Yankers will win it all...LOL!
Hello all,
Remember this prediction so worshipped up by our own Joe.t???
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7182338
Yankees primed for another title run.
by Kevin Hench
Not only will the Yankees make the playoffs, but if they happen to meet the Red Sox in the ALCS for the third time in five years, they will beat them on their way to their first World Series title in seven seasons.
1. This Chamberlain does not appease
With the call-up of flamethrower Joba Chamberlain (17 K, 5 H, 4 BB in 11.1 scoreless innings through Saturday), a weak point for the Yankees has become a lights-out strength. Chamberlain's dominance coupled with Mariano Rivera's increasing mortality
evokes that 1996 championship season when the setup man (Rivera) was filthier than the closer (John Wetteland). Chamberlain's willingness to buzz the tower on Kevin Youkilis on back-to-back pitches showed a nastiness that the Yankees have lacked for years.
2. No. 2
Derek Jeter is quietly having another great season, hitting .325 and on his way to 200 hits for the sixth time in his career.
And is there any player in baseball an opponent would less rather see at the plate when a base hit will beat them?
3. Caught between A-Rod and a hard place
Yankee fans may have to reconcile themselves to the departure of Alex Rodriguez. After he wins his second American League MVP award in four seasons in the Bronx, and third overall, he will have either A) a bad postseason, eliciting the boos that will drive him into another suitor's arms or B) a good postseason, eliciting the raise that will drive him into another suitor's arms. My guess is B.
4. Robinson Cano bats 8th
Pretty self-explanatory. The guy has 57 extra-base hits with a month to play and is hitting .348 with a 1.011 OPS since the All-Star break.
5. The fountain of Jorge
I'll have what he's having. Doesn't Jorge Posada know that 36-year-old catchers are supposed to be broken-down train wrecks who hit .190 in the second half and ground into a ton of double plays? After hitting .325 with a .901 OPS in the first half, Posada has ramped those numbers up to .333 and 1.016 in the second half.
6. Dandy Andy
All Andy Pettitte did in August was go 6-0 with a 2.36 ERA. His last four starts were against contenders Cleveland, Detroit, Anaheim and Boston and he dominated them all, going 4-0 with a 2.15 ERA. A spate of tough early-season losses and no-decisions took him out of the Cy Young race,
but no team's ace is pitching better than Pettitte heading into the home stretch.
7. Wang numbers
Chien-Ming Wang is 15-3 with a 3.48 ERA since May 16 but has been inexplicably shut out of the Cy Young debate. He's 35-12 over the last two seasons and enters September tied for the league lead in victories as he tries to lead the AL in wins in back-to-back years.
8. Rocket fueled
Yes, Roger Clemens is a six-inning pitcher, but he just two-hit the Red Sox in his last six-inning performance and Boston hitters said he was throwing much harder than they expected.
Would you rather have the Rocket or the Indians' third starter (Paul Byrd?) in Game 3 of a playoff series?
9. Beware the sleeping Damon
The last time Johnny Damon had an utterly disappointing regular season was his lone year in Oakland in 2001 when he hit a career-low .256. All he did in those playoffs was rake the Yankees for nine hits and a .409 average in Oakland's five-game loss. Damon enhanced his legend as a clutch playoff performer with his two-homer performance in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS and then went on to post a .619 slugging percentage in Boston's four-game sweep of St. Louis. He may not be the player he was then anymore, but after eight playoff series in the last six seasons,
Damon won't be fazed by the pressure of the playoffs and could salvage his season in a one-month burst.
10. The skipper
If anyone deserves to go out on his own terms, it's Joe Torre. He set the bar impossibly high for himself with four titles in his first five seasons in New York and getting the team to the playoffs every year since just hasn't been good enough. From the street corner to talk radio to the front office, Torre has been kicked around. But Chamberlain's arrival has made him suddenly seem as smart as he used to be. If he does steer this edition of the Yankees to a title — despite using
EIGHT different rookie starting pitchers this season —
here's hoping he invites all his detractors to kiss his posterior on his way into a well-earned retirement.
maybe not,
Korbel
