Have the 103 wins given Yankee fans a relatively secure feeling heading into the playoffs? Or do you still feel the same nervousness in a short series you'd feel if you had struggled to make the playoffs?
Good job, guys!
I'm not sure I buy Jay's idea that Swisher is a big defensive upgrade over Abreu, but aside from that...
Jon, it depends what you mean. If you really mean the feeling, I'm sure it varies, but my sense is that a lot of the Banter crowd still has that anxiety heading into the post-season. Now, rationally, my personal view is that the team is better than the recent teams that couldn't get over in October, but hey, the playoffs are a crap shoot, so I can't really feel 'confident'.
I'm nervous as hell. As long as we do better than the Red Sox I will be somewhat satisfied, but I would really love a championship. The Yankees were 6-0 vs Cleveland in 2007 yet lost to them in the playoffs. The Mariners set the record for most wins in baseball, yet that year the Yankees wiped the floor with them. The regular season means squat in the playoffs. Anybody who says they know what's going to happen in the playoffs is full of it. They're like the guys who tell you what the stock market is going to do next, some will be right, it can only go up or down (win or lose). But nobody's right all the time. That's why you watch the games with your eyes covered half the time. "The Secret Sauce" is a nice theory but it is hardly a proven fact. The freakin' Phillies had Brad Lidge as their closer last year, and they won it all. If there's a reason why a particular team wins the WS, I haven't seen it. Maybe some super secret geeky oddsmaker in Vegas knows why. I'm more inclined to bet he knows more about how to gauge the temperature of the gambling public.
Swisher as an outfielder can be fantastic and dreadful. No play is an average play. I don't know if he loses focus or if he just sucks, but he can make a brilliant play and then a little league error, sometimes in the same game.
[1] hi jon - hope you have an enjoyable playoff run - don't know if we can handle the hype that would surround a yankees/dodgers serious, but good luck nonetheless.
anyway, yeah i echo most of what has been said. i think this is a more balanced offensive team and a better rotation than the yanks have had the last few years, so i think they are better equipped to do well in the playoffs. however, short series are scary and i think most of us have felt victimized by them the last few years. just don't know who is going to be swinging the bat well or slumping, one bad start by a yankee pitcher, a god damn rain out, some midges, who knows.
After Cleveland and the midges decimated us two years ago, when we dominated over them in the regular season, I could never use the word 'confident' confidently. That said, I like the make up of this team. They have what it takes.
[1] the number of regular season wins is meaningless at this point. Home field advantage makes me feel secure. 15 walk off wins make me feel secure, and lucky. The lineup makes me feel secure. Rivera & Hughes make me feel secure. I'm not losing a wink of sleep over anybody on this team. I'll make no guarantees, but I'm feeling good about this team, better than I have in years.
"[1] I never feel secure in the post-season."
Let me just add to that sentiment....
I never feel secure in the post-season
I never feel secure in the post-season
I never feel secure in the post-season
[13] OK... have your fun. What the hell is "MAORP" and is "3582.7" any good? Shouldn't it be a whole number?
I think we have a fine team and the odds in our favor in the PS. But while I THINK this... these is something I know. Something I'm absolutely 100% sure of:
We have in the Yankees, the best team in baseball this year. Period.
Bud is desperate to prove there is parity is baseball... which of course there is not. The 3 divisions and the unbalanced schedule are there to help prove there is. And so is the Post season. The PS is not designed to have the best team go all the way. This would not make Bud look good. Let's look at the WS winners since this playoff system was implimented. Has the best team won even 50% of the time?
So (holding breath)... whatever happens this Post Season, Banterers can rest easy this winter knowing.....
We ARE the best team in baseball.
[3] Or the 2000, 87-win Yankees. ... The last time they won 103 games, complacency killed them in Round 1 against the Angels of a certain city that don't actually play in that city (or county). ... I'm actually more secure about this Yankee team than any team since '03. But in general, I don't believe in security, especially in the postseason.
Can we get a zone rating on Jay's mustache? If I could grow that, I certainly would. Cliff, in honor of Jay's mustache, you need to grow Civil War Mutton Chops.
[5] Swish's problem is that he doesn't know where the ball is going until it's about twenty feet away. I think inasmuch as he makes the plays, it's due to agility and decent enough speed to run down balls that a normal outfielder would quietly settle under.
From Lohud:
Just to follow up from from the earlier post, Miguel Cabrera put out a statement on his situation. “There was an incident that took place on Saturday and it is a personal matter,” the statement said.
----------------------------------------------
Ha! Yeah, wifey scratched the shit out of his cheek. The accident was she was going for the eyes.
[24]Swish’s problem is that he doesn’t know where the ball is going until it’s about twenty feet away.
But doesn't he usually post good (or at least not bad) zone ratings, though it is true that he often appears awkward when he gets to the ball. Doesn't that suggest the opposite of what you suggest: that he knows where the ball is going and actually gets there...but once there he seems to lack the agility or hand-eye coordination or mechanics to make the catch consistently or elegantly.
[19]Bud is desperate to prove there is parity is baseball… which of course there is not. The 3 divisions and the unbalanced schedule are there to help prove there is.
Do you really think that the imbalanced schedule is promote the image of parity?
As for parity, one could argue plausibly that there more parity in the league now than ever before (except perhaps a window in the 1980s).
I am really rooting for the Tigers..the thought of all the Twins love to come makes me queasy..am still waiting for someone to explain to me why Ron Gardenhire is such a good manager..look at some of those lineups!
[27] You may well be right about that. All's I know, is, something's not right.
Again, this is one of the really, really frustrating things to me about televised baseball: it's really, really hard to get a good feel for the action in the outfield because you miss the most important part of the play (i.e. the first half second or so). I really (that's a lot of reallys, I know) wish we could see the whole field, from the upper deck behind home plate. I mean, they can still show us the normal pitcher-batter confrontation (though there, too, it would be great to see it more often from the batter's perspective), but just have coverage of the whole field so on the replay we could see the outfield work.
Also, maybe he sees it off the bat and until it's near him, but he can't factor in the effects of the wind in the final couple of seconds.
I'm (half) joking. The bottom line, though, is that he does often look awkward and that awkwardness gives me agita.
Question from an outsider:
Have the 103 wins given Yankee fans a relatively secure feeling heading into the playoffs? Or do you still feel the same nervousness in a short series you'd feel if you had struggled to make the playoffs?
Good job, guys!
I'm not sure I buy Jay's idea that Swisher is a big defensive upgrade over Abreu, but aside from that...
Jon, it depends what you mean. If you really mean the feeling, I'm sure it varies, but my sense is that a lot of the Banter crowd still has that anxiety heading into the post-season. Now, rationally, my personal view is that the team is better than the recent teams that couldn't get over in October, but hey, the playoffs are a crap shoot, so I can't really feel 'confident'.
Given the fact that they're going to be playing an 87-win team, I feel pretty secure, but short series are scary by their nature.
[2] The logic is that Abreu was so bad in the field last year, Swisher almost had to be better, and he was by every metric I've seen.
I'm nervous as hell. As long as we do better than the Red Sox I will be somewhat satisfied, but I would really love a championship. The Yankees were 6-0 vs Cleveland in 2007 yet lost to them in the playoffs. The Mariners set the record for most wins in baseball, yet that year the Yankees wiped the floor with them. The regular season means squat in the playoffs. Anybody who says they know what's going to happen in the playoffs is full of it. They're like the guys who tell you what the stock market is going to do next, some will be right, it can only go up or down (win or lose). But nobody's right all the time. That's why you watch the games with your eyes covered half the time. "The Secret Sauce" is a nice theory but it is hardly a proven fact. The freakin' Phillies had Brad Lidge as their closer last year, and they won it all. If there's a reason why a particular team wins the WS, I haven't seen it. Maybe some super secret geeky oddsmaker in Vegas knows why. I'm more inclined to bet he knows more about how to gauge the temperature of the gambling public.
Swisher as an outfielder can be fantastic and dreadful. No play is an average play. I don't know if he loses focus or if he just sucks, but he can make a brilliant play and then a little league error, sometimes in the same game.
[1] hi jon - hope you have an enjoyable playoff run - don't know if we can handle the hype that would surround a yankees/dodgers serious, but good luck nonetheless.
anyway, yeah i echo most of what has been said. i think this is a more balanced offensive team and a better rotation than the yanks have had the last few years, so i think they are better equipped to do well in the playoffs. however, short series are scary and i think most of us have felt victimized by them the last few years. just don't know who is going to be swinging the bat well or slumping, one bad start by a yankee pitcher, a god damn rain out, some midges, who knows.
After Cleveland and the midges decimated us two years ago, when we dominated over them in the regular season, I could never use the word 'confident' confidently. That said, I like the make up of this team. They have what it takes.
It's anyone's guess in a short series.
[3] And quite possibly playing a team who finished the 162 game season with a < .500 Pythagorean record. Wow.
[1] I never feel secure in the post-season.
Man, no baseball game tonight.
Nice breakdown by Alex, Cliff, Jay and Jay's mustache. Good work fellas.
[1] I have visions of the 83-win 2006 World Champion Cardinals dancing in my head. Unpleasant visions.
[10] Or the 85-win 1987 Twins.
[9] Maybe this will help. I doubt it but I can try. : )
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=4534567
Also, Keith Law notes that because of the walk-off wins this year, the Yankees' MAORP was 3582.7.
(Via River Avenue Blues)
[1] the number of regular season wins is meaningless at this point. Home field advantage makes me feel secure. 15 walk off wins make me feel secure, and lucky. The lineup makes me feel secure. Rivera & Hughes make me feel secure. I'm not losing a wink of sleep over anybody on this team. I'll make no guarantees, but I'm feeling good about this team, better than I have in years.
[13] MAORP?
[13] and as a result their bpwoh=3.14159
[15] mystique and aura over replacement player
actually the klaw article (insider only - if anyone is interested i will excerpt it some) will make you feel pretty good about the yanks
「17」 That's brilliant, worthy of special brackets! I got Insider so will check it out.
"[1] I never feel secure in the post-season."
Let me just add to that sentiment....
I never feel secure in the post-season
I never feel secure in the post-season
I never feel secure in the post-season
[13] OK... have your fun. What the hell is "MAORP" and is "3582.7" any good? Shouldn't it be a whole number?
I think we have a fine team and the odds in our favor in the PS. But while I THINK this... these is something I know. Something I'm absolutely 100% sure of:
We have in the Yankees, the best team in baseball this year. Period.
Bud is desperate to prove there is parity is baseball... which of course there is not. The 3 divisions and the unbalanced schedule are there to help prove there is. And so is the Post season. The PS is not designed to have the best team go all the way. This would not make Bud look good. Let's look at the WS winners since this playoff system was implimented. Has the best team won even 50% of the time?
So (holding breath)... whatever happens this Post Season, Banterers can rest easy this winter knowing.....
We ARE the best team in baseball.
[16-17] Oh my, The Banter has so damn many clever people!
[3] Or the 2000, 87-win Yankees. ... The last time they won 103 games, complacency killed them in Round 1 against the Angels of a certain city that don't actually play in that city (or county). ... I'm actually more secure about this Yankee team than any team since '03. But in general, I don't believe in security, especially in the postseason.
Man, Jaffe! Can't Andy get some love? How do you talk about the rotation without mentioning Andy? The dude went 14-8!!!
Can we get a zone rating on Jay's mustache? If I could grow that, I certainly would. Cliff, in honor of Jay's mustache, you need to grow Civil War Mutton Chops.
[5] Swish's problem is that he doesn't know where the ball is going until it's about twenty feet away. I think inasmuch as he makes the plays, it's due to agility and decent enough speed to run down balls that a normal outfielder would quietly settle under.
[23] If we win the WS I promised to grow the Rolli-Fingers handlebar stache..
From Lohud:
Just to follow up from from the earlier post, Miguel Cabrera put out a statement on his situation. “There was an incident that took place on Saturday and it is a personal matter,” the statement said.
----------------------------------------------
Ha! Yeah, wifey scratched the shit out of his cheek. The accident was she was going for the eyes.
[24] Swish’s problem is that he doesn’t know where the ball is going until it’s about twenty feet away.
But doesn't he usually post good (or at least not bad) zone ratings, though it is true that he often appears awkward when he gets to the ball. Doesn't that suggest the opposite of what you suggest: that he knows where the ball is going and actually gets there...but once there he seems to lack the agility or hand-eye coordination or mechanics to make the catch consistently or elegantly.
Unless I misunderstood what you meant.
[19] Bud is desperate to prove there is parity is baseball… which of course there is not. The 3 divisions and the unbalanced schedule are there to help prove there is.
Do you really think that the imbalanced schedule is promote the image of parity?
As for parity, one could argue plausibly that there more parity in the league now than ever before (except perhaps a window in the 1980s).
I am really rooting for the Tigers..the thought of all the Twins love to come makes me queasy..am still waiting for someone to explain to me why Ron Gardenhire is such a good manager..look at some of those lineups!
Mr. OK Jazz, for you and thealarmis and all the other jazz heads out there, the new thread (above) was posted with you in mind.
Night y'all.
[27] You may well be right about that. All's I know, is, something's not right.
Again, this is one of the really, really frustrating things to me about televised baseball: it's really, really hard to get a good feel for the action in the outfield because you miss the most important part of the play (i.e. the first half second or so). I really (that's a lot of reallys, I know) wish we could see the whole field, from the upper deck behind home plate. I mean, they can still show us the normal pitcher-batter confrontation (though there, too, it would be great to see it more often from the batter's perspective), but just have coverage of the whole field so on the replay we could see the outfield work.
Also, maybe he sees it off the bat and until it's near him, but he can't factor in the effects of the wind in the final couple of seconds.
I'm (half) joking. The bottom line, though, is that he does often look awkward and that awkwardness gives me agita.