I Stand Corrected.....

ALthough I hate to admit this, I do agree that the Red Sox do have a legitimate chance to win the AL Pennant. None of the other teams in the Al have shown anysign of dominance relative to the rest of the contenders. It quite simply may break down to a battle of veterans gutting it out. It will be interesting to see if Small is the next El duque.

Two drawbacks to your post. You need to give Mo a little more respect than what you wrote in your article. The man has been a cornerstone to the entire Yankees success this season. While I do aggree that he struggles against the Red sox, nevertheless his travails against our Beantown Meatheads does not put him equal to Mike Timlin.

Furthermore, I would be betting the deed to my house (if i had one) on the Red sox winning the pennant, if they had a better bullpen. The current bullpen situation (more like fiasco) leaves me waking up in cold sweats. I forsee a series blown by timlin and Co., or at least a few games.

Another note of lesser importance. You compared Small, and John lackey as both being "guys that came up from the minors". While Lackey MAY have come up from the minors this season he has had quite a bit of major league experience. Perhaps you should use a different reference as that common expression refers to rookies entering the "bigs"

~ Hung Like A Light Switch

Dear Hung,

You made some interesting points and proved that even I can sometimes be wrong. I mistakingly thought that John Lackey was a veteran who had no significant major league experience because I witnessed his callup early in the season from a rehab assignment. In actuality he has pitched 2 full seasons and part of another in the major leagues, all with the angels. Maybe if I had referenced some stats there rather than relying solely on my opinion and superior intellect then you wouldn't be reading this right now. In my defense, before this year he was 33-33 in his career with an ERA above 4, so he was a mediocre pitcher who could easily slip under the radar before this year. Only time will tell if this is a breakout year for him or if he is the next Esteban Loaiza.
As long as we're on the subject of Angels pitchers....I incorrectly stated that Bartolo Colon hadn't pitched in the postseason since he was with the Tribe back in 2002. He actually pitched Game 2 of the divisional series last year against the Red Sox. However, this did not in any way go against any of my arguments about his inability to pitch well in the postseason as he pitched a mediocre game and his team ended up losing. His pitching line: 6 Innings pitched, 7 hits allowed, 3 walks, 3 runs and a measly 3 strikeouts.
In response to your feelings on the Red Sox bullpen....Yes, they're bad, but is the Yankees' bullpen much better? Yes, I give props to Rivera for being a filthy pitcher with the single best pitch in the major leagues. The problem is, its the only one he throws and the Red Sox have seen it enough times that they know how to time it as we saw last year in the playoffs and during their matchups this year. No, Mike Timlin is not a reliable closer, but against the Red Sox neither is Rivera. No lead will be safe in this series. I didn't even touch on the other members of both bullpens but in a close game I wouldn't expect to see any of the regular bullpen members on either team other than Gordon and Rivera for the Yankees and Papelbon and Timlin for the Red Sox(This is excluding members of both starting pitching rotations who may be used when needed). Anyone else from either bullpen will blatantly give the game away within seconds of stepping on the mound.
There, I corrected myself and still managed to put you in your place.
On a more personal note Hung, its not the size of the boat that matters, its the motion in the ocean.
If you're still concerned, maybe you should invest in some Enzyte. Look what it did for Bob's golf swing....and his partner back at the clubhouse seems to be pretty happy.

Love Always
~Basketcase86