Friday, September 25, 2009
RedSox (91-61) @ Yankees (97-56), Friday, September 25, 2009, 7:05pm **Mismatch Chatter**
Lineups
Boston Red Sox
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF (.303/.350/.421, 1.9 WAR)
Dustin Pedroia, 2B (.301/.372/.447, 4.3 WAR)
Victor Martinez, 1B (.299/.379/.472, 7.0 WAR)
Kevin Youkilis, 3B (.302/.410/.542, 4.6 WAR)
David Ortiz, DH (.237/.331/.459, 0.4 WAR)
Jason Bay, LF (.265/.386/.545, 3.2 WAR)
J.D. Drew, RF (.267/.386/.495, 3.6 WAR)
(.210/.316/.395, 0.8 WAR)
Alex Gonzalez, SS (.302/.308/.476, 0.9 WAR)
Total, (.278/.366/.472, 26.7 WAR)
1916 Philadelphia Athletics
Derek Jeter, SS (.329/.397/.460, 5.4 WAR)
Johnny Damon, LF (.285/.365/.497, 3.2 WAR)
Mark Teixeira, 1B (.292/.383/.567, 5.1 WAR)
Alex Rodriguez, 3B (.283/.402/.519, 3.0 WAR)
Hideki Matsui, DH (.278/.370/.525, 2.1 WAR)
Jorge Posada, C (.283/.360/.529, 1.3 WAR)
Robinson Cano, 2B (.320/.350/.515, 3.0 WAR)
Nick Swisher, RF (.251/.366/.495, 2.7 WAR)
Melky Cabrera, CF (.273/.332/.416, 1.3 WAR)
Total, (.291/.370/.502, 27.1 WAR)
Yankee Win Probability: -100.0%
Regular readers know that the most important consideration in baseball is the business side of things. The Yankees opened New Yankee Stadium this year and have put a very good team on the field, which has clearly been good for business. However, the one thing they haven’t done yet in NYS is clinch a division title. Clinching a division title after missing the playoffs entirely in 2008 would be huge.
1) Playoff games mean additional revenue
2) Playoff games mean additional exposure in postseason advertising
3) Playoff games mean more concessions sold
4) Playoff games mean more good will amongst your fan base
5) Playoff games make it more likely to sell out your tickets
6) More sellouts induce product scarcity, which creates greater demand for ALL tickets
6) All that means PROFIT
7) PROFIT IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS
So yeah, the Yankees need to win the division. If they don’t sweep this series, they can’t clinch the division in front of Boston at home. Clinching the division in front of Boston at home is important. They can’t sweep this series if they don’t win tonight’s game. That makes tonight’s game seriously important.
It won’t be easy. While Zack Greinke deserves to win the Cy Young and probably will, Lester has been outpitching him over their last 20 starts.
Lester: 135.3 IP, 102 H, 8 HR, 39 BB, 153 K, 2.13 ERA, 2.59 FIP, Opponents hitting: .207/.264/.297
Greinke: 134.3 IP, 120 H, 11 HR, 35 BB, 141 K, 2.68 ERA, 2.99 FIP, Opponents hitting: .237/.288/.368
So not only do the Yankees have to deal with Lester, they’re throwing out Joba Chamberlain, who’s been awful lately. It’s possibly his last chance to make a case for being the fourth starter in the postseason, and we know he’s shown the talent to be a good starter before, so maybe he’ll surprise us and not give up seven runs in the second inning.
Go Yankees.
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