Brown had a lower era than Clemens early in the year,what's your point? They both had a few great starts but Vazquez and Brown maintained a winning record, unlike your ace Clement.

[TroutFishingBear]

There is not much of a diff. between a 3.45 era and a 4.00, its the guy with a 5.90 era and is 11-11 like the rockies' jennings compared to someone like clement. Winning definitely isn't everything as a pitcher, it is just a nice thing to have.

Also, you stated clement's whip is 52nd. That is sort of a misleading stat as sinker ball pitchers like him give up more hits, but get more double plays. Whip isn't always the best stat to look at.

I never said clement was my "ace" he is my 5th starter. He just so happens to be the best 5th starter in baseball.