Lots of Predictions

Before I continue on to my opinion of the pitching matchups between New York and Detroit, I'd like to address some ridiculous notions that I have been hearing from baseball pundits all around. I'm not going to quote anything word for word, as a lot of this comes from pay sites, but some things that I've read recently. I don't know whether to attribute this to poor journalism or just anti-Yankee bias.

1. Jorge Posada is a terrible catcher. The Tigers are going to run all over him (despite throwing out 38% of baserunners this season)

2. Hideki Matsui's stroke isn't back yet. The Tigers are going to blow fastballs by him. (Despite batting .412/.484/.608 since returning)

3. Scott Proctor is not only worn out, but a shakey bridge to Mariano Rivera (despite being one of the AL's most valued and durable relievers this season and finishing the season with an ERA of 1.76 in September.

4. The Yankees can't play defense... at all (Despite finishing the season with a DER of of .7108, second among AL playoff teams. Detroit is in first)

5. The Yankees play a station to station game, which won't work in the playoffs (Despite the baserunning talents of Jeter, Damon, Arod, and Abreu, not to mention speed from Cano, Matsui, Sheffield and pretty much the entire bench)

6. The Yankee starting pitching is vastly inferior to the rest of the AL teams (Despite having 2 of the top ten pitchers in the AL, and better 3/4 starters than the Twins or Athletics)

7. Billy Wagner is going to be better than Mariano Rivera (Do I need to even start on this one?)


*sigh*. Time to start on those pitching matchups.