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The week in baseball: The Yankees are still on top, for now

By
Noah Fitzgerald,

Published Monday, August 3, 2009, 9:56 AM
Updated Monday, August 3, 2009, 10:03 AM

 

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CC Sabathia

The Yankees are still on top, for now. The Boston Red Sox made some moves this week to bolster their line-up as the Bronx Bombers cling to a half game lead. It was a strong June for the Yankees as we enter the dog days of summer, yet the American League East isn’t secured in any team’s grasp. As for the Yankees (62-42) and the Red Sox (61-42), the pitching rotation is going to be what decides this season. Sure, they both have potent bats behind the plate, but even if you bang in eight runs on the day you won’t pull out a win if your pitchers give up nine (see Boston’s loss to the Oakland Athletics last Tuesday). The Yankees and the Red Sox have, arguably, the best pitching rotations in baseball this season and pitching is, as it always has been, the backbone of the team. Let’s take a look at the aces that will be taking to the mound down the stretch in the last two months of the 2009 regular season.

 The Yankees Starting Rotation:

 C.C. Sabathia

 C.C. Sabathia came over from the Milwaukee Brewers as the big arm the Yankees needed. Sabathia was brought in to solidify the first spot in the rotation after pitching an 11-2 season, ending with a 1.65 ERA. It was anybody’s guess how he perform under the bright lights of New York, but has kept up his part of the bargain with a 10-7 record and a 3.83 ERA. The 161 million dollar man has pitched two complete games of the season, but had a mediocre 3-2 July. In that six-game span he gave up 20 runs, an average of around three a game, which isn’t exactly terrible, but it doesn’t help his 4.00 average ERA. He’s kept this team afloat, but it was really A.J. Burnett, another new Yankee, who’s been the rock of the rotation this season.

 A.J. Burnett

 A.J. Burnett is sitting with a 10-5 record and a 3.89 ERA. This is an even higher ERA than Sabathia’s but the Yankee offense has held him up. He hasn’t lost a game since June 20th, and the Yanks have won every game he’s started through July (on a 3-0 record). Burnett shared the spotlight with Roy Halladay in Toronto with the Blue Jays and had an 18-10 season with a 4.07 ERA (all in all, he’s had a 3.82 ERA through his career), so the Yankees and their astronomical payroll pounced on the chance to get him in pinstripes. His 117 strikeouts leads the Yankees rotation this year and though he lost his first game in August against the (he gave up ten hits in less than five innings and allowed seven earned runs in their 14-4 loss) there’s no reason to think he doesn’t have a chance to match or better last year’s stats.

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