We've Seen This Before
- Details
- Created on Tuesday, 27 September 2011 00:13
- Written by Demian
Boston Red Sox fans, stop me if you've seen this before. Baseball team is up 9.0 games in the AL East in September. Team proceeds to lose 15 of their last 18 games, six of which were by 10 runs or more. The offense sputters during the last week of the season, scoring just over 2 runs a game and going into the last few games of the year, it is down to a 2.5 game lead with the last three games versus Baltimore.
Yah, this has been played out before, but you have to look at the year 2000, when the New York Yankees held a 9.0 game lead in the AL East with 18 games left in the season. The Yankees would go on to fall quickly, led by their lack of pitching. The staff posted a 7.24 ERA and they couldn't get out of their own way.
That team was led by a center fielder that hit 30+ HR, the only person on the team to hit 30 HR. It was Bernie Williams, not Jacoby Ellsbury, the only Red Sox hitter with 30+ HR. That Yankees team had a starting pitcher that posted a 4-14 record with a 6.91 ERA and another starting pitcher with a 7-7 record with a 5.81 ERA. Both David Cone and Denny Neagle struggled as the 4 & 5 starters, but managed to keep the team above water. Meanwhile, the Sox have a starter that is 12-12 with a 6.41 ERA and another starter that is 7-8 with a 5.12 ERA. John Lackey and Tim Wakefield are trying to keep this team above water. No starter on either team had more than 200 Ks that year either.
Both teams feature stud closers in Mariano Rivera and Jon Papelbon. Both set up men were decent power throwers, averaging 9.2 K/9. Though Jeff Nelson and his 8-4 record were a lot better than Daniel Bard's 2-9 record. These two teams were so similar that the Yankees home attendance averaged 37,261 vs and the Sox this year pulled in, on average, 37,243.
The 87-74 Yankees had a lot of heat going into that postseason. How could this team regain their composure and win anything versus the Oakland Athletics? They went on to win that first round 3-2, and then they went on to knock off the Seattle Mariners, 4-2, before they met up with the New York Mets and won the World Series 4-1.
If you ask me if I'm worried about the Sox, I'll tell you I'm not worried at all. It's been done before, and it'll be done again. Count it.
