Can the New York Yankees flip a switch and make all their bad play over the last month of the regular season disappear? We'll know soon enough.
It was disappointing watching the Yankees limp their way to the finish line, especially against the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees had firm control of their own destiny and could have finished at the top of the American League East division by taking the series this weekend. Instead, they have to settle for the wild card after losing the last two games of the season in a very ugly fashion.
But the real question is whether the Yankees will automatically start playing better on Wednesday. Granted, their chances of playing winning baseball vastly improve when they don't have to turn to AJ Burnett, Ivan Nova and Dustin Moseley to pitch important games. In the next couple of days, we'll likely hear Joe Girardi announce that he's going with a starting rotation of CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes (probably in that order as Girardi will go with experience over youth in a potential Game 5).
Sabathia has carried the Yankees on his bank over the last two months, Pettitte has a sparkling postseason pedigree and Hughes had a far better year than anyone could have imagined, going from winning the fifth starter job in spring training to being the #3 starter. A rotation like that could ease the pressure on the offense and allow the hitters to get into a productive rhythm.
But the Bronx Bombers are going to have to turn it back on or they will be going home sooner than they'd like.
It was disappointing watching the Yankees limp their way to the finish line, especially against the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees had firm control of their own destiny and could have finished at the top of the American League East division by taking the series this weekend. Instead, they have to settle for the wild card after losing the last two games of the season in a very ugly fashion.
But the real question is whether the Yankees will automatically start playing better on Wednesday. Granted, their chances of playing winning baseball vastly improve when they don't have to turn to AJ Burnett, Ivan Nova and Dustin Moseley to pitch important games. In the next couple of days, we'll likely hear Joe Girardi announce that he's going with a starting rotation of CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes (probably in that order as Girardi will go with experience over youth in a potential Game 5).
Sabathia has carried the Yankees on his bank over the last two months, Pettitte has a sparkling postseason pedigree and Hughes had a far better year than anyone could have imagined, going from winning the fifth starter job in spring training to being the #3 starter. A rotation like that could ease the pressure on the offense and allow the hitters to get into a productive rhythm.
But the Bronx Bombers are going to have to turn it back on or they will be going home sooner than they'd like.
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