Scud's bet of the year.

Originally Posted by SCUDSBROTHER

Oracle,my boys gotta play Tampa starting Friday.I saw the Yanks lost to them on Sunday,and have had trouble in the past with them.They just get "up" for you guys or what?

Typical Yankees, they get up to play the big teams and play down to the bad teams level in the first half of the season. This has gone on for 4 years now. The yankees did the same thing last year and actually got swept by Tampa in the first half of the season!!!!! They were almost last into the all star break last year and still won the divison with a brutal schedule. This year they have by far the easiest schedule of any of the 4 top teams in the 2nd half of the year. They have 23 games with Baltimore and Tampa(more than 25% of all teh games they play!!!!!!)and when Cano comes back soon, and then Sheff for a Spetember push, they are gonna be very hard to beat. They also finish the season with like a 7 game homestand, thats huge.

[Gander]

Yankees at least won the series against Tampa. They blew a 5-0 lead on Sunday and should be within 2 of the Red Sox, instead they lie 3 behind.
Red Sox took 2 of 3 from the White Sox, the same exact team who beat up on them good last postseason. So I dont necessarily buy into the strength of schedule thing. Many of the top teams like the Yankees, Red Sox and White Sox play better against the stronger teams and let their guard down against the cellar dwellers.

Like every year, we are looking at a fantastic AL East battle, great wildcard races and what figures to be another bang up post season. I love baseball!

Originally Posted by Gander

Yankees at least won the series against Tampa. They blew a 5-0 lead on Sunday and should be within 2 of the Red Sox, instead they lie 3 behind.
Red Sox took 2 of 3 from the White Sox, the same exact team who beat up on them good last postseason. So I dont necessarily buy into the strength of schedule thing. Many of the top teams like the Yankees, Red Sox and White Sox play better against the stronger teams and let their guard down against the cellar dwellers.

Like every year, we are looking at a fantastic AL East battle, great wildcard races and what figures to be another bang up post season. I love baseball!

Me too Tim. But schedule does matter in the 2nd half of the season more than the first. In the first half noone is out of the races in the first two months and everyone is playing hard, even the bad teams. Come the 2nd half when the bad teams are clearly out of contention and not playing with as much zest its a different story. The Yanks have 23 games with Tampa and Balitmore and Id be stunned if they won less than 15 of them, most likely more. I think the way they have played without the two big guns and recently without Cano has been very good. Cano is a big guy to them. Hes sterling in the field and hits for average and occasional power. They will be getting him back within a couple of weeks. Thats a huge asset. Sheff's supposedly healing on schedule/ahead of schedule and should be back in early Spetember. I still think that 3rd baseman Duncan that everyone wants who is down in Clombus goes bye bye with a pitcher the Yanks don't want(Farnsworth, Myers, or Proctor) to another team for a picther and hitter. That kid will never see daylight behind Arod anyway. WHy not trade him for some players to help you win now. I think whatever AL team wins the AL wins it all. NL just doesnt impress me. Mets were supposedly so great and look what the Yanks and Boston did to them. The West is a joke and Cards are nowhere near as strong as they were last year.