Tribe-Yankees Game One: Sabathia vs. Wang (Insert Penis Joke Here)

Let's make this quick. The Indians play host to the Yankees tomorrow evening at 6:30 for Game 1 of the ALDS. Certain victory looms for the Tribe, as the Yankees haven't faced off against Sabathia since 2004, before he was a real ace. And with a name like Wang, you're asking to get slapped.

But seriously, this game will set the tone for the rest of the series. Although that may be true for every series, it is especially true for this one. The Yankees beat the Indians in the season series 6-0. If the Tribe can't win with their ace on the mound at the Jake, this team might start agreeing with everyone else; that they just can't beat the Evil Empire. I will be in Cleveland for this game, but not in the stadium. That way I can be there if the city sees fit to set up the collective noose. I imagine Derek Jeter would be the one kicking the chair.

Speaking of Jeter, I found it absurd outrageous appalling all of the above that he doesn't appear on Simmons' 25 Players to Watch in the ALDS. Seriously, I typed "Jeter" into the "Find" feature after reading the article and there were no results. Either it's some weird Boston thing where you can't say his name in October or Simmons is just a big jackass.

"Too high. It's too high."

Uh Oh, Joe Blowrowski is on the Prowl

Don't look now, but Indians' closer Joe Borowski has been having a rough couple of games. Actually, a rough season. However, in his last two appearances, Borowski has blown both save opportunities against the Seattle Mariners. Very encouraging with the playoffs on the horizon. But here's the problem-- Cleveland fans aren't surprised at the least by this. Here's why:

G	IP	H	R	HR	BB	SO	W	L	SV	WHIP	ERA
67	63.2	75	39	9	16	57	4	5	43	1.43	5.23

Why does Joe Borowski still have the closer job? One stat: saves. The dumbest stat in all of baseball. The stat that managers actually manage around when deciding whether or not to bring their "closer" in. Rafael Perez and Rafael Betancourt, the other two pitchers in the back end of the Indians bullpen, have ERAs of 1.66 and 1.49, respectively. Either of these two (probably Betancourt) should be the closer for this team. Just don't say I (and the rest of Indians fans) didn't warn you when Joe Blow pulls a Jose Mesa in late October.

A Look at the Postseason Schedule

*Note: I didn’t want to do the research for the NL, but the same general idea applies.

While MLB’s changes to the playoff schedule (schedule, not format) may seem minor, they could potentially have some serious implications. I started reading about it on some Red Sox message boards and decided to do a sort of summary explanation type write-up. Basically there are more off days between games, which will affect the amount of rest pitching staffs get. The schedule for the AL looks like this:

ALDS 1 (generally series with WC): 10/4, 10/5, 10/7, 10/8, 10/10

ALDS 2: 10/3, 10/5, 10/7, 10/8, 10/10

ALCS: 10/12, 10/13, 10/15, 10/16, 10/18, 10/20, 10/21

The first important thing to realize is that teams will not gain a significant advantage by clinching a playoff spot early and aligning their rotation. A team could easily use their ace to clinch their spot on the last day of the season and then have him pitch in Games 2 and 5 of the Division Series.

Secondly a team could easily make it to the World Series without using their fourth starter at all, or only once in the case of the first AL Division Series. Here’s an example of the second ALDS.

10/3 - #1 starter
10/5 - #2
10/7 - #3
10/8 - #1 (on 4 days rest)
10/10 - #2 (on 4 days rest)

ALCS
10/12 - #3 (on 4 days rest)
10/13 - #1 (on 4 days rest)
10/15 - #2 (on 4 days rest)
10/16 - #3 (on 4 days rest)
10/18 - #1 (on 4 days rest)
10/20 - #2 (on 4 days rest)
10/21 - #3 (on 4 days rest)

Why would Major League Baseball make changes that make it even less likely that the best team during the regular season wins the World Series? The answer is easy. Television. The ratings are bound to be higher if the games feature more matchups of superstar pitchers.

So who does this help and who does it hurt? Obviously it helps the teams who have a shallow rotation and even a shallow bullpen. If a team has two dominant front end starters and two dominant relievers, its weakness probably would not be exposed until the WS or even not at all. (The exception to this would an injury or marathon games.) Who does it hurt? Well, maybe hurt isn’t the right word, but teams who success throughout the regular season has been predicated on the depth of its pitching staff, both bullpen and rotation will lose that advantage. As those of you who know me may have guessed, the Red Sox are the first team that comes to my mind. Let’s say they play Cleveland in the first round. (I know none of this is guaranteed, so no, I’m not worried about jinxing anything, I’m just going with the most likely outcome.) While a matchup of Beckett-Matsuzaka-Schilling vs. Sabathia-Carmona-Westbrook is not bad, it wouldn’t be as advantageous if there was one Wakefield-Byrd game instead. I would argue that it is disadvantageous to the Angels in the same way. While a 1-2-3 combination of Escobar-Lackey-Weaver is certainly scary, matching Santana against another team’s number 4 would probably give them more of an edge.

I think the new schedule, to a certain extent helps all the other teams, but especially Seattle and Detroit. The back end of Seattle’s rotation has been brutal. Only King Felix and Jarrod Washburn have an ERA+ over 100. If they make the playoffs they must be overjoyed at the fact that they can banish Jeff Weaver (ERA+ 77) to the bullpen. Detroit has had some serious injury problems, so their rotation after Verlander and Bonderman remains a question mark. We’ll end with a quick look at each potential playoff team’s five man rotation, with the pitchers with ERA+ over 100 highlighted. (Definition of ERA+)

Seattle .
1. Hernandez
2. Washburn
3. Batista
4. Weaver, Jeff
5. Ramirez

Anaheim
1 Escobar
2. Lackey
3. Weaver, Jered
4. Santana
5. Colon

Cleveland
1. Sabathia
2. Carmona
3. Westbrook
4. Byrd
5. Laffey

Detroit
1. Verlander
2. Bonderman
3. Rogers
4. Durbin
5. ??

Boston
1. Beckett
2. Matsuzaka
3. Schilling
4. Wakefield
5. Lester/Tavarez

New York
1. Pettite
2. Wang
3. Clemens
4. Mussina
5. Hughes

In conclusion, I guess I really just wanted to show the implications more so than give opinions on the change but oh well, what the heck. I don’t really like how the schedule has evolved, and it has nothing do with the fact that the Red Sox have the best team on paper right now. I think it’s a shame that someone like Tim Wakefield who could easily end up with 20 wins this season could be relegated to the bullpen. I also think it’s a shame that it’s becoming less and less likely that we’ll see epic battles that come down to the last man in the bullpen and whether or not he is up to the challenge. I think that’s where the real postseason heroes are made and end up being the games people remember the most. But hey, in the words of Jay-Z, just my thoughts man.