Is Yankee/Red Sox Hegemony coming to an end?

[DrungoHazewood]

I think this shows that you can buy the playoffs, but not the championship. Anything can happen in a 5-game series, especially when you are talking about the top 8 teams.

But when you are talking about 162 games, the big spenders are almost always going to be in the playoffs.

That's Bud's genius (insanity?). It's his claim to parity. Sure, the Yanks and Sox and Phillies and a few other teams rarely have an off year, and teams like the O's, Royals and Pirates go generations without a winning record, but you throw some teams into a bunch of short series and you can claim that almost anyone can win it all any given year.

[SrMeowMeow]

That's Bud's genius (insanity?). It's his claim to parity. Sure, the Yanks and Sox and Phillies and a few other teams rarely have an off year, and teams like the O's, Royals and Pirates go generations without a winning record, but you throw some teams into a bunch of short series and you can claim that almost anyone can win it all any given year.

Well, the NFL's definition of parity is that you can go generations without a winning record and still make the playoffs every year.

[Frobby]

This makes three years out of four that either the Yankees or the Red Sox did not make the playoffs, and three years out of four that neither one was in the World Series.

Tampa seems well-positioned to stay in contention for the next several years. Moreover, it appears the Blue Jays are about to take a major step forward, with a young team and a ton of promising prospects.

Meanwhile, we've been waiting for the Yankees stars to get old, and it is finally starting to happen, maybe three years after we'd hoped. Pettitte's gone, Posada's probably out the door. Jeter and ARod are clearly on a pretty steep decline. Tex is good, but not as good as he was before the Yankees signed him, and just maybe he's going to be a guy who isn't that good in his 30's. Rivera continues to defy gravity, but that has to end someday -- doesn't it? I just sense that the pressure to win is getting to this team, and to Girardi.

The Sox, meanwhile, have missed the playoffs two years in a row. Their pitching is in disarray. They've fired their manager. Youkilis can't stay on the field.

Don't get me wrong -- the Yankees and Sox are going to continue to be good teams -- their wallets will see to that. And life isn't necessarily going to get easier for the Orioles considering how the Rays and Jays are positioned. But maybe we are about to enter an era where we don't go into the season with the presumption that the Yankees and Sox will be in the playoffs --where they are just two pretty good teams fighting for spots.

That would be progress.

Bumping this thread I started last October. My overwhelming feeling as we've played the Yankees this year is -- they aren't as good or as scary as they used to be. Yes, they still have some star players, and they are still 4-2 against us, but I just don't feel they compare with the teams the Yankees had several years ago.

Now we go to play the Sox. They can't seem to keep their team healthy, and their pitching is a shadow of what it used to be. I really can't say they scare me at all.

As I said in the OP last October, it's not that the Yankees and Sox aren't good teams. Either one, or both, could still be in the playoffs. But I no longer feel like that is a foregone conclusion. I feel the opportunity is there for other teams -- even the Orioles -- to knock them off.

[Mr Snuffleupagus]

Bumping this thread I started last October. My overwhelming feeling as we've played the Yankees this year is -- they aren't as good or as scary as they used to be. Yes, they still have some star players, and they are still 4-2 against us, but I just don't feel they compare with the teams the Yankees had several years ago.

Now we go to play the Sox. They can't seem to keep their team healthy, and their pitching is a shadow of what it used to be. I really can't say they scare me at all.

As I said in the OP last October, it's not that the Yankees and Sox aren't good teams. Either one, or both, could still be in the playoffs. But I no longer feel like that is a foregone conclusion. I feel the opportunity is there for other teams -- even the Orioles -- to knock them off.

Nice Bump. Pretty funny to read this...

Meanwhile, we've been waiting for the Yankees stars to get old, and it is finally starting to happen, maybe three years after we'd hoped. Pettitte's gone, Posada's probably out the door. Jeter and ARod are clearly on a pretty steep decline. Tex is good, but not as good as he was before the Yankees signed him, and just maybe he's going to be a guy who isn't that good in his 30's. Rivera continues to defy gravity, but that has to end someday -- doesn't it? I just sense that the pressure to win is getting to this team, and to Girardi.

Might have spoke too soon on the bolded, but hindsight is 20/20.

The other thing to consider is that NY has stated they're going to be more responsible with their payroll. I mean, they're going to be stuck with some of these guys for a while, and I sorta get the impression that the younger Steinbrenner is much more interested in the business of the Yankees then he is a winning product. He certainly doesn't speak relentlessly about it like his father did.

Boston is sorta in the same boat, lots of money dulled out to aging veterans who can't stay on the field. Crawford, Youk, Dice-K, Ellsbury.

I don't like beating up the depleted versions of these teams as much as I would like beating them up running at 100%, but it's nice to see we're not the only team in the AL East to have some misfortunes.

I don't think either of these teams will truly be "bad" anytime soon, but I think the days of the O's having to face the AL all-star teams 36 times a year is over.

[wildcard]

Bumping this thread I started last October. My overwhelming feeling as we've played the Yankees this year is -- they aren't as good or as scary as they used to be. Yes, they still have some star players, and they are still 4-2 against us, but I just don't feel they compare with the teams the Yankees had several years ago.

Now we go to play the Sox. They can't seem to keep their team healthy, and their pitching is a shadow of what it used to be. I really can't say they scare me at all.

As I said in the OP last October, it's not that the Yankees and Sox aren't good teams. Either one, or both, could still be in the playoffs. But I no longer feel like that is a foregone conclusion. I feel the opportunity is there for other teams -- even the Orioles -- to knock them off.

The Yankees are just a scary as they have been for me. Going into the O's series the Yankees were scoring 5.5 runs per game. That is 891 in a season. If the Yankee had dropped 17 runs on the O's in 3 games, they would have looked just as scary as before.

I think slumps, injuries, the O's having one of the best pitching staffs in the AL and the Yankees starters having problems combined to make them a little less scary in this series. I can't remember Cano looking worse at the plate then he did in this series. O's killer Swisher was on the DL and Gardiner's speed and base stealing ability was not available.

The Yankee's pen even without Rivera is very good. The thing that is not up to par is the starting pitching and I have to feel that if the Yankees stay relatively close in the pennant race they will add starters at some point. They almost always do.

[Frobby]

The Yankees are just a scary as they have been for me. Going into the O's series the Yankees were scoring 5.5 runs per game. That is 891 in a season.

Yeah, they are still a good hitting team, but I just don't think they are as good as when they had guys like Matsui, Abreu, Giambi and Sheffield (not all at the same time) having great years to go along with ARod in his prime, Jeter, Posada et al. Those were better lineups top to bottom, IMO. We definitely caught them at the right time this week, and you are right that their starting pitching is the bigger for them.

[wildcard]

Yeah, they are still a good hitting team, but I just don't think they are as good as when they had guys like Matsui, Abreu, Giambi and Sheffield (not all at the same time) having great years to go along with ARod in his prime, Jeter, Posada et al. Those were better lineups top to bottom, IMO. We definitely caught them at the right time this week, and you are right that their starting pitching is the bigger for them.

I didn't know you were going back that far. Sheffield played his last full season with the Yanks in 2005. That's 7 years ago. And they scored 886 runs that year which is about the same as the Yankees were averaging before they ran into the O's pitching staff in this last series.

[Flash- bd]

Honest question: do you guys think the Blue Jays have a better team than the O's this year? Everyone seems to be quite high on them as an org., but from what I can tell, I'd take the O's MLB talent over the Blue Jays'. That's just a layman's take, hence why I ask you all.

[wildcard]

Honest question: do you guys think the Blue Jays have a better team than the O's this year? Everyone seems to be quite high on them as an org., but from what I can tell, I'd take the O's MLB talent over the Blue Jays'. That's just a layman's take, hence why I ask you all.

The O's are 5-1 against the Jays this year. That's about as good as indicator as we have in early May.

[OFFNY]

.

The D-Rays have been crashing their party in one way or another since the 2008 season.

Now, we're joining them.

[DrungoHazewood]

The O's are 5-1 against the Jays this year. That's about as good as indicator as we have in early May.

Well, no, that's not. The noise in that record far overwhelms the signal. The '11 Orioles played .500 ball against the Tigers and Rays. The '83 Orioles had a losing record against the last-place Indians. The O's 5-1 record against the Jays is essentially meaningless in determining the relative strengths of the two teams.

[Slappy]

Honest question: do you guys think the Blue Jays have a better team than the O's this year? Everyone seems to be quite high on them as an org., but from what I can tell, I'd take the O's MLB talent over the Blue Jays'. That's just a layman's take, hence why I ask you all.

The Blue Jays have higher ceiling guys. Bautista is already all-world, Encarnacion looks like he could be the next freak, and Lawrie everyone thinks will be a monster. Thames has monster minors numbers.

They also have a bunch of highly touted and talented guys that, for whatever reason, can't seem to put it together. Rasmus is a good example of this, Escobar and Snider too. On the pitching side, Drabek, Morrow, and Henderson Alverez all have fantastic stuff but mediocre numbers to date.

I think Toronto is one of those teams where, if all of their talent plays up to potential, could easily be a 95+ win team. I don't think that is necessarily the case for the O's, at this point anyway.

[Jagwar]

I know you can't necessarily point to one play costing a game. But aren't the O's a questionable fair ball call, a few-feet-more Wieters drive, and a Gregg appearance from being 4-2 against the Yankees?

[Roll Tide]

This makes three years out of four that either the Yankees or the Red Sox did not make the playoffs, and three years out of four that neither one was in the World Series.

Tampa seems well-positioned to stay in contention for the next several years. Moreover, it appears the Blue Jays are about to take a major step forward, with a young team and a ton of promising prospects.

Meanwhile, we've been waiting for the Yankees stars to get old, and it is finally starting to happen, maybe three years after we'd hoped. Pettitte's gone, Posada's probably out the door. Jeter and ARod are clearly on a pretty steep decline. Tex is good, but not as good as he was before the Yankees signed him, and just maybe he's going to be a guy who isn't that good in his 30's. Rivera continues to defy gravity, but that has to end someday -- doesn't it? I just sense that the pressure to win is getting to this team, and to Girardi.

The Sox, meanwhile, have missed the playoffs two years in a row. Their pitching is in disarray. They've fired their manager. Youkilis can't stay on the field.

Don't get me wrong -- the Yankees and Sox are going to continue to be good teams -- their wallets will see to that. And life isn't necessarily going to get easier for the Orioles considering how the Rays and Jays are positioned. But maybe we are about to enter an era where we don't go into the season with the presumption that the Yankees and Sox will be in the playoffs --where they are just two pretty good teams fighting for spots.

That would be progress.

Their money will always keep them in the conversation. They may have a down year ...But they will always be in the conversation with their ability to buy what they want.

[El Gordo]

I'll take Wieters at C, Davis at 1B, Hardy at SS, Reimold LF, Jones CF. They have the edge at 2B, 3B, DH and RF. The question is how do the starting rotation compare?