Too bad the Cubs couldn’t finish off the Marlins. The 100th anniversary World Series looks like a real good time to play the Yankees.
The Boston Red Sox didn’t get the kill. But by pushing the New York Yankees to the 11th inning of Game 7, they gave the Florida Marlins an early advantage.
Joe Torre admitted that even he was feeling fatigued in the hours before Saturday’s Series opener. It was played less than 48 hours after the Yankees ousted Boston in an extremely emotional American League Championship Series.
“No, it’s not like previous years,” said Torre, who has won six pennants in the last eight seasons with the Yankees. “The years we have won, we had never been tested in a Game 7. We really relished playing the Red Sox because we knew how tough they were offensively.”
Torre used three of his four starters in Thursday’s Game 7, with Mike Mussina and David Wells entering in relief of Roger Clemens. Andy Pettitte, the other starter, was getting loose in an indoor batting cage when Aaron Boone hit his game-winning homer.
Torre said he picked David Wells to start Game 1 because he “was the only [starter] who was physically qualified to pitch.” Wells, who had started Game 5 of the ALCS, worked only one inning in Game 7.
Wells describes himself as having a “rubber arm” and showed few ill effects from the unusual schedule. Florida used the speed at the top of its lineup to score a quick run, but Wells then took charge. He held the Marlins in check until Juan Pierre’s two-run single in the fifth inning.
Torre must hope Pettitte responds at least as well Sunday. The left-hander will be working on three days’ rest after failing to finish off Boston in Game 6 on Wednesday.
Torre has won 64 playoff games with the Yankees. Only one of those was worked by a starter on three days’ rest.
As was the case for Atlanta and Oakland in this year’s first round, there has been a consistent pattern of failure for starters who work on short rest in the playoffs.
Over the last five years, starters on short rest are 4-15 with a 6.59 earned-run average in 25 postseason games. Teams that have used starters on three days’ rest against fully rested starters are 5-18 during this stretch.
Those aren’t real good odds for the Yankees in Game 2, when Pettitte will face left-hander Mark Redman.
Pettitte admits he doesn’t know what to expect.
“I’m not real sure,” he said Saturday. “I haven’t done it in a while, and that’s just because the rotation has been healthy all year and we’ve each made our starts. Actually, we’ve been pitching on more rest than on less. So expect [me] not to be as strong as I have been because of short rest. . . . Hopefully, I can get out there and I’ll feel great and give us a good start.”
Pettitte has 12 career postseason victories, tied with John Smoltz and Tom Glavine for the all-time record. He previously has started on short rest during the first round in 1997 and 2000, going 0-1 with a 7.84 ERA. That compares with a 4.14 ERA when he has been rested.
“I’m not foreseeing it causing me problems,” Pettitte said. “If I make a quality pitch, I think I’m going to get guys out. Hopefully, [I’ll] just stay out of the middle of the plate with my stuff and get some guys out.”
Torre made an interesting decision at the back end of his Series rotation. He opted to keep Mussina and Clemens in the same order he has used them all October, which means Mussina–and not Clemens–gets Game 3 and a possible Game 7.
Clemens didn’t have his best stuff in Game 7 of the Red Sox series but is 2-0 in three postseason starts. Mussina, who bailed Clemens out of a jam in the decisive game against Boston, is 0-3 in three starts.
Clemens has said he’ll retire after this season. That means Wednesday night’s Game 4 in Miami should be the last start of his career.
I say should be because Torre always could decide to bring him back on short rest for a possible Game 7. It’s unlikely but not out of the question. This year the Yankees are winging it.
