Week 5 Results and Thank Yous

Not bad for a bounce back week. If I wasn't so afraid of Sooners fans from New Jersey, I would have gone 4-1.

Before I get to the results, I'd like to thank Devin Heritage, Laura Zambuto, and TA & Cheeques for donating and helping the JDRF over the weekend. The walk was a big success, and all told I managed to raise $87. Thanks again for your support, and it still isn't too late to contribute.

One side note. As you may know, tonight is Game One of the ALDS, and I thought I'd pass along the following email exchange between a co-worker and myself:

If I told you that the Twins had a guy going in Game One who had never pitched for them in the postseason, you would feel confident.

If I told you that the Twins had a guy going for them in Game One who had a career losing record in postseason play and never had pitched past the 6th inning, you would probably pencil in a “W” for the Yankees.

If I told you that the Twins had a guy going for them in Game One who had a 9.47 postseason ERA since 2007, coupled with a WHIP of 2.32, you would ask me why the Twins were putting that guy in the rotation, let alone starting Game One.

Those are statistics, and you cannot argue with them.

Now were the Yankees to put that guy on the mound, you’d tell me that he is going to without a doubt get the win, he’d likely give up 2 runs or fewer, and that he’d work well into the 7th inning or beyond. That guy is CC Sabathia.

None of this matters, because Josh Beckett (he of a 7-2 record, 2.90 ERA, less than 1 walk or hit per inning in the postseason and 2 World Series titles) sucks.

My co-worker's response:

In 1997, a nobody named Scott Brosius batted a cool .203 for a marginal Oakland Athletics squad. In 1998, he came to the Yankees, bat .300, hit 19 homeruns, and drove in a career-high 98 RBI. In his first taste of the postseason, he went 20 for 47 with 4 homeruns and 15 RBI.

In 1992, mild-mannered right fielder Paul O’Neill was treading water in Cincinnati, batting .246 in the soft underbelly of the NL Central. Things changed in 1993 when O’Neill joined the New York Yankees, where he threw off the Clark Kent-guise and exploded into the spotlight, batting .311 with 20 homeruns, leaving opponents and dozens of Gatorade coolers reduced to rubble in his wake.

The lesson here, of course, is that it’s a complete waste of time to use what someone did before joining the Yankees as a predictive tool for how they might perform once a member of the greatest team in the history of sports. The Yankees are magic.

And for the record, over the past month CC has an ERA more than a run lower than Beckett, as well as a lower WHIP and more strikeouts.

I notice the Red Sox aren’t playing tonight – is today one of the big holidays on the Douchebag calendar?

Feeling the need to counter, I replied:

Congrats on being the first person ever to use the words “Paul O’Neill” and “mild-mannered” in the same sentence.

To your point, yes, past non-Yankee performances are not always indicative of Yankee playoff performances.

• The great Carl Pavano went 18-8 and a WS title for Florida in 2004, and then proceeded to amass a stellar 4-6 record in his 2005 campaign with the Yankees, making 0 postseason appearances with the Yankees;
• Future Hall of Famer Kevin Brown went 58-32 with the Dodgers before coming to the Yankees and putting up a Steinbrenner-pleasing 14-13 regular-season record, and managed a Game 7 loss to Boston in the 2004 ALCS (a.k.a. The Greatest Comeback in the History of Sports™;
• Mr. Reliable Alex Rodriguez hit a torrid .421 in his first playoff series with the Yankees (2004 ALDS) and has since hit a cool Mendoza Line (15 for 75).

Please don’t engage me in any more of this conversation. Let’s agree to disagree, being it such a big holiday on the Douchebag calendar - the Celtics kick off their pre-season with a game against Houston.

Best regards,

Lee

I'll update this if/when it continues. For now, the results of last week's picks.

I managed to go 3-2 including:

• Penn State (-7) taking Illinois behind the woodshed and winning 35-17
• Wyoming (+3.5) became the latest team to beat the Worst Team in Florida - Florida Atlantic, 30-28
• B.C. (+4) beat ACC rival Florida State at home 28-21
• Notre Dame (-13) managed to beat Washington, but did so by a margin so thin . . . come back to me, I have a Charlie Weis joke in here somewhere.
• The aforementioned Oklahoma Sooners (-7) lost the game - and their BCS title chances - to Miami 21-20.

Meanwhile, the Guru himself, Jeff Lerner went 1-3-1 on the week, forcing him to remember what happens when you mess with the (guy who is full of) Bull. You're gonna get (an opportunity to pick OU against) the Horns.

Week 5: 3-2
Season: 9-14-2