Tuesday, October 20, 2009

ALCS GAME 4 PREVIEW

TALE OF THE TAPE: GAME 4 STARTERS (from www.yankees.com)

YANKEES - CC Sabathia

"I don’t think it’s that big a deal going [on] three days’ rest"

BREAKDOWN
  • 2009 Regular Season - 19-8, 34 GS, 3.37 ERA
  • Sabathia is 5-7 for his career against the Angels. Like Pettitte he has struggled in Angel Stadium. In 2009, Sabathia went 0-1 with an ERA of 6.75 at Angel Stadium.
  • CC dominated the Angels in his last outing, and has a 1.01 ERA in four career starts with three days’ rest.
KEY MATCHUPS
  • Vladimir Guerrerro, 3-for-15, 3 Ks
  • Torii Hunter 20-for-68, 3 HRs, 17 RBI
ANGELS - Scott Kazmir

"I'm not going to try to do anything extra, just pitch my game."

BREAKDOWN
  • A pedestrian 2009 season with a record of 10-9, 27 GS, 4.89 ERA.
  • Has been very sharp with the Angels, posting a 1.73 ERA in six regular season starts with the Angels
  • He’s had success against the Yankees during his career, posting a 2.67 ERA through 14 games. In 2009 he went 2-1 with an ERA of 3.20. But he allowed five runs in six innings in the ALDS.
KEY MATCHUPS
  • Derek Jeter, 4-for-36, 11 Ks
  • Mark Teixeira, 7-for-11, 3 RBI
TV: FOX 7:57 PM ET

COMMENTARY: Today is the start of the CC Sabathia experiment. Girardi has chosen to go with a three man rotation and everyone in the organization is confident that CC is well rested for the task at hand, including the man himself. Sabathia is 2-for-3 with a 4.63 ERA through 7 games in Angel Stadium, but has an astounding 1.01 ERA in four career starts with three days' rest. The Yankee lineup will face Scott Kazmir who was traded to the Angels because of his past success against the Red Sox and the Bronx Bombers. Though he's yet to win at his home park, Kazmir does carry a decent 3.19 ERA through 4 games in Angel Stadium. It's difficult to quantify how much yesterday's win may have done for the confidence of the Angels, Sabathia's performance good or bad may be a game changer.

UPDATE 6:50: this post was written by Fernando Arencibia but it was under my post and I wanted it on the top so I had to repost it, sorry.

3 comments:

Rob A from BBD said...

Where are you getting these numbers from? CC Sabathia has pitched 3 career games on short rest, 4 if you count a playoff start. And his ERA was 0.83, not 1.01 or whatever you had. If you count his playoff start it is much higher.

Fernando Arencibia said...

Ron A from BBD if you follow the link at the top of the post labeled (from www.yankees.com) it will take you to the page with the stats. Look at the chart in the left hand corner. Thanks for your comment.

Fernando Arencibia said...

I meant Rob