As usual for Sunday mornings, we are here to set up the upcoming week. First up, the games of the week, followed by your two-start starters for the week, and the schedule advantages and disadvantages.
Series of the Week – Monday through Wednesday
Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
With the Red Sox lead in the American League East in double-digits over all teams, including the Yankees, this series is far from a must-win for the Red Sox. For the Yankees, though, not winning at least two in this series could put them too far down to overcome. Yes, I know it is early, and, yes, I know that the Yankees came back from 14 back against the Red Sox in 1978, but there are two differences between those teams and these:
- Depending how Sunday’s games go, the lead might be more than 14 if the Sox sweep in the Bronx, and,
- This is not the 1978 Yankees.
As much as some Yankee fans would like to hope and think, the return of Roger Clemens is not going to end all of this team’s problems. The return of Roger Clemens cannot get Bobby Abreu hitting, or fix Robinson Cano, or fix Mike Mussina, or fill both the No. 4 and No. 5 starting pitching spots. Nor will it fix the Yankees’ middle relief problems, although he will at least help there every fifth day.
The Sox would certainly love to bury the Yankees here, and they used the rainouts to juggle their rotation so that Tim Wakefield could get the start Monday in the Bronx instead of Sunday against the Braves. Matching up opposite Wakefield on Monday is the previously discussed Mussina. Since coming back from the disabled list, Mussina is 2-1, but only one of his starts has been a quality start, and none of his starts this season has seen him last past the sixth inning. He has also only had two starts all year where he has picked up more than a couple of strikeouts, and opponents are hitting a robust .299 against Mussina. This matchup does not bode well for the Moose.
The Tuesday match-up has Julian Tavarez for the Sox and Chien-Ming Wang for the Yankees. While Tavarez was one of the most outspoken that the Red Sox did not need Clemens, that was self-preservation talking, as he knew that was his job. As it is, this could be Tavarez’ last start, as Jon Lester is very close to being ready to come back and return to the majors. Only two of Tavarez’ seven starts have been quality starts, although two of them have come in his three starts this month. Wang has pitched well this month, with two of his three May starts being quality starts, but those are also his only two quality starts this year.
And the finale of the series pits Curt Schilling against Andy Pettitte. Four of Schilling’s last five starts have been quality starts, but he has just two wins to show for it. Schilling is 1-0 this month with a 3.96 ERA, 24 strikeouts, and eight walks in 25 innings over four starts for May. Pettitte has had even worse luck than Schilling, as all four of his May starts have been quality starts, and he has a 2.63 ERA in those starts, yet his record is just 1-2. His last three starts have all been at least seven innings. The Yankees certainly cannot blame Pettitte for their failings of late.
Series of the Week – Weekend Edition
Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves
The Phillies have somewhat righted the ship and are at least playing .500 ball, but if they want any chance to catch the Mets they have to first catch the Braves. Ryan Howard will be back for this series, but which Ryan Howard? Prior to his promotion to the majors, I had the chance to see Howard on a couple of occasions in the Arizona Fall League. Flailing at anything that was not a fastball, Howard reminded me more of Pedro Cerano than a future superstar, and his high minor league strikeout numbers gave me no faith in Howard’s ability to continue to crush the ball at the major league level. One and a half years of Howard as the Rookie of the Year and as MVP made my fears look foolish, but maybe not the way this year is playing out. Maybe it is the injuries, or maybe major league pitchers have figured out Howard, as he is hitting just .204 with six home runs. For the Phillies to have a chance to win the division, or even the wild card, they need to get Howard back to close to last year’s form.
For the Braves, they will need to figure out, both long-term and short-term, what to do about catcher and first base. Simply put, Scott Thorman is not hitting. With just a .232 batting average and two home runs this month, Thorman is one of the worst hitting first baseman in the game right now. If not for his two-homer, five-RBI game against the Pirates on May 12th, Thorman would be homerless for May with just six RBI. Meanwhile, both Brian McCann and Jarrod Saltalamacchia are hitting, but both are catchers. The Braves are able to play both in Boston this weekend thanks to the Designated Hitter, but when they return to the National League that will not be the case. Both McCann and Saltalamacchia need to play, and both have shown they are better hitters than Thorman.
