I remember the days these series used to give me goosebumps. So much juice. So many stars. So much bad blood and both of these teams were really, really good. These next three games obviously don't have the same buzz as a mid-2000's Yanks/Sox series and there are a number of reasons why. Almost all of the big names are gone. Players have gone back and forth between teams and are much friendlier towards one another now. But the biggest reason IMO is that the Red Sox suck. I mean they really suck. They've probably been the worst team in baseball for the last two seasons and were just as bad in 2012 when they were coming off the greatest regular season collapse in major league history in 2011 (it just so happens that they integrated a championship campaign in between all that sucking).
This series is more of the same. The Yankees are trying to preserve a healthy 5.5 game lead in the division as the Red Sox languish at the bottom of the American League. A couple of the more exciting Red Sox players, Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia, will be absent this week due to injury. However, there's a little more buzz to this series than usual and that mostly has to do with the debut of Luis Severino. Watching the Mets bring up phenom after phenom is wearing me thin so I'm absolutely salivating at the thought of having our own, homegrown stud come up at the age of 21 and shut down the Red Sox under the bright lights of Yankee Stadium.
Pitching Match-Ups
Tonight, 7pm
Masahiro Tanaka (7-4, 3.80) vs. LHP Henry Owens (MLB debut)
If you were looking for an ace performance out of Tanaka his last go around against the Rangers then you were disappointed (6 IP, 4 ER, 9 hits and a loss). We're still looking for Tanaka to hit his stride. He's shown flashes this year but he hasn't been consistent enough. If the Yankees are going to make a run at this thing than Tanaka has to be one of the guys that carries them there.
Rick Porcello was supposed to start this game but the Red Sox caught a break when he hit the DL with a triceps issue. He's probably the only pitcher in the American League worse than CC Sabathia. If he started this game he would have gotten chased before the National Anthem. As for Henry Owens, I haven't heard that much about him. I see he was like the 44th ranked prospect in baseball before the season and he had a 3.18 ERA in Pawtucket. Scouting report on him is that he doesn't throw particularly hard and he doesn't have great control making him pretty much the most meh call-up in major league history.
Wednesday, 7pm
Luis Severino (MLB debut) vs. RHP Steven Wright (4-4, 4.53 ERA)
Not since Phil Hughes back in 2007 has a Yankee starting pitcher's major league debut been this highly anticipated. Severino surprised everyone in Spring Training and flew up the minor league pipeline this year, dominating batters in Scranton even more so than he did in Trenton. There have been a number of key, memorable moments during this 2015 campaign that have inspired hopes of a World Series Championship and Wednesday night may add to the list if Severino can deliver right away.
He'll oppose Steven Wright who throws a knuckleball and sucks at baseball.
Thursday, 7pm
CC Sabathia (4-8, 5.54 ERA) vs. LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (6-3, 4.34)
Eduardo Rodriguez was one of the most highly touted prospects in the Red Sox system heading into this year and you saw why early on. He's cooled off considerably since coming out of the gate red hot and has inflated his ERA up to over four runs per nine. For what it's worth, he did pitch well his last time out against the Yanks on July 11th (6.1, 2 ER and a win).
On the other side, the Yankees continue to hand the ball off to Sabathia every fifth day to give him a chance to lose them games. Those are just the facts at this point. He's gotten a longer leash than anyone in history because of his track record and the fact that he's making about a billion dollars. I'd love to sit here and tell you that I like the Yankees' odds against a guy with a 4.34 ERA but every time CC toes the rubber he gives you a great chance at losing a baseball game. With Michael Pineda out until September at the earliest, the Yankees will have to endure at the very least another five starts or so from one of the worst pitchers in baseball.
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