As I noted earlier this week, the AL East has become a division dominated by pitching. Dugout Central took a look at the projections for the rotations of the three contenders in the division, and reached an unsurprising conclusion:
Team Projection IP HR BB SO FIP
Yankees Total 840.3 72 265 696 3.60
Red Sox Total 808.7 83 292 638 4.04
Rays Total 769.3 88 232 637 3.94We can see that even here the Yankees reign supreme, and quite significantly too. They get the most IPs out of their starters, they give up the least home runs and strike out the most batters. Injuries can, of course, change things. But if they stay healthy, the Yankees rotation is a force to be reckoned with – at least this is what the projections say.
There you have it. Bookmark this post, so that when you get into arguments with Red Sox fans about this, you can point out that past performance suggests that Boston has the third best rotation in the division, with the Yankees being comfortably in the lead. If all three teams stay healthy, the Yankees should be carried by their pitching to a division crown.
Damn, looks good on paper…that’s why they play the games.
Wouldn’t it be great if that stat where to holdup all year long. Looks like our pitching is rounding into shape. Now, if the gods were on our side…it would be over with.
I just hope to have everyone healthy this year. If that comes to fruition, we should win the Division and even the WS (maybe). Old Ranger(Quote)
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Moshe Mandel Reply:
March 18th, 2009 at 10:58 am
It is good to look at the pitching and not have to have your fingers crossed regarding performance. If this team is healthy, those numbers are very much within reach. Moshe Mandel(Quote)
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It’s a cool comparison. The only caveat to throw out there is that I wonder whether FIP is the best stat to use, because both Tampa and Boston have much better fielding than us. Tom Gaffney(Quote)
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Moshe Mandel Reply:
March 18th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Fair enough. However, the gap is quite large regardless. Moshe Mandel(Quote)
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The best part of those projections is they short Joba, Pettite and Wang innings.
Joba 120 when the team says he should get 150 innings.
Pettitte 180 and should if he stays healthy give 200 plus.
Wang projected at 153 is just absurd as he as well should be over 200.
You can if the the rotation stays healthy easily project another 100 innings onto the 860 in that article. Add to that what Hughes might throw and this is arguably the best staff in baseball. scott l(Quote)
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