Writing the Pine

Joe Girardi is starting C.C. Sabathia on three days rest for Game 4 of the World Series.  Charlie Manuel is opting for utilizing his team’s depth by pitching a four-man rotation with Joe Blanton taking the mound tonight.

I'M NOT GOING TO PITCH GAUDIN GAME 4!!!!!!

Which manager is right?  I believe both managers are making the right choice for putting their respective teams in the best position for success.

The Yankees for their $201 M payroll lack a dependable fourth starter in these playoffs.  So a three-man rotation allows using C.C. Sabathiathree times in a full seven game series.  What a weapon to have.  There is historic precedence for this and the Yankees don’t have to look back too far to find it.  The Marlins employed the shorter-rest, maximizing Josh Beckett strategy to win the 2003 World Series.  In 2001, the Arizona Diamondbacks had two aces, Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson as their biggest advantage over the Yankees.  So they threw them out there as often as they could, even as relievers in the final game to win their title.

Hey, I'm going to join the Red Sox and win two titles. Can you go the Yankees and suck in the postseason? Cool.

Charlie Manuel has enough depth that NL ROY (IMHO) J.A. Happ is currently be (under)utilized as a lefty out of the pen.  I can’t blame Manuel for going with Blanton, even though he has a poor track record against the Yankees and will be facing them in the bandbox known as Citizens Bank.  Additionally, while the Yankees have a few pitchers with a good history on short rest (A.J. Burnett is 3-0, 1.64 ERA in 4 starts and C.C. Sabathia is 4-2, 2.11 ERA in 6 starts), the same cannot be said for Cliff Lee who has never pitched on short rest, and Cole Hamels who is a shell of his 2008 form (possibly from overuse?) which would be only compounded by going on short rest.

Hey A.J., you think they'll have money leftover to get another starter?

One thing I am worried about is Andy Pettitte who was shutdown in September for shoulder fatigue.  Is this someone we want pitching on short rest?  The Yankees should go with C.C. for game 4 against Blanton, Gaudin for Game 5 vs. Lee, Burnett on normal rest for Game 6 against Pedro, and C.C.  on short rest for Game 7, with Pettitte available to pitch out of the pen or pinch hit (just kidding).  Even Pettitte admitted after they game that his legs were shot and he struggled all of game 3.

Pst. Hey Rog. What was that shit you injected into me?

Currently they way the rotations are set up, the Yankees have a clear advantage the rest of the way (if they opt for a tradition three-man rotation).

Game 4: C.C. vs. Blanton (Advantage: Yankees)

Game 5: Burnett vs. Lee (Advantage: Phillies)

Game 6: Pettitte vs.  Martinez (Advantage: Draw)

Game 7: C.C. vs. Hamels (Advantage: Yankees)

While the Yankees have to be careful about tonight’s game being a “trap game” where they might be looking ahead to Lee, I’m going into tonight’s game with confidence.  Surprising, talking to a friend who’s a Phillies fan, he  feels more confident about tonight’s game than Game 3 (because of Hamels ‘09 edition).  Which was funny, because I felt the same way as a Yankees fan (because of a Hamels ‘08 edition.)

If the Yankees can fare better than their football and basketball counterpartstonight (40-17, Eagles over Giants and 141-127, 76ers over Knicks) they will have a commanding 3-1 lead in the World Series with three cracks at clinching the title.

Do I even need a caption?

Game Recap:

Girardi’s gamble paid off and the Yankees won in thrilling fashion to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.  C.C. battled for 6.2 innings and gave the Yankees a quality start.  I give credit to Blanton for not giving up 10 runs.  But the real her of the show was Johnny Damon who had a 3-5 night.  His big moment came when he battled Brad Lidge for an opposite field single with two outs in the ninth and the game tied at four.  He not only took second base early in the count to give Teixiera more opportunities to drive him in, his heads up base running allowed him to take third with no one covering the bag with the infield shifted.   As McCarver pointed out, it might have eliminated the hard slider in the dirt from Lidge’s arsenal with the go-ahead run 90 feet away.  After that it was all about the Yankees hitting clutch base hits and Lidge regaining his regular season form.

Magic Number: 1