Five Cuts: Yankees' power pitching is stifling the Angels' offense

PRINT EMAIL FACEBOOK DIGG TWITTER RSS SHARE

Free-agent pick-ups A.J. Burnett and CC Sabathia have pitched brilliantly for the Yankees this postseason. AP Tom Verducci's Mailbag Submit a comment or question for Tom. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND

1. Yankees catcher Jorge Posada made his answer doubly clear when asked why the Yankees are on a 5-1 postseason run after going 4-13 in their previous 17 postseason games. The difference? "Pitching. Pitching," Posada said.

The New York offense hit the Angels in Game 4 with its full force, and Alex Rodriguez is squaring up every pitch that anyone dares throw over the plate. But the most telling change is that the Yankees' pitching, particularly their starters, looks nothing like what New York ran out there from 2004 through '07.

GM Brian Cashman hit the bull's-eye in the offseason when he signed CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, two power pitchers who have swing-and-miss stuff, the kind of stuff that plays well in the postseason and is exactly what New York needed. Give credit, too, to manager Joe Girardi and pitching coach Dave Eiland, who mapped out a plan in September to keep their starting pitchers strong through a seventh month. The Yankees are reaping the benefits of their design now.

Since Sept. 1 and including the postseason, Sabathia, Burnett and Andy Pettitte have had extra rest for 15 of their 22 combined starts. Pettitte said he feels "unbelievable" for this time of year. Sabathia finished his Game 4 start by retiring the final eight hitters he faced without letting the ball leave the infield, looking like he could pitch all night, even though he was working on three days' rest.

Eiland said he kept looking for the tell-tale sign that Sabathia was getting fatigued: His back leg collapses slightly in his delivery. "Never happened," Eiland said. "He just got stronger."

If the Yankees can dispose of Los Angeles in Game 5 on Thursday night, they will get a five-day break before the World Series; Sabathia would have seven days of rest heading into Game 1, which would mean extra rest for six of his last eight starts -- and the possibility of starting three times in the World Series without any problem.

"It's important to try to close series out when you can," Girardi said, "because if you're able to do it, it allows you to set up your pitching."

Just how good have the Yankees' starters been? Check out the New York starters this postseason as compared to its starters since 2004 ALCS Game 4:

2. Angels manager Mike Scioscia has a team hitting .201 in the ALCS, so with so many cold bats he doesn't have many options for shaking up his batting order. And he's likely to stick with his same lineup for Game 5, though catcher Jeff Mathis, who always catches John Lackey, will replace Mike Napoli.

But what about left fielder Juan Rivera? Scioscia's insistence on sticking with the slumping Rivera stands as a sign of such little faith in Gary Matthews Jr., even though Matthews hit .289 over the final two months in a part-time role. Rivera, who has played poor defense, is 2 for 17 (.118) in the ALCS, 5 for 28 (.179) in the postseason, 8 for 44 (.182) against the Yankees this year and 2 for 11 (.182) against Burnett, including 0 for 3 in Game 2.