Beckett is as good as it gets this year and is (unfortunately) a huge part of the reason that the Sox are still right there. I take him and Halladay if I get to pick my one-two punch for the rest of the year.

I hope the Yankees are well rested after taking last night off.

quote:

Originally posted by MiamiWineNovice:
Lincecum's last 10 starts have come against the Dodgers (who are good but seriously struggling), CIN (weak offense), Philly (legit), PIT (weak offense), ATL (mediocre), PIT (weak), SD (weak), Hou (weak), STL (mediocre) and Oakland (mediocre). These are the types of lineups Lincecum is facing on a daily basis. Beckett has faced DET, NYY, BAL, OAK, TEX, KC, OAK, BAL, ATL, ATL.

Based on your criteria -

DET (mediocre +), NYY (legit, but playing in a bandbox), BAL (med.), OAK (med.), TEX (med. +), KC (weak), OAK(med.), BAL (med.), ATL (med.), ATL (med.).

I won't debate that Beckett has proven it in a big game. That is the one big difference that I see.

Hey Board-O,

Brett Tomko, Brett Tomko, Brett Tomko

quote:

Originally posted by Dom'n'Vin'sDad:

Based on your criteria -

DET (mediocre +), NYY (legit, but playing in a bandbox), BAL (med.), OAK (med.), TEX (med. +), KC (weak), OAK(med.), BAL (med.), ATL (med.), ATL (med.).

I won't debate that Beckett has proven it in a big game. That is the one big difference that I see.

I won't argue that some of those starts were against mediocre starts. All I'm saying is that Beckett facing the likes of NYY, Tex, LAA, TB, DET and the rest of the AL is, IMO, a more daunting task than the overall strength of the NL.

And playing in the Yankees in their bandbox makes it even more difficult for a pitcher.

That said, I have Lincecum's start tonight TIVO'ed.

quote:

Originally posted by Dom'n'Vin'sDad:
Hey Board-O,

Brett Tomko, Brett Tomko, Brett Tomko

Yeah, I watched

quote:

Originally posted by MiamiWineNovice:

And playing in the Yankees in their bandbox makes it even more difficult for a pitcher.

That said, I have Lincecum's start tonight TIVO'ed.

Don't forget the NL bandboxes - Philly, Cincinatti, Houston.

Lincecum hasn't pitched at any of those this year.

Beckett has pitched at NYY (twice), at Texas, at Baltimore (twice) and at Philly.

I wouldn't call Texas or Baltimore bandboxes.

Really? Texas isn't?

"And chances are pretty good you'll like your seats once you get to them. Every seat in the park is pointed to the outfield, and while the entire ballpark sprawls, the actual seating bowl and playing field are pretty intimate. Probably a little too intimate -- the warning track surrounding the stands actually juts into fair territory (as you can see below) as there's not much foul space, and the ballpark as a deserved reputation as a bandbox." Taken from http://www.ballparkdigest.com/....html?article_id=495

http://www.hittrackeronline.com/stadiums.php has the park factor in Arlington analogous to Philly.

Lots of ballparks have the warning track jutting into fair territory.

But, the Rangers do hit more homeruns at home than on the road, so maybe, although they play a great deal of their away games at AL West parks, that are pretty spacious....

quote:

Originally posted by Dom'n'Vin'sDad:
Lots of ballparks have the warning track jutting into fair territory.

But, the Rangers do hit more homeruns at home than on the road, so maybe, although they play a great deal of their away games at AL West parks, that are pretty spacious....

Only looking at Park Factors, Arlington is not pitcher friendly.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/parkfactor

I think these numbers can be criticized, however, since NL lineups tend to be a bit weaker than AL lineups (offensively)

After last night, maybe we should be arguing about Jamie Moyer and Ross Ohlendorf!!!

DvVD,

Looks like for the next 6-7 weeks I might have to act like Dodger fan and root for the Giants to tank it...at least when you don't play the Rockies..LOL

quote:

Originally posted by Dom'n'Vin'sDad:
After last night, maybe we should be arguing about Jamie Moyer and Ross Ohlendorf!!!

No kidding! Maybe if we start arguing the Yankees and Dodgers have the best rotations in baseball they will suck it up too!

Another great night for Mauer last night.

I guess the bandbox in Philly did't hurt Cliff Lee last night. A complete game 2 hitter with 11 strikeouts. He is now 4-0 since the trade with a sub 1.00 ERA.

Nice to see the Sox starting to hit again. Very excited for the Beckett/Fattyboombalatty matchup Sunday night.

quote:

Originally posted by big and red:
I guess the bandbox in Philly did't hurt Cliff Lee last night. A complete game 2 hitter with 11 strikeouts. He is now 4-0 since the trade with a sub 1.00 ERA.

quote:

Originally posted by big and red:
I guess the bandbox in Philly did't hurt Cliff Lee last night. A complete game 2 hitter with 11 strikeouts. He is now 4-0 since the trade with a sub 1.00 ERA.

He could play in a little league field and the difference of pitching in the NL now compared to what the AL used to be like for him would make it play like PetCo!

hey Dom, any bets on who takes the NL West?

quote:

Originally posted by Dom'n'Vin'sDad:
After last night, maybe we should be arguing about Jamie Moyer and Ross Ohlendorf!!!

Or maybe Barry Zito and Bronson Arroyo!!!

quote:

Originally posted by kumazam:
hey Dom, any bets on who takes the NL West?

What I thought was going to be a runaway, doesn't look so much like one now. Let's see what happens this weekend in Colorado.

Yup. And if I believed the Rockies were anything more than smoke and mirrors I might be talking trash right now. The pitching has been unbelievable...well, unbelievable for the Rockies.

Moo

It's been a little quiet around these parts without IceWino the last few days.

Syd and Board-O - ready for some baseball this weekend??

I'm not too confident now. Boston looks like it's gotten its act together now. This should be a good, hard-fought series, no matter which team you root for.