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April 11, 2008

Is Tonight A Must Win Game For The Yanks?

No, it's impossible to have a "must win" game in April - especially when it's the first time that you face a rival that you're going to face many, many, times again later in the season. But, tonight's game is somewhat important in the sense that it's Worm Killer Wang for the Yankees - to be followed in the next two games by Mike Mussina and Phil Hughes.

You just don't know what you're going to get from Mussina and Hughes, at Fenway Park, at this stage of their careers. The chances of them pitching poorly are the same as the chances of them pitching well. So, you need a great game from Wang tonight - and you hope that he can do better than his lifetime ERA of 6.17 at Fenway Park.

The Yankees don't want to get swept in their series against the Sox. And, if they lose today, because of the questions on Mussina and Hughes, it's not unrealistic that they will be swept. But, a win today takes away a lot of that "don't get swept" pressure. Therefore, while tonight is not “must win” for New York, it’s still a “You really don’t want to lose this one” game.

Posted by Steve Lombardi at April 11, 2008 11:45 AM

Comments

This game is certainly not a "must win" because, as I remember, the Yanks lost five of the first six they played against Boston last year and still rallied to win most of the rest of the games they played against eachother.

Of course you want to win when you have the clear pitching advantage. Tonight, with Wang vs. Buccholz, the Yanks should feel like this matchup favors them. Beckett/Matsuzaka vs. Mussina/Hughes is clearly not in our favor so the Yanks should aim for tonight's game and hope they can split the next two.

Posted by: MJ [TypeKey Profile Page] at April 11, 2008 01:15 PM

I've always been of the opinion that pitching matchups matter less against the Red Sox because the games are so intense and the teams know each other so well. Wang has historically been bad against the Red Sox, especially in Boston. But if they lose tonight, I don't think its the end of the world.

Posted by: ChrisNewcomb [TypeKey Profile Page] at April 11, 2008 04:05 PM