Zack Britton: "rotation ... innings is still the formula to win ... starting pitching is what’s going to get you a World Series championship".
Duh? Really, except for Yankee general manager Brian Cashman and his media sycophants, who are abandoning him now, who didn't know that six innings are more important than three innings?
Brian Cashman and his bullpen strategy exposed. At best: win battle, lose war. Sunday, October 20, 2019
Brian Cashman needs a performance review. Monday, October 21, 2019
For the Yankees, Good Is Not Good Enough in the Age of the Astros
The 2010s will end without a pennant for the Yankees, the first time that has happened since the 1910s.
By Tyler Kepner Oct. 20, 2019 HOUSTON nytimes.com/
The mighty Yankees, the most successful team in baseball history, have lost in the postseason more often than they have won...
... the Yankees have been bounced from the postseason 28 times. In three of the last four knockouts, the Astros have dealt the blow...
The Astros have traded for a new ace each season — Justin Verlander, (Gerrit) Cole and Zack Greinke — and each cost four players and a lot of money. But each has been worth it...
... (the Yankees) entertained Patrick Corbin in free agency last winter but would not offer a six-year contract. The Washington Nationals did, and now they are in the World Series. The free agent the Yankees did sign, J.A. Happ, was not deemed worthy of a postseason start, after a mediocre follow-up to his impressive cameo last summer...
... (the Yankees) need starters they will allow to pitch deep into games — specifically Cole, who will be a free agent...
Here are the seven pitchers who have ever signed contracts worth at least $175 million: Price, Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, Greinke, Verlander, Felix Hernandez and Stephen Strasburg. Four — Verlander, Greinke, Scherzer and Strasburg — will be pitching in the World Series this week...
The Yankees have not spent nine figures on a starter since 2014, when they wisely signed Masahiro Tanaka for seven years and $155 million. They have outspent the field for relievers Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton and Adam Ottavino, while asking for less of their starters than almost any other team. It is time to rethink the model.
“You watch the Nationals that are in the World Series, and these guys, obviously, with their rotation — starters is still the way to go,” Britton said after Game 6, acknowledging that the Yankees’ relievers were exhausted by the end. “If you have a great bullpen, that only helps you. But having four to five guys in the rotation that give you innings is still the formula to win. We came really close with our formula.”
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Yankees Are Left to Wonder How to Clear That Final Hurdle
The franchise’s bullpen-centric formula and plans at other positions could face review this off-season as the team decides on players like Aroldis Chapman, Brett Gardner and Didi Gregorius.
By James Wagner Oct. 20, 2019 HOUSTON nytimes.com
... closer Aroldis Chapman, who gave up the series-ending home run to Jose Altuve on Saturday night ... said he would like to finish his career with the Yankees, Chapman maintains the right to opt out of the remaining two years and nearly $34 million on his contract...
One solution could be flipping their bullpen-centric formula and building a stronger starting rotation instead.
“I still think starting pitching is what’s going to get you a World Series championship at the end of the day,” said Britton ...
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Say what? The Yankees might escape the final two years of that ridiculous five year contract that Cashman gave to Aroldis Chapman? Yippie!
For Astros and Nationals, a World Series Flush With Aces
Sure, there are offensive stars in Houston and Washington. But the theme of this Fall Classic is clear: Two groups of dominant, durable starters will be going toe-to-toe on the mound.
By Tyler Kepner Oct. 22, 2019 HOUSTON nytimes.com
The Astros are the only American League team with three starters who worked 200 innings this season: Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke. The Nationals are the only National League team with two such starters — Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin — plus a third, Max Scherzer, who led the N.L. in strikeouts per nine innings...
“I can’t speak for all the fans, but I’m looking forward to the fact that we might see a Cole and a Scherzer or a Strasburg and a Verlander go toe-to-toe for seven or eight innings,” said Jim Kaat, who pitched 25 seasons in the majors. “I’ve always thought when you come to the ballpark, you look at the starting pitchers.” ...
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Note: Years ago Jim Kaat said that Yankee relief ace Mariano Rivera was the most valuable and important Yankee, more than every day players like Derek Jeter. I always wrote that that was nonsense. Rivera simply didn't perform enough. KM
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... there is something reassuring about a matchup between the two postseason teams that got the most innings from their starters in the regular season.
While many teams have reimagined their pitching philosophy — asking less of starters in an effort to maximize strikeouts and, they hope, minimize injury risk — two collections of durable, dominant aces are left standing at the end of this season...
Using an opener — as the Yankees and the Astros did in the decisive Game 6 of the A.L. Championship Series, which ended on a homer by second baseman Jose Altuve — can sometimes make sense, Verlander said, but not in the long run...
The six aces average more than $25 million per season in salary, with Cole ready for a free-agency bonanza this winter. The Nationals’ fourth starter, the veteran Anibal Sanchez, was a bargain free agent (two years, $19 million) who nearly pitched a no-hitter in the N.L. Championship Series...
... first World Series since 1912 with six pitchers coming off seasons of at least five wins above replacement.
“It’s going to be a World Series dominated by starting pitching,” Astros General Manager Jeff Luhnow said.
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