Quote: (07-27-2017 07:10 PM)lavidaloca Wrote:
Houston is easily the best team in the AL.
With that said if the Yankees could get some starting pitching they could be dangerous. They already have the best 7, 8, 9 in baseball with Robertson, Betances, Chapman. With the addition of Sonny Gray they could be really dangerous.
The only team that is dangerous from the AL Central are the Indians.
Blue Jays just need to unload. Theres no point in us keeping guys like Josh Donaldson when we aren't in contention.
Dodgers and Nats are the two biggies in the NL. One of them will make the world series. Teams like the Rockies and Diamondbacks don't have the pitching. The Cubs star pitchers are having bad seasons. (Arrieta and Lester)
I think an argument can be made that Houston's 7,8,9 is better than the Yankees.
Houston:
Harris: 10.1 K/9, 1.3 BB/9, 1.3 HR/9
Giles: 10.5 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, .5 HR/9
Devenski: 12 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 1.2 HR/9
(Feliz, Gregerson, and Martes all have closer stuff too, and have been good)
New York-
Chapman: 12.8 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, 0.0 HR/9
Betances: 16.5 K/9, 7.5 BB/9, .3 HR/9
Robertson: 12.8 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 1.2 HR/9
(Kahnle, Green, and Warren have all been excellent this year too)
I'd still give the Yankees the edge, especially after the Robertson/Kahnle deal. But I'd be extremely worried about Chapman and Betances' walk rates going forward. In the case of Betances, giving the equivalent of .8 free base-runners per inning to a team like Houston in the playoffs is damn near suicide.
I still think Houston needs to trade for a lefty relief arm, be it Justin Wilson, Zach Britton, or Brad Hand.
If Britton can come back from his injury and be merely 90% of the pitcher he was last year, he can be scary in the playoffs. Having hitters succumb to weak off the end of the bat contact on a crisp November night almost isn't fair.
Personally I think Cleveland should go for Britton him for two reasons:
1. He'd fair well pitching behind Cleveland's good infield defense
2. Gamesmanship, preventing the Astros from acquiring him