NYaT Roundtable: Division Series Picks

The Yanks' bobblehead and I

As I walked through midtown today, I saw a giant Yankees and Phillies bobblehead right outside the Major League Baseball offices (the picture on the right). TBS was sponsoring it and it reminded me that they're back doing broadcasts (sans Chip Caray) and playoff baseball is back. We're also back here at NYaT to give our picks (and quick thoughts) about the division series starting this afternoon:

New York Yankees at Minnesota Twins

Jay: "Yankee pitching (even sans AJ Burnett) keeps Minnesota in each game, but Yankees scratch out enough runs to escape in five games. Small ball and an effective bullpen help the Yankees win games on the road." Yanks in 5

Sarah: Yanks in 4

Ben P: "The Yankees offense has enough to carry them over the Twins in this series. The Twins do everything well, but nothing great. CC wins his two starts and the Yanks find a way to get one more win." Yanks in 4

Ari: "Minny is missing some big pieces. And they don't have many to miss. Yanks gut this one out." Yanks in 4

CC Sabathia will target the Twinkies tonight at Target Field (CBC)

Elissa: "Just like with the Rays, it all comes down to pitching. The Yankees have a shaky starting rotation at best. Andy Pettitte has only pitched in 3 games since coming off the DL (3 underwhelming outings), Phil Hughes has been relatively ineffective in August and September, A.J. Burnett needs no explanation on why he's a liability in the rotation, and although CC pitched outstanding in the 2009 playoffs, his previous experiences in Milwaukee and Cleveland were less than stellar. I really don't see how the Yankee's pitching staff can pull it together this week." Twins in 5

Ben W: "Yanks need to turn on the switch and there's no better opponent to do it against than the Twins. Liriano matches up well against Sabathia but he's still CC. After that it's Carl Pavano and the illustrious Brian Duensing. The Yanks will put their faith in Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes. The Yankees know better than any other team that you start over again in the postseason and that their poor September is but a piece of history. Look for the Yanks to play like they did for the first five months of the season." Yanks in 4

My opinion: "The Yankees and Twins have met quite a bit recently in the postseason and despite optimism things would change, they've stayed the same. Although the Yankees have holes after their #1 starter, the Twins holes look just as bad--and worse considering the Yankees have an edge in the top tier of their bullpen. If the Twins had Justin Mourneau and Joe Nathan, I would feel differently about this series, but without them, I'm not sure the Twins have enough firepower or pitching to go toe-to-toe with the defending champs." Yanks in 4

Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays

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NYaT Roundtable: Top Storylines/Memories of the 2010 Regular Season

With the 2010 season in the books, I decided to ask the NYaT writers what were their favorite moments/memories from this regular season were and here's what we came up with:

Strasburg made lasting impressions (Canadian Press)

Andrew:
1) Armando Galarraga and James Joyce. In a year of perfection on the mound, this near perfection may be my greatest memory. The incident, the backlash, the apologies, and the way everyone handled it in the end may make this one stick in my mind longer than Roy Halladay or Dallas "Get Off My Mound" Braden
2) Stephen Strasburg and Aroldis Chapman. This could also be represented by Buster Posey, Neftali Feliz, Austin Jackson, Jason Heyward or anyone else we listed for the NL Rookie of the Year race. It was a great year for young arms (who threw absolute gas), prospects making impacts and big debuts--though the Strasburg injury taught us all that the highs are as great as the lows with baseball prospects at times.
3) Saying good-bye. How about this to sweep away my childhood? Ken Griffey, Jr. retired, Bobby Cox and Cito Gaston hung it up as well and George Steinbrenner and Bob Sheppard died--the last two contributing to a very emotional All-Star Game as Derek Jeter stepped to the batters box to lead-off the game.

Jay:
1) Stephen Strasburg (7 IP, 2 ER, 14 K, 0 BB) wows baseball universe in MLB debut
2) 5 no-hitters, including 2 perfect games within a 20-day span
3) Troy Tulowitzki's unbelievable September (.303/.366/.754, 15 HR, 40 RBI, 30 R)

Ben P:
1) The San Diego Padres Big Year- Coming into the year, the Padres probably had one of the weakest teams on paper. Behind some very good young pitching, they finish just one game out of the wild card and 2 games out of the division, proving that you can still get it done with a tiny payroll.
2) Stephen Strasburg -When healthy, Strasburg more than lived up to the hype. His stuff and command were about as good as anyone else in baseball. His injury is bad news for Washington fans, as well as the MLB.

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The Real Problem with the Edinson Volquez Suspension

I'm sure everyone heard about a mystery player who was going to be suspended for PEDs. Then it was a New York player. Then definitely not a New York player. Then an NL player. Then a pitcher. And finally it was revealed by SI's Jon Heyman as Reds injured pitcher Edinson Volquez (picture from the article). So he's caught, he's suspended 50 games, he learns his lesson, and all's good (well, except for the children who lose a role model)...well not quite. Why? Craig Calcaterra of HarballTalk explains why the suspension starting immediately doesn't work in this instance:

[Volquez] cannot pitch and would not be able to until at least July, due to recovery from Tommy John surgery.  The suspension, in contrast, will be over in June.  Sure, his pay will be docked, but he will miss exactly zero games that he otherwise wouldn't have missed...Volquez will essentially have no change whatsoever in his recovery and return...

Not that his fine will be insubstantial -- he'll be docked roughly $137K of his $445K contract this year, plus some fines I imagine -- but his baseball life will not be altered one bit by the suspension.

Think anyone is going to have a problem with this?  Oh, yes. Yes they will.

I certainly do. Volquez is basically getting off because of "time served". He's getting a free pass because he's injured now. If Volquez was suspended for hitting a guy with a pitch, the suspension would start once he comes off the disabled list (unless he was Cliff Lee, of course). But because of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, it starts right now.

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Favorite Lines of the day

Ok...so far...here are my favorite lines.

From The Chattanoogan, news about acquiring John Smoltz:

In addition, the Braves were worried about the severity of damage that Dr. James Andrews found when performing the shoulder surgery. Sources have said that Smoltz's shoulder is currently bound together by five anchors.

But the Red Sox were willing to take this chance on Smoltz, who has thrived on proving his doubters wrong in the past.

Wow...I know that the ability to prove doubters wrong is great...but five anchors holding the shoulder together? Is pitching another year worth that to him? Seems to be a bit nuts to me...

Still in Boston, Peter Gammons on WEEI:

He wanted to go to the Yankees, his wife doesn't like Boston -- apparently she doesn't like the stores on Newbury Street or something -- and in the end that's the way it goes.

Wow...I mean I think Newbury Street is overrated...but choosing a baseball team based on where your wife likes to shop? Wow

On to Cincinnati where John Fay writes on his Cincinnati.com blog:

--On trade talks: Jocketty said he has talked to the Yankees. The Yankees are reportedly looking to move Nick Swisher or Xavier Nady. "I've talked to (GM Brian) Cashman a lot."

This is not really for the quote...just for the fact that the Yankees may not be done wheeling and dealing this offseason. We'll see what moves are still to come...

And lastly, from the New York Daily News columnist Gary Myers (H/T to Matt Mosely's NFC East Blog at ESPN.com):

"The Giants have the edge playing at home, even if Andy Reid is 3-2 vs. Tom Coughlin at Giants Stadium," continues Myers. "As long as it's not windy, the weather should not be a problem for Eli Manning. When the wind kicks up, it looks like he's trying to throw paper airplanes."

Matt, I think, put it best: "So as long as it doesn't get windy -- in the Meadowlands in early January -- the Giants should be fine. OK, I'm sold."

I agree...has Gary Myers ever been to Giants Stadium? I want to read plenty of good articles about my G-men, but making statements like that are equivalent to saying "as long as no one hits homeruns into Right Field at Yankee Stadium" or "as long as no one hits doubles off the Green Monster". Does he not remember that the last time that these two teams met, it was windy? Is Gary Myers on the Matt Williams to the Hall of Fame bandwagon as well?