Are you frustrated? Tired of the Red Sox and their lack of good baseball? Angered at that last road trip? Well, look no further! The Yankees are here for you to dump your hatred on and for the Red Sox to finally play some good baseball.
NEW YORK YANKEES – 62-58, 4th place in the AL East (8.5 GB)
If there was ever a series for the anti-Yankee hecklers to come out, this is it. I mean, come on, you’ve got the then number one guy on Bud Selig’s “Kill Him Dead” list playing and pinstripes trudging through Fenway. The rivalry hasn’t felt this lopsided against the Yankees in quite a long time, and with the Scandal To (Sort Of) End All Scandals to play, this’ll be a grudge match to see.
Gardner, one of the few competent players on the team.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
1 – Brett Gardner – CF – .271/.339/.407
2 – Ichiro Suzuki – RF – .275/.310/.365
3 – Robinson Cano – 2B – .300/.384/.500
4 – Alex Rodriguez – 3B – .278/.350/.417 (in 40 PA)
- Saying A-Rod is declining is like saying the Sahara is warm. He’s been falling fast in his last few seasons, and that desert is hotter than any place on earth.
- Both his walk rate and his strikeout rate are starting to really pull away from his career norms. And not in a good way.
- Despite all that, he still manages to be a surprisingly above-average hitter with a 113 wRC.
5 – Curtis Granderson – DH – .286/.405/.457 (in 84 PA)
- An interesting note with Granderson – every time his walk rate rose, his strikeout rate went along with it. Like clockwork, it happened every year since 2010.
- Still possesses a lot of power, especially with Yankee Stadium’s right field, but got wrecked on averages last year due to a low BABIP.
- For all his defensive “prowess”, hasn’t had any good defensive metrics since 2007. No, really. He’s bad out there.
6 – Alfonso Soriano – LF – .261/.293/.492
- It’s not often that by your 75th PA, you already rank 4th in fWAR for position players on your team. But, alas, this guy has done it!
- Doesn’t walk a lot. Strikes out a ton. Smashes a lot of long homers. These are the life and times of Alfonso Soriano, professional baseball guy.
- Unlike the guy just above him in this lineup, Soriano does decently in the field. 2009 was his last bad season with the glove.
7 – Lyle Overbay – 1B – .250/.301/.419
8 – Eduardo Nunez – SS – .233/.288/.321 (in 217 PA)
9 – Chris Stewart – C – .224/.299/.283
He’s a southpaw trending north.
SERIES PROBABLES
Andy Pettitte vs. Felix Doubront
Lefty versus southpaw to kick this series off. So, naturally, the Red Sox will do what they do best: look completely inept against a decent LHP. Pettitte doesn’t strike out as many guys as he used to, but he’s crafty enough to get the job done and confound even the Red Sox’ best right-handed hitters.
Here’s Kuroda’s stats for the second half of the season: 1.25 ERA, .219 batting average against, and no home runs given up. Don’t be surprised if this turns into a pitching duel again if Lackey regains his form after a few bad starts.
C.C. Sabathia vs. Ryan Dempster
It’s primetime, and we have the unusually ineffective Sabathia going up against human batting tee Dempster. Yes, Dempster had a good start yesterday, but I’m normally pessimistic about guys being paid to be inning-eaters when they don’t actually do it. Also, we all remember what happened the last time the Yanks & Sox had a nationally televised game:
INJURY REPORT
- New York
- Derek Jeter: 15-day DL (August 3rd, strained right calf)
- Travis Hafner: 15-day DL (July 27th, strained right shoulder)
- Boston
- Nothing new to report.
IN CONCLUSION
A-Rod. The Yankees. And the Red Sox desperately needing wins. Let the rivalry be renewed once more!