Which 1995-2010 Yankees Pitcher Would You Start in Game 7?

It's the World Series, Game 7, season on the line. You have a chance of choosing any Yankee pitcher from 1995-2010 and only have his resume on the Yankees to choose from. You have some great names on there: Coney, Key, El Duque, The Rocket, Andy, CC, etc. But you need to throw one guy out there for one very important game. I've been debating this all morning at work and over Twitter, but now it's time to put it out there on the blog: who would you take? Here are the candidates:

Sabathia dominated the Angels in the ALCS (USA Today)

CC Sabathia (B-R link)

It's a small sample size, but this may be my pick. Very few (if any) Yankee pitchers dominated a whole playoffs over three series. Overall he was 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA, striking out 32 and walking only 9. He dominated in the ALDS and ALCS and was very good in the World Series (though his record was 0-1). Sabathia's ALCS is what really puts him on this list as he absolutely dominated the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, going 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA, striking out 12, limiting the Angels to a .436 OPS against and going 8 innings in both his outings. Remember, though, that Sabathia came into last season with a reputation as a guy who couldn't cut it in October and while we're only going on their New York totals, this weighs quite heavily in a lot of people's minds. CC's total Win Probability Added (WPA) was 0.967 for the 2009 playoffs while FanGraphs clocks his FIP at 3.59 and his xFIP at 3.36.

From Twitter: @NYYEric: depends on if we get to choose the player as he was in that timeframe but I go with CC. (Andy close second)

Andy Pettitte (B-R link)

Certainly the sentimental pick of many (he was the runaway winner in my unofficial Twitter poll), but I'm wondering if he truly is the best pick. He's won the most series clinching games in history, but he also had his share of duds. In 11 ALDS series, Pettitte is 5-3 in 79.2 innings with a 3.73 ERA. In 7 ALCS series, he's 7-1 in 72.1 innings with a 3.73 ERA (and a 2001 ALCS MVP award). In 8 World Series, he's 5-4 in 77.2 innings with a 4.06 ERA. It all seems good, but there were some starts in there where he didn't even give his team a chance. His 1996 ALCS Game 5 and World Series Game 5 were great starts, but his World Series Game 2 in which he lasted only 2.1 innings and gave up 7 runs was not. In 1998, Pettitte was grat in the ALDS and World Series but he got bombed for 4 home runs in Game 3 of the ALCS. 1999 he breezed through the ALDS and ALCS but once again got bombed by Atlanta in the World Series. The problem was that when Pettitte really struggled (1997 ALDS, 2001 World Series, 2002 ALDS), the Yankees lost and he didn't even give them a chance to win. So would you like to have someone who keeps you in every game or one who looks like A.J. Burnett? Tough call. But overall, Pettitte was dominant with a 2.253 WPA in his first run of postseason stint in Pinstripes and a 0.833 WPA after he's returned from Houston. His 2009 postseason run where he won every single clinching game may have sealed this one for Pettitte in many people's minds.

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The Best of New York Baseball Bracket Challenge: Righthanded Starters

Mariano Rivera looks like a runaway winner in our closer bracket (as he should be) with only one lone vote going to the old-school Goose Gossage. We'll keep the voting going on the right until it's over but we need to start on our next group. Let's move on to the righthanded starting pitchers.

Yankees

Mike Mussina: Hey, I was surprised to put his name on this list too. But let's look at the evidence. He won 123 games from 2001-2008 at a .631 winning percentage. He put up a 3.88 ERA in a hitters division during one of the bigger power breakouts in the history of baseball. His wins leave him 7th among Yankee right handed starters but despite throwing a ton less innings than many of the other guys on the list he was 2nd in strikeouts and among pitchers with at least 1200 innings, he was 1st in BB/9 (1.84), 1st in K/9 (7.41), 3rd in WHIP (1.212), and first--by far--in SO/BB with a 4.02 rate there. He had some memorable playoff outings for the Yankees including 2001 against Oakland (the "flip play" game) and 2003 in relief against the Red Sox (the Aaron Boone game), though his most dominant outing as a Yankee was his perfect game through 8 2/3 against the Red Sox in Fenway until Carl Everett broke it up. (picture from Seven Good Innings)

Red Ruffing: It was tough to choose between Allie Reynolds and Red Ruffing. Amazingly, these two missed each other on the Yankees by one year. Each pitcher was 7-2 in the World Series for the Yankees with an ERA under 2.80. Each one won 6 World Series with the Yankees. And both had better winning percentages than Mike Mussina. But Ruffing pulled ahead because of the sheer numbers: 231 wins is 63 higher than the next closest Yankee righty. He had over a walk less per 9 innings than did Reynolds and had a better SO/BB ratio. It's really close between the two, but I'll go with the Hall of Famer Ruffing who came in the top 8 in MVP voting 3 years in a row (picture from A Yankee State of Mind)

Just missed: Allie Reynolds (who was probably jipped both here and in Hall of Fame voting) and Roger Clemens (who, if he hadn't gone to Houston for those years, may have been near the top of the list).

Mets

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MLB's Best of the Decade: Pitchers

A little while back, we looked at the best hitters of the decade. Now, let's look at the top pitchers in every category, courtesy of Baseball-Reference's Play Index (all averages min 700 innings) :

• Decisions - Livan Hernandez (252), Javier Vazquez (243), Barry Zito (239), Andy Pettitte (236), Greg Maddux (235)

• W - Pettitte (148), Randy Johnson (143), Jamie Moyer (140), Roy Hallady (138), Tim Hudson/Roy Oswalt (137)

• L - Livan (124), Vazquez (115), Jeff Suppan (109), Jeff Weaver (106), Zito (106)

• SV - Mariano Rivera (397), Trevor Hoffman (362), Jason Isringhausen (284), Billy Wagner (284), Francisco Cordero (250)

• W-L% - Pedro Martinez (.691), Roger Clemens (.682), Johan Santana (.670), Halladay (.667), Oswalt (.662)

• Games - David Weathers (712), LaTroy Hawkins (652), Rivera (649), Alan Embree (642), Kyle Farnsworth (626)

• Starts - Livan (331), Vazquez (326), Suppan (319), Zito (319), Moyer (315)

• CG - Halladay (46), Livan (36), Big Unit (32), CC Sabathia (28), Curt Schilling (26)

• SHO - Halladay (13), Big Unit (12), Hudson (11), Sabathia (11), Chris Carpenter/Mark Mulder (10)

• Games Finished - Rivera (587), Wagner (465), Hoffman (464), Izzy (447), Cordero (425)

• IP - Livan (2195), Vazquez (2157), Buehrle (2055), Zito (1993.2), Moyer (1980.1)

• ERA - Rivera (2.09), Pedro (3.00), Johan (3.12), Oswalt (3.23), John Smoltz (3.24)

• ERA+ - Rivera (214), Pedro (152), Johan (143), Brandon Webb (142), Big Unit (137)

• SO - Big Unit (2180), Vazquez (1992), Johan (1733), Pedro (1618), Sabathia (1587)

• BB/9 - Brad Radke (1.36), David Wells (1.40), Maddux (1.43), Schilling (1.47), Jon Lieber (1.50), Josh Towers (1.51)

• HR/9 - Rivera (0.48), Webb (0.63), Julian Tavarez (0.66), Halladay (0.73), Hudson (0.73), Derek Lowe/Carlos Zambrano (0.73)

• SO/9 - Big Unit (10.42), Kerry Wood (10.05), Pedro (9.95), Rich Harden (9.35), Scott Kazmir (9.33)

• H/9 - Rivera (6.92), Wood (7.14), Pedro (7.16), Harden (7.20), Chris Young (7.43)

• WHIP - Rivera (0.962), Pedro (1.034), Johan (1.113), Big Unit (1.114), Schilling (1.129)

• K/BB - Schilling (6.01), Rivera (4.88), Pedro (4.64), Big Unit (4.50), Smoltz (4.26), Mike Mussina (4.09)

• SB% - Krik Reuter (0.27), Carpenter (0.37), Mike Maroth (0.38), Bartolo Colon (0.39), Buehrle (0.41)

• Pickoffs - Buehrle (66), Pettitte (45), Doug Davis (43), Mark Mulder (36), Brian Anderson (34)

• GIDP - Buehrle (240), Livan (218), Jon Garland (215), Lowe (214), Suppan (208)

• BAA - Rivera (.210), Pedro (.216), Wood (.219), Harden (.220), Chris Young (.222), Johan (.225)

• OBP against - Rivera (.256), Pedro (.273), Johan (.281), Schilling (.284), Big Unit (.288)

• SLG against - Rivera (.285), Harden (.342), Pedro (.344), Zambrano (.351), Webb (.352)

• OPS against - Rivera (.541), Pedro (.617), Harden (.647), Santana (.649), Clemens (.659)

• OPS+ against - Rivera (56), Pedro (65), Webb (73), Clemens (73), Schilling (76)

• Avg. Game Score - Pedro (61), Santana (60), Big Unit (59), Schilling (58), Clemens (57)

• Quality Starts - Vazquez (192), Zito (192), Buehrle (189), Big Unit (187), Oswalt (185)

• Quality Start % - Oswalt (.683), Webb (.672), Johan (.667), Big Unit (.665), Pedro (.659)

• Pitches/start - Zambrano (106.0), Livan (105.7), Justin Verlander (105.7), Al Leiter (105.6), Jason Schmidt (105.1)

• Strike % - Schilling (.694), Wells (.686), Rivera (.685), Paul Byrd (.684), Brad Radke (.684)

• Franchises Played For - Rick White (11), Bruce Chen (10), Dennys Reyes (9), Julian Tavarez (9), Ron Villone (9)

• 20-win seasons - Schilling (3), Oswalt (2), Halladay (2), Colon (2), Moyer (2), Big Unit (2)

• 200-K seasons - Johan (5), Vazquez (5), Pedro (5), Big Unit (5), Jake Peavy/Halladay/Wood/Schilling (3)

• Sub-3.00 ERA (qualified for ERA title) - Johan (4), Peavy (4), Pedro (4), Big Unit (4), Halladay (3)

• Cy Young Awards - Big Unit (3), Clemens (2), Johan (2), many tied at 1
  

So who is the best pitcher of the decade? I lowered the innings limit to 700 to get a lot more people involved, but also to show how great Mariano Rivera is compared to his peers. His averages should be higher only pitching one inning, but he was great this past decade. He's my vote but there are some other great candidates.

What about The Big Unit? He won the most Cy Young's this decade and had the second most wins and most Ks this decade. He also had a second place finish in 2004.

Or is it Roger Clemens who ended the decade on a bad note but pitched unbelievably earlier on and pitched in 4 World Series this decade?

Or is it Johan Santana or Pedro Martinez who you saw near the top of almost all the major categories? Pedro finished second in the Cy voting in 2002, third in 2003 and 4th in 2004 and came 5th in the AL MVP voting in 2000. Johan finished 3rd in 2005 and 2008 and had a 5th and 7th places finish.

Or maybe Javier Vazquez (consistency with double digit wins every season) or Andy Pettitte (overall wins) or Curt Schilling (early decade dominance with Red Sox and D-backs) or Roy Halladay (late decade dominance with a Cy and a 3rd, 5th and 2nd place finish) or the forgotten about Roy Oswalt (5 top-5 Cy finishes) or Mark Buerhle (quietly put up a very nice decade)?

I'll put up the choices and you can vote in the poll to the right. When you vote, let us know who you voted for and why in the comments. I'll reveal the answers once the poll is closed

A Few Interesting Transactions

Can you name the last Yankee pitcher to win a playoff game? Anyone? Phillip Hughes Game 3 of the ALDS against the Cleveland Indians. He now goes by Phil Hughes but the Yankees announced today that he will be heading back to the bullpen for the first time since that game. It ends up that was probably one of Phil Hughes' best performances in the major leagues: 3.2 no runs, no walks, 4 Ks in relief of Roger Clemens (Joba Chamberlain also gave up a run as a reliever, perish the thought).

The reason Phil Hughes is heading to the bullpen is the Yankees want Chien-Ming Wang to start (which he'll do tomorrow in place of CC). The impetus for the move was talked about by Peter Abraham earlier the day, and goes that Wang, if his ball is sinking, is still better than Phil Hughes--at this point. Hughes will stay in the bullpen on the team for a while, but may need to head back down to the minors at some point to stretch himself out if not opportunity exists for him to rejoing the rotation in the Bronx. River Ave Blues seems to confirm this via a Brian Cashman interview on the Michael Kay Show (they still allow him to do that?): if Wang pitches well and Bruney and Marte return, Hughes will go to the minors in two weeks. If Wang pitches poorly or Pettitte is more injured than he's letting on, then Hughes will stay and start.

The Yankees also stratched Mark Teixeira who hurt himself enacting revenge on a double play breakup last night. Let's hope it's nothing more than a night's injury because, otherwise, it's not really a great play. You want guys to show passion, but play smart as well (ie--don't be like Kevin Brown who once punched a brick wall with his pitching hand).

Other moves:
-Supposedly the Atlanta Braves release Tom Glavine to save a little bit of money according to Ken Rosenthal. Both Shysterball and I are both equally surprised. If it really is for the money, shame on Atlanta.

-Speaking of Atlanta, they went and got themselves an outfielder (finally!). It's a surprise name, though--Nate McLouth. I don't think this is what he had in mind when he signed an extension to stay there. The Pirates GM tries to explain but it seems like a case of the Pirates just continuing to want to stockpile prospects in hopes of getting out of their losing ways. I wouldn't fault McLouth for being peaved, though.

-MLBTradeRumors goes over the trades so far this season. The biggest name so far is Gwynn...Gwynn Jr. In one of the most awesome things to come to the blog world, Paul DePodesta explains why the Padres made the trade. I mean how cool is that? You always want to know what teams were thinking when they made deals and this is how you can find out.

-Lastly, another one of those early-season trades got this review from Jon Heyman: "New Mets pickup Lance Broadway, a former first-rounder with a great New York name, is throwing only 86-88 mph. Judging by recent activity, White Sox GM Ken Williams seems willing to purge their system of the picks of the previous scouting director."

A Few Yankees Notes

How amazing is this story about Brett Gardner and the girl at the hospital who needed a heart transplant? This is like something out of a movie (or maybe a Seinfeld episode with Paul O'Neill and Kramer).

So I wasn't so wrong the Yankees bullpen: they are worse when they have to throw more pitches. Here's JA (courtesy of baseball-reference.com):

I         Split  G  PA  AB  R  H 2B 3B HR SB CS BB SO SO/BB   BA  OBP  SLG   OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB BAbip tOPS+
   Pitch  1-25 37 160 139 26 33  8  1  4  1  1 13 27  2.08 .237 .310 .396  .706 55   6   3  2  3   2  .261    92
   Pitch 26-50  6  24  22  3  6  3  0  1  0  0  2  7  3.50 .273 .333 .545  .879 12   0   0  0  0   0  .357   135
   Pitch 51-75  1   3   2  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0.00 .500 .667 .500 1.167  1   0   0  0  0   0  .500   229

And Phil Coke:

I         Split  G  PA AB R  H 2B 3B HR SB CS BB SO SO/BB   BA  OBP   SLG   OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB BAbip tOPS+
   Pitch  1-25 29 103 98 8 15  4  0  3  0  0  4 25  6.25 .153 .184  .286  .470 28   4   0  0  1   0  .169    50
   Pitch 26-50  7  12  9 6  6  4  0  1  0  0  3  0  0.00 .667 .750 1.444 2.194 13   0   0  0  0   0  .625   586

Meanwhile, Brian Bruney hadn't allowed any of the first hitters he faced to reach base. That's a pretty good stat. Let's hope he comes back strong.

Also, WFAN's Sweeny Murti has a nice piece on how Tino Martinez spoke to Mark Teixeira...and how Teixeira has loosened up and began to hit afterward. I remember when Tino came in 1996 and how he tried to much at first trying to replace a legend. Same with Jason Giambi replacing Tino. WasWatching did a great job breaking down how those three first baseman did in their beginnings with the Yanks.

Next, The New York Daily News' Mark Feinsand has an interview with David "Boomer" Wells where he "lowers the boom" on Alex Rodriguez and Roger Clemens and their PED use. Wells never held back expressing his mind and certainly did not in this interview.

Lastly, forgot to write about this lately, but did people notice Suzyn Waldman cleaning off Johnny Damon, wiping away his pie-covered face? It was pretty funny. Gotta love Suzyn. She does everything for the Yankees.

One Saturday Morning

Links galore..

-Well this is one way to get rid of the problem of geese flying into planes...

-I, for one, am glad that the World Cup of Hockey is coming back

-GREAT question posed by Buster Olney: Could Still-President Bush offer Roger Clemens a pardon?

-The Freakin' Pope (at least according to Family Guy) is going to have his own Google channel...with video, according to Business Week

-Not sure if I linked here before, but if not, this New York Times article on risk management and the financial crisis is a bit robust, but very, very good

-THANK GOD: The Lingerie Bowl is baaacccckkkkk. The Joba Chamberlain impersonator wants leniency (H/T on both goes to Deadspin).

-Yankees and Mets rumors

-Forgot to mention this yesterday. Due to questionable officiating, the Blackhawks had FIVE 5 on 3s against the Rangers. FIVE!

-Is Eli Manning worth $120 million?

-I understand Barack's pain, it's hard to give up your blackberry...

-The NFL states the obvious....fails to make me feel any better.