Pitching's the Thing

Jason Michael Barker

This was a season for offense. Mark McGwire hit 70 home runs, Sammy Sosa 66. Nine players hit 45 or more home runs, 17 drove in 120+ runs, and 49 players hit .300 or better.

Throw it all out the window.

The playoffs are here, and it's all about pitching. Exhibit A is the New York Yankees, fresh off their three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers. Pretend for a minute that you hadn't heard the outcome of the series. Hearing that the Yankees scored just nine runs in those three games, and given the Rangers' high-powered offense, you might think New York had lost a game or two. Hardly.

The Yankees pitching staff, which seemed weak heading into the postseason, allowed the Rangers just one run in 27 innings. Coming into the series, David Wells seemed the only sure thing for the Yankees, with David Cone, Andy Pettitte and the bullpen all question marks. Three wins and a 0.33 ERA later, New York's staff has pushed the questions aside.

Over in the National League, things have been pretty much as you might have expected. San Diego and Houston both have good offenses, but all season they've gotten it done with pitching -- the Padres with Kevin Brown, Andy Ashby and Trevor Hoffman, the Astros with Randy Johnson, Shane Reynolds and Mike Hampton. Through the first two games, Houston and San Diego combined to score just 12 runs. Game One was a thriller, with Kevin Brown out-dueling Randy Johnson for a 2-1 San Diego win.

Heading into the postseason, everyone knew the Braves had a better staff than the Cubs, and that's exactly the way things went, with Atlanta winning by scores of 7-1, 2-1 and 6-2. You know the Braves are in good shape when they've got Greg Maddux as their third starter.

The Boston-Cleveland series didn't follow suit through the first two games, with the Sox winning Game 1 11-3 and the Tribe coming back to win 9-2 in Game 2. The pitching picked up in the final two games however, as the teams combined to score just 10 runs in two Cleveland victories.

Through Saturday's Cleveland-Boston game, winning teams in the 1998 playoffs have beaten their opponents by an average score of 4.6 to 1.5. The rule of thumb is this: Score five runs, and you'll win. No losing team has managed five runs, with San Diego being the only team to score four in their Game 2 loss to Houston.

So why is the pitching so much better in the postseason? It's simple, really. First off, only the best teams make the playoffs, and they wouldn't have made it there without good pitching to begin with. Further, teams shorten their rotations to four, or even three, pitchers. No beating up on lousy fifth starters in October -- you're facing Kevin Brown twice in three games. Ouch.

I found Saturday's Cleveland-Boston game interesting for a number of reasons. First, Boston manager Jimy Williams drew some heat from the media and fans for not starting Pedro Martinez on three days rest, opting instead for Pete Schourek. Schourek pitched 5.2 innings of shutout baseball, but he was pulled after 87 pitches since he was on a 90-pitch limit.

The FOX commentators hailed Williams for making "the right decision" in not starting Martinez. Excuse me, but last time I checked 5.2 innings wasn't exactly getting the job done, and it forced Williams to use more of his bullpen than he probably would have liked, including bringing in his closer in the 8th. Tom Gordon picked a hell of a time to blow his first save since April, don't you think?

Also, Have we seen Mo Vaughn for the last time in a Red Sox uniform?

And now the Indians have somehow made it back to the ALCS. Again. This year and last they've beaten seemingly better teams, teams with more pitching, teams who should beat them. Boston this year, the Yankees and Orioles last year. Maybe Mike Hargrove is a good manager after all.

Mike Jackson -- the most underrated pitcher in baseball. "The Thriller" could have been a top closer for the past five or six seasons, but he toiled in relative anonymity as a set-up man.

about the author

Jason Michael Barker is covering the American League for Strikethree.com. Send your all-caps declarations that the Yankees Rool.