New York Yankees: Should Hiroki Kuroda or CC Sabathia Start Wild Card Playoff?
September 18, 2012 · Colin Tansits · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Carsten Charles Sabathia has been the most dependable pitcher for the New York Yankees since 2009.
He has won 19 or more games every year since dawning the pinstripes, and helped lead the Bombers to their 27th World Championship in 2009.
So why would Joe Girardi even consider starting Hiroki Kuroda in a Wild Card Playoff?
The stats don’t make Kuroda look better than Sabathia. In fact, their earned run averages for the year are only .37 apart. Kuroda is 14-10 this season with a 3.26 ERA, while Sabathia is 13-6 with a 3.63 ERA.
Nonetheless, many writers like Wallace Matthews on ESPN.com argue that Kuroda deserves the nod for a one-game start.
I couldn’t disagree more.
Kuroda has been getting more attention recently and many consider him the most dependable starter in New York, understandably so.
Sabathia, along with Andy Pettitte and Ivan Nova, have all been on the DL for the Yankees, and Phil Hughes has struggled to string together two good starts in a row.
Kuroda, on the other hand, has been nothing but solid. In over 200 innings of work this season, the Japanese-born right-hander averages only two walks per nine innings pitched.
As Kuroda heads into the race for the American League East strong, Sabathia continues to struggle after coming off his second trip to the DL. For many fans, it seems like Kuroda is a worthy candidate to start a Wild-Card Playoff.
But let us return to the numbers.
Kuroda has only pitched in three postseason games, posting a 5.27 ERA, and he lasted only one-and-a-third innings in his last postseason start against Philadelphia.
Sabathia has started 15 postseason games, and has a 4.81 earned run average along with a 7-4 record.
The big southpaw has proven himself in previous postseason starts to deserve the top spot in the rotation for postseason play, whether it’s a must-win Wild Card Playoff or the first game of the ALDS.
Following Kuroda’s trend of his recent starts being better than Sabathia’s, is a trap.
Since Kuroda began pitching in Major League Baseball in 2008, he has won 55 regular-season games and has a 3.41 ERA. In the same time span, Sabathia has won 89 regular-season games, averaged a 3.18 ERA, and won a World Series.
It’s obvious Sabathia has been better than Kuroda, while pitching in one of the toughest divisions in baseball.
So is Kuroda pitching better than Sabathia right now? Yes.
But it isn’t October yet.
When the leafs begin to change and the time comes for the Yankees to win an elimination Wild Card game, the big lefty from Vallejo, California deserves the ball.
He has been there before and knows how to win big games.
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