Pitching Matchups
Game 1
Matsuzaka (14-12) 4.44 ERA 1.33 WHIP
vs NYY (2-1) 6.98 ERA 1.40 WHIP
Pettitte (13-8) 3.78 ERA 1.40 WHIP
vs Bos (2-1) 4.75 ERA 1.58 WHIP
Game 2
Beckett (18-6) 3.27 ERA 1.14 WHIP
vs NYY (1-1) 5.49 ERA 1.83 WHIP
Wang (18-6) 3.69 ERA 1.27 WHIP
vs Bos (3-1) 3.24 ERA 1.44 WHIP
Game 3
Schilling (8-7) 3.93 ERA 1.28 WHIP
vs NYY (0-2) 5.76 ERA 1.52 WHIP
Clemens (6-6) 4.45 ERA 1.34 WHIP
vs Bos (1-0) 1.50 ERA 1.17 WHIP
The two big boppers for the team are really hitting right now.
Alex Rodriguez
Hitting .486 in September with .568 OBP and slugging 1.162. He is also the future MVP of the American League this season.
David Ortiz
Hitting .341 in September with a .472 OBP and slugging .805. Coming off his 13th career walk-off homerun.
I wanted to add two players from each team that I think could really play huge roles in the success of their teams.
For the Yankees
Joba Chamberlain
Well Joba sure did send a message when the Sox were in the Bronx. Anybody who's thrown 16 scoreless innings sure is doing something right. The Yankees were stuggling to find a guy that could get the ball to Rivera and Joba sure has stepped up in that role.
Johnny Damon
Having a down season, but he still plays a big role for the Yankees. His role is even bigger with Jeter a bit banged up. Damon needs to find a way to get on base for the big bats that follow him. I'm also sure that Damon is poised to come up big against the Red Sox.
For the Red Sox
Manny Ramirez
Well firstly it matters if he actually plays for this series. He took batting practice Wendesday and could be ready for the series. Obviously this would be a huge lift for the Red Sox to get their cleanup hitter back. Manny is a career Yankees killer and is doing it yet again this season. Hitting .392 with 4 homeruns. Of course it's also very important the Sox don't bring him back to early and he ends up being gone for the playoffs.
Clay Buchholz
Much like Chamberlain will be pitching in a role he won't see all that much in his career. Obviously looking at the Red Sox starters numbers against the Yankees the pen will play a major role. And the young Buchholz could be one of the major guys to help out. Of course he's only come into one game in relief, but he did throw 3 scoreless innings.
I believe this series will end up being a battle of the pens. The Red Sox have the better one and I expect them to prove it this weekend. The Red Sox really need Dice-K to come up with a solid outing in game 1. However, he's been far from solid lately. For the series I'm going with Sox take two out of three. Yanks win the first, Sox come back and take the next two.
