I was going to break down the pitching matchups for game 3, but John Flaherty does a brilliant job on the lohud blog, here, that I couldn’t possibly hope to match. To sum up: Pettitte’s done a great job of pitching to both sides of the plate, but needs to hit spots and can’t afford to make many mistakes at this point in his career. There’s also some concern over having a week between starts which may cause some rust. Pavano (The American Idle) has a good, sinking 2-seamer. When that pitch is really going well, he’s tough, but Flaherty thinks his baggage may cause him to be overwhelmed by the moment.
My take on Flaherty’s assessment is that, if Flaherty’s correct, this should make for a good matchup for Andy. The Twins will grind out hits, but they are not a team with a ton of power that will punish mistakes with long, elegantly curling home runs. Therefore, Andy should be able to work through any rust without putting himself in a huge hole. If he gives the Yankess three runs through 6+, they should have a good chance of sweeping the pesky Twins. I’d like to also add that Pettitte, as a lefty, has an added edge against the overly left handed Twins
I’m somewhat in disagreement over John’s take on Pavano. As lazy, annoying, and frustrating as he is, Carl Pavano has actually generally rose to the occasion in big spots. His problems have often been based in conditioning and mindset over the long haul of a season, not in short series and big games. He has a 2.70 ERA against the Yanks this year and a stellar 1.40 ERA in 8 postseason games (some as a reliever). I think we might be in for a solid, if hard-to-swallow, pitching performance by the Idler tonight.
What do you guys think? Will Carl blow up tonight or will he reach back for something extra and give the Yanks a hard time at the plate?
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I agree with your analysis–Pavano will probably pitch a decent game against us. But, I think that the Yanks have another late inning rally win in them tonight.
The goal of the Yankees tonight is to just win the game. Beating up on Pavano is a media indulgence to fan’s frustrations with Pavano’s performance in pinstripes.
Just win the game.
Tom G. OldFan(Quote)
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Tom Gaffney Reply:
October 11th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Your attitude is probably the healthier one, but for someone like myself, who is obsessed with symbols and analysis, Pavano is a representative symbol of the futility of the past few years. In a way, it’s fitting that we beat him in order to advance (and put away the past?) Tom Gaffney(Quote)
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OldFan Reply:
October 11th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Don’t get me wrong, I, too,would love to see Pavano pummelled and leave in the 4th down 7-1.
I agree with you that a good knocking around of Pavano would be a good Symbolic gesture of renewal for this Yankee team. That’s a great thought.
On the other hand, it would be good to keep the Yankees’ heads from getting too big, and keep the tension and focus on getting ready for a tough Angels team.
I’d rather see a 7-4 win tonight, instead of a 5 homer, 13-4 win.
Save the blow-out for the last game of the Series.
But, despite what we may want, what will happen tonight will happen. I- can’t -wait.
The Angels have to be feeling very good about themselves the way they came back on Papelbon. Fenway was so quiet in the ninth, you could hear a churchmouse sneeze. I’ll bet Pap has come down a few notches. I don’t think that he will be saying that he should close out the allstar game over Mo, next year, if he is lucky enough to still make it. A lot of these young power pitchers, who feed on emotion,and intimidation and who have amazing early career success, fizzle out quite quickly, when they lose their confidence in a historic meltdown.
But I truly hope he still remains a worthy foe next year.Baseball is still just a game and entertainment, and the guys who play it are just real human beings.
Regards,
Tom G. OldFan(Quote)
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I see Pavano getting in his own way in this one! We all know with Pavano it was never stuff it was always injury and mental lapses that kept him from being great every time out, and buy not letting him start a game in New York it shows they don’t believe in his mental fortitude to get past playing in New York and I think even in Minnesota it will get to him and he is going to want to throw a shut out and shut us up and get in his own way doing so. The other Chris H(Quote)
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I can’t escape the feeling that Pavano managed to beat the system yet again.
Somehow Listless Carl managed to pitch just well enough to impress potential free agent suitors in 2010, and just poorly enough to end the Twins season. It just seems a little bit too convenient.
http://www.mepreport.com/2009/10/ghosts-of-free-agents-past/ Russ(Quote)
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The other Chris H Reply:
October 16th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Yeah he shows up when his contract is on the line, you notice when he actually started to pitch well as a Yankee and his career year was his last with the Marlins… Guy steps up when he can get money! The other Chris H(Quote)
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